Chapter 32 - Darkness, Blackness, Silence

Dedicated to MakfireMack! Read her stories, she's a great writer! :D

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It's calm.

Blackness, darkness, silence...it's very calming.

It's like youre there but you're not.

It was very hard to describe.

It was hard to put an emotion to it either.

It wasn't uncomfortable but it wasn't comfortable.

It wasn't nice but at the same time it wasn't horrible.

It was just there...

Darkness, blackness, silence.

If anything, it was lonely.

Lonliness was always going to be a problem.

I mean, who never feels lonely at some point in their life?

Answer: No one.

Everyone has felt lonely at some point, even if they've been crowded around by a load of people.

It was something no one was new to.

Loneliness was loneliness...nothing could change that.

Sitting in the dark was lonely. Matt couldn't hear or feel anything but he knew that he was there...somewhere. He didn't even feel as if he had a body anymore. Everything was such a haze. He couldn't even process what had been the last thing he'd thought about.

He knew he wasn't alone. He could almost feel something but it was so distant that he wasn't sure.

Slowly, he could feel himself coming back. He could feel slight pulses, slight twitches, gentle pushes, which were probing into his brain. Funnily enough, he didnt feel tired. He just felt angry.

He was angry at himself for feeling so weak.

Angry because he hadn't been able to control anything.

Angry because he'd literally just given up immediately.

It hadn't been like him at all.

He began to flood back into his body like someone was pouring him into a mould. The feelings came back like a wave. He was being filled to the brim.

Then the pain came.

It was small at first but it just got worse and worse as he began to fill out his deadened body. It started from the middle of his chest and spanned out to just below his collar bone and just above his stomach. It was a small area but he sure as hell could feel it.

He wanted to scream but he didn't have the ability to do that yet.

He just felt like a zombie.

It took what felt like hours before Matt was able to force himself completely back into himself so that he could open his eyes. His fingers twitched as a reflex as his eyes shot open. He quickly felt hands pin him down and his eyes darted startled to the culprit.

Kristen.

Matt breathed out then winced as his chest ached. Instead of lying in a hospital bed, like he'd been expecting, he was lying on his bed, staring up at the ceiling. Frowning, he stared at Kristen, waiting for her to speak.

He knew she would eventually.

"Hey, how do you feel?" She asked softly.

Matt gave her a look and she quickly dropped the soft talk.

"Right. Sorry. Stupid question. How much do you remember?"

Matt narrowed his eyes at her and saw her physically swallow.

"Oh...well...after you blacked out I took you straight to the hospital. They took out most of the splinters but I don't know if they got all of them out. Apparently your body was reacting weirdly every time they tried to pull the wood out of you." She gave Matt a knowing look before continuing. "They got most of it out though and then stuffed you into a hospital bed. I knew that they'd pick up on your super healing so you didn't stay long. You stayed overnight and then I immediately took you out of there, giving the excuse that I was taking you to a private clinic instead. You know what hospitals are like. They dont care too much. I was adamant so they couldn't exactly argue.

"I brought you straight back here. I knew that you were still in pain because your body kept twitching so I've been trying to get the rest of the splinters out but I have no idea where they are."

Matt glanced towards the side of the bed and saw a bucket with a sponge, some pieces of cloth and a plate with some wooden strands placed on it. He looked back at Kristen and blew out a gust of air. At least she'd kept his secret. That was the main thing. She probably could have done it better but it was better than outright telling them.

"I think your body is rejecting the rest of them, that's why you keep twitching. They're slowly coming up to the surface. I just have to cut you open every so often to remove them. The hospital got the dangerous ones out."

"What..." Matt cleared his throat as his words came out croaky. "What happened to Laura?"

Kristen's face darkened but she answered, much to Matt's first thought. "I took enough blood to knock her unconscious but I didn't kill her. I knew that would make things look suspicious. Luckily, I've been practicing my powers recently. I knew that I had something which could stop her being a threat, in some sense." Kristen added quickly as Matt opened his mouth to speak. He shut it again, allowing her to continue. "I used my powers and 'convinced' her to forget any suspicions about us or anything that had happened that night. I also told her to move schools and never give us a second thought. If we are ever mentioned, the only thing she is going to remember is the fact that she gave us a hard time for being different.

"I may have added some embarrassing events which never happened too." Kristen smirked evilly and Matt couldn't help but grin back. He liked this Kristen.

"Thank you." He said quietly and Kristen quickly grabbed his hand, squeezing it.

"Oh and I found Gareth whilst you were unconscious. I made him believe that he was scared of the outside and now he wont leave his house."

"You've been busy." Matt murmured but smiled nonetheless, just glad that he didn't have to deal with them for the time being. He didn't know how long Kristen's 'convincing' lasted but next time he was going to be ready.

He couldn't believe that he'd been caught unaware and had practically allowed himself to become vulnerable to a mere stupid human.

He was so weak.

"Stop frowning. There's nothing you could have done. She took you by surprise. Its a bit difficult trying to defend yourself when you have a stupid big stake in your chest."

"I should have been able to see her coming."

"We were both vulnerable. We weren't expecting it."

"That can never happen again."

"We cant predict when something like that..."

Matt cut her off. "No, Kristen. That can never happen again. I'm never going to drop my guard like that again."

Kristen stared at him and her eyes widened in understanding. "But what about when we're together? We wont be thinking about stuff like that."

"I don't think we should take the chance."

Matt almost flinched into the bed when he saw the look of absolute fury on Kristen's face.

She leaned over him and gripped his shoulder with her iron grip, digging her fingers into his skin like knives. "Dont you dare. Dont you even dare go there Matt! I saved your life and you're going to close off again? Just like that? I wont allow it! That is NEVER going to happen again. You dont need to push me away because of it! What the hell is your problem?!"

"The problem is that I cant protect you, Kristen!" Matt shouted then winced as his chest stung.

Kristen froze and Matt bashed his head against the bed, regretting what had just come out of his mouth. She seemed to ignore that though. "What do you mean?"

"Nothing."

"Matt, what do you mean?" She gripped his hand with such force that Matt had to tighten his knuckles to prevent himself from twitching.

Well, he couldn't lie about it now.

Hell, he'd almost died. Telling her wouldn't hurt.

"I cant protect you, Kristen. That could have easily been you who had been staked. What then? She would have killed you right then and there and I would have been none the wiser. Someone sneaks up behind us and all I can do is sit there and watch as you take control. I'm weak and pathetic and being close to me is a disadvantage for both of us. You let your guard down and so do I. Anything could attack us when we're together."

"We can keep our guard down when it's just us then. When we're being couple-like, we can drop our guards. We can take precautions..."

"We wont ever know if something is going to attack us. If something does, I'm powerless if they strike me first. Strike you and you die, strike me and I can only watch as you die. I cant watch that again, Kristen, I..." Matt choked and closed his eyes in the effort to keep his voice under control. "I cant."

He felt a pressure on the bed and opened his eyes to see her leaning next to him, stroking his hair off of his forehead. She smiled gently, full of sympathy, and, for once, Matt accepted it. He accepted her sympathy like a breath of fresh air and leaned in when she gave him the comfort of her hand on his cheek.

He needed this.

"Matt, I understand, but that could happen to anyone, not just us. There's always that risk, wherever we go. We can make sure that things are locked up before we relax. We will be careful. I promise. Please, just don't block me out."

Matt pulled Kristen's body to him and pressed his lips to her forehead, feeling her relax at his touch. His heart pounded and he twitched as he tightened his hold and whispered to her. "I trust you."