Trying to scramble for a crumb of serotonin, so here's a snippet of "ANYTHING > HUMAN", a paranormal Noah Sebastian one-shot that I tried to make into a series, but couldn't find a plot to apply to it.
He twists and bucks against the hand that holds him under the water that devours him. He knows it isnāt really water, that itās something much worse, but right now thatās all it feels like. Itās something worse than the cold gaps between stars; worse than the hoarfrost that coats his being. He normally enjoys the cold when he can wrap up in hoodies and blankets, but when heās naked as the day he was born, the cold isnāt very enjoyable. And this coldā¦Ā
Thereās no warmth that could banish this cold away.
The Empty, he had heard them call it. It didn't feel empty. The⦠Not-Water pressed against his skin. There was no beginning, no end. Just⦠Not-Water. Normally, he would have a better idea as to what he could describe what he was drowning in, but the cold and lack of oxygen deprived his brain of any function other than live.
His lungs finally give up the fight, and he gasps for air, but instead gets a mouthful of the Not-Water. He finally can think of a better descriptor for it: the Burning. Because the Burning spreads through his body like lava, slow and unbearably hot and painful, and itās so heavy that it weighs him down, so he sinks into forever.
The Burning spreads through his veins, boiling the blood in them until it evaporates. He opens his mouth to scream in agony, but the vacuum of the realm steals the sound from his lungs. Any air he had left escapes in the bubbles that leave his mouth, and more Burning enters his lungs this time, collapsing them with a familiarity that he knows all too well.
He thrashes in the darkness, not content to die like this. He seeks out the entity that had pushed and held him under the surface so he can seek retribution; so he can grab a hold of them and either pull himself out or pull them in to suffer with him. Except thereās no hand to bite. Itās just nothingness above him; nothingness below him, nothingness around him. Heās all alone.
Only a single thought crosses his mind; Was this how she felt?
And that crystallizing clear thought finally makes him panic.
Noah opens his mouth to scream again, his body wrenching upwards hard enough that he feels like he might have pulled a muscle in his stomach. This time, the sound travels. He opens his eyes and frantically casts his gaze around.
Heās no longer in the Empty. Heās in his home in Cooperās Rock. And like the past several months, heās alone.
He takes in a long, shaky breath that is thankfully free of liquid, but the air still burns as it goes down his raw throat. He collapses back onto his bed, cursing and rubbing his face. He mustāve been screaming or something like that in his sleep again.
Again. Heās had this nightmare for several months now. And itās starting to drive him insane.
Heās startled when his phone rings, splitting the silence with its shrill tone. He kicks at the sweat-soaked sheets that are tangled and twisted around his naked legs, gives up when he only manages to get them down to his ankles. He grabs his phone and presses it to his ear.
Though he knows what the phone call has to be about when he sees the caller ID, he still snaps. āWhat?!ā Like the caller had woken him up from a deep sleep. As if that were possible for him these days.
āThereās been a breach at the Site.ā
Noah sighs at the tone of the Director of Site Securityās voice. His nightmare is still haunting him when he asks, āItās her, isnāt it?ā with no preamble.
āI donāt know what manner ofāā
His grip on the phone tightens as well as his free hand tightening in the sheets. āYou wouldnāt be calling me at three in the morning if it wasnāt her,ā he snaps. He then lets out the tension that has formed in the past minute. It comes out as a huff. āMe and the team will be there in fifteen.ā
āMake it ten.ā The line goes dead.
Time to go to work.
If its something that interests you, please reblog and spread. If you're really interested, let me know if you want to be added to the tag list for any future snippets and/or the full fic.













