Unchained Instinct ( Complete)
folder
X-Men - Animated Series (all) › Slash - Male/Male
Rating:
Adult ++
Chapters:
91
Views:
21,768
Reviews:
76
Recommended:
1
Currently Reading:
0
Category:
X-Men - Animated Series (all) › Slash - Male/Male
Rating:
Adult ++
Chapters:
91
Views:
21,768
Reviews:
76
Recommended:
1
Currently Reading:
0
Disclaimer:
I do not own X-Men Evolution, or any of the characters from it. I make no money from from the writing of this story.
Chapter 33
Sorry I've been so long from posting. I've been terribly ill. But I'm feeling much better now.
Chapter 33
Cassie stumbled and fell, hitting her knees hard on the stone floor. She rolled to her side and lay there, willing the throbbing, burning pain in her knees to stop. The pain in her broken arm she’d come to terms with, the agony now her constant companion.
At least, she knew she was still alive. For only unconsciousness and death could ease the depth of
this suffering.
The shivering came again, sweeping over her and saturating her body down to the marrow of her bones.
Could a person die of hypothermia in a cave with a constant temperature somewhere in the fifties?
Outside this cold damp hell, Spring was in full bloom. Cassie could almost feel the touch of the warm sun on her face...if she thought hard enough, dreamed hard enough, imagined....
She succumbed to a brief doze, but came up out of her light sleep hyperventilating, terror coursing through her tortured body. Tears came again and Cassie’s sobs echoed around her in the darkness, taunting her with their futility.
Fear of falling had kept Cassie down on all fours for a while...well, threes actually, but finally her knees couldn’t take the hard surface any longer and she’d been forced to her feet. Summoning another reserve of waning strength, Cassie pushed up to her knees then got to her feet once again.
The little bit of water she’d found a while ago hadn’t been enough to stave off the ravages of hunger. But the water would keep her alive.
For what? A little voice in her head, growing louder and stronger with each passing hour, had asked the question. So you can suffer longer? So you can die slowly?
The voice, time and time again, had tried to persuade her to lie down and wait for death, tried to convince her to give up the hope of finding a way out of this cave or hope of rescue.
“Leave me alone!!” she screamed and the echo of her words screamed back at her. “I don’t want to die here!!”
She pushed along the cave wall, stumbling forward in the darkness. Her thighs and calves ached with strain, but Cassie pushed on, a wave of determination mustering her courage. She licked her fingers and tried to feel for air movement, hoping the current would direct her to an opening.
The only other time Cassie had been in a cave was as a child while visiting relatives in Kentucky.
What was it’s name? Mammoth? Yes, Mammoth Cave and she’d enjoyed the leisurely walk and the spectacular rock formations, a child’s eyes dazzled by the grandness of the geological wonder.
Now, that grandness was lost on her, the darkness swallowing up wonder and spectacle.
Rocks skidded beneath her feet, slippery with the constant damp. Cassie gripped the wall with battered fingers, but the floor gave way suddenly sending her tumbling head first. The stone floor battered her body as she rolled downward at a sharp angle. Flinging out her good arm, Cassie grasped for purchase, but her fingers just slid away, her body picking up speed in her tumble.
Cracking her head once, Cassie nearly blacked out, her thoughts grown foggy and without meaning. She came to a stop finally, sprawled out on her stomach. Cassie didn’t move, fear of what else was now broken paralyzing her with terror.
The voice came again in her mind, soothing her.
Rest now. No need to move. No need to try. The end is near. Death will bring peace. Death will end your suffering.
“No,” Cassie sobbed into the damp stone. “No, no, no, no...please....” Her sobs consumed her, the last dregs of her strength seeping away. “Please...someone help me. I don’t...want to...die.”
Oh how she wished Hank were here. His strength would break down these cave walls that threatened to become her mausoleum. She wanted to look into his soft gentle gaze and tell him how she felt about him...that he made her feel safe...made her feel special. She didn’t care what he looked like on the outside for if she had the chance she’d look deeper and knew inside his soul she’d find a poet and an artist, a man of intelligence and keen wit.
Someone help me. Please, Charles...please hear me. Jean! Please hear me. Help me.
Cassie had no delusions. She had no mutant talents. She had no strength of will. She had only her last desperate thoughts and wishes, her prayers and pleas.
And surely these meager offerings wouldn’t save her from a slow lingering death.
Chapter 33
Cassie stumbled and fell, hitting her knees hard on the stone floor. She rolled to her side and lay there, willing the throbbing, burning pain in her knees to stop. The pain in her broken arm she’d come to terms with, the agony now her constant companion.
At least, she knew she was still alive. For only unconsciousness and death could ease the depth of
this suffering.
The shivering came again, sweeping over her and saturating her body down to the marrow of her bones.
Could a person die of hypothermia in a cave with a constant temperature somewhere in the fifties?
Outside this cold damp hell, Spring was in full bloom. Cassie could almost feel the touch of the warm sun on her face...if she thought hard enough, dreamed hard enough, imagined....
She succumbed to a brief doze, but came up out of her light sleep hyperventilating, terror coursing through her tortured body. Tears came again and Cassie’s sobs echoed around her in the darkness, taunting her with their futility.
Fear of falling had kept Cassie down on all fours for a while...well, threes actually, but finally her knees couldn’t take the hard surface any longer and she’d been forced to her feet. Summoning another reserve of waning strength, Cassie pushed up to her knees then got to her feet once again.
The little bit of water she’d found a while ago hadn’t been enough to stave off the ravages of hunger. But the water would keep her alive.
For what? A little voice in her head, growing louder and stronger with each passing hour, had asked the question. So you can suffer longer? So you can die slowly?
The voice, time and time again, had tried to persuade her to lie down and wait for death, tried to convince her to give up the hope of finding a way out of this cave or hope of rescue.
“Leave me alone!!” she screamed and the echo of her words screamed back at her. “I don’t want to die here!!”
She pushed along the cave wall, stumbling forward in the darkness. Her thighs and calves ached with strain, but Cassie pushed on, a wave of determination mustering her courage. She licked her fingers and tried to feel for air movement, hoping the current would direct her to an opening.
The only other time Cassie had been in a cave was as a child while visiting relatives in Kentucky.
What was it’s name? Mammoth? Yes, Mammoth Cave and she’d enjoyed the leisurely walk and the spectacular rock formations, a child’s eyes dazzled by the grandness of the geological wonder.
Now, that grandness was lost on her, the darkness swallowing up wonder and spectacle.
Rocks skidded beneath her feet, slippery with the constant damp. Cassie gripped the wall with battered fingers, but the floor gave way suddenly sending her tumbling head first. The stone floor battered her body as she rolled downward at a sharp angle. Flinging out her good arm, Cassie grasped for purchase, but her fingers just slid away, her body picking up speed in her tumble.
Cracking her head once, Cassie nearly blacked out, her thoughts grown foggy and without meaning. She came to a stop finally, sprawled out on her stomach. Cassie didn’t move, fear of what else was now broken paralyzing her with terror.
The voice came again in her mind, soothing her.
Rest now. No need to move. No need to try. The end is near. Death will bring peace. Death will end your suffering.
“No,” Cassie sobbed into the damp stone. “No, no, no, no...please....” Her sobs consumed her, the last dregs of her strength seeping away. “Please...someone help me. I don’t...want to...die.”
Oh how she wished Hank were here. His strength would break down these cave walls that threatened to become her mausoleum. She wanted to look into his soft gentle gaze and tell him how she felt about him...that he made her feel safe...made her feel special. She didn’t care what he looked like on the outside for if she had the chance she’d look deeper and knew inside his soul she’d find a poet and an artist, a man of intelligence and keen wit.
Someone help me. Please, Charles...please hear me. Jean! Please hear me. Help me.
Cassie had no delusions. She had no mutant talents. She had no strength of will. She had only her last desperate thoughts and wishes, her prayers and pleas.
And surely these meager offerings wouldn’t save her from a slow lingering death.