Of Monsters and Memories

Suddenly, there was  a wolf in front of her. Tears were flooding her vision, and she knew she was panicking. He smelled like Armada, and for a moment she thought Warden had found her. But when he spoke, she knew the voice was that of a stranger. Or, well… assumed stranger. It was complicated, and the brain fog was thick around her as her panic gave her little room to think.


The stranger seemed to be helping her, and there was no room to be shy when she felt like she was dying. Her lungs were burning, and her throat felt raw. How could she explain to him about the crystals in her throat? She couldn't breathe, let alone speak. She managed to drag her head up, trying to mimic the posture he told her to. She wanted to curl in on herself, and it was an effort to do otherwise. She raised her head, and felt a faint trickle of air enter her lungs. But success only made her more desperate. She opened her mouth wide, gasping it in and started to choke. She coughed and wheezed, and that faint breath already felt long ago.


But then Mr Stranger was telling her to breathe through her nose, out through the mouth. She noisily complied, even though her nose was running. Her face was damp with tears and snot. When he asked permission to touch her, she frantically nodded. Anything to help her breathe. He was all she had, and she very much did not want to die.