I cut her off with my lips as I tightened my hold on her wrists, which scorched the palms of my hands. I could smell the burning scent of my flesh, but I didn't care about the pain my actions triggered.
Not when Alice was suffering from the inside out.
My temperature dropped to combat her fierce heat, and I held her against me as she fought against my grip by kicking her legs in an attempt to hurt me. I didn't move as I focused on the one thing that would help her realize she wasn't in this fight alone.
I have to remind her that we're on her side and that we won't let the person get away with this.
She fought and fought until the two of us surely needed oxygen, but I ignored the burning sensation and kissed her even harder. She finally stilled and I opened my eyes slightly to see the way hers stared up at me.
The heartbroken orbs of sadness finally seemed to acknowledge who I was. That was when I released her lips, the two of us gasping for air while tears finally left my eyes, which blurred.
I wasn't sure why I was shedding tears, as if I was in any position to do so. Was it the stinging pain in my palms? Or the aching, stabbing pulsations that came from my back?
Or was I feeling a hint of what Alice was enduring right at this moment?
"T-They...they..." She was trying so hard to make words as more tears ran down her face and her lips quivered. All I could do was slowly nod before I took the chance to let her go. She noticed my hands, sporting the fresh burns, blood beginning to drip from the open wounds, but I gently pressed them against her cheeks so her eyes would only remain on mine.
"They want this," I whispered. "For you to lose control. To be lost in your rage and hurt everything you love. They want you to end up alone...and I can't let you do that, Alice."
My words seemed to be getting through to her. I took advantage and continued, "We don't know who did this, but we'll figure it out together. You don't need to do this on your own. You're not alone anymore, remember?"
Her slight nod gave me some hope of helping her calm down, and I lowered my forehead to press to hers and whispered, "I need you to calm down. The heat will kill you if your temperature remains this high. You're allowed to be angry. You're in every position to grieve...but don't you dare let the enemy win. Don't allow them to wreak havoc within you and bring irreversible circumstances to this very place you love and the people who want to help you."
I pulled her into my arms, hugging her on the bare floor as the warning siren suddenly stopped but the police sirens continued to grow louder.
"Trust me," I whispered. "Trust us to figure this out as a team. Just don't let the enemy win by losing the woman your grandma was proud of. Please, Alice."
I was practically begging for her cooperation, and it took me a moment to realize that hugging her didn't leave me in burning agony. She hugged me then as her sobs got muffled against my chest.
All I could do was hold her while ignoring everything that was unfolding around us. Minutes had surely gone by as shuffling sounds and voices spoke all around, but all I did was focus on Alice's sobs - until they slowly came to a stop, her body growing limp.
I pulled back to realize she'd passed out, and that was when Gabriel and Keru rushed to my side. Gabriel immediately moved Alice from my grasp, his eyes blazing with magic as he scanned her quickly.
Keru helped me move, but I flinched and hissed at the pain that was coursing through me.
"We need to get you checked," Keru emphasized, and I merely nodded. I felt so drained that it was suddenly impossible to keep my eyes open.
"Westley!" Keru's voice seemed far away as I leaned forward, but my body was caught by a pair of hands. All I could feel was the pain swarming through me like it was a newfound mission.
"They both need immediate medical attention," Gabriel ordered.
"Take them!" Chambers ordered. "I'll handle it here. Hurry."
There was some sort of verbal agreement, but all I could do was worry about Alice. The devastation in her eyes, the heartbreaking cries from the loss of someone who meant so much to her.
That was the agonizing pain I feared the most. To endure losing those I loved and cherished.
When the darkness came, I didn't dare fight against it - the need to escape from the pain consuming me was a blessing in disguise. I wished to return to the pleasant dream. To be sitting there with the woman I loved in the past, who was the same as the one in the present.
My blazing witch that smiled with pride while her dazzling, flaming eyes sparkled with admiration for me. Our love of purity and longevity, what I strived to somehow regain in this newfound world.
My goals within these dreams were as odd as my wish for them to come true, but in this fading state of wishful thinking, it seemed only right.
When I arrived in the very dream, there she was - my Alice from the past who was now the Alice of the present. No matter the shift from the past to the present, I still smiled at her appearance as we inched closer and closer.
Our bittersweet kiss always made me smile, and I was left falling into a blissful dream of memories while I let the present reality of pain and sadness fade away.
It was only temporary, but I knew when I woke up once more, I'd have to face reality.
Our first welcome gift of achieving the status of Blazing Horsemen... One of what felt like many to come.
Peer Through The Same Window
~ALICE~
* * *
The knock on the door tugged my attention from the window I'd been staring at for what had surely been hours. The sky had been bright and full of life as birds fluttered through the blue sky and fluffy white clouds moved with the passing winds.
Now there were only a few rays of sunlight left, the warm tones of orange and gold peeking through the horizon while shadows of dark blue and hints of black prepared for the approaching nightfall.
I could already catch the glimpses of stars, and the half-moon that was beginning to heighten opaquely. It wasn’t like I was in a rush to catch the beautiful sight. It was the same as the last six days, me sitting in the same bed and staring into space for hours on end.
It would have been nice to see the first specks of snow, but it seemed like winter was delaying itself.
Maybe mourning a loss like I was.
Finally turning my head, I looked to see Clara's warm smile as she held a tray of food. I knew from the mere scent of it that she'd made something and brought it here. The one meal I'd had in this place was far too horrendously cold for me to eat, and with how fast I'd been losing weight, Clara had volunteered to bring me food since finding out I dropped a good fifteen pounds.
That was obviously just one of my many problems, but at least I wasn't dehydrated, right? The poor medical team thought I was suicidal or trying to go on a hunger strike, but my stomach just wasn't in the mood for cold food that they couldn't take the time to warm up.
If it wasn't for Clara offering to bring my meals, I'm sure Dad would have been suing this place because his poor daughter was fifteen pounds lighter in three days and somehow on suicide watch when I'd done nothing but "cooperate" with everything but eating frozen food.
Maybe he'd still sue? He wasn't in the best of moods and had been working non-stop, like Keru and Gabriel. My poor, new boyfriends were pushing themselves on my behalf.