Preface

So this was it. This was death.

There was no peaceful blackening of the world, no comforting warmth enveloping me, no complete ease washing over my mind. Nothing like that at all.

There was just pain.

I was vaguely aware of where I was, why I was there, what I had been doing before all of this; in all honesty, I wasn't even all that entirely sure of who I was. All I knew, and had I been able to string two complete thoughts together I think it would've killed me right there, was that I was in the grips of something so terrible, something so horrible and unimaginable, that the pain I felt could not be described in any simple word. It was pain that no living person could ever imagine, would ever want to imagine. In death, they say you see a white light. In that white light lies the other side. When you see it, you're to walk towards it. It will allow you to move on, to be free, to be at peace.

The white light they speak of? It was nowhere to be found, there was no comforting glow illuminating a tunnel ahead of me. There was light, yes. But it was not white, it was red. Scarlet, blood red. It rushed at me from all sides, surrounded me with its gleam: it was a burning light, a flare that seared at my face, burnt my bones to charred stumps and ashes, ripped my skin to shreds, scorched and scalded and singed my body until all I felt was empty and broken.

I was surrounded by people, I knew that. Not because I saw them or felt them, but I could recall their presence before this pain, this horror had begun. They had been there with their pathetic "Good Luck's" and "You'll Be Alright"'s. They knew not what was about to happen, had no idea that this wouldn't be a fight against a furious soul. It wouldn't be a battle between good and evil. This was a matter of life and death; it was a war between my body and a stranger's demon, a struggle between the living and those who we call the dead.

Had they known it would get this far, I would like to think they would have stopped me. Prevented me from enduring this all-consuming pit of torment. Told me no when I offered to save the poor girl from mortal peril. But they knew nothing of what was to come, knew not that my life was about to come to a very abrupt, painful end.

I was ready for it. It's funny, in a sick sort of way.

They say when you know you're about to die, your body, mind and soul accept it, embrace it, and just go with it. This is exactly what happened. After the pain, beyond the torture, way in the back of my mind, I had a very clear understanding of what was about to happen. I knew these were my last moments. That "Bum-bump, Bum-bump", that was my heart moaning its final lament. I heard it, I knew it, I accepted it, and I waited for it.

Had I kept my eyes firmly shut like I should have, my heart would have ended its cry. My blood would stop its endless race to nowhere. My chest would rise, and fall one last time. I would have been free of the pain, free of the anguish, free of the torment I had endured for the last 25 years of my life. But silly old me. I was stupid enough to open them one last time.

In that one fleeting moment, they flickered open, and I saw staring down into my own, a pair of overbight, terror-stricken chestnut brown ones. A very familiar, a very beautiful set, which belonged to a very familiar, very beautiful person. A person I was quite ready to fight this agony for. A person I knew was worth every second of this burn. A person, quite frankly, I wasn't ready to leave.

And in this moment, I knew that this fight wasn't over. On the contrary;

It had just begun.

Hello all!

Not new to FanFiction, but new to the Paranormal State board. Love the show, decided I might as well write a story ;) I love reviews more than Chip loves hand gestures, but flamers break my little ol' heart. Constructive criticism is always appreciated, though. Thanks guys!

Love; Ellah!