My Atomic System

Chapter 2: Death? Again?

[You will now be sent to your world.]

‘What?’ his vision darkened…

What's happening?

Sal felt immense emptiness.

It lingered for a moment. But after some time, he started to feel his surroundings faintly. Strangely, He felt a little comfort and discomfort at the same time. His sense of touch, conflicting itself. The comfort, as he could tell, came from what he was currently sitting on, it was a little foamy. The discomfort on the other hand, was something he couldn't fully understand.

Subsequently, his sense of smell kick started itself. At first, he couldn't fully tell what his nose picked up. But after sometime, he recognized it, it was a familiar aroma. Back at home, when he was living with Lily. On one occasion, he had killed three rats so ruthlessly after they ate the little supplies he managed to steal, and left them somewhere around the hut to rot.

Sal suddenly felt like throwing up. His mouth opened up without his permission but nothing came out. Still yet, his throat pressed as if still anticipating for something to come out; droplets of saliva granted its wish.

Of course!

It smelled exactly how that spot smelled when he visited there a week after…

Sal forced himself to throw up again. This time, more harder.

…,only many times worse!.

It took a while to finally compose himself and get used to the smell. Even so, he had to more often than occasionally hold his breath and try not to take in more breath than he needed at every point.

After sometime, his eyes worked it's way out of the darkness he was seeing. At first, it was a blur. It looked like the ragged painting of a really emotional artist. Red painted everything. And more so, it seemed a little……unordered?.

Huh?

Sal's chest tightened. His vision somehow, had fully restored itself. He blinked a few times to make sure this wasn't some bad dream.

His gaze was blank.

Then, his eyes widened, frozen in shock. The image burned into his memory.

Sal shivered.

The air smelt deeply of blood and charred metal. Occasional sparks and increasing gires could be heard everywhere.

Strangely, although there was fire almost everywhere, Sal was feeling fever from immense cold.

what?

what……what is all these?

Sal's head mechanically ran through the whole scene.

Who killed these people?

How…….how could someone be so ruthless?

Sal opened his mouth, yet no words came out. Strange feelings started to well up in him such that his heart felt so heavy, it was going to explode. Anger, fear, sorrow, horror.

He gritted his teeth. That explained the stench!. Corpses littered the wreckage. Tattered or twisted limbs — broken legs or arms or even heads that were separated from the main body, faces frozen with expressions of agony.

There's…..

Sal's thoughts ran like a train at full speed.

There's blood everywhere.

He wondered the pain they must've faced before they actually died.

‘That man….’

Sal gritted his teeth and squeezed his eyes shut.

‘His head is crushed…’

No….

I can't look.

To think I died a ruthless death.

This is even more cruel!.

After a while, Sal opened his eyes again.

‘A train?’ Sal thought.

His breath trembled. It felt like the horrible morning of a horror movie. Vitality seemed to have left his soul in an instant. All he could feel was madness, confusion, immense heaviness in his stomach and strangely….pain?.

He looked at the ghastly scene with large, round eyes such that if any living being of any form whatsoever actually saw him presently, they'd mistake him for an owl.

‘A train crash?’

Sal scanned the whole wreckage again. His eyes caught something.

That woman! She moved!.

Sal was staring at a woman. Half of her limbs was lost in metal ruins. Her lips were moving, trying to portray a message. His shock allowed him to read the content.

H….help me.

Sal froze, tears immediately welling up in his eyes. He knew it, how could she still be alive? She's going through a lot of pain.

Immediately, hot tears rushed out of his eyes as he stared at the woman's pale face.

He wanted to stand up. He wanted to help the woman.

But, something didn't feel right. There was this sensation. He had felt something similar before. It originated from below him.

Without even knowing, an agonizing sound escaped his lips.

Arrrrrrrrgh!!!!

He took a look at his belly, where the pain seemed to have originated from. His body trembled, and his hands didn't fare any better.

The pain multiplied the moment he saw it.

‘No way’ Sal's eyes rounded into ultra wide circles.

He shook his head almost unnoticeably.

No, I have to be dead.

Sal held his breath — the only precaution he could think of to ease the pain.

‘Am I even alive?’ Sal stared at his belly, or more specifically — what was left of it.

Blood oozed out smoothly.

Let alone the two giant rods stabbing into him from both sides of his spinal cords, large fragments of glass were in his back too. Large amounts of pain washed over him.

‘It aches badly’ thought Sal, and somehow, he pitied himself. If it continued this way, he was definitely going to die of blood loss pretty soon.

He groaned and gritted his teeth.

How can I still be alive?

Sal gasped for breath.

He made another attempt.

He slowly tried to pull himself out of the rod. It made fleshy and watery sounds.

Sal gritted his teeth. His face, directed up.

“Arrrrrgh!!!!” Sal screamed aloud.

‘Did they send me here to die?’

Sal groaned.

“Who are you?!!!!!” He screamed on top of his lungs into the eerie silent air. Of course, his large wounds didn't let him go scot free, his supporting wail was louder than his complaint.

Just then; he heard some voices. His head picked some of them.

“Someone is alive”

“He should be around here, I heard his voice just now”

“Quick, quick, he could be our only way to identify the…..”

Sal could see torch lights, he could hear footsteps approaching but his body couldn't hold on. Slowly, darkness swallowed him.

No…don't blackout…

But his body couldn't hold on anymore. He started to get light headed.

His vision slowly greyed out and his thoughts vanished into nothingness.

Even so, his train of thoughts lingered.

What is happening to me?

****