As I Lay Dying Novels & Stories

My hands flew to my neck, terror evident in my eyes as my vision blurred immediately. “Jade, please, stay with me!” I heard Layla’s distant voice. I tried, but my body wasn’t listening. The room spun. My lungs burnt. I gasped, but no air came. I was choking. Dying.

I found myself repeating over and over again as I rocked her back and forth. I suddenly noticed that she was becoming stable. Her trembling was becoming feeble and she was becoming stable once more but instead of rejoicing, my heart sank.. she was dying, the same way Ariana died. “No.. no.. no… Layla!” I shouted her name and at the same time, shook her body roughly with the hopes of waking her up but nothing happened. I didn't need to press an ear to her chest. My sharp ears could hear her heartbeat quite clearly and it was slowly decreasing.

I can't feel my upper body muscles anymore, and I… I can’t breathe— The door slams open with a force that sends a gust of wind flooding into the room. “Louise! Stop!” Louise stumbles a step back, her smirk faltering. For once, she looks afraid. But I can’t hold onto that satisfaction. Not when the poison is already killing me from the inside. My breaths come in shallow gasps, and I'm struggling to keep my eyes open. I'm in a hospital, but I'm dying. Such irony. “Daisy, stay with me,” I hear a man begging in a broken voice, his arms tightening around me. The strong vanilla scent on him envelopes me, giving me a moment of peace amidst the pain of the wolfsbane.

A tearing. I am in the dark. Not a room dark. A final dark. The air is thick with the coppery taste of blood and the ozone stink of a corrupted core. Pain. Everywhere. A coldness seeping in from the extremities. This is not a memory. It isthe memory. His memory. I am Arthur. I am dying. I feel the systems shutting down, one by one, a terrible, slow silence claiming the hum that had been my body’s song for centuries. There is a face above me. My face. Lily’s face. But younger. Streaked with tears and something else, something desperate and wild. She’s screaming something, but the sound is fading, replaced by the immense, crushing weight of nothingness. The absolute certainty ofend.

I suppose he wanted me to talk about his daughter who had cried back to her mother’s chamber last night. ‘’Layla?’’ he repeated. ‘’I don’t like to repeat myself, Alpha Nathan,’’ I responded, leaning back. ‘’I’m sorry, Lycan Asher. WHat do you need to know?’’ ‘’Everything,’’ I replied, then leaned forward. ‘’What is one thing that can make you recognise her?’’ His face twisted in anger. ‘’Layla is dead. I was there when she stepped into the fire. I - I buried her ashes.’’

I waited until it was close to midnight—I had three minutes to go. I started thinking back on my life, but it was too simple and plain. There didn't seem to be much to remember. My life had been a tragedy from the moment I was born. The minutes turned to seconds, and I slumped onto the table. I had my urn and photo beside me. Five, four, three, two, one… The countdown ended, and a dead silence descended upon me. The room went silent—even the sound of my breathing disappeared. At the same time, I heard the sound of the doorknob turning. Someone was back!

Overwhelming despair instantly washed over Alessio. He kept denying the truth because he couldn't accept the fact that he had personally caused my death. He whipped his head up, staring intently at the director in front of him as he said in a trembling voice, "Impossible! It can't be! The doctor said she was just malnourished, and she'll be fine if she gets plenty of rest!" Seeing Alessio fall apart, the director said hesitantly, "I'm not sure about the details. It's possible that the doctors were in too much of a rush back then and missed her actual condition."

"Every night." One by one, they all admitted it. The fear. The doubt. The terror of what was coming. And somehow, that made it better. Knowing I wasn't alone. "I need to tell you all something," I continued. "About my life. About why I died." I told them everything. About Sarah and the kids. About the drugs. About dying alone. I laid it all out, every shameful detail. When I finished, I expected judgment. Disgust. But instead, Bree spoke.

Her hands trembled so badly she could hardly do a bandage, but she managed to wrap both arms up. She crossed them over her exposed torso, her teeth chattering. She couldn’t think anymore. Exhaustion hit her between the eyes. She’d done what she could; there was nothing else to do. She lay down in the dirt, still clutching her elbows, and let the heavy fog wrap around her mind. *** Kylee woke up suddenly, shivering as a cold breeze blew over her bare flesh. Goosebumps rose up on her stomach, and she curled up, huddling in a ball for warmth.

Just the perfect timing because Amara timed his death on the morning of his scheduled house cleaning. ------- Dylan lies on his bed. His head is spinning with tragic images of how he would die. He's been trying to move even one finger. But he couldn't. The only thing he could do is to cry. Even his voice betrays him. He's breathing, but barely, like someone is choking him.