Page 348 of Axis of Fire

Or where I was even going.

Finally, I lifted my gaze from the floor.

Massive walls surrounded me now.

Towering so high I couldn't see where they ended.

And across them played scenes from my life.

My worst memories.

The most painful ones.

With every blink, they seemed to move faster.

The voices grew louder.

My parents' words echoed around me.

“People like you aren't meant to be loved. They're meant to be abandoned.”

Something heavy began growing inside my chest.

A knot woven from every bitter emotion I'd ever tried to bury.

“The worst thing that ever happened to me was becoming your parent.”

The voices rose.

Sharper.

Crueler.

As though something was trying to crush me into the floor beneath my feet.

“You'll never belong. You'll always be an outsider. A mistake that should never have existed.”

Tears spilled down my face.

Suddenly.

Violently.

Humiliatingly.

My legs gave out beneath me.

I collapsed to the floor, covering my face with my hands.

I could hear my own screams.

The same screams I'd let out during the moments when I truly believed I was about to die.

But no one had let me go.

The universe itself seemed to have joined my parents.

Determined to make my final moments as agonizing as possible.