#first risen

Kieren woke to a hot, unshakeable panic flooding his body. It made no difference whether his eyes were open or closed, the darkness surrounded him, swamping him in fear soon followed by claustrophobia. He found that he could not raise his arms any further than half a foot above his body, his knees instinctively moved upwards only to be met with a loud thud as they were prevented from moving any further by a solid surface.

Assessing the situation with a mind far from mentally stable was a hard thing for Kieren to do, but he soon came to the conclusion that he had, in fact, been buried alive. He then remembered the reson for that, the last memory inside his mind was not a happy one. He did not go ‘nicely’ for lack of a better word and the remembrance of his reason for doing it sent a wave of nauseating sorrow through his disturbingly cold body. His next rational though came to him a few agonisingly slow moments later, it was that if he did not find a way out he would run out of oxygen. The realisation of this caused an attack of panic to take over his mind.

But something still wasn't right. In the moments between his sudden realisations, which caused his breathing to be drawn in and out in sharp, erratic gasps, the coffin he was trapped in sounded eerily quiet, and he didn't find himself struggling for breath like he should have been or even breathing at all for that matter. That was most certainly not right, but at least it meant he would not die from lack of oxygen.

Unless Kieren wanted to remain six feet under for the rest of his life, or was it his second life ? No, that was something for him to panic about later, then he would have to find a way out. The only way of escaping seemed to be to push his way up to the surface, though the prospect of being trapped in the dirty, grimy earth was even less appealing, though it was surprising that anything could be worse, than being trapped in a claustrophobic coffin. He briefly considered the idea that maybe someone would come and rescue him, but then he realised that no one above the ground could possibly know he was awake beneath their feet.

With that thought he knew he would have to save himself, and so he began to push upwards, pressing the palms of his hands to the lid of the coffin even though he knew there was no way it would move. But then it started to give a little and a thought popped into his head that was neither helpful nor very healthy.

I wish they had just cremated me like I wanted them to, then I wouldn't be stuck in this mess.

No. He couldn't allow himself to think like that and determinedly pushed the depressing thought to the back of his mind. Kieren knew that the ache in his arms was only there because he hadn't used his muscles in such a long time but the pain felt as though his bones would crack at any moment. Still he carried on pushing until the lid opened properly and the damp, rotten earth spilled into the coffin and submerged Kieren like a huge tidal wave. Now for the worst part, the digging.

Resentfully, he pushed up his arms through the soil and began to move himself upwards with a combination of pushing and pulling. Finally, after what felt like hours of digging, something changed. He felt the wind and the rain on the tips of his fingers, and hope sparked within him. He managed to dig himself out fairly quickly, fuelled by the rush of adrenaline pumping through him.

The clock chimed twelve as he tentatively rose from his graveside and Kieren found himself alone in the graveyard. He felt overwhelmed by all the senses that hit him in that moment, the moon in the sky, and an incredible storm blowing. He felt it all pushing into him as he stood alone by his overturned grave. That feeling, he thought to himself, it was like what being born must be like.

Only now there's context. Everything else, up until this moment was fear. Even when I was alive. Just different levels of fear.

And then it was gone. Replaced by an insatiable hunger, impossible to control, and his mind was not his own. He could not wait to get started.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Thank you so much for reading this. I was so dissappointed when i found out that in the flesh had been cancelled and I honestly don’t know how I’ve gone this long without writing any fanfiction. This was based on the scene in series 2 episode 4 when Kieren is describing his rising to his parents, Jem & Gary and Simon. I tried to include as many of the details that Kieren mentioned as I could. I think it has to be one of my favourite scenes from both series’ because you really get to see how Kieren feels, the audience is so used to seeing Kieren keep himself hidden that when this outburst happens we finally understand him. Anyway, sorry for rambling! I just have so many thoughts about this TV show and no one to share them with. Thank you again for reading, let me know if you liked it and if I should write any more :).

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: In the Flesh (TV) Rating: General Audiences Warnings: Author Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Relationships: Simon Monroe/Kieren Walker Characters: Simon Monroe, Kieren Walker Summary: