in moments they had become wild creatures , thrashing about the floor in agonized paroxysms , some scratching their own skin off and others harming themselves , breaking their own bones and running wild into objects as though they felt no pain outside delirium ; still others were simply unable to withstand the sudden pain of the serum itself , an elixir of burning fire , that pulsed through their blood and into every small subatomic cell like a purging cathartic fire , only there had been no catharsis , no restoration of the body , and no end to the pain .