Blood trickles down the side of my mouth as I come to. Heat is washing over me in waves. Smoke fills my nose. Grunting I try to sit up, pain splinters up my chest. Something is draped over me. No, someone is draped over me. Pushing the limp body to the side I see the flaming wreckage of the car a few feet away.
“Oh God! Fuck! Kate! Frank!” We never should have been going that fast! The body next to me starts to let out a moan. Elli made it out alive at least. Pushing myself to my feet, the most intense pain I’ve ever felt spasms across my chest.
“Frank! Are you ok? Kate!” Limping to the wreckage, Frank comes into view first. His face mauled by the dashboard and shattered glass. His motionless face stares back at me from the window. “Oh Fuck! Oh God. Jesus Fuck! Frank! Come on buddy!” Pulling the door open his body falls from the car.
Kate. I have to see if she’s still alive. Hobbling to the other side of the car I start to lose hope. Blood is splattered over what remains of the passenger window. The pain in my side starts to go numb. The door opens to reveal her. Shards of sanguine glass are sticking out of her throat. Her neck is cloaked with small rivers of blood.
“R… Rob. Is that you?” Kate sputters with blood bubbling out of her mouth. On her forehead small red lines start to appear in the shape of a scythe. “It’s ok Rob, I’m ok.” Kate smiles up at me, red teeth glaring at me. The red scythe starts to grow in intensity, burning into her skull.
“No no no no no! Kate, I can’t! I can’t do it!” Pulling her from the wreckage I fall with her to the ground. I can’t do it. I can’t do it. Not her. Please not Kate! The scythe stops burning and leaves a brand on her head. The mark. The mark we’ve all come to hate. I’m supposed to kill her now. No! I can’t do it! I won’t!
“It’s there isn’t it Rob?” Kate moves her hand to her forehead, tracing the lines of the scythe with her fingers. She stares back at me. “You need to-” She starts coughing up congealed chunks of blood. “To kill me. It’s time. There’s no life like this. I can’t move my legs.”
As I push the hair out of her face tears start to form in my eyes. “Katie, it’s not the same! You don’t know what it’s like!” Bringing her close to my chest I start to sob. What kind of fucked up world is this! Having to kill people yourself, it’s not natural!
“Robert… Please!” The urgency in her voice is exaggerated by the bubbles of blood made from her talking. “I want it to be you, don’t make the Exy do it. You know they’ll find me. I love you.”
Nodding slowly I start to understand. Nobody wants the Exy, they just chop your head off without a second thought. I pull the large glass shard from her neck inviting the flow of blood out.
“I. I love you too.” With all the strength left in my glass riddled arms I plunge the shard of glass into her chest. “I love you too…” I whisper. The scythe disappears.
No comments:
Post a Comment