Human Spines

White Light

  *Once again, words that are underlined and Italicized are meant to be striked through*  

Hans

        "I don't want to see why he dislikes you so much. I'm afraid of the answer."

        "Then I don't suggest looking." Lochlan is sprawled on one of the two giant beds in the room. He's quickly become much more comfortable around me. Like he's accepted that I'm here with him. Or like he's just avoiding thinking about whatever was upsetting him earlier.

        "So you know what's wrong?" I wait for him to nod. "Why don't you try to fix it?"

        He sits up. "It's not fixable. Only time will soften his hatred." His hatred. Well then.

        "How much time, do you think?" I scratch my head.

        "I don't think that's something I should tell you." He looks almost embarrassed.

        "Oh. Okie dokie." I shrug and fall onto the bed he's left for me. He lies down and stares at the ceiling. He seems to do this quite often.

        "Can you see what we're doing tomorrow?" He doesn't look at me.

        "No, I can't see the future, but I'm pretty sure you can. So where are we going tomorrow?" I offer a smile and he takes it.

        "Nevada." He tries hiding his smirk by looking to the wall. He stares for a moment before his eyebrows scrunch. "Can you check on them?"

        I watch him as I look into the other room. "Emmeline and the Grinch are asleep and Dumaine... I think he's taking a shower."

        "You think?" He turns to me.

        "Well I didn't look but I can hear the shower going and someone singing in French."

        "Oh, right." He rolls off the bed right onto the ground. He switches directions once he hits the floor, disappearing under the bed. A second later he pops up on the other side, a stack of clothes in his hands. I think he only pretends to be a serious person.

        "I'm bringing him some clean clothes to change into." He strides over to what must be the bathroom door, and slips it open. Steam rolls out in pale ribbons as he exchanges one outfit for another. He clicks the door shut and tosses the dirty clothes in the corner. He hops back into his bed, under the covers now, still fully clothed.

        "I'm going to bed. Please wake me if he comes in here and tries to kill me. Good night."

Dumaine

        I could kill him. Lochlan. I could. If I actually tried, I guarantee I could make a lifeless, bloody mess of him. Slowly rip his belly button apart, once I've paralyzed him. Pluck his veins out of his hands with tweezers. Dig my fingers underneath his ribs and pull them outward. Slice open his knees and tear off his kneecaps. Saw vertically through his face, mouth, lips, nose, but stop before it I get to his brain. I'd inject air into the veins in his feet. But not before crushing every bone in them.

        But I know this is wrong. I remember being taught by my mother during the week she got to come back. She explained to me, knowing I would never understand exactly why it's wrong, but letting me know that it is very very wrong. She told me she doesn't understand why either, but that it is. I tried asking Dad if he understood, but he didn't. Maybe Hans can explain it to me.

        I step out of the bathroom, pushing these thoughts away. I know Emmeline doesn't want me plotting Lochlan's death. I flip off all the lights in the room and notice there are no windows. The only light is coming from the cracks around the door to the hall, allowing me to see the outline of Emmeline as she sleeps.

        I sit on my bed and realize, for some reason, I'm not tired. I really should be, but I'm not. Especially in this empty room, where the only thing I can hear is Emmeline breathing. This hotel is a lot quieter than the last, like the walls have been soundproofed. And I don't think normal hotels have two rooms that share a bathroom. But I really don't know much about hotels. This room does seem strange though. Like we're the first people to stay here. Like the floor has secret compartments. Like the blankets I'm lounging on are bulletproof. Like the fact that our door has four locks and no hole to look through. This room is strange like that.

        I stand, creeping toward Emmeline. Her hand is still outstretched, reaching for mine. I slip my palm into hers. Her fingers are tightening around mine, still rather icy. Her hand clutches mine and... oh, no, is she waking up...? No, there's something beside her... it's pretty big but it's too dark to see... it's moving again—

        Oh God. I can feel my heart racing, my brain speeding, my body heating up. Because there's only one thing this could be. And I don't know what to do. I want to kill it. Need to kill it. Him. But Emmeline. I can't kill it because of Emmeline. It's moving again.

        The whitest light is beams from its eyes and I can see it. They shake, rapidly tossing their light around the room. His face is like a corpse, stiff, white, his bones uncomfortable beneath his skin. But his lips are sticky, as if he'd been coughing up pink blood. His nose looks broken in several places, his collar bones are visibly twisted, and his green veins sink inward. I don't want to look any further. His eyes shift around.

        And I've sunken into myself.

        I can't breathe. He's taken my lungs away.

        He's looking directly at me.

        And I am looking directly into the eyes of a Demon.

        And my blood is flowing, but there's no oxygen in my veins.

        I've fallen into a puddle and I'm drowning in an inch of water. I am not a weak being, but right now I feel all of my strength being plucked from me like a tooth being slowly ripped from my gums. Like all my bones are popping out of place. Like all of my body has suddenly... oops oh no I've bursted. Like the air is shredding me apart.

        My skin is blistering. My head, my lungs, my bones, my eyes are burned. The Demon's light is nothing but heat. I am nothing but heat.

        No.

        The light is gone. I can't see. I can't see I can't see I CAN'T SEE! The room is dark. Still. Void. I can't hear. Don't freak out don't freak out don't freak out. I can only feel Emmeline's hand, now hot in mine. I'm afraid. Terrified because I want to kill her and the Demon and everything I can get my hands on. I snatch my fist away from the girl and fall into a messy heap on the floor. I still can't see, can't feel, can't taste anything but blood. And it's not my blood, whose blood is this?

        A whisper.

        "Can you hear me?"

        Not in a voice I've ever heard. Not from a distance I have ever heard from.

        Not anything I ever wanted to hear. But there are no more words spoken. And as my eyes begin to adjust, I realize something. The voice was in my head. Wait, no. The voice was in my eyes. I was seeing the words, not hearing them. And they're echoing in my vision.

        I stare at the spot where I can no longer see Amistifer. My body is pulsing with magma, but I stay still. Crouched on the floor between the beds.

        Murder.

        The only thought I can focus on.

        Murder. Murder. Murder and the fact that I haven't taken a single breath since he looked at me.

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