idolpro | Shrike's Heart (#3)

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!heart games

Shrike's Heart (#3)

The woman before you is beautiful—fair of features, with lovely golden skin and luxurious long black hair, petite. You have the immediate and distinct impression that she's just let go of your hand, and she steps back, and smiles.

It's not quite a happy smile.

"I'm sorry," she says. "There's just nothing I can do, as things are. But the way is there; it just needs to be lit."

You open your mouth—maybe to say something, or to express confusion—but you have to cough, and taste something metallic, spattering black blood onto the ground in front of you. Then you realize—blood seeps from opening wounds in your arms, your chest, your stomach, your face. It rims your eyes and trails from your nose and you feel like you're dissolving—

—and you fall through the ground like it's the surface of a lake, and go down, down, down.

> Wake Up

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I--

[K stops. Sighs.

[Man, this sucks.]

I - dunno if there's anything I can do for him. He...

[He shakes his head.]

I think he's gone. But - he would want you to live, too. Lemme help you.

[Looks to K, and to the others back buttoning away from this encounter, and back to the man and the boy, and--ah. To the man:]

...You been run through yourself, right? What's your name?

[ he... looks momentarily stunned. ]

No, he—he—he can't be—

[ he breaks off into another coughing fit; blood spatters from the corner of his mouth. ]

Hey. Hey.

[He rests a hand on the man's shoulder. It won't surprise K if this doesn't calm him, but he's got to at least try.]

You gotta look after yourself, too. You got any family? A home?

[Looks at K again and says nothing, instead looking to see if there's any sort of blade around. No point in drawing this out]

[ARE WE REALLY TAKING LIFE ADVICE FROM DISEMBODIED VOICES NOW]

[ Well, K does have a knife. So. You know. ]

[Only when their ideas make sense :|b]

[We are not leaping straight to NUKE EVERYTHING FROM ORBIT without even checking to see where he's wounded, fuck sake.

[Also it's my knife get ur own]

Where do you live? In the town?

We—

[ he coughs again, but gets it under control. there's a bit of a whistling, when he talks, like there's something wrong with his lungs. ]

—did. Ma said to take him, and get out, but... dunno where she is. Or any of the others.

[Low, to K]

He's been stabbed straight through the chest with a sword...with Shrike's sword. You hear it when he breathes, don't you? I can tell you, that shit hurts.

Look around, everybody here's super dead. Voices or no, he's gonna have a better time resting with his brother.

[Look he's trying to think positively about this whole situation, right--

[She's probably right and it's probably a lost cause this side of a modern trauma unit, immediate surgery and several pints of O-negative blood, though. He heaves a sigh.]

This is fucked up.

[Can he even remember how the last rites go?

[He wants to say fine, but I'm not having anything to do with it. On the other hand, only one of them here is a professional--]

Fine. I'll deal with it.

[ the man's gone a little bleary-eyed, again, having difficulty focusing. ]

I just need to...

I don't—[ cough ]—I don't know what... what to do. Anymore.

You should rest. Go on.

[And places her false hand on his forehead, covers his eyes, but looks up to K]

...I'll do it if you can't.

No, it's fine.

[He squeezes the man's shoulder, says:]

Peace be with you.

I'm sorry.

[A single quick, sharp twist of the knife, under the ribcage and up--]

I guess we can go.

[ The man dies, with a surprised sputter; he gives one final cough of blood, and then the light in his eyes fades, and he falls slack around his brother.

and then... ]

[Nods, then stands, because there's no point in hesitating, and heads to the new path. Gotta keep running, right?]

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Shrike's Heart (#3)

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