Lips Red As Blood

16 |

Cora's mouth parts in confusion as she takes in the scene: Harper, looking too serene — and then to the doctor on the side, whose expression is grim. 

Before Cora can ask how her sister is acting strange, Harper starts screaming. Unleashing a chilling scream, one that sends shivers cascading through the room, Harper's dark eyes dilate with panic. The sound is so terrifying, Cora feels a rush of horror crashing onto her head, fear making her freeze up. 

"Harper, it's okay." Cora tries to make her voice reassuring, as she steps towards her sister, arms outstretched. "I'm here now, so it's going to be fine—" 

Harper slaps Cora, the noise echoing. 

Cora starts to feel tears piercing through. It's not because it strings, but because her own sister is staring at her like she's a stranger. "What's wrong with her?" Cora gasps. "Why is she acting like this?" 

"We don't know," Irene says tearfully, looking wary. "She woke up twenty minutes ago and at first, she was fine, but then she started screaming as if she was being tortured. 

Other than Harper's screams, which progressively grow louder and more aggressive, the whole room is silent. Then the door flings open, slamming against the wall, and everyone's head snaps up — even Harper, whose screaming cuts off. 

"Everyone, out." Asher stands near the doorway, arms crossed, looking more solemn than Cora had ever seen him. "Except Cora. She stays." 

Confusion rises into Irene's eyes and she frowns. "Excuse me, but who in the world are you?" she demands. "This is a family situation and not something a stranger should be dabbling in—" 

Asher exhales, the sound soft and impatient. "Well, person-who-I-assume-is-Cora's-mom, I don't really have time to explain anything." He smiles widely, though it's fake. "So unless you'd like your firstborn child to suffer and probably die, please step out of the room." 

Irene looks outraged, probably about to tell him off, when Cora grabs her hand. "Mom," she murmurs. "If you truly ever cared about Harper, and do genuinely regret what you've done to her, then this is how you're going to make it up to her. Leave the room and trust me, for once." 

Conflict makes its way onto Irene's face as her hand trembles. Her gaze is drawn towards Harper, who is dazedly staring at the wall — then to the stranger standing in the room, determination drawn in his expression — and then, finally, to the person Irene disappointed the most: Cora. 

The color leeches out of Irene's cheeks, realization hitting her. She walks over to Asher, whispering words too soft to hear, before motioning for the doctor and nurses to follow her outside. The door swings shut. 

Cora turns to Asher. "What did she say to you?" 

He ignores the question, his stare lingering at Harper. "Hi, Harper," he says, using a gentle tone that Cora never heard before. It's the kind of voice used for speaking to children, kittens, or someone who is terrified. "Can you hear me?" 

Harper's blank stare transforms into recognition, her glassy eyes focused once more, and then she speaks. "Asher." That one word is spoken with relief, comfort lacing through that very name, as if he's her savior. 

Asher smiles, but instead of the gesture looking happy that he got Harper out of the trance, he looks troubled. "Can you tell me where you are?" asks Asher. 

"I think I'm at a hospital." Harper scans the area before her voice goes slightly panicky. "What happened to me, Asher? Why am I here and why do I feel so... weird?" 

He glances at Cora, apology written all over his face. "Cora..." His breath catches. "I think Harper is in Hell." 

Cora blinks once, disbelief slamming into her chest. All feelings of relief fly out the window, as if someone wrenched a hand into her body, and then pulled out her heart with too much force. 

"What?" Cora chokes out. "You're kidding, right? You have to be kidding. How can my sister be in Hell if she's sitting right there?" 

Asher goes quiet, green eyes sad. 

"Asher!" she begs, desperation spilling into the air. "Tell me you're kidding. There's no way this is possible, not when—" Cora rushes to Harper, wrapping her arms around the solid person. "See this? This is proof that she's not in Hell, you idiot! She's not in Hell, okay? So stop lying to me—" 

Harper immediately starts screaming, her chest rising and falling anxiously. "Help—" Harper wheezes, struggling out of her sister's grip. "Asher, help! There's something that's choking me—" 

In an instant, Asher tears Cora away. Taking in tearful gulps, Harper starts sobbing, the sound stabbing itself into Cora's chest over and over again. As Cora watches her sister, hunched in the bed and crying as if she's being tortured, she feels bile rising in her throat. 

"Why am I like this?" Fury and terror intertwine together, as Harper throws out the accusation like a knife. "What happened to me?" 

Beside Asher, a gasp escapes Cora, a whirlwind of horror threatening to destroy everything. As her sister lifts her head, lips trembling, it's not the fact that Cora has never seen her sister so broken. Like a porcelain doll, one that's been tossed too many times, cracks in her perfect face. 

No, the reason why Cora is so shaken up is that the tears dripping down her sister's face are black. The shade of black that reminds her of nightmares, terror, and that feeling of spiders skidding down her body. 

"Her tears..." Cora points at that thing, who looks like Harper, except for the fact that she's crying black oily tears. "What's wrong with her?" 

"She's in Hell." Asher looks directly into her eyes. "Or more specifically, in a limbo state." 

Limbo. Although it's only two syllables, it brings a wave of fear crashing down. Asher hesitates like he's wondering if he should continue. He plunges towards the next sentence. 

"The way Heaven and Hell works is that it's a direct mirror image of Earth," he explains. "Whatever is on Earth is the exact same thing as Heaven and Hell, with the exception of specific stuff. I think the situation with Harper is that her body is stuck on Earth, while her soul is in a hospital somewhere in Hell." 

Author Note: 

yesh i indeed like taking suffering to another level even though i know it's not healthy for me *sobs quietly*