The Release {American Horror Story}

Chapter Twelve | The Suspect

(Zoe POV)

When I touched his still body, my hands became covered in his blood, the bright red staining my skin, and uncontrollable tears cascaded down my face as I cried out for him.

"Zoe! What's going on?" Cordelia's voice sounded distant and faded, and there was ringing in my ears, everything else around me other than Kyle not mattering. He was the one thing that I loved, the one thing I needed. And now he is dead.

I heard footsteps emerging as Cordelia and the other girls appeared around the corner, causing me to turn my head and divert my eyes away from his pale face. All of the girls screamed at the sight of Kyle, turning their heads away and crying with fear. Cordelia stood still, her brown eyes widened as she stared down at me kneeling beside his dead body.

"Oh-oh my god," Krystal stuttered as tears filled her eyes. "What happened to him?"

I shook my head, unable to speak as cries escaped my throat. Cordelia slowly walked towards me, gently placing her hand on my cheek, wiping off my tears.

"Shhh, Zoe, don't cry," she spoke in a soft and calm tone. "Everything will be fine - Kyle will be fine. I...I can bring him back."

I swallowed hard, my throat aching as I took deep breaths and forced words out of me. "Y-you can?"

She nodded her head and looked down at him, touching the opened and bloody wound in his chest, the piece of glass protruding from it. Turning back towards the girls, she spoke in a stern and serious tone. "All of you leave and go upstairs, except for Zoe. I don't want you girls to see this..."

They all reluctantly left, wanting to stay and help but finally listened and walked up the stairs, leaving Cordelia and me alone in the basement with Kyle. Lying close to him, I held his hand in mine, pressing my lips against his cold skin.

Cordelia kneeled on the other side of him, carefully placing her hand around the piece of glass, pulling it out from his chest, more blood flowing out of the wound.

I winced at the sight of more blood leaving his body, knowing that it would make him even weaker when he came back.

Taking a deep breath, she held his head in her hands, her mouth close to his as she slowly and softly chanted.

vitalum vitalis

The hope slowly drained out of me as moments went by, and he remained still and lifeless. After what felt like forever, I felt his hand grip my hand tighter, and I looked down at him, the color and life returning to his face. His eyes opened and he turned to the side, coughing up blood and wheezing.

"Kyle!" I spoke with both panic and relief as I touched the side of his face, tears streaming down my face. "Kyle, I thought you were gone."

His eyes found mine, and his face wore a confused expression. "Zoe? Zoe, I don't understand...what happened?"

Cordelia shook her head, brushing the hair out of his eyes. "No need to talk about that now. We need to get you upstairs where you can rest and heal."

***

Lying next to Kyle, we both laid in our bed, my head laying on his shoulder as he began to drift to sleep.

"Zoe," his voice was weak, and his eye lids fluttered open before he could fall asleep. "I can't remember what happened...how I ended up dead."

I intertwined my fingers with his and pressed my lips against the side of his cheek. "I won't let them get away with this, Kyle...I'll find out who did this. The moment I saw you were dead...I thought I lost everything. I love you so much, and I will do anything for you. If it's what you really want, I'll tell you why I have been acting differently lately."