Distractions

Twenty-Eight: Drip, Drip, Smack

This chapter is when things really start to slowly and not so slowly fall through the cracks so I hope you're ready. And uh, it's only like half not part of me wanting one of my friends to see the gc and assue me and our other friend that they're not dead. So yeah.

I hope everyone's year was pleasant and I hope that 2022 is at least average in all the best ways. Without further ado, here's the newest chapter to end 2021 with a bang.

Trigger warnings: Description of blood, death, panic, grief, fighting, weapons, injuries, anger/hate

Trigger warning: Blood, death, panic, grief, injuries

A sticky substance coated her hand and dripped slowly onto the floor. Her back was curled at an unnatural angle as she slumped against the wall. Her head hurt and her mind spun in dark circles as she tried to remember what happened to her. Everest couldn't remember anything after she left Alec in order to find Clary and Izzy. It was just a black hole of emptiness. And not the one that had slowly faded over the years—the one that had blocked off her memories of the ShadowWorld. It was one much more sinister and twisted, one she had no explanation for.

"Everest?"

Everest looked up from her crimson coated hand to see Clary rushing towards her, her red hair flying about her like a halo.

Her breaths were shuddering gasps as she spoke. "What did I do?"

All around her, blood dripped and stained the wood floors. Clary's bright green eyes were wide and glassy as she slowly followed the trail of blood. Everest slowly stood up, using the wall to support herself and followed Clary. Her heart thudded angrily in her chest as she tried not to cry.

No. No. NO. It wasn't real. It was just a nightmare. She didn't do that. She could never. No. She would never kill her own mom.

But there, lying on the floor of a spare room was her mother with her heart ripped out of her chest and very much dead.

Clary slid to the ground, crying and unable to look away from their mom's corpse. Everest whimpered and hit the ground too.

"Mom," she gasped, and the hand that wasn't covered in blood gripped the upper arm of the hand that was covered in blood tightly.

Hot tears fell down her face and all she could do was stare at her mom's corpse like a forgotten doll in a child's closet waiting for someone to walk by and notice her.

She didn't know how long she and Clary were there, crying and staring, but eventually they both stood and left the room. Everest wasn't quite sure how they got to Clary's room, but she did know that Clary had obtained a tablet at some point and had helped her wash off the blood that was quickly drying onto Everest's hand. Not a word was said during that time.

"Clary?" Everest said, and she hated how small and weak her voice was. Clary hummed. "I'm sorry. I hate this. I don't know why this happened or how. She was my mom too. I love her. I don't know why this happened."

Clary's face was full of sorrowful rage, rage that Everest had seen destroy people and things alike numerous times, and all she could think was that she deserved her sister's rage. She had killed their mom and she deserved that rage.

"Just watch the footage," was all Clary said before pressing play.

They watched in silence as Everest attacked their mom, viciously punching a hole into her chest and not stopping until she was dead on the ground. They watched as the Everest in the footage looked at her hand and then up at the camera, her jade eyes entirely black.