A bleeding moon's pulse

CHAPTER 9 | ACT 2

Their subconscious wove them a vision. It was not just a vision, it was a resonance. A memory. Their first time killing. A horrific memory, smudged and distorted. At first they didn't understand why their mind couldn't weave them something sweeter to relive. But then they understood.

They only seemed to watch from above as a childish figure talked with a Superior. Iodine was helpless, unable to stop what was happening. They just watched dejectedly as the sight unfolded.

Something urged them. Something urged them to pick up the largest shard of glass and hold it close in their palm. The creature, Lidocaine's father, did not react as they strode up to him with large steps and sunk their fingers into his throat.

They strangled him, anchoring their hands into place and digging their nails into his discoloured flesh. The heavy breathing sound it made turned into a disgusting gurgling noise as their hands trembled. Their animalistic stare was only seen from one of their eyes — the other was curtained by their hair.

They felt an overwhelming sense that something bad was about to happen. Somehow, he had managed to shatter months of building trust with a single sentence.

Their eyes widened once more as they tore one hand away, gripping the glass shard in their palm and hacking away at the motionless figure. They swung at random, the knife digging into random parts of his neck's flesh. They violently lunged for his neck, making jagged, deep gashes in its flesh.

They did not aim — only seeking to make the most amount of wounds possible, resulting in many gashes on their own hands and many nicks in their skin. The shard of glass slid from their grasp, and slit their palm. Red trickled down their bare arms, but they had no intention of stopping.

They kept their fingers curled around his neck, letting their thumb firmly press against the skin between his neck and head. He coughed up blood, gurgling and trembling, but made no attempt to stop them, only staring down at the crown of their head. A velvety stream trickled from the gashes on its body.

They gritted their teeth, seething as they shakily moved their hand down, guiding it through the flesh, making an uneven cut as they slit his throat. He crumpled to the ground. They panted, beads of sweat rolling down their face as they stared at the corpse on the floor, hunched over with their hands dangling.

They held the glass shard tightly in their fist, letting it dig into the wound of their hand for a few moments before dropping it to the floor. They gave the mangled corpse a firm kick, shifting their foot away from his body.

They brushed the dust off their shoulders, going back to meet Lidocaine at the settlements. Lidocaine was good, and loving. Lidocaine admired, and in turn shared admiration in return. That was Iodine's Lidocaine. The better Lidocaine. The Lidocaine they wanted.

Lidocaine was laughing when they met him. A smile so innocent couldn't be evil. It was full of warmth and love. Lidocaine was love itself. What it was like to truly care about someone. They wished they were like that.

But knowing Lidocaine admired and loved them sufficed. That was enough for Iodine.

—

"L-Lidocaine?" Iodine whimpered, glancing at the body on the floor. It lay unmoving. Was it Larynx? Did it kill Lidocaine and was going to kill them too? "Say something Lidocaine" they anxiously said, biting their fingernails. They jumped from conclusion to conclusion. The taste of copper flooded in their mouth, seeping into their gums.

That was Lidocaine. Their brother, their friend. The same everlastingly kind Lidocaine that beamed with valiance and chivalry. "Please say something Lidocaine" They shakily forced out, picking their fingers. Warm ink trickled down them, coating all of them.