Burning Sage

Chapter 7: Masochism

I woke up in the office, unknowing and confused. Somehow, someway, God had blessed me in this hell hole. I was relieved - Maple was pacing around the office. The tan walls hid and took over Hope as she was in the corner, bloody and alone. The nurse sat alone in the other corner, sullen with a grim gaze upon me. "Told you he wasn't dead." Ember cracked as Blondy squatted down beside me. She reminded me of a mother, checking up on her kid in a death bed.

"Are you ok?" She asked, enveloping me into her arms.

I groaned like a bitch, "Really tired and light headed." And then, I pushed her away from me, and I lay back on the ground, consumed by a cold, bitter anger. My hands were slick with sweat and dread, and the last thing I wanted in that moment was to be suffocated by false affection. There were people watching, after all, and the thought of that only added to my unease. But perhaps I was being too hard on her, too stubborn to see the truth behind her actions.

"Figures." Ember chimed in, her voice ringing with a dime of sarcasm, "You'll be fine. A little bit of blood won't kill you." And with that, she turned on her heel, withdrawing into herself and saying nothing more. Her dark eyes were always hidden under her mass of black hair, a constant veil between her and the world.

I pulled myself into a tight ball, feeling the fabric of my boxers cling to my dick, still damp with the remnants of unrequited love. I couldn't shake the feeling that my clothes, now discarded, must be soaked with blood. I loathed to feel warm, to feel something against my skin other then the air.

The heart, it whispered secrets to me. I ached to understand what it knew, what Luke could not express. I yearned for the comfort of its embrace, to love and be loved in return. But such affection could not be forced, could not be taken by force. The bitter tang of blood lingered on my tongue, a stain upon my soul. It marred my skin, drying and caking on my limbs, on my chest, on my back. "Well I'm just glad you're ok." Maple said, as if she knew how I felt. I wasn't ok, my chest was tight. I could feel every, single, fucking pulse that ran through my own heart.

Maple gave me a hand - a warm, affectionate hand and pulled me off the office floor. I walked out of the room the same way I entered this world - naked, covered in blood, facing into the darkness. "Um guys?" The demons - They had darting red and white halos circling their black heads. Their shimmering white crystals orbited around, sparkling and shifting in the darkness. They seared into my mind, marking me forever. They were magnificent in a dangerous way; danger always has a hint of beauty. The girls came out of the office, surrounding me.

"Shit." One of them mumbled: The air was too dark and distorted to care about identity.

"That truck... the one by the entrance, couldn't we get in it?" I thought of that truck as if it were the Holy Grail, "We're gonna leave in the truck."

The truck was encircled by demons, so close you could feel their hot breath on your neck. We had parked it beside the door, a mere stone's throw away, but it might as well have been a million miles. To venture out there would be a suicide mission, even for an emo with a deathwish. I, for one, was no stranger to these 'demons', but to take on twenty of them alone would require more than just bravery, it would require a recklessness that bordered on masochism.

Between you and me, Maple was about as combat-ready as a newborn kitten. The thought of her out there, facing down these demons, sent me down the drain. And as for Ember, while she might have looked like she could handle herself, looks can be deceiving. In hell, it's hard to tell who's got the upper hand. Hope reached into the pocket of her gray sweatpants, being the ones she stole from my room, and pulled out the truck key.

"Who gonna drive?" Hope asked, turning amongst us like a kiosk, flaunting the key in a demure manner. "Not your hick ass!" Maple groaned, impatiently waiting to hire a getaway driver, "I would drive but I can't due to my injuries."
"That sounds like bull." I didn't want to drive. What if I crashed? (Women Moment) I wouldn't hear the end of it. Ember snatched the key, smiling like an eager dog. "She has a broken toe, confirmed it at the hospital, she really shouldn't drive."