Memory of Black Mold, Heart of Broken Glass

Severing the Forked Tongue

The first thing she woke up to was searing pain. The second thing she woke up to was the lights being too damn bright.

Piper croaked her eyes open, squinting against the harsh overhead light. She motioned to sit up, but the satanic pain in her abdomen promptly stopped her in her tracks as she sucked her teeth.

"Ooph, Jiminy crickets..." She cursed, laying her head back down. She instead decided to crane her neck around, taking in her surroundings.

Although she didn't see anything specific on account of her vision still being blurry, she immediately recognized the medical equipment and unfriendly atmosphere. Must be in Sun's surgery center. Either that, or she got kidnapped again by some angry raiders.

Her assumption would be confirmed when she heard a door creak open and saw Doctor Sun come inside. "Ah, good. You're conscious," he remarked, carelessly walking over. He inspected the machine nearby, which seemed to connect to her wrist.

"So, Doc. Mind uh-AH, fuck," she winced, her wound irritated by something. "Mmmph, that's gonna be sore. Mind tellin' me where my partner in crime went?"

Sun reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a sliver of paper, handing it to Piper. She squinted at him, nodding her head down to a very obvious reason as to why he took the wrong action. He rolled his eyes, muttering under his breath, "You two are certainly perfect for each other," before sarcastically placing the note in her hand. "She left once your condition was stabilized. Said she had something to deal with." As Piper unfolded the note, he added, "And before you ask, I don't know any other specifics."

"Let's stick to being a doctor and not a psychic, ay doc?" she glowered. Scanning the note, it was more or less what Sun said: she was dealing with some important work. Guess a merc can only babysit for so long. She groaned as she forced herself to sit up.

"Sit still, would you? You've only been out for a day, take a vacation for once in your journalist career."

"Sorry, doc, but I don't think I've ever considered takin' a day off," Piper joked, her hand holding her abdomen. "Since you're not gonna restrain me here, mind helpin' me limp back to my place?"

He sighed, hanging his head low. "Sure, whatever. Not like I'm the doctor or anything," he complained, standing up to ensure Piper didn't tear anything getting up.

Piper chuckled, immediately wincing in pain by doing so.

Slowly, but surely (and painfully), Piper managed to struggle her way into getting off the gurney and, with the help of Sun, limp back to her home.

The walls rattled as her claws scraped across their dull, cement skin. Her footsteps echoed throughout the warehouse, letting out a sickening squelch as the blood continued to cling. The only other sound—the only other person—that could be heard was the terrified prey that ran from his fate. His ragged breath and hurried footsteps as he desperately tried to escape were quiet compared to her loud and overbearing presence.

"Don't run now, little mysz," she chuckled. "We have MUCH to talk about."

He slammed into a door, desperately trying to escape the imminent doom that lay just before him. He pulled the handle, pushed the door as hard as his battered body would allow, but it remained still.

Ajax cackled as she watched his desperation, seeing the fear in his eyes as he stood with his back to the door. "C'mon now, Kane. You didn't think I'd let you get away so easily, did you?" she amused, now mere meters away from him. "I'm disappointed, honestly."

Breathing heavily, Kane put his hands up in surrender as his eyes scanned the room. What for, Ajax didn't care. He had nothing to use and nothing to hide, especially with that disgusting hazmat suit he always wore.