cascade | kotlc

37. Three Minutes to Midnight

tw: bl/od, suicide?, injury, scars

Darkness swallowed the projection as the lights shut off and melted into the shadows, swirling into a vortex containing fifty shades of grey. The image Faye was watching intensely started to flicker, and she cursed, pounding the wall.

Tam lunged for Vespera, his sickles trailing behind him, and Vespera sneered as Tam plowed into her. The dull sickle found its way around her neck and they grunted before they disappeared from view.

"Shit!" Faye screamed. "Show me what happens next! Tam! Tam!"

The two tumbled back into view, Tam's dull sickle securely bolted around Vespera's neck, Vespera's arms firmly wrapped around Tam's waist. Tam seemed to have lost his sharp sickle, and Vespera had a new gash running down her back, long and vicious, heavily spilling blood over her gown.

Faye wondered how Vespera was still standing, given the hundreds of injuries plastered over her body. Tam leapt up onto Vespera's back and yanked at her v-collar, twirling his legs behind her back in a very Biana-esque manner. Faye almost smiled proudly at Tam's learning as they crashed down into a mirror and Vespera suffered another bout of injuries.

Shadows congregated around Tam's fist as he struck Vespera's face with a firm backhand stroke he learned from Biana. The darkness seeped into Vespera's eyes and blanketed them in a thick fog of black, and she stumbled backward into a pulley set.

The pounding of footsteps drowned out the tiny echoes of combat from above, and Faye's ears perked up as she listened for the gait. These footsteps were softer, lighter, more springy and energetic, interspersed with brief segments of rushing wind. June was coming.

Faye let out a sigh of relief as she slumped against the corner, taking her eyes off the action. For now, she could place her trust in Tam and rest.

The door banged, hollow like the ringing of a clock tower, before wind spiraled into the crevices and solidified, causing the door to rip off its metallic hinges entirely. June stormed in, her expression angry and defiant. She held her sword high before her, and she sported a gunshot wound in her left waist. It looked like the bullet just skimmed her flesh.

"Faye," June breathed, her voice choking. "You're- you're here."

"Hurry," Faye wheezed, her eyes trained on June's features, studying the way her pupils contracted in sympathy and the way her fists clenched in hate. She dropped her blade and scrambled over, her hands already working their way up Faye's body to check for injuries.

When they reached Faye's back, June frowned, feeling the resin-coated plastering and the metal needles jutting outward. Faye obediently turned and showed her the wound, which was starting to ache much more painfully again.

"What happened?" June asked as she picked on the metal bits. "What- isn't this the... what?"

"Yes, it's the activator. I know. Vespera- ugh." She sagged, her back hunching forward as a sharp jolt of pain shot up her spine. "How bad is it?"

June bit her lip. "Do you really want to know?"

"Please. It can't be worse than my eye, can it?" Defeated electricity sparked around her as she barked a fake and heavily sardonic laugh. "What could have possibly happened?"

"You have a literal crater in your back. I can see your ribcage. And there's some sort of solid filling the pit, and your blood flow seems to be intact. I don't think it hit any organs, but I'm not sure Elwin can fix this. And... you know, there's an activator stuck in your back."

"How great," Faye mocked, spinning the Ace of Spades around her fingers and staring at the black trowel like it was the only thing worth her attention in the world. "Exactly what I wanted."