Breed and Burn: Faceless

Chapter 9 - Bad Dream

Silence. The silence kept stretching and stretching as if it was waiting to be filled up. Axel felt clogged with the pain that came from Sage's word. When he spoke, there was a rawness to it like the pain was an open wound.

Sage refused to look away from Thorne who had gone quiet and for the first time had nothing to say. Although his lips trembled and his shoulders heaved with the weight of the loss and emotional abuse unwilling to back down, Sage's face was blank. A film of water made his dark eyes glossy and his face was fallen, submissive to gravity.

"Stupid question, right?" Sage said finally, getting to his feet. Although his lips were wobbling his voice came out surprising steady. "Blockhead."

The blood from his hands that had undoubtedly got there from attempting to stem the flowing blood had transferred to the wall, the chair beside it and Axel's clothes. The colour swirled in his mind, making him feel light headed. There was just so much of it.

"Well, know what?" asked Axel awkwardly, gesturing to the mess around him. Shivering, he looked at Thorne for answers. For a fleeting moment, Thorne looked as fragile as a glass ballerina whose limbs could snap is he were to spin him too hard but the look vanished like the last spark on a burnt piece of paper.

"Sage- you don't have to stay. I think it's better if you..."

"Is it because you think I can't handle it, Thorne? I'm staying."

And at that frozen moment when neither of them breathed, Thorne turned on his heel not pausing at the pools of blood.

Sage took a deep breath and Axel noticed his face pale as he caught sight of the now blood-drenched blanket that had been thrown over Noble. Sage's stomach lurched and he began heaving as if he was trying to push down the contents of his stomach as if fought its way up. Green-tinged his cheeks.

Obviously fighting a losing battle, Sage made a run for the bathroom but a wave of dizziness washed over him and he stumbled. Somehow, he managed to keep his feet beneath him as he staggered down the trap door without tripping.

"I'm about to puke as well," muttered Thorne and Axel couldn't help agreeing but no matter what he had to keep the contents of his stomach down. Who knew how long it would be before he ate? "It already stinks."

"Really? Next to a dead body. That makes no sense at all. Blockhead."

Glaring at Axel, Thorne made a sound that was similar to a soft growl.

"Someone is going to have to clean this up. And what the hell do we do with the body?" wondered Thorne out loud, scratching his head. "That thing is driving me up the damn wall."

A thought struck his mind. "Where did the food come from?"

Thorne stared at him for three seconds, dumbfounded as if the idea and prospect food were completely foreign and alien to him. "Oh, the food. Someone wearing all black and a mask slid open space in the ceiling. Too quick for us to do anything. It was like a shadow passing over the ceiling and Noble...he said he thought he was imagining it until about fifty packets of food fell on his head."

He pointed to the middle of the ceiling where there was a black square that Axel hadn't noticed before. "It slid open and they dropped down a whole bunch of food. We counted sixty packets and a whole bunch of snacks. We stored them in the cupboards in the bathroom and we had some people taking it in turns to make sure no one was taking more than one. There was also a pen for some stupid reason which Sage used to write everyone's names on the wall in the bathroom."

Slightly dazed, Axel nodded. Did they not react or try to escape? The trap door was pushed open making them both jump as if they'd both forgotten the twenty or so people down below. Trent entered, obviously visibly sick at the sight of blood and the disgusting monster which had just started hacking continuously whilst sending a brown slimy substance flying from his mouth. The cough sounded wet and loose like thick, phlegm-like mucus was sliding up and down its throat at each violent expulsion of air.