Breed and Burn: Faceless

chapter 24- humanity is homeless

His head hurt. That was the only thing Axel could focus on for several moments. There was just so many conflicting emotions and varying pain.

It was like a troubling of the soul because what he felt wasn't human in the slightest. It was warped and distorted and monstrous. It was strong. So strong that Axel could feel fire using his blood to lace through his body. There was a desire to hate.

At some point, Axel had collapsed from exhaustion. Someone had placed a blanket over him. Why he thought miserably. His wrist still was throbbing from where he had bit it. Blood. The smell was so strong, it felt like it was still flowing steadily from the punctured skin. Everything was silent apart from the steady roll of the train, similar to the sounds of sleep when the twilight drapes thick over a home.

He had to control it. And he knew how.

Each step approaching the bathroom was close to silent and even Axel's heavy breaths as he struggled to draw in the next breath had eased. Something about the way he moved over the sleeping bodies was eerie. It was formless and indistinct like a piece of shadow shifting over the city at night. Never noticed. Lowering his head so his hair covered his eyes, he felt his eyes prick. Without even stirring or odd breath from Thorne, Axel swiftly stole the gun from his pocket and slipped it his waistband underneath his shirt.

"You would think he would be more careful after last time," said Axel to himself. Another piece of anger punctured his voice. "I should have ended it when I first found it. Why did I wait?"

There was nothing inside of him left. Just anger. Anger was a short madness that destroyed everything. It was there and he couldn't just let go of it.

But there was no hiding it. The hunger had ripped a hole inside of him. If he didn't hurt himself, he would hurt everyone surrounding him. Without a single thought, he had almost killed Trent. Axel didn't hate Trent. He hated himself.

Motion was detectable behind him. It was the person he least wanted to see so Axel pretended like he didn't notice the shifting figure, the skip in heartbeat and the sound of sweat sliding down his face. Now that he saw the world differently, everything changed. No longer was he ignorant to the truth and in some ways that inflamed everything.

Slowly coming to a halt in front of the mirror whose only attached sink was not filled with clothes being soaked in grey water, Axel felt his heartbeat hasten. Here he was, again. He was coming back to the mirror, to the thing he hated. Cobwebs made of broken glass disfigured his reflection. As he went put his wrist underneath the running water, Axel hesitated. No. He couldn't believe it.

"How's that even possible?" Something in his tone was so dry and broken and scratchy even strangers would find themselves teary-eyed at hearing the voiceless voice. Eyes hazed with mist, he felt himself fill with absence like a limb had been torn off him. "No."

Instead of bite marks, there was just ashen skin that looked pallid against the remaining blood that streaked black even in the bright light. Stubbornly, it had concentrated into the folds of his knuckles. The indecent colour burned into Axel's mind. It had healed. Blinking, Axel felt himself grow irritated. Sure, it looked like it had healed but the pain was still there. That wasn't fair. Could it not have been the over way around? All at once, his breathing became chaotic as his insides began to swell with anger.

"What three things cannot long be hidden," whispered Axel in between his teeth. "The sun...The...moon...The truth...The sun. The moon...The truth..."

Squeezing his eyes shut, Axel sucked in a deep breath and felt himself relax. Soon, he was humming softly to music only he could hear. Every fragrance was fresh, like the page of the new book. The smell of rot, blood and fear had tapered. With his eyes still shut, Axel forced his hand under the tap and winced as he did so. The pain was immediate. After the initial surge, the pain mostly ebbed away. It was just warm and resonant in an unpleasant way.