Broken
They were laying on the floor, lifeless.
No expression was evident upon Their face.
No eyes.
Just a faint indent where the mouth should've resided.
She was observing from a distance, unable to stop the black mass of swirls from shifting and contracting to form different shapes. It latched onto Them, pulsating as it began to cover Their body.
The white body twitched, mouth open in what should've been a scream, although no sound came out. It stopped pulsating for a moment, as if contemplating something. Some of the monster's black lines parted slightly, revealing two circles of garnet. Within the embers, the white figure seemed weak, pathetic. As It observed Their crippled figure, It seemed to adopt legs and hands too, mimicking Their physical appearance. The shape that resembled a head tilted slightly to the left, eerie clicking gurgling in Its throat. It offered Them a hand as a blood-red smile started forming on It's face.
She knew she should do something. Something other than standing on this massacre of singed feathers. Yet, how could she offer plasters to someone else when she barely had enough to cover Her unhealing wounds? Decisions were hard. She could try, but what if She failed?
It hadn't noticed Her yet. They hadn't noticed Her either.
They looked up at It, visibly smaller by a large margin. The churning thing’s smile started growing, corners reaching to the red embers, then reaching further. The grin also seemed to get wider as They took the hand held out to Them, unsure of who to trust. Their legs shook slightly, not used to the weight It was now carrying. The remnant stumps of Their wings flapped weakly with each laboured breath They took. If they had eyes, They would've gazed at this other entity with uncertain hope. Hope that It wouldn't hurt this time. Hope that It changed had It's ways. Hope that Their trust was placed in the right thing. And, as It drove a twisting palm into Their chest, that look would have shattered like the fragments of Their heart did within mere seconds.
The bloodied shards scattered onto the floor. It laughed, hand dripping with the marron liquid that was blood. The sound was guttural and scratchy, devoid of mirth. From the cackle, a large gust of wind arouse, encircling Them like the predator It was. Feathers and fragments were sucked into the tornado as They trembled viciously in the center. It continuously bellowed the mocking sound, even as the facade of indifference seemed to repatch into fury.
With each breath It took, the storm seemed to get threateningly closer to Them.
She couldn't stand here and do nothing, not anymore. Not when Their life seemed to be at stake.
Lifting up her left foot, She tried to take a step, yet, to her dismay, something was still holding her down. Panicked, She snapped Her head backwards, only to be greeted by the chain She forgot to remove all those months ago. All those years ago. Over time, the silver chains had oxidised to a brown tinted orange, and the once clean holes had filled up with the gunk and dirt gathered on Her journey. This item that She had once put on out of curiosity had become a permanent cuff - one that She couldn't recall living without.
Perhaps that's why She hesitated as she bent down to touch the intoxicating coolness of the metal that had Her in such a suffocating hold. Her white skin glistened with cold sweat as She looked back at endless, interlocking loops of grey, unable to remember the cause for such dangerous inquisitiveness. Unable to remember the “When”, “Where”, and “Why”.
With a ragged inhale, She let Her fingers lock around the cool surface of the cuff, and pulled at it. When it didn't open instantly, She kept tugging. Briefly, however, Her effort faltered, yet as She watched the maniacal gusts of wind surround Them, She knew She couldn't give up. Though, not just for Them.
She was doing this for herself too.
Another surge of determination, another tug. The legcuff clattered to the floor, alongside a few stray dead feathers. The other one came off easier, almost as if it knew: She was in charge now.
It's head rotated an abnormal one eighty degrees. The red headlights flashed with malice as It began to register Her presence. Abruptly, the laughter halted and shifted into a screech of fury. The hurricane condensed into a ball of dead feathers and broken heart remnants, pulsating slowly, in time with It's angry breaths. Soon, the pace of the throbbing began to increase, and, in a glow of black, exploded. It semed to grow, absorbing the black light and Their blood into itself. Tentacle-like arms sprouted out of It's body, and, the shapes that used to be legs merged into a black puddle of vengeance.
Her steps were slow and unbalanced, not used to the feeling of emancipation. Yet, with each stride, her determination grew bigger. The leisurely tread transformed into a hurried walk, which grew into a strong sprint. Wind rushed through Her short, pink Her. She was making a move now.
With a roar, It launched a surge of negative energy towards Them.
They scrambled backwards, one hand clutching Their chest, and the other aiding Their backwards movements. Their broken wings thumped against each other as They realised, for the seventh time today, how much they took it for granted. Within seconds, thousands of thoughts exploded through Their head, with the most prominent one being the fact that They were going to die. They squeezed Their eyes shut and…
She wrapped Her around their trembling body, not caring about the blood smudging against her pastel pink tube top. The inky energy dug into Her back, spreading black cracks against her pearly flesh. They looked up slowly, mouth turning into a small “O” of shock. Her smile didn't falter, even as the blackness dug further into Her body.
‘Shhh,’ She whispered simply, ‘It'll all be okay.’
They nodded with uncertainty, watching some sort of light start to fade from her eyes. Despite trembling with weakness, She stood up with Her head held tall.
Giving Them a playful nudge, She instructed, ‘Stay behind me, got it?’
With newfound protectiveness, She gripped Their hand reassuringly. A heavy step at a time, She inched closer to It, seemingly unbothered by the blackness corrupting Her body.
‘You do NOT get to win today!’
Just seven words.
All it took was seven words.
They squeezed Her hand back, a small white glow growing bigger with Her warmth. The light embraced both bodies, pushing away the darkness infecting Her, growing larger than It could've imagined.
She grinned widely, pride shaping the curves in the corners of Her mouth. I knew you had it in you, She thought as Her heavy breathing began to slow. The glare shone with unmistakable power, promptly advancing towards It's figure. Curiosity soon warped into some form of apprehension as It watched the small ember spark into something that was burning through It's dark mass of coils. They were only strong because of It's provocation's - It wondered if both She and They realised that. It snarled at the irony: a futile last attempt to push dominance onto the other two.
The luminance erupted with a harmonetic woosh. before It fled in an array of shadows, She watched the black coat briefly slip off It's body, watched the face of a human contort into an expression of isolated hurt.
With a fatigued sigh, She released her grip on Them, eyes gently crinkling with a soft flicker of love. She kneeled down in front of Them and retook Their small, trembling hands into Her own.
‘Are you feeling okay?’ She whispered.
Despite moving a hand to the gaping hole in the place Their heart once resounded, They managed a small nod. Her eyes shifted into a gentle curve, flickering over Their face with tender, wordless compassion. Silently, She moved Her hands to Her short, jean shorts, taking out a roll of bandage.
‘Let's get you patched up, hmm?’
With steady hands and a light touch, She wrapped the gauze around Their body, tying it into a messy yet reassuring knot. They gingerly touched the fabric, as a heavy ache lodged into their throat. Though They didn't speak, a solitary drop of pain traced a brief line down Their cheek.
With a beam of genuine understanding, She cleared Her throat.
‘How ‘bout we talk this out over some tea?’
