Chaos

Under the Knife

I opened my eyes- expecting to be blinded by the sheer white furniture I had grown used to. I had psyched myself up for it before I even arrived, but thankfully, it was for nought. 

The room was almost completely dark, given that the quakes had dislodged the fluorescent bulb from the power socket. It swung haphazardly above my left; below it should be Lucille. I remember locating her on my left. 

My eyes jerked toward that direction almost immediately after absorbing my surroundings. However...

Lucille? Why was she like that?

"Lu..."

Lucille's eyelids were open but not brown; in its place, empty, glossed black orbs stared lifelessly at the ceiling. 

"Lucille...?" I affectionately murmured. Why isn't she answering? Why is she not stirred by my voice? Is this... an imitation?

Her cheeks were sunken, and her skin was a dark grey, barely a sign of her golden cacao skin to be seen. She was severely malnourished and made almost entirely of skin and bones. Her hair was thin too, and not brown but turning silver. She was a demented corpse.

A-an imitation? 

No. No... I can hear it. Her heart is beating soundly- and she's breathing, I think. Lucille's breath whispered between her parted lips. I could still smell her lavender and honey scent, feint as it was; she isn't an imitation.

Lucille's not dead. Something is consuming her.

I turned my head further to my left and noticed a machine- a dialyzer was between our tables, processing her blood. It must be in there, a demon spore. 

It was a pure demon spore, so it smelled like blood, if not a bit muted.

I broke the straps around my limbs and rushed over to her. Lucille was naked and laid on a similar metal table, unmoving and breathing unevenly, and each exhale was accompanied by a shiver. 

What... what should I do?

I should cleanse her blood. The spore was being integrated microscopically into her body and circulated in her bloodstream- consuming her slowly. 

But...I don't have anything to cleanse her blood right now. I need to quickly find Primrose's core before she comes back. I know this, but I can't bare to tear myself away from Lucille when she's in such a state. I can't tell if she's sleeping or suffering silently. 

Another thunderous tremor shook the ceiling, causing the precarious fluorescent LED to fall. I quickly jumped over her as the light fixture smacked the back of my head. I hovered her body, and she stared at me with bulbous black orbs. 

Lucille's dying in front of me. She's in pain, and every moment I'm not taking action, frightening helplessness takes its root in my mind. 

If I try to remove Lucille from the dialyzer without cleansing her blood, she'll die eventually and become possessed. I can't kill the demon when it's in her body either; it's probably the only thing keeping her alive. Besides, I don't have anything to kill the demon spore in her blood- what I can use might kill her as well. What can I do...?

I can't...

I need to do something; I can't be helpless. I have to do something.

A warm tear rolled down my cheek; My thoughts were racing nowhere. If I don't do something now, she can die. 

I grabbed the fluorescent light and threw it across the room before dismounting from Lucille's table. 

I need to amass all the particles of spores, but how...?