seeming to consider his words for a moment , drawing knees to her chest . despite the headache and uncertainty , being here was far better than dealing with whatever monsters awaited her elsewhere .
“ jimenez . right . “
⠀
⠀⠀“ jimenez. ”⠀acknowledging
⠀⠀her presence, without making
⠀⠀efforts to force her away
⠀
⠀⠀“ no matter. you’re a pawn. ”
⠀⠀his silhouette falters, shadowed,
⠀⠀a mist that fades in and out.
⠀⠀“ if you’re to die, kidman. know
⠀⠀this, it won’t be my doing. ”
⠀
just as she had expected . she lowered the firearm , casting her gaze to the ground . ashamed , maybe . feeling no more than a rat stuck within a trap .
“ him . . the administrator ? or someone else ? “
she shouldn’t feel anywhere near at —
⠀
⠀⠀useless, the bullet drives right
⠀⠀through him—he was no man.
⠀⠀no human.
⠀
⠀⠀𝐚 𝐠𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐭, with no true autonomy.
⠀⠀simply a silhouette lingering
⠀⠀within the prison of his agony.
⠀
⠀⠀he stops the sweetened melody,
⠀⠀but does nothing.
⠀
teeth grit , that same melody threatening to drive into her skull . a second passes , and then she’s firing a bullet at him .
maybe to kill him , maybe to see if she could . she knows she can’t .
⠀
⠀⠀“ I can. ”⠀fingers press onto
⠀⠀keys ; the same melody he
⠀⠀once adored.⠀“ it’s better
⠀⠀experiencing the mind
⠀⠀breaking. the confusion, the
⠀⠀𝑓𝑒𝑎𝑟. that rise of your pulse,
⠀⠀and how you 𝐬𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦⠀⠀…
⠀
⠀⠀𝑖𝑡’𝑠 𝑏𝑒𝑎𝑢𝑡𝑖𝑓𝑢𝑙. ”
⠀
she watches him , the grasp she has on her loosening . shoulders slump .
“ then why not just kill me ? I know you can . “
pausing , a hand lifting to pinch the bridge of her nose . headache , maybe .
“ or are you waiting for them to do it ? “
⠀
⠀⠀he’s quiet at first; beginning
⠀⠀to circle her. steps paced
⠀⠀—slow.⠀“ I assume loyalty
⠀⠀in following orders. you
⠀⠀know how quickly they will
⠀⠀dispose of you. a conversation
⠀⠀we already had. ”⠀halting, he
⠀⠀sits back down to play
⠀⠀clair de lune.
⠀