’ slow down. listen, please hear me. ’ hey ugle
crash. slow down, he said / no, cheng would crash like he was meant to. the ghoul would shake & he would tremble in shock & he’d let the airbag push the stale air from his lungs with a force no weaker than that of a god & he prayed that it would kill him / get rid of me, get rid of me — before i get rid of myself. no one answered him / only the clank of his chains against the hospital bed, the rustles of lab coats as the nurses walked away from cheng’s room.
his head turned towards the voice that was speaking / or he tried to, anyway. kris’ voice was an echo to him, something faraway that rang in his head & he thrashed to find it / his nails dug deep in skin & he shook, & he shook, & he shook until he found himself to be staring at his frightened faced in the reflection of the red sun visor he’d come to detest —listen / i’m trying / please hear me / i’m trying.
but suddenly the frightened face was no longer his own but of the person he’d been seeking / what a relief — but why couldn’t he calm down? this was a good thing – it meant the worst of it was over. there was no reason for his eyes to still be seeing blurs. ❛ kris, ❜ cheng spoke softly, broken syllables spilling from his lips / the brake of the d string on a violin during a vibrato — what a sight.
❛ ——i can hear you, kris, ❜ the ghoul assured, speaking messily as his tongue sliced open against his teeth / the rush of his own blood down his throat soothed his aches.. ‘ i can hear you, i can hear you. i can’t see you very well, but i can hear you / so calm down, yeah? calm down. ❜
murder ballad starters | accepting.
