Chapter 22: I Am a Monster (1)
Elliot’s POV
“You only truly know horror when all that is good has been lost.”
––Elliot Starfall
The beige leather shoes lie before my bare feet, their soles soaked in the mingling hues of green and red—my blood and that of the creature. I gaze down at the mutilated being, my shoulders slumping once more, my body following suit.
Splash.
My knees collapse into the viscous pool, a grotesque mixture of its blood and remnants of my own. My mouth hangs open, my eyes shut tight. I lift my trembling hands into the pale blue light, forcing my eyelids apart. My breath comes heavy, and a shaky smile begins to form. First, the corners of my mouth twitch upward, then falter, only to rise again. My brows knit together, then relax. My forearms feel as though they’ve been submerged in rice for a week—heavy and numb.
A low, stuttering laugh escapes me, evolving into a hysterical cackle. My torso sways, the tension in my thighs grounding me. I stare vacantly at the green flesh, peeling away like curdled milk, revealing the creature’s shoulders. Maggots writhe within the beige suit, its chest rising and falling as if still breathing. For a moment, I recoil, my heart skipping a beat, but the laughter resumes.
The maggots consume the suit like termites devouring brittle wood. My gaze shifts from the ravaged chest, ribs protruding and infested, to the ceiling.
Drip.
Green blood drips down, splattering onto my face.
My knees and feet have long been submerged in its blood, but now it drips onto my cheek, my forehead, and finally, my nose. I bare my teeth, looking down once more as a tear escapes. Then another, until my cheeks are flooded, as if a dam has burst within me. My dimples fade, and I wear the expression of one whose very existence has been stolen. And indeed, it has. My brother, my life—gone. Never again will I see his carefree smile, the one that shone like the sun. He was my sun; I, the moon. Without him, I can no longer shine, no longer be uplifted by his joy. Not by day, not even by night.