Scarlet Haze [Catherine/SOLO]

Cold iron cut into the heat of her senses. A cellar door was before her, in this warm darkness. It was as if a lengthy rope tugging on her chest held taut just before it’s entrance.

She needed to go in.

They were waiting.

“Who” was waiting, or, “What” was waiting, never crossed her mind - she just knew, somewhere deep down, a part of her mind that was enough to not question it. Pulling it open, she looked within to see a staircase, spiraling down into the infinite. Her chest tightened, yet her feet led her forward onto hot stone anyway.

It was far warmer here than outside. That felt wrong. The walls, the railing, the steps… Even the scent of the air was hot, she could taste it. A thought crossed her vacant mind - Did she leave the forge running? Is everything below burning? Is that why it’s so hot?

No feelings arose in her, just the hurrying of footsteps. There was no fear of if her works were burning to scrap and cinders, no beratement of being so foolish as to let something like this happen, no anger no determination no worry no sickness no

In a blink, she was at the bottom of the steps. An office laid before her; the air was still hot. There was hardly much light, but the figure at the desk… Her feet carried her to where her eyes could see.

An old man a corpse a wolf a rotten creature sat before her.

“Good evening, Farfar.” A melodic tongue spilled from her dry lips. The air made her throat burn.

His lips his teeth his fangs moved to say something. She couldn’t hear it. Still, she’d answer.

“Yes. Five more requests done.” Something squeezed the inside of her chest.

Again, they moved. Her senses burned with every third word. Those… They always spoke like that. In that way. The way that made her angry.

Red.

On the desk on the skull on the floor on her hands on the skull on her uniform on her face on the skull the skull.

She did it. She finally did it. He died. Was it really that easy, just caving his head in with the holepuncher? Did she work all those years, for nothing, only for something so simple to have done it? Did she really waste her time like this?

No.

A reminder was given.

On the ground. Lying, on the ground, she was lying down. Red was everywhere. Her body was torn apart. He was looming at the corner of her eye, a darkened face coming close to her.

“W’s thattall?” A humored voice talked between her ears and made her eyes throb, “Lordy, at this rate i’d hav’ta pay a fellow to get a wort’y successor outta ya, girl!”

Laughing. That laughing. She hated that laughing.

Then why did she laugh too? Laugh, with all the air she had left in her lungs?

…

She couldn’t help it.

"..Niss... Hey Niss."

She felt small. A warm hand shook her shoulder, until her blink completed. Soft sheets covered her body, her throat felt dry as her eyes lurked upward to see who had shaken her.

Oh. Him. He's here.

"Sorry I just.. I couldn't sleep yknow?" That plastic smile formed on His lips, well groomed dark hair rolled over His face. He looked tired, but wanting of something - she always knew that look in His eyes, "We finally got to have a sleepover and stuff, but I can't even do the sleeping part! Weird, right?"

That nervous smile crushed her chest. She only silently looked up at him, yet He'd respond as if she did, "Yeah, yeah... Mind if I stay here for a bit?"

The desire to scream at Him to leave rose in her chest, it burned in her lungs, it rose in her throat... But it never came out. She just lied down on her back, staring at the ceiling as He slid under the covers next to her without hardly a prompting.

"Yknow, we've been dating for almost half a year now, isn't that great?"

Stop. Leave. Get out. I don't want you here. The words would not form, her gaze scorched the ceiling. Multiple heartbeats of silence was held, until He spoke:

"Don't... Couples... Do bed stuff at this point? You know what I mean, right?"

Leave. Leave. Leave. Leave. Leave. Leave. Leave. Acid burned her throat, heat suffocating her.

"..Haha, you've never watched a video before or anything? You've never even thought about it? I can show you how it works."

Hands touched her chest. Her brain screamed in unrecognizable language, her eyes unblinking and increasingly dry.

"Ah, Niss? You alright? You pushed me away..."

Her hands did that on their own, that was how it happened after all.

"What, you scared your Dad'll find out or something? Hey, don't worry, it's not like he pays attention to you or anything! You won't be in trouble, so let's just have some couples fun, Nissy..."

Something warm and wet was all over her hands. They were all red, mashing something full of red. It felt like a haze took her for a moment, but when realization returned to her...

...Oh. It was His head. He was torn apart, measures upon measures made to ensure he couldn't ever be alive again. She did it, she won, That wouldn't ever happen. She was safe. Feelings of excitement broiled in her chest, but the emotions never made it to her empty exterior.

"...Nissy..."

Her throat burned on fire, that accursed nickname still spoke in her ear. He was dead, He was gone, she killed Him.

But of course, that wouldn't stop the lurking white face from appearing from the shadows, that carried His scent and glare.

"You're awful, Nissy... We were perfect... Why did you have to ruin it..?" A wretched hand extended from the darkness to rake her stomach.

She ran, hallways of hallways of hallways of hallways, she did not stop.

Twisted claws raked her form as her ceaseless running carried her through darkness. Treetops like mountain peaks towered above her tiny form, scratching a red sky that glared down upon her. Sunlit locks were stained with crimson and shadow in the oppressive grasp of this night, running, running...

She fell. A cold sticky spray of liquid met her crashing body.

A forceful push pulled her upright, peering into the distorted ripples. Wounds marred and gashed her flesh, dripping wet, an ever present cascade of red painting her form and blurring her senses. All she could smell and taste was iron, her heart a mere rabbit's as the darkness came unto her like the blackened wings of death, an ugly screech dazing her senses alongside talons digging into her body.

Up, up up...

Above the ground, above the earth, away from all she knew.

Isn't it beautiful? The world, for miles, these wings made seeing it all possible. Every corner, every unexplored land and sea! The skies, they mesmerized her, a euphoric joy bleeding into the pain. She almost didn't want to leave, why would she leave? She was happy, she was finally happy.

...Oh.

It was gone now.

She cut those wings free.

She didn't deserve them.

This fall, as she plummeted...

It was as it should be, falling, falling, alongside another who had taken her so high.

They crashed into a sea of red, her vision blurred and stung as the two of them still sank. She looked upon the dark beast that had stolen her away from the earth, that mask shattered, eyes clearing just as she perceived the face that lied behind the mask of her opponent.

It was her own, eyes empty, staring into her soul.

"Why did you do this?" A ghostly voice spoke to her as they sank deeper, and deeper.

Mountains of bodies big and small, beasts of all shapes, yet all of them bore her face.

Again, again, again, again, that question was asked, as the floor of corpses reached up, past the darkness, toward her.

Why, why, why why...

She couldn't answer. She turned away. She swam to the surface.

A rigid catch of breath and scrambling for wreckage shook her, eyes looking about the stormswept crimson, lightning crackling threateningly above her as she was tossed to and fro in a helpless tempest.

Below her, a large shape grew. She tried to swim away. The seas twisted and turned, a white face coming to face her once again, forged from the iron waters. Sulfuric eyes glowed hungrily in the darkness, only juxtaposed by the frequent crashes of lightning. It's maw opened, and lunged for her.

Within that maw, was her face again.

"You did this."

A tattered body lied on the cold ground, the only signs of life being the stubborn claw and pull of this corpse, a refusal to lose it's last breath. She didn't know where she was dragging herself, she just had to do it. Dragging, along the painful floor, silent cries being the only source of noise.

A person. A person was there. A person was before her. A person she knew.

"..Father?" She'd breathe out in fear disbelief shock terror worry sadness anger.

The large man slowly turned to face her. She couldn't even see his eyes, yet it felt like she had a disgusted gaze on her. Fear hope prayers wonder terror anxiety freezing dragged her toward him, "I-I'm here..! I'm home..! Papa..! Papa..!"

She felt like a little girl again, one that could run up to that big sad man grinning ear to ear with what little time she was able to steal for herself. She hugged him. So. Tight. So, so tight.

"You're no daughter of mine."

Those arms fell away as if they had grown heavier than all known things. Her legs buckled, that bloody form falling to the ground.

That was right. He wouldn't let her back in like this.

Hands lifted to her bloodied face. She had to wipe it off. It itched. It kept her away from ever coming to him. Wipe it off, wipe it off, wipe it off.

Rip, dig, snag, bite TEAR IT OFF!

ALL OF IT

EVERYTHING SHE WAS, IT ALL HAD TO GO

IT HAD TO GO OR SHE COULD NEVER COME BACK

The squelch of flesh splattering on the ground, the mashing of meat, the digging of claws, the screams of pain. It went on and on and on and on.

Until there was nothing left. Until he was gone.

That was everything she was. That was all she had left.