@sunmad set the stage! ft: miriam
He can taste the gore. It caked in the back of his molars and smeared along the underside of his tongue, only it did not repulse him. That knife-like metallic taste only makes the hollow pit in his stomach yawn in starvation before it claws at his sides. Hell appears softer than him – the gaunt and shaded hollow beneath his tired eyes sagging and his once towering form now drawn, crumbled at its foundation with fracture splintering in every direction. He wanted to be home. He yearned to stick his face into Sugar’s fur, to feel the way his bed sheets rumpled underneath him, to feel the cold tap water splash on his face – he wanted to wake up. The cock of a shot gun echoes into the night and makes the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. In the heavy dark he can see the shape of the porch – its worn and weathered banister guarding the smaller shadow standing on its other side with the gun aimed. Miriam. Copper slips down his throat as he croaks to her, the turning bruise along his windpipe hidden beneath the slick blood freezing to his tired skin.
“ I–it's me. “ He doesn't recognize his voice, it’s hoarse and tired while sporting thousands of tiny splices and cuts. The gun isn't lowered and he recognizes it as his fathers. Old faithful as he’d named her and the rifle held her end of every bargain when placed; an itch of fear pricks at the lobe of his right ear. A soft whisper of doubt that makes his stomach turn inside out as she speaks ‘ how do i know you’re actually you? ‘ He was himself wasn't he? John Evans Jr – that's who he is and he’s certain…or he hopes he is. Every nerve in his body stretches outward as if seeking for a virus he can't detect; digging deep into the tissues and meat of his own body daring to rip it at the seems to find if there is an infection he needs to purge. He sways where he stands, the silence around them inching out into minutes before his dark and tired eyes stop trying to focus, allowing the night around them to blur into a visionless mess.
“ You'll just have to trust me. “
