Phantom Pain (trilogy)

Reunion

Chapter 19: Reunion

The first thing I saw was darkness, as my eyes needed to adjust from the flickering lantern light of the corridor.

The second thing I saw was her, curled in the back corner, head between her knees.

“Desdemona?” My voice was gruff.

I stood a fair distance away from her, almost enjoying how small she'd become. What had they done to her? Hadn't she said the demon's powers didn't effect her. She didn't appear to have been physically harmed. She looked up, her dark eyes more reflective than usual. Maybe it was tears, or maybe they were just glazed over. Her hair—normally worn in a tight braid—hung in front of her face in greasy tendrils.

“What the fuck were you thinking?” I kicked her. “Huh?”

She looked like she was going to get up, but only rose into a sort of crouch. Moving so that she was out of my reach, she curled up again. Hugging her knees, she began to rock.

“I made a mistake,” she whispered, her voice hoarse. “I needed to get it back to you. I had to bring it back to you... Had to bring it back to you...had to get it back to you... had to-”

She repeated to the words, eventually so quietly that I could no longer hear them. I knelt down, peering at her curiously. Along with the rocking she was also scraping her nails up and down her lower arm. It was bloody. There were so many scratch marks they'd sort of merged together into a sheet of tattered skin. As I watched, she switched arms, scraping away at the less damaged one.

“...don't know what it's like.” She muttered. “...never had it before...something inside me.”

“Speak up.”

“It was hurting me from the inside!” she screamed, and I jumped quickly back to my feet.

She was feral.

“Too much... too much... too much.” Rocking, like a patient in some mental institution. “Too late... too late... too late...” It just kept going. “Too late...too late...too late...”

I was tiring of this quickly.

“Where's the sword?” I asked. “Who took it?”

“...much, much, too late. You're so wrong, Ramie-”

I grabbed her by the throat. Her entire body lifted off the floor, and I held her so her toes could not brush the ground.

“Where is the-”

I heard a gasp from behind me.

“Ramie!” Gavyn yelled.

“Where's the fucking sword?” I hissed.