Hel had never liked Lorenzo. Not the way he walked like he was always at least half-chubbed or the obvious fuck-me eyes he made at every guy wearing less than a ghillie suit. There was himbo energy and then there was coming off like you'd struggle to write anything past "cock" in your bio interests, y'know? Maybe that was unfair or like, some bias shit they needed to examine a little more openly because they didn't know the guy that well and most of their interactions had those fuck-me eyes pointed directly at Axel. Sure, they could have sold him short before now out of some jealousy thing mixed with a masc leaning paranoia thing they should probably talk to their therapist about but never did. It could be on them that they never cleaned that up, out there somewhere was a world where Hel and Lorenzo were great friends who at the very least could bond of their mutual admiration Axel's ass, that wasn't so crazy to imagine. They cooled down.
He'd killed one of their friends though. They'd heard it later, all the CSI play-acting up on the pier didn't tell them a thing but the announcements cleared it up. Lorenzo murdered Sapphire, murdered some others, it was all kinds of fuzzy trying to focus but the central fact was that he was a psycho chopping up innocent people who didn't do anything but get in his way. There were people they could imagine starting something they couldn't finish, but Sapphire? Hel couldn't imagine Sapphire raising a hand for any reason but to stop the blade. No regrets missing out on all that bonding then right? He wasn't worth it. The shit they'd projected at him, he'd exceeded it into the stratosphere when he became a predator so fuck him, he was so, so...pathetic. What they were supposed to feel, the fire they'd caught in Axel, in Andy, in Lloyd, in Dad, it sputtered when they tried to light it. Days away from burying her at sea Hel couldn't find it in them to hate Lorenzo for Sapphire, because it had to be somebody right? She, they, everybody, they weren't going home and that meant somebody had to kill someone until there was no one left. He might have been afraid. They could see him shaking, trying to justify what he'd done, trying to forget, throwing up in the sand, hiding tears from the camera as he ran, so many possibilities and they didn't know if any of them were true but they could have been, they could have been and it made them ache because it could have been any number of their passionate, strong, stupid fucking friends running from a body and by the end of this it would be, so what the fuck did the configuration of murderers to bodies matter in the long run? It was all, it was bigger than them. Bigger than Lorenzo. They cooled down.
Andy's name crossed his lips. So did a lot of other bullshit, but that one name sharpened with malice burrowed into their skull. Lorenzo's hate washed over them, through them, into the empty place inside them where their embers stirred, a monsoon roaring to swallow them back up.
As its first drops touched a fading fire, they would find too late that Lorenzo's wake tried to drown Hel not in water, but in gasoline.
On the surface the explosion showed nothing but a twitch of their left eye. A sudden solid grip against the round. Abe was trying to move them but they weren't budging, not yet to follow him or to lash out.Gun to their head...bad choice of words? Perfect? Fuck if any of this made sense they just kept rolling, it was new and terrifying and exhilarating and they didn't know what to do with it. How to communicate it. Use it for anything but burning up their insides, but they felt, they felt some fucking kinda way other than waiting to die and they weren't letting go of it.
Abe shook them again. They were up on their feet, they remembered on a delay letting him pull them up. At their sides were fists full of grass. The one closest to their gun eased open.
my heart will be blacker than your eyes when i'm through with you
morning of day 6, just before announcements, private for now
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Emprexx Plush
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“You don’t get to judge me! You don’t get to fucking say anything to me!”
The words spat out his mouth with a poison he’d never felt leave his lips before. His eyes focused in on Axel’s bloody hand and he let a dumbfounded laugh out as he saw it’s condition.
“Especially when you have a fucking knife stuck in your hand. Dumbass.”
Lorenzo wasn’t going to stand here and let someone like this lecture him about the choices he’s made to survive this hell. The path he chose because every other path made no fucking sense. How dare he. How dare he act as if he was somehow better than him. Like Lorenzo was the fool. Axel didn’t know. Didn’t understand what it took from him. How it ate away at him bit by bit with every action he took. How it haunted his sleep. How he clawed his way to surviving this long against every single bastard he’s come across. Axel didn’t know. Axel couldn’t know. Not the way he looked. Surrounded by people. People who cared about him.
Nobody cared about Lorenzo.
Not here.
“You left me there!” He screamed, his voice coming out harsh and hoarse.
It hurt. Lorenzo couldn’t admit it to himself, but it hurt. When he realized they’d gone that day. When he realized it was him alone against Emmett and Sapphire. Knowing they’d left him, potentially to die. To be killed by two people with a grudge. It didn’t matter to them. Hey just left without a word. Lorenzo’s life was worthless, that’s the message they sent loud and clear. They couldn’t be bothered to care if he made it out of that situation or not. And that was a worse wound than any he’d received on the island yet. Lorenzo would be the first to try and pretend he was a loner; friendless and constantly on the move. But… they were supposed to be the friends he lied and said he didn’t have. All of them. Ty, Andy, and Axel… Axel even more than just a friend, dammit!
But all of them betrayed him.
All of them threw him away so easily.
Like he was nothing.
“Why?!” He demanded. The explanation he wanted was unclear, even to him.
“You’re right Axel, murder is fucking tiring.” He let an exasperated laugh out as he pushed his sweat-drenched hair back out of his eyes with his free hand.
“I killed Sapphire because her and Emmett were trying to gut me. Remember?! That’s what you abandoned me to! What other choice did I have?!” Another laugh.
“I crushed Emil’s fucking skull because he had something I needed. Same thing with Dane.” The laughter cut off and Lorenzo stared at Axel with a frown.
“And now, I’m gonna kill you because I finally figured out that I never meant anything to you. To anyone on this island. I’m gonna kill as many people as it takes for me to go back. Back where people actually care about me.” His voice lowered to almost a whisper on his last sentence, and he continued to point the gun at Axel’s head.
His finger danced over the trigger, and for a moment, he could see it in his mind’s eye. A bullet soaring through Axel’s head and spraying his brains all over the wilderness floor. It wasn’t pleasant for him to think about. It hurt. Lorenzo’s arm shook, and then lowered to his side. The bags fell from his shoulder and the gun dropped from his hand on top of them. He looked down at the gun with a look of disgust still on his face, before returning his gaze to Axel. He stared hard at the other boy. Waiting for him to say something? He didn’t really know.
So he did the only thing he knew how to do when he felt even remotely like this.
Lorenzo crossed the space between them as quick as his feet would take him and hit Axel with as much force as he could put behind his right fist. The sound of it connecting lit a small spark back into Lorenzo's eyes.
The words spat out his mouth with a poison he’d never felt leave his lips before. His eyes focused in on Axel’s bloody hand and he let a dumbfounded laugh out as he saw it’s condition.
“Especially when you have a fucking knife stuck in your hand. Dumbass.”
Lorenzo wasn’t going to stand here and let someone like this lecture him about the choices he’s made to survive this hell. The path he chose because every other path made no fucking sense. How dare he. How dare he act as if he was somehow better than him. Like Lorenzo was the fool. Axel didn’t know. Didn’t understand what it took from him. How it ate away at him bit by bit with every action he took. How it haunted his sleep. How he clawed his way to surviving this long against every single bastard he’s come across. Axel didn’t know. Axel couldn’t know. Not the way he looked. Surrounded by people. People who cared about him.
Nobody cared about Lorenzo.
Not here.
“You left me there!” He screamed, his voice coming out harsh and hoarse.
It hurt. Lorenzo couldn’t admit it to himself, but it hurt. When he realized they’d gone that day. When he realized it was him alone against Emmett and Sapphire. Knowing they’d left him, potentially to die. To be killed by two people with a grudge. It didn’t matter to them. Hey just left without a word. Lorenzo’s life was worthless, that’s the message they sent loud and clear. They couldn’t be bothered to care if he made it out of that situation or not. And that was a worse wound than any he’d received on the island yet. Lorenzo would be the first to try and pretend he was a loner; friendless and constantly on the move. But… they were supposed to be the friends he lied and said he didn’t have. All of them. Ty, Andy, and Axel… Axel even more than just a friend, dammit!
But all of them betrayed him.
All of them threw him away so easily.
Like he was nothing.
“Why?!” He demanded. The explanation he wanted was unclear, even to him.
“You’re right Axel, murder is fucking tiring.” He let an exasperated laugh out as he pushed his sweat-drenched hair back out of his eyes with his free hand.
“I killed Sapphire because her and Emmett were trying to gut me. Remember?! That’s what you abandoned me to! What other choice did I have?!” Another laugh.
“I crushed Emil’s fucking skull because he had something I needed. Same thing with Dane.” The laughter cut off and Lorenzo stared at Axel with a frown.
“And now, I’m gonna kill you because I finally figured out that I never meant anything to you. To anyone on this island. I’m gonna kill as many people as it takes for me to go back. Back where people actually care about me.” His voice lowered to almost a whisper on his last sentence, and he continued to point the gun at Axel’s head.
His finger danced over the trigger, and for a moment, he could see it in his mind’s eye. A bullet soaring through Axel’s head and spraying his brains all over the wilderness floor. It wasn’t pleasant for him to think about. It hurt. Lorenzo’s arm shook, and then lowered to his side. The bags fell from his shoulder and the gun dropped from his hand on top of them. He looked down at the gun with a look of disgust still on his face, before returning his gaze to Axel. He stared hard at the other boy. Waiting for him to say something? He didn’t really know.
So he did the only thing he knew how to do when he felt even remotely like this.
Lorenzo crossed the space between them as quick as his feet would take him and hit Axel with as much force as he could put behind his right fist. The sound of it connecting lit a small spark back into Lorenzo's eyes.
Why?
Good question.
Felt like a million years ago when they'd, he and Andy cause that was they back then, ran into Lorenzo. In a bad way after some fight with someone. Never did find out who was on the other end, not that it mattered all that much, now. He'd had a good reason for fucking off, right, Morgan had needed him, Morgan who he'd ended up ditching anyway but whatever, swings and roundabouts, or something. Maybe it was more about whatever he'd seen in Renzo's eyes, maybe it was the way he was lying through his fucking teeth, not like that was out of character or anything, but still. Maybe it was just the straight face he kept on when he offered to kill Morgan. A joke, he'd said, but who the fuck was he trying to fool?
Morgan was still hanging on, wherever he was. Good on him for not calling that bluff. Sapphire had been there, too. Self-defense, Renzo said, leaving out the bullshit he spouted about Emmett having attacked him first when things had so obviously gone the other way. Hey, yeah, friends got the benefit of the doubt, they didn't get a fucking blindfold. He wasn't stupid, okay probably he was stupid, that wasn't the point.
The point was Axel wasn't a murderer. That was the whole conversation. If Axel and Andy ditching him had been the catalyst for his little killing spree all that said was that he was fucked up in the head to begin with, and that was all a weight pushed on his shoulders that he refused to carry.
He let him talk, and then he let the silence hang. He could say something, sure, he could say a lot of shit, but what was the point? He wanted his little monologue, he could have it. Probably thought the gun he was pointing at Axel's head bought it for him. He could think what he wanted. He was always gonna think what he wanted.
Wasn't Axel's problem. The gun pointing at his head was, he guessed, but wasn't like there was shit he could do about that either way. For some reason he still wasn't surprised when it dropped out of Renzo's hand. He wasn't surprised when he moved, either. He didn't move back.
Lorenzo's fist drove into his shoulder, he rolled with the punch, it hurt—
He remembered Andy slapping him in the chest. He remembered Hel crashing into him when he'd asked them to prom. It felt nothing like that. It didn't matter at all.
The knife was in the way. He—
ripped
the knife
out of
his
hand
he remembered broken knuckles, broken glass, pulling out shards, it felt nothing like that
White hot static. Blood. He dropped the knife. He didn't need it.
Maybe for only another minute, but he was so fucking alive he could taste it.
He could feel the wind through the hole in his palm. His other hand balled as he spun on his heels and aimed for Lorenzo's side.
He was grinning.
Good question.
Felt like a million years ago when they'd, he and Andy cause that was they back then, ran into Lorenzo. In a bad way after some fight with someone. Never did find out who was on the other end, not that it mattered all that much, now. He'd had a good reason for fucking off, right, Morgan had needed him, Morgan who he'd ended up ditching anyway but whatever, swings and roundabouts, or something. Maybe it was more about whatever he'd seen in Renzo's eyes, maybe it was the way he was lying through his fucking teeth, not like that was out of character or anything, but still. Maybe it was just the straight face he kept on when he offered to kill Morgan. A joke, he'd said, but who the fuck was he trying to fool?
Morgan was still hanging on, wherever he was. Good on him for not calling that bluff. Sapphire had been there, too. Self-defense, Renzo said, leaving out the bullshit he spouted about Emmett having attacked him first when things had so obviously gone the other way. Hey, yeah, friends got the benefit of the doubt, they didn't get a fucking blindfold. He wasn't stupid, okay probably he was stupid, that wasn't the point.
The point was Axel wasn't a murderer. That was the whole conversation. If Axel and Andy ditching him had been the catalyst for his little killing spree all that said was that he was fucked up in the head to begin with, and that was all a weight pushed on his shoulders that he refused to carry.
He let him talk, and then he let the silence hang. He could say something, sure, he could say a lot of shit, but what was the point? He wanted his little monologue, he could have it. Probably thought the gun he was pointing at Axel's head bought it for him. He could think what he wanted. He was always gonna think what he wanted.
Wasn't Axel's problem. The gun pointing at his head was, he guessed, but wasn't like there was shit he could do about that either way. For some reason he still wasn't surprised when it dropped out of Renzo's hand. He wasn't surprised when he moved, either. He didn't move back.
Lorenzo's fist drove into his shoulder, he rolled with the punch, it hurt—
He remembered Andy slapping him in the chest. He remembered Hel crashing into him when he'd asked them to prom. It felt nothing like that. It didn't matter at all.
The knife was in the way. He—
ripped
the knife
out of
his
hand
he remembered broken knuckles, broken glass, pulling out shards, it felt nothing like that
White hot static. Blood. He dropped the knife. He didn't need it.
Maybe for only another minute, but he was so fucking alive he could taste it.
He could feel the wind through the hole in his palm. His other hand balled as he spun on his heels and aimed for Lorenzo's side.
He was grinning.
"Well, Fenris, the King of Gossip. We meet again."
Lorenzo’s fist connected with Axel’s shoulder with a satisfying thump. It made Lorenzo smile wide. He took a step back after the hit connected, and was about to go in for another, but stopped in his tracks at Axel’s actions. His eyes were glued to the other boy’s palm as he watched him rip the small knife out of his hand with an animalistic force he didn’t remember Axel ever showing him before. His manic smile grew to a ear-to-ear size at the sight of it all. Lorenzo wasn’t going to lie, that was pretty fucking hot. He could feel the life start to come back into his body as he stared at the blood dripping from Axel’s palm. Like someone reigniting the fire in his soul, slowly at first, the flames rising bit by bit.
It made Lorenzo want to punch him even harder.
Lorenzo’s eyes darted away from the wound on Axel’s hand as he dropped the knife to the ground, but it wasn’t quickly enough. Axel came in quick and sent a powerful hook to his already-bruised and sore rib cage. It knocked the wind out of his chest for a second, and caused his vision to fuzz over for a quick moment. Lorenzo doubled over in pain, but kept himself from letting his knees buckle out from under him. Just barely, at least. The grin never faded from his face though, as he tilted his head up to stare at the boy in front of him through the green curls that fell in front of his face.
Lorenzo took a deep breath in, the soreness in his side reawakened from Axel’s fist making it rather painful.
The pain just urged him on.
He dug his left foot into the ground and launched himself forward, digging his shoulder into Axel’s stomach and wrapping his arms around Axel’s knees, effectively pulling his legs out from under him and sending the both of them to the ground with Lorenzo on top. Unable to brace his fall, Lorenzo’s face hit the ground with a resounding smack, his eyes blurred with tears as he felt the familiar sensation of his nose moving out of place and the warm feeling of blood starting to leak from his nostrils. He released Axel’s legs and pushed himself up to his knees, the blood smearing over his lips and teeth as he smiled down at his former friend.
Not wanting to give Axel too much time to recover, Lorenzo sent a right hook down at the boy’s chin, followed by a left in quick succession.
It made Lorenzo want to punch him even harder.
Lorenzo’s eyes darted away from the wound on Axel’s hand as he dropped the knife to the ground, but it wasn’t quickly enough. Axel came in quick and sent a powerful hook to his already-bruised and sore rib cage. It knocked the wind out of his chest for a second, and caused his vision to fuzz over for a quick moment. Lorenzo doubled over in pain, but kept himself from letting his knees buckle out from under him. Just barely, at least. The grin never faded from his face though, as he tilted his head up to stare at the boy in front of him through the green curls that fell in front of his face.
Lorenzo took a deep breath in, the soreness in his side reawakened from Axel’s fist making it rather painful.
The pain just urged him on.
He dug his left foot into the ground and launched himself forward, digging his shoulder into Axel’s stomach and wrapping his arms around Axel’s knees, effectively pulling his legs out from under him and sending the both of them to the ground with Lorenzo on top. Unable to brace his fall, Lorenzo’s face hit the ground with a resounding smack, his eyes blurred with tears as he felt the familiar sensation of his nose moving out of place and the warm feeling of blood starting to leak from his nostrils. He released Axel’s legs and pushed himself up to his knees, the blood smearing over his lips and teeth as he smiled down at his former friend.
Not wanting to give Axel too much time to recover, Lorenzo sent a right hook down at the boy’s chin, followed by a left in quick succession.
Okay, okay, Hel was up, they weren’t giving Abe a lot of confidence that they had fully processed what was going on, but Lorenzo was probably the rudest fucking alarm clock in the world so he couldn’t blame them, it was all good, maybe he’d have to pull them by the arm when he ran like hell, but Lorenzo was distracted, being slowed down by that wouldn’t kill him, probably!
Speaking of distracted, Abe couldn’t help but listen to the villain monologue that was happening behind him, since, like, it was a real-life actual rant by a man with a gun in his hand, and that was pretty novel, right? Like, not the sorta thing you’d expect to ever personally encounter, so it made sense to take a moment to treasure the insanity of it all, right? Also he was scared shitless that any second he’d hear a gunshot, and whoops, there went Axel, and probably the rest of them?
Abe hesitated for a moment too long, trying to figure out if it was worth trying to scoop up his bag on the way out, heard Lorenzo be all like ‘I’ve figured out how to justify killing you’, and his stomach dropped and he wasn’t sure if turning around and seeing Axel alive for one second longer was worth the price of seeing him get blammo’d right between the eyes, but. He didn’t hear a gunshot, he just heard two dudes beating the absolute shit out of each other instead.
He turned around, saw the dipshits engaged in some premium mortal combat, saw them fall to the ground, Lorenzo on top, and Abe thought, hey, that was pretty handy, that’d give him and Hel even more time to run away, and then he thought-
Wait. Why did he need to run away, again?
Like, before, he’d been all ready to cockroach scramble away, because he was trying to develop that into his brand, that and staying alive, y’know, and Lorenzo’s gun had been kind of a big motivator, and Axel had told him to run, and he didn’t want to let Axel down any more than he had, which was kinda uncharacteristic but oh well he could avoid unpacking that later, and oh lookie there, what did his little eye spy, a gun on the ground? A gun on the ground, and not in Lorenzo’s hand, as opposed to the gun that was in Abe’s hand?
What a bunch of fucking dumbasses, haha.
Abe was tempted to try and just shoot the fucker then and there, ‘cause he had to get his one eventually, right, but up to that point the only thing he’d shot had been a tree and to be honest he hadn’t done an exceptional job at that, so maybe he didn’t want to shoot a guy who was on top of his friend? Just a thought?
That left just pointing his gun and shouting 'halt, you’ve violated the law' in his best tonally appropriate Oblivion guard voice, and he was just about to do that, when he realized. There was a gun on the ground. That’d make three guns, one for each of them, well, if Axel could even hold it with his new knifehand, too soon, haha, but like, in the end, later, way later, that’d be three guns, just for him, right? Right, haha?
And if he tried to hold Lorenzo up, well, maybe he’d get spooked, and grab his gun, and run away, and get fired on and missed, or maybe he’d spin around and do a sick 360 noscope, ‘cause the gun was still pretty close to the clusterfuck, so Abe getting his grimy little hands on the gat was his best shot, right?
He crept closer to the fight, gun in hand just in case Lorenzo saw him coming, and he was real tempted to just dive for the gun, but then he’d be lying down right next to the fucker so it’d be better to dive away once he had the gun, and he was almost there, now, he reached out-
Speaking of distracted, Abe couldn’t help but listen to the villain monologue that was happening behind him, since, like, it was a real-life actual rant by a man with a gun in his hand, and that was pretty novel, right? Like, not the sorta thing you’d expect to ever personally encounter, so it made sense to take a moment to treasure the insanity of it all, right? Also he was scared shitless that any second he’d hear a gunshot, and whoops, there went Axel, and probably the rest of them?
Abe hesitated for a moment too long, trying to figure out if it was worth trying to scoop up his bag on the way out, heard Lorenzo be all like ‘I’ve figured out how to justify killing you’, and his stomach dropped and he wasn’t sure if turning around and seeing Axel alive for one second longer was worth the price of seeing him get blammo’d right between the eyes, but. He didn’t hear a gunshot, he just heard two dudes beating the absolute shit out of each other instead.
He turned around, saw the dipshits engaged in some premium mortal combat, saw them fall to the ground, Lorenzo on top, and Abe thought, hey, that was pretty handy, that’d give him and Hel even more time to run away, and then he thought-
Wait. Why did he need to run away, again?
Like, before, he’d been all ready to cockroach scramble away, because he was trying to develop that into his brand, that and staying alive, y’know, and Lorenzo’s gun had been kind of a big motivator, and Axel had told him to run, and he didn’t want to let Axel down any more than he had, which was kinda uncharacteristic but oh well he could avoid unpacking that later, and oh lookie there, what did his little eye spy, a gun on the ground? A gun on the ground, and not in Lorenzo’s hand, as opposed to the gun that was in Abe’s hand?
What a bunch of fucking dumbasses, haha.
Abe was tempted to try and just shoot the fucker then and there, ‘cause he had to get his one eventually, right, but up to that point the only thing he’d shot had been a tree and to be honest he hadn’t done an exceptional job at that, so maybe he didn’t want to shoot a guy who was on top of his friend? Just a thought?
That left just pointing his gun and shouting 'halt, you’ve violated the law' in his best tonally appropriate Oblivion guard voice, and he was just about to do that, when he realized. There was a gun on the ground. That’d make three guns, one for each of them, well, if Axel could even hold it with his new knifehand, too soon, haha, but like, in the end, later, way later, that’d be three guns, just for him, right? Right, haha?
And if he tried to hold Lorenzo up, well, maybe he’d get spooked, and grab his gun, and run away, and get fired on and missed, or maybe he’d spin around and do a sick 360 noscope, ‘cause the gun was still pretty close to the clusterfuck, so Abe getting his grimy little hands on the gat was his best shot, right?
He crept closer to the fight, gun in hand just in case Lorenzo saw him coming, and he was real tempted to just dive for the gun, but then he’d be lying down right next to the fucker so it’d be better to dive away once he had the gun, and he was almost there, now, he reached out-
Axel wasn't dead yet.
He'd had the breath driven out of his lungs when he hit the ground, yeah, too momentarily distracted by his own success to keep Lorenzo from taking his legs out, but he knew, right? That Renzo wasn't going to kill him, or at least wasn't trying to kill him, not that it was gonna do any of them any good if he managed it by accident anyways. He could talk all the shit he wanted, Renzo always did, and hey, yes, he'd killed people, that had for sure really actually happened, but Axel wasn't just people no matter how pissed Renzo was or how much of his mind he'd lost.
Or maybe he was totally wrong and Lorenzo was five seconds from grabbing his strap again and blowing his head off. Axel was prone to being wrong about these things.
It didn't matter, though. It didn't matter. Renzo knew. They kept grinning at each other like crazed animals and they were in a mosh pit half-stoned a million miles away and Axel had blood in his mouth and it wasn't his.
He swallowed.
Distracted again, by memories and the taste of hot iron and by Renzo's eyes under blood-slicked hair, Axel wasn't ready for the first punch in the jaw and despite the screaming pain in his hand demanding more attention than anything else could compete with he still felt that shit, felt more blood bubbling between his lips, felt something else slip over his tongue. His head hit the ground, his brain rattling around his skull, he saw stars but he was still ready for the second one, his left arm near-instinctively falling over his face, though the rattle of the blow still stung, his face still aching, not like Renzo seemed like he was gonna stop any time soon—
Axel spat the mouthful of collected blood in Lorenzo's face, blood and half a tooth knocked out of his skull, it stunned him long enough for Axel to get his other arm up and force his fist in Lorenzo's left eye, rolling out from underneath him—
Abe. Abe was—what the fuck—
Lorenzo saw—
Lorenzo's gun—
Okay, Axel got it, good plan, very clever, or it was before Renzo had spotted him, anyway, and Renzo might have some leftover angst keeping him from putting a bullet through Axel's head but he sure as fuck didn't have the same sentiment over Abe, Abe who was supposed to be helping Hel run, by the way, Axel was gonna kill him later but not in the super literal way that Lorenzo would if Abe didn't get the fuck out of Dodge this goddamn second—
Axel had to get the gun. Or he had to get Abe. Or he had to be between Lorenzo and Abe. Or something. He wasn't really thinking so much as he was moving, barely, breath still not coming quite fast enough, losing way too much blood, his brain felt wrong, ringing between his ears, but he was right there, he was almost there, now, he reached out—
He'd had the breath driven out of his lungs when he hit the ground, yeah, too momentarily distracted by his own success to keep Lorenzo from taking his legs out, but he knew, right? That Renzo wasn't going to kill him, or at least wasn't trying to kill him, not that it was gonna do any of them any good if he managed it by accident anyways. He could talk all the shit he wanted, Renzo always did, and hey, yes, he'd killed people, that had for sure really actually happened, but Axel wasn't just people no matter how pissed Renzo was or how much of his mind he'd lost.
Or maybe he was totally wrong and Lorenzo was five seconds from grabbing his strap again and blowing his head off. Axel was prone to being wrong about these things.
It didn't matter, though. It didn't matter. Renzo knew. They kept grinning at each other like crazed animals and they were in a mosh pit half-stoned a million miles away and Axel had blood in his mouth and it wasn't his.
He swallowed.
Distracted again, by memories and the taste of hot iron and by Renzo's eyes under blood-slicked hair, Axel wasn't ready for the first punch in the jaw and despite the screaming pain in his hand demanding more attention than anything else could compete with he still felt that shit, felt more blood bubbling between his lips, felt something else slip over his tongue. His head hit the ground, his brain rattling around his skull, he saw stars but he was still ready for the second one, his left arm near-instinctively falling over his face, though the rattle of the blow still stung, his face still aching, not like Renzo seemed like he was gonna stop any time soon—
Axel spat the mouthful of collected blood in Lorenzo's face, blood and half a tooth knocked out of his skull, it stunned him long enough for Axel to get his other arm up and force his fist in Lorenzo's left eye, rolling out from underneath him—
Abe. Abe was—what the fuck—
Lorenzo saw—
Lorenzo's gun—
Okay, Axel got it, good plan, very clever, or it was before Renzo had spotted him, anyway, and Renzo might have some leftover angst keeping him from putting a bullet through Axel's head but he sure as fuck didn't have the same sentiment over Abe, Abe who was supposed to be helping Hel run, by the way, Axel was gonna kill him later but not in the super literal way that Lorenzo would if Abe didn't get the fuck out of Dodge this goddamn second—
Axel had to get the gun. Or he had to get Abe. Or he had to be between Lorenzo and Abe. Or something. He wasn't really thinking so much as he was moving, barely, breath still not coming quite fast enough, losing way too much blood, his brain felt wrong, ringing between his ears, but he was right there, he was almost there, now, he reached out—
"Well, Fenris, the King of Gossip. We meet again."
The first fist collided with Axel’s face and sent a rush through Lorenzo’s body. Like all of a sudden he had this existential feeling of euphoria surging out of his body. It felt good to hit him. It felt justified. But even more than any of that, it felt familiar. It felt like home, somehow. For the first time in a long time on this island, Lorenzo felt like he had a small piece of who he was back. Like something he thought had died came back to life. This was just the normal brawl between the two. Just like always. They’d yell and fight and beat the shit out of each other and then they’d laugh and probably fuck and nothing mattered anymore.
Maybe that’s why he couldn’t stop smiling.
Axel blocked the second hit, at least as much as he could, and Lorenzo pulled back his fist to send down another hit. But before he could, a wad of blood and spit hit him in the cheek, causing him to reel back in disgust and wipe at his face. There was something hard in there too, maybe he knocked a fucking tooth out or something. Lorenzo wiped the mixture off his face with the back of his hand, but before he could collect his bearings Axel’s fist collided with his left eye. Lorenzo fell back a bit and Axel shoved him off, getting out from under him in the process. Lorenzo spun up into a crouched position, and faced himself towards Axel, but something else caught his attention from the corner of his eye.
Lorenzo turned his head to the figure in his peripheral, and his eyes narrowed at the sight. Abe, reaching towards the gun he’d left atop his day-pack not but a few feet from where he crouched. Lorenzo felt a vein in his forehead begin to pulsate. Abe was not a starring role in this situation. Axel was the only one Lorenzo cared about. Who did he think he was, getting involved where he wasn’t wanted or needed? And to try and take what he’d rightfully earned?!
No.
Lorenzo burst up from his crouched position and flew at Abe. Axel tried to get in his way, but Lorenzo grabbed him by the shirt collar and shoved him aside, using the momentum to fling himself even harder at Abe. Lorenzo balled up his fist and swung hard. His fist slammed into Abe’s face with a crunch and a crack that Lorenzo knew all too well. Direct hit to the nose. His free hand grabbed for his gun. Lorenzo’s boot planted itself in the ground and he pivoted on his heel, turning to face the two boys, gun up and at the ready, pointed directly at Abe.
Maybe that’s why he couldn’t stop smiling.
Axel blocked the second hit, at least as much as he could, and Lorenzo pulled back his fist to send down another hit. But before he could, a wad of blood and spit hit him in the cheek, causing him to reel back in disgust and wipe at his face. There was something hard in there too, maybe he knocked a fucking tooth out or something. Lorenzo wiped the mixture off his face with the back of his hand, but before he could collect his bearings Axel’s fist collided with his left eye. Lorenzo fell back a bit and Axel shoved him off, getting out from under him in the process. Lorenzo spun up into a crouched position, and faced himself towards Axel, but something else caught his attention from the corner of his eye.
Lorenzo turned his head to the figure in his peripheral, and his eyes narrowed at the sight. Abe, reaching towards the gun he’d left atop his day-pack not but a few feet from where he crouched. Lorenzo felt a vein in his forehead begin to pulsate. Abe was not a starring role in this situation. Axel was the only one Lorenzo cared about. Who did he think he was, getting involved where he wasn’t wanted or needed? And to try and take what he’d rightfully earned?!
No.
Lorenzo burst up from his crouched position and flew at Abe. Axel tried to get in his way, but Lorenzo grabbed him by the shirt collar and shoved him aside, using the momentum to fling himself even harder at Abe. Lorenzo balled up his fist and swung hard. His fist slammed into Abe’s face with a crunch and a crack that Lorenzo knew all too well. Direct hit to the nose. His free hand grabbed for his gun. Lorenzo’s boot planted itself in the ground and he pivoted on his heel, turning to face the two boys, gun up and at the ready, pointed directly at Abe.
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Emprexx Plush
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"You die next."
Right that second Hel couldn't tell you where the words came from any more than they could be sure when the gun got in their hand. It'd felt so heavy at their side. Maybe that's why it took them so long to raise it. Lorenzo pointed his though, and their hands snapped up together. Steady and squared up, shoulders forward, head down and aiming.
"Pull that trigger, you die next. I promise."
It didn't feel right coming out of their mouth. More like something out of a western their dad might put in the background while he leveled his battle pets. They'd steal it for a stream for edgy Day Z negotiating or some shit, but out loud, to a real person? Felt unnatural.
Mm. Normal was a better word, or typical. It took a lot of push to get here and even with it in mind they didn't want to hurt him. Revenge, justice, catharsis, Hel didn't get any of it out of the thought of Lorenzo dying. It wouldn't bring any body back. It wouldn't change that every one of them was going to die.
If they had to decide who was dying right here, right now though?
Fuck Lorenzo. He wasn't taking anyone else from them. "Two things, and no one gets hurt. You leave with your shit." Their voice, like their hands, didn't shake. "And on the way out you keep the names of better men out of your worn out cock socket."
If they weren't gonna put a bullet in him for Andy, he deserved that much.
Right that second Hel couldn't tell you where the words came from any more than they could be sure when the gun got in their hand. It'd felt so heavy at their side. Maybe that's why it took them so long to raise it. Lorenzo pointed his though, and their hands snapped up together. Steady and squared up, shoulders forward, head down and aiming.
"Pull that trigger, you die next. I promise."
It didn't feel right coming out of their mouth. More like something out of a western their dad might put in the background while he leveled his battle pets. They'd steal it for a stream for edgy Day Z negotiating or some shit, but out loud, to a real person? Felt unnatural.
Mm. Normal was a better word, or typical. It took a lot of push to get here and even with it in mind they didn't want to hurt him. Revenge, justice, catharsis, Hel didn't get any of it out of the thought of Lorenzo dying. It wouldn't bring any body back. It wouldn't change that every one of them was going to die.
If they had to decide who was dying right here, right now though?
Fuck Lorenzo. He wasn't taking anyone else from them. "Two things, and no one gets hurt. You leave with your shit." Their voice, like their hands, didn't shake. "And on the way out you keep the names of better men out of your worn out cock socket."
If they weren't gonna put a bullet in him for Andy, he deserved that much.
Abe shoulda jumped back the instant he saw Lorenzo’s head turn, shoulda readied his gun all like, ‘you better not, fucko’, shoulda done anything except continue his current course like a kid who’d been caught breaking into the cookie jar and figured he might as well try and shove at least one of them into his mouth since the jig was up and boy was he gonna have to go sit in the corner for a minute!
But like, in this case, instead of a cookie it was a cool lil’ hot lead dispenser, and instead of time-out the punishment was punch-out. The moment his fingers brushed against the Uzi’s stock, Lorenzo was already pouncing at him, and wham, pow, straight to the moon, straight to the nose, his nose probably wasn’t straight anymore, haha, but Abe stumbled straight back, landed straight on his back, losing his grip on his gun, not that it would’ve done much good, since Lorenzo had already reclaimed his, and was enacting the fun little stickup maneuver Abe had wanted to do. Damn.
The world was spinning just a little bit, which was funny ‘cause Abe’s head wasn’t moving at all, because the soft earth was giving the backside of his noggin a tender little caress, and thankfully he hadn’t actually smacked his head on the ground, but like, wow, he was in a lot of pain? Like, wow? He’d never actually been full on fukken punched before, like, sure there were bro shoulder punches, but those didn’t count, he didn’t have an asshole brother to get into fights with, and he’d never participated in Axel and Andy’s dipshit fight club shit, so. This was new!
Abe came to the conclusion that being punched fucking sucked? He could feel something wet dripping from his poor nose and he was pretty sure the next time he tilted his head up he was gonna get a nice mouthful of vampire juice, assuming he got the chance to tilt his head up, again, haha, since one of the things that fucking sucked more than being punched was being held at gunpoint?
But, thankfully, Hel was a goddamn hero. He couldn’t even believe his ears, that’s how much of a goddamn hero they were, because he’d never really expected anyone to stick up for him like that? ‘Cause, like, he didn’t really deserve it? Like, sure, he’d been technically trying to help Axel out there, but, it was in the most roundabout coward gremlin way possible, always gotta be something in there for him, right? He didn’t feel guilty about that, ‘cause he was going to win this thing, but it still felt weird to get more than he deserved, right? Like, he liked Hel, but he’d never thought they’d threaten someone’s life for him, and that was pretty neat? Like, even if it wasn’t specifically for him?
“You should probably listen to ‘em, boss,” Abe mumbled, like an idiot, because he very much was still staring down the wrong side of a trigger, like, maybe that wasn’t how the phrase went, but he was more interested in Lorenzo’s fingers at the moment than the scary part of the gun, right, because one had to move before the other, and it’s not like he’d have a chance to see the bullets, anyways, unless the dude was very bad at being a murderer, which he probably wasn’t, because he was alive, and a murderer? Abe was maybe a little out of it. Give him a few seconds, alright.
But like, in this case, instead of a cookie it was a cool lil’ hot lead dispenser, and instead of time-out the punishment was punch-out. The moment his fingers brushed against the Uzi’s stock, Lorenzo was already pouncing at him, and wham, pow, straight to the moon, straight to the nose, his nose probably wasn’t straight anymore, haha, but Abe stumbled straight back, landed straight on his back, losing his grip on his gun, not that it would’ve done much good, since Lorenzo had already reclaimed his, and was enacting the fun little stickup maneuver Abe had wanted to do. Damn.
The world was spinning just a little bit, which was funny ‘cause Abe’s head wasn’t moving at all, because the soft earth was giving the backside of his noggin a tender little caress, and thankfully he hadn’t actually smacked his head on the ground, but like, wow, he was in a lot of pain? Like, wow? He’d never actually been full on fukken punched before, like, sure there were bro shoulder punches, but those didn’t count, he didn’t have an asshole brother to get into fights with, and he’d never participated in Axel and Andy’s dipshit fight club shit, so. This was new!
Abe came to the conclusion that being punched fucking sucked? He could feel something wet dripping from his poor nose and he was pretty sure the next time he tilted his head up he was gonna get a nice mouthful of vampire juice, assuming he got the chance to tilt his head up, again, haha, since one of the things that fucking sucked more than being punched was being held at gunpoint?
But, thankfully, Hel was a goddamn hero. He couldn’t even believe his ears, that’s how much of a goddamn hero they were, because he’d never really expected anyone to stick up for him like that? ‘Cause, like, he didn’t really deserve it? Like, sure, he’d been technically trying to help Axel out there, but, it was in the most roundabout coward gremlin way possible, always gotta be something in there for him, right? He didn’t feel guilty about that, ‘cause he was going to win this thing, but it still felt weird to get more than he deserved, right? Like, he liked Hel, but he’d never thought they’d threaten someone’s life for him, and that was pretty neat? Like, even if it wasn’t specifically for him?
“You should probably listen to ‘em, boss,” Abe mumbled, like an idiot, because he very much was still staring down the wrong side of a trigger, like, maybe that wasn’t how the phrase went, but he was more interested in Lorenzo’s fingers at the moment than the scary part of the gun, right, because one had to move before the other, and it’s not like he’d have a chance to see the bullets, anyways, unless the dude was very bad at being a murderer, which he probably wasn’t, because he was alive, and a murderer? Abe was maybe a little out of it. Give him a few seconds, alright.
Okay, so absolutely no thanks to Axel, who had fucked up royally, this seemed to be going sort of okay. Not the part where Abe got punched in the face, that was like, not great, but it was probably better than either of them getting shot in the face, which seemed like a pretty likely alternative, so. Kinda hard to complain that much from where he was standing. But also he'd broken his nose twice since his last birthday and he doubted Abe'd ever been worse than a twisted ankle, so, hey, maybe he wasn't gonna take it quite so well. He managed to sound sorta almost cool talking back to Lorenzo, so that was a good sign? Probably a dumb move, but Axel couldn't hold his monopoly on those for too long.
Hel had pretty obviously taken first place in the cool-kids sweepstakes anyways. He'd kinda lost his own stake there when his attempt to be a good dude and help his friend had ended with him getting thrown like five feet and smacking into a tree. Spitting blood at Lorenzo had been kinda cool though, yeah? Like if this was a TV show it would be pretty dope. This was a pretty stupid train of thought but in fairness to him he'd lost a lot of blood. A lot a lot of blood.
Hel's whole gunslinger schtick was pretty hot, huh?
That was weird to be thinking about probably. Like maybe it wasn't because they were dating but also it was literally life or death or whatever. He didn't know cause he didn't really know anything at the moment. Like maybe ask him later if he hadn't bled out yet.
He glanced at his hand, painted redder than his hair, except the green grass he could see peeking through the other side.
"Get out of here, man," he mumbled, but he wasn't totally sure he was actually speaking out loud.
Hel had pretty obviously taken first place in the cool-kids sweepstakes anyways. He'd kinda lost his own stake there when his attempt to be a good dude and help his friend had ended with him getting thrown like five feet and smacking into a tree. Spitting blood at Lorenzo had been kinda cool though, yeah? Like if this was a TV show it would be pretty dope. This was a pretty stupid train of thought but in fairness to him he'd lost a lot of blood. A lot a lot of blood.
Hel's whole gunslinger schtick was pretty hot, huh?
That was weird to be thinking about probably. Like maybe it wasn't because they were dating but also it was literally life or death or whatever. He didn't know cause he didn't really know anything at the moment. Like maybe ask him later if he hadn't bled out yet.
He glanced at his hand, painted redder than his hair, except the green grass he could see peeking through the other side.
"Get out of here, man," he mumbled, but he wasn't totally sure he was actually speaking out loud.
"Well, Fenris, the King of Gossip. We meet again."
Funny.
Things spun around on him quicker than he could imagine.
He should have noticed that Hel also had a gun. Just like he should have noticed Abe going for his own earlier than he did. He was too distracted by his own anger. He let his emotions take over and now he was in this mess. Gun aimed at his head while he aimed his own at someone else’s. Two bloodied boys on the ground in front of him, his own blood running free as he stood over them. His eyes darted from one face to the next in rapid succession. Axel, Abe, Hel, Abe, Axel, over and over and over. Trying to think of another way to end this. Trying to find a path where he came out on top.
He couldn’t see one.
Pulling the trigger would only end with him either dead or with another bullet lodged somewhere in his body. So that was a no go. Leaving would bruise what little was left of his pride, but at least he’d be alive. His brow furrowed as he locked his eyes on Axel again. He studied his face for a moment. His pale complexion, his eyes full of hate directed at him. He deserved it, probably. But still, even if he didn’t want to admit it, he just wanted to burn the image of the other boy into his mind for a little while longer. A strange feeling in his gut told him this would be his last chance.
Axel’s words hit him almost as hard as his fists. Lorenzo dropped his arm holding the gun to his side and stood up straight. He tore his eyes from the ruby-haired boy and collected his bags.
“Yeah. Guess I will.” He muttered as he grabbed his things and hoisted them over his shoulder. He began to walk away, but after a few steps, he turned to look back at Axel. A small smirk crept onto his face.
“Bye, Red.” He turned away and walked off, into the trees, until they could no longer see him anymore. Lorenzo’s chest hurt. Like someone stabbed him with a scalding hot knife. Somehow he knew.
That was their final goodbye.
No more laughing together. No more teasing him. No more roughhousing. This was it.
Lorenzo wiped the blood from his nose with the back of his hand and looked at the mess. He smiled. Axel did him one last favor, at least. He woke him up from that emotional stupor. He felt grounded again. Like he could think straight and not go off the handle like before. He thanked the other boy silently. Lorenzo felt like he remembered the person he was before all of this again. Felt like maybe he still was that person deep down.
A good punch in the face from your friend always did that the best.
Made you feel alive again.
[Lorenzo Tavares Continued In Hello, My Name Is Human]
Things spun around on him quicker than he could imagine.
He should have noticed that Hel also had a gun. Just like he should have noticed Abe going for his own earlier than he did. He was too distracted by his own anger. He let his emotions take over and now he was in this mess. Gun aimed at his head while he aimed his own at someone else’s. Two bloodied boys on the ground in front of him, his own blood running free as he stood over them. His eyes darted from one face to the next in rapid succession. Axel, Abe, Hel, Abe, Axel, over and over and over. Trying to think of another way to end this. Trying to find a path where he came out on top.
He couldn’t see one.
Pulling the trigger would only end with him either dead or with another bullet lodged somewhere in his body. So that was a no go. Leaving would bruise what little was left of his pride, but at least he’d be alive. His brow furrowed as he locked his eyes on Axel again. He studied his face for a moment. His pale complexion, his eyes full of hate directed at him. He deserved it, probably. But still, even if he didn’t want to admit it, he just wanted to burn the image of the other boy into his mind for a little while longer. A strange feeling in his gut told him this would be his last chance.
Axel’s words hit him almost as hard as his fists. Lorenzo dropped his arm holding the gun to his side and stood up straight. He tore his eyes from the ruby-haired boy and collected his bags.
“Yeah. Guess I will.” He muttered as he grabbed his things and hoisted them over his shoulder. He began to walk away, but after a few steps, he turned to look back at Axel. A small smirk crept onto his face.
“Bye, Red.” He turned away and walked off, into the trees, until they could no longer see him anymore. Lorenzo’s chest hurt. Like someone stabbed him with a scalding hot knife. Somehow he knew.
That was their final goodbye.
No more laughing together. No more teasing him. No more roughhousing. This was it.
Lorenzo wiped the blood from his nose with the back of his hand and looked at the mess. He smiled. Axel did him one last favor, at least. He woke him up from that emotional stupor. He felt grounded again. Like he could think straight and not go off the handle like before. He thanked the other boy silently. Lorenzo felt like he remembered the person he was before all of this again. Felt like maybe he still was that person deep down.
A good punch in the face from your friend always did that the best.
Made you feel alive again.
[Lorenzo Tavares Continued In Hello, My Name Is Human]
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Emprexx Plush
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It could be their fault. They'd already run the tape on how they were acting like they were in...mm, not a bad western film. Not a cheesy one at least. Somewhere in that window between Fistful of Dollars and Blazing Saddles where the grit was grittier than grits but the whole genre wasn't unmasked as a fucking joke yet. Bad Company would fit, a bunch of stupid assholes dragging each other into compromise with quips the whole way down no matter how many times they leave each other for dead. Abe and Axel were laid out bad but still hit their marks, and despite everything Lorenzo was sauntering off into the sunset to kill or die or jack off out of sight and mind.
He was wide open. They could shoot him. Hands were still steady as and he'd let his guard down with his parting quip. Wouldn't even break the terms they'd offered if you stretched it. Axel was a better man than Lorenzo before the guy snapped and he damned sure was now; with his back turned he wouldn't see it coming. Couldn't hurt Abe or Axe or anyone else ever again if they put a little more pressure down on their trigger finger. It was there, in the pit of their stomach. Of course it was, 'cuz as quick as it came what Lorenzo had sparked in them wasn't an impulse. It was rationalization, the foregone acceptance that every one of them was going to die so it wasn't really wrong to kill him, they could bargain life for life after he thought the deal was done because it was inevitable that he would hurt them again and that made violence unavoidable and that made them right. One pull. Two. Ten. However many bullets were still in their gun until he stopped moving. Someone would do it. Someone had to do it. Why not them? Why not now?
Their eyes didn't leave him until there was nothing left to watch. That's when the shakes came, first their hands and then down their arms like shock on a wire into their shoulders, stomach, knees, they weren't aware they were falling until they hit the ground and it still didn't stop, they couldn't speak, couldn't breathe, couldn't, they couldn't right, they couldn't actually squeeze and and and-
But they could. They had the means. They had the desire. It was there in the pit of their stomach, burning them alive.
He was wide open. They could shoot him. Hands were still steady as and he'd let his guard down with his parting quip. Wouldn't even break the terms they'd offered if you stretched it. Axel was a better man than Lorenzo before the guy snapped and he damned sure was now; with his back turned he wouldn't see it coming. Couldn't hurt Abe or Axe or anyone else ever again if they put a little more pressure down on their trigger finger. It was there, in the pit of their stomach. Of course it was, 'cuz as quick as it came what Lorenzo had sparked in them wasn't an impulse. It was rationalization, the foregone acceptance that every one of them was going to die so it wasn't really wrong to kill him, they could bargain life for life after he thought the deal was done because it was inevitable that he would hurt them again and that made violence unavoidable and that made them right. One pull. Two. Ten. However many bullets were still in their gun until he stopped moving. Someone would do it. Someone had to do it. Why not them? Why not now?
Their eyes didn't leave him until there was nothing left to watch. That's when the shakes came, first their hands and then down their arms like shock on a wire into their shoulders, stomach, knees, they weren't aware they were falling until they hit the ground and it still didn't stop, they couldn't speak, couldn't breathe, couldn't, they couldn't right, they couldn't actually squeeze and and and-
But they could. They had the means. They had the desire. It was there in the pit of their stomach, burning them alive.
Lorenzo left, taking his gun and stuff with him, which Abe thought was kinda lame of him, but he also took away the possibility of the three of them all dying with a 30-second interval, so, like, maybe it evened out.
Now that Lorenzo was gone Abe’s biggest concern was un-evening himself out, that is to say, like, sitting back up, which was difficult to do when his nose was like fuck, y’know, just like that, that about summed it up. Groaning, he sat up, and the world wasn’t really spinning anymore, but, whoops, blood in the mouth, he knew that was gonna happen dammit. He spat it out, but there was more where that came from, but like, it’d stop eventually, right? He wasn’t gonna bleed out from a fuckin’ broken nose, haha.
He gingerly got to his feet, only to see that he was the only one on his feet, which, like, Axel had an excuse, but there was literally no possible way Hel could’ve gotten hurt, right, unless someone fucking shot them with a blow dart from 200 feet away or whatever, so, they’d just fallen down for no apparent reason, which was a perfectly fine thing to do when there wasn’t a guy who had a hole in his hand where a knife used to be?
“Jesus christ, people,” he said, holding a hand under his nose to try and stem the blood flow, but not like, pinching it, because ow, just like, kinda soaking it up, which was gross but whatever, he had other problems. Problems he’d been trying to deal with before the fucker had shown up.
While trying to remember where he’d dropped the first aid kit, he called out, “Hel? You good? Axel? You haven’t bled to death yet, right?”
Now that Lorenzo was gone Abe’s biggest concern was un-evening himself out, that is to say, like, sitting back up, which was difficult to do when his nose was like fuck, y’know, just like that, that about summed it up. Groaning, he sat up, and the world wasn’t really spinning anymore, but, whoops, blood in the mouth, he knew that was gonna happen dammit. He spat it out, but there was more where that came from, but like, it’d stop eventually, right? He wasn’t gonna bleed out from a fuckin’ broken nose, haha.
He gingerly got to his feet, only to see that he was the only one on his feet, which, like, Axel had an excuse, but there was literally no possible way Hel could’ve gotten hurt, right, unless someone fucking shot them with a blow dart from 200 feet away or whatever, so, they’d just fallen down for no apparent reason, which was a perfectly fine thing to do when there wasn’t a guy who had a hole in his hand where a knife used to be?
“Jesus christ, people,” he said, holding a hand under his nose to try and stem the blood flow, but not like, pinching it, because ow, just like, kinda soaking it up, which was gross but whatever, he had other problems. Problems he’d been trying to deal with before the fucker had shown up.
While trying to remember where he’d dropped the first aid kit, he called out, “Hel? You good? Axel? You haven’t bled to death yet, right?”
Bye, Red.
Bye, Axel didn't say, cause he didn't really see the point.
It was weird, how final it felt even though Lorenzo's tone wasn't far off of the end of a party, albeit maybe a party he'd been having a shitty time at. Bye. It wasn't "see you later" because it couldn't be "see you later" because like, they wouldn't, hopefully. Not that he could see the future and say this was their climactic final encounter or whatever but it was pretty obvious that if they did see each other again Renzo was gonna skip the words and go straight to the murdering him, and he wasn't super appreciative of that theoretically happening, so leaving it here felt fair enough.
That was also kind of a weird tone. Fair enough. Etcetera. All of his thoughts were fuzzy around the edges anyway. It was fine. It was whatever. Lorenzo was gone. Abe and Hel were still there. Abe said something. Hel didn't. Stuff was happening probably. Etcetera. Everything was so light and heavy at the same time. It wasn't that unfamiliar but it still was, he'd been fucked up a million times but not quite like this, Abe's face was bloody, Hel was—
Hel—
Axel stumbled to his feet and gravity felt like it was working more on his head on the rest of him, like with every step he was at risk of his headache dragging the rest of him to the ground, he spat some more blood out, he'd kinda stopped noticing the taste of copper by now.
"Abe," he called, cause he wasn't sure where he'd gone, cause he was looking at Hel. "You gotta— sit, lean forward. So y'don't swallow. Blood." Haha. Swallow. He sounded so fucking drunk.
Hel. They were on the ground. What were they doing there, no one had punched them, he thought, unless they had and he hadn't noticed, which would be bad, his vision was swimming on the edges a little, that was fine. Hel was there. Here. On the ground. He was on the ground, too. He didn't really remember how that'd happened but hey.
"Hey."
Slurring worse than prom night.
"That was pretty cool."
That was a dumb thing to say but dumb things were all he ever said so like, on brand.
"You gotta... sit."
He was gonna have to lay down in a second so maybe he was a hypocrite or something. He thought he had a pretty good excuse.
Bye, Axel didn't say, cause he didn't really see the point.
It was weird, how final it felt even though Lorenzo's tone wasn't far off of the end of a party, albeit maybe a party he'd been having a shitty time at. Bye. It wasn't "see you later" because it couldn't be "see you later" because like, they wouldn't, hopefully. Not that he could see the future and say this was their climactic final encounter or whatever but it was pretty obvious that if they did see each other again Renzo was gonna skip the words and go straight to the murdering him, and he wasn't super appreciative of that theoretically happening, so leaving it here felt fair enough.
That was also kind of a weird tone. Fair enough. Etcetera. All of his thoughts were fuzzy around the edges anyway. It was fine. It was whatever. Lorenzo was gone. Abe and Hel were still there. Abe said something. Hel didn't. Stuff was happening probably. Etcetera. Everything was so light and heavy at the same time. It wasn't that unfamiliar but it still was, he'd been fucked up a million times but not quite like this, Abe's face was bloody, Hel was—
Hel—
Axel stumbled to his feet and gravity felt like it was working more on his head on the rest of him, like with every step he was at risk of his headache dragging the rest of him to the ground, he spat some more blood out, he'd kinda stopped noticing the taste of copper by now.
"Abe," he called, cause he wasn't sure where he'd gone, cause he was looking at Hel. "You gotta— sit, lean forward. So y'don't swallow. Blood." Haha. Swallow. He sounded so fucking drunk.
Hel. They were on the ground. What were they doing there, no one had punched them, he thought, unless they had and he hadn't noticed, which would be bad, his vision was swimming on the edges a little, that was fine. Hel was there. Here. On the ground. He was on the ground, too. He didn't really remember how that'd happened but hey.
"Hey."
Slurring worse than prom night.
"That was pretty cool."
That was a dumb thing to say but dumb things were all he ever said so like, on brand.
"You gotta... sit."
He was gonna have to lay down in a second so maybe he was a hypocrite or something. He thought he had a pretty good excuse.
"Well, Fenris, the King of Gossip. We meet again."
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Emprexx Plush
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Their first impulse was to scream at him.
Axel was a simple dude. If he couldn't fight it, fuck it, or get wasted on it he struggled to find the point. Sometimes that was kinda charming, one track mind, yadda yadda they'd been over all this before with excuses more times than they could count. It'd just, it'd never gotten so far. For the most part he didn't hurt people he cared about unless it was some fucked up mutual catharsis thing like he and Andy were always getting on when they'd had one too many drinks, or crushed on the same chick too many times, or spent too many days ending in y together, normal high school machismo bullshit. Right? Axe, he wasn't dangerous. Not to anybody but himself really. Right?
Right. That was the problem. One of his best friends had just tried to beat him to death. He'd waved a gun at Abe, dragged their dead brother through the mud, and what did Axel have to say about it? That was pretty cool. He was bleeding all over the place and looked like he might drop any second, but that was pretty cool. It wasn't fucked up that they threatened to kill somebody in front of him, and Lorenzo? Lorenzo might as well have beaten the piss out of him in an alley behind a Hooters or whatever bullshit they got up to when Hel wasn't around. He wanted them to sit up? Sure. Whatever. They wanted to sit up and grab him by the shoulders, scream in his stupid bloody face without saying a word because words didn't make this better, they didn't numb a single goddamn thing that had happened since they woke up here and they needed him to hear, to understand, to acknowledge the cluster fucked state of their soul and psyche with nothing but noise.
He didn't deserve it. If the script was flipped they figured he'd probably let them have it, probably already had more than once over the years. That's how he was, though, doing dumb shit he'd admit was dumb when he calmed down. Axel was never thinking more than a few steps ahead at best, and it meant when he lagged on his fuck ups you kinda pitied him. If Hel snapped on him here it wouldn't be a snap decision they hadn't thought through, cuz they were thinking it through right here and now. It'd be a conscious choice to kick him while he was down on the slim chance it might balance something out inside them. Maybe make the last thing he heard before he dipped out for good them blowing off steam they'd never get rid of for good.
They should have died in the woods just for thinking it.
Hel sat up and put their arms around him, their fingers running gently through his hair. Their eyes were starting to sting before they opened their mouth.
"Stay with me tiger." Quieter. "Please."
Axel was a simple dude. If he couldn't fight it, fuck it, or get wasted on it he struggled to find the point. Sometimes that was kinda charming, one track mind, yadda yadda they'd been over all this before with excuses more times than they could count. It'd just, it'd never gotten so far. For the most part he didn't hurt people he cared about unless it was some fucked up mutual catharsis thing like he and Andy were always getting on when they'd had one too many drinks, or crushed on the same chick too many times, or spent too many days ending in y together, normal high school machismo bullshit. Right? Axe, he wasn't dangerous. Not to anybody but himself really. Right?
Right. That was the problem. One of his best friends had just tried to beat him to death. He'd waved a gun at Abe, dragged their dead brother through the mud, and what did Axel have to say about it? That was pretty cool. He was bleeding all over the place and looked like he might drop any second, but that was pretty cool. It wasn't fucked up that they threatened to kill somebody in front of him, and Lorenzo? Lorenzo might as well have beaten the piss out of him in an alley behind a Hooters or whatever bullshit they got up to when Hel wasn't around. He wanted them to sit up? Sure. Whatever. They wanted to sit up and grab him by the shoulders, scream in his stupid bloody face without saying a word because words didn't make this better, they didn't numb a single goddamn thing that had happened since they woke up here and they needed him to hear, to understand, to acknowledge the cluster fucked state of their soul and psyche with nothing but noise.
He didn't deserve it. If the script was flipped they figured he'd probably let them have it, probably already had more than once over the years. That's how he was, though, doing dumb shit he'd admit was dumb when he calmed down. Axel was never thinking more than a few steps ahead at best, and it meant when he lagged on his fuck ups you kinda pitied him. If Hel snapped on him here it wouldn't be a snap decision they hadn't thought through, cuz they were thinking it through right here and now. It'd be a conscious choice to kick him while he was down on the slim chance it might balance something out inside them. Maybe make the last thing he heard before he dipped out for good them blowing off steam they'd never get rid of for good.
They should have died in the woods just for thinking it.
Hel sat up and put their arms around him, their fingers running gently through his hair. Their eyes were starting to sting before they opened their mouth.
"Stay with me tiger." Quieter. "Please."