O Bloody Worm Goddess, You Look So Pretty When You're Scared to Death

[Lilith]

The fire had died down in the night.

The Girl by the Firelight was still there, however. Breathing. Moving. Her chest expanded and retracted. Nightmares and dreams had passed, and a certain wetness had pervaded through her mind. Her eyes widened at the sky. She lived. For another day. For another moment.

For maybe another hour. The announcement had played while she laid half-awake, half-asleep on her back. Her name wasn't on the announcement. She wondered if what happened last night had been the truth. Everything felt so far away, so hard to grasp as her hands clasped and twisted at the edge of reality she couldn't managed to contain within the light from the fire.

She lowered her eyes.

The body was still there. A bullet between the eyes.

She looked back up.

She raised the gun, and pressed the muzzle under her chin.

The Girl by the Firelight wavered. She lowered the gun. She brought it back up. She closed her eyes again. She missed Michelle. She wanted Michelle here. She'd knew what to do. The Girl by the Firelight knew what to do, she had been doing it for three days now, but she needed someone to tell her to do it. She needed someone to tell her that it was okay to be selfish for once.

She pressed the mouth of the gun against her throat. The trigger wasn't here for her to reach. Someone else had to.

She reopened her eyes. She had to make things quick for others. Kill them quickly. Avoid dragging it out. Pull out the lives in an instant, snuffing with her blood-wet fingers as she pressed on the flames with her thumb and her index. Killing quickly was a mercy. She didn't know these people. She knew that if they were in her place, she'd want them to kill her quickly. So, she killed them quick. Or as quick as possible.

She looked at the boy on her legs. He must have taken a long time to die, though. His name wasn't on the announcement. Her leg twitched. He wasn't warm, or at least from the inside, but there were some bugs in his ears and in his wound.

She closed her eyes again, pressing her gun against her skin.

She called out to the world.

And the Girl by the Dead Firelight finally got up.