Blood Felt Alive
Blood Felt Alive
Hunger had started to feel less like pain and more like something slowly hollowing Pearly out from the inside.
His lips were dry.
His body weak.
His head unbearably heavy.
He no longer knew whether the dizziness came from starvation, thirst, or the poison Lia injected into him.
Maybe all of them together.
How long had he been trapped inside this place?
Hours?
An entire day?
The steel walls gave him no sense of time. Only the cold floor beneath his body and the small barred window near the ceiling reminded him the world outside still existed.
Breathing shakily, Pearly forced himself to crawl toward the wall.
Every movement drained him further.
Still, he gritted his teeth and pushed himself upright until his back finally rested against the freezing steel surface.
The faint light slipping through the bars had already dimmed.
Night was coming again.
Cool air drifted weakly through the window.
“K-Kaden Gabe…”
A sob escaped before he could stop it.
Where was Jaden Gabe?
He said he would not leave him.
He promised he would still protect him from afar.
So why was Pearly alone?
Why did this place suddenly feel so endless?
His chest tightened painfully as memories of their last conversation came rushing back.
The anger.
The accusations.
The hurt in Jaden Gabe’s eyes.
Pearly buried his face against his trembling hands.
He never even let Jaden Gabe explain fully.
He just reacted.
Got angry.
Ran away.
Because he was hurt.
Because the people he trusted most suddenly felt tied to the deaths of the people he loved.
But now…
Inside this prison…
Nothing felt simple anymore.
Donovan claimed the Vox Vaughns were enemies.
But during all the years Pearly stayed with them, they had never treated him cruelly.
Never once made him feel unsafe.
So where was the truth?
Who was actually lying?
His thoughts tangled painfully together until even his emotions stopped making sense.
Maybe he would die here without ever learning the whole story.
The realization made his throat tighten.
No.
Before anything happened to him…
He wanted to hear the truth from Jaden Gabe himself.
Even if it shattered him completely.
Even if forgiveness was impossible.
At least then, he would finally know what was real.
A heavy metallic sound suddenly echoed through the room.
The steel door opened.
Pearly immediately looked up.
Bright light struck his eyes, forcing him to squint painfully.
Someone stepped inside holding a flashlight.
“Lucille…?”
The woman lowered the light slightly.
“Hi.”
Relief almost made Pearly cry again.
Then his gaze dropped to the bottle in her hand.
Water.
His entire body reacted instantly.
“Help me…” His voice sounded desperate now. “Please…”
Lucille crouched in front of him quietly.
“Oh, drink first,” she said softly. “You’ll need strength later.”
She opened the mineral water and handed it to him.
Pearly grabbed it immediately.
The cold water hit his throat so fast it almost hurt.
He drank too quickly, spilling some down his neck and onto the front of his dress, but he did not care.
By the time the bottle emptied, his hands were shaking badly.
Lucille then pulled something from behind her back.
A Jollibee Yum Burger.
The smell alone nearly made Pearly dizzy again.
“Hurry,” Lucille urged quietly.
Pearly immediately unwrapped it and ate too fast.
Far too fast.
The food lodged painfully in his throat.
His breathing hitched.
Panic instantly surged through him.
He clawed weakly at his neck, coughing hard.
No air.
No air,
Lucille only watched him for a second before giggling softly.
“W-Water…” Pearly gasped tearfully. “Do you have more water?”
Lucille slowly shook her head.
Fear crept into Pearly’s stomach.
Something was wrong.
Very wrong.
Then Lucille suddenly lifted her wrist to her mouth,
And bit into it.
Pearly froze.
Blood immediately flowed from the wound, dark and unnaturally thick as it dripped down her skin.
“W-What are you doing?” Pearly whispered in horror.
Lucille ignored the question completely.
Her eyes had already turned red.
A second later, she grabbed Pearly by the throat.
Hard.
Pearly choked instantly.
He tried pulling away, but Lucille’s strength was overwhelming.
“Lucille, what, ”
“Shhh…” she whispered with a smile that no longer looked human.
Then she pressed her bleeding wrist against his mouth.
Pearly jerked violently in panic.
But he could not escape.
Lucille held him easily in place while the thick warm blood slid across his lips and into his mouth.
The moment it touched his tongue,
Something inside his body reacted immediately.
And Pearly realized with growing horror…
the blood almost felt alive.
The moment Lucille released him, Pearly doubled over violently.
Nausea twisted through his stomach.
He pressed a trembling hand against his mouth, desperately trying to spit out the blood she forced into him.
But no matter how hard he coughed,
Nothing came out.
It already felt swallowed.
Absorbed.
Lucille tilted her head while watching him struggle.
“Or maybe not,” she said lightly. Then she patted his shoulder almost playfully. “But hey, at least you’re not choking anymore.”
Pearly stared at her in horror.
“You’re insane.”
Lucille only laughed softly.
The sound echoed strangely inside the steel room.
“What are you really?” Pearly whispered shakily. “Whose side are you actually on?”
Lucille’s smile deepened.
“Guess.”
Fear crawled colder beneath Pearly’s skin.
But he forced himself to calm down.
Lucille was still the only possible chance he had.
If there was even the smallest opening,
He had to take it.
“Lucille…” His voice softened despite the panic choking him inside. “Please help me escape.”
For a brief second, something unreadable flickered across her face.
Then she slowly shook her head.
“I can’t.”
“Please…”
Pearly hated how desperate he sounded now.
But desperation was all he had left.
Time passed strangely inside the prison.
Pearly no longer knew how many hours he had spent trapped there.
Maybe longer.
The hunger had become unbearable again.
So had the thirst.
His entire body felt weak and feverish, likely worsened by whatever poison Lia injected into him.
Every breath felt heavier than the last.