Corvala

It appeared as if a synapse had snapped in the brain belonging to the creature once known as Helge at the mention of the word "love." This man trembling in her icy grip knew nothing of the term. Not the implication, not even the emotion itself. One does not make another person give up everything for them then leave them forever without even a note. Helge's face contorted as she tried piecing togther the fragmented thoughts rearranging themselves in her mind. There were so many ways she could make him suffer for what he did, but what would be the point? All this time she had no idea that he was alive, so killing him now wouldn't make much difference in the end. She'd still be the same wretched person she always was, except, well, dead. Figuratively and literally dead this time. However, death seemed like a favor for her former lover; if Helge killed him now, he would be absolved from his sins, never again having to feel guilt or remorse. No, it won't be that simple. Life was never, will never be, simple. People go about their existence selfishly hurting other people, forcing them into predicaments they shouldn't have to be in. How can these real monsters get to walk away without enduring the consequences of their churlish behaviors and actions? Who gave them the right? How long will this be permitted to go on?

Helge released her grip on Karl and walked to the security camera as he wheezed and slumped to the ground. She yanked the antiquated device from the ceiling, sparks flying around her, and threw it aside as she locked eyes with Chloro. A gorgon's stare down, monster to monster. Helge's mouth twiched, still not used to the fangs newly installed in her once normal set of teeth. She absorbed as much information as possible- height, stance, eye color, hair color, detectable scars or freckles and most importantly, scent. "I'll come back for you," Helge whispered hoarsely, unable to shake the quavering rage from her voice. She quickly went to the locked door with the full intention of reaping her vengeance. She reached for the handle and pulled with a minimal amount of her recently acquired strength, and it resulted in the handle coming clean off. Grunting in frustration, she kicked the door, and it flew off its hinges. She heard screaming just outside, but paid no mind to it as she grabbed Karl by his left arm and began dragging him along the corridor of the hospital. 

Several people had tried to apprehend Helge as she pulled on Karl, and her response to their threats resulted in them being concussed upon the floor. A trail of bleeding bodies lay in her wake and eventually the rest of the on-duty staff on this floor learned to stay clear. She kept walking until she found the room she was "operated on," only this time the smells inside were different. She hoisted Karl on the operating table still caked in her blood ("Dispicable," she had thought, in regards to the lack of sanitation in this place) and strapped him down in the same fashion she was, however long ago that was. She then barricaded the door from prying eyes with the metal cabinet that contained what she was looking for, effortlessly lifting it above her head. She let it slam, hearing the glass bottles and vials inside shake violenly. Some were  most definitely broken, and she saw a concotion of many colors pool from benath the metal door. Helge opened the cabinet, her dark eyes glowing when she recognized what it was she wanted.

"Karl, my darling," Helge said mock ruefully. She was being bitterly sarcastic, but if Karl noticed or not, she didn't care. "This is the first time in years we've been alone together. Do you even know how many years it has been? It was hard to keep track after the first six months- it had already felt like an eternity. But you know what? I can make this romantic for us, this ill-received reunion." Helge held the vial in her hand, the black liquid swirling in a morbidly beautiful way. She found the needle that was used on her on the tray next to the operating table, once again internally remarking on the shoddiness of this hospital. She lifted it, and stabbed it into the top of the vial, extracting the contents. "You came to Corvala looking for someone," Helge continued, her voice becoming more vicious. "But it wasn't me. You came here, to my city, the city you promised to move with me to, looking for a woman. A WOMAN THAT WASN'T ME! You came into MY restaurant looking for that FREAK. But that doesn't bother me that much at this point anymore. You know what kills me, Karl? YOU DIDN'T EVEN RECOGNIZE ME!" Helge kicked over the table holding the medical tray, and sent it flying across the room. "You're the real monster, Karl. Not me, not even that thing in the other room. It isn't her fault she is the way she is, just like it isn't my fault I'm like this. But that doesn't mean I'm going to let either one of you get away with it. You say you love me Karl? That you're sorry? Well, you're going to have all eternity to make it up to me." Helge flicked on the syringe, something she knew doctors did before injecting their patients. But there was one more thing she had to do. With her free hand, Helge unbuttoned Karl's shirt, exposing his chest. She ran her finger along his rib cage, her body feeling a tremor of nostalgia. She then ran her hand back up, resting her palm just over his heart. "You don't deserve this," Helge said, her voice laced with longing. In a quick motion, Helge's clawed hand penetrated Karl's chest cavity, and pulled out his thumping organ. Over the screaming, Helge shouted at him, "You have to earn this back, you bastard!" And with that, she shoved the needle right below where the gaping hole was, injecting him with the same poison that coursed through her. She refused to be alone ever again, even if it meant walking this planet with a rotting soul. Now that Karl was back, he would be hers ever more, just as he had promised that star filled night.

"What are we going to do?" Helge repeated, mostly to herself. She wiped away the tears on her face with the palms of her dirty hands. She hadn't thought that far ahead yet- her impromtu meticulous planning had crumbled away once Karl had seemed too catatonic to remember who she was. At least he was more cognizant now, so that was a start. The gears in her dead yet undead brain whirred as she surveyed the room. "Um, well," she began to say while fighting back the broken sobs still in her throat. "We need to come up with a plan, and fast. I have a feeling that any minute now that barricade is going to be broken through either by Chloro or whatever counts as security in this hovel. This is hard, Karl. But despite our current states, I'm glad you're not permanently brain dead. We have to put that aside for now."

Helge retracted her fangs and began to dash around the room, looking for anything of use to them for their impending predicament. "Damn this place! How are there no windows?!" she hissed. She went through each metal cabinet, every slide out drawer and the supply closet in this seemingly low-budget makeshift operating room. Upon the table she placed: a fire axe, an autopsy saw, a large pair of clamps, several clumps of gauze, and a handful of unlabeled vials of questionable colors. There weren't any unopened syringes. The only ones that could be found were located in the hazardous waste bins. Helge shuddered and picked them up carefully, which was a bit comical because, well, what's the worse that could happen? This would be a last resort tactic, she reasoned.

"There's not much we can use at the moment," Helge stated in an exasperated tone. "We're not strong enough or clever enough yet to take on Chloro or even more than a few guards with blasters. We don't know our strengths or weaknesses yet either, or how pliable our damage threshold is. So, I think we only have two options. We can try our best to sneak through the rafters, but I don't know the demensions of this place and can't guarantee how long we'll be stuck up there before we are sniffed out. Or, we can do our best to hold our own against whoever's outside while following the exit signs. It's ultimately up to you, Karl. How are you holding up? What can you handle right now?"

Fierce arms were wrapped around Karl's neck as he zipped down the corridors. Helge bowed her head against the rough currents of sterilized wind and winced as a rogue bullet found a new home inside her right calf. "AUGH! Talk about crap luck, huh?" she shouted. Damn ricochets. This day was not going as she hoped it would back at the diner.

She also didn't expect to be reunited with the man she could only assume was dead- the man she loved with a desperate fervor who didn't recognize her until it was too late.

Nor did she expect to be beaten up by a one eyed-failed science experiment, and then stabbed by her own pocket knife.

Nor did she assume she would die.
That was a bitch.

They continued to run and evade stray troopers until they reached a hallway that contained a makeshift barricade with gurneys, hospital beds, and other such furniture. Red eyes glew in the dark behind the pathetic wall, the lights seemingly been shot out. Broken glass lined the floor like stars in the night sky, and Helge thought she heard a chuckle deep inside Karl's chest.