Theo's bike squeaked as he stopped in from of the old church, taking in as much air as he could to prepare himself for whatever stood behind those wooden doors. Theo parked his bike and quietly knocked before entering the church himself.
There, he saw an exasperated Carmina with smoke fuming out of her ears. At the church's podium stood Alex, whacking an old-school white board with his instructor's stick, from wherever he had wheeled it in from.
"Drill this in your head! How will you be successful in your school life if you can't even push yourself to learn something as simple as this?"
"Simple . . . ? Simple!? No high schooler is going to learn some bumble shit wax about waves thing! I could have a thousand Einsteins with a trillion super computers, with none of them coming close to whatever the fuck this is!"
Alex made a heavy sigh before meeting his gaze with Theo's, "Wonderful, you're here! Let's hope you can set the stage right for our little vulgar Carmina over here, since she just isn't showing that academic passion; surely, you'll be different?"
"Sonuva bitch! I'm telling you Theo, no amount of passion can tell you what the fuck an 'intangible resonance' is."
"Alright, to give Theo the full context, I'll start over and summarize all that I've been teaching Carmina---" Alex spoke as he adjusted his priestly robes to a more comfortable positioning.
First theorized by Irrel Evantguy, Waves are nonspecific signals emitted by everything found tangible in reality.
Through those emitted Waves that a process named as Resonance can occur, which is when two or more individual sources of Waves come to settle for an equilibrium between their frequencies, thus allowing for interactivity between the two objects.
Manifestors are conscious things who have grown strong enough to define their own sense of individuality, creating their own individual Wave source separate from just being a byproduct of reality interacting with itself and allowing them to give form to the abstract characteristics that contribute to who they are as a person.
As far as research has come after the discovery of Waves, there are three different types of Manifestors classified by the behaviors of their Waves:
Cognomen, or Name users, are Manifestors whose individualistic Wave source focuses on resonating with themselves, typically Manifesting the words that describe them best into a self-centered ability.
Incarnates, or Soul users, are Manifestors whose individualistic Wave source focuses on resonating the things around it, typically Manifesting the memories and philosophies they treasure most into conditional abilities that influence reality.
Proselytizers, or Faith users, are Manifestors whose individualistic Wave source focuses on consistence of Resonance, typically Manifesting the beliefs and morals they uphold into elemental abilities with properties synonymous with said beliefs and morals.
But, as one could not observe, identifying your own classification is typically difficult due to the fact that most people cannot observe the behavior of their own Waves.
"---which brings me to your first mission, Theo; confirm what categories you belong to by consulting with Jared."
"Oh no, oh hell no! I don't need to escort Theo down there, do I?
"You don't need to worry, I'll guide Theo down to Jared."
Carmina, having breathed her sigh of relief, opened her mouth to caution Theo, " . . . hey man, just a heads up, you better go to the bathroom before heading down there."
"Huh? Are you saying I'd piss my pants scared going down there?"
" . . . yes." Carmina quietly spoke, ashamed of her past but willing to sacrifice her dignity if it meant Theo wouldn't repeat her humiliation.
"Certainly, it would be advisable of you, Theo, to empty your bladder before visiting Jared."
It was one thing to see Carmina's vulgar bravado being shaken by this Jared guy, but having Alex comment on the matter definitely gave Theo the persuasion to take the precautions he needed.
Hurrying to finish his business inside the church bathroom, Theo took a big gulp of air and nodded towards Alex that he was ready, or at least prepared enough that he won't embarrass himself.
"Come on now, we don't have all day long to get you sorted out for this. Just think of it as a needle you need to take from the doctor---won't be too long, and you just need a bit of bravery; I'll come pick you up once you're done, so just focus on what Jared has to say about you." Alex spoke reassuringly, the corners of his mouth bent ever so slightly upward like he always had.
Now that Theo was down in the basement of the church for a second time, he made many mental notes of its twisting hallways and painted doors. Entering one of them, the path forward warped to an endless degree, giving off the feeling that it was a labyrinth of mazes. It certainly didn't give a feeling of ease as the way that Theo followed Alex became more and more confusing.
Doors with colorful flowers splashed onto them seemed to connect towards Dr. Sunshine, while the doors with bloody skulls and vile colors seemed like prison cells for the most heinous criminals ever.
What seemed more bizarre than ever was how Alex paced at a speed unfamiliar to consistency; turns to the right were jagged and sudden, while turns to the left were bizarre and confusing
It was as though Alex was trying to get Theo lost inside this labyrinth of hallways and locked doors.
"Hey, wait up . . . !" Theo spoke as gasps of air began splitting up his words, the pace that Alex was going seemed impossible for someone of his stature.
It certainly didn't help that the hallways felt distorted despite its linear layout, inducing a trippy sensation that gave Theo the feeling that he was smoking weed with hellfire.
The ground beneath his feet became uncertain, the air that Theo was gasping for smelt like iron, the fluorescent lights from above gave off an ear-numbing buzz---Theo could feel his world slipping outside his conscious.
His every step felt like a tenth of the value Alex had when he took a step, the bizarre illusion of distance became unfathomable to Theo's eyes as the concrete walls twirled in asymmetrical geometry.
It wasn't long before Alex had walked out of Theo's line of eyesight, leaving him alone in the desolate labyrinth before what felt like three minutes had even occurred.
At the very least, Theo was able to catcher a breather as he began assessing his current situation. As mentioned before, he was in a long gray corridor made out of a concrete-like substance, with fluorescent lights attached above and many painted doors stretched across this long hallway.
Theo tried at one of the doors beside him to no avail, the doorknob hadn't nudged a single bit no matter how much aggression he used on it.
But as terrifying as it would be to be alone in such a bizarre basement, Theo found himself calm and almost optimistic that Alex could come back to pick him up; it was like he was inside a liminal space, devoid of life and as still as a picture.
In fact, after a quick stretch, Theo even felt confident that he might make it out by himself; the two days in that impoverished winter had made Theo's mind that, if he had to live in this entirely new world, he had to take a brave stance to it.
That all crumbled down in a matter of seconds as a loud crash was heard far in front of Thee, '...what the hell was that? What in God's holy name was that?'
Struck motionless with panic, Theo could feel the dampened fear resurge back up as the loud crashes began picking up in speed, a long string of curses rang deep inside Theo's head as he realized those crashes were the sound of the fluorescent lights breaking; its resulting darkness was fast approaching, and It had no intention to slow down.
The shades of black that overtook took the light devoured every part of the corridor in its wake, leaving nothing to be seen behind its path. Every second that Theo could have spent running had instead been spent staring, for both the terror and realization that he couldn't escape the shadowy maw rendered him immobile.
As the fragments of glass fell down into the approaching void, Theo felt a shift in the walls as though the basement was pumping with life, incurring a bizarre phenomenon that moved him backwards.
No, that was just a matter of perspective; what was really happening was that the infinite corridor moved itself 'forward' into the void, defying physics for Theo to be able to stand still despite how it functioned.
It started off slow, gaining momentum for every second that the hallway was devoured by the emerging threat. But due to its initial start, the devouring shade of black approached Theo a lot faster than the speed in which the corridor pushed it back, only then giving him the common sense to run.
"Oh shit! Oh shit! Oh shit! Oh shit!" Theo vocalized his long string of curses as he began cursing the 48 imaginary ancestors of the devouring void inside his head.
Breathing down his very neck was the devouring void, its eldritch darkness creeping closer and closer to Theo's back. With the corridor pushing itself forward into the void, it gave him the illusion that he was progressively running faster and faster, but he knew better than to stop to check behind him.
In a chase where each and every step mattered, Theo felt his muscles sting with pain as weakness began settling in, his heart burning with the desperation to survive as it pumped like an engine in order to offset his tired muscles.
With that very desperation, Theo ran like his entire life began on it; no, like his entire search history depended on it.
To expose the fact that Theo spent almost six hundred searches trying to find a name for Missus would kill him, especially if someone were to look into his name inspiration during his eighth grade syndrome years; Theo would combust into flames.
As the inches decreased between Theo and the devouring void, he could feel the cold embrace of death hanging right behind him, waiting for the smallest of stumbles to swing its scythe.
As it inched closer and closer, Theo could only pray to God that the swing of his elbows or the steps of his legs don't get gobbled up as they were essentially within the penumbra of the devouring void's darkness.
As the devouring void was just one inch from chomping Theo into its shadowy maw, he could feel its mystifying shade tingle the very hairs on his neck.
But, as though a form of plot armor protected him from certain death, Theo could feel the devouring void halt in its progression towards his exhausted body, though it wasn't that it had stopped completely.
As the devouring void was just one inch from enveloping Theo inside its darkness, the speed in which he ran along with the forwarding corridor had equaled the maximum speed the devouring void was capable of.
As the devouring void inched farther and farther with the corridor finally catching up with its voracious hunger, Theo felt a brief moment of euphoria as his muscles began relaxing, running as though he was hurrying to a class rather than running for his social life.
As the distance between him and the devouring void reached an equilibrium from the feeding corridor, Theo collapsed on the moving floor to catch a break.
'...how the hell is this suppose to show me what abilities I unlocked? Is God going to tell me?' Theo thought as he exhausted the last of his mental energy; facing two life-threatening events in a span of two to three days would usually threaten a heart attack.
After taking a deep breath and a proper minute-long rest, Theo conjured up the strength to stand up and look directly at the monster.
It was, just as he saw before, a devouring void with no concrete form. With the fact that Theo couldn't even hear the fluorescent lighting above break meant that the speeds that the corridor was going at exceeded the speed of sound, a throbbing pain ached inside his head trying to think of how he wasn't even affected by the forwarding of the corridor.
Noting that the devouring void before him wasn't much to look at, turning around to find an exit, Theo saw a trick of light flicker across his eyes.
"...?"
Attempting to confirm what he had just seen, Theo turned back around to stare into the abyss...
...and the abyss stared back.
"Agh! Woah! What in my mother's love?" Theo bizarrely cursed, deciding that he had enough vulgarity for today.
Staring back at him from the devouring void that it was were two floating eyes that had a 2D pixelation, a name tag that dangled from its impossible mass had the name 'Jared' on it.
[Blundering Proselytizer, bound by flesh and chained to soul, for what reason have you let your fragile mind expand this violently?]
"What? Excuse me?"
[This reality exists on layers far too multi-dimensional for your gripping, the consequences will leave stains upon your consciousness; it knows you do not belong here, you are dismantling at this very moment.]
As though cue, Theo felt blood drip down from his nose as his eyesight shifted to a blur for a short second.
[Answer before the rot reaches your entire being: for what reason have expanded your fragile conscious so far outward?]
Theo took a moment to decide whether he should ask for a way out or for what he came here to do, " . . . what am I?"
[Those who blunder their minds into an infinite expanse just for an answer to their own reality are not uncommon around here; the most recent being a stick-strung carrot with hanging brown roots.]
"Haha, that's very . . . interesting."
[Tell me my name, and I shall tell you yours. Gaze into my abyss, and I shall stare right back. Utter to me your faith, and I shall show you the harvest of your belief.]
"Uh, your name is Jared?" Theo spoke as his eyes bled from their pupils, though he didn't take much notice of it, "And I guess I'm catholic? Do I just keep looking at you?"
[In terms of Manifestation, Faith does not function in forms of God or an upper being. Instead, your faith depicts of the qualities of your desire; your prayers. If you do not know your faith, then utter to me your dream, it shall will suffice.]
"I, uh, don't know about that one."
[Dreams of old will do you the justice required, o' blundering Proselytizer.]
Then, in that case . . . " Theo took his moments trying to recall a childish dream he had long ago, " . . . then I guess I wanted to be a superhero? Or, like, save the world. I, uh, got into a bunch of superhero comics."
Jared gazed with a bizarre form of malice, [You should not forward your prayers to that selfless martyr, blundering Proselytizer; reigniting that wannabe savior would not be within my best interest.]
"Your interest? What does that ashy guy have to do with you?"
[Just mind it as competition between opposing colleagues, and nothing more; although, I suppose you should mind it a bit more than that, but we're getting off topic here. O' blundering Proselytizer, you have a peculiar arsenal of characteristics at your disposal. First would be your soul, which is nothing too remarkable; it will not grow any further than stage one. However, as I may observe, O' blundering Proselytizer, your Name and Faith are very delightful in terms of abstraction.
Flames are what represents your Faith, that of burning desire and unbreakable will; you have the potential to fully develop it into the third stage, but that's average among promising Manifestors.
Your Name, however, is what makes you a peculiar sight.
As much as I despise that walking contradiction, that ashen anus has done something very interesting to you. Is it, perhaps, a function of resonant stasis? Or is it a mannerism of conduction and White Noise? My eyes cannot unbind the cryptic thought of it.
No matter, it strays from the purpose of my visit here.
In a bizarre resonant function between Name and Faith, your ID weapon has been linked to your heart. It's an idiosyncrasy unheard of in the field of Manifestation, and rightfully so. To be able to mesh together two aspects of an individual goes against the very nature of Manifestation, after all.
Your Name, and kindly note this down as this is very essential to you as a person, 'Answer To The Ashen,' gathers the heat of the struck object and focuses it at the point in which your fire axe has made contact with said object.
However, in the credits due to that Wannabe Savior, because your Name and Faith are linked together, the conjured flame will instead be stored inside your heart and light you aflame.]
Theo connected two and two together to reference his experience inside the horrid stomach of that monstrous pig.
[But there is a variant to this peculiarity.
If you, o' blundering proselytizer, were to gain a certain level of Wave mastery, you can temporarily close the link between your Name and your Faith to initiate the fire axe's original purpose, which was to focus heat at the place struck by said fire axe.]
Ignorant of the blood leaking from his dismantled skin as though his nerves had been unbound to reality, Theo felt sheepishly prideful of the fact that this eldritch being named Jared took so much interest in him.
The concept of being special was a much-played thought of Theo's in both his younger and current years.
It was a defining feature of superheroes, after all.
"I see, I see . . . so, like, how do I get out of here?"
[There is no out except the outing of death, which brings me to my earnest request: because you are to die from being dismantled, would you be so kind as to repay my kindness with your existence?]
" . . . excuse me?"
[You see, o' blundering Proselytizer, I have been starved from the binding of reality for far too long. To repay my kindness, would you so wondrously forward your Name, your Soul, and your Faith to me?]
" . . . and what does that mean for me?"
[Why, you'll be stripped of all that binds you to reality, of course! Such is the price of curiosity; my wisdom is not cheap for the young too lazy and fearful to embark on a journey of self discovery.]
"Can I say no . . . ?" Theo uncomfortably asked, only know realizing that conversing with an eldritch know-it-all definitely wasn't the things he would have done under common sense.
But Jared wasn't having any of it.
In the few moments it took to register the response given to him, Jared's eyes went bloodshot as nerves of glowing red shot backward like lightning, revealing an ever-expanding cacophony of strings that writhed in agony.
[THEN YOU ARE TO LET ME AGONIZE? TO BEAR WITNESS THIS SHEER EXPANSE OF UTTER NOTHING? TO STARVE THIS HUNGERING ROT WITHIN MY VERY BEING? YOU WISH TO REPAY MY KINDNESS WITH EVIL? I KNEW IT, I KNEW FROM THE VERY START YOU WOULD LET ME STARVE.]
Unleashing an impossible scream that reverberated in dimensions far beyond the third, Jared began accelerating and broke the equilibrium between him and the corridor. Not only that, the walls began to crack like thunder was etching itself into its concrete as Jared expanded his dark mass.
Thanks to the indifference-inducing environment around him, Theo felt neither fear or confusion as the effects of being dismantled left him like a doll with mismatched parts.
Skin cracked and crumbled to dust on the floor, muscle began unraveling like yarn, the brain began sectionalizing memories individually as they split from chronology---the harrowing process of being dismantled was quickening by the moment.
"Alright Jared, you can stop now, I'll pay his tab. Does that work for you? It's his first time around here, so I hope you can take it easy on the new guy at work.
Alex, who had spoke up just in time to stop Theo's second involuntary vore session, walked from a door located miles back and onto the equilibrium so as not to be dragged into his black mass of darkness.
Carrying a vacuum to suck up Theo's disassembled body parts, Alex pushed the power button and got to work.
[Ah, employer Alex! Though I appreciate your offer, I'm afraid that temporary indulgence of your rustic bindings of putrid being cannot compare to the permanence of flesh and bone.]
"Aw man, I ain't tasty for you anymore?"
[Certainly not, sir! To eat a pizza whole is much preferable to chewing the cheese and spitting it back out to munch on it again.]
"Ew, don't use that metaphor again." Alex made a visible face of repulsion before pulling out a spray bottle to squirt water at Jared's only pair of eyes.
[Agh!]
"Look, Jared, although you might be inclined to take a nab at whatever chance you have to come closer to being whole again, don't you have some sympathy for your junior? Theo's a real fella with lots of potential and nipping at his bud doesn't help you go any further than 2.45E-204 percent worths of progress. I'm willing to bet you can get a lot more whole a lot more faster if you let Theo live."
[Ah! I see your point! To think I've allowed something so wonderful to be done to my junior without a means to ever feel that moment of freedom ever again! I won't be held accountable . . . right?] Jared self-consciously asked.
"Mmmm, I'll get Dr. Sunshine to patch him right back up, but as for you, minus three hundred million feedings of myself to you!"
[NOOOOOO!]
Jared began forming tears at the corners of his floating, wobbly eyes.
" . . . or you can write an apology letter to Theo in addition to a gift to mend your relationship; one or the other."
[But I don't have hands!]
"Try."
As Jared began scrambling around something that could sufficiently count as hands, Alex had finished his cleanup and was preparing to leave.
"Jared, do you mind slowing down your expansion so I can leave? You'll get a newly customizable name tag if you do it quick. The sooner I can navigate through these hyper-geometric doorways, the better."
[Yes, sir!] Jared responded enthusiastically, squinting his eyes down hard as the corridor's equilibrium began slowing down in proportion to his expansion.
"Thank you."
[When do I get to eat?]
"Two forty three AM tomorrow." Alex spoke his last words to Jared, grabbing a seemingly random doorknob from the tens of doors being fed into his all-devouring mass of darkness.
________________________________________________________________________________________________
"I would say good morning, but it's the afternoon and I can't imagine a meeting with Jared would give anyone sweet dreams." Carmina, who was slouched on the long wooden chairs of the church, spoke with a more-than-sluggish tone while reviewing her notes.
"Why do we have an eldritch being named Jared lurking in the church basement?"
"Hell if I know. He's always been there and, as you will continue to find out, Alex is an ass regarding answers. Well, if I have make do with the scrap I have, then he's 'reliable' in a way."
"Reliable for a sure-fire way to piss your pants?"
"For one, yes."
" . . . for two?"
"Nah, just one, punk. You stole my joke."
"Oh."
"But if I were to make with the scraps of info I have now, Jared is awfully subservient to Alex. Oh, well, I guess he's there because he got hired here by Alex, but that doesn't really explain why he wants to be hired in the first place. Maybe Alex just has a banger deal?
"When Alex and Jared was taking, although barely, I could overhead him say something about serving himself to him."
"Jared to Alex or Alex to Jared?"
"Alex to Jared."
"What the hell? You think it's a workplace romance?"
" . . . "
"Okay, maybe not, but that's just a theory! A game theory!"
"Pfftahaha!"
As Theo had a small fit of laughter, Carmina held her high as the incredible genius of her joke had certainly earned it.
"Oh, right, did Jared say anything about having potential in your Name, by any chance?"
"Yea, I think---"
"Fuck yea! We'll be buddies till the end of time! Superhero and sidekick! Parters in crime! What is it? Summon your ID weapon!"
"I don't know how---"
Busting down the church doors with a gentle kick, splintering the door handle and leaving him with more bills to pay, Alex made a semi-perfect entrance into the church where Theo and Carmina sat.
Although Alex needed a moment or two to assess the damage he had done against his precious church and feel remorse over the consequences of his actions, Alex fixed his slightly disheveled leggings and said with enthusiasm, "Well then, let me tell you all about the Manifestation of your ID weapon!
"The fuck did you come in from?! Why did you come in the exact moment the conversation came to that point? Were you stalking us to make an entrance?"
"Of course not, my dear! I have evidence of my innocence, so trust that it's all just coincidence." Alex spoke as he tossed his phone towards Carmina, who had let it fall on the floor before picking it up to watch the video evidence in his photos.
"As she confirms that I am indeed not a stalker, we can figure out how to manifest your Name and Faith abilities. What did Jared say your name was?"
"I think it was 'Answer To The Ashen,' weirdly enough."
"Mmhmm, mmhmm, and would you mind saying it again a few more times?" Alex asked as he fiddled with the knob of his rectangular radio, making a fair bit of static before he was satisfied.
"Answer To The Ashen, Answer To The Ashen, Answer To The Ashen, Answore To The Ashfin, Anzwar To Tuh Ashphin." Theo repeated his epithet a few more times before getting his tongue tied.
As dumb as it looked from a third-person perspective, the Waves produced by the very mention of Theo's Name was attempting to materialize itself with the real world.
Every pronunciation that came with his Name emitted a persisting Wave that attempted to resonate with the Waves of space and time; to Manifest itself into physicality.
"Bleh, what a tongue twister. Answer To The Ashen, Answer To The Ashen, Answer To The---woah!" Theo's mouth tingled with a vibration when he found something had manifested inside his hands, devoid of any special effects or sound.
Surprised by the sudden feeling of dry wood in his hands, that very same fire axe that the Wannabe Savior had given him, Theo had nearly released his grip to let it wall on the wooden floorboards, which would have certainly been disastrous considering its capabilities.
On the other hand, Alex still had his slighted smile and indifferent eyes, fiddling with the radio's knob as though it were giving vital information to him.
"How does Manifestation feel for the first time?"
"Weird, really weird. I got an itch on my lips like I've been blowing raspberries for hours without end. What's on that radio thingy?"
"Just measuring a bit of Wave potency, that's all."
"Wave potency? Like, how strong my Waves are?"
"Yup."
" . . . "
" . . . "
"So can I go now?"
"Oh, nono, not yet. I just gotta get a few more readings off of ya to get you documented."
"Documented?"
"Nothing too important."
"Okay, cool, what is it?"
"Just a thing here and there."
"Yea, really cool, so what is it?"
Carmina responded from afar as she stared begrudgingly at Alex, "You ain't gonna get shit from his mouth, Theo. Trust me on that. The only thing that'll be coming out is him PUKING OUT A DOZEN FUCKING MOCHI DONUTS AND THREE DRINKS-WORTH OF BOBA YOU---"
"If you look further into the video, I bought another dozen for you to share as well as two cups of boba from another place."
"---wonderfully caring man! How could I ever curse you out?"
Carmina quickly changed her attitude as she went outside to fetch the food, leaving Theo to do nothing but stand and wait as Alex tweaked the radio in his hand.
As scary as it might have been to drop the fire axe onto the floor, Theo began to fiddle with it as seconds grew to minutes. From a twirl around his wrist to a little pendulum swing at its base, Theo turned more and more aimless by the second, ultimately turning to make a couple fire axe flips into the air until he missed a catch, that in which had fell blade-first into the ground.
"Mmm, Theo, you should try this---" Carmina spoke with eaten mochi donuts on one hand and boba on the other before abruptly ending her sentence, "---fucking fire! The church is on fucking fire!"
Having carefully set down the drinks and box of donuts, Carmina ran out the door before re-entering it to jump out the window for extra dramatic effect.
Then, she rushed to the nearest building to grab fire extinguisher and came back to spray Theo down until he was entirely covered in white foam.
"Puah! Cough cough! S-Stop, Carmina! It's out, it's out!"
"What did you say!?"
"Stop, Carmina, stop!"
Carmina did not stop.
It would only be until the fire extinguisher was empty that Carmina stopped spraying Theo, breathing a sigh of satisfaction with her work as she patted herself on the back and drank the remaining liquid inside her drink.
" . . . "
"What? It was a once-in-a-life-time experience to use a fire extinguisher all the way through, alright? Here, I'll give you three balls of my mochi donut as compensation.
Alex, who stood as still as a rock throughout the whole ordeal, finished reading whatever was on his radio and said to Carmina, "Please do mind that you're going to need to compensate for that window too."
" . . . how about this whole mochi donut and the last of my boba?"
"I payed for that, Carmina. If you can't cough up the money, I might feel inclined to ask your grandmother to pay in your stead."
"No! No, c'mon man, that's my grandma, she's already got enough worries on her mind. I'll get a part time job or something. How much can a glass window be, anyways?"
"Two hundred dollars is enough. I'll cover the rest."
As Carmina's soul slowly escaped through her mouth, though grateful for Alex's financial aid, Theo was convulsing on the floor as his heart palpitations neared a whopping 250 beats per minute.
It wouldn't be until Alex was finished with his documentation that he would begin to drag Theo downstairs, prompting Carmina's reaction to the incident.
"Oh, shit, what happened to him? Do I need to stab him?"
"It would be horrid if an onlooker were to hear that. Please be mindful of your mouth, Carmina, lest you wish that a couple if police officers bust down those doors with a warrant for our arrest."
"Yea, I know that . . . " Carmina looked at Theo's painfully contorted face, " . . . but he looks like he's in a lot of pain. Are you sure I shouldn't stab him?"
"Psychopath."
"You know the kind of context I'm saying that with!"
Alex let out a small laugh before returning to the topic at hand, "Anyways, no, you shouldn't. Stabbing Theo wouldn't do anything but make him feel the pain of being stabbed, and it would be ill advised to put him into shock. Just help me carry the body."
As prompted by Alex, Carmina did an awkwardly slow run or fast walk that balanced between the facts that the situation at hand was pretty urgent and that the distance between her and Theo was only a few steps away.
But as Alex was picking up Theo's legs and Carmina his head, an ill-fortune of butter fingers happened to come across her hands as Theo's neck was dropped down on a sharp corner of the chancel, completely stopping his convulsions as a mortified look was strewn across Alex's face.
Carmina was also sharing a horrified look, although her gaze laid on the chipped corner rather than the neck-broken Theo on the floor.
" . . . do I need to pay for that or---?"