Stasis Part 3: Mere Moments
Stasis Part 2: Into the Deep
Stasis Part 2: Into the Deep was illustrated by Maribel Navarro and written by Daniel Weinell.
Stasis Part 1: Alone Together
Stasis Part 1: Alone Together was illustrated by Maribel Navarro and written by Daniel Weinell.
Blood in the Water
You know my name.
You’ve always known it.
It bubbles up from the darkest parts of your soul
and
gets stuck
in your throat.
I have been with you from the beginning.
Do you remember that day by the river? I remember it well.
Those are the moments when the barrier between what is me and what is you begins to fade. Those are the moments when the world makes sense.
The other child provoked you, at least that is what you would tell them later. And he did, in a way. Yet your retribution was far more powerful than his taunts. You can still taste the coppery scent of his blood, can’t you?
You thought I was gone after that.
You thought I was some dark part of your soul that you buried along with his body. You grew up ignoring my provocations. But you learned by your own actions that I can not be silenced forever. The grin on your face, your lips twisted and your teeth bared, that was my smile. I was elated. You suffocated me for fifteen years but I was always alert, biding my time until you opened the door.
We both know you remember that night even if you claim ignorance. I was so proud I almost considered forgiving you for suppressing me all those years.
Do you remember the pounding in your ears? It was all you could hear as you collapsed to your knees and your clothing soaked up the blood. That was me laughing.
All of those bodies... It was a masterpiece.
They locked you up after that. Some of them wanted you to hang but the rest were content with letting you rot in that cell. For years you survived by dint of the tenacious clemency of the guards, but then the prison was abandoned
and
you
were
forgotten.
Left at the hands of fate, you clung to life until the marauders raided the prison. The dregs underestimated you, the emaciated corpse that you were. They dragged you out of your cell and into to the center of town.
The village was in ruins. Any buildings which had not yet collapsed were aflame, as their one-time occupants lay dead and dying in the streets. There had been violence here but where was the artistry?
You never did discover the savages’ intentions for you, but whatever their aim, it was beneath you. It was laughable how easy it was to slip your chains around the first man’s neck. His loathsome tongue couldn’t make jabs after that. You took his sword in hand and painted the streets with their blood.
The village was a cacophony of pleas and moans. That dying mother pinned beneath the rubble and her infant son, what did you do to them? When she pleaded for you to save her child, do you remember what you did? You picked up the crying baby and cradled it in your arms.
You coward.
You should have dashed that child against the fallen stonework so it’s mother could die in sorrow. But instead, you rescued it as if one final redemptive act would abolish the sins of a lifetime.
There is so much left to do.
Look how your blood clouds the water.
Doesn’t it remind you of his blood?
You’re too weak to even grip the sword now. Pathetic.
At least finish the task.
I can see your thoughts churning like a violent sea.
Your mind wandering, delving deeper, probing for an answer.
But you already know the answer.
You’ve always known.
Blood in the Water was written by Daniel Weinell and illustrated by Maribel Navarro.
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