“It makes you look tough.” Alice said helpfully.

Tears sprang to Bette’s eyes.  She crawled back into bed, wanting to sleep. Just below her jawline, another scar—this one really unsettled her, but she could not ask.

“It’s ok, sweetheart, get some more sleep, we’ll talk more when you wake up.” Helena, not failing to notice that Bette’s eyes still seemed a little red, and that her teeth had actually clicked together when she gazed at Helena’s arms, tucked her girlfriend in for another night of rest.  An IV was adjusted to her arm, keeping her hydrated.

That night, alone in the white room, Bette’s dreams could not be separated from waking life.  Tina visited again, this time to tell Bette to stop being a baby.  “But I’m not!” Bette screamed, only to realize that she had been sleeping and that when she screamed for real, it hurt her throat.

Miserable, Bette hunched in bed in the fetal position.  Little did she know, that in the room next to her, Helena slept as close to the wall as she could. 

In her dreams, all she could think of was the feeding.  Helena’s arms wrapped all around her, stroking her head, and every time, Bette bit down hard. 

In her dreams, Helena’s eyes were already red when she came for her.

Still, I Feel Them Behind Me…

Pain, agony…Bette can not see straight. Ahead of her, gripping tightly to their daughter is the woman she loves. Helena, seeing the look in Bette’s eyes, places Caiohme carefully behind her.  But her gun, bent under her at an awkward angle, cannot help her now.

“Helenaaaaa…” Bette hisses.  Just as she reaches, her right hand betrays her.  Light comes to her eyes. “Baby, go, go now…don’t let me…”

“Bette, no!” Helena, noticing the flash of steel in Bette’s hand. “We’ll find a way…just…hold on!”

Bette shakes her head and just as the wash of red falls over her eyes again—just as she begins to see the veins in Helena’s neck for their warmth and nourishment—she reaches across with her knife…

And begins to cut her own throat.

“HELENA! HELENA! NO…NO…NO…”

Present Morning, Just After Dawn…

Bette shot up, clawing at her right hand with her left.  She gagged, realizing that she was literally choking herself.  Then she felt the scar, the one she had ignored before.

Helena came rushing in.

“It’s ok, it’s ok…you did it to save us.” Helena did her best to soothe Bette, but something had slipped in the other woman’s mind. Bette fell limply into Helena’s arms and slipped into cold and restless slumber. 

Helena took a long time to sweep back Bette’s hair, tracing her finger once again over the scars that crossed Bette’s neck and face.  They had healed remarkably in the time since they had found a cure.  This unsettled Helena, but she tried to dismiss her worry.

Helena wasn’t, really worried that Bette would hurt her.  She could match strengths with Bette if she had to. Afterall, a cut throat bled a lot of blood. Some of that blood could easily spray into the eyes or mouth of another.

Helena’s Memories…

A darkened tunnel.  Only the crying baby can be heard.  Helena touched the blood at the corners of her eyes, and dripping from her mouth. Bette’s blood. So like her own now—crawling, festering, living quite on its own, as though it were a thing in itself.

A low groan sounds from Helena’s throat.  She looks behind her, cranes her neck, for the wiggling live thing that lays just beyond reach.  As far as she had pushed the child, she knew she would not be able to twist around to get her.  Just as well, she thought in a dim place in her mind, because she didn’t want to eat her own family.

Before the people from the 4^th floor could rescue her, she had begun to cut off her remaining leg.

To Be Continued…