Asleep

by cakiepy

Every twenty minutes a flash across the sky, a sliver of white light across a plane of black. Every twenty minutes, Matthew Williams dies another death. Dark Carnival AU where people do not understand the concept of country personifications and immortality is seen as something to be toyed with, to be stretched until it breaks.

Eyes closed, breath shallow, skin pale as lilac. Essentially a living corpse brought to life again and again purely for cruel entertainment. A source of relief for people who need someone more miserable than themselves. They like to watch him choke, he knows. They stare at him hungrily; he can feel their gazes on him through the thin glass, burning holes into his skin as he gasps, sputters, and is falls limp as his lungs fill once more with carbon dioxide.

"Ten dollars," he hears the master roar, "Ten dollars to see this lad brought back to life! By the power of magic; there is no God!" Matthew doesn't need to open his eyes to see the fast-gathering crowd, impatient eyes waiting to see the rebuttal of traditional beliefs, the master with his round stripes and suspenders that look as if they could burst any second. The master, he thinks with a slight grimace as his heart starts beating uncomfortably fast, is most pathetic of them all.

...

(A/N: This might not be continued; I don't know what to do with this piece. Any suggestions? I'll credit you for sure!)