"Did you know that babies taste better if you pulped and minced them with just a little bit of garlic, green onions, and soy sauce?"
"Shut up!" Taylor screamed and thrashed and punched the wall, leaving a knuckle-shaped imprint of blood. She grabbed her hair and pulled and screeched as she sunk into the floor. The tears wouldn't stop falling, no matter how much she cried into her sleeve. And, when she closed her eyes, she saw all of their faces, right before they were cut down. She pulled until she ripped a chunk of her own hair, drawing blood. It hurt, stung, but not nearly as much as the fact that she was now a mass-murderer, that hundreds of students were dead because of her. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGHHH!"
"Also, pregnant women have a weird aftertaste- you know what? I think it'll be better if I just showed you. Come on, let's go look for someone to eat. It'll be good for you, being so scrawny and all."
"Why are you tormenting me?!"
"Am I?"
"Just leave me alone!" Taylor sobbed, hugging her knees and burying her face in the gap of her legs. Everything hurt. It all happened too fast. Even now, a part of her still lingered in that locker – the smell and the filth. Another part of her lingered over that look in Emma's face, that brief widening of her eyes when Sophia Hess exploded into a shower of gore right beside her, followed by Madison. The monster saved her former-best friend for last.
And the worst part was that she knew that she could've retaken control over her body if she just tried. She could've prevented all of that. No one had to die. But her mind had faded for just a moment and the monster took over – fully. And so, she just watched as Emma was cut down, slowly, inch by bloody inch, her throat sliced first so she couldn't properly scream, followed by both of her eyes, and everything else after.
They were all dead because of her, because she was weak.
"Eh, fine. Watching you cry and mope is about as entertaining as kicking away an old person's cane and watching them flail on the ground – fun at first, gets lamer with every passing second. Catch ya later, loser."
She didn't know how much time she spent there, just crying and crying. At the very least, the monster didn't come back, didn't haunt and taunt her. She was a criminal now, worse than every single villain in Brockton Bay, because not even someone as bad as Lung could be blamed for the deaths of hundreds of kids. Could she still go home? Would dad even accept her as she was? Would he still love her, even if she was a mass-murdering criminal? She didn't know. She didn't want to know. She didn't think she could face him at all. Could she turn herself in, instead? Surrender to the authorities and tell them everything, confess...
But then the monster would just come out, wouldn't it? And when it came out, people died.
And she'd have the blood of heroes and officers on her hands.
She'd be up there with the Slaughterhouse Nine.
At this point, she may as well just walk up to them and hand over her resume.
Taylor hugged her legs closer.
She just wanted to go home. She wanted to sleep and forget about all of this, to forget everything she'd done. But... she was afraid of sleep, because it meant her mind would be elsewhere... and the monster might take over. And, when she woke up, her hands would be stained by the blood of thousands. She couldn't afford to sleep, no matter how tired she was. But... she couldn't stay here. She had to get away... somewhere the monster couldn't hurt anyone.
"Taylor!" She froze. She recognized that voice. Someone barged into the women's room, panting, panicking. She hid her face. Why was he here? Why did he come for her? How did he even find her? No no no no she couldn't even show her face. She was a murderer, a criminal. She didn't deserve to have a father. "Taylor, are you in here?!"
One by one, Taylor heard the sound of doors getting thrown open, until the door in front of her was wrenched open. And there he was, Danny Hebert. Taylor did not dare move her head. She simply kept hugging her knees, burying her face in the fabric of her pants. What could she say? What was there to say? So, she kept quiet, closed her eyes, and hoped the world would forget about her, somehow. Her dad knelt in front of her and she felt his hands over her shoulders. "Taylor..."
And then, she felt her father's arms wrapping around her, pulling her into a tight embrace. "Oh my god, I thought I'd lost you! When I heard about what happened to Winslow, I drove here as fast as I could. I thought you were inside... but someone saw you walking into this place. Taylor... are you okay?"
She didn't answer for a while. She didn't want to speak at all. She just wanted to cry and cry and just stop existing altogether. But how could she? Sniffling and holding back tears, Taylor spoke, "I'm okay... dad."
He didn't ask why she had a bunch of her hair in her grasp or why her blood was on the wall or why the mirror beside her was broken. It was good that he didn't, because Taylor wouldn't have had an answer, otherwise. "Hey, let's just go home, okay kiddo? Let's go home and forget about all of this. Just get some rest. I'll... make us some dinner, okay? You don't have to worry about anything. You're safe."
She should've just ran away right then and there. She should've just pushed her dad away to keep him safe. She was a criminal. Criminals didn't deserve to go home. But Taylor was... tired. She was so tired and everything hurt. Rest... yeah... she'd rest and clear her head... figure out what she wanted to do and how to do it. Maybe... just maybe, there was a way to make things right, a way to move forward, even as everything crumbled and fell apart around her. She should've pushed away her father and bolted. Instead of doing that, however, Taylor spoke, "Okay... let's go home, dad."
"You got it, kiddo." He said, whispering soothingly. "Let's get you out of here."
"Okay..."
Taylor stared at the mirror in her room, wondering if she'd imagined all of that, wondering if there truly was something within her – or if everything that'd happened was just a nightmare she'd woken from. She very much doubted that she was that lucky, but it felt good to hope. At the very least, there were no markings on her face in the mirror, no mouths opening up where they shouldn't, no mocking voice telling her to kill and eat humans. Maybe the monster was just a dream. Though, Taylor wasn't sure where the slits underneath her eyes came from.
She'd been able to sleep, after all, and hadn't been taken over. She hadn't wandered off and slaughtered her neighbors or, god forbid, killed her own father. She slept rather soundly. She slept a lot, actually.
Taylor sighed and sat down on the side of her bed. It'd been a full two days since the Winslow Incident, as the reporters started calling it on the morning news, and... honestly, she wasn't sure what she was supposed to do now. Though it seemed like a distant concern, finding a way to continue her education was now paramount. Arcadia was a good choice... she just wasn't sure if it was even possible to recover any of the legal documents she'd left behind at Winslow on account of the school no longer existing. She did still have her report cards, which would hopefully be enough to get in. But, honestly, she wasn't even sure if her dad could afford the school's tuition fees.
Whatever the case, she'd cross that bridge when she got to it.
For now, she'd-
"Yo, I'm back," Said the mouth that suddenly formed on her forehead.
Taylor screamed and fell off the bed, glad that her father had gone out to work earlier than expected. And with the appearance of the mouth came every single terrible memory of that day. But, what had she been expecting? Of course the monster was real. Of course, it just had to be inside her. Taylor breathed in, stared at the ceiling, and sighed. At the very least, she was awake and in control of herself. The monster would find no crack in her defense. This was the least she could do, Taylor figured. The mouth on her forehead chuckled. "Ah, you didn't think I'd disappear, just like that, did you? Nah, I plan on having as much fun as possible, just needed to have a little chat with the other passenger in your head."
Taylor forced herself up and turned to look at her reflection on the mirror. The figure that stared back at her was not her, despite the physical similarities. The markings were back, black tattoos that covered portions of her face, and she finally knew now what the slits under her eyes were – extra eyes. Taylor gritted her teeth as tears welled up at the corners of her eyes. "What do you want?"
"I am Ryomen Sukuna, by the way," The mouth chuckled. "You calling me a monster in your head is cute and all, but I do have a name."
Her eyes narrowed. It had a name? Sukuna... Sukuna... it sounded almost Asian... maybe Japanese?
"You want to be a hero, don't you?" The monster suddenly asked, still grinning. And Taylor's blood ran cold. "Yeah, I've seen your memories. You've dreamed of being a hero, right? Ever since you were a kid. You want to fight crime and help the weak and all that stupid nonsense."
Taylor stayed quiet. The monster continued. "So, how about we make a deal. You can-"
"No!" Taylor all but screamed at her reflection. "I'm not letting you out for any reason! If you're stuck inside me, then that's where you'll be staying! You're not going to kill anyone else!"
"Oh, the little brat's got some bite, eh?" The monster laughed. "You should, at the very least, hear my offer, before you decide anything, though, Taylor. You might just regret it."
Taylor remained quiet as she stared at the reflection that smirked right at her. "Now, what I'm offering you is called a Binding Vow. It can't be broken. Whatever we agree on in the vow, I will be forced to follow; the same goes for you, of course. So, here's the deal; I have the ability to heal just about any injury as long as the target isn't already dead. Lost limbs and organs? Easy. A single touch is all it takes. You touch them and I work through you."
"Twenty people," The monster said. There was something about its tone that Taylor hated, an arrogant certainty. "Every time you heal twenty people, I come out for twelve hours. Pretty solid deal, yeah?"
"No," Taylor said, firmly. "You're just going to hurt more people. It won't matter how many I can heal. Besides, why should I believe you? All you've done is kill innocent people. Why should I believe that you have healing powers? You think I'm stupid, don't you? You think I'm just a naive little girl that you can manipulate. Well, guess what; I'm not falling for any of your tricks!"
"You're stuck in me and you're going to stay stuck until I fucking die!"
The reflection's grin did not disappear. In fact, it only seemed amused. "Oh, little girl, you don't have the slightest idea what you're talking about. But that's fine. Tell you what; I'll give you a freebie – a single, free healing session. And if you're not convinced after that... well... hehe..."
The malevolent reflection disappeared. And, suddenly, the doorbell rung. Taylor's eyes widened. There was someone downstairs. Gritting her teeth, Taylor walked out of her room, down the stairs, and into the living room. Her heart sank when she glanced through her door's peephole. Standing right outside was a pair of police officers. Her hands shook as she reached for the doorknob and twisted.
This was it. They were going to arrest her. They were going to take her to the birdcage and she'd never see her father again. But... if that was what it took to keep the monster imprisoned, then she'd gladly go with them. At least, that way, she'll never hurt anyone ever again.
And so, Taylor opened the door. "Yes?"
"Are you Taylor Hebert, daughter of Daniel Hebert?" The officer asked, a balding man in his late forties, she figured. Taylor nodded. "Two hours ago, your father was involved in an incident between the Empire and the ABB. There was a burning bus and he tried to save as many people as he could, pulled eleven right out of the fire, before he suffocated, suffered several third degree burns. He's in the hospital right now."
At the back of her head, Taylor heard Sukuna's laughter.
