Promise Me (Don't Go)
Chapter One
There’s blood everywhere. The dark liquid is on his clothes, on his skin, on the walls, on the ground, on the corpse of the man Gerard just killed. Some of it got under Gerard’s fingernails, the dark red barely showing underneath of his black nail polish. He frowns as he ponders how he’s going to clean up this mess.
Gerard looks up at the sky as the bells toll, making a loud noise cut through the quiet night, reminding Gerard just how much time he has left before morning. He carefully counts how many times the bells ring, and looks back down at his bloody fingernails when he realizes that it’s three in the morning.
Gerard stands there for a minute after the bells finish tolling, just staring down at his nails. Gerard is so tired.
Movement catches Gerard’s eye. He gazes over in the direction it came from. A drop of blood rolls down Gerard’s victim’s cheek.
Gerard sighs as he stares at the corpse. There are deep cuts in the man’s skin from Gerard’s knife where blood wells up and his arm is twisted grotesquely behind his back. Gerard had gouged out one of his eyes, making blood well up there, too. The other eye is open, staring at the sky with fear and horror. It’s clear that this thing that used to be a man is dead.
Gerard gazes at the blood on the alley wall and then he looks at the exit to the alley. Making a swift decision, he simply turns and walks away from the murder scene.
A soft breeze carries the night air and makes Gerard’s pitch black-shoulder length hair blow around his face. Gerard shivers slightly and pulls his black trench coat around his body even tighter. His boots made a soft clomping sound with every step that he takes.
Gerard turns the street corner, taking him even farther away from the crime scene that he created. He makes sure to go in the opposite direction of his home, and instead decides to walk to the church where the bells are.
The church is fairly new to the town, only built five years ago when the other one was burned down. The only thing Gerard actually likes about it is the bells at the top of the tower. They make it easier for Gerard to kill, always reminding him how much time he has left before morning.
Gerard slows his pace slightly as the large church comes in his view. The wind slaps Gerard in the face harder than before and he sneezes.
Suddenly, a clicking sound fills the air and Gerard freezes as something nudges the back of his head.
“Don’t move. I swear to God, if you move I’ll kill you like that person you killed back there.”
As the man behind him talks with a loud voice, Gerard carefully pulls his knife out of his sleeve. His heart pounds and he licks his lips as he silently curls his fingers around the hilt. Gerard hurls every swear word he knows at himself, cursing his foolishness. Of course there would be police patrolling this street, ever since Gerard buried that body in the church cemetery.
“What pleasure do you get out of killing all of those innocent people? Does it please you to know that you’re a murderer? Do you get off on watching them bleed? You’re sick.”
For the first time, Gerard speaks. “Do you take pleasure in holding me captive like this?”
The man behind him hesitates to answer, instead growling with anger. In that brief moment the gun pointed at the back of Gerard’s head slips down a little. That’s all the encouragement Gerard needs. He swings around and slashes down with his hand. The knife misses its mark as the man moves faster than Gerard thought possible.
Gerard makes a faint noise of surprise as the sound of a gun clattering to the ground fills the air. He turns around, searching for the man but not finding him. Adrenaline pumps through Gerard’s veins, making him aware of so much, but not the man that’s about to pounce on Gerard’s back.
There’s a snarling noise and then the knife is knocked out of Gerard’s hand and Gerard is on the ground, and there’s blood, but it’s Gerard that’s bleeding this time and there’s so much blood, slowly covering the sidewalk on which Gerard lays.
Gerard blinks as the man’s shoes come in his vision. Slowly, a dull ache spreads through his body, coming from his stomach.
“I didn’t slash anything important. You have a very fancy knife here. It cuts very well. How does it feel to be cut by your own blade?”
The man is still talking, and he keeps talking as Gerard’s vision slowly fades to black spots. Now he’s talking into something, talking about Gerard and Gerard knows he’s done for. He should’ve cleaned up his mess, should’ve been more careful.
By the time the police cars are racing down the street, their sirens blazing, Gerard is drifting off. His eyelids feel so heavy and he wants nothing more than to just close them, but he needs to know who bested him like this. The need to know is almost as painful as the wound inflicted on Gerard’s stomach.
Gerard slowly drags his eyes upwards and turns his head as much as he can. At first all he sees is darkness and the sky, but then there’s something blocking the sky, staring down at him with curious hazel eyes.
“How are you not unconscious yet?” Frank Iero asks, sounding genuinely curious. That’s the last thing Gerard hears before everything is black, so black, he’s suffocating in the black until he chokes and everything is gone.
Gerard looks up at the sky as the bells toll, making a loud noise cut through the quiet night, reminding Gerard just how much time he has left before morning. He carefully counts how many times the bells ring, and looks back down at his bloody fingernails when he realizes that it’s three in the morning.
Gerard stands there for a minute after the bells finish tolling, just staring down at his nails. Gerard is so tired.
Movement catches Gerard’s eye. He gazes over in the direction it came from. A drop of blood rolls down Gerard’s victim’s cheek.
Gerard sighs as he stares at the corpse. There are deep cuts in the man’s skin from Gerard’s knife where blood wells up and his arm is twisted grotesquely behind his back. Gerard had gouged out one of his eyes, making blood well up there, too. The other eye is open, staring at the sky with fear and horror. It’s clear that this thing that used to be a man is dead.
Gerard gazes at the blood on the alley wall and then he looks at the exit to the alley. Making a swift decision, he simply turns and walks away from the murder scene.
A soft breeze carries the night air and makes Gerard’s pitch black-shoulder length hair blow around his face. Gerard shivers slightly and pulls his black trench coat around his body even tighter. His boots made a soft clomping sound with every step that he takes.
Gerard turns the street corner, taking him even farther away from the crime scene that he created. He makes sure to go in the opposite direction of his home, and instead decides to walk to the church where the bells are.
The church is fairly new to the town, only built five years ago when the other one was burned down. The only thing Gerard actually likes about it is the bells at the top of the tower. They make it easier for Gerard to kill, always reminding him how much time he has left before morning.
Gerard slows his pace slightly as the large church comes in his view. The wind slaps Gerard in the face harder than before and he sneezes.
Suddenly, a clicking sound fills the air and Gerard freezes as something nudges the back of his head.
“Don’t move. I swear to God, if you move I’ll kill you like that person you killed back there.”
As the man behind him talks with a loud voice, Gerard carefully pulls his knife out of his sleeve. His heart pounds and he licks his lips as he silently curls his fingers around the hilt. Gerard hurls every swear word he knows at himself, cursing his foolishness. Of course there would be police patrolling this street, ever since Gerard buried that body in the church cemetery.
“What pleasure do you get out of killing all of those innocent people? Does it please you to know that you’re a murderer? Do you get off on watching them bleed? You’re sick.”
For the first time, Gerard speaks. “Do you take pleasure in holding me captive like this?”
The man behind him hesitates to answer, instead growling with anger. In that brief moment the gun pointed at the back of Gerard’s head slips down a little. That’s all the encouragement Gerard needs. He swings around and slashes down with his hand. The knife misses its mark as the man moves faster than Gerard thought possible.
Gerard makes a faint noise of surprise as the sound of a gun clattering to the ground fills the air. He turns around, searching for the man but not finding him. Adrenaline pumps through Gerard’s veins, making him aware of so much, but not the man that’s about to pounce on Gerard’s back.
There’s a snarling noise and then the knife is knocked out of Gerard’s hand and Gerard is on the ground, and there’s blood, but it’s Gerard that’s bleeding this time and there’s so much blood, slowly covering the sidewalk on which Gerard lays.
Gerard blinks as the man’s shoes come in his vision. Slowly, a dull ache spreads through his body, coming from his stomach.
“I didn’t slash anything important. You have a very fancy knife here. It cuts very well. How does it feel to be cut by your own blade?”
The man is still talking, and he keeps talking as Gerard’s vision slowly fades to black spots. Now he’s talking into something, talking about Gerard and Gerard knows he’s done for. He should’ve cleaned up his mess, should’ve been more careful.
By the time the police cars are racing down the street, their sirens blazing, Gerard is drifting off. His eyelids feel so heavy and he wants nothing more than to just close them, but he needs to know who bested him like this. The need to know is almost as painful as the wound inflicted on Gerard’s stomach.
Gerard slowly drags his eyes upwards and turns his head as much as he can. At first all he sees is darkness and the sky, but then there’s something blocking the sky, staring down at him with curious hazel eyes.
“How are you not unconscious yet?” Frank Iero asks, sounding genuinely curious. That’s the last thing Gerard hears before everything is black, so black, he’s suffocating in the black until he chokes and everything is gone.
4/13/13