Chapter 14
Duo’s eyes fluttered open as he rolled to his left, and incidentally onto Conjug. The sleek frog stirred, moaning lightly but didn’t awaken. Peppa wasn’t in the room. Duo sat up, smoothing his ruffled feathers. Last night had been… electrifying. But it simply wasn’t enough to dissuade Duo from his rage. He was still furious at Peppa for her treasonous behavior. It was unforgivable. And so, He had to plan. The assassination of Peppa would need to happen soon.
Duo exited the bedroom, leaving Conjug asleep on the pillows. He walked to the kitchen to examine Conjug’s knife collection. Knives had always been his favorite murder weapon. Classic, but with many opportunities for customization. And the blood. The way it dripped and clotted depending on the cut. The smooth slice of flesh beneath his freshly sharpened weapon. It was a most artistic and pure pain, and one he intended to make Peppa both endure and indulge in simultaneously. He picked up the best knife Conjug owned and began to sharpen it.
Peppa sat in a small swing on Conjug’s back patio, stressed and lost in a debate. Duo had hurt her many times, but if he could move past her offenses against him, she would gladly forget the pain he had caused her. This she knew. But should she?
Duo pulled open the glass sliding door that led to the stone courtyard behind the house. He winced as it squeaked in resistance, but Peppa seemed lost in thought, ignorant of her surroundings. He waddled towards where she sat, his talons clicking on the unpolished rock below him.
“Hey Peppa” Duo started as he eased into the friendly rush of luring a victim
“Oh- um, Hi Duo” Peppa jumped to respond, an anxious strain on her voice.
“So, how are you?” Duo questioned, trying to lead their conversation down a more amorous path
“Um, Great, actually” Peppa answered, attempting to hide her internal dilemma
“Oh, I had just been wondering if you needed some, uh, cheering up” Duo ventured as he put on his best flirting face. Peppa blushed, trying not to let this encourage the part of her brain that wanted to ignore his crimes and run away with Duo.
“I mean, are you offering?” She asked awkwardly while silently lecturing herself not to make this uncomfortable. Duo had always been so much better at this stuff than her. That was another thing she loved about him. Liked. Admired. Respected. Thought was cool. Because this was no indication of his true feelings. Peppa tried to make herself remember that.
“Do you want me to be?” Duo breathed seductively, leaning in towards Peppa, grinning and licking his teeth hungrily. Peppa flustered, suddenly conscious of the snot in her gaping nostrils and the lengthy hairs on her brow. She had been waiting for this moment for what felt like eons. She wouldn’t ruin this now. She pushed away her negative thoughts and moved towards Duo to meet the tough fibers of his mottled, creamy beak, opening her mouth slightly and accidentally letting out a soft sound. Their faces touched and she gently pushed her salivating tongue against the top of Duo’s short beak. A loud, rough, croak escaped her mouth and she spit small, pale chunks of food at Duos small beak. She rushed to apologize, to attempt to return to their romantic, tender moment. He smiled sadistically. And then the pain hit. Waves of crimson crashed over her head, drowned her, and dragged her, Hauling her cruelly against the sharp grains of the metal she now recognized as a knife. She choked on her breath, speeding to rationalize, to find a course of events other than the one she knew had to be true. She clutched the deep cavern in her abdomen, clawing at the wound in vain. Peppa struggled to find the face of her one true love as the torturous stabs of a thousand spears invaded the tissue of her brain, stealing away her thoughts. She pulled away her hands and finally caught sight of the blood. The thick maroon liquid dripped down her arms, stuck in her hooves. She had never been on this side of the knife before. This was beautiful, euphoric, the way her brain replayed the first seconds of her injury over and over. How the blood ran down her legs, dense and sticky. Duo smiled over her, showing traces of sympathy, but not an ounce of regret. He looked pleased. She found she wasn’t angry. Peppa felt a second stab, softer and duller this time. She looked as far down as her paralyzed body would allow her and saw Duo’s feathered, vibrant wing four inches deep into her wound. She felt her toenails pried off at a snail’s pace, her organs pulled out of her and squeezed dry one by one, Her jaw removed with no anesthesia as he dug around inside her. The pressure slowly lessened as Duo removed his wing from the cut and raised the tip of it to his beak. He dragged it across his feathered cheek, letting the liquid drip down his face. He extended his salivating tongue and licked the rest of the ichor off his now scarlet-stained wing. He grinned down at his victim, almost bursting with the long-missed rapture of a perfect kill. Peppa didn’t try to talk as the life drained from her face, painted with a conflicting expression of concurrent pain and satisfaction.-