I Can Taste Your Lies On My Tongue Like Secondhand Smoke

The steady blink of the light in the hall was what brought Cory back to wakefulness. The flash lit up the backs of closed eyelids, disorienting, and he almost expected to wake up outside, under the stars. Nyx would be there, flicking the flashlight off and on, speaking in morse code to the demons in the dark.

He opened his eyes. Everything was dark, except for the steady blink of the light in the hall.

Nyx was not there. He could not hear her; the only sound was the humming heart monitor. He could not smell her; the only smell was the antiseptic. He could not feel her. He was not alone.

"Mr. Aradak," Said the Man, who was dressed in a white lab coat. There was no name tag. "My name is Doctor Joseph Olson. You've been in an accident."

There was blood on the Man's coat hem. Cory wondered if he knew. He wondered if he should say. He did not think so. He wondered if the man (who was no doctor) could tell that Cory knew when he lied. He wondered if he should say. He did not think so.

"Oh." He said instead, and watched the man by the steady blink of the light in the hall. Starlight filtered in through the windows, but Cory knew he was not meant to see the demons in the dark. "Where's Nyx?"

The Man's face twisted. It was meant to look like sorrow. It did not. "I'm so sorry, Mr. Aradak. Your friend didn't make it. She passed away early this morning. During the night."

Cory did not correct the Man when he said Nyx was his friend. He did not correct the Man when he said Asteria was dead. He knew better.

"I see," He said instead. The light in the hall blinked off. Blinked on. Two more times. "Can I leave, then?"

The Man smiled. It looked like a grimace. "Soon," He lied, and stood up. "we just need to run a few tests."

Cory nodded, and the Man walked away. The light in the hall turned off, and did not turn on again. Cory looked back toward the window. Nyx looked back at him through the glass, hair like silver-gold in the starlight. Her eyes were like opals.

Cory wondered if the Man knew that the glass was the only thing separating them from the demons in the dark. He wondered if he should say.

He did not get the chance.