The Bane of Light

The Graves Wont Dig Themselves

That's how we stay young these days: murder and suicide" -Eugene Ionesco

∞

My stiff arms screamed from extortion, as we heaved the heavy corpse between us- Paris in-front, me behind. My stride was rigid and wobbling as I tried to prevent the bloody bedsheet from hitting my legs as it swayed. Every time the thing came close to my body, I would take a wide step, setting the rhythm of the stride off. I didn't care if I was making the walk more difficult; I would drop dead before I let some soggy demon meat splatter against me.

The weight of the thing seemed to inflict no strain on Paris though, as he diligently marched ahead. It was me that was struggling, seeing that I was the one who got the rear end of the Umbra, it's thirty pound lizard tail included. We were storming through the Whispering Woods, one of the many forest grounds surrounding Duprarry Academy. Paris protested the location, claiming that the great wildlife was not a dumping grounds for a virulent demon. Though he did quickly shut up, when I told him we could always dump the demon into his room, where he could deal with the creature himself. Besides, It wasn't like we could just bury the thing in the catacombs or the crypts of the academy. The rotting smell of demon meat would give it away.

My foot caught on an unearthed root, running my patience short as I resteadied myself.  Deciding that we ventured far enough from the school grounds, I unceremoniously dropped the corpse onto the ground, my arm muscles instantly crying out in relief. Paris garbled a shout as he was pulled back by the weight of the demon, but- sadly- steadied himself before falling onto it. He gave me a bewildered look and I simply shrugged. Teamwork and communication have never been my strongest points.

"Dig here" I told him, flexing out my stiff shoulders. The full moon hung above Paris and I with a great shine that seemed all too revealing for comfort. If we were to get the job done in a quick, efficient manner, we would need pitch darkness to cloak us from prying eyes. Because of this, we deliberately stalled till past curfew to slip out, waiting for the sun to sink like jackals waiting for the night hunt. It wouldn't do good to have students observe us from the dormitory windows that loomed behind us.

The spindly canopy of tree branches provided us reasonable coverage, although they already had lost most of the leaves this late in the autumn season. Reasonable enough for us to get the job done and leave, but not reasonable enough for Paris to hang around gawking at me, waiting for someone with keen eyes to catch us.

"What about you?" He asked me, disbelief evident in his tone.

"What about me?" I asked him back, my words cold and clipped. I was irritated as it is, without him questioning every single utterance that came out of my mouth.

"Aren't you going to help?" He demanded to me in an unbelievably entitled manner. What did he think I was? His personal house sprite?

"No. Of course I'm not going to help" I replied, planting myself on a fallen tree trunk. My arms were crossed as I stared down his bewildered expression. He already had dirt smudged on his face, the black smear disrupting his pristine, spotless skin. It was out of place, just as Golden-Boy Arobynn was in this forest. Just as this entire night was on his squeaky clean reputation.

"What do you mean 'of course not'. It's your demon!"

I scoffed, "That is definitely not my demon", half-amused by the insinuation. Had that been my demon, it would have been much more tamed. And It would have been Paris' body in the bedsheet besides the Umbra's.

"Even if it was, who was the one who barged into my room and slaughtered it? You made this mess, Paris Arobynn, now you will clean it up"