Chapter Text
Uzi woke up with the bitter tang of copper in her mouth.
The metallic taste filled her mouth, dripping down her throat. She turned her gaze to her alarm clock. 5:00 AM. Still more than enough time before she had to go to school.
She pushed herself up, gagging inwardly at the taste of her own blood, and threw off the sheets before flicking on the lights. The sheets themselves were stained with her blood, a strange combination of red and black liquid. It had dripped down from the corners of her mouth during the night, getting in her hair and on her bed. Most of the stitches had held, but a few had torn at the edges.
Uzi shuffled to the bathroom, still half-asleep and stared into the mirror. Her messy purple hair stuck to her forehead with a combination of sweat and blood. Her face was pale, and looked sickly. The worst were her eyes - bloodshot and dull, she looked like she had given up on life and was crying blood.
The corners of her mouth were raw and swollen. The thin, black surgical grade thread she had secretly used her fathers credit card to buy had pulled tight in some places and completely snapped in others. If it stayed like that, the Solver would be able to break free.
Her hands shook slightly as she threaded a fresh needle, the sickle shape gleaming in the dim light. Uzi breifly considered using anesthesia, before realizing she had finally run out and would have to secretly buy more. Whatever. The area around her mouth was already numb from the constant injuries.
Uzi gritted her teeth as she redid her stitches, the pain sharp despite the numbness. Stitch by stitch, she closed up the corners of her mouth until it somewhat resembled a normal mouth again. She threw the bloody needle into the trashcan with a loud clang, before she using Hydrogen Peroxide to disinfect the area. Getting an infection there was one of the worst things that could happen to her right now.
Finally, she pulled on her black mouth mask — the thick fabric kind that covered from nose to chin. It hid the stitches and muffled her voice so no one would suspect anything. Not like she was going outside for long.
In the kitchen, the perpetually dim lighting made it seem even more depressing. Uzi spotted a note on the counter and picked it up.
Uzi, had to head into work early. Boss said the deadline got pushed foward. Be careful-and dont get in trouble!
— Dad
Uzi smiled slightly, the small movement pulling at her fresh stitches. She pulled on her usual hoodie and stepped outside. Not a lot of people were out this early. Who in their right mind would willingly take a walk at 5:00 am? Uzi. Uzi would.
She checked on the small garden Khan had made to remember her mother - lupines - her favorite flower, according to her father. The flowers were blooming nicely. She would water them next week.
Uzi slowly made her way to Centrial Park, the 100 sqft park in the middle of the north side of the city, where she was greeted by an unexpected friend.
"Oh! Zi! Didn't expect to see you here!" Thad strolled over, Lizzy trailing behind him, and patted Uzi on the shoulder. "You ok man? Look kinda sick. Not like cool sick. Sick, sick."
"Thads right." Lizzy squinted at her. "Your complexion is all off today. Look even worse than usual."
Thad hit her on the back of her head, an annoyed expression on his face. "C'mon now Liz. Don't make her feel bad for being sick." He turned to Uzi, clearly concered. "You should head back home. Going out in this weather while you're sick isn't a good idea."
"Sick... yeah... Alright... See you later..." Uzi gave a small wave to the two, and started walking back. Strangely, the Solver never seemed to see them as food and the urges never showed up when she talked to the twins. Uzi sighed, too tired to think much about it, and pushed opened the door to the small house she and her father lived in. At least the cold air had helped clear her head somewhat.
"What time is it...." She muttered to herself before checking the small clock in the kitchen. 5:30 AM. Still 2 hours until online school started. Apparently the heater in the local high school - the one Uzi went to - was broken and it was illegal to make kids go to a school without a working heater when the temperature was in the negatives.
Uzi flopped onto her bed and pulled out her phone. Might as well bother Violet(V).
__________
Thad watched as Uzi walk back toward her home.
"She's getting worse." Lizzy commented. She was texting someone on her phone - probably Violet - Thad figured. "She's going to snap soon."
"Yeah..." Thad rubbed the back of his head and kicked a rock that was at his feet. "Did dad finish making the...supressant?"
"Mhm." Lizzy abruptly put her phone away and stared out at the river that wound through the park. "If I had to guess, we only have a few hours left. Lucky us that most of the teachers are sick today and the city couldn't bother getting subs. Only teacher that's actually teaching is dad, and today's just a free day."
"Really? Heck yeah!" Thad grinned at her.
Lizzy yawned, pulling her arms over her head in a stretch. "Yup. I looked at his lesson plans."
Thad snorted. "Don't you do that every day?"
"..Maybe." Lizzy eyed him suspicously. "How do you know that."
"..."
"Whatever. Lets just get home." Lizzy walked off, not caring whether Thad was following her or not.
"Huh!? Lizzy, dont leave me here alone!"
XD