Infected.

The toxins lay dormant

Festering and insurmountable at best

 

We’ve become infected

And paramedics predict that the symptoms won’t relent…

 

Translucent skin reveals a beating orb where the heart should be

But a disturbing discovery makes even the most capable doctors stand aback

 

The vessels of the heart are tattooed with crude ink,

Words that become, in the most literal sense, ingrained forever

Sending blackened fluid throughout the body

 

And the other ?

He remains in a separate unit

Accepting only three IV fluids as treatment