Howard, what is this that you are trying to communicate. Cedric looks down at his pen tip and then at Howard's chest, where Cedric carefully helps him move the cloth aside.

If this situation was devoid of the grim implication, Cedric would think Howard was asking him to stab him hard with a pen. The only problems are that it's not exactly sanitary, that much force is difficult to gather, and it's, oh yes, violently stabbing his already wounded friend.

"Are you serious?" Cedric repeats the gesture with the pen in hand to confirm, stopping just short of the actual stab. There has to be some reason---Howard is definitely not the sort of person to sacrifice himself, though there's a sliver of doubt on that now. Clearly this...thing is supposed to help Howard live, but he can't make sense of it now.

Just a yes or no.