#BUT I FINISHED IT !!!!

[corruption-special-au]

yeah babbbbyyyyy my wrist is cooked time to get the heating pad

[ridl]

the scent of lavender

[i-am-not-a-twinkie]

Child of the sun

Who was shining and bright

and child of the moon

Who lived by his light

The sun who shone for all to see

And was deemed a radiant bloom

Who only saw his brilliant light

Reflected in the eyes of the moon

The moon with power other's feared

As strong as the will of the sea

Brought to his knees by the warmth of the sun

By his side was where he longed to be

People said the moon was cold

With no light of his own

The sun saw only beauty

In his soft and eerie glow

People feared the sun would burn

Or his light would blind them

The moon found joy in his bite

And vowed to stand behind him

Their endless dance through the sky

Was plain for all to see

The beauty and grace of a love

That was never meant to be

And yet in the rare twilight

The time they shared together

On mingling breath hushed whispers said

A promise made, to be forever

But the day came the sun shone too bright

And was snuffed out too soon

And without the sun's radiant light

The moon was gone too

[shadow-yato]

Day 8: Uneasy Alliance (Sebastian Solace)

Sebastian POV:

[gothdum]

NOCTIS LUCIS CAELUM ★彡

Hope u like it as much as I do :>

[timegays]

Game over 

[art-ro-vert]

Time husbands got to say their “I love you’s” in my mind!

[writing-for-life]

As It Was Before The Otherness Came

A one-shot fic for #sandmanfemslashweekend (also on Ao3 if you prefer to read there, chapters are linked), chapters only for structure.

Chapters: 13 (3,773 words) Fandom: The Sandman (TV 2022) Rating: Mature  Warnings: Major Character Death  Relationships: Modern Johanna Constantine/Rachel Moodie  Characters: Modern Johanna Constantine (The Sandman TV), Rachel Moodie, Dream of the Endless | Morpheus, Dream of the Endless  Additional Tags: Falling In Love, Developing Relationship, Sex, Moving In Together, Break Up, Emotional Baggage, Character Death, Canonical Character Death, Canon Compliant, Canon, Swearing

Johanna Constantine and Rachel Moodie are recounting their developing and failing relationship in short, intercutting scenes. Johanna tells her story from end to beginning (she is starting with Rachel's death), and Rachel from beginning to end (she starts with how they met). There are only two scenes in third person (at the exact midpoint and the very end), the rest is written in first person POV by the individual character.

If you find the intercutting, non-linear structure hard to follow, you could try to read Johanna and Rachel separately before putting them back together.

The song inspiration is "As it was" by Hozier.

Sex in ch. 2 but not particularly explicit language, so I don’t think we need a community label. Let me know if you prefer I put one on.

Chapter 1: Demons (Johanna)

It was pissing down in a way I hadn’t experienced for a while. I mean, it’s London, but on that night, it was something else.

As I stood there, waiting for him, I couldn’t help but think that she really was a good person.

And that’s the fucking unfairness of it all. Would be easier to say I didn’t care about her, and maybe it’s true. Maybe I didn’t care enough. It’s me who isn’t a good person. People just get hurt if they get too close to me. Too much darkness, inside and out.

I let her get close. At least for a while. Until I felt it—the dimming of light. The expectations. The domestic shit. And I told myself that’s all it was—feeling tied down. She wanted the happily ever after. I couldn’t give her any of that. Too many demons. Not the real ones, although they’re part of the problem. Sort of. But the demons I’m talking about are mine, and mine alone. And when she looked at me that final time before I left her with him, I wished I’d never let her close enough to see them. Because once she had, she wanted to get to the bottom of it all, and she kept on trying. But that’s not how it works. It never does because it’s true:

I ruin everything I touch.

The sound of his steps took me out of my thoughts.

“She died in peace. In her sleep…”

Chapter 2: It was all it took (Rachel)

It all happened so fast. And it was clichéd:

She cut in right in front of me like a complete bitch, I said, “Excuse me?!”

The side-eye. The husky laugh. The, “Sorry, love…” mixed with a raised eyebrow.

The glances across tables that finally made me burst out laughing. Her confused look, quickly replaced with an inappropriate grin. Only that I didn’t find it inappropriate.

Her wiping everything off my kitchen table before pinning me down.

My legs around her hips.

That hoarse voice of hers that had been driving me insane for the last couple of hours. “Tell me what you want.”

“Show me what you’ve got…” I put my hands on her hips and began to direct her.

She closed her eyes for a second and exhaled before opening them again. Those brown eyes that were blazing like all the fires of hell.

One of her hands moved down my flanks. When she reached my hip, she ran it between our bodies and began touching both of us.

“Trying to make me come first?” I moaned.

“Is that what you want?”

“I don’t…” I could hardly control my voice.

“Better do something about it, then.”

I ran both of my hands between us and put them on hers.

“Like this?”

“Fuck…” She moved with me, touching me, touching herself. I felt the dampness between us, my own stickiness on my hands.

The table creaked, and its surface was hard and unforgiving. It was uncomfortable, and I didn’t care.

She pulled her hand away and propped herself up on her elbows, cupping my face. No, not cupping. Clasping. Hard. “Keep on doing what you’re doing.”

I bent my knees and pushed my feet into the table. I felt her and myself. I heard her and myself. But alI could see was her. The little frown between her eyebrows. The colour of her eyes that seemed to change from brown to black right in front of me. The mouth I wanted to kiss but didn’t because I was too busy looking at her and feeling her.

Creaking, rubbing, pressing, sensing. My mind was clouded, my body aware. I touched, she pushed. Her breath hitched, her eyes closed.

Speeding up, the sound of her voice, the feeling of her breath.

A moment of stillness, slowing down.

Her hand reached down and rested on my hands for the briefest of moments before she removed them. “Put your hands over your head and let me touch you.” Her voice was breathless.

She finally kissed me while holding my hands in place with her left and touching me with her right. She breathed into me, I breathed into her. It only took her seconds to make me come. It was sweet, it was painful, it made me tighten and open up at once.

It was all it took. I knew I wanted more of it. More of her, even if she hadn’t shown me much. I wanted to find out…

Chapter 3: Save the light (Johanna)

She was asleep. I lay awake. And I had been for the last 3 hours.

I couldn’t take it anymore. The nightmares were worse than ever. Her light would fade if she stayed with me.

I’d tried to provoke her far too many times over the last couple of days, and I hated myself for it. Honestly, I wanted her to break up with me. But she didn’t get the hint. She didn’t mind arguing. She always said it was “healthy”. Fuck no, nothing that involves me is healthy. And that’s why I needed to let her go. And if she wouldn’t leave me, I’d have to leave her to save her light. She meant something to me, whatever it was, and I couldn’t afford that. Neither did she deserve to go down with me.

I got up and got dressed, grabbed a few things and left the rest. For a moment, I thought I should have taken everything I had brought into her flat over the past months, but then she’d immediately know. And I didn’t want her on my back. Or maybe I lied to myself and, for a split-second, thought it was a way back in if I changed my mind.

But when I quietly closed the door behind me, I already knew I wouldn’t…

Chapter 4: Moving fast (Rachel)

She was so beautiful when she laughed, and it’s not that she never did. But it was usually some sort of sneer, a grin with an underlying hint of jadedness, a smile that looked like it was covering up some kind of hurt. But this one was real.

“I should go home soon,” she said, a smile still tugging at the corners of her mouth.

I leaned forward and kissed one corner. “You could stay tonight.” Then the other. “Or you could just…stay?”

She immediately moved back and looked at me like only Jo looks at you. As if you’ve got two heads. As if you’ve completely lost the plot.

“Woah, moving a bit fast, aren’t we?”

And there it was. The sneer. But I was having none of it and just kissed her again. I felt a tiny bit of resistance at first, but not as much as I had feared. She finally gave in.

“Just stay tonight,” I mumbled against her lips. “We could cook together, maybe watch a film, and you could just pretend to be my girlfriend for once.”

She snorted. “I’m not pretending, it’s just…”

“Well, that’s it settled then,” I interrupted with a grin.

She smiled back, and that one was real…

Chapter 5: My nightmares, her dreams (Johanna)

I felt exhausted and drained. Seen things no human should ever see, and it had been a close one. Again.

When I opened the door to her flat, a part of me hoped to find comfort in her arms, felt like talking about what had happened tonight.

Past the point, not her stuff to worry about. What was I even thinking?

And in any case, she was waiting for me with a face like thunder.

“Where have you been?”

“Come on, Rach, not that shit again.” For fuck’s sake, she’d been crying, I could see it in her eyes.

“Well, yes, that shit again. What do you expect me to say if I’m worried sick about you? I can't take the constant worry. And you’re never honest with me!”

“When did I ever lie to you?”

She crossed her arms in front of her chest. “When were you ever honest when you get calls in the middle of the night, when you just disappear, when you come back stinking of god-knows-what?”

I felt a surge of pain and anger, but I quickly swallowed it. It wasn’t her fault. How could she even remotely understand?

Deep down, I knew she was right. I would never be able to be truly honest with her, not as long as my world was one of demons and nightmares while hers was one of humans and dreams.

So I turned on my heel and just said, “I’ll let you cool off a bit and come back later.”

“Yeah, just run away, like every time things get too close!” she called after me.

And once again, she was right…

Chapter 6: Light is armour (Rachel)

She had this funny little ritual. Every night, before we went to sleep, Jo told me a bedtime story. She was really great at it, spinning tales of adventure and slaying demons—always demons. And of course she was always the heroine of her stories (even if she pretended she wasn’t), and sometimes, she would even save me (even if she pretended it was someone else).

I found it hilarious and endearing—here was the woman I loved, who always seemed so tough, but she was like a little kid when she described epic battles against terrifying creatures that threatened the peace of some random kingdom.

She would talk about wielding a magical sword that could cut through any darkness, and wearing armour made of pure light.

“How does that even work?” I snorted. “You must be butt-naked under that.”

She rolled her eyes at me. “It’s not me!”

“Okay, then whoever she is, she’s still starkers. Light isn’t armour.”

She looked at me, and her expression changed. “Maybe it is.”

And of course I knew they were more than just bedtime stories. That there were struggles behind it all, disguised as fantasy. That Jo had hopes and dreams, hidden under a mountain of fear and insecurity. And I didn’t know how to help her through it all because she still wouldn’t let me.

But right then, as we lay in bed together, wrapped in each other's arms, I felt a sense of peace, and I’m sure she felt it, too.

Chapter 7: Pulling the drawstrings (Johanna & Rachel)

Johanna rang the doorbell and waited. It took Rachel a while to buzz her in, and it took Jo an even longer while to get up the stairs. When Rachel opened the flat door, she was soaking, a towel wrapped around her. It didn’t stop her from leaning in to kiss Jo and getting her wet in the process.

“Oy,” Johanna grinned.

Rachel’s gaze dropped to the bags that lay on the floor. “Moving in?” She smirked.

“Well, I need to keep some stuff close by and might as well just leave it here at the moment.”

“Right.” Rach raised her eyebrow and couldn’t stop grinning. “Come in then. Want me to take any of that?”

“Nah, just get yourself dried and decent.”

“As if.”

Jo rolled her eyes. “I’m serious, I need to unpack a few things.”

Rachel petted her lip in mock-disappointment. “Okay, just get started, I’ll be with you in a few…”

“What’s that?” Rachel asked, dressed in jeans and a jumper, a towel still wrapped around her head.

“I’ve no clue, honestly, It’s some old pouch I got while…” She hesitated. “Can’t remember where I got it, but I never even managed to pull the drawstrings open.”

“Let me…”

Johanna threw the leather pouch at Rachel, who nearly dropped it.

“Careful,” she grinned.

“I always am, aren’t I?”

Chapter 8: Sand (Rachel)

She’d just left me standing there like an idiot. It was the first real argument.

No, it wasn’t even that because we hadn’t exactly been fighting. I had asked questions. Okay, maybe I had raised my voice a little, but I had been sitting at home for hours, feeling worried about her, not knowing where she was. And it hadn’t been the first time. Her phone was always switched off. In fact, it was near always switched off. It was sometimes impossible to get a hold of her. And when I had told her that she wasn’t honest with me, she had completely stonewalled me before running away.

I felt my eyes welling up with tears again, and it annoyed me. So I got ready for bed. I lay there for hours, tossing and turning, and couldn’t get to sleep. I wandered back into the living room and switched on the TV. When I sat down on the couch, the leather pouch on the coffee table caught my attention. We both hadn’t managed to open it, even after trying repeatedly, but I didn’t have anything better to do, so I tried again. But no matter how hard I tried, it didn’t work.

“Honestly, I will just pretend I can open you with sheer willpower and belief, you stupid thing. Abracadabra,” I joked. And believe it or not, all of a sudden, the pouch was open. Just a tiny crack, maybe the size of a shirt button. But it was enough to take a peek. It was hard to tell what it was, so I turned it over gently.

Sand?

I brought my hand up to my face and carefully sniffed it to make sure that’s what it was.

I can’t remember what happened after, but I do remember I woke up the next morning, and that I hadn’t had such nice dreams in ages…

Chapter 9: Just a few bags (Johanna)

I honestly spent a lot of time with her, which wasn’t like me at all. And it just felt so fucking nice to have someone to come home to for once. But was I truly coming home to her?

Emotionally, maybe. But I was still only staying overnight. Well, on the nights I could. Big step for me though.

I second-guessed myself. Too rash? Too cautious? Missing out on something I knew I shouldn’t really allow myself?

For a brief moment, I actually thought, “Shit, Jo, you’re really getting in too deep.”

And the very next moment, she encroached on my mind like a flippin’ vision. Her smile, her laugh, her kindness, her passion.

How we spent time together. Me, doing shit like cuddling on the sofa and cooking. And of course we were fucking each other senseless, but that wasn’t it. I was always able to get that somewhere if I really wanted to. It was the way she made me feel. When I was with her, I was happy for a moment. I took a glance at the shitty photo booth shots of us, and I even looked it.

Was I ready for this?

Not really because it wasn’t just about me. It was about her.

Maybe I was overthinking it, letting fear get the better of me. And honestly, I should have.

It wasn’t moving in to just dump a couple of bags to make life easier, was it?

Chapter 10: As it was (Rachel)

It was okay for a short while. She’d come back, but she became more and more distant. The smiles were sneers again. The bedtime stories stopped.

Well, most of the time, she wasn’t even around at bedtime. If she was, the sex was still great, but I sometimes thought that was the problem. Because everything else had stopped. The real conversations, the watching stupid comedies together, the actual closeness.

I woke up at half past three, and she was gone. Again. And I was so fucking tired of it all. 

Tired and unable to sleep.

The pouch of sand was in the drawer of my bedside table. It helped me sleep. I didn’t have the faintest clue what this stuff was because it honestly just looked like sand. Maybe I just made up things in my mind, maybe it was true what they said about placebos: If you really believe something works, it will.

So whatever this stuff was, it worked.

I took a small amount and probably inhaled a bit too deeply because I immediately knew something was off.

When I came to, I was shaking, but I remembered the dream. It had been of her. Of us in a photo booth, and going on a walk together that ended up having her pin me against a tree, kissing me, letting her hands wander a bit too much and only stopping when a few people passed. 

And while it had been a dream, it was also real. Because that’s what we had done.

And I cried, and I wanted it all back.

I took a bit more sand and held on to the pouch. Maybe if I did it again, I could finally get to sleep…

Chapter 11: Snapshots (Johanna)

I don’t really have good days that often, I admit it. But that day was one of them. I had just decided to take her out. Properly, in a sort of old-fashioned way, because I knew she was into it, and I liked that about her to be honest.

We had lunch, and I, the woman who usually eats like a horse and doesn’t look too dignified while she’s at it, could hardly eat at all. All I could do was stare at her like some idiot, and it was fucking ridiculous.

As we entered the park (she wanted to “walk off the calories”, I just asked, “Why would you even say that?”), we stumbled across a vintage VW camper van that had been converted into a photo booth.

And of course she wanted to give it a try. I said no, probably 20 times, but she ultimately won.

Lots of funky props and costumes, and I honestly couldn’t believe she roped me into that shit—hats and sunglasses, feather boas and tiaras.

“Come on, Rach, let’s at least have a few shots without all the crap.”

“Okay,” she smiled, and we tried to get a few serious ones. Not that it worked.

Anyway, we ended up with a few I really liked and wanted to keep. She, of course, also wanted all the other ones, so we ultimately walked out with two sets of four prints.

When we walked home, I just pulled her off the path and kissed her. Well, maybe something else, too. But I remember clear as day it was the first time I actually felt I liked her a lot more than I wanted to let on…

Chapter 12: Whatever here that's left of me is yours (Rachel)

It hurt.

I couldn't even remember when I last got out of bed.

At first, I didn’t want to. I just wanted to sleep, get over the fact that she really didn’t come back this time. That she had left me without even having the guts to tell me. But it was impossible to get to sleep without the sand. And the more I took, the more I needed. To get rest, and to keep the nightmares at bay. Those nightmares that got a hold of me because of it but would also go away with it.

And then, I couldn’t get out of bed physically. Whenever I tried, the pain was so severe that I immediately had to lie back down. I stopped eating at some point, which didn’t help. But whenever I managed to get rest and dream of her, it didn’t matter. At some point, the hunger just stopped.

It was waking up that was agony, not sleeping. It was not dreaming that parched me, not the fact that I didn't drink.

I couldn’t remember when I’d last been to work. The phone had rung non-stop for a while, but I physically couldn’t answer. Maybe there were people at the door at some point. Maybe I’d let them in, maybe I hadn’t, because I couldn’t remember if I'd even managed to get up at any point. It was all a haze.

I lay there, wondering where it all went wrong. What had gotten me into this state. Why I couldn't breathe, why I was in so much pain. But it would all ebb back when the dreams came.

I counted to 100…

Chapter 13: Stark sights and dark nights (Johanna, Rachel & Dream)

“Jo, is that you?” Rachel’s voice sounded thin and brittle. “That’s such a wonderful dream.”

Johanna stepped towards the bed. “It’s me Rach. It’s going to be okay.” She took her hand, but the mere touch made Rachel whimper in pain. She looked at him. “What’s happened to her?”

“It’s the sand, it wasn’t meant for humans.”

He carefully removed the pouch from Rachel’s hand. The desperation that washed over her was so immediate that Johanna had to close her eyes for a second.

“No, no, no, give it back. Please, it hurts.”

He turned around almost immediately. “We can go.”

“What? We can’t go, we can’t leave her like this!” Johanna called after him.

“We can’t help her, the sand was the only thing keeping her alive.”

“You have to do something. If it wasn't for your sand, she wouldn't be like this!”

His expression was completely emotionless. “I'm not the one who left her with it.”

It was the moment Johanna lost all composure. “What is wrong with you? You want your sand back so you can save all of humanity? Well, here she is! But we're all just like Roderick Burgess to you. All you care about is your sand, your power. What is the point of you?” She swallowed hard and was back in control. “Well, you got your sand back. Why are you still here if you won't help?” And with that, she turned her back on him.

He hesitated before stepping closer to the bed. “Wait outside.”

Johanna looked at him briefly with an almost imperceptible nod.

Rachel was shaking violently, and Johanna sat down on the bed. “Rach…”

“I’m so sorry, Jo.”

She stroked Rachel’s head. “It’s my fault, all of it. I should never have left it with you.” She held and steadied her hands. “I should never have left.”

Rachel looked at her with glazed eyes. “You came back though, didn’t you?

Johanna gave her a small smile. One of the real ones. When she kissed her lightly, it all got too much. She got up and began to make her way out. As she reached the bedroom door, she heard that little voice in her head: 

No matter what he said, you really should stay.

And as always, she was good at ignoring it…

Tagging @sandmanfemslashfans @honeyteacakes @two-hands-toward-the-sun @lucienne-thee-librarian @seiya-starsniper

[illegallyexisting]

First Visit

(To the Geiermann Asylum)

This was an incredibly long project that i started sometime in the midst of January. I hope you all enjoy!!

Sweet, sweet word count: 8,111

The air was strikingly cold with dead trees lining the perimeters of the asylum; in bold gothic letters the front read “The Geiermann Asylum.” The building loomed over them, watching as they walked towards it. The bricks were old and worn with vines and plants entangling them, two large, dark wood doors adorned the top of the crooked steps.

The man that was touring (is that the right word?) them finally broke the silence, “I don’t think this place was touched in a long, long time. My dad just entrusted me to the place, said he got it from an old friend of his and that she wanted to make sure that it would be in safe hands.” They all made it up the creaking stairs and the man opened the door for us; Elliot – a newly adult with a slender build and pumpkin themed sweater on – was first to peak their head through.

“It's very... Dark. And even colder in here then out there!” Her voice echoed slightly from inside the asylum.

“Well, the lights aren’t even on in there yet, though I don’t even know if those work anymore, last they were changed was probably in the ‘60s...” The man gave them a polite smile and ushered them all inside. Inside the asylum was, well, cold, but particularly massive. In front there was a long hallway stretching for who knows how long, on their left was a regular wall with what was a torn-up photo (or perhaps a painting) and table sitting underneath it with a wilted vase of flowers on top. As they walked in further, it was apparent that leading upstairs was a dilapidated staircase on their right, and next to it a staircase leading to another abyss. The man turned on the lights and they came flickering to life, very dimly to say the least.

“I don’t think there's anything else to mention, you’se can all just look around, I’ll be outside walking if you need me.” He gave them another polite smile and left the asylum. Everyone went to their little corners of the entrance way, Vixen to a nearby couch slightly covered by cobwebs, Elliott to the mysterious staircases, Jesse looking at the different paintings and photos (about all of them horribly damaged by time), and Laysha was taking in the entire abandoned asylum. She looked all around, hopping from place to place seeing what her friends were doing, studying all of the entry room. As she was doing so, thoughts popped into her mind, “Who were the people here?” “What were they like?” “What were they here for?” but her thoughts were interrupted.

“Hey, you alright?” It was just Jesse standing next to her now.

“Oh, yes, yes. Say, what if we looked around some more? Obviously, the place is huge, so what if we split into groups of two? We could cover more ground,” She turned around looking at the rest of her friends, “And call each other if anything happens!” Laysha smiled, clapping her hands together thrice to get Vixen and Elliott’s attention. They lifted their heads up from where they were standing (and sitting).

“Alright, so, here’s how this is gonna go. Jesse and Vixen, you two go together and explore the upstairs and me and Elliott will explore down here. Any questions? No, good!” Laysha gave the group a beaming smile as the others left and beckoned Elliott to come to her.

“So, where exactly do we go now? I mean we could go in that weird basement thing-” And Laysha immediately interjected.

“What about just down the hallway and search there? I don’t want to go down there yet, and plus I said that we were gonna explore here.” Elliott tilted his head, but sighed and gave her a reassuring look.

“Alright fine, you lead the way then!”

Laysha laughed and began walking down the hallway, looking at everything in awe. Elliott followed in pursuit, looking around with her. The walls were littered with cobwebs and pictures hung up on the walls, along with the occasional shelf of books or years dead plants. Eventually, they made their way to what seemed to be another corridor but filled with rooms upon rooms, each with small windows – barely enough room to stick your head through – on the sides of the doors and on them. Some doors were open, some stayed shut, as with some of the windows being destroyed. They were both looking down at each side of the hallway with simultaneous confusion and awe, until something caught Elliott’s eye. It seemed to be coming from an open door some ways off, and it looked like someone was staring straight back at him. He squinted his eyes, but just as he noticed the supposed person, they went straight back into the room. He took a few steps back until they accidentally bumped into Laysha.

“Woah, everything all right?”

“I- Well- No. Look, I’m, fairly sure I saw someone, they had like- Shoulder length black hair and they were completely like-” Elliott continued to stumble his way through his words, confusing Laysha that such a person like them could even be stammering this much.

“Alright, just calm down! Maybe it was just a trick of the light? Aren’t you needing to get new glasses soon, too, right?”

He started to calm down, lowering his voice, “Right, you’re right. Trick of the light, or eyes, or something.” They both chuckled lightly and continued as Elliott tried to shake off what he might have seen. Laysha went down the left side of the hallway and Elliott went down the right side, albeit nervous. As Laysha went forward, she looked inside every nook and cranny of the doors, seeing what was in them and what was left there. Practically every room held nothing but multiple, horrifically dirtied bunk beds, the occasional glass on the floor, and spider webs everywhere. There appeared to be nothing more than just the same thing over and over, stretching on for God knows how long. On the right side of the hallway was Elliott, doing the same as Laysha, but looking more carefully and wondering if what they saw wasn’t a trick of the eyes. What if it was someone else? What if it isn’t just the four of them in the asylum? Was it a bad idea? They are already in the asylum, too late to back out now.

Meanwhile, Vixen and Jesse were doing the exact same thing, looking through the rooms. Although eventually they had found a rubber room, it was less a bright white room and more so a grayed and deadened space.

Jesse spoke, making Vixen jump, “You would guess that there would be more, I dunno, things here?”

“Well, these are just normal rooms you would see at a place like this,” They both exited the room, “You think we’re looking in the wrong place?”

“Could be, I guess we’ll have to walk around more and see!” Jesse smiled, giving Vixen a vague sense of reassurance. Jesse started to walk off in another direction, but Vixen stayed back just for a few seconds. He spun and looked around, down the hallways, through other rooms. Then he had a strange feeling, like he was being looked at, stalked. He noticed a slight bluish, colored glow, his mind went on full speed, and he hurled around behind him to see where it was coming from, catching a glimpse of what looked like an eye, but as he turned it was too late. The light disappeared. He shrieked, and immediately ran back over to Jesse, promptly pretending that nothing had happened, but Jesse turned towards Vixen with a mix of confusion and shock on his face.

“Did you just scream?” But he was cut off by Vixen.

“There was something watching me.” Vixen’s voice quiet and he looked petrified, eyes wide and arms close to his body.

“Like what?”

“I don’t know, Jesse! I saw some weird light and I turned around, and then it was gone!”

Jesse stopped and fully turned to Vixen, grabbing him by the shoulders.

“Look, it was probably just the sun casting by,” Jesse was cut off again.

“Listen to me, it was blue! There is something here with us,” Vixen wasn’t as scared anymore, but now annoyed that his friend won’t listen to him. His voice became more strained, “I don’t know what it was, but I know there was definitely something!”

“Alright, alright, I believe you, just stick close to me for now.” He took his hands off Vixen’s shoulders and nodded his head to follow, and Vixen followed suit.

Downstairs, Laysha, and Elliott found their way out of the twisting hallways and back somewhere near the main entrance. Elliott had gone over to what seemed to be a storage room, investigating whatever could be in there. Laysha had wandered down another, shorter hallway with only a few paintings and photographs lining the left side of the wall and on the right was a dark, wooden door. There was nothing too intriguing about it, but it drew Laysha in; another place to explore! She walked towards the door in effortless steps and opened it up.

Inside the room was an old, dusty wood desk with a chair slid into it- An office, perhaps? The walls were a deep maroon with entirely black floorboards. To the sides of the centered desk were two bookshelves, both partially filled with varying books. On the back wall was a window covered with curtains and underneath it was two strange, square objects both covered in a white sheet. Laysha fully walked in and was hit with a strange aroma, an odd smell of iron. She realized that on the desk layer a large book and she went over to investigate. Opening it up to a random page near the end, she soon discovered that it was all full of names; names of the patients and their reasons for stay. The names read as Ruby Di Amore, Ethel Wisconsin, Sherwood Sappington, Oscar Quinlan, Edwin Forester, Dorothy Falk… The list seemed to stretch on and on. The book seemed to hold upon hundreds of pages as she flipped through, skimming through the names of all these people, at a certain point the names had stopped being written down with the last name being recorded in 1922. She started reading before the last date, but a strange presence irked her, something that told her to look around, be more alert, but she continued and carefully read the names.

Elliott had searched around the storage room but found nothing of interest. Most of the boxes were full of old clothes or straightjackets, trinkets, and other odds, destroyed paintings beyond repair. So, he exited the room in a huff, slightly let down by the unexcited boxes. Instead, they decided to put their focus on the stairways and started towards them. Obviously, there was no way that they could walk up the dilapidated staircase, so why not downwards? He took one look and was met with a curious darkness staring right back at her. She took a deep breath and prepared herself, then took the plunge and started their walk down.

The stairway was long and did not seem to get much brighter, but eventually Elliott made his way to the bottom. He was met with not a destroyed, old basement, but what seemed to be a recreated speakeasy bar, decorated with nice warm colors. A bar was on the left, all stocked with alcoholic beverages and glasses and on the right were booths, accompanied by tables situated throughout the makeshift speakeasy. He took a closer look and led himself through.

Laysha was still listing off names from the patient book. Soaking in all their names, histories, and entries. It was about 2 pages back that she decided to stop and remembered her surroundings. The iron smell, the dull room. She sighed, standing up and scooting out of the chair, only to bump right into someone. She yelped, apologizing, before standing back and looking at the person in front of her.

Who she was met with was a man fully decked in red towering over her. Against his greying hair, he was wearing a stark top hat – almost reaching the ceiling in height – and a frock coat littered with stitched up patterns across his stomach. A silver pocket watch shined against his dark red pants, but Laysha was quickly drawn back up to his face; an annoyed look turned to anger.

“About time,” His deep voice bellowed across the room – what seemed like wisps coming up from his shoulders alighting his face, “What you think you are doing here and why are you here?” The man had a thick French accent, although that should not matter to her right now, she was entirely impressed.

“Oh, me and my friends were just- Uhm, looking around here,” Laysha stumbled over her words, giving out a nervous smile and slowly scooted away from the man before having a late realization, “Wait are you-”

“Friends? There are more?” He watched her carefully as she moved away, charily inspecting her movements.

“Well, yes, there is. There’s four of us, I don’t know where the rest of them are, sir,” She stopped in front of the left bookshelf, glancing around before holding her hand out for a handshake, “I’m Laysha, and you?” She kept her voice as calm and approachable as she could. All he did was turn, look down at her hand, then back up at her, raising a brow.

“Dr. Geiermann,” He rubbed his face and sighed. He glanced around the room in thought, wondering what move to make next, “I cannot bother doing this, I will let Vincent find the rest of you...” He bowed his head whilst mumbling words underneath his breath, before walking forward and disappearing into the wall. Laysha stood there in complete shock. Did she witness a ghost for herself? An actual dead person, standing in front of her? I mean there was no doubt about it, he looked human, but his eyes were black and hollow save for two pink pupils in the middle. And the wisps coming off his shoulders! He was dressed in what could it have been- the Victorian era at least. He did not seem happy to see her at all, or to hear that her friends came along with her, but his name... Dr. Geiermann! Of all the people, could she have just met the past owner?

Back downstairs, Elliott was still in awe. Looking around and studying the place.

He thought aloud, “But how could this even be here? It couldn’t be that old, half of this stuff is new...”

They looked behind the bar and picked up a bottle of whiskey, checking everywhere on it to see if he could find a date. After turning it around quite a few times, she managed to find a due date on the back of it.

January 30th, 2021, that's only a few days away.

Thinking aloud again, she spoke, “Now who in God’s name would have a place like this underneath an asylum of all things and even keep it stocked!”

“Well, well, can’t a few ghosts have a good time as well?” The voice appeared behind her, giggling as she stood completely frozen. A bluish light materialized from behind, complimented with reds and purples. Elliott slowly turned to face the mysterious voice, the liquid quaking in her grasp.

“What, a little chicken-hearted?” She fully turned around, now in front of them was a half-faced man. A grin was spread across his face, his pupils large and glowing behind his red tinted glasses.

Holding his hand out to shake, he spoke once more, “Hello.”

Back up in the second story, Vixen and Jesse stuck close to each other. The grey light shined through the cracked and broken windows of the asylum, lightening the already dim glow of the lightbulbs. Across both hallways, were the same rooms, repeatedly. Holding the same things; bunkbeds, dirtied floors, chipped off walls, and cobwebs. Despite this, they thought that if they still peaked in, there would be something different. Maybe not. At a certain point, the hallway broke off into two once more.

“Do you think it would be worth going down there?” Jesse questioned as he turned his head to his friend.

Vixen tilted his head, shifted a bit then responded in a wary tone, “No, I don’t think it would be worth it. What's to say that it isn’t the same thing again like the time before,”

“True, true.” Jesse responded, but something diverted their attention. In the corner of their eye, they saw a shadow walk by and what sounded like insults being thrown each and every way.

‘Idiot.’

‘Could not bother to stay put.’

‘But he is always like that, isn’t it?’

They kept going until the man passed their view and Jesse went chasing after the man. By the time Vixen even registered what had happened, Jesse turned the corner and was gone.

When Jesse turned, there was no one there, the man was completely gone. He couldn’t hear the person anymore, like he had vanished out of thin air. Vixen came running back up to him, startled and out of breath.

“Jesse, what do you think you’re doing?” He was huffing, trying to catch his breath.

“I was trying to see who that was,”

“Let me guess, they weren’t there anymore?”

“No, they weren’t. All I could make out is that he might have been wearing some sort of, I don’t know, top hat?”

Vixen’s eyes widened and he started to tug on Jesse’s shirt, visibly shaken, “Come on, Jesse, there’s clearly other people here and I don’t know if we should be staying any longer. I swear, there was someone watching me before, and I don’t want to experience that again!”

“Well, what’s to say that the others didn’t see anything, too? Maybe Laysha saw something or someone – this is more her specialty.”

As soon as Jesse finished speaking, both heard a yelp from downstairs. They both looked at each other before agreeing in silence to rush down to see what had happened.

It didn’t take long for them to arrive at the first story, and they were met with Elliott, looking entirely disheveled.

Jesse ran up to her, desperately inquiring, “What in the world happened down there, are you okay?”

Elliott took a step back, catching herself and looking at her friend confused, “You only just heard me?”

“What do you mean, were you yelling beforehand?”

“Of course I was! There was this, like, blue light behind me and then someone said something, and I turned around and he was inches away from my face!”

“Alright well who was this he?”

“Why do you think I know?”

“I don’t know, describe him then!”

“He was all in fancy clothes, top hat and all; he even had a cane! I think he was wearing some type of tailcoat?” She paused to catch her breath, trying to run her mind back up to speed with the rest of her body.

Vixen crossed his arms – more so hugging himself, “Great, completely great, this place is actually haunted! What are we supposed to do now?”

Jesse huffed, upset at Vixen’s remark, “We just wait for Laysha, Elliott where exactly is she?”

“I’m fairly sure she went to the office last I was with her,”

“What do you mean ‘last I was with her?”

“Well, we split up to cover more ground on the first floor, but I am fairly certain she did go there. Do we go get her, or?”

“Unless she comes to us herself, we’ll go and find her then.”

Back in the office with Laysha, she was still reeling from her encounter with an actual ghost! How cool is that? She was already tapping away on her phone, writing down what the man looked like and what she thought of him, so she remembered. Now she has to tell her friends. Quickly putting her phone back in her pocket, she rushed outside of the office. She booked it outside only to meet right with her friends, waiting for her. They all looked different degrees of shocked.

She tilted her head, confused, “Did something happen, what’s wrong?”

Jesse was the first to tell her, “Look, all of us are pretty sure this place is haunted, me and Vixen saw some guy walking down the hallway, along with something glowing, watching Vixen, and Jesse had someone right up to their face!”

“Oh, yeah, it is,” She gave Jesse a wide smile, “You just realized that?”

“What do you mean? Did you know that beforehand?”

“Well, not really,” she crossed her arm, holding up her hand to her chin, “I came across one when I was in that office. So, you found more?”

“Yes, we found more!” He was more aggressive in his tone now, very much upset about the fact that she didn’t tell any of that to him sooner.

“Sweet! Where are they?”

“We don’t know, they’re all gone now,” Jesse put his hands on his hip, “How would you suggest we find them? Seems like they’re all spread out around this maze of a place,” He appeared to be more levelheaded now, softening his voice.

Laysha made a quiet “Hm” sound, “What if we just go searching from where they came from? Didn’t Elliott say that they came from the speakeasy, did you respond to the ghost in any way, or did you just run?”

Elliott promptly piped up, “No, I just ran,” He clasped his hands and shuffled in his spot a little bit, “The guy seemed creepy either way.”

Laysha had a bright, encouraging smile on her face, “Well then maybe he’s still there, I say we go check.”

Without giving any of her friends a choice, she hastily made her way down the winding hallways all the way to the makeshift speakeasy.

The entrance to the speakeasy was as dark as ever; like it was sucking in the surrounding light for itself. Laysha swiftly made her way down the stairs, intaking every little detail (about as much as her eyes could let her). The oldened floorboards creaked beneath her shoes until she finally made it down. As she stepped down, she immediately went in a sprint to look for the supposed ghost. She booked it straight towards the bar, looking down behind it but alas, found nothing. Rapidly jumping up and over from the bar, she looked past the nearby corner of the room, but there was still nothing in sight. The entire speakeasy was flat and open and there were no ghosts to be seen.

Laysha sighed and moped to the center of the room, “Well, so much for that.”

“Well, I wouldn’t give up so easily now!”

She jumped and instantly turned around, abruptly met with a man smiling only mere inches from her face. As she turned away, he floated backwards and held his hand out to shake. Laysha shook it and promptly had a horrible, painfully cold sensation going up through her hand and into her arm.

“Hello, hello! The name’s Vincent, Dr. Vincent Geiermann and you are?” He rapidly shook her hand up and down, not even letting go for just a second.

She barely understood what he was saying, sounding like a slur of vowels and breaths strung together and barely pronounced consonants. Laysha quickly pieced together that he was asking what her name is.

Talking with a steady voice, she responded, “Oh, my name is Laysha, Laysha Boyer. Those are my, uh, friends over there.” She gestured with her head and saw Elliott giving her a disapproving shake of the head.

With an unnatural turn of the neck, the doctor stared at her friends with an even wider half-faced grin. They all stared at Dr. Vincent with large eyes. The man was dressed from head to toe in shades of blue and green; save for his circular, bright red glasses and a top hat taking up most of his height. His tailcoat was spread out as he floated, and underneath it seemed to be a tie and a green button-up. Most notable of all was the mask covering the left side of his face.

He floated over to the group, kicking his feet and giggling. Scanning over the group, his cyan pupil began to widen.

“Say, what exactly brought you’se four here?” He turned upside down and proceeded to float over them, “Its a rarity to see anyone that's here and not around to mess up the place or whatnot; but you’se seem like a good bunch!”

The ghost chuckled after finishing his sentence and the group all took turns glancing and nervously looking at each other. Suddenly, he flipped back upwards and twirled his cane, setting it right back on the ground. His legs continued to float as he rested his arms on the cane.

Jesse was the one to pipe up first, “Well, the gist is that we kind of... Hunt ghosts? And we were here to see if there were any to, uh...” He trailed off, still baffled about everything that is occurring.

Elliott finished for him, “We were coming to see if we could buy it and use it as a haunted place attraction.” She was completely unmoving from her spot, letting her monotone voice do all the work. Dr. Vincents eye widened as his smile managed to creep up through his face.

He let out a sinister laugh before responding, “Oh, how lovely, lovely! Also, also, did you happen to see any other ghosts on your little tour?” Dr. Vincent seemed entirely unphased by the whole “buying the asylum” bit and instead indulged in his own conversation.

“I found a ghost in the office-” Laysha was cut off in an instant by the ghost.

“Oh, that was my father, don’t worry about him!” He giggled and joked, not having a care in the world (I guess you wouldn’t if you’d been on Earth for that long).

Vixen made a small gasping noise before questioning, “Wait so you are-”

Dr. Vincent cut him off immediately; already knowing the question and answer, “Yes, yes, second – and last, heir to the throne of the asylum! I thought, I thought I gave it away with the whole introducing myself as doctor and Geiermann, not the brightest of the bunch, eh?”

“Well, I-”

“Don’t worry, don’t worry,” He appeared over to Vixen in less than a second, “You even lose a bit of that smartness when you’ve been staring at the daisy roots for how long!” He laughed and leaned his head on Vixen’s shoulder until the boy rapidly stammered away from the ghost. Dr. Vincent promptly reappeared back to his original standing point and continued their little conversation.

“So, you’se were saying about possibly buying the place; turn it into those haunted house ‘tractions, yeah? How much we talking here?” Not being able to stay still, he started floating and roaming around the group; making zig zags between them. Patiently (or not so) waiting for a response.

Laysha started walking towards her friends, watching the ghost drift mesmerizingly above, “Well, I think- I guess it would depend on how much you would like it to be.”

She returned to her friend group, but Elliott leaned in and asked her, “Do you not think it would matter more if we asked the guy that owns the place?”

“Well, considering that there are also other people that live here, I think we should ask them too!”

Elliott sighed, not wishing to pursue the conversation, so he let Laysha and Dr. Vincent continue with their bargaining.

She crossed her arms, “Exactly how old is this place?”

The ghost paused, tapping the bottom of his chin with a quizzical look, and making a ‘Hm’ sound. Without warning, a large puff of red smoke appeared right next to Dr. Vincent. As it dissipated, a figure took form and revealed that it was the same ghost from the office; Dr. Geiermann himself.

He spoke in a low, annoyed voice, “One hundred and thirty-seven years old. I thought you would do better, Vincent,” He turned to the group and raised a brow, “You are the others I presume?”

Vincent answered right away for them, “Yes, yes, they’re visitors, visitors!”

“Trespassers, imbécile,” He shot his head over to his son and frowned, “You are seriously giving the asylum away to children?”

Laysha argued, “We are not children! We have a whole job to do, that’s why we want to buy this asylum in the first place!”

“I do not want this place to be the next dernier cri, so do not bother-”

Vincent rapidly flew over to Laysha and held his hand out with a malicious smile, “How does 5 grand sound?”

Dr. Geiermann sputtered and stammered for a second before gathering himself together, but by that time Laysha had made her choice.

“It’s a deal.” She shook his hand and started giggling as his smile grew, unnaturally stretching up to his eye.

“And how! So wonderful, wonderful!”

“No, Vincent, not wonderful,” Dr. Geiermann grabbed his son by the shoulders, moving him away from Laysha. Vincent stared up at his dad with a confused and frankly annoyed expression, “You do know what you are doing, right? You are seriously giving it away that easily? You did not even think!”

“First of all, I thought it all the way through.”

“En cinq secondes, sérieusement?”

“Yes, I know, shocking. I think it would be nice to have more visitors, wouldn’t you say?”

Dr. Geiermann sighed and rolled his eyes, exhausted, “Tu me donnes mal à la tête...”

Vixen leaned into Laysha and whispered to her, “What is he saying?”

“I have no clue,” She replied in a similar subtle tone.

Vincent exclaimed once more as he whipped his head around to the group; his pupils a wide blue, “We have come to an agreement!”

Dr. Geiermann chipped in an immediate, “No we did not,” he scooted his son away and stiffly approached the friends. He stopped just in front of them, staring them down; he finally replied, “If you go through with buying this place, I have rules. You touch not a thing, you change nothing, you add nothing; is this go to be a paid tour?”

Laysha panicked for a moment before responding, “Oh, uh, yes?”

“Then you can put a box next the front entrance. That will be the only thing you add. You will add caution tape to the front of the stairs,” he walked over to the end of the staircase and pointed to the top of it, leading back to the main hall, “None of us want anyone else down here. You tell people, stay together, no one go to upstairs near the main entrance. Only the first and second floors. Do you understand?”

Laysha shook her head in slight confusion, but he had a point, it was his asylum after all, “Alright, we’ll follow your rules.”

Vincent responded an unnecessary and drawn out, “Boring,” he made a yawning motion with his hand. His father shot him a sharp glare, narrowing his eyes, but Vincent did not seem to care nor notice, “So many rules,” He tilted his head backwards to where his father was standing, “You’re a real pill, you know that?”

“And you think of yourself as better?” Dr. Geiermann started walking his way back to the group, looking down at his son, “You were about to let them do qui sait quoi!”

“Oh, boohoo, at least it would’ve brightened the place up a bit,” He stuck his tongue out nonchalantly, “But I’m guessing you wouldn’t want that, eh?” He started giggling at his own joke.

His father rolled his eyes, but took his attention back to the friend group, “So, you understand what you can and cannot do?”

Laysha nodded, “Yes, we do,” she glanced over to her friends with a desperate look in her eyes. The group nodded with murmurs of yes’s and yeah’s.

Dr. Vincent swiftly turned his head up and in an unnatural pattern, he swiftly floated over back to Laysha and shook her hand once more.

“Another deal then!” He rapidly shook her hand up and down before moving onto the rest of the friend group. The ghost swapped his hands, turning them over on one another, almost looking like a pretzel in comparison. Vixen had jumped back slightly at the sheer freezing cold of Dr. Vincent’s hand. Elliott and Jesse just nodded and shook, exchanging distressed looks to each other.

He finally let go, sparing everyone of a frostbitten hand. The ghost ascended upwards, suddenly stopping just before the ceiling and he looked down at the newfound owners in an aplomb pose. Dr. Geiermann watched his son with skepticism and uncertainty.

“So, any more questions or anything for me at all?” Dr. Vincent smiled as he scanned the group. He checked their mannerisms, any minute details. The way they looked; the way they stared in absolute awestruck.

Seemingly with no questions asked, he was just about to continue until Vixen impulsively asked, “What’s with the half a mask?”

The ghost snapped his attention abnormally over to the young man, his smile unwavering. He immediately flitted down to him, only mere inches away from his face, close enough to feel the icy chill. Then he spoke, “Wouldn’t you like to know,” Vixen was astonished and creeped out, the color seemingly draining from his face. His lips quaked, but all the ghost did was chuckle at his sheer fear until it turned into a boisterous laugh, swinging his arm around Vixen, “Oh, I’m just messing with ya!” Dr. Vincent took his arm away from Vixen, still continuing his giggling spree.

Dr. Geiermann looked at his son, his pupils visibly only a slit now, and turned to Vixen, “This is what you will deal with now,” Vixen nodded slowly while giving out a nervous chuckle.

Laysha had been in thought for quite some time, and decided, “If you have rules, then I have some as well,”

“For my own asylum?”

“Yes, actually. First of all, don’t interfere much,” She got cut off in an instant.

“Again, in my own asylum?” The ghost took a menacing step forward, narrowing his eyes.

Laysha confidently continued, “Let me finish, do not interfere much while we are working. Like doing tours and stuff.”

Dr. Vincent floated over to his father with his arms drooping downwards, seemingly sliding over to him without a single real movement, “Didn’t you say that the whole deal of buying this place was to turn into a, y’know, haunted tour?”

“I mean, yes, obviously, then there would be no fun! But just maybe keep the whole...” Laysha trailed off, trying to think of the correct words to use to not make anyone upset, “Everything to a minimum.”

“By everything do you mean him?” Dr. Geiermann nodded his head towards his son, and he seemed entirely unfazed about the fact they were now talking about him. He was just fiddling with his gloves.

Laysha nodded slowly in agreement, “Yes, and whoever else is here in the asylum, like the past patients, I’m assuming.”

“I saw someone staring me down in one of the hallways thirty or so minutes ago,” Elliott piped up from the midst of the group, walking forward slightly, “Was that one of them or?”

The ghosts both promptly answered, “Ruth,” Dr. Vincent snapped his head up and Dr. Geiermann stood taut as he stared at Elliott. Dr. Geiermann spoke normally, “Do not worry about her, she just likes staring on occasion.”

“Not like she can do much either way with how balled up she normally is!” Dr. Vincent started to shake in laughter, nudging his dad by the side with his elbow to see if he thought his, quite frankly, mean-spirited joke was. All Dr. Geiermann did was look down at him, and stare at him with completely dead eyes and no sign nor even a flinch of joy within this man.

“Well alright then,” Dr. Vincent rolled his eyes and gave out a dramatic sigh.

Laysha continued her list of rules, ignoring (well doing her best to ignore) what happened, “Do not fiddle with the money box and...” Now she completely forgot what she was going to say. Laysha frantically darted her eyes to her friends, hoping they could at least think of something to help her with ground rules or anything!

Jesse had stepped up to help Laysha, and spoke for her, “How about no picking up objects, so it isn’t too obvious that you guys are actually there,”

“Oh, and no making too much noise.”

Dr. Vincent tilted his head, “Exactly what counts as too much noise?”

Geiermann added on, “Can I even be allowed a walk?”

“Well, yes, obviously! Just don’t go around causing a ruckus,” Laysha quickly rebutted, “Like smashing stuff or arguing to each other.”

The ghost made a snide remark to his son, “Do you hear that, Vincent?”

“Yeah, did you?” He snapped back, crossing his arms in defiance, “With how much of a bluenose you already are, I never woulda’ thunk you do anything to begin with!”

“How many idiotic insults will you make until you stop your wake snakes spree?”

“Till the death of the universe, dearest father!” He leaned up close to Dr. Geiermann’s shoulder before breaking down in a laughing fit from how funny he thought he was.

“You are a complete lunkhead!” Dr. Geiermann shoved his son away from him.

The friend group simply watched on as the two ghosts started to go back and forth with each other. They kept spouting out different insults, annoying and taunting one another. Getting louder and louder, Dr. Vincent started shouting out profanities now, and he started getting physical. He shoved and poked his father, his gestures becoming increasingly varied and wild. Dr. Geiermann only stood his ground and continued to verbally reprimand his son.

“Well, you never close your head, so that’s on you!” Dr. Vincent blurted out.

Dr. Geiermann defiantly acquitted himself, “On me? C’est vous qui ne vous taisez jamais!”

“Est-ce que je ne me tais jamais ? C’est parce que vous ne vous taisez jamais et que vous vous plaignez toujours!” Dr. Vincent quickly snapped back at him over and over, now very rarely even giving his father a chance to react.

Laysha shuffled backwards to her friends and whispered, “Still don’t understand what they’re saying?”

Vixen mumbled back a measly, “Nope.”

The argument had now become a full on shouting match. The ghosts were screaming at each other, and so loud that Elliott noticed something just out of the corner of her eye. She leaned over to see up the stairs and saw three other ghosts staring down at them; two to the right and one to the left. Elliott immediately recognized one of the ghosts coming from the right- Ruth. The one that was staring him down at the hallway, but the other two he had no clue of.

The shorter one, seemingly only a child, was of a magenta hue. Her hair was shaped almost like a bowl cut, and she was wearing an oversized simple dress. From what he could see, random dark splotches dotted her arms. The ghost to the left had his entire head covered in bandages. His was of a tan and blue colors, sporting a simple t-shirt and pants. Although, when Elliott looked closer, she noticed that his head was floating instead if being attached to any neck. Elliott nudged Laysha by the shoulder, tilting and gesturing with their head to look up towards the stairs. As she did, her eyes widened in realization.

“Visitors?” Laysha said a bit too loudly for her liking.

Dr. Geiermann and Dr. Vincent shot their heads over to the friends, then turning their attention too the staring ghosts upstairs.

Without missing a beat, Dr. Vincent’s face grew in anger, and he flew to the end of the stairs and yelled, “SCRAM!”

They all disappeared in an instant, although the child lingered for slightly longer before slowly moving out of view. Dr. Vincent put back his façade as soon as they left, and calmly floated back down in front of the group. Dr. Geiermann still looked like he was fuming from the argument but didn’t want to engage any more than he had to.

“So, what were we discussing again?” Quizzed Dr. Vincent.

The group was still visibly reeling from the shouting match, all of them having wide eyes. But Laysha once again took hold of the answer.

“We were, uh, talking about rules… But I think that was it, right guys?” She looked back and forth between her friends with a desperate look in her face and a nervous smile. All four of them nodded and gave different variations of yes; yup’s, yeah’s, and ‘mhm’ littered the air.

“And how! That was a lovely conversation- though excuse my father for the disturbance.” Dr. Vincent pointed back to his dad as he was about to blow a fuse.

Instead, Dr. Geiermann angerly stated, “You know what? No!” And just in a flash, he disappeared into a cloud of smoke.

“Well thankfully, he’s gone now, so we have nothing to worry about!” He chuckled mid-sentence before calming back down, resting to his unnatural grin. He floated over in front of the group and rapidly looked between them.

“So, anything else you’se guy’s wanna know? Any other questions?” He was currently floating upside down now, putting his cane horizontally up to his chest and spinning it, waiting for any response.

Laysha spoke up in an instant, “How long did you run this place? When did you start working here?”

Dr. Vincent started giggling, “Oh, sometime after my father had died! I only lasted about 20 years before I kicked the bucket, but it happens to the best of us,” He tossed and turned in a fit of laughter. Smiling maniacally, he continued on, “And it paid some good clams from my last job as well! But that’s all.”

“Oh, thank you for the insight then.”

Dr. Vincent shook her hand rapidly, again sending multiple waves of freezing shock up in her arms, “Of course, of course!”

She nodded and pulled away from him as soon as he let go, “So, that was all we needed, actually.”

“Oh, seriously? Well, thank you for stopping by,” He seemed to switch tones, seemingly threatening, “Better get the money here soon.”

Laysha chuckled nervously, “Yup.”

He swiftly floated over to the end of the staircase and beckoned the group to follow him. They all promptly followed him back up the stairs. He started talking as they walked up the stairs, but most of the conversation was filled with his giggling and vaguely audible sentences. The friends just nodded along with him as they went along, not understanding his fast pace. After the trek upstairs, they said their goodbyes to each other.

“I’ll make sure that this place is in tip top shape when you come back to check in in a week,” Dr. Vincent floated upright (finally), “Certainly a pleasant time meeting you’se four!”

“And to you as well-” Before Laysha could finish, he grabbed her hand and shook it for the umpteenth time.

“Well, goodbye, goodbye. Have a wonderful day!” He cheerfully exclaimed.

The group, one by one, exited the asylum, but were stopped for a few seconds to receive Dr. Vincent’s chilling shake. They all left down the steps, and he yelled to them, “Au revoir!” before he slammed the door without giving them a second to respond.

After they had left, they all joked about what had happened. The strange asylum, the eccentric ghost and his father (among the others they didn’t even get to meet).

“How many others do you bet were in there?” Jesse larked.

“Do you see how big that place is?” Elliott gestured to the massive asylum, “There has to be at least two-hundred ghosts.”

“Two hundred, seriously?”

Laysha laughed at their antics, deciding to walk around the asylum for a bit. She stared at the cracked bricks, littered with vines and plants. The entire building seemed to be taken back by nature now that she looked at it. She carried on walking to the right of the building, breathing in every detail, but she still wished that she questioned them more. What’s the history of this place? What about the ghosts that were sentenced to the asylum? Drowning in her thoughts, she made her way to one end of the building and peeking out from around the corner seemed to be a cemetery. Laysha tilted her head, above it read “The Geiermann Cemetery.” Could it have been for the past patients? Vixen interrupted her thoughts by appearing behind her, tapping her on the shoulder and giving her a bit of a scare.

“What are you doing over here?” Vixen quizzed.

“Just wanted to walk around the place, what about you?”

“We were looking for you,” He chuckled lightly, “Isn’t the guy supposed to pick us back up soon?”

“Oh, right, right! I completely forgot,” She glanced over back to the cemetery.

“What are you staring at?” Vixen leaned over to see what she was looking at.

“I don’t know, must have been an old graveyard or cemetery thing to keep the past patients. I mean, you heard what Elliott said,” Laysha gave him a polite smile, “About time we get going, I don’t want Jesse gnawing at my throat for being late.”

Vixen laughed and they went on their way.

They walked back, greeted their friends but Laysha had not told them about what she saw, and Vixen already seemingly forgot. After about a minute or so, the man arrived to pick them back up. He asked how they liked the place and if anything happened, but they had a silent agreement not to say anything about the ghosts just yet. They just joked about certain things that had happened (or changed them for the story) and went on with their lives. Laysha had told the man that she would like to buy it for the five thousand agreed before. He expressed a bit of shock but complied. They arrived back at the car and said their goodbyes to the man and drove off, discussing what to do next.

Epilogue…

Around 2 hours later...

Dr. Geiermann was looking outside a window on the far right of the asylum. The sun had started to set, and lay harsh shadows against the dead forest. Leaves were brushing around in the wind, dancing and swirling until the gushing wind had stopped. The sun was bright as it sunk down past the Earth from his view. No one else was roaming the hallways and no other sounds were being made. He was all alone with his thoughts. Up until a blue flume of smoke appeared behind him, and a familiar tricolor glow was seen. Dr. Geiermann let out an annoyed sigh before turning to look at his son.

“Have you come to apologize yet?” His face grew dark.

“For what?”

Dr. Geiermann groaned before responding, “Never mind.”

His son giggled and promptly rested his arm on his father’s shoulder, “But that wasn’t what I wanted to talk to you about.”

His father turned back around to the window, “What do you want of me, Vincent?”

“Oh, nothing, nothing! Just about those kids. So when they come back around and buy the place, who’s gonna look out for the tourists?”

“What exactly are you to get at here? Such as…” Dr. Geiermann trailed off, flitting and turning his hand about to get the right words, “Vous cherchez les touristes pour qu’ils ne nous voient pas?”

“Exactly!” Dr. Vincent snapped his fingers and moved his head away. He started floating around, tapping his finger on his chin, wondering, “So, who exactly do you think would be good for that?”

“Why are you asking me?” His son cut him off in a flash.

“Of course, you would be perfect, perfect! Thank you, thank you!” He gave his father a swift hug, and just as he appeared, he was gone once more.

Dr. Geiermann was left there to ponder what had just happened to him (again) and question what his son had gotten them all into. All he could for now, is stare back out into the now nightly dark woods, and wait until next week.

[l0ser-nicolaz]

“yeah i watched the gameplay of mouthwashing”

*hasnt made it past the part where anya is giving curly a psych evaluation*

[whumpwillow]

Any plans of continuing/finishing Hazeshift? Asking for a friend...

I will! But I want to become a published author so I’m working on some personal things rn and my writings on here are on a semi-hiatus for the time being 🙌🏻

[postformanceanxiety]

I have finally contributed something of worth to the world. Enjoy the filth?

[leoamadeus]

nothing is more painful than not being able to browse tumblr abt a show you're watching bc the risk of spoilers is too high

[awuochi]

Frames — 160 layers and folders 🖼️

Tried a different way of drawing today, you can see me struggle with his hair <3

[flippythegodzilla]

CHAPTER 19 HERW YOU GO DULOC TEMPLE IS DONE

[burgleyurturts]

Grrrrrrrrr