#But then I gave myself a black eye with a stray metal pole so

[ennieasys]

Me: *finally takes a break from the Internet*

Me: *goes outside* ahhh, just hard dirt as far as the eye can see

you've got 2 admit that the oft repeated command to "touch grass" in itself illustrates a great disconnect from the tru wholesomeness of the offline world. unless you meant a kind of wild grass, a lovely tassel cord rush or even the humble rattlesnake grass. but we know that's not what they mean. to the chronically online, grass = lawn and nothing more. and a lawn is an abomination on par with the worst brainworms big online has to offer. touching a lawn will not help you. You've got to go injure yourself on some swordgrass for god's sake

[miruko-will-fight-god]

Class 1A x Immortal reader

Warnings: death, Reader death (But revival), talks of pain

Reader info:

Quirk: Complete Restoration (This quirk allows the reader to completely heal from any injury, even allowing them to regrow organs and limbs)

A/N: I swear this isn’t angst, tbh I dont even know what to call this since it isnt fluff, crack, or angst enjoy anyway tho (Also Mineta is replaced with Shinso but that shouldn’t really be a problem lol)

You walked into the room of class 2-A greeted by the faces of your new classmates and Eraser Head, who you had met a few days prior, was lying on the floor wrapped up in his blindingly yellow sleeping bag. You walked through the door, the exhausted teacher sluggishly sitting up. “Alright, introduce yourself quickly, we have things to do afterwards” he grumbles before slouching back down.

 You stepped beside the podium, reciting your rehearsed introduction from memory “Hello, I’m [Y/N] [L/N], I’m a new transfer from [Country]. I look forward to getting to know you all!” You finished, looking over towards Aizawa who was now standing, only half covered in his sleeping bag. “Alright,” he said, “now that that's over with, everyone get suited up and meet me at ground gamma.” 

You followed the rest of the class towards the lockers to change into your costumes Your costume was simple, it consisted of a simple black full bodysuit that had two large pockets running down the outer sides of your legs containing rope for restraining, and some combat boots. Since your quirk didn’t give you any offensive properties, your weapon of choice was a scythe, which was quite noticeable as you paraded out of the locker room with it.

 You, Ahisdo, Shinso and Midoriya were the first ones out of the locker rooms. You stood in awe of the massive industrial training grounds, as Ashido and Midoriya tried to convince you to tell them what your quirk is and Shinso looked like he was planning. As the rest of the class gathered up, you were greeted by your grumpy homeroom teacher and the frail form of all might. When all of you had arrived, All might began to brief you all on the exercise. “Today the battle will be a free for all, The border will be marked by a large red line that will shrink every minute, get pushed out of the border and you’re out, become immobilized, you’re out. Someone will win when they’re the last person standing within the border. We’ll give a 45 second grace period, for you all to get into a position, just make sure that you stay within the border.” He finished explaining. “Does everyone got it?” he asked, eliciting varying ‘yeses’ from you and your classmates. Before the class was told to begin Aizawa added something on. “One more thing, [L/N] and Shinso” your features became riddled with confusion. “As you most likely guessed this test will be an evaluation of you skills. And if I feel like your lacking what it takes to remain in this class, I will expel you.” You jumped at the notion of expelling while Shinso only narrowed his eyes,  you knew that Eraserhead has expelled entire classes of students before, you were no exception to this.

You calmed your nerves just as the pair gave the signal for the grace period to start. All of you ran in, some moving faster than others due to their quirks. An overly loud horn blew throughout the arena just as you reached a safe area near the edge of the border.

‘I guess that was the signal’ you thought, starting to come up with a plan

You knew that you had the benefit of them not knowing your quirk, you were told of them and their quirks and you remember seeing them in the sports festival from last year. So your best bet would be sneak attacks and to knock people out of the border since you only had a limited amount of rope, you figured the stronger and more ballsy of your peers would be near the center, so the majority would be around the outskirts like you.

You were taken out of your thoughts by tape narrowly avoiding your face. You towards your right, to find the person of origin perched on top of a pipe. You readied your weapon in front of you, The memory of the sports festival last year coming back to you. The grip you kept on your weapon tightened as you ran towards Sero, dogging and cutting tape as it was shot as you. Once you were close enough to the pipe you jumped up, hitching your scythe into a vertical pipe adjacent to where you were jumping using the momentum to pull yourself up. As your feet landed on the metal with a soft thud, you pulled your weapon out, grasping it with both hands.

Without hesitation you run towards your current opponent, making your way between the two streams of tape he shot at you. Once he was within range of your weapon, turning the blade around so he was hit with the heel of your scythe. You watched as he fell off of the pole landing on his butt. Before he had a chance to get up or even register the slight pain in his tailbone, the large red line marking the perimeter began to move inward, leaving him outside the line. You slightly felt bad but remembered that there was still a challenge going on. However you knew you were definitely going to be apologizing.

Your next destination was closer to the center of the arena. While it was still fairly early in the game, you had no doubt that quite a few people were out. After a while navigating, only accompanied by the sound of your footsteps and the sound of fights off in the distance. Before you knew it you reached what you assumed was the center. Primarily due to the fact that the area seemed more cleared out compared to other places in the structure. The area seemed almost under ground due to the lack of pipes at the bottom but random pipes acting similar to a roof only letting stray beams of light worming their way to the ground. Within the large cleared out area three people stood the arena. Three who you recognized from their files Izuku Midoriya, Katsuki Bakugou, and Hitoshi Shinso.

You remembered them specifically since one only transferred to the hero course this year, and the other two were fairly powerful. From where you stood you noticed a few other people, their either eyes trained on the scene in front of them waiting for an opportune moment to take one of them out or fighting someone else. The boys were currently engaged in a three-way battle trying their best to keep each other at bay while also trying to keep each other down. 

The boy in the green seemed to have a slight advantage since he seemed more skilled in close ranged hand-to-hand combat than the others. The blonde was stuck primarily on defense and the purple haired boy seemed to have a decent balance between defense and offense. You remembered Aizawa’s words, the threat of expulsion still slightly terrifying you. You took a deep breath and formulated a plan.

 As the battle continued you scaled your way up the pipes avoiding the other spectators. You eventually made you way to the end of a pipe that led directly over the battle- well as direct as you could be considering how much they moved around. You did your best to stay as quiet as possible as your made your way across the pipe until something caught your eye. Quite a bit ahead of you, the pipe got unstable due to it missing quite a few screws. It was unstable enough that probably if you applied enough pressure the pipe would collapse causing a domino effect to the few pipes below it. You knew if you spent anymore time thinking it over you would psych yourself out of it.

 You got a running start and jumped onto the pip fell with it  was everything collapsed. The trio below you saw and each to appropriate actions to save themselves. Bakugou jumping back using the force of explosions to power himself back. Shinso using his capture weapon to move larger pieces of debris out of his way. Deku jumping off of the falling rubble to make sure none of it fell on himself.

That portion of the Arena was covered in a layer of dust causing everyone to cough. As the dust started to settle, letting everyone open their eyes and get fresh breaths of air into their lungs, that's when they noticed it. You were dead…? You laid on top of the rubble, only small pieces laying on top of you. There was quite a noticeable head wound, and a hole in your stomach. Almost like a piece of metal had passed clean through you.

No one dared to move, the sight of a dead body causing some of them gag, trying to keep the bile in their stomachs. No one’s eyes dared to stay fixated on anything your body, like if they looked away you would really be dead. The most stoic of your classmates were unable to keep their unwavering facades together. Everyone's thoughts were interrupted by a sudden yelling from the pile of  wreckage “THAT HURT LIKE A BITCH!” You yelled, sitting up unaware of the state of your classmates. Tears started to flow as some of them finally gained the courage to run up to you bombarding you with questions. 

You chuckled at the familiar questions of “what?” “how?” “weren’t you dead?” Aizawa looked through the screen, a shock that was unknown to his colleague riddled his mind. He knew what your quirk was, but he didn’t know it was to that extent. He had seen healing quirks at work before, but he had never seen someone just come back to life like that. Aizawa ended the training session early giving you his logical ruse spiel while also reprimanding you for being that reckless.

Soon enough lunch rolled around, and you sat with a large group of one 1-A students ending up next to the green haired boy from earlier. As soon as you sat down you were bombarded with questions before you chuckled. “I can’t answer all your questions at once, one at a time please.” Midoriya asked his questions first which were basically all the practical ones. 

“What is your quirk?”

“It’s called complete restoration, I’m just able to heal any injury on myself, including ones that are fatal.”

“So you’re immortal?”

“Pretty Much.” you answered curtly, continuing to stuff your face. 

“Do you feel pain?” a red head asked sheepishly. “Not in the slightest! But I can tell when I get hurt, it’s like some sort of sixth sense. And “dying” is practically just waking up from that weird falling feeling ” You shrugged. “But it makes it really fun to jump off of buildings and stuff!” you finished giggling. Your classmates looked at you with a mix of awe and disbelief, continuing to ask questions throughout the lunch period.

[positivelly-pessimisticc]

chapter one of my story ! i’m nervous n extremely self-conscious, but tell me if you like it pleasee. i’d appreciate the feedback <3

It's kind of funny how badly humans ache to be loved. It's as if we're born craving affection. Like it's our mission in life to find somebody that completes us. We long for someone to spend our time with, even if that time is short. But with love comes heartbreak and disappointment, and no one is immune to the anguish abandonment causes. Once you open the door to loving someone other than yourself, there's no going back. I only wish I'd known what lay ahead before I walked through that door.  "Hey! How's my favorite stick in the mud?" I felt a punch on my shoulder and jumped, my pen straying from its initial position on my paper, creating an unwanted line across the page.  "Be careful, Dannie! " I sighed as I tore out the page and turned to the next. I've known Dannie since middle school, and she's my best friend. Ever since the 6th grade, we've never left each other's side. "It's nice to see you too, dimwit." Dannie chuckled as she placed herself beside me on the curb. "What're you writing about anyway?" I closed my notebook a little quicker than I should have and placed it under my thigh.  "Oh, nothing, just a to-do list. Gotta run some errands for my mom." I smiled, trying my best to look like I believed what I was saying.  "Right." Dannie squinted her eyes at me but brushed it off anyway. "Well, why weren't you at school today?" I looked down at my polar ice converse, avoiding her eyes. I could feel her staring at me in that way she always did when she was super serious about something.  "I just needed a day off, that's all." I pushed my glasses up, still staring down at my feet. "You sure? You doing alright?" Dannie leaned slightly forward, trying to get my attention, and smiled. "You can always talk to me, you know." I turned towards her and gave her a quick smile.  "What're you, my therapist?" I laughed and got up, shoving my notebook in my back pocket.  "Stubborn ass." Dannie laughed as she chased after me, her curly highlights blowing against the wind. "Seriously, though, I'm here if you need me," she said, showing off her perfect smile.  "I know, dumbass," I replied, punching her in the arm to get back at her for earlier. "Ah, there he is!" she laughed. "Now let's go," she said as she grabbed my hand, "we're skipping your imaginary errands."                                                                            --- The weather had worsened significantly since the afternoon, and the wind was more powerful than I'd ever experienced in my small town. I closed the gate in my front yard and retrieved my backpack from its hiding place in the bush of purple sage on the side of the house. I stopped at the front door and took a deep breath. "I am not looking forward to this," I thought to myself as I unlocked the door and pushed it open. My mom wasn’t necessarily the most easygoing person, and every encounter with her left me feeling exhausted. I stepped inside quietly and looked around, checking to see if anyone was home. Deciding the coast was clear, I sped to my room and locked my door.  "Samantha? Are you home?" I heard my mom yell from the kitchen. 'Ugh, I hate it when she calls me that.' I threw my backpack down on the floor, unzipping it as fast as I could. I grabbed some school books and jumped onto my bed and opened a few of them as if I'd been studying. I flipped through my algebra book to page 185 and started skimming through the lesson.                                                                                              Simplifying Radical Expressions  "This is pointless," I mumbled, shaking my head as I turned the page. In doing so, a small piece of folded paper fell from in between the pages. I blinked and picked it up, confused at first. What is this doing here? I hesitated but unfolded the note.                                    To Sam,                                    Standing Next To You Makes Me Feel As High As Everest  I flipped the note over and scanned its area for a name or a clue of some sort to help me figure out who left it here, but there was nothing. They used a quote from one of my favorite movies: All the Bright Places. It made me wonder: Do I know the person who sent it? Does someone out there actually like me? How did they manage to get it in my algebra book? Just then, my door slammed open, and I jumped.  "Why didn't you answer me when I called you?!" my mom huffed, a tone already forming in her voice.  "Looks like the lock on my door is broke again," I stated, ignoring her question and pretending to be focusing on my algebra lesson.  "Samantha." my mom said sternly, almost as a warning. "It's Sam, Mom. Sam," I glared. That's about the hundredth time I'd repeated myself to her that week.  "Sam," she said, adding emphasis to my name. I could feel her eyes burning a hole in the side of my head.  "Yes?" I replied, mimicking her tone of voice. "Where were you today?" Her question caught me off guard. Why was she asking me that? Did she see something? Did the school call? "You know where I was," I answered, playing it safe. It's better to leave out the whole truth rather than to straight-up lie.  "Do I? Because I thought you were at school." She had her face pinched and her arms crossed, hinting at what was coming. My heart started racing, and my hands began sweating. Maybe the school did call her. "I- I was just at the library all day," I stammered, "I have an important project due this week."   My mom stared at me as though she was trying to study my facial expressions for any hint that I might be lying. "If you're lying to me, Sam, I'll find out," she warned. She gave me one last hard stare before she turned around and left, leaving my door slightly ajar. She always said that. But it usually turned out to be true.                                                                                                                                                                         --- The rest of the week, I attended school, all the while keeping a lookout for anyone I might suspect to be my admirer. But I made it to Friday without a clue. I hadn't realized until then that I didn't associate with many people other than Dannie. How was I ever supposed to figure it out?  After my last class, I collected my books from my desk, slung my backpack over my shoulder, and made my way down the hall to find Dannie. Whispers echoing in the hall seemed to bounce off the walls and grow louder, but I kept my eyes glued to the steady motion of my feet. Walking through the school building was always the same for me. I was the weird girl. Or wait. The weird guy? I wasn't normal. So I became 'it'.  Comments like, "There 'it' goes" and "Gross, look what 'it's' wearing today." made my chest feel heavy and dampened my already low self-esteem. Dannie always told me to brush it off and would say things that friends are required to say.  "They're just jealous" or "I love you just the way you are." I tried my best to do what she told me, but no matter how many times I told myself positive things, those negative comments came rushing back into my mind. I couldn't help but feel unworthy and meaningless.  "Hey, loser, nice tights. Sure you're not a girl?" A girl in a mini skirt laughed, flipping her hair behind her head. I quickened my pace as I passed Delphia Winters and her group of wannabes. I'm sure you know which category they fall under. She and her friends were always picking on people like me because I wasn't the only teenager that used different pronouns. After all, it is the 21st century. If I were braver, I'd have stood up to her for all of us, but I continued walking towards Dannie's locker instead. When I finally made it, Dannie wasn't there. "That's weird," I thought, "She always waits for me." I plodded outside of school, and sat myself down on the black, metal bench placed next to the flag pole. Opening my backpack, I removed my notebook and placed it on my lap, along with my favorite black pen. I traced my fingers over the black lettering on the front, and looked down at the fishnet leggings I had chosen to wear that day. They were ripped and tattered from old age, and I figured I probably shouldn't wear them again. Letting go of things had always been hard for me. My older sister had bought them for me right before the accident, so I wasn't quite ready to give them up.  "Fuck them," I thought to myself, "they don't know me, and I never asked for their opinion." I opened up the front cover of my notebook, feeling more sure of myself than earlier. Then I saw something flutter to the ground, and lay itself in the dying grass underneath the bench. I leaned down to pick it up, and it seemed to be another note. It had been days since I'd gotten the first one, so I unfolded it impatiently to reveal what was written inside. To Sam,  I Don't Feel So Lonely When You're Around   I held the note for a while, just staring at it; analyzing it. Who was writing these? I really wanted to know. To think there was someone out there who didn't hate me, and had a crush on me seemed wrong. But I liked it. And in a way, I liked the mystery.  As I walked home, I thought of all the people in my algebra class. Could it be any of them? I found the first note in my algebra book, after all. I laughed and decided I’d figure it out later. I couldn’t stop thinking about it though. It seemed as though I floated home, smiling all the way. It had been a while since I smiled and meant it, and for the first time in a long time, I had a reason.  

[wisepuma23]

Lost in the Starlight

So I decided to take the prompt challenge by @sanderssidesspook ! However, my take on the challenge will be different. There are so many great AUs in this fandom that I want to write for, so might as well hit two birds with one stone, and write a Halloween ficlet for them!! Today I’ll start with @teacupfulofstarshine LDAD AU + corn maze. Uhh, you’ll see!

Warnings: offscreen violence, swearing, implied death

Word Count: 1, 838

Pairing: Romantic Analogical 

Read on AO3!

Logan didn’t want to go on this ‘road trip’ but Roman and Patton absolutely insisted on visiting the human world. Virgil, however, wanted to stick close to the coastlines and smell the sea spray and Logan was inclined to agree. Straying so far from home made his insides twist with a feeling he didn’t understand.

Unfortunately, Thomas needed to go inland for a conference. Something about a scientific meeting about rising coastlines and the implementation of hydroelectricity on a national scale. Human stuff.

His pod practically begged to go with Thomas, but after their traumatic parting three years ago, Logan couldn’t stay behind. So Virgil grudgingly decided to come with, as their tour guide, since Thomas would be preoccupied with meetings.

Virgil dropped Thomas off in a place with glittering mountains. He’s never seen them so tall and square. His fins rippled in excitement at the order of it all. In the streets, there were lights strung up through the trees and creatures that had him ducking down out of sight. He thought Virgil said there were no other creatures who had claws as Logan did. Or was he lying?

Fake.

Logan mulled over the word as he squinted at the fake creatures. Virgil still giggled as they drove through the dark trees. He explained it all punctuated with muffled laughter. Halloween, what an odd word. 

His own smile tugged upwards. He would never tire of the sound of his mate’s laugh. Beautiful as the pearls in seashells. Roman and Patton squealed as their fins rippled as if in a storm as more creatures walked through the streets of the small town.

Their claws were fake. Plastic teeth and temporary makeup all for the purpose of a holiday. Whatever that is. Logan hissed as a small one with fangs and a black cape walked too close. It startled and ran off. Roman and Patton laughed. Almost like they enjoyed the feeling of fear. Logan rolled his eyes, then again, Roman was the one who often dove into the deep end without looking.

“Oooh, what’s that?” Patton pointed over Virgil’s shoulder, as Virgil yelped in surprise and almost yanked the wheel into the opposite lane.

Logan squinted at it in the darkness. It was a sign written in English with a giant yellow object above it. He dug his claws further into his sweater, his eyes worked far better underwater, up here they were useless. Glasses irritated his scales but he wore them anyway. Tch, he couldn’t protect his pod like this. What could he do? Flop around and squint?!

A hand tugged on his own, gently prying his claws out of his sweater, and squeezed. Logan met Virgil’s eyes, the same color as the world outside, brown and soft as the ground outside. The fist of icy anger in his chest melted.  

“It’s a sign for a corn maze,” Virgil said, excitement creeping into his tone, “They’re more popular around Halloween. I forgot that they had them here,” Virgil scratched his head, almost embarrassed as he admitted, “Corn mazes are one of the few cool things we have inland. You can’t exactly float up and over it like your reed farms.”

Logan’s face warmed as Virgil turned to him with a smile as the backseat chanted, “Yes, I would love to see a ‘corn maze’. It sounds...interesting.”

So, really it was his own fault.

Logan stared up at the stars and shivered under the coolness of the moonlight. The rustle of the corn like a steady heartbeat in his ears. The ground roiled with movement and scratching his poor eyesight couldn’t pick up. For all he knew, a shark could be circling him.

Virgil had given him and the others a wheelchair with a specially designed pouch for their tails. Then heavy blankets over their laps to keep their tails warm and covered. However, he hadn’t realized how hard it would be to push against the uneven grass and roots of the corn. Roman and Patton went on ahead, Logan encouraged Virgil to catch up, and he never did.

And so, he spent the better part of an hour utterly and hopelessly lost.

“It’ll be fun, they said,” Logan muttered as sweat dripped down his temples, pushing his wheels forward on the small path, “It’s not even a big maze, they said. Well, bullshit.”

With a grunt, he rolled into a clearing.

Logan blinked around the flattened circle of grass. Was this the center? He sighed a breath of relief as his wheels didn’t squeal in protest. Even ground, how I missed you! He looked up and bit down on a scream.

A man hung from a post with his arms out and his legs limp. A big hat, much like the farmers here, hung low on his head. He didn’t know it was a human practice to hang their dead in the middle of corn mazes. Logan rolled forward as he squinted up at it. He took in a hard sniff.

Straw and dirt.

Not the rot of flesh and bone.

Logan tilted his head as he remembered Virgil’s huff of laughter from earlier. Fake. This man must be one of those costumed creatures walking out there tonight. Logan raised up a hand to touch it when--

“Whoa there, pardner,” a deep voice drawled, Logan snapped his hand back, “Awfully rude to touch me without even introducing yourself first.”

Logan looked up and his gills stuttered in surprise. The scarecrow had a face underneath its dark brim. The eyes were crossed black stitches and its mouth hung open with yellow teeth that reminded him of the sea snakes in the shallows. Sharp and thin and too many to fit in its stuffed head. Logan raised an eyebrow, he could’ve sworn the creature had a stitched mouth earlier.

“Oh excuse me,” Logan said as he smoothed his hands down his lap, “My name is Logan. I apologize. Your culture is still new to me.”

Silence echoed through the yawning fields for a few moments.

The man cackled, its whole body rocked the pole with the force of it. Logan dug his claws into the metal armrests. It was the truth!

“For a creature concerned with my rudeness, you don’t consider your own,” Logan snarled, “I should hope to learn your name in retaliation.”

“No, it’s just funny, I’m not human either,” the man giggled, the sound made his fins itch to propel himself far and fast, “And my name, sir? Why it’s been so long,” it looked up at the moonlight, “Call me Scarecrow.”

“You’re wrong! I’m a human!” Logan shouted up to it.

Scarecrow slowly looked down at him, “No, you’re not. I can smell the sea right off ya. I’ve never had fish in so long…” its mouth opened to an impossible length, as rows of teeth caught the moonlight, “I’ve kept all the crows away. Away, away, little birdies! Why I’m a little hungry now after my hard work.”

Shit.

Scarecrow smiled as it jostled in its post again. He could tell the jig was up. Logan couldn’t hide the truth from another….creature. A different species of other Scarecrows? He shoved the questions aside about the cruelty of humans stringing something alive in their fields.

Logan wheeled back, “You won’t find me easy prey. I’m a formidable predator myself,” Logan bared his teeth as his eyes glinted in the moonlight, “Sharks have met messier ends at my hands.”

Scarecrow’s smile disappeared, “You’re out of your fishbowl, little goldfish.”

Logan bristled and opened his mouth when--

Wood splintered and cracked like a thunderclap in the hushed fields. Logan thrust his arms up against the blast. Wood debris bounced off his arms but tore his sweater into rags. Damn it, Thomas gave him this one for ‘Christmas’. Logan squinted into the darkness, ears straining for any sound, any foot fall.

Up high above the fields stood a lonely post.

And no Scarecrow.

A guttural snarl cut the night as a gaping maw of teeth overcame his vision. The wheelchair clattered against the ground, wheels spinning uselessly in their sockets, blankets sodden against the dirt. Blood splattered the homemade designs of stars and planets. Splatters of red against the milky blue of Neptune. Ripping and snarls echoed through the air.

Then silence.

The corn rustled indifferently, the reeds whispering against each other, as the fireflies danced above the maze. Flowers bloomed drinking in the cool moonlight, petals delicately held up to its pale face. Mice twist and turn in their homes as they slept. Then blink one beady eye open as footsteps stomped through the quiet peace of the evening.

“Logan!” Virgil shouted, his voice crackling after screaming himself near hoarse, “Where are you?!”

Flashlights swept through the corn stalks. The murmur of people and the static of radios. Virgil ran a hand through his sweat-drenched hair. It only took the others to find the center and get back out again in twenty minutes. Not...not two hours! Shit, he’s heard stories of people going missing or even found dead in corn mazes.

He wanted to curse his own stupidity. It could stand to reason that if mermaids existed, why not others? Flashbacks of Bigfoot and Wikipedia rabbit holes of various cryptids ran through his mind. If he found a Child of the Corn, he’ll be drop-kicking them before Thomas can break out the lollipops.

He wanted his fucking boyfriend back.

Virgil pushed aside the stalks to the center of the maze. He’s swept this place so many times in the past two hours. Like every ten minutes but he never saw hide nor hair of the missing mermaid. The police chattered into their radios but the sound grew distant.

Virgil’s flashlight landed on a straw-covered mass next to a knocked over wheelchair. He tore out into a run as he made a strangled noise of Logan! Virgil muttered curses as Logan blinked blearily up at him. Blood trickled down his temple and faint scratches down his arms. Virgil swore bloody murder as he saw ripped fins up and down his arms.

“My….tail…” Logan said, his voice strained with the effort, “The others…”

Virgil looked down and red mist overcame his vision. More ripped fins and long red scratches like someone jabbed a knife and went to town on his boyfriend. Virgil pulled Logan into a hug, relief overcoming his anger and fear for a brief moment, reveling in the fact he was alive.

“Don’t you know?” Virgil huffed out a hysterical laugh, “It’s Halloween night. They’ll think it’s a realistic costume,” then in a lower voice as the others came close to the center, “God, Lo, what even happened? I walked through here and every inch of this maze for two hours,” his voice wobbled with choked back tears, “Where did you go?”

Logan blinked and then pointed a claw at a mess of fabric, “I met Scarecrow.”

Virgil looked at the dark lump and then back at Logan, “What are you talking about? There’s never been a scarecrow here. It’s just a corn maze.”

“Well, there isn’t one anymore.”

[shadestoryofficial]

Chapter 4 - Blacksmith, Black Cat, Blackout

My train arrived well into the afternoon, the dying light of the golden sky making its last stand against the night as the shadows of the trees rose up to fight it off. I set myself to finding the local inn, strolling down the cobblestone road that winded through the center of the small town.

I passed by houses (each cozier looking than the last) and shops. Locals came outside to light lanterns in the front of their houses, many stopping to wave at me kindly or to talk with their neighbors. I smiled and waved back.

The Vesper Inn was in what seemed to be the town plaza: several large buildings constructed in a circle, a small well, and a large stage in front of what looked to be the town hall. The Inn was situated between the two largest buildings. The town hall was on its left, and another building (which seemed to be in the middle of renovations) was on its right. A sign labeled it as the local haberdashery, coats and hats of varying luxuriousness sat in the display windows.

I checked into my room at the front desk of the inn. The innkeeper, like everyone else in this town, seemed kind. I requested a room on the third floor, the highest one, in the hopes that I could see any suspicious persons from my window. 

Although, the longer I was in this town, the less likely it was to me that a terrorist could be hiding here. Sure, it was secluded. No one would look for you here, but it didn’t seem like the locals would harbor a criminal.

“Worry about that tomorrow,” I said aloud to myself. “Just relax for tonight.” I got ready for bed, taking one last glance out of the window. 

The street was pitch black, the lanterns not illuminating an inch of space besides the buildings they were extended from. Then, I saw a small flash of light come from the road. A red dot. I stared at it for a while before it disappeared for a moment. Then it came back as if it had blinked.

Shaking my head, I lay down to rest for the night. “Worry about that tomorrow…”

*     *     *     *     *

I was in a grassy meadow, flowers filling every open space on the ground. The sky was dark, covered in clouds, but I could see the world as if it were fully lit. 

A purple cat jumped into the field from the forest that encircled it, chasing a golden bird. The bird circled the cat, chirping jovially. Ha, ha, ha. Hee, hee, hee. It was laughing at the cat. The cat grew angry and got ready to pounce.

Suddenly, I was in the air, hovering. I stared down at the cat’s single eye just before it lunged at me. I flew away, flapping my tiny wings as fast as possible. They soon grew tired, and I felt my arms return to me as I began to plummet.

I fell for what seemed like hours. At some point, the dark sky became red, flames surrounding my descent. I landed on a slab of metal, face to the ground. I would have laid there forever, but the metal began heating up until it was unbearable. I turned over just in time to see a large hammer coming down onto my face.

*     *     *     *     *

I shot up from my bed, drenched in sweat. Where was I? Sunlight streamed through the window into my room, it was about noon. The inn, that’s right. Why was I here again?

To find Zack.

I got dressed, throwing on jeans and my favorite hoodie, a white sweatshirt covered in golden loops and swirls. I picked my HALO off the nightstand where I’d left it. It began hovering above my head as soon as I brought it close. Finally, I opened my door, walked downstairs, grabbed a cinnamon-raisin muffin from the complimentary breakfast buffet, and headed out into the town.

Let’s start by asking around, I thought. Surely someone here would know about a Shadow. I looked around, examining the town from the entrance to The Vesper. Looking right, I saw the Town Hall. As good a place as any, I guess.

I walked over and quietly opened the door. The inside of the building was large and rustic. A staircase at the back split the room in two before splitting itself to lead to two separate balconies. Hardwood floors were covered in carpets that lead to various doors. The front desk was in between me and the staircase, but no one was there.

I looked around for a bit, not knowing what to do with myself. After a few minutes, I heard cackling from above, interrupting me while deciding whether or not to find somewhere to sit. “Well, hello there, sonny boy? What can I do ya for?”

Upon the balcony was an old man, hobbling towards the stairs. As he grew closer, I got a better look at him. He was built like a warped telephone pole, skinny, tall, and hunched over. He had a cane topped with an eye, his greyed skin struggling to hold it. The man was dressed in a three-piece suit, each a different material and a different shade of brown. His beard was tucked behind his vest, and his head was topped by a patchwork top hat.

He reached the ground floor (after several minutes) and fumbled with his pockets for a moment before pulling a copper monocle speckled with green verdigris. “I’m looking for the mayor, sir. I’m a… journalist. I had some questions about this town.”

The old man’s eyes widened, tripling the wrinkles upon his forehead. “A journalist, you say?” his old voice creaked. “No one’s cared about our small town for decades! Well, I’m the mayor! Mayor Tiddlywink at your service!”

I held back a snort. “Tiddlywink…? Is that a… family name?”

“Nope! It’s just what everyone ‘round these parts calls me!”

“Oh. What is your real name, then?”

“No clue! No one thought to tell me!” I stared at him, examining his face to figure out if he was serious. His expression was inscrutable.

“Ah. Anyway, I’m writing an article about local legends, and I’ve heard quite a bit about a… Shadow… lurking around this area. Any information you’ve got for me?”

The man seemed to think for a moment, his forehead gaining yet more wrinkles from his pensive expression. “A Shadow, eh? Well, there is the Ganymede Gang. They stick together like they’re each others’ shadows,” He paused. “Wait, no. Stuck together. They all died in a stargazing accident ‘bout 20 years back. Terrible. Horrible.”

“Anything else?” I pleaded.

He thought once more, before shrugging. “Sorry! Got nothing! This vault o’ mine is as cracked as can be!” He cackled. “Try asking some of the shop keepers! Maybe one of them‘ll have watcha lookin’ for!” And before I could say anything else, he was already hobbling back up the steps.

*     *     *     *     *

The rest of my afternoon went similarly. Locals would go off on tangents- “My niece makes the most wonderful eye-shadow! You’d like her!” “That’s what everyone calls the local stray.” “I have one of those!”-before saying they didn’t have much in the way of legends. That is, until:

“A Shadow? I’ve never heard of that! What’s a shadow?!” the blacksmith stammered. 

He looked to be about my age, maybe a few years younger. He was the youngest person I’d seen in this town since I’d arrived. He was rather buff, muscles clearly defined in his tan skin, probably acquired from working all day. His hair, two tones of brown, was shaved on one side of his cutely round head.

He wore a simple black tank-top and pants, and he had a red jacket lined with fur tied around his waist. Leather combat boots and thick gloves adorned his feet and hands, and he wore black shades over his eyes. His ears were pierced in at least 3 places each, metal sticking out everywhere. His skin was slick with sweat, although I couldn’t tell if it was from his work or his nervousness about my question.

“You… don’t know what a shadow is?”

“Nope! Never heard of it! What is that? Some kind of dog?” He was grinning, but his jaw was clenched tighter than a bear trap. “I’m more of a cat person anyway, see?” He jerked a thumb behind and above him. A black cat rested on the windowsill inside his home, watching me with its one red eye.

“Uh-huh... You sure?” I asked. Surely he knew this wasn’t working, right?

“Yep!” Guess not. “So if that’s all you needed of me, I’ve gotta get back to work! Off you go! Bye-bye!” He went back to working on what looked like a battleaxe.  I turned around, ready to leave him alone.

“Mrow.” The black cat was suddenly behind me, still staring. I stepped over it gingerly, then walked off. I didn’t plan to give up, of course. This smith was clearly hiding something.

 After I was sure I was out of his vision, I began walking into the forest, looking for a tree to climb. I found one that seemed sturdy enough and dropped my bag at its base. 

“Mrow.” The cat was sitting right by my bag, it had followed me.

“Shh!” I shushed it. “Leave me alone.” I grabbed onto the tree bark and started to scale the tree. I didn’t stop until I was well within the canopy, obscured from view by the warmly colored leaves. I sat on a branch to catch my breath before moving on.

“Mrow?” The black cat was sitting next to me. Its head was tilted as if it were curious.

I stared back at it for a moment, then sighed. “Fine. You can come with me, but be quiet!” I almost laughed at myself.  Talking to a cat? Hysterical.

I got back up, stretching. “Okay, let’s do this.” I began jumping and swinging from tree to tree, staying as silent as I could. The cat followed along just behind me. Soon, I had found a good spot. I could see the blacksmith from here.

I watched him work until sunset. As the sky grew dark, he collected his things into a bag and threw on his jacket. “Here, kitty kitty!” He shouted. I looked at the cat. Did it seem… annoyed? Maybe that’s just how cats look, I thought.

The smith soon gave up and began to walk into the woods. Naturally, I followed him. After roughly a half-hour, he arrived at a cabin, hidden deep in a clearing surrounded by hills and rocky cliffs. It was large, yet still maintained the cozy aura every home in this town emanated.

“What are you doing so far into the woods…?” I thought aloud to myself.

“Probably preparing dinner,” A familiar voice behind me responded.

I turned around to find a young man perched on the same branch as me in a feline pose. Then, I felt myself fall into the darkness of unconsciousness.