#nothing scarier than total silence in the forest

[bearingxnorth]

What urbanites think is rural horror: a deep growl coming from within a cave, a shadowy figure ducking behind a tree, cornstalks bending as something moves through them.

What's actually rural horror: the animals and bugs suddenly go silent.

[gb-fics]

The Howling of Ghosts

Golden Bomber Fanfiction

Note: This one is for Jun’s birthday today! (^-^) I was a bit troubled by this one, since I wanted to write about Kyan Yutaka x Kiryuuin Shou mostly, but also wanted to give Jun some space for his bday. But then I remembered how scared Jun is of ghosts and stuff when I saw their monthly broadcast lately, where they had to walk through the dark alone and Kenji got up so casually to give Jun a scare - like it was the most obvious thing in the world that they had to prank him, haha. So, yes, this story is about Jun getting a birthday-scare :D

At the night of August 30th, the howling of ghosts resounded in the woods.

„I’m scared“, Shou said.

Kyan Yutaka did not believe him.

“Don’t act so whiny”, he scolded him and pointed the flashlight right at Shou’s face.

“Oi!”, Shou protested and tried to slap the light away while squinting his eyes. His face looked even funnier when he did.

“This was a stupid idea”, Shou added, still sounding whiny.

Yutaka lowered the flashlight, trailing the light down Shou’s bare arms, his back leaning against the tree behind him and his legs pulled up as if he tried to make himself as small as possible.

He looked lost and like he was freezing.

“You cold?”, Yutaka asked.

He thought of wrapping his arms around Shou tightly, of keeping him warm and safe and close to himself.

“Yeah.” Shou nodded and looked up at Yutaka expectedly.

“Well, then you should have taken a jacket, idiot!”, Yutaka said.

He pushed up the sleeves of his own t-shirt to move his arms around more freely.

Sure, he could have been kinder on Shou. In fact, Yutaka was quite the gentleman, if he wanted to be. With Shou, he didn’t want to be, though.

“I didn’t plan to spend all night out here. What’s taking them so long?”, Shou pouted.

Yutaka shrugged nonchalantly.

He disliked it when Shou’s voice got so high-pitched and loud. He was asking for attention too desperately.

“Jun probably didn’t want to walk into the woods in the middle of the night. You know him. He thinks we might prank him.”

“To be fair - we are going to prank him”, Shou pointed out. “Also, he is scared of other things than us I guess.”

“Like what?”

Yutaka furrowed his brow. Just like Jun and Shou, he had grown up in the city. The woods at night weren’t familiar territory for him either, and he had to admit he would have felt more comfortable in a shady back alley right now, but still the darkness had nothing to offer that scared him more than the way he felt his own heartbeat whenever Shou smiled.

“Ghosts”, Shou said. “Spirits, bugs.”

Yutaka snorted.

“In that order?”, he assured.

Shou pursed his lips and for a moment he looked nothing but annoyed – not scared, not lost, just disapproving.

Yutaka’s chest warmed up immediately. He loved those short seconds when Shou dropped his act and his strength shone through.

Shou was insecure about a lot of things. He was anxious about his physical appearance, about how to talk to people, about being honest with his feelings. And at some point of his life – before Yutaka had even met him – he had obviously decided to play out his anxiety in a cute, helpless way. Where he was clumsy, he acted as if he needed help with everything. Where he was uncomfortable in a dark forest, he acted scared to death and as if he needed protection. Yutaka noticed that it grew worse when they were alone together and he had noticed that Shou had acted that way around every person he had ever dated. He seemed convinced that the pity card was the only card he could play to become attractive to someone.

But cute and helpless was never the way Yutaka had viewed him. Shou was the kind of person who could achieve anything they had set their mind onto. At the dark of night, away from the city, Yutaka didn’t feel the need to protect Shou. If anything, it was Shou who would save him over and over again.

A sudden noise to his right stirred up the silence.

Shou let out an over-the-top squeal.

“Scary”, he mumbled, crossing the arms in front of his chest.

He was looking at Yutaka again as if he was expecting some sort of comfort from him.

“What … what is it?”, Yutaka teased, letting his hand holding the flashlight tremble.

The circle of light bounced across the rustling leaves of a bush nearby.

This was the moment for Yutaka to show off in front of Shou a little. He knew that Shou wanted him to show off.

Usually, Yutaka liked to show off in situations like these himself and he had been guilty of doing it a couple of times before. “I’ll protect you”, “Don’t worry, I won’t let anything hurt you”. Shou’s whole act indicated that he wanted to hear those sentences and it would be so easy to just say them. After that, it would be easy to take hold of Shou’s hand and it would be easy to kiss him afterwards. They would follow a ritual established over long years.

“Oh, mighty spirits!”, Yutaka called out. “I beseech thou – take him first!”

He wasn’t going to follow some ritual, though.

Shou chuckled. His face wrinkled up and he lowered his arms. He looked more relaxed instantly.

“Well, thanks a lot”, he said.

Encouraged, Yutaka took a step towards the bush that had rustled only moments ago.

“I don’t think there is anything …”, he started, breaking off and letting himself fall to the ground without warning, dropping the flashlight.

In his music career, falling to the ground was one of the things Yutaka had brought to perfection.

He still hurt his left elbow.

He rolled around the dirty ground, staining his clothes completely. Then he robbed backwards towards the bush, pretending to be pulled into it.

“It got me, Shou, it got me!”, he shouted, grabbing for a stick on the ground and smashing it into the bush to defend himself against an invisible attack. Leaves were raining down on him.

Yutaka was aware that he was making a total fool out of himself. He probably looked ridiculous and not very convincing at that. But if only it made Shou smile, it was worth it.

Shou acted like a princess waiting to be saved by her knight in shining armour. But Yutaka knew better. Shou was a warrior king and Yutaka ready to apply as his court jester. He loved the sound of his laughter.

Yutaka slashed out with his stick once more, before struggling to his feet again.

Threateningly he shook his fist at the bush.

“No need to worry, I showed this bastard”, he told Shou.

“I feel so safe with you”, Shou stated dryly. “If a tree attacks, I know you can defend it.”

Yutaka chuckled.

Shou had spoken sarcastically. He wasn’t speaking for an audience now, he wasn’t trying to act cute, either. He was just mocking Yutaka without caring about how he came across.

Yutaka bend down and picked up the flashlight from where he had dropped it earlier.

“They should be here soon”, he observed. “We should switch off the light.”

Shou nodded and smacked his lips. It was just a small reaction that proved he wasn’t happy about the idea of entire darkness. But he did not protest and did not whine. He wasn’t causing a fuss, but Yutaka could tell he would have preferred to keep the light on nonetheless. It was just a small insecurity, not quite strength, but not a show for anyone to see either. It was so real and honest, that for a second, Yutaka wanted to bend down and kiss Shou right on the lips.

He was crazy about the real Shou. Unfortunately, Shou did his best to keep that version of himself locked away constantly.

“It’s okay”, Yutaka said vaguely, trying to soothe Shou now that he hadn’t turned to him for soothing.

He sat down on the ground as well, leaning his back against the tree next to Shou. Their arms were brushing against each other lightly. Shou’s skin felt cool. Yutaka wished he had taken a jacket to lend it to him. He had no constancy when it came to Shou. One moment he wanted to bring out his strong side and the next, he wanted to spoil him and allow him to be weak with him always. Sometimes, he wanted both at once.

“I’m going to turn off the light”, he announced, his thumb already lingering on the switch. But he couldn’t bring himself to push it.

If the light was gone, it would be just the darkness; the darkness and Shou. It would be the two of them and in the dark Yutaka would sense his body so close next to himself and he would feel his own heartbeat too fast and too loud and his mouth would feel dry. No ghost haunting those woods could be scarier than this.

“It’s okay.” This time, it was Shou who said it. He didn’t sound teasing and he didn’t sound scared. He sounded like the person Yutaka trusted more than anything.

He reached out and placed his hand over Yutaka’s holding the flashlight.

In the end, Yutaka wasn’t sure whom of them had turned the switch. But suddenly it was dark around them. It was the kind of dark you didn’t get in the city. Even if he looked directly at him, Yutaka could not make out Shou’s profile.

He could still sense Shou’s hand on his own, though.

For the first time tonight, Kyan Yutaka felt scared.

 ***

“I mean, I do appreciate that you guys treated me to this trip”, Jun said.

He did not appreciate it at all.

For his birthday present, he could have imagined something better than spending his only free days in between public appearances at some godforsaken hotel with his bandmembers.

“I do love spending time with you guys on my birthday”, Jun continued.

He would have preferred to be home right now. With his family.

“But do we really have to …”, he gestured towards the trees in front of them.

Jun wasn’t a friend of nature. At least, not nature in the dark.

“Come on, Jun”, Kenji said. “We have a special surprise for you, but we have to walk up there.”

Jun could imagine all too well what that surprise would look like.

They would make him walk through the forest at night with nothing by his side but Kenji and a flashlight. And then they would prank him by giving him a scare. And although Jun saw it coming, he would scream and maybe even cry, because there always was the chance that this time – just this time – it wasn’t Shou and Yutaka jumping out from behind a tree.

Jun hadn’t chosen to be superstitious and he hadn’t chosen to be scared so easily. But that did not stop his bandmembers from taking advantage of it.

They would probably record it on video as well and then they would share his silly screams all over the internet, having a good laugh at it.

Jun wished he was as indifferent to the dark as Kenji or that at least his screams were just a little fake like those of Shou and Yutaka. Knowing he at least had done it on purpose to please the audience would restore some of his dignity. But Jun was far too scared to fake either bravery or fear. All he could do was try his best to hold back the tears.

“Can’t you give me the surprise down here?”, Jun asked and gestured over to the brightly lit windows of the hotel behind them.

They were still so close that they didn’t really need the flashlight yet, but Jun was already feeling uncomfortable.

Human beings weren’t supposed to roam the forest at this time of night. At this hour, it belonged to otherworldly beings. Jun had thought everyone knew about that. Just his bandmembers didn’t seem to care.

“No, we can’t”, Kenji chimed happily.

He was walking so confidently his steps were almost bouncing. Jun wished he would slow down. He wasn’t in a hurry to get away from the hotel any further.

He wondered why he was following Kenji to begin with. He knew that it was going to be a prank – and none that would end nicely for him.

But deep down, Jun still believed in Golden Bomber. He believed that no matter how cruel his bandmembers treated him from time to time, that really, they valued his contribution and that some day they would express how much they appreciated Jun. Maybe that day was today. Maybe they had changed and instead of playing a mean joke on him, they just wanted to express their love and admiration.

Chances weren’t high, admittedly, but Jun felt like he ought to give them the opportunity to prove themselves at least. He had given them plenty of opportunities already.

Leaves rustled under his shoes as they walked on. Every noise they created made Jun want to flinch.

“Kenji?”, he asked.

The light from the hotel had vanished completely by now. The path before them was illuminated by the flashlight, but Kenji was just a silhouette in the dark.

“Don’t worry, Jun”, Kenji said casually.

Jun wondered how Kenji managed to stay so calm in such a sinister environment. Maybe it came from growing up on the countryside. Maybe Kenji was just fearless.

Something like the far-away echo of a human voice rang out suddenly.

This time, Jun did flinch. He whimpered.

“Someone is screaming”, he said.

“I didn’t hear anything”, Kenji said.

Jun assumed he was lying. Or his own nervous senses were already playing tricks on him.

“Maybe someone got attacked”, he pointed out.

Kenji snorted.

“By what? A tree? A bush? Those are the only things out here.”

The sound came back, Jun was sure of it.

He had to control himself violently to not cling to Kenji’s back. If there were ghosts in this forest, even Kenji wouldn’t be able to protect him.

“Oh fuck”, Kenji said all of a sudden.

Alarmed Jun turned around.

“What?”, he asked.

“I forgot my phone. I’m not sure I will find the right spot without it”, Kenji said, percussing the pockets of his pants demonstratively. “I will have to get it.”

“Great, we can go back”, Jun said, trying not to sound too relieved. Having to go all the way back was bad enough already.

“No, no, I will get it myself”, Kenji said. “You just wait here.”

Jun let out a nervous laughter, just to cover up how close he was to crying.

“No way”, he protested.

“You can just continue to walk up the path”, Kenji offered. “I’ll catch up to you.”

“No!”, Jun said and walked after Kenji, who now took a few steps backwards.

“I’ll be back in no time”, Kenji said, but Jun reached out to take hold of his arm.

“Don’t you dare to leave me here!”, he shouted.

Kenji took back another step, avoiding Jun’s grasp. He also switched off the flashlight.

All of a sudden, it was dark around them. In the city, it never got this dark, Jun thought. In this kind of darkness, you lost orientation immediately.

He stumbled forwards, his arms held out in front of him to eventually catch Kenji, but all he met with was empty space.

“Kenji?”, he called out. “Kenji?!”

For a moment he listened.

They had created so much noise while walking up here, but now there wasn’t even the sound of Kenji’s footsteps. He could trot as lightly as a cat, if he wanted to.

Hot pressure started to burn behind Jun’s eyelids, but he swallowed hard to fight it back.

He felt lonely and vulnerable. Whatever lured in these woods, Jun was defenceless against it now. Kenji hadn’t even left him the flashlight. It was scary and it was cruel. Once more, Jun’s bandmembers had let him down.

As quietly as possible – to not stir anything or anyone tonight – Jun sat down on the ground. He wasn’t going to walk around here alone. He would just wait for Kenji to come back. Or for the sun to come up. Whatever happened first.

Slowly, his eyes started to adjust to the darkness. He still couldn’t make out anything, but the night seemed to tone down to a normal black with different shades and shadows in it.

Jun took in another deep breath. He was beginning to calm down.

That was when the ghosts started their howling.

 ***

“It’s so dark”, Shou muttered, pulling back his hand from Yutaka’s. He had already held on to it for far too long.

Fact was that he didn’t want to let go. Holding on to Yutaka felt soothing and like he was safe with him; even in the dark of night.

“It’s the middle of the night. We’re in the woods. Darkness really comes unexpected here”, Yutaka said dryly.

His voice sounded louder in the dark. Maybe because Shou was listening more closely, or maybe because Yutaka tried to cover up some insecurities of his own.

“Oh, shut up”, Shou said, shoving his shoulder against Yutaka next to himself. He liked the feeling of their arms brushing against each other. Yutaka’s skin was always warm.

“Mmh”, Shou gave a low hum. The sound of his own voice calmed him down. If he concentrated on the humming, he couldn’t listen to worrisome sounds from the woods.

He thought of something to say, but everything he usually had to offer in such a situation would bounce off Yutaka for sure.

If Shou told him he was scared, Yutaka would scold him to man up. If he asked for protection, Yutaka would hand him a stick to protect himself.

Of course, Shou did not feel like he needed protection.

But he thought it would feel nice, if Yutaka tried. He could wrap his arm around Shou and whisper soothing words into his ear. It wouldn’t matter what he said, it would be about the gesture and the intimacy.

Shou had always liked Yutaka best of all the members. He had liked him best of pretty much all the people in the world. He was handsome and charming and funny and Shou had dropped quite a few hints over the course of time.

But no matter how obvious he made it for Yutaka to act upon it, he hadn’t reacted to it at all.

“I’m worried we’re taking it too far”, Shou said quietly. “It’s really scary out here.”

He reached out again, putting his hand onto Yutaka’s lower arm. It was meant to look like a joke; as if he just wanted to emphasize his words by clinging to him. Really, he just wanted to touch Yutaka’s arm.

Shou liked to hold on to someone. He viewed himself as the kind of person who would be scared and who needed protection. Because he was tired of trying so hard for everything. He wanted to be spoiled, he wanted to be held tightly by someone as handsome as Yutaka and feel like allowing the other one to be strong was enough to make himself loveable.

“He’ll be fine”, Yutaka said.

As usually, he spoke quite coldly. Shou pulled back his hand again.

“How will we even know Jun is close?”, he asked, letting annoyance drip into his voice now.

He was annoyed that he was always the one reaching out to Yutaka; that he was always the one making offers and that it was leading him nowhere.

Sometimes, he just wanted to pick a fight with Yutaka, because he got angry at him for not wanting to be Shou’s saviour.

“We’ll know when we hear him sobbing”, Yutaka stated.

He spoke matter-of-factly and it was his seriousness that made Shou laugh in spite of himself. Yutaka was an idiot. An idiot who always said the wrong things and who always said the right things nonetheless.

Shou had always thought he would be happy once someone held him unconditionally, that he would be happy if someone allowed him to be weak. But he had been held like that before and he had had partners who had allowed him to be weak as well. It had felt nice. But he wasn’t sure if he had actually been happy.

Whenever Yutaka made him laugh, however, Shou’s chest felt bubbly and hot and he wished he could stop time to always feel this light.

It made him feel angry at Yutaka, because those emotions didn’t match with the person as whom Shou liked to view himself. It also made him feel overjoyed, though. It was confusing.

He let out a high-pitched sigh that turned into a groan towards the end.

Something hit the top of his head.

“What are you doing?!”, Yutaka scolded. He sounded slightly amused, though.

“I’m practicing scary noises”, Shou replied with his best ghost voice.

“If you ever get tired of doing music, I’m sure they’ll hire you at a chamber of horrors”, Yutaka said.

“I got the voice?”, Shou asked back in his normal tone.

“You got the face, too”, Yutaka said.

“Oi!”, Shou shouted and shoved against Yutaka’s shoulder again.

He reached out into the dark. His eyes had adjusted to the night and very vaguely, he could make out the shape of Yutaka’s body. He tried to take hold of his hands, but didn’t find them immediately.

“Give me the flashlight!”, he inquired.

“You’re still scared of the dark?”, Yutaka teased, moving against him, probably to get the flashlight out of Shou’s reach.

Shou’s hands were brushing over Yutaka’s thighs and up his chest, still groping for the flashlight.

“No, I just want to punch you with it!”, Shou replied and Yutaka started laughing.

Only when Yutaka’s body started shaking against his, did Shou realize how close he had gotten to him unintentionally.

If he was honest, making Yutaka laugh caused the warm, bubbly feeling in his chest, too. He felt like wanting to stop time again.

“Hey”, Yutaka suddenly said quietly.

His voice was very close. His body felt so warm, Shou couldn’t pull back. For a moment, he didn’t care about the darkness and about the cold and about the wood and the spirits and the ghosts and the bugs and Jun and Kenji and really anything at all. He only cared about Yutaka’s voice so close to him and his hand suddenly on Shou’s neck and his own heartbeat. Then he leaned in and forgot about those things as well, because Yutaka’s lips were soft and warm like everything about him. They curled up against Shou’s mouth as if he was smiling into the kiss and Shou felt the unreasonable need to giggle.

This was what it felt like, he realized. Being happy.

He pulled back a little, his hands clinging onto the fabric of Yutaka’s shirt without Shou being able to recall when he had grabbed it.

In the far distance something like a shout resounded.

It sounded suspiciously like a human voice – calling out Kenji’s name.

“Did you hear that?”, Shou whispered half-heartedly.

He could imagine a lot of things more fun than going out to look for Jun right now. All of them started with kissing Yutaka again, but most didn’t stop there.

“Just faintly”, Yutaka mumbled back, pulling Shou in again. “Must be the howling of ghosts.”

 ***

Kenji hadn’t walked back all the way to the hotel.

He had just trotted down the path for a while, before turning back again.

According to the plan, Jun had stumbled farther along the path until he eventually ran into Shou and Yutaka, who would give him a mighty scare – which they recorded on their mobile phones of course.

Once Jun had calmed down, Kenji would sneak up onto the group and repeat.

He had to admit, though, that the plan wasn’t quite bulletproof.

It had been difficult enough to leave Jun behind earlier. He had proven to be clingy. It was possible he hadn’t followed the path at all. Maybe he had tried to return to the hotel on his own. Maybe the ghosts had gotten him. Maybe he had been lost in the forest. Maybe, they would have to go look for Jun’s dead body in the morning.

And even if this part of the plan had worked out, there was still the possibility that Shou and Yutaka had missed their entry. Leaving the two of them alone together in the dark hadn’t been the brightest idea, had they asked Kenji. They tended to get distracted by each other easily, to put it nicely. Sometimes, it was torture to watch them prowling around each other with neither of them finally making a move. Kenji’s worst fear was, that once they decided to make a move – it would be bad timing.

Quietly, he walked up the path again, careful not to create any unnecessary noise. He had to keep the flashlight switched off as well, if he didn’t want Jun to notice him. Kenji didn’t mind much, though. He wasn’t afraid of the dark and his natural balance kept him from tripping on the uneven ground.

He was about to reach the point where he had left Jun behind. For a moment, Kenji paused.

If he listened really closely, he could hear soft rustling and small inhales now and then.

Kenji stomped down hard to create some noise.

“Kenji?”, Jun’s voice came out of the dark. He sounded like he was on the edge of a nervous breakdown.

Kenji inhaled deeply, too. Jun hadn’t moved a bit.

“Yes, it’s me”, he confirmed and switched the flashlight on.

Jun was sitting on the ground, a mess of ripped leaves on his lap. Obviously, he had torn them up to keep his hands busy.

“Sorry to make you wait”, Kenji said and sat down next to Jun.

He was keeping the light away from his face as to not blind him, but he could see how the corners of his mouth were wrinkled up and his lips were trembling as always when Jun tried to fight back tears.

Kenji felt sorry they had put him through this - and wouldn’t even get a funny video in return.

“Idiot”, Jun said and boxed against Kenji’s chest.

Kenji did not protest. He deserved it.

“Actually, Shou and Yutaka were supposed to give you a scare”, Kenji said.

“I figured.” Jun folded his hands on his lap, right on top of the crumpled leaves. Kenji knew how much he hated to get his clothes dirty. The sight was even more touching therefore.

“Maybe they didn’t find you”, Kenji offered.

“Oh, I did get a scare alright”, Jun said, speaking hastily and excited now, so his lisping shone through more violently.

Kenji looked at him questioningly. With the flashlight pointing away from his face, Jun could probably not see it, but Kenji banked on the fact that he would continue talking anyway.

“There, can you hear that?”, Jun asked, raising his index finger to signal for Kenji to listen attentively.

At first, Kenji thought that Jun, who was so easily frightened, had been imagining things.

But then he heard it too.

It sounded almost like human voices, but faint and strange. It wasn’t someone talking, but something more animalic; guttural sounds that could only be born in this kind of haunted nights.

“It’s the ghosts howling”, Jun said seriously.

Kenji stayed silent to listen some more.

His first thought had been ghosts, too, but he wasn’t quite sure if howling was really the right term. It rather sounded like moaning and sighing.

“Or something even scarier”, Jun added meaningful.

Kenji glanced at him.

Jun looked as if he didn’t want to spend more thoughts on the second option. He also looked exhausted and distraught.

Kenji decided that Jun had been through enough for tonight.

“You are right”, he said soothingly. “I’m sure it’s the howling of ghosts.”

[lightningmastertrilogy]

Path of Lightning: Origins chapter 9: Welcome to Aether part 2.

Chapter summary: Aiko shows Liz around.

Word count: 1.8 k words.

Read chapter on wattpad.

Chapter:

"So, what is your job here? You don't strike me as a fighter." Liz said as she walked along Aiko. She was showing her the place.

Some hallways seemed like they would never end, but she liked the theme the place had going on. The chocolate colored walls and the lamps attached to them reminded her of castles that she would see in movies.

"I make sure to check on everyone's penergy and help them with it. Penergy is tricky, so there are times where it could be dangerous to its owner if it's not monitored." Aiko answered, with a smile. "I don't really work here though. I work as a high school teacher."

Liz just met this woman, but from her first impression of her, she felt sorry for the poor kids she teaches.

"How is it tricky? I never had trouble with my powers." Liz asked, shoving her hands into her pockets. Her sleeves were long enough to cover all of her arms, but she still felt anxious about her veins popping out of nowhere and someone catching a glimpse of them.

"Penergy is complicated. Not everyone can control it easily. Sometimes it's even related to whatever trauma that unlocked it." The teacher explained, making the blonde feel more confused.

"What trauma? I never had one. I was able to use my powers for as long as I remember." Liz said. She did not remember anything traumatic, her first kill maybe? No, she already had powers at that time.

"Then you're one of the rare cases. Some are more gifted than others and are talented at a young age. The penergy usually unlocks itself when the person goes through a traumatizing event or is near death." Aiko explained. "Other cases, it could be due to a different strong emotion."

"What unlocked yours?" The woman only shrugged in response.

"You could say I'm gifted like you." She said then walked into a room. The room was separated into two halves, separated by a large window and a door. There was a computer in the first half, along with a few chairs on the side and a snack machine.

The blonde raised her eyebrow. Was this supposed to be a waiting room or what?

In the second half, there was a guy fighting in what looked like a forest.

"This is our training room. What you see right now is a simulation, you can choose whatever environment you want to train in, and how many enemies you want to fight. Looks pretty real, right?" Aiko explained with a wink.

"Wow..." Was all that Liz could say. She couldn't wait to use it. This place was the real deal, no training in the streets could come close to training in harsh environments. She didn't pay attention to the guy, but more to the computer and the complicated codes it had.

"It operates using some life penergy, which helps the environment feel real. You can interact with whatever is there."

Liz was about to ask more questions, but was interrupted when she heard a grunt, and watched the guy leave the room defeated.

The half he was in turned into a white and empty room. He noticed them the moment he walked through the door. "Oh, hi." He said, feeling embarrassed.

He wore a blue scarf on top of a green shirt. His hair was short, black and spiky, while his eyes were brown. He was pretty tall too.

"I see you're pushing yourself harder than usual, Yuki." Aiko said with a smile. "Are you trying to impress someone?" She teased him, knowing that he had his eyes on someone.

"Please stop embarrassing me." Yuki pouted. He then saw Liz and gave her a friendly smile. "Hi, are you new here? I am Yuki, nice to meet you." He had a friendly air around him, and the blonde found herself smiling back.

"I am Liz, nice to meet you too." Liz said and took a good look at him. He looked a bit older than her, maybe two or three years.

"I have to leave now. I'm feeling pretty hungry." He said and waved at them as he left the room.

Aiko then showed her the library, the cafeteria... Liz was left speechless because of how amazing the place was. Despite how much the woman showed her, they still haven't covered half the building. She was a bit overwhelmed, considering that the apartment she used to live in was small.

"New members can get their own rooms here, if they don't have their own place." Aiko said, showing her the dorms. "You have to pay for the rent though."

Checking her pockets, the blonde looked back at her with a frown. "Oh, well I'm broke. I guess I could find a job or something." The glint in Aiko's eyes worried her.

"I'll pay you if you let me study your energy. You will be my number one subject!" Aiko stated and smirked.

"Subject?!" Liz exclaimed and took a step back. "She's even scarier than her sister." She thought. "Can you just show me my room?"

"Sure thing!" Aiko said and guided her.

After finally getting rid of Aiko, Liz threw herself on the comfortable bed in her new room. It didn't take her long to unpack, especially since she didn't have a lot of stuff on her.

She made sure to place Jack's knives on the desk, wanting to keep it in her sight.

Looking at the roof, her thoughts couldn't help but wander to him.

"This is a new start, Jack." She said and closed her eyes. "I hope this is what you wanted."

Meanwhile, Aiko stopped by the cafeteria and saw her sister sitting in a table on her own. She smirked when she noticed that the murderous look was still there. "Why is my little adorable sister so upset?" She sat beside her.

"Don't call me that." Nosaru said and crossed her arms. "And I'm not upset." She was upset, but there was no way she would admit. What was her father thinking? That girl was a mercenary who almost killed her... Then again, it was her who attacked first, and was close to finishing her off.

"You look like you're about to kill someone."

"Maybe because I do want to kill someone." Nosaru answered. "Can you believe that our father decided to give me a partner out of the blue?"

"Blue..." Aiko snorted and glanced at her sister's blue hair. "I agree with his decision."

"You always take his side." The youngest sister complained.

"You've been acting recklessly lately, and you're also too... introverted. When was the last time you actually talked with someone?" Aiko asked and pretended not to see the glare her sister gave her.

"I talk to you."

"Talking to your crazy sister doesn't count." Aiko said while her sister looked at her with a raised eyebrow.

"You just admitted that you are crazy..." Nosaru stated, but of course, she got ignored.

"So, who is your lucky or should I say unlucky partner?"

"Her name is Liz. She's a new member. She's one of the mercenaries from months ago." Nosaru stated while her sister froze at the name.

"Oh my..." Aiko said and started laughing. "What an interesting combination! I met her earlier!" She made sure not to mention that her sister's partner was a demon... Her phone's ringing stopped her laughter. She answered it and was met by her brother's loud voice.

"Siiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiis! Where are you? You're supposed to come to school!" Ryu said. It took Aiko half a minute to realize what this meant and her eyes widened.

"I'll be right there!" Aiko said and quickly hung up. "The school has an occasion and parents need to be there." She put her phone down and avoided eye contact with her sister.

"You forgot it, didn't you?" Nosaru asked with an accusing stare.

Aiko stared at her silently then ran away.

She totally forgot about it.

                                              -P.O.L: Origins-

The next day, Liz was eating breakfast in the cafeteria. She didn't know anyone yet, so she decided to sit alone. She had to admit that while the food was not as good as Romeo's cooking, it still tasted amazing. She stopped eating when she noticed Yuki taking a seat across her.

"Good morning!" He greeted her with a warm smile.

"Good morning!" She said then took a moment to recollect her thoughts. "Your name is... Yuuto, right?"

"Not even close. It's Yuki!" He said, chuckling at the strange name she gave him. "I thought you might be lonely, it's always hard to fit in at first. I hope I'm not bothering you."

"Not at all. Thanks!" She said. Silence fell on them for few minutes. "So, what are your powers?" She asked.

"I have ice powers." He said and clasped his hands together, creating a small ice bird statue. Liz stared at it in wonder, it was beautiful. "What's yours?" He asked back.

"Oh, nothing special. I can summon weapons, but only the melee ones." She said. "I totally don't have any demon powers or anything..." She thought and tried not to look too nervous. "I was a mercenary before this, so..." She stopped, realizing that she shouldn't have shared that last bit of information.

"I think that's pretty cool!" He said, and she was relieved that he didn't comment on her old job. "Summoning is really hard. I am an element user, so I depend on my Ice, however, those who summon rely on their body strength and speed. I admire that."

"Thanks. It can be hard at first, but after few times, it's super easy." She smiled, feeling that this could be the start of a good friendship. She always had Jack and Romeo, so she never thought about making friends.

Not like anyone would want to befriend a demon.

She shook her head at that thought. She then felt someone's stare burning holes into her back. She turned and noticed her 'partner' glaring at her and mentioning for her to come over.

"Uh, I have to go." She said, gulping.

"Oh, I'll see you later?" Yuki asked. Liz looked at him for a moment, surprised.

"You bet." She told him with a smile, before running towards the girl. "Hey." She greeted her, and Nosaru stared at her for a moment, before answering her.

"We're going on a mission."

Next chapter: The end, Copy cat, and the sand man!

[lubbuthedigitalnomad]

I hope you are happy and healthy. We are winding down the 13th lunar month here in the Boudha Stupa neighborhood of Kathmandu, Nepal. The year of the Male Metal Mouse/Iron Rat 2147 is about to end. On February 12, the Tibetan new year of the Female Metal Ox 2148 begins. In honor of the occasion (and for a little lighten-up from the heavier, more esoteric writing of the past few weeks) the next few weeks will be nothing but fun. This week’s excerpt is from the Fearless Puppy On American Road book. It is a small part of the chapter about my season and a half playing a biker on the TV show OZ. I hope it is as fun for you as it was for me.

FEARLESS PUPPY WEBSITE BLOG

FEARLESS PUPPY ON AMERICAN ROAD/AMAZON PAGE

REINCARNATION THROUGH COMMON SENSE/AMAZON PAGE

FEARLESS WEBSITE

Angels From Hell In The Land Of OZ

Welcome to a TV set like no other — Oswald State Penitentiary.

The first day on location scared the shit out of me. I would have had a more comfortable entrance into show biz had they cast me as lunch in a lion’s cage. OZ was shot on the entire sixth floor of a building that took up a full city block on Manhattan’s lower west side. A month’s rent for the space could likely feed a small nation. The whole floor was dressed up like a prison. Real cells with bars had been built into the walls. There was a common room, dining hall, infirmary, chaplain’s and warden’s offices, institutional kitchen, basketball court/exercise yard, and much more.

Also present were three hundred of the spookiest looking people ever assembled in one place. Over two hundred of them wore prison uniforms. Thirty or so wore prison guard uniforms. A narrator, warden, chaplain, the featured stars, and a few nurses rounded out the cast. The narrator, warden, chaplain, and nurses were professional actors with years of experience. So were most of the main characters that had speaking roles. Very few other folks were. Most were people who, like myself, just answered a classified advertisement. If we walked into the agency possessing “the look” that the agents thought would fill the position, we got hired. Our look earned us pretty much the same job as the painted background scenery. We had to go where the director told us to go and be silent.

The agents were very good at their job. The majority of these extras had a lot of personal history that fit in with their look, and with the show. Many of the men that played gay prisoners kissed each other even when the cameras were off. A lot of the extras who played felons, gang members, junkies, and assorted criminal types were currently, or had been — felons, gang members, junkies, and assorted criminal types in real life.

The casting department put me with the biker group. It was a select position. Unlike the gang bangers, skinhead racists, and other assorted cliques (not to mention the main general-prisoner population group), there were only about a half dozen bikers. This meant that every time a scene was to be shot that slated the biker group in it, we’d each get more individual face-in-the-camera time than the members of larger groups would. More exposure could mean that someone from the film industry might spot you, like your look, and give you a chance at some real acting.

The possibility of making the big time never impressed me much. Having fun was most important. But during the first day, my main concern was getting over the heebie-jeebies. It didn’t take too long for me to get relaxed, thanks to my association with the biker crew. Most of that had to do with Tattoo Mike. Tattoo Mike had earned his name for obvious reasons. The biggest (and only the biggest!) of the Muslim characters would joke with him, “Glad you came in today, Mike. I needed something to read.”

Finely crafted wording and designs covered nearly the entire body of this biker/actor. He had a tattooed necklace of skulls that summed up his body’s art museum. His long, dark beard finished in two braided strands resembling inverted horns. You didn’t have to meet Mike in a dark alley to be scared of him.

Looks can be accurate and deceiving at the same time.

Any so-called sane person who had been conditioned by a lifetime of media imagery would have run like hell from this man. I sat down next to him. It was the best move I made during my short show biz career.

Don’t get me wrong here. You surely would not want to see this person pissed off! That would be ugly. But on the set, Mike was a gentleman’s gentleman. He was soft-spoken, generous, and helpful to all. He had the air of a man with nothing left to prove to himself or anyone else. Mike knew that in any situation where intimidation was required, it was already accomplished. All he had to do was be present. But on set, he made every effort to counteract the fear that his presence might cause in others.

Introductions and conversation came easily. A few minutes in, I confessed about my nervous condition. “To tell you the truth, Mike, the set almost scared the shit out of me as much as the cast. At first, walking in and seeing the cells with bars, and then the guards — I mean the actors in guard’s uniforms! See, that’s the thing! The whole place is so real looking that it’s spooky.”

“Yeah, I know,” he winked.

I’m sure he did.

“C’mon,” he continued. “I’ll give you the tour.” We walked through various cell blocks, guard towers, weight rooms, etc. “The more you look around, the more real it seems, eh?”

I nodded in silence. The production crew were masters of their craft. The place truly was way too real to be comfortable in.

While walking back to the holding room, we passed through the kitchen section. Filming was in progress. Mike made the sshhh! sign with a finger to his lips. An absolutely chiseled brick house of a man who looked very familiar was screaming at a fellow actor and the camera. “I run the fucking kitchen. Nobody eats in this damn place unless I say so!”

My eyes bugged out as I whispered, “Holy shit!” Mike gave me a “what’s up?” look. We walked over to where we could talk without disturbing the shoot. “Mike! Is that Sylvester Stallone? He’s on this show?”

“Ha!” Mike laughed. “Well, that’s an easy mistake to make, man. There is a resemblance there. No, that’s not Stallone. That man there is a lot more dangerous than Stallone. He plays the head of the Mafia population in this make believe joint. In real life, he’s a Golden Gloves boxing champion and has two or three black belts in different forms of martial arts. He had to kick a famous karate-movie star’s ass on the street one night. Chuck didn’t want to do it, but the guy just kept pushing him. If possible, Chuck walks away from stupid people. A guy like him doesn’t want to fight people unless it’s in a ring. Street combat is too dangerous for opponents. The competition can get hurt very badly in that situation. He’s also my chief.”

This surprised me. “Your chief? Neither of you looks Native American.”

Mike laughed through his reply. “Not that kind of chief, Ten. Chuck is my road chief, and the president of the New York City chapter of the Hell’s Angels.”

“Well, if he’s your chief that means that you…”

Mike confirmed his status with a nod and a wink. “I’m a real one! Hey, it’s not just me. Many of the players on this set have had a lot more experience living their parts than acting them.”

Just then, “Mother,” the two-hundred-and-fifty-pound head of Oswald State Penitentiary’s gay pain-and-abuse faction sauntered through. “Hey Mikie, who’s the fresh meat? Y’know Mikie, I’d really like to run my tongue around the bottom of your balls for half an hour or so.”

Tattoo Mike gave that nasty Mother a stare that could have frozen a raging forest fire. Mother slithered off cautiously.

Mike introduced me to Ron the Muslim, Terry the Homeboy, and Hector, along with several of his Hispanic Knife-Fighters. Through them I met much of the rest of the crew. Once I got to know these folks, most weren’t scary at all.

Others were even scarier than they had originally appeared.

About the Author

Doug “Ten” Rose may be the biggest smartass as well as one of the most entertaining survivors of the hitchhiking adventurers that used to cover America’s highways. He is the author of the books Fearless Puppy on American Road and Reincarnation Through Common Sense, has survived heroin addiction and death, and is a graduate of over a hundred thousand miles of travel without ever driving a car, owning a phone, or having a bank account.

Ten Rose and his work are a vibrant part of the present and future as well as an essential remnant of a vanishing breed.

Follow him on Facebook, Doug Ten Rose

Travel Adventure Books can be an excellent gift to your friends and family, buy from Amazon.com

#traveladventurebooks #keepreading

The books Fearless Puppy On American Road and Reincarnation Through Common Sense by this same author are also available through Amazon or the Fearless Puppy website, where there are sample chapters from those books. Entertaining TV/radio interviews with and newspaper articles about the author are also available there. There is no charge for anything but the complete books! All author profits from book sales will be donated to help sponsor an increase in the number of wisdom professionals on Earth, beginning with but certainly not limited to Buddhist monks and nuns.

If you missed the Introduction to the new book that will be titled Temple Dog Soldier, or would like to see several chapters of it that are available for free online, go to the Puppy website Blog section. This is a book in progress. You will be reading it as it is being created! Just like you, I don’t know what the next chapter is going to be about until it is written. As the Intro will tell you, this is a totally true story — and probably the only book ever written by and about a corpse journeying completely around the world!

[indreamsasinmymemory]

And live rejoicing, everyday.

by Sunny Kaplan

Scene 1 -- Ext. -- Dawn

Fade in on a shot of a giant house on the edge of a mountain. Suddenly, the shot goes black. Cut to a shot of a bright ominous looking hallway with very few decorations; a small table with a book on it, a grey rug with the ugly patterns on it that the carpets at doctors offices have, and a few picture frames. You slowly travel down the hallway, peering in on each of the three rooms you pass, all with doos wide open. Each of the rooms is fairly empty except for a desk or two, red party cups and one room where two girls, scantily clad with expensive looking jewelry and shoes on, lay passed out under a lamp which was inconsiderately left on. As you travel down the hallway, you see that the picture frames are all empty. At the fourth room, you stop. You see a man, passed out, with a bottle of pills spilled on the floor beside him. His lips have crusty blood on them. A girl lays beside him. The man suddenly stirs. The scene goes black. Cut back, only now the girl lying beside him has blood all over her.

Man -- Jesus Christ, did she get her period?

He reaches into his back pocket and pulls out a pack of Camels and a lighter. He puts a cigarette into his mouth, lights it, and then shakes the girl.

Man -- You want a smoke?

The girl stays where she is.

Man -- (harshly) Hey.

He reaches toward her.

Man -- You little-

He turns her over and sees a small hole in her midriff from which the blood seems to have come from. She’s dead.

Man -- What…? how..?

He drops the cigarettes. Looking down at the pack now lying scattered on the ground, he spots a gun beside it.

Man -- Who- did I- never. I never did this. I don't remember this... I could never have...

He picks up a couple of the pills on the ground, preparing to dry swallow them when they stand up in his hand.

Pills (cheerfully singing and dancing in his hand)-- hi ho the witch is dead- the witch is dead- so very dead- and you, young sir, you killed her!

The man drops the pills.

The pills stand up, and the other pills on the ground join them.

Pills- Hi ho, they’re all dead they’re all dead.

The pills begin dancing in a line towards the door, and the man follows. They pass by an empty room before coming upon the one with the girls in it, and they turn into that room. The girls now lay with slash marks on their faces, one with wounds on her arms as if she was defending someone. The camera turns and there is a picture of a decapitated teddy bear with a dog head roughly stitched on. The man starts fainting, and the room spins...

The scene, in complete silence and in slo-mo, is now a brightly lit room with the two girls. A large shadow is cast on them, and they are screaming; trying to protect themselves. The man comes into the frame so that you just see his back. He is slashing at them with a chef knife; an expensive one, and the smaller of the two girls is crying and has hidden behind the taller one. The scene cuts to the girls laying on the floor, bloodied. He bends down and positions them one by one as if they were sleeping. Then he throws the knife at the ground and turns and leaves. He walks down the hallway to where the other girl was and opens the door. She’s looking at her phone. With his presence, she looks up smiling, and we see from behind as he pulls a gun out of his back pocket, leaving it behind him. She frowns and opens her mouth, but before she can say anything, he brings the gun around to the front and shoots her in the chest. She slumps down, and the man passes out, hitting his head.

The man comes to and the room stops spinning.

Man-- I don’t even have a gun- that couldn’t be it- there has to be something else.

Man stands

Man— it wasn’t...

He walks out of the room, pills in close pursuit (hi ho the witch is dead, the witch is dead, the witch is dead, the witch is dead). When he leaves the room he sees dozens of bodies, bloodied, on the ground in the hallway.

The lights flash: off, on, off.

Cut to: the original hallway. No bodies. The calm light of morning glows off the walls.

(off-screen)

Girl 3 -- (the smaller one): Is he dead? Is he dead!

Girl 2-- What the hell?

Girl 1-- Looks like overdose.

The scene cuts to the room where the man lays, all three girls in it with him. Girl 3 is curled up in a corner. Girl 1 pokes the man. He doesn’t move. Girl 3 starts crying. The scene cuts to the scarier hall.

Pills-- she’s dead dead dead the witch is dead dead dead they’re all dead dead dead dead dead dead DEAD.

The man twirls around, looking from body to body.

Man-- (screaming) NO. NO NO ( the witch is dead) NO NO (dead) NO NO (DEAD) NO!

The screen goes black for six seconds, and then the three girls in the room reappear.

Girl 2-- Who do we call? I can’t get caught up here. I’m 19.

Girl 1-- Don’t call the authorities.

Girl 3-- Why the hell not!? We have to tell someone-

Girl 1-- No one. We tell no one.

She looks to the other to girls, slowly, and they nod their heads.

The scene cuts to the scary hallway, now in total silence. He starts running to a room at the end of the hallway which keeps getting longer as he runs. The space around him seems to be warping, but he makes it to the room. The pills start crawling out of his clothes. He glances at the phone sitting on a small desk, and then back at the pills on his arms. His feet are rooted to the ground by mounds of pills, and as he reaches for the phone, the pills dance onto his hands, shaking them with each step.

Pills— the witch is dead, dead-

The pills are now weighing down his hand, and he can’t quite reach the phone.

Pills-- (now more malevolent than before) The witch is dead. Dead. Dead.

They turn to him, and their smiles are monstrous.

Pills-- Don’t call… no one would call for you. No one loves you. But we love you.

The man wails and begins to cry. He tries to shake the pills off of him (the witch is dead the witch is dead the witch is dead) but it's no use; they stick to him like his own skin, (the witch) and he falls to the floor, shrieking (dead). The room is filled with noise.

The scene cuts to black. Oh Happy Days begins playing, scratchily, at the lyrics ‘oh happy days’, as if on an old record. The scene fades into the girls, wrapping the man's body in towels. ‘When he washed’, plays and the scene cuts to the girls, carrying him outside, walking into the forest, and then exiting the forest empty-handed. Girl 1 gets out some car keys and turns on the Ferrari sitting behind the house. All three get in, and the car drives away. Happy days and the scene fade together, leaving nothing.