#one is barricading the door to the attic that’s in my room

[merriclo]

when you feel like the anxiety might act up so you distract yourself with tears of the kingdom

[retnym]

Precious Honor - Daryl Dixon .01

"What are your people doing to fix this?"

“Shane, we gotta hurry.” I held onto my camouflage jacket. I had just gotten off of deployment before the disease broke out. Shane the one I was just rushing is my younger brother. Well by two years. We’re currently going to see if Rick has woken up yet. He’s been in a coma for a minute now from when he got shot by a criminal that he was chasing. Rick is our childhood best friend. Mainly Shane’s but we had gotten quite close before the coma. He was the only one who sent me letters on deployment. 

Updates about him, his wife, and his child Carl. Rarely spoke about Shane most likely because he’s been whoring around town from what Lori told me. 

Shaking my head at the thought we got through the endless Hospital halls, nurses and doctors saluting me as I was still partly in uniform. Wearing cargo pants, boots, and a white shirt tucked into the pants. My jacket was still in my arms as we finally were in the room where he was.

Where he lay still, not moving an inch from the last time we saw him. My heart ached at the thought. We sat down to visit only for a few minutes, it was clear we couldn’t get him up. Then the ground shook and gunshots cleared out, I quickly gripped my holster. We both shot up. “Check his pulse.” I point with my head, pulling my gun out and pointing towards the door. 

My brother did as I said and I opened the door after the military ran by. 

What the fuck are they doing killing innocent?

“Let’s go, [Name].” Shane grips my hand, going to pull me to run but I push back. “We can’t leave without em’!” I say a little bit above a whisper. “His heartbeat, it was going before the machines cut off!” I told him. 

“Well, he ain’t got one now, [Name].” He harshly tells me back, now shoving me to get a move on and I drop my jacket. Before I could say anything he barricaded the door and we started running. Tears threatened to escape my eyes but things like this happened almost every day in the Army. This wasn’t like the Army though.

We’re going up against monsters who were once friends, neighbors, family… Leaving loved ones behind because the human race isn’t the same anymore.

We got back to my truck, and my dog Mori sat calmly in the back seat since the air was still going on him. I thrashed my key into the hole and started up the engine. “Let’s go, [Name]. C’mon.” Shane smacked my dash. “Don’t rush me,” I mutter, changing gears and slamming on the gas pedal causing him and Mori to fall back in their seats. Mori makes a noise as if to tell me off as Shane grunts. 

I swerved through the people acting all frantic, the town all evacuating or fighting off one of those… things. It’s like their skin immediately rots after being bit. It only takes hours. I’ve seen it. It’s not normal! None of this is!

“[Name]! Watch out!” Shane takes my wheel, steering it around a girl laying on the ground waiting to be run over. Sorry, lady. Gotta get someone else to do that. “Sorry!” I shouted at Shane, making a sharp turn onto Lori’s grass, blocking the door off so we can throw some things into my truck bed. 

“Stay, Mori!” I snap at him and he sits up straight as a “he’s listening to my order”. Mori is a Military dog, he sniffed out the bombs or certain things we needed to find. Very well trained too. Obviously, dogs have to be very well trained in the Military.  

“Oh thank god, you’re… he didn’t wake up?” Her face paled as I look away. Shane nods his head. I was expecting her to cry but she stood straighter. “We packed up everything.” She points to the suitcases and regular bags. Two had supplies we actually needed like food, water, and medicine. Four of them were clothes and as unfortunate as it is we can’t bring all of the clothes. 

“I’m sorry to tell you this Lori but you’re going to have to minimalize your clothes.” I sigh out, heading to the attic I grab the latch from above and bring it down. “What, why?” She questions me. “This isn’t a vacation we’re going to be moved left and right. We might have to run.” I explain to her, going up the steps of the ladder. “Oh..” She whispers.

Shane went to Lori and Rick’s room, most likely to check for guns Rick usually had in a safe. Immediately as I was up in the attic there were three tents. I quickly grabbed all of them, throwing them down as well. If we lose one it’s okay. Or if we lose two, as long as we have one it’s fine. 

Shane came out with a small duffle bag and we hurried to my truck which was still running, along with Mori who sat straight up looking menacing. Being a muscle-top Rott Weiler I’d hope he was scary looking to people. 

“Mori!” Carl says a little loudly, instantly getting shushed by his mother. They hopped into the vehicle as Shane and I put everything in the truck bed that already had some survivalist-type things in it. There are a few cots in the truck bed already. 

“Everything fits nicely, let’s go.” Shane claps his hands, heads to the passenger side and I get right back to driving. Not even buckling up I reverse and then speed to Atlanta Georgia. Lori tries to hide Carl from it all, giving him a comic book that she actually told him not to bring but took just in case. 

Of course, it doesn’t help him from glancing up and seeing the horrors we have to pass by. 

Getting onto the highway, right away there was traffic. Lined all the way to the buildings. My gut is telling me to leave. Slowly we moved our way down further but then it was just a full stop. We didn’t move for minutes to hours.

After the first thirty minutes, everyone mostly got out and we kind of mingled. Meeting a nice lady to the right of us. She and her daughter we gentle and nice, Carl made friends with the girl. They got to eat some snacks that the lady gave them. Her name is Carol. Her husband who we learned his name is Ed. 

Off the bat, this guy is a dickhead. Once he saw I looked like a Military he stopped and stared at me. “What are your people doing to fix this?” He points at me and my eyes squinted slightly. “I don’t have a connection with them anymore.” I crossed my tatted arms, blatantly showing off my muscles as a hint to fuck off. 

Unfortunately, that did not work. 

“Why’s that?” He laughed.

“None of your fucking business.” I sarcastically laughed in response, he obviously did not like that. “C’mon, Carol. Get in the car. You too Sophia.” He orders them, at first, they hesitated but once he shouted they both flinched. Carol sweetly smiled at us. “Sorry about him, maybe we will be in the same area.” She tilts her head, grabbing Sophia’s hand to help her off my truck bed. The two got into the car and instantly Ed was yelling at the both of them. As much as I wanted to step in I knew it wasn’t my place just yet. 

As time passed we ended up meeting others. Sisters named Andrea and Amy, they were already with a man named Dale. Later through the night, there was a girl named Jacqui. She was amazing. It was going pretty smoothly until the Dixon brothers showed up. 

The older brother repeatedly flirted with me. Being heavily misogynistic since I was in the Army. Asking questions like; “Yer sure pretty, ‘m sure you was passed around huh? Gangbanged by yer comrades.” Or “Climbin’ up the ranks? You mean blowin’ the ranks?” All with a stupid ass laugh. His brother on the other hand was quiet. He looked like he wanted to shut his brother up but instead didn’t do anything.

I observed him as he did anything. Going from picking at his nails to rolling his eyes at his older brother as he spoke to anybody. Physically trying not to cringe with every word that came out of his mouth. I honestly felt bad for him. Once we get to a safe space I might get him talkin’. 

This was when we decided to get out of the traffic and go someplace else. The infected started reaching the traffic, we all knew it was a matter of time before they came to the crowded place. Jacqui ended up leaving her car and getting into my truck bed along with Daryl and Merle since their truck broke down. The blonde sisters got into the RV with Dale. Who we didn’t meet was the Asian kid in Dale’s RV as well. 

This is the beginning of our story as a family. Sadly without Rick to be there with us. 

[atmilliways]

Dreams In Which I’m Dying (6-7)

parts 6 & 7 of 16 | 98 & 981 words | Teen +

Donnie Darko AU | parts 1 & 2 | part 3 | parts 4 & 5 | part 8 | part 9 | parts 10 & 11 | parts 12 & 13 | part 14 | parts 15 & 16 (complete)

Summary:

Steve takes one last crack with his bat full of nails at the eyeless, slimy-looking quadruped. He's stunned the thing, giving them the chance to scramble out of the empty public pool and into the cover of the changing rooms, slamming and barricading the door behind them.

6 - Watch goes off again

Eddie Munson’s watch goes off again while they’re exploring the Creel House—BEEEEP, BEEEEP, BEEEEP! . . . BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! No one else seems to notice, though, because the attic light bulb all their flashlights are going crazy. When they leave the house, Eddie spots a shifting huddle of shadow on the play structure in the park across the street. It’s that thing he saw in the school parking lot, he knows it is.

He can’t for the life of him figure out how he set an alarm on this goddamn watch. He didn’t even know it could do alarms.

7 - In another dimension

Eddie Munson is in another fucking dimension, trying to hack water out of his lungs, and he’s not happy about it. 

“Run!” Dustin shrieks. “Steve, come on!!”

Steve takes one last crack with his bat full of nails at the eyeless, slimy-looking quadruped. He's stunned the thing, giving them the chance to scramble out of the empty public pool and into the cover of the changing rooms, slamming and barricading the door behind them.

“Always the goddamn babysitter—Why the hell did you two follow me?” Steve snaps, hustling them through the locker room to the exit. Because, according to Dustin, there's a goddamn hive mind connecting everything here and they need to split before more of those things show up.

“Not my idea, trust me,” Eddie mutters, sidestepping sentient vines that are also part of the hive mind, fuck. He’s trying to wring water out of his hair without dripping on any of them, and it’s taking almost all his concentration.

“The cops showed up,” Dustin hisses back. “Max and Lucas sounded the alarm, we jumped in because we can’t afford to let too many people get detained for trespassing on a crime scene!”

Steve glares at Eddie over Dustin’s head. 

“Little shit panicked and pushed me in,” he explains with a heavy sigh. “Which got the cops’ attention for sure. Lucas and Max are probably being asked some interesting questions right about now, considering they were in your car with you nowhere in sight.”

“Great,” Steve growls, and switches his focus back to Dustin. “You know that we’re still down just as many people, right? Because now, instead of me stuck down here and you four with the cops, it’s three of us stuck down here and the other two getting interrogated. I thought you're supposed to be good at math.”

“I am good at math,” Dustin retorts, and Steve and Eddie share a look that says, this fucking kid. “And either way, we’re all better off if you don’t get stuck here alone and wind up killed! Look, it stands to reason that, since we found a mini gate where Patrick died, there should be another one at Benny’s. All we have to do is get there.”

“How?” Eddie asks. “Because I can’t run for shit.” Now they’re giving him a look, and he shrugs in irritation. “Why do you think I’ve failed Gym twice in a row?”

“Because you refuse to wear gym shorts,” Dustin replies, like he already had that one locked and ready to go. At the same time, Steve hazards the guess of, “Smoker’s lungs?”

It’s not like they’re wrong, but Eddie is sopping wet and cranky and freaking out on the inside, so he refuses to dignify either with a response. 

They get out, down the street, and into the nearest house without incident, where Dustin has the brilliant idea of checking the garage for bikes. There’s only one, so they take it with them on their way to the next house, rinse, and repeat. Everything is too quiet, silence split by distant howls from the direction of the pool, no visible movement save their own.

Eddie keeps seeing that thing from the high school parking lot. He’d forgotten about it, actually, but now he can’t help but notice its striking resemblance to the other monster he’s seen down here so far, and . . . it can’t be good that he first saw it before all this crazy shit started.

His currently very necessary higher functions start to shut down if he so much as thinks about it, so mentioning it to anyone is out of the question. He hopes he’s imagining it.

“How’re you holding up?” Steve asks while Eddie rigs him a nailbat holster out of a guitar strap. They've finally sourced a third bike, and Dustin is off scavenging for anything else that might be useful.

Eddie shoots him an exasperated look. “You’ve got to stop asking me that. How do you think, man?”

Their shoulders bump, and all Eddie can think about is how close they are and how he can smell hints of Steve’s shampoo amidst the chlorine and alternate dimension rot. Jesus H. Christ, he can feel his face heating up—

“Kinda nice to have backup,” Steve is saying, oblivious. “Usually when I get stuck babysitting it’s just me, you know? And you’ve seen how these little assholes gang up on me. And then on top of that, I have to keep them alive.”

Eddie frowns. “When you say backup. . . .”

Steve shrugs, bumping against Eddie again with the motion. “If anything happens to me, you can keep them safe.”

“Dude, morbid.” He hesitates, then adds, “I gotta say, though, I’m flattered you trust me and my smoker’s lungs to do that.”

It gets a chuckle out of Steve, which is what Eddie had been going for—even though it isn’t helping his blush situation for shit. (Neither had finding out that Steve actually is as badass as Dustin keeps saying. Swinging at that Demodog earlier, seeing his muscles flexing in tandem as his bare chest glistened with pool water? If Eddie survives this, he'll have so much new daydream material.)

“Hey, are you cold?” Eddie asks. 

Steve shrugs. “I’m fine. All the clothes here are kind of. . . .”

Eddie is already shrugging out of his outer layer, slipping leather-clad arms out from the denim. “Here, take this.”

“I’m fine—”

“It’s for your modesty, dude.” Eddie tosses it at his face so he can’t see what his own face is doing at the prospect of seeing Steve shirtless and putting on his battle vest. Definitely did not think this through.

And then Dustin is back, and they’re on the move. It’s not a long ride to Benny’s, fifteen minutes or so . . . but the roads don’t have a lot of cover, and they hadn’t anticipated needing to watch the sky for an incoming attack. 

[beaujuniperbooks]

May 28

Dad hasn't left Mom's side since she died. I took him food and water earlier and he told me he was sorry for everything. I told him none of it was his fault and left them alone.

A few minutes after I closed the bedroom door, I heard a gunshot from the other side. I threw the door open and found my dad slumped over Mom's body, pistol in his hand.

I can hear the excited growls and squeals from the creatures outside. They know I'm in here now. Dad just killed me too. I can hear them beating on the wood covering the windows and doors downstairs. I can hear the wood starting to splinter.

I can't become one of them. I can see the injuries and damage from the attacks. And they just shuffle down the street until they hear something and then they move so fast. Even the ones with no legs move so fast on their arms.

I run into the room with Mom and Dad and grab the pistol. I put it to my head and pulled the trigger but nothing happened. It just clicked and that was it. There's no bullets in it.

I'm hiding in the attic now with some food and the trap door barricaded with some old furniture. There's one window up here that looks over the backyard. I'm using that light to see and write but the sun is going down. I'll write more if I survive the night.

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[bitches-who-write]

Bowers gang with a bratty reader who will submit if you said the right thing to ‘em?

Sorry for the long wait! We altered it a little bit to change it up.

That’s What I Thought

Warnings: Offensive language, Derogatory names, Threatening context.

Description: Reader acts up/ angers the Bower’s Gang, so they have to teach her a lesson in punishment.

Patrick:

I could practically feel my heart beating out of my chest

I pound my fists on the cold metal door. Darkness surrounding me.

“Help! This isn’t funny, Patrick! Let me out!”

I hear him mockingly laugh, “Should have listened to me before, sweetheart. Then maybe you wouldn't be in this situation.”

He bangs on the door, making me jump from the loud noise

Earlier that evening-

I pace around my room nervously.

Patrick has been stalking me for a week straight now. Always folllowing me around the neighborhood, showing up out of nowhere with that signature creepy smirk.

The past few nights he’s been breaking into my house by climbing through my window.

He covers my mouth and holds a finger up to his lips, signaling for me to keep quiet.

He laughs at my nervousness and whimpers, threatening me to keep quiet as his hands are all over me.

My stomach sinks as I glance at the clock realizing he’s coming soon.

I know I shouldn’t have but ….I locked my window and barricaded it so he couldn't get in.

Bad idea, I know but I already committed and I need to take a stance against this psycho.

I hear the window shake, then pounding. I expected to hear him yelling and threatening me but instead, he chuckles darkly.

I think that reaction is even scarier than any threat.

Shit, shit, shit… I have to hide. Fuck the closet or under the bed. Those 2 spots are horror movie no -no’s.

I hear the window shatter, Patrick about to come in. I panic and decide to run up into the attic to hide.

I sit with my knees drawn to my chest, trying to keep quiet as I hide behind cardboard boxes.

After what felt like an eternity, the attic door slowly creaked open.

In a low, teasing sing-song voice, I hear Patrick say, “Y/N...come out, come out wherever you are…”

The sound of his boots became quieter, almost as if he was walking away. Finally the footsteps stop all together.

I slowly go to stand, peeking over the stacked cardboard boxes when suddenly I was grabbed

Patrick holds me by the waist with one arm and has his hand around my throat with the other.

“Now that wasn’t very nice, Y/N. Why would you lock me out? That only gets you punished.”

He drags me out of the house and starts bringing me down the wooded path to the barrens.

I begin crying and apologizing to him profusely, but it only angers Patrick more. He tightens his grip around me more, and yanks my head back by my hair painfully.

“Now I’m going to teach you a lesson, considering you like to lock yourself inside your room, how about I lock you up inside my fridge?”

He begins to laugh hysterically and imitates my cry.

I fight against him, flailing around but his strength overpowers me.

He shoves me into the small, crammed fridge that smells like mold and something rotting.

I begin to hyperventilate, completely sobbing at this point; just begging for Patrick to open the door.

“Sorry sweetheart, I have to let you suffer and struggle for a while just like you did to me when you locked me out. Bet you’ll think twice before pulling that one again.”

Finally Patrick let’s me out. I look down at the ground nervously.

I hesitantly walked up to him, giving him a hug as I sob.

“Y-yes Patrick. I- I learned my lesson. I’ll keep the window unlocked for you for now out.” I say, my voice shaking as I speak.

Henry:

Henry had his knife to my throat and a fist full of my hair as he led me down the stairs to his basement.

He shoves me to the ground and begins walking up the stairs.

I stand up and rush up the stairs, trying to get out before he shuts the door.

Too late…

He shuts the door in my face and I can hear the door lock.

I start banging on the door “Henry! Let me out, this isn’t funny!”

I put my ear up against the door, trying to hear if he’s still there. “Henry?...Hello?”

No response.

I sigh and press my back to the door sliding down to sit.

Earlier that day -

I walked out of the school and glanced around to see if the guys were out yet.

Of course they weren’t.

I sat down on the steps and took out my book.

I felt someone sit down next to me and I glanced up from my book.

It was some guy from my English class...or was it math.

Point being, If he wants to live he should back the fuck up.

He’s leaning over me and I can feel him breathing on me.

I turn around, about to tell him to back off.

And there I see him.

A very pissed off Henry.

I groan and walk over to him. “Before you say anything. It’s not what it looks like. I was just about to tell him to leave me alone.”

Henry glares at me “Looks to me like you were flirting.”

I tried to tell him multiple times I wasn’t flirting but it just seemed to piss him off even more.

He grabs my wrist and begins pulling me in the direction of his house.

I managed to pull my hand away from him and stop walking.

He turns around and glares at me “Walk.”

I knew I was going to regret this as soon as it happened.

“No. I’m not going anywhere with you until you calm the fuck down.”

Yep. Instant regret...FYI for anyone looking to date Henry Bowers. DO NOT tell him no. And do not tell him to calm down. Just..don’t talk back to him. Ever.

This is when he took out his knife and then grabbed a fist full of my hair. He held the knife up to my throat and started leading me to his house.

I swear only in Derry can someone be held at knife point, and nobody even tries to help. Let alone even look in the direction.

So yeah..that's how I got in the basement.

It felt like hours I was banging on this fucking door. “Henry, please let me out! I’m sorry!” I could feel the tears running down my face.

I finally gave up banging on the door. He’ll let me out eventually.

When he does, I know I’ll own him. And I’m sure he’ll pick something sexual~

This is a lesson to never talk back to Henry Bowers again..

Vic:

Vic has me pinned against a tree trunk, his arms on either side of me, his face mere inches from mine.

His eyes like daggers staring at me as I covered under him, flinching when he raises his voice.

“What did you say to me? Huh? I want you to fuckin’ look at me and say that again!” Vic yells, harshly grabbing my jaw to make me look up at him.

Tears pour down my cheeks as I stutter out a pathetic apology.

The other guys looking at the scene in pure entertainment.

Just why did I have to talk back? Of all people to give an attitude to, I just had to pick short- tempered Vic?? Damn was I asking for it…

-Earlier that day-

It all started out when we were hanging out by the lake with Henry, Belch, and Patrick.

Vic is nice to me to an extent but when he’s around his goons, he turns into a bigger asshole than usual.

Henry was of course barking orders at me as usual. “Hey Slut, make yourself useful and grab us all a beer.” earning a laugh from the rest of the guys.

I rolled my eyes and scoffed. I tried to carry all the beers in one trip but I lost my banance over a tree root causing me to drop all the beers. The bottled glass shattered and beer poured out. Some even spraying out a Henry.

Patrick laughs but grabs me by the back of my hair, dragging me over to Henry. He harshly tosses me at Henry’s feet.

“Look what your bitch did this time, Vic. Gonna teach her a lesson for this?”

Vic smirks and kneels down towards me, occeasionmally glancing up at his friends as if this is the funniest shit ever.

“I think you gotta clean this up, hmm? He looks me up and down, smirking. “Take your shirt off Y/N.”

My eyes widen and I shake my head no. I scurry backwards trying to scoot away. “Fuck you, Fuck all of you, Especially YOU, Vic. You seriously think I would listen to you?? Any of you for that matter!”

Their eyes widen, all looking amused. Patrick looking way too entertained by this.

Vic’s face reddens in anger, not looking amused whatsoever.

He picks me up from under my arms effortlessly, pinning me against the tree.

“Henry, give me your knife.” I begin to struggle, nervously apopligizng to Vic but he doesn’t seem to care.

The others circle in on us, smirking and mocking my situation.

“I’ll make you regret ever saying that shit to me.”

I close my eyes tightly so I don’t have to see what Vic is about to do.

I simply hold onto his wrists in attempts to stop him, but again he doesn't seem fazed.

The last thing I heard was their laughing until I passed out from fear.

Belch

Reggie handed me the keys to his car and asked me to take his car out of the garage while he ran inside to grab something.

Now I know how to drive..but that doesn’t mean I’m good at it.

I started pulling out of the garage when I heard what sounded like something scraping against the driver's side door.

I quickly got out of the car and there it was. A long white mark going down the driver’s side door...I’m so dead.

I almost break down when I hear the sound of the front door of his house shut.

Fuck, Fuck, Fuck.

He drops the bags that were in his hands. His face was in pure shock. “What the fuck did you do?”

I started laughing nervously but he must have taken my laughter as if I thought it was actually funny.

I started backing up slowly, but he grabbed me by the back of the head and literally shoved me into the passenger's side of the car.

He gets in the drivers side and locks the door so I couldn’t get out.

He pulls out of the driveway and begins driving more aggressively than usual.

He knows I don’t like riding with him because he is already an aggressive driver. So he’s doing this on purpose, trying to scare me.

I am literally holding on for dear life.

To make matters worse, it’s pouring out.

I feel like the car will flip over by how fast he takes the corners.

He’s blowing through red lights, he’s driving into oncoming traffic. He’s basically putting your life in danger.

This went on for a good 10 minutes.

He didn’t stop driving until I was visibly shaking and crying.

“Glad to see you learned your lesson.” He says, mockingly kissing the top of my head.

[starcrossedkaiju]

Kingslayer AU: Chapter One

Finally! I’m sorry this took so long, I’m a nervous wreck.

Notes: this was originally a warmup for character interactions/setting. It is very dialogue heavy.

\\ Warnings: alcohol //

A single tumbleweed was all that crossed Scott’s path when he arrived in the Red Desert. It was rather comical, he stood and watched it roll away until he couldn’t see it through the sheets of sand blowing over the ground.

In the distance, the only mountain located in the desert biome loomed over the horizon. Imposingly backlit by the red, swirling, tendrils of the world border. Most residents kept away from the thing, as it was meant to give off an unsettling aura. Although Scott never minded it. The wall of his room was almost right up against it after all.

On top of the mountain was a barely visible “castle”, which looked as if it was built by someone wearing a blindfold. The inhabitants of the castle, and the aptly named “Monopoly Mountain” could be accurately described as menaces.

Clumsy when it came to forward thinking, and leaving hidden traps around so frequently that traveling through any wooded area required either a very long stick, or someone willing to take the business end of a TNT trap for the team.

They also happened to be Scott’s nearest allies. It hadn’t always been pleasant between them, but circumstance led to circumstance, and now Scott was making his semi-weekly visit to Monopoly Mountain to shoot the breeze.

Typically the only person at the base would be Grian. Scar liked to make himself elusive by causing problems elsewhere and returning late into the evening with a story to tell over dinner.

The base of the mountain was void of a bubble-elevator. To reach the top one must climb an absurd amount of stairs. Scott huffed and resigned himself to the task in front of him.

As his perspective grew higher and higher the rest of the map revealed itself. The roof of Joel’s house peeked over a swathe of trees, and the tall barricades of Dogwarts stood out as a stark silhouette against the sky. Scott took a few minutes to regain his purchase, shielding his eyes from the whipping wind.

The season was gradually descending into winter. Made obvious by the deciduous trees’ leaves choking out the last of their green pigment for fiery shades of red and orange. The weather was far less pleasant to endure. Everywhere outside of the Red Desert had to deal with bitterly cold conditions, although there hadn’t been snow yet, the sky churned with a constant overcast. Threatening to storm at the drop of a coin.

Scott rubbed his arms to fight off the oncoming chill and continued his ascent, hoping someone had installed a fireplace since the last time he visited.

Finally he rounded the last of the stairs and gazed up at the tall, thin roof of the Sand Castle. The Red Desert flag strung on the tallest rooftop flapped around in the wind. Pizza, the pet lama, grunted in Scott’s direction when he approached the front door. He hesitantly reached out to pet her (she bit him once and he’d never fully gotten over it) from over the fence of her pen, and she let him rub her fluffy bangs.

Scott knocked on the door three times and gave Pizza one last pat, anticipating someone to open the door. It would be a shame if he’d hiked all the way out only for nobody to be home.

Thankfully, the door swung open with a welcoming screech of it’s hinges.

“Hey dude,” Grian welcomed him from the front steps.

“Hey,” Scott greeted in return, “may I come in?” he asked.

“Of course! It’s freezing out here,” Grian replied and stepped away from the door, which slammed with a squeak behind the two of them.

Scott closed his eyes and waved to the resident enderman, who greeted him with a friendly, distorted “hello”. A furnace was running to warm the living room.

Scott took his coat and hat off. He draped them over the arm of the couch before swatting a layer of sand from the cushion and sitting down, observing the scene in front of him. There was always something going on in there.

This time, a myriad of blueprints were strewn across the floor. Each of them depicting heavily annotated structures and what looked like plans for redstone. Grian had planted himself on the floor with a pencil, and was furiously erasing a line of text.

“What’s that?” Scott pointed over his shoulder.

“These,” Grian held one of the outlines up to the other’s face, “are the blueprints for our secret bunker,” he explained.

“You hear that? Secret Bunker, so don’t go telling anyone about it m’kay?” He tapped the paper with the end of his pencil.

“Okay, fair enough. Is that redstone?” Scott slid another sheet of paper towards them with his shoe.

“Yup. I’m gonna equip it with a lava trap,” Grian said proudly.

“And this one will work?” Scott teased.

“Hilarious,” Grian pushed the other’s shoulder, “yes it will work, it’s going to be my best yet,” he assured.

“Oh good! That’s not a very high standard to meet then,” Scott congratulated.

“Blah, blah, blah,” Grian mocked back, “you better be careful what you say with twenty five reputation points,” he said.

Scott threw his hands up in surrender, still laughing at how the other man’s ears turned red.

The house fell into a comfortable silence after that. The sound of scribbling and wind served as a calming ambience. Scott intermittently shared a few words with the enderman, who seemed to understand more of what Scott said to him than the other way around.

“Hey, Grian?” Scott turned over on the couch to face his friend.

“Yeah?” The other said without looking away from his work.

“Do you think you would have still been friends with Scar if he hadn’t died from that creeper?” Scott asked.

There was a pregnant pause, then Grian said, “I don’t know. I never thought about it,” he doodled absently on the margin of his paper.

“Hm,” Scott replied halfheartedly. He mainly asked because whenever he visited Grian was alone. If they were even home at all. Other than that him and Scar were always attached at the hip.

“Why?” Grian asked in return.

“I don’t know, forget it,” Scott waved him off. Not wanting to get into it.

“When’s he gonna be back?” he asked instead.

Grian sat up and stretched his back, “uh, I don’t know actually. He said he went to gather resources but you can never really count on him doing what he says he will,” he explained.

“You didn’t go with him?” Scott asked.

“I don’t want to babysit him anymore. If he gets in trouble that’s not my problem,” Grian said. He stood up and wandered over the the kitchen, carefully avoiding the blueprints on the floor.

“Ha! I would drink to that one, Jimmy is the same way sometimes,” Scott replied and watched as Grian contemplated the contents of their cooler, reaching in and pulling out a bottle of red wine.

“Well then, let’s drink to it,” he held the bottle up with a grin.

“Where did you get that?” Scott vacated the couch and made his way over to his friend, taking the bottle and studying it, “I haven’t seen the fruit of the vine in years!” he recalled.

The bottle had clearly been tapped into before, although not much was absent from its contents.

“I have my ways,” Grian rummaged around in a cabinet and pulled out two glasses.

“I would say it’s too early for this, but for once, it’s five o’clock somewhere,” Scott uncorked the bottle with a satisfying pop and poured each glass a third of the way.

Grian cleared his throat, “To the safety of our stupid partners,” he raised his glass.

Scott nodded in return and connected their drinks with a polite clink, then they drank to the sentiment.

The conversation traveled to the dining table, which was more of a booth. Talking points ranged from preparing for winter to future plans to expand their bases.

“I’m not going to get anything done with the weather coming on,” Scott complained over his drink, “I don’t handle the cold very well,” he downed the last of it.

“Well you can always move in with us for the season, the attic is vacant,” Grian offered.

“Never in a million years. I’d rather be sick at home than spend a week living with barbarians,” Scott refused the offer.

Grian rolled his eyes, “it is not that bad,” he defended himself.

Scott raised an eyebrow and shoved his hand in between the cushions of the booth. Pulling up a handful of sand, which he deposited on the table.

“We live in a desert! What do you want us to do about it, of course there’s some sand in here,” Grian threw his hands up.

“Some?” Scott repeated.

“Okay,” Grian glanced under the table and shuffled his foot around, which scraped across a layer of sand, “a lot of sand,” he corrected himself.

“Get a vacuum. For the hundredth time, get a vacuum,” Scott demanded.

“We have a broom that works perfectly fine,” Grian stood up and opened a linen closet to reveal a single broom leaned up against the wall.

Scott didn’t comment on it, but he had a feeling that broom never left the closet.

The conversation was effectively halted when the front door screeched open, letting in a gust of wind and sand. It blew a few papers off the floor and scattered them around the living area.

“Hey,” Grian called out, “Scar? You back?” he asked.

“Yeah,” came from the front of the Sand Castle.

“Okay! We have company by the way,” Grian prefaced.

Scar’s head poked around the doorframe, he waved at Scott who returned the gesture.

“What have you guys been up to?” He inquired at the sight of the wine on the counter.

“Just hanging out. It gets a bit lonely up here you know,” Grian closed the linen closet and took Scar’s backpack from him. He opened it and looked at the contents.

“Oh, you actually did what you went out to do,” Grian revealed a bundle of wood from the bag.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Scar crossed his arms.

“Never mind, go wash up. I assume you’re hungry,” Grian opened a pantry and took some spices out, “are you staying for dinner Scott?” he asked.

Scott leaned out of the booth to check the time on the clock above the door, “mmm, yeah why not. I’m already here,” he decided.

“Let me just page Jimmy and tell him I’m gonna be home late,” Scott patted all his pockets but found no sign of his communication device.

“Hey Grian? Can I use your pager?” he requested.

Grian fished around in his back pockets and pulled out his pager, tossing it towards the other who caught it with both hands. Scott thanked him and flipped the screen up, selected the address he needed to contact, and typed out a short message. Making sure to say it was from him and not Grian before sending it to Jimmy.

“What’re we making?” Scott asked once he finished, intent on trying to help in the kitchen.

“Well, it’s Spaghetti Friday,” Grian declared and revealed a bag of Rigatoni pasta.

“That’s a thing?” Scott inquired, taking the bag and examining the packaging. It was pretty simple, mostly cardboard with a plastic window. Presumably from the village on the other side of the map.

“We’ve gotta have some fun around here, come on now Scott,” Grian said.

“You’re right, how can I help?” Scott said. Grian side eyed him.

“You can add the salt when I say you can add the salt,” he offered. Scott crossed his arms.

He wasn’t that bad at cooking. He’d only burned a few things, smoked the house out for three days once, and set scrambled eggs on fire.

“That one time was just a rookie mistake,” Scott retorted. It’s not like he did it on purpose.

“A rookie mistake that almost burned your flower forest down. I wouldn’t let you near the kitchen if I was Jimmy either,” Grian set a pot down on the stove.

Scar came back in the kitchen then, and was pulled into it almost immediately.

“A man can’t even sit down in his own house without his culinary skills being put up for debate?”

Grian laughed at him, sliding the pot under the water pump.

“That’s not an answer at all! Can you or can’t you?” Scott demanded to know, holding a salt shaker.

“I can cook,” Scar’s gaze wandered into thought, he started counting on his fingers, “pasta, assorted vegetables, mac and cheese, cornbread, mashed potatoes, and I can bake a half decent carrot cake,” he recited.

“I worked in a supermarket before the borders. We made some of our own stuff for the bakery and the buffet,” Scar said. It was the first mention he made of what he did back when things were normal. At least to Scott.

Scott was pleasantly surprised. He nodded, seeing as he’d been given a satisfying answer.

The spaghetti went off without a hitch, Grian was surprisingly good at making it. Scott had the sense that he’d done it many times before.

“Remember, you can put the salt in but you can’t take it out. Here taste the sauce and tell me if it’s alright,” Grian fished a spoon from a drawer and handed it to Scott.

“Hmm,” the other pondered after trying a spoonful, “maybe a bit more salt?” he suggested.

A window was propped open to let the steam and heat out. It was getting dark now, and the world border stood out against the purple hues of night falling over the server. The brightest stars made themselves known to the east as the sun set to the west. It was peaceful, the wind had died down. Scott wondered if anyone else was watching.

Personally, he enjoyed stargazing a lot more. His servermates knew next to nothing about the cosmos, which made him wonder who was teaching them about the greater universe. Clearly they’d never been out there.

“Yo,” Scar called him out of his trance. He handed the other a ceramic bowl.

“Thank you,” Scott said and waited to serve himself.

The spaghetti was pretty good. Decent meals were hard to come by, especially with the limited resources outside of villages.

Over the course of dinner, Scar explained his excursion of the day. He had been gathering wood to stockpile for the winter months (no wood in the desert, better to have a source available and not have to hike out and get more constantly) when he came upon Etho’s base.

“It’s entirely made of wool,” he recounted.

Grian raised an eyebrow in confusion, “All of it? Why?” he mused.

“Dunno. There was nobody around,” Scar replied.

“You didn’t steal from them did you?” Scott interjected.

“Not this time,” he said, which earned him a jab in the ribs from Grian.

The three laughed it off and switched the subject to current server affairs. Who had the best gear, everyone’s respective allies, the phantom problem, and the pros and cons of a vacuum.

“Well, I would say this is a fine work of spaghetti,” Scar complimented when he was finished.

“Indeed, couldn’t have done it without Scott. The best salt dispenser among us,” Grian agreed.

Scott tried to look offended but couldn’t repress a smile. He stood up, about to take his bowl to the sink; but Scar insisted that he was the guest, so he handed over his dish and sat back down. Preparing his “i’m out of here” pleasantries.

He settled on, “Well, I’m out of here,” after a few more minutes of banter.

“Okay! Thanks for keeping me company dude,” Grian gave Scott a hug as thanks.

“My pleasure,” Scott replied.

Scar offered to accompany Scott back to the Hobbit territory, but he refused.

“No need Scar, you’ve been out all day. I’ll be fine,” he assured as he adjusted his hat and jacket for the chilly walk home.

“Alright then, let me walk you out,” Scar proposed instead.

Final waves and good wishes were exchanged and Scott started back down all those stairs. It was quiet, save for the gentle buzz of the world border which sat right against the Red Desert.

Lost in thought for most of the journey, Scott traveled into the dark canopy of leaves. There weren’t many mobs out due to the moon being in its Waning Crescent phase. Scott rubbed his hands together and shoved them in his pockets, wishing he’d brought his mittens.

As he crossed over a clearing, an arrow whizzed over his shoulder. Scott ducked down in surprise, turning around and expecting to see a skeleton, but there was nothing there except a dreadfully dark bank of trees and a vacant plot of land.

Scott squinted into the darkness.

Then the handle of a weapon was brought down on the side of his face, and all the lights went out.

[sparetimeimagines]

Drabble: Cleaning Out the Attic Brings Back Memories

Daichi Sawamura x Reader

Tags; Fluff, Pregnant Reader, Memories, Daddy Daichi, Police Officer!AU

Masterlist

It had been nagging you for months. Clean out the attic. Clean out the attic. It was the nostalgic feeling of your mother nagging you to clean your room, but this time, you had to be the mother.

Dozens of boxes had gathered dust here over the last few years and you couldn’t tell apart yours from the others, but regardless, some had to go. The thought of items gathering in the attic made you grow uneasy; the clutter close to driving you insane. Finally, you had enough, and the brown boxes gathering dust needed to find a home.

In the order of importance, you began separating the pieces of memorabilia.

When you two moved in together, your junk became his junk and vice-versa. You couldn’t tell who’s junk was who’s, and you needed to make an executive decision.

“You. You’re the lucky winner.” You mumbled to the box before you with highschool written on it.

Daichi helped you pack when you moved out of your parents’, labeling each box accordingly from each source, but it still didn’t tell you who’s box was it.

Peeling off the tape, you found the black and orange Karasuno yearbook, with “Fly” engraved across the front. Oh, the fond memories you had of that school.

Long nights traveling to Tokyo for tournaments; how Daichi begged Coach Ukai to let you travel on the bus since your parents were always out of town and he didn’t want you driving by yourself.

Long days feeling your boyfriend and his friends’ eyes drilling beams into the back of your head, knowing you’ll have to share your notes with them since clearly they weren’t paying attention to the sensei.

Quiet weekend days spent in your boyfriend’s arms watching movies you saw dozens of times, knowing you’ll fall asleep to his heart’s beat on his chest, because let’s be honest, that was your intention all along.

Loud evenings of music, laughter and trash talk when the teammates of your boyfriend’s volleyball team would ruin the quiet time you had because they realized your parents were out of town.

Responsible Daichi kicking them out at a proper time because he “didn’t want to disturb the neighbors” but in reality he wanted intimate alone time with you.

Those muscles chiseled from hours of practice barricaded you many nights in the dark, private moments and breathy kisses shared between the two of you because you knew you didn’t want to spend your nights with anyone else.

You come across a newspaper -aged with time-of the boys you used to know and the success they had from winning another huge game against a rival team. Those young faces bring you to an awe, tears welding in your eyes realizing how long it has been since you have spoken to most of them. 

You sniffle and wipe another tear from your eye, reaching for a trophy Daichi had stuffed away, exposing him to be the owner of the box.

The door on the floor below shuts and footsteps are heard, growing louder as time passes.

“Sweetheart?” Your husband calls, he creaking against the wood below his feet. “Are you up here?”

“I’m over here.”

You wipe the tear from the opposite eye and feel his presence over your shoulder.

“What are you looking at... oh. Hey!” He chuckles with a light smile growing to his lips. “I haven’t seen this in years!” You move to the side with some difficulty, your thirty-two weeks or eight months of growing child making it much harder to move now-a-days. “Hey, what’s wrong?” Instant worry dresses his face whilst he bends over, full examination mode.

“Nothing, Dai, just hormones.” You sniffle eyeing the shiny badge on your husband’s chest. His biceps, in better condition than high school, pull you from the ground and into his arms. 

Being held by Daichi was one thing you never wanted to change. Muscular, gentle arms welcoming you with endless love, there’s no wonder how you got pregnant.

“How’s my princess?” His fingers trace along the bump failing to be hidden by your shirt.

“Kicking. Always kicking.” You expose the newspaper you were holding. “How do you think they’re doing, Dai?” You choke, handing him the paper.

He chuckles again, caressing your tummy with his free hand.

“Hmm, well. Suga is downstairs, the Tanaka’s are down the road... I saw Yamaguchi Tuesday and...”

“The rest of the boys are living their lives...” You let out a sob and cover your face embarrassed.

“Oh, Sweetheart...” He chuckles pulling you into his arms the best that he can, your head on his chest. “They’re ok! They haven’t forgotten where home is. They’re just a little busy now.” He insures you. “Just like you. You’re creating this beautiful miracle inside of you. That’s a lot of work. And in few weeks you’ll be able to stay home with her and I’ll take care of the both of you.”

“You’re just saying that because she looks like you.” You playfully roll your eyes smacking his firm chest.

“Well yeah... but that’s just a bonus.” He grabs your hands. “Don’t worry, Sweetheart. Everyone is doing well.” He presses his lips to your forehead and pulls your hand in the direction of the stairs. “But for right now, Suga found the teal blanket you were looking for and I brought your favorite soba, so come downstairs and stay out of the attic.”

[milasartblog]

Halloween party (part 4)

Boys listened closely to any possible sound that the creature could give. The silence hung heavily around them. Anything could happen. Hugo was the first one to come closer to the door, putting his hand on it. There was no pressure. For the safety, boys spoke in low voice.

Pierce: Did it...leave?

Hugo: It could be a trap. Predators are not that stupid. At least, some of them are not.

Pierce: But this is insect! A fucking giant insect!!! How did it end up in the house??

Hugo: I wish I knew. But it’s sure not a hallucination, as you and I saw it.

Pierce: Hey, m-maybe it’s one if the halloween decorations? Or a s-screen trick? You know like, they seem real, but it’s just an image.

Hugo: If it was an image, it would not move that fast. Find something to defend yourself.

Pierce: What about you?

Hugo: I will use my boxing skills. 

Pierce: No no no, I’m not gonna leave you without a weapon.

He began to look around for any possible stick or a blade or something. The room they got themselves in was smaller, like an attic. Some boxes stood close to the wall and couple of fabrics lying around. Pierce opened some of the boxes and began his search, making even more mess.

Pierce: This is too fragile, this is too heavy....this is not useful....Ha! I found something!

He took out two baseball bats out of the box and gave one to Hugo.

Hugo: Do you think it will help us? Also, this is too easy that such tools lie here.

Pierce: Hey, there was nothing more useful here. Plus, with your force I’m sure we can get out of here and save girls.

Hugo: You have a point.

He took the baseball bat and they stood in the position. Pierce was close to the door, ready to open it. After receiving an approval from Hugo, he took a moment to breath and roughly opened the door. They were preparing to fight...but there was no one here. The creature disappeared.

Hugo: What the? It’s...gone.

Pierce: Did it lose interest on us?

Hugo: Or it went after girls. Come on, let’s get moving.

They went out of the attic, moving along the corridor. While they were walking, Pierce noticed that the paintings...were gone.

Pierce: Hugo, look!! The paintings are gone!!

Hugo: Are you sure? 

Pierce: Look, I’m maybe an idiot, but not stupid!! I definitely remember that there were paintings on the wall!!

Hugo: Okay okay, I believe you. Stay sharp.

They kept moving along the corridor, reaching to the place where they met the creature for the first time, only instead of creature there was a door. As boys reached the door, Hugo slowly opened it and they could see stairs, leading down to the hall. Hugo and Pierce amazed by the size of the hall and its beauty as they walked down to the first floor. 

Pierce: Who knew that our teacher is that rich!

Hugo: I hardly believe it. I mean, the teacher’s salary can’t be huge enough to allow yourself such house. He probably has another job.

Pierce: Ooooorrrr...does something illegal!

Hugo: Don’t be stupid. He would not-

Their little chit-chat was broken as sudden screams came from the neighbour room. They were female screams.

Pierce: It’s our girls!

The screams were closer and closer until boys could see them running towards the hall. Their faces depicted horror.

Hugo: Elza! Monika! April!

Monika: Why are you standing??? Run for your life!!!

Pierce: Run? Do you mean-

Elza: Don’t be stupid and run!!!

Girls flashed pass the boys to another room that was closer to reach. The boys kinda realized that it could probably be their creature, so they were about to stand in position, however...this was not their monster. When they turned around, they could see a cloud of alived horrific paintings crowling fast towards them. Their eyes shined bloody red. 

Hugo and Pierce: AAAAAAAAAA!!!

With screams they followed girls to the other room, closing and barricading the door. Paintings began to scratch and punch the door agressively, leaving marks on it. Girls clinched closer to each other.

April: What kind of monsters are they???

Hugo: Alived paintings that disappeared from the corridor me and Pierce were in???

Pierce: Shit, I knew that it was not a glitch!!

Elza: What do we do?? We’re trapped here!!

Monika: Not yet. We need to find a window, break it and get the hell outta here!!

Pierce: I support this idea!!

Hugo: Me too, but our teacher is still here.

Pierce: He probably ran away long time ago, seeing the shit happening here!

April: But I didn’t see any broken window. He could still be here!

Elza: He is an adult, he can handle it. RIght now, we need to get out and call the police!

Hugo: I’m afraid that Elza is right. Pierce, look for the window, I will guard the door.

Pierce nodded and began to look around, shaking his head chaotically. Monika joined Pierce in search. The room they were in a guest room, and there was not much space because of huge bed, a table and two bedside tables. After a couple of seconds they found a window.

Pierce: Found it!

Monika: Let’s break it!

She grabbed the chair and stood in position as Pierce prepared his baseball bat. Hugo kept holding the door and guarding April and Elza.

Hugo: I can’t hold it longer!!

And the sound of broken glass could be heard. It was Monika and Pierce, who broke the window. Some pieces of glass cut Monika's hands.

Pierce: Monika!!

Monika: I'm fine, just simple scratch!

They peeked out and noticed that they were on the first floor, so it was no danger of getting hurt besides from the glass.

Monika: C’mon, it’s safe to go!! Let’s get out of here!!

April and Elza were first that ran to the window and started to  overstep the window frame carefully. Pierce came back to Hugo in case of sudden break in. When Monika finally got out with other girls, she turn back to boys.

Monika: What are you waiting for, guys??

Hugo looked at girls, then at Pierce, nodding that it was their chance. Carefully they began to step backwards to the window, then shrewdly rushed to the window, literally jumping out of the room. Such jump sure left some scars on Hugo and Pierce. After they made sure that everyone was here, they ran to the safe distance from the mansion. Then they hid behind the bush.

Elza: Okay, we’re safe. We finally got out.

Pierce: I can’t believe it.

Monika: I honestly thought that windows will be unbreakable like in all horrors.

April: But our teacher is still there. He could be in danger!

Hugo: We need to call the police right now.

He took out his phone and was about to type the number, but suddenly...the large shadow covered the crew. Students stood paralyzed. The form of the shadow was so familiar to the boys, as it looked like that insect creature they’ve met. They began to tremble.

Pierce: H-Hugo...

Hugo: Shhh, don’t speak.

April: W-W-What is this now??

Monika and Elza didn’t say anything as their bodies refused to move. Hugo clinched his baseball bat, preparing for the fight. Little clinking sound could be heard close to them. 

Hugo: Don’t. Move. 

The group nodded as Hugo took deep breath before waving his bat. But as soon as he was about to strike...he stopped to move.

----------------------------

And that's the next part of the story. Damn, students sure will never forget their halloween night X"D I wonder how it will end X'D

Hugo, Pierce, Elza, April and Monika belong to @wildstarfan and @milasartblog (both me)

Okaria et Feria belongs to @wildstarfan and @captainthane

[crystalrose555]

Don't make me slap you pt 24

Trigger warning: Violence

“No, I can’t smell Mochi anywhere in the room.” Beel commented with a mouthful of food.

“See? She isn’t anywhere! We have to look for her!”

“Levi, don’t panic, you’re gonna cause a scene.” Satan whispered.

“Of course I’m gonna panic! My Henry is missing in the castle of doom with the Lord of Corruption prowling around!”

“...He means Lucifer right?” Mammon quietly asked Satan.

“Hey guys, I think Mochi may be back at the house.” Asmo claimed.

“Why would you think that?”

“Because I just saw Lucifer rushing out of the party and the only time he ever did that was when Mammon was trying to break into the attic to steal stuff to sell. And Mammon is still here.”

A silence rushed over the remaining brothers before all of them went running for the exit.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Marley’s ears rang as her head swayed back and forth. Every breath she took was labored and only intensified the agony she felt in her entire side. She slumped against the wall and leaned against it as she slowly dragged herself down the hall. Holding her pelt close to her chest, she tried to rush her way down the hallway which seemed to be stretching before her. Her spine shivered to hear the ice behind her cracking from the violent onslaught. She didn’t dare to look back and headed toward Lucifer’s room, hoping to barricade herself inside.

With a click of the lock, Marley heaved heavily for breath, but her ribs ached sharply in response. She looked around, hoping to find something to defend herself since she couldn’t focus enough to freeze the door shut. However, her frantic searching was for nothing as the door she braced against was broken down and sent her flying to the ground. She released a sharp cry as she forcefully turned over onto her back. She pried her eyes open to see Belphie looming over her. His face was stoic with a soft smile but his eyes were coated in a dull shine that matched his jet black ram horns.

“You’re pretty durable for a human. Part of me was hoping your trip down the stairs would’ve been enough.”

“Diav-”

Marley’s voice was cut short by a firm grip clamping down on her throat. She coughed for air as Belphie leaned over her and gently shushed her.

“Don’t call his name, he’s the reason you’re feeling this pain right now. That’s what he does, he plays with people’s lives only to toss aside what he doesn’t need. He made Lucifer toss aside Lilith and now he’s tossed you aside.”

Belphie chuckled softly as he felt Marley’s soft skin with his thumbs while his fingers dug into the back of her throat. Marley struggled and thrashed around underneath the youngest brother. She tried to bare her fangs against his flesh but he kept his hands clear of her mouth.

“I didn’t know humans had fangs. I guess you would give me a rather nasty bite if you could, but that’s not going to happen.”

Marley refused to look at the deadly demon and tried to reach for her pelt that was thrown from her embrace and landed near the fireplace. If she could grab it, she can turn back into a seal and better her chances at survival. However, the distance between them might as well have been miles to her as her strength began to leave her. All she managed to do was draw Belphie’s attention away from her agony twisted face.

“Surprising, you’re about to die yet you care more about that fur. Is it important to you? Is it your catalyst for your magic or was it a gift from the bastard prince?”

“It’s neither and you better watch your tone, Belphegor.”

Belphie looked over his shoulder and gave a hateful smirk as Lucifer gave him a cold glare while his wings spread from his back ominously. Belphie slowly rose to his feet, still holding Marley by her throat, causing her to try to pry his hands off once again.

“Let her go.”

“Why should I? Since when did the mighty first-born care about a mere human?”

“Careful, Belphegor, you’re treading very dangerously.”

Belphie slowly walked over to the fireplace, dragging Marley across the floor, and dropped her on the stone. She groaned softly while Belphie placed his boot on her back as he stared down his elder brother.

“I could just crush her spine underneath my boot but what’s the fun in that? I know, why don’t I put the poker on the fire and use it to burn out her eyes and tongue, wouldn’t that be fun, Lucifer?”

Lucifer crossed his arms and remained silent.

“What’s wrong? Lost your taste for torturing humans?”

The silence continued as Belphie’s cool demeanor began to melt next to the fireplace.

“Say something! You’re willing to throw away Lilith for this human trash to soil our home?! After everything we went through!?” Belphie’s voice cracked along with the roaring fire.

Belphie’s anger began to leak from his eyes as his lip quivered in anger and frustration. Lucifer, on the other hand, kept his face stoic as he stared down at his youngest brother. Belphie stared daggers at his brother while Marley weakly tried to reach her precious pelt, hoping it could give her some sort of relief, however, her pathetic grunting had only redirected the demon’s wrath. In one smooth motion, Belphie snatched the pelt of the ground and held it tightly in his grip. Marley tried to raise herself up but Belphie only put more pressure on her sore and beaten body.

“What’s so important with this damn fur!?”

“Put that down before you do something you’ll regret.” Lucifer growled which caused Belphie to laugh madly.

“Oh, now you want to talk? And this ratskin was the thing to do it? Then this is going to make your tongue rot off!”

Marley gave a small groan as a last-ditch plea which caused the mad demon to smirk and chuckle.

“Please...don’t...”

Belphie’s eyes grew wide and wild as his hand moved closer to the fireplace. Lucifer’s poker face cracked as he raised his hand and reached to his brother.

“Belphie!”

The smiling demon unfolded his fingers and released the silver pelt from his grip only to feed it to the blazing element.

[halloween-ki11s]

Abby was having a remarkably shitty day.

Plans to go vacationing during semester break? cancelled. And why had that vacation been cancelled? Why it was all thanks to the wonderful Canadian snow of course. A storm had rolled in during the night and had pelted enough snow to practically barricade Abby in the house. All the doors were a no go and the windows were all frozen shut. The news made it crystal clear that there was no going anywhere even if the snow wasn’t enough to do that already. She was practically seething.

Not only was she frozen inside, but she was also utterly alone. The rest of the girls had already left days before to travel home to their own families. It was Abby’s own bad luck that she was only able to get a bus ticket for today’s date. So much for that.

She spent all morning barricading the windows and every crack she could find with blankets, sheets, and some old shirts that she hoped her sisters wouldn’t miss too much. With all that said and done, Abby collapsed into the living room couch with an, “oof.” And let her eyes slide closed, allowing sleep to take her.

That is, until the phone rang.

‘No, not him again.’ Abby thought to herself.

With a huff, she forced her tired limbs to lift her from the couch and up toward the phone. A sigh escaped her lips as she picked it up. As soon as her ear met the receiver, she could hear pig grunts along with moans and other such lovely noises.

“What do you want?” Her tone was irritated, but not outright hostile.

There were several more seconds of grunting before the man on the other end finally spoke something coherent.

“Want you to suck my f-f-fat juicy cock.”

Not beating around the bush today, was he? He must be pretty excited to be stuttering like that, too.

“Hey buddy, unless you can do something to warm me up, I’m not interested. It’s been a shitty day and I’d like to get a moment of peace.” Abby absentmindedly twirled the cord around her finger as she set her back against the wall. Despite the man’s words it was all so casual, routine.

Silence fell on the other end, but not for long. It never lasted with The Moaner.

“Billy can make it better. Billy can make you warm. Going to lick that pretty p-p-pink pussy and make you warm all over. Would you like that, pretty piggy? Like my tongue in your wet, warm cunt?”

Ever the charmer, and yet...Abby had heard plenty of these phone calls along with her sisters, and as much as she’d gotten used to this ‘Billy’ and his filthy tongue, she couldn’t deny that his words still had an effect on her. Of course, she’d never actually admit that to him, especially not during a call.

“Tempting offer, but I was thinking more like cuddles or hot cocoa. Now if you’ll ex-“

“Pretty piggy’s all alonnnneeee. Needs naughty, dirty Billy to come and make her moaaaannnn~”

Abby’s words died in her throat at the singsong.

How did he know she was alone? Surely he was a neighbor or something that had seen the girls leave earlier...right? Yeah, of course. Just some peeping Tom like she and the others always suspected. That’s all this was. And yet, why was it so hard to try and convince herself of that?

On the other end of the line, Billy’s pig noises now turned into nervous chittering. He was working himself up to something, and if Abby had the presence of mind at the moment, she would have heard the thumps coming from the floorboards just above her. Billy stayed on the phone long enough for Abby to come back to her senses. She tried to keep her voice even and firm, but she couldn’t suppress the hint of fear.

“How did you know?” It’s the only thing she can manage to get out.

There’s a long, uncomfortable pause that stretches into what feels like minutes. An occasional shuddering breath comes from the other end as Abby’s mind continues to reel. In the back of her mind, it occurs to her that among The Moaner’s many noises, there had also been the chattering of teeth. He was freezing.

“Wait for me. Wait for Billy, pretty little Abby.” The line went dead.

Abby slammed the phone back on the receiver, and as she did so, she finally heard it; the shuffling, thumping of footsteps in the attic. That was all she needed to put two and two together.

He’d been here the whole time, living in the attic.

“Fuck!” She mumbled to herself, immediately turning on her heel looking for somewhere to hide. There was always the kitchen table, but that’d be too obvious. Maybe run to her room? No, that was up the stairs toward him. There’d be no way she could reach her door in the time it took him to climb down the ladder. She was running out of time and options, having realized she hadn’t taken a step in the moments since hanging up, and he was getting closer.

Abby took a long, anxious breath, stealing her nerves to the best of her ability as she closed her eyes. She listened for the footfalls racing down the stairs. Abby counted to herself one, two, three as he got closer and closer. Finally forcing her eyes open, she saw him standing there, arms slightly outstretched towards her at the bottom stair step, his features partially silhouetted in the darkness of the living room.

It was him; the infamous Moaner.

Both of them stood there frozen in place, not daring to make a move. Abby took in his features, noting his considerable height and long, spindly limbs. He looked about one hundred pounds soaking wet. He wore a green turtleneck around his thin frame, his fair fluffy and all over the place. What kept her in place though were his dilated, wild eyes that took in every inch of her form just as she was doing to him. There was unmistakable surprise in his eyes, like he didn’t quite believe that she had actually waited by the phone for him. He slowly retracted his arms back to his sides, twitching all the while.

“P-p-pretty Abby.” He said in that all too familiar voice.

Abby swallowed thickly, considering her next words very carefully as the stare down continued.

“I take it you’re Billy then?”

He shook his head sheepishly, taking a few baby steps forward as he brought his arms back up to twiddle with his fingers. He was violently shivering. For all his bluster on the phone, being surprised in such a way left the man deflated. If it weren’t for the shock of it all, Abby might even find it endearing. Still, this could go south fast if she wasn’t careful and she was painfully aware of that.

Abby carefully took a few steps forward as Billy had done which garnered no reaction from him. So far so good. As Abby got closer, she cautiously reached one of her hands out to take one of his. The Moaner recoiled from the offer as if she had a snake in her hand and took a step back.

Shit

“Hey shhhh. It’s okay. You just...you look like you’re freezing. It must be awful up in the attic right now. I’m surprised you don’t have hypothermia for God’s sake! So let’s just both calm down and I’ll help you, okay?”

This was the man making obscene phone calls to her and her sisters and living in their attic like a creep, and yet here Abby was making an offer of help. She couldn’t help it, though. Looking at him now, freezing and shaking and likely haven’t had a good meal in a long time, she couldn’t help but feel sorry for him. Surely if his only crime was making weird phone calls, he couldn’t be that bad...right? She was desperately trying to rationalize all of this to herself and she was ever so grateful that she was home alone so she didn’t have to try to explain this.

It looked like Billy was going through a similar dilemma as well. His wild eyes darted from Abby’s hand to her face and back again. Whether he thought this was some sort of trick or not, Abby couldn’t tell, but Billy, ever so slowly and through incoherent mumbling, reached one of his hands out and slipped it into Abby’s.

She immediately flinched when she felt just how cold his fingers felt. She had meant it as a joke earlier, but now she really wasn’t sure how he hadn’t succumbed to the elements up there.

“Abby so nice, so warm…” She heard him say between more of his ramblings.

The wild look had died in his eyes to something more calm. He just continued to stare at their intertwined hands with the most adoration she’d seen from a person. Despite the extremely strange circumstances, she had to admit there was something oddly adorable about this stranger from the attic. Maybe he was-

And then he tried to guide her hand to his crotch.

“Hey! No!”

The once quiet Billy now lit up with a wide smile and snickered at her reaction, still trying to get her to grab his cock.

Abby lightly slapped his shoulder and let out another “No!” Which earned a low growl from Billy.

“Billy wants to make you warm all over with his fat, juicy fucking c-“

Abby pressed a finger to his lips to silence him only for Billy to almost immediately start sucking on it with a contented hum. Abby made a disgusted face, but didn’t take her finger out of his mouth.

“You’re freezing! Come on, at least get under the covers on the couch! Now’s not the time to fuck.”

Billy only shook his head dramatically like a giant child, the smile not fading from his mouth as he continued to suck on Abby’s finger. He grew bolder, taking a shivering hand and groping at one of her sides. Abby let out an involuntary squeak at the sensation as the smugness practically radiated off Billy.

No, she had to shut this shit down now. She freed the finger from his mouth with a long string of drool following it and grasped the hand roaming all over her side. With her now free hand, she slapped her head and sighed.

“Listen...I’ll give you a handy later if you just cuddle under the blankets so you don’t die. Deal?”

That seems to placate him given the second she finished her sentence, Billy wraps both his arms around her waist, earning a surprised yelp from Abby, and hauling both of them over to the couch. He quickly covers both of them in the pile of blankets Abby had assembled earlier and rested his chin on her head once cocooned. He continued to have both of his arms wrapped around her middle, still slightly trembling but becoming steadier as the warmth he so desperately needed set in.

“Good Abby. Good girl.” He practically purred.

As Abby settled into his grasp and allowed herself to get comfortable, she struggled to understand how she’d gotten here. However, sleep began to take hold of her, the added warmth from Billy being exactly what she needed as much as she might hate to admit it. Her eyes slipping shut for the second time that day, there was only one thought on her mind:

What the hell have I gotten myself into?

[blankdblank]

Hobbit Soulmate Pt 41

The Jens and Ben had to head to their preplanned after parties alongside Orlando’s girlfriend, with tight hugs to you, both again stole a glance at the same ring on your finger they had admired earlier in the night without your having to show it off. Having shared the observation that a unique design like that made it all the more special and suited for your fated relationship. Liv from the group snuck to your side in the ride to your new place in the limo the four hobbits had arrived in with Viggo, David and Sean B.

Smiling widely she took your hand saying, “I am so excited. I know the house will just be perfect.”

“Will be one day hopefully.”

Orlando asked, “3 Million is pretty steep for you, right?”

“That’s just the average for the block, but it’s 1.5, got a good deal for it.” Your dad said.

Andy said, “Peter will be sad for missing out.”

“No problem, baby business is more important house isn’t moving. He can drop by later when it’s done.”

“Oh that’s nice,” Sean A said leaning forward to see the five story marvel the limo stopped at turning more heads with the group all taking turns spilling out onto the sidewalk.

Once out of the car you let go of your skirt to reach into your clutch bringing out the keys you held in the hand lowering to lift your skirt again leading the walk to the darkened front stoop. Excitedly Liv kept up with you smiling widely at the adventure luring smiles out from the others again who had noticed the extra bars added to the front entrance you unlocked to pass through the shadow finding the lock in the dark by thwacking your knuckle into the knob by mistake. Explaining the bars your dad said, “There are lawyers and some politicians who live on this block, they voted for the extra gates on the doors together. It’s a good neighborhood they just wanted extra security so people can’t pound on their doors I guess.”

Andy chucked saying, “That’s alright, heard a few lads back home who thought of gates too to keep their doorbell off limits.”

Billy, “Could also help with pets to keep them from running away down the steps.”

Your dad said, “There’s a buzzer for guests when it’s locked, which you could see-,” he said reaching over your head to find the light switch panel turning on both lighting up the stoop along with the main floor. Eyes shot from inside the mudroom to the again dark stoop at the bulb dying that had you giggle for its timing on its dying breath. “Perfect timing. Lazy bulb,”

Dominic said pointing at the buzzer panel lined in a silver frame, “Ooh, nice buzzer, shiny,” that the others could see in the light from the mudroom.

You smiled unlocking the next door, saying to yourself in easing them open, “I can imagine myself fighting these having to pee,” that earned chuckles from the others while this switch you managed to find turning the three lighting up the main open areas and what would be your study/library. Behind them the group closed the front doors and pooled into the front entrance blocking off the view of the cameras gathering on the sidewalk. “Ok, first off, mind the floors, Dad took out a few walls so there are a few uneven grooves where those were,”

Sean B asked eyeing the dent in the floor, “And that crater?”

Glancing from him to the dent and back again you said pointing up bringing the dimly lit chain to their focus as to why this area was the least lit, “Old tenant liked to hang things on the chandelier, it fell, but the chain and mount have been repaired just have to think of what to get to replace it.”

That had Liv saying, “You liked the chandelier in my study, it came as a set the other is just sitting up in my attic. It’s yours, housewarming gift.”

“Oh, thank you, gift,” you turned for the stairs lifting the box there, “Wedding present, before you can explore.”

Smiles spread through the group watching her open it and let out an excited squeal, “You bought me a typewriter!” Moving closer to wrap you in a tight hug, “Thank you, I love it,” her husband chuckled accepting it to settle it down back on the stairs adoring his wife’s new addition to her collection. “You are getting my chandelier, when are you back to Canada?”

“Tomorrow,” you said in her move back.

Your dad said, “I’ll be staying here though to mind the repairs.”

That had her smile at him, “Good, I will bring it for you at the apartment then.” Then she asked you, “What’s first?”

You pointed to the study, “This one over here is a sort of study or library, bit perfect for it once we get the shelves in.”

Viggo came in smiling wider imagining the long ended room stretching behind the stairs saying, “Perfect for a hiding spot for books.”

Out you went allowing everyone to have their own turn to envision it while you led the way across the floor past the stairs to the living room where more than a few took focus on the fireplace mantle shaped wonderfully. “This is gonna have carpet, in a sort of swoop shape right to the edge of the closet there. Up to this pretty wall with this detailed milky glass pane with the vines that go with the mantle carvings. Ooh, before the kitchen here’s my favorite guest bath,” you said crossing the floor pointing out a groove for them before they each took a turn in the black and cherry themed bathroom under the stairs then turned to head with you to the kitchen. “And there’s this other bath over here around the corner to the pantry,” each looking over the cabinets on the ground and counters without a top broken and split showing how someone had beaten into them.

Your dad said, “Used to have two rooms here we tore out, just shrank the place down absurdly. And over here we’re gonna add an island and move this counter and that whole wall outside the pantry and bathroom is going to have built in cabinets and cubbies for the dishes and spare appliances and whatnot. And maybe a built in for the dining area, bench possibly.”

“Oh and you should have seen it when the sun was out, this sunroom, just glows, new sunroof and needs some tile but leads to the patio. Helps to distract from the travesty that will be reborn into a kitchen.”

Sean A, “It’s not the worst I’ve seen, don’t be nervous about it.”

Elijah, “Where does this go?”

“To the basement,” you said with a smile, “I love these stairs. Just out of a castle.” You said and he smiled leading the way down the hall to the stairs lit by a switch you found and amusedly the others headed down as Liv kept close to your side wondering what the basement held as her mind was already reeling with love for all she’d seen so far.

Her smile doubled as you said tapping the chute door on the wall, “Laundry chute,” you heard the group excitedly exploring into the laundry room already after he turned on the light switch he was warned of to light the way by your dad.

Dominic was heard saying, “It’s got a kitchen!” already leading the swarm out through the floor relaxing you a bit you didn’t have to play guide down here.

“Oh I love these stairs,” she said and took notice of the chutes and gasped excitedly at the laundry room, “So much space, love this.” Out she went and smoothed her hand on the door to the apartment, “Love these doors.”

“Keeps nice and separate from the living space, and the garden entrance too.” Ignoring the patches on the walls tours of the kitchen and spare bath in silver and blue that led into the spare bedroom. Past the hall the bedroom was next to be explored with the open study lined with pillars. “This could be a sort of study area, like not a room but a room.”

Sean B, “Great for when you have kids to work here and let them run around.”

Billy, “Plus good to keep the little ‘uns from climbing into the fireplace at not being out of sight.”

Your dad said, “We’ve ordered glass doors for the fireplaces already to replace the old ones that were broken to help with that too.”

Orlando smiled saying, “Can we go up now? Gotta see more.”

You smiled and led the group back up hearing them turn off lights on the way with just flashes of cameras from one cameraman who’d climbed onto his car to see simple glances over the closed shutters covering the lower half of the windows. Back to the staircase on the main floor you led the way up to your dad’s floor to Ian’s saying, “Those shutters are a lovely touch. Adds to the privacy without barricading yourself in.”

“They might add to the castle touches a bit. Least for my take on them. This one’s dad’s floor.”

He flipped the switch lighting the main open area starting the tour in the wave shaped long bath/closet mixture feeding into a spare bedroom with the group eager to follow you again. “This would be the guest bed and bath.” Out of that crossing the floor was another fireplace containing open area, “Another living room, where my big tv is going.”

Another mini kitchen past the dividing wall similar to the one downstairs with a small room after for an office or hobby room, back past the staircase with exposed shelves was the impressive master bed and bath he had chosen.

Again those stairs called and up the group went to explore the three open rooms, two with sliding doors the other without any. Split by shared baths without a mini kitchen clearly could be the guest floor shaped in elegant curves around a rounded nook in the center of the back wall divided by a milky glass paned set of sliding doors.

“Oh there’s so much space,” Viggo said smiling at you, “guess this is for the babies?”

“I mean, if I had to pick I’d think that one would be a nursery, just has the best view and the one that way would be too close to the road and there’s a fire and police station.”

Liv, “Oh I get that, same as my place, gonna be interesting when babies come.”

Billy asked, “Let me guess, animals for the design?”

Awkwardly your grin crept out answering, “Peter Pan, actually, my mom had sketches for mine. Found this cool pirate ship chandelier for it. I haven’t said anything about this to Rich yet.”

Sean A shook his head, “Won’t hear it from us. I know my wife had it all planned long before we ever got engaged. And it is good to pick the room when you pick the home.”

Andy, “And you have a yard?”

“Small one, but we can always take the courtyard back to stretch it out some more the tiles are coming up anyways we’d need to replace them. But when these imaginary babies get older we’d have time at the ranch back in Texas too and the place in England has a decent back garden if we end up there when they get to school age.”

All the parents agreed that was a big thing for you as a cross continental couple who would be traveling often making your dad say, “Either way I’d be bunking in as stay home grandpa, so work travel won’t disturb that,”

You added, “And I was thinking for this room across here on this long wall for these built in bunk beds. Like stairs in between them all wood, surrounded by shelves and cubbies.”

Ian, “Twin beds?”

Your dad, “We mocked up a group of Queen sized beds, so not fully a kids room could also be for adult guests. Gonna have some added to my spare bedroom on my floor too in case family wants to drop in with all the munchkins.”

Ian smiled trying to picture them, “I can’t wait to see them.”

Elijah said, “I’m thinking by this layout your room is huge, like whole top floor.”

That had you giggle and lead the way up the final set of steps, “Not the whole floor, bigger than my bedroom now,”

You flipped on the light and the open floor plan had eyes traveling throughout from the mini kitchen they passed to get to what would be the study across from the open living room. The floor was worse up here with scuffs and dents between chipped planks and the damage to the bathroom had Liv gasp and cover her mouth in the horror scene and Dominic ask, “Did the old guy just like to party?”

Your dad answered, “Well he was a lawyer and he decided not to pay his rent and then decided to tear the wiring and pipes out of the wall and just broke everything he could on the way out through his eviction. Part of how the price got so low, all that had to be repaired and Jaqi picked new tiles for the counters, floors, new wood and carpet to go with the new cabinets and shelves that will be swapped after the flooring is done. They’re coming to tear it up in a few weeks, and by the time it’s all out the new flooring will be in and the wood will be piled in the garage for the woodwork. But we at least got these spacious tubs, showers and sinks replaced at least so far for the bathrooms. Not a full remodel after what I’ve manage to handle for Jaqi.”

Liv, “You have a garage?”

Your dad said, “On the other side of the yard, it’s got parts and supplies all in it now that will be cleared out when the repairs are done.”

“Which it doesn’t really need much since dad’s been sneaking here before I got to look at it and handled the plumbing and wiring, including the black brass fixtures I love. So not a full tear down job. And I’m glad he managed to find these huge tubs.”

Sean B said, “Nightmare,” along with David who added, “You lucked out, good move dad, because I have been there. Wanted to commit arson.”

Elijah, “What about the roof? My first three apartments had terrible roofs I had mold down my walls within a month each time, went house hunting and the realtor turned and I was up in the attic before they knew it, flashlight in hand scoping it out.”

Your dad answered, “New roof, brand new had to change out a beam and did that all at once to fix the dip and prevent the water damage before it started raining again. Another winter and the snow would have taken it out. But it’s been built up to a safe foundation for my little girl to start out on.”

Liv, “It is a great start, and I really do love the shutters you have that block out the bottom half. Helps to let the stars and light in. Have you thought on curtains yet?”

“Not really, I know I’d want to not have those sheer curtains, I love it for yours but they creep me out middle of the night,” earning a few chuckles from the group, “Especially under ac vents. Rich’s has these nice green ones he picked fabric for his mom to make for him she might help pick some fabric for me to make them. And that all goes in with the paint and wallpaper discussion.”

Orlando, “Well you’ve picked a great place to make your own. You can throw one hell of a party when it’s done.”

Dominic, “And I know the perfect painting for your wall downstairs.”

David, “And you should let Peter know and by the end of the week when the shelves are in you’ll have tons of stuff to fill them from Weta.” That had you giggle again.

Viggo, “I’m making you something, I’ll know it when I feel it.”

Billy asked, “Where’s your music room going to be?”

“Don’t know yet.”

Your dad said, “Either way the floors are all soundproof so wherever it goes will be perfect.”

David, “Soundproof would have been dangerous for me and my siblings. Our mother lived by crashes and distant muffled screams.”

You and your dad said, “We’ll hear it,”

David, “For now, we need to feed you, Hugh said he’d get us a table to celebrate Joe’s win.”

Your dad smiled saying, “You guys won things too.”

Sean B waved his hand, “We’re old news, have to celebrate your first win. Come on, let’s feed you.”

Lights were shut off all the way down and you locked up while Liv clung gladly to her box she settled on her lap unable to wait for the time she got home to find the right place in her home when she got there. While it needed work the project home had every one of them searching for what they could find to add to the shelving to come along with coating those walls desperately needing some paint.

Once at the place Hugh smiled giving you a hug, “Sorry, had a few interviews, but I am seeing your place next time I am back in town. When are you coming back from work?”

“Couple months, floors and shelving should be done by then leaving furniture and painting debacles.”

Hugh, “Just the basics, how big? Bed, bath, footage?” His eyes narrowing a bit to make it click in his imaginary home he was drafting for your personality.

“8 bed, 7 bath, 7500 square foot.”

“Wow,” he said, “Don’t hear that a lot out here, more than one story, right?”

“Yes, five including the basement.”

“Lot of stairs,” he replied in a chuckle.

“My apartment is five flights up, so it’s the same, but at least now everything around it is mine so if I’m tired I can sleep anywhere.”

He chuckled and Andy said, “Even has this cool gate at the front to keep people from the doorbell. Apparently there’s a lot of politicians and lawyers who voted for them.”

Hugh, “Voted?”

“Brownstones are historical styles and there are councils you have to consult on anything structural on the front, they picked the more classical wrought iron gate appearance matching the gates around the front walkways leading to the basement apartments.” Your dad answered gaining a nod while you all took your seats.

“Probably only close them when I’m not in New York, there’s a mud room behind that until you’re inside and that could only be hard to race my bladder on days I’ve been busy.”

Hugh said, “I can agree with that, especially after nights out and a long ride home, had many times one of my first apartments had to knock on the neighbor’s door to pop in on the way up.” He flashed a grin to the waitress that brought in a round of menus and he asked, “I saw on the news something about you and Keanu Reeves?”

“He lives next door in the apartments there, got home when our Landlord was waiting to show me the new place and he was being tailed I guess and they caught the introduction moment.”

Elijah, “Those shutters will certainly help with that in the future.”

Hugh glanced his way then to you as you said, “It has big front windows. And there are sectioned shutters inside that cover the lower half on one set and a second for the top so if I want light then I can still leave the top open and someone would have to stand on a car like a camera guy did tonight seeing us all heading in.”

“I love that,” he said, “Might have to borrow that idea.”

“I mean it’s not like I streak or go running around in my underwear but walking around and the front room is feet from the street it can get kinda awkward to catch someone’s eye.” Making the others chuckle, “I’d like to have curtains for night time but the place just glows when the top shutters are open, which we might have just caught it at the right time and it’s all shadows after that hour passes but for an hour it is perfect.”

Hugh, “I feel like that’s a realtor tactic, finding that window to trap you. Been browsing options for price ranges on what we might be able to rent and they all have a certain glow to each picture I’ve seen. But I’m glad you love it and I will be available to help often cuz I got chosen for The Boy From Oz on Broadway through the winter.”

“Oh that’s amazing,”

“Thank you,” he said with a massive grin, “I am excited about it, my last couple films did help.”

“They love a big name, no secret about that, I was a last minute tolerance out of desperation losing lead and understudy who only my teacher had been gunning for me they so badly wanted me to fail so they could find someone bigger who could draw in crowds. I will be getting a seat for the show when it’s out.”

“I can’t wait for your next show, wonder how you can top Chicago.” Next projects picked up and over the meal animatedly carrying on through to split rides home.

.

Face washed and changed to sweats again cuddled up to your dad’s side you slept trying to ignore the fact that Richard still hadn’t returned your message from the night before or the call you’d made to him earlier that morning. True you’d have to wake up early to catch your plane so you might miss his return call while you were in the air or jumping right back to work. And it did bother you to leave your dad here alone but he was dedicated to ensuring the new home would be taken care of while you were away, glaring the workers into line protecting his baby girl in your absence. Keeping everything in line on the most unpleasant tasks to handle that while he could to spare you that hassle until the day you had to take over when he had been drug kicking and screaming to the afterlife hopefully when you yourself were old and grey.

.

“So, I sort of bought a house,” came out of your lips and mouths dropped from your friends hearing about it and from the mention of spare bedrooms you could swore Lee was already wide eyed with pupils dilating to commence the begging.

.

Fully drained your pasta sat waiting for the sauce you were stirring to finish when your phone rang in a call from Richard luring a curious grin across your face. “Hey Richy Rich, busy day?”

After a calming exhale Richard steadied himself and said, “I am so terribly sorry I’ve been a bit distracted, but I swear I’ve been thinking about you the whole time.”

“It’s ok,”

“I caught a glimpse of the award show, Joe have fun?”

“He did, so glad he won something for his acting to add to the wall.”

“That’s great, how was your break from work?”

“Good, um, Dad took me to the Brownstone, it’s really nice under the scuffs.”

“That’s great, so you want it then?”

“Yes, I um, I put 250k into it for a down payment.”

“Fantastic, so it’s not too much then?”

“1.5 mil, which is staggering, but I could always put funds from the box office pay into it whatever that will be, and Keanu Reeves apparently is our neighbor when it’s done. I helped dad pick the new flooring and sketched up new cabinets and shelves, old guy broke all that.”

“Can’t wait to see it, I know I’ll love it.” You could hear his anxious pause before he said, “While we’re on news, um, as far as real estate goes, I bought us a house too.”

“Another one?”

“Well, got a call from a buddy from my real estate days with a tip. I have a buyer for the old one, Chris has been helping me pack, why I was distracted. It really is perfect I know you’ll love it, I love having the three of us for Holidays but my place was kind of small. And this is going to sort of come out upside down, but Chris finished his degrees and now he’s been hired with a good place and he put funds down on a house of his own closer to Mum and Dad, but his roof caved in.”

“Oh, he okay?”

“Oh he wasn’t there, it was another deluge over a week and the beams gave out, some error on the build code, but he’s having that replaced. And I moved near Oxford to be by him in the first place so knowing he was close to finishing I have been looking at places close by too and with the funds coming in I was able to pick something more spacious. So I settled on the big place Mum has always wanted a tour of it and the owner I bought it from was be glad to be rid of it for people trying to buy it to tear it down for more flats. Moved in yesterday and while his place is being fixed up him and his girl are moving in until the new roof is built.”

“They’re moving in together now?”

“Yes, she’s already been talking to her doctor about some hormone shots for a baby. He’s picking a ring and they’re going to pick a date for a court ceremony to make everything official.”

“So what happens if she gets pregnant and they’re still at your place.”

“Our place, and it shouldn’t take long he was quoted a month to mend the damage, they know it’s our place and she’s not too fond of the size of it, shares your cleaning urges when she gets stressed. Their place is the same size as my old place. I really do know you’d love it, blue shingles and grey slate tiles outside, covered section on the drive right in front of the door. Two stories, tons of room, and,” he said pausing to wet his lips, “It’s got the perfect room for a nursery upstairs overlooking the back garden.”

That had your grin creep out, “I suppose we’ll have to trade pictures when you get here then.”

“Yes we will,” he hummed happily then asked, “There’s room for little ones in the brownstone?”

“8 bed 7 bath, 7500 ft, it’s got a small yard about the size of my apartment but we can always take trips to the ranch in Texas or out to England as they get bigger and need more space.”

“I don’t think I’ve ever heard of an 8 bedroom anything in New  York before.”

“It is out there, as far as what we’re getting, I’ve seen 14 million for penthouses or town houses with no more than 4 beds and two are usually Murphy beds to share as office space. But it is going to be amazing, I do have to warn you I also found a room fit for a nursery.”

“Thank you, for doing that, I know we haven’t settled on a time frame for when babies might be coming but I do like that we have a place for them to have as their own. And eight bedrooms is so much room.”

“Some aren’t as spacious as they sound, and dad took out some walls on the main floor especially which just would have gouged the living space. So now we have room. But I have seen where we could do bunk beds, not like wobbly metal ones but where they are built against the wall with shelves around them for books and such, then there’s space to play. I did pick carpet for the bedrooms and the room I picked for your study.”

“I have a study?” He asked excitedly.

“Yes, it’s on the top floor, great lighting and we’re going to add shelves and a desk if you like that you can pick or armchairs for a sort of deflating zone for you if you need it. It has its own fireplace.”

“Perfection. What about you? No study for you?”

“There’s this little odd room on the main floor to the left as you walk in, runs behind the stairs, I thought it could be like our mini library,”

“Oh that’s fantastic.”

“Yes, not too big to entertain there but it’d be nice to hid in, stash some big armchairs and just cuddle up, maybe have a wardrobe for blankets and pillows.”

“That’d be amazing, and I truly love the carpet idea.”

“Good, I picked a sort of crème color, then we can have runners and rugs for halls. It’s got new ac and heating and fireplaces have all been repaired to be wood burning but winter, it’s gonna get chilly and I did not want door to roof wood floors, especially if we’re gonna have kids playing on it. I don’t really care if it gets stained in their rooms and we could always toss a rug on top of a designated play area anyways, something more colorful, the guys after the show were glad for a tour and I thought they might be iffy on carpet since most people are crazy over wood.”

“I love carpet, crème is a great choice, there’s something therapeutic about vacuuming, and wood floors things can just ghost around when you sweep it.”

“Exactly, oh, and dad talked about getting a puppy.” That had him chuckle, “He misses our old dog Jet. We’ll train it so it won’t destroy anything. Do you have a preference on paints or wallpapers?”

“Not particularly, I love the choices you picked for your apartment, you can choose what you like and I’ll love it.”

“I just know we’ll have to paint everything, there’s huge chunks of replaced drywall, he broke the counters and cabinets in the kitchen,” that had him scoff, “And he tore the damn cabinets off the wall, all of them,”

“Arsehole.”

“Exactly, and he tore out the pipes and wiring, smashed tile flooring and these beautiful milky glass panels that are in these half walls dividing the open living and dining areas.”

“There’s more than one dining area?”

“Yes, mini kitchens for our floor and dad’s and in the basement. Ooh, and we have laundry chutes! The basement steps are sort of dangerous for hamper hauling, you know those spiral staircases they have in old castles, all from this pretty wood, pretty but dangerous for hauling. Oh, and Dad’s going to add barn door gates to the stairs like at the big house at the ranch to add to the prep on munchkins.”

“I love it already. I am all for hurling dirty laundry into a hole in the wall to hide it from guests. And I do love those gates. Have you picked where furniture goes from our places?”

“No, not yet. I sort of want to see it when the floors are done, then when I get back I can help dad start to prime the walls so we won’t see the patches, ooh and Liv is gifting us the twin to her tree branch chandelier for the chain by the door, and also I found a pirate ship one for the nursery.”

“Pirate ship,” he chuckled out, “Sounds lovely, pirate theme then?”

“My mom had some Peter Pan sketches for mine, thought it might be a nice theme.”

“Now that will be phenomenal to build that up. Truly. We could double it here if you like, I absolutely love it.”

Sheepishly you smiled at your food you’d been taking sparing bites of between turns talking at your place on the floor in the living room glad he didn’t think this was weird to have planned this already. It wasn’t hard to find out why tears were threatening to fill your eyes, the tie to your mom you missed even without truly knowing her yourself, knowing that she would have given anything to have been here right now to plan a wedding and nursery with you to raise your babies in. “Thank you.”

“I absolutely understand, my mother is a formidable force in my life, who out of tradition will be insisting on a stuffed turtle in the room, anywhere, but there must be a turtle. And she could find the best curtain material for a Peter Pan theme with blankets galore.”

“My aunt makes these plushy pillows shaped like animals, we could have that in the story corner or something.”

“I love story corner idea, I can see Mum loading up on the classics now.”

“We have ample copies out at the ranch, still have mine, we could have a whole section of shelves for the kids sorted by age. And those time traveling tree house book series and the Junie B Jones series and Madeline and Suess, Giving Tree and that Sidewalk book.”

“And we have to add the Beatrix Potter books too to go with the Hobbit.”

“They will be getting their own illustrated copy for their room, it will be read often, trust me.” That had him chuckle deeply beaming with tears in is eyes planning all this. Wiping a tear away he heard you say, “We haven’t um, we haven’t talked about, for the wedding, last names. Liv was talking about how she did that for hers.”

“I have no qualms taking your last name,” he blurted out parting your lips, “Honestly I don’t they’ll still be part of my family and Chris’ kids can keep the name, your dad took your mum’s name and I would really love to do that for you. No one can say my name right anyways,” that had you giggle and wipe away your own tear.

“Richard Crispin Pearisiyiae?”

“Sounds flawless doesn’t it?” He said with a smile, “People get married all the time in the industry and I can keep my stage name. If they try to give me trouble for my passport I can hyphenate it for the pencil pushing jerks. I am not letting you give up that name, however chauvinist that hints to I love you and I won’t do that to you. It will never be something my family takes personally ever either, I swear that to you I’ve talked to my parents about it when I said I was going to propose.”

“You do realize your name is more vanilla than mine is, it’s a lot of vowels together.”

“I’m prepared, I’ve practiced signing it already,” that had you giggle again, “Primary school all over again full journal with hearts and all signing our names in hearts.”

“This new place of ours, how much work does it need?” You said with a smile trying not to focus on that tear drawing image of his thoughtful promise.

“Surprisingly all it needs is a water heater. It almost seems too good, I’ve been over every inch and had people to check the pipes and everything else. So far all I can find is this obnoxious bird nested on a corner of the back porch cover.”

“Well we can handle that, give them a nice little house,”

“So encourage it, fair plan,” he teased making you giggle again.

“Win them over, kill with kindness.”

“Ah, so end goal the bird is dead, I’m all in.”

Pt 42

[shebeafancyflapjack]

King Takes Knight (Part 6)

Eleanor has a choice.

(Part One)

(Part Two)

(Part Three)

(Part Four)

(Part Five)

“Okay. If you’re gonna do this. You need to have a plan.”

-

Eleanor closes the door to Michael’s office. Funny, she still thinks of it as his, even when she’s spent more time occupying it alone so far this year. She tries to avoid being here alone. It’s far too painful to sit in the big chair and watch the door, wishing with all her heart that the dumb demon will waltz back in, safe and sound, at any moment.

She walks across the room and around the desk. His jacket is still thrown over the back of the chair from when he quickly got changed between Mindy’s and the train station. The stains from Glenn’s goo seem to have evaporated. 

There’s a tug in her chest as she strokes the fabric.

-

“I have a plan! I’m gonna lift the barricade up, disguise myself as a Bad Janet, go in, find Michael and get him out. Easy peasy lemon squeezy. Fun fact, a man named John White invented the lemon squeezer because they’re not easy to squeeze at all-.”

“Okay, no, that plan sucks. It’s exactly what they’ll expect because it’s what you already did. You can’t go in there on your own.”

Janet frowns; “Are you going to suggest you guys come too? Because as you said, that’s the last thing Michael would want, for you guys to be put in danger. I’m not mortal, the threat to my wellbeing is less of a risk, and you can always ask the Judge for a reset in the event of a second capture.”

“I wasn’t going to suggest that...But we’re not your only option.” Eleanor says, looking over to Derek in the corner, licking a light bulb like a popsicle.

-

Her hands pick the jacket up. She holds it close to her front, inhaling the scent in the collar. That strange smell she always picked up whenever near to Michael, like something out of an old attic and yet sweeter than chocolate and warm like a nearby bonfire tickles her nose.

Fingers curl tightly into the grey wool. She doesn’t want this to be the most she has left of him anymore. She wants him back.

The doofus had one job to do for her and he couldn’t...

Eleanor sighs and slips her arms into the jacket before taking a seat in the chair. It’s far too big for her, almost like an overcoat or a bathrobe. She wraps it tight around her frame as she slumps back in the seat. Something about wearing it makes her feel as if he’s there, the same reason why she always takes one of Chidi’s sweaters to bed with her, like a needy kid with a security blanket.

All her life she secretly dreamed of having at least one person to truly love her. Then two come along at once and they both end up sacrificing themselves. 

Couldn’t she have fallen in love with someone as selfish as her?

“Hey Eleanor.” Janet bings in front of the desk.

She jumps, starting a little, pulling her face out of the collar she had been close to crying into.

“I wasn’t doing anything.” She hurriedly covers, sitting up straight, attempting some semblance of dignity; “W-what’s up?”

“I’ve finished making enough Janet babies I need to take with me. They’re all boarded on the train, including the clones of you guys. Even I gotta say, they’re pretty creepy. But great idea!” 

Eleanor just nods, fingers tapping the desk. If she couldn’t come with Janet on the rescue mission then the best she could do was lend her strategic skills. 

“And the demon exploders?” Thanks for that, Bad Janet.

“I think I was able to improve on the design after examining the one Michael handed to me before he...” She cuts herself off, “We’ll be fine, Eleanor. I made quite a few in case they rumble us.”

“If you have to, be sure to burst a few for me, won’t you.” She tells her sexy not-robot friend; “And please...be safe, babe.”

And bring him back, she doesn’t say, almost as if it was asking too much.

It doesn’t need saying. 

“We’ll be back before you know it. Literally, because you won’t be alerted of my train coming in with me gone and Derek’s sensor is busted.”

She bings out of the room. Eleanor sits back again, arms wrapped around herself and the jacket. Now she’s back to where she was a few months ago, wishing for her friends safe return, while the fate of humanity hangs in the balance. She has no choice. She has to stay. Put the experiment first. It’s what Michael and Chidi both sacrificed themselves for. It would be insulting them if she were to make it all for nothing.

-

*

-

It must be a trick.

They’ve got bored of the freezing and the hooks and the violent fish. Now they wanna screw up his head. He already hallucinates, isn’t that enough? He would normally think this was just another one of those but...Nicole’s goo drips from his nose. Yep, she definitely blew up.

And there, almost a yard behind her, is....the Impossible.

Eleanor stands with Bad Janet’s demon exploder clutched in her hand, arms straightened in front of her, blue goo from other demons staining her red sweater and the black leather jacket he hasn’t seen her wear in a while. Sneaky little so-and-so. Did she really come all the way down here, shooting her way through immortal guards, to...rescue...him...?

He would laugh, if the wave of exhaustion wasn’t crushing him down, as well as the wires in his mouth. It’s too much. He’s held out for far too long and now his mind has snapped. 

Don’t fall for it, Mike. Don’t give them the satisfaction of hoping.

She wanted him gone. Out of her hair for good. She wanted him to-

His body goes slack in his ice chains as the underworld goes dark.

-

*

-

He loves you.

He lied.

He loves you.

He tortured them for centuries and lied about it, over eight hundred times.

He loves you.

He didn’t trust her enough to say what he really was underneath the suit. He thought she was shallow enough to not want to be friends with him after finding out he’s some giant flaming squid. He was supposed to be her best friend! Did he think so little of her? After all those weeks of supporting her, encouraging her, giving her a shoulder to cry on, followed by a gentle kick up the ash to get her shirt together?

And as if she was going to be all soft and reassure him of how much he meant to her after the crab he put her through that night. He expected her to be the one to apologise!?

He loves you.

You must know that. You’re not an idiot.

Oh...the stupid demon loves her enough to disobey her one order and not come back safe! The stupid demon offers to blow himself up in order to give her peace of mind when she doesn’t trust him and leave her in charge of this shirt show on her own. The dumb, reckless ash-hole stayed behind to be tortured, again, for their sakes...Not for the first time. 

Fork. She is an idiot!

Eleanor shrugs off the jacket and grabs her own leather one off the back of the door. She has a train to catch.

-

*

-

Damn it, why didn’t she take a better coat with her? Or a scarf? Or gloves?

The chamber she discovers Michael in is like a huge igloo. Every surface seems to be made of ice except, thank Kim, the floor, or else she’d be falling flat on her ass as soon as she strode in after taking out the slutty demoness who had been messing with Michael. Eleanor steels herself, braving the cold and letting the adrenaline warm her up after having snuck her way down here, taking out a few necessary obstacles on the way with her new favorite toy.

Her heart beats terribly fast as she spots Michael chained up, pale as a ghost, slumped in the shackles they’ve put him in. His clothes are ragged and torn up, the wounds from where he’s been recently cut and sliced and scalded all too evident to the naked eye.

“Michael...!” She breathes his name as she reaches him, finding no response as his head rolls forward; “Michael, I’m here! Wake up!”

She puts her hands to his chin and tries to lift it up, cringing at the awful sight of what they’ve done to his mouth. Jesus! 

Digging around in what remains of the slutty demon’s goo and dress fragments, she eventually finds the key to the shackles. She fumbles with it in the locks as she works to set him free. 

As she works to open the second one, she drops it. Fuck! Get it together, Shellstrop! They could come in at any moment!

She scoops it up and turns it in the blisteringly cold metal. 

Michael tumbles to the ground in a heap of long limbs.

“Shit, shit, shit!” Eleanor curses as she fails to catch up, the dumb tree too much for her to attempt to lift upright on her own. She kneels over him; “Dude, c’mon! Come on, get up! Michael!”

Her fingers brush against her cheek and-

“FUCK!” She curses, pulling her hand back.

He’s almost too cold to touch. There’s flecks of snow on his eyelashes and in his white hair, lines on his face deeper than she remembers, skin sunken in, littered with black and purple marks. 

Eleanor places one hand on his back, the other on his chest, just barely able to keep hold of him with the remnants of his shirt beneath her palms.

She wishes she could feel his heartbeat, if he had one.

Just some sign, anything, anything at all...that he’s going to open his eyes again. That she wasn’t too late.

“Michael, you need to get up! You can’t bail on me now, please, not after I finally got here! You gotta come home, dude....I can’t do this without you. Just wake the fuck up before-.” Her teeth start to chatter as she hears footsteps racing from outside.

Someone’s coming. More guards? The Janet baby army? A couple were lost on the way, marbleised, before Eleanor was able to zap the guards. Then she had to abandon the rest in order to get to the location Janet sent over the intercom to one of her baby’s, Ralfio’s, mouth. 

Eleanor has no idea what’s about to come through that door. Friend or foe. Janet(s) or demons. 

She’s not giving up now.

Keeping hold of Michael on her lap, she sets her jaw, getting out the demon exploder from her jacket pocket, firing it up.

“I won’t let them touch you, bud. Not again.” She whispers, clutching his lifeless skinsuit close to her front; “That’s a promise.”

Her hand is steady around the weapon, her eyes glaring with hellfire at the entrance. She forgets about the cold.

Just try to take him away from me again, demon scum. Just try it.

(illustration by @star-pepper​ xx)

[ask-paranoidanon]

A couple of small doodles related to the lore to get me more motivated for the blog.

This is the general layout of Anon’s room, which I meant to show off a long time ago, like, before the twist reveal of Anon not being human. I kept forgetting to actually digitalize the layout though, which is my bad.

Technology doesn’t actually function correctly in Anon’s world, so the laptop seen on the desk as well as the gaming console and tv don’t actual work. The lamp was never intended to be functional, there is legit just a potato where the lightbulb should be.

Another thing that I meant to clear up a long time ago is that the closet connects to a bathroom, and within the closet there is a door leading to the attic. Anon occasionally needed to unlock the closet to get to the bathroom, which is why she realized at some point that someone was able to get into the room with her. By the time she realized the attic was a potential entry point, it was too late, she had already locked herself in her room and made it impossible to get materials to barricade that door.

Cul was getting into the room almost every “night” to check on Anon, and she managed this by leaving behind her detached hand in the room where Anon wasn’t likely to find it (that being under the beanbag). Cul’s hand is able to function even without being close to her body, she could likely leave it on the opposite side of the world from her and still have complete control over it, assuming it doesn’t get detroyed by something. So yeah, Cul was handicapping herself just to check on Anon everyday— Cul is left handed.

Here’s somewhat of a landscape shot of where Anon lives, and yes, she does live on a small isolated island in the middle of a red lake. The lake is made of something akin to blood in texture and color but you can’t drink it or even really swim in it, it’s like jello, you’ll sink immediately and suffocate.

Anon actually created the island herself with her ability and she and Kanon live there, just to make sure she’s far enough outside the city that if she explodes suddenly it’ll hopefully only wipe out the outter reaches of the city limits. The island isn’t very big, but Anon can’t really go anywhere to begin with. The only time she’s allowed to leave her home is when she’s called into work against a threat level 5 or above Kaiju.

Anon’s window is the one on the second floor, still obscured by her curtains. Kanon’s room is right across the hall from her’s. Cul does not actually live with them, and is actually not around as often as you might think.

A bonus Anon with her second skin covering her whole body. For clarification, she is not naked.

The only reason she and Kanon don’t walk around like this normally is because it’s still kinda jarring to look at and doesn’t really feel that comfortable. The only time Anon or Kanon would take on this form is when being attacked by something and needing to defend themselves quickly.

Hugging Anon while she’s like this would feel like hugging memory foam.

[witharsenicsauce]

Chosen Stories From the War #26: The House That Death Forgot, Part 2

(Content Warning: This chapter contains descriptions of broken bones/gore)

“This is Taymallat. I am alive-”

“This is Taymallat. I am alive-”

“I am alive-”

Annette hit the stop button on the recording, sighing as she did. “I was hoping no one would hear it.”

“Then why did you send it?” Gur-Rai crossed his arms and began to lean back against the wall, but stopped himself.. They were back in the hidden room, the door only partially closed as they weren’t sure they’d ever get it open if they shut it all the way. Dhar-Mon had cleared away some of the cobwebs, but it was still dark and airless, not a window in sight.

“Because I had just arrived here.” Annette looked exhausted. “I didn’t know.”

“About the girl?” Kon-Mai asked. “How much of a threat does she pose?”

“More than you could realize.” Annette didn’t look at the Chosen when she spoke to them. Though Zhang had explained to her that these aliens were on their side, she still seemed wary. “I arrived here on the 18th of August in 2038. If it is indeed 2040 as you say…” Annette swallowed, her throat dry, and looked at her hands. “Then I have been here nearly 2 years.”

“Why didn’t you just leave?” Bryni asked. “Sure that gate’s a bit rusty, but from what I hear, there’s a back way.”

Annette shook her head. “ You really should not have come.” She hissed. “I know about the back garden. I know about the sewers, and vents. I even scaled the gate, and the walls themselves. And each time, I would turn around and be right back where I started, as though the world had inverted itself. There is no leaving this place.”

In the silence that hung in the air, Kon-Mai stood. “There must be a way.” She declared. “If there is escape from the Elders, then there is certainly escape from this Hell.”

“Escaping the Elders nearly took our deaths.” Dhar-Mon mentioned as he stood up. “I would not be so flippant with this.”

“Either way, we won’t get anything done sitting in this box.” Gur-Rai slid the door open, poked his head out, and nodded. “Coast is clear. Taymallat, did you do any exploring in the two years you were here?”

“As much as I could while fleeing a psychotic woman with a shotgun.” With her finger and began drawing in the dust on the ground. “The house is technically four stories. We are on the second floor, you’ve seen the first with the foyer.” She drew a roof. “But there is an attic, here under the roof, and down this way is the basement. I believe there may be a fifth level under that as well.”

“What makes you believe so?” Kon-Mai asked as she leaned in close.

“Once while I was hiding in the wine cellar, I found a large door hidden behind shelves and barricaded with strong wood.” Annette answered. “I couldn’t get it open though, even with my power…”

Gur-Rai chuckled. “What do you think, Brother? Can you rip a door off its hinges?”

Dhar-Mon sighed. “You insult me, Brother, to insinuate I am only useful for my brawn.”

“Oh hey now, I never said that.” Gur-Rai walked over and wrapped his arms around Dhar-Mon from behind, resting his chin on top of his big brother’s head. “You’re also the best cook I’ve ever known.”

Annette looked between the three Chosen. “You three are related?”

“Yes.” Kon-Mai raised a brow. “What revealed it, our coloring?”

“I should have guessed.” Annette looked closer. “Same nose. Same eyes. And you two.” She pointed between Kon-Mai and Gur-Rai. “You have the same chin.”

“No mention of cheekbones?” Gur-Rai chuckled. “They’re our best feature if I do say so myself.”

Annette got to her feet, approaching Zhang who stood with his back against the wall, seemingly not bothered by the dust. “...Do you trust them?” She whispered.

Zhang raised a brow.

“I do not like working with aliens, even if they look so human.” She gave Gur-Rai a side eye glance, and he smirked at her. “But if you trust them, I’ll bite my tongue.”

Zhang looked over at Kon-Mai, who had to remain crouched because she was taller than the ceiling.

“Do you trust them, Chilong?” Annette asked. “Can I trust them?”

Zhang swallowed the dry lump in his throat. “...Yes.”  He said quietly. “The Commander herself selected them.”

Annette’s eyebrows shot up, and then she chuckled. “Oh Sunny, qu'est-ce que tu fais?” She turned to the Chosen and nodded. “You are right, we should not stay here. If she finds us we are sitting ducks..”

“Shame. This was such a good hiding spot.” Gur-Rai quipped as they fileb back out into the hall. “What’s our plan, Colonel?”

Zhang sighed, gazing around the house, the familiar walls, that used to be covered in pictures of them. “...Basement.” He said. “We’re going to get that door open.”

.

.

The basement was dark, damp, and smelled of rot. Dhar-Mon could see more spiders in the corners, and Gur-Rai had to flick away a cockroach skittering up his leg. The stone walls held the dirt at bay, but they could see roots growing through the cracks in the rocks. The wine cellar, perhaps once a thing of beauty that held a collection of the finest wine, was overgrown with moss and dust, hiding the bottles in a layer of grime.

“It’s behind there.” Annette pointed to one of the shelves decorated with bottles. “I managed to move the shelf, but the door behind it is stuck tight.”

Dhar-Mon stepped closer and...staggered. As he drew within range of the entrance, the smell of rotting eggs and metal hit him full force, making him feel deeply sick.

Gur-Rai jumped forward and caught his brother by the arm. “Woah, easy there. You okay?”

Dhar-Mon nodded, but the world was still spinning. “...The air in this place is old.” He said. “I am...simply breathless.”

Kon-Mai stepped up, took the shelf by the edge, and hauled it to one side. It slid part of the way, unblocking a corner of the door. She looked up at the others, a brow raised, and Zhang came over to help her. Taking hold of the other side, he shoved it in tandem with her, and the doorway cleared.

Doorway was a loose term. The “door” was made of thick stone, and looked like it might have had a handle once, but that was long gone. As the shelf was pulled away, the smell of rot grew stronger, and Dhar-Mon fought the urge to double over.

“This is where I got stuck.” Annette said. “I couldn't get through the door on my own.”

“It’s barely a door.” Bryni said, knocking on the stone. “Amontillado! Ya in there?” She chuckled.

“If I shoot it it might come down.” Gur-Rai reached for his gun.

“It might also bring the ceiling down on top of us.” Kon-Mai replied. “Brothers. Colonel Zhang. Let us join our power.”

Zhang looked at her skeptically.

“That is how we opened the door to rescue you.” She explained, putting her hand on the stone. “Perhaps alone we are not strong enough, but together…”

“I’ve never been a good psion, but it’s worth a shot.” Gur-Rai stepped up beside his sister. “You coming, Brother?”

Dhar-Mon hesitated: every cell in his body was screaming at him to turn around, run, run away from this cursed place, and do not open that door, but he still put his hand on the stone beside them and closed his eyes. Behind him, he felt Malinalli’s touch on his back, and all of a sudden felt a bit more at ease.

The door jolted, then slowly slid open. The Shrinemaiden stepped back, letting Gur-Rai peek his head inside. Dhar-Mon almost stumbled back against Malinalli, the stench of sulfur suddenly engulfing him. His ears were ringing and under the screeching, he heard a rising growl.

Gur-Rai drew his gun, undoubtedly feeling the surge of psionic energy as he took one step inside the pitch black room. “...Hello?”

Nothing. For a moment, it seemed as though they had imagined it.

Then a growl came from the darkness, and four weathered, clawed hands dragged their way into the light. Kon-Mai stumbled backwards into Zhang, her heart pounding.

From behind them, a scream. Annette drew her gun whirled around, pointing it at the girl in the blue skirt, who had come up behind them silently. She was slightly dirty and her shirt was torn but, for falling such a way, there were no injuries anyone could see. She cocked her own shotgun, pointing it not at them, but past them into the black room.

“Ano ang ginawa mo?!” She screamed. “Pinakawalan mo siya!”

“What is she saying?” Kon-Mai demanded, drawing her blade.

“I don’t know!” Annette snapped as she removed the safety on her gun. But before the three could lunge at each other, a rumbling groan shook the very foundation of the house.

“She said…” Zhang cried as he stumbled “...We released ‘him’.”

It was then that Gur-Rai let out a scream, and Dhar-Mon dove in and grabbed his brother by the arm. One of the gnarled limbs had taken Gur-Rai by the leg and was attempting to drag him into the darkness. He fired a shot at the unseen enemy, but it’s grip did not even falter, and it’s hold on him grew even tighter.

Kon-Mai sprang into action, letting out a catlike hiss as she dove forward and sliced off the limb that was attached to her brother’s leg. The creature cried out in agony, and as the limp arm dropped, purple ichor seeped into the floor. From the darkness, a pair of lilac eyes opened and glared at them.

“What the fuck is that?!” Gur-Rai spate as he scrambled back to safety, not sure if he should aim at the girl who had a gun pointed at him, or the monster that was trying to drag him to Hell.

The other three hands sprang forth, searching wildly for something—or someone—to grab onto. Zhang barely managed to duck out of the way of it’s grasp, leading it to clutch the edges of the door frame. With all it’s dormant strength, the creature pulled itself forward, growling as it emerged into the light.

Perhaps growling was the wrong word: the creature had no mouth, and the noises it made could rather be heard deep in the souls of all who stood close. Tattered robes hung off it’s emaciated body, and rather than walk, it hovered toward them like a ghost.

“It can’t be…” Bryni gasped. “That’s…”

“An Elder.” Dhar-Mon was as pale as the moon, his eyes wide with total abject horror. Kon-Mai stumbled backward, her breathing quickening against her will and her body shaking like a leaf in a storm. As he was perhaps the only one still with his faculties, Gur-Rai got to his feet and grabbed his siblings by their arms. 

“RUN!”

They did not need to be told twice. 

Bryni, Annette, Malinalli, all three Chosen, and Colonel Zhang all took off up the stairs. Zhang looked around, searching for the girl in the blue skirt, but she had already disappeared like the wind.

Behind them, they heard the walls of the basement crumble, and a plume of dust erupted as the Elder, barely more than a mummified corpse, burst out from the rubble and used it’s bent limbs to drag it’s body through the wooden hallways, crawling almost as fast as the group ran. Annette ducked into a small room to their left and Bryni and Zhang followed, but the Chosen and Malinalli seemed to not notice, focusing only on sprinting as fast as they could.

The Chosen were fast; with their long legs and superhuman strength, speed had never been an issue for them. But now that this thing was scuttling towards them like a spider out of hell, they just could not seem to make their legs move fast enough. Dhar-Mon scooped Malinalli into his arms, her short stature meaning she’d been falling behind, and Kon-Mai began to slow, her tired body still trembling.

“Don’t you dare!” Gur-Rai grabbed her hand and pulled her along. “Keep fucking going!”

The hallway ended in an open door, light pouring through it like the pearly gates of paradise, and they all made a mad dash for it. The Elder  was close on their heels, screaming at them in garbled Etheric. One clawed hand reached out and closed around Kon-Mai’s leg, sending her falling and splaying across the floor, her leg bending in a way it was never meant to bend.

Gur-Rai turned and aimed his gun at the monster and unloaded a shot right into the Elder’s purple eye. While it did next to nothing to actually hurt it, the wound did make it loosen its grip on Kon-Mai long enough for her to crawl away towards her brother, who looped his arm under hers and pulled her along into the sanctuary of the open door.

Dhar-Mon put Malinalli down and slammed the door closed, taking his hammer off his back and sticking it under the handle. Malinalli rushed over to Kon-Mai, who Gur-Rai was helping down into a seated position. 

He took a look at her leg and turned white as a sheet. “Oh.”

“It’s alright.” Kon-Mai tried to assure him. “I am fine, it doesn’t hurt.” She chuckled, perhaps to try and calm her own nerves. “It cannot be that bad.”

“Konnie.” Malinalli dropped beside her. “Don’t look now, but it definitely is that bad.”

Despite the warning, Kon-Mai looked. At first, it looked like she’d been impaled with something sharp, like a pipe. Then she saw that the object was red, and white, and…

It was her bone. She had a compound fracture. But that...didn’t make sense. She’d had broken bones before, much worse than this. And this felt nothing like it.

“It does not hurt.” Kon-Mai insisted. “At all.”

“Well, that’s good at least.” Gur-Rai patted her shoulder.

“Unless you’re in shock.” Malinalli pulled on some Nitrile gloves. “Dhar-Mon, is that door blocked?”

“Yes.” He assured her. “But I hear the...creature stalking the hall on the other side.”

“You know if that thing wanted to, it could break down the door.” Gur-Rai said, sliding down to sit beside his sister. “I can’t believe we found an Elder in the basement…”

“Perhaps it is weak. It may not pose as much of a threat as we believe.” Kon-Mai suggested. “Did you recognize it, Brother?”

“I was a bit too busy running for my life to ask if it was our long lost uncle.” Gur-Rai grimaced.

Dhar-Mon turned from the door. “...It’s aura was not one that I recognized.” He replied to her. “I did not know there were others besides those we knew; those who created us.”

“Weren’t there a few Elders that XCOM killed in the Early War?” Malinalli asked as she began fussing with trying to set the bone back in place. “Maybe that was one of them.”

“It’s very possible.” Dhar-Mon said. “But why is it here? In this place?”

“I have a more pressing question.” Gur-Rai stood up. 

“More pressing than the Elder trying to kill us?” Malinalli raised a brow.

“Absolutely. Where the fuck is Zhang?”

.

.

Zhang hauled Bryni to her feet, and she waved him away. “I’m fine.” She insisted. “I’m fine. Just kinda winded.”

“La baise qui était?” Annette spat, panting as she leaned against the wall. “Was that...it can’t be a…”

“That was an Ethereal.” Zhang growled. “An Ethereal. In the basement, locked away like a demon.”

“Looked kinda scraggly for an Ethereal.” Bryni said. “Ain’t they supposed to be all godly-like?”

“They are mortal, Firebrand, just like us.” Zhang pulled his pistol from his belt and cocked it. “I need to find Malinalli. She is definitely in danger.”

“She’s in danger?!” Annette looked at him like he was insane. “WE are in danger, Chilong!”

“I promised Senuna I’d protect her.” Zhang glared at Annette. “We cannot be split up for long, that thing will go after someone, and if it goes after them…” He couldn’t finish that sentence. “Sunny would never forgive me.”

“She is not yours to worry about, Chilong.” Annette insisted. “We will be lucky if any of us get out of here alive!”

“Thanks, that’s helpful.” Bryni said, one hand on her hip. “I’m with ol’ Chilong here. Molly’s my pal, and bless her heart she couldn’t hit a standing target if it picked up the gun and shot itself.” She pulled her gun off her back. “If it comes at her and she ain’t got the others to carry her off, that demon’ll drag her right on down to Hell.”

Annette rubbed her hands over her face in utter exasperation. “Do you even know where to look?”

“I think I saw her and the Blue Man Group take off down the hall.”

“Then we must follow the hallway.” Zhang looked at Annette. “Will you stay here or come?”

Annette squeezed her eyes shut. “I never should have sent for help.” She drew her own, worn out pistol. “Let's find them, Chilong.”

“Righty-ho!” Bryni flung the door open and screamed.

The girl in the blue skirt, her eyes wild with fury, shoved Bryni inside and pointed her shotgun right in her face. “Walang hiya ka, punyeta!” She spat, Bryni backing away.

“What is she saying?!” Bryni let out a yelp, stumbling and falling and continuing to try and crawl away. The girl took her shot, missed as Bryni rolled off to the side, and Annette pointed her gun at the girl.

“Wait!” Zhang raised his hands. “Don’t shoot!”

“Nakulong siya!” The girl looked up at them, her eyes glowing purple and her black hair floating around her shoulders. “Sino ka?! Bakit ka napunta?!”

“We don’t speak Tagalog!” Annette spat. She pointed at the shotgun in the girl's hands. “Gun! Down!”

The girl instead put up her middle finger and pointed her gun at Annette.

“Bulan.” Zhang’s voice was calm as he stepped between the two women, looking at the girl with the blue skirt right in her glowing eyes. “Mangyaring huwag saktan kami.”

Annette and Bryni looked up at Zhang in disbelief, Annette moreso, but neither of them could match the horror that appeared on the girl’s face as he said her name.

“...Shaojie?” She stammered, her voice weak and cracked.

He nodded, his hands still raised. “Narito ako upang matulungan, Bulan.”

Bulan’s look of disbelief morphed on her face into a look so full of hate it sent chills down Zhang’s spine. “Ang iyong "tulong" ay pinatay sa atin.” She cocked her shotgun and pointed it in Zhang’s face. He took a step backward, closing his eyes as he prepared for his end...and the sound of a pistol going off sent his ear ringing. 

Bulan collapsed to the ground unceremoniously, her body crumpled like a sheet.

Annette shook her pistol, which was smoking. Turning on her, Zhang snapped. “Why did you do that?”

“Why…?” Annette looked at him in disbelief. “Chilong, she had a gun pointed at your face!”

“What’d you call her, Colonel?” Bryni asked as she scrambled to her feet. “What’s that word? Bu-lahn?”

“Bulan…” He stared down at the body of the girl, blood staining her white shirt. “Her name is...was Bulan Kepa.” 

“And how do you know that, Chilong?” Annette asked. “She’s a teenage girl, I doubt you were friends before the war.”

“I know.” He almost whispered. “I don’t know how to explain this.”

“Well, start at the beginnin’.” Bryni continued to pry.

“When I was part of the Triad, our client was a Filipino man who owed us almost 2 million dollars.” He whispered. “They...we kidnapped his children. All of them. I was only 18, and the oldest girl was no more than two years younger.”

Bryni looked down at Bulan’s body. “...Heavens to Betsy…” She looked up at Zhang. “...And that’s her, is it?”

“She knew me.” He muttered. “She recognized me. Said my help was what doomed them to begin with.”

Annette grabbed his hand. “Chilong, now is no time to dwell on this. Did you just say we need to find the child?”

“Yes.” He looked to Annette. “And she’s not a child anymore.”

“Old habits.” She pulled him out of the room, gesturing for Bryni to follow.

As they closed the door, Bulan’s arm twitched violently.

.

.

Malinalli wrapped the gauze tightly around Kon-Mai’s leg. “That’s the best I can do for now.”

“That is fine.” Kon-Mai insisted. “I told you, it does not hurt.”

“It should hurt.” Dhar-Mon insisted, laying glowing hands over his sister’s leg. “Are you dizzy? Cold?”

She shook her head. “My leg is slightly numb. Other than that, it does not feel broken in the slightest.” She looked down at her leg. “How can you tell it’s healing?”

“I...can feel it.” He sighed. “That is a lie, I cannot feel it. In fact at the moment, I cannot feel anything but turmoil and unrest.”

“Probably because of the monster that’s traipsing around outside.” Gur-Rai said, his ear pressed to the door. “I can hear him muttering.”

“Could we speak to it?” Kon-Mai asked. “Perhaps it shall cease it’s attacks.”

“That sounds like a bad idea.” Malinalli said as she looked to Dhar-Mon. “...But we might at least find out what it’s doing here.”

Dhar-Mon looked away from Kon-Mai. “Brother, will you guard the door?”

“Sure thing.” Gur-Rai gave him a thumbs up.

“Malinalli, I ask that you take my hand.” He said. “An Elder’s mind is strong and terrible, and two minds stand a better chance than one alone.”

“Of course.” She took Dhar-Mon’s hands and sat across from him. She felt a click, their minds linking like they had so many times before. This time, the two reached out with their collective consciousness, looking for other signals.

As they settled into their trance, Kon-Mai got to her feet, testing her leg. There was no pain. It was stiff, but she still had most of the feeling in it. It didn’t feel broken.

“Something is quite wrong here.” She said.

“Oh really?” Gur-Rai crossed his arms and leaned his back against the door. “What tipped you off?”

Kon-Mai sighed. “Beyond the Elder in the basement.”

“I feel like that’s a pretty big development, Sister.” He looked behind him, as though he were waiting for something to slam against the door. Thankfully, nothing came.

Kon-Mai began to sift through the papers adorning the tables and desks. The room was too small to be a library, but the array of books gave it the impression it was at least used as a study.

“These photos are quite faded.” She held one up. “The color has washed away. It’s monochrome now.”

“Give it here.” Gur-Rai held his hand out, and Kon-Mai brought the photo into his waiting hand. He only took a glance at it before laughing. “Oh Sister, are you that naive?”

“What?” She growled.

“This is a black and white photograph.” He waggled it toward her. “Humans didn’t always have digital scanning technology, you know. God, you would have died in the film days.”

“I knew that.” Kon-Mai crossed her arms and Gur-Rai could see in her face that she, in fact, did not know that. “Why do you think it is here?”

“Who knows? Could be an old photo.” He examined it in more detail. “Maybe an old family…hm.” He looked closer. “Hey, Kon-Mai, remember the girl who attacked us?”

“I could not forget her if I tried.” She said.

He turned the photo around. “Is it just me, or does that look like her?”

“The quality is such that it doesn’t look like much of anything.” Kon-Mai took the photo back and squinted at it again.

It was indeed a family photo, and a large family at that. An older man and a woman stood on either side of the group, the man wearing a business suit and looking very proper and the woman dressed in what was almost a ball gown, with high padded shoulders and a fan in her hand. Between them, five children of varying ages stood, the youngest being an infant that was held by one of the other children. Smack in the middle, the tallest girl stood, as though she were connecting it all.

Kon-Mai brought it closer. “If it is her, she is younger here.”

“Why’s it in black and white then?” Gur-Rai held up his fingers. “For one thing, if that was taken before the invasion, and I’ll bet you it was, everyone had color photography by 2015. Why would they be using shitty film?”

“Perhaps it is niche?” Kon-Mai reasoned.

“Okay, but also consider.” Gur-Rai held up a second finger. “The invasion happened 25 years ago. That girl was barely older than a teenager.”

“Perhaps she looks young for her age.” Kon-Mai said. “Malinalli is 26 and she looks incredibly young.”

“She’d be at least forty, now.”

“There are forty year olds that look young.”

“Okay, guard the door for me for a second.” He pulled away from his spot, and Kon-Mai leaned against it, watching as her brother began to rifle through the papers on the table.

“What are you doing?” She asked.

“Well Sister. I have one last question for you.” He held up the photo again. “This looks like the same family, yes?” He held it up to a Philippine newspaper, folded neatly and covered in dust.

The glossy photo in his hand, while not a direct match, greatly resembled the photo of the family plastered across the front page, under boldly printed letters Kon-Mai couldn’t decipher.

“...It appears so.”

“Okay. So answer this.” He held it up and pointed to the date on the paper. “So why is this newspaper dated back to 1960?”

.

.

Zhang and Bryni poked their heads out into the hall, Bryni holding her breath. Annette guarded them from behind, her eyes darting around wildly. “Mon Dieu.” She whimpered. “I can feel him in my head. I can’t tell if he’s right behind us or on the other side of the property.”

“His psionic field is overpowering.” Zhang agreed.

“Y’all managed to kill these fuckers before, right?!” Bryni hissed. “How’d you do that?”

“We shot at them until they exploded.” Zhang grumbled.

“Ah.”

Zhang gestured for them to move, and the three crept along the hallway.

“Where ya think they ran off to?” Annette asked.

“I don’t know.” Zhang looked around them. “...This was the Father’s wing.”

“He had a wing?” Annette asked.

“He was quite wealthy.” Zhang replied. “We are near the study.”

“Maybe they went-” Annette broke off. “...I hear him.”

“The Ethereal?” Bryni gasped. “What’s he saying.”

Annette grimaced in pain, clutching her head. “I...I don’t know. He’s speaking but I can’t understand!”

“The three speak Etheric!” Bryni said. “I’ll be you they could-”

“It’s not Etheric!” Annette shook her head violently. “It’s all turned around...I hear French, Russian, Etheric and Chinese, it’s like his mind is...it’s a soup, a mosh pit of stimuli.”

“Don’t try to reach out.” Zhang knelt beside her, his hand on her shoulder. “Block him out. You can do it.”

“He’s too strong.”

“No he’s not. You are stronger, Taymallat.” He insisted. “I have seen you kill these things before.”

“That was different.” She looked up, tears in her eyes. “I wasn’t so scared back then.”

“Courage is not the absence of fear.” Zhang said. “Courage is remaining steadfast even when fear consumes you.”

Annette took a deep breath, gripping his arms as she did. “You’re right.”

“I know.” He helped her to her feet, looking around. He, too, could feel the Ethereal’s forceful tug. Anyone with a glimmer of psionic attitude could probably feel it. Cautiously, Zhang reached out.

Annette was right. The Ethereal’s mind was a mess of words and sounds and feelings. If Zhang had been less experienced it would have sent him reeling, and even now he was having trouble keeping himself from slipping into the chaos that was this creature’s mind.

He lingered a moment longer, looking for...something. He wasn’t sure what, but within the mass of images, he saw a group of weathered Ethereals standing in a circle. Most were purple. One had pale white skin and eyes that were more green than blue. One glimmered with gold light.

He pulled free, nearly collapsing beside Annette, his head still swimming from the madness. But now, at least, he could hear his voice, and he heard it clearly.

“Masha. Shamash. Coming. Come. Take me home. Take me home. Take me home.”

.

.

It felt as though something was interfering with their attempts, trying to stop Malinalli and Dhar-Mon from reaching out to connect to whatever it was. Perhaps pushing forward was unwise.

They did it anyway.

Malinalli found herself soaring through the dark and damp hallways, moving as though she was flying. Purple energy surrounded her. Her arm hurt but…

Not her arm. Humans had two arms but when she looked down, she had four, all long and gangly. She squeezed Dhar-Mon’s hands, just to keep herself grounded in reality.

The creature...the Elder...didn’t know she was there. She assumed it couldn’t feel her over the static already coursing through it’s synapses.

“Stay with me, little phantom.” With Dhar-Mon’s words she was pulled away, her perspective changing so she was now outside the Ethereal, looking toward it. She had not seen many Ethereals, only the Elders, and that had been through Dhar-Mon’s own lens. 

But she could tell this one was in bad, bad shape. It’s robes (they looked different from the robes the Elders wore) were ragged, half torn and slightly burnt. There seemed to be holes in it’s grey skin, exposing green bits of rotting tissue and muscle. It could barely fly anymore: instead of gliding gracefully, it’s already bent feet dragged along the wooden ground, scraping off even more skin and leaving droplets of glowing blood..

She looked to the hand Kon-Mai had cut off. The hand that had hurt. Grey flesh, though rotten and crusted, encased an entirely new digit, like an embryo.

“It can heal itself.” She thought.

“Impossible.” She heard Dhar-Mon almost beside her, but it felt more within her. “Their power is great and nearly limitless, but even the Elders cannot regrow limbs.”

But it wasn’t impossible. They saw it, right there. Malinalli reached forward with the hand she wasn’t sure was there but she hoped was. She felt Dhar-Mon pulling back for a moment, before he followed her movement, extending their reach, grasping outward…

The Ethereal reeled back. It had seen them, and now they could hear—they could see—within its mind, or rather it’s mess of a mind. Words, some in Etheric, some complete gibberish, and a few Malinalli understood, came at them like a wave of alphabet soup. Malinalli almost broke under the immense pressure, but she calmed her breath, stood her ground, and held.

The Ethereal saw them now, it’s purple, sunken eyes breaking through them like hot coals. It threw words at them like rocks. “Who? Who? Who dares? Ethereal? Alaukika? Alaukika?”

Ethereal. It thought they, or at least Dhar-Mon, was one of its own kind.

“Yes.” Malinalli said, hoping to pacify it. “Ethereals. That’s us.”

Instead of calming, the Ethereal’s power flared, like she had thrown gasoline on a fire. “Aus Alaukika.” It lifted it’s four arms. “Not Ethereal. Mortal. Mortal.”

She felt Dhar-Mon press in front her her, his more powerful mind blocking the psionic assault that was aimed at her. “Xyuas tousal.”

The Ethereal’s own power seemed to draw back, almost in confusion.

“Identify yourself.” Dhar-Mon said again, and this time she could understand him.

The Ethereal’s mind was a blank slate, but through the maze of confusion and pain, one word emerged.

“Ya’uq.” It said.

She could tell Dhar-Mon did not recognize that name. “How did you come to be here?” He asked.

More silence. Then, a ship, great and black and…like the Temple but different. It felt younger. A menacing fifty Ethereals stood in a circle, most grey with purple eyes save for the two who stood at the front. One shimmered with golden light. The other, green and blue, and as she gazed into the pale white face of that Ethereal, Malinalli felt her chest tighten, as though a painful memory had been dug from her psyche.

“Shamash.” Ya’uq focused his purple light on the one that was glowing gold. “Where is Shamash? They shall come. They shall save me. They promised.”

Dhar-Mon’s fear was palpable as he spoke. “...There is no Shamash.” He said. “I know only Bhandasura, and Camazotz...and Abyzou.”

“Abyzou.” The Ethereal said the name gently. “...Child.”

“Child?”

“Daughter of Shamash. Child of the Sun. Child.” He sounded sad. “Only a child.”

Dhar-Mon growled. “She is no child. She is a monster.”

“Dhar-Mon.” Malinalli said quietly. “Don’t.”

Ya’uq did not seem to respond at first, so Dhar-Mon continued. “Who brought you here? Who are you?”

Another moment of silence before they were bombarded with words: “Hammon. Ilah. Jabal. Lugal. Wadd. Suwa. Tamtu. Shamash…” 

The names began to blend into each other, and Dhar-Mon recognized none of them. Each Ethereal had a face, a name, an identifying feature and yet, he could not say he’d ever seen them before. He knew there had been other Ethereals who had come before, who had died long before his birth in the Early War, but he did not hear the names of Reue or Imdugud, or those he rarely spoke to like Xezbeth or Tiyanak, or even the names of his mother and fathers.

But at the end, there was one name. One name he knew, a name that made Malinalli shriek loud enough to sever the connection.

“Senuna.”

.

.

Gur-Rai caught Malinalli as she stumbled backward, holding her head. “Woah there, I’m no matador and you’re no bull, so quit charging.” He led her to the table and she leaned over it, feeling like she was about to vomit. “Well? What did you find?”

“There were others.” Dhar-Mon said. He was still on the floor, and Kon-Mai had abandoned the door to kneel beside him and help him. “The Ethereal that stalks these halls is called Ya’uq. He came to this place with a cohort of forty-nine others.”

“Fifty in total? Mom always said there were only about twenty Ethereals when they came.” Gur-Rai puzzled.

“He does not know the Elders. Our Elders.” Dhar-Mon shook his head, his eyes still closed as though the light hurt his eyes. “He knew Abyzou, but…”

“It seems like he knew her as a kid…” Malinalli finally choked out. “He called her a child.”

“Well she definitely acts like a child.” Kon-Mai muttered.

“He called her the daughter of Shamash.” Dhar-Mon added. “And then, it named Shamash as one of the Ethereals who led them here. Their eyes were gold.”

Kon-Mai and Gur-Rai looked at each other in confusion. “I don’t remember a gold ethereal.” Gur-Rai said.

“He knows Senuna.” Malinalli finally added, sinking back to the floor.

The silence that followed was uncertain. Kon-Mai spoke up first. “She is the Commander. He would know her if he fought-”

“No.” Malinalli turned to face her. “He knew her because she came here with him.”

“Came here...what?” Gur-Rai looked thoroughly confused.

“He named the Ethereals he came here with. Named every single one.” She clasped her hands. “And he said Senuna. I heard it clear as day.”

A light tapping on the door knocked the three of them from their stupors, and Kon-Mai drew her blade again. “Is it him?”

“I don't care to know.” Gur-Rai said as he pointed his gun at the door.

The tapping came again, rhythmically, almost like knocking. Dhar-Mon stood, and Malinalli stepped towards the door.

“Should we open it?”

“No.” Kon-Mai asserted.

“What if it’s the others?”

“What if it is not?”

The knocking grew into a loud banging. “HEY! Y’ALL ALIVE IN THERE?!”

“It is them!” Dhar-Mon took his hammer away from the door and opened it, moving out of the way as Bryni stumbled in, followed closely by Zhang as he pulled Annette along by the hand.

“Xièxiè tiāntáng, nǐ hái hǎo.” Zhang cried as he saw Malinalli. “...You look troubled, young one. What happened?”

Malinalli and Dhar-Mon looked at each other with unease.

Zhang knelt in front of her, horror in his eyes. “What did you see?”

.

.

The moon would be full that night, as it always was. She drew her power from that moon.

The door to the attic creaked as it opened. Bulan Kepa stumbled inside, her clothes soaked in her own blood. But the wound on her neck was healed, pink skin covering the scar that would fade with the dawn.

She could not worry about herself though. Not right now. She looked around at the four beds, the ones that needed her the most.

The first one she checked on was the baby. Marikit always had trouble sleeping, and that was true tonight: her baby sister stared up at her as she wheezed, her wrinkled skin pulled tight over bones. Bulan lifted her from the crib, trying to bounce her to comfort her, and the infant’s skin blistered under her touch.

Laarni was next to check on: the baby before the baby. She at least was sleeping through the undoubtedly incredible pain. The second eldest of the girls, Diwata, followed Bulan around the room with glazed eyes, her lips pulled taut against yellow teeth. 

Bulan could hear Ali and Isanagi rising into sitting positions. She went to their beds, pushing them back down, crooning at them to “Sleep, sleep, please sleep.”

But her siblings did not sleep. Instead, each one sat up and stared at her with open eyes.

Bulan sat in the center of their beds, facing the attic window that looked out to the glowing flowers in the garden. With her corpse-like sister in her arms and tears brimming in her eyes, Bulan began to sing.

“Ili-ili tulog anay,

Wala diri imong nanay.

Kadto tienda bakal papay.

Ili-ili tulog anay.”

.

.

.

.

.

Summery: The chapter begins with Annette replaying the message she sent to XCOM, and lamenting that she sent it without knowing the full severity of the situation. The house is apparently impossible to escape, as every time she has tried, she has wound up back in the house. With few other options, the group agrees to check the basement, where Annette had found a sealed off room. Using their combined psionics, they are able to get the door open, only to reveal that a near-death Ethereal had been sealed behind the wall, much to the shock of the house’s resident. After being chased through the halls, the group is separated in two, and Kon-Mai suffers a compound fracture in her leg while escaping. Mysteriously, the injury does not hurt her at all. After treating Kon-Mai’s wound, Malinalli and Dhar-Mon attempt to make contact with the Ethereal, to perhaps convince it to let them leave. Zhang, Bryni and Annette, having been separated from the other group, opt to go looking for them before they are confronted by the girl in the blue skirt, whom Zhang knows and is able to speak to. While she is hostile and the confrontation leads to her being shot by Annette, Zhang reveals that in his youth as a Triad member, the girl—Bulan Kepa—was among one of the kidnapping victims. While they resolve to find the others, Malinalli and Dhar-Mon establish contact with the Ethereal, Ya’uq, who reveals that he has never met most of the Ethereals from the Early War, but came here with a coalition of fifty Ethereals, one of whom seems to have been Senuna.

(Like I said in my little announcement, this was supposed to only be two chapters, but I am a terrible procrastinator, and I also feel like I have too much planned for this finale to have crammed it all into one chapter. That being said, this is so fun to finally get out there, and this one off spooky story is giving us some real insight into the lore~)

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[abundantchewtoys]

Hiveswap re: Dammek’s living block

So, we're in the next room over!

Are those prints from Dammek's lusus going down the stairs to the basement?

We access the console and...

It's another game!

Joey didn't solve it, and contacted Xefros. The password gets encrypted by the Scratchware. But apparently only Xefros'. Or, well, Dammek's.

But then Joey posted her own password, which is a reference I didn't get. Maybe a boy from a series she likes? Or someone from her class? Nah probably the first. MrsTaylorThomas80, so weird. What's the Mrs Taylor a reference too, then?

And I like how Joey got the first clue towards trolls and their bisexuality. But that Xefros is attracted to a boy, he says, and the password is GRUBBLES (or GRUBBELS, depending on what Dammek choose)... Oh! Yes, but Dammek is his moirail, so the attraction is in the pale quadrant!

Also, I can't believe the inconsistent spelling of their band's name is a plot point, hahahah.

GIANT POSTER > Wh- Why does Dammek even have this hanging behind him? Oh wait, it was royally ordained to have a picture of the empress in your hive, right.

But wow, with the way the poster is hung up, her horns get obscured on the ceiling. In combination with the tiara, this picture REALLY makes Trizzah look like Jane! That might have been intentional!

We walk over to the far wall, and, it's a barricaded hallway.

Something REALLY screwy took place here. What's that harpoon doing through the door? ... Did Dammek do this? Is that something we'd see in Hauntswitch?

... Wait, I got an idea. What if the pawprints and the harpoon lodged in the door mean this is his front door, and Dammek is in fact the reason the neighboorhood is crawling with drones? He provoked them?

Eeesh, but Dammek bugged the inside of Xefros' home. Not cool, dude.

Ooofff, yeah it's the front door, and the "close" button shows a bloody handprint. Eesh, does that mean Dammek himself was injured as well?? Who did he even come across to throw that harpoon/spear? No way it was Dualscar.

SCREENS > Huh, Joey thinks the room we were in looks different from when she was there? What could've changed between then and now? It's a live feed. She's already thinking of Slothdad as a "monster parent", she picked up on that quick! And yup, she shares our opinion on how creepy it is that Dammek has bugged a different house. Does she realize it's Xefros' hive?

POG + SCREENS > Is... Is the thing that is "off" about the monitor, the fact that the door is still open in that picture?? Not sure what to make of these comments in any case.

... Wait. The Big Book of Monsters is still on the closet! So, what does that mean? From when is this feed, and is it paused? Wut? How?

We go to the other part of the living room

Dammek has a taxidermied version of his own Lusus. Like, what?? Is... is that his Lususgrandpa in the living room????? Oh my god.

TV > Hahahah, Joey's 90s origin is showing. It's a pretty normal sized tv "here", dear, and has a DVD player.

That left poster looks familiar! And the most on the right kind of looks like it could have Karkat in it? It's probably a young Xefros. ... Yep, when we move to the right I see Dammek's also in it.

Hah, but that third poster from the right! Is that Dualscar breaking out the Disciple from an Imperial prison? That's a dramatization of events if I ever saw one. :P Dammek put his face on Darkleer and Xefros' on the Disciple. Maybe because the pair (or the legend about them) is what he's trying to model their relationship after! Aww.

POINTES + MANTIS POSTER > What a daring dream indeed, to dance under the moon with lusus mantises! Dream big, Joey.

...

Ah, the hole is an ELEVATOR, not a stairs. That's why Deercatdad is still down there somewhere, instead of up here.

That mixtable is huuuuuge, man.

DIAGRAM + COMPUTER > Actually, yeah, Dammek is so paranoid he doesn't write a lot down on his computer. Properly paranoid perhaps, but still.

Ooh, I almost missed the memo on his PC. "The Grubbles", is it at the moment? Alright.

...

Okay, I forgot how tricky Snake could be. After the second try, we restore power...

And UP! comes Deercat.

Joey absconds to the kitchen, claiming to Xefros she was chased. Deercat actually seems pretty tame! It shouldn't really be able to bond with Joey, wrong blood type, but I wonder on what terms they'll be for the rest of the game.

Ah, so now Joey chronologically gets the "monster parent" info from Xefros. And we get a sweet callback to Terezi and Dave's first chronological conversation, hahahah.

So, where in the blazes IS that hoverpad even? There's a stairway here... Right, and the other door on the ground floor led back to whence we came.

So that means it's up we go. Right, it was located in the attic. Since Dammek's recuperacoon is on the ground level... Would, for some reason, his hive be smaller than Xefros' and only have the attic up here? Probably not.

Also... Sayyyyyy... Nah, sorry, that can't be. The picture from Dammek's respiteblock showed both the BIG BOOK OF MONSTERS and the open door. So that's not something Joey could have been present for. Probably it's just an art asset reuse that gets acknowledged by the prompt. It's probably not a window into an alternate timeline. :P

[jaebaebie]

Why Us? Why Now? Why Ever?

In a post apocalyptic world where walkers took over the living, Era realised that she was different from every one else. Wanting to uncover the reasons to her differences, she embarked on a journey to the West where she met a few Strays,, including a man named Hwang Hyun Jin who, just like her, was cold, hot headed, and full of distrust. She thought they would never get along, but what happens when the two cold hearts start to melt?

STRAY KIDS ZOMBIE AU // WUWNWE MASTERLIST

Chapter 2 ~ “Stalker much?

prev // next

“FUCK!”

I knew I was doomed the minute my eyes landed on the walker through the slightest gap between the wooden planks. The corpse, with all its anger and glory, was now squeezing its way through the broken plank, clawing its arms towards me.

I shook the metal chains around my wrist, trying to break out of it. Luckily for me, Han was nice enough to tie the chains tightly, but loose enough for me to squeeze my hands through it. Painfully and forcefully

The walker grabbed hold of my ankle, dragging me towards it. My elbow grazed along the rough cement floor and I kicked it right in the jaw, sparing me more time to pull my hand out of the chains.

I yelled in pain as I pulled my hand out, not caring about the possible sprain I was causing my wrist to have. Heck, I didn’t even care about possibly dislocating it. The walker was waist deep into the attic, and the wooden planks were no longer going to hold. It was either my wrist or my neck and I would rather live with a dislocated wrist rather than die from the savage walker.

I kicked it once more just as my right hand finally got free, and I immediately stretched to grab the crowbar from the table across me. On cue, the wooden plank snapped in half and the walker launched itself towards me, snapping onto my face.

With my legs I pushed it away before lunging the crow bar in between its eyes. My stomach churned as its decaying smell filled my nose. I would have hurled if I was not trying to fight for my life against it. With my left hand freed, I pulled the crowbar for another hit, only to realise that it had stuck in the corpse’s skull.

I kicked it once more, scanning around for anything that I could use. Just above the walker was a sharp plank that had gotten loose upon its entry, allowing a new idea to enter my brain.

I panted, letting out a shriek as the walker attacked once again, barely missing my face. I pushed it back with both hands, feeling my hands sink into its meat. With the last ounce of strength, I pushed it back, driving its head through the sharp plank. I watched as its body went limp, and the sound of its spitty hiss silenced.

The door to the storage attic burst open, revealing three shocked men.

“Holy shit.” Han gasped.

That indeed. I let out shaky breaths, panting uncontrollably as I finally managed to take a break from the event that had just unfolded.

“Im. Still. Not. Bit.”

I tried to catch my breath but it only felt like my breath just got slower. Louder..? My body began to feel heavier with every breath I took and my vision clouded, causing the three guys that appeared in front of me to disappear.

And then nothing.

————————————————————-

I woke up to find myself in a bed. In a small, tiled room lined with shelves of medical supplies. It smelled similar to that of the hospitals I used to visit with my parents before the apocalypse. Like alcohol. I sat up, immediately feeling the ache shoot through my entire body. My arm and wrist were nicely wrapped in bandages and a needle with embedded in the back of my palm, allowing me to be attached to one of those IV drips I had only seen in movies. 

I immediately looked away, not liking how to needle looked in my skin and how it felt. I was always afraid of them. So much so that I refused to get injections when I was younger.

The door opened and two boys entered. The two of them brought something special with them. Like the mood in the solemn room immediately lightened the minute they stepped foot in it. I looked at them, noticing the bright cheeky smile on one of their faces, while the other boy had a much shyer smile.

“You’re awake!” Cheeky smile boy exclaimed, rushing to me, “I heard your name was Era from Han. My name is Jeongin. That ‘quiet’ boy over there is Seungmin.”

Slightly taken aback by his sudden friendliness, I flinched back, giving him a weird look which he immediately noticed and apologised for.

“In just one minute you managed to scare her already, Jeongin.” Seungmin shook his head, causing the other to pout, “We got you all stitched up and we cleaned the rest of your wounds. You’re lucky Hyunjin found you.”

I couldn’t help but let out a small scoff, is that what he’s been telling people? “Yeah, I sure am.” I replied, my sarcasm wasn’t left unnoticed.

“You’re IV drip is finished, so Jeongin can take you to eat. You must be starving.”

It was true. I was extremely hungry. Like Seungmin said, Jeongin walked me to the ‘cafeteria’ outside with his non stop cheerful talking. I had to admit, he was cute. As in baby brother cute as he was probably a year or two younger than me. As we walked the halls, Jeongin told me about how him and 8 others found the camp not long after the apocalypse hit. Ever since, they’ve been focusing on trying to establish a walker free zone and strengthening the barricades around the camp.

He stated that it was a great place to start with, especially since it was already equipped with separate rooms, bathrooms, infirmaries. The ‘cafeteria’ was placed outside, where the campfire was set to cook food. He pushed open the double doors of the school, allowing sunlight to hit my face. 

“Welcome to Camp Miroh, Era.”

Jeongin passed me a tray, before leading me to walk to a woman managing the pot at the bonfire. She appeared to be in her mid 30s, giving me a warm smile as she scooped my ration into my tray.

As we walked towards one of the tables, I realised that the camp mostly consisted of guys my age, elders and children. Children played with one another, oblivious to the terrors in the world around them while elders watched over them as they stitched or washed clothing. The teenagers were having their lunch, watching every move of mine as I walked with Jeong In. 

“Don’t mind them, we never find girls your age.” Jeongin explained, settling down on a table with a couple of boys, “Speaking of which, how old are you, Era?”

“19.”

“Oh cool, were the same age!” Another guy whom we sat on the same table with exclaimed. “I’m Felix, by the way.”

“You’re not very chatty, huh?” Jeongin asked, finally noticing my awkward short answers. It almost felt too overwhelming. I’ve been stuck alone for the past two months with nothing but walkers and deers which I’ve hunted, and now I’m surrounded with plenty of extroverted men who never ran out of conversation starters.

Felix nudged Jeongin at his side, shaking his head, “I think you’re just too chatty, Jeong In. Let her eat.”

Jeong In and Felix began talking more about the camp, which I didn’t mind. Turns out, Chan was the leader who ran the camp, while Han, Hyun Jin and a guy called Chang Bin were his ‘right’ hand men, the three would run the camp should Chan be absent. Though, Hyun Jin was mainly focussed in ensuring the safety of the camp through training men who were skilled in weapons.

Just as I scraped the last bit of my food off the plate, Han jogged towards us, the same smile I had seen on his face the day before,

“Hey. How are you feeling?”

I nodded, “Better.”.

“She’s not very chatty, Han.” Jeongin announced, earning a hit from Felix.

Han let out a low chuckle, glancing towards me with his head tilted, doubting Jeongin’s previous statement, “Really? I’m sure Hyunjin would think otherwise.”

I rolled my eyes, recalling the loud arguments that had occurred the day before. 

“Are you done? Chan wants to see you.”

I nodded, standing up as Jeongin and Felix waved to me.

I followed as Han led the way. Han gave off a different aura from the rest of the group. He was quiet, but friendly. It was comforting. Warm. A feeling I hadn’t felt in a while.

“I’m guessing Jeongin told you about our camp?” Han asked, attempting to start a conversation,

“And more..” I replied, earning a chuckle from Han.

“Yeah, he’s like that. He’s the youngest out of the 9 of us but he brings sunshine wherever he goes.”

I nodded, agreeing with Han’s statement. It was true, Jeongin’s charm was just too hard to ignore because he simply was able to lighten any of the darkest souls. Including mine, possibly.

“I’m really sorry for leaving you out there, Era.” Han apologised, the smile on his face being replace with a guilty frown, “We left you with a dog bite and you came back having been almost bitten by a walker, a sprained wrist, a grazed elbow and almost dying from excessive blood loss.”

I gave him a look, finding his rambles funny, “Stalker much?”

Han shrugged, brushing me off with a smile, “Nah. I did have time to examine you on our way back though.”

Right. How did I get back?

“Hyun Jin carried you all the way back,, kinda his punishment for being strongly against helping you.”

I let out a small chuckle, earning a bigger smile from him.

We reached Chan’s so called ‘office’-- A room with a small table and guns, flashlights, crossbows placed at another table stationed at the corner of the room. A large map was taped up to one of the walls, scribbled with many red and blue circles. My eyes landed on Hyun Jin, who was leaning against the Chan’s table with his arms crossed. The cut I left him was still visible on his cheek.

“We’re glad you’re okay, Era. I think we didn’t get to introduce ourselves properly.”

Hyunjin scoffed, muttering a soft, “I wonder why.”

“I’m Chan.” Chan said, ignoring Hyunjin’s unnecessary comment.

“Han.”

Hyunjin frowned when the two guys turned to him, awaiting for his own introduction. Han nudged him at his side, causing him to flinch, sighing, he finally introduced himself

“Hyunjin.” He greeted, clearly unamused with my appearance.

“Can you please be more cooperative now that we’ve saved your life?” Chan asked, a hint of firmness in his attempted soft voice.

“By saving, you mean saving my life only after putting it at risk? Sure.” I replied, catching the three of them off guard by my direct response.

“Okay about that, we’re really sorry. We really just couldn’t risk bringing you back. Locking you and tying you up.. we were just scared.”

I nodded, taking in my surroundings one more time. They had a big camp  established which served as a safe haven for many people of different ages. They had to take precautions. Be selfish. Finally, I was able to understand their mindset, “Its alright, I would’ve done the same.”

Chan smiled, “So, how’d you get this far?”

I sighed, tired at the same question being asked. Realising that I haven’t actually answered it, I finally gave in, “I don’t know.. I ran, hid. Just the normal shit.”

“You do know having her around is just gonna worsen our food situation right? She’s just another mouth to feed.” Hyun Jin commented.

“Does everything that comes out of your mouth always have to be shit?” I shot back, “Besides, you don’t have to be worry about that.”

Han straightened out, glancing from Chan and then turning back to me with his eyebrow raised as realisation dawned onto him,

“You’re not staying?” Han asked, eyes immediately widening with some kind of emotion I couldn’t decipher. Shock? Worry?

I shrugged my shoulders, “I don’t remember asking you guys to take me in.”

“But you really should. You’ll be safe here. We’ll protect you.” Chan explained, sending tingles down my spine as I recalled the last time I heard that sentence. 

The last time someone had claimed they’d protect me, I was thrown to the walkers after they took everything I owned. My gun. Food. Water. Everything. I was a vulnerable 17 year old who found ‘safe haven’ at the wrong place.

“No thanks. I don’t do people.”

Hyunjin cocked his head to the side, narrowing his eyes on me, “Why? Some boyfriend waiting for you at another base?”

I rolled my eyes, “I already said, I’m not with people. The last time I was with a group I was fed to a group of walkers.”.

Chan nodded, appearing distant and deep in thought. He wasn’t listening to me. 

“You’re good with the bow and arrow?” Chan asked, bringing up my bag onto his table. I sighed in relief, seeing that they didn’t leave it behind when they decided to lock me in a cabin.

“I guess. I’d be happy to just take that and go.”

“I’m guessing you can hunt.” Chan added, disregarding my eagerness to leave as he earned the attention of Han and Hyunjin,, as if a light bulb went off in their heads.

I raised my brows, observing the change in their attitudes. 

“You can’t?” I realised, “What have you guys been surviving on, then?”

“Non perishables.” Han answered, slumping against Chan’s desk as he sighed, “The camp came along with canned foods which lasted us about a year or so. But then we’ve been running short in supply despite our daily ‘supermarket’ visits.”

“..We’ve tried hunting but none of us are any good with it. It would be really great if you could help us, Era.” Chan continued.

I crossed my arms, stepping back to think about it. I had no intention of staying. I had to be somewhere else. Staying would mean having to work as a team, and I hated the fact that I would have to be fending for others other than myself. But they looked at me hopeful, and I knew that these guys were doing their best to help the others. I pictured the elderly and children who saw this place as their safe haven. These guys were thinking beyond themselves and what they needed.

“I don’t know. Having just another mouth to feed might be too much for you guys.” I remarked, clearly targeting the man who immediately avoided my gaze, “How about we chain you up in an attic and see in the morning?”

The guys sighed, almost in sync.

“Look, I’m sorry, okay? I didn’t know you’d be this useful.” Hyunjin ‘apologised’, earning a smack from Han as I scoffed. “Keep talking and I’ll show you what useless is, asshole.”

I let out a breath, letting sympathy take over. One thing was obvious. All of them, including Hyunjin whom I thought was incapable of caring for others, had the same look in their eyes. Desperation. They knew they wouldn’t last with just canned foods, and they needed to learn how to hunt fast if they were to keep the camp alive to protect the people who lived in it.

“Fine. I’ll teach you how to hunt. Just promise me you don’t throw me to a hoard of walkers.”