#spookyseasoninthebarrens2024

[loreleismusings99]

Late Night Repairs

In which the quiet becomes a bit too much for Mark to handle.

Hi folks, I'm back for a little bit because I really wanted to participate in #spookyseasoninthebarrens2024 by @jmathesonandsiblings so I wrote this quick little thing for my baby girl, Mark! :3

This is for prompt 6: Haunted House

Happy Halloween, y'all 👻

Warnings: isolation, auditory/visual/tactile hallucinations, grief, fear/anxiety, hopelessness, brief discussion of sleep deprivation, description of someone suffering/dying from suffocation/asphyxia, discussion of death, eye horror, blood, missing loved ones, angst (technically). Please, please, please let me know if I missed anything that should be added to this list.

The soft beeps of the CO2 scrubber’s emergency alarm are deceptively loud and make Mark jump as it cuts through the impossibly still silence that comes with the night. One thing he still hasn’t gotten used to after being here for 23 days is how dead nighttime is on Mars. The increased thermal energy that comes with the sun usually yields soft winds that lightly rustle the HAB canvas and make small clouds of sand hit the airlock door, making it sound like he’s inside a rain stick. Once the sun sets though, an eerie silence creeps in with the sunset’s cold, blue, Mie-scattered light. 

Maybe he’s just really missing having his crewmates with him, but he’s quickly started to hate the stillness that comes with living on a dead planet by himself. The more unsavory side effects of his isolation are much more unbearable--there’s something about not knowing when his solitude will end that makes the emptiness of his surroundings so much worse than the isolation training module he went through back on Earth. For the past few nights, every other corner he turns has an extra shadow he didn’t account for; the occasional puff of wind feels just a little too much like a hand and the whirring of the water reclaimer and heating unit running sounds devastatingly like a murmur. It was easier to ignore the first couple of nights--filling the silence as best as he could with episodes of Happy Days and Commander Lewis’s disco. Sometimes though--when he needs to charge his iPad or when he hyper-focuses on his work and forgets to turn something on to fill the space with more than the sounds of his breathing and the rustling of tools--his mind fills the void for him. Sometimes it’s a persistent ringing in his ears, others it’s a convincing recreation of Martinez’s laugh muffled by the walls of the HAB and his memory, making him tear through the HAB trying to find his friend only to be met with nothing but his loneliness. 

He finishes typing out his log for the day, outlining the maintenance tasks he completed to keep his tragically high-tech tomb operational (if he’s gonna die here, he might as well do so warm and breathing clean air), and stands up out of his chair with a strained groan. Scratching at the stubble growing on his cheek, Mark walks across the main room of the HAB bubble to the complaining machine and takes off the white panel hiding the ducts, intake valves, and pumps of the robust Four Bed CO2 scrubber. The mechanical engineer takes some time listening to the motors and pressure-driven sounds of the machine, trying to locate a clue as to what part of the damn thing is blocked up this time. A soft whistle coming from the interface between the pre-cooler and a pipe connecting it to bed A-2 catches Mark’s attention, and he sees a small chunk of ice growing around the collar keeping the pipe in place at the valve. 

“Well there’s your problem,” Mark utters under his breath as he turns the apparatus off using a panel immediately to the right of the box containing it and slips on a pair of cryo-gloves before touching the parts surrounding the cooling element, lightly dusting off the collection of ice crystals surrounding the collar before carefully removing it and cleaning the ice clogging the mouth of the duct. He re-mates the duct and the valve, torquing it back to a satisfying tension, and turns the machine back on, the pumps chugging away happily now that the blockage is gone. 

Mark nods and puts the cover back onto the front of the scrubber’s casing before turning around to append a record of the repair to the end of his log. Or, he would if he wasn’t frozen in place staring out the porthole in the airlock door across the room from him. The scene outside is dark and barely perceivable due to the small diameter of the window and the contrast of the bright LED lights, but your piercing stare is something he’s profoundly accustomed to seeing--just… not outside the HAB’s airlock. He tries to move but the muscles in his legs merely twitch uselessly with the idea of walking towards the glass of the porthole. He tries to blink, but an impending sense of doom prevents him from attempting to break the unexpected eye contact. His heart clenches agonizingly in his chest, and he can feel the beginnings of a sob bubble up from his chest. Logically he knows this is a hallucination--likely made worse by stress and sleep deprivation--but that doesn’t stop him from calling out to you in a horse, pitiful squeak. His knees buckle slightly before the lights above him flicker and shut off, plunging him and the phantom image of you into near-full darkness.

 Your face is now only dimly illuminated by a light that didn’t go out at the center of the room, but it’s enough for Mark to see angry red petechiae begin to bloom across your face, lips, and the delicate skin surrounding your now blood-shot eyes. The warmth drains from your face and his ears begin to ring as he watches you open your mouth, frothy and bloody fluid pouring beyond your lips. He’s shaking now as he watches you scream silently at him through the fluid pouring down your chin, pins and needles accosting his hands and feet as he finally musters the strength to turn away from your dying, angry visage and squeeze his eyes shut.  

“This--this isn’t real, there’s no one there…” he mutters to himself, tears streaming down his cheeks as he tries to calm his breathing down. He opens his eyes again to discover that the lights either turned back on or were never off in the first place and he starts to lower his hackles, the muscles in his neck and shoulders beginning to relax. Slowly, Mark turns back around and looks through the porthole to find nothing staring back at him. Mark lets out a relieved, shaky breath before running a hand down his face and walking back to his chair to update his log. Typing the details of his repair with shaking hands he begins to properly sob and has to pause, scooting the chair back and winding an arm around his middle, the other raised to clasp his hand over his mouth to try to stop himself from screaming in grief and fear at both what his brain just conjured up and the very real possibility of never seeing you again and leaving you behind to mourn him. The force of his anguish makes him fold in on himself and he continues to sit there, trying to calm himself down at least for long enough to finish his log and get to bed. 

After a bit, he feels the temperature drop and a shiver shoots down his spine. He goes rigid and his sobs stop abruptly and a soft, high-pitched, and short-lived whistle coming from somewhere else in the HAB commands his attention. The same feeling of dread oozes back into his chest as he listens to faint taps sound from behind him, getting louder as whatever is creating them gets closer to his chair and stops, letting emptiness fill the soundscape of the main lab space. In the silence, Mark can hear the blood rushing in his ears and his shaky breathing. With his eyes closed it almost begins to feel like he’s in his space EVA suit back on the Hermes. The sound of his breathing tapers off as he quiets enough to hold his breath and try to listen for either the sounds of the HAB or anything that would alert him to the presence of… something, anything behind him. He’s about to let out his held breath when he feels shockingly cold fingers lightly wrap around the back of his neck, causing a terrified wail to rip out of his lungs as he stands up out of his chair and sees… nothing behind him. 

Mark continues to stand and stare silently at the false wall behind him, raising a hand to touch the warm skin of the back of his neck and feeling goosebumps bloom across it. He basks in the violently loud silence before the tension is broken by the sound of the HAB’s temperature control unit letting out a shrill, piercing tone alerting him to a new malfunction in its system.

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

Thanks for reading!

works referenced:

4 Bed CO2 scrubber

The Martian Fan-Made Timeline

Wind on Mars

Sunsets on Mars -> Mie Scattering experiment!

Pathology of Asphyxial Death MAJOR CW: death, and suffocation both described in text and shown in images.

[shadowworldwanderers]

Bloodied And Unbroken Skin - Thalin/Suzanne Denver

A/N: Fic 15 for @jmathesonandsiblings Spooky Season in the Barrens. TW: Past bloodshed.

Suzanne’s skin is unbroken when Thalin finds her, the blood spatter around her says it all. Suzanne has been silent since she arrived, crouching in a corner surrounded by gore and blood. She’s quiet as she crouches, tucking soft hair from Suzanne’s eyes and hating the whimper and shudder. She knows why, this much violence is never fun, not for girls like Suzanne, gentle, sweet tempered Suzanne who could flip on a switch, changing from calm to explosive rage. “Who was it?” Thalin’s voice is rough. “Friends of…. His.” “Then you did well.” Thalin murmurs, holding a hand out to Suzanne, her voice soft. “Let’s get you cleaned up.”

[shadowworldwanderers]

Murderous Intent - Missy Claus/Price Edwards

TW: Murder, Sexual Content A/N: Fic 13 for @jmathesonandsiblings Spooky Season in the Barrens. Price belongs to @jmathesonandsiblings, Missy belongs to me.

Murder. It sounded so unethical, but as Missy’s claws sharpen even as her humanity stays in control, she knows it isn’t, not really. The cryptid in question had been killing teenagers for sleeping together, a normal occurrence, even when the teens were cryptids. Blood drops neatly as she slashes the man open, ripping his vocal cords before he can scream. She dips, slowly, to trail her fingers through the blood, tasting the bitter sting of human and panther, her purr soft, but clearly aroused. She meets Price in their rooms, his bloody outfit already in the sink, ready for burning. She’s quiet as she strips her own, dropping it into the sink and sliding into the shower behind Price, her purr soft as she moves closer. “Job done?” “Mmm, three murderous fucks down, three to find.” Silence falls as she eases in front of him to wash the blood from her body, barely stifling her whine when Price presses closer, then turns her to pin her to the wall, her lips meeting his under the water as finally, finally, they come together, the pace both sharp and passionate even as she feels him stretching her again, their mutual passion enough to dull the sting of it, her whimpers and whines soon turn to moans, legs locking around his hips as she rides his pace, her final release loud, almost too loud for her own good, his smile sharply warm when she’s finally able to rest her head against his shoulder. “Worth the wait?” “Definitely.” Her purr is soft before she adds. “Don’t hold back next time.”

[shadowworldwanderers]

Love Story (Not A Ghost Story) – Juliet MacIntosh/Lady Liandrin MacBeth

A/N: Fic 12 for @jmathesonandsiblings Spooky Season In The Barrens.

“The Bloody Bride…” Juliet groans even as she settles to listen, aware that just inside the house Liandrin will be listening. The tale is wrong, she realises quickly, painting Liandrin as insane, dangerous, heartless. Liandrin is none of those things and Juliet cuts the story off quickly. “That’s not true… I’ll tell you the truth…” She does. Firmly, quietly and with conviction, staring down the young woman who had told the false version, her words softer as she finishes the tale, her voice low and firm. “The same thing could happen to any of us.” Later, the girls having gone home, Juliet locks the house, pulling curtains closed before making her way up to the bedroom, aware of Liandrin watching her as she enters. “You didn’t have to…” “I did. They had no right….” Juliet’s eyes sparkle with anger and Liandrin half-smiles, moving to kiss her stubbornly loving human woman all over again. “I love how fiercely you defend me love.”

[shadowworldwanderers]

Bleed For You - Missy Claus/Price Edwards

A/N: Fic 11 for @jmathesonandsiblings Spooky Season In The Barrens. Price is @jmathesonandsiblings guy, Missy is my girl.

The yowl breaks his focus exactly as Missy’s claws, sharp, sharper than they should be, bite into her attacker even as Price moves to flip the creature away from her, letting her rip the creature open before ending it’s life, his eyes taking in the way the cat crawls away into the shrubbery, a slightly scruffy looking Missy limping back to join him even as she pulls the spines from her wrists and ankle. “Fucker stung me…” “Show me?” Her blood drips over his fingers even as he analyses the wound. Her skin is already starting to heal over, the blood dripping free of her skin seems to be running normally. They got lucky. It takes him moments to realise she’s staring at her blood on his fingers before she moves to suck his fingers into her mouth, letting out a soft mew of pleasure that he’s sure he’s never heard before. Once she’s less desperate to clean him and looks less miserable he moves to scoop her into his arms, smiling at the hiss she lets out. “Settle down Kitten, you can claw me up later, see if you can draw blood this time.”

[shadowworldwanderers]

Menace In The Bedroom – Ellie Sutton/Jude Matheson

A/N: Bonus 1 for @jmathesonandsiblings ' Spooky Season in the Barrens. Jude is @jmathesonandsiblings ' Boy, Ellie is my babygirl.

“Jude…” Ellie barely hides the yelp even as she laughs into Jude’s kiss, allowing herself to pull him closer, the kisses sliding from subtle to passionately protective. She’s been wanting this, them like this, for a while, but she hadn’t quite expected Jude to make the first move. “Want you…” Two words, gruff with need and she smiles, kissing him again. “Then take me.” Clothes are stripped, thrown anywhere, Jude’s kisses turning fierce with love and Ellie allows herself to melt into it, responding just as passionately. Later, much later, she’ll wake tangled in sheets and Jude, smiling even as she wriggles a little deeper into his embrace, barely stifling her moan when he shifts against her and they slip back into love-making.

[shadowworldwanderers]

Horror And Healing - Georgina Thompson/Jamie Shroud

A/N: Fic 10 for @jmathesonandsiblings Spooky season in the barrens. Jamie is theirs, Georgina is mine.

It’s the ninth time she flinches that she digs her nails into Jamie’s arm, just a little. Georgina’s eyes flicker closed even as she whimpers, a low, frustrated, noise. She used to love horror movies but lately she’s been struggling to relax. Silence falls, Jamie’s arm tenses then relaxes in her grip and she whines again even as he coaxes her silently into his lap, burrowing her nose into his neck, her breath soft even as she whispers an embarrassed apology. “Sorry… I didn’t mean to… claw you.” He huffs a laugh, soft lips pressed to her hairline as he runs a soft hand over her back. “It’s okay… I know you got a lil freaked out.” She’s silent then, flinching at the next jumpscare and burrowing her way deeper into his arms, turning in his lap just enough to tuck her chin over his shoulder and relax into him again, choosing to ignore the movie and soak up his warmth instead. “Better?” He sounds amused but she huffs out a small sigh and nods. “Always better with you.”

[shadowworldwanderers]

By The Firelight's Glow - Price Edwards/Missy Claus

A/N: Fic 9 for @jmathesonandsiblings Spooky Season in the Barrens. Missy is mine, Price belongs to @jmathesonandsiblings.

It’s quiet, watching the bonfire. Price hadn’t been sure at first that he could adapt to the feral catwoman beside him, but, as he watches Missy’s eyes sparkle in the firelight, he knows now he would do anything to keep her close. She’s fierce, sweetly loyal despite being more than a little feral and ferocious. Where normal women might have found him too much she kept up with him, always. So, when people start drifting from the fireside, he inches closer, lets her curl closer, smiles at the soft, almost muted, purr as she nestles into him a little. She’s small, slim, innocent to anyone who looks at her, nobody would ever know the feral spark inside her, not when she’s like this. The bonfire glows even as people move away, tired by the days events. Soon they are alone and he can feel her smile curve at his neck, her lick then nip enough to drag a soft noise from him. “Easy Kitten, we can play later.”

[shadowworldwanderers]

Better The Devil You Know - Marguerite Beaulieu/Jude Matheson

A/N: Fic 7 for @jmathesonandsiblings Spooky Season In The Barrens.

“Devil…” The word, spat in her direction as it always is, makes Marguerite’s eyes sting with unshed tears even as she slips into Jude’s home, into his arms, burying her face in his neck even as the tears escape her control. “Shhh…” Jude’s murmur is soft, his lips brushing her ear gently, his voice a soft, sweetly warm rumble. “Shhh, sweet one.” She’s still barely in control of her emotions when she pulls back a little to look at him, her voice shaking. “Why do you… why me?” “People around here…. They are judgemental… if you are the devil for daring to love the wrong man then I guess I’m damned, for loving a devilishly sweet woman like you.” Jude’s smile curves up a little even as he leans to kiss her softly. “I don’t care.” He knew, deep down, if he ever told her the truth she wouldn’t run but it was still hard, she was still so new to this, to them. Her smile against his lips is all he wants and he smiles even as he lets the kiss deepen, pulling her closer. “Let’s go to bed.”

[shadowworldwanderers]

Haunt Me (Love Me) - Juliet MacIntosh/Lady Liandrin MacBeth

A/N: Fic 6 for @jmathesonandsiblings Spooky Season in the Barrens.

Haunted Houses. People liked touring them, but Juliet has always refused it. She doesn’t want to share her love, not now, she’s not sure she ever will. All she can do is hope, as she drinks in the sight of her lover, her beautiful ghost, that she can always keep her haunted house to herself. Liandrin had told her, once, about the woman she had chased away last. The woman using her haunted house to make money, faking all of it. Liandrin had never shown herself as she did with Juliet… but now, here, together, it feels right. Juliet loves her, even as she’s haunted by her presence. The haunting Liandrin had exposed most people to was not the same. Liandrin haunted Juliet with her love, soft kisses, gentle embraces, promising never to leave her. She would never hurt her.

[shadowworldwanderers]

Between You And I (The World Fades Away) – Spencer Woodbridge/Elizabeth Walker/Edward Woods

A/N: Fic 5 for @jmathesonandsiblings Spooky Season in the Barrens. Set sometime after Spencer left Elizabeth thinking he died. Spencer belongs to @jmathesonandsiblings, Edward and Elizabeth are mine.

“Spencer?” Elizabeth’s voice shudders with unshed tears even as Edward’s hand grips her hip his other hand clenches around his knife, her softness making him pause even as he takes his rival in. Spencer. Her other lover. “Who is…” “The one who dried her tears.” Edward’s voice is low, husky with rage and worry. Spencer steps closer and he adjusts his grip on the knife. He can’t let her go, not now… but perhaps… “A Rival…” “Or A lover…” Elizabeth’s voice is soft, hopeful, her eyes flickering between them both and Edward considers the man again, her hope is so gentle and bright he almost smiles, then shrugs, letting the knife drop, sizing the man up one more time before letting his lips press to Spencer’s. Spencer hesitates, noting the hope in Elizabeth’s eyes, the way that Edward’s lips feel against his own is new, pleasing in the warmth, the gentleness of it, his lips open a little, accepting the kiss before beckoning Elizabeth closer, the two kissing her before Spencer smiles at Edward. “She still a little whiner?” “Mmm, she’s learning to let go louder… maybe we can teach her to scream for us?”

[shadowworldwanderers]

Pumpkin Patch Polyamory - Ezra Matheson/Cyrene Roberts/Anya Mazur/Joelle ‘Joey’ Sink/Nadira Richards /Shay Matheson.

A/N: Fic 4 for @jmathesonandsiblings Spooky Season In The Barrens. Shay and Ezra belong to @jmathesonandsiblings, everyone else is mine. 'Pumpkin Patch' was the prompt.

Had anyone looked at them without knowing it might look like three couples, best friends. Ezra’s arm is looped lazily around Cyrene’s waist, Cyrene’s hand slipped into Nadira’s where she’s curled her arm around Shay’s hips, the man’s laugh echoing even as his fingers entwine with Anya’s, Anya’s arm tucked tight around Joey. People might think it’s three couples, from the outside, but had they paid attention they would have heard them teasing and laughing amongst themselves as they sought out a pumpkin big enough to fit their names, making their new and deeply passionate polycule official. The pumpkin patch had always been Anya’s safe space, now, as she looked around at her lovers she finally, finally, felt loved enough to relax into the warmth of their love, safe and held close.

[shadowworldwanderers]

Lying Beside You (With You Wanting Me) - Lady Liandrin MacBeth/Juliet MacIntosh

A/N: Fic 3 for this year's Spooky season in the barrens hosted by @jmathesonandsiblings. Prompt for this one is 'Ghost Hunter'.

Ghost hunters had always been a threat. Now, as Juliet stood face to face with the thin young man, she lied boldly. She would not let them have Liandrin, not now, not ever. Every question was met with icy silence before she answered, her voice crisp with irritation. “No, I haven’t seen anything unusual…” “The Bloody Bride…” “Is a myth. Kindly leave my property.” Juliet’s door slams closed, locks and she strides through the house, pulling curtains closed in an act that makes it seem simply that she is irritated by their intrusion. She’s silent as she wraps her dress tighter around herself, padding from the front of the house to the back, locking the other doors, shutting more curtains before heading towards the bedroom. She wakes to Liandrin, her beautiful Ghost Bride, watching her with shining eyes, her smile soft as she reaches to gently stroke her ghost’s cheek tenderly, drawing her into a simple, sweet, kiss. “They can’t have you, my Lia… I love you too much.”

[shadowworldwanderers]

Sudden Silence, Sudden Heat - Edward Woods/Elizabeth Walker

A/N: It's Spooky Season witches! Here's the first fic for @jmathesonandsiblings awesome spooky season in the barrens event. 'Cryptids' was the prompt.

There’s silence as he walks, his eyes trailing over the woods as he follows the path, faltering at the sight of the blonde woman crouched at the edge of the bog. She’s pale, blonde hair falling loose, sea green-blue eyes misted with such intense misery that he feels his heart tighten with worry. Then he hears it, the woman’s soft sobbing drawing him closer even as he feels the pull to cradle her close, taste her tears that drip down soft cheeks. She stiffens as he moves closer, her eyes flickering with a mixture of fear and panic, his voice dropping even as he moves closer, hands held out. Her hands fist into her simple dress, the pale purple suiting her even as her hands knot tighter into it. “Are you alright… miss?” “Elizabeth… and… no.” “Edward… and… can I… help?” Her eyes burn as they meet his, her breathing sharpening even as she lets him closer, leaning a little into his touch as he smooths tears away, slim fingers tangling around his wrist. “Who hurt you?” “Nobody but…” Her words flow now, his eyes locked on her even as he smooths soft fingers over her cheek, tasting her tears slowly when she looks for him again, then soft lips, swallowing her moan of surprise. “What… are you?” She sounds unsure and he half-sighs. “I thought I must be… human but…” He hesitates then. “Your pain… it called to me…” “Mandragora…” Elizabeth’s voice is soft and, when he stiffens a little, she moves to kiss him again. “Mandragora… a true cryptid… and… if the stories are true… a true mate for bog witches or wood wanderers…” Later, after they walk home, her fingers entangled through his, he finds he kisses her harder, more protectively. They don’t sleep together, not that night, but he knows, deep down, they will, someday.

[shadowworldwanderers]

Bleeding Love – Dino Leeds/Gina Amato, Nonno Leeds/Donna Amato

A/N: Bonus 2 for @jmathesonandsiblings Spooky Season in the Barrens. (Yes I did do these backwards, shhh). Dino and Nonno are @jmathesonandsiblings' people, even if they technically live on @welcometoleedsdiner. Donna and Gina are mine.

Families who kill together stay together. The motto was an old one that had been engrained into Gina and Donna since they were young, so now, when Dino and Nonno had plans to chase down the man who had so frightened Ellory they had insisted on joining them. Now, as the man bleeds, crying out for his friends, Donna and Gina move to assist in taking out the last of the family. Gina’s stabs are quick, delicate, designed to make as little mess as possible, Donna’s a little more vicious, quick and determined even as a near scream of rage leaves her. Nobody messes with her family and lives, she’s always said it, now she proves it. Later, walking from the devastation Gina’s hand slips into Dino’s, squeezing softly even as Nonno pulls Donna into a fierce kiss. She’s always been quiet, gentle, firmly loving, seeing another side of her only makes her all the more perfect to him.