#tr; yvette rios

[thedevilsbckbone]

Yvette's shoulders slumped at Eli's answer. She had hoped that he would have some clue what was going on and what that thing was, considering his job and all, but it was clear that he was just as much in the dark as she was. Her eyes dropped to her hands, feeling herself wilting further into herself, unsure of what was to come. It was terrifying and the feeling sank deep into her bones, causing her to just feel so utterly exhausted and despondent.

Neither of them spoke for a moment, obviously both still struggling to grasp the reality that they were in. It wasn't until she felt Eli's touch on her arm that Yvette glanced up again, meeting his gaze as she listened to him speak, blinking back the fresh tears that threatened to flow all over again. She knew he was right, that this was beyond either of them and they had to stop the search for her sister. It broke her heart to agree but Yvette knew now that she couldn't face that thing again and if she'd only just barely manage to escape with her life was due to Eli's help.

She had thought she would break down again, sob and scream and beg God for answers, but instead Yvette just felt empty and numb. "Yeah," she muttered softly in agreement before she dropped her head down again, swallowing harshly. They wouldn't go back out there to look for her sister but they weren't safe just yet. Not at least until the sun comes out and they can go back to town and tell the authorities there what they saw. "What do we do now?" She asked after a moment. | @pacificgrims

"I don't know." The words felt so hollow coming out of him. He felt guilty that he didn't have any answers, that they'd gone through what they did and came out on the other side still not knowing more. All they knew was that there was a monster lurking around Deadwood Peak, and that more or less confirmed all the hearsay shared between the locals for about a hundred years. If he sought out information from any neighbors, they'd laugh in his face, ask him to tell them something they don't know.

Regardless, Eli could guarantee none of them who told these stories actually encountered the monster they spoke of. He couldn't imagine the kind of person who saw what they saw and spread it around like tabloid gossip. Surely all the talk was cheap, then—made up. If what he and Yvette saw was real, then the town had no clue what they were up against.

Maybe there was one person who might know the being's true nature, but no way would he entertain going to see them. He wouldn't even mention this person to Yvette, for her safety. It was selfish, he knew, to make that decision for her; but he had to do it or else somebody else would die. If he learned anything from all his years in combat it was that sometimes, the best protection, stronger than any bullet and sharper than any knife, was ignorance. If he had it his way, Yvette would put this to rest. Lay her sister to rest.

He didn't say anything, not for some time, as he took shallow breaths. His head pounded, the screech of the creature playing over and over again, warbled, disjointed, even in the silence of the bird's nest. To ground himself, he reached over and squeezed Yvette's forearm. When they locked eyes, he opened his mouth to speak, though it took a second for any words to actually form.

"Look," he began. "We went in there to check out the mine and what we found... What we found is way bigger than either of us thought. I don't think it's a good idea to go back there again. If we want to live. I'm sorry."

[thedevilsbckbone]

Her eyes held his as he answered, softening woefully in understanding when he mentioned not being okay either. Though it made her feel guilty, Yvette couldn't also help but feel relief in knowing she wasn't the only one going through it. She had forced herself to compartmentalize all these awful feelings for the sake of her family, exhausting herself to maintain some semblance of normalcy after what she and Eli had experienced. His following words caused the brunette to let out a dejected sigh that held the weight of all the stress and unease she'd been bottling up for months, a sad smile twitching at the corner of her lips for a second before she spoke. "Yeah," she nodded her softly in agreement, her voice hollow.

Her eyes had drifted back over to the slain woman's family again, seeing the two boys there crying, and Yvette felt her chest tighten up. Her mind flashed briefly to Alejandra's memorial service. She'd bought a plot at the cemetery and they placed a small headstone in her honor. Even though they'd never located Ale's body, Yvette had opted for the grave site none the less to give the children peace of mind. It taunted Yvette on the other hand, serving as yet another reminder of that thing that had attacked her and had likely killed her sister as well.

Her eyes met Eli's again as he spoke and she muttered her condolences. There was that guilt building up inside her again that she'd began to feel the moment she arrived at the service. She just couldn't shake the memories of seeing the poor woman in her final moments nor shake the suspicion that somehow she was partly to blame for it. After all, why else would she be seeing the things she did as if she were doing them? She stood there quiet for a moment afterwards, silently contemplating everything.

When he asked her about how long and where she was staying, Yvette let out another small sigh, shoulders rising up in a shrug. "I don't know — to be quite honest I didn't really think that far ahead." The decision to come had been an impulsive one stemming from her growing concern for Eli and the looming dread that haunted her.

"Truth be told, I was hoping to never have to come back but then I saw the news about the... attacks —" her eyes met his, passing another unspoken understanding between them. She shifted uncomfortably, her leg beginning to ache dully at where teeth had mangled flesh. She winced, reaching out to rest her hand against a nearby end table, leaning into it slightly to help alleviate some of the strain. "— and I had to come check on you... I hadn't heard from you in a while." she added softly. There was no accusation in her voice, and her gaze held understanding, even if deep down she had to admit there was a twinge of hurt at the fact. After all, he was the only one in her life that truly understood what she was going through and could be completely honest with. He was the only one that made her feel like she wasn't completely crazy. Which was ironic considering she barely knew really anything about him.

"I guess I figured I'd just stay where I did last time," she continued, a small frown tugging at the corners of her lips as she actually took a second to think about it for the first time. Truthfully she loathed the idea of staying in the motel seeing how close it was to the edge of the woods, not really feeling safe out on her own, but it wasn't as if she had many options available. She cleared her throat as those thoughts served to remind her why she was there exactly and she mustered up the courage to say the words that had been sitting on the tip of her tongue from the moment she decided to seek him out. "We need to talk about what's happening," Yvette implored in a soft mutter, glancing back towards the group of people again for a split second before catching his gaze. "There's something I need to tell you... but I can't talk about it here."

Despite the relief of not having seen him in any of those terrible visions, the brunette couldn't shake the awful feeling that neither one of them were out of the woods yet. Paranoid that something wicked was out to get them and that it wasn't going to stop anytime soon unless something actually got done about it. He worked so close to where Yvette knew that danger was lurking - waiting. She knew she couldn't go on trying to ignore it, to stay away. She had to do something. She didn't know what exactly but knew that if anything, Eli could at least help her figure it out. Even if it completely terrified her. She just prayed that after this he didn't look at her like she was crazy the same way everyone else did these days. If that happened then Yvette knew she wouldn'tbe able to hold herself together much longer. | @sickuhhh

The three words felt stupid to say, and yet, Eli had said them anyway—mostly because he'd been echoing what he'd heard all day and he needed to say it, too, if only to feel normal and like he didn't know what really happened to Paloma. Since the night it all happened he'd been reckoning with real life. Every day felt strange and every movement in his body felt foreign as he held the weight of what he and Yvette had encountered. Bizarrely, seeing her now had offered him a sense of comfort; it eased the weight of what he'd been carrying all this time because he knew she was carrying it, too. He wouldn't call himself an expert psychiatrist and he graduated from high school by the hair on his chin, but it felt something like being trauma-bonded.

So he was relieved, also peculiarly, that she'd told him the God's honest truth about not being okay. Because fuck, it was getting exhausting pretending like everything was normal. His eyes wandered around as he thought about how to answer her question. As relieved as he had been, he didn't want to make things worse. Once upon a time people looked to him as some sort of anchor, but lately he'd felt like anything but. It was unlike him to answer his little sister's calls and definitely unlike him to leave a shipment of his ma's pie to the outpost in the freezer, uneaten. Yvette was different, though. She somehow could read him despite the fact that they'd spent less than a week—maybe even five days?—together in total.

No point in lying, he figured. "Me neither. But I don't know what the hell we're supposed to do about it."

Eli let out a heavy sigh, reaching a hand up to rub the back of his neck. His gaze followed hers over to the memorial of Paloma, where her children sobbed and were comforted by family members and the town's residents. There weren't as many people here as there were at the first funeral, when the first attack was recorded. In fact, he remembered being unable to walk about the whole funeral home; it was as if every resident of Deadwood Peak was there that day. Now, he could count a few dozen. A result of the great fleeing, perhaps even a culling depending on whose perspective you were looking from.

"She waited on me a lot at the diner," he said, easing his hand away from the back of his neck and resting it on his hip. "Small talk, nothing too deep. But she was a good woman."

It had been a while since Eli sent Yvette an email. In fact, she was probably the last one to send any sort of correspondence in the past month or so. That was before the so-called animal attacks began in town. He'd hoped in earnest that maybe she would forget about him, forget about Deadwood Peak, forget about the monster—move on with her life. This wasn't supposed to be the sort of thing that consumed either of them, but especially her as she'd had a life outside of all of this. A hard-and-fast distance from this place, even if her sister's death meant she had to be connected somehow. His post at the watchtower meant this was inevitable; she'd had a choice, the way he saw it.

Maybe Eli had purposely avoided emailing her about the attacks because he wanted to wean her away from coming here. But obviously, it hadn't stopped her.

"How long you in town for? Where you stayin'?"

[thedevilsbckbone]

Though their interaction had started of awkwardly, Yvette could feel the shift in the air around them as Liam seemed to grow more relaxed and Yvette followed in turn. It assured her that he did actually like her in some capacity and had actually thought to call her. She chalked it up to the likelihood that he was just probably rusty with his social skills because of his time spent away. She couldn't fault anyone for that, least of all him. Yvette was happy with the knowledge that he was trying. It was commendable and kind of cute. Besides, she had plenty of bubbly personality for the both of them. When he mentioned how great the market was, her smile grew wider as her brows lifted a bit. "Oh, do you come here a lot? Because if so then you are going to have to show me where all the best stands are." She said with a small chuckle.

The earlier incident that had shaken her up before Liam had stepped in was far from her mind now as they two stood there talking. This was not how she expected to see him again - if ever - but she was glad that it happened. Especially when he brought up grabbing a coffee together if she didn't have anything to do. She flashed him an amused smile at understanding his reference, even if she'd never actually watched the show. "You know, I've heard that too." She said, tickled by the comment. "The carnival doesn't end until ten and this was the only thing I had planned so I definitely don't have any plans after this," she said with a small shrug, as she confirmed his train of thought. A gleaming smile spreading across her lips as she continued. "And I think a coffee sounds great," she agreed.

She'd thought she caught something in his gaze for a split second, hesitation maybe, but before she could say anything, he was speaking, talking in a somewhat joking manner though his words caused the brunette's smile to fall a bit, concern filling her eyes. "I'm sorry that you're not sleeping well. Are you still trying to adjust to the change?" She asked, unable to resist wanting to slip back into that honest and open line of communication they used to have back when they were writing each other. "Guess that explains when you suggested coffee." She added, hoping the lighthearted joke would keep the mood from turning sour and ruining the nice moment they'd built up just because she'd asked the wrong thing. Just to be on the safe side, she also decided to throw in a compliment for good measure. "Well, if it helps at all, you're wearing it very well." | @wutheringdevotion

Liam had never been good with people. Before the incident-that-must-not-be-named, he used to make people uncomfortable on purpose. Now… well, now Liam was pretty sure all he had to do was show up to evoke that unpleasant feeling in others. He had yet to test it, but his gut told him that if he were to show up at the university or childhood home, an air of uneasiness and tension would fill every room. It would probably play out like a scene from a movie, the crowd suddenly going quiet as all eyes fell on the same point. Maybe he did have to try it at some point. Most of the time, it was not a fact that disturbed him. People didn't like him, but Liam shared the same sentiment. However, in instances like the one occupying him right then, when he was trying to actually form a bond with a person he liked, the lack of social skills played against him. Yvette, bless her, seemed to have more patience in her little finger than most people managed to develop in a lifetime — Liam himself included. He made a mental note to ask where it came from at some point.

Ah, so that explained why he had never seen her around despite weekly visits to the market being part of his weekend routine. He gave a little nod now and then, a simple way to participate in the conversation without interrupting her. It was odd. Liam had always loved the sound of his own voice more than anything in the world. But he was willing to give the spotlight to Yvette. She seemed different when she talked. More free. Younger. Or perhaps her age. Liam wasn't sure. But he liked her voice, and he liked the energy that radiated off her as she filled silence with interesting things. "It's a great farm market," he conceded, showing her a smile that bared all teeth. "So that means you don't have elsewhere to be? We could… eh… grab a coffee? I heard somewhere there is an entire show dedicated to how friends do that." Her next question made it falter for a second. He was pretty sure social norms dictated that here was where he lied — where he said everything was fine despite it not being that well. But he was also certain that went against the foundation of friendship. "Ah, well, thanks. I'm trying a new skincare routine. It's called fighting your demons with lack of sleep." In the end, he chose the third option, deflecting. "The horrors persist but so do I." He had read the phrase somewhere on the wide expanse of the intenet and found it hilarious.

[thedevilsbckbone]

Yvette was still processing her attack and injury, her heart racing wildly as adrenaline rushed through her veins which caused her entire leg to numbly burn and she wondered if she had gone into shock. However, before she had a chance to think further on that, the sound of the creature's screeching cry echoed through the dark tunnel sounding closer once again. The thing was coming back, she realization in complete terror. Instantly, Eli was lifting her body up and tossing her over his shoulder.

They were moving she realized a second later, heading back in the direction of the entrance and this time the brunette would not put up a fight. Eli was moving so quickly that it made the brunette bounce and she tried to hold her head up so she could see behind them to check if that thing was still coming. It was hard to see in the dark and she lifted her hand with the flashlight to try and see. Despite the dread of knowing that thing was after them, she had a gnawing urge to see what it was - to see what had attached her. She didn't think it had sounded like any kind of bear or wolf she'd ever seen, there'd been something about it that had sounded wrong.

Her flashlight bounced off the walls until it caught a flash of something not far from them, causing the brunette to startle. Still, despite the trembling in her limbs, she continued to look, trying to make sense of what she was seeing. It was pale and looked unnaturally large. It didn't look to have fur either. Instead she caught a glimpse of what looked to be long spindly limbs, then antlers, then teeth - long and sharp like jagged bone fragments. Yvette could not process what she was seeing, as if every part she saw of it didn't seem to go together. It was like some sort of abomination. A demon.

The sheer sight of it was enough to make Yvette's blood run cold and she looked away again, dropping her head and screwing her eyes shut in terror. She braced in anticipation as she expected to feel those razor sharp teeth take hold of her again. No. No. No - please god don't let me die here. She silently prayed to herself.

Then suddenly, weightlessness and a white blinding brightness overwhelmed Yvette's sense for a flash before it all came to stop as she hit a hard surface with a loud thud. The force had knocked the wind out of her and she tumbled forward a few feet until she landed on her stomach just beside a large tree.

She barely even have time to register what had happened but she realized they were out of the mine. Quickly lifting her head, eyes wildly sweeping around as she expected to see that thing again, but luckily it didn't seem to follow, hearing it's cries of anger echo in the dark cavern of the mine entrance before disappearing. She let out a loud sigh of relief but was startled by Eli as he came beside her. "Eli!" she said in relief, grasping onto his shoulder.

As he held her face, making sure she was okay, Yvette's eye continued to jump back and forth between him and the mine entrance, still half expecting to see that monster again. "I-I don't..." she said, panting and shaking her head as she tried to make sense of what the hell had just happened and what they had just seen. One thing she knew though was that she was far from okay. She nodded as he mentioned having to carry her, wanting nothing more than to get the hell out of there - after all, they weren't out of the woods yet.

--—

It was already dark by the time they reached his watch tower and Yvette felt exhausted. Eli had to help her up the stairs and once inside, he put her down on the couch. She turned to him, expecting Eli to go to call for help but instead she watched right as he collapsed to the floor as he passed out. She jumped down onto the floor, ignoring the searing pain in her leg, as she crawled over to him and began to pat his face, trying to wake him. "Eli! Eli - wake up! Please, please wake up!" She urged him desperately but the officer was out cold.

She sat up, gasping in alarm as her eyes flew to the windows that sat perched upon each of the walls, staring out into the bleak darkness, feeling as if something was watching them. Fear sank deep as she realized they were helpless with him out. She had to do something.

Crawling her way back to the couch, she pulled down one of the pillows and lifted Eli's head to slid it beneath him, carefully letting his head down back down. He was too heavy, and with her condition, she knew she had no chance of moving him, so she did her best to make him at least a little comfortable.

Hours had passed and somehow the brunette had managed to bandage up her leg and use a cloth to clean up both her own, as well as Eli's, cuts and scrapes up. She'd tried to use the radio in the corner of the room to call for help but couldn't seem to work it properly. They were stuck there until morning, or at least until Eli woke up. At least, she hoped and prayed that he'd wake up.

It was nearing 3am, the witching hour, and Yvette was fighting the exhaustion that threatened to overtake her. She was too scared to sleep, worried if he did that thing would come here and get them. She sat beside Eli, her head resting back against the couch as she gripped the knife she'd retrieved from the kitchen tightly in her hands. Every rustle of leaves; every twig snapping, every hoot of an owl, would draw Yvette's attention towards the windows, to the inky blackness of the night sky, half expecting to see that thing standing there - waiting for her.

She felt like she was going mad.

Was that what her sister had seen? Is that what took her? | @bigyellowmoon

It's coming back.

Eli listened for the creature, hushing Yvette. The clacking of its hooves faded. And for a moment, perhaps foolishly, he felt enough at ease that they could high-tail out of the mine and never look back. But not another second passed before the sound of the creature galloping grew louder and louder, as if circling back toward them from the other side of the wall until its chase led it to the dead-end of the tunnel. Perhaps it would emerge from below.

Eli's heart sank to his stomach. Pure fear dilated his pupils. He shot his head back toward Yvette and hoisted her up over his shoulder in one fell swoop. "We gotta go. Now!"

He rushed for the exit, that light at the other end of the tunnel growing larger and larger, from a speck to a full-sized moon. Something fell out of his belongings and clinked onto the hard ground, but he didn't dare stop to pick it up. It would be lost for good, but everything could be replaced. The creature was gaining on them now, and Eli cussed, feeling it hot on his trail. Don't look behind you. Don't look behind you.

But some unknown voice suddenly invaded his brain, screeching one thing: Look!

He couldn't. He wouldn't. He won't.

The exit—or entrance?—to the mine was just mere feet away now. He could see a sliver of the sun in the horizon, past the trees, disappearing into the mouth of the sky.

Look!

Willed by a force unknown and unseen, possibly the very same force that had infiltrated his consciousness, Eli glanced over his shoulder. To see it.

Limbs. Horns. Hooves. Glowing yellow eyes.

Was it even real?

He gasped, snapping his head forward, seeing those fences at the entrance—exit?—of the mine close enough that he swore he could touch them. They were right there. And though Eli didn't know whether they would be safe once they were out of the mine, he had to believe it, pray to some God out there, somebody, whoever was listening, that there was an invisible threshold that this creature couldn't bypass and it was right at the mouth of the mines.

Shutting his eyes tight, he kicked off his final step and hurled himself forward and out of the mine, holding onto Yvette tightly. He landed on his back, breaking the woman's fall yet again; however, the force of his fall caused him to let go of her. All he could do was hope she was safe.

He heard a roar and opened his eyes. The creature had its back turned to them now, retreating back into the darkness of the mine. As if it couldn't go into the light. Breathing heavily, Eli gathered his strength and looked for Yvette, who was thankfully only a couple of feet away from him. He crawled over to check on her, picking her up and getting the both of them on their feet.

"Are you alright?" Though he knew the answer to that was no, and if she asked him, he'd say the same thing. He held her face in his hands, thumb dipping into the trail of blood near her hairline, the sensation of it reminding him of pressing into an ink pad. Despite looking shaken up from her injuries, she was breathing, and that was all that mattered to him.

Suddenly, a wolf howled in the distance, startling him. Eli let go of Yvette's face and looked down at her leg, the creature's teeth having left its marks on her skin. It looked like she'd been attacked by a bear. "You can't walk like this," he said, breathing heavily. "I have to carry you. C'mon."

Although he, too, was in shock at what they'd just seen and heard, he needed to get them as far away from the mine as possible. And he didn't want to tell her this, but the blood on her leg and face would surely attract the wolves. They were in the grip of nature and they had to yank themselves out or they'd never be let go.

-

Eli had commanded one of the ATVs that were parked near the mines at one of the secondary outposts of all the lookouts, where some supplies and a couple of vehicles lived in case of emergency. Riding the four-wheeler back to his bird's nest cut their time in more than half, which he was thankful for since the sun was almost completely set now, painting the entire forest a deep, inky blue.

He helped Yvette make the climb up to his lookout, where they would be safe for the rest of the night. Though Eli couldn't help but feel like that thing was still on their tracks. It wrought complete dread into him, a feeling that not even the safety of the lookout couldn't salve. He set Yvette down on the couch before collapsing onto the cold, wooden floor.

Everything was black. // @thedevilsbckbone

[thedevilsbckbone]

Night seemed to stretch on forever. Fear had sank so deep in Yvette's bones that they became stiff like concrete. She hadn't moved an inch from her spot on the floor, save for her eyes that frantically stared out into the inky blackness of the night skin, always expecting at any moment to see whatever that thing was.

Dawn seemed just out of reach, teasing her to never peak above the horizon to bring life back into the world and give the pair of them some semblance of safety. Or at least, that was what she assumed, given that the creature had seemed to be repelled by the light.

Tick. Tick. Tick.

The only sound that filled the room was the clock on the wall, almost becoming white noise after a while. She'd stopped glancing over at the time hours ago, when she realized it was only seeming to drag it out even longer. Everything ached and her resolve had crumbled to near pieces. The only thing keeping Yvette from completely falling apart was Eli laying unconscious beside her.

Tick. Tick. Tick.

She'd fallen into this almost zombie-like trance; awake and somewhat aware but barely registering anything around her as she continued to stare out the window; waiting, no expecting, to see something there. Then a sudden touch on her hand seemed to break her from her spell, jumping back in a startle as her head whipped around, eyes wide and frightened, expecting this to be it - her final moment.

To her relief, it was Eli, awake and trying to assure her. She let out a ragged breath, shaking hands dropping the knife beside her as she desperately threw her arms around him, ignoring the ache in her joints as she moved them for the first time in what had to be hours.

"Oh god, Eli. I'm so glad you're awake." she sighed, feeling her eyes water with relief.

After a split second, she remembered he could possibly have a serious head injury and pulled back, not wanting to injure him further. Brows knit together in concern as she looked at him, watching as he closed his eyes for a moment before opening to meet her gaze. His question, had her peak towards the window from the corner of her eye before she quickly pulled them back again, as that familiar fear crept up her skin. "I don't know," her voice was horse and barely above a whisper as she answered both questions with a small shake of her head. A choked sob left her as her shoulders slumped, feeling the exhaustion she'd been fighting off finally settling over her. She was so tired and her leg was throbbing, she felt lightheaded and her throat was so sore it stung but she hadn't been able to bring herself to move until now.

"You okay?" She asked, concerned eyes meeting his again. After a split second, she went to speak again. "Wha-" her voice cracked and her tongue flicked out to wet her dry lips before trying again. "What was that thing?" She asked, her eyes and tone practically pleading with him to have some kind of answer to all this madness. | @pacificgrims

He was in a hole, and he was running out of air.

It had been a few minutes since he heard his bud's last dispatch on the radio, a dispatch that told him they saw the explosion and they were on their way. "We've got medics comin' your way, King. Five minutes. Just sit tight and remember to breathe." Except, when you were stuck under rubble, in complete pitch black, breathing was the last thing you wanted to do, and tight was the only choice you had. Trapped, he lost count of time, knowing it was dwindling—knowing that five minutes in military time actually meant that and some change.

Eli felt stupid. He had half a mind to waste the rest of his breath on cursing himself out, sealing his own fate. He should have known better than to fall for the lure that led him into this building in the first place, even if it was somebody who looked totally innocent. It wasn't their fault, he knew it; and he wasn't angry at them. Just wished things were different.

Suddenly his chest felt both compressed and like it was fully inflated, ready to explode any second. He'd been stingy with his breathing and it wasn't enough. He was going to die buried under a building. The rescue squad was going to take one look at the pile of concrete and beams and call him a lost cause, and they would be damn right to do so.

The pain in his chest was unbearable. Eli lost complete control; he opened his mouth and screamed.

And screamed, and screamed.

But no noise came out.

When he finally came to, it was in a cold sweat. But he didn't jolt upright; his eyes just flicked open and he became, all at once, aware of himself.

Breathing fast, he looked around him, sitting up somewhat, realizing he'd just been dreaming. (What is it called when you dream something you've lived before?) The first thing he spotted was the bright white moon outside the window, illuminating the bird's nest for what it was. Then, he spotted one lantern in a corner, warm and buttery. The ceiling lights were off and so were the flood lights outside of the outpost.

Then, he finally turned to see Yvette. She'd been upright, stiff as a statue, clutching a knife in her hands. Her gaze was practically taped to the window. He swallowed, unsure if she noticed he woke up—he didn't think he made a peep—and slowly reached a hand out to her.

"Hey," he spoke quietly, not wanting to scare her, though part of him knew it was inevitable. "Hey! Relax. It's me. It's okay. I'm here. I'm awake." She looked pale and like she hadn't had a drink of water, even though there was a full supply of water bottles in the kitchenette. He hovered over the knife, wordlessly telling her to put it down, knowing full well he might get stabbed if he moved too quickly.

He brought a hand up to his face, holding it for a moment as he took everything in. The last thing he remembered was escaping the mine, just by the hair. One more second in there and they would've been...

The monster.

That couldn't have been real.

Eli closed his eyes shut and then, a second later, looked over at Yvette again. The image of that thing was permanently burned in his brain. "You okay? ...That thing didn't follow us, did it?" He wasn't sure what time it was but he was certain of one thing: However long it had been was how long the girl had spent looking out the window, wondering the same exact thing. If it followed them.

[thedevilsbckbone]

For a moment Yvette had felt defeat and was slowly, painfully, coming to terms that her sister was likely dead. It broke the brunette's heart, the overwhelming sadness that gnawed at her chest making her start to feel like she was suffocating in that tight enclosing space around them. All felt lost — until there she found the crevice and she heard that voice that sounded so much like Alejandra.

As if some last ditch effort to cling to whatever sliver of hope she could hold onto, Yvette felt all her sense of digression, and sense leave her as she already began to make her way into the crevice, stepping one foot in and turning to the side to start to shimmy her way through. It was at that point that Eli had finally made it over to where she was.

She glanced over at him, turning her flashlight in his direction to see the look on his face that was clear indication that he was losing patience with her at this point and there was a split second where she felt guilty but that other more frantic need to have some kind of silver lining was too overpowering to stop and consider anything else.

She continued to moved forward, getting one shoulder and leg completely through the slit in the rock until she felt Eli grasp her arm roughly. Instantaneous, her head whipped around to look at him, frown tugging at her lips and brows knitting together, momentarily stunned by how hash the words had been and how hurt she surprisingly was by it. However, just as fast she found herself growing just as agitated.

Deep down she knew he was right, but she wasn't thinking straight and all the brunette could think to do was to try and pull her arm free. "Let go of me!" She struggled against him, pulling forward to move even further into space between the rocks.

"I heard her! I heard my sister and I am not leaving until I che—" she began, huffing in annoyance, Eli talking over her trying to be logical. The brunette's attention was drawn away from the male though when she felt this tickle along her leg, sliding down her calf ever so softly. She froze, a split second thought of trying to figure out what it was before the touch was quickly replaced by searing pain and something sharp dug into her flesh.

Yvette gave out a strangled cry of pain as a stabbing pain ripped through her calf but the sound was cut short as she was suddenly tugged towards the crevice by her leg as something tried to drag her through. She hit the wall with a thud, her cheek slamming roughly against the wall she let out another terrified scream.

Her arm that was only moments ago trying to rip itself from Eli's grasp was suddenly desperately holding onto him as best as she could while he tried to pull her back, fighting against whatever was on the other side. "Eli, help me!" she pleaded in absolute horror, letting out another strangled cry as the pain in her leg grew more intense.

She was tugged forward again and her face scraped against the rock, hearing an awful screech that made her blood run cold. Whatever had her sounded like nothing she'd ever heard before and it sounded angry at the resistance. She was almost sure that whatever was there was about to completely rip her leg off and Yvette had the fleeting thought that she was about to die.

The a shot unexpectedly rang out and the brunette yelped, completely unaware that Eli was carrying a pistol on him but it seemed to be just enough to cause whatever creature was on the other side to flee in fear. It was so sudden that the momentum of Eli's pull against her sent the pair of them falling back.

Eli had caught most of her fall but the brunette still felt the wind knock out of her. She let out a pitiful sob as she realized he saved her, though they weren't quite out of the woods yet. They needed to get the hell out of there but as Yvette shined the flashlight onto her leg, she saw the fabric of her pants torn and soaked with blood revealing mangled flesh underneath in district lines that looked like what she could only imagine to be claw marks.

"Oh god, my leg!" She cried, winching in pain. She could feel a warm wetness on the side of her face that trailed up to her hairline and she knew she was bleeding there too but she knew that was nothing compared to this.

"I-I don't know," she said shaking her head, breathing labored and shaking as her heart pounded desperately in her chest. She knew they had to get going, as she tried her best to get to her feet as a screen off in the distance. Her head whipped in the direction of the sound and she could feel her adrenaline kick in. "Oh god, it's coming back. Please help me, Eli... please don't leave me here." She found herself clinging to him as she tried to stand, using him for perch as she was unable to put any pressure on the torn leg.

They began to move towards the light at the end of the tunnel, Yvette fought the cries that threatened to leave her at the paint that continued to course through her. Her instincts and adrenaline were finally setting in though and the brunette was determined to do whatever was necessary to escape— to survive.

They were so close.

The relief was sweet, but it was momentary. As Eli ventured toward the dot of light ahead of them, thankful that there was still some sun—albeit, it would soon be a setting sun but a sun nonetheless—at the end of the straight path, he pressed his tongue to the roof of his mouth. He had no clue what awaited them as soon as they walked out of the mine. Would it be the search party, one step ahead of them with newly discovered clues? Or would it be the local sheriff's department, ready to cuff them for trespassing?

He wouldn't find out quite yet. He'd had this looming feeling, as he led the way out of the mine and Yvette strayed behind him, that she would find something, a string to hold onto, a reason to stay and continue investigating despite all omens. Wasn't it enough that they'd nearly plunged to their death just moments ago? His hunch was right. When Yvette told him to wait, he stopped in his tracks. Keen eyes followed to where her flashlight pointed and ears at alert waited to hear, too, what she'd heard. They'd gone this far, he could at least give her the benefit of the doubt.

When there was nothing, Eli huffed through his nose, impatient. He was starting to wonder if he'd been too soft on her, and now the margin between their safety and danger was rapidly shrinking as she grasped at straws. If he hadn't cared about her at least a little bit, then the strength with which he grabbed her arm wouldn't have been so firm and the following words wouldn't have come out so harshly:

"Don't be stupid. We have to go, now."

Before he knew it, Yvette had managed to squeeze one half of her body through the crevice, though one half was being generous. She'd stuck one foot and one arm in, and at this point, panic was sticking its needles in.

"You don't know what's on the other side." He still bothered to argue. "You could get stuck, break your arm, worse, lose air—"

Suddenly, something yanked her deeper in. Her right hip had disappeared into the crack in the wall. Horrified, Eli dropped his flashlight onto the hard ground with a harsh clink and pulled her arm, pulled as hard as he could without trying to rip her limb off, though whatever was on the other side likely wasn't as considerate.

"What is it?!" But trying to make sense of the situation was pointless. "Grab onto me." If this was Yvette's sister on the other side, then she needed to say something. Anything. "Don't let go. Don't let go!"

A creature's screech, mind-numbing and harrowing, could be heard from the other side, protesting Eli's attempts to pull Yvette out. Similar to a pig's squealing with its high pitch but more gravelly, as if its mouth was more open, wider, with larger teeth and far more terrifying than a chubby pink animal. It seemed angry that Eli was fighting back. What could it be? A wolf? But wolves don't make that noise—wolves don't get too close to people—unless they had managed to find a pack's den—all the way up here?—

Without thinking, with one hand still holding onto Yvette, Eli reached for his pistol, one he'd hidden from Yvette on their trek here. He shot it out toward the light, fearing that shooting a bullet anywhere else might make this whole place collapse. The creature, spooked by the loud sound according to Eli's half-baked plan, gave way to Yvette. They both crashed onto the mine floor and heard the four-legged running of an animal on the other side, its paws-hooves-feet echoing in the mine.

Panting, Eli had caught most of Yvette's fall down, having hit the back of his head against the ground in an impact that should have knocked him out. He could thank adrenaline for keeping him awake, but he knew he'd feel the ache later. Sitting up and collecting his bearings, he asked her, "Can you walk?" @thedevilsbckbone

[thedevilsbckbone]

She could see despite her words, Liam was still continuing to try and explain his reasoning for stepping in the way he had. Her brows knit together softly as she could see how in his head he was about the whole interaction and in truth, she couldn't help but be a little endeared by it. Still, not wanting him to continue to stress himself out over it, Yvette reached out and touched his arm, giving it a gentle squeeze as she threw him another sincere look. "Hey - it's okay really. I promise, I don't think anything bad of you for stepping in to help."

She gave him a warm smile as she pulled her hand back almost just as quickly as she had reached out. In truth, she didn't want to overstep too much, seeing as they hadn't even seen or spoken to one another since the day of his release. For all she knew, he didn't like her and wanted nothing to do with her. Or at least, that's what she had let herself come to the conclusion of when she'd not heard from him afterwards. That was until he was calling her a friend and Yvette felt her heart skip with joy at the notion. She could hardly contain the large smile that swept across her lips, lighting up her features. "Exactly - friends are there for one another. It's what they do." She said as she tried to meet his gaze.

She had put the ball in his court, leaving the decision up to Liam whether he really did want to talk to her, and to Yvette's relief he went on to mirror her words. Another spark of excitement and happiness warmed her insides at the smile he shot her which the brunette thought made him far more handsome than he already was. "I'm doing good. I had a day off from work and the kids for once so I came to finally check this market out that I kept hearing about." She said with a small chuckle. "But how are you doing? You look good - like you're doing well." she said sincerely as she looked him over for a brief second, meeting his eyes again with a warm smile. | @wutheringdevotion

"I just didn't want —," it seemed so stupid to clarify it now but once he had started there was no going back. "I don't want you to think I, umm, I think you can't take care of yourself or anything like that. I didn't step in because you're a woman. Trust me. No one is going to associate the word chivalrous with me." It was true. As much as his old self liked to get in trouble and press people's buttons, he rarely came to aid damsels in distress. Not when it put his handsome facial bone structure at risk. Which was just a pompous way of saying he was a coward. He did, however, love to help old ladies cross the road. Their compliments were the absolute best. The words were blurted out in a rush, syllables concatenating, struggling to make sense. His eyes remained focused on some point behind Yvette, or rather, above Yvette. "But it felt wrong to not do anything. You're my friend," he finished, only then realizing the term had actually left his mouth. Some friend he made.

If there was an award for the worst friend alive, Liam would have made a strong contender. Keeping in touch was one of the bases of friendship, even if sporadically. What he had been doing was an entirely different thing. He wouldn't blame her if she didn't share the sentiment. When the woman spoke next, Liam's eyes grew wide with surprise. It wasn't like social cues had been his area of expertise to start with but years of isolation had left him rusty. It took him embarrassingly long to catch up. "Yeah, well, most people don't need to pick their jaws from the floor whenever an electric scooter drives past them," he joked, waving his head with amusement.

But he wasn't rusty enough to not realize what she was trying to do. "Hey, Yvette, long time no see. How are you doing?" He asked as he flashed her a smile that was all teeth, a bit too cheekily for a man who only seconds prior had been trembling with embarrassment.

[thedevilsbckbone]

Ever since she'd gotten back home, after that terrifying night in the mines and time spent in the nearby hospital having surgery to save her leg, Yvette had been fighting this constant all-consuming fear and unease all while trying to mask like things were okay. The doctors had claimed that the traumatizing nature of the attacked, likely by a bear or cougar, had been just too much stress for her mind to handle and it had created the scenario of a monster that she had claimed to see that day on the mountain.

It wasn't until she saw the way some of them began to look at her, the questions that they asked her, that the brunette realize that she was once again jeopardizing her younger siblings losing another sister. She was on the verge of being put under psychiatric evaluation for her 'delusions' and Yvette couldn't have that. So, she kept the horrors to herself, pretended to accept that it had just been an animal attack and move on with her life. She had to focus on putting Alejandra to rest and the physical therapy she had to endure to restore the damage caused by the attack.

That didn't stop her from checking in on Eli every now and then, reaching out to make sure he was doing okay. She'd hated how quickly she'd just left him behind, left him there while knowing that creature was still out there and that he was in danger but she had to get back home to the kids. She thought of him constantly though, always worried, keeping Google alerts on the town just in case she stopped hearing from him and his name popped up in the local news. That was how she'd first learned of the attacks.

The latest article spoke about a single mother who worked at the diner Yvette had stopped in once while she was last there. Her heart ached as she thought about the kids of the poor woman, left without a mother. It was getting harder and harder to ignore that something was going on and somehow she felt like she was involved, especially since began to have those horrible nightmares around the same time the attacks began.

Yvette had sworn never to step foot in Deadwood Peak ever again, yet there she found herself again.

Standing in a corner at the woman's service, Yvette's eyes swept over the crowded room, until they found him. A wave of relief momentarily washed over her as she spotted Eli but the look he passed her as his eyes spotted hers made her heart sink to her stomach. She knew he was thinking the same thing she was. This was no cougar.

Once Eli led her to a quieter area for them to talk, asking her how she was doing, Yvette couldn't help but feel that facade she'd been wearing for the past two months crumble away to dust. "No -" she spoke honestly in a weak voice, not quite meeting his gaze. "Not really." Once her eyes did meet his again, a sad smile tipped up at the corners of her lips, trembling softly. "You?" Her eyes searched his, trying to read what she was sure she already knew the answer to. For a split second her gaze glanced over to the memorial of the woman, a photo of her smiling face on display around a wreath of flowers. "Did you know her well?" | @sickuhhh

@thedevilsbckbone liked for a starter!!

ONE WOMAN FOUND DEAD IN STRING OF COUGAR ATTACKS

The front page headline of the Deadwood Peak Bulletin read simply enough, but Eli knew better—knew in his bones—that there was so much more underneath the surface.

It had been a couple of months since he and Yvette ventured into those mines. The mines where they saw that thing. Eli took a seat at one of the farther-back pews, the pastor up front thanking everyone for attending Paloma's funeral after the harrowing news. It was a closed casket, of course. They never included these details in the paper on purpose, but he'd heard a word from the sheriff's office that the reason they knew it was Paloma for sure was because her nametag, ripped from the Starlight Diner uniform she was wearing the night she got killed, was the only thing that they could identify on the spot. Every other mauled bit of her—what they could gather from the remains—needed to be shipped off to autopsy and her identity was confirmed by her teeth.

Paloma was a nice woman, late 40s, a single mother of two. Her oldest son, Hayden, took the stand to deliver his eulogy. Eli wasn't aware of how tight his fist was until he felt a sudden headache rush to his head. He knew the truth: Cougars weren't to blame for all of the deaths happening in town. Paloma was the fifth one in such a short time, incredibly uncommon for the area. A few locals were fleeing town, some were staying put, armed. The once quiet town was on alert, on the defensive.

Since he and Yvette went into that mountain, they'd awoken something.

After the service, during refreshments, Eli spotted her across the room. He exchanged what he thought was a knowing look between them. He didn't want to go back into the mines, but what was happening seemed personal. Like the monster was going to keep doing this until someone tried to stop it. He closed the distance between them, leading Yvette into a quieter corner of the grieving room.

"Hey. You alright?"

[thedevilsbckbone]

Yvette gave Liam a quick look of confusion as he apologized right as she thanked him, unsure at first as to what he was saying sorry towards. She was about to ask what for but he had continued to speak before she could, answering the question and she realized he was apologizing for stepping in the way he had. Yvette couldn't help but give out a small relieved chuckle at the thought that the thing he was apologizing for was exactly why she'd thanked him. "Oh no, please I am very thankful for you stepping in. I honestly was starting to feel very uncomfortable and didn't really know what to say to get the man to leave." She spoke, hoping her words would help relieve some of the guilt she could see in his expression.

Thought it may have felt a bit awkward, it really was nice to see Liam again. He looked like he was doing well, better than when she'd last seen him when he was first released from prison. Even if he refused to really look at her, it seemed. She was sure some of the guilt was probably for also not reaching out to her. It was a hunch that was confirmed not too soon after as he spoke again, mentioning that he had meant to call her, despite not having done so. She wondered for a moment if he was only saying that because he didn't want to hurt her feelings but as his finally met her gaze, Yvette couldn't help but think he was being truthful.

Her teeth bit softly into her bottom lip as she considered his words. After a couple of seconds she spoke. "I think most people usually just start with hello." She said, shrugging one of her shoulders slightly. "When they call someone, I mean — Or how are you doing is also a good place to start, I think." She offered him a small smile, hoping he would take the hint that she was presenting him with that opportunity then and there if he had meant what he said. | @wutheringdevotion

The last thing Liam wanted was to dismiss the man's behavior. It wasn't his place to do so as it wasn't him the poor excuse of a man had been bothering. But he didn't want to drag the situation longer than necessary in fear their little charade wouldn't be strong enough. So he just nodded, the gesture short and cutly, and tilted his head to Yvette's direction as he added in a casual but meaningful tone, "not me you should be apologizing to." It served no purpose as rather than rectifying, the man waved a hand in the air as he disappeared amongst the crowd — undoubtedly on his way to find some other poor woman to harass.

He waited until the man was out of sight before breaking any physical contact between them. He, too, took a couple of steps back to turn the distance between their bodies to one more socially acceptable. "I'm sorry —," he blurted out almost at the exact same time she expressed her gratitude. "I shouldn't have taken the liberty." It was funny how life worked, before prison he wouldn't have had a problem with overstepping boundaries with someone with whom he felt a connection. He would even have left his arm around her shoulders as he joked about the whole situation. But now his main priority was to ensure Yvette wasn't uncomfortable with his choice to scare the other man away. Admittedly, there were many different ways he could have approached the situation but Liam had not stopped to ponder the best action plan. His lizard brain had kicked in and made him jump into action. And now there he was, apologizing profusely for a poor decision. "You probably didn't even need my help." If that could be called help.

He left his eyes dart to the floor, the flower stand, the sky — anywhere but her eyes. Shame filled him as he was faced with the consequences of his own cowardness. "I meant to call you," he said lamely after a very long and uncomfortable silence. "But I just —," he considered lying but one look at her face made the idea unbearable —, "i didn't know what to say or where to start." Starting from scratch wasn't easy and not very exciting. Not something one wanted to talk about with someone who already had a life. Rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly, he took a deep breath and forced himself to finally look at her. "I'm sorry, Yvette. You deserved better."

[thedevilsbckbone]

After she had dropped him off and had parted way, Yvette had been hopeful that he'd take her up on her offer and reach out to her through the number she'd given to him. Each day passed though without hearing from Liam that the brunette began to think that maybe he really didn't want to continue communication with her now that he was released. She had thought they'd formed at the very least a kind of kindred understanding, Yvette having shared thoughts and feelings with the male that she didn't even share with her own family and friends. She'd thought his letters felt actually personal for the male as well, but she had to wonder that maybe she had just read too much into. Maybe he truly had just been bored and had used her letters as just a way to pass time and her own loneliness caused her to assume. She of course couldn't blame him if that were true but she had to admit the thought was disheartening.

Weeks passed and Yvette had come to the conclusion that she'd probably never hear from Liam and had tried to go back to living her normal daily life like before she'd entered the program. With a day to herself thanks to the eldest teenagers taking the younger kids to the fair, Yvette decided to treat herself to the farmers market a few towns over that she'd been meaning to check out. She loved shopping at local vendors but was also wanting to scout out a possible spot to put a booth up for the shop. It had been going well until some stranger had began to follow the brunette as she moved from booth to booth, trying to talk to her. She wasn't very interested in the man and had tried to be polite about it, but he didn't seem to want to take no as an answer.

Yvette was growing more and more uncomfortable with each passing minute that the man would not leave her be but luckily someone seemed to jump in right at that moment to help. As she felt a hand move around her shoulder, Yvette did well not to jump as she whipped her head around to look at the individual, recognizing his voice before she saw his face. Even then it was hard to keep the surprise from her expression for a split second when she saw Liam.

The look he gave her to play along though quickly pulled the brunette back and she was quick to jump into the role. "Oh, there you, mi amor!" she chirped with a smile, glancing at the box in his hand. "You are a life saver -- the little one is craving strawberries like nobody's business right now." she said, placing her hand on her non-existent stomach but it was enough to seem to lose the man's interest as he gave Liam (not her) a quick apology before rushing off. It wasn't until he was out of earshot that she finally pulled herself away from the male beside her and her smile dropping into a more awkward expression. "Hey -- thanks for stepping in." She said shifting from one foot to the other, not quite sure what to say. "It's uh - nice to see you."

he had thought about calling, of course, he had. every morning, first thing after waking up, liam told himself today was the day he would finally pick up the phone and mark her number. he managed to pep himself up all through breakfast with positive affirmations about how he could do it and little reminders of how she had been the one to give him her phone number, unprompted. it was just a phone call, anyway. by the time he left the house the phone call had turned into a text message because it was less invasive. by lunchtime, the text had grown into an email, for practicality. and, by evening time, the e in email was forgotten as he convinced himself a handwritten letter was better - even if he didn't even have her address. when his head hit the pillow at night, liam promised himself that the next day was the day he would pick up the phone and call yvette. and start over. it had quickly become a vicious circle of denial. because the truth was that liam was terrified to make that call. what did he have to offer yvette? nothing was the easy answer. a lot of problems the complex one.

his new routine didn't leave room for much fun, from home to work and back home. with the occasional trip to the grocery shop. but he liked visiting the farmers market on sunday's morning. getting a coffee, browsing the different stands, making small talk with the vendors, and filling his bag with fresh fruits and vegetables. it was his self-care time. liam was busy searching for the best strawberries when he caught a small glimpse of a tense conversation on one of the other stands. "come on, baby, don't be like that." it was evident the man was trying to be seductive but he sounded more like a chimpanzee in heat. "little pretty things like you shouldn't be all alone." liam cringed at the phrasing, shaking his head with disgust. it wasn't his problem, however. he couldn't get involved. but then the woman responded to the ¡compliment' and her voice sounded a lot like the one he had been avoiding. and it sounded uncomfortable. he didn't think, he acted. shoving a couple of bills into the counter, he grabbed the box of strawberries and walked over to the couple. "here you are! i thought i had lost you for a second!" sliding an arm over her shoulders with a big smile, liam flashed her a plea to play along in the form of a quick look. "look, i got us those strawberries you and the little one had been craving all week." as if for emphasis, he pulled up the box. "whose the best daddy-to-be?" // @thedevilsbckbone