#something repeated often enough unfortunately it will be internalized and kept somewhere in the back of your brain forever even if you know

[geddy-leesbian]

okay to be completely honest I actually do enjoy that I keep pissing off 𝚔𝚛𝚊𝚞𝚜𝚎𝚛 stans to an extent. it provides a small dose of external validation. obviously people loving me is best, but people hating me enough to rant at me and literally just make stuff up about me shows that I actually matter to them, they care about my opinion enough to need to tell me I'm wrong and attack me for it. it's not indifferent scrolling past, I Matter enough to be worth beefing with.

deadass the only thing that actually really upset me was when that person implied I didn't ship 𝚖𝚎𝚝𝚊𝚕𝚝𝚊𝚗𝚐𝚘 because I think Leon is straight and only ship 𝚊𝚎𝚘𝚗 because ewwwwww 🤮 almost all hate fuels me, but apparently accusing me of thinking Leon S. Kennedy is straight is my line in the sand that can't be crossed and will legitimately piss me off instead of just making me laugh and feel smug that someone cares enough about me to pick a fight

[refuge-au]

>Open the Doctor’s File

Doc: Receive an Invitation

The conference room was small and sparsely decorated, little more than a round table and a handful of chairs in an empty room. The walls were bare, the table empty, and the window that looked out into the hallways covered by blinds.

The window that looked out onto the street, to the east, may as well have been covered too. The only thing visible when you looked out was the greyish hue of smog.

Doc sat in the chair closest to the door on the east side of the table. His arms were crossed over his chest, and his feet were up on the table. He knew his attempt at nonchalance wasn’t fooling anybody, but it didn’t hurt to try.

Etho sat to his right, leaned over the table and absently spinning a rubix cube in his hands. Every so often he’d scramble it and then solve it quickly afterward, seeming slightly disappointed. His left eye was covered in a plain black eyepatch that wasn’t quite big enough to cover the extent of the scarring.

Bdubs sat on Etho’s other side, the drumming of his fingers on the table and the way his eyes flickered from one side of the room to the other every couple of seconds the only things betraying the amount of nervous energy contained inside him.

Beef sat in the last chair on their side of the table, staring at the covered interior window as if he could see through the blinds and into the hallways behind it. His face was expressionless, apparently lost in thought.

No one spoke.

It was the kind of silence they had sat in many times before- part comfort, of being around people who know you better than almost anyone else in the world, and part anxious anticipation. None of them knew exactly what was going to come next.

They had been contacted individually a week or two ago, letters that had no return address slipped under doors or through mail slots. What usually would have been some sort of threat or insult turned out to be a job interview opportunity.

Come to a certain building two weeks from now, the letters read. Tell the receptionist that you’re looking for refuge. Someone will be in to see you shortly.

The most paranoid of the group (Beef) had found out that it was sent by some sort of government official or organization before he contacted the rest of the group to see if they had received the same summons. After a brief discussion, a decision was reached. They would hear out whoever wanted to talk to them.

If things went down badly… as long as they were together they would be able to fight their way out.

Most of the invitation had been true. They found the correct address, and were taken to a room when they asked for refuge… but the person that they were waiting for had not come shortly. It felt like they had been waiting for an eternity- even though his internal clock told him it had only been about twenty minutes.

Ten more minutes, he decided, and then he would leave. If whoever the hell wanted to talk to them was going to be late, they should have told the receptionist to tell them or something. It was basic human decency- although admittedly that did seem to be in short supply these days.

The door handle turned with a click, and four pairs of eyes locked onto it immediately. There was a moment of nothing, and then the door swung open, letting a relatively tall brunette man into the room.

His hair was tied back in a neat ponytail, all brown except for a single streak of white from a large x-shaped scar that stretched across most of his face. It was an old scar, very faded, the chunks of white in his hair and his beard some of the only things left to prove that it was there.

He looked slightly winded as he smiled, shutting the door behind him. “Hello, gentlemen. Sorry about the wait. There was a bit of a… conflict. Downstairs, and I ended up having to sort it out.”

He walked over to the table pulling off his gloves and unwrapping his respirator from around his neck before sitting down across from Etho and folding his hands together. “So. You all actually came.”

“Did you expect us not to?” Beef asked, eyeing him warily, apparently not recognizing him.

“Of course not! A government official contacting you out of nowhere, asking you to come and meet them? The fact that you have enough faith in humanity to come here, despite everything, without knowing anything about why you’re being asked here… it’s amazing.” He grinned.

“Amazing is one word for it, sure.” Bdubs said, leaning forward in his chair. “But uh, who are you, and why exactly are we here?”

“If you’re going to try to kill us, we’ll give you a thirty second head start.” Doc added dryly. “But no more than that.”

The man chuckled. “We’re not trying to kill you, we’re trying to offer you a job.”

A job?

Before Doc could express his hesitation, the man continued, putting a hand to his chest:

“My name is Xisuma Void, Captain Void to most people, but you can call me X. I’m putting together a crew.”

“Like a boat crew?” Bdubs asked, brow furrowing slightly.

“A spaceship crew. I’ve been given a mission- go to uncharted territory, chart it, and start a colony on a planet outside the solar system.” He extended his hands in front of him, gesturing to the team. “I’d like you to come with me.”

For a moment, there was silence.

“…What’s the catch?” Etho asked slowly.

“Catch?” Xisuma asked.

“We’re not from here.” Etho said, and Beef chuckled. “There’s always a catch.”

Xisuma shook his head slowly. “I don’t think… well… how about I just tell you what the job would entail before we decide if there’s a catch or not?”

Doc looked across the table to the others. Bdubs nodded, Beef shrugged, and Etho set down the rubix cube for the first time since he had gotten into the room. X took that as permission to continue.

“Do you remember all those stories in the news about the government funneling money into a secret project?” X asked.

“And everybody was worried that it was gonna be another war.” Bdubs said. “We remember.”

“They were building a ship for this mission. It’s been in progress for years now, but they’ve ramped up construction in the past several months. The ship will be fully built in three months, and the mission will begin no sooner than six months from now.” Xisuma stood, either ignoring or not noticing the way that the rest of the group tensed when he moved, and began to pace up and down the length of the table. “The ship- the Refuge- will exit the solar system in about one and a half years, and then it’ll be four and a half to eight and a half years til we reach Haven.”

“Haven?” Doc interjected. “That’s the planet?”

X nodded.

“Bit on the nose, don’t you think?” Bdubs asked.

X shrugged, not pausing in his pacing. “I wasn’t the one that named it.”

“So what do you want us to do?” Beef asked. “None of us have ever been to space before. Sure, Etho may have been… built for it, but…”

“You don’t have to worry about the space stuff.” X said, stopping and leaning on the back of the chair he had been sitting in. “Just the landing part of the mission. The way that this is set up, there are two smaller groups within the crew as a whole- the ship crew and the colony crew. While the ship crew will transition into being a part of the colony crew once we land, the colony crew doesn’t have to be a part ship crew. It’s unnecessary, and most of the crew mates don’t have essential skills for the trip.”

“So what does the colony crew do during the flight?” Beef asked, his brow furrowed.

“Sleep.” X responded. “We have two cryogeneticists on the crew that will be maintaining and caring for frozen personnel and assets.”

“Which one would we be?” Doc asked.

X looked uncomfortable, as if he didn’t know whether the question was a joke or not. “Personnel… in total, if you decide to take me up on the offer, we’ll have nine people frozen out of a crew of thirty six. Most of the ship can be run mechanically, but we still need the ship crew to oversee everything.”

“And what would we be doing when we get planet-side? What’s our actual job going to be?” Bdubs asked.

“Building, scouting surrounding areas, neutralizing any potential threats, whatever needs to be done, really.” X sighed. “Unfortunately, since a mission like this has never been attempted before, I can’t tell you exactly what we’re going to need you to do. If you accept, I can give you the paperwork that runs through several potential scenarios, but… there’s a lot that we just don’t know.”

“I’m not going to ask you to sign on immediately, but I’d like your responses as soon as possible.” X concluded. “There’s a packet with the receptionist downstairs that has more information-“

“I’ll do it.” Bdubs said, cutting him off.

X blinked. “What?”

“I’ll do it.” He repeated, leaning back in his chair. “It sounds exciting, it’s a chance to travel somewhere without risking being carsick, it’s getting away from everything that’s going on here… and we’re probably not gonna get another chance at this for at least six years, right?”

X nodded.

“I can’t speak for the guys, obviously, but you’ve got one.”

“I’m in too.” Doc decided, taking his feet off the table and sitting up straight. “There’s not a whole hell of a lot for me to do here, not many people that want me here, and somebody’s gotta make sure you don’t get yourself killed.” He said, pointing a vaguel accusatory finger at Bdubs, who rolled his eyes. “I still want the packet, but I’m in.”

X grinned. “Wonderful! And… I suppose, do you want to make your decision now too?” He turned his attention to Beef and Etho.

“I’ll agree… but I reserve the right to change my mind if we start getting ready and things seem off.” Etho said, picking his rubix cube back up and spinning it on its corner. “I may have been made for space travel, but they kept me grounded for a reason.”

“I agree with Etho, minus the spaceman bit.” Beef said. “Also, can we have your phone number, or some way to contact you?”

Xisuma’s grin turned into a softer, warmer smile. “Everything that you’ll need is going to be in the packets. Welcome to the team, gentlemen.”

Computer: Input Command: Show Available Files:

> Open the Pilot’s File

> Open the Doctor’s File (New)

> Continue

[just-jordie-things]

Future Jumping (part two) - Peter Maximoff

word count: 2389 warnings: none? summary: four years after Peter and (y/n) get together, they begin to see her vision taking place, a bit of bad, but a bit of good as well. (part one)

~ four years later ~      (1973)

(y/n) had been going through her usual morning routine.  Waking up bright and early, showering, getting dressed, kissing a sleeping Peter’s forehead good morning, and now making breakfast.

Most of the students weren’t up and around yet.  Classes didn’t start for another hour and a half, so she had the kitchen all to herself, with the perk of quiet halls as well.

The news was playing on a small tv set on the counter, and she was barely listening to it as she made her toast and a bowl of fruit.  Something was on about the JFK assassination.  It had been twelve years, but there always seemed to be some new information coming out about it.

“Goo’ morning” A quiet and tired voice called, and (y/n) turned to smile at Jubilee, who was dragging her feet into the kitchen and practically pulling her body onto a chair at the table.

“Good morning to you too,” (y/n) smiled.  “You’re up early”

“Couldn’t sleep,” She muttered.  “Jean was having a nightmare pretty much all night.  Kept projecting it onto me”

(y/n) smiled sadly at the girl.

“You want me to make you some breakfast?”

“No thanks, it’s too early, I’m not hungry yet” Jubilee yawned, and propped her elbow on the table to hold her head in her hand.

“Want me to make up a guest room for you to sleep in?” She offered instead, but Jubilee just shook her head.

“No… I’ll just stay up until classes start”

(y/n) just chuckled, picking out the last of the fruit she wanted, and putting the rest back in the fridge.  The plus side to living on such a vast property, was that the gardens always provided fresh produce.

Unfortunately, she’d just grabbed a coffee mug from the cabinet, when her ears tuned into the broadcast playing.

“Erik Lehnsherr, a mutant informally known as Magneto, has just been found guilty of the assisnation of President John F Kennedy”

The mutant girl whipped around, eyes blown wide and body going numb as she focused on the television.  The mug she’d been holding crashed to the floor, but the sound didn’t make it to her ears.

“Lehnsherr will be imprisoned at the Pentagon itself.  How a prison can contain a man who controls metal, the public is waiting to new.  This is Action 5 News, reporting live to you”

Jubilee was calling (y/n’s) name, asking questions, and scurrying to change the channel to another station, hoping for more answers.  But (y/n) remained stiff, and unresponsive.

“Sorry I…” She trailed off, abandoning the broken mug on the ground and the breakfast she made as she left the kitchen.  “I have to…”

Slowly but surely, (y/n) blindly walked back to her room, completely zoned out of reality and into her own thoughts.  She’d bumped into Hank on her way up the stairs, and he’d asked her if she was alright, but she just kept on climbing upwards, three flights, and down the hall to her room.

The door was unlocked, as she’d left it when she’d left earlier.  But Peter was awake, sitting on the end of her bed, eyes trained on the tv as another news station relayed the same details she’d just heard.

“Peter…” She mumbled, walking towards him with open arms.  He didn’t even turn to her as she sat next to him, knees on the mattress, arms wrapped around his shoulders, as she watched with him.

There was a picture of Erik on the screen, which must’ve been taken the day of the parade.  His hand was outstretched, and it was obvious that he was manipulating his mutation, towards the president’s general direction.

(y/n) set a hand on Peter’s cheek, and moved his head closer to press her lips against his hair.

“I… I’m so sorry, Peter,” She murmured.  “This is my fault, I could’ve stopped it- I- I don’t know how I didn’t see this coming, how did I not-”

He took her hand from his face, brows drawn together in worry as he shook his head at the girl.

“Don’t say that, this isn’t your fault, (y/n), none of it is”

There were tears in both of their eyes, that neither of them wanted to let fall.

“I don’t understand,” She mumbled, finding it hard to speak with the lump in her throat.  “This is something big, something important, how did I not see it coming?”

He cradled her face in his hands, just shaking his head softly before pulling her against him.

That day, they sat and held each other all morning as they watched different channels report the same news.  Desperate for any sort of new information, but there was none.

By the end of the day, it wasn’t that Erik had assassinated the president.  It was that a mutant had done it.

That’s when things started to really change. ___

(six months later)

“Hey,” Peter called, but (y/n) didn’t budge.  “Are you sleeping? Wake up”

She was laying in bed, her back to him, hair sprawled out all over her pillow.  Peter was nudging her shoulder relentlessly until finally she groaned and rolled over onto her stomach, muttering curses into her pillow.

“It’s the middle of the night, Silver, what do you want?” She grumbled.  He just smiled, thinking it was adorable when she was so grumpy when she first wakes up.

The school was… well, no longer a school.  At least, it could barely be called that.  Some of the old students still lived here, mostly because they had nowhere else to go.  Charles Xavier rarely showed his face.  Anyone who had somewhere to be, was gone.  Meanwhile Peter and (y/n) didn’t have to teach classes anymore.

“Are you listening?” He asked, pushing her hair out of her face.  She nodded, but her eyes were still shut, and she was breathing slow enough to almost be dead.

“Mhm” She hummed.

“It’s 1973” He told her, almost too excitedly.

(y/n) opened one eye, brows furrowing as she stared at him like something was wrong with his face.

“Yeah…?” She spoke slowly.  “It has been for a while now…”

“My D- Erik’s in prison” He tripped over his words but caught himself.

Still confused, (y/n) rubbed her eyes and blinked a few times at him, trying to stay awake.  She wasn’t sure if he was on something, but clearly his mind was buzzing.

“Yeah,” She repeated, almost out of concern.  “Peter are you alright?”

“This is the year you jumped to, four years ago,” He told her, a slight smile beginning to tug on his lips.  “When you came back and said Erik was in prison, and that we were engaged”

Okay, now (y/n) was interested.

Her brows raised as she stared at her boyfriend, who was laying on his side, eyes flickering between hers.  She couldn’t even find her voice to speak, not that she’d know what to say.

Peter chuckled at her stunned response, wrapping an arm around her waist and pulling her close to him, so that she was sharing his pillow.  She remained silent, and staring at him to continue.

Was this… his way of…

“Crazy, hm?” He commented, and she shrugged a shoulder.

“I mean…” (y/n) trailed off, unsure of how to reply.  “Yeah” She finished lamely.

Peter’s lips brushed her forehead as he settled back in to bed.

“I didn’t mean to wake you so early, I was just… thinking too much” He said.  She nodded awkwardly, hand laying across his neck, fingers curled at his jaw comfortably.  A sweet gesture she often did.

“That’s alright,” She hummed tiredly, before chastely kissing his lips and cuddling into his chest.  “You can always wake me up when you think too much,” She added, wrapping her arms around his torso and holding him tighter.  “I love you”

She wasn’t all that tired anymore, even though it was so late it was a new day.  So she just laid there and clung to Peter, eyes still open as her own train of thoughts began to run wild.

“Yeah, sweetheart, I know,” He said softly, and dropped a kiss into her hair.

Sweetheart, she repeated internally.  A nickname he only used without thinking, like it came naturally, and oh so loving it sounded in his voice.

“I love you too”

She buried her face into the soft material of his shirt, just wanting her senses to be consumed by him completely. ___

Weeks later, and (y/n) could still only think about what Peter had said late at night, reminding her of the future that she’d envisioned.  Their future.

Oh, how she wanted to jump forward in time to see if it was true, if it works out, if the two of them are able to marry.  She wanted to know so desperately, that she would ball her hands up into tight fists, digging her nails into her palms to force herself not to.  She didn’t want to ruin it for herself, she just wanted to live life and see how it played out.

She was currently walking with him along the yards, talking about the good old days, when the school was booming with life and students and the acceptance everyone who attended needed.

“I miss it,” (y/n) sighed, squeezing Peter’s hand.  He smiled sadly down to her, releasing her hand to wrap his arm around her waist and tug her into his side.  “I miss everyone” She added, leaning her head against his shoulder as they walked.

“I do too sweetheart,” He told her.  “We’ll see them all again someday, someday soon”

She nodded, and they walked silently in peace for a few minutes.  The stone paths were worn, and felt empty without students in the courtyards.  She felt nostalgic just being here.

The apple trees they passed were the only lively thing about the land.  Bright red apples hanging from the limbs, ripe for the picking.  The fall season had done them well this year.

“Wanna pick any?” Peter asked, and she shrugged, not caring all that much.

“That’s alright,” She answered, counting all the perfect apples they passed in her head.  “I don’t really eat apples that m- hey, that’s our tree”

She cut herself off, and pulled out of his hold to wander to the tree they’d had their six month anniversary date under.  They’d planned on going into town and having a romantic dinner and then do some sightseeing, but Peter had hurt himself on a mission, and wasn’t able to leave school grounds.  So they’d picnicked under an apple tree.

The heart that they’d carved into the trunk was still there, along with the initials that Peter had added for the extra cliche factor.  He’d always surprised her with how much of a romantic he really was.  

(y/n) smiled at the carving now, and brushed her fingertips against it gently, like it would break.

But the bark did wobble a bit, like it wasn’t connected to the rest of the tree.

“What the…” Brows furrowed, she wiggled the caved piece of wood so that she could maneuver it outwards, revealing that it had been cut, and there was a small hollow pocket in the tree.  Inside, sat a folded piece of paper.

With the heart shaped bark in one hand, she grabbed the paper and unfolded it curiously.

“It says will you-”

“Will you marry me?”

She felt like she was moving in slow motion when she turned around to see Peter, on one knee, with a ring held out to her between his fingers.  A ring she recognized.

(y/n’s) heart skipped a beat as she stared at him, suddenly unable to breathe.

“You gotta answer sweetheart, I’m on the edge of my seat here-”

“Yes,” She breathed out, almost inaudibly.  “Yes! Yes!” She said louder as he stood up, taking her right hand and sliding the ring effortlessly onto her ring finger.  “Yes, yes I’ll marry you, of course I’ll marry you-”

“Alright sweetheart,” He said through laughter as he took her face in his hands.  There were already streams of tears running down her cheeks.  Peter kissed her quickly, thumbs brushing away the tears like it was second nature.  “I love you so much baby” He murmured, kissing between her eyes and then smiling down at her again.

“I love you so much more” She replied happily, wrapping her arms around his neck and pressing her lips against his longingly.

She was so relieved to have never spoiled this moment for herself.

It was perfect on it’s own.

After many minutes of kissing and crying and smiling nonstop, he took her hand to admire the ring on her finger.

“Is this the one you saw in your vision?” Peter asked, and she nodded, unable to look away from it.

“It is, and it’s perfect.  It’s beautiful,” She told him, kissing him sweetly.  “Just like you” She said cheesily, but it made him grin nonetheless.  “You’d told me that you couldn’t wait to marry me,” She mused.  “And I can’t wait to marry you either”

“Be honest with me,” He spoke curiously.  “Have you looked ahead to see what happens next?”

(y/n) grinned as she shook her head.  “No,” She hummed.  “We’ll just have to see where it goes, huh? Live moment to moment”

“What, like ordinary people?” He joked, and she laughed, securing her arms around him tighter.

“I’m not sure you could be ordinary if you tried, Silver”

“Says you, miss time traveler” He teased, kissing her nose.

“So we get married, and lie the most abnormal life we can?” She asked, quirked an eyebrow.

“Not sure how much more abnormal it can get, being X-Men,” He answered.  “Besides… I kinda like the ring of it all, don’t you?”

She smiled delightedly, nodding her head before leaning on the tips of her toes to kiss him.  Peter’s arms wound around her waist, lifting her up and spinning her around.

“Why don’t we tell the others, hm?”

“Okay” She said, nodding her head, kissing him one final time as he set her down.

No longer does she feel the urge to blink forward in time, now perfectly content in letting each day be a new surprise. ___

taglist: @imofficiallyobsessed

xoxo ~ jordie

[spookytomatoetuesday]

Project Wolf´s Cove

Five – Stumbling towards each other  

With the morning, chaos swept over the town hall. The five clerks reported back to their desks just to find themselves drawn into a gruesome murder investigation and the panicking realization that a killer was on the run in Wolfe´s Cove. Deputy Sullyvan tried to shake his head empathically every time he told a new arrival about it all. Doctor Lancer sat in the Mayor´s office and was on the phone trying to reach the mayor. Becky and the others had gravitated towards Lancer again after growing tired of standing at the front door and watching Sullyvan deal with the situation. Also, there was a couch in the office that was big enough to accommodate all four them. “Okay, so the mayor and the sheriff are both still on their annual fishing trip. Of course, they cannot be reached at the moment says Gladis.”, Lancer summarized as he hung up the phone. “That’s bad news. So will you be the one in charge now?”, Becky asked. “Can we help?” “I think he just said this to us because we happen to be here and he needed an outlet.”, Rose whispered to her. This seemed to wake Lancer up from his thoughts. “Will you be picked up by your parents soon?”, he wondered. “Or by your guardians.”, he added while looking at John. “We can drive.”, said Rose drily. “Most of us anyway.” “So what are you then still doing here?”, Lancer wondered. “I have to try to get some more help from outside. There must be somebody I can call. Get some more police officers.” Lancer picked up the receiver again and started to look around on the desk for something. Then he remembered Gladis and thumbed the button for the internal connection. “Gladis, can you get me the headquarter of the State Police?”, Lancer said into the receiver and then waited. While doing that, he glanced back at the kids with an expression of impatience. “Oh I would like to see how this works out for you.”, said Rose and was making herself more comfortable on the couch. Neil, up until now a bit sleepy, nodded, and settle better in as well. John, seeing the reaction of his friends, leaned back and closed his eyes. He also turned his head away from the others. Becky just shook her head. As his only reaction, Lancer grunted briefly, but was connected before he could say something more. Now the kids watched him and hear how he described the situation, mentioned the word “monster” several times, and finally asked for “all the units available”. He then listened and said “yes” about half a dozen times. In the end, he explained who he was. When the hung up shortly after, laughter was audible on the other end before the receiver touched the hook. Now Neil and Rose nodded. “Sounds about right.”, Rose said. “We are alone.”, Becky remarked. “Separated from the greater world by the madness we saw.”, Rose added. Becky nodded towards her in grim agreement. “This is a very dangerous situation and not the time to be isolated.”, Becky continued. “We could get the tape out somehow – but until then, we here are the ones who believe you. We are in this together.” Doctor Lancer grimaced and drummed on the desk surface with his fingers. He lifted the receiver again, then put it down again. “You are a bunch of kids.”, Lancer finally said. “But we have a car.”, Becky remarked. “We can drive around and warn people.” “Or even get the old sheriff here to show him the video tape and make him believe and help us.”, Neil added. Lancer seemed to think about it. Finally, he nodded. “Ok, fine. If you could also drive by my place and tell Tula I´m stuck here and she should not worry.”, Lancer said. “Yes, will do!”, Becky exclaimed and jumped up from the couch. The others followed her a bit more slowly.

“It would be great if we could stop somewhere on the way where I can brush my teeth.”, John said once they were back in the car as well as back on the road. “I second this motion.”, Neil said. He then looked at his friend sitting next to him and hastily added: “For me. I’d like to brush my teeth as well. And grab a bite, too.” “I second both.”, Rose agreed. Beck considered this while stopping at a red traffic light. She licked her teeth and smiled at the rear mirror. “Ok. Here is what we do: We get the old Sherriff, we drive to the gas station for snacks, we stoop by at home for fresh clothes and contact with a toothbrush, we drive to Mrs. Lancer.”, she suggested and the others agreed. At one intersection, Becky had to wait for the traffic light to turn green. She yawned and drummed on the steering wheel. Restlessly, she glanced to the left and to the right. The two streets intersecting were still empty at this time in the morning. But it was something else that let Becky grow increasingly unfocussed. “People of this car, I need to admit something.”, Becky said finally as the light switched to green. “I‘ve no idea where this old or former or both sheriff lives. Or what he is called. Does anyone of you have an idea?” Silence was the answer she got. John slept in the backseat and Rose and Neil just silently shook their heads. Unsure what to do, Becky decided to at least leave the intersection. She then took the next best opportunity to park the car at the curb. “Maybe we should drive to Pipps’ fist.”, Rose suggested. “He probably knows about this sheriff.” “Good idea.”, Becky replied and Neil nodded and grunted his approval as well. “So we drive first to the gas station for snacks and information. Then we inform the former sheriff, go quickly home, and… oh yeah, and inform Mrs. Lancer.”, Becky summarized and set the car in motion again. This time, Becky decided to park her car directly next to the little shop that was the heart of the gas station. Neil woke up John who was a bit disoriented at first. Together, the four then left the car and went into the shop. On the way, they passed the foldable table and chairs, still set up. The candle in the middle of the table had burned down at some point, which must have happened during the night and two napkins lay there, covering two paper plates. Glasses were missing, although John thought for a moment that he saw them blinking in the morning sun a bit further off towards the cliff and the big bridge that led out of town. Inside, the kids found Pipps as usual immortal at his post behind the counter. He smiled and waved a little when he greeted them, as he normally used to do. Very unusual for him was, on the other hand, was Pipps´ attire. He was still wearing the suite he had guarded so carefully the day before. All in all, the dark blue suite was still in pristine condition, only the shirt had a small lipstick stain on the left side of the collar. “How are you Pipps?”, Becky asked smiling. “Fine.”, he piped back, almost grinning. “How are you guys? You look a bit tired, even for students.” “And yet it were not the trials and follies and joys of the teenage life that kept us up last night, but monster hunting.”, Rose exclaimed. Pipps reacted with a concerned frown. “Hope this has nothing to do with poor Mr. Raimond.”, he said in a silent tone. The others were quiet for a minute. “Unfortunately, it has.”, Becky then said, the first to break the silence. She continued by explaining what had happened the last night. Pipps face started to show more and more concern as he heard all this. Afterwards, he did jump at the opportunity to give information on the on sheriff. “The old Mr. Hooper lives at the end of Salmon drive just across the bridge. He often stops by here for some small snacks or a pack of eggs.”, Pipps explained, indicating some eggs. “Has he been here today yet?”, Becky asked. “No. But he might.”, Pipps answered. Beck and the others decided to take a breakfast break and to wait and see if Hooper would show up. “If not, we can always drive to his address afterwards.”, Neil suggested. So it was decided. The four picked some hot dogs from the shop´s ever turning sausage carousel. “And I will take a bottle of mouth wash beforehand.”, John said while trying to keep his mouth closed as much as possible. He had to repeat himself twice until Pipps understood him and got the mouth wash from the toiletries shelf. John commenced to gurgle with as much of the blue fluid as he could fit into his mouth. While he did so, he wandered out of the little shop, once around the gasoline pumps, to the street, and finally spit the mouth wash into the gutter. He repeated this twice. The others had meanwhile seated themselves around the small round plastic table that made up the café corner of the shop. They looked up both times when John wandered in and back out. “His hot dog is getting cold.”, Neil observed and nodded towards the door opening where John had just disappeared again. “Take it. I´ll get another one ready for John.”, Pipps offered. Rose shot Neil a side-eye. “You want another, too?”, Pipps asked her, smiling. Rose nodded. So when John came finally back with a now only half-full bottle of mouth wash, there were two hot dogs waiting for him. Neil was already attacking his second, and Pipps was about to set one each in front of Rose and Becky. “Thanks.”, Becky smiled. She then turned to John. “How are you? Did washing your mouth with the mouth wash help?” “Dizzy.”, John replied tiredly and then added: “I think I also leave that standing as answer to your second question. Thanks Pipps.” Almost carefully, John bit into his first hot dog. “Weird taste after the magic blue?”, Neil wondered. “Actually, it is quite good. You should set it on the menu.”, John suggested and dug into his food. “What do you think is in the blue slushy?” Pipps chuckled. When the kids reacted with shock, he stopped smiling and added: “What is it with you and the blue slushy?” He shook his head and went back behind the counter. There, he found his usual corner and leaned against the wooden wall, his head right next to a big round wall clock. “But I´m sure glad that you all look better now than when you came in her earlier.”, Pipps said. “Thanks.” Becky repeated. She was then about to say something more, but hesitated as if thinking her words over again. In the end, she settled for: “It was worse for others last night.” Pipps frowned again, looked down and seemed to shift his weight from one foot to the other and back. He sighed and wavered again. Rose got up and asked for a slushy. Pipps nodded once for the question and once towards the stacked paper cups on his counter. “Sure good what you are doing.”, Pipps said after a moment of silence, only interrupted by the slushy machine. “Wish I could help you more, be part of your little team. Can´t really leave, though. I called the boss yesterday to carefully ask about it, but no chance.” He paused again for a second. “Oh, and all this is on me of course.” Rose looked at her small-sized paper cup, hesitated, and then replied: “Thanks Pipps. You are great.” “Yes, thank you so much. You are helping us a lot.”, Becky said as well and Neil and John nodded. Pipps smiled again. Then he looked at the clock. “I´m just not sure if the old sheriff will stop by this morning. Maybe it´s better if you drive to his house.”, Pipps said thoughtfully. “That’s probably a good idea.”, Neil replied with a small sigh. The others signalled their agreement. Neil then walked over the few steps to the counter and fist-bumped with Pipps. John also got up, collected all the hot dog wrappers and empty cups and threw them in the bin next to the sausage carousel. “Oh.”, Neil said and made a move to help but it was too late. John nodded and smiled to Pipps as he left the shop with Neil. Now Rose walked over to the gas station attendant. She pointed at the foldable table with the burned down candle just outside and grinned at Pipps be she said: “Bye Pipps. Take care.” “You too.”, Pipps replied, blushing slightly, not quite reaching the color of intense red on his collar. Becky hugged him across the counter. She also looked at the candle and winked. “Greetings to Gladis.”, she whispered. “Will do. …and if there is something you guys need. Just come back here… or give me a call.”, Pipps said. “Let me write down the number of the payphone outside and the address of the old sheriff again.” He took a napkin and produced a pen from one of his jacket pockets and wrote both down. “Thank you so much. You are truly one of us.”, Becky said as she received the napkin. “See you and take care.” “Same.” Outside, the others were waiting by the car. As Becky approached, they all got inside. “Floor it.”, Rose exclaimed. “Let the old lady fly across the bridge.” “Sure glad you got that blue gold.”, Neil commented. “Let us follow the course of the sun across this straight, to where hope can maybe be had.”, John said and Becky started the engine. The old sheriff lived in a detached house in New Town, the once sprawling suburb of Wolf´s Cove. Although it belonged to the town, this neighbourhood, where the school was located as well, was located on the mainland proper. “Nice.”, commented Neil as they turned into the street where the old sheriff was supposed to live. “Just lacks the thrill of loving on a rock surrounded by stormy water.”, John, who leaned against the window, mumbled. “True.” Neil nodded. He then turned his attention back to the quiet residential street, lined with fast-growing poplars. The houses were simple in that they must have been build based on a limited number of models and were painted in a limited pallet of colors. But there was the New Town Recreation Centre, a gymnasium, at the end of the street. Right before that there was a beige house which was the destination of the students. Becky parked the car parallel to the sidewalk and looked at Pipps´ note again. “Yup, that´s it.”, she said. “Great.”, Rose replied. “I was just wondering if we really need to gang up on the guy…” “You want to hang back for now?”, Becky asked and Rose nodded. “Oh, if this is an option, I would like to wait in the car as well.”, John said. Becky nodded and then she and Neil got out of the car and went to the houses front door. Rose watched them push the little button for the doorbell and then knock. When somebody opened and a conversation started, she directed her attention to John. He was still rolled up in his corner of the back seat. His eyes were open and he stared at the celling. “All good?”, Rose wondered. “Just tired.”, John said. “At the same time I am not really motivated to close my eyes. The images of the thing staring at me from a distance last night and of the poor guy getting partially devoured by it are bleeding into each other and return once I blink.” “Shit.”, Rose commented. “In the past, I did try to describe scenes like this. I thought that would be a great and impactful thing to write. So far, I was never satisfied with what I produced. Now, I am ok with that failure.”, John said in a low voice. “Did anyone of you see the end of the video?” “No, we all had turned around shortly before, I think.” “So it is just me with these pictures in my head.”, John stated. For a short moment, his eyes made contact with Rose´s, before returning to face the ceiling again. “Sorry buddy.”, Rose said with a frown. “It is ok.” John turned around, put his forehead against the window and stared outside. “We can still talk about it.”, Rose suggested and then held her breath. “No thanks. Not yet anyway.”, John replied and Rose started to breathe again. She twisted her face and looked around, without really looking for something. She just took in the street, the gym, the houses, and the trees. “Somethings you can sometimes work with alone.”, she finally stated in a flat voice. When the doorbell did not ring, Becky knocked. She waited a second and then knocked again, louder. She saw an approving and encouraging nod from Neil from the corner of her eye. Finally, there was the sound of footsteps coming from inside the house. Closer and closer the steps came. They stopped right at the other side of the door. A clicking sound and a quick darkening of the door spy indicated that someone was looking outside. Instinctively, Becky and Neil made a step back, position themselves better visible and friendlier looking on the door step. It worked. The door swung open and a tall and slender man with glasses and suspenders stood on the other side. “Yes?”, the older man asked in defensive voice. “Good day to you, sir. Are you sheriff Hooper?”, Becky asked and went on to radiate a broad smile. “Ex-sheriff.”, the man said but he also nodded. “Hello Mr. ex-sheriff Hooper.”, Neil said. “We are local high school students and we need your help.” “This some money collecting?”, Hopper inquired. He also crossed his hands in front of his chest. “No.”, Becky stressed. “This is more an issue for the police.” She then continued to explain that a murder had happened and that doctor Lancer was requesting Hooper´s help. Hopper lowered his arms – just to cross them again in front of his chest. “How and why is this something I should be involved?”, he wondered aloud. Becky opened her mouth to answer something, but Hooper went on: “I´m not part of the police force anymore. That was made very clear. It was made very clear in the past. My days as part of that team are over. I´m merely a private individual these days. So I can only advise you to go the real police chief in town.” Becky blinked and Neil sighed. “It is not possible to contact the current sheriff at this moment.”, Neil explained. “This is part of why doctor Lancer send us here.”, Becky said faster than usual. Neil noticed that and glanced from her to Hooper but the ex-sheriff did not seem to notice. However, Becky´s words seemed to stir his interest a bit. “Yes?”, he asked. Rose returned her attention to John. He remained still, rolled up as far as he could and with his eyes closed. So he did not notice that Rose was looking at him again. “Do you think we are cursed now?”, she wondered aloud. “I indeed still feel a bit cursed. But the hot dogs and the mouth wash helped with that, I think.”, John murmured without moving or opening his eyes. “No, I mean the town.”, Rose clarified. “Maybe this is a way to make sense of this strange situation. There might have been a chance that the crash was just an accident, a chance to meet another being lost. But when that being and the old fellow together started eating people, I think they became cursed. Like it says in the old stories. And with them, we all, the whole town, got cursed. A town with such a name must be prone to such a warped destiny. You just cannot eat people without causing demise for the whole community.” “Interesting.”, John commented, shortly opening his eyelids and looking up to his friend. “Is that why we all are responsible to help lifting the curse?” “This might be what drives Becky.”, Rose nodded. “She realized that that would be the right way.” “Because the man-beast is our man…beast…” “Right. Not by choice maybe. But right now, our existences are interwoven.” “Interesting.”, John repeated. “I would have thought you would not like this way of responsibility for the deeds of others.” “I do not like it at all.” Rose said sternly. “However, we live here and we are not alone.” “So the current sheriff, this Carpenter-individual, is out of town and can´t be reached?”, Hooper more gloated upon than summarized. “Yes, he is fishing with the mayor.”, Becky replied. Hooper nodded slowly as if everything he had just heard was merely another confirmation of things he knew all along. “This is no surprise.”, he said consequently and moved back into his house. He was even about to close the door again. “Wait!”, Neil pleaded. “Please just go to the town hall and look at what the doctor has to show you.” Hooper did not close the door, but he did not come back out either. “Oh come on.”, Becky finally exclaimed. “What else do you want to hear? How much on the nose do we have to be? There are people in danger and maybe you can help. But all you do is standing there as if waiting for some compliments or reaffirmation from us. We are just a bunch of high-schoolers asking you to help the town. If this is not enough, then this has no point.” She turned around on her heels and waked back down to her car. Neil was surprised at first and did not know how to react. In the end, he followed her. Both got back in the car. “So…”, Rose more asked than stated. “He´ll come around.”, Becky said while turning the key in the ignition. “And I´m tired.” “Fair enough.”, Rose replied. “Yeah.”, John seconds as Neil looks back one more time to the old man´s house. “Just one thing.”, John adds shortly before Becky can loosen the hand break. “Is it too late to ask the former sheriff to use his toilet?” “Oh no…”, Rose exclaimed. “I wish you would not have said that.” Neil made an uneasy face. “You, too?”, Becky asked in his direction and Neil nodded. “Like, this is very awkward.”, John admitted. Becky seemed conflicted. “Well then let´s ask him.”, she finally said. The others avoided to make eye contact with her and instead stared out of the windows. “Do I have to be the one…”, Becky started, but was again interrupted by the old sheriff. He came out of his house, wearing an old jacket, locked the front door, and went over to the garage. There, he opened the gate, got in his car and drove off. “God dammed.”, Neil exclaimed. “He has to screw with us every step of the way.” “Should we break in and liberate his washroom?”, Rose suggested. There was a short pause where everyone was silent in a way as if at least three quarter of the people present were considering that suggestion. Then Becky climbed back and stepped on the gas, promising to drive them quickly to a washroom. “The school is close and… oh right. Well, your home is also not far, John. I´ll drive you there as fast as possible.”, Becky promised. “Appreciate that we don´t head for the filthy school.”, Neil said. As soon as Becky slowed down in the vicinity of John´s house, the other three jumped out of the car and sprinted inside. Becky smiled and turned off the engine. She looked around. Every house here was known to her and almost every family and person living in them. She frowned and then smiled again when she let herself drift into memories of herself visiting John´s house and leaving from it. Good memories were set in summer or fall, she decided. One that left still a cold feeling in her stomach and tugged unkindly at her heart, she slotted into early spring, when the winds still blew cold in from the sea. She was alone at this moment or at least so it seemed. There might be people in the simple houses up and down the street. There were at least three of her friends very close by. Yet, all of them were invisible for the time being. Becky wondered about that, not for long, but she did. After a while, Rose returned and the two drove ahead to Becky´s home. To rest and to freshen-up. “Was there something else, we might be missing?”, Becky wondered. Rose could not tell. She stared into the sky thinking. Still, she could not tell. “Hm.”, Becky said and dropped the issue. She parked the car in the drive way of her house. Both of them went inside where they found Becky´s mother sitting on the big couch in the living room. “There you are.”, Becky´s mom said with her voice slightly pitched too high compared to her normal manner of speaking. She held up the short note Becky had written a lifetime ago. “Sorry.”, Becky said. “We had to leave very spontaneously last night. It was necessary, even more so than I thought when I wrote this note. And a lot happened since then.” “Could I get more details, maybe?”, Beck´s mother asked. Becky nodded and she and Rose exchanged a glance. “So who will stay in this moment to tell the story and who will get to take a shower and a nap first?”, Becky wondered. Rose was about to say something. Then she took another look at her friend. Becky was slightly shivering even though it was relatively warm. She blinked often and sometimes closed her eyes for too long. So Rose cleared her throat and volunteered to tell the story. She sat down on the couch besides, crossed her legs, scooted a bit closer to Becky´s mom, and put a hand reassuringly on the mother´s knee. “So let me loop you in into our winding tale. It is a tale darker and more personal than all the stories from when I was a child and an elven mage. Anyway, how much time do we have until your shift starts, Erin?”, Rose inquired. “I ask, just so that I know how to pace my tale.” Neil lay on his back on his bed, staring at the ceiling and waiting for sleep to come and claim him, at least for a while. His mind was racing, repeating dreadful pictures of the last days over and over again. Often claws were reaching out and flesh was torn. Some of this was just imagination as Neil knew, for he had not seen how destruction happened, just the results. But he had seen how a normal person turned into something completely alien. This was another sequence of pictures that played before the eye of his mind. Finally, he felt his consciousness slip away rather sweetly. A second later, it seemed, he was woken up by steps racing up the stairs. Panicky steps. Neil blinked and looked around. He was still in his room. But now, his door flew open. His mother stood in the doorframe, short of breath with exhaustion and fear. “Wha?”, Neil was able to say. “They are driving through the streets warning people of the monster!”, his mom exclaimed. Neil sat up in his bed, now wide awake again, his heart pumping like it was already on the run and gaining ground on him.   Becky had slept for a while, she decided. She felt refreshed, so maybe the while had been long enough. The clock showed her that three whole hours had passed. So the must have slept. She turned to the side and tried to plan ahead. There were surely still things to do. They should go back to the town hall and talk to Doctor Lancer… Following that thought, Becky sat up, then jumped out of her bed. She had forgotten to call Mrs. Lancer. She threw on some clothes and stormed downstairs to the living room. There she grabbed the phone and called Mrs. Lancer´s home. Mrs. Lancer did not get to the phone, but Becky left a brief message on the answering machine. All was fine with Doctor Lancer, but he was busy helping the town. Becky hung up and thought a bit. Then she looked at the living room clock and decided to call the school. Surely, Mrs. Lancer would still be there. Becky got through to the administrator´s office. She then learned that Mrs. Lancer was not at the school anymore. As a matter of fact, almost no one was left there. “The school is being evacuated?”, Becky wondered aloud. “Say what?”, came from Rose who had been napping on the couch. Now she peeked over the back rest of it at her friend. “The school is being evacuated.”, Becky repeated. “Because of a monster.” Neil stared through the kitchen window. Out on the street, there was a police cruiser and through its speaker system, Deputy Sullyvan warned people of a dangerous individual, possible a beast or monster, prowling the town. There was a simple rhythm to Sullyvan´s words, which made them penetrated the mind more easily. “Stay on your house for now, a beast is on the prowl. Stay inside, until we give you a green light. Soon it will be ok – but for now stay inside.”, the deputy sang while driving slowly down the street. People stood on their porches and wondered what all that meant. More and more, they also got scared. Neil nodded and muttered to himself: “Shit, shit.” He then jumped up to his room, dressed as fast as he could and ran down again, this time to the back door. “Need to tell John about this. Then we´ll see, maybe go to the town hall to see the doc.”, Neil explained to his mom. “Is this about the thing you saw and last night?”, she asked. Neil stopped for a minute. “Yes. Sorry that I didn´t have more time to explain what is happening. Not sure when I´ll have the opportunity to do so. But now something seems to be done. That´s good news. See you later, love you.”, he rapid-fired over his shoulder and then stopped. “Maybe you and dad should meet up with John´s grandma before sundown. And make sure to lock all windows and doors.” Then he was gone through the back door. With wide strides, he traversed the perfectly kept backyard. He breathed in deeply when he reached the fence. Then he flung his right leg up to the wooden planks, strained, and pulled himself over the fence. He was now in John´s backyard. John was on the phone when he saw his friend letting himself drop from the peak of fence in the backyard. “Seems Neil is on the way already.”, John said into the receiver. “Yah, he just dropped by.” John hung up and then opened the glass back door to let Neil in. “Sullyvan is making rounds dropping bars about a beast, and warning people.”, Neil reported breathlessly. He tried to clean some dry grass from the knees of his pants. “Becky called and said the school is being evacuated.”, John said instead of a reply. “Because of the monster?”, Neil wondered. “Yes.” “Good…” Neil concluded his efforts to clean his pants. He then stood surrounded by a spot of dry grass on the floor of John´s grandma´s living room. So he tried to push the grass outside with his sneakers. John was watching him a bit absentmindedly. “Anyway,” John continued, “Becky suggested we drive back to the town hall and see what happens.” “I´d like to know what happens.”, Neil agreed. “Besides, it is still light outside. Feels save… saver.” “Well, there is just one monster and now a whole town aware of that.”, John remarked. Neil nodded quietly. They went outside to wait for the others. On the way, they hugged John´s grandma with a honesty and urgency that left her speechless for the moment it took the boys to leave. There were around three dozen cars parked around the town hall and even more people were on foot, streaming towards it. All looked worried if not angry. “Maybe they got questions.”, Rose suggested. “They surely look like it.” The friends studied the fearful and angry faces of the people closing in on the town hall. “I can´t image that this is a good idea. Like, assembling here in one spot while a monster is hunting its prey in town. This looks like an all-you-can-eat-buffet.”, Neil commented. Mainly in pairs of two, the people from the street filtered into the town hall. The doors were open and Deputy Smith stood beside them, looking uneasy. Next to her was the old sheriff, surveying the area and now and then talking to Smith. “Also not a good idea to cram people into a confined space in a situation like this.”, John added. “Yes. But to be honest, that kind of endangering and reckless behaviour is what I would have expected from any group of people large enough and afraid enough.”, Rose said. “True.”, John agreed. Becky meanwhile tried to talk to one or two people and to ask them to go back home. Her words were lost on them like they would have been to the cliffs and the surf. She was barely visible for them. The four friends waited next to the entrance until all the angry and confused people had filtered into the building. “Let´s maybe see what they want and if there are any news.”, Neil suggested and Becky agreed. “Not sure if I need that.”, Rose said wryly. “What I need is to make another call, I think.” She proceeded inside and headed for the public phone. “Fair.”, Becky called after her. “And maybe you would like to stay behind here with Rose? If you also would like to skip the masses.” Her last words were directed at John. “Hm.”, John made. “I can absolutely do without all these people.” He paused and studied Becky´s expression.   “Is this one of these situations where you need to give me a clue?”, he wondered. Becky nodded and smiled. “That´s a pretty big cue, not that I want to interfere.”, Neil commented. They left it at that and went inside. John stayed behind close to the phone and to Rose, while the others followed the citizens into the council chamber. John looked out through the open doors at the streets again. These were the same streets as last night and still a world away it seems. Here he had seen the monster stand in the yellow greasy light of the street lamps. Now everything looked like a normal warm summer day. Plus the cars parked more or less wildly outside of the town hall. Warm, almost hurtfully bright light had transformed the whole landscape. Everything from last night just seemed like a nightmare, separated from the now by the waking and knowing that there are dreams but that there is also a reality. John shivered slightly in the shadow of the entrance. He turned his attention to Rose. She had just finished her call and stepped out of the half enclosed phone booth. John set out to say something or rather ask something. The words reached the end of their usability before he could even utter them. So he stood there with a slightly opened mouth. “She is doing okay.”, Rose reported, filling the emptiness John had left in the interaction. “That is good.”, John then said as a reaction. “I am glad for her and you.” “Thank you.” There was another pause. John opened his arms and moved a bit closer, suggesting a hug. Rose looked at him, first puzzled and then understanding. “Yeah, we can hug on that.”, she said and they clumsily embraced each other. When it was over, both nodded. “Did you tell your parents about what is happening here?”, John wondered. “No.” The council camber was full and even over full with people. There was no place left to sit and not much place to stand either. People were bumping against the councillor´s tables and chairs. Again and again, someone was pushed or stumbled into one of the almost life size paintings of whalers and traders of blubber, livestock, and people, and mayors. It was clear that the round room with its dark wood panelling and low ceiling was not build for such a an interest in assemblage. The air was already bad and so was the mood. Becky and Neil had to push and elbow their way inside the doors. “Maybe we should find out why these people are here.”, Becky whispered to Neil. “Grand idea. I leave you the lead. You are clearly more effective in this communication thing.” People were talking over each other in smaller groups. Some seemed to shift between groups, talking to someone on their left and then turning to their right to say the same thing. But relatively closely to the door Becky and Neil discovered the two local librarians Agnes Smith and Angus Lancer. Becky decided to address them. “Hello Ms. Smith and Mr. Lancer. How are you? What brings you here?”, Becky inquired. “We heard the police making announcements that there was a danger. This was not a terribly helpful information. So we went here and now found out that Hendrick of all is in charge.”, Mr. Lancer answered. “As I´ve said time and again, it was a mistake to do away with the good old air raid sirens. They would have helped us in a situation like this.”, Ms. Smith added. “Indeed, they would have warned us.”, Mr. Lancer agreed. “Right? Then we would know to stay inside and not to come by here ourselves.” “We would have stayed inside in the safety of our houses.”, Mr. Lancer went on. “It is not too late to return home.”, Becky suggested. “Without a proper way to warn people, we have no other way to get any information than to come by. If only there were less people and less noise.”, Ms. Smith stated. “However…”, Becky started, but did not manage to get back into the conversation. Neil touched her elbow and shook his head. “They just want to repeat what they already think they know, like the others here.”, Neil whispered, not silently enough as he got angry glances from Smith, Lancer, and others around. “Let´s move on.”, Neil suggested. Becky agreed and they tried to push on towards the head side of the room where they assumed Doctor Lancer would be. After successfully moving a few steps, they found Mr. MacShane lecturing a small group very concerned citizens on staying away from the water. “Hi Mr. MacShane.”, Becky greeted. “Have you changed your mind and are here to help us now?” MacShane sized her up as if she had just completed an athletic feat but not with the form necessary. “There is no changing the truth. I am here because the town seems to wake up to the facts I have had all the time already. So I am here to offer my professional knowledge. If the powers that be are willing to listen to me. And do what I suggest.” “Oh… great.”, Becky said with an unsteady smile. Neil nudged her on. They passed further people who moved closer to the speaker´s podium, demanding details on the nature of the danger that had befallen the town. At some point, Becky and Neil could not go any further. A group ahead was impervious to elbow bumps. Even worse, there was a rush backwards and Becky and Neil were pushed against one of the councillor´s desks. To render the push without effect, Becky climbed on the desk. Neil followed her. Now they stood there half crouching under the ceiling. But they could see a bit more and noticed that Doctor Lancer was standing almost with his back against the wall. All that was separating him from the far end of the room were the Stars and Stripes, the bright state flag, and the dark flag of Wolf´s Cove hanging from their gilded masts. A subgroup of the crowd had the doctor cornered there, obviously pelting him with questions. “Poor guy, he seems trapped over there.”, Becky commented with a nod to Lancer. “Yeah, a bit like we are on this table.”, Neil observed, looking around. “What are they even talking about with the doctor?”, Becky wondered. Neil re-directed his attention. “I think some are wondering if the water from the tabs is still safe to drink. Others seem to ask if they can still go to the beach before the sirens call out.”, Neil then said. “No wonder that that Doctor Lancer seems to be completely lost.”, Becky commented. “We should do something.” “Like, fire a gun into the ceiling to get everyone’s attention?”, Neil asked while stemming his both hands against the wooden panelling above him. “Hm.”, Becky made. “Interesting. Deputy Smith and the old sheriff just tried to enter the room.” Outside, it had become quiet. “Seems the stream of fearful angriness has dried up for the moment.”, John observed. “Stream of angriness?”, Rose wondered. “The wave of the ones confused to the point of anger.” “Still shaky.”, Rose decided. “Also what is with all the water metaphors?” “You mean, my metaphors have no sea-legs?”, John asked and smirked. Rose just rolled her eyes. “We are close to the ocean.”, John then defended himself. Rose crooked her head, blinked, and nodded in the end. “Okay. I get it.”, she said. “But back to the point. Maybe Sullyvan did not reach everyone yet with his warnings.” They interrupted their conversation while Deputy Smith walked by. She probably had decided that her presence was not needed anymore outside. The street was empty except for the wildly parked cars, abandoned for the moment like rocks beached by a surge that was long gone. So the deputy passed Rose and John and went on to the council chamber. John looked out at the street again, his eyes wandering aimlessly at first, then searching. “Do you think it could come back even now in the daylight?”, Rose asked after observing her friend for a minute. “I hope not.”, John answered. “Do you think this will end… well, it cannot end well anymore. But do you think it can at least without more tragedy?” Now Rose also looked out on the small houses flanking the street running away from the town hall. She observed the shadows the cedars and street lights created on the pavement and the asphalt. There were all these little secretive spots hiding from the sun light. “I do not know.”, Rose finally said. “Right now it is bright and nice outside, but there is a darkness overlaying everything now. It is like something familiar got a facet previously unseen. And this new facet is scary for you do not know where it will lead but you are well aware to where it can lead. There are shadows in this world, you realize. Shadows with claws and fangs that are too eager to grab and gnaw on the ones you like.” “Yeah.”, John agreed. “All is the same and not the same. It makes me wonder how this situation would play out if someone else had spotted the asteroid. If we were different and if the town was different. It also makes me wonder how we would see this situation if it we were like the monster. If we were the monster. After all, we saw that it looks like one of us.” On their desk, Becky and Neil tried to get the attention of Deputy Smith and of Hooper. They waved as good as they could with the limited space at hand. When this did not work, Neil tried to whistle. When he failed, he looked a bit haplessly at Becky. She yelled: “Hey!” But even this did not yield the hoped for results. “Ok, I´ve got an idea. Let´s get back down into the mosh pit to get to Smith.”, Becky suggested and started to push somebody a bit away to make enough room to jump down from the desk. Neil had to follow her swiftly before the opening she created did close. He felt like jumping right into a moment when the tides where about to change. With elbows and some polite words from Becky, they made a way to the deputy. Unfortunately, somebody was faster and Smith and Hooper were already caught up in a conversation. Even closer than the crowded room demanded, Mr. W. stood next to Smith and Hooper. W. was, as usual dressed in his blue and green plastic track suite. This time, he had combined this with a camouflage vest. “Finally some authority!”, Mr. W. said in his raspy voice. Smith was staring at him puzzled. “We should take back the control of this situation and firstly make sure no more of these strange elements can filter into our bellowed city.”, Mr. W. continued. “What are you talking about?”, Smith wondered. “We told everybody already that the monster looks like one of us. There is no filtering.” Hooper nodded like somebody nods who got to see the reality second hand and was still impacted by it. Becky and Neil used meanwhile the resulting pause to reach the two police officers and to interject themselves into the conversation. “Deputy Smith, Mr. Hooper, this here is a very weird situation. But I´ve got an idea.”, Becky said. “What are you still doing here?”, Smith asked. “We got you, Mr. Hooper, to come by.”, Neil explained. “And now she has an idea.” He nodded towards his friend. “However…”, Mr. W. pushed himself back into focus, physically as well. “I would like to report suspicious strangers and demand that you take this seriously and the whole issue into your own hands. No more of these civilian town government. In a crisis, it is our time to make the decisions. I volunteer to help, of course.” “We are not looking for strangers. For me, the person on the tape looks like the old Mr. Miller to me.”, Hooper said. “We should still close the bridge. Shady individuals cross it every day.”, W. insisted. “I crossed it just hours ago!”, Hooper exclaimed. “Don´t engage him.”, Neil pleaded. “Becky, what is your idea?” Becky remarked that there were around 50, maybe 60 people in the council chamber at the moment. Way too many for such a small room. The bar where her mother worked, on the other hand, had a dancing salon attached to it that could fit around 80 people. So Becky´s suggestion was to move this meeting to the bar. And to give it more structure while doing so. This would also help to reduce the chaos and the fear and to improve the safety of everybody. Smith and Hopper looked at each other and exchanged a quick nod. “Sounds like a red idea.”, Smith said, then corrected herself. “This sounds like a promising idea.” She proceeded to call Deputy Sullyvan via radio and to tell him to go to the bar. “Nice.”, Sullyvan´s crackling voice said over radio. “I hope he gets what we are aiming to do.” Hooper commented. Rose and John saw the people leaving the council chamber and filing out through the entrance door. “This went either really well or really bad.”, John commented. Rose stared straight at him. “You think this could not have gone well?”, John wondered. “She´s right.”, Neil said as he detached himself from the crowd and came over to the public phone where the others were standing. Rose nodded. A second later, Becky joined the others. “We are heading to my mom´s bar. I´ll better call her.”, Becky said but did not see her friends nodding in agreement as she was already disappearing in the half enclosed telephone booth. “Hope there will be snacks.”, Rose stated while watching people still filing out of the town hall. From outside, angry words could be heard, exchanged between town’s people who had parked in each other´s way previously and now struggled to leave in their cars. “Snacks sound reasonable.”, Neil agreed. Now there was a honking coming from several cars clearly audible. This was then soon accompanied by the noise of engines revving. “It is getting relatively late already again.”, John remarked. There was the sound of a slight crash and metal pushing against and denting in metal. More honking followed. “I mean, it will be dark relatively soon again.”, John. Like the others, he watched the last people leave the town hall. Now only the friends were left as well as Doctor Lancer, Deputy Smith, and Hooper. Those three were just coming out of the council chamber. “You think it will return with the sundown?”, Rose inquired. Again, there were honking, screeching tires, and a bumping crash audible. Then somebody yelled. “I fear it will return soon, too soon.”, John said. “Can we do something so that these people are not killing themselves while leaving their illegal parking spots?”, Hooper wondered while walking by, clearly talking to Smith. She shrugged. “Hopefully we can get a bit more order.”, she added and then turned to Becky, Neil, and the others. “Good idea to move all of this.” Becky gave her a thumbs-up, Neil bowed slightly. “Did someone see the reverent?”, wondered Lancer who walked a bit shaky. Bu the three adults left without answering this question. Slowly the noises outside subsided afterwards. Becky finished up her call and walked up to the others. “Let´s drive to the bar.” There were already a few cars parked in front of the bar which had the simple name “Drink”. One of these cars was Sullyvan´s police cruiser. The lights were flashing but the siren and the deputy was silent for the moment. From behind the steering wheel, he watched worried citizens arriving and then directly entering the bar. Sullyvan also waved to Becky and the others when they slowly drove by to find a parking spot. As there was much interest in the bar that night – lots of the usual guest seemed to be inside already in addition to the angry citizens – Becky could only find some available space to a block away. She parked with an excusing impression on her face and afterwards, the four friends walked from there to the bar. “Not sure I know why we are even here.”, Neil said. “Because these scared people needed a place to assemble that was not a squishing hazard.”, Becky replied. “I get that. But why were they there in the first place and are now here in the… second place?”, Neil clarified. “Did you really expect something different when the police goes out to warn everybody to stay inside?”, Rose wondered. Neil considered it. “I get your point here as well,… but how does this help them in their endgame?” “There is no endgame for them.”, John suggested. “And you said that you get that several times now. Please do not say it again.” Neil grumbled but nodded. “I´m just on the edge. Soon it will be night again and I can´t see how this all helps us to keep the town save.”, he mumbled. Becky nodded and put an arm around him. “You are right in your concerns.”, she said. “However, maybe we can do some good here.” “Better than driving until dusk to search for a monster with giant claws.”, Rose added. So they went on and entered “Drink”. The four friends immediately found Becky´s mom behind the slightly worn, but still oak bar counter. Erin looked tense and was watching the entrance door as well as the door leading to the dance salon. Becky ran to her mother and gave her a hug. The other three high schoolers remained on the customer side of the bar, but smiled and waved at Erin. “Hey guys.”, Erin smiled back and her posture became already less tensed, possibly because Beck was clinging to her. “Do you want something to eat before the whole great whatever it is starts in the ball room?” “Yes please.”, Neil answered and the others nodded. “Do we also get beer?”, Neil then wondered with a smirk. “We have the police here.”, Erin replied flatly while still being hugged. Then Becky let her mother go. “Thanks for the food.”, Becky said and left the area behind the bar. Her mother smiled. “Wait with that until you see what you get. There are some sausages left over.”, Erin explained. “Can´t chug them to the assembled citizens?”, Neil wondered. “Oh, we did.”, Erin reported with a played up enthusiasm. “But there are still some left.” “If you need help with meal-related planning of stocking and selling, I can offer my help.”, Neil said. “Meanwhile we are thankful for what we get.”, Rose interjected and John nodded with effort. Erin requited that with a nod from her side. Then she wrote something on a small piece of paper, turned around, and handed the paper through a small window behind the bar into the kitchen. “Machine will take care of your snacks.”, Erin declared. “How is your family, Rose? Do you need to make a call?” “I called them already today. They are fine. My sister is still doing ok. We will know more after the operation they say. But maybe I already mentioned it as they mention it a lot.”, Rose answered. “It´s ok to mention it again.”, Becky reassured her friend and gave her a brief hug. “Sorry I missed the call today.” “Oh, John was there. So when he hugged me it was like hugging you second-hand.”, Rose remarked and smirked. John blushed. “That´s how it works – at least according to what they teach in school.”, Neil chimed in and padded John on the back. Then he returned his attention to the kitchen window. “I talked to Tula about this already.”, Erin said while preparing a drink for a customer sitting further down at the bar. “She teaches music, not dancing.”, Neil joked and chuckled a bit too long. Meanwhile Becky froze for a moment. “We were supposed to visit her or at least call her. But I forgot and then could not reach her.”, Becky said nervously. “Oh, she is here, dear.”, Erin remarked. “I saw her entering the dance salon.” “Should check on her.”, Becky insisted and went away. The other three watched her leave, but hesitated to follow for now. But then Doctor Lancer walked into the bar and with him Deputy Smith and the ex-sheriff. Erin sent them with a nod towards the dance salon. “I guess with Becky and Lancer here, we are not needed to reassure Mrs. Lancer that things are relatively ok.”, Neil suggested. “Also, they did not even bow their head in a simple gesture to greet us.” “That was rude.”, John agreed. “Barbarians.”, Rose added. “No sausages for them.”, Neil suggested. Rose put a hand on his elbow. “Wait until we have tasted them.”, she whispered. The bright sound of a bell mounted to the counter in the kitchen window sounded. “You will have the opportunity to do the tasting now indeed.”, Erin said and turned around to the window behind her. Quickly, she produced four plates with pale sausages, fries and some salad. “Not bad. Thanks.”, Neil said. “Even some leaves to keep the scurvy at bay.” “We are a seafarer town, after all.”, Erin gave back. “Could you bring Becky her plate?” Neil nodded and picked up two of the portions before heading to the dance salon. Rose picked up her plate as well and followed Neil. Then it was John´s turn. “How are you doing?”, Erin asked while handing him his food. “How is your grandma?” John pondered that for a while and tried his best to avoid looking Erin in the eyes. “Good… and good. Like, as good as it can be right now. My sister is also fine, I think. But she is at least away. That is a relief. One cannot be at two places at the same time. So she is out of the danger zone I guess. Grandma and I have to see what the night brings, though. There is stuff to do here that hopefully helps. So I cannot be at two places. Hope I chose well.”, John answered before he could make himself stop. Erin nodded and patted slightly his hand. “You four are doing great.”, Erin reassured John. She did so without proof, but with one of her friendly smiles. John looked her in the eyes again. “It´s good to see you. Always.”, Erin said finally. “Same.”, John replied and nodded three times. He even smiled. Then he took his plate and followed the others. The dance salon was not so much decorated as littered with abandoned and forgotten decoration from previous balls. These were namely some high school dances which had been maritime themed. There were paper sea horses and sea stars and some whales lining the walls and at dolphin was hanging above the small stage. There were also pumpkins and witches and spider webs. The first two were in anticipation of the fall already or hold overs from last Halloween. The latter might have been real. There were still a lot of people in the room, but John had the feeling that there were less people here than in the town hall. Still, John was glad when he discovered that Rose and Neil had found a standing table in one corner and a bit removed from the crowd to settle down and eat their food. So John kept close to the wall while he went to his friends. “How is the food?”, John asked Rose and Neil. “I like the show more.”, Neil answered, while holding a hand in front of his mouth, and nodded towards the stage. There, Fred, the owner of “Drink”, stood and tried to instil some order into his surprise guests. “So I see some people here tonight who I might or might not, but certainly have, banned for life from this establishment. As this is an extreme situation and we are all scared. So I´ll make an exception. As long as you can behave yourself tonight. Looking at you Eb in particular. Yes, you. If there is a problem, I will not wait for the cops, I and Bruce will take the matter into our own hands and rain down expulsions and additionally lifelong bans at you.”, Fred thundered from his elevated position. He did not use the sound system in the room, as the microphone was set too high for him, as if it was already set up for Doctor Lancer. “So, having said this, the bar is open and food is still served. Also, please listen what the doctor has to say. He told me he has important things to see.” Fred climbed down from the stage and mingled with the assembled crowd. After a moment of emptiness that frustrated everyone, Doctor Lancer, together with Smith and Hooper took to the stage. Lancer stressed that there was danger, but not the need for headless actions. That make John push his plate away from himself. “He should not have mentioned the head.”, Rose said and Neil also studied the reaction of his friend. “He should not have mentioned the head.”, John agreed dryly while still becoming paler. Neil´s expression, meanwhile, became more worried. He also let his food be. “Do you need to get outside for a moment? Ok, there are monsters. Do you need to visits the men´s room for a moment?”, Neil asked. “I think I am ok. Just done with my meal.”, John answered. Then he chuckled slightly at first, then a bit more and a bit more until he almost laughed. Neil looked at his friend puzzled, while Rose smiled and also started to giggle and then laugh. Neil could not help it but also smiled. “What?”, Neil wondered. “Men´s room?”, Rose said. “Men´s room.”, John nodded. “Let´s go to the men´s room and do manly things, like throwing up.” “Now I get it.”, Neil now laughed as well. At the same moment, Becky showed up. “What´s up?”, Becky asked her friends, trying to shift between a concerned and an amused look on her face. Behind her, Mrs. Lancer was leaving the hall. “The boys were just joking about manly things.”, Rose explained. “Spot on.”, Neil added, while all three were looking after Mrs. Lancer. “How is Mrs. Tula?”, John wondered and nodded towards the spot where their teacher had just been. Becky explained that she had only talked briefly to Tula. Her husband had had even less time, but told Tula to go home and lock the doors. “Now she is on her way to wait this out alone at home.”, Becky concluded. “Like a lot of people.”, Neil observed which let Becky look even more worried. “There seems to be quite a number of people that did not followed here from the town hall.”, John jumped in. “A hand full of them seem to have decided it was better to go home or somewhere else.” “Not surprising. You lose always someone when you change the location. I thought that was part of the plan.”, Neil said. “No. It is better to have people here if they did not want to stay home.”, Becky defended herself. “Well, if I may something.”, Rose set on. “The cops told people to stay home and wait out the night. Some people had question or were angry about this and they showed up at the town hall. However, as we see now, only 40 or so are really interested beyond that. That is a small number even in our small town. Most people actually are following what Lancer and the police have told them.” “True.”, Becky nodded. “And yet here we are with the louder ones. Oh, and with him.”, Rose concluded and pointed towards Mr. W., standing in the middle of the dance salon, still in his camouflage vest and tracking suit. He remained there while Doctor Lancer finally climbed on to the stage and got to the microphone. He was flanked by Smith and Hooper who studied the crowd beneath them. Lancer lifted his hands and let them hover above the people in a reassuring gesture. He then tried to find calming words. His still shaky voice did not help selling that point. The doctor reiterated that there was a danger to the people of the town and that everybody needed to follow the official advice and take responsibility to get through this. There was, in fact, a monster on the prowl that had already claimed one victim. Lancer was visibly searching for the name of the unfortunate soul taken by the monster. In the end, he repeated his warning. Some people wondered where the mayor was and Lancer answered that the mayor was unavailable. People gasped. So Hooper leaned over to the microphone and said that the mayor was on a fishing trip, together with the sheriff. People gasped again. But Lancer, taking back the microphone, told everybody not to worry. There were protocols for that in place. So it was his task to lead a task force to deal with the situation. “Now, what gives you the authority to draft measures against monsters?”, a voice in the audience asked loudly. “What gives you the authority, when there is someone here that has excellent expertise on monsters?” “Is this?”, John wondered and Neil nodded. “Who are you?”, asked Hopper, again leaning in to get to the microphone. So MacShane introduced himself and took the opportunity to warn about the water. Any water. “This is not water related.”, Doctor Lancer replied and waved his hand. Some people gasped and were not satisfied with this and demanded that MacShane be heard. He did, meanwhile repeat his issues with water as source of ancient evil. “It is true you know. This town is cursed. There is an ancient sin that has been committed here by the people of this town. Such a sin cannot go without repercussions. One day, someone has to pay. And this day seems to have come now.”, Rose said in a loud pretend whisper that was clearly aimed at some people standing close by. Becky shook her head disapprovingly. “It is the nights when we pay the price.”, John added in a low voice. “True.”, Rose conceded with a nod. Then another voice was raised and it originated relatively closely to the group of friends. “This is the moment I and others have warned you before. We should not have let anybody into our town! And now we have this crime at our hands.”, Mr. W. exclaimed. “I say, close and guard the bridge. Where there is one monster, there might come more. There are some hones men I could call to help us hold the bridge.” “Who are you? Who said that?”, Hopper asked again and shielded his eyes to peer down from the stage into the ball room. Then he recognized Mr. W. “Oh you. We don´t need your so-called friends here. Was it not part of your sentence that you break ties with these individuals? Besides, the… monster looks like one of us, a local resident. The danger is already in our midst.” “He should not even address this guy.”, Rose grumbled. Becky and the others nodded. “This is not relevant.”, Becky yelled. On stage, Hooper blinked and then nodded as well. “If we are done with real questions, let´s rather go back to the water-guy instead of listening to Mr. W.”, Hooper said and then leaned back again. Mr. W. became furious and started to walk to the stage, pushing people aside. The stopped dead in his track when Fred showed up right in W.´s way. “I warned you, Eb. If you still can´t behave yourself, we need to throw you out. You and your ever ugly soccer world cup shirt and your vest and your hideous track suit. As I said, I made an exception by letting you stay. Even though you were banned before. Even though you have dressed like this. But now you crossed a line.”, Fred warned and stared W. dead in the eye. W. tried to stare back and even lifted himself up on his toes to tower even more above the smaller Fred. But Fred did not move. “There´s two options: You leave of your own terms. Or you leave with even more embarrassment than you already caused for yourself.”, Fred stated coldly. Another moment passed. But as W. saw that no one was taking his side, he grumbled and mumbled curses, and then turned around and left. There was an eight-handed applause, but it did not catch on. There was a moon above the water. He remembered seeing the moon above the ocean. Then he found himself close to a bridge. It had steered him here. He could jump the distance, he felt. Why would he jump the distance? Here had his home been. Here he had been trapped since the night of the fall. Why would he not leave this place, maybe try another? There must be a world out there. He had seen it. It pushed him. Then he noticed a movement and the hunger returned. A shape was standing in a metal box, making sounds. Noisy noisy sounds. Was this a warning? Memories found told of the danger that these shapes posed. Memories recently made told that the shapes could be dismantled, sliced up into delicious bits. There was fear and there was hunger. There would be a meal, a small sliver of warmth to quell the previously unknown hunger. And there was the fear. What was the shape doing? What was is yelling it. It pushed him to make the other stop.