#YEAH i just checked he got himself out. jaxon was too busy cursing people out

[avocado-frog]

Find the word tag because Today is the Day

Tagged by @oh-no-another-idea

Let's see if I post this the day I started writing it or if it goes to die in my drafts

Fish (??? i honestly just started writing. dunno what this was for)

(He didn't know if a dead pufferfish was just as dangerous as a live one. Ryan would know.)

(The next morning, out of curiosity, he found himself asking. The boy seemed a little startled by the question, but he lit up at seeing that he was the expert in that subject. He shook his head, but said that you shouldn't touch them, anyways.

"Don't people eat 'em sometimes?" Sam asked, through a bite of oatmeal. He gestured wildly with his hands.

"Yeah, but there's a certain way to cut them, I think." Ryan and Logan's answer was simultaneous.)

---

Fuel (Leo kills a man)

That fueled the fire like gasoline. With a sudden surge of adrenaline, Leo dodged the swing that came her way and placed a well-aimed foot into the boy's stomach. He fell back, threw a clump of dirt at Leo, and she took the opportunity.

He was on his back and Leo stomped hard on his neck, earning several screams behind her.

---

Feeling (cw for body horror I think)

Dylan pointedly did not look up, as the hand started to tighten. The demon's skin was ashy and gray, the hand thin and bony, black veins protruding through the cold skin. It wore a loose, turquoise shirt, and a white lab coat that nearly reached the floor.

Shooting a quick glance at Ryan, he had not yet noticed. Dylan didn't want to move, afraid of the demon's nails clawing at their skin. With a quiet hum of Ryan's name and a swift kick at the ground, their friend looked up, shot to his feet, looking terrified of the demon. Dylan didn't blame him, though they had yet to get the pleasure of looking at it.

Reluctantly, Dylan moved their head up, meeting the gaze of what they assumed was supposed to be Leo.

It had the same face, though gray and pale, black stripes slashed over its mouth. It had the same golden eyes, though bloodshot and glowing yellow, and it had the same brown hair tied up behind its head, thin and disheveled.

It opened its mouth, and the skin on its lips stuck together, sewn up like a doll, as it smiled big, lacking teeth.

This was an easy contender for one of the worst days of their life.

---

Float(ed) (drowning tw)

The rotting wood creaked under his feet, mold and moss lining the cracks in black wood. Red waves crashed harmlessly against the poles. Through murky water, he could see arms floating.

If Dylan were here, they wouldn't have hesitated to go into the water. They'd have already found Elliot by now. Lucas would've been out ages ago. That was why they were taken away, they were too determined to find Elliot. Ryan wasn't determined enough.

If he didn't find Elliot, he wouldn't get Dylan back, and if he didn't get Dylan back, he'd be stuck here forever. With that thought in mind, he took a deep breath, willed himself to move, and stood right on the edge of the docks, and tilted ever so slightly forwards.

He plunged into the water, in what felt familiar. The water, this time, was red instead of murky blue, and when he was pushed into the lake at the fair, there wasn't a hand around his wrist, pulling him down. This time, there was, and he had screamed at the realization. Bloody water entered his lungs, tasting distinctly like iron, getting colder and darker the further they went.

He latched onto the pole holding the docks, digging his fingers into moss, reaching up for the surface. A hand grabbed onto his, pulling him out of freezing water. Jaxon held him close, shouting at a group of kids, frantically apologizing. Ryan didn't do much but shake, huddled against the safe figure of his friend.

Jaxon wasn't there this time. No one was there. He did not know whose arm was dragging him so deep underwater

---

Sad to say I don't have fancy 😔

Words: Stake, stale, severe, shadow, sandwich

Tags:

@holdmyteaplease

@steh-lar-uh-nuhs

@kaiusvnoir

@words-after-midnight

@blind-the-winds

+open tag of course