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kurooandkenmasslut · 11 months

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𝐀𝐋𝐌𝐎𝐒𝐓 𝐒𝐎𝐎𝐍 𝐓𝐎 𝐁𝐄... 𝐇𝐔𝐒𝐁𝐀𝐍𝐃.

𝐑𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐨𝐤𝐮 𝐊𝐲𝐨𝐣𝐮𝐫𝐨 𝐱 𝐅!𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫

Warning!: contains mugen train spoilers! Character death, gore, blood, fluff, mention of alcohol (mentioned only a few times) & depression. This isn't accurate, so I used my own words and changed it a lot, so please understand. Two endings!

'...' ɪᴛᴀʟɪᴄ ᴍᴇᴀɴs ᴛʜᴇ ᴄʜᴀʀᴀᴄᴛᴇʀ ɪs ᴛʜɪɴᴋɪɴɢ. ᴡʜᴇɴ ʏᴏᴜ ᴀʀᴇ ᴛᴀʟᴋɪɴɢ ᴛᴏ ʏᴏᴜʀ ᴏᴛʜᴇʀ sᴇʟғ ɪʟʟ ᴜsᴇ ɪᴛᴀʟɪᴄ sᴏ ɴᴏʙᴏᴅʏ ɢᴇᴛs ᴄᴏɴғᴜsᴇᴅ. ᴘʟᴇᴀsᴇ ᴠᴏᴛᴇ!! 💓

Sorry if there's any mistakes!

7390 words!

You were the tenth hashira. The Wisteria Pillar to be exact. You were proposed to by Kyojuro Rengoku. And you were planning your wedding.

Kyojuro had been called for a mission, apprently, according to his crow, many people had been seen entering the train, but never coming back out. They had sent out demon slayers, but none of them came back either.

"(Name)! Do you wanna accompany me on a mission?" "Oh sure! When are we leaving?" "about hmm... Less than an hour, but I wanna visit Senjuro and my father before I leave! Do you also wanna come with me?" "Of course! Your brother is adorable!" you laughed and so did he.

After your short journey to the Flame estate, you caught sight of Senjuro outside, sweeping. "Hey Senjuro!" you yelled, making Senjuro look up and wave with a shy smile on his face. Kyojuro smiled at his younger brother's shyness. Senjuro then jumped in Kyojuro's arms and swung him playfully, making you all laugh.

"Do you two want something to eat? I was already making lunch for Father and I think I might have gone overboard with the cooking because I had so much food and I don't think he and I could eat it all by ourselves!" he said, scratching the nape of his neck in embarrassment, but you only grinned. "Of course! Your cooking is amazing, I don't think I could ever decline your cooking, Senjuro!" Kyojuro cheered, and you only nodded in agreement.

There was laughing, the crunching of the food, and the happy era in the room. "I'm going to say goodbye to Father before I go, be right back!" Kyojuro smiled. He walked confidently down the hallway where Shinjuro, His father's room door was in front of him. He knocked before waiting a few seconds and then walking in. Shinjuro was sitting out at the Engawa, a bottle of sake in his rough hands. Ever since his mother, Ruka, a loving mother who cared for her three boys, caught an untreatable illness and unfortunately passed away, leaving Shinjuro in a state of shock and rage, it seemed to keep his sadness at bay, had could drink them away.

That was until Kyojuro caught sight of the clock and immediately stood up. "it seems that (name) and I have to go unless we're gonna be late for the train!" he exclaimed playfully ruffling Senjuro's hair. He drank the rest of his water before setting it back on the table.

"wait! I'll walk you two to the gate!" and so he did. "Senjuro, lunch was lovely! I really hope sometime we get another chance to have some more time with you! You also need to tell me your recipe for that onigiri." You said, Senjuro blushing at the compliment and nodding confidently.

Kyojuro held your hand as you bid your goodbyes before Kyojuro and you ran to the station where the train sat. You merely made it in time as you and Kyojuro stepped onto the train.

You sat down and Kyojuro sat across from you, he sat with his arms crossed with a big smile on his face. You started to talk but was interrupted by a waiter on the train, asking if you wanted something to eat, to which you nodded and so did Kyojuro. It will be a long journey after all.

"Umai!" munch.. "Umai!" munch.. "is that really the flame hashira?" "he looks like an idiot." "inosuke! That's rude! And zenitsu, it is. He looks like an admirable person."

"u-um... Mr. Rengoku?" "Umai!" "Kyojuro! Someone is calling you! It's the boy with the demon sister!" You said, lightly hitting him on the arm to get his attention. He turned his head towards the three boys. "Ah yes! Kamado, my boy! Come sit here!" He grinned patting the seat next to him and Tanjiro nodded and sat next to him.

"Kyaaaaa!! A pretty lady is in the same place as meeee!! Can you please marry meee?! I don't wanna die alone!!!!" Zenitsu cried, clinging his arms around your waist. You looked away in awkwardness. You felt Kyojuros burning gaze on you, so you adverted your eyes to him, his smile dropped a bit, eyes looking stern.

Could he be.. Jealous? The thought made you laugh, and Kyojuro's stern face was replaced with happiness and love when he saw you laugh.

"That's my fiancé, Yellow boy." "WHAAATTT?! I... YOU... HOW?! EEEEHHHH!? NEZUKO-CHAN!! SAVE ME!!" "Zenitsu, stop it."

"Come and fight me!!" "Settle down now, pig boy." "I AM NOT A PIG!! I AM KING INOSUKE!" "You are so embarrassing Inosuke!" "Shut up monitsu!" You sighed and shoved the two boys onto a seat on their own, tired of their behaviour already.

Kyojuro and Tanjiro we're talking amongst themselves, something about breathing styles. While you looked over at the boys to check on them, but regretted it when you saw Inosuke trying to stick his head out the window and Zenitsu trying to hold him back, calling Tanjiro for help.

The ticket man came around looking for people's tickets. As he came to you, the once happy space had now become a dark, gloomy era. You noticed his appearance, he had very dark eye bags under his eyes, and his eyes were blank. You reluctantly gave him your ticket, your suspicion raising, and it seemed like Kyojuro had the same. You stared at the lively smile he gave the man, just admiring his beauty. It's funny how the other hashiras call you both 'love birds.'

The click of the ticket removed you from your trance. You shook your head, trying to get rid of the thoughts that blasted through your head.

A few minutes passed and you felt sudden drowsiness, your eyes struggling to stay open. You thought it was weird, but didn't think much of it since you hadn't got much sleep in a while.

You opened your eyes only to be big green eyes starting back at you. Feeling a little frightened, you let out a squeal, before the person jumped up, but then you noticed it was the Love Hashira, Mitsuri Kanroji, also known as your best friend.

"(Name)! (Name)! Get up! Get up!" She squealed, shaking you by the shoulders a bit too hard. "Hey, hey, hey! What's wrong?! Is it a demon?!" You yelled, ready to get up and grab your sword to fight in your pajamas if you must. "It's your- a demon?! Are you silly?! Today is your big day!" "Mitsuri-Chan, I'll handle it." you heard a voice say, and Mitsuri stopped shaking you.

Shinobu Kocho, The insect Hashira, also known as your best friend, along with Mitsuri stepped out and helped you out of bed.

"What's happening?" You asked confusion on your face. "You're getting married to Rengoku-San, remember?" She asked, her thin eyebrows furrowing. You widened your eyes and started pacing around the room.

"but I need a dress! What ifidontlookgoodandhesaysnoatthevowsandrunsaway-" "(name)!"

After many almost mental breakdowns, you finally got your dress on, Suma and Makio & Hinatsuru Uzui worked on your makeup, and damn, they made you feel like a goddess. Mitsuri, Shinobu, Aoi, and the three butterfly girls worked on your dress compartment as your dress processes some errors while they fixed them. Nezuko popped up with small flowers in her hands, putting them into your hair beautifully. Kanao then came, placing a small butterfly clip in your hair. You then cooed, almost crying because of their cuteness.

But to your surprise, a familiar head peaked in, almost making you sob and ruin your makeup.

Your family passed a few years back, and you've just finally faced reality to accept it, but all the years you've survived without them, but as soon as you saw her face, you felt the need to be with them again.

"Oh my sweet baby... (Name)... You look gorgeous.. Oh my dear, don't cry!" Your mother cooed, smiling at your face.

The ladies then finished your look, which you squealed at and hugged them all. Mitsuri then had to hold back her tears, she felt so happy for you that she started crying, and soon enough, your mother joined in, claiming that you "grew up so fast."

𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐞...

"Oh come on Kyojuro! Don't be so nervous, it'll be alright man." Tengen laughed at his best buddy's face. Kyojuro kept worrying about his hair, and constantly asking him if he looked alright, but tengen only laughed and nodded in response.

"Hisssss..." "Yeah, I wonder how Mitsuri looks as well. I'm she she'll be as stunning as always." "Are you talking to a... Snake? What the fuck." "Shut the fuck up Shinazugawa. Mind your own business." "Obanai, Shinazugawa. Do not fight on this special, holy day." "I agree. It's a special day for Rengoku-san and L/n-san." "Shut up Tomioka. Nobody asked for your opinion." "I simply said that do not fight on Rengoku and L/n's special day. There is no reason to get upset." "What the fuck? I'm out of here." Sanemi said, storming out of the room.

"Why am I here again..." "To celebrate Rengoku-san and L/n's wedding, Tokito." "What's a wedding... And who's Rengoku and L/n..." "Nevermind, Tokito. We must go now." "Go where?" "Just follow me, boy."

The flower girls were up, Which was the three butterfly triplets. Sumi, Naho, Kiyo throwing petals on the floor. Some people cooed at their cuteness.

It was time for you to walk up to your soon to be husband, holding your fathers arm as he smiled at you gently, he was a little emotional about today since his daughter was getting married, which made you giggle. It felt like a dream come true to you, honestly.

But then you finally looked up at him. He looked so, so, so good. His hair was in his usual, small ponytail, hair still on his shoulders, Swiftly blowing in the wind, You blushed. He looked at you, in shock, a warm blush complimenting his lovely face. He quickly came back to his loving smile, his hands getting a bit clammy, going over his vows in his head while trying to look at his soon to be wife. You noticed that his other two family members, Shinjuro, His father, and Senjuro, his sweet little brother looking at you with a gentle smile on his face, his eyes almost telling you run up there and say 'I do!'

Then you saw all the male hashiras by his side, Tengen, Gyomei, Obanai, Giyuu, Sanemi & Muichiro. Most of them looked like they didn't wanna be here, except Gyomei and Tengen, while sanemi looked at the bush at the side, giyuu staring into space, obanai staring at Mitsuri, wishing that it was him and her and Muichiro looking at the clouds, slowly floating past in the bright blue sky.

You finally made it to where Kyojuro was standing, your sandals making a small 'click' due to the added platform. (im trying to say heels but in a sadal way?)

While the priest was talking, you tried to quickly glance at the wedding setting but your (e/c) eyes caught something.

Your wedding setting plan was a lovely garden, greenery everywhere, ponds and lakes everywhere, flowers growing in the perfect spots.

But the thing that caught your eye was.. Someone was in the pond? It almost looked like you, but you ignored it, looking at your husband, thinking it was just your imagination.

You both then said your vows, making you giggle as yiu recall the times you spent together, leading up to this moment. He then said his vows, a smile on his face.

The priest then turned over to you.

"Miss L/n, do accept Mr Rengoku Kyojuro as your loving husband?" He asked you.

"I do."

"Mr Rengoku Kyojuro, do you accept Miss L/n as your loving wife?"

"I do!" Kyojyro said enthusiastically, making everyone laugh.

"Any objections?"

....... ....... .......

"You may kiss the bride." after he said that, kuojuro pounced. He grabbed your waist and leaned into your lips, you then wrapping your arms around his neck, screams and yells booming through the air. Screams mixed with Mitsuri and the girls and your parents and yells mixed with Tengen, Shinjuro and Senjuro.

After the kiss, he started twirling you around, laughing loudly, making you squeal in delight and shock.

"Why hello there, Mrs. Rengoku!" Kyojuro said and kissed your cheek. You booped his nose. "Hello there, Mr. Rengoku~!" "Okay, Okay we get it lovebirds."

Tengen then grabbed Kyojuro. "Mind if I take him for a bit?" "Nope! I don't mind!" You said, smiling and Tengen dragged him over somewhere.

You then saw fish jumping over at the pond, so you decided to take a closer look. You then kneeled on the grass, but made sure the dirt didn't stain your dress. You then looked at your reflection.

"This doesn't feel real.." you mumbled. You could of sworn that you were on the Mugen Train, sitting with Kyojuro and the Kamaboko Squad. As you thought you didn't realise a face starting back at you, but it wasnt just any face, it was your face. You jumped, today was feeling odd, and now this was feeling very strange.

You then realised that... You.. In the water, was trying to say something, so you looked closer to hear what you were saying, only for your arms to get your actual arms and pull you into the pond. Feeling panicked, you tried to swim back up but you held a deathly grip.

"WAKE UP! WAKE UP!" You screamed, bubbles forming around your mouth. You then disappeared somewhere into the water, making you feel even more uncomfortable.

'Wake up? Wake up? From what? From what?!'

"THE BRIDE HAS FALLEN INRO THE POND! SOOMEONE HELP HER! SHE ISNT COMING UP!" Someone screamed, and you felt a rush of hands trying to grip your arm, but no luck. You weren't thinking straight. 'Wake up? I'm so confused! Is this... All a dream?..'

"I'LL GET HER!!" Someone else yelled before you heard a big splash of water and someone pulling you up. As your head finally got above the water, you suddenly needed air, so you took big gasps of it.

The person who you recognized is your now husband, his eyebrows furrowed. "Are you okay my dear? You need to be more careful." Kyojuro mumbled and you nodded and hugged him. You were so confused, one moment you were on the Mugen Train and now your at your future wedding with Kyojuro? This has to be a dream.

You then excused yourself to the bathroom, looking yourself in the mirror, trying to process what just happened.

You then saw your blade in the corner, in your eyes, it's almost glimmering, as if it's the only thing you see in the room. You squinted your eyes and walked over to it. You picked it up, unsheathing the sword from the case.

Suddenly, multiple voices in your head started swarming in your head. Whispering and muttering "𝐂𝐔𝐓 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐍𝐄𝐂𝐊." "𝐒𝐖𝐈𝐏𝐄 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐃 𝐀𝐂𝐑𝐎𝐒𝐒 𝐘𝐎𝐔𝐑 𝐍𝐄𝐂𝐊."

Panting, you hands shakily brought the sword up to your neck, closing your eyes shut.

'maybe, maybe, it will get me out of this dream, as much as I wanna stay, I have to get back to reality, especially since I'm vulnerable asleep.' she thought, you clenched the sword and screamed, swiping the sword against your neck.

Your body collapsed on the bathroom floor, unknown to you, someone heard your scream, and came rushing in, collapsing himself at the sight of your dead body on the floor.

But in reality however, you snapped your eyes open, and the first thing you see is some purple things on the train ceiling, making you jump and get into action, quickly slicing it. But to your surprise however, it was consuming the whole train, whatever it was. You noticed Tanjiro, Zenitsu, Inosuke, Nezuko and Kyojuro disappear, making you worry a bit.

You ran, slicing the purple guts that went into your way within a second. Slamming the door open with a bang, you saw your firey fiancee using his Flame breathing on a demon, making you sigh in relief. As you looked around, you noticed that everyone was asleep, so you suspected that the demon's ability was to make someone's dream come true and never wake again to the real world.

Kyojuro seemed to notice you after he finished the demon. "(Name)! It seems you have awoken, to my relief. Are you alright?!" He yelled and sped walked over to you, cradling your face in his hand, while his other on held his sword. You smiled and held the hand touching your face.

"I'm fine Kyojuro. Are you alright though?" You asked softly, wiping the small droplets from the demons blood on his face.

Kyojuro did his signature smile and kissed your cheek. "Of course I am! Now, let us defeat this demon and go home! I am looking forward to stay home with you after this is over! Do you wanna go to the festival after this actually? I promise it this time!" He said, the last time he said that he had to go to a mission when you two just got ready, making you sulk. You giggled and shook your head.

"I'll take care of the two cars while you take the other two!" Kyojuro yelled and you nodded, you two separating once again.

Soon enough, Tanjiro and the others defeated the main body of the demon, but after they did, the train tipped over, but none of the 200 passengers were killed. When the train tipped over, people's heavy luggage and belongings toppled over you, making you bang your head aggressively on the wall, making you fall unconscious with a bleeding head and some small bruises on your body.

When you opened your eyes again, your vision was hazy, seeing the moon shining down on you. Your ears started ringing and you closed your eyes as a headache started forming. When you opened your eyes again, you saw a pair of firey eyes starting back into yours, making you yelp, but realising it's Kyojuro's.

"Are you alright honey?" He asked softly getting on his knees and bandaging your head with the bandages from his haori.

You managed to mumble a 'yes'. But his warming presence didn't last long.

The mist and smoke from the train was still in the air, making it foggy, but you could somehow manage to spot a figure, aiming towards... Tanjiro?!

You tried getting up and aiming for the demon that was heading to tanjiro, but it seems Kyojuro had gotten to him first. The demon quickly recoiled, licking the blood of his arm as it regenerated in a blink of an eye. You wondered, why it regenerate so quickly? Not even a lower rank demon can regenerate that fast.

"Nice blade you got there." The demon spoke, opening his honey-coloured eyes. He had long eyelashes. You were shaken to the bone as you read his eyes. The writing in his eyes read...

Ʉ₱₱ɆⱤ₥ØØ₦ ₮ⱧⱤɆɆ

U..uppermoon three? Kyojuro was incredibly strong and fast, but this is uppermoon three, no human has survived him, ever. But you prayed that he would be okay.

"My name is Akaza, uppermoon three, what's yours?" "Rengoku Kyojuro, the Flame Hashira."

"Oh! A hashira? This is getting exciting! Not to mention, A flame hashira, I think I've killed a few!" Right after he said that, you could tell Kyojuro tensed, grabbing his sword in front of him more tighter, much after he did before.

Kyojuro saw Akaza's eyes flicker to you, so we started moving in front of you, blocking Akaza's vision of you.

"I assume she's a hashira aswell. You two sure look like the perfect couple, are you perhaps married?" Akaza asked, and Kyojuro tensed even more. If he didn't answer, it's only longer to get this over with.

"Yes, soon to be." "ah, I see." Kyojuro's eyes narrowed at him, gritting his teeth slightly. Akaza put his hands up in defence.

"don't you worry there bud. I don't eat or hurt women." That assured him, a bit, but that doesnt mean he'll go off guard when he comes close to you.

"Why don't you become a demon, Kyojuro? You look incredibly strong. Instead of having this one battle once, we could have it multiple times! That is, if you become a demon of course. You could train and live for a hundred years! No, two hundred years! You're strong enough to be an uppermoon, I can tell clearly. Now come on! Be a demon Kyojuro! Why live in this human form when you can be a demon and live forever?!"

"Because dying is life. It happens to all of us, you must treasure life before it ends. And that's what i'm gonna do. I have friends, and I've got family waiting for me home, and I have my soon-to-be wife fighting along side me, battling evil creatures like you. So, I decline your offer. If I die tonight, I will be remembered as a human who refuses to be a demon!" He yelled, getting passionate and angryier by the minute, making Akaza smirk and get in position.

Akaza dug his feet onto the ground, making it crack and break under him as he muttered his blood demon art.

"Technique development... Destructive Death: Compass Needle!" Akaza yelled, a snowflake shape under him, running straight and fast at Kyojuro.

And so, the battle began. You could hear the clashes of Kyojuros sword and the grunts coming out of his mouth. You narrowed your eyes, starting to get up, and it seems Tanjiro had the same idea.

"Kamado, (Name)! Don't get up! Your wounds will reopen and there is a high- chance of you bleeding to death! Let me handle this!" He yelled, focused on the battle before him. You looked at your surroundings. Zenitsu was lying there, unconscious, and you hoped it would stay that way, he was a very emotional boy and if he found out the situation he was in, he would start panicking and screaming, making your headache worse.

Tanjiro looked lost, he didn't know what to do. He didn't know if he should listen to Kyojuro, or if he should help him. I put my hand on his shoulder, giving him the best reassuringly smile you could pull, giving him a look 'leave him be.'

You heard Inosuke in the distance, yelling something about the ticket man under the train. Apparently, the man had stabbed Tanjiro with some sort of weapon. You knew he looked suspicious. Tanjiro replied, telling him to help him, Inosuke grunting and grumbling in response.

Your (e/c) eyes followed the fight again, trying to make out the figures. You head loud clashing of swords, making your eyebrows furrow as worry had made onto your features. You clenched your hand around the hilt of your sword, if Kyojuro ever turned his head and gave you the go ahead to join in, but he never did.

The sounds stopped and you heard Kyojuro panting. Your eyes managed to look to his face, blood was dripping down his mouth, blood dripping onto his forehead, and he seems to have crushed his eye badly. You quietly gasped at his wounds, feeling the urge to run at him and take him away, before he got killed. But you knew better. Kyojuro never, never, ever, ran away from his missions, nor the scariest demon, he always fight back, never backing down. He would never run away.

"Kyojuro! Become a demon! You are in the verge of dying, if you become a demon now, you will be healed within a blink of an eye! Don't go dying now! That's pathetic!" Akaza yelled, veins popping out of his face.

"I... I refuse... I refuse to become a demon! I would never... Become murderer, killer, ugly creature like you!" Kyojuro yelled, blood dripping down on the right side of his face now. The more blood he shed, the more you worried. The attacks never stopped, the two never stopped for a moment.

"let's fight more. Don't die on me, Kyojuro!" Akaza yelled, now frowning as Kyojuro's blood dripped onto the ground.

The two were a few meters apart, and Kyojuro was panting. He then pushed his foot back, the dust lifting from the movement.

It was as if his body lit into flames, his haori was blowing in the wind. The flames stopped, and Kyojuro swung his sword over his shoulder, his two hands on his sword.

"Set your heart ablaze, go beyond your limits."

"I will fulfil my duty! I will not let anyone here die!" He yelled, his eyes bursting with flames, determined to finish him. His face was covered in blood, yet, he still wore his signature smile. You only wished for him to be okay.

"Flame breathing... Esoteric Art!" He yelled, his thick eyebrows furrowing in anger and focusing on Akaza, his smiling dropping for once. Kyojuro's sword lit up in flames. Akaza seemed shaken and had a look of disbelief on his face.

"what a tremendous fighting spirit!" Akaza gasped, giving his evil and mischievous smile.

"You have to become a demon after all, Kyojuro!" Akaza grit his teeth in excitement.

Tanjiro looked at you worriedly, clutching your hand to bring you some sort of comfort.

"𝐅𝐋𝐀𝐌𝐄 𝐁𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐆.. 𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐇 𝐅𝐎𝐑𝐌... 𝐑𝐄𝐍𝐆𝐎𝐊𝐔!" Kyojuro cried out, grasping his sword tighter then he did. The ground shook underneath him, and he lunged at Akaza, who was wearing a smile. He preformed his blood demon art, and the two collided.

You could hear yelling, blood gushing, Akaza's laughing, the both of them yelling. You covered your mouth, as you hoped for the best. A cloud of dust formed everywhere, and ground stilled.

The dust was fading away, slowly uncovering the scene before you.

The sight was the sight you never wanted to see in your life. All you wanted was to go home, hand-in-hand with your lover, not scratch on him and prepare your upcoming wedding. Was that too much to ask for?

Akaza's arm... Was impaled in Kyojuro's stomach. Blood dripped from Kyojuro's mouth, his white teeth stained with his own red blood.

You gasped, your whole body shook, your brain went blank, and big salty tears were already sliding down your face. Your voice was stuck in your throat, only sounds of disbelief and sadness groans coming out. Tanjiro grasped at the dirt beneath him, struggling to get up. Inosuke stood there, baffled at the scene before him, he didn't know what to do.

"Say that you'll become a demon Kyojuro!" Akaza shouted, his arm and the gashes had already regenerated while Kyojuro's was permanent.

Before Akaza spoke another word, Kyojuro gritted his teeth and aimed his sword at Akaza's neck. The demon groaned out in pain as Kyojuro dig his sword deeper into his neck, yelling in fury.

Akaza got his other hand and aimed it at Kyojuro's face, but luckily, Kyojuro stopped it with his other hand.

'he stopped it?!' Akaza thought, his eyes bulging in anger.

The veins popping out of their heads. They both screamed out in pain, and anger. Kyojuro digging his sword deeper while Akaza still had his hand in his stomach and trying to fight off Kyojuro.

'Damn! It'll be daybreak soon! I have to kill him and get out of here! I have to get out of here!'

"Out of my way!!" Akaza shouted, ripping his hand out of Kyojuro's grip and tearing out his hand from his stomach, leaving his sword stuck in his neck and hands ripped off him.

'I have to find refuge from the sunlight!' Akaza thought, fleeing from the sun and into the dark forest. Tanjiro was quick to get up and follow him.

"Tanjiro!"

He unshealted his sword, using his breathing to throw it at the pink-haired demon deep in the back.

"don't run away, you coward! Don't run away!"

'i'm not running from you, im running from the sun!'

"don't run away, you bastard! You bastard! You coward!" Tanjiro cried out, tears running down his cheeks. Your vision was blurry and you were unable to move. But you eventually wanted, no, needed to go to Kyojuro.

"Kyojuro!!" You screamed, wobbling over to him. You felt heartbroken that you lost most of your strength, almost like a half of you is fading.

Tanjiro limped over to you two as tears came down his face.

"Kamado, my young boy. I have high hopes for you and and your sister, I wish you two well. I hope that your sister turns human soon. The breathings we were talking about... I believe my father has a book of the type of breathing you seek. Go to the Rengoku residence, I'm sure my brother can guide you. Remember, set your heart ablaze, go beyond your limits. I believe in you." He managed to murmur out, turning his gaze to you.

"Ah, (name)... I'm.. I'm sorry. I wasn't able to make you happy, I wasn't able to make you my wife in time. I love you so, so much. After I die, I want you to never forget me, but... Find love... In another person.. I don't want you crying over my death..." "Kyojuro..." "(Name), Make sure father is okay, don't let him drink too much, and comfort Senjuro. He's too young to experience this.. I love you. I must see my mother soon...I... I think I see her... I don't think it's possible for me to live, again, i'm... Sorry. It was not... Meant to be this way." He said, whispering the last part as his life was being taken, slowly in front of your eyes.

He began to look behind you and Tanjiro, his eyes widening, and his mouth curling onto a smile. He must of seen his mother.

"Kyojuro... I love you so much, don't ever forget that, 𝐦𝐲... 𝐒𝐨𝐨𝐧-𝐭𝐨-𝐛𝐞 𝐡𝐮𝐬𝐛𝐚𝐧𝐝."

"I love you too, 𝐦𝐲 𝐬𝐨𝐨𝐧-𝐭𝐨-𝐛𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐟𝐞."

✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦

"Good morning Kyojuro... It's a lovely morning, isn't it? I'm sure you would love it as much as I love it. We miss you, honey. I miss you. Maybe in another life, we could have our happy ending. I guess fate just didn't wish for us to be together." You murmured, placing flowers on the grave.

"Shinjuro-san has changed after what had happened, he has stopped his drinking habits and has opened up to me a little. Senjuro-san is also starting to heal, but very slowly. He misses you very much, my love. Tanjiro-kun and the others are working very hard. They are currently staying at the butterfly estate."

"I don't know how much I can take without being with you. I haven't taken my ring off at all. Everything has reminded me of you, Kyojuro." You weeped, covering your face.

"𝐈𝐭'𝐬 𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐌𝐲 𝐋𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐅𝐥𝐚𝐦𝐞. 𝐏𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞, 𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐨𝐧 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐦𝐞. 𝐈 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐨 𝐦𝐮𝐜𝐡, 𝐦𝐲 𝐰𝐢𝐟𝐞."

"I love you too, My husband."

𝐄𝐍𝐃𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐓𝐖𝐎!

∇ ∇ ∇ ∇ ∇ ∇ ∇ ∇ ∇ ∇ ∇ ∇ ∇ ∇ ∇ ∇ ∇ ∇ ∇ ∇ ∇ ∇ ∇

"Kyojuro! I..i'll help you!" You yelled and Kyojuro widened his eyes. You were one of the fastest hashira. Trying your best not to hurt him, you carried Kyojuro in your arms while you yelled at Tanjiro on what to do.

"Tanjiro-Kun! I'll get Kyojuro to help! Make sure you and everyone else is safe and check for any injuries!" You yelled, focusing on getting Kyojuro the medical help. You knew the kakushi's would come eventually, but by that time, it would be too late. So your legs sped faster then ever.

You went to the nearest hospital in the town. People stared at you weirdly. First, the man is in the woman's arms and second, Kyojuro is on the verge of death, and third, you both have swords. But did you care? Of course not, you only cared about Kyojuro.

Luckily, the best doctors there were available and got to work immediately. You sent your crow to the group of boys to see what's happening on their end. Kakushi's probably landed by now.

You sat in the waiting room, waiting for the white door to be opened. You didn't even have to appetite to eat and your leg constantly jumped on nervousment. Due to the nevousment and the lack of sleep you've gotten, you eventually fell asleep in the uncomfortable chair.

"Miss? Ma'am? Can you wake up please?" The nurse spoke, shaking you softly. You blinked your eyes opened repeatedly, still half asleep. You wanted to go to sleep, closing your eyes again in tiredness.

Realizing your surroundings and why your here, you shot up.

"K-Kyojuro! Is he okay? Is my husband okay?!" "Oh uhm, yes Mrs, He is okay. His eye got crushed, so we wrapped bandages around the eye. His ribs and fingers are broken. And obviously, the hole in his abdomen was deep. It might take a long time to fully heal. You are lucky you got here fast enough, or else we couldn't have saved him."

"M-May I see him?" "You may. He is currently resting and I may inform you not to wake him up. He had struggled not sleeping next to 'Y/n' he said." your eyes softened at what she said. Oh, how you adore him.

You sped to his door, not bothering knocking in case he'd wake up. The state he was in, was bad. He was covered in bandages all over, especially his abdomen.

You couldn't help yourself as tears pushed their way through your eyes, now rolling your face. Limping over to his form, you crawled in beside him, careful not to touch any of his injuries. He looked so peaceful sleeping. He was like an angel sent from heaven just for you. He was your sun, he was your life. He was everything to you, for you. He was like the other half of you, if he ever passed, you would feel empty, broken.

You touched his face, looking at his closed eye. You kissed every part of his face, a little happy that he still has a chance with him.

His body shuffled a bit, making you jump and a bit worried since you weren't supposed to wake him up.

His only eye opened, adjusting to the room. He felt another presence beside him, so he looked next to him.

𝐑𝐄𝐍𝐆𝐎𝐊𝐔 𝐊𝐘𝐎𝐉𝐔𝐑𝐎'𝐒 𝐏𝐎𝐕:

What... What am I doing here? What happened... All I remember is... Fighting Akaza, the pain of my injuries, the pain in my abdomen... Am I... Dead? Will I get to meet mother again? No... I left Father... Senjuro... Y/n... I never got to forfil my promise of marrying you and making you happy.

No, I am not dead, I still feel the pain... Over my body, my fingers, my abdomen... Then who is next to me?

I look over to my left, only to see my lover lying next to me.

"Y-Y-" "Shh my love. Don't waste your breath. Please rest. I wasn't supposed to wake you up. I love you, my love."

Did she... Save me? I... Survived..? All thanks to her... My lover... If I haven't loved her enough, I love her more than ever.

I nodded and she wrapped her arms around my neck since my body was full of cuts, bruises and broken bones. I was comfortable in her arms, I always have been, forever.

☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆

After a few months, I healed, except the hole in my abdomen hasn't healed fully. I go to Kocho's butterfly manor for checkup's now.

My wedding with Y/n is tomorrow. I have my suit ready. I am very happy to get married to my lover and I'm glad that I could be her husband. We don't want anything to happen to each other. I have retired from being the Flame Hashira, and she continues to be The Wisteria Hashira.

My father and Senjuro were happy to see me, but a sad that I was on the verge of death. Shinjuro has treated me, Senjuro and Y/n better and has stopped his drinking habits, thankfully.

I'm glad Father has gone back to his old ways, back to caring about us again. I understand that he was emotionally and physically upset about my Mother's death, but drinking alcohol is not gonna help in any way.

Tomorrow came and I was nervous. I mean, what if I mess up? What if she has her doubts? What if she says no? What if- no. I shouldn't think like this. She's gonna say yes and I know it.

The male hashiras and friends, Tengen, Shinazugawa, Obanai, Gyomei, Muichiro, Giyuu, Kamado, yellow boy and Boar boy.

"Oi dude! I need to fix your hair!"

"My hair? I-Is something wrong with it?!"

"Yeah. I need to put flashiness into it!" tengen said, pointing to something.

"...Tengen. We are not putting glitter in my hair. I'm getting married, not being a gliterbomb."

"Psh, whatever. Kyojuro, there's a stain on your ass! Did you shit yourself?!"

"WHAT?! I- HOW?-"

"HAHAHA! YOU SHOULD IF SEEN YOUR FACE!"

"TENGEN! YOU BETTER NOT BE MESSING AROUND WITH KYOJURO!"

".... I'm not Makio! I swear!"

Makio quickly opened the door, grabbing Tengen by the ear, and dragging him out. Hinatsuru and Suma only giggled before heading to (Name)'s room.

I only shook my head. Tengen was not helping. Tanjiro and the two boys then spoke up.

"Rengoku-san, You look amazing! I hope the wedding goes as plan. Y/n-san is very lucky to have you. You two look like the very best couple!" Tanjiro said, giving a closed eye smile. I smile back with enthusiasm, even though the nevousment is still bubbling in my stomach.

"Thank you, Kamado!"

"WHERE'S THE FOOD?! ARE THERE ANY DEMONS?!"

"INOSUKE! PUT YOUR SWORDS AWAY! AND PUT ON YOUR GODDAMN SHIRT!"

"Erm, ew, no. I am not putting on the suffocating killer of a thing."

"TANJIRO!!"

Tanjiro's sweat dropped, while I smiled at the scene. The boar boy sure knew how to make noise. Tanjiro then said a goodbye, shoving the two out the sorry, yelling a 'sorry' as I didn't hear him mutter a sorry the first time.

Senjuro then came in, smiling up at me. He was growing! His head was about to my shoulders! I then ruffled his head.

"Brother! You look good. I'm sure Y/N thinks so when she sees you too!"

"Haha! Thank you Senjuro! I am quite nervous! I hope everything goes as planned." I say, giving a smile down at him. My father then came in, putting his hands on my shoulders.

"I'm proud of you son. Remember, I want some grandchildren as well." He winked and my face heated up at what he said.

"I will ask Y/N on how she thinks on that idea! We will only go at her pace!" My father only laughed, tugging Senjuro softly.

"Well, Me and Senjuro are gonna get into place. After all, I am walking Y/n down the aisle. We don't wanna be late, do we Senjuro?"

"Nope!"

"Well then, I'll see you later, Kyojuro." "Okay!"

Looking at myself in the mirror, I wonder how she's feeling right now...

𝐘/𝐍 𝐋/𝐍'𝐒 𝐏𝐎𝐕:

I am so nervous! Mitsuri and Shinobu did a wonderful job, as well as the butterfly ladies and the Uzui ladies. Only this time, my family wasn't here. But I've learned to accept that. I'm sure they're cheering me on, even if it's from above. Shinjuro-san is walking me down the aisle. He was like a father figure to me, apart from Master of course. His illness has gotten worse, so he unfortunately couldn't come. He sends his blessings and his apologies.

"Thank you guys. I love you guys so much. Thank you for doing this all for me!"

"WAHHH! Y/N-CHAN!! I LOVE YOU TOO!"

"Now now now, Mitsuri-chan, we wouldn't wanna ruin your makeup now would we?~"

"N-no..."

"well then. I'm gonna get back to Tomioka-san while Mitsuri-chan goes with Iguro-san. It's almost time for you to walk down, Y/n-chan. We'll be right here for you. I'll be right next to you, okay?"

"O-Okay!" You stuttered, trying to be confident. My palms were sweating.

It was time to walk down.

The scenery was beautiful, flowers decorated the place. While you and Kyojuro were friends, you two discovered a lovely waterfall on a mission, it was actually the same waterfall place where he confessed his love. Kyojuro and you thought it would be amazing to have the wedding here.

(ᴀ ʀᴏᴜɢʜ ᴘɪᴄ ᴏғ ᴛʜᴇ ᴡᴇᴅᴅɪɴɢ)

Flowers were everywhere, which you loved. When you were walking, you noticed all of your friends and the people you call family, noticed you walking, standing up. You saw Shinjuro, hooking your arms with his.

He then leaned in close in your ear, whispering that you look beautiful, which you replied with a thank you.

Looking up at Kyojuro's face, you noticed his pink tainted cheeks, and the loving smile he always gave you.

Tengen looked at Kyojuro's face with a smug smile, sanemi looking bored, thinking he could slay over 100 demons in this moment. Giyuu had a small smile, aswell as Gyomei. Muichiro snatched one of the flowers, staring at the flower, no thought behind his eyes.

Tanjiro smiled at the two of you, Inosuke was busing himself with food, the crumbs sticking onto his face. Zenitsu having love hearts in his eyes while staring at Nezuko, aswell as obanai. He gave you a few looks, but moving his different coloured eyes to Mitsuri lovingly. As if it was their wedding.

Mitsuri wore a big smile and blushed, Shinobu kept her small smile, as well as Kanao and Aoi. Nezuko smiled behind her muzzle. Suma was covering her mouth, trying to prevent her from squealing, Makio had her hands on her hips, smiling while Hinatsuru kept her hand on her wrist, smiling gently.

Making it up to where Kyojuro stood and letting go of Shinjuro's arm, giving a shy smile across to Kyojuro. While the preist was speaking, You looked at your surroundings, taking in the scenery. This time, you didn't see anything, making you sigh and relief. A soft smile replacing your shy one.

You stared at his fiery orbs, while the priest spoke.

"Miss L/n, would you take Rengoku Kyojuro as your lawfully wedded husband?"

"I do."

"Rengoku Kyojuro, do you take Y/n L/n as your lawfully wedded wife?"

"I do!" Kyojuro yelled, making everyone laugh. Just like your dream.

........

"you may kiss the bride."

Kyojuro wasted no time, quickly grabbing your waist and kissing your lips. The crowd cheered in joy.

You were glad that this wasn't a dream. Being a Rengoku wasn't a dream, at last.

You and kyojuro lived happily ever after.

183 notes · View notes

sharp-silver4795 · 2 months

Text

Liu Woods Headcannons

The people have spoken! On a poll that I made, I asked if yall wanted me to post my own stuff and…. Oh god- I set it for a week cuz I thought no one would see it- 40 FUCKING PEOPLE RESPONDED-

So, I hear you! I’m gonna start with just random head cannons cuz… yeah…

TW!!!

Suicide, Murder (duh), abusive families, definitely not the Liu most ppl know.

I will put a warning before each group of bullets.

Least Sensitive >> Mildly Sensitive >> Most Sensitive

The first two aren’t head cannons-

I pronounce it like “Lee-oh” (Leo). I made a post about it earlier. However, I’ve said it like “Loo” for a long time- I’m tryna break that habit

He is my favorite. I remember seeing a post that was judging ppl based on their fav creepypasta…. No I won’t shut up about him.

HEAD CANNON TIME

General

He’s Chinese. Jeff is his half brother on their mom’s end. There is no fucking way an American kid would have a Chinese name.

So, Liu moved from China when he was 5 and his mom married Peter. Jeff was born when he was 7.

When Liu was young he didn’t have many friends cuz his English sucked and his little brother wasn’t even a year old.

He likes brownies and cinnamon rolls like their made of gold

Man can cook 🧑‍🍳 🤌

Has a bunch of plants that he forgets exist and cries when they die

Boy is tough. A lot of ppl see him as a teeny bean, hell nah!

Wears combat boots, skinny jeans, and sweaters consistently.

The scarf is to cover scars.

He’s about 6’5 (nearly 200cm).

Murder, Gore, Blood

Mainly uses a crowbar to beat his victims to death.

Remember how I said he wears combat boots? Well those things have heels and he tends to “stun” kill people by jumping up and stomping down on the side of the person’s head. 240lbs in a surface area the size of a US quarter is definitely gonna break your skull.

In the mansion his job doesn’t really revolve around murder as much as it’s about torture. He’s fucking good at it too.

Sexuality, Gender, and Such

He’s gay. You can’t change my mind.

I see him as being Agender and not caring about the pronouns you use for him. (Note: I usually switch up the pronouns but since this is the first HC post I’m making for them, I wanted this to be said first)

Married to EJ. If you don’t like the ship, I’m sorry!

⚠️ SA, CSA, Abuse, Suicide, SH, Grooming ⚠️

DID usually forms before 9yo and I can’t believe him getting DID at 19.

So, he hung himself when he was 19. This is what set Jeff off, because he was the one who found Liu’s body.

So, Keith is about 11 years older than Liu, and, when he was looking for friends, Keith took advantage of them. This lead to Liu basically being groomed until he was 12. I HC that Randy had a lil “crush” on Jeff and Keith kept Liu “out of the way” by consistently r—ping him.

Things at home weren’t great for him either. Peter was under the impression that his mom was a virgin with no kids (incell vibes), and when he found out Liu existed Peter decided to take it out on him. He would be locked in a dark closet of the basement for days on end. If he “misbehaved” too much, Peter would put him in the clothes dryer (also in the basement) for however long he deemed necessary.

Eventually Liu couldn’t take it and he hung himself.

Liu’s Alters and System

⚠️ similar themes from before, drugs/alcohol abuse, religious trauma ⚠️

Hannah: gatekeeper, what Liu “would have been” like if nothing happened.

Jinx: Sexual protector, the response to Keith’s abuse

Sully: Physical protector, response to Peter’s abuse

Jessie: Mental persecutor, encouraged Liu to kill himself.

Leviathan: Trauma holder, response to constant guilt from religious trauma

Vex: persecutor, response to alcohol and drug addiction.

Nigh: Trauma holder, response to all those lonely years

So, about Jeff…

Liu has zero issues with Jeff.

Jeff didn’t kill him, he had to make his way back to life (I will post more abt this another day).

Jeff mispronounced his name, but Liu was too nervous to correct him (bc trauma)

He is about 6yrs older than Jeff.

I probably have other HCs that i forgot, but anyway- that’s all the energy I have rn….

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aloneinthehellfire · 11 months

Text

Chapter Ten: Part One: The Lab

Gates Of Hell Masterlist

Word Count: 7921

Warnings: swearing, mentions of death, blood/gore, horror

[A/N: I went a little crazy, threw in a buttload of angst, and then proceeded to eat 3 packs of oreos so... we're in for a wild one. I also haven't proofread this properly so it could be the single worst piece of writing you've ever read. Enjoy :)]

Part One: The Lab

“Ow! My arm doesn’t bend that way, idiot!”

“Sorry, your highness, but there’s not much I can do when you’re caught in metal wire.”

“I actually hate you both.”

When you finally manage to snag your arm free, you send a glare to the boy hiding a laugh and take your shotgun from him.

The ride to the lab had been quick, immediately finding a safe place to park and scope out the area. It was pure chance you had managed to notice the tear in the surrounding fence, a quick and quiet entry.

Robin steps through next, holding her arms to her chest like she would lose them, and meeting you on the other side. She blinks, relaxing her shoulders.

“Wow, that wasn’t nearly as hard as you made it look.” She chuckles and you purse your lips in irritation.

“Can we just get into this lab?” You say, looking back at the white building in the distance. There was still a stretch of field ahead, no guarantee that it would be monster-free.

“We keep our weapons ready, stay alert, take it easy.” Steve comments, suddenly appearing next to you.

Noticing the closed distance, you shuffle away from him and look to Robin, ignoring the frown on his face.

“You good?” You ask your friend, her eyes wide as she slowly nods.

“Oh, yeah.” She sighs, looking defeated. “I am perfectly fine with crossing an open space to a lab with some kind of interdimensional gate that these apocalypse monsters are crawling out of. What could go wrong?”

“Just stay close.” You sympathise with a hand on her shoulder.

Steve took lead while you covered behind, leaving Robin safer in the middle. She was weapon-less, and you all needed to make it through this.

The occasional distant sound of a snap echoed across the grass and the walk across the field barely lasted six seconds before Robin shakes her head in refusal.

“Okay, someone’s gotta talk to me or I’m gonna freak out.” Robin gasps, jumping at another sound of a snapped twig.

“About what?” Steve frowns, eyes darting around the clearing with his bat wielded for battle.

“Anything.” She pleads, finally looking to you. “Y/n?”

“Uh… sure, Robs, just ask a question or something.” You say, not really paying much attention. You’d rather keep your sight on the space behind you all, ensuring there were no blind spots for a surprise arrival.

“Okay.” She sighs, taking deep breaths. “Um, what, uh… oh, how was detention?”

You almost laugh, shaking your head. “It was detention, Robs, not a vacation.”

“I know but the last time I saw you, you were heading there and then, like, half an hour later the world blew up.” Robin reminds you as she bites her lip.

“Well,” You continue, knowing that if you stop, she’ll only panic more. “It was okay. Holloway was being his usual self, I was trying to get work done. Harrington decided to crash the party.”

“You were a delightful host as always.” Steve comments and you scoff.

You roll your eyes, glancing over your shoulder every now and then to make sure you didn’t accidentally step on Robin’s heel.

“Were you there when everything started?” She asks and you almost freeze, breath hitching.

“Yeah… yeah, we were.” You swallow that fear.

“What happened?”

You were silent, a little too silent. Steve usually revelled in making you agitated and uncomfortable, but he had that churning feeling in his gut when he saw the startled look on your face.

“Look, Robin, it wasn’t really something we wanna talk about.” He tries but you clear your throat.

“No, no, it’s fine.” You say, gripping the shotgun tighter. “We were in the classroom when we, uh, heard something. Outside. Holloway…”

“Wait here, please. I’ll be back as soon as I find out what’s going on.” He announces, collecting his keys and leaving the room, the door clicking shut behind him.

“Holloway went to investigate.” You gulp, already regretting this decision. “He, uh, he was gone for a while. There was a scream and I… I thought it was just some other kids being assholes, you know? So I left to find him and…”

“And?” Robin prompts, but you’ve slowed your steps.

He’s snarling as he claws at your jumper, pulling you down to the ground with him. In haste you try and push him off of you, but this man was a lot bigger than you, wrapping his hands around your throat and smashing your head into the cold ground.

Struggling against his weight, he rears his head closer to you.

“Stop!” You try, his tightening grip on your neck releasing the word as a strained whisper.

Steve glances back to see you’ve stopped completely, gently holding out his hand before Robin crashed into him. She turns, wide eyed.

“Y/n?” She moves closer.

“He attacked me.” You say quietly, hearing your friend’s breath hitch in her throat. “He… was different. His mouth just… opened. And he was strong. A lot stronger than me. I thought he was gonna kill me. He was going to kill me.”

Steve finds his fist curling at his side, eyes wide as you finally tell the full story.

“What happened?” Robin questions with a whisper, almost like she was too scared to know the truth.

“I stopped him.” You sigh, turning to see they were both looking at you with mournful eyes. “I killed him, okay? I grabbed a fire extinguisher, and I swung it as hard as I could into his head.”

Steve felt sick. You had both been through so much since detention that it had barely crossed his mind.

His feet rounded the corner so quickly he almost slipped on the slick floor. He glanced down, heart racing until it burned his throat with bile. Blood.

‘I’m too late.’ he thought, dodging a body laying against the wall. It wasn’t you, the build all too different to have him second guess.

He hadn’t connected the dots, barely even glanced at the body, the face. In fact, Steve hadn’t thought about what happened to Mr Holloway at all until just now. And he made himself sick realising that maybe you were right. Maybe he only ever focused on himself.

“Y/n-” Robin reaches out.

“It’s fine.” You interrupt, shrugging. “It’s the freaking apocalypse, right? All sorts of messed up shit is gonna happen. I killed Holloway. And I killed Steve’s neighbour.”

You laugh awkwardly, Robin’s features growing in concern.

“But they were… mutants. Part Demogorgon.”

“Part what?” Robin blinks and Steve tunes back into reality, looking at her.

“It’s a DnD thing.” He replies and Robin raises an eyebrow.

“Yeah, I know that, dingus, but why the hell are we saying part Demogorgon?” She stresses, looking back to you. “Is there a real-life Demogorgon?”

“How do you know this nerd stuff?” Steve questions.

“I happen to like some of that nerd stuff.” She challenges with squinted eyes and he simply raises his hands in surrender.

“We’ll explain everything to you later, okay?” You say, giving her a gentle nudge to keep moving. “Let’s just get in the lab, find Hopper, and we’ll deal with it all then.”

“Yeah, the lab.” She repeats, looking up at the building. “Uh… how does one get into the lab?”

“Isn’t there a front door?” Steve asks.

“No, Harrington, it’s a building without-” You say immediately before biting your tongue. “Uh… yeah, I assume there is.”

Steve narrows his eyes with pointed curiosity. That was weird. “Uh-huh.”

Another twig snaps and Robin jumps yet again. You bite your lip, trying not to roll your eyes.

“Robs, stop, it’s literally just a-” You say, flailing your arm out in the direction of the sound before focusing, your stomach dropping.

Robin watches your face fall and gulps. “Um… by any chance is that terrified look on your face because you are secretly scared of butterflies and there’s a butterfly behind us?”

Steve frowns, slowly craning his neck and his eyes widen. His whole body felt stiff.

“Are you by any chance also afraid of our beautiful little insect friends?” Robin’s voice squeaks, lowered to a whisper.

“I think you know the answer.” You finally breathe, locking eyes with something even your imagination couldn’t possibly think of.

It was big in build, charred black like it had caught fire. It had round and bulbous eyes, just staring at you with dangerous heat. None of its bones looked as if they were in the right place, a twitching in its bald head as something like black tar trickled from its mouth.

Its veins protruded around its eyes, a black space filling the void beneath eyelids. It was looking at you. It looked like it was… grinning.

“Y/n.” Steve hisses, growing more and more uncomfortable the longer that thing stared at you. “Y/n, we’re gonna run.”

“Run where?” Robin asks with a small voice, “We don’t even know where the front door is.”

“It’s gotta be on the other side.” Steve states, trying not to move. “Last year, there was a giant gate out front that led there. And I’m pretty sure we’re behind the building right now, just trust me.”

“Trust you?” Robin says as if it was unimaginable. “I don’t even know-”

“Trust him, Robs.” You plea, not taking your eyes off of the creature, its smile growing wider by the second. “Do whatever he says, and don’t look back.”

“We’re all gonna run on the count of three, okay?” Steve whispers, eyes darting to the corner of his eye to locate the quickest path around the lab.

“Okay.” Robin agrees, looking towards you when you don’t answer. “Y/n?”

Every part of your body felt like it was alight with anxiety, a tremble in your arms as you stare back at this beast. Running was the only option. But as you look at it, something churns in your stomach.

It should have attacked you by now, immediately when it saw you. But it wasn’t moving, just grinning. It was obviously waiting for you to make the first move which, truthfully, was the scariest part of all.

It liked the chase. Which meant realistically, none of you would out-run it.

Or, as you realise, one of you.

“On the count of three.” You breathe out, biting the inside of your cheek. The plan in your head was merely unfinished. Maybe it was for the best, better not expect the ending when you know it won’t be a happy one.

Steve frowns, hearing the strain in your voice. Something was off. But he needed to get into that lab.

“One.” Steve starts, shifting his body as slowly as he could.

“Two.” Robin squeaks out, licking her lips.

You take a moment to reconsider, trying to sense if there was another option. But as it smiled at you with those dead, endless eyes, you were out of time.

“Three.” You finally gasp out and you push your arm out to get Robin going.

Steve watches you shift towards them and pulls Robin along gently, letting his legs take over his body. His heart felt like it was pounding out of his chest, hearing Robin’s ragged breaths of panic behind him. But she was keeping up, thankfully.

He was gripping the bat until his knuckles turned white, praying that your shotgun wasn’t weighing you down, that you would all out-run it.

It wasn’t until he reached the corner of the building that he realised he only heard one set of footsteps behind him and a chill ran up his spine.

He spins around just as Robin catches up, bat held out ready. You weren’t behind them. And neither was the creature.

Steve turns his head to see your retreating figure, shotgun grasped tightly in your hands as you sprint to the other side of the building.

“Shit.” He curses. It wanted you, and you took that opportunity to set them free.

“What do we do?” Robin cries, seeing the thing hot on your tail.

“We meet them at the other side.” Steve nods quickly, grabbing her arm and tugging her along. He didn’t want to be brutal with his handling, but he had to make sure there were no delays.

He felt sick, running around this giant building with no idea if you would be there or not. And it stabbed at his chest even more knowing that he had no control. Your life wasn’t in his hands, not determined by how fast he was running. It was up to you.

When he locates the edge, he’s practically stumbling around the corner, his heart dropping when you’re not there waiting.

“Wha-” Robin’s panted breaths start just as something rounds the other side.

They both feel that relief wash over them when you run into the open, very much alive.

And then you’re on the floor before their eyes could even decipher what was happening.

The heavy weight of something tackling you down had knocked the air out of your lungs, sending the gun flying from your hands. It tries to pull you back, grabbing onto the backpack for leverage. You’re quick, retracting your arms from the straps and it falls away from you as you try to stand.

But just as quickly as you’re free, it grabs hold of your leg, pulling you back down and you barely catch yourself. It’s trying to drag you back and you’re reaching for the shotgun laying in front of you, your fingers clawing against the grass, the green now a startling black.

You could feel its hand wrapping around your right ankle, sharp nails digging in and you cry out. It had cut through the bandages you had forgotten about, making you relive that aching pain as it shot up your leg.

A loud shot rings out and the grip loosens, allowing you to pull your leg away and scramble back.

Steve cocks the shotgun again, watching as it continues to stand even as its back bled out. It was unnatural, turning to face him with a blood-curdling smile. This time, the shells pierce directly through its head, sending it backwards onto the blackened grass. He stares at it for a moment, the grinning face now a pile of mush in the dirt. It definitely wasn’t getting back up, but it didn’t make Steve any less afraid.

“Holy shit.” Robin gasps out, running towards you. “Y/n, your leg, are you-”

“I’m fine.” You say, quickly tugging your jean leg back down. Its nails hadn’t drawn blood, only leaving a dull ache against the wound you already had. “Barely a scratch.”

“What is wrong with you?”

You stand up and turn to see Steve holding your shotgun in his left hand, dangling at his side. His lips were tight, a look in his eye you hadn’t seen before.

“What?” You frown and his eyes widen.

“What is wrong with you?!” He repeats, louder this time. Robin blinks, holding out her hands.

“Okay, let’s-”

“You didn’t stick to the plan!” He continues, ignoring Robin’s attempts at peace.

“You said we run, so I ran!” You point out and he lets out an unintelligible groan.

“Guys-”

“No. No, you had to make it all about yourself and go in the opposite direction.” He huffs, dropping the shotgun in front of him, the contact with the weapon too much for him to handle right now.

“Wha-” You scoff, shaking your head. “I led that thing away from you, so, you’re welcome!”

“We would have been fine!”

“No, we wouldn’t have!” You yell back and Robin places her hands on her head, slowly turning in a circle as she looked around the path you found yourselves on. “Didn’t you see the way it was looking at me?! If I hadn’t taken the long way ‘round, it would have caught up and killed all of us!”

“How did you know that?” He points, chest rising heavily.

“I-” You bite your lip, brows furrowed. “I didn’t, I just had to take the chance.”

“Exactly.” He breaths, looking at you in concern. “You didn’t know. You never know.”

You shake your head.

“That day in detention.” Steve starts, taking a step forward. “You heard a scream and you ran to it, not knowing. I found you being dragged across the floor by a demodog!”

“Demo-dog?” Robin questions with a scrunched face, still circling.

Steve chooses to ignore her, eyes focused on you. “You were gonna head to the cabin with just a knife, not knowing. And- and you blew up a freaking car! Not knowing if that was gonna work. And now, just now, you thought ‘hey, this thing looks like it wants to kill me so I’m sure running away from the only person that could help me is the right decision’, huh?! Why?! Why do you do that?!”

“Why do you care?!” You’re almost screaming at him now, fists clenched at your sides so tight, your nails began to cut crescent shapes beneath their fury.

“Because I can’t go through this apocalypse with someone who clearly has a death wish!”

“Well, congratulations, you’ve made it to the lab, you don’t have to put up with me anymore!”

“Fine!”

You both give one last shout, before turning away from eachother, arms folded. There was a stinging in your eyes, a hot rage that was about to bring tears any second. You didn’t need that, especially knowing that Steve would probably do the right thing and apologise. You didn’t want his pity.

“Okay.” Robin sighs, turning back to you both with her hands placed on her hips. “How are we feeling? Feeling good, like we just got it all out of our systems, yeah?”

Neither of you answer, avoiding eyes.

“Great, now that we’re finally being quiet,” Robin steps forward, nodding to the building. “The front door glass has been smashed so getting in is gonna be easy, and I took the time to actually take in our surroundings and if you look to your left, you will find a Hawkins Police car that I assume our beloved chief drives.”

You both immediately turn to your left and see that there was, in fact, a Chevrolet parked by the gate, the police station logo stamped along the side. You had to admit, seeing it there lifted a weight off your chest.

“So let’s untwist our panties and get in there.” Robin waves her hand, arm extended to the door. “Andale!”

Without another word, you fasten the straps of your backpack and swipe the shotgun from the ground at Steve’s feet, never acknowledging him. You’re already leading the way by the time Steve recollects his bat, taking a moment to compose himself.

He wouldn’t have been so angry if he didn’t care so much.

The crunch of glass was deafening as you all stepped into the lab, your shotgun raised and ready. It felt too quiet.

“You think they’re in here?” Robin looks to you and you hold your breath, hoping some remnants of a voice would pull you to them.

“The car was out front, right?” You suggest, walking forward. You were taking the lead, much to Steve’s silent objection, peering in the small windows of each door you passed. Everything was empty.

“And we’re sure they’re uh…” She couldn’t finish and you chose not to answer, just leading them forward.

When you reach the end of the hallway, you realise you’re faced with two options. You either go left. Or you go right.

Closing your eyes, you take a breath and turn around, locating Steve’s hazel eyes in the dimmed light.

“Do you know where this gate is?” You ask and when he realises you’re talking to him, he clears his throat.

“I’ve never been in here before. Just a few of the others.”

“Right.” You sigh, biting your lip. “So… left?”

“Yeah.” Steve nods, “Yeah, sounds good.”

“Aw.” Robin comments, smiling sarcastically. “We’re like a happy family.”

“You got me detention.” You deadpan and her smile drops.

“You know how sensitive I get about that, I said I’m sorry.” She complained as you smirked, steering her left and heading down yet another corridor.

It was eerie, how quiet it was. Only the soft echo of your footsteps, the occasional breath of relief when something wasn’t lurking around the corner. It looked empty, abandoned. But Hopper’s car was right outside. They had to be here.

“Guys.” Robin calls out and you both turn to see her peering through another door. “I see some screens in there. Maybe cameras?”

Steve looked hopeful, nodding and trying the door. It wasn’t locked, but something was jammed behind it. He hands the bat over to Robin – she held it like it was a bomb about to go off – and tries to force open the door, ramming his shoulder into the wooden blockade.

One last push, and the door eventually slides open, still feeling heavy. He steps inside, doing a very quick scan of the area, before holding his arm out and allowing you and Robin to duck under before the door closed.

Robin was right. The room was small, holding a computer with multiple screens attached like a security system. It looked like a map of the lab, some cameras still working.

You each glance between them, trying to spot some friendly faces in this desolate building.

Steve thought he saw something moving, a mere blur. But then again, the camera feed was already looking busted, fuzzy images were bound to occur.

“Where are they?” You mutter, eyes flickering between the screens. You had never felt so anxious in your life. It was like your body was fighting against wanting to find them and praying they weren’t here. Because if they were… you’d have to face what you did. And you weren’t sure you were going to be forgiven.

“Wait, there.” Robin sounds, pointing to the top right corner. You all whip your heads up, eyes widening. Someone was in the lab with you.

“Do we… know them?” Steve squints. His eyesight had been poor lately but he had refused to get them checked. Glasses just felt like another burden.

“I can’t tell.” You sigh, staring at the shape.

They were walking down a hallway, holding what you assumed to be a shotgun. They didn’t seem particularly tall but then again you weren’t sure how tall the walls were meant to be.

“Turn around.” You whisper like they would hear you, begging to see a face you knew.

“It’s a girl.” Robin comments and you raise an eyebrow. “What? Look at the movement. That’s a girl.”

You look back at the screen and you had to agree with Robin. There was something more feminine about their posture. And you could just make out the ponytail concealed in the shadow of the camera feed.

“Wait.” You lean forward, getting a closer look. Just in time for your mysterious friend to turn around, and your eyes widen.

“You know who it is?” Steve asks, peering over your shoulder with a frown.

“Um.” You nod, leaning back and looking up at him. “They’re definitely here.”

Steve tries to get a look at the screen, but the figure is gone. “Who was it?”

You simply give a strange smile, almost one that looked painful, and he pulls a face.

“Don’t do that, it’s creepy.”

“It’s Nancy.” You finally say, noticing Robin’s confusion. “Nancy Wheeler.”

“Yeah, I know who Nancy is.” She says, still frowning. “But why is she here?”

“Oh.” You realise, noticing Steve’s expression. It was like all of his emotions were hitting him at once, unsure of how he should be feeling. “Long story short, these guys have known about the freaky stuff for like, two years? Don’t ask me though, I wasn’t cool enough to be apart of it.”

Your last comment flew right over Steve’s head as he straightens, collecting his bat from Robin’s hands and clearing his throat. It was fine. He was cool. Everything was… chill. It was just that he hadn’t seen Nancy since their break-up. And even seeing her on a tired tape of camera feed was enough to have him feeling hurt all over again, reliving that same nightmare where he knew Nancy had chosen Jonathan long before she ever admitted it. But other than that… he was fine. Totally.

“Did you have a stroke?” Your voice snaps him back into reality and he grimaces.

“No. Let’s go. Now we know they’re here.” He says, turning back around before abruptly stopping, staring down at the floor.

“Oh god.” Robin covers her mouth and you step forward, brows furrowed.

“Now we know why the door was so hard to open.” You comment, staring at a dead body.

The chest had been ripped into, covering the lab coat in blood. It looked like they had bled out, escaping whatever had attacked in the first place.

“Let’s find them and get out of here.” Steve finally breaks the deafening silence, gently grabbing Robin’s shoulder and leading her out o the room.

You stare for a moment longer. It didn’t look like an old wound, maybe a day or so. That wasn’t the part that was captivating you, however. It was the man’s face. The skin had been cut around the nose and mouth in the same way you had seen so many times before, the people turned monsters. He had already been one of those things when something killed him. Which meant…

“Y/n.” Steve pats your arm and you adjust the shotgun in your hands, nodding.

One problem at a time.

“So because Nancy is here, we are just assuming the rest of them are also?” Robin inquires. You were used to her voicing her questions, not necessarily because she wanted to know or wasn’t aware of the answer. She had just seen a dead body. This was her way of protecting herself.

Steve hums a response, nodding. “We always stick together.”

“They’re the real happy family.” You say, a little more venom on your tongue than you intended and he sends you a look.

“Can we just… call out to her?” Robin peers around a corner, sighing relief when something wasn’t staring back.

“She looked like she was getting ready to shoot something.” You recall, remembering her stance, the way the gun had moved in her hands. “We can’t risk being any louder than this.”

“Y/n’s right.” Steve agrees and you raise your eyebrows. “I know. Even I’m surprised you can make good decisions sometimes.”

“On second thought, we shout out and let it chase Steve.” You narrow your eyes at him and he feigns fear.

“Oh no.” He mocks, rolling his eyes.

“You two just solidify the fact that I am never having kids.” Robin comments as you pass through another set of double doors, carefully slipping through. “Are we even sure we’re going the right way? This place is huge.”

“I’m just following the door numbers, I think Nancy was by-”

Your thought process derailed and you come to a complete stop, staring down the hallway.

“Y/n?” Robin frowns, following your gaze. “Did you see something?”

It’s a long stretch of hallway, lights illuminating the path down to a single door at the end. Just like in your dream.

Except the walls weren’t smeared with blood, and there was no beast banging against the wood.

“Y/n.”

Steve’s hand rests against your shoulder and you take a breath, looking up at him. He searches your eyes for some kind of answer. You must look petrified.

“Sorry.” You shake your head. “Must’ve had some weird wave of deja vu.”

“You’re sure you’re good?” Robin asks and before you can reassure her, she’s pressing her hand against your forehead, pouting.

“What are you doing?” Steve looks on in amusement, his own hand now resting back at his side.

“I don’t really know.” She shrugs and Steve almost laughs at the confused look on your face. “I see people do it in movies.”

“I’m not sick, Robin.” You bat her hand away, eye catching on the reflecting light of her charm, tightening your throat. “I think we took a wrong turn, we needed the other double doors.”

“You sure?” Steve raises a brow, taking a few steps down the hallway. Your heart reacts before your brain.

“Stop!” You yell before covering your mouth, eyes wide.

Steve freezes, turning around to look at you. “What the hell?”

“Sorry.” Your voice is muffled against your hand.

Robin’s lips are thin, a nervous expression staining her features as she takes in the silence.

“Do you thinking something heard us?” She asks with a whisper and you squeeze your eyes shut.

Of course you had to shout after telling everyone to be quiet. Of course it had to be you to break the one and only rule, yet again. The nightmare was just a nightmare. Every lab probably looks like this one. You’re being dramatic and paranoid and you’re only putting your friends in danger.

And judging by the looks on their faces, they agreed.

“Let’s find the others before something finds us.” Steve’s voice is low and you can’t even argue. You can barely apologise. He walks back the way he came, striding straight past you and peering out behind the double doors.

“Come on.” He orders, stepping around and holding it open. He barely glances at you as you walk past and you can feel some wave of embarrassment rush to your cheeks.

But even so, you felt calmer already. Like avoiding that door had settled the uncertainty in your stomach.

“Are you feeling okay?” Robin asks, hushed voice close to your ear as Steve leads ahead, checking the corners.

“I’m fine.” You nod with a tight smile. “Really. I’m sorry, I don’t know what came over me.”

“Guys, we need to be quiet.” Steve hisses with a glance over his shoulder and Robin raises an eyebrow.

“Somebody’s grumpy.” She comments, trying to make light of the situation. She really hated it when people fought.

“Only because somebody can’t follow a simple rule.” He mutters under his breath. But the walls in this lab were acoustic, and it bounced right off his tongue and into your ear.

The regret already seeps in as he hears your footsteps falter, turning around with a silent curse to see your glaring eyes.

“I said I was sorry.” You say with gritted teeth. Not like you were angry, no. A different kind of upset.

His shoulders drop with defeat, the bat hanging down from his hand. “We just… we need to be more careful.”

“I know that.” You say, biting your lip as you try and relax. Your eyes catch the doors beside him, looking like another security room just before the corner turns. Maybe it would be useful to track Nancy with again.

“We can’t-” Steve takes in a breath, studying you. There was something you weren’t telling him. And usually he would be fine; you can have secrets. But not when it was risking everything. “Is something… something going on? That you’re not telling us?”

“What? No. No, I’m fine.”

Robin looks at you with suspicion, tilting her head. “Something happened back there, Y/n. You looked terrified.”

You observe the way her features furrow, a concern woven into her eyes. It was the same look Steve bore, one that tore into your soul as you struggled with the truth of it. They would think you were crazy, tell you it was just some dream and you’re being dramatic. Just like you feared.

“It’s been hell.” You finally sigh, a quiet laugh slipping from your mouth. “I’m just on edge and… and I didn’t really sleep last night so I guess I’m getting kind of delirious. But I’m fine.”

At least for now, you weren’t lying. Just omitting the truth. That had to count, right?

“So no more shouting randomly and making your best friend crap her pants?” Robin questions and you smile, nodding.

“You’re lying.” Steve frowns and your breath hitches.

The apocalypse may not have been long physically, but it felt like he has gotten to know you better than this. The way you constantly repeated ‘fine’ like it was a chant you were trying to convince yourself, the vague descriptions that held no meaning, even the way you bit your lip when you felt uncomfortable. He knows you now better than he had before. Something wasn’t adding up.

“Steve, we need to keep moving.” You warn, like you were giving him a second chance to reconsider his next actions. You were right. He never wanted to stay in the same place for very long, especially not in this nightmare asylum. But he had to know.

“What are you hiding?” He asks and your expression falters. He takes a step forward, noticing his casted shadow disappearing from the next hallway as he steps away from it. “You don’t have to pretend like you’re fine. You know something and we need to-”

Whatever convincing remark was going to leave his lips had been taken away with his breath as he feels something hard strike his back, knocking him down.

You push Robin behind you as you raise your shotgun, immediately moving towards Steve and aiming at the figure stood behind him, a cricket bat in their hands.

They looked human, nose and mouth covered by a mask while the eyes are hidden beneath wild hair. You couldn’t risk it. They attacked Steve. You weren’t even sure if they were human anymore.

You’re about to pull the trigger when you hear Robin’s squeak behind you, pausing.

“Put the shotgun down or I shoot.”

It wasn’t Robin’s voice. And you didn’t have to turn around to understand that threat. With a frown, you slowly place the shotgun at your feet, close to where Steve was trying to push himself to his feet. He catches your eye as you stand back up, and you prayed he understood.

“Now who the hell-”

Steve grabs the gun and spins around, pointing it directly at the masked attacker and you almost smile. You hadn’t expected that to work.

“You put down your gun, and we’ll-” You turn to face whoever had Robin in their grips and feel the breath leave your body. “Nancy?”

Steve almost dropped the shotgun, raising an eyebrow as he risked a glance. Yep. Yep, it was Nancy.

Her hair was pulled back into a short ponytail, some marks across her face that he could assume were dirt. She had a pistol in her hand, pointed at Robin’s head. Her mascara coated eyes widen in disbelief as she flickers between you and Steve, stuttering her words.

“How- what… what the hell are you guys doing here?” She gawks and you stare at her gun.

“I’m not answering that until you stop pointing a gun at my best friend’s head.” You comment and she steps away, letting Robin walk over to you after sending a glare over her shoulder.

“Nice to meet you, too.” She mumbles, nodding when you brush her shoulder.

“Nancy.” Steve says like was testing if she was really there or not. She gives an awkward smile and Steve blinks. “Uh…”

Steve turns back to the eyes currently glaring at him from the barrel of the shotgun and he frowns in confusion.

“Who the hell is this?”

The mask is pulled down with a tug and Steve lowers the shotgun, rolling his eyes.

“Oh, you.”

“Hi.” Jonathan nods and you raise your eyebrows at the tension between them, sharing a look with Robin.

“Where’s Hopper?” You get straight to the point, studying them both as they look surprised yet again. “I assume you came here with him.”

“Yeah.” Nancy answers, Jonathan nodding with her. “Yeah, he picked us up like an hour after everything happened. We’ve kind of been at the lab since.”

“Hm.” You sound, trying to ignore how that stung. He went and collected the kids he wanted and left you to fend for yourself. Lovely.

“So he’s here?” Steve questions and she nods again.

“He’s with the gate.” She relays.

“They’ve been trying to get it shut for ages.” Jonathan says, but his eyes are still on you, barely hanging onto his own words. “Where were you guys?”

Steve frowns, and looks at you. “Uh… surviving the apocalypse. Which, by the way, not as easy as it looks in movies.”

“Amen.” Robin breathes out.

“Why are you both looking at us like that?” You finally ask, the shocked eyes of people you barely knew staring at you and Steve like you weren’t even real.

“Sorry.” Nancy rushes, blinking. She pockets her gun into her belt and steps forward, sharing looks with Jonathan. “It’s not you. It’s just…”

“Just what?” Steve tenses, closer to you now.

“We…” Jonathan tries and you force yourself not to let out a groan. Luckily, Robin does it for you.

“Come on, spill it.” She begs, smiling when they frown at her. “Hi. I’m Robin, by the way.”

“Did you guys not expect us to make it this far?” You ask and Steve furrows his brows, questioning it himself. “Look, if Hopper doesn’t want to see me, that’s fine, just say so-”

“No. No, it’s not-” Nancy takes a deep breath, looking very uncomfortable.

“Then what?” You stress, getting fed up of the mystery.

Another step closer and she suppresses whatever emotion threatened to jump out, looking too sympathetic for your liking.

“We thought you were dead.”

Stunned silence cut across the room like the swift swipe of a blade, cutting deep. Of all you had expected when coming here, the news of your demise was not one of them.

“What do you mean, dead?” Steve asks and Nancy looks at him with a twisted expression of concern and relief. “You thought- why did you think that?”

As if it pained her to say, she looks away and wraps her arms around herself. Jonathan rests a hand on her shoulder and speaks instead.

“When everything started… it was all so fast.” He explains, head low. “We were lucky. Nancy and I had managed to get to mine without a run-in. Met our brothers there and Hopper found us within the hour. Got us all away from there before anything worse could happen.”

“We drove through the town.” Nancy clears her throat, meeting Steve’s eye. “Went looking for any survivors. There was already so much smoke and demodogs running around. We finally found someone, warning us not to go any further. They told us… they told us it started at the school. And that everyone there was dead.”

You and Steve look at eachother automatically.

“We knew…” Nancy gulps, shaking her head. “We knew you were both there. I saw Steve heading to detention and Hopper had gotten a call you were in there, too.”

You lower your head. It was stupid to feel ashamed when there were worse things to worry about now.

“Hopper didn’t want to believe them. He went there anyway and… and we saw it. Bodies. The demodogs… it was like a massacre. And then we saw your car-”

Her voice broke for a second and Steve shakes his head in silent disdain.

“He managed to get into the building.” Jonathan continues, eyes on you this time. “He tried looking for you. He found your backpack. He barely spoke when he got back to the car. Just… drove.”

“He’s barely spoken to us since we got here.” Nancy shrugs. “When he finally had enough of the kids asking, he told us you were both dead. That there wasn’t a single survivor and… and now you’re here, and we have no idea how to even process that so…”

“Well,” Robin breaks the air, sucking it in before awkwardly clapping her hands. “That’s intense. But, you know, they’re alive. Ta-da. And we made it here. And I don’t really know how to act right now because I’m uncomfortable. I usually talk until someone stops me-”

“Robs.” You breathe softly and she nods, pointing.

“Like that.” She whispers out and you straighten the hoodie currently clung to your skin, trying to get some air.

This whole time you thought Hopper hadn’t cared, hadn’t tried looking. But he had thought you were dead. You and Steve were both KIA until you showed up against all odds. And you should be proud of that. But all you could think was that Hopper was trying to save Hawkins right now, thinking that he lost another child, all because you were too stubborn to admit you were wrong. If you had never stormed out of the house, decided to take detention to avoid an apology…

“Who else is here?” Steve asks as he notices that fallen look upon your face, staring at your sneakers like they were the saddest things.

“The kids, Joyce.” Nancy nods with a tight smile. “Like two people from school but not that many compared to… to how many people are out there.”

By that, she meant the sea of dead bodies that flooded Hawkins’ streets. Steve tried not to let it get to his head.

“So why are you guys out here?” Robin pouts, ogling the gun strapped to Nancy’s waist.

“On look-out.” Jonathan sighs, running a hand down his face as he peers down the hallway. “We keep thinking we can hear something out here. Haven’t found anything yet but… that doesn’t prove anything.”

“Well, the building was being guarded by a creepy asshole when we got here.” Steve nods slowly and you try not to show any emotion. “Took care of that but who knows how many there are.”

“We’re way past Demogorgons now.” Nancy says, face fallen to a serious look.

“Right.” Robin raises her brows. “Now, can someone tell me about this Demogorgon thing because the last time I checked, they were just monsters in a board game.”

You had zoned out by the time Robin asked that question, leaving it to the other three to talk about their experiences. Not that you could really put in your own thoughts considering as you were sort of in the same boat as her; you hadn’t known about any of this nightmare until a few days ago. Part of you still hoped it was only a nightmare. That way you could be sure it would be over eventually.

You should feel safer. Hopper was merely a few doors away, El, the kids. But that churning feeling in your gut that lit a wave of nerves was fire on your skin. Nothing felt like it was getting better. No. No, it felt like this was just the beginning.

Lights flicker out the corner of your eye, only catching your attention. The others were still deep in their exchange of scary stories, not noticing the flickering bulb locked behind a door just further down.

And then you watch as it dims completely, almost in a snap. You shouldn’t think anything of it. The world was literally ending, electricity was easily one of the first resources to go. Except… don’t these places usually run on a generator?

The light in the next room starts flickering. And when that bursts, it moves to the next, and you feel your hairs stand on end. You can see the bulb lose its spark, your breath foggy against the glass.

Since when were you this close to the door?

“So, yeah, if you see a big scary spider in the sky, just assume you need to run.” Steve shrugs at Robin’s appalled face.

“Like I was gonna stay and say hi?!” She exasperates and shakes her head. “Okay, officially information overload.”

“It’s a lot.” Nancy sympathises, “But at least we’re all together through this.”

“Yeah.” Steve sighs. “You have no idea how happy we are to see you guys. Right?”

Steve glances to his left to see that you weren’t there. He looks to his right. Nothing.

“Y/n?” He spins around, frowns on everyone’s faces. They hadn’t even realised you had walked away. “Y/n?”

“How is she so sneaky?” Robin mutters, peering around the corner. “Y/n?”

They all started calling out, confusion setting in. You were just with them. How could you have possibly disappeared when you were right next to them only a moment ago?

“Does she do this often?” Jonathan suggests, but Steve silently shakes his head, the panic in his chest setting in.

“Only when something is really wrong.”

Nancy turns her head to him, brows furrowed. “Like what-”

A scream rips out into the silence, echoing down the hallway like some kind of omen. Steve swears his heart stops, his own scream already building in his throat, choking on it.

“Oh my god.” Nancy breathes, grabbing her gun and moving towards the noise. But an arm stops her.

“No, wait.” Steve says and when she goes to protest, he raises his finger to his lips.

Reluctantly, she stays quiet, ears straining to catch even a pin drop of what he was trying to assess.

The scream echoes out again, and this time he knew.

“It’s not her.” He whispers and Nancy’s eyes widen.

“How do you know that?”

Steve looks down at her in seriousness, gripping tightly onto the bat in his hand. “I just do.”

“So, there’s someone else screaming bloody murder at the same time Y/n goes missing?” Robin questions, panic in her voice as she stares at Steve, silently pleading.

“When Y/n and I were trying to get to the cabin, we saw one of those monster people things.” Steve starts and Jonathan raises a brow.

“Monster people?”

“Half demogorgon, half human.” He replies, gulping. “It was making these sounds of pain, made them seem more human. But it’s a trap. Whatever it is, it’s trying to lure us. Make us think that there’s someone out there that needs help.”

“And you’re sure. Like, 100% sure?” Nancy voices her concern, looking back down the hallway as another scream travels to her ear. “Steve-”

“Trust me.” He pleads, moving away from her eyes that clouded his senses, placing a hand on Robin’s shoulder. “Someone needs to take Robin away from here, to where the others are. You don’t have a weapon, I can’t risk-”

“Hey, I’m not objecting.” She laughs awkwardly, clearly nervous. “Just… please find her.”

Steve gives a nod while Nancy and Jonathan whisper to eachother, coming to an agreement that made Jonathan’s face twist with hesitancy. But he knew he couldn’t stop Nancy.

“Jonathan’s going to lead her back to everyone else, I’ll go with you.” Nancy nods, watching the protest build on Steve’s tongue. “You need back up. I’m going.”

“Fine.” He finally huffs. “You guys head off, we’re gonna-”

“Steve!”

He feels his body flash cold, the hair on his arms prickling from the trail of goosebumps along his skin. That was your voice. That was definitely your voice.

“You guys need to go now.” He orders at Robin and Jonathan. The other boy doesn’t argue, cricket bat held tight as he nods to Robin and leads her in the opposite direction of the cries.

But they don’t make it out of the double doors.

It’s already swinging open before Jonathan can reach for the handle.

Robin covers her mouth with both hands, suppressing a cry. Steve feels frozen.

Dead eyes crinkle from the stretch of a blood-curdling grin.

Charred hands holding a familiar shotgun, bent at the barrel.

Its smile… blood-red.

Chapter Ten: Part Two: An Ode To The Complicated ->

taglist: @manyfandomsfanvergent . @sheisjoeschateau . @kthomps914 . @curled-hair-red-lips . @nix-rose . @palmtreesx3 . @kryztalglear. @sattlersquarry . @hey-barnes-stole-a-jeep . @sadslasher13 . @80saestheticismyfav

#stranger things x reader #stranger things #fanfic #steve harrington #stranger things reader insert #steve x reader #steve harrington x reader #steve harrington x you #steve harrington x y/n #steve harrington imagine #steve harrington series #apocalypse au #st2 #stranger things au #steve harrington fic #steve harrington fanfiction #robin buckley

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sugolara · 6 months

Text

𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙧𝙩

ft. K.B x S.T x I.M x fem! reader

Synopsis: After a deadly virus leaks all over the world, every country is forced to close down it's borders and airports to prevent anyone from coming in and out. Though, it's to late for some people. The dead has rose and is looking for revenge. Cw: gore, quirkless! au, apocalypse! au, zombie! au, weapons, death, angst, lots and lots of blood, cannibalism, suicidal thoughts, slow burn

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They had gotten their designated job and when their alarms rang at 8 AM, they woke up, changed and headed out. The boys wanted to see F/n, but she had left earlier, much to their dispamy. Her patience had been running as she just wanted to feel the heavy gun in her hands.

She rubbed her hands as she made her way to the weaponry, it was getting cold, and the thin jacket did little to keep her warm. She didn’t see Gunhead when she entered. She would have waited for him but when she spotted the bins of pistols, rifles, and automatic rifles, she let out a grin and picked one of them up.

The M6 rifle was a bit dirty for the most part. The chamber was empty and she looked around to find bullets. A rack shelf stored boxes of ammo, each neatly organized. She found the designated ammo, the bullets looked pretty in its box.

Only a bit of ammo was in the box she held. A couple other boxes of the same ammo were on the shelfs. She checked them, though feeling disappointed as it would only cover three rounds. She then looked around for a scope, luckily finding one.

She’d have to thank Kyoka, Tenya and Mashiro for finding such beauty. If only she talked that way about Katsuki, Izuku and Shoto.

“I see you found the M6.” Gunhead said, closing the door behind him.

She smiled smugly as she looked through the scope, “It’s pretty neat. Didn’t think I’d ever see a gun like this again.”

He hummed as he pulled a chair closer to the bins, “We’d have to thank the weapon team for finding it.”

“Oh, you bet I’m gonna thank them.” She said, lowering the gun and looking at him, “So what am I going to do today?”

“Well, seeing as how you’re familiar with the weapons, today you’ll clean them. We’ll start off with the pistols. Don’t put any bullets inside, we don’t want to accidently set it off.” He said to which F/n understandably nodded and began to work while he read the same book he read yesterday.

Izuku let out a yawn, shaking his head to wake up as he followed Mezo to the weaponry where it held a small room. At least he was going to see F/n, though he didn’t think he’d have a chance to talk with her.

“Good, you made it.” Ochaco said, avoiding eye contact with the male as they entered the building. Gunhead had waved at them, greeting them a good morning as they returned it.

The freckled male hoped that F/n would have turned to greet him as well, but he already knew she wouldn’t since she was busy looking over the weapons. He could tell the way her eyes shined at the gun she held. He hoped that maybe someday she would look at him the same way.

When they entered the room, a small table and four chairs were placed in the center with a few papers on it. Izuku had grabbed a written paper, looking at the town and cities, “You’ve already been here?”

Mezo handed him another paper, “Those are the cities that we’ve already scavenged for medical supplies.”

“And?” Izuku said, reading down the list.

“There’s nothing in those cities.” Fumikage said, sipping on his coffee.

He looked up from the paper, surprisingly, “You’ve been through every store?”

Ochaco opened up a map, “Only the pharmacies. We leave the grocery stores to Eijiro and Denki and the drug stores to Aizawa and Yagi.”

“And where are they?” Izuku asked, wanting to see his teachers.

“They’re on a run, looking for more survivors.” Fumikage said, warming his hands on the coffee cup, “They should be back sometime this week.”

The freckle male furrowed his brows, “Looking for survivors? Wouldn’t that be a disadvantage? Wouldn’t someone be a danger to everyone?”

“We don’t make the rules, Izuku. We just go by it.” Ochaco said, crossing her arm as she sat down, “From what I heard, this place was supposed to help start civilization again. That’s why there’s so many people. Someone from the military or someone affiliated with it, had brought civilians instead of people with power.”

“Like those that are higher up.” Mezo added.

“To start civilization?” Izuku couldn’t believe it. So the reason why Sortson was created was to repopulate. But why would someone even go out of their way to do that? Don’t get him wrong, he's glad to be here, but to think that someone wanted to do something that the higher ups had no effort in doing so was astounding.

“This is so damn boring.” Katsuki said as he sat in Denki’s and Eijiro’s living room, “When the hell are we getting out of here.”

“Dude, chill out.” Denki said as he passed him a soda, “We got to wait for Ochaco’s team to look for a city or something. We go with her in case of any emergencies.”

He scoffed, “Had I known I’d be sitting on my ass I would've gone with F/n. Heard the small ass house is loaded with guns, she’s proably throwing a damn fucking party.”

Denki eyed him, a cheshire grin forming on his lips. He placed his feet on the blonde's lap, “A little mouse told me, that you’d have plenty of fun with her, if you catch my drift.”

The blonde glared at him and threw his feet off his lap, “What the hell are you on about?”

“Eijiro told me about your teeny tiny little crush. Assuming it's small with that small heart of yours.” He quickly shielded his head as the blonde threw a pillow at him, repeatedly hitting him, “I was just joking! Have mercy!”

From the kitchen, Eijiro shook his head, eating a donut, “I miss this.”

“You have no idea what you’re talking about, Dunceface!” The blonde said as he continued to hit the male.

Denki waved his left hand while his right hand protected his head, “C’mon, man it’s totally obvious!”

“Shut the fuck up!” The blonde said, a blush coating his cheeks.

Shoto had to refrain himself from leaving. Why on earth would Nezu think that farming and gardening would be a good job for the male? He didn’t know anything about this. He grew up in the city! Not on the outskirts!

“Lighten up, city boy! Today is easy work!” Ryuko, the head lead from farming and gardening said as he passed the boy gloves, “Be thankful that you won’t work with the pigs or chickens. And on the plus side! You’ll have Momo working with you.”

The boy looked to his side where he saw Momo standing, “It’s not that bad, right?”

“Depends on what your version of bad is.” Momo had let out a chuckle, if only he knew.

“Right, I’ll leave you to it!” The long blonde-haired said as she made her way towards her friend, Yawara.

Momo nodded and entered further down the two aisles of wooden plant boxes. To the right were vegetables; peas, tomatoes, squash, carrots, potatoes, cucumber and cabbages. To the left was the fruit section; strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, and melons. Then to the back, there were small trees, ready to bloom.

Shoto had pointed to the trees, “What are they growing?”

Momo hummed, “I think oranges and a cherry tree.”

“Cherries?” Shoto asked, a bit bizarre, on why they would grow cherries. Oranges he understood, but why not something else?

“Yeah, the community takes a vote on things that need to be planted.” Momo said as she placed some woven baskets on the ground, “We’re also trying to grow turnips, yam, celery, garlic and radishes.”

Shoto had looked to an empty space where he could see the dirt was damp, “The community as a whole makes decisions?”

Momo nodded as she crouched down, “Mr. Nezu wanted to make it fair. He wants the community to voice their problems and not seem like he is the only one who is in charge.”

“Why not a council team?” He asked as he crouched down next to the girl, watching the way she plucked the peas.

“Mr. Aizawa, Yagi, Chatora, Gunhead, Mirio, Tsuchikawa and Tamaki are in the council.” She placed a pea in the basket, “Along with Mr. Nezu, of course.”

She wanted to mention Hizashi, but she decided not to as she was sure that he was long dead by now since the bandits had taken him for collateral.

“So F/n was wrong.” Shoto muttered as he thought back to yesterday when the girl thought that Sortson only had a leader.

“That’s the girl you came with, right?” Momo said, “I haven't gotten the time to meet her. I hear she's a pretty good fighter.”

“Yeah, she is.” Shoto said, not noticing the way Momo smiled at him when he had a faint blush on his cheeks. The boy couldn’t feel it from how cold the weather was.

Momo showed him how to pluck as she continued to speak, “Usually we work on the afternoons, but since I was chosen to work on the plucking, I chose to do it in the morning, that way we don’t do anything on the afternoons unless the farming group need the extra help. I was the only one appointed to pick the fruits and vegetables, so I hope you don’t mind that I choose you to help me. It can be really relaxing.”

Ah, so she’s the reason why he’s here. I guess it was relaxing as he plucked the peas, “It’s fine. Maybe I can learn something.”

She smiled at that, “That’s what I said.”

Time seemed to go by fast as she cleaned the guns. She had paid every attention to the detail and made sure that not a spec of dirt was seen. She hadn’t noticed Ochaco’s team leaving a while ago along with Izuku. She probably should have noticed him as the male was left bothered to not receive her attention.

“Lunch break.” Gunhead said as he came back and passed her a brown lunch bag, “Feel free to go home, you’ve done plenty today. You can work on the rest tomorrow.”

“Nah.” She catched the bag effortlessly and noticed he didn’t have one, “You’re not eating?”

He shook his head as he gathered his cup that he had bought an hour ago, “I have to check on Mei in her workshop. I am a busy man.”

She nodded as she munched on a sandwich. She then looked at it, “This is pretty good.”

Before he left, he let out a chuckle, “Thank you.”

It wasn’t long until she finished her sandwich. It’s been quite a while since she’s had a meal, like last night’s dinner. Despite them not having the pork, she did enjoy the rice and eggs as it almost tasted like Katsuon. Izuku was a really great cook.

When she wiped her hands and crushed her bag, her ears faintly catched on people yelling. She was quick on her feet when she saw people running towards the entrance gate. She grabbed a pistol she had previously loaded and placed it behind her waistband, running out the door and following the others.

She kept low as she proceeded. She didn’t hear gunshots, but she did hear people arguing and yelling, maybe a little crying. As she got closer, peeking behind a shack, she could see an army truck with at least six people standing by, all with guns and a large group of Sorston people.

She could see Hanta in the crowd, so she made her way to him, her right hand slightly hiding behind her back in case she had to grab her pistol. When she stood by him, she noticed the way his expression was terrified. She whispered as a man in front talked, his hands yanking a tied up yellow-haired male, “You know them?”

The male nervously bit his nails, a habit that grew after the farm, “..The one on the floor used to be one of my teachers. He’s a friend to another teacher, a really great friend.”

She noted how badly beat up the male was. His hands were tied, his mouth was duct taped and he was blindfolded, “What the hell did they even do to him?”

Before Hanta could speak, Mirio and Tamaki came back with many crates filled with supplies. Nezu stood in the front, his smile that he shared when he met F/n was no longer there and his tone was laced with no emotion, “You got your things, Tomura, so let Hizashi go.”

It seemed that Nezu's comment was funny to Tomura as he grinned. His pistol in hand waved to one of his men, “Dabi, check it. Make sure there isn’t anything missing.”

His companion rolled his eyes as he removed himself from the truck and slowly made his way to the crates. He boredly looked at it before glancing back at his leader, “There’s no guns.”

The statement had caused Mirio and Tamaki to tense up, the crowd behind as well. However, Nezu made sure to keep his composure as he placed his hand behind his back, looking at the male, “That is my fault. I will make sure my people will bring you your supplies.”

Sharing a look with Mirio and Tamaki, they quickly nodded and headed back to the weaponry shack. They made sure to hurry as they didn’t want another friend or another person to die. But as Tomura watched them leave, something irked him as he glanced back at Nezu, “You know, Nezu..I feel like you aren’t taking me seriously.”

“I will have your stuff in a second.” His heart beating faster as he knew where this was heading, “No one has to die.”

“Seems to me like someone has to.” He then cocked his gun to Hizashi’s head, firmly pressing it so that the beat up male knows what's to come next, “This is the second time you’re late with my shit and I’ve been real nice about it the first time. But I’m starting to not like it.”

The action startled the crowd as some had to look away covering the mouths from maybe letting out a gasp or a scream. When Hanta noticed from the corner of his eyes that F/n’s hand was behind her back, he quickly grabbed her arm before she could do anything. He whispered as he continued to look ahead, “Don’t be stupid. You’ll get us all killed.”

“Wasn’t planning on doing anything.” She whispered back, “Just need to know when to protect me and you.”

She wondered where Shoto was as he was the only one still inside the walls. Katsuki and Izuku had gone for a run a few hours ago in a city that was a bit far, so they wouldn’t return until sundown. Maybe the garden needed extra help. Her thoughts however were answered as a hand had touched her shoulder.

She glanced, her brows narrowing at the feeling of being touched, but when she saw Shoto breathing heavily from running, her brows relaxed. She looked back ahead when he made no intention to talk to her. She hadn’t noticed the way his eyes had widened.

When Tomura had placed the safety off, Mirio and Tamaki came back with a utility cart filled with rifles and ammos. They had run out of breath as they hesitantly placed it near Dabi’s frame. Though the raven-haired male was too busy looking at his little brother, a swarming of emotions filled his body. He had to quickly play it off.

“Dabi, check it again.” He said, already feeling bored.

Again he checked, his eyes briefly glancing at Shoto before looking at the assault rifles, “Where’s the AR-15?”

“Uh, oh.” Toga said as she had a grin and played with her knife, ready for Tomura’s commands.

“You know finding weapons is extremely hard these days, Tomura.” Nezu said, trying hard to defend his people, or more specifically Kyoka as she’s mainly in charge when it came to looking for weapons, “The team had to venture out farther from here and they barely made it back. Please, take what you have and leave Hizashi.”

“Hmm.” Tomura took in a deep breath, his grin widening as he stared at the man in charge of Sorston, egging him. A minute of silence went by, until he firmly pressed the gun to Hizashi’s head. A shot was heard and a thud soon followed.

Shrieks and gasps were heard when Hizashi’s corpse fell to the ground. Nezu had to close his eyes as some blood had gone on his dress shoes and jeans. He swallowed harshly when he opened his eyes and avoided his fallen comrade. He stared at Tomura, keeping his composure, “Take your supplies. We’ll see you again next week.”

Tomura slowly began to shake his head, his face forming from a grin to a snarl as he stared at Nezu. He walked over Hizashi’s body and came close to Nezu, his tone laced with venom, “Goddammit! What does it take for you to lose! Huh!?”

The male then began to scratch his neck, looking around at the crowd for a moment and when his eyes stopped at someone, his hands fell back to his side. How odd was it for Dabi to look like Shoto? He remembered when the raven male—or at that time white-haired male, was taken, one of his men had mentioned a younger brother.

He made sure that Shoto knew he was looking at him and the action didn’t go unnoticed by those near him, especially F/n and Hanta. For now, Tomura would leave the younger male in the community for a while. At least until Sorston decides to take action.

His grin returned as he leaned back, his eyes staring at Nezu. His time here was done for the day. He clapped his hand as he made his way back to the truck, passing by Toga, “Kill someone.”

With a jump on her feet, she quickly flung her knife to her left. When her knife successfully wedged itself to Kyoka’s head, she jumped in joy, a blush and grin coating her face, “Yay! I landed it! Did you see that Spinner!? Mr. Compress!? Dabi!?”

While the crowd gasped and shrieked again, Gunhead was able to catch Kyoka’s corpse as he stood behind her. He shakily closed her eyes, uttering a small prayer as a sigh came from his lips. Another dear friend has fallen.

“See you next week, Nezu!” Tomura said as he slammed the passenger door closed and his underlings joined after him.

The crowd could only shed a few tears, watching as some placed their jackets on Kyoka and Hizashi’s body so that no one else had to see their state.

Once again, Nezu has failed his community. The two bodies below him were his mistake and he was going to make sure that only he felt guilty since he was the key to their deaths. He could already imagine Shota and Denki's devastating faces.

“Nezu…” Yawara placed his hand on his shoulder, “Bury…or burn?”

The white-haired male took a deep breath in and looked at Yawara, Gunhead and Tsuchikawa, “We bury. We don’t burn our people. Make sure to not drop them and grab a few hands if you need help.”

“I’ll grab the shovels.” One of the Sorston’s people said and quickly headed to the farm.

“Understood.” The three then followed after the other one. It was a depressing loss. They could only imagine what Shota, Toshinori and Denki would feel knowing that they have lost someone dear to them.

#izuku x reader #katsuki x reader #katsuki bakugo x reader #midoriya x y/n #katsuki x you #shoto x y/n #shoto x you #izuku midoria x reader #izuku midoriya x reader #todoroki shoto x reader

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xxinkyshadowxx · 6 months

Text

games that i think more people should know about cause they are so good oh my goodness

TW For blood, gore, and disturbing imagery

GOHOME

OM NOM NOM NOM NOM IM GOING TO EAT THE ENTIRE GAME OM NOM NOM NOM NOM I DO NOT HAVE THE WORDS TO DISCRIBE THIS GAME SO THERES IT DISCRIPTION DOWN THERE BUT IM GOING TO EAT IT ALL QUICK READ IT BEFORE I EATED ALL THE DISCRIPTION TOO

"This is a third-person horror game set in a residential area in 2000s Japan. It's the complete version of the free horror game GOHOME, which was released in 2019 and caused a boom. The map has been doubled, and six more ghosts, including hidden characters, have been added to the game. There's no grotesque , so even kids can enjoy it.

You've been separated from your parents and you're going home alone. It's the usual way home, but something's wrong. You're being chased by someone so you run away and go home. It's a sad, scary and mysterious game, but I hope it will be a lovely memory for you."

House

yeah it's less of a witchtrip(do not pay attention to how i use this word the way i use it makes sense and you know it does) than GOHOME is but oh my god the music the gameplay the plot i just this game would blow up a microwave and come out scratchless

A review: "a carpet killed me👍"

Literally any arcadekitten game

my personal favs are Cemetery mary and sweet no death but i swear all of their games are bangers)

game so good i stole a character's name that should say enough

A sweet no death review: "this was such a cool mix between cute and horror- loved it ! the game was pretty fun too, lambchop was so entertaining, and the music and visuals, so pleasing. "

A cemetery mary review: "Bro, I made an account just to say how much I enjoyed this game. This game was truly a pleasant experience and I genuinely think this is one of the best indie games i've played IMO."

Blackout hospital desc: "Blackout Hospital is a game where you play as Vasilis, a nonbinary janitor at Altobuck Hospital. When the power goes out while working the night shift, the emergency lights come on and bask the halls in an eerie, ghostly glow. Bizarre happenings start to occur at the hospital, and Vasilis wants no part in it as they try to look for a way out! Along the way they will fight off mysterious enemies, meet strange characters, and make a few allies--but will any of it mean anything if they can never return home?"

It's not me it's my basement desc: "Mom and Dad are away. But you're old enough to take care of yourself now, aren't you? You'll be fine, there's no need to worry. You're more than capable of keeping everything under control...right?"

It's Not Me, It's My Basement is a short horror game following a nonbinary child and their daily life. It takes about 30 minutes-1 hour to complete. There is only one ending."

Crowscare desc: "Crowscare is a short horror game, RPG game, and a love letter to the autumn season.

The game follows a young boy named Ryo, excited for the upcoming Harvest Festival in his hometown. Wouldn't you know? This is going to be his first one! He was never able to go to one before, as it always started past his curfew...but soon he'll see why he was never allowed out at night.

The game takes about 1-1 ½ hours to complete. There are two bad endings, and one good/true ending. "

World's end club:

AEWRT%UYTYRERSFXFGTY *EATS IT ALL IN ONE BITE* If you like danganronpa then you're gonna like this game as it's made by the same people this is just danganronpa but like more interactive and pg13 and im going to eat ALL of it the designs *eats the designs* oh and im not sure how true this is but i heard that one of the designers who worked on this made Top champion geeta's design soooooo

"Brought to you by Zero Escape series creator Kotaro Uchikoshi, and Kazutaka Kodaka, mastermind behind the Danganronpa games. With twists and turns aplenty, this mysterious, captivating tale of friendship and adversity will have you hooked from the get go.

Dive into this easy to pick up fusion of puzzle platforming and choice-driven story adventure, and surround yourself with a cast of charming, quirky characters as you set off on an unforgettable trip!

In an elementary school in Tokyo, a group of oddball kids from across the country have banded together as the "Go-Getters Club." Reycho and the rest of the Go-Getters are, to say the least, a little different to the rest of their classmates.

One summer's day the group is riding the bus on a school trip when disaster strikes. They wake up to find themselves trapped in a rusted, long-abandoned underwater theme park. As they struggle to get their bearings, a sinister clown appears out of the blue and informs the Go-Getters that they'll be playing a "Game of Fate"—pitting their lives against one another in a desperate struggle for survival!

Bewildered and confused, prospects look bleak for Reycho and the gang, but when all hope seems lost, out of nowhere, strange powers start to awaken in the daring Go-Getters.

What in the world could happen next!?"

Motherhood

i just i i just i AIUYTEWGEHYUDZIOR*(E&FUDTYGHJUIDS

A review: "Really good game with nice and disturbing aesthetics. The story was quite cryptic, but you get most of it by the secret ending.

It was a nice experience, I want to play the rest from Enigma Studio if the other games are as cool as this one!"

Bad end theater

i want to dissect this game like its a damn frog and then i want to go OM NOM NOM NOM NOM

Review: "PLEASE LET ME GIVE YOU MORE MONEY OH MY ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ GOD, ALSO LIKE ADD AN ART BOOK I NEED ACCESS TO ALL OF THIS ART AT ANY GIVEN TIME EVER"

Review: "While I cannot spoil why, this is possibly one of the sweetest, most thought out and unique short games I played in years.

Go in blind, you will find everything more meaningful that way!"

Loomian legacy

*Dj Khaled voice* Life is roblox

Formerly Pokemon brick bronze so i feel life that should be enough info for those who know of it

Emily wants to play

I I HYYDUIEUUI THIS SCARED THE SHIT OUT OF LITTLE ME I LOVE THIS GAME

Desc "It’s 11pm, and you are at the last house on your route. The lights are on, and the front door is opened. But, the windows are all boarded up and the grass is overgrown. It seems like a strange place to deliver a pizza, but at least, it looks like someone is home.

You run to the front door since it’s storming pretty bad.

“Hello!? Your pizza's here!" You announce. No one answers. There's an eerie silence.

You are getting soaked from the rain, so you hesitantly step inside the door and look around. The front door suddenly closes behind you.

You just wanted to finish this last delivery and head home for the night. Now you must figure out how to get out of this stupid creepy house.

Freely roam the house and try to figure out what is going on. Three dolls and a strange girl named Emily will also start roaming the house as the hours toll by. Stay away from them, but if you do end up in a room with one, figure out how to stay alive.

This may be your last pizza delivery."

I need to stop eating all these games im going to get a stomachache not from eating them but from the joy and whimsy i feel when these games are even real

#Leech's suggestions #Motherhood Enigma studio #blackout hospital #arcadekitten #cemetery mary #game suggestions #crowscare #its not me its my basement #go home game #worlds end club #house bark bark games #sweet no death #suggestion

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deadboyfriendd · 9 days

Note

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ZcY1NWsOwk

I watched the whole thing only because I remembered that it's one of your favourite books. It sounds super interesting and I wanted to know your opinion on if you think the book is as difficult to adapt as the video claims

OH boy this is gonna be a long one, response under the cut!

CW: all of the blood and gore that happened in the old west, dead, violence, scalping, probably infant death (it happens in Blood Meridian) and some general critiques and praises of Blood Meridian.

First, I am absolutely TICKLED PINK that you thought of me and even remotely made my name synonymous with Blood Meridian. Literally screeching giggling and kicking my feet.

I will say, you will see the most of Blood Meridian's influence in Bisbee, namely with the Sheriff's past. I do plan on writing him as hardened because of a very similar run-in with the texas-mexican border around that time frame. I plan on capturing the same amount of blood and violence as the book, but not necessarily in the same scope. I want it to be much less flowery than its Cochise counterpart. Bisbee will still be a love story, but way more drenched in blood.

Firstly, I want to talk about the prose in Blood Meridian because, no matter how much praise I can give the book, it was DIFFICULT to read and follow. I do want to do another re-read in the future and quite possibly listen to it as an audiobook to soak it up one more time. Blood Meridian can be best described as a consciousness told by "the kid". It reads like the main character, an uneducated, neglected, fourteen-year-old boy and not as a seasoned western author, but is simultaneously SO VIVID and deliciously rich that I literally devour it like that scene in Ratatoullie where Remi is sampling fruit and cheese together and the flavors manifest as swirly colors in his brain. DELICIOUS. A lot of people DNF this book for this reason, but, creatively, I think it pushed the boundary of what can be considered prose and was really, really interesting- even if it took all of my brainpower to read.

The next thing I wanted to talk about was the comparison to Deadpool and Wolverine (which I haven't seen yet, oops), filmed in the traditional hollywood continuity style. I am not much of a film buff and don't know much about film other than the one class I took in community college. If you want to talk more in depth about film @dr-aculaaa is totally your person! I think if we were to see an adaptation of this book as a film, it would need to be exactly as the prose is: completely unorthodox. I think in this new age of cowboy/western popularity, people are going to want to taylor sheridan-ify it. They're going to want to make it something like a western melodrama like Horizons or 1883, where there still very much is an underlying theme being pushed kind of overtly. I personally think that, if someone was going to attempt it, they would need to take a step back from this new kind of western style, and take a look at Iñárritu. I would like to see it done as something more similar to The Revenant. A historical recount, much more of a stream of consciousness than Costner or Sheridan have done, and with that really blunt brutality. Iñárritu didn't sugar-coat the violence in that. He let the viewer see it at a face-value. Iñárritu is also a big fan of the human condition and psychological drama, which is what would MAKE a film adaptation. I think people are pooling Blood Meridian with Westerns and are wanting to tell it as a western story, when, in reality, the mass appeal to it comes from it being a violent, gory, borderline splatter-punk novel, in a historical western setting.

This is where I have kind of been struggling with it. In Bisbee, I am not necessarily trying to embody McCarthy's prose, but more embody his ideal for vivid storytelling within violent horror scenes in a way that feels correct to me and equates to the brutality in the book. My biggest problem is my own desensitization of gore and violence. For a while there, I was reading so much splatter punk (about 2-3 novels a week depending on the size) that I was literally just dead-eyeing pages as people were being scalped and dismembered. Things don't really make my stomach churn anymore, and now I'm struggling to write these kinds of terrifying, gross descriptions that do what I need them to do, (that, and also coming up with the act of violence itself) while trying to tie in that underlying theme of love in the wild west. These characters are being molded and unmolded and then remolded all over again as I attempt to write this, and I think this ask and that video kind of helped me take a step back and realize that I'm writing it as a western and not as a horror.

I've said this in previous asks, my great granddad was a published western author. He died of complications of polio when my grandma was 13, so I never got to meet him. But I have his writing, and, oddly enough, he wrote like me. And unfortunately, Cormac McCarthy has also passed away in recent years so now I have absolutely no one to ask about writing westerns and melding psychological/body horror with the Wild West, so this is a frontier I will have to brave myself.

Thank you SO SO much for picking my brain, anon! I haven't had to critically think about my reading or my writing in a long time now and this got the train moving again on the production of Bisbee!

Love you and kissing you on the mouth

PS, sorry if this read like a stream of consciousness from me because I was literally keysmashing this whole time trying to pull all of these thoughts into a coherent thing LMAO

#flea speaks #flea answers #bisbee #sheriff steve #books in the freezer

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lilywily143 · 6 months

Text

LIVE BLOG EPISODE 7

I'm was on discord for the hype but I had to leave for this!!!

Also just... anxiety is getting to me... heh... my stomach hurts... heh

The people on discord btw are having fun with screenshot editing

HEHEHEH 2 minutes!!

GAH NEW INTRO?!

The audio... isn't here...; oh no my headhones; there we go

also castel church!

chained sentinals?!

that looks like a president banner??

people... HAHAHHAHA WHAT THE HECK IS WITH THE HATS ON THE HUMASN?!

NORI!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

SHES GONNA COME!!!

Chambers got the wrong suit heheh

OOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!

THE SHADOWSA??A??A?A

NORI NORI NORI IS PRETTY

oooooooooooooo

Nori no come back

YEVA!!!

woah a USB criest!

so that's the teaser thing...?

NORI STOP BEING CREEPY

LET ME SEE MY BOI N please...

woah its just cool

LOVKERS YEVA IS PLAYING A GAME

YEVA SPEAK PLEASE

SHe looks tired...

woah shes pretty looking

oh nori....

yeva why can't she go in?

my heart hurts... why why

oh blood stuff

oh lord

THIS IS SO FREAKY

GAH the teaser skelyton

OOOOOOO!!!!!

.....solver voice....

WOAH WHAH WHAT THE SOLVER CORE?!?!? with... kitty headphones.. Uzi?

or Yeva.....? wait doll???

what is this... core.. its pretty pink?

THE ELEVATER YES YES WE ARE BACK

n.......

N my no wants V back... he's so mad.....

uzi no she's scared.....

shut up Tessa......

n no

.....n please let her come....

N NO DONT FIGHT

no no no no no

NULL

NO PLEASE

uzi...>!!!!

GOD DAMN IT WHYYYY

LIZZY!!!! THAD!!!!! NEW VOICE ACTERS?!?!?!??! OOOOOOOOO!!!! AHHHHHHHHHHH

Thad you got awesome

V?!?!

WAIT J?!?!?!??!?!?!? i paused, it's J

oh N.....

no his arm......

ouch no YOU DONT DESERVE TO CUT YOUR ARM

V NO NO NOT THIS SOLVER

THE CUT OFF SCREAM HE HAD TO A FUCKING MEME?!?!?!?

uzi......

more nori...

my chest hurtsss.gore gore gore gore gore oger

tail buddy!

oof N that's a lot of oil

......huh?! personaliy

CYN NO PLEASE

WAIT DID N HEL..... H MY GOD.....

this is... scary.....

the death of earth.......

N no.. UZI ADMIN

GAHHHHH NO PLEASE N!!!!

necklace....

wing time for uzi

my chest is gonna murder me....

she's cute..

gah the flesh hole with bones

THE computer the solver core was at!

uzi is gonna see the thing.....

these whisper sounds....

uzi Uzi.....

N NO

OH FUCK N PLEASE

the solver core

are you stupid or something?" Oh yeah" N pleaseee

also I fucking love the voice for this solver core, they are reminding me of the J core I made for one of my au's

this animated well

Uzi's dad?! WAIT THE CORE CALLED KHAN A CUNT?!?!? what did I mishear

oh that clover is freaky

LHBSDIJK:NLJ :NSLDABVSJKNO NONONONONONN THE SOLVER CORE IS NORI!!!!!!!!!

I LOVE THIS I LOVE THIS EEEEEEEEEE

lizzy and Thad! they sounds like dorks ehheheh

J!!! she's gone....

lizzy and Thad do something cool

KHAN!!!!!!!!

HE IS USING HER RAIL GUN MY HEART YES YES YESSSSS

nightcore... heh

khan no don't kill the murder drones....... please

woah the lockers TESSA

well she has... a human arm at least. she could still fake it

what did- oh got explosion

she alsom't looked away from it fully like a cool gal

DOLL!!!

doll be okay

OH GOSH SOLVER EYE DOLL THATS GROSS DOLL DON'T DIE.....

woah

doll pleaseeeeee

tessa gone...

whats gonna.... footsteps! SOVER

SOLVER NOOO

huh?!

YEVA!!! back to flashbacks!!

nori are you okay now

bye chambers

nori? are you okay

aww they....

and there goes earth

N...

his little claps

oh no UZI UZI PLEASE SHE WAS NO NO

doll.....????

thats so much oil......

Doll please....oh god

'fight back'

TESSA!?!

nori and n interacting is nice

N I love you

UZI GOT IT FROM NORI THE BITE ME

YES YES TESSA WAS SOLVER

STOP HURTING USI TESSA PLEASE!!!!

tessa was solver.........

MY GOD!!!

N you did amazing

N you're X eye...

Uzi... oh no....

blush blush!

uzi NO SHE BROKE IT

SOLVER NO DON'T CALL HIM BROTHER

NORI CORE?! YESSSSSS

YES YES YES

HEHEHEHHEHEHEH Grounded.... solver...

n...... no

@the-maria-afton YOU LIAR THIS N AND UZI FIGHT IS HURTING ME MORE THAN THE BROKEN HAND /lh

N oh no...... don;t chop her

UZI REGENERATED

again, I love this nori and N interaction

Uzi please be okay...

NNNNNN!!!!!! NOOOO

UZI SHE

this lack of any noise......

N I SWEAR

OH MY LORD WHAT WAS MY LAUGH?!?!!??! I SOUNDED LIKE I DIED FROM LACK OF OVYGEN I WAS JUST "haaaaaaaaa'

N painted love hearts and a goofy message in oild

oooo okay I'm gonna stay paused for a second to breathe that joke more than anything need me to take a breather, what the hell....

uzi!!!

uzi they are screaming HAHHAHAHAH

i loved that

oh God the Tessa helmet....

what.... oh shit.....

that was gross TESSA

SOLVER TRUE FORM!?!??! PLEAASEEE>!>!>

oh God wait it took Doll's body...

OH GOSH WHOAH

S?@?!??!?!

oooooo!!

what the voicses

A HUMAN DESIGN!!!!

I LOVE THIS DESIGN!!!

WOAHHHHHHH THE LIGHTSS

Cabin fever....

woah my god

J IS HERE almost

she's pretty.... SCHOOL BUS AHAHHAHA

there go the keys, she mad

THAD KHAN LIZZY!!! DON'T KILL J!!!!

oh no....

N UZI!!!!

she stabbed herself for him.....

the keys heh

UZI NO!!!!!!!

Die mad DON'T SAY THAT UZI

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

WE DID NOT FUCKING END TO ANOTHER FALL

Uzi Uzi please where are yuo

WHAT THE FRICK?!?!?!??!?!??!?!

THAT LOOKS PRETTY

#lilywily post #murder drones #MD ep 7 #live blog #murder drones episode 7 #MD spoilers

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wvbaandtheboys · 1 year

Text

ok the joke’s going way too far now but hey it’s fun and everyone’s enjoying it so… let’s enjoy it!! (expect drawings and more scenarios honestly HWJWJSH)

here’s some death scenes and death lines from the ro-boxers! (by the way, if y’all wanna give your two cents or even yeet robo ocs in the mix? completely fine by me, let’s all be silly together!!)

By the way, here’s my silly thought process for the robots: if they’re not having a cliche “tis a malfunction” moment, it’s prolly them being sentient and envying the real boxers and some openly expressing how they wanna off you through their more violent dialogue.

so obviously content warning for gore and stuff (guys it’s late and I’m tired so just b careful AJHSJS)

Little Mac:

Mac plays that distorted tune in the dark as he creeps into your office… and proceeds to kill you by pushing your head against the wall, slamming it and fracturing your skull.

“Ya weren’t paying attention, Birdie! Heheheheh!”

“HAH! Gotcha!”

“Bet you Mac couldn’t do that in a million years… heheh… Too bad, Petey…”

Glass Joe:

Well if ya don’t close the door on Joey, he comes right on in and lunges over your desk to get to you. He kills you by snapping your neck.

“Oh ho ho! La victoire est à moi!”

(“Oh ho ho! The victory is mine!”)

“I got you now! Ho ho hoh!”

“You were frozen in fear at the sight of me! Oh my, how sad!”

“Il a passé des années à se faire craquer... Mais c'est maintenant à mon tour de VOUS briser.” (Evil French laughter)

(“He spent years getting cracked… but it’s now my turn to break YOU”)

Von Kaiser:

If ya disturb the war grandpa, he’s gonna rush to you screaming “ATTACKEN!” and bust into ya office. He vaults over your desk and slams his fist right into your face.

(Just evil German laughter here)

“Du bist so dumm, wie du mit Blutrot befleckt bist…”

(“You are as stupid as you are stained with blood red”)

“Deine Zeit läuft ab, Junge. Wenn deine Stunde zuschlägt... werde ich da sein, um deine Flamme zu löschen.”

(“Your time is running out, boy. When your hour strikes… I will be there to snuff out your flame”)

Disco Kid:

Disco’s itching to dance but equally itching to kill. He’ll boogie his way on up close and personal before spinning you round and round and slamming you into a hard surface. Owch.

“Whoopsie!~ Guess ya couldn’t handle the disco fever…”

“Aw, c’mon Pete! I was just gettin’ started too…”

“…C’mon now Peter… do you really think I’m just gonna let you go?… Mm-mm… I’m not nearly as nice as your friend. Let’s get down together… better keep up… or else I’m gonna paint you black and blue~”

King Hippo:

Hippo stomps right in, flips your desk and reenacts the bite of 87 on you.

“My, how flavorful!”

(Hippo laughter here)

(A different hippo laugh here)

“…Hippo sees you… in the camera… watching him…….. you.. look.. delicious. ….I’m coming for you.”

Piston Hondo:

Piston full on drags you into the vent like the xenomorph from Alien: Isolation while laughing maniacally.

(Evil ANIME laugh here)

(Enter another evil ANIME laugh here)

“Your ears aren’t up to par… that much is obvious.”

(This is said in Japanese but it’s difficult to accurately translate for me so just pretend) “Hah… Allow me to snuff out that flame of hope you have… I am not merciful like him. Struggle if you wish… it is futile. This night… I will not let you escape alive.”

Bear Hugger:

Well if ya don’t hide, he’ll just mow down your desk and crush your spine with his huge metallic arms! And if you hide when he’s already seen you, he’ll yoink ya from beneath the desk and lift you up, then crush your spine.

“Yahaha! Got ya!”

“Eh, no use hidin’ from me, Pete! I got the eyes of a hawk, ears like a bat and the strength of a bear! You can’t do nothin’ against me! Heheh!”

“Found ya!”

“C’mon, Pete… come out, come out wherever ya aaareeeee…~ I know you’re heeeree…~ I ain’t got candy for brains like that hoser… I ain’t stupid.”

“C’mon now, Birdie… I don’t like losin’… Why don’t you come on out for a nice, big squeeze…?~ I promise it won’t hurt… not for long anyways… heheheheh.”

Great Tiger:

Well ya slacked off and now you face the music. Tiger comes eeriely slithering out of your vent with his gem a-glowing before pouncing at you like a proper tiger. His clones even join in on the jumpscare! :D

(Mean laughter) “Oh… what terrible eyes you have, Peter.”

(Smooth but evil chuckle)

“If only you looked a little harder… oh well, you’re already dead…”

(Somewhat raspy and low) “Like a tiger, I stalk my prey… savor your pungent fear on my tongue… between my teeth… waiting… waiting… for the moment… that I… can finally… POUNCE!”

Don Flamenco:

Well, guess ya couldn’t resist the rose man’s charms. Don pops up and shanks ya right in the heart with his rose.

“Oh, pobre...”

(“Oh, you poor thing”)

“La muerte nunca ha sido tan poética, ¿eh?”

(“Death has never been this poetic, eh?”)

(Somewhat malicious laughter)

“Mercy…? Oh…… you foolish boy. I share no passion with… him. …The reaper calls your name… and I shall send you to him… I have no heart that beats in my chest… and I will bleed yours into stillness.”

Aran Ryan:

Well, ya looked. Why did you look? Well whatever the reason, Aran whips out his flail and tightens it around your neck. Snap crackle pop!

“Ya looked!”

(Irish gremlin chuckle)

(Irish gremlin cackling)

“Ya look pretty blue, Pete… did I squeeze ya a little too hard?”

“….You should see the look on yer face right now… heheh… what’s that…? You don’t want me to hurt you?… Heh… heheheheh! Sorry Petey… but I don’t change my mind like the other one does… Now… how about ya hold still…”

Soda Popinski:

Well, since Soda doesn’t kill you, he just breaks your door. He feels bad about it though.

“Sorry! Soda didn’t mean to break it!”

Bald Bull:

Busts down your door and proceeds to give you the nastiest headbutt of your life. …And the last headbutt of your life. Owch. That certainly left some blood.. everywhere…

“You weren’t going to keep me out forever.”

“You provoked the bull. And got the horns.”

(Slight evil chuckle) “Useless bird. You never stood a chance fighting me.”

“You may try and struggle… you may try and fight.. but it’s all in vain. I will get in one way or another… and when I do… I’ll coat the walls with your blood.”

Damnbullchill-

Super Macho Man:

Well ya fucked around and ya found out. He sweeps your desk aside and caves your face in with his boot once you’re on the ground.

“You don’t ever keep a star waiting.”

“Ugh! You ruined my photoshoot! >:[“

“Work it!~”

“You were taking too long, dude… not my fault you got such a bogus fragile skull…”

“Don’t make me wait… don’t test me. I’m not an idiot like that guy.. so you’d better hurry it up… or else.”

Mr. Sandman:

You once again fucked around and found out. The power goes out, and Sandman creaks open one of your doors and makes sure you’ve seen him before he comes in. Creepy how the only thing you’d see is his eyes.

“Heheh.. night night, Peter…”

“It’s way past your bedtime, baby… why don’t you start countin’ sheep?”

“Heh… sound sleeper, huh?…” (he says while watching peter actively bleed out)

“…It’s time for bed, Peter baby… n’ don’t think I’ll hold any punches. He mighta done that cause he likes you… but I don’t do holding back. Brush your teeth, close your eyes… and go to sleep.”

#punch out!!#punch out wii #aran ryan #glass joe #little mac #don flamenco #super macho man #mr sandman punch out #mr sandman #great tiger #bear hugger #piston hondo #von kaiser #disco kid #king hippo #I’m getting too silly help #/j

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pancake-breakfast · 10 months

Text

Watching the second episode of Blue Eye Samurai.

Dude, who mouths off to a bunch of people renowned for their violence??

Aaaand now the soup man's gonna have to clean up MOAR blood. And gore.

Wait, this guy is named "Apple"? Ok, then.

Ah, yes. Turning abuse coping mechanisms into practical life skills. Relatable.

Princess deserves better than this stupid boy. So much better.

Soooooo much better.

Dude, don't piss off the kami.

I don't think it's advisable to go swimming when one has fresh stitches. Especially in salt water.

All an untrained person with a good sword is gonna do if they go up against a trained swordsman is give the trained swordsman a good sword.

Oh, her name is Mizu? Water? Subtle. /s

Oh, yeah. This guy is both a jerk and definitely trained.

Jealous of hakama pants. Have a pattern. Made a pair. Might make more.

Imagine having your father discuss your menstrual cycles, fertility, and virginity in front of some old men as points he's using to try and sell you off. Like, her dad isn't wrong about it being a good marriage, not just in terms of the status it will bring their clan. She'll be well provided for for the rest of her life. But how fucking dehumanizing.

The lord might be her father but this man's her dad.

Oh, this mirrors her getting bullied at the cliff's edge in the first episode.

Man, this is like girls jumping for a bridal bouquet. Suuuuper not worth it.

I thought these assassins were supposed to be elite.

Pfffftttaaahahahahaha, this guy deserves all sorts of dishonorable death.

#blue eye samurai #pancake thoughts

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bigstupid69 · 1 year

Note

I love your headcanons what kinda horror movies would the choir like - 🐀

Oh boy this is gonna be a lot I bet so I'll put my thoughts under the cut;

I'll give them both horror movie picks relevant to the time period (before and during 2009/8) and ones after

These are all movies I have seen before so I'm sorry about the repeats, and you may not agree.

Ocean

I'm so torn between having Ocean be absolutely terrified of horror movies or being like a horror snob. Y'know the type to criticize unnecessary amounts of violence and gore, and only actually enjoy films if there's some deeper meaning out of it. She seems like those type of insufferable people. Like the female equivalent of the men obsessed with American psycho. She definitely hates most campy horrors and slashers as well as things similar to the saw franchise. I think she'd definitely enjoy some of those genres by picking it apart with a feminist lens though. So I feel like she'd definitely be more of a fan of psychological horror, but definitely stuff that isn't absolutely terrifying to watch like Hereditary.

My picks are; Rosemary's Baby (1968), The Silence of the Lambs (1991), The Stepford Wives (1975)

More modern picks; Last Night in Soho (2021), Midsommar (2019), I'm Thinking of Ending Things (2020)

Noel

People who think he wouldn't like horror movies are completely wrong. Considering his ideals in his monologue, he would probably enjoy films with lots of gore. I think he'd definitely be into the saw franchise with Mischa. He'd also probably enjoy a lot of suggestive and or queer coded films as well. Also probably has a guilty pleasure for cheesy romance driven films, but he would not let anyone know that.

My picks are; Repo the genetic opera (2008), Rocky horror picture show (1975), society (1989), Re-animator (1985), the lost boys (1987), I think he'd also maybe be into the buffy the vampire series (1997-2003)

More modern picks: X (2022), terrifier 1 and , 2 (2016-2022), warm bodies (2013), only putting this here since it ran for a longer time but the vampire diaries (2008-2016)

Mischa

Mischa's "canonically" favorite film is Saw 5, so obviously he'd be into the saw franchise and films like that. I think he'd really just also be into slashers, definitely the kid who dressed up as ghost face for Halloween with the mask that could squirt out blood. I think he'd also like horror comedies quite a bit as well.

My picks are: The saw franchise (canon?), scream (1996), sleepaway camp (1983), Friday the 13th (1980), the evil dead, and evil dead 2 (1981/1987)

More modern picks: The cabin in the woods (2011), the purge (2013), the scary movie series (both modern and time accurate 2000-2013)

Ricky

A mix between cheesy/funny classics and pretty much anything sci-fi. Not sure if he's into that much gore in the films but definitely isn't as picky as Ocean so it's not a complete turn off. Regardless his favorites are pretty much anything sci-fi but he makes exceptions.

My picks are: Rocky horror picture show (1975), little shop of horrors (1986), Alien (1979), lifeforce (1985), mars attacks (1996)

More modern picks: Annihilation (2018), Nope (2022), color out of space (2020)

Constance

I also think she'd really be into horror, she'd definitely be more into campy films and also have a soft spot for classic horror movies from her childhood. She's definitely not innocent and does probably enjoy some more fucked up ones on occasion however.

My picks are: scream (1996), Jennifer's body (2009), Coraline (2009), Shaun of the dead (2004)

More modern picks: Wendell & wild (2022), Anna and the apocalypse (2017), the babysitter (2017), happy death day (2017)

Penny

I feel like she would watch a lot of varying horror movies. she'd enjoy ones she could connect to in a way, but also just enjoy less meaningful ones to her and are just full of camp. Along with Constance she also enjoys a lot of horror movies from her childhood especially because of being slightly detached to it because of everything she's gone through at such a young age. (headcanon but also kinda true)

My picks are: Carrie (1976), Coraline (2009), The shining (1980), all the previously mentioned classic slashers, not a horror film but this is only for my gf; heathers (1988), hocus pocus (1993), child's play series (1988-2019)

More modern picks: Pearl (2022), bodies bodies bodies (2022), Possum (2018), the fear street trilogy

#ride the cyclone #rtc #rtc musical #ocean o'connell rosenberg #penny lamb #mischa bachinski #ricky potts #constance blackwood #rtc headcanons #headcanons

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ninja-go-to-therapy · 2 years

Text

Life's a Party and I'm the Piñata

Apparently I started this exactly a year ago so ig its fitting that I finally finished it

ao3

Prompt: proof of life

Fandom: Gravity Falls

Characters: Ford Pines, Bill Cipher

Summary: That pesky metal plate Ford had installed is such a nuisance. Bill kindly takes the initiative to help him remove it.

Trigger Warnings: blood, torture, electrocution, body horror, suicidal ideation, near death, gore

2318 words

“Ready to talk now?” Bill asked.

Ford panted, body twitching harshly in its chains. “I won’t,” he said, steeling himself, “I won’t let you into my mind!”

Bill shrugged, as if to tell him to have it his way. “What do you think, pals?” he asked his so-called hench-maniacs. “Another 500 volts?”

Ford grit his teeth to prepare for the incoming electrocution.

Bill tapped somewhere around where a chin might have been, humming. “Or maybe not,” he mused.

“What are you planning, Cipher?” Ford demanded.

“Go enjoy the party, fellas!” Bill announced to his friends. “I’ve got another idea on how to get dear old Fordsie to talk.”

With a snap of his fingers, the world evaporated around them, re-materializing into a smaller and closed-off room.

Ford hated teleportation.

He shivered, his chains clanking against the ground.

The ground . At least he wasn’t being strung up by his arms, now. He wasn’t sure how much more of that his body could take without being dealt irreparable damage. If he even survived this ordeal, that is.

“You won’t get me to talk,” Ford argued, sitting up as best he could.

Bill sighed melodramatically. “Oh, Sixer,” he began, “I do so miss the times when I had free access to that smart little head of yours.”

“You won’t be getting into my head ever again, Bill.”

“Au contraire. If I remember correctly, our deal was ‘ from now to the end of time .’”

“That deal has been off!” Ford shouted. “I don’t know what you’re getting at, but—”

“It’s only been “off”,” Bill said, punctuating with finger quotes, “because you put that pesky little plate in your head. But don’t forget who owns you ,” he continued, his eye reddening. “And now that I have a physical form, I have a few ideas about how to take care of that problem.”

Oh no.

He floated closer, and with the chains wrapped tight around his ankles, there was only so far he could go.

He stroked Ford’s hair gently, a grossly false imitation of fondness. “Last chance!”

Ford, absolutely disgusted at the feeling of those slimy fingers touching him, jerked away. “Go to hell.”

“Been there, done that. It was pretty boring, truth be told,” Bill said nonchalantly. “But have it your way! Like I said, I’ve got another way of making you talk.”

He slid those slimy fingers through Ford’s hair, grazing against his skull uncomfortably.

He wouldn’t talk. Bill could push him within an inch of his life and he still wouldn’t give it up. He couldn’t .

His own life was a small price to pay for the world to stay safe.

“Maybe,” Bill said conversationally, “that brother of yours will be stupid enough to try and save you. I think it would be fun gutting him.”

“ Fuck you , Bill, I swear to god —”

With a snap of his fingers, Ford’s mouth just… vanished , rendering him completely and utterly mute.

“Newsflash!” Bill said brightly, “ I am your god .”

Unable to produce a single sound, Ford glared at him silently.

Bill took a firm grip on his hair and pulled .

He hummed to himself, taking another fistful and pulling them both in opposite directions. With one disgusting finger, he traced a line down the center of his skull, like he was making some form of a calculation. That, or about to braid hair like he was at a slumber party, but Ford highly doubted it was the second one.

Bill was mumbling to himself as he worked, examining every inch of Ford’s head, jerking it this way and that. It was uncomfortable, sure, but it wasn’t torture . What the hell was his angle here?

“Don’t worry!” he chirped, actually ripping out some of Ford’s hair, now, like he was a young boy ruining his sister’s barbie. “The fun is gonna start real soon, Sixer.”

What was he planning on doing ?

Ford wracked his brain desperately. It was hard to think when you were getting hair ripped out of your skull.

Had Ford a mouth, he could have at least tried asking . Not that he figured that would conclude any real answer. It was Bill, after all.

Finally, his grip on the hair released entirely. “This is taking too long,” he announced, cracking his fingers in clear preparation for… something.

His side pulsed like something was underneath the not-skin, before breaking through entirely, a grotesque appendage growing just under his right arm. It built itself up from the nerves, a nauseating sight, and eventually it was clear that it was meant to be a third arm.

With little fanfare, the newly formed arm rested atop Ford’s head, but there were no horrible, slimy fingers that he could feel. Instead, just the ever-so-slightly there pressure of a thin, sharp line. He wasn’t sure what it was.

“Last chance, Fordsie! You gonna give me that equation?” Bill put one of his free hands to where his ear might have been dramatically. “What’s that? Still no? Well, if you insist !”

He moved that hand up, joining the other on top of his head with greatly exaggerated movements, as if he were an older cartoon character like Bugs Bunny. It was… unnerving, to say the least.

“And a one, and a two, and a—” he sung, before hammering down on that third hand. It wasn’t until this exact moment that Ford registered what he’d turned that hand into .

A chisel .

Pain .

Unfathomable, inconceivable pain that Ford couldn’t have dreamt up in his worst fucking nightmares.

He could barely breathe, his nose burning as he attempted to get in enough air. Tears streamed from his eyes, fire danced along his skull, his vision swam with blackness and sparks.

Bill removed both hands, turning the chisel back to a normal, five-fingered hand as well.

“You know,” he began conversationally, “I’m no stranger to splitting you open ,” he said with a cartoonish wink, “but this way is way more fun.”

With two of his hands, he reached back to Ford’s head, and without warning, plunged his fingers into the wound .

Ford couldn’t breathe.

It hurt so bad it shouldn’t have been a feeling that a human could experience. It was the deepest pit of hell being carved right into his skull.

Bill tugged it open further unrelentingly.

Stop stop stop stop stop stop stop stop —

Ford didn’t even realize he was screaming at first. But even as he realized that he could feel his mouth again, courtesy of the maniac with his fingers in his brain, he couldn’t find a way to stop.

“Oh yes ,” Bill said, punctuated with another yank.

Ford sobbed.

“I can’t begin to tell you how good that scream of yours is. Every demon’s dream, really.”

Warm blood dripped into one of Ford’s eyes. He couldn’t think enough to distinguish which one it was.

The blood dribbled into his open mouth and everything was copper and fire and pain and why would any sort of benevolent God create the ability to feel like this?

His fingers were in his fucking head and Ford shouldn’t have been able to feel that but he could and it was everything and it was everywhere and how was he even still awake and alive ?

Bill ripped the wound open further and everything was just blood blood blood .

Blood in his eyes, in his mouth, dripping into his ears and muffling the sound of his screams, hot sticky blood that was going to choke him to death if the head wound wouldn’t.

“Ah!” Bill exclaimed, like he’d finally found a misplaced item. “Sooo? Are you gonna tell me that equation?” He asked, as if they were schoolchildren playing a game.

He couldn’t .

He’d never known it was possible to hurt so much, but he absolutely could not give in.

“ No ,” Ford attempted, his mouth sort of moving but the sound refusing to come out past all of his unrelenting screaming.

“Aww,” Bill said dramatically, “what ever am I gonna do now? I guess all that was for nothing,” he sighed. “Oh, wait!”

And then his fingers were wrapping around something and he pulled .

Something shifted inside his skull and his vision went white and was he dying? Was this death? Was it all over ?

The world came back into focus around him violently, waves of nausea spurting through him.

“Whoop! Can’t go losing you at the best part!” Bill said with a disapproving tsk.

What was — what was he—?

Oh Christ.

A distant recognition rang in his bleeding mind. That must have been the metal plate he’d installed in his head. The one he’d installed specifically to keep Bill out .

He gasped for breath, his tears burning his face as they fell. Even with a freshly restored mouth, there wasn’t enough air in the universe for him.

“Come on, you didn’t really think this pesky little thing was going to keep me out forever , did you?” he asked with a belittling laugh. “Awwe, you did , didn’t you? How cute .”

Ford fought against the chains, only half aware of where his hands even were in relation to the rest of his body.

Bill gave the plate another harsh tug.

This .

Ford had never been more certain of something than of the knowledge that this had to be the most painful thing the human mind could comprehend. Nothing, nothing , could be worse than this .

He shouldn’t have even been conscious. The blood loss, the pain, it all should have knocked him out long ago. But Bill was doing something to keep him awake, the sadistic fucking bastard .

He didn’t realize, at first, that he was losing his grip on reality again; his vision losing focus and slowly beginning to dim. Maybe that was that so-called benevolence of God, allowing him to slowly fade from life without even feeling it.

“Do you know how much magic it’s taking to keep you conscious right now?” Bill asked with a huff. “You could at least try to put a little effort in!”

With that, Ford snapped awake again, and the pain was back full force.

This was all his fault. If he hadn’t allowed Bill to manipulate him all those years ago, this wouldn’t be happening now. And now, Bill was going to snatch that metal plate right out of his head, and then he could go in and get the equation all for himself.

The world was going to go up in flames in a sick imitation of a party, hosted by a homicidal maniac with a form that looked like it had been drawn by a toddler.

Was Bill going to leave him alive to watch? Force him to see what he’d doomed his world to?

He’d spent the last thirty years doing everything in his power to keep this from happening. And now, at long last, here it was.

Would anyone be able to stop Bill? He’d destroyed the only formidable weapon Ford had ever managed, and with Ford himself out of the picture, how could they complete the Zodiac?

“Damn thing is lodged in there real good,” Bill remarked, before yanking it so hard that Ford could have gotten whiplash.

In this moment, Ford wanted to die. He couldn’t fathom the existence of more pain, not more, how could he possibly survive any more ?

He just wanted it to end. Maybe that made him weak, he didn’t know and he didn’t care. After a lifetime spent fighting, when would he finally get to rest ?

A pained scream ripped itself from his abused throat, gurgling through the blood in his mouth. He couldn’t take any more. He couldn’t .

“I’ll tell you!” he shouted, and he didn’t know if he had it in him for it to be a genuine lie. “I’ll tell you !”

Bill’s fingers slithered, slowly, away, and with his one clean hand, he gripped Ford’s chin, slowly turning it to observe all sides of his handiwork. “Was that all it took?” he asked, and though he didn’t have a mouth, somehow Ford could see his cruel smile anyway. “Well, I’m glad we could finally come to an agreement. But you know…” he paused, his one eye raking slowly over the shaking form of the crumpled man before him. “I think I’d feel bad starting something I didn’t finish .”

Hell couldn’t be worse than this. It just couldn’t . So what if that’s where he went for being a coward. But in the end, it wouldn’t even matter , because Bill just went right back to gripping that metal.

With one final, horrible tug , it came free, and somehow Ford was still awake.

“Look at this thing,” Bill said, holding it up with two fingers just inches in front of his eyes. Between the blood and brains coating it, Ford had never so desperately needed to vomit. “Taking up all that perfectly good space in that head of yours. Aren’t you so glad I took it out for you?”

“Just kill me,” Ford wheezed, the ache and the empty and the warm air hitting the wound were all just too much .

“ Kill you?” Bill asked, pressing a hand to his… no, he definitely didn’t have a heart, in offense. “My favorite fella in all of Gravity Falls? The very man who made my Weirdmagedon possible? Why, Sixer, you’re practically the guest of honor! I could never kill you.”

Never. Never . He really meant it, didn’t he? He’d keep Ford alive for as long as he was around, wouldn’t he ? He would have to live for an eternity to see the damage he’d done to the world.

Bile crawled up his throat, and Ford threw up, just another excursion from his broken body.

Bill waited patiently for him to finish. “Now then,” he said, “let’s take a little journey to the center of Fordsie’s brain, shall we?”

And with no plate to stop him? He may as well have signed his soul to the devil.

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cryptidofthekeys · 2 years

Text

Well guess that gives me the incentive FHGDJKFJDK- so yeah I had a ‘lucid’ dream with the big man himself, the big fucking bastard-

Trigger Warning: A SLIGHT bit of gore

but uh yeah again, very iffy with the lucid term on this but uh- I’ll try to describe it the best way I can? Also gonna get a read more bc it’ll be a bit lengthy

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So uh, to start off with I was in Boys n Grills- like near the back section of it essentially- I remember I was about to head out a doorway into the main like DINER area n shit- but before I could- Bob comes through the doorway and to give a better picture of this, it was v e r y much- like a irl kinda thing? like he didn’t look realistic, he still looked- like- uh...

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

2D? i-is that what ya call it? jhfkdldj either way, it was all the spooky month style essentially but I was like fully in it, looking around as myself cause usually my dreams have a camera pov- no this was all me looking around so first thing to note, we all know hes a big fella right? Yeah uh lemme just say, to say hes a big guy is kinda an under statement to me now

...His hand was probably bigger than my entire fucking face ngl

but either way- my point is-

This man is fucking HUGE, im a big person, not in height- oh god no lmao im 5′5″ but im a fat dude,, this man dwarfed me not only in height but weight too jfvdfksdds but he was taller than the fucking doorframe, he literally had to somewhat lean down to come through, it was like looking up at a skyscraper

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...okay m-maybe that is a LITTLE bit of an over-exaggeration but my point is, man was fucking h u g e and dwarfed my ass in more ways than one- oh i forgot to mention hjfdkjdks he WAS in his devil costume- ya know, signature red turtleneck, face paint, horns, etc-

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I can’t remember if he spoke or not, tbh i was,, actually pretty fucking terrified i remember that- he was grinning also like usual- he started advancing toward me and i just kinda,, started backing away- neither of us spoke or said anything- but eventually my back kinda hit a wall

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and fucking hell he’s not only a huge dude he’s strong as HELL,, picked me up with one hand like I weighed NOTHING and slung me over his shoulder, I remember fighting, hitting at him, etc but i can’t remember if i said or anything or screamed or cried i feel like i might’ve??? but that detail’s blurry-

anywho-

oh yeah btw THE O N E AND O N L Y redeeming pro of this entire thing was that he was actually really soft and warm but other than that, he fucking reeked- he smelled of blood and death and i mean given he’s a cannibal ...fair enough-

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He started carrying me to the back fuckin dead by daylight style- carrying me to the room with the meat hanging up (it smelled like raw meat obviously ...eugh the smelling part and the feeling parts were the most HORRENDOUS btw) and that’s when I realized something...

...He’s carrying me to a hook

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I remember fighting even harder but that did nothin to this fuckin- slasher mfer- so i got carried to a hook and put up on it- like- it was on the right side of my back- before it could possibly get any worse though i shot up in my bed, grabbing at my back- bc keep in mind y’all, I could see, feel, smell, and hear things

meaning i could feel the EXTREME pain that was going through my back

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after waking up and scanning my room in a fucking panic i realized ...oh,, just a dream, there wasnt a hole in my back either but ...it did still kinda get MUCH LESS bad pain but still phantom pain throughout the day

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So in conclusion, I can tell y’all, meeting Bob in my ‘lucid’ dream if you can call it that-- was... While I am excited bout it now a day later hjfdkjdska bc holy fucking shit my first dream like tHAT- where i could feel, hear, etc things ya know? ...But man that shit hurted-

....Overall, 0/10 would not recommend meeting him tbh- It was incredibly terrifying to see him like I would see a person in an irl situation- meaning THAT close to me-

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oh also i did also write this in my first story with him so i guess y/n’s friend is giving me karma apparently via ‘lucid’ dream? lmao i mean i guess deserved

#Chase's Late Night Shenanigans #bob velseb #spooky month tender treats #eh i'll tag this one as both why not #tw gore mentions #its not like some freddy kruegs type of shit where i had the injury upon waking up lmao #but still ....yeah- i hope i put it into enough perspective to kinda give y'all an imagine of what it was like #also i did smell a bit of the diner part before he started carrying me to the back- ...it just smelled like food #lmao- it was the most normal- it just smelled like freshly cooked burgers #...although knowing whats in them burgers ...yeaaaahhh nooo #i dont think he said anything at all either? i cant remember that bit #again idk if i should call it lucid dreaming or not #but i could feel- smell- hear- and touch things and it felt completely real

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nokingsonlyfooles · 1 year

Text

WTYP: The Shandor Building, Part 8

[Do you like the colour of the fanfic? This is long and if you expand it you're gonna get the whole thing, because Tumblr hates you. Don't say I didn't warn you!]

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7

Part 8: Disaster Roulette: Horse Viscera

[Beware of strong language, mention of all kinds of death, gore, and Lovecraftian horror.]

[SLIDE: The Atmospheric Railway.]

D: Wow.

A: That smells amazing!

L: Is that pancakes? Is that pancakes or am I having a stroke?

R: It’s pancakes. On the little stove right here. Says it’s “The First Dining-Car-Powered Railway.”

D: So we have full access to any bullshit you made up during the episode?

R: Seems like it.

L: Is there syrup?

A: I don’t think we mentioned syrup…

D: Still! Pancakes and no imminent threat of death! Well done, lady and gents!

D [text over slide]: I FEEL LIKE SUCH A FOOL.

D: Pancakes all around and let’s have a chat about traaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIIIIIII — !

[sounds of WTYP inadvertently setting an 1884 land speed record, and 75 seconds of screams]

D [text over slide]: I HAVE EDITED OUT QUITE A BIT MORE SCREAMING. UNFORTUNATELY, WE HAD ACCESS TO ANY BULLSHIT WE MADE UP DURING THE EPISODE, AND SO DID GOZER. I WILL NOT ELABORATE, BUT HERE IS AN ARTIST’S DEPICTION.

[Postproduction image of blood-drenched Carrie at the prom.]

[more screaming, human language slowly becoming intelligible]

D [louder and louder to be heard above the others]: DEAD AIR AND SCREAMING! DEAD AIR AND SCREAMING! WE’RE ONLY RECORDING DEAD AIR AND SCREAMING! FOR GOD’S SAKE, CLEAR THE BLOOD OUT OF YOUR MICS AND SAY SOMETHING FUNNY!

A: I HAVE DISEASES THEY HAVEN’T EVEN INVENTED YET AND THEY’RE GOING TO NAME THEM ALL AFTER ME! I’LL BE STUCK WITH THIS NAME FOR THE REST OF MY SHORT LIFE! “Oh, Alice Caldwell-Kelly? Did you discover Alice Caldwell-Kelly Syndrome?” “I AM ALICE CALDWELL-KELLY SYNDROME!”

L: I HAD MY MOUTH OPEN!

G: HA HA HA. DON’T YOU LIKE HORSIES, W’TYP [somehow pronouncing it like R’lyeh]?

D: WE PREFER THEM IN ONE FUCKING PIECE!

R: Yeah, that shouldn’t have been like that.

A: Oh, my God, how did I ever think horse viscera was funny?

D: Then think of something else!

A: Nothing is ever going to be funny ever again, and I am going to die in a pocket dimension, covered in horse-and-rat smoothie.

L: And pancakes.

A: And pancakes. …Rocz, what?

R: You got a little piece of tail, right, right there…

D [text over slide]: I HAVE EDITED OUT A FURTHER 45 SECONDS OF MASS VOMITING. IT WAS NOT VERY FUNNY.

A [exhausted]: Just kill us already.

L: Please.

D: Same.

R: Motion carries.

G: POOR, PITIFUL W’TYP. THE ATMOSPHERIC RAILWAY NEVER KILLED ANYONE.

A: Right? So? Now what?

G: I SHALL INDUCE YOU TO [bleep] YOURSELVES! [lower voice] YOU MAY BLEEP THAT IN POST, DEVON. IF YOU SURVIVE!

D [text over slide]: I LIVED, BITCH.

A: Oh, fuck off.

L: Boo! Weak!

R: Not happening.

D: Lazy cunt.

[sounds of WTYP throwing horse-viscera-soaked pancakes]

G: [clearing throat] “SO, WHEN YOU THREE TELL US YOUR PRONOUNS YOU ARE KIDDING, RIGHT? L-O-L!”

A: Oh, God, xe’s reading the comments!

D: No! Never read the comments!

G: “HEY YOU ALL. I AM JUST GOING TO GIVE YOU SOME FEEDBACK FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF SOMEONE WHO DOESN’T LIKE PODCASTS AT ALL. YOU CAN PROBABLY GUESS WHAT THOSE CRITICISMS ARE. I AM HERE TO LEARN ABOUT URBAN PLANNING AND ENGINEERING…” [continuing faintly under the following]

L: Frig. Why did we start pinning the worst ones?

R: It was funny.

D: Xe could at least stick to the ones from the Atmospheric Railway.

R: They were largely positive, though.

A: Boys, I’m going to be really honest with you, I’ve been through some shit in my time, and this is all getting to be a bit much. It’s not so much the negative comments — although it stings a bit more to hear them out loud — it’s being trapped in an alternate hell dimension with no hope of escape. I mean, where does it all end? Just podcasting, negative comments and engineering disasters, for all eternity?

R: It’s been a pretty fun time, right up until just recently…

A: WE WEREN’T COVERED IN PURÉED HORSE UNTIL JUST RECENTLY! [sigh] If we can’t find a way out of this, it’s only a matter of time before I embrace that suction tube and give the horse-and-rat smoothie an Alice boost. Your thoughts?

R: I always figured a god would hafta come kill me to take me out, but I ain’t ready to give up yet.

D: But as it stands, we can only play to a stalemate, and then Gozer changes xyr form again. We need a means of attack. Can you think of an episode where you speculated about… about somehow wounding the disaster? Or… I don’t know, fixing it?

L: I dunno, Dev. They just always seemed so inevitable.

R: We’ve got slides of ‘em.

A: It’s always been more of a gallows humour kind of thing.

D: Superpowers? Did you ever give each other superpowers?

R: Other than the power of knowledge?

D: The power of knowledge isn’t going to dent a fucking god, Rocz! Gods do not work that way!

L: What about… The Frankford Junction Wreck?

A: [sigh] Sleep deprivation isn’t much of a superpower…

L: No, not that.

A: What? Rocz’s well-known love of trains, or… Oh. [laugh] Oh, yes. That might be of considerable assistance.

R: Something other than my well-known love of trains?

A: Shh! Don’t let on!

D: Whose pick is it? Alice had one, and Rocz had one, and we all said this one together.

L: It’s either you or me, buddy. So just don’t stop thinking about the Frankford Junction Wreck…

G: “…I DO NOT CARE ABOUT YOUR BANTER. THIS IS SUPPOSED TO BE EDUCATIONAL. NOT ENTERTAINMENT.”

L: Fuck, that was all one comment, wasn’t it?

R: Yep, that was a longy.

A: With no line breaks.

R [to Gozer, flatly]: No.

G: “CAN YOU NOT JUST ENGAGE WITH CRITICISM? THIS WAS ALL SINCERE. I LIKE YOU INDIVIDUALLY AND MOST OF ALL…” [continuing faintly under the following]

D [text over slide]: I CONTROL THE AUDIO MIXING. I AM THE GOD OF EDITING.

D: I don’t think we’re getting out of this until Gozer gets tired of commenting or runs out of material…

A: Xe’s not going to run out of material, this is only from Episode Six!

D: Keep it together, Alice…

L: Don’t worry! I got your back, babygirl. HEY! GOZER! ANCIENT SUMERIAN GODS EAT SHIT!

G: L-O-L! UMAD [pronounced “oomad”] BRO?

L: YEAH! YOU BET I’M MAD! I EXIST ON THE INTERNET, I DO NOT CONFORM TO CONVENTIONAL STANDARDS OF MALE BEAUTY, AND I’M JEWISH! MY PEOPLE HAVE BEEN ARGUING WITH GODS SINCE YOU WERE PISSING IN YOUR ANCIENT SUMERIAN DIAPERS! AND I’M ABOUT TO START MAKING ACTIONABLE THREATS!

D [text over slide]: I GOT YOUR BACK, BABYGIRL.

L: SO WHY DON’T YOU [bleep] YOURSELF IN THE [bleep] BEFORE I [bleep] AND [bleep] ALL YOUR FOLLOWERS IN A KIDDIE POOL OF YOUR OWN [bleep] WITH [bleep] AND [bleep] AND YOUR LITTLE DOGS TOO! UNTIL YOU [bleep] AND I HOPE YOU [bleep] IN [bleep] AND SAY HELLO TO ELON MUSK AND ADOLF HITLER WHILE YOU’RE AT IT! I’LL [bleep] ALL THREE OF YOU [bleep] IN A LAKE OF [bleep] AND [bleep] AND THEN I’LL TOWEL YOU OFF AND FIRE YOU OUT OF A ROCKET INTO THE SUN! AND THAT LAST PART IS NOT ACTIONABLE, I DO NOT HAVE A ROCKET!

G [scandalized]: ELON MUSK?

L: Yeah!

G: THAT WAS GENUINELY HURTFUL.

L: You bet it was! And I got a lot more where that came from!

G: “I HATE TO CRITICIZE A GENERALLY SUPERB PROGRESSIVE PODCAST, ESPECIALLY SINCE MY SON IS ONE OF THE PRESENTERS, BUT…”

D: Oh, God.

R: Is that…?

A: It’s Liam’s dad!

G: “EUROCENTRIC THINKING SHOULD BE DENOUNCED. INFRASTRUCTURE IS NOT JUST AEUROPEAN THING? WHEN WHITE PEOPLE SHOWED UP IN THE US IN THE 17TH CENTURY ANDNEEDED TO BUILD ROADS TO CONNECT WHAT WOULD BE LARGE POLLUTED CONGESTED CITIES 4 CENTURIES LATER, THEY FOUND, OF ALL THINGS, INDIGENOUS PEOPLE’S ROADS A/K/A INDIAN TRAILS. THESE ROADS WERE GRADUALLY WIDENED, PAVED, AND GIVEN ROUTE NUMBERS. MOST OF THIS HAD TO WAIT UNTIL RTHNIC CLEANSING AND THE INVENTION OF THE AUTOMOBILE WERE ACCOMPLISHED. TRY STATE ROUTE 2 PARENTHESIS MOHAWK THE MOHAWK TRAIL CLOSE PARENTHESIS COMMA.”

A: Liam…? Are you okay…?

L [tearfully]: That was valid, sincere criticism from an honorable man — AND YOU ARE NONE OF THOSE THINGS, YOU PLAGIARIZING BITCH-BASTARD!

G: IT WAS VERY POORLY FORMATTED.

L: It was BEAUTIFULLY formatted! I JUST COME FROM A LONG LINE OF PASSIONATE MEN! And when I see my dad again — and I WILL, because you’re going DOWN IN FLAMES — I’m going to give him a BIG HUG!

[applause, cheering from the rest of WTYP]

VINZ CLORTHO (V): We are valid.

A: Fuck! Shit! Where did that come from?

R: They’re eating the pancakes.

ZUUL (Z): [hissing]

R: We’re eating the pancakes, sorry.

V: You have hurt our feelings.

L: You’re trying to kill us! [clearing throat] Alice, do you have a cough drop or something?

A: Eat this cigarette. They work for me.

V: You must die so the new world can be born.

Z: A new world with more tummy rubs.

L: What? I will rub your tummies right now!

Z: [hisses]

V: No. We do not like you anymore. [to Rocz] Die well, doughnut-giver.

G: SINCE WE ARE ONCE AGAIN AT AN IMPASSE, I AM [sigh] ONCE AGAIN OFFERING THE CHANCE TO CHOOSE A NEW FORM.

R: No.

D: We’re fine.

G: NOT EVEN INTO SOMETHING THAT ISN’T COVERED IN PURÉED HORSE AND RAT?

A: No, this… This is great. We like this.

L: We eat horse and rat pancakes for breakfast!

V [faintly, mouth full]: We have much in common, you and us. It is a shame you must die!

G: ALL RIGHT. AND WAITING BEHIND DOOR NUMBER “FUCK YOU,” YOUR NEXT ENGINEERING DISASTER IS…?

WTYP, together: The Frankford Junction Wreck!

R: For some reason.

Part 9

#wtyp #well there's your problem #ghostbusters #long reads #fanfic #fanfiction #crossover fic #gozer the gozerian #alice caldwell-kelly #liam anderson #justin roczniak #devon #engineering disasters #podcast

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rosemaidenvixen · 2 years

Text

Dig your eight graves

Part 2

Ao3

Content warning: Gore, body horror, graphic onscreen death, corpse desecration

It was a shame the girl wasn't blonde.

Sal adjusted the glasses on her face, carefully positioning them so they both looked straight and wouldn’t fall off.

Sure she looked the part well enough; pretty, brunette hair in pigtails, big blue eyes. But there was no substitute for how nuts people went for a blood splattered blonde barbie.

Oh well; lemons, lemonade.

He did one final tug at the rope to check before stepping back to see how she looked. Lifting the electric lantern to make sure he didn’t miss anything.

She swayed from the porch rafter, hanging by her neck. Not really though, he’d found some cloth about the same color as her shirt and used it to make a discreet harness. So while it appeared she was hanging by the neck, there was actually no pressure on her neck at all.

Of course it wouldn’t make a difference to her, seeing as she was already dead.

When the cops and forensics found her and saw the hanging harness they’d speculate six ways to Sunday about what it meant. Some would probably say that it was because the perp’s mother didn’t love him enough, or that deep down he wanted to be caught.

The reality was Sal just didn’t want her face to be too bloated in the crime scene photos.

But hey, more speculation wasn’t a bad thing.

He gave her one more once over, tweaked her glasses just a bit more, and decided to call it good.

Time to see how the others were doing.

Stepping down from the porch, he saw Laurie over next to the barn. She had dragged the redhead over and propped him up in a sitting position on the stack of hay bales and pumpkins, gaping hole in his neck on full display, and now she was sitting on the ground with a pumpkin in her lap, carving at it with her butcher knife.

“Hey,” he called out, picking up the lantern and walking over to her.

She glanced up “Hey,”

“What’s going on over here?” he gestured to the pumpkin in her hands.

“Gonna carve a face into it and cut out the bottom and put it over his–” she pointed at red head with her knife “Head,”

“Wouldn’t it be easier just to cut off his head and put a jack o lantern on top of his neck? I mean you’re already halfway there since Jess slit his throat and all,”

Laurie shook her head “No way, you have any idea how hard it is to hack through that much bone, not to mention how messy it would be? Trust me, this is easier,”

Sal wasn’t sure about that, but he wasn’t about to volunteer to saw the kid’s head off himself so better just to leave Laurie to it “Sounds good,”

Laurie gave him a thumbs up as he walked off.

Moving on, Sal walked around to the front of the barn, more electric lanterns scattered around the place, spotting the scrawny boy facedown in a full basin with apples floating around his head. That one had been easy, Sid had already drowned him there. Just toss some apples in and bam, a bobbing for apples gag.

A little closer, propped against the side of the barn, the aisan girl lay sprawled out on top of a pile of plastic skeletons. He couldn’t help but wince, compared to the other ones she was really mangled, her entire upper body covered in deep, ugly looking gashes, smearing blood onto every surface she touched.

Machetes really did some nasty damage.

One of her arms had flopped out of the pile, Sal reached down to correct it–

“Don’t,” Allen called out from behind him “She’s practically falling apart, I could barely get her on there in one piece,”

Sal raised both hands in surrender and turned around “Hey if you wanted to pose her more you shouldn’t have hacked her up so bad. Besides, I thought the goal was to kill them without turning them into hamburger?”

Allen scowled at him from where he and Jess were dragging the blonde boy’s body on a tarp. At the far corner of the barn he saw Sid sitting on the ground drawing something on a piece of cardboard.

“Hey the others turned out ok enough, we can afford to have one get a little messy,”

“Yeah don’t apologize,” Sid called out, not taking his eyes off the cardboard “She was the one who stomped on my crotch,”

Jess straightened and raised an eyebrow “I thought you were wearing a cup?”

“Yeah but I still felt it,”

“I told you guys we’d need it,” Laurie walked up to them smirking.

Sal raised both hands in a placating gesture “Hey, I admit it, you were right. Gearing up with kevlar vests, helmets, and athletic cups was was not overkill; but it was hard finding helmets that would fit under the masks,”

It had taken over a month to find helmets that were small enough and masks that were big enough. Sure they’d found them in the end, but the fit was not comfortable, at all. Which was why they’d all ditched both helmets and clown masks in the bed of Jess’s truck as soon as they were finished.

Well, finished with the killing, there was still the set up they had to do.

Sid glowered but Laurie smirked.

“Hey you guys mind giving us a hand?” Jess called out.

Sal turned towards her, Laurie parroting the action, and noticed that Allen was gone “Hey where’d Allen go?”

“He’s grabbing the candy, now will you help me or not?”

Sal and Laurie stepped over to her “What do you need?”

“I need him,” she pointed down at the blonde boy leaking blood onto the tarp “Up there,” her finger moved up to a long wooden table in front of the barn “I’ll grab the head, Laurie get the middle, Sal you grab the feet,”

They moved into position “One two three, Lift.”

They hoisted him up, with the three of them the weight wasn’t an issue, but there were a lot of limbs flopping all over the place, and a good amount of blood dripping from his chest and head. With a grunt Jess dropped his shoulders on the table, Sal and Laurie following suit, grimacing when she pulled her gloved hand away covered in blood.

“So,” she leaned against the table, wiping her leather glove on the wood “How long do you think it will be before you can get Fier to roll over?”

“Six months tops,”

“I’m betting on three,” Laurie said with a smirk “Did you see how weepy he got when his Fourth of July parade got canceled? One look at this–” she gestured to the bloody boy laid out on the table “And he’ll fold on the spot, heck he might even fall dead from a heart attack,”

Sal frowned “Hey don’t jinx us, if Fier keels over he can’t give you your property,” he leveled his gaze at all of them, including Allen walking up with several large bags “Any of you, and he can’t give me the farm,”

“Yeah the old man can’t kick the bucket until my name is on the deed to my bar,” Sid said, looking up from his cardboard for the first time “Oh and Sal, don’t forget to do the–”

“On it,” Sal pulled the camcorder from his pocket and pressed the on button.

Allen glowered at him as he dropped the bags on the ground by the table, reaching over and tilting blondie’s head “You’re giving me crap about mangling mine when you wrecked this one’s face?”

“Just half his face,” Sal confirmed that the blinking red light was present on the screen before looking it up “Your girl looks like she was put through a woodchipper,”

Allen’s face darkened, opening his mouth to shout a retort at him, but before he could get a word out Jess cut him off “Oh my god you guys can measure your dicks after we’re finished,” she reached into the bag at Allen’s feet “Let’s just get this done, I want to get out of here before midnight,”

Still smoldering, Allen nonetheless helped Jess heap various Halloween candy on and around blondie on the table, Sal recording the whole thing. Once the bag was nearly empty, Jess pulled out a caramel apple, opened blondie’s jaw, wincing at the cracking of bone as she did, and stuck the caramel to his teeth.

She wiped her hands together and looked around “I think we’re done here,”

“Awesome,” Sal peeked at her from behind the camera “I just have to get shots of everything, make sure everything’s all cleaned up, fingerprints are wiped, then we should be out of here pronto,”

Jess nodded at him just before he turned around, stepping around the side of the barn with lantern and camera in hand to get close up shots of hanging girl and pumpkin boy, now with jack o lantern in place over his head. Once he was satisfied with the shots of those two, Sal came back around to the front, zooming in on Sid sitting on the ground.

“Here we have Sid Prescott,” he panned the camera over to apple boy facedown in the basin and back again “That your handiwork there? The old bobbing for apples gag?”

“Yep,” Sid only spared him the briefest of unimpressed glances before looking back down at the cardboard “Was up all night thinking of that one,”

He moved the camera over the where Laurie was packing up her crossbow “And here we have Laurie Strode, owner of Arcadia’s top rated bed and breakfast and the best damn shot with a crossbow I’ve ever seen,”

Laurie smiled at the camera, brandishing her crossbow a little “Don’t forget, I also got that girl you strung up on the porch,”

“Can’t forget that,”

Sal stepped over until Allen’s sullen face was on screen “Over here’s Allen Hardy,” he swiveled around until the camera was facing skeleton girl “You think he may have gone a little overboard with the machete here?”

“Get bent Sal,”

Ignoring him, Sal turned to face Jess “Last but not least we have Jess Bradford, tell us what you did Jess?”

She smirked at the camera “I took out the pumpkin king over there, with one swing of this,” she held up the short scythe, shining and wiped clean of blood.

“You sure did,” Sal swiveled the camcorder around again, making sure to get good plenty of good shots of candy boy and skeleton girl as he did, noticing something in his pan “Hey there should be six of them, so where’s–”

“Way ahead of you,” Sid got to his feet, cardboard in hand “Follow me,”

He headed towards the main entrance, Sal on his heels. As they got close, Sal saw the final girl sitting propped up in a chair, the original scarecrow tossed off to the side. Still smiling Sid flipped the cardboard in his hands around towards the camera. The most noticeable thing wasn’t that Sid had spelled ‘Fier’ wrong, but that he’d written the sign in human blood.

No wonder he’d been sitting so close to skeleton girl.

Sal walked around to follow Sid as he propped the sign up in the girl’s limp hands, zooming in to get a good view. The girl took up the entire screen of the camcorder. A straw hat had been shoved over her afro, her dead eyes looked blankly at the camera, seeing nothing, a trickle of blood running out of the corner of her mouth, gashes and bruises dotting her exposed skin, and a cardboard sign in her lap reading

‘Welcome to the Fear Fall Fair’

In sloppy red letters.

Once he was satisfied with the shots he’d gotten of sign girl, Sal walked back over to the others.

Back in front of the barn Allen was still scowling “Don’t forget to get your own face to,”

Oh brother not this again.

“Why don’t you do it,” Sal held out to camcorder towards Allen, forcing his voice to not come out sarcastic “I can never get the angle right when I’m doing it on myself,”

It’s not like they were buddies or anything but Allen had been busting his balls this whole time.

Allen narrowed his eyes but took the camera without complaint, Sal getting a glimpse of his own sandy blonde hair in the screen for a brief instant.

“Hey,” he gave a little wave at the camera “Sal Hardesty here, property manager of one Samuel Fier, ” he pointed over at candy boy “That one over there’s my doing,”

He turned back to face Allen and the camera dead on “About a year ago Fier told me that he planned to give all his properties to his tenants once he retired, but knowing him that wouldn’t happen for another decade or two. So I got in touch with some other like minded individuals,” he gestured around him, from the corners of his eyes he saw Sid and Jess waving at the camera “To try and speed things along,”

“Yeah some of us have loans to pay,” Laurie piped up “And can’t afford to keep paying rent while that old fart dicks around for another ten years,”

“Right you are Laurie,” Sal took a seat on a hay bale “Fier gets so invested in all the parties and carnivals he does for the town, we figured that if one of them went horribly wrong…well he sure as hell wouldn’t feel like working anymore. So when he bought this old farm last March for his Fall festival, we started planning on how to make it turn out really ugly,”

“And what exactly do you get out of this?” Allen shouted at him from behind the camera.

It took all of Sal’s willpower to keep his smile in place.

What an asshole.

“Well you see, Fier also promised me that when he retired, he’d give me all his tenant-less properties,” he stretched his arms out wide “Which includes this one. Before tonight it may have just been an old dusty farm, but once this hits the front page…”

Sal his grin spreading wider over his face, turning from forced to genuine “That’s when I strike gold. Sure I’ll have to wait a bit before it isn’t in poor taste, but then the real money will start coming in. I’m talking journalists, true crime writers, even ghost hunters and those serial killer groupie freaks; all of them willing to pay top dollar just to spend an hour here,”

“And that’s the truth,” Sid came up from behind him, clapping a hand on his shoulder “A little teamwork, we get our businesses all to ourselves, and Sal here gets a brand new one,”

“Yep,” Sal flashed another smile towards the camera, just because he knew it would piss Allen off “We all chipped in and we all get the benefits,”

There, that should keep Allen off his ass.

Of course sharing the benefits also meant sharing the risks.

More specifically, what would happen if they got caught.

That was the whole reason behind the video. After the job was done, they shot a video with the bodies, all their faces, and their MO; then they’d get straight in Jess’s truck and head to her place where they’d make copies for each of them.

This way if the cops came sniffing around none of them could try to cut any kind of deals by claiming they were ‘coerced’ and throwing the others under the bus.

If one of them tried to fold they’d all go down, hard.

He looked around at the others “You guys think we’re done here?”

“Yeah,” Jess called out “We took care of everything we came to,”

“No we didn’t,” Allen, ever the contrarian “Two of them got away,”

“Nope just one,” Sal cut in “I got that last boy in the stomach, plus Laurie crossbowed him, so odds are pretty good he’s dead by now,”

Somehow Allen’s already surly expression got even darker “That still leaves that girl,”

“So? We agreed that it would still work if a few got away, that’s why we wore the masks,”

And besides, having a sole survivor wasn’t all bad, that meant plenty of journalists and news crews hanging around town to try and interview her. And while they were here they just might be interested in seeing where it all went down, and be willing to pay Sal for the privilege.

Of course it may be the case that she’d be too ‘traumatized’ to talk to anyone. Which was too bad for her, but omelet eggs and all that.

When he’d first thought of this whole scheme Sal had never planned on killing anyone, but then the pieces started to fall so perfectly in place, the idea growing on him more and more as their plan took shape.

After all, teenagers got murdered every single day across the country, why not benefit from some of it?

When the time came he hadn’t exactly enjoyed stabbing that boy in the gut, or bashing the other one’s head in, or dragging that girl down to let Allen machete her, but he hadn’t hesitated either.

Allen just glared at him, knowing he had no rebuttal to give but refusing to admit Sal was right.

Patience at its end, Sal held out his hand “Now can I have my camera back? I don’t trust you to find the off switch with your clumsy gorilla fingers,”

His stare turned murderous, but Allen handed the camera back without complaint.

Flipping it around again Sal fumbled to find the–

Wait, what was that?

He squinted at the camcorder’s screen. Over by the barn, right next to skeleton girl there was some kind of shadow mov–

His heartbeat stuttered. That wasn’t a shadow.

Tearing his gaze away from the digital image and towards the actual barn, Sal saw the last girl, the one who’d fled into the woods with the dying boy over an hour ago, kneeling over the dead girl on the ground.

Shit.

Shit shit shit.

“Hey!” Sal shouted, stomping to his feet and striding rapidly towards the girl.

The others jerked at his yell, quickly noticed the girl, and then followed on his heels, weapons in hand and cursing under their breath.

It was one thing to leave the runaways, but for her to come back and get this close this kid had to have seen all of their faces.

The video was fine, that was just a safety net, Sal was confident that none of the others would roll over, he sure as hell wouldn’t, and they’d planned this too well for anyone to trace it back to them.

But a live witness who’d seen their faces–

That could send everything crashing down.

And Sal had come too far to trip up now.

He marched over to her, knife in hand, ready to bring it down and–

“That’s why you killed them?” she spoke up suddenly, stopping Sal in his tracks a few feet away, the rest of them closing in around her “You murdered all my friends, desecrated them, used their bodies like props, just to save a couple of bucks!?”

Laurie scowled down at her “I’m not going to be lectured by some spoiled princess who never worked a day in her life,”

The girl didn’t react to this, or the fact that they had her completely surrounded. She just stayed there kneeling on the ground facing away from them, cupping the dead girl’s face.

“I thought you guys were complete monsters,” her voice was soft but ice cold “Just killing for the sick thrill of it, but you’re even worse than that. You’re lower than scum, you’re not worth the dirt you’re standing on, all of you are selfish, empty maggots,”

Laurie’s face darkened even further, a sentiment that she was far from alone in. Time for Sal to step in so they could end this quick and go home without having to clean up another big mess.

“Ok fine, we’re murderers,” he took several steps closer, the back of the girl’s head less than a foot away now “You want to know what I did? I bashed blondie’s head over there open with a fire poker,” he gestured over his shoulder with his thumb “And your boyfriend, that was your boyfriend right? I stabbed him in the gut, and her–” he pointed down at the dead girl on the ground “I didn’t do that, Allen did, but I helped him pull her back into the basement, and I stood there and watched while he hacked her up. I did all of that and I’m not sorry, and I’d do it again in a heartbeat,”

Sal got ready for her to charge him in a blind fury, he’d taken his mask and helmet off but, his kevlar vest was still on, so he was fairly confident he could take anything the girl could dish out. He braced himself, butcher knife held at the ready, but she didn’t move, just stayed there kneeling on the ground, the fingers of her free hand digging claws into the dirt.

“So you’re not sorry? Fine then, you will be.”

Sal glared at the back of her head.

Fuck this.

This girl had clearly lost it, watching all the other kids die must have caused her to go completely cuckoo.

Looks like there wouldn’t be a sole survivor after all.

He raised his knife, a few good stabs to the back of the neck should finish her off for go–

A series of sharp cracks echoed from behind him, Sal and the others all whipping around at the sudden sound.

That had to have just been a tree falling, but it sounded like it came from the front gate, but there weren’t any trees over–

He snapped back around, only to see that the girl was gone.

“Shit,”

The others turned and noticed her absence, letting out swears of their own, looking wildly around for any trace of her.

“I see her,” Jess growled, stomping off around the side of the barn. Running over, Sal saw her heading with scythe in hand towards the hay bales stacked with pumpkins, where the girl who was now crouched down by pumpkin boy.

Jess raised the scythe high over her, ready to tie up their last loose end with a single swing–

Something moved, nearly faster than Sal could track, getting between Jess and the girl and halting the arm holding the scythe in midair.

Sal blinked, not believing what his eyes were seeing.

A massive figure held Jess’s scythe arm gripped tightly in his hand, dangling her off the ground, cobalt skin and ivory horns sprouting from his head, standing at well over six feet tall.

What the fuck kind of costume was this guy wearing?

The blue figure glared at the scythe in Jess’s grip, then moved his gaze down towards her, lips pulling back into a fanged snarl.

“It was you.” his voice was low and gravely, far closer to a growl than anything a human voicebox should have been capable of.

Sal was so caught up in the inexplicable sight in front of him, hearing another series of cracks took him completely off guard. He whipped his head from side to side. Those were a lot closer than the last ones, what the hell was tha–

Jess foundered in the big guy’s grip “Wha– who–”

The guy snarled at her, grip on her arm tightening even further, Jess floundering in his grip, face going pale with pain.

Meanwhile the girl got to her feet and walked away at a leisurely pace, seemingly unbothered by the scene unfolding behind her. Nonchalantly stepping up the porch to stroke hanging girl’s cheek.

She hadn’t even turned to face them once.

“Him!” the big blue guy stabbed a finger down at pumpkin boy “Toby Domzalski! One of the best people I know!”

A sickening crack echoed in the dark farm. Jess let out a sharp wail, arm now hanging from big blue’s grip at a painful looking angle.

“Certainly worth more than you,” he spat.

Sal was so stunned that for a second he couldn’t move. Then the girl started walking away from the farmhouse, right alongside them, hair hanging in her face.

Something about seeing her acting so nonchalant at all this craziness pushed his buttons in all the worst ways. Sal snarled and took two steps towards her before he noticed something else. Something that stopped him completely in his tracks.

The basin apple boy had been lying in was now empty, save for a few apples bobbing quietly in the water.

He was faintly aware of his jaw dropping open.

What the fuck?

Before he could finish processing that another series of cracks came from behind him. A lot closer this time.

Sal whipped around to see just where that sound was coming fro–

His mouth went dry, stomach dropping down into the pit of his gut.

Skeleton girl twitched on her pile.

Sal couldn’t move, a dull roaring sound in his ears. From around him he heard the others gasp in shock, save for Jess who was still mewling in the big guy’s grip.

How could she be moving? She couldn’t possibly be alive, not after taking that much damage, not after losing that much blood. She didn’t even look alive, twitching like a broken marionette with a drunk puppeteer. So how was she–

A powerful spasm shook her, a loud crack emanating as her spine twisted back. Limbs jerking and contorting randomly, releasing more creaks as her joints were stretched to their limits.

Sal watched her writhing on top of the plastic bones, too stunned to react, and noticed something else.

With each twist of her body, the slashes and gouges started to disappear. Not healing, not quite, more like they were just vanishing. Like water on a hot sidewalk.

Soon all the wounds were gone, but the spams didn’t stop, if anything they became more powerful, but there was less randomness to them now.

Not a puppet being pulled by strings, fighting against them.

She pitched forward, propped upright on the ground with badly twitching hands. Shaking on her knees with her palms pressed against the dirt. A sharp keening sound escaped her throat, a powerful spasm rocking her spine. Flopping forward on her hands and knees as wave after wave of convulsions hit her. Then an ear splitting crack, louder than any of the others, echoed through the air. Fabric of her shirt ripping as something tore its way out of her back.

The girl shakily got to her feet, a slight trembling all that was left of the spasms that had nearly broken her, the new limbs on her back fluttering weakly, glittering red in the lantern light.

Sal was speechless, he had no explanation for what he’d just seen. Couldn’t even believe it even though he was staring right at it. How could a dead girl just get up an– an– and sprout wings of all. This kind of stuff only happened in movies, fairy tales, not in real li–

More cracking sounds echoed ahead.

He whipped his head over to see pumpkin boy spasming on the ground, the same way skeleton girl had been just a few moments ago, letting out a low moan as the gaping hole in his neck evaporated away into nothing. And with a matching sickening crack, wings tore their way out of his back to.

But it didn’t stop there.

He pushed himself up on all fours, jack o lantern tumbling to the ground. Shirt bursting apart at the seams as his limbs grew longer, thicker, bones crackling in protest. Fingers twisting into claws, toes into talons. Skin vanishing beneath red-gold fur sprouting along his arms, legs, and chest just as quickly as it was exposed.

His wing flared out, feathered not insect shiny, his groaning turning deep and raspy.

He snapped his gaze over to them, Sal taking an involuntary step back. Green eyes with razor thin pupils glared at them, a leonine snarl rumbling out–

More cracking and a loud snap.

Sal spun around again, heartbeat booming in his ears.

Hanging girl had dropped from her harness and was flopping around on the porch. Her legs stretching and twisting in a symphony of sickening crackles, longer and longer and longer until they couldn’t even be called legs any more. Sleek green bloomed on her exposed skin, mangled legs shifting into a rich emerald, a minty cast to her face and arms, hair darkening to a deep jade. Golden eyes no longer bloodshot flashed behind her glasses, her long serpentine tail thrashing against the wooden steps.

Sal couldn’t move, feet rooted to the ground, whipping his head in every direction as the dead bodies around him turned into very not dead monsters.

That’s when he caught sight of the girl again, seemingly unbothered by the hellish scene unfolding around them. Now standing in front of candy boy’s table.

“Wha– what the hell is all this!?” Sid stammered out.

“I told you you’d be sorry,” the girl cupped candy boy’s face, rubbing away some of the blood on his cheek–

Wait…that wasn’t blood, and she wasn’t wiping it away, she was smearing it on him, and what was wrong with her ha–

The strange red substance sank into candy boy’s skin and vanished. Then, just seconds after it disappeared, candy boy’s arm jerked.

Sal could only watch in horror as he ripped back to life, warping into something inhuman as he did. The girl stepped back, making room for his wildly flailing limbs as he twitched and writhed on the table, sending candy spilling out over the edges. Bones shrieked in protest as his limbs lengthened and thickened, doubling him in size. Shouldes popped as he arked off the table. Candy apple tumbled to the ground as his jawbone shot out, teeth sprouting into sharp points, face shifting and elongating to accommodate it. Golden fur sprouting from his stretched, straining skin.

Then what had been a cold corpse just a seconds ago was now a hulking beast. Taller and broader than the horned monster, wolf like in its ears and muzzle. Covered from head to toe in shaggy yellow fur, paws for hands and feet and claws for nails.

The beast snapped its gaze over to them, eyes narrowing in recognition, letting out a deep, rumbling growl.

That sound triggered something instinctive deep in the back of Sal’s brain and snapped him out of his paralysis.

This was bad, this was wrong.

This wasn’t supposed to be happening but it was, a nightmare coming to life before his very eyes.

He needed to get out of here now.

Sal turned and bolted; lantern in hand and Laurie, Allen, and Sid hot on his heels, Jess still trapped in the giant stranger’s grip.

I got that last boy in the stomach, plus Laurie crossbowed him, so odds are pretty good he’s dead by now.

They sprinted and made to turn past the barn, only to stop dead at the sight of glowing red eyes. Sal watched in horror as a gangly creature the color of ink crept out of the darkness on all fours. Ears flicking back as it hissed in malice.

In the light of the lantern he recognized apple boy’s shirt, soaking wet and pasted to its body.

“What the fuck?” Allen whispered.

A blur of fur and feathers rushed past them, knocking Sid to the ground with a cry. The thing that had been pumpkin boy pinning him to the dirt, sharp claws digging into Sid’s shoulder.

He snapped his head up, glowing green eyes with slitted pupils glared at them, lips pulled back to reveal fangs as he snarled at them.

Recovering from their shock; Sal, Laurie, and Allen sidestepped around Sid and booked it. Ducking around the haunted house, stopping there, panting, constantly looking over their backs and shoulders.

“We– we gotta get to the truck,” Sal gasped “Where did Jess park it?”

“S– south side of the property,” Allen panted.

Sal and Laurie cringed. That was literally the opposite end of the farm where they were. With god only knows what between them and it.

They crept along the side of the house, darting towards the smaller shacks. Keeping their backs to the walls and constantly keeping an eye on their surroundings.

As the south side of the property got closer and closer Sal dared to let himself feel a glimmer of hope.

They were going to make it, they were going to get to Jess’s truck and get out of–

Light burned to life from around the corner of the shack ahead of them, but not the cool white light of an electric lantern, something…warmer. The three of them halted in their tracks, the light getting brighter as the source rounded the corner.

Skeleton girl stepped out in front of them. Wings flared out to their full size on either side of her, each nearly as big as her whole body, radiating ruby light.

It was…beautiful.

The closest thing Sal could think to compare it to was Dorothy’s ruby slippers in the old Wizard of Oz movie, but even that didn’t come close.

So rich…so sparkling…he couldn’t look away. He’d been so full of panic just moments ago but now for the life of him he couldn’t remember why.

It was so bright, his eyes were burning but he didn’t want to blink and miss a second of it.

That’s when he heard it, the rustle of something sliding against the dry grass.

The sound cracked the bubble the light created in his mind. Reminding him of the world outside of the light.

Of the danger that surrounded them.

Sal’s vision blurred as his head spun, he knew he needed to get away, keep moving, but he couldn’t look away.

Move.

Rose colored light seared into his retinas, but now the illusion had been broken. He could see skeleton girl staring daggers into him with eyes that were just a little too big, fingers that were just a little too long balling into fists.

What he’d thought was human at first wasn’t even close. So unnaturally, horrifically lovely he couldn’t bear to look away even as it hurt, even while he knew he was in danger.

Something slithered on the ground just out of sight.

Move.

From the corner of his eye Sal saw an absolutely massive reptilian tail wrap around Allen’s legs, sending him toppling to the ground. From the darkness a pair of honey colored eyes glared murderously from behind glasses Sal himself had placed over them not an hour ago.

From somewhere close behind them, far too close, Sal heard the howl of a wolf.

Move!

He slapped a hand over his eyes, radiant light vanishing and leaving his world cold and dark.

Part of him was desperate to take that hand away and sink back into that beautiful light. But now the spell was broken and the terror all came rushing back in at once.

Sal charged forward blindly, from behind him he heard a shout and a scuffle but didn’t dare turn around.

He had no idea how long he ran like that, hand clapped over his eyes, stumbling over countless unseen obstacles, it felt like forever. But he didn’t dare slow down, or take his hand off his eyes.

Then one of his stumbles turned into a full on wipe out, crashing into the ground, his hands instinctively going from his eyes down to break his fall.

The world was dark, he was out of the farm and in the woods, Laurie staggering around just a few feet away with her own hand clapped over her eyes. He’d lost the lantern somewhere in his mad dash.

But that beautiful, terrible light was gone.

“Laurie it’s safe, they’re gone,”

Laurie jerked her hand away, whipping around to gauge their surroundings.

“You have any idea where the truck is?”

Without taking her eyes off the woods around them, Laurie pulled a fob out of her pocket and clicked it twice. Sal’s heart leapt when he heard the honk of the truck’s horn echo in the distance.

He stuck out his hand “Give me the keys,”

Laurie’s expression curdled in an ugly look “Fuck no, no way am I handing you the–”

“Can you drive stick? No? Didn’t think so. Just cut the BS, save both of us some time, and hand them over. You don’t want to get left behind, then don’t fall behind,”

Her mouth puckered, but Laurie nevertheless held out the keys towards him. Sal clicked it again hearing the honk of the horn. Both of them headed in the direction of the sound, not running, too risky in the dark woods, but hauling ass all the same.

Sal glanced around wildly as they went. Keeping his eyes peeled for that terrible light, any trace of feathers or scales fliting between the trees or glowing eyes peering out of the dark, ears trained to catch the sound of footsteps.

Or the howling of a wolf.

Elation shot through him as he spotted the flash of moonlight on the truck’s windows. They were almost there, they just had to get inside they truck and then they’d be homefree–

A rattling sound echoed out from the woods.

Close.

Both Sal and Laurie halted in their tracks. Something moved in the corner of Sal’s vision, but when he turned towards it it vanished into the trees. The suggestion of it flickering in the corner of his vision. He spun again, seeing nothing but another shadow in the corner of his eye, blending into the dark woods the second he turned his head.

He whirled around, heart beat thrashing, nearly spinning in a circle, trying to spot the strange shadow stalking him, only for it to vanish any time he turned towards it. Always remaining just out of sight.

“You see that to?” Laurie hissed frantically.

Sal couldn’t respond, mind cycling through the possibilities. It was probably just a fox, it had to be, it couldn’t be any of the monsters. Even in the dark woods none of them were stealthy enough to sneak around unseen like that, all of them either too large or too bright or–

His breath hitched.

He’d seen six monsters rising from the dead, but there’d been seven corpses.

Where was sign girl?

Panic spiking, he whirled towards Laurie, mouth open to ask if she’d seen what sign girl turned int–

He stopped cold, mouth dropping open.

Immediately behind Laurie a dark figure loomed. Deep brown skin twisted with bark-like ridges and knots, tangles of fern leaves piled on top of its head in the unmistakable shape of an afro.

Black eyes staring at him unblinking.

Sal couldn’t speak, tongue frozen in his mouth, those black eyes piercing into him from over Laurie’s shoulder.

Laurie frowned at him, oblivious to the specter just inches behind her “What are y–”

The figure soundlessly put a hand on Laurie’s shoulder, Sal had just enough time to see Laurie’s eyes widen and her mouth drop open to let out a scream–

Then they were both gone in a blur of shadow, Laurie’s shriek fading rapidly into the night.

Adrenaline surging, Sal booked it, reaching the truck and tearing the driver’s door open. He struggled to get the key into the ignition with badly shaking hands, he finally managed, the engine immediately roaring to life. Relief shot through him but not enough to overshadow the panic.

He wasn’t out of the woods yet.

Sal put the truck in gear and punched it. Tires spitting up dirt and truck surging forward, racing past the dark trees, not even daring to turn the headlights on.

He just had to make it to the road, Jess’s truck was a beast, none of those monsters would be able to get to him while he was surrounded by seven thousand pounds of military grade aluminum alloy, much less outrun it on the open road. Sal just had to make it to the road and then he’d be in the cle–

The truck jerked to a stop, Sal slamming against the steering wheel.

Scrambling back, a sharp ache in his chest, Sal frantically pressed on the gas pedal.

The engine revved, but the truck didn’t move.

Heart in his throat, Sal pressed the gas pedal all the way down to the floor “C’mon c’mon c’mon…”

The tires whined in protest, but the truck didn’t move an inch.

In a fit of desperation Sal flicked on the headlights–

Thick black vines encircled the truck, sprouting wickedly sharp, curved thorns and sickly monkshood blossoms.

And through the black thorns and violet petals he spotted her, illuminated by the truck’s high beams.

The vines and the flowers prevented Sal from seeing her face clearly, but he knew who it was.

The girl.

The sole survivor and the first to return.

And somehow brought the others back with her.

Sal slammed on the gas again and again, engine roaring and tires squealing, but the vines held fast. The girl slowly walking around to the side of the truck.

He gritted his teeth, mainly to stop them from chattering together, keeping the gas pedal pressed against the floor despite the engine’s protests, heartbeat booming in his ears.

Just had to keep at it, those were just vines and this was a big-ass truck. If he just pushed it enough he’d break free eventually. And the doors were all locked so there was no way she was getting to him in he–

The girl ripped the locked door of the truck off its hinges and threw it into the dark forest beyond. Sal was so stunned that for a moment he couldn’t move. Then the girl grabbed him by the collar and dragged him out of the truck, throwing him hard against the ground.

He hit the ground with a grunt, turning around as the girl stepped closer, getting a glimpse of her face for the first–

A scream ripped out of his throat, scrambling back on the ground.

Her eyes, oh dear god her eyes–

The girl held out a hand, the skin on her forearms was black, fingers tapered into sharp claws, dark veins shooting up her arm. All of a sudden he found himself pulled up to his knees by an invisible force, purple mist encircling whim, his chest surrounded by crushing pressure.

“How many of you are there?”

Sal stammered “Wha–”

She clenched her fingers and the mist swirled, pressure around his chest constricting even tighter.

“How many. Of you. Are there?”

Sal felt a warm trickle down his lip as blood gushed from his nose. The pressure around him unbearable, he couldn’t speak if he wanted to, but somehow found the words squeezed out of him.

“F– five,”

The girl dropped her hand, purple mist and crushing pressure vanishing, leaving Sal gasping on his knees for breath.

He looked up at her; at those hideous, horrible eyes glaring down at him, her lips twisted in a sneer as she raised a dark fist.

Then a blinding pain erupted against the side of his skull and everything went dark.

---

Claire ran through the woods. Sprinting between the trees with a speed and precision that would have been impossible an hour ago.

She was alone now, for the first time since Jim had died in her arms.

Take them to the clearing, Jim will show you the way, make sure they don’t leave the stone circle, but don’t step in it yourselves, ever.

She’d known that it was a group of killers that had attacked them, hoped that there’d be at least eight of them. But of course it couldn’t be that perfect.

Five. More than she’d had when she’d started, more than half that she needed.

But not enough.

On this night while the veil is thin all souls may exist on this plane, but if you do not bring me the eight before the sun rises the souls of your companions will be pulled back to the otherworld.

Claire’s chest tightened in a way that had nothing to do with her mad dash through the forest.

Her friends were all back. Impossibly, miraculously. But if they were going to be here to stay she needed to make sure the balance was kept.

Eight for eight.

Five down, three to go.

She caught the faint sounds of people’s voices in the distance, pivoting and making a beeline for the noise.

As the voices got louder Claire spotted a steadily growing glow through the trees, stopping just short of where the light penetrated the shadows.

A large bonfire blazed in a clearing in front of her, smaller than the farm but larger than Crom’s stone circle. A group of what looked like around twenty college students milled around it, holding red solo cups chatting and laughing, the air tinged with the faint but unmistakable burn of alcohol.

It would be easy enough to drag three of them off into the night.

Never to be seen again.

Claire’s feet stayed rooted to the ground, she knew what she had to do. Gone over it again and again as she raced through the woods, but now that she was actually here….

Four girls in matching glittery tutus played beer pong on a camping table as a crowd cheered them on, hugging and laughing with delight each time they scored a point.

A guy in a denim jacket and a devil horn headband sitting by the fire and making out with another boy with dreadlocks and plastic angel wings on his back.

Someone wearing harlequin makeup posing and taking a selfie with the bonfire and everyone else in the group behind them.

The scene was so achingly familiar it nearly brought Claire to her knees.

They were just regular people, just having fun and living their lives. None of them deserved to die, to have everything cut short. She should go look somewhere else, find three people more deserving.

But how could she possibly decide who was deserving? It wasn’t like people just went around wearing nametags that said ‘I deserve to die’, and she only had until sunrise to choose. How could she possibly make a choice like that? She was better off sticking to what was available.

Claire shook her head to banish the thought.

These were people. People with family and friends and lives of their own. She shouldn’t think of them as available or not.

She shouldn’t just condemn three random people to death.

But that’s exactly what those five bastards had done to her friends. She didn’t feel guilty in the slightest for what she was going to do to them. They’d hunted her friends down and slaughtered them all just to save a little cash. And if Claire didn’t get the eight lives that she needed tonight, when the sun came up they’d go back to being dead.

But none of the people in front of her deserved to die. They were just out having a good time with their friends, they were no different than them.

But the seven of them didn’t deserve to die either.

Claire was paralyzed, chest clenching, standing at the crossroads of the decision she had to make.

Three innocent strangers.

Or her seven friends.

Who would live, and who would die.

Claire shut her eyes, leaned back against the tree, and pulled in a deep breath.

And made her choice.

Creeping forward, Claire stalked around the bonfire, keeping to the shadows and scoping out potential targets.

They’re people not targets don’t just think of them like targets.

Off in a tucked away glen, just outside the bonfire’s light, a couple sat on a blanket giggling and passing a flask back and forth, the stench of alcohol hanging heavy over them.

She’d start with those two, they were already pretty drunk, so chances are they wouldn’t even feel it.

Claire forced herself not to think about what ‘it’ would entail.

She snuck close, keeping to the shadows, only stepping out of the trees when she was practically on top of them.The couple was so tipsy that they didn’t even notice. Knowing that if she hesitated she’d never go through with it, Claire charged forward, knocked each of them out with a punch to the back of the head in quick succession.

In just seconds it was over.

She stood there panting, their unconscious bodies sprawled out on the ground in front of her, heartbeat booming in her ears.

Which was why she didn’t hear until it was nearly too late.

“Fran? Jason?” a much more sober voice cut in behind her “What are you guys–”

Claire didn’t think, she just acted, storm inside her roaring. She whirled around with her hands glowing purple, catching a glimpse of a pale face, long brown hair, and eyes widening in surprise before she blasted the intruder with a wave of violet energy.

They slammed into a tree, head cracking into the bark with a dull thunk, before crumpling silently to the ground.

Claire stood there frozen for a few seconds, hands outstretched and fingertips glowing. The sounds of merriment coming from the bonfire continued uninterrupted, telling her that her crime went undetected.

She let out the breath she’d been holding, standing up straight and willing the jitters to leave her arms and legs.

Three people lay unconscious on the ground around her.

Three more souls to keep up her end of the bargain.

Three lives to consign to the flame.

Two she chose because they’d been drunk and distracted, and one because she was stupid enough to be worried about her friends.

Just like me.

Fresh burning surged up behind her eyes.

Three or seven, you made your choice, don’t go crying about it now.

Claire shook her head, swallowed back her tears, and bent down to sling the first one over her shoulder.

She’d make sure they were all well and truly unconscious before ‘it’ started to happen. Claire might be throwing them under the bus so she could pull her friends out from under it, but she wouldn’t let them suffer, not if she could help it.

---

Orange and black flickered in Sal’s vision, the sight poking at a dull pain throbbing in the back of his skull.

A low moan escaped him.

Orange and black, Halloween colors….

“He’s awake,” a voice muttered, who Sal had no idea.

A hand shook his shoulder, and not gently “Sal you gotta wake up,” Laurie’s voice hissed “We’re in deep shit,”

All of a sudden it came rushing back to him; the bodies, the monsters–

Those horrible eyes.

Sal pushed himself upright, an icepick of pain stabbing into his skull. He blinked at the orange and black, trying to clear his vision. The vague shapes of colors clarified into flickering flames against the dark night air. Dull glow of the fire illuminating the shapes of rocks and trees.

He slowly turned around, Sal saw that he, Laurie, Sid, Allen, and Jess were here. Jess cradling her broken arm and Allen sporting a nasty looking gash over one eye. Sid sat on the ground hugging his knees rocking back and forth. And here looked like a clearing in the woods, large rocks set up around the border where the ring of fire burned.

“What happened? Where are we?”

Laurie bit her lip “Somewhere in the woods…they dragged us out here,”

Confused, Sal followed her gaze and was about to ask who ‘they’ were–

As it turned out he got the answer to that question pretty quick.

Half hidden by trees, the towering figure of a beast loomed just beyond the edge of the clearing. Standing on its two hind legs, nearly eight feet tall, covered from head to toe in shaggy golden fur and the shredded remains of a pair of jeans.

A single lip pulled up in the beginnings of a snarl, exposing a row of gleaming fangs.

A caramel apple falling to the ground as the jaw bone cracked and stretched beyond its limits.

Shaking, Sal slowly turned around, scanning the edge of the clearing. Lead ball sinking deeper and deeper into his belly when he saw that the monster wolf was not alone, catching the snap of twigs, flickers of red and green and blue as they moved between the trees.

They were surrounded and not just by the fire.

“They threw us in here,” Laurie whispered “But it seems like they don’t want to step in themselves,”

Sal drew himself to his feet “We need to try and make a break for it,”

“Can’t,” Allen said bluntly “I tried, didn’t even get a foot away from the edge before they knocked me back, plus I got this to show for my troubles,” he pointed to the gash on his face.

Sal winced.

“It feels almost like they’re….waiting for something….” Jess said softly.

“We shouldn’t have done this guys,” Sid blubbered “We never should have gone after those kids, and now we’re paying for it–”

“Christ would you shut the hell up!” Allen bellowed, face red.

Twigs snapped just beyond the clearing, branches rustled as the monsters surrounding them stood at attention, paying close attention to the commotion.

The five of them went dead quiet, none of them even daring to breathe. After a few tense moments, Laurie stepped up to Sal.

“I counted and there’s only seven surrounding us, that means one is missing and I think she’s the one they’re waiting for,” coming in close, Laurie discreetly slipped a large rock into Sal’s hand “Here’s the plan, when she gets back and steps inside we take her hostage and force the others to let us go,”

Sal looked over at the wolfman towering above them, then down at the rock in his hand “....I don’t think that’s going to work,”

“What!?” Laurie hissed

“Look, I mean– there’s only five of us, and seven of them, and they’re all huge–”

“If you have a better idea please share with the rest of us,” she snarled.

“I think we all need to make a break for it at once, running in different directions,” Sal knew he was babbling but couldn’t stop himself “If we’re fast then maybe we can–”

“So you can screw the rest of us over and get away?” Jess snarled “No way,”

“Well what’s your brilliant solution huh!?”

“Oh fuck off–”

“We shouldn’t have done this, we never should have done this, we killed those kids and now god’s punishing us–”

“Would you shut the fuck up–”

The flames surrounding the clearing surged, rising six feet high and causing all of them to fall silent. Just as quickly as they rose the flames sunk back down, one small patch going out entirely.

Before he could think about that meant a figure, one that was all too familiar, stepped into the ring, the flames sealing shut behind them,

Sal’s breath caught in his throat, taking an involuntary step back.

It was the girl.

Don’t look at her eyes, for the love of god don’t look into her eyes.

She was bringing in three people with her. One hanging from each arm, and another slung over her shoulder. All dangling limply, possibly unconscious, or dead.

Walking deeper into the clearing, unbothered by the fact they outnumbered her five to one. The girl came to a halt just in front of the fire pit, letting the three people drop to the ground, one of them letting out a moan and confirming that they were in fact unconscious and not dead.

Laurie rushed her, medium size log in hand and ready to use. Sal forced himself to jump into action alongside her. Charging forward with the rock raised high, aiming it to bring it down hard on her temple–

He hit a wall, staggering, the girl catching his forearm in an iron grip, simultaneously snagging Laurie’s log in her other hand, an unimpressed look on her terrible face–

Her eyes oh god those eyes

Laurie dropped the log and pulled a knife from her belt, moving to bury it in the girl’s gut–

Faster than the eye could see the girl dropped the log and caught her by the wrist, trapping both her and Sal with ease, her apathetic face slowly morphing into a snarl.

Then she tossed them back as easily as chucking two apple cores, Sal hitting the ground with bruising force, knocking the air from his lungs. From the side he heard Laurie grunt as she landed a few feet away.

Scrambling back upright, he saw that the girl was still scowling down at them, but then she moved her gaze towards the fire pit. She shut her eyes and pulled in a deep breath through her nose.

“Come forth…Crom Cruach,”

A concussive wave boomed through the clearing, leaving Sal reeling. He scrambled to his feet, struggling to regain his bearings, when he saw a redness spreading out from the pit. Everything it touched withered, rusty flakes peeling off and drifting up towards the sky.

Sal felt his jaw fall open as the redness rushed underneath him, racing to the edge of the pit and filling the air with a rust colored blizzard. Blood rushed in his ears, guts curdling in on themselves.

What the fuck was going on!? First those dead kids turned into monsters, that girl turned into a freak of nature, now reality was coming apart at the sea–

A wet cracking sound echoed from the center of the clearing.

Sal spun around, a massive hand was sticking out of the now pitch black fire pit, pulling an equally massive arm along with it. Him and the others scrambled back as some…some…thing crawled out of the pit with more horrible cracking.

Meanwhile the girl hadn’t budged an inch, standing directly in front of the pit with shoulders square and feet firmly rooted to the ground.

The thing from the pit rose to its full height, head level with the tree tops and knuckles nearly dragging on the ground. Wet, red flesh shimmered in the fire light. A flayed, skeletal abomination. No mouth, no nose.

Just glowing silver eyes.

The thing ignored them completely and looked down at the girl in front of it. She held the thing’s gaze without flinching “I kept my end of the bargain,” she stretched out her arms “Eight for eight,”

A hisping rasping sound came from the thing “So you have,” its silvery eyes raked the clearing, seeming to notice them for the first time, Sal flinching when its gaze rolled over him.

“Now begins my feast,”

Sal felt his blood run cold.

…..feast?

The thing raised both hands to its face, one from above one from below, digging its fingers into where its mouth should have been, and pulled. A cracking sound emerged from the thing as it pulled, a small crevice forming between its fingers.

Sal felt himself start to tremble, chill racing across his entire body. As the thing pulled its face even open even wider, tearing open a mouth where none had been before. The crevice becoming a chasm.

More cracks echoed in the clearing as the thing pulled its jaw open impossibly wide, far wider than any proper jaw, wider than any living creature should have been capable of, opening up along its entire body.

Task complete the thing dropped down on all fours. Its mouth taking up nearly its entire body, a gut on four legs. Glimpsing inside, Sal saw rings of jagged, transparent teeth, like shards of broken glass, lining the thing’s gullet in perfect circles, row after row of them leading as far down into its stomach as Sal could see.

Reaching out a long arm, the thing picked up one of the unconscious people at the girl’s feet, a slight flutter of their eyelids the only sign of life.

It lifted them headfirst into its horrible mouth, sealing shut over them with a wet crunch. Slurping them down whole like a snake swallowing a mouse. The snap of bone and rip of tearing flesh echoing out as the thing ground them with its teeth as it sucked them down into its gut.

Sal couldn’t move if he wanted to, those awful sounds echoing in his ears, ice cold terror spiking through him and pinning him to the ground; heart threatening to beat out of his chest, so loud he imagined this thing could hear it.

This couldn’t be happening this couldn’t possibly be real. There was no way this was actually happening–

The thing swallowed, shoes vanishing into its mouth with a wet pop, blood dribbling down its chin.

Then it turned and reached for another.

Around him he heard Allen, Laurie and Jess scream while Sid started sobbing. Getting his bearings, Allen turned and made a mad dash to the edge of the clearing. In a blur of motion the girl caught him by the collar of his shirt, halting him in his tracks, and drove her foot into his knee with a sickening crack.

Jess and Laurie tried to make a break in the opposite direction, only for the girl to catch them and down them with identical kicks.

Hearing those cracks of bone snapped Sal back to reality, turning and sprinting for the edge of the clearing. Head empty except for a burning desire to get away–

From behind he heard Sid’s wails cut off, his cries replaced with the crack of bones and the squelch of fang meeting flesh, driving Sal to run even faster.

Fuck the fire, fuck the monsters, he’d rather deal with them than that thing, anything was better than tha–

Something snagged him by the neck and threw him against the ground hard. His vision cleared to reveal the girl standing over him, sneering down at him with those horrible eyes.

From somewhere behind him he heard more wet crunching and Jess screeching in agony.

“L– look kid I’m sorry ok,” Sal managed to stammer out, the girl’s eyes still boring into him “I never should have messed with you or your friends, w– we can work this out, I can get you money– a lot of money, just–”

She stomped on his calf hard.

Sal howled as blinding pain shot up his leg, rolling around on the ground and trying to pull his knees to his chest. Underneath his jeans his calf bent at a sharp angle, blood soaking into the denim, stabbing him over and over again with a fresh wave of agony with each beat of his heart. He could feel jagged shards of bone grinding against each other every time his leg so much as twitched.

She shattered the bone, this little bitch shattered the bone–

“You.” the girl loomed over him, glaring down at him with those awful eyes of hers “Have nothing that I want.”

Something moved in the corner of Sal’s vision, he snapped his head around to see the thing crouching on all fours at his feet. Its mouth open wide and broken glass teeth wet and dripping with red.

Sal’s heart leapt into his throat, nerves screaming with pure fear, he tried to scramble away, but he could barely move, the pain in his leg pinning him to the ground.

This couldn’t be happening, not to him, not like this. This couldn’t possibly be happ–

The thing grasped his feet, Sal howling as fresh pain surged up his leg, raising his legs to its mouth.

“I’ll– I’ll get you more people!” Sal didn’t know if he was trying to convince the girl or the thing “Ten twenty one hundred as many as you want! Just let me–”

The thing’s teeth crunched down on his feet, slicing through muscle and crunching straight down to the marrow. Sal’s throat burned as a screech tore its way out of his throat. The agony of his shattered shin bone blending with the fresh, white hot pain of teeth shredding into his feet until everything below the knees was an inferno of agony.

This can’t be happening this can’t be happening.

Sal thrashed and clawed at the ground, fingers tearing gouges into the dirt, frantically looking for a way– any way to escape.

A pair of black sneakers filled his vision, Sal glanced up to see the girl looming over him, fire blazing behind her, illuminating her like some terrible fury of vengeance, fixing him with her merciless, piercing stare, those terrible eyes….

Black veins, looking almost like cracks, radiated out from them. Her sclera were ink black, completely matte; no shine, no light escaping them, dark and bottomless as the pit that thing crawled out of. In contrast her irises practically throbbed with color, twin pools of molten violet unmarred by pupils, glowing with unearthly light. Glaring down at him down at him from above, those purple eyes seemed to peel away at every layer of him, staring straight down into the depths of his soul.

For a moment he stared into those horrible eyes, transfixed, until a fresh wave of molten pain on his legs drew him back.

Another scream ripped out of him, the creature’s teeth chewing into his thighs. Whipping around exchanging purple eyes for silver, no less terrible. Two pits of molten metal, like staring straight into the bottom Hell itself.

Thiscan’tbehappeningthiscan’tbehappeningthiscan’tbehappening

Sal could only scream and scream and scream as the thing chewed its way up his body, its teeth up to his torso now, shredding apart muscle and sinew and crushing bone as it went leaving nothing but white hot pain in its wake. He lifted his head to stare up at the night sky, red blizzard obscuring the stars, a flicker of burning silver and liquid purple flashing behind his eyes, before his world was consumed in agony.

---

“Ok, ready, push!”

Claire watched as Jim and Steve shoved the truck over the edge of the embankment, landing in the hollow below with a crash. The hollow wasn’t really that deep, only about ten feet, but it was in the thick of the forest, far away from any roads or trails, tightly surrounded by trees on all sides.

No one would ever find it here.

Reaching down, Claire picked up a garbage bag at her feet, a weight that would have staggered her yesterday barely registering now, and chucked it in.

She knew they had to get rid of the fireplace grate and the poker, and to avoid standing out they threw the rest of the fireplace tools in the bag to.

Beyond her she saw Toby and Shannon toss in bags of their own.

Both of them full of concrete that was still sticky with Darci’s blood.

From the side she saw Mary tossing in another bag with a sneer. A garbage bag that Claire herself had helped pack up with a camcorder, an electrical cord, a machete, a crossbow, and at least half a dozen bolts.

More bags followed, containing every trace of evidence of the events of this night. Gloves and knives, rope and pumpkins and candy all sticky with blood, cell phones with batteries removed and SIM cards smashed, towels, boots, helmets.

And five clown masks.

There had been a fake deer to, it had been too big to bag so they’d just left it in the truck bed. None of them were sure what the deer was for, but Claire had a sinking feeling it had something to do with Coach’s absence.

She swallowed back the sudden lump in her throat “Let’s pile some branches and leaves on. Just for good measure,”

No one questioned her, all wordlessly gathering loose branches and leaves from the ground and heaping them into the hollow on top of the truck. Darci, Steve, and Jim even reaching up and snapping some particularly bushy branches off the trees to toss in.

With no more effort than it would take to pluck an apple.

After a while Eli stood up straight, red eyes blinking down at the hollow “I think that’s good, it's pretty much covered, and no one’s going to find it, not unless they already know where it is,”

Claire threw down the last few leaves in her hands and then stopped, not even questioning how Eli could see so well in the pitch black woods.

After everything they’d been through tonight, sudden night vision wasn’t that surprising.

Tossing in what was left in their hands, they all slowly stopped, standing there in uncomfortable silence. In the distance an owl hooted.

“We…can’t go home,” Jim said at last, raising a hand and staring at it “Not like this,”

Claire bit her lip, they’d been so busy cleaning up before, and she didn’t want to get their hopes up and have it turn out to be nothing, but now…

“Follow me guys,”

They all looked around at her and each other, confused, but nevertheless followed as she headed off into the dark woods, hoping against hope she was right.

About five minutes into their trek in the woods Eli broke the silence

“Uh Claire, where are we going?”

“When Cr– when he touched me, he didn’t just give me powers. He showed me things, memories of other people who’d bargained with him,”

Shannon slithered up until she was right beside her “Ok, but what does that have to do with…” she gestured to her waist, everything below the ribs a long serpentine tail.

“Someone else in Arcadia bargained with it a long time ago, and they hid something out here, and if I’m right it should still be–” Claire spotted the large twisted tree from her visions and bolted straight towards it, the others right on her heels.

She slid to the ground, shoving a hand into the hollow she knew was beneath it as the others gathered around.

Please be there, please be there, please be th–

Her fingers closed around a thin piece of wood, heart leaping.

Claire pulled out her prize and held it up for them all to see.

“A…wooden mask? How’s that going to help with….” Mary looked back, her wings fluttering behind her.

Figuring it was easier just to show them, Claire imagined herself from earlier today; happy, naive, carefree, and raised the mask to her face.

A brief flash enveloped her and the others gasped. Claire knew what she must look like to them now. The way she’d been, brown eyes, soft rounded fingers, skin on her forearms a warm brown, not a trace of the black veins marring her face and hands.

“Claire you’re– you-re you!” Darci exclaimed.

She grimaced “Not quite,” she pulled more of the masks out from underneath the tree and started handing them out “I look normal, but it’s only an illusion, skin deep, underneath I’m still…” she pulled the mask off, revealing her cracked countenance.

The mood dropped, but not all the way, all of them practicing trying on the masks and settling into the illusions while Claire took stock of what was under the tree. Ten masks in total, one for each of them plus two extra, some deceptively unassuming potions in glass bottles, dusty bundles of roots and herbs, more than a few books that she did not want to get into–

Claire leaned back onto her knees and surveyed the hollow beneath the tree, teeth digging into her lip. Even though this stuff hadn’t been found in the hundred years it had been here, she didn’t feel right just leaving it out here knowing how dangerous it was. If only there was some way to lock it up–

The woman smeared in red waving a hand, the apple tree before her bathed in shimmering ruby light.

Claire raised a hand and summoned the sensation, palm tingling with power, then a wave of her hand and purple light washed over the hollow, surging bright before fading away.

Toby crept closer, pawpads silent against the forest floor but wings rustling against branches, eyes wide with wonder “What was that?”

“Another thing that he put in my head, all the spells his past priests and priestesses knew,” Claire got to her feet “I just made it so no one else can get under there, there’s only two extra masks so we all need to be careful with them,”

Jim forced out an almost painful sounding chuckle “Hey, I’m just glad I can go out in broad dayligh–”

Claire staggered, leaning against the tree, images flashing behind her eyes.

Horned bestial figures wailing in agony as the first light of dawn struck them, sunlight burning their skin to a dead grey as they collapsed into cold, lifeless gravel.

“You…can’t,”

“What?”

Claire pushed herself off the tree and took a step closer to him “What…what you are now– it’s not a vampire, but like, it has the same rules about the sun, if sunlight touches you it will burn you until you die,”

Jim blinked at her, mouth hanging open “Then…what do I do?”

“The mask should cover your face, besides that…long sleeves and pants, a hoodie to cover your head, gloves, pants tucked into your socks…”

His gaze dropped, staring down at the mask in stunned silence.

“Wha– wait! What about the rest of us!?” Steve said in a panic.

Claire looked around at them, different images flashing in her mind faster than she could see, but none of them had the same burning under the sun.

“You guys should be ok in the sun,”

“But what about everything else!?”

“I…don’t know,”

“How can you not know?” Mary threw her hands up “Didn’t that thing download all this stuff directly into your head!?”

“He did but…” Claire raised a hand to her temple “There’s just so much up here I need time to sort through it all, I get flashes of things when they’re brought up, like what Jim said about the sun, but when I go looking…it’s like a needle in a haystack,”

They all murmured among themselves before Darci’s voice cut sharply above the others.

“Why did he bring us back like this!” she held out her arms, bark like skin covered in creeping tendrils of vines “Why didn’t he bring us back as…us,” her voice cracked a little at the end.

Claire winced, stomach twisting at the deep pain in Darci’s expression “He…couldn’t,”

“Mr. Crooked literally raised the dead!” Toby threw his paws out, wings flaring in exasperation “But bringing people back to life as, you know, themselves, is too much!?”

She let out a deep breath and took a seat on a log “He told me…that he’s not all powerful, and that dying always takes a toll. He said your human lives had ended, so to come back you couldn’t be human any more. And he…he’s a lot of things, but I don’t think he’s capable of lying,”

They all mulled over her words, the woods buzzing as they muttered amongst themselves.

“Is that why he needed the eight people to?” Eli asked quietly “To bring us back he needed others to die?”

“Guess it’s a good thing there were eight killers,” Steve mumbled.

Claire flinched before she was able to stop herself, hugging her elbows and looking away, hoping no one had noticed.

Unfortunately Mary had.

“They…were all the clowns that killed us…” she took half a step towards Claire “Right?”

Claire’s throat tightened.

They were going to learn the truth eventually, one way or another, no point in dragging it out now.

“No.”

Everyone stopped and stared at her.

“The first five were, but the last three…they were just college students at a party,”

Shannon’s now golden eyes went huge “But…why them?”

“Cr– He said I needed to give him eight people before dawn, they were the first people I found, and I didn’t know if I’d have time to find anyone else, so I just killed them because they were the first people I could grab,”

She choked, burning in her throat choking her and rising up behind her eyes.

Could she even cry anymore with her eyes like this?

Dead silence between the eight of them, the atmosphere strained and tacky until Steve forcibly cleared his throat “Well uh….that’s not…good…but at least we’re done dealing with Mr. Crooked Man,”

Claire bit her lip so hard she tasted blood, black, claw-like finger tips piercing through her arms and stabbing into her flesh as she hugged herself “Yeah…”

“What aren’t you telling us?” Darci said bluntly.

Claire jerked upright “What? I’m not–”

“Claire I’ve known you since we were in kindergarten, I can tell when you’re holding something back, now what aren’t you saying?”

Claire’s stomach rolled, hands shaking, she dropped her gaze down low, unable to look any of them in the eye.

This was the part she knew was the point of no return. More than being a murder, the thing that made her a real monster, the reason that there would truly be no going back for her.

Once they others learned the truth they’d be disgusted with her, and they wouldn’t be wrong for feeling that way.

“The eight people I gave him tonight were just what he needed to keep the balance, for payment he wanted something else…”

---

“Then what’s the payment?”

“My price is the same as the toll that is needed. One soul renewed, and seven returned. Eight for eight,”

“Wait, I thought the eight people was just what you needed to keep the balance?”

“This is true for the eight you give me this night, but my price is eight for eight,” he leaned down towards her in a series of jerking, sickening cracks “Eight lives on the night the veil is thin, continued for eight seasons,”

Claire’s breath caught in her chest, heartbeat stuttering, the meaning behind his words slowly sinking in “You mean…I need to give you eight people this Halloween, and eight more every Halloween for seven more years?”

Crom’s gaze burned into her, as searing and merciless as the depths of a furnace “Yes,”

“That’s sixty four people…” she reeled back “I can’t…”

He rose to his full height again “The choice is yours. You stand at the crossroads, banish me and I will vanish from this plane,” he gestured towards Jim “And your loved ones will remain cold corpses, their deaths unpunished,”

Claire’s stomach churned, shaking hands balled into fists at her sides. Sixty four lives…she’d been starting to accept giving him eight, that should be about the number of killers there’d been, but sixty four? So many people…

“Or…” He turned back towards her “Accept my price, have those you cherish returned, and gain the power to punish those responsible for taking them from you…”

---

All seven of them stared at her with their jaws hanging open, Steve’s wolf muzzle practically dragging on the forest floor.

“So that’s it,” Claire mumbled, staring at the ground unable to face them “Not only did I kill three innocent people tonight. I have to give him eight more people to eat next Halloween, and for six more years after that,”

No one spoke, shock and horror practically oozing off of them in waves.

Claire set her jaw and turned away. She knew this was coming, she was a murderess, a killer just like they had been. And any moment now one of them would open their mouths and let her know how monstrous she really wa–

“I– I need to say something,” Toby stepped forward, wings fluttering and lion tail thrashing “My– my grandpa died when my dad was eighteen, Nana keeps his picture on him on the mantle and takes it down to hug it every year on his birthday,”

Claire turned back around towards him, eyebrows crinkling in confusion “Toby wha–”

He held up a hand– paw to silence her “My parents died when I was two, and every year on the anniversary of their deaths Nana takes their photo off the mantle and cries for an hour, she thinks I don’t notice but I do. Now I’m the only family she has left,”

Toby came even closer, green eyes burning but not with disgust “Claire if it wasn’t for you all Nana would have left is pictures on a shelf. If it wasn’t for you she…she would have had to see what they did to my body. I know killing those three people was…bad, it’s messed up, there’s no way around that, and I’m not saying that it isn’t, but…I’m glad you brought all of us back,”

She staggered back, stunned “Toby, I…”

“Maybe that’s not the right way to feel, maybe that makes me a terrible person,” Toby crossed the distance between the two of them, only inches apart now “But you know what, it’s the truth, you kept my Nana from losing the last bit of family she had, and I’m glad you did,”

Claire couldn’t speak, emotion sealing her throat shut.

“Toby’s right,” Mary came forward in a flutter of red wings “It was game over for us, but you brought us all back, killing those people…wasn’t ok, none of it is, this whole thing is at least fifty different shades of fucked up, but I’m really really glad to be alive again, and saying anything different would be a lie,”

Mary put both hands on Claire’s shoulders and stared her dead on “And I’m going to help you get the people for next year,”

Claire felt the air get knocked out of her “But Mare–”

“But nothing, when we were all getting butchered you wouldn’t leave anyone behind, so I’m not leaving you behind,”

“Me either,” Toby squared his shoulders “Count me in to,”

“Guys, I– I can’t ask you to help me choose people to kill,” she swiveled around at everyone gathering in around her “This was my choice, my decision, I’m the only one who has to deal with the consequences,”

“You’re not asking,” Darci stepped forward “We’re telling you, and besides, you’re allowed to make the ultimate deal with the devil to help us but we can’t return the favor? Now way. Plus we have a whole year, we can find eight people at a puppy kicking convention or something,”

“Plus I think I have mind control powers now so it’s not like you can stop me,” Mary added.

Steve stepped forward “Count me in to,”

“Me three,” Eli piped up.

“I’m in to,” Shannon slithered up to join them “And I’m not just being nice. It’s not that I’m not grateful you brought me back, because I am, I just…”

Her voice dropped low, gaze falling to the ground “I don’t want to find out what happens to us if you miss a payment,”

Claire had to force the words out past a thick knot of emotion “G– guys, no. I made my choice, I chose to kill those people. I’m already a murder, there’s no reason for the rest of you to go down with me,”

A soft touch on her shoulder startled her. Claire jerked around, and came face to face with Jim.

“So what, we’re just supposed to ditch you? Leave you to deal with this all on your own? No. No one gets left behind, and that includes you,”

Jim leaned down to look her directly in the eyes “You did this for us, now let us do this for you,”

He smiled at her, so full of tenderness, and suddenly past the blue skin new angular features and fangs, there was just so much of the same familiar Jim in his expression that it broke her.

Claire felt tears spilling out onto her cheeks, a sob choking out of her; Mary and Darci surged forward and wrapped her in a bear hug while Jim kept a comforting hand on her back. The rest hung back at a respectful distance, as all the horror, everything that had happened, the things she did and the things she was going to do, all tumbled out at once. Claire falling to pieces while the others waited to put her back together again.

---

They all sat waiting by the gate, the same place Coach Lawrence had left them all those hours ago. It was pitch black out, the only light came from the occasional glow of their phone screens, which also let them know it was getting close to midnight.

Every trace of blood and gore from the last few hours had been scrubbed away and thrown down a hole deep in the forest. They all wore their masks, human illusions fixed firmly in place.

No one spoke, too exhausted and burnt out for that, just stayed sitting silently in the dark. Claire, Darci, and Mary all snug shoulder to shoulder on a single bale, Claire tucked in the middle. Toby and Jim sat on the bale beside them, leaning into each other, even Steve, Shannon, and Eli all clustered together on the ground by the barn.

All just sitting and waiting in the dark, quiet night.

Then, just after midnight, sounds of a car came from up the road. All of them sitting up at attention as the flicker of headlights flashed through the trees.

Claire leaned forward, all of them did, heart pounding as a minivan pulled to a stop in front of them.

Were their masks working? Did they miss something in their clean up? Did whoever it was in the car notice how something was clearly very very wrong?

Mr. Strickler stepped out of the car, raised a hand over his eyes as he looked over at them, relief washing over him in a tangible wave “Oh thank goodness you’re all ok,”

Claire let herself relax a fraction, even as she had to hold back a bubble of bitter laughter.

He stepped aside and gestured towards the van “Come on let’s get you all home,”

They all wordlessly filed into the minivan. With the eight of them plus Strickler it was a tight squeeze, but they made it work. Once doors were shut and seatbelts buckled, Mr. Strickler turned back to look at them “I’m so sorry you were all left out here alone for so long. Lawrence was in a bad car accident- but don’t worry he’s alright, he’s awake now, and he feels absolutely terrible for stranding you all,”

“Is no his fault,” Steve mumbled.

Mr. Strickler made a three point turn and started heading back up the road “I’m sorry you children had such a miserable holiday. Mr. Fier is to, in fact he’s offered to let you all come to the Fair next year free of charge,”

He turned back briefly from the driver’s seat, flashing them a warm smile, and hopefully missing the way they’d all simultaneously stiffened in their seats.

“So this year might have been a disaster, but your next Halloween should be much better,”

Claire turned towards the window, watching the dark forest rush by them, her guts twisting in on themselves “Yeah, I hope so…”

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