trojc-rewrite

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Hi i PROMISE im working on the new chapter of TROJC,, its just taking long im sorry </3

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The P.I.E Community wishes you a happy pride!

While slightly late, this drawing was put together by some of the members of the lovely P.I.E server! Thank you for everyone who participated <<33.

Toast - Binxanart [ https://instagram.com/binxartat?utm_medium=copy_link ]

Ghost- Me

Spooker - Vi_Ryn [ https://linktr.ee/Vi_Ryn ]

Colon - Joltz [ https://mobile.twitter.com/joltzthejolteon ]

Jimmy - Plushmon [ @plushmon ]

Gavin - Spiiyinx [ @ghostiewashere ]

This project was a joy to work on, I hope everyone had an amazing pride!! 🏳️‍🌈

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When ur brother almost murders you on a bridge lol

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Jimmy’d

[trojc-rewrite]

The Rise of Jimmy Casket Rewrite, Chapter 6

TW - grotesque imagery, gore

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The morning had gone pretty smoothly, downing eggs and water early in the morning so Ghost could rent a car and bring Toast to the nearest walk-in clinic, and then brought him to a nearby hospital for stitches. The wound needed at least 4, and Toast was grossed out by how the stitches looked in his skin, the way his wound felt tight whenever he moved his leg. It made his face wrinkle in grimace.

Toast sat in the car on the way back from the hospital, still recovering from the anasthasia, everything felt light and yet so heavy, his eye lids threatened to fall, and he was sure he was making absolutely no sense whatsoever cause Ghost chuckled at everything he said.

Some weird pop song played on the radio, filling a silence that Toast didn’t even register was there. It wasn’t until Ghost started talking that he realized the quiet.

“Hey, Toast.” Toast turned to him, his head felt weird when he moved, like instead of a brain he had a bowl of cold soup in his head. But he forced himself to look serious, he was starting to calm down from the anasthasia anyways, so he could manage something of the nature.

“Yes, sir?” He mumbled out, it took a lot to form an articulated sentence, one that actually made sense.

Ghost parked in the hotel parking lot, sighing a small bit.

“Toast, I just want to apologize again. I am so sorry for leaving you to deal with P.I.E, it was such a shitty move on my part.” Ghost said.

“No, no sir, it's all right.” He managed. Ghost shook his head.

“No, it’s not.” He said, frustrated. He grabbed Toasts hands in his own, sighing. “Look, let me apologize because we both know this never happens. I’m sorry, for being such a shitty friend and boss. You, whether I like or not, are now kinda the leader. And I’ve been feeling like shit for leaving you to deal with it. I’m sorry.”

Toast blinked, kind of shocked. He blinked, not really knowing what to say.

“I accept your apology sir. But now that we’re all together, we need to start working as a team. And, if I may add this in, you might want to apologize to Spooker and especially Colon for leaving sir.” Toast said quietly.

Ghost raised his brow, staring at him with his green eye.

Toast nodded, “They were very hurt when you left. They look up to you. Colon was just telling me about his frustrations with you just the other night. “

Ghost looked lost, “But what would I say?”

Toast smiled at him. “You’ll know when the time comes. It will be genuine.”

Ghost licked his teeth nervously, before nodding. “Okay, lets go get Colon and Spooker. A walk will do us good.”

Ghost helped Toast up to the hotel room, getting ready for the walk. It had been a while where Toast could just relax, and he was hyped for a nice walk.

They walked late into the night, watching the sun go down behind the trees as the sky melted from blue, to purple and gold. The moon hung high over head, so clear and bright. It casted silver shadows across the forest floor, leaves dappling the light.

Toast was walking with Colon, the tall man helping him support himself. He also took a few times to point out an animal or two.

One time, a doe had crossed their path with a fawn in toe and they all had to pretend they weren’t there. Afterwards, Spooker had almost melted into the ground, crying about how cute it was.

The leaves above them ruffled, a cold gasp of air rolling over them. Toast smiled, feeling refreshed.

A small stream trickled near them, a few leaves following the current. Frogs hopped over the rocks, moonlight reflecting off the cloudy water.

Spooker turned to the stream, his eyes round in awe. “Oh my God! Frogs!” He whispered excitedly. He knelt down, his knees squelching in mud. He held out his hand, reaching out for a frog. The frog jumped into the water before he could catch it.

He turned to another, and another, until finally. “Aha! I got one!” He whispered, picking up the frog gently. The green amphibian let out a small ribbit, hopping around in his palms.

“I’m gonna name you, Fredrick.” He cooed, petting the amphibians back. Ghost made a disgusted face.

“Ew- you’re naming it after yourself?” He said, raising a brow. Spooker stuck out his tongue, gently putting the frog back in the grass.

“No. My name is Fred.” He emphasized, “The frog's name is Fredrick.”

Ghost rolled his eye jokingly, a smile cracking onto his face ever so slightly.

“Well I for one, love Fredrick.” Toast said with a smile, watching the frog hop away.

“Thank you T-“

Spooker was cut off by a loud rustling noise, coming from far ahead. Toast snapped his head up, glaring into the dark. His fight of flight senses kicked in, his only instinct to protect his friends.

He limped forwards, being careful not to step on any twigs, or anything else that would cause a loud noise. Moss squished under his feet, splashing quietly.

Ghost hissed from behind him, “No, Toast!” He whispered. Toast ignored him, pulling out his gun from his side holster.

He entered a thicket, wet leaves pointed at him. He felt uneasy, and jumped as a bug flew past his face.

Then, with the speed of a snake, something lunged from the bushes with a wide, yellowed smile.

He was pushed to the ground, his gun knocking out of his hand. He rolled over, pain blasting throughout his body.

He grabbed it, sitting up and fired. The shot rang out, Toast’s ears rang with silence, the world going quiet.

The shadowy figure stood in mist that seemed to come from nowhere, eyes staring at him from the fog.

It loomed over him, walking forward.

“Hey Toaster. It’s been a while!” It whispered excitedly, it’s red eyes wide.

It leaned forward, it’s face close to his. It smelled like rotting flesh; the acrid smell hitting him in the face. Sour and rotten.

It’s skin was pale, cheek bones exposed. It had matted, dark brown hair. Dirt covered it’s cheeks, a thin lipped smile crossed it’s face.

Toast blinked, shuffling away from it.

“Who- what?” He asked. Confusion clouded Toast’s gaze. ‘Who is this?’

The figure frowned. “I can’t believe you don’t remember me! But, it’s been a while since I’ve been in this form. So allow me to introduce myself.”

He stuck out his pale hand, long bloody fingernails pointed at him.

“Jimmy Casket. World renowned murderer.”

Toast let out a long, shuddering breath. He couldn’t believe what he was seeing.

Jimmy’s frame was thin, long arms covered in bandages. He wore an unzipped blue hoodie, tattered at the edges, sleeves rolled up. Under the hoodie was a red shirt. His clothes were all bloodstained and crusty, hardened from dried fluids.

His eyes had yellow and red around the outsides, sunken in with deep eye bags. A long, sickly scar crossed the side of his face. It pulled up his lip, exposing his reddened gums and teeth base. They were blackened at the roots. Stringy saliva webbed between his teeth as he opened his mouth.

He laughed, blood splattering on Toast’s clothes. Toast gagged, fighting off the urge to vomit.

“What do you want from me?” He asked, his voice barely above a whisper.

Jimmy smiled wider, his sunken eyes growing wide with manic. His breath stank like carrion, blood bubbling from the back of his throat.

“To watch you suffer, until you die!” He cackled.

Suddenly Jimmy’s body jerked to the side, blood splattering on the side of his head. He staggered to the side, trying to catch his balance. His eyes grew empty.

Ghost jumped through the bushes, charging for the spirit. Colon came out with his gun drawn, Spooker rushing to Toast’s side.

“I’m okay!” Toast said urgently. Spooker helped him up as Colon shot at Jimmy, blood splattering on his outfit.

The spirit fell to the ground, his eyes empty. The two investigators breathed heavily, blood on their outfits.

Colon and Ghost turned to Toast, eyes round and horrified. “You dumbass!” Ghost yelled.

Colon rolled his eyes, putting his gun back in his holster.

“I’ll be okay don- COLON LOOK OUT!” Toast screamed.

Jimmy lunged onto Colon, grappling him from the back. His long nails digging into his face. Ghost turned, grabbing Colon's hand and ripping him from the ghost. Toast pulled out his gun again.

“Get away from us you bastard!” Toast cried, aiming the gun at him.

Jimmy laughed, raising his hands. He gave him a sly look.

“Didn’t you guys just ‘kill’ me, do you think a gun is going to do anything to me?” He said slyly.

Ghost bared his teeth. “What do you want you ugly fucker?” He said, pulling out his pocket knife.

Jimmy gave him a semi injured look.

“Look, you guys can’t kill me.” He said, with somewhat of a suave energy.

“You can’t kill a highly leveled ghost with puny human weapons. The only way to kill me is to be a ghost yourselves.” He laughed, his head rearing back in estaticsm.

“The only way to get rid of me is for me to be inside one of your minds again! Or else I’ll be here forever, picking all of you off one by one.” He said with an evil grin.

Ghost faltered, his angry expression twitching to hopelessness.

Jimmy loomed closer to Ghost, his face inches away from his. He looked angry, but betrayal lingered in the ghost’s red eyes.

“Until none of you are left.” He whispered angrily.

Ghost stared at him, cowering under his gaze. His eye was wide, eyebrows furrowed. Jimmy looked angry, yet sly.

Ghost stammered. “I- I-“

Toast took his arm, “Let’s go!” He yelled.

Colon shot at Jimmy again, hitting him with a bullet in the eye. Jimmy staggered backwards, letting out a cry of pain as red hot blood squirted from his face. He grabbed his face, anger filling his face.

Toast grabbed Spooker by the arm and they ran through the forest. Leaves got in his way, he narrowly dodged them.

Jimmy yowled from yards behind them, sprinting after them. Toast's feet barely hit the ground as he ran. Ghost ran beside him, panting wildly.

Colon ran behind them, his gun trained on Jimmy, occasionally shooting. Spooker looked hopeless, wanting to help Colon.

They reached the hotel room, slamming the door behind them. They all waited in tense silence, everyone keeping their eyes on the door.

After about 20 minutes of staring, Toast let out a sigh and fell onto the bed. “I think we’re okay.” He said.

Ghost screwed his eye shut, a sob escaping his throat.

“What are we going to do?!” He yelled, throwing a pillow at the wall.

For once, Toast did not have an answer.

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FINALLY, we get to see the dude in the NAME OF THE FUCKING STORY!!!

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Some Gavin (and a bonus Ghost) doodles from yesterday!

[trojc-rewrite]

The Valley

Prologue

 There were miles and miles of a beautiful, grassy plain. With little white flowers covering the ground.

 It stretched on for what seemed like forever. A white fog loomed around. Making the area hard to see. The flowers put off a sweet smell, a calming scent. 

 They stood, confused, looking for what they could find. 

 Through the mist, there was a familiar figure. 

 "Mary?"

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And thats all for the prologue!! I will try and get the first chapter out soon, but we shall see >:))

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MasterList

[trojc-rewrite]

Paradoxical - Chapter 12

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Soon enough Ghost’s got everyone working on things. Spooker went off with Colon to prepare the secret plan, leaving him and Toast working on the main plan.

They’re currently taking stock on which weapons they can use.

“Is Gavin human?” Ghost asks, pulling a normal pistol out of their storage.

“What do you mean, sir?” Toast asks, glancing over at him.

“He…” Ghost pauses, looking up at him, “Wait, do you know what he can do?”

Toast raises an eyebrow, “No…? I mean, I know he has… Powers, but… Not what they are.”

“Forget I said it,” Ghost says, looking away.

“No- Sir, what do you mean,” Toast says, walking closer to him.

“Drop it, I can’t tell you,” Ghost says, putting the pistol into his bag.

“You keep saying things like that. What happened, sir?” Toast asks, turning Ghost to face him.

Ghost sighs, looking at him. Toast sees… exhaustion on his face. Sure, Ghost is usually tired, but this is on a whole other level. He looks like he’s been through hell and back, and all Toast wants to do is reach out and hold him, but he feels like that would scare Ghost off so he holds back.

“Johnny,” Ghost says, and then surprises Toast by reaching out to hold him, his hands going to either side of Toast’s face. “If I could tell you, I would. I promise. But I’ve probably already said too much already, and I can’t risk doing it again.”

Toast smiles sadly, looking into Ghost’s eyes. “Well, I’m at least glad you’re still alive, Sir…” he places a gentle hand over one of Ghost’s.

“Me too,” Ghost says, going to pull his hands away. Toast frowns at that.

“Sir, you’ve been a lot more… affectionate. What happened? Or is that another thing you don’t wish to talk about,” Toast asks.

“I uhm… Let’s just say I … I realized how much I cared for you, Johnny,” Ghost mumbles, turning away.

Toast’s heart hurts with recognition at the tone Ghost uses. The grief laced through it. Toast knows it all too well. He pushes down the feeling of Ghost being scared off, reaching out and pulling Ghost into a tight hug. Ghost tenses at first, but then to Toast’s relief he relaxes into it, his arms wrapping around Toast to return the hug. The two stay like that in silence for a bit before Ghost breaks away, looking up at Toast with a solemn smile.

“Thank you, Johnny,” He says quietly. “I needed that.”

“Of course, sir,” Toast says, “I… I lo-”

“Oh shit-!” Ghost cuts him off, glancing at the clock. “We gotta move.” He turns away from Toast.

“Oh- Um- R-Right! Of course, what’s, uh, the plan?” Toast asks quickly.

“Grab that, please,” Ghost says, pointing over to the shotgun that Toast’s been carrying around since he got locked in the house. Toast does so, feeling the familiar weight in his hands. Ghost heads for the door.

“You didn’t tell me the plan-” Toast says as he hurries to follow.

“Don’t need to! It’s your plan, Johnny,” Ghost says as he heads for the front door.

“Sir, wait-!” Toast grabs his shoulder. “We can’t go out there-”

“And why’s that?” Ghost raises an eyebrow, with a face that says he knows exactly why.

“There’s- There’s undead out there-” Toast says. Ghost smiles.

“Ohhhh, didn’t know that,” he says, grabbing Toast’s hand, “Guess we have to go out the other way then!” He pulls Toast towards the back door. Toast stumbles along, confused.

“Sir-?” Toast starts, but Ghost cuts him off.

“So glad you brought that up, so we’ll go out the backdoor now!” Ghost says, speaking louder than normal.

Toast is about to say something when he hears shuffling outside the back door. Ghost drags Toast to the door, letting go of his hand to hide next to the door, motioning for Toast to open it. Toast does.

Outside, he sees a gap in the undeads outside the barrier. A long, thin path, leading somewhere. Ghost peeks around the corner, then looks at Toast.

“Do we… Go?” Toast asks, looking at him.

“I can’t tell you, it’s your choice,” Ghost says. Toast studies him for a moment.

“Okay, then let's go,” he grabs Ghost’s hand again, walking out of the house. Ghost just goes along with him, not bothering to close the door behind the two.

They follow along the path, the undead watching them idly. Toast can’t fight the smile on his face.

He’s holding hands with Ghost, who’s been really affectionate with him. He even kissed him twice! Toast is still buzzing from that. He feels like he can take on anything with Ghost by his side.

And Ghost looks like he could take on anything. He has a determined look on his face, walking with Toast. He pulled his pistol out somewhere along the way, pointing it at the floor as the two walk. Toast can’t help but glance at him. He doesn’t even know how long he’s felt this way towards him. Getting cut off earlier hurt, but it almost felt intentional. Maybe Ghost doesn’t want to hear it.

Maybe he’s just putting off hearing it. Until he can bear it. Until he knows Toast isn’t going anywhere. The thought of that hurts Toast’s heart, and he wishes he could tell Ghost he’s not going anywhere, but he’s afraid that if he speaks the undead will attack. So he holds off, for now.

The two walk until they’re out of the horde, waiting a bit longer before one of them speaks.

“Where to now, sir?” Toast asks quietly, glancing back at the horde.

“I can’t say,” Ghost says, though it seems to pain him. “You gotta find it.”

Toast sighs, looking around. He doesn’t even know who they’re following, or why. Just that Ghost wanted to, and Ghost seems to know what’s gonna happen next. Toast then spots some blood on the ground.

“Huh,” Toast looks at it. It looks fresh, and it seems to form a trail further down the block. He glances at Ghost. Despite how hard he’s trying to let Toast take the lead, there are so many telltale signs Ghost gives away that lets Toast know he’s on the right track. Right now, it’s the small smile on his face. Toast smiles too, turning back towards the blood and beginning to walk. Neither one lets go of the other’s hand.

Ghost doesn’t often let Toast take the lead. That thought pops into Toast’s head as he walks. It makes sense though, Ghost takes control like it’s in his nature. He always has. And he doesn’t like taking suggestions. The last time Ghost let Toast take control was during Spooker and Colon’s training.

Ghost wanted to see what Toast could do. So he took a step back, giving Toast simple instructions. Toast kind of butchered it. Despite being smarter than Ghost, he’s much worse at holding his ground. He went along with every little thing Spooker and Colon suggested.

Eventually, Ghost had to step in and save their asses. It had gone too far, and it was starting to get dangerous. Ghost had cleaned up their mess, then turned to the three. Toast expected to get told off for being reckless but instead he turned to Spooker and Colon, yelling at them. Toast felt bad. It was his fault, he was supposed to be watching them.

He looks over at Ghost again as they walk. He looks a lot different now than he used to. He’s matured, even though it’s hard to believe. He’s mellowed out too, his age starting to get to him.

Toast wonders what the future holds for the two of them. They can’t do this forever, they know that. One day they’ll be too old to keep running around. He wonders if he could convince Ghost to retire with him, move out to some old farm, maybe get a few dozen dogs to accompany them on some old fix-me-up farm. He smiles to himself as he looks away, knowing Ghost would never agree to that willingly. Ghost will probably be doing this far into his older years, until he physically can’t anymore. It’s what he loves. Toast doesn’t blame him.

Eventually, the blood trails into a building. Toast stops outside the door, looking at Ghost again. The door was left open. Ghost is tense, reluctantly removing his hand from Toast’s as he readies his pistol, taking the lead again. He steps into the building. Toast follows quietly, also on edge.

The building is old, seemingly an old abandoned warehouse. It’s dark, and dirty. Neither of them thought to grab flashlights though.

Ghost walks down a dim hallway quietly, approaching a corner.

Toast is surprised by a figure suddenly coming around the corner, lunging at Ghost. Ghost stumbles back, managing to dodge the attack before grabbing the figure, smacking them across the face with his pistol. They fall to the floor. Toast moves closer. Only then does he recognize who it is.

There, on the floor, is Jimmy Casket. There’s blood dripping down his face from his nose, and a cut on his arm that seems to be bleeding a lot. He’s probably what led them there.

Toast looks up at Ghost, “Sir, how did that surprise you-??”

Ghost stares down at Jimmy, steadying his breath, “That’s never happened before.”

Toast sighs. That’s great, now there can be surprises, and they’re probably in the place where no surprises would be most useful.

“We need to keep moving,” Ghost says, looking up at him. Toast just nods, moving closer to him.

Ghost begins to walk again, turning the corner hesitantly.

The two continue down the dim hallway until they reach a door. Ghost turns back to Toast, blocking the door.

“I don’t know what’s going to happen in here,” Ghost whispers, looking up at him.

“That’s alright, I don’t either,” Toast smiles a bit. Ghost frowns a bit.

“That’s not- I just, Toast,” Ghost puts a hand on Toast’s arm. “Whatever happens, just know… I’m sorry for being such a dick.”

Toast looks at him. He looks like he expects the worst, and that worries Toast. He puts on a reassuring smile anyway though. “Don’t worry, sir. It’s fine.”

Ghost just nods, looking up at him a moment more before turning away. He readies his pistol, looking back at Toast once more. Toast nods.

Ghost takes a deep breath, opening the door.

Through the door is a big room. There’s a ratty old couch and a dirty coffee table pushed against one wall.

On that couch is a man, and a dark figure.

The man has dark hair, and green eyes. He looks up upon seeing the door open, getting to his feet. The figure gets up as well. The two looked like they were having a conversation before they were interrupted.

The man looks at Toast, a smile breaking onto his face.

“Brother!” he smiles.

“Gavin,” Toast says harshly, raising his shotgun to point it at Gavin’s chest.

“Ah shit-” the dark figure mutters, looking at Toast and Ghost.

“We meet again, Maxwell Acachalla,” Ghost says, pointing the pistol at him.

“You know that won’t work on me, Johnny Ghost,” Maxwell says, tipping his hat at the pistol. Ghost grimaces.

“I’m aware,” he says through gritted teeth.

“Wow, Maxwell,” Gavin turns to look at him. “Here we were, thinking we’d have to go to them to kill them. They came to us!” he laughs.

“What idiots,” Maxwell growls, and the lights in the room begin to flicker.

Toast starts to feel nervous. He trusts Ghost, he does, but this is… It seems like a death wish. Facing off with two very strong people- They don’t even have the right weapons!

He glances over at Ghost warily. Ghost has a look of grim determination on his face.

“Sir,” Toast whispers, “Are you sure-?”

“Trust me,” Ghost says firmly, looking over at him. Toast can’t help but listen. He has to trust him. He doesn’t have any other choice.

“So!” Gavin says, “Let’s get this show on the road!”

And he certainly does so, starting with a very flamboyant show of lighting his hands up with green fire, and then throwing glowing orbs of pure flames at the two. Ghost and Toast split, getting out of the way as fast as possible. Toast turns back to face his brother quickly, trying to aim his shotgun at him. However, he’s suddenly overcome by the stench of decaying meat as something grabs him from behind. He spins around, instead aiming his shotgun at the undead behind him. He shoots, causing his ears to ring. The undead gets blasted back. Unlucky for Toast, there are more than a dozen more.

On the other hand, Ghost turned his attention to Maxwell, watching as the ghost flickered from sight. Ghost looks around frantically, trying to spot him. He doesn’t manage to find him in time, stumbling forward when something hits him in the back of the head. He turns around, pointing his pistol and firing. It goes straight through Maxwell, who laughs.

“You should know better than that, Ghost!” Maxwell laughs, advancing on Ghost.

Ghost curses, moving backwards. He trips on something, falling to the floor. Maxwell laughs more, grabbing him.

It’s over almost as soon as it started, Toast and Ghost thrown into a pile at Gavin’s feet. Maxwell grabs the guns from them as well, handing the pistol to Gavin.

“What do you say we do with them? Kill them slowly? One at a time? Both at once?” Maxwell asks as the undead form a tight semicircle around the two on the floor.

“I say one at a time,” Gavin says. One of the undead lifts Toast, another lifting Ghost, so they’re both on their knees. Toast looks up at Gavin.

“Gavin, please, listen to me,” Toast pleads. “We’re family-!”

Gavin glares at him. “We’ll start with him,” he says, pointing the gun to Toast’s forehead. Toast’s eyes widen, and Gavin smiles a bit. “It’ll be a nice show for his little boyfriend.”

Ghost just stares. He cannot count how many times he’s seen this, but it doesn’t get any easier. He reaches out before he’s even realized what he’s doing, taking Toast’s hand.

“It’ll be okay, Johnny,” Ghost says quietly. He knows he should believe it. He did everything right this time, it has to be right. He has to believe it.

But he finds himself doubting, letting the worry snake into his head, plant it's roots. He can’t watch this happen again. He looks down.

“Aw, look, how sweet!” Gavin laughs, pressing the gun more into Toast’s head. Toast squeezes Ghost’s hand. “Any last words, brother?”

Toast is about to say something, but never gets the chance, because at that moment the saviours of the day burst through the undead circle.

Colon whips out a water gun, aiming it at Gavin and Maxwell. He starts spraying.

Maxwell’s form flickers as he lets out a yell, his skin smoking.

“Back, you ghost!!” Colon yells, continuing to spray. Maxwell’s form flickers more, and then it vanishes altogether right as he goes to attack.

Gavin looks at him. “Really, salt water? Is that all you have??” he laughs, “That’s not gonna stop me from putting a bullet through his head.”

“No, but this is!” Spooker says from beside Colon. He then proceeds to pull out a pistol, shooting Gavin in the shoulder.

Gavin yells, dropping the gun to the ground. He turns to Spooker, infuriated. “YOU SHOT ME!” he roars.

“I shot you!!” Spooker repeats, smiling wide.

“Shoot him again!” Ghost yells. Gavin turns to him, planting a solid kick in Ghost’s stomach before getting shot again, in the leg.

This time, by Toast, who had picked the gun up off the ground.

“NO ONE hurts my husband and gets away with it!” Toast yells as he gets to his feet. He shoots again, hitting him in the leg once more.

“Johnny!” Ghost forces out a yell, “Stop!”

Toast looks down at Ghost just long enough for Gavin to make a limping break for the exit. Spooker and Colon watch him go as Toast drops the gun, kneeling next to Ghost.

“Oh- Goodness, sir, are you alright?!?” Toast cries, grabbing his arms.

“I’m fine,” Ghost wheezes, holding his stomach. “Just… Winded.”

“Thank god,” Toast says, then pulls him into a tight hug. “You- You lunatic! You could’ve gotten yourself killed-!”

Ghost lets out a light chuckle, patting Toast’s back, “Hey, it’s okay, Johnny. I told you to trust me.”

“And I did!” Toast says, pulling away from the hug a bit. “But I was about to lose it!”

Ghost just chuckles. Toast moves to stand up, helping Ghost up as well.

Once he’s on his feet, he turns to Colon and Spooker.

They tense up, looking at each other. But when they look back at Ghost, they’re both surprised to see a look of fiery pride on his face.

“Hey, you two did great,” he says, smiling a bit. He holds out a fist to Spooker, who excitedly bumps it. Colon does the same when it’s his turn. The two smile.

“It was great thinking on the salt water,” Ghost says, “and Spooker, those were some great shots, thought you could work on your gun safety. Did you just take the safety off when it was in your pocket?”

Toast watches as Ghost continues talking to the two. This is… new. Not unwelcome, just new. He gets the urge to plant a kiss on his forehead again.

This time, he doesn’t resist. He wraps an arm around Ghost’s shoulders to bring him closer, using his other hand to tilt his head towards him. He plants a soft kiss on Ghost’s forehead, pulling away smiling. Ghost smiles as well.

“Alright, let’s go home, yeah?” Ghost says, looking at the other two.

They nod.

The four start the slow walk home, picking off the few remaining undead that remain, that Gavin didn’t get rid of.

Toast doesn’t take his arm from Ghost’s shoulders once.

~~~

so anyway one last chapter after this one :)

[trojc-rewrite]

Paradoxical - Chapter 11

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Toast doesn’t remember getting into bed, but he wakes up and finds himself there. He lays awake for a bit, unsure of what woke him. Could’ve just been his own mind. It feels so foggy and heavy.

He’s made aware of what woke him when it sounds again. A small shuffle out in the hallway. Weird…

By the looks of it, it’s late at night, so neither Spooker or Colon should be awake. He sighs, forcing himself to get out of bed. He tries his best to ignore how empty the bed feels, forcing himself to not think about… It.

He grabs a flashlight from his bedside table, not aware enough to grab a weapon too. He shuffles to the door, opening it lazily. He doesn’t wanna be doing this, but he feels he has to. He shuffles down the hallway quietly.

He gets to the end, where it opens up into the living room, before things start happening. To his left he hears something hit the ground, causing him to jump. He swings the flashlight beam that way, seeing a picture frame on the ground. He shuffles over to it quietly, bending over to pick it up before hearing a creak behind him. He turns around, swinging his flashlight beam over the room. He doesn’t see anything.

He’s a bit on edge, but pushes on. It’s… It’s probably just some stray or something… Yeah…

He moves towards where he heard the creak, only to feel something brush his back. He spins around.

There’s nothing there. He relaxes a bit. Probably just… imagining things.

A figure shifts at the edge of his light. Toast moves it onto the figure, only for the figure to dart out of view. He tenses.

There’s definitely something in the house with him. He starts backing down the hallway, only to run into something. Something that reaches around with a pale, scarred arm to snatch his flashlight. Toast tries to grab it back but it’s too late. It’s flicked off, and thrown somewhere.

Toast tries to lunge forward and grab the figure, but they back out of range. They scamper away, towards the room with the control panel in it. Toast scrambles after them.

He has no idea who it is, but he can’t let them turn the barrier off.

When he gets in the room, however, something hits him in the side of the face. He falls to the ground, pain exploding through his jaw. He sees the next moments through blurry vision, so at first he doesn’t even believe it.

In an instant, a new figure appears. A very familiar figure.

The new figure delivers a hard blow to the first one’s face, causing him to fall to the floor, limp. Then, the second figure rushes to Toast. As they get closer, they get clearer, dimly illuminated by the control panel.

Toast can make out the smile first, cut on one side by a scar. Light stubble. The scar across the nose bridge comes next.

Then the eyes. So warm, and full of love, yet also frustration. The dark, furrowed brows, the shaggy reddish brown hair-

“Ghost,” Toast says softly, barely letting himself believe it.

“Sorry I took so long,” he says quietly, then does something Toast was not expecting. He places his hands on either side of Toast’s face, pulling him into a gentle kiss.

Toast can feel so many things. Other than Ghost’s warm hands on his face. Mostly, his heart trying to beat out of his chest.

He pulls away too soon, beginning to talk way too fast for Toast, who is still processing what just happened.

“This is the last time, I swear to god,” Ghost says quickly, “If I have to go through this one more time I’m gonna lose it. I can’t do this again. This is the last time.”

“Wh- Sir-” Toast says, grabbing his hands, sitting up straighter. “Slow down- Did you just kiss me-?”

Ghost stares a moment before laughing, his face breaking into that wonderful, if rare, smile again. Toast wishes it weren’t so dark, so he could see it better.

“Right- Yes, I did, but I don’t have time to explain all that right now-” Ghost says.

“Sir!” Toast says, feeling a smile on his own face. “You… Kissed me!”

Ghost chuckles, though it sounds a bit strained, leaning in and planting a soft kiss on Toast’s nose, “Alright, Johnny, alright.” He stands, holding a hand out for Toast, who takes it with a stupid smile on his face.

“I need you to do something for me, okay? And then I promise I’ll explain,” Ghost says.

“I thought you were dead… And then you kissed me-” Toast says, sort of in a daze.

“Oh- Okay, Johnny,” Ghost grabs his arms, “Hey, listen to me, I need you to wake up Spooker and Colon, okay? Bring them to the living room.”

Toast nods, the smile not leaving. Ghost nods back, letting go of him. Toast heads off to where Spooker and Colon sleep.

Ghost looks down at the limp body on the floor. He hates what he has to do, but he knows by now what he has to do. He’s tired of restarting when he messes up. He’s doing it right this time, even if it kills him.

Soon enough, Toast has the other two in the living room, half awake. Toast’s still buzzing from what happened, but he’s a bit more in the moment.

Ghost rushes in, adjusting his gloves a bit, “Alright, team, listen up-”

“GHOST??!!” Spooker yells, jumping to his feet. Ghost’s eyes widen, and then he lets out a grunt as Spooker barrels into him, hugging him a bit too tight.

“Heyyyyyy, Spooks,” Ghost says, patting Spooker’s back a bit. Toast is shocked by that, usually Ghost would’ve shoved him off by now.

“You were gone for so long!!” Spooker says, pulling away, “We were worried!!”

“Yeah, what was with that?” Colon asks.

Seeing as the conversation has derailed so much, Toast expects Ghost to yell, but not for the first time that night he’s surprised.

“I uhm… It's a long story, you guys,” Ghost says, “One I don’t have time to tell.” He glances at the clock quietly.

“But you will later, right?” Spooker says.

“Yeah, of course,” Ghost says, reaching out to ruffle Spooker’s hair using that as a chance to shove him away a bit. “Sit back down.”

Spooker sits.

“Right, so, in about,” he glances at the clock, “A few minutes, the opposing side will attack. We have very little chance of surviving this, but as a team we can get through this, alright?”

“But- Sir, who even are they?” Toast pipes up.

Ghost eyes him, “You already know two- Gavin and Jimmy.”

“But- Jimmy’s dead,” Colon says.

Ghost cracks a small smile. He suddenly pulls a gun from his pocket- Isn’t that the gun Toast keeps in his bedside table??- pointing it at the hallway behind him, not even looking. “No he isn’t.”

There, at the edge of the hallway, is Jimmy, posed like he was about to lunge at Ghost. Ghost looks back at him. He takes a second to just… look at him, before nodding his head at the door. Jimmy stares at him. Ghost motions for him to move towards the door with the gun, and Jimmy starts moving slowly.

“Sir-!” Toast protests, “We can’t just let him go-!”

“We have to,” Ghost says through gritted teeth, watching Jimmy scamper out the front door. He pockets the gun again, staring at the door. He takes a deep breath.

“Right,” he turns back to them. “Now-”

“Wait, but I snapped his neck,” Colon says. “How was he alive???”

“He’s very bendy,” Ghost says simply, “Now, we need a gameplan. Toast??” He looks at Toast before he’s even moved.

“Oh- Uhm, I was thinking of one, yes,” Toast nods.

“What is it?” Ghost asks.

“I mean, we could surprise them, sir. They probably don’t know you’re… Alive, so if we could draw them out and then surprise attack them, that… Could work?” He shrugs.

Ghost smiles, grabbing his arm to pull him closer, pulling him into another quick kiss. “That’s exactly what you needed to say, Johnny!”

Toast stares at him, red faced. Yet another time he was not expecting that.

“Hey-!” Spooker jumps up again, “You can’t do that!”

Ghost looks at him, “And why is that, Spooker?” He sounds like he knows exactly what’s going to happen.

“Because Toast is married!!” Spooker cries, “To- To a child slave!!”

“Yeah!!” Colon says, standing as well.

Toast stares at them for a moment before Ghost nudges him in the ribs.

“I- Y- What-?” Toast sputters. “Child slave??”

“Yeah! We saw the marriage papers!” Spooker says, “‘Gregory Casket’, he was a missing child!!”

“Oh- You saw that and didn’t think to come ask me-??” Toast sighs, “Guys, no. Gregory Casket is Ghost’s legal name.”

“Wait-” Spooker looks between the two, “But- Ghost isn’t wearing a ring-!”

Before he’s even finished the sentence Ghost has started taking his glove off, holding his hand up. There’s a silver wedding band on his ring finger.

Spooker stares.

“So- What, you two just got married and didn’t tell us???” Colon asks.

“Tax benefits,” Ghost says quickly, glancing at the clock as he puts his glove back on. Toast nods, smiling a little.

“Right, now that that’s out of the way- Spooker, why don’t you come into the kitchen with me?” Ghost starts backing towards the kitchen.

“Okay!” Spooker smiles, following.

Toast watches the two go, unable to wipe the smile from his face. Ghost is… something, that’s for sure.

“Right, Spooker,” Ghost turns to them once they’re in the kitchen, out of earshot of the other two. “I have a super secret mission for you, okay?”

Spooker gasps, “Really?!”

“Yes, really!” Ghost nods. “I need you to come up with a super secret backup plan, in case Toast and I need help, okay?”

Spooker nods, “Okay!! Can I tell Colon though?”

“Yes, you can tell Colon,” Ghost says, “Just… remember what ghosts are weak to.”

Spooker looks away from him to think. Ghost nods, heading out of the kitchen.

Another thing checked off. Nearly halfway.

Ghost feels so tired. He’s been through this so many times, and he’s so tired of watching the people he loves die. He’s doing it right this time, no matter how much he hates it.

He’s learned his lesson.

~~~

O.O

[trojc-rewrite]

Sometimes i question my sanity-

“Its already gone”

[trojc-rewrite]

I drew @mothpebl (right), @ghostiewashere (left) and my (middle) Ghost designs!!

[trojc-rewrite]

Currently rp’ing an evil Ghost au in the pie server and, Ghost and Toast are now divorced

[trojc-rewrite]

Paradoxical - Chapter 9

~~~~~~

“We need a gameplan,” Toast says, addressing the two sat in front of them.

After the other two showered, he called them both into the living room for a meeting. Toast looks stressed, but he’s doing his best to stay calm.

“Can’t we just kill them?” Spooker asks.

“Spooker, you saw better than I did how many are out there. Do you honestly think we can take them all?” Toast asks, looking at him.

“No,” Spooker admits, looking down.

Toast sighs, looking at Colon, “Any ideas?”

“Nope,” Colon shakes his head.

“Great,” Toast mumbles. If Ghost were here, this wouldn’t even be an issue. He would’ve come up with some outlandish idea that probably would’ve gotten them killed but would’ve solved the problem. Yet here they are, the sun beginning to set, and they’re still stuck. Toast is trying his best to be hopeful but it’s hard to. They’re stuck.

Toast jumps when he hears a quiet knock at the back door. He grabs his trusty shotgun, motioning for Colon and Spooker to stay put. He heads for the back door, shotgun ready.

He takes a breath before opening the door a tiny bit.

Outside, he sees a figure. Shorter than him, pale complexion. They turn towards Toast, and Toast almost believes for a moment it’s Ghost.

And then he sees the dark hair, and he curses, going to close the door quickly.

“Wait-!” Jimmy hisses, shoving his hand between the door and the doorframe, almost like he’s asking to have his hand broken. “Wait- I’m not here to hurt you!”

“That’s a lie,” Toast says, pressing the door into Jimmy’s hand.

“No, please, I’m here to help!! I have information!!” Jimmy pleads.

“Why should I trust you?” Toast says, pushing the door more.

“OW- Okayokayokay please- They’re really mean to me!!! I wanna help you!!!” Jimmy frowns.

That catches Toast off guard. Jimmy never frowns, and he looks so much like Ghost when he does…

“Fine,” Toast huffs, opening the door. Jimmy smiles.

That’s when Toast lifts the shotgun, hitting Jimmy over the head with it.

“Colon, go grab rope!” Toast calls, setting his shotgun to the side as he drags Jimmy’s body into the house. It’s not hard to do, Jimmy is very light.

When Jimmy suggested this plan to Gavin and Maxwell, he didn’t expect it to work.

He didn’t expect to get knocked out and tied up either, but he’ll take what he can get.

When he wakes up, he’s in a dark room. It’s pretty small. He’s tied to a chair, like how Ghost was not too long ago. Only difference is, Jimmy can’t timeline hop.

“Heeellooooo?” he calls out. Doesn’t like being locked up alone. Reminds him too much of Before. He misses Gavin- Why’d he have to leave? This was a stupid idea. Why did Gavin let him do this. Stupid Gavin.

The door opens, and Jimmy hisses at the light, closing his eyes and turning away. So bright-

“So, Jimmy,” a certain brit says, turning the lights on before closing the door. “You said you have info?”

“Those are bright lights!” Jimmy says, squinting at him.

“Jimmy-” Toast sighs.

“What? That’s information!!” Jimmy smiles, his eyes adjusting a bit.

“I meant about the people who did… whatever’s outside,” Toast says.

“The zombies?” Jimmy asks, like there’s anything else outside.

“Yes, Jimmy. The zombies,” Toast says tersely, trying to keep his patience from leaving him.

“Oh, that was Gavin!” Jimmy says simply, smiling. “He’s so cool!!!”

Toast stares. “Gavin? As in, my brother, Gavin?”

“Noooo, Gavin from the gas station- Yes your brother!!!” Jimmy laughs.

Toast blinks. I mean, he knew Gavin had powers but… Toast didn’t know he was this powerful. How is he this powerful? It doesn’t even make sense. He turns away, opening the door again.

“Hey!! Turn the lights off at least!!” Jimmy calls to him, but to no avail. Toast just leaves.

Colon looks up at Toast when he walks into the room. Colon’s sitting on the couch alone, Spooker off in the other room seemingly on the phone.

“So? Is he useful?” Colon asks.

“Somewhat,” Toast sighs. “He’s… Incredibly stupid, apparently, but he did reveal to me who did that.” He motions vaguely outside.

“Oh? Who?” Colon asks, sitting up more.

“My brother,” Toast says. His eyes look far away.

Colon is about to ask something, but then Spooker comes back in.

“Toast, I got help!” He smiles, holding his phone away from his ear.

“Really?” Toast perks up. Spooker’s actually done something useful?

Spooker nods, putting his phone on speaker.

“Alright, lithen up, nerdth,” a familiar voice crackles over the phone speakers. “I don’t have the motht time in the world here.”

“Spencer!” Toast says, sounding pleasantly surprised.

“Yeah? Who elth? Thtupid… Anyway, I hear you guyth have a problem with undead?” Spencer says, sounding very focused on something else other than the conversation.

“Yes, they are… quite literally surrounding us, and there are… alot,” Toast says.

“I would athk if Ghoth ith there but I know he’th not, so Toath you need to lithen up,” Spencer says, not pausing again for input. “Hopefully you know by now that you can’t take all the undead on your own. If not, newth flath! You can’t. Tho, what now? Well, you have a few optionth; Wait for Ghoth, could take a few dayth, try to thin the herd, could be dangerouth, or try to take out the main man himthelf. Hopefully I don’t have to tell you thith but I’m thaying it anyway jutht in cathe, when dealing with powerful necromantherth, it’th better to take out the necromanther than to try and take out all the undead. Take out the creator, the creationth go with him.”

“Yes, Spencer, I know that,” Toast says, “But- What did you mean when you said we could wait-?”

“I don’t have time for thith!!” Spencer groans, “I helped you, I no longer owe Fred a favour, I’m going back to my gameth! Don’t bother me again, you abtholute nerdth!!”

Spencer hangs up. Toast sighs.

“That… Didn’t tell us anything new,” Toast says, turning away to think. “We can’t get out there… How are we supposed to take him out? We don’t even know where he is!!”

“Well, we have Jimmy?” Colon says. “Maybe we can use him to bait your brother out?”

“Wait, brother?” Spooker looks between them. “What? Are you guys keeping things from me???”

“No- I just found out,” Toast sighs, looking at him. “From Jimmy, actually.”

“What’s his name? Is he older than you? What’s he look like?? What’s he-” Spooker starts asking questions, and Toast holds a hand up to stop him.

“Okay, no more. His name is Gavin, and he’s my twin brother,” Toast says simply.

Spooker and Colon look at eachother, wide eyed. Spooker looks back at Toast.

“You have a twin brother?!?!?” Spooker cries out.

Toast sighs, rubbing his temples, “I’m going back to Jimmy. I have more questions. Don’t burn the house down.” He turns away, walking back to the room.

Toast opens the door slowly, making sure Jimmy’s still tied up. Upon seeing he is, he opens the door more, stepping in.

“I have more questions, Jimmy,” Toast says, leaning against the door behind him.

“I have answers!!” Jimmy says, smiling up at Toast. His dark shaggy hair hangs into his eyes.

Toast is still unnerved by how much he looks like Ghost. He supposes it makes sense, he did come from Ghost’s mind, but that doesn’t mean it looks normal.

“Alright,” Toast sighs, “Where is he? Gavin.”

Jimmy seems to study him for a second, which unnerves Toast further. It’s like a predator observing his prey, determining the best time to strike.

“Oh, y'know… There! Yknow, we had Ghost there for a bit. He’s gone now,” Jimmy smiles wider, the corners of his mouth twitching, pulling back further than they should be able to. It makes Toast feel nauseous.

“What? What do you mean? Gone?” Toast asks. Ghost can’t be gone. It’s just- It’s not possible.

“His blood was so red… I’d seen it before, but… It was so much better from a third person point of view! Red, red blood…” Jimmy mumbles, his smile never faltering.

Toast stares at him, the words forcing their way out of his mouth before he’s sure he wants the answer to them. “What did you do to him?”

“He’s gone, Toast,” Jimmy giggles.

“No- No, he isn’t,” Toast says firmly. Yet, he can’t shake the feeling that Jimmy is telling the truth. Ghost is no longer in this world. The thought settles on him like a thick blanket of snow, freezing him to the bone, smothering any other thought that dare try to cross it.

“You know he is,” Jimmy says in a low voice, sounding so much like Ghost that Toast can feel his heart twist.

“Shut up,” Toast says.

Jimmy begins to cackle, twisting Ghost’s face into horrific, inhuman shapes.

“Stop it!!” Toast yells, feeling his body begin to shake. He finds himself closer to Jimmy. He doesn’t remember moving. Jimmy continues to cackle.

Toast can feel someone shove past him, and sees the back of a blue beanie. He doesn’t hear what’s said, but he’s somewhat snapped back into reality when he sees Colon’s fist collide with Gh- Jimmy’s face. Jimmy’s head snaps back to an unnatural angle.

Toast can hear yelling. It takes him a second to realize it’s his own voice. He’s fighting against Colon, his eyes on the limp form of Jimmy in the chair. Colon’s dragging him out of the room.

The door closes, cutting off the body from Toast’s vision. The sound brings him back to his senses.

He can feel something wet on his face, his breathing coming way faster than it should. He feels hands on his arms, and then he registers the face in front of him.

Colon.

Colon just killed Jimmy. Toast saw his head snap back. Jimmy looks so much like Ghost.

Ghost.

He can’t be gone. Toast has known that man for 24 of his 32 years on this planet.

Ghost has always been there for him.

Always willing to talk him through scary situations. Always talking. Toast remembers his voice clearly.

Someone’s shaking him.

Ghost can’t be gone. It’s not possible.

He’s being led somewhere. He can’t focus. Ghost can’t be dead. It’s not possible. It’s not right.

Toast never got to tell him how much he cared.

It’s not fair.

He can’t be dead.

~~~

I'm not sorry for any emotional damage caused during this chapter.

[trojc-rewrite]

The Rise of Jimmy Casket Rewrite, Chapter 5

Tw - Past Loss

——————————————————————————

The three of them reached the hotel room, and the first thing all three of them did was throw themselves on the mattresses. The room itself wasn’t too big, two queen sizes and a small loveseat, as well as a bathroom and a counter with a microwave and a coffee maker on it.

Toast sighed, lounging on the mattress. Ghost came out of the bathroom, wiping his hands off on his red t-shirt. He looked at him, wrinkling his nose. “At least shower before getting on the bed you dirty ass dope.” He said, frowning.

Toast laughed a small bit, sinking more into the bed. “Not like you’ve never been this dirty laying in bed sir.”

Spooker and Colon looked up slightly from their makeshift pillow fort, entertained by their conversation. Ghost gave him a snarky look, and sat down on the edge of the bed. He looked tired, but not as tired as Toast felt. His limbs felt so heavy, like weights holding him to the bed.

“Long day.” Ghost said finally, messing with a piece of torn thread. Toast nodded.

Spooker stirred from the other bed, a pillow squishing from under his weight. He cleared his voice quietly. “Hey, Ghost?”

Ghost looked over at him, raising a brow. “Yeah?” He asked, sounding somewhat irritated. Spooker ignored his tone, scooching himself forwards from the side of the bed.

“Why did you leave?” He asked softly, cuddling a pillow close to his chest. Ghost’s face went white, before turning red. His tired expression morphed into one of anxiety, avoiding eye contact with the ginger.

“Don’t feel forced to answer sir, you don’t have to-“. Ghost cut Toast off.

“No! No, I do want to tell you all, it’s just, hard.” He said slowly, processing his words. He gave Toast an apologetic look. “Sorry.”

Toast sat up, nodding. “It’s okay.”

The brunet nodded, and took a deep breath.

“I left to protect you all.” He started. “I was getting worse, something was wrong with me. There was this voice in my mind, like anxiety but so much worse. Violent, horrible thoughts. ‘I could kill him for you.’ And, ‘I can protect you.’. It was like the voice knew me.”

Ghost swallowed, Toast noticed him beginning to clench the blanket. He sat forward, fighting off the urge to touch him, he knew that touching him would only make him worse.

“I didn’t want to hurt any of you, even if you all deserve it sometimes. So, I left. To get help for the voice, I knew it wasn’t just anxiety. It was a thing. So, I read around, and got help. One exorcism type thing later, it’s gone.”

He sighed shakily. “The thing called itself Jimmy, and it was not happy that I got rid of it. Or I guess him, but he wasn’t just pissed. He seemed desperate, like, hurt and frantic.

He pleaded like he knew me, ‘No! You can’t get hurt! I have to protect you!’ His head bled, like it had a hole in it. It was horrible. I told him no, and he just.”

Ghost wiped his eyes, the event was hard for him to talk about and Toast wanted to shut it down, but he kept talking.

“He said, ‘Then I’ll make myself come back.’ And then he left. But I knew what he meant. He was coming after you, and the other two. I couldn’t let that happen to you guys, so I left to find you three.” Ghost finished, and looked at Toast with a tired look in his eye. “So that’s why I left.”

Silence hung in the air, thick with anxiety and confusion. And then, Colon jumped up suddenly from the bed, causing pillows to lurch off the mattress. “The scratches!” He cried, “The scratches, the fire, Gavin. It’s all connected!”

Ghost turned to him, his nose scrunched in confusion. “What? What happened that you three didn’t tell me?”

Colon grabbed Spooker, peeling the bandaid off of his neck. The wound was healing, red and scabbed over, with dried blood sticking to the skin. Spooker flailed, smacking his hands against Colon's arm. “We left because we had started seeing these cuts on each other, as well as other wounds like bruises and scratches. Toast has some, I have a big bruise, and this is Spooker’s wound. Toast decided it had something to do with you so we left. Admittedly, I didn’t believe him at first, but he was right.”

Ghost stared at him, wide eyed. “Okay, and about the fire?”

“Well, we were staying at this gross motel and then, we woke up and it was lit on fire. Like in flames. We escaped but that's how Toast got his wound.” Spooker explained, now removed from Colons grasp.

Toast nodded as Ghost turned to him. “Another bizarre thing; we checked out the wreckage in the morning, and in the wood were these green vein-like things. They were glowing.”

Colon settled on the edge of the bed, making eye contact with Toast. “I wonder if it wasn’t Gavin that started the fire. When he hit you on the bridge, he had those lime green flames. They looked almost identical to the ones at the fire site.”

Ghost sighed. “All this for an exorcism. Who does this Ghost think he is and why does he care so much about who’s head he’s in. If I were a ghost, I’d be happy as hell to leave somebody’s head.”

Toast shrugged, “To be honest with you sir, I would have no idea.”

Spooker looked at Toast, “That reminds me, Toast, that night of the fire you were having a weird dream. We could tell, you were whispering about some ‘Mary’ girl. What was that about?”

Toast stiffened, and Ghost’s face turned angry. He spun to Spooker, glaring, “Hey! Don’t you-“

“It’s all right sir, he doesn’t know. It’s not his fault.”

Toast blinked away tears, closing his hands softly around his ring. It took a few minutes to get the words out, they were stuck in his throat, struggling to leave.

“Mary was my wife.” He said quietly, breathing out. Spooker and Colon stared at him. His heart seemed to beat in slow motion, his stomach filled with grief. It had been years since her death, but every time the wound opened it bled again. He closed his eyes, trying to calm down. A few tears fell down his face and he bit his lip.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t know. Toast I am so sorry.”

Spooker said quietly. Toast could hear him shuffle off the bed, and he could feel the bed's weight shift as he sat next to him. Ghost huffed quietly from beside him, but Toast was thankful when he didn’t raise an argument.

“It’s all right.” He said solemnly. Ghost sat closer to him, he could feel his best friend's warmth on his side, showing as much affection as he could muster in the moment.

“I bet she was amazing.” Spooker murmured. Toast smiled.

“She was. Her smile was as bright as the sun, and it made you feel warm from head to toe. She had these beautiful hazel eyes, so filled with love. She was beautiful, but her personality was even more beautiful. She was sweet, and caring. But she had that kick to her, sarcasm that could almost beat Ghost.”

Ghost stifled a small chuckle beside him, and Toast knew he was thinking about the time the two had a sarcasm match. Ghost had barely won.

“She would have liked you Spooker, she would’ve liked Colon too.”

Toast dried his tears, sniffling.

Ghost turned to him, his green eye round. “You okay?” He asked.

Toast nodded, “I’ll be okay sir. So, anyways, back to the mission.”

Colon snorted from the other bed, “We can worry about the mission in the morning. It’s late, you and Ghost just got done crying, and you’ve almost died twice in the last 24 hours. We all need sleep.”

Ghost nodded, “And we need to get you to a doctor tomorrow morning too. That leg looks bad, if we wait any longer you could need an amputation.”

Toast let out a groan, “But-“

Ghost shook his head, “Absolutely no buts. This is coming from me, Johnny. Sleep, then I’ll take you to the doctors.”

Spooker looked at Ghost with a confused face. “Can you even drive Ghost?” Ghost rolled his eye.

“Of course I can!” He snapped. “I just don’t most of the time because Toast offers too.” He slipped under the covers, snorting.

“Now shut off the light I’m going to bed.” Ghost grumbled, turning face down on the pillow.

“I’ll sleep on the love seat.” Toast got up, but Ghost grabbed him by the wrist and pulled him down back onto the mattress.

“No. Now get the fuck in bed and sleep.” Ghost demanded. Toast bit back an argument, and slipped under the cover.

Toast felt the warmth settle over him, immediately melting into the mattress. He felt so warm and at ease, like he’d never get up. Colon reached up and turned the fan off, the light going with it.

The air conditioning hummed quietly from the window, keeping Toast at the perfect temperature. Ghost flipped over in the bed, “Hey Toast.”

“Yes sir?” Toast whispered back to his friend.

Ghost shuffled under the covers, “I hope you sleep well.” He whispered awkwardly. Toast smiled.

“You too sir.” He chuckled.

Spooker leaned up in his bed, “Awwwwww.”

Ghost flipped over aggressively. “I’ll kick the shit out of you.” He threatened, throwing a pillow at him. Spooker dodged it, and Colon let out a yelp as it hit him instead.

“Not! Cool! Ghost!” Colon yelled.

Spooker laughed, “Yeah Ghost, don’t throw pillows at Colon.”

Ghost huffed and fell back into bed. Toast smiled so wide he thought his cheeks would fall off.

‘Together at last.’ He thought to himself. Tiredness overwhelmed him, dragging him into sleep.

——————————————————————————

POV - Toast’s wife is dead

[trojc-rewrite]

💕💕

HAPPY PRIDE MONTH!!!

[trojc-rewrite]

The Rise of Jimmy Casket Rewrite, Chapter Four

Previous

——————————————————————————

Toast blinked, his body not moving for a few seconds. His heart and lungs were lurching in his chest, he felt hot and cold at the same time. He let a shaky smile across his face, laughing a bit.

Ghost fixed his hair, cold lake water dripped slowly from his hair tips. His gray sweater was almost black from the lake water, and a strand of seaweed was strapped to his shoulder.

“Ghost,” Toast said solemnly. A million emotions were exploding in his chest, like tiny fireworks popping. Relief, joy, confusion. He wanted to wrap his arms around his friend, and never let him go. He wanted to hold him there in a warm hug, and sit there solemnly forever.

“Ghost I, where have you- thank you- but where have you been? I-I was so worried. Sir I’ve missed you so much,” he spilled out. Ghost looked at him, a mixed emotion glazing his good eye. But to Toast’s relief he smiled, showing an emotion not often seen in his best friend.

“There's so much. It’s too much to really explain right now.” Ghost said, picking the string of seaweed off his shoulder. He flicked it off of his fingers, and it hit Spooker in the leg. The ginger made a disgusted face, peeling it off of his jeans.

Ghost shook out his sleeve, staying quiet for a few minutes. “I was on my way back home believe it or not, and then I saw you and Gavin- just, holy shit. You absolute dumbass,” He breathed out a sigh. “I mean, I love how brave you are but Jesus, you can’t be dying on me.”

Toast chuckled, sitting upwards gently. “Well, it wouldn’t be the first time I almost died on this trip, that’s for sure.”. Ghost smiled a tiny bit, before turning his attention to Toast's leg.

“We should get somewhere warm, and get that wound looked at. It could be infected.” Ghost said, leaning over his friend's leg. The wound was pulsing with cold, dull pain.

The four of them were quiet, not speaking. A question hung in the air, “but where?”. Toast's wallet was soaked, so no cash. Ghost more than likely couldn’t afford to get a hotel room for four people, with Spooker and Colon in the same boat.

The river water lapped at the beach, making soft sounds against the sandy grass. Wind howled over him, pointing out how cold he was getting. It laughed at him, taunting him with inevitable hypothermia if he stayed out here. “Maybe my credit cards survived my fall.” Toast said, grabbing his sodden wallet.

Luckily, they did. He had only one really old card, but it would do for tonight.

Toast looked up from his wallet, and made eye contact with Colon. His eyes were staring at him, and he nodded to him. Toast knew what that meant, that was Colon’s silent way of asking “may we talk, specifically without Ghost.”

“Ghost, there’s a motel across the bridge. I hate to be that person, would you mind booking us a room for the night? I might take a few minutes to get up.” He said, blinking some water droplets from his eyes.

Ghost was quiet, unreadable emotions filling his face. “Okay, just don’t be too late.” He said, and Toast smiled at him.

“Thank you Sir. We’ll be there soon.” Toast said. His friend got up, wringing out his hoodie sleeve. He shook his hair out one last time, spraying Spooker and Colon with water droplets.

Ghost rolled his eye slightly, which Toast laughed at. “Still being grumpy, I see?”. His friend snorted.

“Yeah, I guess.” He said, smiling slightly. He grabbed his satchel from the shore.

Ghost disappeared over the bridge, the night consuming him until he was nothing more than a ringing thought in Toast’s head.

Spooker and Colon turned to him, eyes hard. “We hope that you know that we have several questions.”

Toast rubbed the wedding ring on his neck, feeling anxiety beginning to blossom in his belly. “Of course you do.” He joked.

Colon sat down on a mossy rock, “I’m just thinking. Aren’t you angry with him?” He asked, looking at him with foggy eyes.

Toast gave him a confused look. “Why would I be?”

Colon held out his arms in a matter-of-fact way. “He left us Toast! He left you to hold P.I.E together, he left me and Spooker with barely any knowledge on anything. Hell, Spooker is STILL a trainee!”

Spooker hesitantly nodded.

“He just left us. We barely got an explanation. He just said ‘Hey I gotta go, dunno when I’ll be back.’ You aren’t upset over that? Not even in the slightest? He left you with scraps!”

Colon looked upset, but not in an angry way. He looked sad, as if he had actually been hurt when Ghost left. In which, Toast didn’t get 100%, sure they had their moments of clarity, and sometimes they worked together brilliantly, but he didn’t think they were that close.

‘He holds a grudge with Ghost for leaving.’ Toast thought, ‘Which I can’t even blame him for. If I wasn’t so close to Ghost I would be too.’

He studied his inner emotions more, taking a few minutes to breathe before answering. ‘Maybe I am mad at him for leaving.’ He thought. Toast could feel a kernel of anger settled in the knot of other emotions, weaved in there like a root. It was small, it wasn’t enough to make him be this upset, but it was there. And Toast was sure that Colon probably felt it more.

‘Maybe he looked up to him, in a weird way.’ He thought finally.

He took a deep breath. “I am upset with him.” He answered truthfully. “But I feel like anger won’t solve anything here.”

He played with the gold ring around his neck, watching it catch the moonlight with a glint. The ring brought back memories. Memories of him and Mary dancing on their wedding night, proposing to her. And then came the unpleasant memories, muddled in, unfortunately intertwined. And then came the memories of Ghost, him coming to visit him every day, taking care of him, helping him with his alcohol addiction. Telling him it would work out in the end, that he’d be happy again. Some of the rare moments of Ghost’s optimism, some that he knew he might not ever see again.

“But, even though him leaving wasn’t right, and I agree that he shouldn’t have left on such short notice, I forgive him for it too. There’s so much to Ghost, he’s a complicated person, as cliche as that sounds.

“He didn’t mean to hurt us. I know that for a fact. Ghost cares about us, he refuses to say it, he hates showing vulnerability, but he loves both you and Spooker. He has his moments, but they’re easy to miss.

“But, I don’t blame you for being upset with him. Him leaving us for those few weeks, it wasn’t the best thought out decision. But confronting him about it, I feel like it’ll cause more issues.”

Colon took in what he said for a few minutes, his expression softening. Spooker shuffled beside him, looking lost in thought. His eyebrows were knitted in soft confusion.

“I understand that he respects us, I guess I was just hurt when he left. He left us with more questions than answers. He left me thinking, ‘what did I do wrong?’, those things are just so hard to get over. I just hope he tells us. We’re a team right? We’re supposed to trust each other. Why didn’t he want to tell us?”

Toast brought his legs closer to his body, straining as his leg pulsed with numb pain again.

“Ghost has his secrets, and we should respect that. Plus, he always tells us inevitably, one way or another.”

He got up, limping a bit. Spooker helped him stand, getting to his side. The ginger still looked lost in thought, his eyes somewhere not in the conversation.

Colon nodded. “I suppose you’re right.”

He stood up, dusting off his pants. Moss stuck to his legs, staining his jeans green.

“Now let's go, I can’t wait to sleep on something that isn’t dirt.” Colon said.

Spooker chuckled slightly to himself. Toast blinked at him, and Spookers eyes focused. “Sorry! I was just thinkin, ya know how it is.”

Toast smiled, “I understand.”

He slowly closed his hand around his ring necklace, staring up at the stars. They glowed so bright, Toast felt calmed by them. It reminded him of his wedding after party, after most people had gone home. That night was a blast, but Toast's favorite memory was that one.

He, Mary and Ghost all staring at the stars, pointing out constellations and telling quiet stories of their youth. Ghost told stories of Toast, as all of them shared drinks under moonlight.

He smiled slightly to himself.

“Mary, my love, I’m keeping them safe as you asked.”

——————————————————————————-

A calm chapter for the soul, these poor boys needed a break.

New chapter should be up soon! So sorry for the wait!

[trojc-rewrite]

Just normal activities in the P.I.E server