Edgiscript: Kimchi's a little under the weather, so I'll tell you that this is where you can find info on monetization An Introdu ction To The Book That Is Me : ASMRScriptHaven (reddit.com) and here's my library Masterlist for edgiscript : ASMRScriptHaven (reddit.com) . That's all.
Kimchi: HAAAAAAAA!!!!
Edgiscript: EEEAAAAAAGGGHHHHH!!!! Kimchi? What the hell?
Kimchi: It's not that easy to make that interesting and fun, is it?
Edgiscript: I... was... so concerned about your health, that I... couldn't... spend any time to... make this fun.
Kimchi: Awwwwww. That's so sweet. Utter BS, but still sweet.
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Part 6: [F4M] Play Time - 6 out of Checkmate [Kimchi Cat-Girl Speaker] [Hubby Human Listener] [Playing Board/Bored Games] [Rickety-Ass Stairs] [Colonel/Kernel] [You Sank My Battleship] [Give Me Back My Piece] : ASMRScriptHaven (reddit.com)
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Part 7

Kimchi: (Singsong voice.) Hubbyyyyyyyy? Huuuuuubbyyyyyyyy? I’m coming to geeeeet youuuuuuuu.
(Snickers and giggles.) Ooh, you are so good at this. I love playing hide and seek with you so much. The park has so many good hiding spots, but out here, you don’t have the advantage of having everything smell like you. So… I can follow… your scent… to… HERE!
Hah, haaaaaah. I see you. You can run, and you can laugh, I love your laugh, but you can’t hide anymore. I’m almost on you. I’m going to POUNCE…
(Kimchi crashes in some leaves.)
Hubby, what are you doing? You came back to get me. You should have used that opportunity to get away. Now the hunt is over. That’s no fun.
(Pause.)
Well, yeah, I missed. That’s what I meant. I missed, so why didn’t you keep running?
(Pause.)
Yeah, I suppose I’ve never missed before, but, you know, it happens. Why didn’t you run?
(Pause.)
Awwww, you were worried about me. Did you think I’d hurt myself? Well, thanks, hubby, but you don’t have to worry. Cats are invulnerable. I’ve got nine lives, remember? That means I can’t get hurt.
(Pause.)
Does too mean that.
(Pause.)
That’s right, there’s no point arguing with me. Why would you try to correct me when I’m right?
(Pause.)
What d’ya mean, I don’t look so good?
(Sounding hurt.) I thought you thought I was pretty.
(Pause.)
(Brightening up.) Oh, you do think I’m beautiful. You meant I look a little off.
In what way?
(Pause.)
Why would you think that, silly? And why are there two of you all of a suddenly? All of a suggen. Sudden. Whatever.
(Pause.)
No, I didn’t hit my head when I landed. What would I have hit my head on. There’s nothing but leaves here. I just… (Sneezes.)
Sorry, hubby. That came out of nowhere. I just… (Sneezes.)
No, I don’t know. Maybe allergies.
(Pause.)
Nope, never had allergies before, but I can’t think of another reason why I might… (A few coughs.)
(Pause.)
Whaaaaaaat? Sick? No way. Cats don’t get sick. That’s a silly human thing.
(Pause.)
Cats do not get sick. I told you, cats are invulnertable.
(Pause.)
Right, that’s what I said. Invulnerable. Geez, hubby. You’re thinking I’m sick, but you’re the one not hearing things properly.
Now, if you’ll stop being so silly and doing things like spinning in circles, we could get back to our game.
(Pause.)
Don’t tell me you’re not spinning. You and the whole forest is doing it. I’m actually impressed. How did you manage to get the whole park to… ohhhhhh.
(Kimchi faints. When she wakes up, she’s in bed. She sounds a little groggy.)
Hubby? What happened? Why am I in bed? Where did the forest go?
(Pause.)
Yes, the park. The grass, the trees, the leaves. Where did it go?
(Pause.)
I did not pass out. I can fall asleep very quickly, but only when I’m trying. And I wasn’t trying.
I wanted to catch you. That’s our Saturday game. I get to hunt you in the morning and then I have the rest of the day to make you happy after I catch you.
I love being the hunter and you love being the prey. I love our Saturdays. You don’t have to go to work. I get to play with you all day. Now what happened?
(Pause.)
No, no, hubby. I think you’re confused. I carry you when I catch you. You don’t carry me. You couldn’t have carried me all the way home.
(Pause.)
No, hubby, it’s not that I think you’re not strong enough, it’s just that it doesn’t happen that way. I catch you. I carry you. I make you happy. Do you see the relationship here? Me to you. You’re getting it backwards. Now let me get up and…
(Kimchi tries to get up but stops right away. Sore, painful moans. Kimchi starts to sound a little groggier and now sounds a little stuffed up as well. If you want to cough at times, go ahead when you think it works.)
Ohhhh. Ohhh, OOOOHHHHHHHHHHHHH. My body hurts. Why does my body hurt?
What did you do to me? What did I do to me? Wait, did the forest do this to me? I didn’t know it could do that. I thought it liked me. What’s going on?
(Pause.)
A fever? Pfft. Cats don’t get fevers.
(Pause.)
No, I’m not dizzy, and I don’t have body aches. I’m a cat. We’re invulnershuble. Invernatable. Invlurt… We can’t get sick.
(Pause.)
Of course I can say the word. I’ve said it before, many times. You’ve heard me say it.
(Pause.)
I… just… don’t want to say it right now. That’s all. It has nothing to do with the fact that I’m dizzy and achy all over.
(Pause.)
Oh, drat. You tricked me. Ok, fine, I’m a little dizzy, but that’s probably just because I crashed into those leaves.
(Pause.)
Yes, those leaves. There were a lot of them. And they were really big. They ganged up on me. Why does the park not like me all of a sudden?
(Pause.)
(Kimchi sounds even more stuffed up now.) No, my nose isn’t starting to run. Legs run. Noses sniff. Hubby, I think you’re the one who’s sick if you forgot that.
(Pause.)
Oh, you mean I’m leaking. Yeah, you’re right. What’s this coming out of my nose?
(Pause.)
Ewwww, that’s disgusting. How could that be?
(Pause.)
What’s that? A Kleenex? What do I do with it?
(Pause.)
Ok. (Blows nose.) WOW! Hubby, look at this. That came out of me. What’s going on?
And why am I naked with the air conditioner on? It’s freezing in here.
(Pause.)
What? I can’t be in my pajamas and under the covers. It’s so cold, I…
Huh. I guess you’re right. Wow. How did I not know that? And why am I so cold?
Wait. What’s that? (Distrustful.) Hubbyyyyy, what is that?
(Pause.)
Yes, that filthy, disgusting, vomit inducing, nasty goop that smells like you pulled it out of the garbage disposal. And why are you pouring some of it into a spoon?
(Pause.)
You can’t be serious. There is no way I’m swallowing that.
(Pause.)
You humans do it all the time? What, in the literal hell, is wrong with you? No wonder cats are superior in every way when you’re sabotaging yourself as a species by eating that filth.
(Pause.)
You can call it medicine and good for me if you want, but I know better. And it doesn’t matter. I’m not sick.
(Kimchi gets a little panicky.)
Hubby? Where are you going?
(Pause.)
(Quietly, afraid to admit the truth.) Well… yeah… I guess some chicken soup does sound kinda good right now. I suppose I’d like some. But only because I always like your chicken soup. It’s nummy.
If… if you wanted to make me some, I guess I’d eat it.
(Pause)
(Panicky.) Hubby? Wait. Don’t… don’t go.
(Pause.)
Yes, I know the ingredients and the stove aren’t in here, but… I don’t want you to go.
(Pause.)
I know you’re not leaving the apartment, but I don’t want you to go… anywhere. I… don’t want you to leave me.
(Pause.)
No, please. I’m…
(Sweetly, tenderly, frightened.) I’m scared. Hubby… I’m scared. I’ve never felt like this before. I’m… sick. That means I could… I could die, right? What if you left, even for a minute, and I needed you. I think that… if you go… even for a little bit… I might…
(Long pause. Hubby walks to the dresser and opens a drawer to get something.)
Hubby, what is that? Why are you counting to ten?
(Pause.)
You’re tying a bow on my wrist.
(Pause.)
Yes, it is pretty. I like the color very much. You make a nice bow. I like it.
(Pause.)
What? There was no hunt.
(Pause.)
Oh, so that’s what the counting meant. You started a game, didn’t you? You caught me. You tied me… with this bow. And now you have to make me happy.
(Pause.)
That’s right. Those are the rules.
(Pause. From now on, Kimchi sounds more and more tired, and gets quieter and quieter until she falls asleep.)
Yes, please. Climb into bed with me and hold me.
(Pause.)
Thank you, hubby. You feel so warm. And your arms around me makes me feel safe.
I don’t like being sick. It makes me scared. I don’t want to die, hubby. I don’t want you to go away.
(Pause.)
Ok. I guess you’re right. I can’t die with you here now because you have to make me happy, and being apart from you would make me sad.
(Pause.)
Yes, that’s right. You have to make me happy. Those are the rules. And you are, hubby. You are making me very happy right now.
(Pause.)
Oh, yes, hubby. Stroking my hair feels so good. I always like it when you pet me.
(Pause.)
And scritch my ears. Just like that.
(Pause.)
Yes, I like laying on your chest. Is it ok if I squeeze you?
(Pause.)
Yes, that would make me happy.
(Pause.)
That’s good. If I hold on tighter, you’re even warmer. How is that possible? Am I squeezing warmth out of you?
(Pause.)
Hubby, thank you. You make me not scared. I love you, hubby. I love you. I’m so glad you’re mine.
(Pause.)
No, I’m not yours. You’re mine.
(Pause.)
Ok. I’m yours too.
(Pause.)
Yes, that makes me happy.
(Pause.)
No, I’m not going to fall asleep. I just like laying here with you.
(Pause.)
So what if my eyes are closed. That means I’m comfortable.
(Pause.)
Yes, I am a good hunter. I love to catch you and make you happy, because I love you.
But… I always wondered why you liked being the prey so much. Now I know. This is nice. You’re nice.
I like you taking care of me. I love you, hubby. I… love…
(Kimchi falls asleep.)
Part 8 next.

Hey there! I'm glad you could make it. We've been looking for someone to watch our house while we're out on Vacation for a while now, and you were Available! We've been having these strange encounters where our stuff gets misplaced occasionally..It happens everywhere in our house. I'll write a list of instructions on how you can Surviv- err..Protect our house.
My Room
(1) My room should be the first door to the LEFT upon entering the hallway. In the inside, There should be a light brown desk on the left side of the wall, a Black desk with a white computer on the wall behind you, A black bed on the wall to the right of you, and a TV hoisted on the wall to the left of you. It should be turned off. If anything, and I mean ANYTHING looks off (e.g Extra furniture, different colored furniture, misplaced objects, etc.), close the door and open it until it looks EXACTLY like it was described.
(1a) I WOULD describe the objects in my room, but that'll take too much time. I'll leave it as a separate note for later.
(2) I highly recommend sleeping in my room, because those creatures are the most tame there. But, whatever you do, DON'T look under my bed. He doesn't like it when people look at him...except me, I'm cool with that guy. My blinds have a large hole in it, so I suggest you put something over it, like a pillow, so that creepy person outside doesn't start peeping at you. There's also these people in the screens, and they come out at random. All I got to say is, just turn off the computer or the TV if it starts showing static.
That's all for my room at the moment, now we're going to my Brothers' room.
(3) Their rooms are at the END of the hallway. Inside, there are two beds opposite from each other, ONE TV hoisted up at the wall in front of you, an Xbox series S on the floor in front of you, a business chair in front of you, and a clothes basket behind you. And if anything looks off, refer to the last sentence in Rule 1.
(4) The Xbox HAS to be turned off, because they hate bright lights. Failure to do so, and I hope you could live without your eyes. :D
Secondary Family
There should be 7 people in the house with you, they are considered the "Secondary Family" when we're gone. They're actually pretty chill if you don't mess with them. I'll describe them.
Secondary Mother
(5) The Secondary Mother Isn't fond of strangers, and she usually resides in the Den (the room to your right when you enter the house.) She's the most aggressive out of the 7. When she's NOT in the Den, however, she might either be with the Secondary Father, or she might be following you. She'll appear in the bathroom, or might be searching our rooms for something. Just don't acknowledge her existence, and you'll be A-okay!
(6) She might call you to do something for her. That's the only time she'll not attack you. When she does, go ahead and fufill that request, no matter how simple it may be. She doesn't like it when you slack off.
(7) The Secondary Mother is a clean freak, and she likes things spotless. All you have to to is clean up after yourself, Clean up our rooms, and that'll be all for the Secondary Mother!
Secondary Father
The Secondary Father is the most chillest person you'll ever know! He's the most understanding out of the Family, so there isn't a lot of requirements to not get killed by him, but I'll list the most crucial ones.
(8) He'll sometimes be coughing VERY badly. No matter how painful it sounds, DON'T check on him. Because half the time, it's only a trap. And he'll take you to SM so she could kill you.
(9) He'll also be in the Den with SM. there should be curtains obscuring the view from the Living Room and the Den. If they're closed, just..don't go in there. Even I don't know what wacky shenanigans they got going on in there..
(10) He knows the secrets of this house, a Lot of secrets. If you feel uneasy, or you think something's off, Call SF, and he'll take care of it.
(11) The house may warp in on itself from time to time, shifting the appearance of the interior. Strangest thing I saw was that the hallway was made out of flesh. Living breathing flesh. So basically, when the Interior looks off, call SF, and he'll fix it. It can be the most miniscule thing as the rooms were swapped around, Or there would be extra doors leading to nowhere.
(This is all I have right now, and I might continue this on a different post. This is also my first Ruleshorror post, and criticism is appreciated!)

Chapter 1

Alyssa awoke with saltwater in her mouth and nose. She hacked and sputtered, only to realize she was sinking deeper into a pitch dark pool. She closed her eyes against the water's sting, and as her panic rose she flailed with arms and legs. She was desperate to regain bouyancy, even as she choked out the brine from her burning lungs. Determined, she broke to the surface again, gulping in air between ragged coughs as she fought to stay afloat.
Treading water, she opened her eyes and nothing changed. The darkness in the echoing chamber was complete, and she had to fight down another surge of panic as she took in the precariousness of her situation. The cold water sapped her strength, and her heart raced as a sudden scream of terror welled up from within.
Alyssa winced as her own scream echoed in her ears. She choked out the last of the salty water, then took a deep breath, trying to force herself to calm. "Okay, okay," she soothed herself, voice trembling slightly despite her efforts, "we're okay."
After another steadying breath, Alyssa began building a mental catalog of her situation. Her clothes were soaked through, but she wasn't finding treading water to be too difficult, yet; a future problem. Other than her lungs, nothing hurt, and those were recovering. She could still feel her toes and fingers on both hands, meaning no paralysis, that she could find. Nothing seemed to be seriously wrong, except that she had no idea how she'd come to be in a pitch dark echoing chamber filled with water.
Calmer, now, Alyssa tried to recall what she had been doing. The last thing she remembered was walking along the shoreline, feeling immensely lonely. The sound of the waves coming in, closer and closer, was still vivid in her mind. She could still remember the coarse feeling of the sand between her toes. The saltwater air had filled her lungs as she wondered how she could be in such a beautiful place, and still feel so sorry for herself. With a bitter laugh, Alyssa lolled her head back in the water and stared into the endless void. Well she certainly had reason to feel sorry for herself, now. Still, the memory of how she came to be here was distressingly absent.
Drip … Drip … Drop.
As her adrenaline faded, Alyssa could hear the slow, steady fall of water into the pool. Was the water level rising? She couldn't tell without knowing more about the chamber she was in. Determined to push back against her growing despair, Alyssa decided to explore her environment more thoroughly. A shiver coursed through her spine as she felt out to either side as far as her arms would go and couldn't find a wall, nor did she find purchase beneath her feet. After a moment of hesitation, Alyssa expanded her search. She swam forward, keeping her hands ahead of herself.
She didn't have to go far before she bumped into an uneven stone surface. Alyssa wasn't sure in the dark, but judging by the smoothness of the rock she guessed it was some kind of river stone. She followed the stone wall around for a ways before deciding it was curved inward. Pushing off, Alyssa turned and reached for the other side, then followed along the wall and repeated the crossing a few more times. She decided that the cavern was roughly circular, perhaps half again as wide as her armspan at its widest stretch, though without light she couldn't be certain she had ever crossed it straight. She considered her options as she clung to the side of the chamber.
Drip … Drip … Drop.
The steady sound was maddening in its repetition, and Alyssa let out a huff of annoyance. Thinking on it, though, she was sure the water had been steadily falling into the chamber the entire time she was here, and she didn't think the water level had risen. Not that she had any way to really know for certain, but if she was right, it implied there was some way for the water to get back out. Could she get out the same way? Taking a deep breath, Alyssa ducked beneath the surface and swam down. Her kicks were hindered by her sodden skirt, but following along the cavern wall as she descended, Alyssa felt the cavern floor after a depth of maybe twice her height. Ten feet wasn't even as deep as most home swimming pools.
Alyssa gulped down air as she returned to the surface, thinking hard about what she'd found. Another shiver coursed through her veins just before she dove down to explore the bottom further. Like the walls, it was uneven but smooth. She could feel some small cracks, and feel the water rushing past her fingers near one or two of these. That, then, was where the water was escaping to. Frustrated, she resurfaced one more and banged her fist against the stone wall. "Damnit." She knew she wouldn't be swimming her way out of here.
For the third time, Alyssa shivered, and she realised that she was starting to lose feeling in her toes. The water temperature wasn't frigid, but she could feel it sapping her strength. Was it ninety-six degrees for hypothermia? Ninety-five? She couldn't recall, but it wasn't important, without a thermometer. She was going to die, here, if she didn't find a way out, and soon.
Drip … Drip … Drop.
Straining, she tried to focus on the sounds around her once more. The incessant dripping of the cave was her only remaining hope of finding a way out, and she had no idea how to reach the ceiling. Alyssa squeezed her toes in an attempt to restore some feeling, while she thought about the problem. After a moment, she began exploring the cavern walls again, this time searching for something to stand on rather than just learning about her environment. After a few turns about the chamber, she found a small shelf just a few feet beneath the surface, large enough for her to put a single foot on.
She pushed herself up, trying to go slowly as she felt along the wall for anything to grip onto. She couldn't find purchase before her momentum carried her too far from the wall, but she did feel roughly how high the ceiling was just before she splashed back into the pool. "Yes!" she celebrated the small victory as she surfaced, fueling her hopes of an escape with that realization that she could probably wedge herself between the ceiling and the shelf if she was purposeful about it.
Returning to the wall, she tamped down on the urge to shiver again, then surged straight up, putting her hands above her to try and catch the ceiling. Water cascaded around her in a torrent, her water-logged clothing threatening to drag her back to the depths, but she held on until she was steady. Alyssa allowed herself a small smile for her success, though some part of her thought it felt more like a grimace, before she began feeling along the cavern ceiling with her hands. Like the rest of the chamber, the stone was smooth and uneven, but it had sharper protrusions here and there that might serve as handholds. Alyssa was reminded of the wall climb at the local mall. She'd never been great at it, despite her friends dragging her to try it every other weekend during high school.
As she continued exploring the ceiling, another involuntary shiver wracked her body, and she set her teeth against the growing chill. "I'm going to get out," she promised herself, just as her hand found open air where she'd expected stone. She nearly fell, but she caught herself and explored the edges of the hole. She couldn't even reach the entire thing from her perch! The ledge was rugged and sharp, and just barely far enough from the wall that she had to strain to reach it. She explored as far around the hole as she could, certain it was large enough for her to fit through. Excited, Alyssa grabbed onto the ledge with both hands and tried to pull herself up, but her grip wasn't solid enough. She immediately slipped back into the water with another splash.
Alyssa surfaced with a growl, feeling a surge of determination and stubbornness. Reclaiming her perch on the shelf, she pushed up to the roof of the chamber once more. This time she knew her target, so rather than wasting time and grip with exploration, she just focused on steadying herself, there. After a few breaths, she reached up to grab the ledge again, trying to find solid hand-holds.
As she swung out from the wall, her sodden skirt trailed through the water, weighing her down. She held on for longer this time, uttering a harsh noise as she strained to pull herself up. She managed to get her chin to her fingers before her grip failed her again, and the feeling of freefall sent her heart thrilling before she splashed into the cool water once more.
When she surfaced, Alyssa let out a frustrated growl. "I had it!" she admonished herself, before finding the ledge once more. A third time, her efforts were fouled and she fell into the water. In frustration, she peeled her skirt off her legs and abandoned it to the murky brine. With the drag gone, she had an easier time holding onto the ledge, and on her fourth attempt she nearly managed to pull herself all the way up before her arms gave out and she slipped back into the water with yet another scream of frustration.
She knew she was close, but she obviously wasn't going to make progress while her muscles were burning with fatigue. Floating on her back, Alyssa glared up into the darkness as her emotions swirled around her, threatening to drag her into despair. Hope and frustration warred within her, each trying to gain the upper hand. She clung onto the determination that she had almost made it, but as she dwelled on the problem above her, doubts began to surface. What if she couldn’t pull herself out? What if there wasn’t a way out above?
Anger surged through her at that thought, hot and fierce. She refused to accept that fate. Closing her eyes, she focused on the anger and used it as fuel for her resolve. She just needed a moment to catch her breath, relax her muscles, and try again. She was going to get out.
When she swung out for the fifth time, Alyssa’s fingers gripped tightly to the rock above. She pulled herself up into the black with a roar of determination and frustration. She got her chest over the lip, then reached one arm forward hastily in search of a better hold. She found purchase, then pulled a leg up and got one foot on the ledge. With a scream of exultation, she pushed herself the rest of the way out of the chamber and into the tunnels above.
With a feral noise of triumph, Alyssa slid onto the cool, damp stone of the tunnel, then rolled onto her back and lay gasping for air. Her muscles were twitching, and she was still cold, but she was no longer in the water, and that was a massive improvement, even if the dark and damp of the unknown was around her.
Alyssa wasn’t sure how long she lay there on the stone, but as her panting and muscle spasms gave way to shivering and goosebumps, she admitted to herself, “I have to move.” But it was hard to keep going; her body felt heavy and drained from the exertion of just climbing out of the chamber below, and she wasn’t even sure where to go next. With a groan, she pushed herself up to a sitting position, fighting the exhaustion and mounting sense of dread that threatened to claim her.
Carefully, she crawled forward on hands and knees, every movement an effort. She could feel the edge of the hole she’d just emerged from, but that was obviously a deadend. Instead, she pressed on, hunting for an alternative. The rough stone scraped against her palms and knees as she inched along, her progress painfully slow.
The cavern descended, and Alyssa's heart sank when her hand plunged into another pool of water. She pulled back, relieved that the bank was shallow enough she could easily get back out of this pool. Nevertheless, she paused to consider her options, then turned to explore in the opposite direction. After several minutes of fruitless searching, she realized that the water-filled passage was her only way forward.
Alyssa let out a heavy sigh of frustration as she lowered herself into the tepid water. She gritted her teeth as the cold crept back into her bones, but willed herself to keep moving. The tunnel continued its descent, and soon the ceiling plunged into the pool, forcing her to submerge if she wanted to continue. Alyssa hesitated, barely holding back her desperate tears. Swimming blindly through the flooded passage seemed like madness, but what choice did she have?
Taking a deep, gasping breath, Alyssa plunged beneath the surface and swam forward with powerful kicks of her legs. She kept one hand on the stone above and the other stretched out in front of her, searching for obstacles. As her lungs began to burn with the need for oxygen, panic threatened to overwhelm her. What if the tunnel never resurfaced? If she went much further, she was certain she would not be able to make it back. Still, she had no alternatives; no other way to proceed. So she swam forward into the unknown, gambling her life on an exit while desperately ignoring the growing panic in the back of her mind.
A subtle glow in the murky water caught Alyssa’s attention, and the tunnel veered sharply upward. Desperate for air, she kicked towards the light, discarding caution as she propelled herself forward and up with both arms and legs. Hope surged through her as she swam towards the surface.
When she emerged from the water, gasping and sputtering for air, Alyssa let out a cry of relief. Mushrooms! Glowing mushrooms filled the room, their glow dim but omnipresent. She marveled, letting out a delighted laugh at the sight of the water’s reflection erupting into a cascade of colors on the cavern ceiling. Alyssa took a deep breath, and although the air was musty and stale, it had a sharpness and movement to it that the previous chamber hadn’t. Where there were mushrooms there was life, and where there was wind there was an exit. For the first time in hours, Alyssa smiled, as she pulled herself out of the pool onto the bank.

Chapter 2

For the second time in several hours, Alyssa lay on the ground catching her breath and allowing her muscles to relax. The swim through the watery airlock–she couldn’t think of any other way to describe that tunnel–had been far more mentally taxing than the physical exertion of pulling herself up out of the first chamber. Nevertheless, it required a great deal of effort and she was exhausted.
As she lay on her back, Alyssa tried again to remember how she got here. She remembered vividly her walk on the beach, and then … water. There was nothing in between. She wasn't even sure how much time had passed, but judging by the way her stomach was starting to groan in protest, and by the fullness of her bladder, she was fairly sure it had been several hours. On the other hand, she could account for at least two of those since she found herself in the chamber, unless her estimate of time was very off.
Her deliberations were cut short by a small squeaking noise, not far away. Alyssa eased herself up and turned towards the noise. There in the field of mushrooms was a small white and brown mouse, cast in an eerie glow by the mushroom's bioluminescence. Alyssa watched in awe as the mouse nibbled on the mushrooms, waiting to see what would happen. She didn't know enough about mushrooms to judge their safety for herself, but if the mouse could eat them, she figured they were probably safe for her to try, as well. After all, weren't mice used for drug testing all the time?
The mouse seemed oblivious to Alyssa’s presence, and she held her breath as best she could while she counted the seconds, trying to decide how long she should wait before trusting the results. Hours, probably, if she was honest with herself. Just when she was about to give up on the idea, a sudden movement caught her eye. Beyond the mouse, swift as could be, a slithering figure stole towards the unsuspecting rodent. “No!” she called, and her hand found a rock. Hastily, she threw it towards the onrushing creature. The rock went wide, but the serpent’s stealth was spoiled, and the mouse quickly darted away from its assailant, deeper into the mushrooms.
The snake let out a hiss of annoyance, and Alyssa was briefly overwhelmed by a sudden feeling of immense displeasure. She wasn’t surprised the snake was annoyed, but the sheer vehemence she felt was almost as if sensing her own emotions. Its lunch foiled, the serpent turned and slithered away, leaving Alyssa and the mouse alone in the chamber once again.
Alyssa waited, still and quiet, as the chamber settled back into silence. She wondered whether the little mouse had escaped the field of mushrooms entirely, or if it was still here. But something told her to wait; a sense of hesitance and uncertainty that felt sourceless and yet compelling.
Eventually, her patience paid off, and the little mouse poked its head back out of the mushrooms, staring after the snake. It emitted a soft, hesitant noise, then furtively darted out of the field into the open. There, it paused to stare up at Alyssa, studying her with a raw curiosity that nearly overwhelmed Alyssa as much as the snake’s displeasure had. She also sensed gratitude from the little mouse, though how she knew that’s what it was feeling she could not say.
“Are you hurt?” she hazarded, as she leaned in towards the mouse. The little creature took a quick step back, and the curiosity was immediately replaced by uncertainty.
Alyssa straightened up to give the mouse space. The feeling of uncertainty slowly faded, and she tilted her head in curiosity. “Why can I sense what you're feeling?” she asked the mouse, though of course she knew it would not reply.
The mouse watched her for several more moments before taking a single daring step forward. Alyssa sat very still, and after another moment it took a few more steps towards her. Soon, it was near to her knee, its little nose twitching incessantly as it sniffed at her dampened skin.
“I’m afraid I don’t have any food on me,” Alyssa said, still not moving but to talk. The mouse sat back and stood up on its hind legs to peer up at her. Alyssa could sense its curiosity turn to acceptance, and then, before she could protest, the little mouse leapt up onto her leg. She gasped in startlement, surprised at the feel of its soft fur and the tickle of its little claws brushing against her bare skin.
When it reached her hip, the mouse scurried under her tee shirt, and Alyssa made a choking noise of displeasure as it crawled, with quick movements, up her back and out of the tattered collar. When it came to rest on her shoulder, Alyssa held her breath, not daring to move. She watched the mouse out of the side of her eye, and a sense of appreciation flooded into her perception. Slowly, she turned her head to see the mouse staring at her. With a twitch of its whiskers, the little creature poked its nose against her cheek, cool and damp, before turning to look at the mushrooms.
“You think they will be safe for me?” she asked quietly, as she turned to follow the mouse’s gaze. “But raw mushrooms …” she complained, with some disdain. The mouse touched its nose to her cheek once more, and Alyssa sensed insistence. With a sigh, she mumbled, “Why am I trusting a mouse?” before ever so slowly–so as not to dislodge her guest–she leaned forward to collect a handful of the morsels.
Alyssa straightened and studied her collection of mushrooms thoughtfully. Arranging them by size, she selected the smallest and glanced at the mouse out of the corner of her eye once more. "You're sure about this?" she asked, her voice echoing in the damp cavern. The mouse couldn't speak, of course, but Alyssa felt a strong sense of certainty from her tiny companion. Or maybe that was just the discomfort of hypothermia, exhaustion and her painfully full bladder talking.
Hesitantly, Alyssa popped the smallest mushroom into her mouth. It had a surprisingly rich, earthy flavor, reminiscent of the forest after a rainstorm. As she chewed, the spongy texture yielded, releasing a burst of liquid that filled her mouth with a strange, electric tingle. The sensation was not unpleasant, but definitely unfamiliar. She swallowed, marveling at how easily it went down despite her reservations.
Emboldened by the lack of immediate ill effects, Alyssa quickly consumed the other mushrooms. With each one, the tingling sensation spread, until her whole body hummed with a kind of vibrant, restless energy.
Cupping her hands together, Alyssa scooped up some of the cool water and drank deeply. The liquid soothed her throat, but did nothing to quell the building sense of excitement and unease. She leaned back against the rock, trying to steady herself as the mushrooms’ effects took hold.
It wasn't hallucinations, but a profound shift in Alyssa's perception. The cave seemed to come alive around her; the rocks and water pulsed with a subtle, resonant energy. She felt a surge of confidence and clarity, as if a veil had been lifted from her eyes. With trembling hands, she tore a strip from the bottom of her t-shirt and fashioned it into a makeshift pouch. She wasn't sure what lay ahead, but having a source of food could prove useful. She filled the pouch to the brim with the glowing caps, marveling at their strangeness, before tying it securely to her hip.
"Okay," Alyssa whispered, her voice sounding strangely amplified to her own ears. "I guess we follow the snake." The thought of the serpent sent a ripple of fear through her companion, but she reassured him, "Don't worry, I won't let it get you." The little mouse was still afraid, but it seemed to understand her meaning, and nestled up against her neck, soft fur gentle on her skin.
With a deep breath, Alyssa rolled to her knees and stood, her legs trembling slightly. The mouse clung to her, its small heartbeat echoing her own. Alyssa could feel its mix of curiosity and trepidation, mirroring her own complex emotions. "Come on," she muttered, "let's go." She started forward into the gloom, following the serpent's path and the promise of fresh air. Using the glowing bundle on her hip as a makeshift light, Alyssa navigated the narrow tunnels with confidence. Her bare feet found easy purchase on the cool, damp stone. She progressed at a much more comfortable pace than the slow, exploratory crawl she'd been limited to in the submerged chamber. As she followed the winding tunnel, it sloped gradually upwards, and a light fog crept in, curling around her ankles. Alyssa's heart quickened. She dared to believe she was nearing open air, and a potential end to this nightmare.
Yet even as hope blossomed in her chest, each step brought a growing unease from the small, furry companion on Alyssa's shoulder. The mouse huddled closer to her neck, its nose twitching incessantly. As they rounded a corner, a new scent filled Alyssa's nostrils: earthy mud and a hint of ozone, in stark contrast to the mineral-rich dampness of the caverns. The tunnel widened sharply ahead, seeming to fall away into a murky expanse. Through the haze, the silhouette of a massive tree trunk promised an escape from what she had almost believed might be her tomb.
"We made it," Alyssa breathed, a swell of triumph surging through her. The mushrooms' influence still thrummed in her veins, confidence mingling with her own burgeoning anticipation. She quickened her pace, emerging from the cave mouth into the cool, damp air. Alyssa paused there, one hand on the stone wall, as she breathed in the scent of her freedom.
A twilit forest stretched out before her, dotted with towering trees that reached for an unfamiliar sky. Alyssa tilted her head back, marveling at the stars glimmering above. Their patterns were strange, yet mesmerizing; their strangeness only matched by the comfort they brought her. Alyssa knew the constellations were wrong; that they matched nothing she'd ever seen before, but right now all that mattered was the comfort in knowing that she would not die in that cave.
A squeak of pure terror from the mouse jolted Alyssa from her reverie. The force of her companion's fear nearly knocked the wind from her. Alyssa swiftly sought the source of the mouse's fear. There, beside the nearest tree, stood a tall, gaunt figure, a serpent slithering up its leg. The figure's cold blue eyes glared at Alyssa with a chilling intensity.
As the snake continued its ascent, the figure lifted a hand, guiding the snake to wrap about its too-long neck. Subtle, thorny protrusions emerged from the figure's chin, and the snake rubbed itself against them, hissing as it impressed its displeasure upon the figure, no doubt casting Alyssa as the villain in its tale.
"H-hello," Alyssa stammered, suddenly acutely aware of her vulnerability. She took a guarded step back and brought her hands up defensively. The figure's presence was oppressive, suffocating. Even in her desperation, Alyssa knew she wanted no part of any help they might offer. Still, she needed time to think. She had to find a way past them without provoking their ire, and an attempt at being polite was all she could come up with in the moment.
The figure spoke, its voice a grating rattle. "You have violated the ancient agreement, and trespassed beyond the barrier." Alyssa was sure she didn't know what any of that meant, but before she could say so, the figure continued, "There are consequences for your meddling, child, and I am come to deliver them."

Not finished yet but nearly done just need to know if it's decent.
Spider-Man VS The Punisher
A man walking his footsteps sounds like mini explosions as a row of computers with people typing on them. The man stops upon a window looking down to a glass cage with yellow electricity emerging from it.
“He's here, he's taking us all out. We need back up. Noooo.” The man looks at one of the scientists saying “wait for him to get here.” The man cleans up his suit and tightens his tie.
“Ohhh you're getting dressed up just for me. I shoulda brought flowers.” The man looks up where he sees a man in a red and blue webbed suit. “I should have killed you years ago. Well after today you will be.” “We both know that's not going to happen Willy. I'll arrest you and you'll escape, Rinse and repeat, it's always been like that.” The man grinds his teeth and grips his hands. “Unleash him.” the scientist looks at him and then at the computer pressing a button.
“Unleash him Fisk are you cheating on me with another hero.” as he says this a bolt of lightning strikes through the glass levitating in front of him. “You must be Spiderman. I'm electro, the man that's been tasked to kill you.” Spider-Man whispers to himself. “This guy's making my spider sense go crazy. I don't think this will go well.” he coughs then says. “Shouldn't you be at the circus.” Electro looks at Fisk and says “Leave Mister Fisk now.” Fisk and the scientists walk out into an elevator. “Don't disappoint me Max.” The elevator goes up with Spider-Man and Electro looking at each other “So electricity man are we gonna start.” He looks down to his hands where they start to glow brighter with electricity shooting out. BANG electricity shoots out his hand Spider-Man just dodging it. BANG, BANG, BANG, BANG Spider-Man narrowly dodges the bolts. He creates a continuous line of lightning towards Spider-Man. Cracking Peter tries to dodge it but fails on the ground Peter feels his muscles shut down. Electro walks over to him, shocking him again. “Ahhhhhhh.” He stops Spider-Man trying to crawl away BANG “AHHHHHH.” An alarm goes off as sprinklers also go off hitting Electro causing him to grunt.
Spider-Man using this crawls up a wall into a vent leaving the building Spider-Man takes off his mask feeling the rain hit his face. He hears Fisk talking to Electro below. “Is the job done.” “No, he escaped. The sprinklers set off burning my skin.” “You let him escape. I gave you one job and failed me." Electro looks at him sternly saying “Mister Fisk you gave me these powers and you want me to kill Peter I will. You know where he lives, I can go over there and kill him and his family.” “You will do no such thing. He will not try to kill us if we just go after him he won't understand.” Electro nods and walks away with an umbrella.
Spider-Man looks at his web shooters. “Great, they're gonna have to get the train. May's gonna kill me when I get back.”
Brooklyn, New York, 21:32
“PLEASE, PLEASE DON'T DO IT. I HAVE A FAMILY LOOK. PLEASE I'LL DO ANYTHING. WHAT DO YOU WANT MONEY, POWER.” A man shouts breaking down in fear of whoever is trying to kill him. “I want to know why you do it. Why commit crime when there's hundreds of heroes. I think I know why though. They won't kill, they won't just take the godam leap and end you scumbags. So I chose to do it myself.” The man says in a deep voice wrapping a cord around his neck. He picks him up, showing him a fifteen floor drop. “No, no, please don't do this.” He starts to cry as looks at him blankly, throwing off the building with him screaming for about three seconds till the man hears a snap. “Good Riddens.”
Queen's, New York, 9:29 pm
Walking into a house a teenager walks in “Peter where have y- My god what happened to you?” Peter looks at his aunt and says “Some people tried to rob me, it's alright May.” “Did they take anything? Did you call the police.?” “No and no May I'm fine May.” He looks at May. “I'll call the police.” “DON'T. I never saw what they really looked like, you'll just waste their time.” She looks at him saying “From now on you'll be back before it gets dark.” Peter nods “Now Peter time for your cake Happy Eighteenth Peter.” Peter looks at a cake with candles on it. He blows them out “Thanks May I'm just gonna go to my room I've had a ruff day.” May looks at him. “Are you sure you don't want some cake I've made? It's your favourite.” “I'll have some tomorrow really.” Peter walks up to his room turning on the TV playing the daily bugle. “Today Spider-Man failed to capture this so-called Lizard. I think he's just too lazy to put in any work. When the police lose a suspect their back on the streets trying to find him but Spider-Man swip swap swoops his way down and destroys peoples properties.” Peter looks at it in a rage “People would have died if i wasn't there yet I don't get thanked but hated. Why do I do this?” He looks at the picture next to his bed of him and uncle Ben. The time when he didn't worry if Aunt May would see him tomorrow. If she'll be targeted by villains. “Ben would call me stupid for doing something like this. Even more stupid I was responsible for his death. I couldn't just tell him where I was, I just had to storm out. He goes looking for me and ends up getting shot. I'm sorry Ben.”
Manhattan, New York, 06:34
“What will it be?” “Coffee, milk and two sugars.” She turns around and the man looks at his watch as he checks the time. “06:36 still have seven.” “It's ready. Have an amazing day.” he hands her a ten and leaves. He walks to an old burned building. Walking in he goes up five floors and goes towards a sniper pointing out a window. He takes a sip of his coffee checking his watch. “06:42 one minute.” A minute later a limousine drives up to a small building. A man dressed in a white and gold suit walks. “Gotcha.” BANG, a single bullet from the sniper shoots the man in the head obliterating the back of his head. He walks away with screams of people running and people shouting. “It's him, Punisher, he's here.” Pointing their pistols in the air looking where the shot came from.
Queen's, New York, 7:45 am
BEEP, BEEP, BEEP, BE-. Bang Peter hits his alarm destroying it. “Uhh, great way to start the day.” Peter goes to the bathroom brushing his teeth. He leaves the bathroom getting changed into his new clothes then goes to check on his web shooters. “Thank god for the science lab.” Checking his costume he sees it burnt and destroyed. He messages MJ to ask her to bring his spare costume she's working on. He gets his bag and web shooters going downstairs. “Hey Aunt May I'm off to school.” “Not so fast, I've got some cake for you to take.” Petter goes up to May and takes it. “Thanks May love ya bye.” Peter walks out to the school bus.
On the bus he sits next to his girlfriend Mary Jane. “My god Pete what happened to you. Also you suits in my bag.” Peter looks at her saying “New villain in town calls himself Electro.” “You've got to stop doing this Peter really you're going to kill yourself. How many villains do you have?” Peter looks down and says “Well Theirs the lizard, Shocker, Electro, Fisk, Otto Octavius and sin eater. Don't forget about the small time.” She looks at him saying “God why do I put up with you.” “Because I'm irresistible.” She smirks.
A couple hours later Peter only had two lessons left. Peter in the back of his English class looked at his web shooters making sure they still aren't broken and that he fixed them during science. Peter looks at his phone where he sees a notification from the daily bugle saying that sandman is robbing a bank. “Can I go to the bathroom?” Peter shouts. “Sure Mister Parker uh just take the pass.” Peter takes it and leaves. He goes to the janitor's closet putting on his Spidey suit and web shooters jumping out of the window. He looks at his phone while swinging. “Sometimes I wish I had a GPS in my suit instead of needing to use Oscorpe maps.” He swings wondering why sandman is robbing a bank. “He's stupid but not this stupid to rob a bank, especially during the day.” He swings across Queensboro into Manhattan.
When he arrives the swat team surrounds the area with Captain Stacey on standby. Spider-Man drops down in front of him. “Hey.” Looking up Captain Stacey talks to Spider-Man. “Spider-Man good thing you're here we need your help. Sandman has taken over the bank and he has three hostages.” Spider-Man looks at him saying. “Guess you can say things are getting out of sand.” “Sure just when you go in don't destroy much will you.” “I won't captain you know me, just get your officer's to sand back.” Spider-Man does finger guns at Captain Stacey swinging in. “Everyone shut up. I'm gonna pay it off with this score.” Spider-Man slowly swings down “It's ironic that you're named Flint. You know because flint and steel create fire and fire turns you into glass.” “WHAT.” Spider-Man sighs as he launches a kick towards him. He kicks him with Spider-Man going straight through him as this happens he webs his feet and pulls causing him to fall. He goes to punch sandman but punches him through the glass into a police car. CRASH, the police start firing at him but they do nothing. “SPIDER-MAN GET UP.” Captain Stacey shouts at spider-man. Spider-man jumps in slingshotting himself into sandman. He goes straight through him knocking sandman back as well. “Stop this Flint, think of all the good you've done.” He jumps onto the wall looking at a fire hydrant. “Like you've no that won't cut it. Ok you haven't done anything good but that doesn't mean I have to kick your ass again.” Sandman gets up. “You think you can kick my ass again. Not happening.” Spider-Man sighs. “Ok.” Spider-Man jumps down and grabs the fire hydrant and pulls. CRACK, the fire hydrant breaks splashing water all over sandman. “I told you Flint, I always win.” Flint starts to turn into a pile of wet sand. Spider-Man webs the hydrant to stop the water then walks over to Flint. Barely able to keep your normal form. “Screw you.” Spider-Man looks over at the captain. “He's all your captain enjoy.” Spider-Man jumps onto the side of a swat van. “Where do you go when you finish?” “School, besides I'm only missing one class.” Peter says this jumping and swinging away. “About ten minutes getting there. HEY I'M SWINGING HERE. Five minutes there and ten back is enough to miss english.”
Last lesson goes pretty boring for Peter. He's thinking about the lizard and how he escaped yesterday.
Bronx, New York, 15:45
“Nah he'll be here soon. The boss says after today's shipment the police are going to leave the Bronx alone.” An unknown man, clearly a gangster in a suit, is talking to another man in a suit. “Yeah, isn't he worried, though I mean what happened yesterday? You know Freddy.” One of them says “Nah, his new guy almost killed Spider-Man yesterday. He was talking about how he was crawling to escape only got away because of the sprinklers.”
BANG, BANG, The Punisher walks into a restaurant with seven men in suits in it. “HEY WHO LET THIS GUY IN.” The Punisher grabs his M4 and start to spray into a crowd killing three of them. Two of them pull out micro uzi's shooting at him. The Punisher grabs a grenade and throws it at the bar. BANG, The grenade goes and kills the two of them. The other two put their hands up and surrendered. Frank drops his AR. BANG, BANG, He shoots them with his pistol. He walks upstairs where five line a wall of AK's. The Punisher pulls out a stun grenade throwing it at them. BANG, they all drop their guns blind and staggering The Punisher walks in picking up one of their guns firing on them all. He walks to a door with the dead piled up next to it. He kicks it open to see a man in a suit. “I wondered how long it would take for you to find me, Frank. Now I have some you want and in return you'll let me go, unde-.” BANG, “No deal.” Frank starts to pack a duffel bag with money. Once he's done he lights the office on fire and leaves.
He walks to a van getting into the driver's seat. He drives for about thirty minutes to a small house. Walking in he puts the money in the pantree where about fifteen of the same bags are. He puts on the TV playing the news and works on making bullets. “Spider-Man today was responsible for the destruction of one bank. One I go to, when i wanted to go there today I realised I COULDN'T BECAUSE SPIDER-MAN HELPED SANDMAN DESTROY IT AND WHEN THE COPS SHOWED UP HE THREW HIM UNDER AND PRETENDED TO BE THE HERO. Now why do I have to pay for it? Why doesn't he? We know who Captain America is and he destroys a bank because he's civilised and not a maniac.” Frank looks at the TV turning it off and continues working.
Manhattan, New York, 4:21
“PARKER, PARKER, these photos are blurry I'll give you fifty.” Peter looks at him “Mister Jamerson I need a hundred and twenty.” “I need better pictures.” A man walks in “We need pictures Jonah.” He looks at Peter. “Ok one twenty.” He sighs a check giving it to Peter.
Peter leaves and goes to the woman working at the desk in front. “Hey Betty.” Peter gives Betty the check to Betty who gives him the money. “Thanks.” Peter leaves the daily bugle checking phone. He sees that he's missed a call from Captain Stacey. He calls him. “ you at the station up town.” “Ok but which one?” He runs into the alley next to the bugle changing into his costume swinging away. “So which one.” “You won't miss it kid really.” The call ends. “Ok, quite weird but he didn't even say why he needed me.” It takes him about thirty seconds to realise what he's about. In the distance he sees a giant ball of electricity. “Oh no.”
“Where is it?” CRACK, BANG, Electro kills three police officers. Captain Stacey tells all the police officer's to get into the building. “YOU CAN'T HIDE.” Spider-Man swings down checking the pulse of one of the dead police officers. “no. SURRENDER NOW.” Electro flies in front of him. “Or what. At least I'll get to kill you now. Peter.” Peter feels nervous looking around and Captain Stacey shouts for him to get in. “STAY INSIDE CAPTAIN.” The captain goes to one of his men. “Is it ready?” “yeah” Electro shoots electricity at spider-man. BANG, BANG, BANG, BANG, BANG. Spider-Man webs a man hole throwing it at him. Electro catches it, Spider-Man using this moment slingshots himself punching Electro multiple times. “I'M DONE PLAYING. YOU KILLED COPS I'M NOT GOING EASY.” Electro smirks at Peter creating an emp knocking Peter down. Electro drops to the ground, shocking him. “AHHHHHHH. BANG, AHHHHHHHH. BANG, AHHHHHHHH.” Electro walks up to Spider-Man who is crawling away. “Poor little Peter Parker. Once I'm done with you I'll deal with the ones you love. Rest in piece Peter Parker.” Electro charges his hands then. BANG.
Manhattan, New York, 16:23
Punisher loads his sniper talking to himself. “Really, they would kill me immediately. At least I'll kill this freak.” He toggles with the scope. “SURRENDER NOW.” “He won't do that kid” he waits for a clear shot. “YOU KILLED COPS I'M NOT GOING EASY.” he waits for his moment. Bang “AHHHHHHH.” Electros hands start to charge he lifts them. “bang.” BANG. A single bullet goes through the chest of Electro. Frank picks up his sniper and walks downstairs.
Walking down he sees Electro holding his chest on the ground and Spider-Man next to him barely alive. The Punisher walks up to Electro with a knife. “No please d-dont do this.” He gets close to Electro as tries to crawl away. The Punisher grabs him and turns him around. Fear in Electros eye's “Once I'm done with you I'll deal with your loved one's.” “No please.” The Punisher stabs him in the throat, killing him. “You know kid stay away from fisk for the next couple of days you understand. Deal with that giant lizard terrorising the city. Got me Parker.” Peter just looks as he starts to lose consciousness. “Good.” Gorge Stacey and his men leave the building telling The Punisher to surrender. He walks away as no one dares goes to arrest him. Gorge gets his men to help Peter.
Manhattan, New York, 7:32 pm
“You've got to take it easy kid. The doctors said you could have died.” Peter listens to Captain Stacey saying. “I know but with this guy out there, bloods gonna spill in the streets.” The Captain sighs. “So what are you going to do.” Peter coughs “I'm going to try and find the lizard first.” “Stay safe kid.” Peter jumps of the empire state building swinging through the city calling MJ to tell May he's staying at hers tonight.
Thirty minutes Later Peter hears on the police radio that a giant lizard is destroying Oscorpe. Swinging over he feels the stitches in him starting to rip.
When he arrives he sees a fire and a chunk of the side of the building gone. He swings in where fire and dead security guards are. “W-who is he?.” He hears a continuous clicking sound. “There aren't any alien space hunters down there, ha ha.” He laughs nervously. Suddenly a human sized lizard runs towards him trying to eat him. He dodges jumping on a wall “Hey I'm from the zoo, they said a lizard needed to be put down. That doesn't make sense. I don't kill. Hey no bitey.” He sees on the lab coat he's wearing it says Dr Connors. Still dodging “Connor's wait Curt Connors how did you. AHHH.” The Lizard scratches Spider-Man across the chest leaving a claw mark. Spider-Man looks up and sees him jumping to bite him. Spider-Man cartwheels backwards into a jump webbing his head and face planting him. “If you chill out I'll give you a box of insects to eat.” The Lizard gets up. “AHHHHHHHH.” Spider-Man looks at him. “Uh I don't know what to say to that. Raw maybe." As Spider-Man gets ready to attack, the Lizard's left arm starts to turn grey. It looks at it and runs away. Spider-Man swings after him through the streets of Manhattan “YOU MIGHT UGLY BUT I'M FINE WITH IT YOU DON'T HAVE TO RUN.” As he swings the lizard throws a hotdog stand at him. He webs it to a wall and keeps swinging. “SERIOUSLY A HOTDOG STAND IF YOU DON'T STOP I'LL TURN YOU INTO A LIZARD DOG. WELL I THOUGHT IT WAS FUNNY.” The lizard goes into an alley into a sewer. Spider-Man follows him slingshotting himself in shouting. “YEAAAAH.”
Inside of the sewers Peter looks around and sees only one way forwards. He crawls ol the walls seeIng the destruction Connor's did. “UH MISTER CONNOR'S, CURT, LIZARD, ANYONE. AM I JUST TALKING TO MYSELF, YES, why did I shout that.” He keeps crawling till he hears shouting. “PLEASE I DIDN'T HAVE CONTROL PLEASE DON'T DO THIS.”
Manhattan, Sewers, New York, 19:28
“Where is this freak? This vermin to society.” The Punisher walks through the sewers trying to find the rat killing innocent people. “HISSSS.” He hears a hiss and feels something watching him. “SHOW YOURSELF YOU FREAK OF NATURE.” A black figure crawls out from the shadow. “Tries to hurt me, hurt Edward. AHHHH.” He hisses and screams at him. He goes to attack him but The Punisher unloads bullets from his M4. Vermin shouts in pain “AHHHHHHHH.” Frank slowly followed him. “YOU CAN'T RUN VERMIN. I'LL KILL YOU MATTER WHAT. I'LL DO WHATEVER, YOU'RE COWARD THAT PREY ON THE WEAK.” “Vermin doesn't prey on the weak. I DON'T HAVE CONTROL, AHHHH. Vermin needs to eat, Edward needs to live.” he scurries away. After a minute of walking he arrived in a circular area where Vermin threw him in. “AHHHHH. Vermin will kill you now.” Frank picks his M4 up again, shooting him. He screams crawling up the wall. The Punisher pulls the trigger when vermin is above it and doesn't do anything. He checks the mag to see it's empty. Vermin drops down Scratching Frank across the face. He pulls out his pistol shooting him in the eye. “AHHHHHH, AHHHHH.” Frank goes up and shoots him on the head, killing him.
He hears a scream further down. Going down the tunnel he sees lab equipment and a lizard transforming into a person. “The Lizard, perfect timing.” Limping, he goes over to The Lizard waiting for him to transform. “AHHHHH, AHHHHHHHHH, HELP PLEASE, AHHHHHHH.” Frank just stands there till he transforms. He pulls his pistol out and points it at Connor's. “You're the lizard. What's your name? WHAT YOUR NAME?” “Connor's. Dr Curtis Connors.” Frank starts to pull the triggers. “PLEASE I DIDN'T HAVE CONTROL PLEASE DON'T DO THIS.”
Peter drops down in front of him webbing his pistol. “We don't kill people, understand.” The Punisher grits his teeth “Back off kid really.” “So you can kill him. Like you did Electro. You told me you were going against Fisk, why are you going for The Lizard.” The Punisher smirks at Peter, making nervous. “I wasn't here for him. It's just a coincidence.” Peter stands there wondering what's next. The Punisher runs towards him Peter jumps over him kicking him in the back. The Punisher hits his head knocking him to the ground Peter uses this to web him up.
“Ok we need to get outta here understand.” Connor's nods and starts to pack his stuff. “I won't kill you kid.” Peter looks at him. “Good because neither will I.” “I'm ready Spider-Man.” Curt says to Peter “Alright let's get outta here.” Peter swings Curt Connors out of the sewers
Manhattan, New York, 8:53 pm
“Ok you need a cure. Uhh, I've got it. I'll take you to the Baxter building. Reed can help you.” Connors thinks. “What if he finds me?” Peter sighs. “It's probably got more security than the raft and it's got four of the best heroes in the world in there.” Connors agrees and Peter swings him there.
When he gets there they walk in. Peter shouts. “REED YOU HERE. REED RICHARDS.” “Peter.” They turn around to see Sue. “Hey Miss Richard's I need your help.” She looks at Peter then at Connor's “What's wrong Peter are you in trouble.” Peter looks at her then Connors. “Not me. Have you ever heard of The Punisher?” She looks confused. “Uhh no why.” “He's trying to kill him. He needs a secure place to stay. And he needs a cure to stop him from turning into a lizard.” She looks. “What about you? Will he kill you?” He sighs “No he won't. He just wants to kill villains.” She looks at Connors saying “Reed is out but he'll be back soon he can make you a cure. Be safe Peter this stuff doesn't end well.” Connor's looks at Peter “Thanks Parker I would never expect you to be a superhero. Miss Richards, can you get my family?”
Peter leaves, going to the top of the Baxter building for some peace. “I'm too tired. I just want to go home but I need to find Fisk.” He checks the wound Connor's left. “I'm losing too much blood. My costume is destroyed and I helped the guy escape death. How am I going to explain this to May my wounds? I can't believe it. First day as an adult and I might not live to see the second. Uncle Ben must think I'm stupid.” He shakes his head. “I've got to go to Fisk tower and warn him.” Peter swings to Fisk tower.
Manhattan, New York, 9:01pm
Spider-Man arrives feeling light headed. He swings up to the office where Fisk and his men are sitting. He opens the door, his men immediately pointing their guns at him. “DROP YOU WEAPONS.” Fisk tells his men. Reluctantly they do Peter Limping towards him. “I need to warn you. A guy, a guy is uh is uh going to kill you.” His voice started to slur and he was barely able to keep his eyes open.” Fisk walks towards him. “You two get the medics now.” Peter falls unconscious.
Waking up Peter wonder's where he is looking around and he sees medical equipment. He gets up and walks through a pair of doors into a room full of men and Fisk working at a desk. “You're awake. You've been out for nine hours.” Peter realises that his face is exposed and Fisk notices this. “We all know who you are, Parker.” Peter walks up to him. “Why did you save me? You're goon tried to kill me yesterday.” Fisk calmly got up saying. “Yesterday you came to warn me. I knew why because of the Punisher. When you came here you were close to death. I saved you because. I need you to defeat the Punisher. I've asked every mercenary in this city and it's the same answer. No before Punisher was a myth but now after the men he's killed. The only one who can defeat him is you.” Peter looks at him. “Who's to say I'll stop him.” “Because yesterday you came here to warn me. The only one who wants me dead that can do anything is him.” Peter looks at him. “Where's my stuff.” Fisk clicks his Fingers and one of his men comes over to Peter giving him his phone, suit and web shooters. Putting them on Peter goes to the window telling Fisk. “Thanks Fisk. You really should leave the city.” Peter swings away.
Queen's New York, 6:09 pm
Peter swings through Queens arriving at his girlfriend's house. He goes to her window knocking on it. She wakes up opening it. When Peter enters he takes off his mask. “I can't do it anymore Peter last night you never showed up. I thought you were dead. This Electro almost killed you and the lizard. Peter I ju- AHH.” She screams seeing Peter's face covered in stitches. “I'm not that ugly.” Peter jokes but MJ says. “What happened yesterday.” Peter sits down “It's a long story.”
Manhattan, New York, Sewers, Time Unknown
“DOWN HERE, THERE'S A LAB.” Two police officers walk down the sewers seeing a lab. They both walk into Connor's lab looking around. “What the hey Chris, what is this place? Chris.” Click the police officer feels a gun to the back of his head. “I'm going to take your gun and handcuffs. And Chris is alright just incapacitated.” Frank takes the cop's gun and handcuffs him to a metal pole.
Leaving the sewers Frank feels the cold air on his face. Checking his watch he realises it is broken. He goes to his van and drives off to his house.
When he gets inside he goes to the kitchen checking the clock. “Wasn't down there for long.” He puts on the TV while he makes shotgun shells. “Breaking news this morning we have word that Spider-Man and the Lizard destroyed Oscorpe hours ago, fleeing in the sewers. They also found the cannibal serial killer known as Vermin dead. They say it's a man dressed in black wearing a white skull on his chest. Now I don't condone murder but I want to personally thank this heroe for dealing with someone Spider-Man probably thinks isn't worth his time.” Punisher looks at the TV and at his shotgun loading. “That's all for now J, Jonah, Jamerson signing off.”
Frank goes into his pantree grabbing a bag of cash. He looks in it seeing about hundred and fifty grand. He takes it to his van with him driving off.
Manhattan, New York, 04:41
Frank walks into a small café and enters. “Mister Castle, quite a busy night was it.” Frank walks up giving him the bag of money. “Do you have the thing?” the man clears his throat. “Yes, your coffee is ready. Hot, two sugars and no milk. That'll be one dollar fifty cents.” Frank looks at the bag and at the device he's buying. He picks it up and leaves. “Keep the change.”

I am a 73-year-old Caucasian female weighing approximately 185 pounds. I am on quite a few medication’s for high blood pressure pain and anxiety and depression. I’m overall quite well other than pain issues. My husband broke his femur and his artificial hip in January and has been in a rehab facility following surgery since that time. He is 83 years old and there is just the two of us. The first week in May I came down with laryngitis off and on for about 10 days. Felt OK. I am a non-smoker. On 10 May I woke up with 102° fever and many flu symptoms. 2 to 3 days later, I took three Covid test and they were all negative. I had a cough, laryngitis, diarrhea, fever, and chills and achy body. Couldn’t eat, or sleep. I live alone with no close friends in the area. My daughter and family live about 30 miles away and do all they possibly can to help but they work so much and have a family to take care of. I am nauseated and vomiting slightly. My fever continued to get higher and higher and by 20 May, it was at 104.8. I live alone with no close friends in the area. My daughter and family live about 30 miles away and do all they possibly can to help but they work so much and have a family to take care of. I have a nine-year-old Chihuahua in heart failure. She hast to be on meds several times a day and some of those meds require her to be taken out to go potty quite frequently. On May 22, scared that I had something very strange and weird. I made an appointment with my doctor. I had a negative Covid test and a negative flu test they took test x-rays and even though the x-rays weren’t bad she felt I might have pneumonia. I was given antibiotics and told to call her if I didn’t get better in a few days. I did not get better. My fever was gone by 25th of May but I still felt as bad as I had before. I called my doctor today, May 28 and she wanted to see me right away. I would’ve gone to the hospital over the long weekend but I have no one to watch my dog who needs constant care. Doctor repeated chest x-rays and took blood test. My blood pressure it’s fine, my oxygen saturation is fine and I have no fever, but I’m deathly ill. She doesn’t have an answer. With those vital signs, she doesn’t think I need to go to the hospital other than for comfort care. I specifically asked if they would do diagnostic measures to find out what I have. I was told they have a few test that they could perform but that’s all. Decision was made that following more x-rays and blood test today she would call me back, which has not yet happened, and if there’s no reason for this sickness in any of these tests she did in fact suggest I go to the hospital and see what they could do. I have not seen my husband in the nursing home for over 10 days and he is very worried about me and has Alzheimer’s and can’t remember much. He needs visitors badly. I need to get rid of this sickness, but how do you get rid of something, when you don’t know what it is. The first time I saw the doctor I put on two different antibiotics. I still have a day to go on one of them and the other one is gone. And I feel no better other than the fever gone.anybody have any ideas at all what this could be? I need to get well for me and my husband. Thank you for any and I’ll help you can give me.

Good morning Ukiah, I need help seeing a Dr as soon as possible as I have lungs gurgling, constant coughing, occasional vomiting, fever, chills, and sweats. Usually I go to the urgent care on hospital drive since I don't want to be charged ER prices for the "sniffles". Unfortunately Ukiah's urgent care is closed for COVID and will not be opening up soon. The soonest I can be seen at a clinic is in 1 year. And I don't feel well enough to drive or be driven hours out of town for medical care. Any advice?

Implications and Recommendations
These reports underscore the need for comprehensive HPAI A(H5N1) surveillance in agricultural settings. While cattle infections have been reported by the USDA to be generally transient with mild symptoms, the potential impact on milk production and food security is significant. The risk of ongoing viral evolution and broad transmission among cattle could lead to further mammalian adaptation. Although human infections from cattle seem to be rare at this time, the burden of infection necessitates detailed assessments of human spillovers, especially in areas with current or prior outbreaks. This includes serology to establish spillover rates to humans and monitor for changes in spillover frequency.
While the general public’s risk remains low, those at higher risk include individuals with routine or frequent contact with potentially infected birds, livestock, other animals or contaminated animal products and environments (e.g., farmers, livestock workers, animal handlers, employees of milk and meat processing facilities, milk or carcass transport drivers, and veterinarians).
Human infections with H5N1 can occur when the virus enters the eyes, nose, or mouth, or is inhaled. This can happen through airborne droplets, small aerosol particles, or dust that settles on mucous membranes. Infection can also occur if a person touches a contaminated surface and then touches their mouth, eyes, or nose. Exposed individuals should monitor for symptoms within 10 days, including fever (100°F [37.8°C] or higher), chills, cough, sore throat, difficulty breathing/shortness of breath, eye tearing, redness, or irritation, headaches, runny or stuffy nose, muscle aches, and diarrhea.

tldr; diagnosed with Interstitial Pneumonia and having to wait for results of further testing. Looked up disease on Google, and now I'm afraid I have 3-14 years to live. Waiting sucks!
On Thurs. May 9, I (F46) was having some mild to moderate chest pain in the uppecentral/left part of my chest, I was winded when walking and going up and down stairs, and I had been extremely tired for about 2 weeks. The chest pain was new though. Honestly, I felt like I did when I had bilateral pneumonia during Covid. To be on the safe side, I went to Urgent Care (UC).
They do the standard check-in. No fever, chills, I haven't had a cough, BP slightly elevated (probably due to pain in chest). I very specifically asked them to do an X-ray of my lungs, because of a history of pneumonia and mild emphysema. (17 year smoker. Quit smoking August 7, 2017, the day I was diagnosed with emphysema).
They start with Covid test and EKG. Negative for Covid, and EKG showed what they referred to as an abnormality. They listened to my lungs and said they sounded clear. I asked them to please do the X-ray and I would assume responsibility for the full bill should my insurance company not pay for an "unnecessary" test. They sent me back for the X-ray (with attitude).
The Physician's Assistant (PA) seeing me was able to see on the X-ray that I did in fact have Pneumonia, but the radiologist would still need to read it. And because I had pain, she began wondering if I didn't have a Pulmonary Embolism (PE). This had officially gone beyond their scope of knowledge and abilities at UC so they sent me to the local Emergency Room (ER) to have a CT scan of my lungs.
At the ER, they repeated the EKG and tell me they're going to do blood work and do a very specific test called "D-Dimer". The Dr. said if the D-dimer was negative, she could rule out a PE without the CT scan. As I'm waiting for the results, I get a call from UC telling me that the Radiologist has read my chest X-ray and I have Interstitial Pneumonia (IP).
After 45(ish) minutes, Dr. come back in and says EKG shows nothing, blood work showed no PE. Great! All good news. I then tell doc that I had received a call from UC and they told me I have IP. Dr. pulled over a computer on wheels and typed some stuff, an X-ray pops up on the screen, she looks over it, and tells me, "follow up with your doctor within 3-5 days. The nurse will bring your discharge papers." Before she could run out of the room, I asked what IP is. She says something about the space between the cells in the lungs and air sacs... I'm by no means stupid, but I also don't have a medical degree. Sensing that she was either busy or wanted to leave, I didn't ask more questions and she left.
Leaving the hospital, I felt pretty stupid for going in, and like I was wasting their time. It was too late to make an appointment to see my Dr. so that would have to wait until the next day, Friday May 10. I called 1st thing Friday morning. They told me the earliest I could get in to see ANYONE would be Friday, May 17. Ok. I made the calls to UC and ER to make sure they forwarded all my tests and documents to my Dr.
Saturday comes and I still have this pain in my chest. I tell myself... "don't do it. Don't google Interstitial Pneumonia." I know it won't help. I busy myself with stuff for my Neices graduation party later that day. Saturday night comes... I googled it.
Oh my gosh. Words! Lung Disease. Inflammation. Scarring. Fibrosis. Autoimmune disease. My brain is reading and reeling and trying to comprehend what they wouldn't tell me... and there it was. Life expectancy after diagnosis - 3 to 14 years. Gulp.
But... I have a 14 year old daughter. My husband and I are supposed to travel after she graduates high school in 4 years. I'm only 46. I quit smoking. I eat decently. I'm physically fit. I exercise. My head was spinning. Tears were falling. God help me.
The week seemed to stretch on and on. Finally, Friday came, and my Dr. prescribed Prednisone (a steroid). She scheduled a CT scan of my lungs for Tuesday of the next week as well as a full Pulmonary Lung Function (PLF) test to immediately follow the CT. She also scheduled a follow-up with her for May 31. I told her what I saw on the internet. I told her I was afraid. She told me to stay off the internet and not to freak out until after more testing.
I know that was good advise. But it's all I could think about. I had just been told "not to think about the pink elephant" and it dominated my every waking moment. More waiting. My stress levels were higher then they had ever been. Not only am I crazy worried about this, but I'm also trying to hide my concerns from my daughter. She keeps catching me staring at her, and says "wut" like teenagers do. I just tell her she's mine to look at if I want to and laugh it off... but really I'm trying to memorize every bit of her hoping to take my memories with me if I have to go.
There's a sense of relief that comes with each appointment. I don't know why. There's no answers. Just more tests. Maybe I just feel like I'm moving in a forward motion so I feel like I'm getting somewhere. Tuesday, May 21, I went in for CT and PLF test. The PLF is extremely difficult. The tech gave me a breathing treatment in the middle of it. It helped. As I leave there that sense of relief faded as the anxiety crept back in.
We have something called "MyChart". I don't know if that's nationwide, probably... anyway, it's a patient portal. It's and online tool that we can use to look up test results, schedule appointments, see medical history... etc. I now have it downloaded and saved on the front screen of my phone. I check it every 10 minutes. Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday... nothing! OMGOODNESS! Tuesday! CT results are on there!
Emphysematous changes. Findings suggest groundglass opacity in the posterior right costophrenic angle. Interstitial Lung Disease. What?!? I mean, what even is the patient portal for if Dr. notes read like this? And there's still nothing on the PLF test. So I called. I asked asked my Dr.s nurse if there was a general time I might expect to find my PLF test results posted on my MyChart. She did that clicking noise with her tongue and the roof of her mouth, followed by a long sigh as she proceeded to tell me, "your results will be posted when they are posted". I replied with a simple "ok" and "thank you" and hung up.
But what I really wanted to say was, "I'm sorry I bothered you! I'm fully aware that you're busy and that I am not at all the only patient. I know that hospitals and Dr.s offices are short staffed right now, because many reevaluated their life choices after Covid. I also know that I'm not even on your radar at the moment, nor do I expect to be! But a little respect and understanding could go a long way. I'm a person. I have feelings! I'm scared. I'm not just the next patient in a line of patients to be seen. I'm somebody's mom and wife and I'm going out of my mind waiting for answers. Is it too much to ask for you to be kind?! Is it too much to look into my request before spewing sarcasm through the phone? 'Your results will be posted when they're posted.' Really?!? Would it be too much to ask for you to tell me that you don't have the answers, but you'll put me in touch with someone who does... I... I... sincerely wish you better days ahead. I thank you for staying in the medical field when so many walked away. I'm genuinely sorry you're overwhelmed and don't get enough breaks or days off. I'm hoping for a relaxing vacation for you that comes sooner rather than later. I said a prayer for you, that you might find strength you didn't know you had... and, I'm sorry I bothered you."
If you read all this, wow! Thank you! I'm struggling and thought getting it all out could help... we shall see! Only 2 more days until my next appointment.

Stats: 39f, non-smoker. Clean and sober for 3 years. Zero health issues before COVID in early January.
Daily meds: Zyrtec 10mg, sometimes with half a Benadryl at night with Flonase and Azelastine. Prescribed albuterol, trelegy and a nebulizer.
Currently: All these meds and I still have trouble breathing doing basically nothing inside. I’ve limited going outside down to watering the plants and letting the dogs out. Have an air purifier in the bedroom and clean weekly with a professional deep clean of my home monthly. There was a cat in the home, but was rehomed three months ago after my allergy test came back positive. Several cleanings have been done since.
Symptoms: Constant throat clearing worsening to asthma like fits with dry cough and limited production. Typically I wake up with sinus pressure and congestion, but after the meds - that goes away for the most part. Constant chest tightness during the day - no deep breaths without pain. Sharp, deep pin like pains in chest when trying to slow breathing or catching my breath during an attack. Dizziness on and off through the day and especially during the attacks. Extreme fatigue. No fever, body aches or chills. No wet wheezing and no nausea.
Doctors and others: Went to the ER and was treated for walking pneumonia with zero results. X-ray of chest showed no fluid. Pulmonologist told me I have post nasal drip and that it was allergies. I suggested that it was a combination of long COVID and allergies, but was put off. (COVID nearly took me out, which is why I said something). He put me on a 5 day dose of Prednisone to see if that helped. If it did, it just barely helped. Allergist set me up with what I’m taking now daily. Gastroenterologist wants to do endoscopy (for acid reflux) and colonoscopy (family history). He also prescribed meds to reduce inflammation in my esophagus, which I haven’t started.
Looking for suggestions before moving to imaging and more expensive options.

Our daughter is 10 weeks old and has started displaying new behaviors the past couple weeks.
For the first week of life, she was breastfed and fed Similac 360 total care and seemed perfectly fine. Yellow, seedy poops. Then we switched to exclusively formula.
A couple weeks later, she started only pooping once a day but it was a struggle for her ALL day and every poop was so much, we had to resort to the bathtub for clean up.
Pediatrician switched us to Enfamil Gentleease. She no longer struggles to poop all day and has gone 1-3 times a day, but it has been consistently light green and watery.
She's usually an extremely chill baby, but a week and a half ago, she started getting super fussy. I wouldn't say colic because she can be soothed quickly, but it's just hard to keep her consoled, and we can't put her down at all without her getting upset immediately. She also developed a cough around the same time but has had no fever.
She's squirmy during feeds now, is always gassy, and pulling her legs up to her belly, her farts smell pretty bad, and she spits up more frequently (but not a whole lot). She gets a small cluster of hives on her neck from time to time, but we just assumed that it's from sweat in her little fat rolls.
I'm not asking for a diagnosis, but if anyone else has experienced these symptoms? Is it normal for a milk allergy to ramp up around this time? We have an appointment next week, but all the possibilities are driving me crazy. (And honestly, I want to post this so I don't forget anything when I have to talk to the pediatrician about it!)

I’m a 28M 175llbs Non smoker No medication
So over the last week, I’ve had everything from tension headaches, low grade fevers (which are likely reason behind headaches) random episodes of chills / goosebumps feeling even though it’s warm out. My most recent symptom for the last 3-4 days now is a dry cough which seems to be worsening. Then last night the one I was fearing most, night sweats…I went to bed with them already on my mind, and course the minute i start to drift off I feel my body beginning to excessively sweat, to the point where my underwear was getting damp, so I fought to keep myself awake out of fear of falling asleep and letting the sweats take over and drenching my bedsheets. It took me a while to sleep after that but when I did (for a few hours) I managed to not sweat, just felt hot when I woke. I’ve ended up calling sick to work today because this has all got to much for me now, any advice?

The following is a transcription of an audio cassette I discovered in my father's safe, shortly after he died. The tape has been transcribed for you here in its entirety, for my own sake.
Dad - Can you say that again?
Grandpa - Which part?
Dad - The date Dad, the recorder wasn't close enough. I wanna make sure we get everything.
Grandpa - Why is it so important that you get every last detail anyway?
Dad - Because that's what the doctor said, Dad. The more detail we get, the better he can help you.
Grandpa - Oh! is that right? He's gonna help me huh? How's he gonna do that exactly? Stuff some more magic pills down my pocket? Maybe sign me up for group therapy? Those are ALWAYS loads of fun!
Dad - No, I think he just wants to get a better understanding of -
Grandpa - He can't help me. Nobody can. Better psychiatrists have tried and failed. You wouldn't believe me anyway. There's no point.
Dad - Well, If nothing else it would help us and the doc to make better decisions regarding you. Look, I promise that I will listen to everything you have to say. I promise I’ll believe you ok?
Grandpa - Don't say that! You can't promise me something like that. It's a bullshit statement and you know it.
Dad - Alright fine. Fair enough. I promise that I will TRY to believe ok? I’ll … try. Look, forget about the doctor alright? I want to know what happened that night, ME. I want to know what you were doing in Norway. Why you can never get a damn good night's sleep, just tell me, please.
Grandpa - (Deep breath) …fine
February 20, 1943. That's when it all went down. The Axis Powers had been almost completely driven outta Africa, and the Soviets had effectively turned the tide of war in Eastern Europe. We Had the Nazis on the run, for the time being at least. They were vulnerable, sure, but they still had every capability of rebounding and kicking our asses. As such, the US was particularly interested in taking out any and all Axis weapons development programs.
Dad - Weapons development programs? What, like their tanks or the atomic bomb or -
Grandpa - Exactly. The Allies specifically targeted their hard water factories to cripple their production of the atomic bomb. But there were other targets. So-called “Wonder Weapon” projects scattered all over German-occupied territories. Manufacturing depots, chemical weapons labs, bioweapons research centers, etc. THAT'S what I was doing in Norway.
Dad - Where in Norway did they send you?
Grandpa - … Northern Norway. Far off the mainland lay an island with a Nazi outpost on it. Very little was known about the place at the time regarding its exact purpose and mission. According to our spies inland and the Norwegian rebels, the locals referred to it simply as “Fort Ond”. They said it was … a bad place. That the prisoners who were taken there were never seen again. That the waters bordering its shore were barren of all aquatic life and colder than even the most bone-chilling frostbite. Command didn’t give a shit about any of that though. Their only concern was 2 things. “Why is this installation so far from the German homeland? And “Why is it so far from mainland Norway? The conclusion they came to was that the Nazis had to be developing some sort of weapon there that they didn't wanna risk infecting a lot of people with.
Dad - So, they thought it was a chemical weapons plant?
Grandpa - No, they thought it was a bioweapons lab. Smallpox, anthrax you know that kinda stuff. We THOUGHT that's what they were doing there, but we didn't know for sure. That's where my unit came in, and where Operation Maelstrom was greenlit.
Dad - Maelstrom?
Grandpa - I didn't pick the damn name. Anyways, they wanted to keep the operation as covert as possible. Minimal manpower. One squad of British SAS, one squad of Canadian commandos, and last but not least, one squad of Army Rangers. Including yours truly.
Dad - Was the purpose of the mission just to gather intel or-
Grandpa - Our first priority was the eradication of the fort's inhabitants and the seizure of any relevant intel. However, we were also prepared for it to turn into a sabotage mission at a moment's notice. Leadership felt pretty confident about the bioweapons theory and didn't wanna take any chances with letting the stuff potentially get away, hence the limited manpower. The last thing we wanted was for the krauts to get spooked by a large invasion force and flee with any samples….
Dad - Dad? Are you ok?
Grandpa - Yeah, just gimme a second.
(The metallic opening sound of a lighter can be heard, along with the sizzling burning of paper)
Dad - Really? You gotta do that now huh?
Grandpa - What? Oh! I'm sorry, is the smoke gonna bother your little nose that much? Would you prefer I do it some other time?
Dad - I’d prefer you didn't fucking do it all! Though, In a way, it's oddly inspiring. A senior citizen, part of “The Greatest Generation” still puffing that shit all these years like it's of no consequence to his health.
Grandpa - Fuck the consequences. Can I continue now? Or is this gonna turn into an intervention? Cause if so, tell me now so I can save you the time and just leave the room and enjoy the rest of my smoke.
Dad - … please continue.
Grandpa - We were all flown to Iceland for our briefing. From the moment I arrived, I had my doubts about the operation. The sheer lack of intel we had to go off of regarding: fort size, manpower, and exact purpose just seemed odd to me. I remember thinking to myself “I hope this is enough men.''. When I did so I caught my friend Weathers looking around too. I could tell he was thinking the same thing. From there, we boarded a British destroyer that took us less than 10 miles from the island. We had to travel the remaining distance on our own in 2 PT boats. I remember just how cold it was that night. How we all subconsciously stood closer to each other than normal in a vain attempt to try to stay warm. Like a bunch of penguins, the lot of us. It was a half-hour ride to the island so we stayed like that for a while. Just hunkered up and tried to keep warm as much as we could while we waited for any sign of something. When we were about a mile from the island, we got that sign.
We saw it long before we ever got near the stuff. When we did, we all went silent and watched as we slowed down our boats to make a cautious approach. A thick fog had blanketed the sea around the coastline in all directions for about a half mile. It had a faint… red hue to it. Not a deep red, just faintly visible. It towered above us nearly 15 feet in the air like a tidal wave and seemingly stared us down. We slowly crept our boats up to it inch by inch until our bows were nearly kissing it. From there, a few of the Canadians on the adjacent boat got out some equipment and began probing the fog for any sign of toxins. We all sat there and waited for them to finish their work. As they did so I took notice of the absolute unnaturalness of it all. It made no movement towards, nor away from us. Yet it billowed and Contracted and breathed soothingly in place like you would expect a body of smoke to do. I remember distinctly thinking of it not as a wall, but more like a veil or a curtain. Hiding the island from us. A few minutes later the Canadians signaled over to our boat and gave Our commander, Captain Hawks the thumbs up. The fog wasn't toxic as far as they could tell. Given our mission though, we couldn't take any chances of it being a gas of some kind. Better safe than sorry. So we donned our gas masks and made sure our suits were nice and sealed up. I in particular had taken the liberty of duct taping around my gloves and boots to ensure it was airtight. Then, we started our boats back up and slowly sailed on into the unknown.
At first, I couldn't see anything. The fog was so thick it limited my visibility to just a few feet in front of me. And even less so in front of the boat. We couldn't have our lights on for fear of being spotted. When we were out in the open water this was fine of course. The moon and stars lit up the surrounding waters nicely for us. But now, there was little to no light penetrating the fog. we were engulfed in near-total darkness. So we just slowly inched our way forward as safely as we could. I just sat there and watched the red vapor hit and dance off my goggles while I searched for any sign of land. For a while, nobody said a word. We all just waited for what seemed like an eternity. The longer we pushed ahead, the tighter the grip on my rifle became as my nerves started up. Finally, One of the Brits broke the silence. I watched him tap the man in front of him and heard him whisper “Are we sure this is the right -'' his sentence was quickly interrupted. We had landed.
The entire boat shook wildly as a few of us lost our footing and had to grab the side walls to stay upright. As we did so, I looked around me and noticed the fog gradually growing thinner as we made our approach. Steadily, its opacity diminished. I could begin to see shapes through the veil. The crunching noises ceased a few seconds later and with them, so too did the fog from my line of sight. It was still there, but it was thinner and lower to the ground than it was over the open sea. It only came up to our knees from that point on. Which meant I could finally see our objective. The island. It was … a mess of scattered jagged rocks and hills. Caverns and towering cliffs that seemed to scatter in all directions. Like a porcupine made of stone. At its center, one giant hill stood out. I followed it from the base to the peak with my eyes and at its peak, there was a door. That was it. Not a trace of human life. No pathways, no trenches, no buildings of any kind. Nothing that would suggest any sort of operation was being undertaken on the island. There were a few guard towers of course. We knew at least that much from our aerial photos, but we had chosen our landing site specifically to be in a blind spot they wouldn't see us from. That was it though. Apart from the door that stuck out amidst the terrain looking utterly unnatural in the distance, there was not a sign of life. No buzzing of insects, no splashing of fish, no chirping of birds, even the wind itself seemed to bow before the island's authority and ceased completely. No life whatsoever. I thought back to when we first encountered the fog and just how right I was in my thought process. We truly had crossed a veil of some kind.
Captain Hawks, gave the hand signals. We all filed out and patrolled inland as fast as we could to a nearby cave. The Norwegians were waiting for us there.
Dad - The Norwegians? Were they the ones who gave you the fort's intel to begin with?
Grandpa - The very same. Adding them to our roster brought our total strike force to 35 men….
Dad - Dad?
Grandpa - …
Dad - it's ok Dad, take your time
Grandpa - (takes a deep breath) We headed into the cave and linked up with the Norwegians. Who sat steadfast in defensive positions. One of them stood up as soon as we breached the darkness of the cavern and swung his gun over in our direction, shouting at us to presumably lower our weapons, before quickly lowering his own back down and making a half-hearted apology attempt. Hawks was livid. He stormed over to the man and with one forceful strike of his fist he sent the poor Norwegian hurtling towards the ground. “You some kind of fucking moron kid? I was this close. THIS CLOSE to blowing your goddamn head off!” the commander of the Norwegians rushed over to stand between the two of them. “Please forgive us, sir! We've been on edge since we arrived a few hours ago! it was an honest mistake!” He helped his fallen soldier back to his feet and ordered him to the back of the cavern to tend to his face. Afterward, he and Hawks stared at each other for a few seconds in silence while we all just waited for one of them to speak. The leader of the Norwegians spoke first. “Something is wrong. Very wrong. Our intel is severely off.” He said. “None of the guard towers have occupants and we haven't seen a Nazi soldier patrolling the island for 3 days now. We've been spying on the island for weeks now as best we could. The entire time we did so soldiers were patrolling the shores, manning the towers, and watching the coastlines. But 3 days ago this… fog emerged. Obscured our vision and made it nearly impossible to see anything on the island. Since we arrived we've done multiple sweeps and scouting runs along the island's surface before your arrival. No one is here, American. Not a soul. It's like they just… vanished. At least, from the island's surface.” I looked back over at Mckinley who did the same. We exchanged confused looks at one another before looking back at the 2 leaders who were now talking too quietly to one another to hear. Finally, Hawks turned to face us and with a deep sigh said “We THINK the Nazis have locked themselves away within the fort's cave systems and interior. According to our good buddies here, the island's surface is safe. Let's hope they're right. Conduct final checks on all your equipment then form up by the cave entrance. We're going in.
We got into formation and made our way up the rough terrain to the door I spotted when we first landed. As far as we could tell, it was the only entrance to the interior of the fort. The ascent was nerve-racking. The cold, wet staircase that led up to the fort's entrance proved difficult to scale with all of my equipment. Which was made all the more dangerous of course, by the fog. With it clinging to around knee level on every surface of the island it made it damn near impossible to see where we were stepping. So we just slowly tip-toed our way up to the door as best we could. All the while nobody uttered a word. It was so quiet I could hear my own heartbeat throbbing in my ears. Eventually, we reached the top of the stairs. The door itself was … monolithic.
Dad - Monolithic? What like ancient?
Grandpa - Oh yeah, stood nearly 9 feet tall and looked like it was made out of bronze or copper, I don't know. Some kind of faintly orange metal. It was covered in strange engravings that could only be described as hieroglyphic. They weren't of course, but that's the only comparison I've been able to find since that day. Believe me, I've tried. Looked through every damn book I could think of. Nothing comes close to the symbols and markings I saw engraved on that door. It was like a foreign language of some kind. It didn't look like it was written, or chipped away from the door by an expert's hand so much as it looked like it was slashed or cut. Like something had hacked away at it with claws or teeth to create the strange writing. It didn't look like a human's hand had done it. Looking up at the door, I felt like an explorer. Like I had found something lost to mankind for millennia and was rediscovering it. Only, I Didn't wanna be the person to discover this. At that moment I wasn't sure I wanted to be aware of this place's existence let alone have to open the damn thing and walk past it into god knows what. We readied our explosives, expecting to have to breach our way in. To our surprise, however, the wooden beam that was attached to the door lifted. The monolith opened slightly. And with it came the stench of utter, all-devouring Rot. like puss and spoiled milk, Bile, and sulfur all fused into one unholy concoction that assaulted my nostrils and instantly forced tears down my cheek. At first, I panicked. Believing my mask wasn't secured tight enough and I was inhaling a toxin of some kind, but when I looked up I saw all of my team members doing the same. Our masks were all working fine. We couldn't have all had a potential leak right? The smell was truly just that powerful.
The door had only given way and opened a tiny bit. Our frontman quickly had to ask for help as the door was too heavy to heave by himself. Four men, me included, pushed with all our might and then quickly ran out of the way as soon as the door was completely opened so the guys behind us could aim down the opening.
When they did, they didn't see much. Their flashlights shined straight into a wall that angled down and away from us. What lay before us was another staircase. Carved out of the very stone of the mountain itself. The fog clung lower to the ground past the doorway. Only coming up to about ankle height. but it still obscured the steps all the same as the walk up to that point. We stared down the doorway waiting for the order to advance. But Hawks said nothing. He just stood there with his gun trained ahead and his other hand held up, silently telling us to wait. I suspected he was listening. Waiting to hear any commotion from us opening the heavy door. For any sign of the enemy. There was none, however. Not a sound could be heard from down the staircase. Just like everywhere else so far. Goff leaned over to me and tapped me on the shoulder “Somethings not fucking right man” he whispered. I didn't respond. I didn't feel I needed to. Everyone was already thinking the same thing anyway. No point in vocalizing it. Especially not when I could visibly see what Hawks was thinking. I watched a chill run up his spine that shook his held-up hand and rifle slightly in place. I'd never seen him like that before. He steadied himself and with a low reassuring grunt, which was probably more for his benefit than ours, he gave the order. “File in.” so down we went.
We descended for about twenty feet. The staircase itself was dark but we could see light at the bottom. The sight of the light was a relief. Instantly I felt a tiny shred of my anxiety whither away as my instincts took hold and I readied myself for any Germans that might be waiting for us at the bottom. There were no Germans, however. None left anyway. None … alive. When I reached the bottom of the staircase, the scene laid out before me was like something you'd see at a crime scene. It was a big square room illuminated by a gas lantern in its center. The door directly ahead of us led to an opening in the floor with a ladder hooked to it, with 2 doorways on our left and right. Like a plus sign or a cross. Various crates and workstation desks laid toppled over and all faced the direction of the newly discovered staircase. Like sentry posts, they all faced towards the same point. Scattered throughout the room were the nazis. Half sunken into the fog and slightly obscured by it, draped over crates, leaning up against the walls, crumpled up like a soda can in the corner. There were at least a dozen of them. Their blood pooled beneath our feet but I could hardly notice it through the tinted fog. I took a step forward and That's when I heard the familiar jingling of empty bullet casings beneath my feet. Subsequently, bullet holes could be seen in nearly every square inch of the wall in front of us. “Jesus Christ!” Weathers shouted as he entered the room behind me, prompting Hawks to hold up his hand again signaling for him to shut up. “Whoever the fuck did this might still be here. Stay frosty” he muttered sternly to us. out “Fan out, check the rooms on our flanks'' He commanded via hand signals.
Half our men went to the room on the right while the remaining went left. I along with 3 others stood guard in the lit room and kept our guns trained on the Ladder ahead of us. As I knelt behind a crate to take a better defensive position, I noticed one of the Nazis was lying face down in a puddle of his own blood close to my right. I kept my rifle trained ahead as I slowly reached over and heaved on his shoulder forcing him to roll over onto his back. He had a look of utter terror frozen onto his face, with eyes wide open and mouth agape. He bore cuts, and large slash marks up his chest and torso which caused his entrails to expose themselves slightly. I looked around the room at the other men to verify and sure enough, the ones who weren't submerged in fog shared similar wounds of varying size and volume. “ what the fuck happened here?” I thought to myself. This thought was quickly overtaken by a doubly terrifying realization. I looked at the bullet holes directly ahead of me and thought “Whatever the hell happened here, I'm standing in the same place they were.”
After a few tense moments of sitting with that realization, the squad checking the right room emerged holding a few books and folders. They bore similar engravings to the ones seen on the door upon our arrival and were bound in leather so ancient, that it looked like the faintest breeze would disintegrate them if they weren't careful. They showed it to Hawks who took one of the books and began sifting through its pages. At first, he scanned the pages carefully, and thoroughly, but he quickly thereafter began to shuffle through them frantically and impatiently before reaching back and shoving it into his pack. “
Right about that time the squad from the left room emerged. A British soldier approached and said “Just more dead krauts sir. There's um… there's something. We found cages, big enough to fit a human in. There were bodies in them but… they weren't Ger-” “Civilians” The Norwegian team leader interrupted. “These fucking animals.” Hawks looked like he was getting ready to say something but he didn't get the chance. All conversations and thoughts were stopped when the sound of screaming could be heard down the ladder.
With one uniform motion, all remaining men turned their guns to face the same direction as I already was. We waited for what felt like an eternity. For a head to come bobbing up the opening in the floor. For the sound of footsteps. For any sign of the enemy. Nothing came. After about a minute or so Hawks gave the order. We were going down there...
I don't wanna do this anymore…
Dad - Dad, please. You can do it. Just take a second ok?
Grandpa - the smell Patrick…
Dad - What about it?
(My Grandpa can be heard taking a huge huff of his cigarette followed by loud coughing)
Grandpa - I can't get it outta my nose! It's been 60 goddamn years since then and I can't get it outta my nose! God! By the time we had reached the bottom, Goff had already vomited from it. I had to fucking cover him while he did it. Good thing I hadn't eaten anything before the briefing or else I would've too. When we reached the bottom. There was nobody. Just like the rest of the island, not a sign of life.
Dad - Dad, what did you see at the bottom of the ladder?
Grandpa - … A well. It was a large cavern-like room with multiple passageways that branched off in all directions but at its center, was a well. Made out of the same stone as the mountain itself and yet, it somehow looked older. More ancient. More… monolithic. Along its rim… were the same damn etching and carvings as the door. Upon closer examination, we saw that It was the source of the fog that had plagued us since our arrival. We watched it for a while and observed The fog billowed up, out, and over the top of the well in all directions at a constant unnatural rate. I couldn't believe that such a tiny source could have produced as much as we'd seen up to that point. I couldn't believe that The colossal wall that we encountered upon our arrival originated from such a minuscule well deep in a mountain. As we spread out to cover the other passageways, I approached it and leaned over. Patrick… The smell was so fucking strong that I was thrown back onto my hands and knees almost immediately from the stomach contractions. It was the source of the fog … of the smell… everything.
Dad - What was in the well?
Grandpa - Blood. The whole fucking thing was filled with blood. More blood than I'd ever seen in my life. More than the room upstairs, more than any other mission I'd ever been on and it was fresh! It boiled gently and seemed to move on its own as though it were alive and aware of our presence in the room and when I gazed upon it, the attack on my nose and stomach seemed like one of calculation. As though a cobra had spat in my face for daring to get too close. I wasn't allowed even a second to recover from the stench, however. At that exact moment, we heard more screams. Seemingly, from every passageway in the cavern emitted what I can only describe as wails of anguish. Like the flesh was being peeled off somebody's forearm and pouring salt back into the wound at the same time. They pierced all of our ears like razor blades and made me wince so hard I almost forgot about my stomach pain. “How fucking big is this place?!” I thought to myself “What the hell could be happening just down one of these tunnels?”.
“Fuck this” Hawks said. “Start planting charges. We are getting the fuck out of this place as soon as possible.”
It was music to all of our ears. One of the soldiers came over to check on me as the rest began to start laying charges. There was nothing professional about our process. We were just laying them out as fast as we could so we could get the hell out of that wretched place and back to the boats. The screams continued the entire time we worked.
Dad - Were they getting closer?
Grandpa - I don't know. They sounded like they were coming from every passageway all at once but It was hard to tell. We had a man eyeing down every doorway just in case though. It didn't matter. We should've been watching the well! As I struggled to compose myself and get back to my feet I had a front-row seat to what was about to happen. Goff … the poor bastard. He was doing his rounds, laying his charges along the floor. Around the well. I wanted to speak up, to tell him not to get too close. But I was still sucking in air through my teeth and couldn't get the words out. All I could do was hold my hand out to him and grunt. He turned to face me. “You gonna make it?” was the last thing I heard him say. At that very moment. An arm shot out of the well behind him. Locked itself around his neck and pulled him into the well headfirst.
The arm was inhumanly long. More like a tentacle than an arm… but its form was undeniably human still! It wrapped itself around his neck and dug its fingers into the side of his face as it dragged him deeper and deeper down. I watched him thrash around and kick his legs wildly in a vain attempt to get free. Spraying torrents of blood in all directions around him. He was already halfway submerged by the time our men got a hold of his feet. When they did so, another arm shot out of the well and locked itself around Goff's waist now pulling him in faster. I could hear gurgling, and see bubbles of air making their way to the wells surface. The poor bastard was drowning in that putrid liquid! The men pulled with all their might but it didn't slow down his descension in any noticeable way. They heaved and barked orders to the others like rabid dogs. Desperate to save our comrade. But No help came. We were alone with the incomprehensible, and it was winning. The rest of us simply stood by dumbfounded and watched As he was forcibly dragged down the well inch by inch. When it was clear that the men could do nothing more they let go and took a few steps back. Their entire arms were covered in blood up to their elbows. For a moment. Nothing happened. Nobody said a word, moved a muscle, or did anything. We all just faced the well and tried our best to process what had just happened. It didn't last long. The well began to gurgle and bubble as though it were digesting my friend. It began to overflow. Slowly, the thick crimson liquid oozed over the top of the well and onto the cold stone floor beneath making its way towards us. I was the first to make a move. I stood up and began to slowly step backward towards the ladder. That's when the massacre began.
In an instant, all of Hell erupted around us. The same arms that had dragged my friend to a then-unknown fate sprang out of the walls around us as though the island were alive and began to frantically swing around searching for a body to claim. A few of them found their mark and pulled some of the men towards the walls. Wrapping themselves around their necks, locking them in place, and suffocating them. Any sense of composure our toughest men had remaining left their bodies that very moment, as we all made a mad dash sprint for the ladder. The room was only dimly lit by all of our flashlights though. When we broke our formation and began to run, our visibility became significantly more limited. Bodys ran into each other and men began slipping on the blood that had now reached all of our feet. The fog had also begun rising in intensity at a startling rate and was now almost as thick and copious as it was out on the sea. This made it all the more hard to tell what exactly was happening and before I knew it, I was knocked onto my ass by one of the Canadians as he ran straight into me. The blood rose higher and higher. At an inconceivably fast rate, it was halfway up to my knees by the time I regained my footing. When I did I felt a sudden rush of movement brush by my left leg. That's when I saw it. There were shapes moving in the blood! Large, serpentine-like shapes that slithered all around us and began to quickly encircle my team. Like sharks they enveloped us, poised for the kill. They seemed to be probing us for weakness, waiting for the exact right moment to strike and take as many of us down as they could. I wasn't gonna let them get me. My body moved independently of my paralyzed psyche as I sprinted for the ladder, and leaped as high as I could to escape the cavern. However, The ladder was barely wide enough to fit one man on it. It was Made of wood and was not meant to support the weight of more than a couple of men at a time. I remember just how carefully we had to scale it just to get down to the cursed room in the first place! I worried it was going to give way at any second and I would be stranded in that room with those things! With the well! I felt it crack and buckle beneath me as more men than intended all tried to climb it at once. I pushed into the man above me, just as the person below me did. All in a desperate race to escape. Just when I was sure all was lost and I would never make it out, I reached the top and rolled onto my back. As I did so I heard a loud snapping sound, followed by 8 loud splashes hitting the liquid beneath.
I rolled over and shined my flashlight down the hole to look at the scene and try to help some of the men escape what had now become a tomb. It was no use though. It was 20 feet down. I… I couldn't reach any of them. Weathers… McKinley, they stared up at me and shouted for help but what was I supposed to do? The blood had risen to about waist-high by that point and there were more of those fucking things still circling them! They climbed over one another in a desperate attempt to get enough height to reach the exit but it was nowhere near enough. I felt so helpless. I watched the mysterious shapes and figures in the blood creep up to them from behind. Then, As if coordinated, in an instant they pounced on and dragged 3 men under the murky depths all at once. In that split second when they had leapt from the blood to attack the men I caught only the faintest of glimpses of their true form. They were like eels, or … or leeches with spider legs and beaks. Something of that family but it's still not an accurate comparison. They were truly, otherworldly. Inhuman even to creation itself. They were abominations that I'm glad were obscured by the fog as, to have glanced upon them in all their unholyness would've been too much for me at that moment. They yanked the men down into the ocean of blood. As they did so the men thrashed around chaotically and knocked more men over making the already futile pyramid of terrified men all the more pitiful. That's when I noticed the three who were taken by those serpents were being dragged towards the well! They were being dragged to the well so it could devour them just like Goff and take them away to some unspeakable fate! I looked at the edges of the room to search for the first victims of the attack. The ones who had been forcibly dragged towards the walls by the arms. When I found them I felt my stomach churn once again. Their bodies were halfway into the cavern walls! The arms were dragging the men headfirst into the island itself to be consumed! It was as though the island itself was alive! The well was alive And it wanted us dead! The remaining few screamed and pleaded and begged me to help them. All I could do was stare down at the chaos before me and watch.
I was ripped out of my comatose state by a firm hand on my shoulder. It was Hawks.
“Get up! We gotta get the fuck out of here!”
He picked me up by the back of my shirt and dragged me to my feet pushing me up the staircase. I had no activity coursing through my head and yet I ran. My body was truly on autopilot. I couldn't think of anything other than the men we were leaving behind and the look I saw on their faces as they screamed at me for help. The fog had now completely engulfed the inside of the fort and I struggled to maintain my footing as I ran as fast as I could through the first chamber and up the staircase. As we exited the main door I was stopped dead in my tracks. I heard gunshots behind me. By god… They were still alive! They were still fighting to get out and I was abandoning them! Hawks once again yanked the back of my shirt forward as he walked past me.
“There's nothing we can do for them! We have to get to the boats now!” and with that, he ran off ahead of me through the red smoke. Every fiber of my being compelled me to go back but my body refused to obey. I just stood there trembling, white knuckle grasping my rifle as I struggled to make a choice. After a few agonizing seconds of contemplation, I followed after Hawks and made my way to the boats. To freedom.
As we sped away from the island at top speed I was able to slowly creep back to the real world mentally and finally take note of my surroundings. It was me, Hawks, and 3 other British troops. Only 5 men had made it out. None of us said a word. We all just kept to ourselves and stared off into space doing our best to process what had happened to us. I looked back at Fort Ond one last time before it disappeared over the horizon. The fog had grown larger now. Redder. Hungrier.
When we got back to the destroyer we told command everything that we saw and what had happened. They didn't believe a word of it. I can't really say I blame them. We must've sounded insane to them. Showing up missing 30 men, covered head to toe in blood, Rambling about a mysterious well, our friends being dragged away to an unknown fate by strange creatures, Ancient bronze doors, and slaughtered nazi soldiers. They told us that we had most likely been exposed to a nerve agent. That the base was being classified as a possible chemical weapons lab and that when we inhaled the fog, maybe we were subjected to it and its hallucinogenic properties. But we were sealed up head to toe! We stood up for ourselves as best as we could. We all corroborated each other's stories and validated each other's testimonies. We swore up and down till we were blue in the face that the island was not what we thought it was. That our friends had been killed by an unknown force and that we had to destroy the fort. They just stared at us like we were a pack of lunatics. They had made up their mind about what had happened to us on that island. Any attempt made by any of us to set the record straight only served to make us look even more insane to them. I turned to one of the admirals and spoke up one last time. I had to know something before they turned us away.
“Please tell me you guys are gonna level that fucking place”
He stared at me for a few tense seconds before simply saying “We’ll handle it.”
And with that, it was over. All the remaining members of Operation Maelstrom were discharged the next day. Deemed “medically unfit” to continue service. Each of us was briefed individually on the events of that night and I was told not to utter a word to anyone about the events of Operation Maelstrom, or to disclose the fort's location to anybody. The Colonel who was briefing me told me “For the record, I believe there's at least a little truth in what you told us. But regardless, you and the survivors are a liability now. Unstable and erratic. We can't risk putting any of you onto another operation, not after what happened to you. Or at least, not after what you think happened to you. I'm sorry but this is for your own good.” I was put on a plane the next day and sent home.
that's it…
You don't believe a word of what I just said, do you?
Dad - Well… no, not all of it. I mean, I want to but it's a little much to proc-
Grandpa - I know how it sounds! You think I don't hear myself saying this shit to you? I know how it must sound! But it's the truth, son. The well is real! What happened to me… was real.
Dad - I'm sure it must've felt that way, Dad. But you gotta-
Grandpa - YOU DON'T BELIEVE A FUCKING WORD OF IT! Nobody does. You, the doctor, and every other person I've confided in just think I'm some fucking lunatic who imagined all this. I see the way you're looking at me! Like I'm just some poor old man who's losing his mind! I KNOW WHAT I SAW! I KNOW WHAT I WENT THROUGH! You weren't there.
Dad - I know I wasn't! I'm not saying I was Dad but c'mon. Work with me. Isn't it possible it WAS a nerve agent or something? How the hell would you know it wasn't?
Grandpa - BECAUSE WE ALL SAW THE SAME DAMN THING! All of the survivors of Maelstrom gave the exact same testimony upon our return! Everything from our encounter with the fog to our return to the ship was synced up perfectly! What? Do you think we all hallucinated the exact same thing?
Dad - No! I just think that maybe-
You know, They took the books that Captain Hawks acquired. Oh yeah! They made sure we kept nothing from our mission. Stripped us bare right after we returned to ship but He told me what he saw in those pages! More of those Strange symbols! Those hieroglyphics of unknown origin. The mention of a “Tor zur Hölle”. Some kind of fucking portal to hell, or somewhere worse, or god knows where! You wanna know why I can't sleep at night, Patrick? The real reason? It's because I know it's still there! “Well handle it”.Yeah like hell they did! They probably just set up shop themselves and tried finishing what the krauts started. Or maybe not. Maybe they heard our warnings and listened to us. Maybe they shelled the place into oblivion and actually did handle it. But I'll never know son. I'll never get my closure on the events that happened that night. I'll never get to know with 100% certainty that the well has been sealed and that whatever lies in the depths of Fort Ond can't get me anymore.
Dad - Let's just take some deep breaths ok? Why don't we just calm down and -
Grandpa - This was a waste of time. It always is with you people.
Dad - Dad, please!
Grandpa - We're done here! turn that damn thing off and get-
The tape ends there. I couldn't find any additional tapes in my fathers' belongings. So, for the time being, that's where the story ends too. I didn't know my grandfather too well. He died when I was 12 and was a recluse so sadly, this tape is one of the only glimpses I've ever gotten into his life. I don't know what to believe. It’s easy to write him off as crazy or the victim of a gas attack. But The fear I heard on that tape sounded so real. That's gotta mean something right? If nothing else, the torment he endured was real. And Maybe, that's all that matters. Or maybe, just maybe… he’s right. Maybe Fort Ond still stands. Exactly as he described. Hidden somewhere, behind the veil of fog.

Warning! I'm far more normal than my title implied, but I had to get you, suckers to read this somehow.
I love sitcoms, thrifting, reading comics, and just being outside. I'm pretty chill to talk to but once I actually feel comfortable with someone I'm much more expressive. I'm only interested in chatting with someone in the same age range as me despite the fact that I act 80 at times. Message me and let's see if we'd get along.
What's a joke that will always make you laugh? When someone is laughing so hard they begin to cough...Idk why but it always gets me.
What's your favorite pair of shoes? I had these long laced brown hiking boots from 18-20 and I wore them until they were hanging by thread.
What kind of friend are you? No matter how awkward I feel, if you act like a moron in public I will be doing the same so you feel less embarrased.
(Be as specific as possible!)

My daughter (almost 19 months old, fully vaccinated) seems to be in a fair amount of distress. She had mild URI symptoms for a couple of weeks (no fevers), which is not unusual for her these past few months with a 3.5 year old brother in school. She also began drooling more and we had to bust the bibs back out, figured it was the teething too. She seemed fine otherwise— PO intake was normal, adequate diapers, good spirits. About a day and a half ago she spiked a temp (tmax 101.6) and was tugging at her ear. So earlier, we brought her to urgent care since it’s Memorial Day. Sure enough, her left ear is infected. So they started her on amoxicillin. She’s since gotten two doses. We’ve been alternating Motrin and Tylenol too. The thing is, she’s had ear infections before and she’s been sicker than this before— she is normally very chill and unbothered, even when sick. Maybe 8ish hours ago, I started to notice that the drooling really picked up and it wasn’t so easy to console her. Her PO intake has decreased a fair amount, but she’s still had adequate urine output (although less than usual). She is furiously rubbing her face and soaking through all of her clothes and bibs with the copious amounts of drool. When she coughs or sneezes she cries in pain. I’m keeping an eye on her breathing and she seems ok; I finally got her to fall back to sleep on me (she is NEVER a contact sleeper, even when sick). The Motrin and Tylenol don’t seem to be helping much either. I’m going to call her ped in the morning (of course our 3 year old is scheduled for tubes and an adenoidectomy tomorrow too), but I’m just wondering if there’s something else I should be doing/looking out for. Could there be a retropharyngeal abscess or is that super rare? Any insight is appreciated!

circumvent Moonton matchmaking by being a 5 man.
Either by using your friends or the lobby finder, just kick anyone below 47% wr (with some games on em eh, not someone who did 4 games and lost 3 lol), or people with 150ms... and suddenly the skies clear up. people with WR around 50% or higher usually play nicer, work together and there are no issues in role select...
soloQ ranked just does not work unless you are really really good. Classic is even worse.
Since I hit Mythic (MH already now) classic has become impossible... just impossible. I try playing ling in classic to get better with him (and have a chill time)... 0 teamplay. I ping to gank, laners retreat. I ping turtle, they go chase some low HP mage and get 3man ambushed....
I am being matchmade with other MH players...HOW THE FUCK ARE THESE PEOPLE IN THESE RANKS. Yes my WR is 63% overall with 67% in ranked and 57% in classic this season....
absolutely the most horrid experience I had in 4 weeks. (I have not player classic in 4 weeks, purely ranked).
Moonton matchmaking is absolutely horrid... Just from a logical point of view, if you take wr as a indicator of skill (which it truly isn't since fucked teams can fuck ur wr). but still, a team of 4 man with 40% wr getting joined by 1 with 65% wr against another team of 4- 40% wr and 1- 65%wr (balanced matchmaking *COUGH COUGH*) it will be honestly a 1v1 bewteen the high WR guys with the rest being no better than bots.
it is better to let low WR players play solely against low WR players because then they learn and improve from people at their skill level and grow.
Horrid matchmaking for a solo or duo atm....
Honor of Kings only seems appealing for 1 reason....matchmaking might be better, which will be a huge thing for most players, because not everyone is playing with their friends....

26AMAB, medications: estrogen gel daily and monthly leuproreline shot. Generally healthy without other medicine, diagnosed with POTS.
I started having throat pain 3 weeks ago, saw pus on mostly my right tonsil. I went to check for bacteria at a doctors office since my mom had the same issue and was tested positive. I also felt slight fever and pain in my limbs.
Strep test and infection values were both negative. The week later, an unexpected migraine left me in shock and I decided to go to my doctor (not the same as the first). He gave me co amoxicillin, and I took the treatment for 5 days. The infection and pus was calming down and the white patches were shrinking. Though it came back yesterday and is now more present on my left side. I just feel fatigue, no fever or chills, no pain elsewhere. I’m now coughing sporadically.
I can’t help but panic a little. I have health anxiety which I struggle to control, and I try to remain calm, though the time passing and the infection seemingly coming back is terrifying.
My mom (who struggles with the symptoms coming back too) had the hypothesis of mononucleosis, which I never had as a kid.
Is tonsil infection coming back grounds to worry? Is it possible that a simple cold does something like this?

Fever, chills, disgusting phlegm, sore throat, profusely sweating, weakness, cough attacks, and unpaid time off.
I doubt I will make plans on returning. Almost every fucking kid is sneezing, coughing on me, not washing hands etc. One of the kids seems like he hasn’t bathed in weeks.

My mom has been basically dismissing my illness. Over my senior trip I had to stay at the hotel because I had chills, body aches, chest pain, constipation, nausea, no appetite, and slight dizziness. My aid on the trip texted my mother and she sent over medicine only to call me and yell to say I didn’t want to get better just because I didn’t immediately get up to ask someone to get me a Coke and yelled at me for saying that there wasn’t a vending machine in the hotel(getting up meant me fainting.) she also mentioned that because I’m 18 she’s not obligated to help me even when I’m sick because I showed a little attitude when she said that.
Now today, im home and been suffering the last two days I’ve been back, everyone else sees how horrible I feel except my mom because she feels that since she’s a nurse she doesn’t need to take me to the hospital. My symptoms since last night have calmed down except my cough but she was right because a part of me does want to get sicker just to prove her wrong and make her truly care and eat her words after all the suffering she dismissed. Why am I like this?

for context, all my life i think (i say this ‘cause i actually never went to a doctor for this but i’m kinda educated about this topic) i’ve suffered of a thing called “trimethylaminuria”, that is (copy-paste from google) basically an uncommon condition that causes an unpleasant smell. it can be caused by faulty genes that a person inherits from their parents, but this isn't always the case and here's currently no cure. so as you can imagine, i suffered all my life of bullying ‘cause people thinks that i don’t shower or things like that, when i literally do it every single day, is just a thing where i don’t have the full control. when i was a kid, all the comments that people were making of me didn’t affected me ‘cause basically were just other kids that were saying this things. but as the time went by, all those type of comments started to came from adults too. like, 20 minutes ago i was in the metro, going back home, and everything was fine, until i arrived at my stop and i got out, i went to take the elevator to get out of the station. there were this two ladies that were talking and one says to the other:”gosh there was a really bad smell in the metro that i was about to vomit” and her friend says to her:”actually i can still smell it” and then proceeded to start a fake cough and hold their noses. in the elevator with us there were two other men but they were totally chilling, they just didn’t mind at all. now, i know that i smell pretty bad due to this condition and i’m the first one that is uncomfortable with this, but why there’s the necessity for them to repeat this thing? it’s just rude, ‘cause it’s not so good seeing some random people behave like children. it’s not good seeing people walking away from me or holding their nose in my presence because of the smell. i have feelings too. and it makes me angry that these people are the first to demand respect from everyone, but then they don't give it to others.

this is more so of a rant, i’m sorry if it’s long.
i have many chronic illnesses. POTS, MCAS, EOE, FND, PPPD, and more. i was told for years by family and doctors that it was anxiety (the usual) and suffered in silence. now that i found a doctor who believed me, i got my diagnoses and my parents got to be a bit more understanding but never apologized for gaslighting me for years. i dont want people to think that i am being self-pitiful here, but i was never the favorite child and was always the one that “was so dramatic” or “was never happy”. my older sister, however, was the angel child. she could do no wrong in my parents eyes. if she was sick with even a cough, she was tended to while i was told to take prozac and shut up. i should include that i do get sick very easily. i have a very weak immune system from past infections and such so i go through measures to avoid getting sick.
recently my sister came home from college and she has strep and pneumonia. i got all of these chronic issues from post viral infections (covid, mono, flu, and strep back to back) and have been weary of getting sick so i take extra precautions. nothing serious, i just bleach the bathrooms and sanitize things she touches until she is out of the contagious period. my parents say im being ridiculous and laugh at me for this. they say im being so over dramatic and such and that “if i get sick ill be fine”.
cut to a week later, i start feeling quite sick. white patches on tonsils, swollen neck, chills, nausea/loss of appetite, bones aching. same exact thing she felt. my parents say i conjured it up in my own head and i convinced myself that i am sick. the second my sister was sick my mom took her to urgent care to get meds and basically hand fed her for a week. now i’m asking to be taken to get a strep test and antibiotics (i can’t drive anymore due to my conditions) and she won’t take me. she says to take my sisters left over antibiotics. mind you, im also med sensitive especially to antibiotics i get very sick and get rashes and it is not good at all, hence not wanting to get sick and having to take them.
i’ll add that this week my grandmother who we were very close with died in a very unexpected and scary manner. it has left us all in shambles and we’re all doing the best we can to get things in order. i spent 5 hours cleaning the house prepping for the post funeral service feeling ill as shit and with my POTS flaring up. i planned the food and helped my little sister get her dress and stuff as well. i was happy to help but my sisters did nothing and didn’t get reprimanded. it just irks me. anyways, my mom says that i need to be more considerate and that everyone is mourning and emotional (i am too, my grandma and i were very close) and that this is not in her list of priorities. i told her that i don’t want to get any of the guests sick cause they’re all coming over this week for the service. i have other immunocompromised family and don’t want to be responsible for getting them sick. now they’re saying im being rude for “wanting to skip the service” which isn’t true. they don’t want me to tell anyone that im sick either!
i feel like because i am chronically ill they don’t take me seriously when it is something viral or bacterial. they say that im always feeling sick so how is this any different. i try my best to not get sick but shit happens. they joke that my cleaning did nothing so why even bother. they don’t understand that when i’m sick with something like strep or the stomach bug it’s not like when they are sick, i take 2x as long to recover, AND i still have all of my chronic illness happening at the same time.
so yeah, i got yelled at this morning for asking to go to urgent care for meds because it was insensitive and everyone else is going through stuff. my sister is better now and my mom (right after yelling at me) said “oh sweetie are you alright” when my sister coughed. i seriously give up trying with them. i don’t know what to do.

I have seen some doctors, and have some upcoming appointments, namely a rheumatology visit, but I don't think it's rheumatological due to seeing rheumatologists before. This is a second opinion, due to a referral from my gp.
As for general information, I am assigned female at birth, but male identified. I have been on testosterone for a few years now, have had a hysterectomy and have also already had top surgery (chest masculinization). I am 34 (will be 35 by the end of June). I am on numerous medications, they are:
Lamictal Seroquel Fluoxitine Hydrochlorathyazide Losartan Motegrity Dexilant Testosterone injections Dulera Qvar Albuterol as needed
Previous diagnoses are as follows:
PCOS (But not sure if that counts at this point)
GERD
Gastroperesis
Hypermobility
Bipolar
ADHD
Autism
Generalized Anxiety
Asthma
Allergies
Overall, the diagnosed conditions I have are nothing super serious as far as I know.
Anyway, here's what I know in regard to recent symptoms:
Starting in August of 2023, I developed a low grade fever for a week or so. The highest the fever got at this point was 101. At the time, I brushed it off as a run-of-the-mill bug. I did get tested for COVID-19, and was negative for it. Eventually, I started to get better. I assumed that this was indeed just a random bug. However, I continued to experience on and off fatigue for a while, and still do on and off.
About a month later, I was fairly certain I had recovered, but then suddenly one night, I woke up shaking with chills. I was shaking so much my muscles hurt, and no matter how many blankets I put on, I was still freezing. I was also extremely thirsty. I took my temperature, and while I don't remember the exact temperature, I remember it was over 101. The next morning, I woke up fine. This started to become a pattern. I would go periods of time with no fevers or any symptoms at all, followed by waking up mid sleep cycle (as in, literally halfway through a normal night sleep) with shaking chills and a high fever, which can go as high as 103.5, and is always gone by morning. The fevers ONLY follow that pattern. I don't get fevers during the day, they only happen when they wake me up.
I set up an appointment with my doctor, who ordered numerous tests. My blood counts were all normal, and my autoimmune tests were also normal. The only test showing anything abnormal was my C-Reactive Protein, which was 39. Normal, according to the chart (as in, the actual lab test credentials) is 0-9. I asked if maybe my result was still technically normal, since obviously sometimes people have a blood test that is slightly off, and freak out, but my doctor said this isn't normal. This is also a consistent issue. My C-Reactive Protein is ALWAYS high. Unfortunately, according to my doctor, this test is non-specific, so it's hard to say what's causing the inflammation. He still wanted to refer me to a rheumatologist, but that's not until July this year. I still have no idea why he insists I see a rheumatologist when my tests for those conditions were all negative, but I digress...
The pattern continues, but I seem to have developed more symptoms over time. For one, during the episodes of fevers, my skin becomes sensitive and painful. I also now sometimes have a cough and trouble breathing during the fevers, along with my heart racing. Sometimes I get sore throats before the fevers happen as well and/or I feel generally under the weather. I have also noticed that I have a chronically swollen lymph node under one armpit, confirmed by a doctor. The fevers seem to occur once a month, but I no longer have a period and I don't have the right hormones for that anymore either, so I don't think it's that. I was never that regular anyway even when I did have a uterus. I do NOT get night sweats. I just want to clarify that.
I have been tested for HIV, which was negative, along with other STIs. All were negative. I have also been tested for tuberculosis, which was negative as well.
I really am at a loss at this point. I don't know where to go or what to do.
If more info is needed, let me know, and I will make edits.

Author notes:
I’m still alive! Been busy with a few stuff, but hopefully I managed to find the time to write part 5. Next update will be for my other medieval fantasy collab series <3
As always, you can monetize with the script, and since English isn’t my first language, feel free to make edits to the scripts to make things sound better, or if you want you can change sfx and such it’s okay too!
If you haven’t read the other parts, I’ll leave you the link below <3
Hope you will enjoy part 5, se you (hopefully) soon with part 6!
PART 1
PART 2
PART 3
PART 4
PART 5 → You're here!
Summary: After accepting the invite from the Wizard, the day has come and you go out together! Chilling together inside a comfy and warm cafe, you watch the snow falling gently, whitening the streets outside. The snowy weather also gives the perfect opportunity to create a cute and unexpected present with magic.
____________
[Action/things happening/Moods] Thinking
[Door opening, bell ringing, door closing]
[Happy] Here we are! I was really looking forward to this moment, since when you accepted my invite. Aaah, it feels so warm in here… it almost makes me want to stay here forever. [Chuckle]
True, my house is warm too, but we don’t have all of these amazing coffee and tea options. Or all of those sweets. In fact, now that I think about it, it’s been a while since I last bought a cake or something. [Excited] You know what? Before we leave, we could get one to bring with us, so we are settled for the next week!
I’ve been focusing so much on research for curse lifting, and you’ve been working hard to assist me with my shop, I’d say we earned it, don’t you think?
[Happy] Great! Well then, for now, let’s just sit over there. It’s near a fireplace, and it’s a little bit more secluded compared to other tables, I think… you might want some privacy, just in case.
[Footsteps]
[Relaxed] Aaah, it’s so beautiful in here. Oh, look, each table has a candle too! This one is… [pause, smelling the candle] ...vanilla, definitely vanilla. What a nice aroma… shall we light it up?
All right! [Finger snapping] It smells so good… don’t you agree? It gives you the same vibes of coming back home after a long journey. Do you… like this place? [Relaxed] It’s been so long since I last came here, it looks so different compared to last time. I can see the owner really cares about this place, it’s so much better compared to the past… Oh, anyway, I took this before sitting: it’s their menu.
[Page turning]
They have so many options! Wait, do they really serve this too?! Pecans aren’t so common here, I’m so happy they made a coffee with pecans too. [Slightly frustrated] Argh… now I really want to have this, but I swore to myself that I would have tried the limited edition one. I guess… [shyly] maybe we’ll come again here, together? It could be, like… a weekly date, or something. You know, like a treat for our hard work and an occasion to spend some “chilling-time” together.
I- [Embarrassed] Yes, I just called it “date” but- I mean- You know, it’s like-- [The more it goes on, the more it gets flustered and no sense] Going out together because- it’s… fun? I mean you don’t have to call it necessary “date” if- if you don’t want to see it as a date. Like, it’s not a “romantic” date. More like an “appointment” date? Or a colleagues date? B-because that’s something colleagues do. Or friends too. Because, yeah, we… are both colleagues and friends. And roommates. And-- friends can sometimes have these “friends date”, and… uh… [whispered] okay, this is so awkward. How do I get out of this mess I put myself in- Please, floor, just swallow me and let me disappear.
Don’t-- don’t laugh at me! [Pause] [Pretending to be offended] Yeah, I can see that you think it’s funny… [Pause] Oh, look! It’s snowing! [Whispering] And perfect timing, thank goodness.
[Chill again] It’s so beautiful from here. It’s the first snow of the year, I didn’t expect it! Though… hopefully we won’t freeze going back home later.
True, it’s enchanting nonetheless. Delicate, too… it reminds me of you, you know? [Chuckle] Now we’re fair. I can’t be the only embarrassed one. [Satisfied sigh].
So? Have you decided what you’re going to order?
[Excited] Ooh, I bet that’s super tasty! I’ll go for the limited coffee with caramel, vanilla and toasted almonds. I’ll go get them, please wait here for a moment.
[Chair moving, footsteps]
I said it without even thinking… but, it really feels like a date. A… “real” date with them… Why am I so nervous? It’s not like it’s the first time we went out together, and we always stay together at home to… [sigh] I must have looked like an idiot. It never happened to me, come on, get yourself together! Just… calm down, calm down. Behave like you always do. It’s just… a date. That’s what I had in mind when I invited them, after all. Saying it out loud, like that, though… well, at least they didn’t mind. That… that must be a good sign. I guess?.
[Pause, sigh]
They… truly look beautiful, leaning their cheek upon the hand like that, while they watch the snow with a dreamy and relaxed expression. I can’t believe how much close we’ve grown. Thinking that a little bit more than a month ago we didn’t even know each other, and now I… can’t imagine going back to my house and not finding them there. I wonder if… is it the same for them. Or maybe… [worried] they’re staying only because they need their curse lifted? We never really talked about it and… I’m not sure I want to know the answer. Not… now. I’m pretty sure, though… I can’t think of anyone else I’d wish to have close to me.
[Footsteps]
[Relaxed] Here it is, this one is yours and this is my coffee. [Sound of cups being put on the table, chair moving]
[Taking a sip]
Aaah, it feels so warm. It’s just the perfect drink for a cold and snowy day like this one. And it’s so sweet too! What about your? How is it?
[Happy] Oh, I’m glad you like it! It really looks delicious.
Are you sure? ...Well, if you insist, I’ll take up on your offer.
[Drinking] Wait a moment-- [embarrassed] isn’t this some sort of an indirect kiss?!
[Cough] [Kind of choking tone] I think it went down the wrong way- [More coughing] But... yes, it really is tasty! [Last cough, but still a slightly choking tone] Yes, yes, I’m okay. All good now, I can’t allow a coffee to take my life [Chuckle]. [Truly all better, hopeful tone] Would you... like to try mine too? Here.
Now that I think about it… this happened already, didn’t it? When they had to take the health potion and didn’t trust me enough to take a sip, so I had to take one first… I hadn’t thought much of it back then. It feels so different now, though.
So? Do you like it? [Pause] I know, right? It’s really delicious!
Are they… blushing? I wonder if they had the same thought. Oh, come on, why is it so awkward… I need to say something! Anything!
Uhm… [cheerful] Oh, have you ever made a snowman?
[Nostalgic, happy] When I was younger, I used to make snow bunny instead. It took less time and effort. I remember seeing a wizard in this village making one and giving it life thanks to his magic, for just a little while, but it was so adorable. I think that was the first time I felt attracted to magic, you know? [Chuckle]
Oh, I thought it was pretty common back then! So you’ve never seen a snow bunny coming alive and bouncing here and there? If you want, we can make one later. If it keeps coming down like this, I’m pretty sure by the time we get home, there will be a thick layer of snow.
[Pause]
Well, yes, it could be anything. A snow bunny, a snow man, a snow cat. [Mockingly] Do you want to make a snow cat? [Chuckle] [Pretending to be serious] No, of course I’m not making fun of you, don’t give me that look! [Laugh] [Happy, chill] But still, wouldn’t it be cute? A white, cute, snow cat. After all, today is our day off. We need to have fun and relax, and what’s a better way to have fun than making things with snow?
[Chuckle] It’s decided then.
[Excited] Oh, and… I forgot to tell you, I’ve heard about a grimoire with a lot of researches related to curse lifting, written by one of the best wizards of the past. The good news is that it uncovers a lot about curses and curse lifting, much more compared to all of the other books, so we will have a greater chance of finding a solution for your case. [Upset] The bad news is… to get it I’ll have to travel to the capital. [Slightly sad] Aw, don’t make that face. [Trying to cheer the listener] It could be your chance and I won’t be away for much. It should be just four days, the capital it’s not that far after all.
[Bittersweet] Oh, as much as I’d love for you to accompany me, I can’t let you do that. It’s getting colder and colder, it’s not the best idea to travel in this weather, plus I need someone to run the shop for me. Especially now that we’re a little bit… short on money, and unfortunately the grimoire is pretty expensive. That’s the second bad news.
[Comforting] No, no, don’t be sorry! And I don’t want your money either. It’s true that I’m buying it to help you, but it’s still something I would have eventually bought as a wizard. I’m sure you know already, but you never stop studying magic even when you’re great at spells and stuff, because when you’ve studied all the magic coming from the past, there is still so much more to uncover in the present. And before researching the present, I must study all about the past. So, don’t worry about it, okay? If you deal with the shop while I’m gone, you’re already helping a lot.
[Encouraging] Hey, it’s all right, I know you can do that. You always make perfect potions, for someone who doesn’t use magic or spells. As for the chanted amulets and spell-scrolls, I’ll deal with them in advance so you won’t have to worry. I think… we should give this grimoire a chance.
[Serious] No, I’m sorry, but… I don’t want to wait for the weather to change, I don’t want to waste precious time. I… [sad] haven’t forgotten about how you truly feel, and I promised to you that I would have worked harder. So please, let me do this. It’s not a problem for me, I assure you! And again… it’s only for four days. All right?
[Relieved sigh] Good.
[Pause]
[Happy] Well then, enough talking about work. Why don’t you choose a cake to bring home?
Oooh, nice, that seems delicious.
What- no, don’t you dare! [Confused, but gentle] I’m can’t let you buy it for us, I’m the one who invited you, so I’ll be the one paying for it.
Huh? What’s that look- hey, no! No, wait!
[Sound of wrist being grabbed, chuckle] Nope, I’m not going to let go of your wrist! Nu-uh. I can’t let you pay, absolutely not. The money you earned with your hard work… you’re supposed to use it for yourself, not for these things. I mean you’ve been helping so much with the shop and at home, and it’s only fair that I give you extras when we have them thanks to you. You’re still working for me, remember? And all of these money you’re saving up, you’re supposed to use them for something you like, not for… these things.
Are you sure? Sigh… [Happy, genlte] You’re always so stubborn, aren’t you? But… it makes me happy, really. Seeing that you care this much… too. Okay, let’s do this: since I’m the one who invited you to this, uh, date… my coffee and your drink too are on me. If you’re absolutely sure, I will accept your kind offer to pay for the cake to bring home. Do we have a deal?
Perfect! I’ll let you go now, and be right behind you. I’ll just grab the empty cups.
[Pause]
[Calling back the listener, with a “warned you” tone] Hey, only the cake.
[Sound of cups and spoons, footsteps]
Here is the rest of what we own them, and… oooh, this cake smells so good! [Excited] Shall we have a slice when we get home? Or maybe later, after dinner. Great! All right, let’s go.
[Door opening, bell ringing]
The snow it’s not going to stop soon… [worried] are you cold? I thought I saw you shivering a little bit. Hm, if you say so, okay, [Hopeful] Would it be a problem for you if we go to another place before going back home? I’d love to show you something, since it’s snowing.
[Happy] Here, come with me.
[Footsteps]
It’s pretty near, don’t worry, I wouldn’t have asked you to go there if we had to walk a lot under the snow. It’s just a minute, more or less.
[Relaxed] The village is so quiet when it’s snowing, it almost looks like a ghost town, don’t you think? But… it still brings out so much beauty. With everything quiet, everything covered in white… if only it wasn’t this cold, it would be perfect. Still, I think it’s better this snowy weather if compared to the suffocating heat of the summer. What do you think? Are you more of a winter person or a summer person?
Heh, I knew that. [Excited] Oh, we’re here!
[Happy] I’ve always loved this park, I remember once when this little lake froze, and thanks to the wizard I told you before, that made sure with his magic that the ice was stable and safe, there were kids skating on it. If you haven’t tried it yet, it’s super fun! I mean, after you go through the first struggling step of falling every few seconds. Well, that phase is also fun, but for those who watch. [Laugh]. Still, if it happens again this winter, I’d love to take you here... and skate with you. [Shyly] ...What do you think?
[Happy] Perfect! This year feels much more colder than the past one, so who knows, maybe we’ll get the chance. But... this wasn’t really the reason I brought you here, actually… come with me.
[Footsteps]
See this tree? It’s a silverleaf willow. While researching to find a remedy for your curse, I found out that this willow’s leaves are used as an ingredient for some kind of curses. Unfortunately, it doesn’t really help much with our case, but… I also found out that at the base of this willow, when it snows, if you use a specific spell, marvelous flowers can bloom. The magic helps transfer the vitality of the silver leaves to the snow that settles on them, and directly to the ground without it dispersing, thus allowing these rare flowers to blossom. Here, look:
[small pause] You first touch the silver leaves, and you let the snow melt upon your fingers. Then you touch the ground underneath, without waiting for too long, and… here the magic makes its trick. Look… it’s blooming.
[Gentle] Isn’t it beautiful? That’s the silverleaf lily. It… doesn’t really have any purpose, and it’s something that wouldn’t exist without the help of magic, but… I personally find it lovely.
I’m so happy it snowed today, so I was able to show it to you! And… here, take it.
[Happy] You know, since it’s the result of a spell, it’s not really going to wither. You can turn it into a pin for your hair, or for your clothes… I think it would look great on you either way.
Of course you can keep it! That’s… the point, after all. [Chuckle] Take it as a “thank you” for the cake. [Shyly] And, maybe also as… [small pause, slightly sad] uhm, no, never mind. I, uh… I think it’s better to go back home now. The sun will set soon, and [Cheerful again] we still have some snow bunny to make! Oh, wait, maybe you wanted to make some snow cat? [Laugh]
Okay, okay, let’s go. Let me know if you feel too cold, you can snuggle up to me if you need to.
[Footsteps]
Kitty?
[Gentle] Thank you for coming with me today. I really had a lot of fun, and I hope it was the same for you.
[Relieved] I’m happy to hear that, kitty. Really happy.