Raven riley in the bathroom

Two years ago I was living with my parents and it was Hell. If you want details scroll through my post history. I was miserable there, self harming, anxiety, depression, had physical health problems like not being able to grip things with my hands, dropping things a lot, and every single joint in my body HURT. I was afraid it was long COVID, rheumatoid arthritis, something crippling and incurable.
Then I went to a group home and the self harming stopped immediately- not even triggered- and within a week the joint pain was gone, no more dropping things all the time, etc. This was supposed to be a transitional group home but I stayed there for nearly two years because of a lack of other places to go. Had a few ups and downs but was mostly well, would drop things when stressed out but that was about it. Unfortunately I could not stay there forever and had to go.
So I went to another group home, been here almost two weeks, and it's hell. Not as bad as when I was with my parents but barely a step up from there. This place doesn't have to be this bad, but they make it bad.
I have reactive hypoglycemia, (spoiler tagged just because I spent 4 paragraphs about the food)I was diagnosed about 3 years ago and it explains a lot about my weird relationship with food, how I'd get moody and ravenously hungry despite eating if I ate too much sugacarbs. This isn't just 'in my head' or soemthing trendy to latch onto, I have bloodwork to prove this diagnosis, my endocrinologist changed my life teaching me how to live with this condition. It's basically go low-carb, avoid sugar, eat whole grains and have plenty of protein. This would have been in my application to live here about dietary needs. The first night here diner was a sandwich on white bread- I asked if they have whole wheat because I'm not supposed to eat white bread because of the reactive hypoglycemia.
"no"
This place is obsessed with white bread. Today breakfast was egg, cheese and sausage sandwiched on white bread toast. Lunch was lasagna with buttered white bread on the side. Dinner is always a sandwich on white bread. One day I forget what we had for lunch, i think american chop suey, and it came with a slice of white bread cut in half wrapped in wax paper- just a slice of naked white bread for the hell of it. I've been discarding the bread and eating what is in the sandwich on its own because they refuse to get wheat bread.
Some mornings breakfast is cereal. Sugary cereal. One morning it was Capn Crunch. I'm better off not eating at all than that stuff on an empty stomach.
I've calculated what they feed us in a day and it doesn't meet the minimum requirement for protein for adults. It's like a cult level of protein deficiency. My insurance gets me protein shakes (only covers one a day) and with that I'm still not getting the minimum. I don't have any income but i was able to buy a jar of peanut butter. I think everyone else here is protein deficient. All they do all day is either lay in bed watching TV, sit around staring blankly, or smoke outside. I never see anyone playing any kind of game, reading or anything that requires thinking.
(spoiler long details on how disgusting it is here)Supposedly a housekeeper comes in once a week but I see no signs of it. The shower-tub has not been cleaned since i got here and looks like it has not been cleaned in months. It's disgusting. The other shower, a stand up shower, is not much better. It's a "zero-entry" or curbless shower, basically the shower floor is part of the entire bathroom floor. A zero-entry shower isn't a bad thing except for how the shower drain is so clogged that the shower water backs up all over the bathroom floor. I told them that the drain is clogged "That's because people shove their hair down the drain" - they aren't going to fix it, they're just going to let it continue on like this. Periodically cleaning the hair trap of a drain is basic maintenance.
>! The other day they had to replace some ceiling tiles. Chunks of ceiling tiles and plaster dust was left in the hall for hours. They couldn't be arsed to sweep it, pretended to not see it while they played with their phones at desk next to the bits of ceiling tile and residents walked through it tracking it all over the house and their bedrooms.!<
Keeping clean is an important part of self care, not showering is a fast way to become depressed and destroy motivation to go out or do anything. I've noticed that a lot of people no longer bother to keep up with basic hygiene, and with how this place makes showering so difficult and unattractive i don't blame them.
I hope i can get out of here soon.

Rain poured down on the two weary travelers as they finally caught sight of refuge.
“Look, a temple!” One of them shouted.
“Let’s hurry! Hopefully they aren’t asleep yet!”
With water-logged clothes, they ran over to the temple steps. According to the sign, they were at Mannenji Temple. They trudged up the steps as quickly as they could muster. Monks greeted them at the door and ushered them in, offering fresh clothes along with towels to dry off.
“Thank you, you’ve saved us!” They prased.
Before long, they were comfortably drinking hot tea and telling of riveting adventures. They spoke of exploring ancient ruins and finding priceless treasures. Many of the stories were humorous and harrowing tales going late into the evening. After they were left alone to sleep for the night, the two men grinned at each other.
“I knew you were a good story teller but….that last one was a doozy!” The first man said.
“And they bought every bit of it,” the other man said. “So often, the kindest are the most gullible!”
“Had we told them a fraction of the truth, they’d see us out quickly.”
They both chuckled.
“Let’s not harm them though. They’re not like the others. I have something in mind.”
“What is it?”
“I’ll tell you tomorrow. For now, let’s get some rest and head out in the morning.”
That night, one of them rested deeply while the other exacted his plan.
The next morning, the two rested men thanked the monks ferociously for their hospitality and left for town.
Once they were far enough away, one of the men beamed mischievously at the other.
“I always pause when you smile like that. Wait…is this about your plan, Ita?”
“Ah, Tomo. You know me too well.”
Ita rifled through his bag and slowly procured a small doll. It instantly struck Tomo, as it had a strange aura. The dolls face was round and childlike with raven, shoulder-length hair in a bob and wore a traditional kimono. This fact alone would have made the doll quite cute, but another aspect negated all else. The two eyes of the doll were endless black circles that bore an untouchable, creeping anxiety.
“Where did you….you didn’t. Did you?!”
“Yes. I took it from the temple.”
“I can’t believe you…”
Itazura rolled his eyes and put the doll back into the bag.
“Keep your pants on. It was inside a box, so it’ll be a while before they realize it’s gone.”
“That’s not the point!” Tomodachi threw his hands up in frustration. “We’re not saints, but they did nothing to deserve this!”
“Do you know how much this could fetch us? I don’t know what it is, but the fact that it’s kept in the temple is enough to secure us for a long time! The box itself would have been worth taking, but I couldn’t sneak it back to our room.”
“I don’t like it.” Tomo crossed his arms at this.
“You don’t have to come with me, you know.”
“We’re supposed to only take from…..ahh fine. Let’s just see how much this thing is worth.”
“I have a feeling it will change your mind.”
They trekked into town and the uncomfortable silence eventually smoothed over. After getting a bite to eat, they found a trade shop that would have some idea of the doll’s value.
“Hello, gentlemen. Anything I could interest you in?”
“Yes, in fact.”
Ita gently laid the doll on the counter and the elderly shop owner looked it over. After a furrow of his brow, the owner said:
“Was this made recently?”
“No, we found it.”
“Hmmmm.”
The elderly man fetched a pair of glasses and scrutinized every inch of the doll, his face becoming more lined with concern. After he seemed satisfied with the inspection, he looked at the men gravely.
“I will only ask once more…you or anyone you know did not make this doll, correct?”
“No. Why do you keep asking?”’
The shop owner’s face went pale as the sincerity of the answer sunk in.
“I want to be a hundred percent sure that this is an original. It seems to be an original, it’s just…..I’m surprised that you have this in your possession.”
“What is it?” Tomo finally spoke up, his curiosity gnawing at him.
“This appears to be the Okiku doll.”
“Okiku? That sounds a bit familiar. Refresh me, if you will.”
“A young girl was once gifted this doll as a birthday present. Her older brother saw the doll in a shop window during his travels and was instantly enamored. Somehow he knew this doll was meant for his sister’s two-year birthday. She loved the doll to the point of obsession, but who is to really say when it comes to such a young child? The little girl named the doll Okiku after herself. She fed it, talked to it, put it to bed, and did absolutely everything with it. Sadly, on the girl’s third birthday, she was struck with illness and died clutching the doll in her little arms.”
“That’s…. a bit macabre.”
“That’s only the beginning. The family referred to the doll as Okiku, perhaps treating it as their daughter in a strange way of grieving. Soon after, they experienced countless unexplained events. Lights would turn on and off, doors would slam and disembodied footsteps walked throughout the household. Voices of a young girl were heard talking and singing. And perhaps the most infamous of all…the doll’s hair began to grow as if she were a living being. The family showed the doll to a priest who confirmed all their allegations and they came to the conclusion that the doll contained the spirit of Okiku. Many say that you must care for the doll and continue cutting her hair to appease her. For those who don’t, it will have disastrous consequences.”
“Nonsense,” spat Ita. “Superstitions, legends, and folklore.”
“Believe it or not, many reported the same occurrences for the doll. You know, they actually sent clippings of her hair for scientific analysis.”
“And what of that?” Tomo asked.
“They concluded definitively that the hair was actually that of a human girl.”
“Whoa….”
“I don’t believe any of this,” Ita reiterated.
“Look it up, it’s all been verified. Where did you say you found this, by the way?”
“I didn’t, old man. I just need to know how much you’ll give us for it. Surely this will cost quite a bit considering its history.”
“How much? I wouldn’t give you anything for it! I can’t take this doll!”
“Why not?!”
“Because I don’t wish to be haunted, that’s why! What kind of a question…and you know what’s really strange about this? Last I heard, the family left the doll with the monks.” The man pointed in the direction of Mannenji Temple. “I suppose you wouldn’t know anything about that, would you?”
Ita looked around the shop and confirmed no one else was around. He gave Tomodachi a look, who reluctantly nodded back with a sick feeling in his stomach.
“Please, don’t…”
“Do it!” Itazura commanded.
Tomo whisked over to the front door and locked it before he spun the sign around to “closed.”
“What are you doing?” The shop owner said, backing up with his hands raised.
After all was said and done, the two drifters talked to anyone in town who would lend an ear. They needed someone who was not bound by any moral duty to the doll’s rightful owner. Luckily, Ita had a good eye for people with knowledge of these dealings and there was someone in the next town that would likely pay them for the doll.
Tomo had to force empty thoughts into his mind to block out what they did. He’d hurt others and even killed someone before, but not this way. Not an innocent shop owner.
“If only he’d not said anything about knowing where it came from, the old fool might still be alive,” Tomo thought.
The trip to the next town was a two-day walk, so they gathered supplies and were soon on the road. The silence was beginning to drive Tomo mad as he was only left with his guilty thoughts.
That night, they spoke over the campfire.
“You really believe this stuff, don’t you?” Ita started.
“I don’t know what to believe…I just know that he didn’t deserve that.”
“Are you getting soft on me, Tomo? Don’t have the stomach for this anymore?”
“I don’t think he deserved that! We could have tied him up.”
“Yeah, and then he’d send the police after us. That’s the last thing we need!”
“Let’s just sell this thing and get it over with.”
They sat in silence for a bit, and Ita noticed Tomo closely watching the bag.
“You think she’s really haunted, don’t you?”
“I think I don’t want to find out.”
Ita pulled the doll out of the bag and wagged it at him.
“Mister Tomo, will you give me a kiiiiss?!!”
Ita spoke in a mocking little girl’s voice and erupted into laughter.
“What is wrong with you? Have you no respect for the dead?’
“Oh, c’mon. I don’t think Okiku will mind!”
Tomo exchanged choice words, which fell on deaf ears. Then he picked up his sleeping bag amongst other things and moved to a tree forty yards away.
“Good night,” he shouted in defiance.
“Can I give you a good night kiss first?” Ita responded with his girly voice.
Tomo settled into his new spot, ignoring his awful friend’s laughing fit.
Before long, he settled hard into a dream.
Tomo was living in a lavish home, surrounded by opulent and important things. He smiled at others as he toasted and threw lush parties. It all seemed the life of luxury, but at a cost. At the end of each party, he cleaned up by himself with a strong, foreboding loneliness. The next moment he was cutting the haunted doll’s hair and set her on a decorative altar with lit candles. A ghostly form of an old man kept appearing throughout, glaring at him with forlorn, angry eyes. He haunted Tomo’s every step..
One morning, he awoke to an empty house with no light. A little girl appeared before him and grabbed him by the shoulders and began to shake him.
And shake and shake and shake and shake and…
”Tomo!” A voice jerked him awake.
After snapping his eyes open, he saw Ita holding his shoulders.
“It’s alright. Just me.”
“What do you want?”
“I need to use the bathroom.”
“So go then? What are you, a child? Why wake me up?!”
“I’ve been hearing lots of strange noises, even for a forest. I wanted to be sure you’re awake if something were to happen.”
Tomo sat for a moment, fuming at his friend.
“Okay, fine. I’m already awake now. Make it quick.”
His friend wandered into the woods out of sight. And so Tomo waited.
Something felt strange and he quickly realized what it was. The forest was deathly silent, not like what Itazura said. It occurred to Tomodachi that Ita was probably just scared, which lifted his spirits a bit. He sat up and leaned against a tree and absent-mindedly dozed off.
“Uh?”
Tomo awoke in a startle before checking his watch. It’d been thirty minutes. He walked over to his friend’s camping spot to find him missing.
Something was very wrong.
“Ita!” He whisper-shouted through the woods. “Iiiitaaaaa!”
There was no response.
Shaking, he bumbled his way through the woods in the area he last saw his friend. His flashlight searched everywhere, but his friend was nowhere to be found. Starting to give up, he made a wide berth on his walk back until he tripped over something.
“Ooooof!”
The fall knocked the breath out of him as his light clattered to the forest floor. He got his bearings again and retrieved his flashlight. When he looked back at what he tripped over, he couldn’t believe his eyes.
Ita was laying on the ground with his mouth gaping open, clutching the infamous Okiku doll in his curled hands. The hair of the doll had grown way longer and was wrapped tightly around Ita’s neck.
“No….no, this isn’t real,” he whispered to himself. “I’m dreaming. I must be.”
Placing his hands over his eyes, he thought if he waited a moment and looked again then things would be different. Before he did, an unexplainable noise permeated the air.
There was no doubting it. It was the voice of a little girl singing.
Tomo panicked and rushed back to his sleeping bag, gathering all of his belongings before he rummaged through his former friend’s bag and took the provisions. Slinging his bag over his shoulder, he ran along the forest path towards the next town until he collapsed from exhaustion and sat up against a tree.
“It has him now. I’m okay,” were the last thoughts before he fell back asleep.
Tomo dreamed more of the old man he helped kill before he woke again into a bright morning. Despite the malevolent dream, he felt surprisingly refreshed. For a moment, he thought perhaps it really was all a dream.
This thought didn’t last long.
He sat up and rubbed his eyes, then jumped to his feet. The Okiku doll was sitting next to his rucksack with longer hair and Ita’s knife on the ground nearby. Okiku’s eyes stared its abyss in his direction.
“What do you want?!” He yelled.
His eyes went from the doll to the knife and very soon he understood. Every fiber in his being wanted to run screaming from the doll, but he knew it would do him no good. And so he relented to his fate.
Singing softly as he would to a child, he placed the doll in his lap and began to cut the doll’s hair with the knife. He spoke sweet and gentle, pretending that he was asking a little girl about her day and giggling at her answers. Silent tears of fear streamed down his face as he did so in an anxiety-ridden trance.
Once the doll’s hair was properly cut, he sat the doll up and stared at her for a moment.
“I’m sorry for my part in all this, you know. I’ve never been strong. I’ve always been a coward.”
The doll stared back at him and he nodded in understanding.
“Yes…yes, you’re right. I should. It’s only fitting.”
Without another word, Tomo raised the knife to his neck and dragged the blade from one side to the other. A gush of crimson flowed forth, soaking his clothes.
The doll watched...and smiled.
Back at the Mennanji Temple, monks were settling in for the night when the watchman heard a hard knock at the temple doors. As he approached, he called out.
“Who is it?”
“I’ve come to return something,” a voice said from the other side.
The monk promptly opened the door and was shocked to find no one there. He looked down and saw the Okiku doll staring up at him.
“Oh, my sweet little one,” he said softly as he picked the doll up. “Who got you this time, huh?”
He smiled with warmth and closed the door back.
“She’s back,” the watchman called out.
Another monk promptly appeared with a pair of clippers and the watchman held the doll out. Bowing, the monk with clippers took the doll and began cutting its hair.
“Who brought her back?” The hair-cutting monk asked.
“I don’t know. They weren’t there when I answered,” the watchman replied.
As he went about his watch duties for the night, the monk thought to himself.
Come to think of it, it did sound like an older gentlemen, didn’t it?

Rain poured down on the two weary travelers as they finally caught sight of refuge.
“Look, a temple!” One of them shouted.
“Let’s hurry! Hopefully they aren’t asleep yet!”
With water-logged clothes, they ran over to the temple steps. According to the sign, they were at Mannenji Temple. They trudged up the steps as quickly as they could muster. Monks greeted them at the door and ushered them in, offering fresh clothes along with towels to dry off.
“Thank you, you’ve saved us!” They prased.
Before long, they were comfortably drinking hot tea and telling of riveting adventures. They spoke of exploring ancient ruins and finding priceless treasures. Many of the stories were humorous and harrowing tales going late into the evening. After they were left alone to sleep for the night, the two men grinned at each other.
“I knew you were a good story teller but….that last one was a doozy!” The first man said.
“And they bought every bit of it,” the other man said. “So often, the kindest are the most gullible!”
“Had we told them a fraction of the truth, they’d see us out quickly.”
They both chuckled.
“Let’s not harm them though. They’re not like the others. I have something in mind.”
“What is it?”
“I’ll tell you tomorrow. For now, let’s get some rest and head out in the morning.”
That night, one of them rested deeply while the other exacted his plan.
The next morning, the two rested men thanked the monks ferociously for their hospitality and left for town.
Once they were far enough away, one of the men beamed mischievously at the other.
“I always pause when you smile like that. Wait…is this about your plan, Ita?”
“Ah, Tomo. You know me too well.”
Ita rifled through his bag and slowly procured a small doll. It instantly struck Tomo, as it had a strange aura. The dolls face was round and childlike with raven, shoulder-length hair in a bob and wore a traditional kimono. This fact alone would have made the doll quite cute, but another aspect negated all else. The two eyes of the doll were endless black circles that bore an untouchable, creeping anxiety.
“Where did you….you didn’t. Did you?!”
“Yes. I took it from the temple.”
“I can’t believe you…”
Itazura rolled his eyes and put the doll back into the bag.
“Keep your pants on. It was inside a box, so it’ll be a while before they realize it’s gone.”
“That’s not the point!” Tomodachi threw his hands up in frustration. “We’re not saints, but they did nothing to deserve this!”
“Do you know how much this could fetch us? I don’t know what it is, but the fact that it’s kept in the temple is enough to secure us for a long time! The box itself would have been worth taking, but I couldn’t sneak it back to our room.”
“I don’t like it.” Tomo crossed his arms at this.
“You don’t have to come with me, you know.”
“We’re supposed to only take from…..ahh fine. Let’s just see how much this thing is worth.”
“I have a feeling it will change your mind.”
They trekked into town and the uncomfortable silence eventually smoothed over. After getting a bite to eat, they found a trade shop that would have some idea of the doll’s value.
“Hello, gentlemen. Anything I could interest you in?”
“Yes, in fact.”
Ita gently laid the doll on the counter and the elderly shop owner looked it over. After a furrow of his brow, the owner said:
“Was this made recently?”
“No, we found it.”
“Hmmmm.”
The elderly man fetched a pair of glasses and scrutinized every inch of the doll, his face becoming more lined with concern. After he seemed satisfied with the inspection, he looked at the men gravely.
“I will only ask once more…you or anyone you know did not make this doll, correct?”
“No. Why do you keep asking?”’
The shop owner’s face went pale as the sincerity of the answer sunk in.
“I want to be a hundred percent sure that this is an original. It seems to be an original, it’s just…..I’m surprised that you have this in your possession.”
“What is it?” Tomo finally spoke up, his curiosity gnawing at him.
“This appears to be the Okiku doll.”
“Okiku? That sounds a bit familiar. Refresh me, if you will.”
“A young girl was once gifted this doll as a birthday present. Her older brother saw the doll in a shop window during his travels and was instantly enamored. Somehow he knew this doll was meant for his sister’s two-year birthday. She loved the doll to the point of obsession, but who is to really say when it comes to such a young child? The little girl named the doll Okiku after herself. She fed it, talked to it, put it to bed, and did absolutely everything with it. Sadly, on the girl’s third birthday, she was struck with illness and died clutching the doll in her little arms.”
“That’s…. a bit macabre.”
“That’s only the beginning. The family referred to the doll as Okiku, perhaps treating it as their daughter in a strange way of grieving. Soon after, they experienced countless unexplained events. Lights would turn on and off, doors would slam and disembodied footsteps walked throughout the household. Voices of a young girl were heard talking and singing. And perhaps the most infamous of all…the doll’s hair began to grow as if she were a living being. The family showed the doll to a priest who confirmed all their allegations and they came to the conclusion that the doll contained the spirit of Okiku. Many say that you must care for the doll and continue cutting her hair to appease her. For those who don’t, it will have disastrous consequences.”
“Nonsense,” spat Ita. “Superstitions, legends, and folklore.”
“Believe it or not, many reported the same occurrences for the doll. You know, they actually sent clippings of her hair for scientific analysis.”
“And what of that?” Tomo asked.
“They concluded definitively that the hair was actually that of a human girl.”
“Whoa….”
“I don’t believe any of this,” Ita reiterated.
“Look it up, it’s all been verified. Where did you say you found this, by the way?”
“I didn’t, old man. I just need to know how much you’ll give us for it. Surely this will cost quite a bit considering its history.”
“How much? I wouldn’t give you anything for it! I can’t take this doll!”
“Why not?!”
“Because I don’t wish to be haunted, that’s why! What kind of a question…and you know what’s really strange about this? Last I heard, the family left the doll with the monks.” The man pointed in the direction of Mannenji Temple. “I suppose you wouldn’t know anything about that, would you?”
Ita looked around the shop and confirmed no one else was around. He gave Tomodachi a look, who reluctantly nodded back with a sick feeling in his stomach.
“Please, don’t…”
“Do it!” Itazura commanded.
Tomo whisked over to the front door and locked it before he spun the sign around to “closed.”
“What are you doing?” The shop owner said, backing up with his hands raised.
After all was said and done, the two drifters talked to anyone in town who would lend an ear. They needed someone who was not bound by any moral duty to the doll’s rightful owner. Luckily, Ita had a good eye for people with knowledge of these dealings and there was someone in the next town that would likely pay them for the doll.
Tomo had to force empty thoughts into his mind to block out what they did. He’d hurt others and even killed someone before, but not this way. Not an innocent shop owner.
“If only he’d not said anything about knowing where it came from, the old fool might still be alive,” Tomo thought.
The trip to the next town was a two-day walk, so they gathered supplies and were soon on the road. The silence was beginning to drive Tomo mad as he was only left with his guilty thoughts.
That night, they spoke over the campfire.
“You really believe this stuff, don’t you?” Ita started.
“I don’t know what to believe…I just know that he didn’t deserve that.”
“Are you getting soft on me, Tomo? Don’t have the stomach for this anymore?”
“I don’t think he deserved that! We could have tied him up.”
“Yeah, and then he’d send the police after us. That’s the last thing we need!”
“Let’s just sell this thing and get it over with.”
They sat in silence for a bit, and Ita noticed Tomo closely watching the bag.
“You think she’s really haunted, don’t you?”
“I think I don’t want to find out.”
Ita pulled the doll out of the bag and wagged it at him.
“Mister Tomo, will you give me a kiiiiss?!!”
Ita spoke in a mocking little girl’s voice and erupted into laughter.
“What is wrong with you? Have you no respect for the dead?’
“Oh, c’mon. I don’t think Okiku will mind!”
Tomo exchanged choice words, which fell on deaf ears. Then he picked up his sleeping bag amongst other things and moved to a tree forty yards away.
“Good night,” he shouted in defiance.
“Can I give you a good night kiss first?” Ita responded with his girly voice.
Tomo settled into his new spot, ignoring his awful friend’s laughing fit.
Before long, he settled hard into a dream.
Tomo was living in a lavish home, surrounded by opulent and important things. He smiled at others as he toasted and threw lush parties. It all seemed the life of luxury, but at a cost. At the end of each party, he cleaned up by himself with a strong, foreboding loneliness. The next moment he was cutting the haunted doll’s hair and set her on a decorative altar with lit candles. A ghostly form of an old man kept appearing throughout, glaring at him with forlorn, angry eyes. He haunted Tomo’s every step..
One morning, he awoke to an empty house with no light. A little girl appeared before him and grabbed him by the shoulders and began to shake him.
And shake and shake and shake and shake and…
”Tomo!” A voice jerked him awake.
After snapping his eyes open, he saw Ita holding his shoulders.
“It’s alright. Just me.”
“What do you want?”
“I need to use the bathroom.”
“So go then? What are you, a child? Why wake me up?!”
“I’ve been hearing lots of strange noises, even for a forest. I wanted to be sure you’re awake if something were to happen.”
Tomo sat for a moment, fuming at his friend.
“Okay, fine. I’m already awake now. Make it quick.”
His friend wandered into the woods out of sight. And so Tomo waited.
Something felt strange and he quickly realized what it was. The forest was deathly silent, not like what Itazura said. It occurred to Tomodachi that Ita was probably just scared, which lifted his spirits a bit. He sat up and leaned against a tree and absent-mindedly dozed off.
“Uh?”
Tomo awoke in a startle before checking his watch. It’d been thirty minutes. He walked over to his friend’s camping spot to find him missing.
Something was very wrong.
“Ita!” He whisper-shouted through the woods. “Iiiitaaaaa!”
There was no response.
Shaking, he bumbled his way through the woods in the area he last saw his friend. His flashlight searched everywhere, but his friend was nowhere to be found. Starting to give up, he made a wide berth on his walk back until he tripped over something.
“Ooooof!”
The fall knocked the breath out of him as his light clattered to the forest floor. He got his bearings again and retrieved his flashlight. When he looked back at what he tripped over, he couldn’t believe his eyes.
Ita was laying on the ground with his mouth gaping open, clutching the infamous Okiku doll in his curled hands. The hair of the doll had grown way longer and was wrapped tightly around Ita’s neck.
“No….no, this isn’t real,” he whispered to himself. “I’m dreaming. I must be.”
Placing his hands over his eyes, he thought if he waited a moment and looked again then things would be different. Before he did, an unexplainable noise permeated the air.
There was no doubting it. It was the voice of a little girl singing.
Tomo panicked and rushed back to his sleeping bag, gathering all of his belongings before he rummaged through his former friend’s bag and took the provisions. Slinging his bag over his shoulder, he ran along the forest path towards the next town until he collapsed from exhaustion and sat up against a tree.
“It has him now. I’m okay,” were the last thoughts before he fell back asleep.
Tomo dreamed more of the old man he helped kill before he woke again into a bright morning. Despite the malevolent dream, he felt surprisingly refreshed. For a moment, he thought perhaps it really was all a dream.
This thought didn’t last long.
He sat up and rubbed his eyes, then jumped to his feet. The Okiku doll was sitting next to his rucksack with longer hair and Ita’s knife on the ground nearby. Okiku’s eyes stared its abyss in his direction.
“What do you want?!” He yelled.
His eyes went from the doll to the knife and very soon he understood. Every fiber in his being wanted to run screaming from the doll, but he knew it would do him no good. And so he relented to his fate.
Singing softly as he would to a child, he placed the doll in his lap and began to cut the doll’s hair with the knife. He spoke sweet and gentle, pretending that he was asking a little girl about her day and giggling at her answers. Silent tears of fear streamed down his face as he did so in an anxiety-ridden trance.
Once the doll’s hair was properly cut, he sat the doll up and stared at her for a moment.
“I’m sorry for my part in all this, you know. I’ve never been strong. I’ve always been a coward.”
The doll stared back at him and he nodded in understanding.
“Yes…yes, you’re right. I should. It’s only fitting.”
Without another word, Tomo raised the knife to his neck and dragged the blade from one side to the other. A gush of crimson flowed forth, soaking his clothes.
The doll watched...and smiled.
Back at the Mennanji Temple, monks were settling in for the night when the watchman heard a hard knock at the temple doors. As he approached, he called out.
“Who is it?”
“I’ve come to return something,” a voice said from the other side.
The monk promptly opened the door and was shocked to find no one there. He looked down and saw the Okiku doll staring up at him.
“Oh, my sweet little one,” he said softly as he picked the doll up. “Who got you this time, huh?”
He smiled with warmth and closed the door back.
“She’s back,” the watchman called out.
Another monk promptly appeared with a pair of clippers and the watchman held the doll out. Bowing, the monk with clippers took the doll and began cutting its hair.
“Who brought her back?” The hair-cutting monk asked.
“I don’t know. They weren’t there when I answered,” the watchman replied.
As he went about his watch duties for the night, the monk thought to himself.
Come to think of it, it did sound like an older gentlemen, didn’t it?

Rain poured down on the two weary travelers as they finally caught sight of refuge.
“Look, a temple!” One of them shouted.
“Let’s hurry! Hopefully they aren’t asleep yet!”
With water-logged clothes, they ran over to the temple steps. According to the sign, they were at Mannenji Temple. They trudged up the steps as quickly as they could muster. Monks greeted them at the door and ushered them in, offering fresh clothes along with towels to dry off.
“Thank you, you’ve saved us!” They prased.
Before long, they were comfortably drinking hot tea and telling of riveting adventures. They spoke of exploring ancient ruins and finding priceless treasures. Many of the stories were humorous and harrowing tales going late into the evening. After they were left alone to sleep for the night, the two men grinned at each other.
“I knew you were a good story teller but….that last one was a doozy!” The first man said.
“And they bought every bit of it,” the other man said. “So often, the kindest are the most gullible!”
“Had we told them a fraction of the truth, they’d see us out quickly.”
They both chuckled.
“Let’s not harm them though. They’re not like the others. I have something in mind.”
“What is it?”
“I’ll tell you tomorrow. For now, let’s get some rest and head out in the morning.”
That night, one of them rested deeply while the other exacted his plan.
The next morning, the two rested men thanked the monks ferociously for their hospitality and left for town.
Once they were far enough away, one of the men beamed mischievously at the other.
“I always pause when you smile like that. Wait…is this about your plan, Ita?”
“Ah, Tomo. You know me too well.”
Ita rifled through his bag and slowly procured a small doll. It instantly struck Tomo, as it had a strange aura. The dolls face was round and childlike with raven, shoulder-length hair in a bob and wore a traditional kimono. This fact alone would have made the doll quite cute, but another aspect negated all else. The two eyes of the doll were endless black circles that bore an untouchable, creeping anxiety.
“Where did you….you didn’t. Did you?!”
“Yes. I took it from the temple.”
“I can’t believe you…”
Itazura rolled his eyes and put the doll back into the bag.
“Keep your pants on. It was inside a box, so it’ll be a while before they realize it’s gone.”
“That’s not the point!” Tomodachi threw his hands up in frustration. “We’re not saints, but they did nothing to deserve this!”
“Do you know how much this could fetch us? I don’t know what it is, but the fact that it’s kept in the temple is enough to secure us for a long time! The box itself would have been worth taking, but I couldn’t sneak it back to our room.”
“I don’t like it.” Tomo crossed his arms at this.
“You don’t have to come with me, you know.”
“We’re supposed to only take from…..ahh fine. Let’s just see how much this thing is worth.”
“I have a feeling it will change your mind.”
They trekked into town and the uncomfortable silence eventually smoothed over. After getting a bite to eat, they found a trade shop that would have some idea of the doll’s value.
“Hello, gentlemen. Anything I could interest you in?”
“Yes, in fact.”
Ita gently laid the doll on the counter and the elderly shop owner looked it over. After a furrow of his brow, the owner said:
“Was this made recently?”
“No, we found it.”
“Hmmmm.”
The elderly man fetched a pair of glasses and scrutinized every inch of the doll, his face becoming more lined with concern. After he seemed satisfied with the inspection, he looked at the men gravely.
“I will only ask once more…you or anyone you know did not make this doll, correct?”
“No. Why do you keep asking?”’
The shop owner’s face went pale as the sincerity of the answer sunk in.
“I want to be a hundred percent sure that this is an original. It seems to be an original, it’s just…..I’m surprised that you have this in your possession.”
“What is it?” Tomo finally spoke up, his curiosity gnawing at him.
“This appears to be the Okiku doll.”
“Okiku? That sounds a bit familiar. Refresh me, if you will.”
“A young girl was once gifted this doll as a birthday present. Her older brother saw the doll in a shop window during his travels and was instantly enamored. Somehow he knew this doll was meant for his sister’s two-year birthday. She loved the doll to the point of obsession, but who is to really say when it comes to such a young child? The little girl named the doll Okiku after herself. She fed it, talked to it, put it to bed, and did absolutely everything with it. Sadly, on the girl’s third birthday, she was struck with illness and died clutching the doll in her little arms.”
“That’s…. a bit macabre.”
“That’s only the beginning. The family referred to the doll as Okiku, perhaps treating it as their daughter in a strange way of grieving. Soon after, they experienced countless unexplained events. Lights would turn on and off, doors would slam and disembodied footsteps walked throughout the household. Voices of a young girl were heard talking and singing. And perhaps the most infamous of all…the doll’s hair began to grow as if she were a living being. The family showed the doll to a priest who confirmed all their allegations and they came to the conclusion that the doll contained the spirit of Okiku. Many say that you must care for the doll and continue cutting her hair to appease her. For those who don’t, it will have disastrous consequences.”
“Nonsense,” spat Ita. “Superstitions, legends, and folklore.”
“Believe it or not, many reported the same occurrences for the doll. You know, they actually sent clippings of her hair for scientific analysis.”
“And what of that?” Tomo asked.
“They concluded definitively that the hair was actually that of a human girl.”
“Whoa….”
“I don’t believe any of this,” Ita reiterated.
“Look it up, it’s all been verified. Where did you say you found this, by the way?”
“I didn’t, old man. I just need to know how much you’ll give us for it. Surely this will cost quite a bit considering its history.”
“How much? I wouldn’t give you anything for it! I can’t take this doll!”
“Why not?!”
“Because I don’t wish to be haunted, that’s why! What kind of a question…and you know what’s really strange about this? Last I heard, the family left the doll with the monks.” The man pointed in the direction of Mannenji Temple. “I suppose you wouldn’t know anything about that, would you?”
Ita looked around the shop and confirmed no one else was around. He gave Tomodachi a look, who reluctantly nodded back with a sick feeling in his stomach.
“Please, don’t…”
“Do it!” Itazura commanded.
Tomo whisked over to the front door and locked it before he spun the sign around to “closed.”
“What are you doing?” The shop owner said, backing up with his hands raised.
After all was said and done, the two drifters talked to anyone in town who would lend an ear. They needed someone who was not bound by any moral duty to the doll’s rightful owner. Luckily, Ita had a good eye for people with knowledge of these dealings and there was someone in the next town that would likely pay them for the doll.
Tomo had to force empty thoughts into his mind to block out what they did. He’d hurt others and even killed someone before, but not this way. Not an innocent shop owner.
“If only he’d not said anything about knowing where it came from, the old fool might still be alive,” Tomo thought.
The trip to the next town was a two-day walk, so they gathered supplies and were soon on the road. The silence was beginning to drive Tomo mad as he was only left with his guilty thoughts.
That night, they spoke over the campfire.
“You really believe this stuff, don’t you?” Ita started.
“I don’t know what to believe…I just know that he didn’t deserve that.”
“Are you getting soft on me, Tomo? Don’t have the stomach for this anymore?”
“I don’t think he deserved that! We could have tied him up.”
“Yeah, and then he’d send the police after us. That’s the last thing we need!”
“Let’s just sell this thing and get it over with.”
They sat in silence for a bit, and Ita noticed Tomo closely watching the bag.
“You think she’s really haunted, don’t you?”
“I think I don’t want to find out.”
Ita pulled the doll out of the bag and wagged it at him.
“Mister Tomo, will you give me a kiiiiss?!!”
Ita spoke in a mocking little girl’s voice and erupted into laughter.
“What is wrong with you? Have you no respect for the dead?’
“Oh, c’mon. I don’t think Okiku will mind!”
Tomo exchanged choice words, which fell on deaf ears. Then he picked up his sleeping bag amongst other things and moved to a tree forty yards away.
“Good night,” he shouted in defiance.
“Can I give you a good night kiss first?” Ita responded with his girly voice.
Tomo settled into his new spot, ignoring his awful friend’s laughing fit.
Before long, he settled hard into a dream.
Tomo was living in a lavish home, surrounded by opulent and important things. He smiled at others as he toasted and threw lush parties. It all seemed the life of luxury, but at a cost. At the end of each party, he cleaned up by himself with a strong, foreboding loneliness. The next moment he was cutting the haunted doll’s hair and set her on a decorative altar with lit candles. A ghostly form of an old man kept appearing throughout, glaring at him with forlorn, angry eyes. He haunted Tomo’s every step..
One morning, he awoke to an empty house with no light. A little girl appeared before him and grabbed him by the shoulders and began to shake him.
And shake and shake and shake and shake and…
”Tomo!” A voice jerked him awake.
After snapping his eyes open, he saw Ita holding his shoulders.
“It’s alright. Just me.”
“What do you want?”
“I need to use the bathroom.”
“So go then? What are you, a child? Why wake me up?!”
“I’ve been hearing lots of strange noises, even for a forest. I wanted to be sure you’re awake if something were to happen.”
Tomo sat for a moment, fuming at his friend.
“Okay, fine. I’m already awake now. Make it quick.”
His friend wandered into the woods out of sight. And so Tomo waited.
Something felt strange and he quickly realized what it was. The forest was deathly silent, not like what Itazura said. It occurred to Tomodachi that Ita was probably just scared, which lifted his spirits a bit. He sat up and leaned against a tree and absent-mindedly dozed off.
“Uh?”
Tomo awoke in a startle before checking his watch. It’d been thirty minutes. He walked over to his friend’s camping spot to find him missing.
Something was very wrong.
“Ita!” He whisper-shouted through the woods. “Iiiitaaaaa!”
There was no response.
Shaking, he bumbled his way through the woods in the area he last saw his friend. His flashlight searched everywhere, but his friend was nowhere to be found. Starting to give up, he made a wide berth on his walk back until he tripped over something.
“Ooooof!”
The fall knocked the breath out of him as his light clattered to the forest floor. He got his bearings again and retrieved his flashlight. When he looked back at what he tripped over, he couldn’t believe his eyes.
Ita was laying on the ground with his mouth gaping open, clutching the infamous Okiku doll in his curled hands. The hair of the doll had grown way longer and was wrapped tightly around Ita’s neck.
“No….no, this isn’t real,” he whispered to himself. “I’m dreaming. I must be.”
Placing his hands over his eyes, he thought if he waited a moment and looked again then things would be different. Before he did, an unexplainable noise permeated the air.
There was no doubting it. It was the voice of a little girl singing.
Tomo panicked and rushed back to his sleeping bag, gathering all of his belongings before he rummaged through his former friend’s bag and took the provisions. Slinging his bag over his shoulder, he ran along the forest path towards the next town until he collapsed from exhaustion and sat up against a tree.
“It has him now. I’m okay,” were the last thoughts before he fell back asleep.
Tomo dreamed more of the old man he helped kill before he woke again into a bright morning. Despite the malevolent dream, he felt surprisingly refreshed. For a moment, he thought perhaps it really was all a dream.
This thought didn’t last long.
He sat up and rubbed his eyes, then jumped to his feet. The Okiku doll was sitting next to his rucksack with longer hair and Ita’s knife on the ground nearby. Okiku’s eyes stared its abyss in his direction.
“What do you want?!” He yelled.
His eyes went from the doll to the knife and very soon he understood. Every fiber in his being wanted to run screaming from the doll, but he knew it would do him no good. And so he relented to his fate.
Singing softly as he would to a child, he placed the doll in his lap and began to cut the doll’s hair with the knife. He spoke sweet and gentle, pretending that he was asking a little girl about her day and giggling at her answers. Silent tears of fear streamed down his face as he did so in an anxiety-ridden trance.
Once the doll’s hair was properly cut, he sat the doll up and stared at her for a moment.
“I’m sorry for my part in all this, you know. I’ve never been strong. I’ve always been a coward.”
The doll stared back at him and he nodded in understanding.
“Yes…yes, you’re right. I should. It’s only fitting.”
Without another word, Tomo raised the knife to his neck and dragged the blade from one side to the other. A gush of crimson flowed forth, soaking his clothes.
The doll watched...and smiled.
Back at the Mennanji Temple, monks were settling in for the night when the watchman heard a hard knock at the temple doors. As he approached, he called out.
“Who is it?”
“I’ve come to return something,” a voice said from the other side.
The monk promptly opened the door and was shocked to find no one there. He looked down and saw the Okiku doll staring up at him.
“Oh, my sweet little one,” he said softly as he picked the doll up. “Who got you this time, huh?”
He smiled with warmth and closed the door back.
“She’s back,” the watchman called out.
Another monk promptly appeared with a pair of clippers and the watchman held the doll out. Bowing, the monk with clippers took the doll and began cutting its hair.
“Who brought her back?” The hair-cutting monk asked.
“I don’t know. They weren’t there when I answered,” the watchman replied.
As he went about his watch duties for the night, the monk thought to himself.
Come to think of it, it did sound like an older gentlemen, didn’t it?

Hi friends! Today I just wanted to share some handy Gamer Body & Mind fusions. First of all, the perks in question come from the Generic Gamer Jump.
Let's share Gamer Body first

Gamer’s Body (-50/-100 GP)
One of the staples of the genre. For 50 GP, you have the body of a video game character. No matter how injured you are, your body’s functionality isn’t impaired. While you can run out of stamina, you don’t need to sleep, and you’ll get a full second wind if you rest for thirty minutes.
Sleep can still be beneficial, though — you are able to cause yourself to fall asleep instantly, and when you sleep for at least six hours, you are completely healed and rejuvenated. Negative conditions such as illness, paralysis, or loss of limb are treated as negative status effects and also fade after six hours’ sleep. You have no need to eat or drink for sustenance, and you may treat using the bathroom as entirely optional.
Game characters don’t age! (At least, not usually.) For an additional 50 GP, you may prevent yourself from physically aging. Since this could be quite annoying if you’re not yet at your preferred age, this effect may be toggled on and off.

Now let's share Gamer Mind

Gamer’s Mind (-50/-100 GP)
Another staple of the genre. For 50 GP, you have the mind of someone playing a video game. You are immune to absolutely anything that might affect you mentally, be it external things like drugs or mind control or internal things like depression or insanity. No matter how powerful the effect, this ability cannot be bypassed. You don’t suffer from mental exhaustion. Furthermore, you will always keep your cool and never be overwhelmed by emotion — this explicitly does NOT reduce your ability to feel emotion in any way, just enhances your self-control so that you’re never overcome by it, no matter how intense.
You may selectively toggle this Feature’s effects to temporarily or permanently remove your immunity to alcohol or drugs.
For an additional 50 GP, your mind cannot be read, nor any other part of your inner world discerned by anything but pure social skill; your thoughts and feelings are for you and you alone to know.

These two perks are very interesting. In most of the cases I can think of either one of these perks would be incredibly handy. There are some alt-forms that come with inbuilt drawbacks, and when those drawbacks are not themselves fiat-backed in some way thises perks allow you to pretty easily ignore them. Now it's worth noting that this isn't perfect, but there can be a surprising amount of power in these perks in the right hands.
One funny example I can think of that is handy for this is if you're jumper is a Twilight fan as both of these perks are incredibly handy when it comes to dealing with the inbuilt negatives of being a twilight vampire; a craving for blood that will slowly dealing sanity damage to the vampire until they go berserk and feed. These perks make that a non-issue, removing any possibility of you losing your mind due to any reason, and removing any sort of compulsion to feed. This would also help with Ravenous Vampires from the Lords of the Night - Vampire jump, completely removing the biggest inbuilt drawback that comes with being a Ravenous Vampire. These perks obviously doesn't supercede actual drawbacks, and they don't provide an alternate source of power if you have powers that require you to feed BUT there actually IS a way around that second part if you have the MP Systems perk.

MP System (-50 GP)
MP standing for ‘magic points’. MP can be used for more things than just magic, though: it can be used to substitute any internal supernatural resource, be it mana, ki, psionic energy, soul power, or what have you, in the use of abilities that require such things as fuel. If you already have such a supernatural resource, that will be taken into account when calculating how much MP you have. Is a requirement for the use of certain skills. Depleted MP will recover over time. If you’ve purchased Gamer’s Body, then depleted MP will recover completely after six hours’ sleep.
If you’ve purchased Levels, then when you level up, your MP is restored to full and its max amount is increased.

This perk is... interesting. There's actually a mind-boggling amount of uses for this, but one of the big ones is that this can serve as a substitute for things that require internal resources, even ones like the blood points, an aspect of being one of the especially potent vampires of the Lords of the Night vampire jump (and a sort of fuel that is often expended when using your in-jump vampiric abilities or, or even something like the energy used to fuel a transynth's transystems. This perk can also allow you to have extra chi for bending or chakra for jutsu, and is a great, must-have for any sort of powered jumper who wields powers that require some sort of decently defined internal resource.
I mostly wanted to highlight this interesting facet of the gamer body and mind perks, and how well they empower some particular types of alt-forms and play strategies. I'm sure some jumpers will be delighted in seeing this particular synergy be highlighted.

Headline:
Noah and Olivia are still number 1. Noah since 2021. Olivia since 2016.
Olivia was given to 3,144 babies. Noah was given to 4,320 babies.
The Top 10:
Olivia, Amelia, Isla and Ava all retained their positions as the top 4 names. Lily overtook Ivy and Freya to come 5th. Florence, Isabella and Mia are also top 10 names.
Willow was knocked out of the girls top 10 by Isabella – Isabella dropped out of the top 10 for the first time for at least 8 years in 2021 and is now back.
Theodore, Theo and Freddie replaced Harry, Archie and Henry in the top 10 names for boys.
Muhammad increased by 3 places to now be 2nd in the top 10 knocking Oliver down to 4th, George held position at 3rd. Then Leo, Arthur, Oscar, Theodore, Theo and Freddie make up the top 10 for boys.
The Top 100:
Charles, Harvey, Ollie and Nathan have dropped out of the top 100 for boys, replaced by Leon, Elias, Musa, Axel and Ibrahim (Axel and Ibrahim are joint on 100)
New entries to the top 100 for girls were Ophelia, Ottilie, Eloise, Nova and Fatima, knocking out Beatrice, Anna, Holly, Heidi and Amber.
The 5 biggest increases in popularity in the boy’s top 100 were Axel (+38, new in top 100), Kai (+19), and Luca, Hudson, and Mohammad (all +16). The 5 biggest drops in the boy’s top 100 were Blake (-15), Michael (-11), Stanley and Finn (both -10), and Riley and Benjamin (both -9).
5 biggest increases in popularity in the girl’s top 100 were Ophelia and Ottilie (both +35 and new in top 100), Fatima (+31, new in top 100), Maeve (+29) and Elodie (+20). The biggest drops in the girl’s top 100 were Jessica (-20), Lola (-14), Imogen (-13), Edith (-12) and then Molly and Thea (all -11).
This is, to an extent, unsurprising – girls names often have more variation and as such stronger fluctuations in popularity and use. It is unusual that the top 4 girls names haven’t moved at all.
The weird and wonderful:
Pop culture: Rhaenyra (4, House of the Dragon), Cirilla (10, the Witcher), Cassian (76, Andor), Wednesday (11, Wednesday Addams).
There were a total of 4 babies named Karen.
There were still 28 babies named Khaleesi.
Alas (?), there were no (or fewer than 3) babies named Sappho in 2022. (There were 3 in 2021)
The annual Renesmee count is: 80.(Renesmai (3), Renesmay (4), Renesme (10) Renesmae (27), Renesmee (36))
There were more boys named Saxon than Scott, Buddy than Sean, Fox than Ian, and Bleu than Russell.
There were more girls named Bodhi than Caroline (my name is never popular), Serenity than Lauren, Persephone than Katherine, and Raven than Jennifer.
There were 3 baby girls named Velvet, Paradise, Tokyo, Majesty, Tigerlily, Lotus, Zendayah, Maverick, Pyper, Minnow, Wyllow, Suzy (sorry Suzy), Shine, Beauty, Popi (Poppy?), Myrtle, Poet, Monalisa, Jenesis, Gypsy (why), Eos, Enola-Rose (lovely until you remember Enola is a made up name which is specifically Alone spelled backwards), Lovelle, Iseult, Hepzibah, Donna, Cyrilla, Echo and Arrow.
There were 3 baby boys named Winfred (not Winifred), which I quite like actually. There were also 3 boys named Rocket, Cub, Hopper, Rhyley, Pat, Wolfy, Mars, Knight, Legacy, Excel, Wealth, Ryatt, Nino (only 3!), Moby, Japheth, Hunter-Grey and Hunter-Gray (3 of each), Fennec, Darrell and Darryl, Bliss (more commonly seen on girls), and Alias.

So there I was, on a greyhound bus that looked like it could’ve driven right out of the 1960’s, heading to what would be my new home. I never really wanted to leave Wisconsin but some things just can’t be helped. Besides, if I told anyone why I was leaving they wouldn’t have believed me anyways.
As the bus pulled into Eagle’s Peak I had to smirk to myself. We were in a valley, and I had seen no sign of eagles anywhere on the trip in. So it would appear the town of Eagles Peak has neither eagles nor peaks. “I’d love to meet whoever named this place” I mumbled under my breath as I walked off the bus and onto main street.
After uprooting myself from my previous home, I actually had a fair amount of cash on hand. So much so, that I was able to afford a small house just outside of the village. It wasn’t anything impressive, just something big enough that I couldn’t see my kitchen while laying in bed. The real estate agent I talked with about the house was ecstatic when he heard I did in fact intend to buy the house. I got the sense that I may have been the first person to buy a home here in a while. That was a little concerning as I knew how these older towns could be about “outsiders”. But as I stepped off the bus, there were no dirty looks shot my way, no locals scattering at the new presence in their midst. No, all that awaited me on the short walk from the bus stop to my newly acquired home was a sleepy little town with a strange name and decidedly average people.
The walk through town was nice. Main street was populated with a little mom and pop restaurant and bar right across from another more upscale restaurant and bar. Next to those was a pharmacy and some apartments that looked run down, even for a place like this. As I came up to my house,I passed something out of the ordinary. A larger white house that didn’t quite fit in with the style of the other houses, or at all really. It had an enclosed patio on its upper floor that overlooked the town. The stone foundation revealed very little of the massive basement it was sure to hold. Overall it looked like the kind of house you’d end up in if you had money, and it was pretty obvious that no one here could afford something like that. The rest of my quarter mile walk went without an issue, as I arrived at my new house.
I stepped into the house and I sighed, here I was starting a new life again. No one here knew me and I didn’t know them, square one. The house itself was alright, inside a little island sat in the middle of the kitchen from which the other four rooms opened off of. The kitchen being the central feature of the house was odd, But it fulfilled my requirements of not being able to see the kitchen from the bedroom. Even if it only did that by way of a door in between the two rooms.
That night I got the best sleep I’d gotten in a while. I finally didn’t have to worry about what was going to happen to me. I had a place to stay again that was far away from everything that had gone on in Wisconsin. All I had to worry about was getting a job to support myself here, and we’d take care of that eventually. For now one thing at a time, we need groceries tomorrow so that’s what I’ll get.
Waking up in morning was hard, you know how it is when its cold outside and the bed is just so warm. The whole thing was made even worse by the fact that all I had to do today was run out for groceries. Eventually I fought my way out of my bed and made it to the Save-A-Lot just outside town. I picked up the essentials, orange juice, bacon, and pop tarts (the breakfast of champions) as well as a few other foods.
While I was walking back to my house someone called out to me.
“Hey!, Hey you there!”
I spun around to see a goddess standing in front of me. She was tall with raven black hair and a face you couldn’t say no to. What stood out to me though, was her eyes. Her eyes were blue, so blue it looked impossible, electric. Despite… other features that may have attracted my gaze, My eyes were firmly locked on hers.
“Uh… I.. Uh, I mean, Hi there”
I stumbled through a response. The girl chuckled a bit at this and held out her hand.
“I’m Bianca”
“Keith, pleasure to meet you”
I said, taking her hand and still looking utterly starstruck.
“Well I hope its not to much to ask Keith, but I’m actually looking for someone to watch our house for the night.”
Something about the way Bianca asked made me completely forget how strange it was to ask a total stranger to watch your house. I mean she literally just walked up to me on the street and invited me into her home, what was up with this girl?
“I’m really not sure, I just ran into you and you’re just let….”
As the words crossed my lips Bianca flashed her eyes at me and I stopped cold.
“Actually sure I’ve got nothing else going on. Where exactly do you live?”
I heard the words but it was almost like I wasn’t speaking them. It’s not that I didn’t agree with them, but it felt like I was a passenger in my own body. A body that was now being led up to the door of that suspicious white house.
“Helloooo? Keith you home?”
Called Bianca with a concerned look on her face for some reason. That was enough to snap me out of my trance.
“Oh my bad I totally spaced out there. What were you saying?”
“I was saying that my uncles have to go out of town tonight to pick some things up and I’m going with them. I’m just weird about leaving the house alone”
“So you saw some random stranger and thought “Oh he looks trustworthy, lets let him into my home”” I joked.
“Yeah pretty much” said Bianca, laughing nervously.
She brought one of my bags of groceries in with her through the door and set it down on the floor right next to my jaw. If the outside of the house was surprising, the inside was stunning. A perfectly polished wood floor met my eyes that lead up to a spiral staircase that could’ve come straight out of a mansion. The counter tops were all marble, and they had greek pillars lining the entrance way…. Greek pillars!
“And what exactly did you say your Uncles did for a living?” I asked regaining my faculties.
“Oh they uh… work for the government? I don’t know what branch”
“Anyways let me show you around a bit”
My raised eyebrow apparently didn’t clue Bianca in to the fact I wasn’t buying the government story. But right now I was in to deep and I couldn’t have turned away from the enthralling girl in front of me if my life depended on it.
As she lead me around through the house I asked Bianca, “Two uncles huh? Don’t take it the wrong way but I didn’t think that kind of thing would fly in a place like this.”
“What do you? Oh you think they’re gay!? No no nothing like that. I guess they aren’t technically really my uncles, they took me in when I’d lost my way, so to speak.”
She said this last part in a curt way that made it clear that conversation would end there. There was this look in her eyes too, she almost looked hurt. Like despite being built like a sculpture some cracks were showing remembering how she came to live with her uncles. I decided to leave it at that.
We walked around the house that I was coming dangerously close too calling a manor at that point as Bianca gave me the tour. The house had a huge living room just past the entryway with a TV that had to be 80 inches long. Across from that there was a kitchen that would’ve made Gordon Ramsey blush, and a Starway leading to the first of three floors. The second floor contained all 5 bedrooms, each with a full attached bathroom according to Bianca. The third floor was devoted to the enclosed patio I had seen earlier. As Bianca and I made our way back downstairs towards the kitchen, two people pushed out of the uncharacteristically normal looking basement door and straight passed me. They were seemingly finishing a conversation in thick German accents.
“We’ll get it tonight Stein, don’t you worry your little bald head about it”
“Yes sure I’m sure, but it never hurts to check the list twice. Make sure we have everything we need on the list”
I caught, as the two men walked past me like I didn’t even exist. I must’ve looked mildly offended because Bianca looked over and said.
“Don’t mind them, they’re always like that. Here, why don’t you just wait in the kitchen and I’ll fill them in”
Bianca, true to her word walked right up to the two men that I could only assume were her uncles. To my surprise they both actually stopped talking and turned to her. I’ll be honest, I tuned out most of that conversation as I tried to ground myself in reality again. Everything had happened like a whirlwind, and I wasn’t quite adjusted to this new house. I checked my watch as Bianca was making her way back, more time had passed than I thought, it was 6:30. Something about that felt wrong, I know I was just distracted by Bianca during the tour but it was 9 in the morning when I left my house, it couldn’t possibly be that late already. I found it really hard to believe I had lost that much time just because of her good looks. Besides wasn’t it still bright outside when I had walked into the kitchen?
“Oh Bianca brought home another one”
“FRANK!”
Bianca yelled at her uncle as the three strode into the kitchen.
“Don’t mind him, and here” She said dangling $500 in front of me.
“Bianca I can’t take this! I’m just watching your house. Really, just consider it a favor.”
I insisted, astonished by her willingness to just part with that kind of cash on a whim.
“Exactly, your doing me a favor that you didn’t have to, that requires some kind of compensation. Just take it!”
She flashed her eyes at me again and I could swear they were glowing for a brief second. So, for the second time that day I lost control of myself. I simply reached out and grabbed the wad of cash, my earlier misgivings evaporating just like before.
“Good, well there’s not much I actually need you to do another than not let anyone in of course. Just feed the cat and stay out of the basement because….. well just stay out of there ok.”

“I… You have a cat? And what’s up with the basement? Bianca… Bianca wait!”
But my words feel on deaf ears as Bianca walked out the door leaving me with more questions about this strange house and its inhabitants.
It occurred to me after about ten minutes that I had no way of contacting Bianca. She hadn’t left me a phone number or anything like that, I was on my own. Not that I thought I was in any danger but what was with all the rush to leave? Why forbid me from entering the basement? It had to be somewhat safe down there right? Her uncles were down there doing… whatever it is they do. I hadn’t seen any evidence of a cat or any other animal anywhere in the house either. You know how when you own a pet there’s certain smells that come with it and there’s fur all over everything? There was none of that here, the house was spotless and all I smelled was the scent of fresh pine from the recently cleaned floor.
I walked around the house for a bit, just looking at the meticulously crafted wood work of the railings on the second floor. They were modeled to resemble a long dragon that spanned the entirety of the rail. Yet again I found myself wondering how exactly they afforded all this, Eagles Peak really didn’t seem like the kind of town people like this lived in.
“They’re so strange”, I thought as I made my way into the living room. I mean, what kind of person walks up to a stranger on the street and asks them to come into their home! No-one that’s who, especially not people who have a house as nice as this. Also, what was that comment, Bianca brought home another one? Were they going to kill me, were they filming me, was this all some kind of messed up sex thing? I didn’t have any clue but I had a sinking feeling that I should search around for cameras or something.
My search didn’t really yield much out of the ordinary. I did find a few old books and movies that peaked my interest but it seemed like I was just being paranoid. After all, over trusting people do exist, even if this was pushing it. I turned my attention back to the small horde of movies and books I’d amassed in my search for hidden cameras. One of the books was written by one “J.W.”. It was about some guy delivering food to monsters including Count Dracula, who lived in the middle of Los Angles.
“Who comes up with this stuff!” I chuckled, making a silent note to look up that author later.
The movies were all horror related which was right up my alley. I sifted through the pile till I saw a movie I’d never seen before, “Let the Right One in”. After ten minutes of research into exactly what the movie was about I turned on the TV, sat back, and got comfortable. What else did I have to do for the next… however long those three were going to be gone for anyways.
About halfway through the movie, when Eli is forced to kill her father figure, I must’ve fallen asleep. I woke up to the sound of meows and the movie’s end credits. I remembered the cat Bianca had mentioned before. “oh crap! you must be hungry little guy” I said reaching down to pet the cat that sounded like it must’ve been right next to me. To my shock my hand only grabbed air. Then, as the meows continued I noticed that they weren’t quite right. They all sounded exactly the same. It was like someone or something was mimicking the noise. The mimicry was nearly perfect, but there was no variety. I stood up in the faint glow of the TV, “what the hell?! I could’ve sworn all these lights were on.”
I thought, trying to remember turning any lights off as I walked through the now dark house. The meows seemed to being staying in one place as I stalked around, finally determining the source of the noise to be coming from… just wait for it…. The basement.
“Oh of course it would be wouldn’t it! I knew this whole thing was too good to be true!” I yelled, circling the basement door. The thought to just cut and run crossed my mind but I shooed it away. I had given Bianca my word that I’d watch the house and I should stand by that No matter the feeling of dread I had about going anywhere near the basement to find this odd cat. “Fuck it. I guess we’re doing this then” I said, opening the door to the previously forbidden basement and looking for a light switch.
If I were a little brighter I would’ve checked the switches upstairs first. That way, I wouldn’t have had to experience my heart place itself firmly at me feet when I realized that the light switch down here wasn’t working. I sighed as I resorted to turning on my cellphone’s flashlight. The beam immediately fell upon a bag of cat food. As I stepped towards it, the meowing that had been constant until this point abruptly stopped. In its place I heard a crashing noise as something rushed past my feet faster than I could get the beast of my flashlight on it. Whatever it was rocketed up the stairs and right into the basement door. The door bounced off the wall as it slammed open and then shut, trapping me down here. I dropped my phone in shock and in the spinning beam of light I saw the silhouette of a… raccoon?
“What, where! Get away from me!” I screamed, flailing wildly in the dark.
“Eh?! What’s the big idea!” Said an annoyed voice in the dark with a thick New York accent.
“Who was that!? Is there someone else down here now?”
“Nope just me. Now where was that fuse?”
The thickly accented voice replied as something skittered around the basement.
I heard a snap, the sound of a light-stick being cracked judging by the faint glow in the distance. Metal creaked as a door was opened somewhere near the faint light of the light-stick and a tiny hand cast its shadow over me as it worked.
“That’s the ticket! Now stand back, flip the switch, annnnd Voila!”
Cried the voice, as sparks shot from the fusebox which was now clearly illuminated in their light. As the lights flickered then came back on I saw…. A raccoon. The raccoon was wearing a hard hat and goggles that it was trying to shake its way out of, light-stick in its hand.
“Are you… The cat?” I said, absolutely dumbfounded.
“WHAT?! DO I LOOK LIKE A CAT YA DIP SHIT!”
“Sorry! Sorry I didn’t mean….”
“DON’T YA DARE COMPARE ME TO THOSE MANGY THINGS”
“So what exactly was making those noises then?”
In response the raccoon looked me dead in the eyes and made the same “meow” sound I had heard before only much, much louder . As the shock of the situation, and the fact I was currently being berated by a raccoon in a hard hat that was still complaining about my stupid question, caught up to me. I tried to stand and immediately collapsed, falling into unconsciousness with a deflated “Not this again”.

Hi! I know this isn't her usual stuff but I figured that I needed to write this down because its a dosey.
I want to preface in saying I shared a room with my sister until we were sixteen. She to this day has the nastiest room I've ever seen. I hated sharing a room with her. She unfortunately got the hoarding gene that runs in my family.
When I moved off to college, I had my first roommate. She was by choice, but someone turned out to be different than talking to her the summer before freshman year. Let's call her Kimmy. Kimmy was nice, but I don't think understood what it was like living with other people. She was messy, which I didn't have much of a problem with except her weird food storing habits. Kimmy was pretty loud, and usually didn't understand that although it was her space, it was mine and our suitemate's too. To give more context, Kimmy was a theatre major. I did mess up and made a mistake on how I addressed the issues, but she did not take any of it lightly. She moved out right after Thanksgiving, and her friend was the nastiest to me about her moving out. At the end of the day, she did not want to change and my suitemate and I were fed up with a lot of it.
The next semester I knew karma hit me because damn was she worse. Let's call her Hilary. Hilary was your definition of a spoiled brat. She was absolutely crazy and crazy about money. Hilary was a year older than me, and went to the college for one semester before having to leave because she almost died (I do not remember how, but it was definitely something to do with drugs/alcohol). Hilary would never go to class, like I don't know if she passed any of her classes. She was nice, but had a wild side that made it difficult. She was an escort that would come home drunk, but like black out drunk. She was on a medication that literally made her lose everything about herself. Hilary locked me out twice, she did cocaine at her desk once, she played with a boys feelings to get the cocaine, had a dance party at 11pm while my suitemate and I were trying to sleep, and almost had sex while I was in the room. Hilary was one of those girls that would text me asking where her vape was. Funny enough she somehow silently moved out the night before my suitemate and I did lol.
Somehow the nightmare continues. Sophomore year, second semester (the dreaded covid semester), I was living in a 5 single style apartment with 2 bathrooms. Just before Christmas break this girl emergency moved into our open room we had (our roommate had to leave unfortunately two weeks into the semester). She was nice and we felt like it was gonna be okay. A few of our roommates changed for the new semester but I knew all of them prior to them moving in. We are going to call her Ann. Ann was a DPHIE member, and for those that don't know, it's a sorority. I was a fraternity member but we weren't direct greek life, we were academic. Ann was kind and understood our set rules we discussed before the semester started. However, things slowly started to get out of hand. Ann brought a boy over, but she didn't tell us, jump scaring two of us. He even used the wrong bathroom (he walked right past the one closest to her room to use my other roommates). Then Greek week hit and everything got so much worse. Ann had a bunch of loud meetings in our dorm room because it was 'big' enough for them to do that. They trashed our living room with stuff for Greek week and then she left it there all the way until we evacuated for covid. Specifically the hawaiian grass skirts, that my cat was slowly eating because they were on the floor. We tried to talk to her but she'd just roll her eyes and ignore us.
The next few years I honestly didn't have terrible roommates. Yeah we had out disagreements, but it could be much worse. We all did chores and kept the shared spaces clean, was respectful of eachother's spaces. I really miss living with them honestly.
However, I did move. I actually moved 7 hours from where I went to college to move in with my fiance. My fiance is military and I met him before he went into the military. He met a friend in the military that was also moving off base and he wanted to help him and us out so we all agreed to move in with each other. Lets call him Ed. I had met Ed previously on one of my visits and thought he was pretty cool and was good with discipline. Boy was I wrong. We moved in and everything was just how it is as you are moving into a new place, chaotic, but it was slowly settling down. Ed has a girlfriend (now fiance) that came to visit because she still lived with her parents. Let's call her Riley. Riley was super sweet and I thought we were gonna get along just fine when she came to visit. About 2 months into living there I was told that Riley was moving in by my fiance. I was outraged because there was no discussion about it, it was just she's moving in. It really pissed me off, but my fiance was like please drop it because he didn't want any issues and said that maybe we could become friends. I allowed it, but didn't stop complaining to him about it because I'm playing nice for him.
Riley moves in 2 months later, about a week before the next month rent was due. The day of rent being due, I asked, politely, what was happening with rent and what the new price would be since it went from 3 people to 4 people living in our apartment. I was told that Riley needed a job and to be financially sufficient before she could pay rent and utilities. I just about lost it there too. When I moved in, I actually had to pay double rent because my other lease wasn't up for another month, on top of paying the security deposit and pet fee. I know I am about 3 years older than her, but when you move across the country, you kind of need to plan to also pay rent. But the part of it was, it was just expected of me to pay for someone else without at least asking me first. My fiance again told me to drop it and that we had the money and could help her out that month.
And... there's more! When she moved in and settled, I sat everyone down to have discussion about chores. They told me that they felt nervous about the coversation because they felt it was serious. I told them that it was just dividing chores and it wouldn't be a heavy conversation. We divided the chores and went separate ways. I think the chores maybe lasted around a week. It's been months since then and both of them may do a dabble once a month, but its been maybe 3 times since we had that discussion I've seen them do their chores. The dishes are even worse. They again, probably only do dishes once a month, if that. My fiance and I have gotten into a routine at this point to make sure that dishes get clean. We currently have flies because they won't do their chores, they have kept their window open in their room, its summer, and I'm having a hard time keeping up with all of it plus my chores. My fiance does fine with chores.
But wait! There's more! I tried to be nice to Riley, but it truly felt forced to be her friend. I was polite and tried to help her in anyway possible with work and other things. However, she came to me a few months back saying she wanted a tattoo (her first tattoo). Now, I have 14 tattoos and I got my first one freshly 18, so I have some experience in the matter. I told her what she should look for and what to expect going into it. She told me her ideas for the tattoo and I couldn't picture them in my head, but I understood her thought process. She found a shop from a co-worker and she went and had a consultation. Riley went 2 days before her appointment to go see the drawing and she got a copy of the stencil. Riley showed me the stencil and I almost had a heart attack. It was strikingly similar to one of my exposed tattoos on my left inside forearm. This tattoo represents my hard-times in high school and how I've overcome it. My artist I see now drew it, but I gave her the baseline design. I asked Riley where she was getting it, and talked about a few places, one being her upper arm, like her bicep or tricep. Riley came home with Ed after her appointment and had it in the same spot I have mine only it was pointed in the opposite direction.
Is the idea of my tattoo original, probably not. However, why is a my roommate getting almost the same exact tattoo. I was so outraged, I didn't talk to her for weeks, I felt so disgusted and weirded out by it. I had co-workers and friends tell me that maybe she really liked it and I should take it as a form of flattery. There few things wrong with that: 1. she talked to me about the tattoo, and told me the placement, and yet she still did a similar idea and same part of the body, which she did not tell me previously, 2. she LIVES with me. if she was an acquaintance or even a really good friend (who more than likely would tell me before hand) then I wouldn't be so weirded out, but the girl lives with me! Like creeper 101. 3. I'm not the only one that sees it. My fiance's sister just got back from basic training and met Riley for the first time. One of the comments she made when meeting Riley, "you are really similar to [OP]". I just about died when Riley told me that. His sister had no idea the tattoo thing happened because Riley got it during basic. When I told her about the tattoo she her eyes doubled in size. She was so shocked and weirded out too.
Needless to say, we are unfortunately still living with them and are going to be for a while. I'm bummed about it, but my fiance really likes Ed and doesn't want to lose that friendship over my feelings mainly toward Riley. But bro, its getting really weird out here and I'm not sure how much longer I can take this. They have other weird tendencies, but that are more nit pick bother than an actual problem to me. Either way, I need validation that I'm not crazy from people on the internet.

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Remember to check our Ai Generator: CandyAI

She greeted him with lips and an open mouth before he’d managed to shut the front door; a welcoming home he hadn’t received since they were still dating. The surprise assault nearly caused Mark to stumble backward into the hallway, but he recovered and returned the embrace in kind, relishing the feeling of her body and tongue against his. As she pulled away, he thought he detected a faint aftertaste on her breath—something unnatural hidden underneath, an earthy flavor that reminded him of potting soil. The taste was gone as soon as it had come, and he forgot about it in short order.
“Welcome home, babe,” Tracy said with a smile, and he smiled back.
“Well, that was nice,” he said, while his brain scrambled to attribute any significance to this day, a forgotten birthday or anniversary or any reason at all for the enthusiasm he’d been welcomed home with. He came up empty, conceded defeat and said, “What was that for?”
“I’ve just missed you, is all. I’m glad you’re home.” She was still smiling, her green eyes drinking him in like sunflowers in the first light of the morning. She waited for him to remove his shoes, then took his hand and pulled him into the warm glow of the kitchen and kissed him again in a fervent reminder of their youth. The taste was stronger this time; he thought it familiar but couldn’t place it. Bad breath, perhaps.
They passed through the kitchen into the dark of their living room, lit only by the cool white of the television. An old rerun of Tracy’s favorite sitcom was on, filling the room with bombastic voices and the intervallic laughs of a live studio audience. Mark jumped at the unexpected sight of a figure sitting on the couch—a woman with hands in her lap and an upright posture, her eyes glued to the TV without so much as an acknowledgment of their presence. Her face was a blank slate.
“Oh, sorry, I forgot to tell you Shelby is here,” Tracy said, motioning to her sister. “She wanted to come over and hang out for a while. Her husband has been fucking their underage neighbor. She walked in on them today.”
This tactless and matter-of-fact proclamation shocked Mark almost as much as the news itself. “Oh, Shelby, I’m so sorry,” he said. “Have you talked to the police yet?”
“Don’t worry about it,” Tracy said, waving an apathetic hand before sitting opposite her sister on the couch and patting the spot between them, grinning. “We’re all just going to relax and have a good time right now. Why don’t you come take a seat?”
Mark shifted on his feet but relented and walked over to sit. When he did, Tracy scooted over to him and put a hand on his thigh, whispering in his ear while lightly brushing his cheek with soft lips. It was something she knew he liked, at least when they were alone.
“Don’t you want to have a good time with me?” She said, planting a slow, deliberate kiss in front of his ear, following it up with a dab of her tongue. Her cool breath carried a strange smell to his nose, and the hair on Mark’s arms stood up despite himself. Tracy put a hand between his legs and gave him a firm squeeze.
Mark started like he’d received an electric shock and pulled his wife’s hand away, trying his best to whisper quietly enough for only her to hear. “What the hell are you doing?” he said, shooting a nervous glance at Shelby, who appeared unbothered.
“It’s fine, babe. I just can’t resist you. It’s not my fault you look so good,” Tracy whispered louder than him and tried snaking her hand back onto his crotch. It was all Mark could do to keep her at bay without alerting Shelby outright.
“Your sister is right there,” he said through gritted teeth. “And you just said she’s going through some shit. Just wait until later. You can have anything you want then.”
“Oh, there’s no way I can wait. You’re much too tempting for that. What do you say we go to the bedroom? I’m gonna give you something you’ll never forget.” Tracy moaned audibly and gnashed her teeth so hard Mark recoiled. He turned and looked at her with a bewildered expression, while hers was nothing short of ravenous.
“What is going on?” He asked her. “I’m not comfortable with this at all. Just wait until we’re alone!”
Tracy stood and looked down on him with crossed arms, not bothering to whisper. “I don’t care how comfortable you are. You’re my husband, and you’re going to give me what I want. I have to go to the bathroom. You have until I get back to lighten up and have a good time with me.” She walked to the back of the apartment in a huff.
Mark moved into Tracy’s old spot and stared at the ground. He wasn’t sure how much of that Shelby had seen and heard, but she’d surely heard something, and he had no idea what to say.
“It’s not her.” She spoke so quietly, and Mark had been so consumed with embarrassed thoughts that Shelby’s words didn’t register at first. When he realized she’d said something, he turned to her, and for the first time he noticed that she hadn’t moved since he’d walked in. Not one muscle. Not an inch.
“What did you say?” he asked her.
“It’s not her. She’s dead.”
The clunk of footsteps on the wooden floor in the kitchen preceded Tracy’s arrival, and she walked into the living room with a smile on her face, hands clasped behind her back.
Marks stomach sunk into a pit of ice at the sight of her hungry smile. “Alright, babe,” she said. “Let’s go to the bedroom. Shelby will be okay here alone for a little bit. I want you too badly to wait anymore.” Her smile widened, and a trail of green liquid ran from the corner of her mouth down her chin. She caressed her neck with her right hand, massaging slowly. “I want you, babe. You need to come give in to me. I won’t let you get away.”
Mark’s throat tightened as he turned to Shelby, who remained as motionless as ever and said nothing. He looked into the lustful eyes of Tracy, who winked and beckoned him to follow before walking back to their bedroom.
He didn't move at first. He felt like a python had squeezed the breath from his body, and he gasped and put a hand on his chest, attempting to gain control of his breathing.
“Come to me, dear husband!” A cry from the bedroom made him jump. But at these words, he accepted his fate. She was his wife, and she needed him. He would always love her.
He stood and walked into the kitchen. The apartment was dark, with the only light emanating from their bedroom, which sat with the door half-open at the end of the hallway.
Mark braced himself and walked towards it.

I am 26F and have Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis and diabetes runs in my family as does many other endocrine disorders.
I was diagnosed with pre diabetes at 23 and was able to reverse it then. My symptoms at that time was fruity smelling breath and pee, frequent urinarion, extreme thirst, ravenous hunger, drowsiness/lethargy
But now at 26 I think I am re-entering the prediabetes range. I have a doc appointment Friday with my PCP and at the end of the month I see my endocrinologist.
I think I am back in prediabetes range as the above symptoms have made a return, coupled with some additional ones.
My blood glucose has been spiked more lately as well, but has leveled out over the last week. I do not know my A1C tho 😔 will not know until doctor. 4 years ago it was a 6.1 I think? So barely in range.
My new symptoms (in addition to the others) are stomach pain, head and neck throbbing, a body odor (I hate to sound gross but sometimes I go to the bathroom thinking I’ve messed up on myself [I haven’t, but that’s what the smell reminds me of, it’s very musty]) despite frequent showers and impeccable hygiene, strong smelling ammonia almost like pee. Blurred vision. Nausea and light headedness.
I’m scared it’s going to be past the point of reversal come Friday.
I am 5’4” 127 pounds for reference. My stomach is also well under 40”

Update post on my progress and protocols for my treatment with side effects and how I managed it all.
Now that I'm done with treatment, I hope that this can help others who may be starting the same journey and have questions. I attribute my easy time to the premeds and my mental willpower. I focus on the positives and silver linings over the negatives. You can only control one thing -- your reactions. The rest requires you to practice acceptance.
Diagnosis: Stage 2 Endocervical Adenocarcinoma Gastric Type with LVSI
Treatment Plan: Surgery (cervix, uterus, and ovaries) followed by concurrent Chemo with Radiation with a PET Scan scheduled 2 months after treatment to determine if NED or more treatment is required.
I was scheduled for 6 chemo cycles, once a week, and 28 radiation beam therapies. Chemo happened on Monday and Radiation was Monday through Friday. I had to skip Cycle 3 on Chemo only because I was hospitalized with Norovirus and my counts were too low. I still did radiation those days.
Chemo Protocol in order of meds:

1. Magnesium Sulfate + Potassium Chloride. Cisplatin strips this from your body, supplements.
2. Emend (Fosaprepitant) - antiemetic. I had to get a port for this, it burned my arm vein and I had to use other arm for Chemo, no fun.
3. Aloxi (Palonosetron) - antiemetic.
4. Decadron (Dexamethasone) - steroid. It burns in your nether region, if it burns too much, ask them to push it slower.
5. Lasix (Furosemide) - diuretic. Cisplatin is hard on kidneys, this is to help purge the chemo faster. Be close to a bathroom and ask nurse if you can just unplug your IV pole and go to bathroom freely vs. pushing call button -- its easier.
6. Cisplatin (Platinol) 70mg (my dose). Didn't make me feel any different than the other infusions.

Plan for at least 5 hours for the above. I started at 7:30am and ended between 12 and 12:30pm.
Cisplatin Symptoms: This is going to vary person to person and you may get different premeds than me.

• Mon (Day 1) - just the cold feeling in your veins from all the fluid infusions. You also gain like 5lbs of water weight that day. I was typically ravenous and ate whatever I wanted, the antiemetics made this possible. Be wary of constipation from chemo, it took me by surprise the first week. The other weeks I ate a few prunes on Sunday and then after chemo on Monday to help. Otherwise you won't poop for a week and be miserable.
• Tues (Day 2) - no appetite and I don't eat. Even marijuana does not work to stimulate. I'll force myself if DH forces me, but since I eat everything in sight Day 1 I'm not too hard on myself. Important to have first BM this day, if nothing then you need to start addressing. Of course I BM daily so this may not apply to you.
• Wed - Thu (Day 3 - 4) - acid reflux and indigestion. Keep some Tums handy or use pills, it doesn't really help and you get used to it. All in, better than throwing up, so take it as a win if this is the worst for you. Appetite back.
• Fri - Sun (Day 5 -7) - less side effects, should be at normal BMs, if you are not you need to address for next cycle. Very important to purge your bowels if you are constipated before your next chemo. I ended up doing Miralax my first week, I had zero BM before Sat and I could feel the pressure. The following weeks I just did a handful of prunes Sunday night after dinner and Monday when I got home from chemo. I happen to like prunes and they worked to keep me regular.

Pelvic Radiation Symptoms: This is going to be different based on what areas are treated. My bladder, vagina, and pelvic nodes were heavily treated. Be sure you understand the side effects before you start treatment - so you can be on top of everything. Below is my experience and I had a fairly easy time of it.

• The fatigue sets in slowly. By week 3/4 I needed 12 hours a night to sleep. Don't ignore this important rest. I adjusted my work schedule from day 1 -- from 7a to 1p Tue - Thu. I didn't work Mon due to Chemo and Fri I had to get labs done and radiation so I worked from 7a to 11am. I did this from day 1 to set the tone with my boss and ensure I had the time needed to rest even if I didn't need it. I ended up working Sat and sometimes Sun to make up for things. I am a WFH executive - right hand of CEO and in charge of operations. Helps to have a great boss pick up the slack and an amazing team who supported me every step of the way.
• Bowels get softer over time, they do not go from hard to diarrhea overnight. If you have diarrhea fast, don't ignore it or let your doctor's ignore. I thought it was the prunes week 2 that did it, no it was norovirus. They didn't catch it until I had a 102 fever week 3 and had to be hospitalized. The chemo constipation masked it during the week.
• AZO is your BEST FRIEND. Take it every day. It is made to as a pain reliever for the bladder. I missed it for a week and paid for it so bad. Do not skip this important drug. I need to keep taking it for a few weeks until the symptoms subside.
• When you go in for your initial telemetry setup for the machines, make sure you are comfortable before they start anything. The moment you lay down on the machine bed, you need to make sure you are in a good position. They used a mold on my legs and I was not in a good position so it really hurt my hips every session thereafter.
• You have to put your hands on your chest. They give a ring, I hated it. I recommend relaxing your shoulders or you'll have a hard time while they do the treatment.
• You get used to the flow. You walk into the treatment room, hop on a bed while two techs adjust you (I had x marks on both hips and belly that they lined up). Then you get a quick CT to ensure your bladder is full and you're in a good position. Adjustments are made as needed. You know when the radiation beam starts because it is the only thing with noise. Don't move until they say you can. Whole thing is 10 mins or less.
• Bladder management is the worst part. You need to have a full bladder for this and as the treatment progresses you will have a harder time determining if your bladder is full or not. Your kidneys will also work slower (I attribute to the chemo) as the weeks go on, so you'll need to drink earlier. I recommend drinking what will fill your bladder two hours before your treatment. It is easier to let of some pressure than it is to fill the bladder. Tea is a natural diuretic and is very helpful to giving your kidneys a boost. I usually drank 20+ oz of Powerade two hours before (chugging), then tea when I arrived (they had fancy machines) and this worked 90% of the time.
• Be wary of foods you eat. I did great until Week 4 when I had lots of stuff with red sauce and it caused gas. I had to pass this gas before they could do my treatment, it was a riot but you don't want your visits to be like that every day. Stay away from tomato products and anything else that gives you even mild gas outside of treatment. It is nearly impossible to pass gas with an overfull bladder.

Nurses are your best friend. Having cancer and going through treatment sucks, but the nurses are there for you and my experience was all-inclusive resort service. Take advantage of the snacks (yes they have ice cream) when you're getting chemo. Don't be shy about asking them about your meds, they did a good job explaining this to me, but I still had questions now and again. It takes a special person to be an oncology nurse and you feel it. It never felt fake or like they were putting on a show/smile just for me. They truly cared. I never want to see them again either way :)
Edited to add: get a port. You will not regret it. I plan on keeping mine for a year after NED, which will require a monthly flush. It makes things so much easier, especially if you have to be hospitalized. I didn't need the numbing cream, it hurts less than the arm pokes for labs and infusions. I asked for mine before chemo and doctor didn't think it was necessary. First treatment proved it was - I had three IV's that day and I'm still suffering from the Emend infusion (not the chemo surprisingly) on my arm. Yes, its surgery but its easy. I had it in place before my 2nd chemo and it was lifechanging. I'd keep it for life it wasn't for the monthly flushes lol, my arm veins were crap to start and the more they are poked the worse they get.

I have AUDHD, and for those who don’t know that just means a duel diagnosis of autism and adhd. I’ve struggled with over eating my whole life. Since I was a toddler. My earliest memory was sneaking into the fridge and eating small butter packets ravenously. Anyways, as you can imagine that ended up in me being 200lbs as a 5’4 girl. I made a big fuck up today though. Over at my gma’s house for Mother’s Day and I was feeling extremely stressed out from siblings touching me, teasing, etc. not their fault and not their problem so I try to leave and get some ice cream. It just makes me feel safe. I already know it’s bad so I don’t need some know it all in my comments telling me to eat less or do something healthier when I feel upset. Because here’s the thing about fat people, a little secret, something you can’t tell anyone I told you: we already know. We’ve already tried. We lack the motivation because we are depressed or simply nothing feels better than holing up privately and binging. It is an addiction. Jesus, anyways, so I fill my bowl up with ice cream. A shit ton. Usually I’m better at hiding this but I guess not today. My older sister (this isn’t rlly worth noting but she’s skinny. Extremely skinny. Like “I see every spine, every rib, and every clavicle” skinny. Good for her, Im a jealous a**hole. First thing she says is “leave some for the rest of the world” I laugh it off already realizing what I did and deciding to just share with my younger sister. My older won’t let up though. “But much for you, right?” “That’s a lot” “Jesus save some for us.” So now, after handing the whole bowl to Emma, I’m holed up in the bathroom and typing this out feeling like a fat pig (which I know I am) and being extremely but hurt over something that isn’t a big deal at all. Of you read this far then here is what I’m asking; how the hell do I navigate this situation without seeming like a jerk or fatass in the end?

As always I shall try to keep this list updated at least once every four weeks until the post is again automatically locked after six months, preventing further edits.
In order to request any of these items you must go to the appropriate link for the Xbox Series X/S, Windows, PS5 or Steam. If you are playing on an older system it is simple to reach its page from one of these direct links. I am sure it goes without saying your player account must have sufficient Atoms available to pay for the item/s you choose. As part of the process Bethesda Support will respond to your request by ticket and email with the total cost of whatever you order.
This page from the Wikia entry for Fallout76 may help with working out some of the bundles' contents. I cannot swear for the accuracy of the data however as with all wikis it is community-created support material.
I have had quite a few comments asking how long you can expect to wait. The answer is that it varies. In my own experience I have had items redeemed for my character within two hours. I have also had to wait for more than a month. Much of the process seems to be automated now and I would say the average time these days seems between two to four days.
This list is up-to-date as of 12.05.2024:

1. Ace Full Assault Power Armor Paint
2. Alien Plushie
3. Alien Technology Bundle
4. Aluminum Trees
5. Amateur Inventor's Laser Gun Paint
6. American Flag Set
7. Angry Fist Shake
8. Animatronic Cat
9. Appalachian Thunder Pipe Gatling Gun Paint
10. Armored Raider Skull Gas Mask
11. Armory Weapon Paint Bundle
12. Army Issue Plasma Caster Paint
13. Astroturf
14. Atomic Blast Lamp
15. Barbed Chained Tire Set
16. Beer Barrel Fridge
17. Big Game Hunter
18. Big Red Button Icon
19. Black Bear Mascot
20. Black Cat Bundle
21. Black Knight Paint
22. Black Pip-Boy Paint
23. Black Rider Power Armor
24. Blood Eagle Bow Skin
25. Blood Eagle Bundle
26. Blood Eagle Power Armor Paint
27. Blood Eagle Totem
28. Bloody Arktos Refrigerator
29. Bombs Away Mobile
30. Bone and Felt Antler Headband Set
31. Bone Gas Mask
32. Bonnet
33. BOS Backpack
34. BOS Scouting Tower
35. Bottle Icon
36. Boxing Ring
37. Brambles
38. Brew-haha Bundle
39. Brotherhood Armory
40. Brotherhood Bundle
41. Brotherhood High Tech Stash
42. Brotherhood of Steel Digital Deluxe Bundle
43. Bubble Blower Machine
44. Bucking Brahmin Bundle
45. Bucking Brahmin Mask
46. Bucking Brahmin Ride
47. Bunker Bundle
48. Burgundy Modular Sofa Set
49. C.A.M.P. Structure Starter Bundle
50. Cactus Set
51. Camden Park Mega Bundle
52. Camo Secret Service Armor Paint
53. Camo Secret Service Underarmor
54. Camo Utility Cap
55. Cappy's Nuka-Cola Train Bundle
56. Captain Cosmos Outfit
57. Captain Cosmos Power Armor
58. Captain Cosmos Power Armor Bundle
59. Caravan Trader Outfit
60. Carnivorous Plant
61. Cash Register Vending Machine
62. Castle Bed
63. Cat Topiary
64. Cement Tire Set
65. Chalk Letter Kit
66. Charleston Fire Station
67. Charleston Fire Station Bundle
68. Christmas Sitting Room Bundle
69. Cinder Blocks Wallpaper
70. Clandestine Gauss Weapons Bundle
71. Clandestine Service Gauss Shotgun Paint
72. Clandestine Service Minigun Paint
73. Classic Jukebox
74. Classic Performance Stage
75. Classic Western Bundle
76. Classical Column
77. Classy Girl Player Icon
78. Clean Bathroom Bundle
79. Clean Billboard
80. Clean Boxing Ring
81. Clean Chally Outfit
82. Clean Mannequin Set
83. Clean Shower
84. Clean Sink
85. Clean Small Generator
86. Clean Toilet
87. Clean Water Purifier
88. Clean White Picket Fences
89. Coal Duster Excavator Power Armor Paint
90. Coffin Backpack
91. Coffin Decoration
92. Coffin Stash Box
93. Collectron Bundle
94. Colored Oval Lights
95. Comforts of Home Bundle
96. Comin' to Town Bundle
97. Communal Firepit
98. Communist Bunker
99. Communist Collectron Station
100. Communist Fence
101. Communist Handmade Gun Skin
102. Communist Militant Outfit
103. Communist Military Safe Stash Box
104. Communist Officer's Gas Mask
105. Communist Salute Emote
106. Communist Spy Bundle
107. Communist Spy Outfit
108. Contemporary C.A.M.P. Bundle
109. Cowboy Hat
110. Cowhide Outfit
111. Creepy Mothman Player Icon
112. Crypt Crook Backpack
113. Cuddles Outfit
114. Cultist Dungeon Bundle
115. Dark Harlequin Face Paint
116. Dark Matter Combat Rifle Paint
117. Dark Wood Laminate
118. Dart Board
119. Dead Man's Hand Posters
120. Death Awaits Skull Totem
121. Death Ray Bug Zapper
122. Decorative Room Divider
123. Deep Cave Bundle
124. Deep Cave Hunter Outfit
125. Diamond Eyes Face Paint
126. Down Home Comfort Bundle
127. Down Home Dweller Bundle
128. Down Home Wallpaper Set
129. Duster
130. Easter Bundle
131. Easter Rabbit Plushie
132. Electro 2000 Fireplace
133. Elm Tree Set
134. Encampment Bridge
135. Encampment Fences
136. Encampment Fortress Bundle
137. Enclave Backpack
138. Enclave Bundle
139. Enclave C.A.M.P. Bundle
140. Enclave Power Armor Paint
141. Enclave Turret Set
142. Equalizer Power Armor Paint
143. Eye Patch Bundle
144. F.E.T.C.H. Collectron Station
145. Fancy Thanksgiving Display Case
146. Farm Life C.A.M.P. Bundle
147. Fasnacht Bundle
148. Fasnacht C.A.M.P. Bundle
149. Fasnacht Collectron Station
150. Fasnacht Mask Bundle
151. Fasnacht Mask Display
152. Fasnacht Mystical Mask Bundle
153. Fat Man Aviator Paint
154. Feral Ghoul Bundle
155. Feral Ghoul Costume
156. Fez
157. Fire Chief Bundle
158. Fire Hazard Backpack
159. Firewatch Tower
160. Firing Range Posters
161. Fish Lamp
162. Floor Walker Outfit
163. Flower Cart
164. Fluorescent Light Set
165. Flyboy Bundle
166. Flyboy Icon
167. Flyboy Outfit
168. Four Poster Bed
169. Free States Scout Armor Paint
170. Freedom Stars Neon Sign
171. Freight Wagon
172. Fringed Dress
173. Future-Tec Bundle
174. Gag Glasses Bundle
175. Gala Dress
176. Gala Tuxedo
177. Gatling Plasma Copperhead Paint
178. Ghillie Netting Bundle
179. Ghoul Icon
180. Giant Neon Letters
181. Gladiator Outfit
182. Glow-in-the-Dark Map
183. Gold 50 Cal Machine Gun Paint
184. Gold Mr. Fuzzy Kiddie Ride
185. Gold Mr. Rocket Kiddie Ride
186. Golden Years Set
187. Good Fortunes Bundle
188. Grafton Monster Mascot Outfit
189. Grahm Plushie
190. Grahm's Green Bundle
191. Green Thumb Bundle
192. Greenhouse Kit
193. Greenhouse Kit Bundle
194. Grognak Battlecry
195. Grognak Hero Bundle
196. Grognak Plushie
197. Gurney Bed Set
198. H.A.R.E. Power Armor Skin
199. Halberd
200. Halloween C.A.M.P. Bundle
201. Halo and Horns Set
202. Hammock
203. Hanging Planters
204. Haunted House C.A.M.P. Bundle
205. Haunted House Floor
206. Haunted House Porch Set
207. Haunted House Staircase
208. Hay Bales
209. Heart Balloons
210. Hellcat Outfit Bundle
211. Hellfire Regulator Power Armor Paint
212. Hero Statue Set
213. High-Powered Weapon Racks
214. High-Tech Stash
215. Holiday Nuclear Tree
216. Holiday Tree
217. Holidays Emote Bundle
218. Hot Tub
219. Hubris Comics Magazine Rack
220. Hubris Comics Wallpaper
221. Hunting Lodge Bundle
222. I Survived!
223. Imposter Assaultron Head
224. Inflatable Snowman
225. Inner Tube Deck Chair
226. Jail Walls
227. Junk Fences
228. Junkyard C.A.M.P. Bundle
229. Junkyard Dog Collectron Station
230. Junkyard Power Armor Paint
231. Kill, Laugh, Love Neon Sign
232. Landscape Painting
233. Large Nuka-Cola Bottle
234. Large Succulent Set
235. Laser Grid Door
236. Laundered Blue Dress
237. Laundered Cream Dress
238. Laundered Rose Dress
239. Leper'chaun Outfit
240. Leprechaun Bundle
241. Leprechaun Outfit
242. Liberator Bot Lamp
243. Liberty Prime Power Armor Skin Set
244. Light Bulb Letters Set
245. Light Wood Laminate
246. Lion Dancer Outfit
247. Log Cabin Kit
248. Log Cabin Porch Set
249. Lover Girl Icon
250. Lucille's Lullaby
251. Lumberjack Bundle
252. Lumberjack Outfit
253. Makeshift Mega Mansion
254. Mascot Head
255. Matte Black Equalizer Power Armor Paint
256. Matte Black Handmade Paint
257. Mausoleum Bundle
258. Meat Cooler Backpack
259. Medical Scrubs
260. Medical Smile Mask
261. Medieval C.A.M.P. Bundle
262. Megaton Hairstyle
263. Military Beret Bundle
264. Mini Deathclaw Statue
265. Mini Nuke Planter
266. Mini Power Armor Statue
267. Minigun Chrome Paint
268. Missile Silo Shelter
269. Missile Silo Shelter Bundle
270. Mob Boss Bundle
271. Modern Ceiling Fan
272. Modern Fireplace
273. Modular Mainframe Set
274. Mole Rat Generator Suite
275. Mole Rat Icon
276. Mole Rats Painting
277. Monocle
278. Montani Semper Liberi
279. Moonshine Mama Mask
280. Mosaic Tiles
281. Mothman Bed
282. Mothman Cultist C.A.M.P. Bundle
283. Mothman Cultist Goat Totem
284. Mothman Cultist Icon
285. Mothman Cultist Torches
286. Mothman Curtain Door
287. Mothman Frame
288. Mothman Furniture Set
289. Mothman Gas Mask
290. Mothman Hunter Bundle
291. Mothman Hunter Outfit
292. Mothman Jetpack
293. Mothman Neon Billboards
294. Mothman Outfit Bundle
295. Mothman Pip-Boy Paint
296. Mothman Plushie Backpack
297. Mothman Poster
298. Mothman Power Armor Paints and Lamp
299. Mothman Sleeping Bag
300. Mothman Statue
301. Mothman Traveler Bundle
302. Mothman Wallpaper Bundle
303. Mothman Worship Emote
304. Mountaineer Outfit
305. Mounted Fish Set
306. Mounted Radhog Head
307. Movie Poster Set
308. Mr. Claus Player Icon
309. Mr. Claus' Suit
310. Mr. Fuzzy Backpack
311. Mr. Fuzzy Balloon Animal
312. Mr. Fuzzy Cowboy Plushie
313. Mr. Fuzzy Halloween Plushie
314. Mr. Fuzzy Kiddie Ride
315. Mr. Fuzzy New Year's Plushie
316. Mr. Fuzzy Player Icon
317. Mr. Fuzzy Power Armor Helmet
318. Mr. Fuzzy Tinker's Workbench
319. Mr. Fuzzy Valentine's Day Plushie
320. Mr. Pebbles Lamp
321. Mr. Pebbles Plushie
322. Mr. Pebbles Space Explorer Backpack
323. Mr. Rocket Kiddie Ride
324. Mrs. Claus' Dress
325. Mrs. Claus Player Icon
326. Mudflap Hat Set
327. Mummy Dearest Icon
328. Mushroom Lamp
329. Mutant Dummy
330. Nautical Anchor Tattoo
331. Neighborhood Square Shelter
332. Neon Palm Reader Sign
333. Neon Sign Set
334. New Year's Banner
335. New Year's Eve Bundle
336. New Year's Icon
337. New Year's Tuxedos Bundle
338. Night Eyes Icon
339. Night Terror Gauss Rifle Paint
340. No Thank You Emote
341. No Way Emote
342. Northern Lights Paint T-51 Power Armor Paint
343. Nuclear Winter Poster Set
344. Nuka-Cola Bottle Display Rack
345. Nuka-Cola Bundle
346. Nuka-Cola Cask Stool
347. Nuka-Cola Cooler
348. Nuka-Cola Cooler Backpack
349. Nuka-Cola Curtain Door
350. Nuka-Cola Dark Power Armor Paints
351. Nuka-Cola Delivery Bundle
352. Nuka-Cola Jumpsuit Set
353. Nuka-Cola Neon Sign
354. Nuka-Cola Projection Lamp
355. Nuka-Cola Quantum Bottle Lamp
356. Nuka-Cola Quantum Bundle
357. Nuka-Cola Quantum Sign
358. Nuka-Cola Secret Door Bundle
359. Nuka-Cola Stained Glass Lamps
360. Nuka-Cola Vending Machine
361. Nuka-Cola Wallpaper Set
362. Nuka-Girl Rocketsuit
363. Old Man Summer Mask
364. Old Possum Bar Sign
365. Old West Bar Set
366. Ole Timey Diner Bundle
367. Outhouse
368. Pack Rat Backpack
369. Pajamas
370. Pale Rider Photoframe
371. Pale Rider Power Armor
372. Pallet Wood Floor
373. Pallet Wood Wallpaper
374. Parachute Backpack
375. Park Ranger Bundle
376. Park Ranger Power Armor Skin
377. Patriotic The Fixer Paint
378. Pickaxe Pilsner Bar Sign
379. Pink Neon Heart Sign
380. Pipe Organ
381. Pitt Scaffold Kit
382. Plague Doctor Mask
383. Plain Curtain Door
384. Plasma Ball Set
385. Plotting Table
386. Plushie C.A.M.P. Bundle
387. Poodle Skirt
388. Portrait Secret Door
389. Potted Succulents
390. Pristine Moe the Mole Outfit
391. Pumpkin Vault Girl Head
392. Raider Collectron Station
393. Raider Culinarian Outfit
394. Raider Pathfinder Outfit
395. Raider Salute
396. Raider Skinner Outfit
397. Raider Skull Gas Mask
398. Raider Vending Machine
399. Raider Warlord Outfit
400. Raider Waster Bundle
401. Rain Water Collector
402. Raven Perch
403. Red Enamel Stove
404. Red Menace Backpack
405. Red Menace Bundle
406. Red Modular Mainframe
407. Red Rocket Diner Set
408. Red Rocket Door
409. Red Rocket Garage
410. Red Rocket Mega Furniture Bundle
411. Red Rocket Power Connectors
412. Red Rocket Ranger Power Armor Bundle
413. Red Rocket Stash Box
414. Red Scare Power Armor Skin
415. Red Shift Backpack
416. Red Shift Floor
417. Red Shift Power Armor Skin
418. Responder Power Armor Paint
419. Responders Bundle
420. Rest in Pieces C.A.M.P. Bundle
421. Revolutionary Bundle
422. Revolutionary Outfit
423. Roadtripper Outfit
424. Robber Halloween Bundle
425. RobCo Snow Machine
426. Robot Steins Display Case
427. Rocket Ceiling Fan
428. Round Deck Table
429. RR Ranger Power Armor Paint
430. Rusted Chain link Fence
431. Rusted Junkyard Power Armor Paint
432. Rustic Fountain
433. Rustic Greenhouse Bundle
434. Rustic Greenhouse Kit
435. Rustic Room Divider
436. Rustic Sink
437. Rusty Raider Skull Gas Mask
438. Samurai Outfit
439. Santa Bag Backpack
440. Santa Statue
441. Santa's Slay Power Armor Bundle
442. Santatron Collectron Station
443. Satellite Dish
444. Scavenger Collectron Station
445. Screaming Eagle Handmade Gun Skin
446. Screaming Eagle Wood Skin
447. Secret Service Backpack
448. Secret Service Bobblehead Stand
449. Secret Service Camo Bundle
450. Secret Stash Bookcase
451. Seedy Shed
452. Sequin Dress
453. Shadow Prime Power Armor Skin
454. Share the Love Bundle
455. Sheepsquatch Plushie
456. Shelter Catwalk Bundle
457. Shelters Mainframe Bundle
458. Shogatsu Bundle
459. Silver Shroud Costume
460. Silver Shroud Plushie
461. Six Pack Loot Bag
462. Skull Lord War Suit
463. Skull Mask
464. Skull Totem Set
465. Slocum's Joe C.A.M.P. Bundle
466. Slocum's Joe Coffee Machine
467. Snow Globe Lamp
468. Snowglobe
469. Solid Color Wallpaper Set
470. Space Suit
471. Spiked Barricade
472. Spikehawk Hairstyle
473. Spring Bundle
474. Square Rug Bundle
475. Stainless Steel Refrigerator
476. Stalker Outfit
477. Standing Lamp
478. Stanley
479. Stocking Set
480. Street Lamps
481. Stuffed Radstag
482. Summer Shorts
483. Sun Hat
484. Super Angry
485. Survivalist Outfit
486. Thanksgiving Bundle
487. Thanksgiving Kitchen Bundle
488. The Nighthawk Skin
489. The Quack Outfit
490. Theremin
491. Top Secret Door
492. Trailblazer Bundle
493. Turkey Mascot Outfit
494. Untarnished Alien Blaster Paint
495. Valentine's Backpack
496. Vampire Costume
497. Vault Boy/Girl Power Armor Helmet Set
498. Vault Girl Mascot Head
499. Vault Girl Scribble Head
500. Vault-Tec Grandfather Clock
501. Vault-Tec Laser Gun Paint
502. Vault-Tec Locker Bay
503. Vault-Tec Refrigerator
504. Vault-Tec Spa
505. Vault-Tec Starter Bundle
506. Vendor Sign Set
507. Vintage Linen Coat
508. Wall Weapon Racks
509. War Rider Power Armor
510. Warband Face Paint
511. Waste Barrel Planter
512. Wasteland Trapper Outfit
513. Wasteland Werewolf Outfit
514. Watchpost
515. Waterbed
516. Wavy Willard's Letters
517. Wavy Willard's Park Bundle
518. Wavy Willard's Swimsuit Bundle
519. Wavy Willard's Wipeout Slide Bundle
520. Welcome Friends Sign
521. Welcome Home Neon Sign
522. Welcome to Helvetia Bundle
523. West Virginia Table Set
524. Western Bar Bundle
525. White Wallpaper
526. Whitesprings C.A.M.P. Bundle
527. Whitesprings Wallpaper Set
528. Wildman Rags
529. Wildwood Den Bundle
530. Wildwood Tavern
531. Wildwood Tavern Bundle
532. Willard Plushie
533. Wolf Howl Emote
534. Worm Farm
535. Wrought Iron Fence
536. Zoltan Fortune Teller

Recall from last chapter
*Knock Knock Knock*
Uncle Rehnoose: RILEY WAKE THE HELL UP, YOUR UNCLE BEHNOOSE AND HIS FAMILY WILL BE HERE SOON, GET READY
AM and Riley: !!!
Chapter 3
Uncle Rehnoose: Riley open the damn door!!! AND WHERES YOUR AUNT!!!
Riley whispers to Auntie Malda: Auntie we need to open the door or uncle will be mad
Knowing the situation their in, Auntie Malda understood they could not be caught
Auntie Malda: Rehnoose wait me and Riley are choosing clothes today for the party!!!
Uncle Rehnoose: What the hell?!? So why does it have to be locked
Auntie Malda: We... umm... are looking to surprise you!
Uncle Rehnoose:... Alright, get Riley ready because Behnoose's family will be here in the next 10 minutes
Auntie Malda: Ok!
Uncle Rehnoose leaves and heads back down stairs
Auntie Malda: Sorry Riley but ill have to teach you another time. Don't tell your uncle.
Riley: Why Auntie?
Auntie Malda: Because... your father already knows so... there's no need too!!!
Riley: Ok
Auntie Malda: Go get yourself ready ok
*Scene switches, Uncle Behnoose's family arrives*
--Ring ring ring--
Uncle Behnoose: Yooo! Rehnoose.
Uncle Rehnoose Internal Monologue: Where the hell is Riley
Uncle Rehnoose opens the door to Uncle Behnoose and his family
Uncle Rehnoose: HEYYY BEHNOOSE, HOW'S IT BEEN MAN, LONG TIME NO SEE
Uncle Behnoose: It's been great man. We actually had some traffic along the way but here man. Here's a little gift for Riley.
Uncle Rehnoose: Oh... yea man appreciate it.
Uncle Behnoose: Well where's Riley?
Uncle Rehnoose: Well...
Out of nowhere running down the stairs, Riley interrupts
Riley: IM HEREEEE!!!!
Auntie Nina: WOW IS THAT RILEY! He looks so good
Auntie Malda also walks to the door
Auntie Malda: Heyyy Nina long time no see!
Auntie Nina: Hey Malda!
Riley: Umm... where's Cho?
Appearing behind Auntie Nina's back----
Cho: RIIIGHT HEREE!!! HEY RILEY
Riley: HEYYY
The two fist bump each other
Auntie Malda: Hey you two, come to the backyard, Riley's grandfather is cooking steak right now. You two can play there
Riley and Cho: OK!!
Auntie Malda takes the two to the backyard
Auntie Nina: Soo.. you know I been holding in a pee this whole time. Rehnoose you mind showing me where the bathroom is? (Line is delivered in a mischievous)
**Nina smirks**
Uncle Rehnoose: Hehehe... no problem Nina. It's upstairs come follow me. Behnoose you could head to the backyard too. The food is almost prepared
Uncle Behnoose: Alright, appreciate it Rehnoose
**Scene switches to Riley and Cho playing catch in the backyard**
Cho: The game yesterday as amazing!!! You saw that throw by CJ Abrams against the Blue Jays!!!
Riley: YEAAA, IN A MATTER OF FACT WATCH ME DO IT RIGHT NOW WITH MY EYES CLOSED!!!
Riley throws the ball with the intention of throwing it towards Cho, but instead throws it a complete different direction towards the washroom upstairs with the open window
Cho: Umm Riley?
Riley: Uh oh... Ill go get it
Riley goes inside and heads upstairs to the washroom
**Clapping sounds***
Riley Internal Monologue: Huh? Is Auntie Nina clapping her hands right now in the washroom. Hmm.
Riley sees the washroom door slightly open
Riley Internal Monologue: I just need the baseball----
Riley peaks through the slight opening of the washroom door on his tippy toes.
Uncle Rehnoose: You never fail to amaze me Nina!!!!
Auntie Nina: You never fail to amaze me too hehe
Riley Internal Monologue: What what--- What is Uncle and Auntie Nina doi---
Riley stumbles and shuts the washroom door
Uncle Rehnoose and Auntie Nina: !!!
The two gets back to their senses
Uncle Rehnoose: WHO IS THERE!!!
Riley: !!!
Chapter Ends
​

We look the same and we always have but we couldn’t be more different from each other. I think that’s the best place to start with this. Some identical twins have a lot in common. They like the same foods, the same things on television, some even spend their entire lives dressing in the same clothes, but we were never those girls. For as long as I remember, it’s been hard for even our own parents to tell us apart were it not for our very different personalities. Our own mother can’t tell the difference between our voices over the phone to this day. We even have the same laugh, but after that we diverge. I’m extroverted and would much rather be outdoors than inside where she is bookish and reserved. As far as personality traits go, Lily and I have always shared very few.
We both have our father’s nose and our mother’s heart shaped face and her high cheekbones. The same raven-black hair falls in waves past both of our shoulders and the same emerald green, almond shaped eyes sparkle with hidden flecks of gold that you can only see if you take a look up close.
Still, there’s a connection between us that can’t be explained. We just feel it. Know it’s there. It’s a thing with identical twins no matter how truly different they really are. Some say it’s a sort of telepathy, if you believe in that sort of thing.
That’s the reason I knew something was wrong before I had proof. I knew when I woke up in the morning that something was happening and that it was big. I even knew when I finally got up the nerve to send her a text, she would reply this time; not right away–but this time–she would. She hadn't been replying to me at all lately, no matter how often I sent her messages. Something was different now. I'd hear back from her but it would be at least a week–possibly a few days more before I did. Sending this text was different. Something I could feel in my bones told me she'd finally tell me what was going on with her. Where had she been? In my heart, I knew the lack of communication over the past several months wasn’t something she had chosen. Somehow I knew she wanted to talk to me but for some reason she couldn’t and that was a very strange and unnerving feeling for a twin to have. In the past, before Lily’s recent radio-silence, she and I had rarely gone for more than a day or two without checking in. In the past year that had suddenly changed and I had no logical explanation for it.
This particular morning, a feeling of unease is everywhere around me and even somehow inside me. I feel it in bed before I even open my eyes. Like an itch you can’t scratch because you know it will just make the rash worse and trying to ignore it altogether will drive you mad. The worst part about the itch was knowing that after months of nothing, I would finally hear back from Lily. It was time. She was ready to talk. I knew it. I don't know how–I just did. Somehow after months of unanswered messages, my next text would finally garner a response and knowing that made me jittery. The itch was made worse by the inexplicable knowledge that the response was going to take days. At least I would get it, but I'd have to wait for it for days. If she hadn't replied to me in months, why should that make me feel so uneasy? I couldn't say. The whole prospect of this scenario made me nervous but I told myself I would send the message right after breakfast because my sister needed me to send it and she needed me to send it today. It was important that I reached out to her this morning.
Whatever happened is bothering me so much that I burn the pancakes and have to start them over three different times.
“Vibes are off today, Emily,” my wife Jasmine begins. She sits patiently waiting for me to serve her a plate of good ones, pancakes that aren’t burnt, at the table in our kitchenette, “I just changed that bag last night you know, and if you keep doing that I’ll have to take it out again before we even get to eat. What’s up with you?”
“Not me,” I reply, “it’s Lily. Something’s up with Lilly.”
“Oh? You finally hear back from her? What’s going on?”
“That’s just it. I haven't heard anything in months but that's definitely about to change. I don’t know. It’s just a feeling, babe. Hard to explain,” I say.
“A twin thing?” She asks.
“Exactly. It’s twintuition. It’s like–”
“–Intuition,” she finishes for me, “I get it. Did you try calling her or texting her yet?” Jasmine asks.
“No, but it’s because I’m afraid she won’t answer right away and I don’t want to have that fear be real.” I admit. “That’s weird isn’t it?”
“Very,” she says getting up from the table. She picks my phone up from the counter and grabs me by the waist, moving me away from the stove and spinning me around. She pecks a small kiss on my lips and lifts one of my hands, placing the phone into it. She gives me a little shove toward the kitchenette table and pulls out the chair for me.
“You’re going to sit here and write a text to your sister and I’m going to finish making breakfast.” She tells me.
I sit here looking at my phone for a while, unsure of how to start. Finally I type:

Anything wrong? Worried about you.

And I hit send.
_____________________________
Eight days pass before Lily texts me back and it’s a flood of texts in the morning from an unknown number. One after the other.

Sorry I didn’t get back to you right away. You were right about Eric. I didn’t tell you a lot because I thought you’d be ashamed of me. Or mad. You’ve always been so much stronger than I am.
I packed and left the night you text me. I was afraid to reply because I thought he might be able to read it somehow. He definitely was tracking the phone so I left it at the bus station that morning.
It took me a few days to get set up, but I’m in Echo Bay now and this is my new number. Just got one of those burner phones from Walmart. It’s nothing special but that’s on purpose.
I’m staying in a bungalow on the beach. Very cute. Just a few miles from you and Jasmine, actually. It’s nothing permanent, just an AirB&B. I figured coming here would be safest for now to figure out what to do next.
I never told him where you were and he’ll try to find me if he can. He’ll follow me to the end of the Earth. I should have told you about him. The whole truth. Now I finally can. If you’re not busy, come by today and I’ll tell you the whole story.

The last text she sends puts tears in my eyes and I call her right after I read it and we make plans…

I’m pretty sure if I stayed he’d have killed me sooner or later. Probably sooner.

I meet Lily for lunch at her bungalow in the afternoon and she’s right, it’s very cute. She, on the other hand, looks like a mess and I find myself both irate and awestruck. I don't understand how the bruises haven’t fully healed or even begun to heal a little. That bastard really did a number on her. It's eight days later and her face and skin is purple and green with bruises in so many places–appearing to be so fresh that you'd think she'd been at the bottom of a three-car pile up just the night before.
“He wasn’t always like this, you know,” she tells me, “in the beginning he was really charming…it took a long time to figure out that person wasn’t real.”
She doesn’t eat much, mostly just moves the food around on her plate with her fork. She goes quiet and drifts away from the conversation a lot which is strange for me because she was always the one with more focus. I’m the daydreamer. She’s the grounded one. That’s how we’ve always been. A few times while she’s sitting silently, she begins to cry. When I hold her hand, it turns into a wailing sob and I reassure her that none of this is her fault. That this sort of thing happens to a lot of women. That they feel trapped and never try to get out. Never try to escape. They don’t make it out. I reassure her that she’s still strong because she saw what was happening and she did something about it. She left. I reassure her quietly that although it shouldn’t be this way, that it shouldn’t happen, this still happens to lots of women anyway. She’s not alone. She escaped it. She’s a survivor.
“We can help find you a lawyer if you want,” I offer at one point, “we have money saved. We can pay for it,” and she immediately shuts the idea down.
“No. I’m not doing that,” she says adamantly, “I just want to be done with it. I came here to heal. I don’t know if I’m staying or not yet…”
She pauses for a moment and then adds: “I just need some time to figure out where I’m supposed to be.”
“But if you let him get away with it, he could do this to someone else,” I say, “you do realize that right? You need to do something. He needs to pay for this.”
“He does need to, but what if he gets away with it?” she asks, “what if I report all of it and he sits trial for it…and what if he gets off? I can't take that chance. It isn't worth the consequences of it. What if I don't win?”
“What if you do?” I ask her. She gets really quiet then, “promise me you’ll think about it.”
“I will,” she says and it’s almost a whisper, “I just need some time. I made it away and I’m safe. I don’t know if I want him to know where I am. If I do this then he knows I’m here and when he does, if I lose, he will kill me. You understand that don’t you? He will kill me. That man operates on some sort of twisted revenge. He won't even consider what would follow once he's gotten it. He'll just think about getting even with me.”
“Jail isn't a deterrent when you're dealing with a human grenade. He'll only want to explode–to destroy. He won't worry about what happens to him after that. He doesn't work that way.” She says.
She doesn’t want to let me take pictures of her bruises but I insist on it and somehow actually win that argument. She tells me she’s been trying not to even look in mirrors right now. She doesn’t want pictures of her looking like this on her brand new phone because what if she decides to take a picture of something beautiful, like a sunset, and she opens the camera and the photo gallery is right there and she has to look at this instead. I tell her that she’s still beautiful no matter what happened to her. All that matters is what happens next. So I take the pictures for her with my phone. She takes off her shirt and there are more bruises everywhere underneath and we take pictures of those too.
I manage to keep my own feelings bottled up for the entire afternoon until she takes her shirt off and now before I realize I’m doing it, I’m crying also.
“Shhh,” she whispers, “you can’t cry. You’re the strong one.”
I shake my head and tell her that we’re both strong and then we’re both sobbing and she presses her face against my chest and I press my head onto the top of hers until she steps away from me and tells me that I have to stop crying on her because I’m getting snot in her hair. We both laugh.
It’s not funny. Nothing about this afternoon has been, but we both laugh anyway and our laughs still sound the same.
I spend the entire day with her and as the sun goes down we leave her bungalow and take a walk along the beach.
“So, can I ask how you ended up falling for this guy? Identical or not we clearly operate on different wavelengths romantically and I just don't understand.” I say, and then add: “forgive me if that's too personal.”
“No. It isn't.” She begins, “and if only we operated on the same wavelength or even similar ones. I thought about you a lot in the past few years. Thought that if only I was a big old lezzie–like you, if I'd just went for girls, none of this would've ever happened.”
“Don't be so sure. Domestic abuse doesn't have a gender. There's shitty, abusive partners in queer relationships too.” I tell her.
“Well, regardless, I've actually asked myself the same question about a hundred times in the last week. What drew me to him and where and when did things change–you know? When did he go from the ideal boyfriend to an absolute monster?”
She tells me that when she met this bastard, Eric Warminster, it was like something out of a movie, and her story begins that way too–like a cheesy rom-com–so corny it sounds fake…I almost tell her how much I hate romantic comedies, I almost tell her to give me some horror flick any day of the week. I think better of it just before I do and don't say the thought aloud. She never went for horror, even when we were girls–and that's what she ended up with despite her aversion to it. That was what her life had become.
She tells me they were both in the produce section of the grocery, neither of them paying too much attention–he on the phone and she looking over her shopping list. They both reached for a pineapple–the last pineapple in the crate. He asks her what she plans to do with it if he lets her have it and she tells him she's just going to cut it up and eat it. He tells her he’s making a pineapple-upsidedown cake with it.
“I've never had that.” She tells him honestly; matter-of-factly and he invites her over to his place later that night to be the judge of whether or not his recipe is any good. Normally, she tells me, she'd never have done something like that. She tells me that she's not the type to just go to a strange man's place on a whim…but he was good looking and had a charming way about him. She fondly describes his smile. It’s out of character and she can't say exactly what makes her drop her guard and give this man her number, but she does…
And the dinner he cooks for her as well as the cake he makes are both excellent.
“That wasn't the only cake he made for me. One day when we were still getting to know each other he asked me a load of questions. What's my favorite color? Favorite flower? That sort of thing. Remember that movie ‘Steel Magnolias?’ I told him that was my favorite movie. He says he's never seen it. Not a week later, he tells me he watched it and asks me to come by after work. Says he's got a surprise for me...” She says.
“No fuckin way.” I said, interrupting her. I told you rom-coms aren't really my thing, but I'd known that was Lily's favorite since we were in middle school. Of course I'd suffered through it and we'd watched it together…her with a tissue pressed against her eyes and me rolling mine.
“He made the Armadillo Cake?” I ask, “you mean to tell me he watched the movie just because you mentioned it and then he made the cake?”
Lily smiles briefly at the recollection and nods.
“He was very romantic…in the beginning.” She tells me.
Eric does all sorts of things to win Lily's heart: he'd make her breakfast in bed, take her on picnics. She tells me he would even sit there calmly while she complained about her co-workers and instead of trying to fix the problem or offer his advice, by the end of the conversation he'd have found a reason to hate the people she said she hated in her story and have his own complaints about them too. According to Lily, he was perfect…and then shortly after she moved in with him, things started to change and they changed fast.
Little things at first…she accidentally buys the wrong type of cereal at the store and is met with: “Frosted Flakes? Really? Not Frosted Flakes! Mini Wheats! Are you stupid or something? Frosted Mini Wheats! How hard is that for your useless, stupid brain to remember?”
She tells me that once she folded the towels the way our mother always had when we were growing up. He didn't fold them that way so he calls her into the bathroom, throws open the linen closet and proceeds to yank each one of them out one by one, unfolding them with a flick of his wrist before smooshing them into balls and leaving them in a heap on the floor.
“Do it the fuckin right away the first time, or do it again, moron.” He shouts at her before storming out of the room.
“He told me all my friends were toxic next. I didn't have any friends except my coworkers so he told me he didn't want me working anymore. Most women would kill to be homemakers. Do the dishes. Spend the afternoon watching soap operas. He put me on an allowance and I couldn't buy anything without telling him I was buying it.” She says. “He told me you were toxic too. Said you didn't love me and the way he said it…how he explained it, it was so convincing. That’s the reason I stopped returning your calls.” After she says this, she begins to cry quietly.
He tells her if she tries to reach me or any other of her so-called “toxic” family, and he finds out, he'll sell the car he bought her and they'd start having everything–all the shopping and groceries–delivered. She becomes afraid if she lets anyone know what’s happening she’ll lose what little freedom he grants her and she'll be trapped in their house for good…trapped there with him for good.
There are a few other anecdotes just like those ones in her story and I find myself getting more and more angry as she recounts all of this to me. Then it hits me: each story is just another small escalation. I'm so mad I could run this man down with my car, then get out and curb-stomp his head before setting him on fire.
I can feel the desire to do that just from what she tells me up to this point…
She still hasn't gotten to the day he begins to put his hands on her and my blood is already boiling.
She gets quiet for a long time and we just walk. I reach out and take her hand, and when I do she puts the thoughts that I was having just a moment earlier into words:
“I can sense how mad you are. I haven't even told you about the first time he hit me.” She says.
“You can keep talking about it, but you don't have to if you don't want to.” I say.
“I don't want to, but I'm going to anyway. I'm ashamed.”
“You shouldn't be. None of this was your fault.” I tell her.
“I know. I am anyway.” She continues, “I feel like I need to tell you. I have to tell someone. I haven't talked about any of this. It's poison and I want it out.”
The first time he hits her, it’s a punch in the face. He doesn't even start off with a slap or something. He'd never hit her before and the first time he does, it's a closed fist. She isn't expecting it to happen. The reason he claims he did it afterward is that she'd overcooked his pork chop. They finish eating and as she collected his plate she askes him how it was. He says it was chewy and then out of nowhere he punches her in the eye.
After he discovers he can get away with something like that, it starts happening all the time…
He throws her against a wall for forgetting to charge his phone for him. She'd forgotten somewhere that she was responsible for every small thing when it came to keeping the household running–even things that she'd never been asked to do. Things as small as putting his phone on the charger for him so he wouldn't have to do it himself.
He didn't want a girlfriend or a partner…he wanted a slave.
If he was leaving for work and she couldn't tell him where his keys were, he'd choke her so roughly and long that her vision would go white–then black–only to stop moments before she was about to pass out.
She’d forget who she was dealing with and speak out of turn and he'd take her by a fist-full of hair and drag her into their guest room where he'd installed a padlock she hadn't noticed before. He'd lock her inside and leave her there for a full day–sometimes two–without anything to eat or drink.
He'd tell her how lucky she was to be so well kept.
He'd tell her that the first time she ever tried to leave him would be the last time she tried that because dead women can't leave anyone–ever.
The awful stories pour out of her. Sometimes slowly like the tears that well in the corner of her eyes, growing like drops at the tip of a leaky tap until big enough to fall… Sometimes in a deluge of rolling sobs as a powerful wave like a wall of water from a burst dam. I don't interrupt her. I don't know what to say so I only listen. I know my sister. She doesn't want me to say anything because nothing I could say would take away the pain of any of this for her.
Eventually the emotions and stories are all spent and she grows silent. When she speaks again, it's to change the subject.
“What’s that out there?” She asks, pointing out at a spot in the water. The sun has nearly set and the only thing we can see is a great dark space on the horizon. The place where I live is old and still has a working lighthouse; it’s more for nostalgia than anything else now. As if on queue, the light sweeps across the darkness revealing a large, not so distant island that mostly exists as an outcropping of rocks.
“The locals call it Mermaid’s Roost,” I tell her, “lots of the old-timers, the superstitious ones, say that’s where the sirens live.”
She smiles at that. I realize it’s the first time I’ve seen her smile all day and it’s an incredible feeling. It’s too soon to call it healing but it’s the beginning of something like it and I can feel it radiating from her. It feels warm. She lifts her phone and opens the camera.
“It’s gonna be my first picture in my new phone,” she says, “I was waiting for something beautiful. I wanted the first one I took to be something beautiful.”
“The Roost is why they put the old lighthouse here in the first place. Supposedly there’s dozens of old ships that sank out there,” I tell her.
“They heard the sirens singing and rammed their ships against the rocks to be closer to them.” Lily says, “The legend is that they’re still out there and you can still hear them if they want you to. If they want you to come out to them…when men hear them from the water it’s because they want to smash the ships. When they hear them from the shore it’s always a trick; a call to swim out to them. Most don’t make it. There's an awful undertow. They drown. If they do make it that far, the sirens just kill them and eat them. They’re not actually mermaids at all but birds with the heads of women. Weird right? They’re from Greek mythology, you know. Surprising anyone believes anything like that out here.”
“That’s right,” I say, struggling to hide my surprise, “but how do you know all that? You just got here.”
“There’s a book about it at the house,” she explains, “I didn't just get here. I’ve been here for about three days. I’ve read the whole thing twice. Didn’t realize it was a local thing. That explains two things…why it was in the house to begin with, but also why it wasn’t written very well. I thought it’s probably self-published or a vanity press sort of thing,” She shrugs and says, “I didn’t realize why it was at the house until now. I like it anyway. It’s just about the only thing there is to read in there.”
I’m flabbergasted, “Three days? You got here and waited three days to text me?” I heard the rest of what she said but that’s the only thing that registers.
“I was scared,” she says, “scared to tell you about any of this stuff.”
“I get it. I’m not mad or anything but Jesus, Lily, you’ve been this close for three days? I’ve been worried sick about you for over a week!”
“I know,” she whispers and grabs my hand, “I’m sorry.”
“We should probably get back before it gets too dark,” I say.
“Stay with me tonight? Say you will? Call Jasmine and tell her you’ll be home in the morning?”
I say I will and that we need to start to head back to her place. We’ve walked about a mile so it will take us a while to get back and this isn’t the kind of beach that’s made of gentle slopes of endless sand. There’s sand of course, but it’s also full of rocks to trip and bust your head open on in the dark.
When we’re halfway there and the sky is a deep, dark purple, like the color of wine when it's still in the bottle, she stops and looks back at Mermaid’s Roost. The shadow of it still looms on the dark violet horizon, like a giant sleeping in the sparkling black blanket of water. Her eyes grow wide and seem to fill with tiny golden diamonds, like flecks of light reflected by the stars. Her face glows with an uncharacteristically innocent wonder.
“Emily,” she whispers, “do you hear them too?”
And I think she’s fucking with me so I say “sure” and tell her to hurry up because I’m starving and I want to order us a pizza and call my wife to let her know I'll be staying with her in her bungalow. Also that my feet hurt. The truth is that I can barely hear her when she asks the question in the first place.
“It’s beautiful,” she says quietly and I agree because I think she’s talking about the town or the beach or the moon or the stars or anything else–anything real–and not some local legend that she can hear over the sound of the waves and wind that I can’t.
When we get back to the little beach house, she pauses in the doorway and stares for a long time back at the island of rocks. It’s distant, but big enough to still see, if only just barely when the light from the lighthouse sweeps across it in the dark.
_____________________________
The house is awash with the chill and the sounds of the sea wind when I wake up. We went to the master bedroom around 11:00pm to watch a movie. The plan was for us to stay in the same bed like we used to do sometimes when we were little girls. The house has a guest room and I could have slept in there, but Lily begged me to stay with her, so I did and the truth is that I wanted to.
It’s 3:00am and the cold is what’s roused me from sleep but it’s panic that pulls me fully awake now. She’s not here with me. I know she’s not in the house. I know this the same way that I know she turned the TV off when she left. She did this so a loud commercial didn’t wake me. I know this because it’s what I would have done if I was trying to sneak away and I didn’t want her to stop me. I know all of this the same way I knew she was in trouble but I didn’t know how or why over a week ago. Twintuition.
I’ve never had a feeling like this one before. It’s strong and clear but also deep and dark like the water outside. I know from the moment I wake up that I won’t see her alive again, but I search the entire house for her anyway. I go from room to room checking every closet, beneath both the beds and even behind the shower curtain in the bathroom. When I get to the living room I see the reason the house is so cold; she didn’t shut the door behind her when she left.
“The Legend of Mermaid’s Roost” is laying open on the counter and she’s used seashells to hold the pages open to where she’s circled a passage in black marker.

“When men hear the sirens singing, it is always without a doubt an attempt at temptation. Their beautiful and deadly song is said to be a lure calling sailors ever closer to the rocks of Mermaid’s Roost to smash their ships along the stoney shore, but the sirens don’t stop there. Their singing has not only been heard by men at sea, but by those who walk along the shores after dark. They call out to the men on the mainland trying to convince them to swim out to the Roost; a distance just over half a mile. According to the legends, most of those that attempted to swim the distance to the island would get caught in the undertow and drown. If they managed to make it the entire way, the sirens of Mermaid’s Roost would rip them apart with their talons and eat them alive while they screamed for a mercy that would never come. Death is always the fate of men who hear the song.”
“According to the myths, women almost never hear their enchanting calls from across the bay, but for those that do the call is never a deadly temptation, but rather an invitation to join them. To sing with them and lure men to their untimely ends. Those women that do hear them may choose to join their deadly flock if they wish to do so. According to the local histories this is rare and the women that choose to join them are never seen nor heard from again.”

At the bottom of the page, a note in her handwriting simply reads: “Figured out where I’m supposed to be. Thanks for today. I love you always.”
I rush outside knowing there’s no reason to hurry because I’m already too late. She’s already made her choice and I don’t need my twintuition to tell me that because I can hear her.
She’s singing…Mermaid’s Roost is over a mile away and I know it’s her voice because it sounds so much like my own. It’s quiet from this distance but the preternatural nature of her chorus spans the space between us with ease and clarity…but this song is not my invitation to join her…
It’s her last request.
When I offered to pay for a lawyer so she could make him pay for putting his hands on her, she was afraid she wouldn’t win but that fear is gone now. She’s found a whole flock that’ll be willing–that lives for the sole purpose of picking better men than him apart, and they will, as they’ve done to so many before him…that is if he even survives the swim.
He’s too far from here to hear her song but he’s not too far for me. I don’t know exactly how to reach you, Eric Warminster, but I know where you live and there can’t be more than one man with that name where you are. In the morning I’ll make a few calls until I find you and when I do, I’m pretty sure that Lily was right when she said you’d try to kill her if she ever left. I'm banking on her fear that you'd follow her to the end of the Earth. I’m also pretty sure you won’t know the difference between her voice and mine, especially not over the phone…our own mother can’t most of the time. I don’t even have to face you and I already know what I’ll say to get you out here too. I’ll taunt you and belittle you just like you did to her. I'll be laughing the entire time. You’ll come. It should be easy enough…our laughs sound the same…
…All I have to do is tell you to meet me at the beach after dark. I know by the sound of the song she's singing that she's changed so much already. I wonder if the transformation was instantaneous or if it takes time for her feathers to grow in and fully form. I wonder if that even matters. I wonder if she must complete her change before she can do what she means to do to you and something about her tone tells me, no. She's ready for you now. The words of her melody aren't in English anymore, but in a vernacular that up until now, I would have believed impossible. The sweet song seems to originate from a great creature both mythical and feminine and beautifully deadly. Birdlike, the calls drift out from the newly-formed and massive beak. I see her face has shifted and grown it already with my mind’s eye. The sound reaches out over the water for only me to hear. Lily sings in a language so musical and ancient now that the words themselves have long been forgotten. Yet, despite their foreign nature, I don't have to understand the tongue to understand the meaning of her song. The sound of the music of Mermaid’s Roost fills my mind. Entering my ears, it surges though my head before seeming to flow and tread before my eyes. I can see what she wants me to do in images that hover barely visible like an ethereal painting before me. She wants me to get you to this beach and I will. That’s her last request–her only request. Get you to the shore and she’ll take care of the rest.
ss

PART 1 :
https://www.reddit.com/nosleep/comments/1c1fu8d/i_filmed_something_that_i_cant_explain/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button
PART 2 :
https://www.reddit.com/nosleep/comments/1c2yziu/i_filmed_something_that_i_cant_explain_part_2/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button
PART 3 :
https://www.reddit.com/nosleep/comments/1cnwpo2/i_filmed_something_that_i_cant_explain_part_3/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button
The drive lasted for approximately 30 minutes, during which everyone stayed silent. Eventually, Claire decided to put on some music, but I couldn’t even tell you what it was.

After some time, we arrived at a diner. It wasn’t exactly in the middle of nowhere, but still pretty much isolated, just a place for people to eat while on the road. The four of us sat at a table in the back of the room. I wasn’t really in the best of mood, so I just ordered a Coke, and Lucy an iced tea, but the waiter explained that the tables were only for those who eat something. Mark and Claire said that they weren’t hungry, so Lucy took the lead and ordered a plate of nachos.

When we were served and safe from being interrupted, Mark finally addressed the issue.

“So, what’s been happening to you?” He asked me.

I did my best to explain everything that happened to me since we last saw each other, while avoiding to elaborate on the part that was linked to the events that occurred in my foster family. Telling Lucy about it had been a difficult thing to do and I wasn’t ready to get in the details of it again. Halfway through my explanations, my hands started shaking and it was getting harder to breathe, all the stress and the fear came back to me. I was having a hard time forming my phrases. Then, I felt a hand on my leg. Not a grip or a scratch, just a soft and small touch, and it all stopped, I felt safer. I looked at it, of course it was Lucy’s. I moved my eyes to her face. She looked at me with a concerned and hesitating expression. She nodded her head, asking me without talking if what she was doing was okay. I nodded back at her and grasped her hand strongly, like a rope preventing me from falling.

I finished explaining the rest of it. When I was done, Mark and Claire exchanged a concerned look.

“Well, I can’t tell you that we understand entirely what’s happening to you, but we do know some things that you mentioned.” Said Mark.

“I think we have no choice but to tell you about what happened to us before helping you, because there is a few things that you need to know first.” Continued Claire.

“We’re all open.” I said.

They then proceeded to tell me their story, and I couldn’t believe what they were telling me, all of it seemed so impossible. Here’s a summary of what they told us…

As I mentioned in my first post, it all began when Mark was hired to babysit Claire. The first night, Claire started acting very weird, in an aggressive and playful way and she ended up stabbing and biting Mark’s hand with an unbelievable strength for a 9-year-old. He then spent the rest of the evening locked in the bathroom while Claire was tormenting him from the other side of the room, and she talked to him about a story that only he was supposed to know and that he never told anyone about. That story was something that had happen when he was 11 on a school field trip to a nature reserve. He and a classmate named Martin were arguing besides a river that had a very strong flow and things took a bad turn when his classmate fell in the river and was immediately taken away.

11-year-old Mark panicked and never revealed to anyone that he was with him when he fell, feeling that without their argument, Martin would have been okay. As time passed, Martin was never found and the consequences of Mark revealing what happened were becoming bigger and bigger, but his guilt was growing too as he watched his family hoping to see him again and spending money on private investigator and slowly getting more and more desperate. He had been carrying that guilt ever since.

When the evening ended, he got back to his home completely baffled by what happened, and he slowly started to feel very different. When he woke up the next morning, he found that the bite from the night before was already healing very fast. He also started to feel new things when he began to smell the scent of the people around him and that his instinct was pushing him to “taste them”.

Later, he went back to babysit Claire, decided to understand what happened to him. That’s when he suddenly collapsed on the floor and that Claire gave him his first sip of blood from a blood bag and that it healed him in a second.

After that, Claire explained him what happened to her. Two years before, she had been bitten by some sort of evil entity while wandering alone in the museum where her mom worked. From there she started to have the same urges that Mark was discovering, and she also stopped aging, making her actually 11 years old now. Basically, they both were some sort of vampire-like creatures. The problem was that they kept being haunted by the same entity that transformed Claire and that seemed to be able to possess them. That’s what happened when Claire acted aggressively the first night, that wasn’t her. Apparently, while being possessed, they were thrown in a dark empty space where they sometimes stumbled upon different doors. That entity, that they discovered was named Vessel, was apparently praying on the guilt and misery of people who had some, turning them like this so that they would be consumed by their guilt for eternity.

So, both of them being conscious of their situation, they decided to leave and to go to the nature reserve from Mark’s memories, as apparently Vessel had let out hints that he might have survived, or that something more than drowning had happened to him.

This is a long story, so I’ll make it even simpler.

They ended up finding Martin, still alive after 9 years, locked in a man’s small house in the middle of the reserve. He seemed to have been used as a blood stock all these years by the man that lived there and that was the same kind of creatures that they were now. While at this man’s house, they had a pretty violent encounter with Vessel who took possession of the man. But Claire apparently succeeded to enter the dark place full of doors and to get Vessel out of the man’s body, momently neutralizing him.

They then saved Martin from his nightmare, and he got back after all these years, forgiving Mark and promising to never tell anyone about them.

Their last move had been to go back to Claire’s mom’s history museum, as, through their numerous interactions with him, they had reasons to believe that the key to get rid of him must have been there. They had to put a pretty hard fight but succeeded to beat him by apparently burning a book mentioning him, that was supposedly what allowed him to still exist.

They then decided to spend the rest of their eternity travelling the world, searching for a way to die, as none of them wished to stay alive forever.

Their story was way more detailed than that, but this is a summary. Apparently, he also posted it somewhere in here…

Their story seemed to be tied to mine strongly, just by the dark and empty space with doors that I had myself been in.

After they finished, we all stayed silent for a moment, processing. Lucy is the one who broke the silence.

“I’m sorry for asking, but, from what I understand, that realm of doors is something that only people like you two access, so, I mean, how is it that she’s been in it too?” She asked.

“Well, we don’t exactly have everything about that realm figured out, so I don’t really know, but this is intriguing. , and pretty worrying, especially the sort of beast/human that seems to be hunting you when you get there.” Said Mark.

“I have an idea, but, it might be dangerous, I can’t promise that this will solve anything…” Said Claire.

“What is it?” I immediately jumped on the opportunity.

“Well, it requires that you go back to that realm, but this time I’ll be coming with you. I developed that ability, and if I’m coming with you, maybe I can sort things out, or just understand things better.” She said.

I thought about it, but really, I already knew my answer.

“I’m in.” I said.

“Do you think you can do it now?” Asked Mark.

Claire smiled at him.

“Yes Mark, I practiced a bit while you were out trying to hit on girls in bars…” She answered.

“You practiced? Why haven’t you tell me about this?” He said.

“I mean, have you seen the state you’re in when you come back? We’re not supposed to be affected by alcohol at all, so the fact that you’re even a little bit nauseous is very worrying.” Claire said.

“Yeah right…” Mark was surrendering.

“So, how does this work?” I asked.

“Well, I’m gonna need you to give me your hands, and I’ll be taking us there. You shouldn’t be under any possession because I’m the one dragging you in, so it should be okay, but, as Mark said, we don’t understand everything yet, so, just in case, Mark will be protecting Lucy if you snap.” Claire was speaking with a lot of confidence, which was pretty reassuring.

“I mean, if Mark can help you on something else, I can protect myself you know.” Said Lucy.

“Sorry Lucy, but I’m not so sure.” Said Mark.

“Well, why?” Asked Lucy, confused.

“The blood coming from the bite on your arm that you’re trying to hide, it smells good.” Answered Claire.

I didn’t get the chance to talk to her about it since I noticed that she was hiding it earlier.

“I saw it back at Mulberry, I’m so sorry Lucy…” I apologized.

“It’s okay Sarah, I know it wasn’t you. But now that we’re on the topic, two questions very fast: should I be worried about becoming like you two now, and also, should I be scared that one of you is going to snap because of it?” She was letting out what she was probably wondering for a moment now.

“Well, first, you don’t seem to be experiencing anything that we’ve been through, and as far as we know, even with all the weird things that she’s experiencing, Sarah is not like us either, so I think you’re good. Second, we just drank a blood bag each so we’re not thirsty right now, but still, if you could cover it with some bandages or something, it would be very appreciated.” Mark was speaking calmly, I could feel that him and Claire took the situation very seriously, and it was scary, sure, but also comforting.

Lucy took out some of the bandages she packed and covered her wound. Claire tied up her hair for some reason that I didn’t get and placed herself right in front of me. She gave me her hands and I grabbed them.

“Now, we close our eyes.” She said.

“Claire.” Lucy said. “Huh, be careful, you two, okay?” She looked very worried.

“Don’t worry.” Claire closed her eyes, and I followed her.

I took a deep breath. I was trying to relax, thinking to myself that I had to go in, but it felt hard. I was trying to focus harder when I heard Claire.

“Sarah? You can open your eyes, we got there.” She said.

I looked around me. We were back to my memory, at the beginning of it. The hallway of the house, the other adopted kids walking around, the basement door open. Claire looked around as I immediately grabbed my camera to watch everything through the lens.

“Now that’s weird… Where are we? It’s supposed to be dark and empty, what’s this?” She asked.

I hesitated. I willingly adapted what I told them because I didn’t wanted to tell them everything about this, but right now, I had no choice.

“It’s a memory, from when I was 14…” I said.

“Has this happened the other times you’ve been here?” She asked

“Yes, it’s always starting in the house…”

“Why didn’t you tell us about this Sarah?” She was a bit confused.

“Just watch what happens, you’ll understand.” I said.

A few seconds later, as expected, the voice resonated from the basement.

“Sarah, follow me, daddy needs your help. Come on, I need you, come down here.”

This time, I didn’t move, I stayed there. In two days I already had to face that memory again 2 times, I just couldn’t. And another thing came to me: whatever it was that was hunting me there had use this memory and twisted it before to bite me through the image of my foster dad and all the other kids, but if I didn’t go down in that basement, he would probably not be able to use it, and maybe it would buy us some time or something.

Suddenly, coming out of where I was standing, I appeared. 14-year-old me, walking towards the stairs to the basement.

“Is that you?” Asked Claire.

I nodded.

“Follow her if you want to understand.” I said.

Claire slowly followed young me and got down in the basement. I stood there the whole time, waiting. From what I was hearing, or should I say, wasn’t hearing, my theory was correct, without my current self going there, the memory was unfolding just the way it happened, meaning we still hadn’t caught the thing’s attention. After some time, Claire got back. From her eyes were flooding tears. She slowly approached me. When she was close to me, she could only mumble a few words.

“I’m sorry Sarah.”

I looked at her and suddenly remembered her young age.

“I’m sorry you had to see it.” I answered.

So much emotions in a small amount of times was a bit confusing for her I think, because she was a bit lost, but she eventually got back on her feet and I realized how strong she was.

“Come on follow me.” She said, walking towards the front door.

We went through and were in the dark space again. We wandered around for a bit.

“It’s weird that we didn’t see the man you told us about yet, or the thing that’s hunting you…” She said.

Eventually we found two doors close from each other. I knew the first one, it was the wooden door covered in scratch in which the man pushed me earlier that got me back to myself in the bus. The second one was smaller, but in better condition, it was like it had just been renovated. It looked like a door you’ll find in a rich people’s house.

“What are those?” I asked.

“That’s our doors, yours, and mine. I made sure that they were close from each other.”

“What do you mean our doors?”

“As far as I understanded for now, your door is the safest and more efficient way to get in and out of here.”

“So, mine is the one covered in scratch? I saw it before.” I asked.

“That’s right.” Claire answered.

“And who’s doors are these one?” I pointed two other doors that had appeared not far from us while we were talking.

She looked at them and smiled.

“The thick metallic one is Mark’s. As for the one in glass, I never saw it, but I can feel that it’s Lucy’s.” She said.

“Why are these here?” I asked her.

“Because they’re worried for us. A part of Mark’s mind instinctively latched itself to the two of us when we went here. For Lucy however…”

“What?”

“Well, Mark having a door that manifest itself here is not shocking, he’s transformed, we have a natural connection to this place, but for Lucy to manifest a door here, let’s just say that if I were you, I would be flattered.”

We kept on walking for a few seconds when we finally heard it. In the distance, a scream, an enraged scream. Claire instinctively pushed me behind her and started to look all around us. We couldn’t see it, but now we knew it was here and it was coming. Suddenly, I felt a hand on my shoulder. I turned and he was back, the unknown man.

“There you are, are you okay?” He asked.

Claire turned and looked at him in disbelief.

“You? What are you doing here?” She asked him.

“Who is he?” I immediately asked.

“That’s the man from the reserve. The one that had took Martin, the boy who went missing.” She said.

“Look, I don’t know why, but you remember when you got in here and chased Vessel out of me?” He said to Claire. “Well, I never got back to my body, I’m stuck here since. I can’t find my door anymore.”

“What?” Claire was clearly confused.

“At first, I was alone in here. But not long after, he came back here.”

“Who came back? Do you know who’s that thing?” Claire was keeping her distance with the man.

“I wasn’t sure at first, but now I’m convinced it’s him… It’s Vessel.”

“What? That’s not possible, Mark and I, we, we erased him, he’s gone. Plus, I know him, that’s not his style, chasing people like an animal, screaming, he plays with his victims, I don’t know how to say it, but he’s witty.” Claire was talking to herself as much as she was answering to the man.

“I know, I had a lot of time to analyze him, he’s changed, you didn’t erase him but you certainly made him weak, but way more aggressive and dangerous. He’s not as smart and playful as before, it’s like he lost his somewhat human part.”

Claire was thinking.
“What about me? Why am I involved?” I asked. I needed to know.

“I think he’s looking to possess someone to get out of this place through someone else, and, my door is nowhere to be seen, so he started to look for someone else and you were the most connected to this place he could find, so he kept dragging you here.” He explained me this as we heard more screams getting closer.

“How am I connected to this place? I’m nothing like you two, nobody bit me!” I was stressing out.

The man had a weird look.

“You’re connected to this place because you’re my daughter… You’re half like me.”

I had no words. That was the last answer I expected to hear. I was going to ask him more when Claire started talking again.

“Okay, he’s getting closer, we need to move fast. Last time Mark and I really got to him by finding a little kid in here. He was crying, said his name was Vessel. If we can find him again, we could at least disturb him enough as to make him even weaker. I think that was his “human” part, we need to find him.”

“Kid, I’ve been here for days, and I didn’t see anything like that.” The man said.

“What, but he…” She stopped. “Of course… He lost his human part, he got rid of it. That’s why he’s so beast-like. That’s a big problem.” Claire looked more worried than ever.

The screams were getting closer and closer. I turned my head and saw a door that wasn’t there before. It was white, with a few stickers of stars and other stuff, but the most unusual thing about it was that the lock was completely smashed and broken and that the door was slightly open.

“Claire what’s this one?” I said, pointing the door.

“I saw this door a few times, it disappears the second I get closer to it.” Said the man.

Claire took a few seconds to look at it.

“Sarah, you said that what you shot with your camera here is saved in your camera and can be watched after?” She asked.

“Yes”

“I have an idea, but I need you to give me your camera for it.” Claire looked at me. “I’ll take care of it, I promise.”

I gave it to her. She took a deep breath and started to walk calmly towards the door. She slowly opened it more. There was nothing but more darkness on the other side of it. Claire took a picture of the inside of the door and got back to us immediately. She gave me back my camera.

“He’s coming, you can’t stay here longer, you need to leave!” The man shouted.

In the distance he appeared. Sharp teeth, long thin arms, pointy fingers, claws, horrible smile. His terrifying figure was now moving faster and approaching us. He finally articulated some words.

“Little lady… There you are…” He screamed, his voice sounded like how a raven would speak.

Claire looked terrified and started shaking.

“Shouldn’t we get back to the door?! Claire!” I panicked.

“I… can’t..move…” She whispered, her eyes filled with tears.

The thing was getting way too close, he was going to get us if we didn’t move.

“COME ON, MOVE!” The man shouted.

Claire had guided us all this time and she already did so much, I knew I had to help her. I immediately grabbed her and carried her on my back. I ran to our doors. Claire found the strength to open hers and to step through it and I got through mine just after giving one last look to the man that just told me he was my father as he was himself running away.

When we got back to the diner, I found myself leaned in Lucy’s arms and saw that Claire was in Mark’s, in tears. We apparently both started to shake violently halfway through and Claire started to have some marks of hits all over her body. We took some time to get back to ourselves and then explained that happened to Mark and Lucy, except the revelation that the man had gave us. Both were terribly worried, but Mark especially to hear about the seeming return of this Vessel, whatever were their previous interactions with him, he did marked them pretty bad.

When we finished, Claire asked for my camera. She wanted to look for the picture she took of the inside of the damaged door.

“Yesss!” She whispered.

She turned the screen to show us what she had shot. We could see a little kid, not older than 12, in gray clothes that looked right at the camera, like he saw it.

“Is that the child you found when you and Mark fought that Vessel?” I asked.

“No, but I think that it’s where he’s hiding. Whoever he is, that kid had his door forced and now it’s still broken but, as the man told us, it tends to disappear, because I think that the human part of Vessel that took refuge in that kid is scared that the evil and chaotic part of himself gets back to him.” She said.

“Wait a second…” Lucy said. “I know that kid, it’s Nicolas.”

“What? Where do you know him from?” Said Mark.

“Well, these last few days, I had an internship in a psychiatric center for children, for my studies. And Nicolas got in during my time there, it wasn’t a long time ago. I think he was there because of a drastic change in his behavior or something but I didn’t work much with him. But, I mean, wouldn’t that explain why these changes happened?”

“Well, yes, surely it would.” Said Mark.

“Is there any way we can talk to him? I think he has the key to solving this in him, we need to be able to talk to the human part of Vessel.” Asked Claire.

Lucy took a moment to think about it.

“Not you two. I can still get a moment to talk with him, as I still am allowed to visit the patients of the center because of my studies, and I could make Sarah pass as my classmate but, you two, not only Claire isn’t believable as a student, but it’s too risky to have you come back home.”

We kept on talking, and we made up a plan. The four of us will drive to the center, Mark and Claire will stay in the car as me and Lucy will go find Nicolas to see if he can be of any help. Mark and Claire were ready to go now, but we had to remember them that Lucy and I needed to sleep, which apparently, they don’t have to do anymore. We decided that we’ll all spend the night in the car and leave in the morning.

Before going to sleep, I took a moment outside of the car, just to think. I was still processing everything that I learned today. Eventually, Mark got out too.

“So… You found yourself someone?” He said.

“What?”

“Lucy, she’s nice. You’re cute together.” He smiled at me.

I felt my whole face turn red.

“Well, nothing is official yet so…” I answered.

“Isn’t it?” He said, with a laugh.

“What about you?” I asked.

“Well, I haven’t really thought about that lately.”

“Claire seemed to say you were actively looking for someone.” I said.

“God, that’s not the same thing… But, who knows, maybe I have a soulmate somewhere… We’ll see.”

On that note, I got back in the car and leaned besides Lucy. She was warm, it felt good.

I’m writing this in the middle of the night as I’m unable to find some sleep… I’ll keep everyone updated of how it goes tomorrow.

this is a topic i have been very interested in lately and everytime i have a thought i have to come to this sub and vomit it out so here y'all go. what do you guys think all of the characters' spirit animals are?
for me,
max: doe
chloe: butterfly
rachel: blue jay
nathan: whale
sean & daniel: wolf
alex: canary
i know a lot of people think rachel's is the doe and the raven is either chloe's or william's, but i don't think that's true. the doe that guides max is rachel's spirit appearing the form of the doe, because that is max's spirit animal. i also believe that the butterfly that appears in the bathroom is rachel's spirit as well, trying to warn chloe about the danger and causing max to develop her powers as a result. i've seen theories that the raven in bts is william's spirit guiding chloe, but i don't agree since her spirit animal is the butterfly and spirits in lis seem to take the form of the person who's seeing them's spirit animal, not their own. i just think the raven is more of a manifestation of chloe's grief for william rather rather anything else.
we never get to see rachel's spirit animal since we never play as her and see through her eyes, but i believe it's the blue jay. aside from her always wearing the blue jay feather (and rachel seems to have deep connections to her beloved accessories, such as her bracelet), i think the description of the meaning behind the blue jay spirit animal fits as well.
sooo what do you guys think? do you think any other characters have spirit animals that i haven't picked up on?

2 weeks later Lauren and Greyson drove up to her new home with boxes and whatever she hadn’t sold. Lauren had walked through her empty home and said goodbye to each room wondering if she was making the right decision. The house was pretty much sold already and Lauren reminded herself to keep going.
“Audrey will come around Ma. She really will miss you and she doesn’t want to change. God forbid she tell you right out that she is going to miss you. “ Greyson said. Lauren hadn’t spoken to Audrey directly since she had told the kids she was moving. She had come over at one point to get some furniture and mementos and had been snarky the entire time that Lauren had been in the house. Lauren had had quite enough of it and went to the backyard to smoke until Audrey and her man of the week had taken off. They hadn’t even come out to tell her they were leaving. Lauren had had another good cry after that and then made herself margaritas with her mixer and called Natalie to come over for a good farewell bitch session. They had gotten tipsy and talked about ungrateful kids and sent nice little waves to Grace who huffed at them.
“Well, maybe she will and maybe she wont. She always favored your father and I never told her she had to pick sides but all the same she felt like she had to. The divorce was harder on her than it was you older two.She was only 8.” Lauren said lamely.
“I think Cora and I were just glad you guys weren’t fighting. Dad was great with us but he treated you terribly the last few years you were together and it was just so much easier to not hate him when you guys weren’t around each other. Audrey was definitely his favorite though and any time she came over he just made sure they did everything she wanted because he was afraid she’d hit puberty and would decide she didn’t like him anymore. Like Cora.”
“Well that makes sense. How’s you-know-who?” Lauren asked changing the topic.
“Miranda? Alright I guess. Her mom picked Liam up last night for the weekend so I could help you, says she called a month ago and sounded good. I don’t know if that means anything or not but I don’t think she is going to come back wanting to be Liam's mom. At least not any time soon. I don’t really care, she had him and that was the deal. That’s all I asked for. I’d have supported the other way too but I really hoped she’d just let me keep him. She told everyone who asked she didn’t want kids. Everyone. I kind of wonder if she’ll want to meet him and be afraid to because everyone will expect her to be someone to him.” Grayson drummed his fingers anxiously. Lauren couldn’t understand this arrangement that Grayson and Miranda had. She kept wondering if it wasn’t some form of depression or something but Grayson insisted it wasn’t. He’d had Liam all to himself from day one and never complained.
“You think taking this was too impulsive? The job? I didn’t even do a face to face interview. It was on that skype thing. Eric set it all up. It’s legit but maybe I should’ve driven up first to check it out. Maybe I’m just running scared.”
“Maybe it was but taking risks makes your life exciting. Besides, I hate thinking of you alone in the house waiting for something bad to happen.” Grayson patted her leg. “Besides you said there were discounts on cabins and I’d like that. Plus unlike the last job, if Liam gets sick he can hang out with you when he can’t go to daycare.”
“I would like that.”
They pulled onto a winding dirt road and drove another 10 miles. The woods on each side of the road pressed in on them. It was a nice feeling. It was quiet out here and Lauren appreciated it. She had thought she would be more scared to be alone out here but she found herself looking forward to it now. Settling down and maybe a beer.
The GPS took them toa large sign marked Camp Thellgar in front of a fork in the road, one marked OFFICE and the other marked CAMPING. They turned into the OFFICE fork on the left. A man sat on the porch at the first building they came up to. He shaded his eyes and stood as they approached. Lauren took a shaky breath.
“Does my eye still look weird?” Lauren asked Grayson.
“Nah, the makeup covers whatever is left. It looks a little off I guess but I don’t think anyone would guess why. You’re old, he’ll think you had a stroke more than likely” Grayson teased. Lauren let out a high pitched laugh and took a deep cleansing breath.
“Hi I’m Steven Connor, you’re Lauren Jackson I hope.” Steven stuck his hand out for her to shake.
“I am indeed. Nice to meet you, you look different in person.” Lauren said laughing. He did, he looked older than he had on the computer, tired maybe. Steven shrugged. “This is my son Grayson, he’s helping bring my stuff up for me.”
“Right, good of you to help your momma. Come right in here. This is the main office, just off of what will be your cabin. Initially they were one in the same but years back we decided the caretaker could use some more privacy when we added more cabins in. The cabins have only been part of the deal for about 15 years, before that it was just the tent sites. No electricity on those. They’re a little easier to maintain. This time of year we mainly get people who want to use the tent sites, families out for a day hike. Summer rolls around and you’ll be pretty busy. We hire help from the nearby towns, you’ll let them know what to do but you’ll need someone in the office most of the day. There’s an alarm here that will pop up on your phone, when synced with the app of course, that way you can be out on the grounds. There’s an ATV for getting around a little easier. You’ll be in charge of taking reservations and handling the payment, cleaning up the campsites when they leave, looking in on them to make sure they’re kept up. Same with the cabins. Do a thorough cleaning and dust once a week. Aspen Cunningham, that’s the girl from town, she’ll be up every other day to assist with cleaning out the cabins. Here’s the card for Aspen, the card for a maintenance guy we use, Roger, and my card if you need to get ahold of me.” Steven led her from the office which was a small front room with a storage room behind it. Off of that there was a door with a good lock that led into a small house. It came in by a small half bath and then stairs leading to 2 bedrooms upstairs and a full bathroom. Next to the stairs a door led into a small living room with a few bookshelves and a dated TV, past that a kitchen with a dining area. It was cozy and Lauren was in love immediately.
“The last guy was pretty organized, we have our own binder we put together for new employees, he made his own as well. I skimmed through it, mostly a heads up on common maintenance issues. There’s a copy of maintenance performed on each cabin and site that also goes in the main book that’s stashed in the office.” Steven handed her a heavy worn binder.
“I’ll go ahead and start bringing in your stuff mom.” Grayson said backing out the main front door that didn’t lead into the office. Lauren followed Steven into the office and he showed her where anything she could need to find would be. She watched a safety video that featured Steven’s family, made when Steven was a kid. His smiling face running around in the background.
Grayson hung out for a while after Steven left. Lauren was overwhelmed and felt exhausted. She wandered through her new house while Grayson made her spaghetti. She laid on the bed. It was firmer than she was used to but it was ok.
After they ate Grayson hesitantly left. Reminding her to call if she needed anything, asking if she was sure she wanted him to leave. Lauren had a feeling he would’ve spent the night if Miranda’s mom didn’t have Liam. There was a firepit in the backyard so she got a fire going and sat back watching the flames while she drank a beer. She thought about getting stoned but it felt too new here and she was afraid of freaking herself out. The noises of the woods were relaxing. It felt quiet. Quiet was exactly what she needed.
The next few months went quickly, Lauren got in a groove of checking all the sites in the morning and doing general maintenance. Aspen, the girl who cleaned, came up twice a week not every other day like Steven had said. She was a sweet girl and spent a few hours dusting and vacuuming the empty cabins. Lauren and her got along really well and Lauren was grateful for the company. Summer came and Lauren was busy, she barely left the office it seemed. If it wasn’t reservations, it was families asking for maps of the trails or information on the town below. It was a nice busy. Lauren had expected the cleaning to be worse than it actually was, most people cleaned up after the campsites before they left. Fall came and the people started to slow down, most of the people she saw were people hiking the trails and less camping By November she was slow again.
One day her phone went off alerting her to a visitor in the office. She jumped on her ATV and headed back up. There was a small run down car waiting when she pulled up. Lauren ran her hands through her hair as she entered the door. 4 middle aged women stood waiting patiently.
“Sorry, I was a little further out today, how can I help you? Cabin?” Lauren asked, coming around the desk.
“Where’s Jim?” One woman with darker hair asked.
“Jim? Was he the man before me? I’m afraid he doesn’t work here anymore. Just me, I’m Lauren. Regulars?” Lauren grabbed the binder from underneath the counter and flipped through until she came on regulars. Scanning the list she found a November regular, along with a few other months. “Ok, here we are. It says the Helgas, tentsite 42. Yes?”
“That’s right, what happened to Jim? I'm surprised to see that he’s gone.” The dark haired woman handed over her credit card and tapped on the table anxiously. The other women moved around like they were trying to look as if they weren’t paying much attention.
“Not sure. No one really told me and I didn’t think to ask. I’ve been here since late spring, right before the summer rush. “ Lauren felt like she was being judged by the women.
“We’re particular about our privacy.” One of the women from the back said, trying to sound casual.
“That’s no problem, I won’t need to come by until you leave.” Lauren assured them.
“Jim left the entire area alone. I mean, we prefer to be left completely alone.” She clarified. Lauren was taken aback but nodded. After they left and had driven off she looked back down at the binder.
Helgas
Camp site 42
November Full Moon
December 21
March 21
Require all sites in the area empty. 3 day reservations. Noise level low, some disturbances.
Lauren closed the binder. She’d flipped through it before but obviously hadn’t retained much information. It occurred to her that this wasn’t in the main binder. She picked up the company binder, flipped through until she found regular reservations. Nothing helpful from the last 10 years. She booted up the computer and pulled up the spreadsheet. There it was. Reservations, regular. A list of people and campsites and cabins. The program was designed to automatically block off the areas that were supposed to be reserved. Campsite 42 was not on the list for today. Maybe because it was a full moon reservation and not a specific date? Lauren flipped through December and it wasn’t in there either. She sighed. Lauren went to the main screen and added in the December reservation and it stopped her. Ok. So it's here somehow. Or it wouldn’t have stopped her. But it doesn't show up. It’s hidden. Lauren crossed her arms and dropped her head down. She wasn’t completely computer illiterate but she really didn’t know how to see this. The last guy, Jim? Jim. That guy must’ve done something to the computer system. Why would he have done that? He did all the reservations. Unless he didn’t want the company itself to see. They could log in through the main office and see what was going on up here. There was another location they owned and the computer program was designed to work with that one. Lauren shook her head and sighed. Maybe she could get ahold of Steven and ask about Jim.
Lauren opened Jim’s binder again. There were only a few regulars that didn’t have reservations that showed up in the company system. By the time she was done it was dark outside. Lauren sighed and shut everything down. She locked up the office displaying the note to ring the doorbell. The doorbell that alerted her phone to a visitor that would need checked in. Lauren wasn’t worried about it, not in November. It was warmish for November but still cold. No one hunted up here because it had too many people walking up the trails, further out maybe but they would rent a cabin ahead of time if they stayed up here and on the weekends.
Lauren went into her kitchen and got a jar of chili out of the fridge. Cora had made some and sent it home with her after Saturday dinner a few weeks ago. It was easy to heat up. She got a glass of wine and started a fire in the fireplace to warm the house up. She turned the tv on and laid across the couch until she could smell the chili. She’d had a bus day and found herself drifting off before she’d finished eating so she cleaned up and took herself to bed.
Lauren found herself awake in the forest. Barefoot. It was silent. Completely silent. Lauren cautiously spun around trying to get her bearings. She saw movement off to the right. Her heart stopped, she looked over trying to make sense in the dark. Something moved next to the trees, an animal? Lauren took a step toward it without thinking.
Someone or something stepped out wearing an animal skull. Deer? Lauren couldn’t think through her fear. The clothes were baggy and run down. Like a t shirt over loose black pants tied up with a rope and black cardigan. With a black long jacket.
“Who are you?” Lauren asked, dazed.
“I should ask you the same thing. Where is the keeper?” The thing asked, but it wasn’t said aloud, she heard it in her head.
“I-I don’t know. I just got hired here a few months ago. My friend's friend helped me get the job.”
“Then the Keeper sent you here.” The thing insisted
“I don’t think so, the man before me, I didn’t know him.”
“I see. What did they tell you about this place?” The thing asked, circling her. Lauren realized it was tracing her with a skeletal finger.
“How to take reservations and how to clean.” Lauren murmured, trying not to look as scared as she felt.
“I could tell you.” The thing offered. Lauren felt her anxiety rise up and suddenly felt like she needed to be gone. She shouldn’t trust this thing, whatever it was.
“Um, no thanks.You could-could tell me who you are though.” Lauren said instead
“I’m insulted is what I am. You’ll have to figure out who on your own.” With that he was gone and she was in bed sitting up breathing hard. The raspy voice still echoing in her head.
Lauren blinked. A dream. It was a dream. But it had felt real. She checked her feet and saw that they were clean. A dream.
Lauren’s whole day was off after that. Everything looked sharper almost and she found herself pinching her arm to make sure she was actually awake. She avoided the tent sites circling around with the Helgas but found herself inspecting the rest of them carefully, unsure of what she was looking for. After that she rode down to the cabins and did a quick inspection, checking the windows for torn screens and the doors for any sign of break in, double checking the lock. All good. Lauren was done early and decide to walk one of the trails to shake off the oddness. There weren’t a lot of trails she hadn’t already walked so she picked one of the harder ones and grabbed her backpack with snacks and water.
In the months since moving up here she had grown stronger from the work and the access to trails. Anytime she felt herself slipping into a depressive episode or started thinking too much she would go on a long trail and try to exhaust herself. At some point she had started running in the mornings although had stopped in the last few weeks because of the cold and how long it took the sun to rise. Lauren ran a few miles awkwardly with the backpack and then slowed. There was a not well used trail off to the side. She was certain she was still on the company's property but had not seen this one before so she cautiously went off the main trail and headed down it. It didn’t take long for it to grow darker with the trees overhead. There were still nature noises but they seemed almost muted. Lauren pinched her arm just to make sure, it definitely hurt. She was definitely awake. Lauren pulled her camera out of her bag and began snapping pictures of the area around her, partly to remember where she had come from and partly because she was in awe of the area around her. It was beautiful out here and the trees made her feel small and light. She checked her phone and saw that it was nearing dark. She stopped and drank some water before turning around. Lauren moved at a brisk pace as she headed back and almost missed the flash of light off to her left. But as such she had just managed to catch it and it stopped her in her tracks.
“Hello?” Lauren called out, if it was a hunter she had run into, which she didn’t think it was, not as close to the campgrounds as they were, but if it was she wanted it clear they were dealing with a person. No one answered her though. She hesitantly stepped off the trail and walked toward it. She couldn’t think of anything that would flash out here. Cameras? She wasn’t aware of any out here but it had never occurred to her to ask anyone. Regardless, she should check to see if it was a camera before she asked about there being any. She came to a massive tree. She craned her head back and light hit her eyes so that it was difficult to make out the top of the tree. The branches started low giving her a compulsion to climb upwards. Off to the side of it the roots rose up seeming to form a circle. Lauren took a few pictures of it without thinking. She got as many different angles as possible. She had seen roots that came out of the ground but had never seen one that formed a perfect circle. Lauren looked around and realized that it was dark now, she checked her phone and saw the battery was almost drained. She had been here for 3 hours. Lauren blinked and shook her head. 3 hours? That was impossible. She started shaking and spun around when she realized how silent it was, even for night time.
SNAP
Lauren gasped and took off running. She didn’t think about anything other than heading back in the direction she had come. Adrenaline coursed through her and she felt like she was running faster than she had before. It was dizzying how sharp everything was and how fast it seemed to go by her. She hit the main trail and kept running. She could feel her energy start to dip and she pushed herself harder. By the time she emerged from the woods she fell on the ground sobbing and gasping for air. She grabbed a fistful of grass with one hand and put her other palm to her mouth to stifle the sobbing, screaming sounds she was making. It felt like an hour of laying on the ground trying to collect herself. It was one of the Helgas that found her.
“Are you ok? Ma’am? Guys! She’s out!” Lauren heard the thinner of the group yelling for her friends to come help The 4 of them lifted her to a sitting position and tried to get her to respond. Eventually Lauren started to come to and her breathing returned to normal.
“What happened? “ The dark haired one asked firmly,
“N-n-nothing. I-I-I don’t know. I was in the woods and I heard… I don’t know. I’m so sorry, I have no idea what came over me.” Lauren stuttered. Trying so hard to reign her emotions back in. “Nothing, I just lost track of time there and I guess I got myself spooked. I have quite the imagination. What are you guys doing here? Was there something you needed?”
“We came up to see if you were ok, we were doing a little night hiking and saw you running and we followed you.” The dark haired one said. Lauren thought she was lying but didn’t know why she thought that.
“I could use some wine honestly, would you 4 like some wine?” Lauren felt like she was drunk as she walked back to her back door, the short one linked her arm in Lauren’s and walked with her steadying her.
“Wine sounds nice, we have some back at camp, we could get ours and bring it back.” She told Lauren in a soothing voice. A mom voice.
“Nonsense. I always stock up in town, I have plenty. I’ll get a fire going and-”
“We can get the fire, you get the wine and Addy here will help you bring out the glasses.” The dark haired one gestured to the short one who smiled and headed toward the door to open it for Lauren.
Lauren had 2 wine glasses and used regular glass cups for everyone else. She grabbed a couple bottles of red wine she’d gotten clearanced out after Halloween, the bottle had a blurry outline of trees and Lauren had felt it looked so magical she’d bought 6. Of course it wasn’t her favorite so now seemed like a good time to try to offload a little.
“I’m Lauren by the way, I know that’s Addy, who are the rest of you?” Lauren asked as she and Addy passed out glasses and poured wine in front of the fire.
“I’m Sara. “ The dark haired one said taking a generous drink from her cup
“I’m Therese.” The blond smiled and waved,
“I’m Rian.” The thin one said, pronouncing it Ree-ann.
“Is this a girls trip? I hope I didn’t mess anything up.” Lauren asked, pulling her blanket from the house tight around her. The fire was nice and warm but not warm enough to fend off the November chill.
“You didn’t mess anything up, honestly we were hoping to speak with you anyway. We knew Jim fairly well, I guess as well as you can know someone you only see 3 times a year. He had a pretty good idea of what he’d signed up for when he started but we got the feeling you didn’t and we were curious.” Sara said, watching Lauren’s face intently.
“I guess I don’t. I’m not sure what you mean.” Lauren said, wondering if they were crazy. The witchy types who came out here to dance naked in front of a fire and sing before going back home to suburbs and corporate lives with toddlers and teenagers. Lauren had dealt with those types over the summer but not very many.
“Well how did you get the job?” Therese asked, spinning the wine in her glass like she’d already had a few before they started.
“A friend of a friend. I was looking to make some changes in my life and he thought I would be a good fit here.”
“The Keeper?” Sara asked, leaning forward.
“I don’t think so. He just seemed like a regular guy. Who is the Keeper? “ Lauren asked nervously. The woods looked darker and it occurred to her that she didn’t know if she could beat them back in the house if she wanted to run. Then she remembered the Keeper comment from her dream, now hazy but still there.
“The Keeper doesn’t do a whole lot from what I can tell, not directly I mean. He just keeps information and contacts who he needs. He got Jim hired on, we don’t know much about him, we’ve personally not seen him ourselves. We’re not sure if he changes every so often but as far as we know it’s been the same person always. These woods are full of magic you see and not all of it is good magic. “ Sara explained. “We come out 3 times a year to make a blood sacrifice to Eglas. He or She, is a … something. Hungry mostly. Instead of one person we use 4 or 5 sometimes. Same amount of blood and no one dies. Occasionally one person will donate more for a favor but it’s not often.”
“I’m sorry, what?” Lauren said dumbly.
“He/She said they came to visit you last night. They said that you didn’t know much about your job. Eglas seemed very angry so we came to help you” Rian told her.
“There’s not much to your job. You keep the grounds maintained and then you make sure that we are able to do our work. I don't know what else is in the woods but I know about Eglas. My family has for at least a century come out and offered blood to keep Eglas satisfied. When they started settling the area, they disturbed a lot of spirits. Eglas was curious and found the taste of human blood to be… good I guess. Eglas would go into homes and take people, in the beginning it was a lot. Most families fled the area, but the ones who stayed came to Eglas one night and offered to give him what he wanted if he backed off. Or she, really Eglas has no real gender. It’s a fairy or demon, I’m not sure. Either way, Eglas was satisfied with a person a year but that got old quickly, not a lot of people lining up to do that obviously, they really weren’t getting a lot out of that deal back then, they could farm the land peacefully and that was it. One day a young farmer offered himself but when it came time he talked Eglas into changing the deal, a little from the strongest men in town. Eglas got the best there was and it was willingly. Eglas threw in the part about 3 times a year since the body wasn't included in the deal. That’s the lore anyway.” Sara told her story well, moving her hands and body, changing her pitch like a natural born storyteller.
“I think fairy because it makes the most sense with the woods and the deal making. You don’t have to believe us yet, you will eventually, but we come out here and do our ceremony and leave.” Addy told her.
“That sounds, nice.” Lauren said hesitantly. She drank more and could already feel the events of the afternoon fuzzing away.
“He’ll come to you again tonight, you’ll know who he is now. “ Therese said, smiling nicely.
“And you’ve done your ceremony already?” Lauren asked, trying to see if there were cuts visible. The girls nodded and Addy pulled her pants down showing off a long cut on her thigh. Lauren hissed through her teeth at the sight of it.
“Oh it’s not so bad. It hurts but it always heals quickly like it was never there. “ Addy assured her.
“Jim knew about this? “ Lauren asked, remembering a note in the binder about them being .
disturbing or something
“Yes, he did.. He knew before he started though. It kept him safe. We were a little worried that leaving you to the wolves so to speak, that you wouldn’t survive.” Rian explained.
“I’m afraid I’ve worn myself out. I think I’ll go to bed.” Lauren said, getting up carefully. The women were nice company and Lauren couldn’t think of the last time she had sat around the fire with anyone, but the conversation made her nervous. They looked at each other and nodded.
“We leave early tomorrow but I’ll leave my card on your door, you can call if you need anything.” Sara assured her.
Lauren didn’t get into bed as much as she collapsed into it. Her legs ached already and she knew that she wasn’t getting around much tomorrow. Between the wine and adrenaline wearing off, Lauren was able to fall asleep quickly.
She was out in the woods again. She must be dreaming because she wasn’t hurting.
“Do you know who I am?” The creature asked in her head again. Lauren couldn’t see the creature but didn’t feel the need to look for it either, just stood waiting.
“Eglas.” Lauren answered out loud. There was a chittering sound that somehow sounded pleased.
“Smart woman. I have been watching you.”
“I’d prefer you didn’t.” Lauren said dryly.
“You have questions.” Eglas stated.
“I can find answers.”
“I can give you answers if you ask me. It’s easy.” Eglas encouraged.
“Nothing is ever free and I have no intention of indebting myself to you. Accidentally or otherwise.” Lauren said, making herself clear. Eglas chuckled out loud and Lauren heard a swooshing through the trees. Lauren involuntarily shuddered.
“Have it your way, but you know where to find me.” Eglas said.
Lauren woke up the next morning as sore as she thought she would be. She managed to drag herself out of bed and to the bathroom and pulled on sweats that could pass as clothes. She thought that was the advantage of getting older, no one expected as much fashion wise. Lauren considered sitting on the stairs to go down but pushed through each painful step until she was in the kitchen. Ibuprofen and a freezer meal with a bottle of wine and she headed to the living room. She’d be close enough to answer any visitors if they came but she could sleep on the couch or watch tv. Lauren couldn’t find anything interesting on tv, or not enough to block out the clear dream she’d had last night that seemed to stick to her. When the ibuprofen kicked in she felt good enough to sit up, she looked around the room and noticed the bookshelf was getting dusty again. There were books on the shelf that had come with the place but Lauren had never really looked at them before. After flipping through movie selections and still not seeing anything she could find any interest in she got up and wandered over to the shelf. Reading the titles she figured out why she hadn’t wanted to read them before. History of the area mostly. Then a book about ghosts in the area, that sounded like it could be interesting. When Lauren was a kid she devoured books about ghosts. Next to it was a book without a title, it was slim and blended with the other books well. Lauren grabbed it as well, mostly curious. She settled back on the couch and pulled the blanket around her. The book was interesting, the usual ladies in the woods and drowned men, children warning of danger. Then there was a chapter that mentioned Elgas.
TRANCHLURE
He arose from the mud, hungry,ravenous.
He crept through the trees and on the strange mist observant first.
When the people came and Eglas fed He found a way to satiate the hunger and then slept for years and was awoken
He massacred the nearest town and those who lived in the woods found a way to drive him back into the caves, not dead but mostly sleeping until someone falls into his cavern, never to return.
Was it about Eglas? She didn’t think so.
Lauren went into the office and grabbed the binder that mentioned the Helgas. Even the binder was coded though obviously.
With her limited knowledge though she was thinking that they were groups of worshippers coming to celebrate differently. Lauren wondered if she could order some books on astrology to understand it better.
She opened up another book on fairies, but this had highlighted sections. A recipe for some kind of tea to see fairies. In the side there were some notes on things to leave out around the forest, offerings for the spirits. Lauren traced the handwriting and wondered if it was Jim who had written it or someone else. Apples was what it said.
There was a ring telling her someone was here. Lauren got up again carefully and headed in to the office. A man with a sleepy toddler on his shoulder stood waiting. He looked haggard and nervous.
“Cabin?” Lauren asked softly.
“Uhm, yes please.” He said.
“Any preference? You kind of have your pick this weekend.”
“Something toward the back.”
“Alright, cabin 15, more towards the middle honestly but it branches off so it’s a little more secluded?”
“Yes sounds fine. ‘
Lauren handed him his keys and a small map and sent him on his way, she then hobbled back to her couch. Sighing, she went back to the original book and started a story about a woman who had gotten lost in the forest and run into a sprit offering wishes. A wispy in between soul. Lauren noted that the spirit could be found by a landmark she knew. Slowly she started to doze.
Again she found herself barefoot in the forest.
“Hello again.” He or she whispered in her head
“Hello. Why am I here again?” Lauren asked dreamily.
“Because I am a generous soul. The man came today to ask for a favor from the fairies, he bought his offerings but he failed to realize he had put his daughter in danger. She’s gifted, she’s why he knows to come here. She’s also hit the magician and witches' radar, he needs protection.”
“Ah, and why do you care? There’s always a price.”
“I’ll protect her, for a price, obviously, just a little blood offering. From him if that isn’t clear. I need you to go and tell him my offer before his daughter is spirited away. Awaken now.”
Lauren woke up suddenly, she was annoyed and irate at being ordered around. But she got up and found a card that Sara had offered her the night before. Nervously she rang the number.
“Hello?” Sara answered.
“It’s Lauren, are you far away? “ Lauren asked, wondering how her rational world had changed in such a short span of time.
“Not far at all, maybe a mile.”
“Eglas, came to me, he wants to offer his services to a new camper here.”
“We’ll turn back around immediately.”
A few hours later Rian stood at the office smiling.
“It’s been taken care of, I didn’t realize what you being here meant. You’re the new Keeper.” Rian looked on at her with admiration.
“I don’t think so.” Lauren said firmly.
“You are, whether you know it or not, that’s why you’re here. Eglas might’ve told you that was why he was coming to you but he told us.” Lauren didn’t like the culty feeling she was getting off of Rian right now.
“Well, I don’t know what that means, I’m a caretaker, a well paid caretaker. Not a Keeper for things I don’t believe in. “
“I don't know much about the Keepers, but I have a very strong feeling that you should find the person who sent you here and ask some questions. I don’t know as much as the other girls about the magic in the forest but I do know that the fairies have an affinity for ceremony.”
After a few days of thinking, Lauren finally made a call to Eric. Eric was due up today.
Eric came to the regular front door instead of the office door.
“You’re the Keeper.” Lauren said without saying hello.
“Yes. Jim was a Keeper as well, but he… Well he isn’t anymore. You are up for the position obviously. I’m assuming you brokered a deal for someone out there if you figured it out. Which is accepting the position.”
“I don’t know about any of this. Eglas came and told me a girl was in trouble. I offered protection through another group that I know offers blood sacrifices. I feel like I’m too old to be any sort of Keeper. “
“Well it’s in your blood. That’s part of the reason you were chosen. The night you came to me I had a day of signs, then I heard about Jim. I was thinking of sending another established Keeper to this area and then I saw you. One big sign. I watched you for a few days and then I made the decision to send you up here. You have done very well so far. “
“Is there like a meeting for this? An instructional booklet? “
“I’m guessing Jim left a book of notes behind. He was good about notes in his day and when he realized he was coming to an end he told me he would leave things behind for whoever came next. I’d just look for books and binders.”
“But I don’t understand it.”
“Well you’ll have to learn fast”
“Rian said there was likely a ceremony.”
“There is an introduction. You’ll spill your blood by a great tree that connects all of the mountain. You’ll be recognized and the creatures will know to come to you.”
“What kind of fairy tale is this?”
“The kind that you’re a part of. “
“If it’s in my blood shouldn’t I know something?”
“I guess not.”
Lauren stood in front of the tree on the next full moon, freezing and nervous. The Helgas joined her for emotional support. Lauren held a sharp knife and sliced her hand to let the blood flow over the ground. Energy started from the ground and worked its way up her feet and through her body. With her feet firmly planted it felt as if she came up out of her body and rose above the trees, like looking through a microscope if she concentrated on a certain area she could see everything going on. At first she thought she saw people, but it was much too late for that. They were creatures. They roamed and played. I could see everything.
Welcome to Camp Thellgar