Raised garden beds on steep slope

homesteading, farming, gardening, self sufficiency and country life

2010.12.21 19:27 paulwheaton homesteading, farming, gardening, self sufficiency and country life

Ponds, barns, livestock, gardens, food preservation, fishing, hunting, tractors, pigs, chickens, cattle, worms, 4H, permaculture, organic, grazing, canning, aquaculture, trees, woodland, farmers, agriculture, agronomy, horticulture, wwoofers, bees, honey, wildcrafting, dairy, goats, nuts, berries, vegetables, sustainability, off grid, wood stoves, chainsaws, wood heat, tools, welding, green woodworking, farmers markets, composting toilets, straw bale homes, cob building...
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2024.05.03 00:09 Wx05 Soil help

I had bought some bags or the organic raised bed soil bags from home depot, i think it was miracle grow brand. The "soil" that came in it has a ton of wood chips and very little dirt. Is there something you would add to help correct this or is there a different kind i should get. Most of my place around me that sell landscape soil looks like screened sand and not quality soil. Please help first time ive had to do raised beds and not a ground garden.
submitted by Wx05 to gardening [link] [comments]

2024.05.03 00:05 RE-FLEXX Filling raised beds

We have shorter raised beds, 17” tall.
The ground on our backyard garden area isn’t great and must have been some sort of gravel parking pad back in the day (it’s an old house).
So we have these nice raised beds but I’m not 100% sure what to fill them with. It can’t be just top soil? I’ve searched on YouTube but figured it would be better to ask, as maybe something specific I’m missing about our region/zone that those videos might not cover.
And yearly top up with compost?
Cheers!
We’re in Edmonton, if that matters somehow :)
submitted by RE-FLEXX to Albertagardening [link] [comments]

2024.05.02 23:54 Mike1701D "Aaand it's burning. It's burning. Anyone have a fire extinguisher?"

At that moment, just when poise, calm, and a steady hand were all he needed to complete the ceremony...
...Boimler fumbled his candle. It energetically flipped from his frantic and grasping hands, sailed past T'Lyn, past her parents, and spun into the ancient curtains hanging down the side of the building. Landing at the base of a tall, blue drape, the flames of the candle quickly erupted along the length of the dry fabric, seeking out more and more of the material which decorated the wedding garden.
Unable to rise from his kneeling position due to the excess fabric around his legs, Boimler panicked helpelessly. "Oh God! Oh no! No-no-no-no-no-no-no-no-no!"
As mulitple Vulcan guess quickly moved away from the flames, Mariner, Rutherford, and Tendi lept into action. Tendi and Rutherford began pulling down curtains to contain the spread of the fire, while Mariner looked for anything to squelch the growing inferno.
"Aaaand it's burning.", called out Mariner, half to herself and half to everyone else, "It's burning. Anyone have a fire extinguisher? A fire hose? A bucket of water? What am I saying, it's Vulcan! We'd be lucky if they have a bottle of water!"
"Rutherford, get those over there!", Tendi directed as she aggressively yanked curtains from their hangers, hoping to stop the spreading flames.
"Right!", Rutherford called back, scrambling to where Tendi was pointing. He pushed several guests out of the way and seized handfuls of fabric, then pulled hard to dislodge the decorations before they could catch fire.
One of T'Lyn's relatives appeared from inside the house, extinguisher in hand. Mariner seized the device and began spraying the flickering and smoking drapes, aggresively attacking the flagration before it could consume the building itself. Non-toxic suppression foam shot out, splattering both the fire and multiple guests. For good measure, Mariner sprayed a horrified Boimler full-on in the face and chest, semi-relieving her frustration while simulatneously (and gently) chastizing him for his nervous blunder.
To her surprise, Boimler hardly reacted. He was consumed too much by a sense of dread and guilt at the unintentional damage he wrought to T'Lyn's family home, to notice the wet foam drenching his hair and garments.
"This, was to be expected", a mildly irritated T'Lyn thought to herself as she sat still with one eyebrow raised, watching the emergency unfold, "I will most likely encounter similar incidents in the future, back aboard the Cerritos. I must remember to never allow Bradward, to light any combustible item."
submitted by Mike1701D to LowerDecks [link] [comments]

2024.05.02 23:43 -LavenderFries- Storage clean out giveaway

**I think Nintendo is having issues with their servers**
I have to renew my dodo code for each person - that seems to fix the issue, so I will be closing for now :)
Comment below your in-game name and Island name. I will DM the dodo code in the order of the comments.
Will let in 2-3 people max at a time. The giveaway area is fenced-in so please don’t leave it by swimming out of there. Thanks!
The list of the items is below:
submitted by -LavenderFries- to AnimalCrossingNewHor [link] [comments]

2024.05.02 23:34 Brilliant-Lab-7940 Discovered ants under cardboard I laid down earlier this year

Hello 👋 I’ve been redesigning my garden set up, and one of the areas I was planning on putting an 8ft bed has an ant colony under the cardboard I placed down. I’m planning on putting zucchini seeds and pinto beans seeds down in this spot. But there will be tomato and pepper plants one or two beds over without a lot of space between. They’ll be getting diatomaceous earth on the straw mulch though.
I’m debating on what to do with the ants. They weren’t too annoying last year besides moving some carrot seeds around. I feel bad at the prospect of killing or removing them. And I know they are good at aerating the soil. But I’m putting seeds down - I’m worried they might get moved around, or if there’s a bigger problem I’m not thinking of.
Should I just handle them or is there a way to co exist 🤔 Edit: located in Northern CO
submitted by Brilliant-Lab-7940 to gardening [link] [comments]

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submitted by stewardkok5 to Statisticshelpers_ [link] [comments]

2024.05.02 23:09 unfit-Lemonade Sekan beast. The beast of the gods

"You're not seriously going to chain yourself up like this?" I had to ask I couldn't handle watching this.
It was dirty and awful smelling like the funk was personally wringing my lungs dry. "I have to," he said with such a resolution, that I was thinking of just letting him have his way.
"There has to be another way though. You're the CROWNED prince, next in line for the throne of Jakqulies, I'd be a bad subject if I'd let you stay."
"And I would be a bad king if I listened to you." "I'm a good influence though, so you should listen to me."
He rolled his eyes and anchored down the chains to the wall. he ignored me, even though he was the one who brought me here in the first place.
pinched my eyebrows in frustration. "I just think, there are more ways, better ways, to handle this." "I've tried everything." I sat on the wooden bed and shrugged my shoulders trying to think of everything.
"Well when you say everything, that could mean a lot of things, did you try things related to the 'cures' and things outside of it?" He sighed, he walked over to me and looked me in the eyes.
"I have tried everything. I've tried locking myself in the dungeon and leaving the kingdom, I've tried a multitude of potions even mixing some, tried charms, hexes, and spells."
I slumped down on the wood, it was prickly and cold. Then again this entire dungeon is freezing. "Why didn't anything work?" "I don't know nor do we have the time to try and figure that out now." "It could be important. Help me do the job you asked me to do."
He didn't respond, too busy screwing chains shut on his wrist. I rolled onto the bed, it was starting to become more comfortable.
"I don't need anything specific just how it ended up failing." "Simple I couldn't stay awake." " You need to be more specific"
"Well I don't know what you want me to say. I took the potions I did the hexes and every single one didn't work." "Then what about when you left how did that fail." He was stressed and so was I.
I couldn't do anything to help cause we knew nothing about what was causing the change. He was stressed cause how is a crowned prince going to become king when he transform into a murderous monster every 24th night.
"The thing used magic and brought me back before changing." I shot up and twirled over the bed to face him. "It used magic!?" he froze a bit, confused by the reaction. "Yes, you already know it can use magic. "NOT powerful magic!"
I crawled off the bed and raced into my bag. "What does it matter?" He was perplexed by how panicked I was dumping things out. I need the drawings.
"It completely changes things!" I saw the paper fall onto the floor. I snatched it up and raced to the light outside the dungeon.
I didn't believe it when I saw the drawing, I thought I was being overdramatic. There was no way I was right at first, I couldn't be, because then that would mean- I stared at the drawing it looked exactly how they described it to be. I looked back at Kaeden.
It's crazy how learning new stuff about the people you know can completely change the way they look to you. He noticed my shift in personality immediately. "What? Edan what is it?"
"How far?" "What?" I walked to my bag and quickly started shoving things in it, keeping the drawing close to my chest.
"How far away did you go?!" "I went to Thanxthiles." I dropped my bag. "Oh, my Johi! To the Thanxthiles, like into the kingdom!" "yes."
I couldn't tell if I was excited or shocked, it didn't matter. This is the greatest day of my life. I couldn't speak either, I just started freaking out.
I grabbed onto his arms and jumped up and down roots started to sprout from beneath me every time I touched the ground. "Really? You went that far! And it used magic to bring itself back here!" He didn't respond only looking around as nature started to break into the concrete of the dungeon.
I broke away from him and started jumping all around and looking at the drawing with a newfound aspiration. "Edna wait? I'm confused." " A SEKAN BEAST! YOU'RE A SEKAN BEAST VESSEL!"
I ran toward him and shoved the paper into his hand. "Look! Look! That's what you said the beast looks like right? And it displays the use of magic!"
I was inches away from his face brimming with joy. He scooted away slightly. As he answered with sheer confusion. "Yes."
My eyes ignited in exhilaration. I was dancing all around the room. Bouncing off the walls excited. "Eden. My room! your plan-" "This is such great news, you can become so much stronger than you are now! You can become like the mighty kings of old!"
I said as I jumped on his bed and crawled towards him. I was smiling so much and felt a sudden need to laugh. "EDEN!" He grabbed me off the bed, he was strong. "WOW you're already so strong imagine when you fully grow into your powers!" "Eden my fucking room!"
I surveyed the room and noticed how it started to turn into a miniature forest, roots overturning his floors and trees ripening with fruit brushing through the wall and flowers with little flying bugs in almost every corner of where I stepped.
Still, I was breathlessly ecstatic. "A SEKAN beast." I chuckled before having to catch my breath. He sat me down.
"What is a Sekan beast and why are you so happy that it torments my kingdom?" He wasn't happy like I was, no he wasn't happy at all with my reaction.
To be fair to him becoming a vessel to a Sekan best is rare the effects on their life is grave. I raised my hand and shrunk the forest back into the ground. "I'm sorry for getting too excited but this is great news."
He winced at the words and pulled away. "How is any of this great news? I lost my best friend to this thing. And you're over here celebrating and praising my suffering."
"No no. I'm not saying what you're going through is great I'm saying what is causing this is great being and can be talked to." He shook his head and rested his arms on his legs in despair.
"A great being." He mumbled. I wrapped my arms around him and rested my head on his back, covering him with my cloak. "The thing taking over your body is called a sekan beast."
"I figured that much." "It's the beast of the gods and... is a sign that the person that they take over is in favor of the gods and they're sent to get rid of people who would interfere with their vessel's journey." He raised his head in distress. "Save me from- huh It's the very danger of my-" "I know. I know."
I grabbed his hand tightly. "The gods send the beast to take away obstacles that may cause you intense agony or intend to end your history short." he grasped onto the side of my skirt.
He was at a loss for words. I sat in silence with him. He probably didn't want to hear more about the beast.
After a while I feared for him to sleep so I shook him lightly and tried to comfort him. "I'm sorry, you lost people close or even if they were just people you never met, but they're gone for a reason."
He didn't respond, just shuddered a breath. "At least this way. You can remember them as they are not what they would've been."
He stood up and faced the wall. " I don't. I just, he was my best friend, I wanted nothing more than to rid myself of this thing since his death but now you're telling me, his death was necessary and that he would betray me or even kill me. I just. I can't."
"I never met him or know anything about your guy's relationship, but he must've changed in the future to do so."
"No people don't just change, there must have been something!" "That no one could've saved him from."
He just looked at me a shook his head. "Mmm mm! I could've!" I walked up to him and tried to reason with him.
"If the Sekan took his life that likely means it was his fate to hurt you whether he wanted to or not." "Then why kill him? If it was his fate to hurt me, why cut his life? Why kill him, by my hands? Why even have him born in the first place? " He was hurt.
"The sekan took him to spare you. Whatever it was he would've done would've been too much for you to bear, be it physically or mentally. His action would've caused your demise."
He just turned away from me. He didn't try to argue against my reason anymore and just listened to me. I gave him everything I knew about the beast.
Former vessels, their powers, the transformation, their history, and stories about how they came to be.
He suddenly sprang from the bed. "What time is it?" "Umm... it's" I looked up to my arm and used my painted fingers to move my moon tattoo it shifted to look like the moon outside.
"It's almost midnight." he just stared at my arm mouth gaped open. "What?" "What do you mean what? What was that that?"
"Magic?" "I'm not talking about the magic I'm talking about the painting on your arm. Did you paint that on yourself?" I looked at him in disbelief, laughing at his face of amusement and bewilderment, I showed him more of them.
"They're called tattoos, they're not exactly paintings. They're permanent, you ink them onto your skin using needles. Anyone can get them, many if not all witches have them. Makes casting spells easier."
"Woah. I've never seen them in real life, it seems much cooler than magic." I rolled my eyes and chuckled. "Why did you ask for the time anyway?"
His joy dispersed into a somber calm. "It's almost time." "I thought you said you didn't know when the transformation happens, it just happens" "That's true but it's typically around midnight that it happens."
I stayed silent for a moment. "It's an ugly and honestly embarrassing process that I don't want you to see." "But I need to converse with it." "Well, you'll know when the transformation is done cause you won't hear my screams anymore."
The words danced off his tongue like it was a joke. But his laughing quickly turned to a nervous cough when he saw my worrisome expression.
"I suggest it'd be best you left for a couple of minutes-" "Does it hurt you to transform?" He seemed uncomfortable at the idea of it, he swung his arms nervously before picking at the chains.
"Yes. Yes, it does." He said looking away from me as if in shame. I don't understand. The transformation should've been physically painless.
"What? Can, you describe it?" "I don't know how to. Umm, I guess it would feel like my entire body was being stretched and ripped apart."
This doesn't make any sense, is he a Sekan's vessel? I paced around a bit trying to understand.
There is no other creature able to take over a body and everything points to a sekan but the physical pain of the transformation should never happen.
"I don't want you here when it does happen. It's difficult to watch so please just go upstairs and wait." Something's wrong. I just nodded my head and walked out.
He was shutting the door, I looked back he seemed so sad. I pushed the door back open and hugged him.
He was shocked and so was I, but he was going to be in pain. "It's... it's going to be alright I promise." He hugged me and we stayed there for a moment.
Not a sound just our hearts beating. He pulled away and shut the door behind me. I walked up the stairs, slowly.
I know I said I would wait to give him his time to suffer without witness. But just because he wants it doesn't mean it's the right thing to do.
I stayed on the fourth step for what seemed to be a long time. I don't know what I was waiting for. Maybe to hear his cries? Maybe to hear him and rush back in? But I didn't hear anything.
"This looks so creepy." I insulted myself and began to walk up. I had a sickly feeling that grew with each step was it okay to leave him there alone?
I know it's what he asked and he decided it was the best and he is the future king. So I should listen to him. I made it to the courtyard, the feeling was now a wave constantly beating over me.
Fuck it.
I may reside in his kingdom but I'm a witch we know no kings. I pulled back the door and made my way back down the stairs. Which for some reason seemed to be much longer than when I came up.
The feeling was growing increasingly vexing with each step, I soon started running down the stairs. I raced to the bottom, I could hear sobs getting closer with each step
I jumped over the last two and bolted down the hall. "Kaeden!" I bearly stopped myself from sliding past his door. I grabbed the handle and flung it open. "Kaeden!" He was crouched over on the floor, grabbing at his arms. He raised his head to look at me.
"Eden?" I flinched back his left eye had bloody feathers coming out of every pore and his pupils were stretched and his eye was starting to grow over his face.
"What are you doing here?! I told you to leave!" His voice was layered with another more animalistic curl, but it just made his pain much more noticeable.
I rushed over to him. He tried to get up and walk away but quickly fell to the floor. "Please! I don't want you to see me like this!" His voice was filled with pain, I couldn't stand it. "I'm sorry but it's wrong to just leave you here to suffer alone.
Be mad at me all you want later but I won't leave you." I put my hand in his and let him squeeze it as hard as he needed. He was sweating like crazy.
Blood dripped onto my hand every second. He trembled with each new feather. I didn't know what I could do. I don't think I can do anything.
I started to panic when he started to scream out, he tried to stifle it every time but it didn't change the fact that his hands started to grow new bones.
I felt his skin break and his bones shift. I couldn't stand the feeling but it was more horrific to watch as it happened to his back.
Blood started to seep into his clothes, his skin started to shrink and harden into scales, I could feel feathers grow on his hands and see it started to replace his hair.
I could bearly catch my breath at the sight of his bone tearing through his skin. Breaking and mending themselves into a strange shape.
He had already bled some much it died my purple skirt to a violent red. "Please... leave..." his voice was just a broken sob; a tired whisper.
He was completely terrified. I felt tears on my face. I leaned over him and hugged him almost as if I was shielding him. Hard to shield him from his own body.
I broke down alongside him. "It's going to be over soon, real soon. I promise. It's going to be okay I'm right here. I'm not leaving." I could feel him shivering under me.
I could feel him gasping for air. I hear his bones moving in his body. I could hear his voice change with every sob. It was almost over. "It's almost over Kaeden" I was relieved we couldn't see each other's faces.
He wouldn't believe me if he could see how terrified I looked and I couldn't see what he was turning into. My tears pooled and soaked into the feathers on his back.
I felt drained but I could only imagine the pain Kaeden was going through. It was painful to just watch. I just stayed there telling him it was going to be okay as his screams override my voice.
I tightened my hold on him as I watched his blood flow from him to the crack under the door. I tried to listen to his heartbeat but I couldn't find it. After what seems like a lifetime.
His bones stopped moving, I couldn't feel any more blood flowing like a stream, and I didn't feel his skin transmute into scales and feathers pop through his skin.
I raised my head, blood had soaked through my hair dampening and staining my cheek. I looked at him.
He didn't even look human anymore. His body was covered in feathers, he had talons for nails, and his legs had grown extra joints not to mention he had grown twice- no three times his size.
He was bizarrely clean despite the pool of blood surrounding us. It would've been a straight blessing from Johi to be holding or even be this close to a Sekan beast; had its arrival been under normal circumstances.
I wiped away the blood from my face and took my arm away. I was suddenly jerked forward, it wrapped its hand on my arm. I tried to pull away but it dug its talons in my skin. I didn't hesitate to tie the thing down with vines.
the vines shot back out through the concrete and quickly made their way around the beast's neck and arms. The beast didn't take this lightly and started to stand. It pulled me close and tried to pick me up by my arm.
The plants grabbed at its legs and tried to knock it down but it stood its ground. The branch around his neck tightened forcing its head to rear up. it wasn't as monstrous as I had thought, it still had a semblance of a human face but it was not Kaeden's.
The eyes had a pattern similar to stained glass and the pupils were too large, I could see the reflection of my fear in its eyes. The neck was long it the vine had wrapped around it four times.
it clenched its jaw and bared its sharp jigsaw teeth as it struggled to breathe. I had a chance to tie it down and I didn't hesitate.
I reached out and commanded the plants to pull his knees down. It hit the ground after struggling for stability. I pulled away, its talons digging into my skin. I yanked myself free, its claws sliced open my hand and almost took my fingers off.
I grabbed at my arm the blood flowing through my fingers. the Sekan was grabbing at the branches at its neck breaking them. I didn't give it the chance to free itself before I flung it through the bed and into the wall.
The beast was shocked and angry. It expanded its size with its wings unfurling from its side, but the vines already bursting through the wall wrapped them up and bent them to be useless.
it was fighting for its freedom like a feral animal, and not a majestic beast of the gods like it was said to be. with each struggle, the vines multiplied and grew thicker.
I watched as it almost got completely consumed by the trees. I mended my flesh concentrated flame and glued my skin back together.
I looked back up and the thing was motionless. almost like it was dead. I motioned for the plants to release it. It collapsed to the ground choking for air. I went behind the door and locked it and called out to it through the bars.
"What are you?" The only response was coughs and the ruffle of feathers. "Answer me." It rose and stood still for a moment before cracking its neck downward to look me in the eyes. It was nauseating I grabbed at my neck, sure that if I tried that I'd die.
"You know what I am Witch of Rthytic." Its voice had a curl to it, a nasty freighting curl. I could hear Kaedens's voice mixed with it. "I know what u pretend to be. Sekans are beasts of the gods, you're just a beast." It chuckled before bending its neck back.
It kneeled at the door; it was still slightly larger than the door. its eyes still glimmered but its pupils were small and focused. "The gods are dead witch." I drew back from the door, it grinned slightly "At least they will be."
"What are you talking about!?" "Haven't you noticed how unfair things have been lately, never felt overwhelmed by the voiceless replies. I know you noticed how empty and gut-wrenching the tempels feel and you never wondered why?" I didn't know how to respond. I just stare at the beast.
"No. no what are you really, no Sekan would act such a way about the gods. nor would you cause your vessel so much pain." The beast stopped smiling and backed away from the door retreating into the shadows.
The lock suddenly clicked and the door opened. It spoke very coldly as it crouched through the door "The gods have abandoned their morals. They usurped Beseled, now the world will fall into chaos. There's a god slayer in this remele. this slayer is Kaeden Esmened the fourth, crowned prince of Jakqulies."
I froze as a ball built up in my throat. I tried to walk away but it grabbed my arm and forced me to listen.
"The gods know of Kaeden and want him dead. I forced my way into Kaedens soul to rid of future opposers. His physical pain is minor compared to what thousands would go through if I didn't get to him. Kaeden was never meant to be the great ruler he was meant to kill the gods" I pulled away. "let go." "You were also meant great things." "what."
"The Witch of Rthytic your name will be known far more than keadens. you will be the reason he is even remembered."
"What do you mean." it let me go and began to walk away. "I don't need to tell you, just watch the gods you commune with." I was confused, everything it told me was too much, how was I supposed to tell this to Kaeden?
I wouldn't be able to do it. I looked up and the thing was gone. I raced up the stairs to see it spread its wings on the roof of the courtyard. The wings were twice the size of its own body, so big it blocked out the moon.
Of every slayer that's ever lived, only one made it back alive, but even then their body had failed them, I can't let Kaeden leave like this. "Wait!" I looked over its shoulder.
If the gods are killed then there be a strange new age of human power, that will only lead to destruction. There has to be someone stronger to care for the weak.
"It- is there a way to make Kaeden," it looked at me and grinned, " a god." Its eyes widen and its lips curl. I would make Kaeden a god and inadvertently the beast too. It put its hand out. Kaeden fate was always twisted against him, his death was meant to be cruel and lonely. He would be fine with sacrificing himself for the greater good.
But he made a deal with a witch, he thrust his soul and the beast into my hands. Both will become gods for one to live. I dug my nails into its skin as we made our pledge to birth a new era.
Of chaos and love.
submitted by unfit-Lemonade to teenwriter [link] [comments]

2024.05.02 23:08 pan_ict [ms] the hotel room

The hotel hallway is dim, illuminated only by flickering lights. Elena is nowhere in sight, running after her would prove useless. The fire escape is the best way to intercept her. As I opened the door, I hear the echo of feet pounding against stairs. It was her. Swiftly, I hop over the railway, she wouldn’t escape so easily.
Elena’s adrenaline was no match for my speed. I gain on her with every jump. She is almost to the exit. I can’t let her escape. I’m so close. She’s reaching for the door, but her ponytail lags. I jump over the last flight of stairs and reach out as far as possible. Relief washes over me when I feel her silky hair in my hand. I yank back as hard as I can, her head whips back followed by her shoulders. She stumbles back but I catch her. We wrestle in the stairwell but quickly I gain control. I pull her against my body and with one hand over her mouth, I slowly crack the door… All clear. It seems no one heard us in this deserted shithole.
“No one can help you now,” I whisper in her ear. She tries to bite my hand but only manages to graze my skin. “You're going to have to try harder than that.”
…
The sun begins to rise—a glimmer of light peeks through the hotel room's curtains where they don’t quite meet. I dim the bathroom light, my eyes are burning from the fluorescent bulbs.
I turn to the mirror. It’s dirty, so my reflection is blurred, but it doesn’t hide the age starting to show on my face. My hair is beginning to thin, the bags under my eyes are now turning purple, and my eyes are bloodshot. Not only is my age showing, but so are the years of secrets and lies.
I run the sink faucet and splash the cold water on my face. The cold water stings and sends a chill through my body. My eyes lock on their reflection, they look unfamiliar.
 “Are you ready to talk now?” I call back to Elena. I watch her through the mirror. The tub is small and her knees are folded to fit inside. She is choking, the ropes binding her hands together have chaffed her wrists, there is steam rising off the wet towel on top of her mouth.
My hair is greasy, it’s been days since I’ve showered. I wet my hands and run them through my hair. I feel a wave of adrenaline rush over me.
I walk over to the tub, and raise the towel from Elena’s mouth, “You ready to start talking?” I ask again. Elena weakly pushes her lips together and blows a raspberry, a mixture of drool and water flows out of her mouth. She was always a spitter, and now it was her only defense. “Save your energy.” I put the dripping towel over her face and turn the bathtub faucet. The water pours over the towel, and her body writhes. The rush of energy from the cold water doesn't last and my eyelids feel heavy. If I’m tired, I know Sam can’t last much longer. 38, 39, 40. I turn off the faucet. I lift the towel and slowly ring it out on her face. 7, 8, 9, 10. “Where the fuck is she” I scream. I am losing my patience. Elena is still gasping, her eyes rolling to the back of her head. I sling her over my shoulder and throw her on the bed just a few yards away. Quickly I hook the rope on her wrist to the handcuffs hanging loose from the bed frame. She coughs in rhythm and her eyes flutter shut, she must be exhausted. I need to rest before she wakes up. I sit in the chair in the corner but my body is still tense while my mind races. I know Sarah wouldn’t have told Elena where I keep the safe (change). They might not have gotten to her, or she could have escaped if they did. I can’t get the image of my house out of my mind, the tables turned over, the broken glass, the blood-streaked walls. The blood may not have been hers. She’s smart, she knows how to defend herself. She could have escaped. Did they even capture her? Was it all a trap to lure me? Is she dead? Is she suffering? I don’t want to think about it anymore, I need to rest. My eyes ache from holding them open, I concede and let them fall shut.
…
I gasp and my eyes shoot open, I feel an aching chill take over my body. My eyes focus and Elena is smiling in my face. There’s an excruciating cold pain in my chest, I look down and I see a knife protruding out. I watch as Elena slowly turn the knife, ripping my chest open. Her eyes are glowing, hungry for my cries, I won’t give her the satisfaction. Slowly she pulls the knife out but there is no relief. She pokes me again with the knife, it’s dull and the pressure builds as it slowly penetrates my soft stomach. Again, she slowly pulls the knife out, wiggling it along the way.
“Where is she?” I gasp, blood slowly filling my mouth.
“Since you really want to know, I guess I’ll tell you.. She is in Baltimore, well her head is in Baltimore, her body is in Essex, and her legs in the Back River. She wasn’t easy to catch, you’d be proud.” I drain the emotion from my eyes, my face is heavy. Elena’s face twitches with disappointment.
She continues, “The funny thing is we don’t even need you. She told us where the safe is, all to save you. I promised we wouldn’t go after you if we got what we needed, which was of course a lie, we have to kill you regardless. Or maybe she caved because of the pain. We didn’t go so easy on her as I have with you. First I cut off her fingers, one by one, and her toes, but of course it wasn't enough. I’ll give it to her, she’s tough, I suppose you coached her in the event she got mixed up in your nasty business. Do you feel guilty about that? I would. The person I love most in the world is dead because of me. I couldn’t live with the guilt knowing that my innocent wife died in such a painful way; and trust me, it was painful. I like to call it the death by a thousand cuts. Too bad you weren’t there to save her.”
I can no longer tell the source of the pain. I close my eyes and let the pain run its course, I deserve to feel every moment of the unbearable agony. She leans in real close, I feel her hot breath on the nape of my neck “Her last words were ‘Help me, David.’”
My body shakes uncontrollably and the dark room grows dimmer, I’m ready for relief. “I love you, Sarah. I’m sorry”.
submitted by pan_ict to shortstories [link] [comments]

2024.05.02 23:06 Weak-You-9600 Narcissistic mother ruined my father’s birthday. Need to vent

On days like this I can’t help but to be embarrassed to call her my mom. Why the hell can’t she think about anything other than herself for once???
  1. I called my Dad and asked what he was up to and he told me that he was eating lunch by himself and when I asked where my mom was he said “she’s just catching up on some sleep”.. Knowing that my elderly father who was just diagnosed with cancer had been eating by himself on his birthday just made me feel terrible.
  2. I found out from my sister that she slept in until 1pm which she NEVER does
  3. She only woke up because my aunt had stopped by to kindly drop off birthday gifts, homemade cookies and a whole cake for my Dad. She didn’t even invite my aunt inside the house which is super unusual of her and straight up rude.
  4. I met up with them for dinner at a nice upscale yet casual restaurant and she looked like shit. No makeup, pajama shirt and hair in a bun. She wasn’t sick or complaining about being in pain either (which she always does)
  5. My mom always wears a full face of makeup and dresses up whenever she gets the chance to and always preached to her daughters to never leave the house without makeup and a nice outfit. Yet out of all days to not look presentable she chose her husband’s birthday? It left my sisters and I a little confused at first.
  6. At dinner, her and I were served our food first and I was always raised to wait until everyone (especially my Dad) gets served first before you can eat. But she just dug right in while we all awkwardly waited in silence.
  7. She was on her phone most of the time throughout dinner as well which is also something we were raised to never do and for good reason. It’s just straight up rude to whoever you’re spending time with.
  8. She asked for boxes early while my dad was still eating his food.
  9. When we got home she was ready to start the cake and sing happy birthday to my dad when my sisters and I weren’t even out of our cars yet.
  10. Once we got inside she was clearly annoyed that we arrived 2 minutes after they did and eagerly started lighting the birthday cake.
  11. After the cake, he opened his presents and I noticed that she didn’t even get him anything. 12.She’s known to spend a stupid amount of money on Birthday gifts for people. I know this because she’s always asking my sisters and I for money to spend on these expensive gifts for people that we’re not even close to. Yet nothing for her husband??
  12. After the presents she quickly cleaned up and went to bed without saying anything. It wasn’t even 9pm yet. Wtf is her problem?!
Ugh. She was clearly avoiding and minimizing her partner’s special day. My father is a quiet and shy guy and just takes whatever treatment he can get from my mother because she’s his only friend. My sisters and I wish he’d divorce her already but that will never happen. It’s his life, there’s only so much I can say and do about the situation. I just needed to vent, thanks for reading
submitted by Weak-You-9600 to narcissisticparents [link] [comments]

2024.05.02 23:05 unfit-Lemonade Sekan beast. The beast of the gods

"You're not seriously going to chain yourself up like this?" I had to ask I couldn't handle watching this.
It was dirty and awful smelling like the funk was personally wringing my lungs dry. "I have to," he said with such a resolution, that I was thinking of just letting him have his way.
"There has to be another way though. You're the CROWNED prince, next in line for the throne of Jakqulies, I'd be a bad subject if I'd let you stay."
"And I would be a bad king if I listened to you." "I'm a good influence though, so you should listen to me."
He rolled his eyes and anchored down the chains to the wall. he ignored me, even though he was the one who brought me here in the first place.
pinched my eyebrows in frustration. "I just think, there are more ways, better ways, to handle this." "I've tried everything." I sat on the wooden bed and shrugged my shoulders trying to think of everything.
"Well when you say everything, that could mean a lot of things, did you try things related to the 'cures' and things outside of it?" He sighed, he walked over to me and looked me in the eyes.
"I have tried everything. I've tried locking myself in the dungeon and leaving the kingdom, I've tried a multitude of potions even mixing some, tried charms, hexes, and spells."
I slumped down on the wood, it was prickly and cold. Then again this entire dungeon is freezing. "Why didn't anything work?" "I don't know nor do we have the time to try and figure that out now." "It could be important. Help me do the job you asked me to do."
He didn't respond, too busy screwing chains shut on his wrist. I rolled onto the bed, it was starting to become more comfortable.
"I don't need anything specific just how it ended up failing." "Simple I couldn't stay awake." " You need to be more specific"
"Well I don't know what you want me to say. I took the potions I did the hexes and every single one didn't work." "Then what about when you left how did that fail." He was stressed and so was I.
I couldn't do anything to help cause we knew nothing about what was causing the change. He was stressed cause how is a crowned prince going to become king when he transform into a murderous monster every 24th night.
"The thing used magic and brought me back before changing." I shot up and twirled over the bed to face him. "It used magic!?" he froze a bit, confused by the reaction. "Yes, you already know it can use magic. "NOT powerful magic!"
I crawled off the bed and raced into my bag. "What does it matter?" He was perplexed by how panicked I was dumping things out. I need the drawings.
"It completely changes things!" I saw the paper fall onto the floor. I snatched it up and raced to the light outside the dungeon.
I didn't believe it when I saw the drawing, I thought I was being overdramatic. There was no way I was right at first, I couldn't be, because then that would mean- I stared at the drawing it looked exactly how they described it to be. I looked back at Kaeden.
It's crazy how learning new stuff about the people you know can completely change the way they look to you. He noticed my shift in personality immediately. "What? Edan what is it?"
"How far?" "What?" I walked to my bag and quickly started shoving things in it, keeping the drawing close to my chest.
"How far away did you go?!" "I went to Thanxthiles." I dropped my bag. "Oh, my Johi! To the Thanxthiles, like into the kingdom!" "yes."
I couldn't tell if I was excited or shocked, it didn't matter. This is the greatest day of my life. I couldn't speak either, I just started freaking out.
I grabbed onto his arms and jumped up and down roots started to sprout from beneath me every time I touched the ground. "Really? You went that far! And it used magic to bring itself back here!" He didn't respond only looking around as nature started to break into the concrete of the dungeon.
I broke away from him and started jumping all around and looking at the drawing with a newfound aspiration. "Edna wait? I'm confused." " A SEKAN BEAST! YOU'RE A SEKAN BEAST VESSEL!"
I ran toward him and shoved the paper into his hand. "Look! Look! That's what you said the beast looks like right? And it displays the use of magic!"
I was inches away from his face brimming with joy. He scooted away slightly. As he answered with sheer confusion. "Yes."
My eyes ignited in exhilaration. I was dancing all around the room. Bouncing off the walls excited. "Eden. My room! your plan-" "This is such great news, you can become so much stronger than you are now! You can become like the mighty kings of old!"
I said as I jumped on his bed and crawled towards him. I was smiling so much and felt a sudden need to laugh. "EDEN!" He grabbed me off the bed, he was strong. "WOW you're already so strong imagine when you fully grow into your powers!" "Eden my fucking room!"
I surveyed the room and noticed how it started to turn into a miniature forest, roots overturning his floors and trees ripening with fruit brushing through the wall and flowers with little flying bugs in almost every corner of where I stepped.
Still, I was breathlessly ecstatic. "A SEKAN beast." I chuckled before having to catch my breath. He sat me down.
"What is a Sekan beast and why are you so happy that it torments my kingdom?" He wasn't happy like I was, no he wasn't happy at all with my reaction.
To be fair to him becoming a vessel to a Sekan best is rare the effects on their life is grave. I raised my hand and shrunk the forest back into the ground. "I'm sorry for getting too excited but this is great news."
He winced at the words and pulled away. "How is any of this great news? I lost my best friend to this thing. And you're over here celebrating and praising my suffering."
"No no. I'm not saying what you're going through is great I'm saying what is causing this is great being and can be talked to." He shook his head and rested his arms on his legs in despair.
"A great being." He mumbled. I wrapped my arms around him and rested my head on his back, covering him with my cloak. "The thing taking over your body is called a sekan beast."
"I figured that much." "It's the beast of the gods and... is a sign that the person that they take over is in favor of the gods and they're sent to get rid of people who would interfere with their vessel's journey." He raised his head in distress. "Save me from- huh It's the very danger of my-" "I know. I know."
I grabbed his hand tightly. "The gods send the beast to take away obstacles that may cause you intense agony or intend to end your history short." he grasped onto the side of my skirt.
He was at a loss for words. I sat in silence with him. He probably didn't want to hear more about the beast.
After a while I feared for him to sleep so I shook him lightly and tried to comfort him. "I'm sorry, you lost people close or even if they were just people you never met, but they're gone for a reason."
He didn't respond, just shuddered a breath. "At least this way. You can remember them as they are not what they would've been."
He stood up and faced the wall. " I don't. I just, he was my best friend, I wanted nothing more than to rid myself of this thing since his death but now you're telling me, his death was necessary and that he would betray me or even kill me. I just. I can't."
"I never met him or know anything about your guy's relationship, but he must've changed in the future to do so."
"No people don't just change, there must have been something!" "That no one could've saved him from."
He just looked at me a shook his head. "Mmm mm! I could've!" I walked up to him and tried to reason with him.
"If the Sekan took his life that likely means it was his fate to hurt you whether he wanted to or not." "Then why kill him? If it was his fate to hurt me, why cut his life? Why kill him, by my hands? Why even have him born in the first place? " He was hurt.
"The sekan took him to spare you. Whatever it was he would've done would've been too much for you to bear, be it physically or mentally. His action would've caused your demise."
He just turned away from me. He didn't try to argue against my reason anymore and just listened to me. I gave him everything I knew about the beast.
Former vessels, their powers, the transformation, their history, and stories about how they came to be.
He suddenly sprang from the bed. "What time is it?" "Umm... it's" I looked up to my arm and used my painted fingers to move my moon tattoo it shifted to look like the moon outside.
"It's almost midnight." he just stared at my arm mouth gaped open. "What?" "What do you mean what? What was that that?"
"Magic?" "I'm not talking about the magic I'm talking about the painting on your arm. Did you paint that on yourself?" I looked at him in disbelief, laughing at his face of amusement and bewilderment, I showed him more of them.
"They're called tattoos, they're not exactly paintings. They're permanent, you ink them onto your skin using needles. Anyone can get them, many if not all witches have them. Makes casting spells easier."
"Woah. I've never seen them in real life, it seems much cooler than magic." I rolled my eyes and chuckled. "Why did you ask for the time anyway?"
His joy dispersed into a somber calm. "It's almost time." "I thought you said you didn't know when the transformation happens, it just happens" "That's true but it's typically around midnight that it happens."
I stayed silent for a moment. "It's an ugly and honestly embarrassing process that I don't want you to see." "But I need to converse with it." "Well, you'll know when the transformation is done cause you won't hear my screams anymore."
The words danced off his tongue like it was a joke. But his laughing quickly turned to a nervous cough when he saw my worrisome expression.
"I suggest it'd be best you left for a couple of minutes-" "Does it hurt you to transform?" He seemed uncomfortable at the idea of it, he swung his arms nervously before picking at the chains.
"Yes. Yes, it does." He said looking away from me as if in shame. I don't understand. The transformation should've been physically painless.
"What? Can, you describe it?" "I don't know how to. Umm, I guess it would feel like my entire body was being stretched and ripped apart."
This doesn't make any sense, is he a Sekan's vessel? I paced around a bit trying to understand.
There is no other creature able to take over a body and everything points to a sekan but the physical pain of the transformation should never happen.
"I don't want you here when it does happen. It's difficult to watch so please just go upstairs and wait." Something's wrong. I just nodded my head and walked out.
He was shutting the door, I looked back he seemed so sad. I pushed the door back open and hugged him.
He was shocked and so was I, but he was going to be in pain. "It's... it's going to be alright I promise." He hugged me and we stayed there for a moment.
Not a sound just our hearts beating. He pulled away and shut the door behind me. I walked up the stairs, slowly.
I know I said I would wait to give him his time to suffer without witness. But just because he wants it doesn't mean it's the right thing to do.
I stayed on the fourth step for what seemed to be a long time. I don't know what I was waiting for. Maybe to hear his cries? Maybe to hear him and rush back in? But I didn't hear anything.
"This looks so creepy." I insulted myself and began to walk up. I had a sickly feeling that grew with each step was it okay to leave him there alone?
I know it's what he asked and he decided it was the best and he is the future king. So I should listen to him. I made it to the courtyard, the feeling was now a wave constantly beating over me.
Fuck it.
I may reside in his kingdom but I'm a witch we know no kings. I pulled back the door and made my way back down the stairs. Which for some reason seemed to be much longer than when I came up.
The feeling was growing increasingly vexing with each step, I soon started running down the stairs. I raced to the bottom, I could hear sobs getting closer with each step
I jumped over the last two and bolted down the hall. "Kaeden!" I bearly stopped myself from sliding past his door. I grabbed the handle and flung it open. "Kaeden!" He was crouched over on the floor, grabbing at his arms. He raised his head to look at me.
"Eden?" I flinched back his left eye had bloody feathers coming out of every pore and his pupils were stretched and his eye was starting to grow over his face.
"What are you doing here?! I told you to leave!" His voice was layered with another more animalistic curl, but it just made his pain much more noticeable.
I rushed over to him. He tried to get up and walk away but quickly fell to the floor. "Please! I don't want you to see me like this!" His voice was filled with pain, I couldn't stand it. "I'm sorry but it's wrong to just leave you here to suffer alone.
Be mad at me all you want later but I won't leave you." I put my hand in his and let him squeeze it as hard as he needed. He was sweating like crazy.
Blood dripped onto my hand every second. He trembled with each new feather. I didn't know what I could do. I don't think I can do anything.
I started to panic when he started to scream out, he tried to stifle it every time but it didn't change the fact that his hands started to grow new bones.
I felt his skin break and his bones shift. I couldn't stand the feeling but it was more horrific to watch as it happened to his back.
Blood started to seep into his clothes, his skin started to shrink and harden into scales, I could feel feathers grow on his hands and see it started to replace his hair.
I could bearly catch my breath at the sight of his bone tearing through his skin. Breaking and mending themselves into a strange shape.
He had already bled some much it died my purple skirt to a violent red. "Please... leave..." his voice was just a broken sob; a tired whisper.
He was completely terrified. I felt tears on my face. I leaned over him and hugged him almost as if I was shielding him. Hard to shield him from his own body.
I broke down alongside him. "It's going to be over soon, real soon. I promise. It's going to be okay I'm right here. I'm not leaving." I could feel him shivering under me.
I could feel him gasping for air. I hear his bones moving in his body. I could hear his voice change with every sob. It was almost over. "It's almost over Kaeden" I was relieved we couldn't see each other's faces.
He wouldn't believe me if he could see how terrified I looked and I couldn't see what he was turning into. My tears pooled and soaked into the feathers on his back.
I felt drained but I could only imagine the pain Kaeden was going through. It was painful to just watch. I just stayed there telling him it was going to be okay as his screams override my voice.
I tightened my hold on him as I watched his blood flow from him to the crack under the door. I tried to listen to his heartbeat but I couldn't find it. After what seems like a lifetime.
His bones stopped moving, I couldn't feel any more blood flowing like a stream, and I didn't feel his skin transmute into scales and feathers pop through his skin.
I raised my head, blood had soaked through my hair dampening and staining my cheek. I looked at him.
He didn't even look human anymore. His body was covered in feathers, he had talons for nails, and his legs had grown extra joints not to mention he had grown twice- no three times his size.
He was bizarrely clean despite the pool of blood surrounding us. It would've been a straight blessing from Johi to be holding or even be this close to a Sekan beast; had its arrival been under normal circumstances.
I wiped away the blood from my face and took my arm away. I was suddenly jerked forward, it wrapped its hand on my arm. I tried to pull away but it dug its talons in my skin. I didn't hesitate to tie the thing down with vines.
the vines shot back out through the concrete and quickly made their way around the beast's neck and arms. The beast didn't take this lightly and started to stand. It pulled me close and tried to pick me up by my arm.
The plants grabbed at its legs and tried to knock it down but it stood its ground. The branch around his neck tightened forcing its head to rear up. it wasn't as monstrous as I had thought, it still had a semblance of a human face but it was not Kaeden's.
The eyes had a pattern similar to stained glass and the pupils were too large, I could see the reflection of my fear in its eyes. The neck was long it the vine had wrapped around it four times.
it clenched its jaw and bared its sharp jigsaw teeth as it struggled to breathe. I had a chance to tie it down and I didn't hesitate.
I reached out and commanded the plants to pull his knees down. It hit the ground after struggling for stability. I pulled away, its talons digging into my skin. I yanked myself free, its claws sliced open my hand and almost took my fingers off.
I grabbed at my arm the blood flowing through my fingers. the Sekan was grabbing at the branches at its neck breaking them. I didn't give it the chance to free itself before I flung it through the bed and into the wall.
The beast was shocked and angry. It expanded its size with its wings unfurling from its side, but the vines already bursting through the wall wrapped them up and bent them to be useless.
it was fighting for its freedom like a feral animal, and not a majestic beast of the gods like it was said to be. with each struggle, the vines multiplied and grew thicker.
I watched as it almost got completely consumed by the trees. I mended my flesh concentrated flame and glued my skin back together.
I looked back up and the thing was motionless. almost like it was dead. I motioned for the plants to release it. It collapsed to the ground choking for air. I went behind the door and locked it and called out to it through the bars.
"What are you?" The only response was coughs and the ruffle of feathers. "Answer me." It rose and stood still for a moment before cracking its neck downward to look me in the eyes. It was nauseating I grabbed at my neck, sure that if I tried that I'd die.
"You know what I am Witch of Rthytic." Its voice had a curl to it, a nasty freighting curl. I could hear Kaedens's voice mixed with it. "I know what u pretend to be. Sekans are beasts of the gods, you're just a beast." It chuckled before bending its neck back.
It kneeled at the door; it was still slightly larger than the door. its eyes still glimmered but its pupils were small and focused. "The gods are dead witch." I drew back from the door, it grinned slightly "At least they will be."
"What are you talking about!?" "Haven't you noticed how unfair things have been lately, never felt overwhelmed by the voiceless replies. I know you noticed how empty and gut-wrenching the tempels feel and you never wondered why?" I didn't know how to respond. I just stare at the beast.
"No. no what are you really, no Sekan would act such a way about the gods. nor would you cause your vessel so much pain." The beast stopped smiling and backed away from the door retreating into the shadows.
The lock suddenly clicked and the door opened. It spoke very coldly as it crouched through the door "The gods have abandoned their morals. They usurped Beseled, now the world will fall into chaos. There's a god slayer in this remele. this slayer is Kaeden Esmened the fourth, crowned prince of Jakqulies."
I froze as a ball built up in my throat. I tried to walk away but it grabbed my arm and forced me to listen.
"The gods know of Kaeden and want him dead. I forced my way into Kaedens soul to rid of future opposers. His physical pain is minor compared to what thousands would go through if I didn't get to him. Kaeden was never meant to be the great ruler he was meant to kill the gods" I pulled away. "let go." "You were also meant great things." "what."
"The Witch of Rthytic your name will be known far more than keadens. you will be the reason he is even remembered."
"What do you mean." it let me go and began to walk away. "I don't need to tell you, just watch the gods you commune with." I was confused, everything it told me was too much, how was I supposed to tell this to Kaeden?
I wouldn't be able to do it. I looked up and the thing was gone. I raced up the stairs to see it spread its wings on the roof of the courtyard. The wings were twice the size of its own body, so big it blocked out the moon.
Of every slayer that's ever lived, only one made it back alive, but even then their body had failed them, I can't let Kaeden leave like this. "Wait!" I looked over its shoulder.
If the gods are killed then there be a strange new age of human power, that will only lead to destruction. There has to be someone stronger to care for the weak.
"It- is there a way to make Kaeden," it looked at me and grinned, " a god." Its eyes widen and its lips curl. I would make Kaeden a god and inadvertently the beast too. It put its hand out. Kaeden fate was always twisted against him, his death was meant to be cruel and lonely. He would be fine with sacrificing himself for the greater good.
But he made a deal with a witch, he thrust his soul and the beast into my hands. Both will become gods for one to live. I dug my nails into its skin as we made our pledge to birth a new era.
Of chaos and love.
submitted by unfit-Lemonade to teenauthors [link] [comments]

2024.05.02 23:04 unfit-Lemonade [FN] Sekan beast. The beast of the gods

"You're not seriously going to chain yourself up like this?" I had to ask I couldn't handle watching this.
It was dirty and awful smelling like the funk was personally wringing my lungs dry. "I have to," he said with such a resolution, that I was thinking of just letting him have his way.
"There has to be another way though. You're the CROWNED prince, next in line for the throne of Jakqulies, I'd be a bad subject if I'd let you stay."
"And I would be a bad king if I listened to you." "I'm a good influence though, so you should listen to me."
He rolled his eyes and anchored down the chains to the wall. he ignored me, even though he was the one who brought me here in the first place.
pinched my eyebrows in frustration. "I just think, there are more ways, better ways, to handle this." "I've tried everything." I sat on the wooden bed and shrugged my shoulders trying to think of everything.
"Well when you say everything, that could mean a lot of things, did you try things related to the 'cures' and things outside of it?" He sighed, he walked over to me and looked me in the eyes.
"I have tried everything. I've tried locking myself in the dungeon and leaving the kingdom, I've tried a multitude of potions even mixing some, tried charms, hexes, and spells."
I slumped down on the wood, it was prickly and cold. Then again this entire dungeon is freezing. "Why didn't anything work?" "I don't know nor do we have the time to try and figure that out now." "It could be important. Help me do the job you asked me to do."
He didn't respond, too busy screwing chains shut on his wrist. I rolled onto the bed, it was starting to become more comfortable.
"I don't need anything specific just how it ended up failing." "Simple I couldn't stay awake." " You need to be more specific"
"Well I don't know what you want me to say. I took the potions I did the hexes and every single one didn't work." "Then what about when you left how did that fail." He was stressed and so was I.
I couldn't do anything to help cause we knew nothing about what was causing the change. He was stressed cause how is a crowned prince going to become king when he transform into a murderous monster every 24th night.
"The thing used magic and brought me back before changing." I shot up and twirled over the bed to face him. "It used magic!?" he froze a bit, confused by the reaction. "Yes, you already know it can use magic. "NOT powerful magic!"
I crawled off the bed and raced into my bag. "What does it matter?" He was perplexed by how panicked I was dumping things out. I need the drawings.
"It completely changes things!" I saw the paper fall onto the floor. I snatched it up and raced to the light outside the dungeon.
I didn't believe it when I saw the drawing, I thought I was being overdramatic. There was no way I was right at first, I couldn't be, because then that would mean- I stared at the drawing it looked exactly how they described it to be. I looked back at Kaeden.
It's crazy how learning new stuff about the people you know can completely change the way they look to you. He noticed my shift in personality immediately. "What? Edan what is it?"
"How far?" "What?" I walked to my bag and quickly started shoving things in it, keeping the drawing close to my chest.
"How far away did you go?!" "I went to Thanxthiles." I dropped my bag. "Oh, my Johi! To the Thanxthiles, like into the kingdom!" "yes."
I couldn't tell if I was excited or shocked, it didn't matter. This is the greatest day of my life. I couldn't speak either, I just started freaking out.
I grabbed onto his arms and jumped up and down roots started to sprout from beneath me every time I touched the ground. "Really? You went that far! And it used magic to bring itself back here!" He didn't respond only looking around as nature started to break into the concrete of the dungeon.
I broke away from him and started jumping all around and looking at the drawing with a newfound aspiration. "Edna wait? I'm confused." " A SEKAN BEAST! YOU'RE A SEKAN BEAST VESSEL!"
I ran toward him and shoved the paper into his hand. "Look! Look! That's what you said the beast looks like right? And it displays the use of magic!"
I was inches away from his face brimming with joy. He scooted away slightly. As he answered with sheer confusion. "Yes."
My eyes ignited in exhilaration. I was dancing all around the room. Bouncing off the walls excited. "Eden. My room! your plan-" "This is such great news, you can become so much stronger than you are now! You can become like the mighty kings of old!"
I said as I jumped on his bed and crawled towards him. I was smiling so much and felt a sudden need to laugh. "EDEN!" He grabbed me off the bed, he was strong. "WOW you're already so strong imagine when you fully grow into your powers!" "Eden my fucking room!"
I surveyed the room and noticed how it started to turn into a miniature forest, roots overturning his floors and trees ripening with fruit brushing through the wall and flowers with little flying bugs in almost every corner of where I stepped.
Still, I was breathlessly ecstatic. "A SEKAN beast." I chuckled before having to catch my breath. He sat me down.
"What is a Sekan beast and why are you so happy that it torments my kingdom?" He wasn't happy like I was, no he wasn't happy at all with my reaction.
To be fair to him becoming a vessel to a Sekan best is rare the effects on their life is grave. I raised my hand and shrunk the forest back into the ground. "I'm sorry for getting too excited but this is great news."
He winced at the words and pulled away. "How is any of this great news? I lost my best friend to this thing. And you're over here celebrating and praising my suffering."
"No no. I'm not saying what you're going through is great I'm saying what is causing this is great being and can be talked to." He shook his head and rested his arms on his legs in despair.
"A great being." He mumbled. I wrapped my arms around him and rested my head on his back, covering him with my cloak. "The thing taking over your body is called a sekan beast."
"I figured that much." "It's the beast of the gods and... is a sign that the person that they take over is in favor of the gods and they're sent to get rid of people who would interfere with their vessel's journey." He raised his head in distress. "Save me from- huh It's the very danger of my-" "I know. I know."
I grabbed his hand tightly. "The gods send the beast to take away obstacles that may cause you intense agony or intend to end your history short." he grasped onto the side of my skirt.
He was at a loss for words. I sat in silence with him. He probably didn't want to hear more about the beast.
After a while I feared for him to sleep so I shook him lightly and tried to comfort him. "I'm sorry, you lost people close or even if they were just people you never met, but they're gone for a reason."
He didn't respond, just shuddered a breath. "At least this way. You can remember them as they are not what they would've been."
He stood up and faced the wall. " I don't. I just, he was my best friend, I wanted nothing more than to rid myself of this thing since his death but now you're telling me, his death was necessary and that he would betray me or even kill me. I just. I can't."
"I never met him or know anything about your guy's relationship, but he must've changed in the future to do so."
"No people don't just change, there must have been something!" "That no one could've saved him from."
He just looked at me a shook his head. "Mmm mm! I could've!" I walked up to him and tried to reason with him.
"If the Sekan took his life that likely means it was his fate to hurt you whether he wanted to or not." "Then why kill him? If it was his fate to hurt me, why cut his life? Why kill him, by my hands? Why even have him born in the first place? " He was hurt.
"The sekan took him to spare you. Whatever it was he would've done would've been too much for you to bear, be it physically or mentally. His action would've caused your demise."
He just turned away from me. He didn't try to argue against my reason anymore and just listened to me. I gave him everything I knew about the beast.
Former vessels, their powers, the transformation, their history, and stories about how they came to be.
He suddenly sprang from the bed. "What time is it?" "Umm... it's" I looked up to my arm and used my painted fingers to move my moon tattoo it shifted to look like the moon outside.
"It's almost midnight." he just stared at my arm mouth gaped open. "What?" "What do you mean what? What was that that?"
"Magic?" "I'm not talking about the magic I'm talking about the painting on your arm. Did you paint that on yourself?" I looked at him in disbelief, laughing at his face of amusement and bewilderment, I showed him more of them.
"They're called tattoos, they're not exactly paintings. They're permanent, you ink them onto your skin using needles. Anyone can get them, many if not all witches have them. Makes casting spells easier."
"Woah. I've never seen them in real life, it seems much cooler than magic." I rolled my eyes and chuckled. "Why did you ask for the time anyway?"
His joy dispersed into a somber calm. "It's almost time." "I thought you said you didn't know when the transformation happens, it just happens" "That's true but it's typically around midnight that it happens."
I stayed silent for a moment. "It's an ugly and honestly embarrassing process that I don't want you to see." "But I need to converse with it." "Well, you'll know when the transformation is done cause you won't hear my screams anymore."
The words danced off his tongue like it was a joke. But his laughing quickly turned to a nervous cough when he saw my worrisome expression.
"I suggest it'd be best you left for a couple of minutes-" "Does it hurt you to transform?" He seemed uncomfortable at the idea of it, he swung his arms nervously before picking at the chains.
"Yes. Yes, it does." He said looking away from me as if in shame. I don't understand. The transformation should've been physically painless.
"What? Can, you describe it?" "I don't know how to. Umm, I guess it would feel like my entire body was being stretched and ripped apart."
This doesn't make any sense, is he a Sekan's vessel? I paced around a bit trying to understand.
There is no other creature able to take over a body and everything points to a sekan but the physical pain of the transformation should never happen.
"I don't want you here when it does happen. It's difficult to watch so please just go upstairs and wait." Something's wrong. I just nodded my head and walked out.
He was shutting the door, I looked back he seemed so sad. I pushed the door back open and hugged him.
He was shocked and so was I, but he was going to be in pain. "It's... it's going to be alright I promise." He hugged me and we stayed there for a moment.
Not a sound just our hearts beating. He pulled away and shut the door behind me. I walked up the stairs, slowly.
I know I said I would wait to give him his time to suffer without witness. But just because he wants it doesn't mean it's the right thing to do.
I stayed on the fourth step for what seemed to be a long time. I don't know what I was waiting for. Maybe to hear his cries? Maybe to hear him and rush back in? But I didn't hear anything.
"This looks so creepy." I insulted myself and began to walk up. I had a sickly feeling that grew with each step was it okay to leave him there alone?
I know it's what he asked and he decided it was the best and he is the future king. So I should listen to him. I made it to the courtyard, the feeling was now a wave constantly beating over me.
Fuck it.
I may reside in his kingdom but I'm a witch we know no kings. I pulled back the door and made my way back down the stairs. Which for some reason seemed to be much longer than when I came up.
The feeling was growing increasingly vexing with each step, I soon started running down the stairs. I raced to the bottom, I could hear sobs getting closer with each step
I jumped over the last two and bolted down the hall. "Kaeden!" I bearly stopped myself from sliding past his door. I grabbed the handle and flung it open. "Kaeden!" He was crouched over on the floor, grabbing at his arms. He raised his head to look at me.
"Eden?" I flinched back his left eye had bloody feathers coming out of every pore and his pupils were stretched and his eye was starting to grow over his face.
"What are you doing here?! I told you to leave!" His voice was layered with another more animalistic curl, but it just made his pain much more noticeable.
I rushed over to him. He tried to get up and walk away but quickly fell to the floor. "Please! I don't want you to see me like this!" His voice was filled with pain, I couldn't stand it. "I'm sorry but it's wrong to just leave you here to suffer alone.
Be mad at me all you want later but I won't leave you." I put my hand in his and let him squeeze it as hard as he needed. He was sweating like crazy.
Blood dripped onto my hand every second. He trembled with each new feather. I didn't know what I could do. I don't think I can do anything.
I started to panic when he started to scream out, he tried to stifle it every time but it didn't change the fact that his hands started to grow new bones.
I felt his skin break and his bones shift. I couldn't stand the feeling but it was more horrific to watch as it happened to his back.
Blood started to seep into his clothes, his skin started to shrink and harden into scales, I could feel feathers grow on his hands and see it started to replace his hair.
I could bearly catch my breath at the sight of his bone tearing through his skin. Breaking and mending themselves into a strange shape.
He had already bled some much it died my purple skirt to a violent red. "Please... leave..." his voice was just a broken sob; a tired whisper.
He was completely terrified. I felt tears on my face. I leaned over him and hugged him almost as if I was shielding him. Hard to shield him from his own body.
I broke down alongside him. "It's going to be over soon, real soon. I promise. It's going to be okay I'm right here. I'm not leaving." I could feel him shivering under me.
I could feel him gasping for air. I hear his bones moving in his body. I could hear his voice change with every sob. It was almost over. "It's almost over Kaeden" I was relieved we couldn't see each other's faces.
He wouldn't believe me if he could see how terrified I looked and I couldn't see what he was turning into. My tears pooled and soaked into the feathers on his back.
I felt drained but I could only imagine the pain Kaeden was going through. It was painful to just watch. I just stayed there telling him it was going to be okay as his screams override my voice.
I tightened my hold on him as I watched his blood flow from him to the crack under the door. I tried to listen to his heartbeat but I couldn't find it. After what seems like a lifetime.
His bones stopped moving, I couldn't feel any more blood flowing like a stream, and I didn't feel his skin transmute into scales and feathers pop through his skin.
I raised my head, blood had soaked through my hair dampening and staining my cheek. I looked at him.
He didn't even look human anymore. His body was covered in feathers, he had talons for nails, and his legs had grown extra joints not to mention he had grown twice- no three times his size.
He was bizarrely clean despite the pool of blood surrounding us. It would've been a straight blessing from Johi to be holding or even be this close to a Sekan beast; had its arrival been under normal circumstances.
I wiped away the blood from my face and took my arm away. I was suddenly jerked forward, it wrapped its hand on my arm. I tried to pull away but it dug its talons in my skin. I didn't hesitate to tie the thing down with vines.
the vines shot back out through the concrete and quickly made their way around the beast's neck and arms. The beast didn't take this lightly and started to stand. It pulled me close and tried to pick me up by my arm.
The plants grabbed at its legs and tried to knock it down but it stood its ground. The branch around his neck tightened forcing its head to rear up. it wasn't as monstrous as I had thought, it still had a semblance of a human face but it was not Kaeden's.
The eyes had a pattern similar to stained glass and the pupils were too large, I could see the reflection of my fear in its eyes. The neck was long it the vine had wrapped around it four times.
it clenched its jaw and bared its sharp jigsaw teeth as it struggled to breathe. I had a chance to tie it down and I didn't hesitate.
I reached out and commanded the plants to pull his knees down. It hit the ground after struggling for stability. I pulled away, its talons digging into my skin. I yanked myself free, its claws sliced open my hand and almost took my fingers off.
I grabbed at my arm the blood flowing through my fingers. the Sekan was grabbing at the branches at its neck breaking them. I didn't give it the chance to free itself before I flung it through the bed and into the wall.
The beast was shocked and angry. It expanded its size with its wings unfurling from its side, but the vines already bursting through the wall wrapped them up and bent them to be useless.
it was fighting for its freedom like a feral animal, and not a majestic beast of the gods like it was said to be. with each struggle, the vines multiplied and grew thicker.
I watched as it almost got completely consumed by the trees. I mended my flesh concentrated flame and glued my skin back together.
I looked back up and the thing was motionless. almost like it was dead. I motioned for the plants to release it. It collapsed to the ground choking for air. I went behind the door and locked it and called out to it through the bars.
"What are you?" The only response was coughs and the ruffle of feathers. "Answer me." It rose and stood still for a moment before cracking its neck downward to look me in the eyes. It was nauseating I grabbed at my neck, sure that if I tried that I'd die.
"You know what I am Witch of Rthytic." Its voice had a curl to it, a nasty freighting curl. I could hear Kaedens's voice mixed with it. "I know what u pretend to be. Sekans are beasts of the gods, you're just a beast." It chuckled before bending its neck back.
It kneeled at the door; it was still slightly larger than the door. its eyes still glimmered but its pupils were small and focused. "The gods are dead witch." I drew back from the door, it grinned slightly "At least they will be."
"What are you talking about!?" "Haven't you noticed how unfair things have been lately, never felt overwhelmed by the voiceless replies. I know you noticed how empty and gut-wrenching the tempels feel and you never wondered why?" I didn't know how to respond. I just stare at the beast.
"No. no what are you really, no Sekan would act such a way about the gods. nor would you cause your vessel so much pain." The beast stopped smiling and backed away from the door retreating into the shadows.
The lock suddenly clicked and the door opened. It spoke very coldly as it crouched through the door "The gods have abandoned their morals. They usurped Beseled, now the world will fall into chaos. There's a god slayer in this remele. this slayer is Kaeden Esmened the fourth, crowned prince of Jakqulies."
I froze as a ball built up in my throat. I tried to walk away but it grabbed my arm and forced me to listen.
"The gods know of Kaeden and want him dead. I forced my way into Kaedens soul to rid of future opposers. His physical pain is minor compared to what thousands would go through if I didn't get to him. Kaeden was never meant to be the great ruler he was meant to kill the gods" I pulled away. "let go." "You were also meant great things." "what."
"The Witch of Rthytic your name will be known far more than keadens. you will be the reason he is even remembered."
"What do you mean." it let me go and began to walk away. "I don't need to tell you, just watch the gods you commune with." I was confused, everything it told me was too much, how was I supposed to tell this to Kaeden?
I wouldn't be able to do it. I looked up and the thing was gone. I raced up the stairs to see it spread its wings on the roof of the courtyard. The wings were twice the size of its own body, so big it blocked out the moon.
Of every slayer that's ever lived, only one made it back alive, but even then their body had failed them, I can't let Kaeden leave like this. "Wait!" I looked over its shoulder.
If the gods are killed then there be a strange new age of human power, that will only lead to destruction. There has to be someone stronger to care for the weak.
"It- is there a way to make Kaeden," it looked at me and grinned, " a god." Its eyes widen and its lips curl. I would make Kaeden a god and inadvertently the beast too. It put its hand out. Kaeden fate was always twisted against him, his death was meant to be cruel and lonely. He would be fine with sacrificing himself for the greater good.
But he made a deal with a witch, he thrust his soul and the beast into my hands. Both will become gods for one to live. I dug my nails into its skin as we made our pledge to birth a new era.
Of chaos and love.
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2024.05.02 22:40 This_isnt_important Accidental Compost

Accidental Compost
So I normally toss my grass clippings in a paper bag and set it out on garbage day.
This year I decided to use a black bin for more space. Started pruning the tree in February, roses from Valentine's Day, some leftover leaves, a pile of grass.
I opened it today, 2.5 months later. It's hot, steamy and wet. Should I take advantage and let this guy cook?
Should I use what's already there as the base for my new raised bed?
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2024.05.02 22:28 SockPuppet-47 Will It Fit?

Will It Fit?
So, I'm tired of the mattress I've used for the last 10 years. I bought it at the Joplin Petro and it was supposed to be memory foam but it's just a foam mattress with a cover on it.
I'm curious about the thickness. Since it's on top of a storage bin that I use pretty much daily it's gotta work okay with the bunk being raised and lowered. The one I've been using is 6" but this one is 10". Seems to me that the edge should deform pretty easy but across the whole distance of the mattress it might be hard to do.
Anyone else have something similar? The one I'm looking at is a bed in a box from Amazon.
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2024.05.02 22:25 Spartawolf Galactic High (Chapter 120)

First/Previous
Jack breathed heavily as he dozed in his hammock, trying his best to doze and get what little REM sleep he could. Despite his brain telling him he had to, his body just wasn’t cooperating that well, with a combination of the earlier ‘bedtime’, the rattling cargo on the shelves around them, and Jack clearly anticipating the probable danger ahead all leaving him in an uncomfortable flux state of semi-lucidity.
Deciding to make the best of the situation, he just kept his eyes shut, trying to clear his mind of his worries as he simply listened to the sound of his own breathing and the slight rumbling of the shuttle and he lay there in the hammock with Chiyo.
His battleskin underneath his clothes actually felt good in the heated cargo compartment they were in, in no small part due to his new armour, which had done a good job of keeping his body well-ventilated so that there wasn’t any discomfort when he moved. He had no idea if things were similar for the other armour types, but he and Nika had agreed that it was a perfect fit.
Jack had no idea how long it had been since they started, but there hadn’t been any problems on their journey. The crew had kept to themselves throughout, though Chiyo had been confident they had been drinking on the job, causing Sephy to loop the internal cameras and check more of the containers for anything tasty or expensive, and Jack was grateful for the bag of steak-flavoured crisps the Skritta had thrown his way earlier.
Almost idly he shifted slightly in his doze, causing the figure he was cuddled up to move with him. He had almost forgotten Chiyo was there, and he instinctively wrapped his arms around her reassuringly, before all of a sudden there was a sudden sharp wave of force, causing him to snap awake with a start, spotting where his hand had accidentally been for a split second before the hammock tipped over, causing them both to thump down to the ground with a hard thud.
Hearing the groans from all around them, Jack could see that they hadn’t been the only ones woken up by that, as Sephy was rubbing her head on the floor, while Nika was on her feet scanning for threats.
“Fuck! What was that?” one of the crew at the front exclaimed.
“I dunno! Some kind of turbulence!” another one of the men grumbled. “Fuck, rookie! You’ve gotta keep an eye on things!”
“What!? The lights were green!” the rookie exclaimed in disbelief.
“Yeah, suuuure they were!” the first voice retorted, clearly not believing them.
“Um…sorry about that,” Jack whispered. “Accident!”
Suuure it was! Chiyo teased back. Some warning would have been nice!
“Damn, well that timing could have been worse!” Sephy shrugged with a grin. “We’re nearly there, only about fifteen minutes out.”
“In that case, gear up and get ready to move,” Alora ordered them all. “We don’t want to hang around here.”
“Roger that.” Jack sighed, as he got up and began to pack.
*****
“Coming in for a landing,” the old captain professionally called out over the ship-wide comm, as Sephy finished hiding the evidence of their scrounging of the cargo.
“We all good?” Nika asked, as she gave her shotgun a quick check out of habit.
“Yep!” Sephy grinned, practising her quick draw with her twin pistols. “These magnetic clips on our armour are dead useful! Even you won’t lose your weapons easily, Jack!”
“Oh for fucks sake, you’re still gonna bring that up?!” Jack groaned as the others snorted in amusement. “You would have dropped your stuff too!”
Well, even if you do drop anything, they should automatically reattach if you’re in close enough proximity and nothing’s impeding it.
“Like Iron Man or something, right?” Jack asked, earning a bemused look from Chiyo, who obviously didn’t understand the reference, but nodded anyway.
“Heh, that doesn’t work with grenades, right?” Sephy asked with a grin. “That one might be a bit counterproductive!”
“I am very sure it doesn’t!” Alora giggled. “But Clan Bharzum know what they’re doing! I’m sure everything will be fine!”
They all held on as the shuttle made its final approach, before finally plonking to the ground. Everyone was ready by the time the crew had everything powered down.
“So, head to the docks, find the crew and be out of here in less than ten minutes,” Jack stated as if to remind everyone of what they were here to do
“Yep!” Alora confirmed. “This should only be a border town with not many people around, so I doubt there’ll even be that many ships around. Add the fact that the crew is all Megafauna, and the fact they know we’re coming, and it shouldn’t be too hard to find.”
“Um…guys….” Nika called out as the cargo ramp began to open, and Dante gave a low whine of concern. “We might have a slight problem…”
The crisp, cold breeze that buffeted them was instantly punctuated by the sounds of shouts, screams and bedlam in the distance, broken up by the occasional burst of gunfire, but it was only when the ramp fully extended to let them down could they see the chaos they were about to walk into.
The Cypherport they had expected should have been a quiet, small border town with a simple dock for traders and fishers…
The Cypherport they had landed right at the edge of made the most ghetto streets of Detroit look tame by comparison!
Tightly packed shacks and dilapidated houses leaned menacingly over a labyrinth of narrow winding streets, barely illuminated by the many grimy, flickering neon signs all over the town that cast eerie shadows over the crumbling streets, adorned with gang symbols, crude drawings and warnings, with all sorts of dangerous looking people milling about, from what they could see from where they were.
I don’t understand… Chiyo began. This can’t be the right place? We researched this place, it wasn’t meant to be like this at all!
“Maybe the info you found is outdated,” Sephy pointed out. “But everything I’ve got says this is the place…what the fuck!?”
“Everybody stick close together!” Alora warned as they slowly and carefully made their way down the ramp, with the workers barely giving them any acknowledgement. “Our plan hasn’t changed. We head to the docks and get out.”
“I can plot us a basic route, but I’m not throwing drones up until we need to,” the Skritta warned as she typed a few things on one of her tablet devices, converting the view they saw from the cargo ramp into a basic map.
“Should we use the Broaches of Disguise?” Jack asked Alora, who nodded instantly.
“Good idea, Jack,” the Eladrie agreed. “The less attention we bring to ourselves, the better.”
Quickly activating their magic, the group cautiously made their way out of the tiny Corvin Enterprises drop-off point into the shadowy dystopian streets. Now that they were close up, they could see that the buildings around them were thin and mostly composed of wood with multiple floors, with the majority having steep, high-peaked roofs that dissuaded them from attempting to traverse along the rooftops.
Looking around Jack could already see a few faces of the shady-looking inhabitants gazing their way with suspicion and curiosity, causing him to keep one hand on his gun. He didn’t care what any of these guys wanted, if anyone came up to them with no good reason, he was ready to attack at a moment's notice.
Was this what it was like to be a cop in America?
“Hey man! You wanna buy some grass?” someone called out from the side, and Jack could see a few street vendors peddling their wares from makeshift stalls. The one that had called out to them was obviously trying to sell them drugs of dubious quality, but a few others had weapons or random electronics, probably stolen. Many of the vendors were obscured under hoods or facemasks, making it impossible to discern their intentions at a glance. Jack just curtly shook his head, and kept walking forward.
This is so sketchy, Chiyo pointed out, while doing her best to keep up with them on foot, not attracting any attention by floating in the air like she usually did.
“So far so good,” Jack whispered back, before a shark crack of gunfire echoed through the streets ahead, followed by the sounds of a few smashed bottles.
“That was closer to the centre of the town,” Sephy told them, checking her map. “We stick along the outside, we can avoid that shit.”
“Speaking of shit, fucking hell it smells bad,” Nika growled as her nose was assaulted by the pungent odour wafting around them.
“It’s just like the bad parts of the city,” Alora noted. “The quicker we get out of here the better.”
“Docks aren’t far,” Sephy whispered to them. “Just down the hill.”
“I see it…” Jack whispered back as they rounded a corner onto a particularly narrow street, where a gang of thugs aggressively stared them down as they passed, though didn’t go after them. A few of them whispered among themselves and pointed, causing Dante to lowly growl under his breath.
“Reckon they made us, Chiyo?” Nika asked the Ilithii as the group briskly kept walking, toeing the fine line between casual walking without fear and running to safety.
It is possible, Chiyo replied unsurely. I don’t know for sure.
“Then we lose them in the alleyways,” Alora muttered under her breath. “Are they following us?”
They look like they’re debating it, Chiyo confirmed.
“We can break line of sight up ahead, alleyway to the right,” Sephy whispered, and Jack nodded as he led the way. They turned down the alleyway, quickly sprinting for the next turning the moment line of sight was broken, keeping their footsteps as quiet as possible as they maintained their general direction down to the docks, before finally emerging on the waterfront to a few curious glances of some very inebriated sailors.
“How are we for time?” Alora asked nobody in particular, as Jack checked his commlink.
“It’s been about ten minutes,” Jack told her. “Just need to find our ride and we can get out of here.”
“Yeah, but these docks are fucking huge,” Nika pointed out. “It’s nobody’s fault, but we’ve still got bad intel about this place.”
“Then we just walk up and down and hope for the best until we see our guy.” Jack shrugged. “We know the kind of people we’re looking for at least, right?”
Right, Chiyo agreed. Let’s go! Keep your wits about you!
*****
“Where the fuck are these assholes?” Nika grumbled about 15 minutes later as they checked the various piers for any sign of their contact. “The client told us they knew we’d be on our way!”
“Doesn’t mean they have to sit in place I suppose,” Jack reasoned. “Though I’m surprised that in a place like this they wouldn’t have a guard set up for their ship.”
“Raises a valid point though,” Sephy spoke up. “Could we steal one of the ships and make our way to where we need to go?”
Don’t forget that we need to come back here! Chiyo warned.
“Okay, we ‘borrow’ one of the ships and return it intact then…” Sephy suggested half-heartedly with chuckles from the others.
“We can keep looking around here or we can wait for someone that looks like our contacts to show up,” Alora began grimly.
“Which will take time, which we shouldn’t waste, especially if people have worked out we’re here,” Nika prompted. “Anyone with basic astral sight can see through our disguises, and anyone smart and knowledgeable enough can work it out too, so waiting around is a huge risk.”
“Or we go looking for our contacts.” Alora grimaced, hating the idea herself. “There was a lot of noise in the middle of the district. Whatever it is, if they’re not here, they’re probably there.”
Along with everyone else, Chiyo pointed out. It’s a risky move.
“Do you think it’s a risk worth taking?” Jack asked, not having a particular opinion either way.
“I would frame it as our ‘least worst option’”. Alora tentatively nodded. “But in this situation we don’t want to hang around any longer than we need to.”
“You’re right, but we’ll need to be careful.” Jack sighed. “If we can’t find them, Sephy’s idea is probably the next best thing we can do. Unless anyone else has any better ideas?”
Looking around, everyone shook their heads.
“Very well then.” Alora nodded slowly. “Everyone stay as close together as you can without attracting attention. Jack, Nika, you lead the way.”
“Got it.” Nika whispered, Jack nodding in agreement as he took point, heading towards what looked like a busy main street in the distance. Though it wasn’t as covert as he would like, he figured that they could hide in plain sight while looking for their contacts.
“Eww…” Alora muttered under her breath, as a slurring reptilian almost stumbled into them, reeking of cheap alcohol and vomit as they staggered aimlessly past, weaving unsteadily across the dirt road with glazed eyes before they smacked into a crumbling wall, earning laughs from a few nearby crowds as he pitched forward and threw up on the floor.
“Damn! Wouldn’t want to be him in the morning!” Sephy quipped, as the group saw two shady-looking men approaching the drunk with ill-intent.
I doubt that fool has anything left worth stealing, Chiyo noted as they put some distance away from the imminent mugging.
“Wait, shouldn’t we do something?” Jack asked, only for Alora to sharply shake her head.
“Best not get involved,” Nika added as they saw the two muggers run away, while the drunk guy flailed around helplessly. “Or we bring much worse down upon us.”
“Yeah…” Jack sighed, who couldn’t help but agree with the logic. He felt uneasy as they weaved their way through the sea of gutter trash, not finding anybody who looked like their contacts, but gradually getting closer to the sounds of debauchery up ahead.
As they got closer to what sounded like a wild party up ahead, Jack spotted a small, rat-like Lizta squatting down right in the middle of the road taking a dump, to the immense displeasure of Alora as they gave the degenerate a wide berth.
“Reckon that was the Pooping Bandit?” Sephy joked, as Alora shuddered in disgust at what they had just witnessed.
“Doubt it.” Nika snorted in amusement. “Designated shitting streets are probably the norm here. Hell I’d sooner trust a dirt road than anything else in this shithole.”
Let’s hurry up so we can get out of here! Chiyo hurried them along. With any luck this will be the worst thing that happens this weekend.
“Let’s hope.” Jack agreed as they kept on moving, ignoring the inquisitive glances from the various beggars and panhandlers sitting at the side of the road begging for change. Though Jack wouldn’t have minded tossing a few credsticks their way, he didn’t want to look like an appealing target for any of the gangers and other trash hanging around.
“Watch out for pickpockets,” Sephy warned, as she checked the movement of a mangy toad-looking being who tried to sidle up past them, flashing him her gun, which caused him to back off.
As the group reached the top of the hill, the sounds of raucous laughter, clinking glasses and pounding music became deafening, drowning out everything else in a cacophony of noise that reverberated through the air. The streets around them were packed with a dense crowd, clamouring and jostling as they drank what looked like ale out of dirty-looking glasses, many of them chipped or smashed.
At the centre of the main street was a great obelisk jutting out of the road several metres high that looked like it was made of bright green glass, with white runes gently glowing in swirls along the base, but Chiyo looked genuinely upset by the way the star attraction of Cypherport had been defaced and almost completely blanketed by old graffiti and vandalism, and Jack couldn’t blame her. Though it bore little significance to him, he still felt a pang of sheer disappointment at seeing such disrespect for what should have been a cultural artefact, as a blue-scaled reptilian walked up to it, dropped his trousers and began pissing against it, while another placed his hand against it and puked, leaving a yellow stream along the faded glass.
“Leave it Chiyo, it’s not worth it.” Alora whispered to the distressed Ilithii, who looked like she was about to attack the men for their desecration, with Dante whining as he pawed at Chiyo’s leg.
“Guys? Over here.” Sephy called to the group and pointed. Just ahead of them was a huge building that might have once been a town hall or a temple of some kind, but looked like it had long since been repurposed into a huge nightclub.
Bolting onto the remains of what could have once been a religious symbol was a poorly maintained neon sign that kept flickering the words ‘The Soggy Pussy’.
“Welp.” Jack began. “I think we know where they probably are.”
“Well, they’re not out here.” Nika sighed. “No getting around it then, looks like we’re heading in!”
“Looks like it.” Alora sighed, as she took point.
I doubt it needs to be said, but don’t drink or take anything here, Chiyo warned, as they sidestepped a group of four off-duty Red Legion soldiers who were taking turns snorting lines of white powder off of a half-rotted wooden picnic table.
“Really? Aww damn,” Sephy joked as they politely made their way through the crowd to the front door, where a greeter was hyping up the crowd.
“You like dicks? We’ve got dicks!” The Xarak grinned as he pointed to members of the crowd. “Here at The Soggy Pussy we got lotsa dicks for you to choose! Hairy mammal dicks! Dry reptilian dicks! Wet amphibian dicks! Soft aquatic dicks! Questionable animal dicks! Laaaaady dicks!”
“Lovely…” Alora muttered under her breath as they gave the hypeman a wide berth and headed to the door, past the towering bouncers standing guard at the entrance. For a moment Jack thought they would give them trouble, but after assessing their worthiness in the mysterious way that bouncers do, they allowed them to pass without a problem.
Ducking under the buzzing signs and projections of various disgusting things that would make even Kizzarith blush, they group was immediately engulfed in a maelstrom of chaos. The pounding bass of the local shitty music swirled through the air like a physical force, shaking the very foundations of the building and almost completely drowning everything else out. Overhead, lights flashed and span in a dizzying array of colours, casting the room into a kaleidoscope of light and shadow, disorienting the group as they looked around for their contacts. Overhead, they could see a set of well-used heavy turrets scattered all along the ceiling looking out over the crowd, a sure sign that violence was commonplace here.
We should head to the bar. Chiyo indicated to the far end of the huge room. Maybe we can ask the bartenders if they’ve seen them, might need to throw them a bribe though…
“Stay behind me.” Jack warned, as he pushed his way past the writing, dancing bodies all around them tangling to the rhythm of the music, causing him to almost gag from the putrid scent of alien sweat and pheromones. He kept to the walls as a fight broke out in the middle of the dance floor between a few rival gangs, only for a few more bouncers on duty to step in and royally beat the perpetrators until they could no longer move, chucking them against the wall to take a nap.
Turning around to make sure his friends were still close, Jack moved away from the outer wall to avoid a series of women giving ‘special attention’ to a few guys, their expressions far from focused on what was going on all around them, making a beeline for the bar past a group of mercenaries smoking something questionable that left a sickly sweet smoke in the air around them.
“What you kids want?” one of the grungy-looking Xarak bartenders grunted at them with a sly expression as they approached the bar, surprising Jack that he didn’t call them out for their age, or being here in the first place. He simply guessed they didn’t care.
“A crew of River Giants,” Alora asked the man, slipping a credstick across the bar, which he pocketed with a greasy palm. “We seek the captain.”
“Yeah they’re around.” The barman grinned a creepy, toothy smile, staring at Alora a little too intently. “First balcony up on the left.
“Thank you.” Alora nodded as politely as she could before turning away.
“Finally, let’s find them and get the fuck out of here!” Nika shouted out over the noise of the crowd. “This place is dodgy as fuck!”
More than that, there was something off about that barman, Chiyo added, with all of the group agreeing with nodding heads.
“We’d better make this quick then!” Sephy urged them on. “I see stairs heading up over there!”
Making their way through the crowd they got to the staircase in the far corner of the room, near to where an avian DJ in a ridiculous purple pimp outfit was changing tracks while hanging a crack pipe out of his beak.
“Watch yourselves going up,” Jack warned as he noted the many spills dripping beneath their feet. Carefully they made their way up, dodging a few intoxicated patrons coming in the opposite direction with by now well-practised fitness.
“That looks like them over there!” Nika pointed in the distance. Indeed, a group of about 5 or 6 large green-skinned megafauna were sat around a small coffee table laughing at a joke one of them had told in between taking shots of hard liquor.
“Excuse me?” Alora called out to the oldest one, a bald man with a thick grey beard in a simple toga. “Are you Captain Ripples-On-Salt?”
“That I am lass!” The River Giant boomed out with a grinning jovial voice. “I must say you kids are all here much earlier than we expected!”
How so? Chiyo asked curiously. You were made aware by our mutual client that we would be on our way and to expect our arrival. You didn’t even post a guard on your boat!
“What in the name of deep waters are you talking about?” Captain Ripples-On-Salt scoffed. “We got word that the mess in the city meant we wouldn’t expect you until morning, got some tokens to come here to tide us over…”
“Word from who?” Alora asked incredulously.
As Alora spoke to the captain, Jack had an uneasy feeling as he looked around. Though the crowd was massive, and most seemed to pay them no heed as they conducted their business, he could somehow sense that eyes were on him, even if he couldn’t identify where they were.
“Guys, it doesn’t matter!” Nika told them. “We should finish up and get the fuck out of here!”
As Jack looked around he suddenly felt a strange sensation forcing his senses into overdrive. Immediately dismissing it as nothing malicious, he found himself looking down at his hand where the Ring of the Berserker was snugly attached. If it had actually done anything since he had first put it on, Jack didn’t know, but now for the first time it seemed to vibrate slightly, as the gem in the middle began to glow a slight blood-red, and only grew more intense in feeling…
“Alright, finish up…” the Captain began to order his crew. “We have a-”
“Fuck!” Sephy yelled in alarm, but Jack was already moving, suddenly aware of the danger as he quickly dodged to the side to avoid the knife, before grabbing the Xarak attacker’s knife-hand in a counter, using their forward momentum to drag them in a circle to smash it’s head into the wall in one solid motion. Sephy quickly used her wings to put some distance between her and her attacker, before she magdumped her twin pistols into the Korrigan that tried to stab her while the others had barely processed what was happening.
Sensing thunderous movement closing on him, Jack drew his axe and spun around in a diagonal slash, only for the axe to be caught in a single meaty hand, while the other reached forward and closed around his neck. Quickly letting go of his axe with one of his hands, the panicking Jack grabbed onto his attacker’s fingers to barely hold them back from snapping his neck then and there…
As he struggled to break free from the hold, Jack growled in defiance at the large Ogar man he really didn’t want to see again…
“Embrace your redemption boy!” the Redeemer snarled with a face bearing scars from their last encounter, his eyes staring into Jack with hatred as he squeezed tighter…
Desperately, Jack tried to break the grapple, but the Redeemer was just too strong! Behind him, he could hear the others with their own problems, so he couldn’t afford to stall for time. The confines of the balcony made it difficult for him to move around to try and slip out of The Redeemer’s grasp.
Unless!
His legs swung at the wall as the Redeemer flailed Jack about, trying to finish him, but Jack held stubbornly on. Gritting his teeth, Jack kept his footing, before he suddenly kicked off from the wall in a burst of strength, sending The Redeemer staggering back, still keeping his hold on Jack’s neck. As the two heavy forms hit the wooden safety rail, the long-rotted wood gave way like paper and smashed into splinters and the two figures headed straight to the ground below…
*****
First/Previous
FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!
Don't forget to check out The Galactic High Info Sheet! If you want to remind yourself of certain characters and factions. One new chapter a week can seem like a while! Don't forget! You all have the ability to leave comments and notes to the entries, which I encourage you to do!
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2024.05.02 22:24 AbjectAd3344 Cottontail Rabbits

I recently found 4 baby cottontail rabbits in my backyard. I think it's pretty cool having them around. However, what are the negatives to letting them live peacefully and occasionally feeding them?
I have a raised garden bed that is above ground and about 2 feet high. They won't be an issue for that. I also have no flowers or other plants, just grass around the house.
What are some negatives to feeding them and letting them live peacefully? Can they be destructive in other ways?
What are the benefits of keeping them around?
submitted by AbjectAd3344 to Rabbits [link] [comments]

2024.05.02 22:18 K_smit123 My father’s constant derision is driving me bananas

I’m sure this is something that everyone on here has been on the receiving end of at some time or another, but it never fails to stick its nails into me.
Every day is such a chore. Every tiny action is accounted for and every thought is cut short because it often doesn’t have a tail end. I never chose this life for myself and yet I’m constantly made to feel that I have.
I’m tired because I don’t try. I’ve lost years to this because I don’t try. I’m wasting away in my bedroom because I don’t try. I’ve lost friendships because I don’t try. I lost weight because I don’t try. I gained weight because I don’t try. I’m at my wits end. It’s been 13 years, fast approaching 14, and every day is a heaving mass that doesn’t seem to be getting any lighter.
I had two good days recently where I made it out of my bedroom and managed to sit in the garden, only for it to bite me in the back. I’m back in bed once more.
I don’t get how anyone, let alone someone who knows me so well, can look on to a former A* student who loved life, music and sports and who is now a shadow of themselves, and think it’s a choice.
I would scream but that would likely lend itself to a crash. Writing this out alone is making my brain hurt. But I just needed to let it out. Thank you to the mods for allowing me a space to do so.
Goodnight xxx
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2024.05.02 22:00 Room_is_0n_fire What should my brother do? - Brother (47M) is heading towards Divorce with Bedridden Wife (48F)

TLDR: Brother has essentially been a caregiver for wife for entirety of marriage but specifically last 7 years. Is breaking down and feels life slipping away and they are hurtling towards divorce. Doesn't want to take daughters away and will plan to support 100% financially, but needs to live his life. What should he do?

My brother K (47M) has been married to his wife A (48F) for about 15 years. It moved extremely fast in the beginning. They got married after less than a year of being together, but he has always had a very good head on his shoulders so it never raised a red flag, and he fell head over heels. I was always a bit skeptical about A (I'll get into that later), but she is undoubtedly a loving person that cares about everyone, and they were a good fit.
From the very beginning however, she has head health issues. In the first year she was in a car accident and hurt her shoulder. Not terribly, but enough where she was on pain medication and enough that it impacted their honeymoon and her ability to do things. Then she fell down stairs and hurt that same shoulder due to being on drug medication, and it's hard to keep track but there seems to have been at least 2 more instances where she hurts this same shoulder, enough so that she eventually gets it replaced a few years later.
Throughout all of this, K is a saint. He has a demanding job starting a business, but throughout he is as loving as can be and essentially spends all his time not working caring for her. At the same time, A's parents relationship is falling apart. Their business fails during the great recession, the mom essentially leaves the Dad who goes off and lives on his own while she lives with my brother in a house that they specifically chose so she would have a room. Again, K is loving and doesn't complain one second at least to me or family. (A also has a brother who lived in the same state as the parents but the idea of the mother staying with him instead has never been broached. I'm not sure if it was ever even discussed). The mom has lived with K and A for the last 14 years.
A side note: A had a job prior to the car accident in marketing and sales, but sort of gives it up due to the various health issues. She at one point starts a jewelry business that is actually somewhat successful. K bankrolls the entire operation and they find some success. However after sort of hitting a plateau and also due to the additional health issues that I'm going to bring up below, she sells it to someone for a nominal amount.
They eventually have a daughter. A had been taking pain medication before due to the various shoulder issues, but stops due to the pregnancy. Even before it didn't seem to be an issue that creates other issues other than just impacting her health, but eventually she does enter rehab to try and completely stop which she does for a bit.
It's about this time that A is more and more reclusive when we visit to see them. When she's around, she is the prototypical "southern host" (She's from Georgia). But half the time we visit, we may not even see her because she is feeling sick and stays in their room. Nobody has any idea what the issue is, but after several months and maybe even a year, they seem to realize that it's something called POTS. This isn't something that was tested, but is really a hypothesis by a doctor trying to figure out what the issue is. Over the years, things get gradually worse and worse, any treatment they do to help may work for a bit but then quickly things get worse.
Eventually she also gets diagnosed with something called Ehlers Danlos Syndrome. Actually she self-diagnosed and doctors agreed when they met with Ehlers Danlos and POTS specialists. Apparently this can be tested for genetically, but there are maybe some variants that are not. Hers was not. Having these two afflictions essentially take over A's life. This becomes her identity. She joins groups, every conversation with her steers back to talking about how difficult they are. She essentially stays in bed 75% of the time that we visit him, and no clue how much time she stays in bed total, but i would get its 75% to 90%.
And this is has been the saga of their relationship for the last 7 years. Doctors are absolutely clueless and have no idea how to treat it. They go to specialists who claim to be able to treat it with invasive spine and neck surgeries (which she does) having things like Ports put in so they can inject albumin. It's one thing after another. Any treatment they go through apparently is a "miracle cure" in A's words (at this point, she also starts an Instagram channel that gives weekly updates on how things are going and how difficult life is.) She eventually starts using a wheelchair and today is bedridden as far as I am aware for 99% of the time
Throughout all of the above, K never complains. He takes care of everything for A as well as her mom (who has her own thing entirely. Is constantly sick or feeling ill where she also spends nearly all her time in her part of the house. The mother is also unable to help at all around the house). His business is actually booming and is making enough money to support all the health issues, which are not covered by insurance I think, as well as hire help and caregivers. He essentially has no friends and is unable to go to social outings because anytime that he is not working he is caregiving for A or taking care of daughters (they had a second daughter via surrogate). His visits to my parents (who are 86 and 83) become less and less frequent because he needs to spend time with A.
And this is essentially the issue they are now in. K has become a caregiver. While A tells him that he should feel free to visit my parents or go with friends to play golf, when he does so she will be passive aggressive and complain that he is choosing them over her. One example is that a few years ago when A could still leave the house, they went on a beach trip. They even booked a rental right on the beach so that A could see them from her window and feel close. But when they returned from the beach one day, she was highly passive aggressive and upset that they were spending time away from her. Certainly understandable but at a certain point people have to live their lives?! Apparently she even has fought with him about walking the dog saying he spends more time with the dog than her.
Unfortunately, about 6 months ago, K broke and had an affair. He broke it off immediately and came clean to A. However this also opened up his eyes in a way and he realized what he is missing. Unfortunately, he has grown to a point where even despite her forgiving him, internally he told me that he doesn't want to "win her back." He's exhausted and feels his own life and the lives of his daughters slipping away. In his heart he does not love her anymore as a wife, but as a caregiver. She keeps saying things like "You're losing me" and wants him to renew vows and bend over backwards to win her back, but he knows deep down that he would just be leading her on because deep down he wants out. He is essentially waiting for things to fall apart so that she falls out of love with him and it just gradually dies.
They've even gone to couples counseling, and unfortunately the counselor essentially took his side on things like the need to have a social life and do activities, live life. She has "stormed out" in the past and refuses to go anymore.
He sees them heading towards divorce, but has no idea how to move forward. He has the means and would plan to support her 100% financially, but if they were to split custody of the daughters, she is unable to care for them. He would essentially be having hired help raise his daughters. But he doesn't want 100% custody and rip the daughters away. He still cares about her and wants to support her however she can, but he needs to be with someone that he can be intimate with and share a life.
What should he do? How can he move on and find the love and care that he needs as a person, while continuing to support his wife who will likely be in a bed for the rest of her life. Does he need to just accept the fact that he took a vow to care for her "through sickness and in health" (something that apparently she brought up in a recent argument), and that he will be in this situation for the rest of his life?

submitted by Room_is_0n_fire to relationship_advice [link] [comments]

2024.05.02 21:56 Adventurous_Arm8281 Tawila Island hurghada resort

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The speciality restaurant offers indoor as well as outdoor seating on the spacious, partially shaded sundeck. Here, guests can enjoy leisurely brunches or dine under the stars with beautiful surroundings and impressive ocean vistas. The extensive swimming pool area is the social hub of the resort with a number of different guest zones nearby. Here, guests can relax on the sunbeds, enjoy a refreshment at the poolside bar, cool down in the pool or take a dip in the ocean located next to the pool area with direct access to the private beach. The landscaped garden space surrounding the pool invites for evening walks after dinner, stunning sunset walks and social gatherings.
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The seaside bungalows are connected through a bridge from the shore. These pods come with their private Jacuzzis on the ocean-facing sundeck and elegantly furnished bedrooms, allowing for maximum privacy without being disconnected from the rest of the resort. The pods have been designed to provide a perfect cocoon to relax and enjoy the stunning. The interior provides for ample space and luxury amenities, such as a private master ensuite fitted with his and hers sinks and a stand alone bath tub, a cosy lounge area and the king size bed facing the sundeck and ocean.
submitted by Adventurous_Arm8281 to hurghadatravelguide [link] [comments]

2024.05.02 21:48 Chizcle WIBTAH for going no contact with my sister that has cancer

This is my first time writing anything like this about my life so I'm sorry if it's too long as there's a lot to unpack and I want to just lay everything out to get the best advice to help my decision.
I come from a family of 6. There was me, my mother, father and three sisters. I'm the youngest and there's an 8 year gap between me and my sisters, who only have around a one year gap between each of them. Growing up it was always World War 3 in our house with them as when they were in their teens the three of them shared a room. The sister in question, "Sarah", is the middle in age of the three, "Winifred" the oldest and "Mary" the youngest.
Sarah has always been the least like any of us, we're all very different, both in personality and looks, it's been pointed out multiple times by friends how different we all are from each other, but Sarah has always carried an air of superiority I've never seen in the rest of my family.
The one trait me and my siblings share would be we all have/had put ourselves first, which can be a good thing but can lean into selfishness pretty easily, a problem that plagued my personality until I met my husband who helped me see the difference in putting myself first and being a selfish AH.
Sarah has never been the type to let anything go. She always brings up things that happened when my sisters were teenagers (they're all in their 40s now) along with embellishing or completely fabricating things that have happened that make her out to be completely blameless. She retells these story's over and over until she genuinely believes them and then throws a tantrum when one or more of us correct her. I remember arguments Sarah would have with my parents that always ended up with her storming out of the house, she tends to run away from problems.
Sarah and my mother have never seen eye to eye. In many ways they're too similar, always need the last word, headstrong, never apologizing, the need to always be right and they obsess way too much about what people think (in different ways, Sarah cares about how people/ strangers perceive her and her families manners/ social status and success, my mother is particularly obsessive on people knowing details about her personal life and is a very private person). It's always been my view that Sarah has always lacked my mother's warmth and her honesty (mostly to a fault but she would always try and spare someone's feelings and bite her tongue when she really needed to). Sarah's name calling about my other sisters was always a main spark to her and my mothers arguments.
Her and Winifred got on well for the most part from what I remember, and when we all got older she was fine to talk to. There were even a few times when my father was sick, myself, Sarah and Winifred had some bonding time which was nice.
Several years ago Mary was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia ( severely effects her central nervous system, can cause wide spread pain and can easily cause fatigue) and a few years ago she was diagnosed with cervical cancer. She had a full hysterectomy and the cancer seems to be a memory but this still wasn't enough for Sarah to not belittle Mary and her, what Sarah calls "life choices". Mary has struggled with her weight since she was a teenager and Sarah never held back in letting her know her opinions on it.
It's common knowledge in our family that Sarah has always been ashamed of where she comes from and would always be embarrassed by how my mother and Mary acted and spoke (little filter and Sarah considers this candour and how they speak "lower class" ). Mary has always Sarah's verbal punching bag, both to her face and behind her back but has always disliked when people, mainly my mother, would call her out and tell her to stop. The most recent example of this I was told about was that at my wedding, she made a nasty comment about the dress Mary was wearing. Months later my mother mentioned it in an argument to Sarah that her sister (my aunt) overheard Sarah's remarks and made a disapproving face. Sarah apparently just walked away from the conversation. The next day my aunt called my mother and asked that she "not be involved in my family's drama". My mother, confused asked her what she meant and my aunt said that Sarah drove (1.5 hours) to her house to confront her about it even though it happened just short of a year before.
For years our father had been desperately trying to get my mother to agree for them to move and downsize homes so they could enjoy their retirement with a little extra money but she was extremely reluctant to leave the family home due to a combination of leaving happy memories behind and being afraid of such a big change.
Then one day, Sarah offered to give up some of her land for them to live on as a cheaper option. I think we all agreed it was a good idea and we were all so surprised by what seemed to be generosity, it blindsided us all and we mistook it as her turning over a new leaf. Our father was all for the idea as him and Sarah agreed it was good to be near family in their golden years.
I replay my parents asking my advice on this over and over in my head, as in hindsight it was obviously an awful idea. But like Winifred and Mary, I agreed it would be the best move.
Their original idea was for them to get a tiny home and have it about 100 yards from Sarah's home. Sarah entertained that idea for a short while but convinced them a built small property attached to their home would be better.
The family home was nearly 2 hours drive away from Sarah's home so her and her husband took charge with contractors and overseen almost anything to do with the build if my parents couldn't make it.
The first quote, pre-build, they received was 50k. But in the end it tripled into 150k. Over the course of the build Sarah had changed things, the location of the front door, which was now facing the window to her home office (which is her main place of work), and back door, which changed to face the back of Sarah's house ( I know this all seems like major red flags but again, her and her husband convinced them it was to do with not damaging parts of her property and what seemed like other valid reasonings).
Cut to the house being built, selling the family home and them moving in, it wasn't long until our father became ill. First we noticed his memory wasn't as sharp as it was, then he had difficulty driving and had to stop completely. It was around this time and slightly after the sale of their house Sarah started pestering him for a loan. He told me this himself, at first it was suggesting they bring everyone on a big holiday, then it was saying it would be nice to give all their kids 20k and how it would be nice to see us enjoy it. She eventually wore him down and he loaned her 20k, I'm assuming to get her off his back. At some point after she booked a trip to New York, brought 2 suitcases, one of which was empty but came back with them both packed full. I know it was her business what she wanted the money for but even if it was for a shopping trip she could have had the decency to conceal it a bit better. She promised him time and time again she'd pay him back. He never seen a penny. Previous to this he offered Winifred the same amount as she was going through a divorce and it would have gone to a house for her to move out, she thanked him for offering but turned it down and said she'd be ok. She didn't tell him that it was because she thought it wasn't right to accept money from him knowing he was sick as he was a very proud man.
My father was the best man I've ever known. Incredibly down to earth, very open and friendly and could make friends at the drop of a hat. I remember a couple of vacations when we were kids. Thousands of miles from home he'd bump into old friends of his.
He was the kind of person who rarely got a cold so his decline was obvious to everyone. It was a year of being misdiagnosed until he was finally correctly diagnosed with stage four liver cancer, which had moved to his lung and towards the end, a part of his brain.
His last month was the worst time of my entire life. The arguments, the tears, My mother and one of my sisters (I can't remember who) caught covid so we had to juggle who could be where. It was also the first time in nearly 20 years all of us were together for longer than a day.
Myself and Winifred were lucky enough to have bosses that were very understanding and adjusted our schedules so we were given the month off to be with our family.
As I said Sarah works from home and sees clients from her home office. She maintained her regular work schedule while we were all meters away. I understand that was her choice but it seems like odd while our father was literally wasting away in his bed, especially since she works for herself so has a pretty good control of when she can work.
Our father was such a strong person. Every palliative nurse that came were more and more taken aback with each visit that he was still with us.
We all said our individual goodbyes and promises to look after each other when his condition had advanced too much not to, and the next morning, he passed.
He had a special relationship with all of us and things Sarah has said since his passing leads me to believe she thought hers was the only one that mattered.
The funeral ceremony was quick (as per his wishes). We elected Sarah to be the one to give the eulogy as the rest of us have anxiety issues with public speaking, but we read what she was going to say a few days before the ceremony. I was the first one to read what she wrote and noticed a bulk of the corrections were changing "My Dad" to "Our Dad", I wouldn't have mentioned it but there were even times even in conversation I would correct her on this, it may seem insignificant but it's just something that really bothered me. I mean when siblings talk about their parents to each other is normal to just say "mom" or "dad" to each other.
There was light food and drinks in a local bar afterwards. As there were so many arguments the previous month between Winifred, Sarah, Mary & my mother, me and my husband were really the only people making conversation with her and her husband, apart from the odd distant relative or two. A week or so later Sarah flew off to New York, something she tried to conceal from my mother but she forgot she mentioned it to her almost a year before. There was yet another huge argument between Winifred & Sarah when Sarah thought Winifred told my mother this big secret. This is another trait Sarah and my mother share, forgetting they say things and to whom. When asked why she was so mad if my mother knew she was going away was something along the lines of "Because I didn't want to give her any ammunition use and tell everyone at the funeral". My mother is a chronic complainer who has never seen the bigger picture in social situations, but she knows better than that. Plus she had just lost her husband of 46 years who was also her best friend of 50, something I think Sarah will never see
The last two years without our father have not gotten any better, Winifred was diagnosed with breast cancer, started chemo, then discovered it has spread to her other breast, all while looking after 2 teenagers with CF and going through a divorce to a deplorable human being who seems to take pleasure in making her miserable. When Sarah heard the news of the divorce she offered to attend court with her, Winifred told me she yelled at her and her representation for not saying enough in court and then later told my mother "I only helped her because she has cancer".
When going on vacation with her family Sarah told my mother days before there departure and I later found out her children caught chicken pox but she took them on the plane anyway. My mother does not drive and there is no stores that are easily accessible for her.
Sarah was also diagnosed with a cancerous tumor in her colon. Both have had treatments and they seem to be on the mend.
The relationship between Sarah and my mother did not get any better in fact Sarah's partner Billy became a reluctant go between for them both.
After our father passed, my mother asked Billy could her utility bills be altered as she was still paying half of everything, even though there was four people in their house (2 kids) and she was now on her own. His response was no and that her and our father agreed to split utilities evenly. We advised my mother to organize a pre-pay electric meter for her part of the house so she could manage it properly. Shortly after, Sarah and Billy stopped using the jacuzzi they recently purchased as it was too expensive for them to run.
One month my mother paid €400, the next month €200, 2 months later it was €500, there's no way a pensioner living on her own could rack up half of those bills (The average household here only gets their oil refilled once every 3-6 months). She also bought a free standing gas bottle heater in her main living area and had her upstairs radiators were turned off to try and limit the usage as she never really went up there. I will add that Sarahs business requires a somewhat constant use of energy so even a 50/50 split of bills seemed unfair. Since our fathers passing, my mother would also spend days at time either with me, Winifred or Mary, but she paid it anyway just to not have any arguments.
She made one small payment of about 4% of the total 20k to my mother before our father passed and laid out a payment plan to her about how much she'd pay each month. There were no further payments. A year later Sarahs family dog got seriously ill and needed a surgery that would cost 1300 and asked my mother to lend her this money & my mother, being soft hearted loaned it to her. She did make an attempt to pay my mother back but again, one small payment was made and no more. Each time my mother brought up the money she'd brush her off and not speak to her for a while. The longest was 3 weeks with zero contact, and remember, she lived right beside her and my mother doesn't drive and it would be impossible for her to walk to a store. If it weren't for Myself and Winifred constantly checking in my mother would have just rationed the food she had. We had suggested to arrange a food delivery in the past but Sarah and Billy didn't want strangers to know the code for the gate to the property, but knowing she hadn't spoken to our mother for 3 weeks and didn't care enough to ask if she needed anything in the store forced my hand to arrange one anyway.
Everything that's happened with Sarah has made us seriously re-think everything she said has happened in her life, and a pattern we've noticed is that she's pushed away all her serious partners family from them. Her first serious boyfriend of 7-8 years, then her ex husband and her current husband Billy. First it would start with their mother or sisters, small squabbles at here and there, then on a weekly basis, followed by a giant falling out which would result in her partners only seeing their family on occasion and eventually cutting contact. At the time we all took her at her word: their mothers didn't want their sons taken away, they were rude, they were jealous of her independence etc. But seeing her push us all away and seeing the same thing happen to us we all feel incredibly foolish.
Sarah has done and said some pretty horrible stuff over the years. I can't remember specific times or dates and some may seem trivial but these ones just stuck with me:
- When Winifred was fighting with my mother over something trivial, she suggested "keep your kids away from her (my mother), that will hurt her". She's always used her children under the guise of care anytime they had a disagreement, to try and manipulate the argument in her favour. On several occasions my mother would wave to them playing outside or walking by her window and they'd rapidly put their heads down as if being scolded, so god knows what Sarah has ben saying to them. While we were helping my mother was move out, my niece came inside and she was in tears because my mother was not there for her birthday a few weeks before. She asked her why she didn't come out to her, why she didn't see her on her birthday and asked why she was moving and if she still loved her. Taken aback when she heard this she said of course she told her she loved her and she always would, she told her once she has a phone she could call her every day if she wanted, she explained she needed to be somewhere she could go grocery shopping and have things close to her home. I wasn't thee for the whole interaction but when my niece left my mother said the things my niece said were things Sarah had said to my mother in the past verbatim.
- Bringing her kids on a plane to vacation while they (1 or both I can't remember) had chicken pox.
- Casually mentioning to my mother about money she has left from the sale of the house and what pension she’s getting and how much (some of my mothers post had gone missing)
- She once ran away from home when she was a teenager for several weeks because my parents gave her an 11PM curfew
- Always passing comment and keeping tally about how much her or her children received for birthdays or any kind of milestone event (most recently my aunt gave her son €30 and it was the first thing she mentioned when she talked about my aunt not staying until the end for her sons birthday, something along the lines of "€30? What can he buy with that?" He just turned 12 and we only see this aunt a couple of times a year. (Also I give all my nieces and nephews that amount for birthdays and Christmas so hearing this made me re-think all her past thank yous)
- Decades of berating Mary and putting her down, always about her weight or the way she acted (hyperactive, no filter etc)
- Admitting to Winifred that she decided to build a barrier at the end of her patio to make my mother take a less direct route and, in-turn, from "looking into her house" when she needed access the trash, but told us all it was a wind barrier. My mother has always preferred to keep her own blinds shut so she's usually adamant on not looking in other peoples houses.
- After divorcing her first husband my parents took her in until she had somewhere to live. Sarah was insistent on compensating them and our father eventually accepted as she wouldn't let it go. Months later during a heated argument she said they never cared for her, to which they argued that they recently asked her to live with them after her divorce, and without missing a beat she replied calmly "you were well paid for that"
-While our father was in decline he wasn't very verbal and his motor skills weren't the best, one time she brought her and her family out for waffles, she posted a photo of them in the car, and on inspection I noticed he is holding a knife, backwards trying to eat, I still think about this photo regularly because it just angers me that she mostly wanted to be seen taking care of him, without first seeing if he was even able to eat. She documents almost every activity her and her family do, which is fine, but it really calls into question if any of it is for the sake of the activity and trying to capture the moment for her family to remember, or just to be seen doing it. Another instance of this was each morning if it wasn't her turn to stay up for the night shift, the palliative care nurse would arrive Sarah would bring everyone breakfast, but if the nurse wasn't there there'd be nothing, which I know she didn't owe anyone and I shouldn't expect good deeds from people, but she'd also be in to see our father much later those days.
- Once my parents moved into the house, not a week had passed and her and Billy would say things such as "you know we're not your carers so if it comes to it you should have something arranged" and there was always snide comments about how they built their property on her kids play area, suggesting it was an inconvenience and big of her to let them build but I don't think she's ever thought how my parents chose to spend their retirement years with her and her kids. Both my parents had told me this and we were all appalled.
- While our father was unconscious towards the end, my mother just asked Billy about an additional €5 on her utility bill. He said the internet went up and my mother either just asked when or that she didn't know it increased. He left and then 20 minutes or so later, Sarah marched in and loudly exclaimed something like "Do you think Billly is a thief or something?!". This could normally be passed off as a somewhat regular family argument, but it was generally agreed between all of us that my father could still hear us. There were certain reactions when my mother would speak to him, or when I played him his favourite songs, so her choice to start a fight about this with our dying father inches away still infuriates me.
- My mother was an avid gardener, but when she got to Sarah's land she only allowed her to have 4 plant pots at the back of the house. So many times I remember waking up with her already outside, she'd have her visor on with dirt on her clothes waving to me in the kitchen. I've been asking her what plans she has for her garden now it's taking a lot of encouragement from the rest of us for her to get back into it now she has the space.
- When me and my sisters were alone while my father was sick, we were talking about my mother and how she would cope with life when my father passed. He was responsible for everything, bills being paid on time, insurance etc. Her finances came up and Winifred asked the room if she'll have enough coming in to live off. Sarah, with a combined covetous and grudging tone I'll never forget, listed off payments my mother would be getting and ended with a " so she'll be fine" and then scanned the room for our reactions. I immediately responded with "Oh thank god, I was so worried she'd be struggling", shocked by my relieved response she stared at me for a couple of seconds and then shifted to a softer tone "Oh yeah she'll be ok" then changed the subject. I know this is conjecture, but I know my sister. Her repeated mentioning of my parents money and her general obsession with how much people have, I know she was hoping for us all to join in on what I know would have been an acquisitive rant.
- Close to our fathers end, I could only bare to be at the top of his bed. It was too much for me too look at him. This shell of a person, who was so strong in life was now half his body weight and all my family in agony around him. When it got too much for me I'd ask someone (occasionally Sarah) to sit with him while I called my husband for support and to help me through it. I later found out she brought this up against me and said I was a wreck and kept running off and my sleep breaks were too long (I stayed up for 24-30 hours at a time so I was the only one to sleep more than 5 hours). Who is she to monitor how anyone grieves. She could go into Billy whenever it got too much so she had her support system right there.
I'm sure Sarah is a good mother to her children, as they're both always so happy and care free, but Sarah sees the rest of us all as this big stain on her life she's more than happy to wash out. She's said this in some form of another several times to my mother over the past few years, "I don't need any of you, I have my family, they're there for me". I've never been the most involved in all of my sister's life, but I always make sure to never miss a Christmas or birthday for them and I always send money or buy gifts for her children, I've sent her flowers when she was unwell and when she received her diagnosis, but with everything she's done even the idea of keeping up the pretence of civility puts a bad taste in my mouth.
My mother has recently bought a new house and looking at her it's like a light switch has turned back on. I haven't seen her so relaxed and happy since my father was alive. The years living on Sarah's land she barely decorated and never really got comfortable. But the same day of moving in the first thing she did was put up one or two stuffed animals and other trinkets. Our mother decided to keep buying a house a secret to not cause an argument with Sarah as it was too draining and Sarah would make an argument out of anything my mother said. When she had signed the papers she decided to message Sarah to tell her she was leaving (Sarah had decided to not speak with her at all and for months had only spoke to her through Billy, but if my mother was outside while Sarah was with a client she would wave and say hello to her) her response was very nonchalant with a "that's your decision" all of us expected a huge reaction as it was the norm.
A part of me thinks maybe this was her end game all along, not speaking to my mother, not helping her with groceries and never having time to knock on her door to see if she was even alive. Sarah's last words to my father while he was unconscious were that she was going to try and make it work with my mother and my mother promised the same. With 2 kids and a business to run she's always so busy so any text messages my mother would always sign off with "I'm her if you need me, you know I'm always here" and varying ways to let her know the ball was very much in Sarah's court. Myself, Mary and Winifred all have been visiting my mother from hours away so I don't know why she expects my mother to be the one walk 15 meters to her front door, one time my mother tried and she was greeted with Sarah's arm literally blocking the doorway to stop her from coming in. It's my view that Sarah's last words to my father were a complete and utter lie to him, a lie she can never take back or explain and I hope it haunts her.
The way Sarah has acted and the things she has said since my father’s passing it’s obvious she has warped the memory of who my dad was and it couldn't be more wrong. Being the youngest, quiet, and sort of on my own a lot growing up I was always a very observant person. My father worshiped my mother, they were best friends, did absolutely everything together, he always took her side about everything, every argument, every situation, he was her number one fan and it never faltered no matter what, they were always a united front. I know he would be incredibly ashamed and appalled of what Sarah and Billy have put my mother through, squeezing her for every penny, being incredibly cold and not even feigning that they care, although through outside sources she's painted a completely different picture, to which my mother and sisters have used pain remover each and every time. To Sarah, she lost her father and her father only. She is starting chemo soon and sources say things are looking better for her health wise but I'd still like advice.
Thank you.
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2024.05.02 21:40 GABE_EDD Tunnel Visions - Part 3

Part 2
Enough waiting. I had to get help, there weren't any pay phones near that I knew of, but I knew that Tyler's house was just a few streets over. Panting heavily from the exertion and the weight of dread that clung to my every step, I raced through the familiar streets. The urgency was palpable in the way my heart hammered against my ribs, each throb a reminder of the ticking clock—that Tyler was still out there, possibly in grave danger.
The sun hung low in the sky by the time I reached his house, its once comforting warmth now a mere backdrop to the chilling scenario unfolding. As I bounded up the front steps, I could feel the impending confrontation with Mrs. Jones, Tyler’s mom, who had always regarded our escapades with a wary eye.
Bursting through the door, I found her in the living room, her face etched with concern that immediately morphed into hysteria as she saw the state I was in—mud-stained and frantic.
"Eric, why are you so dirty? Where is Tyler?" she demanded, her voice cracking under the strain of fear.
Struggling to steady my breathing, I blurted out the truth as gently as I could. "Tyler... he’s missing. We were exploring the tunnels under the city, and something went wrong. He... he didn’t make it out with me."
Her face crumpled, hands flying to her mouth as tears welled up in her eyes. Then, as quickly as sorrow had gripped her, it gave way to a fiery anger. "You!" she shrieked, pointing an accusing finger at me. "I always knew your foolish adventures would lead to something terrible. How could you let this happen? You’ve always been the sensible one, Eric! Why didn’t you stop him?"
Her words stung, echoing the guilt that was already gnawing at me. "I tried to keep us safe, Mrs. Jones. I never... I didn’t think—"
"Think? That’s just it, Eric, you didn’t think! You never did when it came to your so-called adventures!" She was pacing now, each step a punctuated throb of her despair and anger. Grabbing the phone, she dialed with shaking hands, her sobs mingling with the dial tone before the call connected.
"Police, please. It’s an emergency. My son Tyler, he’s... he’s missing. My God, he’s gone," she choked out between sobs, her body slumping against the wall as she relayed our address to the dispatcher.
I stood there, helpless, watching her crumble. The guilt was a tangible thing, wrapping its cold fingers around my throat. Tyler’s mom continued speaking into the phone, her voice a mixture of panic and fury, recounting every detail to the police. It was all becoming real, too real, as the gravity of the situation settled around us like a suffocating blanket.
The wail of sirens cut through the suburban quiet, drawing curious neighbors to their windows as two police cruisers pulled up to Tyler's house. The officers' swift movements matched the urgency of the situation, their boots thudding against the pavement as they approached.
A Sergeant, with a stern face and a clipboard in hand, was the first to enter the living room where I stood with Mrs. Jones, who was still visibly shaken. His gaze was sharp, missing nothing, as he took in the scene before turning his attention to me.
"Son, I'm Sergeant Miller. I need you to tell me everything that happened, from the top, and stick to the facts," he instructed, his voice firm but not unkind.
Taking a deep breath, I began to recount the events that had led to Tyler's disappearance, the adrenaline of the escape lending an edge of urgency to my voice. I spoke of our entry into the tunnels, the initial exploration, and the strange occurrences that began to escalate rapidly.
As I delved into the details of whispers and shadows that seemed to pursue us, the Sergeant raised a hand to stop me. "Let's keep it grounded, alright? Focus on what you saw and did, not what you think you heard. We need solid information to work with, not ghost stories."
Feeling a flush of embarrassment, I nodded and shifted the narrative back to the concrete details: the paths we took, the markings we saw, and the layout as best as I remembered. His pen moved quickly across his notepad, jotting down every word.
"Now, about this homeless camp you mentioned," Sergeant Miller interjected, "Did you see any weapons or anything else that could pose a threat? Any signs of recent activity?"
I shook my head, recalling the eerie stillness of the camp. "No, it looked long abandoned. Just some personal belongings and... well, it looked like people had been living there for a while, but we didn't see anyone." It was painful to exclude the hollow figures I had seen on my way out, but I could from his demeanor that he was serious about not wanting to hear "ghost stories."
"Alright," he said, closing his notebook with a snap. "We're going to need to take a look for ourselves. Stay here, we may have more questions for you."
As the Sergeant turned to coordinate with his team, a wave of helplessness washed over me. The reality of the situation was overwhelming: Tyler was still out there, and here I was, unable to convey the true dangers of those dark, whispering tunnels. The weight of my choices, the exploration I had led us into, felt heavier than ever.
The evening air was heavy with a brooding stillness as I watched the police team gather their gear, preparing to delve into the tunnels where Tyler and I had faced the inexplicable. They moved with a brisk efficiency, their lights piercing the twilight as they disappeared into the gaping maw of the storm drain.
I waited in silence, a bystander now to the rescue operation. The minutes stretched into what felt like hours, my every thought haunted by Tyler's fate and the eerie whispers that had seemed so real in the darkness below.
Finally, the team reemerged, their expressions grim and fatigued. They first spoke with Mrs. Jones, out of earshot, but I could tell she was starting to crumble even more. The lead officer approached me, his face set in a line of professional neutrality. "We've covered the area you described," he reported. "Found the camp you mentioned, but there’s no sign of your friend. No one else down there either."
The words hit me like a physical blow, and a cold pit of despair settled in my stomach. How could they not have found anything? The terror we experienced, the shadows, the chilling pursuit—it couldn't have been mere illusions.
"Thank you for checking," I managed to say. The officer gave me a curt nod, and with a brief exchange of commands, the team packed up.
The drive home was a blur. The streets were quiet, too quiet, as if reflecting my internal turmoil. When I finally arrived, the house was dark, my parents already in bed. I annoyed myself with how often I found myself turning on lights. I wandered to my room, the events of the day replaying over and over in my mind.
Sitting on the edge of my bed, the silence oppressive, I was overwhelmed by a profound sense of guilt. Tyler had followed me into those tunnels, his trust in me leading him into danger. And now, he was lost, possibly hurt, while I was here, safe but shattered.
I leaned forward, my head in my hands, the weight of what had happened pressing down on me. Regret gnawed at me, a constant reminder of the choices I had made and where they had led us. The idea that I might never see Tyler again, that I couldn't help him when he needed me most, was unbearable.
I left the light by my bed on all night, the brightness of my room contrasted the darkness of the tunnels in my vivid memories, a darkness that I now knew was filled with unknown threats. But worse than any external darkness was the darkness within, the helplessness and fear that consumed me as I lay awake, waiting for a dawn that felt as though it might never come. If the police can't help Tyler, then I guess I have to.
The silence of the early morning was oppressive as I stood at the threshold of the tunnel entrance once again. The weight of the backpack on my shoulders was a tangible reminder of the decision I'd made—a decision born out of guilt and a relentless sense of responsibility. Inside, the pack was carefully loaded with all the essentials I could think of: flashlights, extra batteries, ropes, and, unbeknownst to my father, his revolver with six rounds. I'd only shot a pistol once before, and the weight in my pack felt like a harbinger of the risks I was about to face.
The cool dawn air did little to ease the tension that knotted in my stomach as I stared into the yawning black mouth of the tunnel. The endless darkness, now more ominous than ever, seemed to mock my resolve. But the thought of Tyler, somewhere in the dark, possibly hurt or worse, propelled me forward. I couldn't—wouldn't—just wait and hope for the best. Not again.
With a deep breath that did nothing to calm my racing heart, I secured the revolver to my hip and clicked on my flashlight, its beam slicing through the darkness. The familiar contours of the tunnel greeted me like the visage of an old enemy. As I stepped inside, the cool, musty air of the underground enveloped me, carrying with it the faint, unpleasant smell of damp and decay.
The first landmark I passed was the abandoned homeless camp we'd discovered on our initial descent. The remnants of life, now eerily silent and devoid of human presence, whispered secrets I no longer wished to hear. I shivered, not just from the chill of the underground but from the echoes of our past laughter, now overshadowed by the memory of our frightful escape.
Each step was measured, my mind replaying the mental map we'd inadvertently charted on our first journey. I tried to recall every turn, every landmark that could lead me back to Tyler. My light flickered across the soot-stained walls, catching on sharp angles and throwing long shadows that danced just out of sight.
The sound of my own footsteps became a dull, rhythmic drum in the vast silence, punctuated only by the occasional drip of water from the ceiling. It was a sound I'd become all too familiar with, a reminder of the hours I had spent wandering these corridors. But now, alone, each echo seemed to carry a weight far heavier than before.
The tunnel ahead narrowed as I advanced, my boots splashing against a shallow stream of water that trickled along the tunnel floor. Initially clear, the water began to take on a sinister hue as I moved forward. My flashlight's beam revealed a gradual shift in color from murky to a dark, unsettling red. Alarm bells rang in my head, but the drive to find Tyler pushed me onward, urging my feet to tread paths that my heart screamed to avoid.
With each step, the air grew thick with a miasma that clawed at the back of my throat—a putrid mixture of damp, decay, and something far worse. The source of the stench wasn't far ahead. The beam of my flashlight, usually a beacon of security, now felt like an omen as it illuminated a horrifying sight.
There, lying against the damp wall of the tunnel, was a body. The clothes were ragged, soaked through with the dark red that had tainted the water, making it clear that whatever had happened here had not been a mere accident. I approached with trepidation, my mind racing with every possible scenario but hoping against all odds that it wasn't Tyler.
Kneeling beside the corpse, I inspected the clothing and remnants of features, trying to push past the wave of nausea that hit me. The clothes were nothing like what Tyler had been wearing when we parted ways; these were darker, heavier, like something a vagrant might find in the depths of a dumpster. The face, what was left of it, bore no resemblance to Tyler's. Relief at not finding Tyler here mingled with a deeper horror at the thought of what else might lurk in the shadows of this underground maze.
Turning away from the grim discovery, a tug of responsibility pulled at my conscience. This had been Tyler's adventure, his plan, yet abandoning him to whatever fate lay in the murk of these tunnels felt like an unthinkable betrayal of everything our friendship stood for. Despite the gnawing fear and the logical screaming in my head to leave, I couldn't.
My flashlight sliced through the darkness, revealing more of the tunnel's relentless twists and turns. As I progressed, I stumbled upon an oddly familiar sharp turn leading into a narrower corridor. My heart hammered against my ribs as I navigated the bend, only to freeze in shock at what lay beyond.
It was door. But this was no ordinary door; it was a bookshelf cunningly designed to camouflage into the concrete walls of the tunnels, standing ajar on heavy hinges. This revelation sent a jolt through me. This was the spot. The very place where I had last seen Tyler, where he had vanished without a trace behind what I had thought was a dead end. He must have run through this secret door and it closed behind him!
The open secret door was a chilling invitation back into the mystery that had swallowed my friend. The realization that Tyler had possibly discovered and ventured through this hidden passage before his disappearance was both a beacon of hope and a dark omen of the dangers that lay ahead. With a mixture of dread and determination, I stepped through the threshold, my mind racing with possibilities of what might lie beyond in the shadowy depths. I took off one shoe and jammed it under the door in an attempt to make sure it doesn't close behind me as well.
As I stepped cautiously through the corridor, my senses heightened, each sound amplified by the echo off the stone walls. The passage twisted upward, the stones underfoot worn smooth by age or use. The air grew colder, a chill that seeped through my clothes, clinging to my skin. With each step, the passageway seemed to narrow until it opened unexpectedly into a large, open space.
I paused at the threshold, peering into the dim interior illuminated by shafts of light filtering through stained glass. My eyes slowly adjusted, revealing rows of pews lined up before an ornate altar. The stained glass windows depicted various religious scenes with angels and other ethereal figures, casting colorful patterns on the stone floor. It was a church!
Silence enveloped the space, the kind of silence that presses against your ears, almost tangible in its intensity. No dust motes danced in the light, no sign of recent activity. It was as if the church was suspended in time, waiting for a congregation that had long since vanished. I spent a while closely listening and slowly looking around the room to ensure it was as vacant as I thought it was.
I approached one of the windows, trying to peer through the colorful panes to discern any signs of life outside. The glass distorted the view, but it was clear enough to confirm my location in the middle of town. Yet, this revelation brought me no closer to finding Tyler. If anything, it only deepened my confusion of this place.
With a heavy heart, I turned away from the quiet sanctuary. The church, while a marvel, was not my goal. Tyler was still out there, somewhere in the labyrinthine tunnels below. Steeling myself against the unnerving calm of the church, I retraced my steps to the stone corridor, the echo of only one of my footsteps a stark contrast to the silence above, and a reminder to grab my shoe. The descent back into the tunnels felt like a descent back into madness, leaving behind the inexplicable peace of the church for the unknown dangers that awaited.
Pushing deeper into the murky tunnels, my heart hammered against my ribs, a relentless drum in the chilling silence. Suddenly, a figure loomed in the reach of my flashlight. It was a large man, moving away slowly, his back to me, hunched and unhurried. But the moment my light caught him, he snapped to attention, spinning around with alarming agility.
Before I could react, he was upon me, his bulk slamming into my chest and sending us both to the wet, cold ground of the tunnel. His weight pinned me down, his eyes wild, maniacal. "THANK THE LORD!" he screamed, his breath reeking of desperation and decay. "YOU'RE THE GATEWAY! HE HAS CHOSEN ME FOR THE AFTERLIFE!"
His hands scrambled at my holster, seeking the revolver I’d trusted to protect me. I tried to shove him off, but his strength was overpowering, his movements fueled by a frenzied conviction. "GIVE IT TO ME, GATEWAY! MY JOURNEY BEGINS NOW!" he shouted, a twisted joy cracking his voice as he wrestled the gun from my grasp.
I struggled beneath him, panic seizing my limbs. "Stop! No! Please!" My voice was a frantic, desperate plea, lost in the echo of the tunnels. I remember in that moment thinking that this was it, my whole life led up to just being shot in a storm drain, I had taken the gift of life and thrown it away by voluntarily going somewhere I shouldn't be.
His face, inches from mine, was a mask of divine rapture. "THANK YOU, GOD, THANK YOU!" he reiterated, his fingers trembling as they wrapped around the revolver. "BY GOD'S GRACE, TODAY, I ASCEND!"
The revolver clicked as he cocked it, pressing it against his temple. My breath hitched, my body froze; the situation spiraled beyond my control. The anticipation was suffocating, the weight of what was about to happen unbearable.
And then, the deafening roar of the gunshot reverberated through the tunnel, a terrifying blast that echoed off the stone walls. The man’s body jerked once with the force of the bullet, then slumped lifelessly, his dead weight collapsing fully onto me. I realized I hadn’t considered how loud a gunshot would be in such a confined space. The smell of gunpowder and blood mingled in the air, a stark, metallic scent that would haunt me.
Lying there, pinned under the man’s body, the reality of what had just occurred was overwhelming, a brutal reminder of the dangers lurking in these shadows.
With my ears still ringing from the gunshot, I shoved the lifeless body off me. My hands trembled as I pushed against the cold, clammy flesh, the man's blood pooling around us on the unforgiving concrete. I scrambled to my feet, my breaths shallow and ragged, the echo of the gunshot still bouncing off the tunnel walls. The metallic scent of blood filled the air, and my stomach churned. My head spun as the reality of what had just occurred sank in—a man had just taken his life right on top of me.
Panic gripped me, an invisible hand tightening around my chest. My heart raced, and a cold sweat broke out across my forehead. Each shadow in the tunnel seemed to move, and the silence was now oppressive, threatening. The revolver lay next to the man's outstretched hand. With hesitant fingers, I picked it up, the metal cold and slick against my skin. I sat there, hyperventilating in shock for a long while, unable to find it in myself to get back up.
Holding the gun tightly, I forced myself to move forward. I decided that after that encounter, the revolver was going to be in my hand, ready at all times. The tunnel seemed to close in around me, the walls whispering secrets in a language made of shadows and fear. As I ventured deeper, my flashlight caught something on the walls—crosses, crudely etched into the concrete, smeared with what looked unmistakably like blood. Each cross seemed to watch me, their presence a chilling testament to the darkness that had unfolded in these depths.
"What does this mean?" I murmured to myself, the question hanging in the damp air. Was I dealing with a cult, or the actions of one deranged individual who believed they were performing some twisted ritual? The uncertainty of it all gnawed at my mind. My resolve hardened with each step, the weight of the revolver in my hand a constant reminder of the stakes at play.
The tunnel broadened unexpectedly, its walls giving way to an arrangement that unsettled me deeply. Wooden pews, aged and stained with bodily fluids, lined the expanding corridor. My flashlight's beam danced across the solemn rows, revealing a scene that was both bizarre and disconcerting.
As I advanced, cautious steps echoing in the hollow space, I encountered figures curled up on the ground beside the pews. Each person was in the fetal position, their faces vacant, eyes glazed over in a distant, unseeing stare reminiscent of the homeless people I’d seen before. None responded to my presence; they seemed lost within themselves, unreachable and profoundly isolated.
My heart pounded as I approached each figure with trepidation, gently shining light on their faces in hopes of finding Tyler. None stirred with a bright light shone directly into their eyes, their bodies motionless and unresponsive. The realization that none of these figures was Tyler brought both relief and a deepening sense of urgency.
Then, slicing through the oppressive silence of the tunnel, the whispers returned. They were faint at first, as if resuming an interrupted conversation. The murmurs grew clearer, a chorus of indecipherable chants that seemed to emanate from the very walls around me. Each step forward felt heavier, the whispers intensifying as if aware of my growing fear.
As I moved deeper into the tunnel, surrounded by the eerie congregation of lifeless figures and the relentless whispering, I fought to keep my composure. The line between reality and nightmare blurred, and the whispers seemed to be closing in, a psychological torment that tested every ounce of my resolve.
In the suffocating darkness of the tunnel, an ominous dark red glow began to illuminate the path in the distance, casting eerie, dancing shadows on the damp walls. My heart raced as I approached cautiously, the unsettling light painting everything in a sinister hue.
As I moved forward, the sound of weeping sliced through the still air—a woman's cries echoing with a haunting, bone-chilling sorrow. My steps slowed, every sense heightened, as the source of the sobbing entered the beam of my flashlight. It was a nun, her habit tattered and stained, her hands smeared with dark red that matched the ominous glow in the distance.
Her eyes, wide and frantic, met mine as she stumbled forward. "Please, help me," she pleaded, her voice cracked with despair. Her hands reached out, trembling and covered in blood, making me step back instinctively.
I hesitated, torn between compassion and survival. "What happened to you?" I blurted, my voice barely above a whisper, maintaining a safe distance.
"I... I don't know," she stammered, looking around as if seeing the tunnel for the first time. "Please, they need help too," she murmured, more to herself than to me.
The situation felt like a trap, every instinct screaming that this was wrong. Yet, her pleading eyes bore into me, a deep sorrow that seemed as genuine as the chilling fear they invoked. "Who needs help? Who are 'they'?" I pressed, needing more answers before I could decide my next move.
She simply shook her head, lost in her own nightmare. The decision lay heavy on my shoulders. Could I really leave her here, in this state? My conscience battled with the cold logic of survival. After a tense moment, I concluded she was no immediate threat—just another victim of whatever madness had taken hold in this place.
"I can't help you," I said, the words tasting bitter. "I need to find my friend. I'm- I'm sorry." My voice was firm, trying to mask the tremor of my own fears.
As I stepped around her, her sobs intensified, a mournful sound that followed me as I continued deeper into the tunnel. I glanced back frequently, half-expecting her to rush at me from behind, but she remained a crumpled figure in the distance, her cries a ghostly lament that echoed off the stone walls.
The red glow grew stronger as I advanced, the tunnel leading me further into the unknown, each step weighed down by the decision I had made. The whispers seemed to murmur in the shadows, blending with the nun’s distant crying, as if the very air disapproved of my choice to leave her behind.
As the red glow deepened, casting an eerie light that painted the tunnel's end, I approached what appeared to be a chamber illuminated by flickering candles. Their red flames threw grotesque shadows on the walls, heightening the foreboding atmosphere. With each step closer, my heart thudded louder, caution and curiosity warring within me.
Gripping the revolver firmly, I peeked around the edge of the doorway, the cold metal reassuring against my palm. The room revealed itself slowly to my anxious eyes: it was outfitted with several jail-like cells with barred doors, and a smattering of sparse, utilitarian furniture—a table and a few chairs—that gave it a chilling semblance of normalcy.
But what caught my attention and sent a surge of hope through me was the sight of a backpack sprawled on the table. It wasn't just any backpack—it resembled Tyler’s, but it was too far away to tell for sure. The room was ominously silent, abandoned, or so it seemed. I stepped inside, the air thick with the scent of candle wax and a faint, unsettling musk of decay.
With each tentative step, I moved closer to the first cell, my flashlight's beam slicing through the dimness to reveal a hunched figure curled up in the shadows. The sight of the malnourished form, so withdrawn from the world it didn’t even register my presence, sent a chill down my spine. I paused, the reality of this place pressing heavily upon me—every corner held a story of despair.
I continued down the row, the next cell offering an even grimmer tableau. Inside lay a woman dressed in the remnants of a nun’s habit, her body motionless, sprawled across the cold floor. The scene was macabre, her once-white attire now tattered and blood-stained, telling tales of her final struggles. I almost started to feel numb to it all.
Nearing the table at the center of the room, I hesitated, scanning the shadows for any sign of movement. The silence was deafening, the only sound my own labored breathing and the faint drip of water from somewhere in the depths of the tunnel. Confirming the area was clear, I approached the table, my heart pounding in my chest as I recognized Tyler's backpack.
The familiar patches and scuffs on the fabric were now marred by dark, ominous stains—blood had soaked into the canvas, drying to a rusty brown. My hands trembled as I opened the zipper, revealing nothing but the hollow interior, stripped of all its contents. The realization hit me with the weight of a boulder—Tyler’s disappearance was no simple mishap; something violent had occurred here.
As I stood there, the empty backpack in hand, doubts swirled violently in my mind. Was Tyler still alive? Could I find him before it was too late, or was I too late already? The questions multiplied, each more haunting than the last, my sanity flickering like the dim candlelight that filled the room.
The echoes of a faint whisper sliced through the stifling air, dragging my name along the dank walls in a ghostly drawl, "Eeeerrriiiiic." My heart clenched, adrenaline flooding my system as I spun around, the flashlight in my trembling hand casting frantic beams into the dark recesses of each cell. The sound, so human yet so distorted, clawed at the edges of my sanity.
As my light swept across the cells, a pale hand reached out from the shadows, its movement slow and deliberate. My breath hitched, and with cautious steps, I edged closer, the beam of my flashlight trembling as I aimed it inside the cell.
There, in the dim light, lay Tyler, his body a map of bruises and weariness, his eyes dim with pain but alight with the flicker of recognition. He looked up at me, the corners of his eyes glistening with unshed tears—though he'd never admit to them. "Eric," his voice was a raspy whisper, as if every word scraped against raw pain.
The sight of him, so broken yet enduring, ignited a storm of emotions within me—relief clashed with horror, joy bled into rage. Kneeling down by the bars, I clutched the cold metal, my voice barely above a whisper. "Tyler, how do we get you out of here?" My eyes scanned the lock, the simplicity of its design mocking the complexity of our plight.
Tyler's gaze fixed on me, his voice weak yet filled with a wry chuckle. "How've you managed to dodge them for so long? Where did you get a gun?" he asked, a hint of his old fire dancing in his tired eyes.
I paused, the weight of my brief escape and return pressing down on me. "I left the tunnels... I told the police, they searched but- they never found you. So I had to come back. I couldn't leave you here," I confessed, the truth laying bare the depth of our friendship. In this dire moment, the walls we'd built around our fears and hopes seemed to crumble, revealing the raw core of our bond.
Tyler nodded slowly, understanding and gratitude mingling in his gaze. The simplicity of my decision—to return for him—spoke louder than any promise ever could. Here, in the shadows of our darkest adventure, the strength of our friendship was not just tested, but reaffirmed.
Tyler's attempt at humor flickered faintly in the dim light of the cell, a stark contrast to the bleak surroundings. "I'd stand up and salute you for coming back, but..." He gestured weakly to his battered body, the joke a shadow of his usual spirit.
I rubbed my forehead, tension knotting my muscles. "We might be able to get out through the church—it's closer than the main entrance," I suggested, desperation edging my voice as I remembered the short distance from the church to the outer world.
Tyler's face blanched, his voice sharp with panic. "No, not the church, Eric. I can’t—I won’t go back there. You don't want to know what goes on in there." His eyes darted fearfully around, as if the mere mention might summon horrors from the shadows.
"It was empty when I looked earlier. Maybe it still is," I reasoned, trying to infuse some of my resolve into him. The revolver felt heavy in my hand, a tangible symbol of my commitment to get us out. "And I’ve got the revolver. We can defend ourselves if we need to."
But Tyler shook his head, the terror unmistakable in his voice. "Eric, there are so many of them. You got what- six bullets? They might stop six of them, if you're lucky. What then?" His question hung in the air, heavy with the implication of our dire odds. I didn't have the heart to tell him I was down to five bullets, or why.
His words chilled me more than the damp air of the tunnels ever could, painting a stark picture of the reality we faced. The revolver, once a comforting weight, now felt pitifully inadequate against the unseen threats lurking in the shadows.
As we stood there, time pressing down on us with the weight of the dark, damp air, I knew we couldn't waste another moment. The lock on Tyler's cell was a crude, simplistic padlock, rusting at the edges—perhaps not insurmountable. Tyler, observing closely despite his weakened state, murmured, "Maybe if you can find something stiff enough, I could try picking it."
Scanning the room with urgency, my eyes settled on the neglected table scattered with the remnants of a meal long gone. Among the clutter were some old, dirty plates and silverware. It was a long shot, but it was all we had. I grabbed a fork, its metal slightly bent. Carefully, I preserved one prong while bending back the others, then I smashed the lone prong against the stone floor to give it a small picking tip, creating a makeshift lock pick.
Handing the rudimentary tool to Tyler, I felt a flicker of hope stir between us. Tyler hoisted himself up with a grimace of pain. He reached through the cold bars, his fingers deftly working at the lock. "Hurry, man," I whispered, my voice tight with anxiety. I kept glancing down the dimly lit corridor, waiting for a shadow to solidify into another cultist.
"They don't come here often, Eric," Tyler murmured, focusing on the lock. "They've only come down here once to toss what they think is food into the cells." His words, though intended to reassure, sent a chill down my spine.
The tension was palpable, a thick silence punctuated only by the clicks of the lock as Tyler manipulated the makeshift tool. Then, a soft but distinct click sounded—music to my ears. "Got it," Tyler said, a wry smile touching his lips despite his haggard appearance. "Too easy," he joked weakly, the levity a stark contrast to our grim surroundings.
I quickly opened the cell door, and Tyler, with a deep, pained breath, leaned heavily on me. It seemed like he couldn't hold up his own weight and was entirely relying on me to hold him up. Immediately, I began thinking about how difficult it was going to be to make it out of here with him like this.
"We've got to move, Ty," I urged, my voice low. The relief of having the cell door open was overshadowed by the looming threat of what lay beyond our makeshift sanctuary. As we stepped out of the cell, the cold air of the tunnel seemed to press against us, a reminder of the challenges that still awaited.
This moment, this brief victory of escape, was just the beginning of a longer, more perilous journey. As we shuffled forward, each step was a silent testament to our resilience, our refusal to succumb to despair. The part of me that had almost given up hope began to stir, bolstered by Tyler's presence beside me. We were together in this, no matter what lay ahead, and that was enough for now.
submitted by GABE_EDD to creepcast [link] [comments]

2024.05.02 21:38 jpitha Between the Black and Gray 37

First / Previous / Next
Fen... laughed.
Only, it wasn't her voice. It had odd overtones, a strange timbre. It sounded like many people speaking at once.
Y̷̆̾ͅo̸͓͕͗̑û̵̘͔͆ ̵̬̙̓c̸͎͚̔a̶̡̲̐n̷̢͖̈͊n̴͙̜̚ọ̶̋̋t̶̖̰̔ ̶̯́̾s̶͎̈́̎t̵͎̯̿̔o̸̩̓̇p̸̩̗̆ ̶̙̯̄u̶̧̺̐́s̸̲͝͠.̵̦̱̓
Gord raised an eyebrow. Chloe turned her face to look at Fen. The Empress scoffed lightly. "Oh? Okay then. Stop us." Meredith said.
Fen's brow furrowed, her mouth twisted in a snarl.
S̸t̶o̸p̸ ̵b̴r̵e̸a̴t̴h̷i̸n̶g̸.̸
This time, Gord laughed. "Friend, I don't need to breathe. That one wouldn't work anyway."
Meredith yawned, and gestured with a sweep of her hand. "Tiresome. Try again."
Ų̶̄͠m̸̹͂,̷͎͎͆̇ ̶̥̉̉j̷̬̯̚u̴̘͚̚͘s̷͓͍̈͘t̵̘͇͑ ̶̬̼̾d̵̺̕ȉ̶͔̤͠e̵̞̔͝.̸̢͋̇
Kerry leaned forward, her eyes clear and piercing. She turned to look at Meredith. "Did it sound like this when your mother or grandmother used the voice?"
Meredith nodded. "Yes, though when we were under the Nanite's thrall, it sounded much more... important."
Ẃ̷̜a̴̫̓̅î̵͔t̵͔̬̔.̴̜̀̇ Fen clears her throat. "Wait. What's going on?"
Gord is clearly relishing this. If possible, he leans even further back, becoming more relaxed. "Tell me, Nanites. Can you sense your brethren? I understand that you're more powerful in higher concentrations. What do you feel?"
The Nanites reach out. They flow from Fen, sensing, probing, detecting.
They feel nothing.
"What did you do?!" Their voice is nearly a shriek. Fen's body starts shaking.
This time, Chloe looks at Gord pointedly. She smirks slightly. "Told you."
Gord raises his shoulders and arms in an exaggerated shrug. "So you did."
"No, but really, what. Did. You. Do?" The Nanites speaking through Fen had a new tone in their voice. They sounded frightened. Fen's body went limp and she slumped to the floor, unconscious.
As she lay on the ground, a kind of grey smoke poured out of her mouth and nose and ears. It was a thick, oily, translucent thing. Gord reached into his pocket and clicked a remote, and the cloud fell to the ground and dissipated.
****
Fen opened her eyes. She was back in Meredith's bed, staring up at the ceiling. She sat up slowly, and this time, Gord and Meredith sat in the room. They were playing cards.
"Fifteen two, Fifteen four, and a pair makes eight." Gord said triumphantly as he laid the cards down. He took a small metal peg in a board and moved it a few holes.
"I still don't get this game. Why are we making 15 with the cards?"
Gord rolled his eyes. "Because that's how your score in Cribbage! I already explained it."
"Yes, but why fifteen?"
"I don't know, it's just the game." He looked over. "Oh hey, Fen's up." He put his cards down. "Might as well call it here, I was about to sunk you anyway."
"Harrumph." Meredith collected the cards and shuffled them into a deck and put it down. "Hello Fen, how are you feeling?"
Fen looked at her hands, her arms, her legs. "I feel... different."
Gord nodded. "Like yourself, I assume."
Fen smiled. "Something like that. I can't hear the Nanites either."
"We were able to purge them from your system yes. When we first learned about them, they told us that removing them from someone who had an Empress package would kill them, but Gord and his AI compatriots were able to work out a solution." Meredith said as she put the cards and Cribbage board away.
"They were lying." Gord said flatly as he turned his chair towards Fen.
"So, they're gone?"
"Gone from you, yes. Gone from the Galaxy? That's going to be harder. They are the reason the Gates work. There are lots of sapients who rely on the Gates." Gord looked up at the ceiling. "There's also... something else."
Fen felt the familiar icy pit of dread. What now? "What is it?" Fen sounded weary. Her cheeks were hollow, her hair stringy and limp, her flesh sallow. The last few weeks had been hard on her. It seemed that without the Nanites, Fen was starting to feel how tired she actually was.
Meredith leaned forward. "Fen, tell me about your biological parents."
Fen's eyes narrowed. She turned her head slightly. "I don't remember them. They died when I was a baby, and Gen'mil Line raised me."
"Did you have any photos of them? Any videos? Anything at all?"
Fen shook her head. "No, Dem'iril - my Matriarch - said that anything like that was destroyed when they escaped on Spyglass" Fen perked up, and she turned to Gord. "What happened to Spyglass?"
Gord smiled broadly. "Oh, she's doing well. Continuing the work. Still a ship. You can visit her soon if you want."
Fen returned the smile. "I'd like that. Anyway, I don't remember my parents, and there wasn't anything to rememeber them with." She touched her chest with her palm. "I feel K'laxi. I know their languages, I know their ways. I follow their ways."
Meredith nodded and got up. She went over towards Fen and sat next to her. She snuggled up close to Fen, and Fen worked very hard not to be startled. This was as close as she ever had gotten to the Empress of Sol. She felt warm and... familiar? "Gord? Do we look alike?"
Gord and Chloe stared hard. Chloe turned her head slightly, trying to get a better view. Gord took out his pad, and snapped a photo. He turned it around and showed them. "You tell me."
Fen looked at the photo.
She could see the resemblance. It was in her cheeks, and her eyes. Her hair was different, and Meredith was taller, but she had to admit, she and the Empress looked alike.
Fen looked at Meredith, and then to Gord. "Well?"
Gord sighed. "This is going to be weird."
Fen crossed her arms and glared. "Gord, it's been nothing but weird for the last year, or more."
"Fair. I'll just come out and say it. You're a clone of the first Empress, Melody Mullen."
"I'm what?" Fen's voice was flat. She expected to be a distant cousin or something not... "a Clone?"
"Yes." Chloe walks into the room, her long strides covering the distance to where Gord and Meredith are sitting. "You are one of about twenty five embryos that were created from the first Empress' DNA. The humans and K'laxi that raised you and escaped on Spyglass stole you, and fled."
"They always told me that they were being persecuted by the Empire for what they believed in. That if they went back to Sol or even Minaren they'd be hunted down."
"Not untrue." Chloe said. "But, not the whole truth."
"Is that why-"
"The Nanites chose you when you went through the Gate, yes. They recognized your DNA."
Fen looked into the distance, remembering. "They had said that they "finally" got to meet me." Her eyes focus and she stares at Gord. "Why were they made? What about the other embryos?"
Chloe shrugs and sighs. "We don't know. It was some kind of black project. Even Meredith's mother - the previous Empress - didn't know about them until you were stolen."
Meredith looked down, her face fallen. "When Mom found out about them - Chloe is right, she didn't know they even existed until you were stolen - she had the rest of them destroyed. They weren't fertilized, they were just cultured tissue. You were the only one who was fertilized and brought to term."
Fen turned to Meredith. "So, does this make us sisters or something?"
"More like you're my great to the nth aunt." Meredith chuckled. "Welcome to the family, we're a mess."
"This is... a lot." Fen laid back onto the bed. "Can I have a moment?"
Gord rose from his chair as Meredith got off the bed. "Sure, take some time. Come on out when you're ready. We can talk about what we're going to do about the Nanites. We don't have to keep you in the dark about them anymore now that they're gone."
The three of them padded out of the bedroom, and the door slid shut quietly. Fen lay on the exquisite pillow in the most comfortable bed she's ever been in. The Empress's bed. Her relative's bed. "Starlight?"
"Yes Fen?"
"What do you think of all this? I know you can hear everywhere."
"You want me opinion? Why?"
"Just" Fen turned her head to the side. The pillow was cool on her cheek. "As an external party. Other than working for Meredith, you have nothing to do with all this."
"Well Fen, I can tell that this is a stressful time for you. And, I know you're going through something that hardly any other person has gone though. I don't really have any way to empathize, but I can sympathize. I'm sorry you have to go through this, but I know you can go through this. In the end, you're still you. Where your embryo came from doesn't really change that."
Fen sniffed. Tears had been welling in the corners of her eyes. "Thanks Starlight. I am still me, aren't I?"
"Especially now that you're free of the Nanites. I'm told that they can change people."
Fen blinked. "How?"
She could hear Starlight shrug. "There is anecdotal evidence that people who got the Empress package of Nanites became more... megalomaniacal. It makes sense."
"It does?"
"Sure. If you're getting set up to run an entire empire - remember, Melody said that the original empire spanned the entire Galaxy - you have to be at least a little obsessed with power and acquiring more. But, I think that's enough for now. Why don't you rest, Fen?"
"All right, Starlight." Fen sighed and snuggled deeper into the bed. "Wake me up before dinner, would you?"
"Of course, Fen."
​
submitted by jpitha to HFY [link] [comments]

2024.05.02 21:34 JDean_WAfricaStories The Tragic Tale of Howard [1]

The midday sun cast a warm glow over Ola's expansive yard as she stood, surveying her home. The lively wisteria climbed the walls, and the sweet scent of lilacs lingered in the air. The mansion, boasting 5 bedrooms and 5 bathrooms, was once a testament to grandeur, but now, the marks of time were evident—peeling white paint, cracked tiles and weather-worn and decaying wooden windows.
A confident voice sliced through the tranquil birdsong, drawing Ola’s attention. "We can do a great job with this place, Ma," the contractor, clad in a white shirt and worn-out but well-maintained denim overalls, proclaimed, gesturing towards the mansion.
Ola's piercing eyes assessed the man before her, his words hanging in the air like the scent of her garden. She had dealt with many contractors in the city before, each promising excellence but delivering varying degrees of disappointment. As the owner of a multimillion dollar IT company and a single mom at that, precision and reliability were virtues she valued dearly, virtues seemingly elusive in the realm of home renovations.
The contractor continued, listing the proposed renovations. "New floors, best-quality materials, and newest windows. Everything new, Ma," he said, smiling just as he practiced in front of the mirror this morning.
"How much?" Ola said, meeting the man's brown eyes directly.
"Ma, we can handle everything for $100,000 US."
"$100,000?"
"Yes, Ma," the contractor replied, grinning like the clown she had seen at a rodeo show whilst attending a business tech conference in Oklahoma.
Ola sighed. It was undeniably the highest quote she had ever received. However, after spending thousands dealing with numerous contractors, she didn't feel like negotiating for a lower price at this moment. As long as the man could complete the job to her satisfaction, the $100,000 seemed inconsequential. The contractor came highly recommended by a close business acquaintance, which added to her confidence in making the payment. Plus, she still had to fence her yard, a necessity to shield her private space from the prying eyes of nosy neighbors. The sooner renovations could be completed, the quicker she can tackle this looming need.
"Alpha," Ola called out from behind to a gray-haired man with freckles, who was leaning against the driver’s window of a sleek silver 4-door Mercedes.
“Yes Ma,” Alpha said, standing up straight.
“Get me my purse in the car,” Ola said.
As if someone slapped him on the butt, Alpha scurried to the mansion’s front door. “Annie! Annie! Bring Ma’s purs—”
“Alpha!” Ola yelled.
“Yes Bosslady!” Alpha shouted, abruptly turning around from the door.
“I said my purse is in the car. IN. THE. CAR. Leave Annie alone, she’s busy with her work.”
“Oh…sorry Ma.” With an invisible slap on his butt, Alpha hurried back to the car. “Oh, it’s not in the front seat. Maybe in back. Let us see here.”
Ola massaged her temples. The old man had been getting slower and slower as of late. Nevertheless, she appreciated his loyalty: 5 good years without any incident or stealing or using her cars as taxis for that matter. Still, at some point in time not too far, she realized she would eventually have to pay him his severance and bring in someone younger, more mentally sharp.
As she waited for Alpha to retrieve her purse, Ola glanced towards the corner of her yard. There from the paved street, emerged a disheveled figure. Howard, the drunkard who roamed the neighborhood, staggered into view. His clothes, large baggy black pants held together around the waist by a power cord as belt and used to be white t-shirt now covered in black stains and stretched out from the collar, clung to his dark-skinned and frail frame. His bald head was concealed under a tattered cap, while a lengthy and unkempt beard graced his wrinkled face.
"Good afternoon, Madam. Lovely day today, isn't it?" Howard greeted with a toothless smile, his words slurring.
Ola acknowledged him with a nod and friendly smile. Howard was a familiar sight in the neighborhood. She considered him harmless and, compared to the other homeless she had encountered, more refined. She also appreciated his politeness, good manners and proper way of speaking (though she questioned if it was all an act or might it be the alcohol talking).
Howard shuffled closer as the scent of alcohol clung to him, intermingling with the fragrance of the surrounding flowers. The contrast couldn't have been starker as he stood next to the taller and polished contractor, who then blocked his nostrils with upper lip and raised his head high.
“Thank you Alpha,” Ola said, taking the purse from her driver. As she fumbled inside the bag, the contractor lowered his head, focused his eyes on the potential client and decided to do some last minute selling to seal the deal.
“$100,000 US is all we need to get this place new. We will start on the tiles first, then paint and then windows. Should only take us 9 months.”
“Where’s that damn thing,” Ola mumbled, digging in her purse.
“9 months that’s all, Ma,” the contractor continued selling. “Once we get the—”
“Madam, $100,000 US is too high for that price,” Howard blurted out, causing Ola to look up from her purse.
Ola peered into Howard's eyes, half-expecting to find a glint of mischief or an April Fools joke. Yet, there was no trace of humor.
On the other hand, the contractor thought it was a joke, an offhand one at that, and did not pay no mind to Howard, choosing to continue his spiel. “Anyways Madam, once we get the payment, we can start work right away and—”
“Madam, I’m serious,” Howard said with an emphatic tone. “$100,000 is too high for that price. I can do that for half. I know a lot of factory guys—”
The contractor let out a roaring laugh, slapping his knees before bending down to clutch his stomach.
Ignoring the contractor, Howard continued his case to Ola. “I am serious Madam. Lot of the guys from the factory that closed down last week are looking for work. Honest guys, I know. We can do this work for $50,000 and finish everything in 3 months. I can show you a scope of work.”
“Oh Lord,” the contractor said, standing back up and wiping a tear from his eye. “I thought I saw everything today. The drunk bastard and his army of drunks now knows how to do contract work.”
“Mister!” Ola shouted. “You will not use such rude language on my property.”
The contractor gulped, swallowing a mouthful of spit. “Sorry Ma. But, sometimes you have to laugh at these types of people. Beer can make people think all kinds of crazy things.”
Ola, intrigued by Howard's confident demeanor, considered the possibilities. She raised an eyebrow and looked from Howard to the contractor.
“Okay, here’s what I will do,” she said, crossing her arms. “Howard is correct about a scope of work. I don’t know why I didn’t think of it before. Both of you, give me a detailed scope of work for the renovation. I want specifics: what you'll do, the materials you'll use, the costs and…the timing. The one with the best plan gets the job.”
Howard broke into a wide grin, his face resembling that of an old man without dentures. The contractor, on the other hand, furrowed his brows, realizing this wasn’t a joke.
"Ma, I swear to you, my team has the professionalism and experience," the contractor began, trying to salvage the deal.
Howard, however, wasted no time to seize the moment. "Don't worry, Madam. I'll get it done. High-quality work at half the price. You'll see."
“Madam, please” the contractor said, clasping his hands together as if preparing to recite a prayer. “Please think this over. We are much more better for the jo—”
Ola shook her head. "You both have until tomorrow morning to submit your plans.”
With a final glance at both men, she turned and walked back towards her house. As she entered, she couldn't help but ponder the decision she had just made. Amidst the increasing demands to straighten out at her company and pending to-dos here at home, she wondered if she was wasting time on a whim: adding a homeless man to an already packed schedule.
“God, please don't let me regret this.”
Howard wasted no time in presenting his scope of work plan. That very evening, as Ola prepared to unwind with a warm bubble bath after finishing dinner, her houseboy, Isaac, delivered a document dropped off by him. Glancing at the stack of composition notebook papers folded, Ola couldn't help but chuckle and shake her head.
Initially, she entertained the thought of waiting until the following morning to review the document, anticipating to receive a quality presentation from the contractor by then. However, as she rose from the dining room table to retreat to her bath, her attention was drawn to the handwritten words in the center of the document's front page: "To: Madam" followed by "From: Howard S.," impeccably written in beautiful penmanship.
Intrigued, Ola settled back into her seat, unfolded the pages, and began to peruse. She was astounded by what she found. Howard's plan was nothing short of exceptional: meticulously detailed, with a clear timeline for each renovation task and precise costs outlined for materials and labor. Moreover, Howard had included intricate drawings illustrating the envisioned exterior of her house with the proposed new windows.
It was the most comprehensive and well-structured scope of work plan Ola had ever come across in all her dealings with contractors. Yet, what fascinated her even more was the penmanship—crisp, orderly, and elegant. It exuded a refinement reminiscent of the finest educational upbringing in their country. Surely, her eyes were not deceiving her. The question was lingering in her mind: was this something special?
As a CEO, Ola was always on the hunt for exceptional talent to work for her. Yet, she never anticipated finding such potential in the city streets. Still, her business mind cautioned: well-drawn out plans were meaningless without successful execution. She couldn’t get her hopes up unless she saw for herself Howard completing the job, and completing it well.
The next morning the contractor dropped off his scope of work plan. But Ola did not bother to look at it. Her mind was already well made up. She delivered the news to Howard, who couldn't stop smiling, revealing a gaping hole where rows of front teeth once resided.
The terms of the contract were set—verbally that is. A three-month work agreement included a payment plan of $50,000, divided into three installments scheduled for Howard and his team of former factory workers at the end of each month, contingent upon the successful completion of each renovation phase. Window replacement and installation concluded the first month, followed by new tiles at the end of the second month. The final touch of new paint, encompassing both interior and exterior surfaces, was set for the completion of the third month.
“Now Howard,” Ola began, standing in the courtyard of her home as the morning sun cast a warm glow. “If I catch you and your boys with any drunk foolishness or any foolishness, I will void our contract and not pay any of you a single penny.”
Howard lowered his head. "Yes, Madam. No foolishness. We'll get the job done right."
“Don’t think because we do not have a contract, that you can play with me. If there’s anything stupid happens, I will throw you all in jail and you will never see the sunlight. Understand?”
“Yes Madam.” Howard raised his head to meet Ola's gaze. A chilling shiver ran down his spine as he caught a glimpse of the callousness in her eyes, akin to the focused stare of a coiled black mamba poised to strike. One did not become one of the most successful business figures in their country by being tender-hearted, that’s for sure.
“Iron woman,” he thought.
Next Part 2 Preview:
“You must come from a well off family to afford such education.”
A shadow passed over Howard's face. "I did, Madam…My parents…they even paid my way through college…at MIT…Once upon a time."
/The Tragic Tale of Howard. A West African 9-Part Series short story about loss, second chance, betrayal and personal demons. By West African writer Josephine Dean/
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