Things And Stuff

also here's a playlist i made! its a bit random but it helps me get in the mood:)

“W-what?” The confusion in your voice was clear, the words fading at the end. Your breath came out heavy and ragged as fear settled in your stomach. There’s no way he’s being serious, right? 

“We don’t have a lotta time, so let’s make this quick. Alright?” He spoke with a strange indifference, his voice tired and worn, from the sliver in the door you could see his face looked very much the same. Heavy bags hung below his eyes, thick dark eyebrows pinched in a scowl that seemed permanently etched into his face, and his lips pulled lazily around the cigarette perched between his gloved fingers. 

“I-I don’t understand.” He took a step forward and leaned into the crack, smoke billowing from his mouth as he spoke.“You’re a smart girl, figure it out.” There was a hint of condescension in his tone, though he seemed more annoyed. You don’t know what compelled you to do so but you opened the door wider. Maybe it was the way your cold sharp fear melted into irritation by the man's words, or the lingering anger from your altercation with Caleb that caused you to act. Or maybe it was just your burning hatred for the way men always seemed to belittle you.

“I’m not doing a fucking thing you say” you replied curtly. 

“I think it'd be wise if you did”

“Or what?” You hiss back. It's not like he could do anything about it, you were freshly fed and frankly downright pissed. Though the cockyness was zapped out of you by the words that left his mouth.

“I think you know what’ll happen” His eyes narrow at you, voice low in a warning. The harrowing memory of your assault in the backyard flashes in your mind, the inescapable static and the pain it caused was something you never wanted to feel again. You failed to notice that your breathing had gotten heavier, the mere thought of experiencing that again sending you into a slight panic. You locked eyes with the man again and he gave a firm nod in a ‘that’s what I thought’ type of way. You heaved a sigh in defeat and walked further into the house, the man’s shadow following you inside before shutting the door. You stop in the doorway to the kitchen and turn back to him. His eyes darted to the carnage that befell your home, following the expanse of the living room floor to the kitchen were long thick streaks of dried blood, at the end of that trail was Caleb’s lifeless body. His face sculpted into a perpetual silent scream. Just beyond him was the opened door to the backyard, shovel glinting in the moonlight where you left it sticking out of the earth.

 “What about this? What should I do?

“Don’t worry about that, just start packing.”

“What do I need to bring?”

“Anything that’s worth keeping around” you threw him a confused look, he was being awfully vague and on purpose too. He studied your face before finally relenting. “Youre not coming back.” You should've figured as much, especially after killing a guy in your home, but the words still hit you like a ton of bricks. “oh…” 

This is your childhood home, every milestone you've ever experienced was in this house, in this town. Every memory of your time here floods your head, as you're stuck staring at the doorframe. Scratched into the wood was a mark dated on your birthday every year, to keep track of how much you'd grown. At the very top were your parents' own heights, you always insisted on them keeping track too. They were gone now, maybe that was for the best, they would never have to see you… like this. Covered in someone else’s blood, blood that you spilt.

Your dad died when you were in the 5th grade. You’d known what death was and what that meant for a person. But, it hits a little different when you’re surrounded by your dad’s friends and family, everyone crying and looking at you with such sad eyes. It was when it was your turn to walk up to his casket, when it really sunk in. Whoever it was you saw wasn’t him, that wasn’t your dad, not anymore. All the people that told you that he was ‘just asleep’ were liars, he didn’t look asleep. 

His body was stiff and rigid, you kept waiting for him to take a breath, see some kind of movement, but it never came. It was hard to look him in the face, the meat of his cheeks pulled against the bone slightly, like the forces of gravity couldn’t wait to pull him into the earth. His skin was patchy and too light of a color, as a child you didn’t know it was a common practice to put makeup on corpses for funerals. It also didn’t help that your small town didn’t have a mortuary cosmetologist. You don’t remember much after that, only that you started hyperventilating and left the service early. 

You didn’t know exactly how he died for a long time, well you knew it was from a drug overdose. You thought it was an accident, maybe a slip up from the doctor, that’s what your mom led you to believe at least. But eventually she told you, he had killed himself. At this point you were 15, and had a lot of time to reflect on the memories you shared together. Yes he was always there to make sure you were happy and he was truly a great father, but he had these moments. Sometimes you’d find him sitting there just staring off into space, you would try to talk to him but.. it’s like he wasn’t there, just totally checked out. Apparently small town living just wasn’t for him. 

And your mother? She was your best friend, up until the end. You looked just like her, it was almost uncanny. Your parents had you pretty young, and for a good portion of your childhood people always thought you were sisters, your mom loved to hear it. Some could call her vain, and some did but you thought she was the most beautiful woman you’d ever seen, and you were proud to be her carbon copy. She led you by the hand through girlhood, teaching you about makeup and finding what clothes looked best on you. Your relationship was admittedly a little strange, you were so close to each other, you told each other everything, the line between parent and friend had blurred somewhere along the way. Especially when it came to your teen years, she was a great friend and shoulder to cry on, but when you really needed the authority in your life to keep you straight she couldn't deliver. 

You never blamed her though, she lived a tough life too. From what she told you, your grandfather was a strict no-nonsense type of man, and as his only daughter he was both incredibly protective and possessive. She wasn't allowed to do much in her youth, but what your grandfather didn't know is that when you're that strict your kids get sneakier and more resourceful. And well long story short that's how you came to be, conceived at the ripe age of nineteen. You felt lucky in a way, she never accused you of stealing her youth or resenting you for existing. Rather it seemed like you helped her regain that part of herself, and even more so after your dad died. 

That is until her final years. Her mental health had been slipping for a while but it got to a certain point. She began to suffer from alcoholism, and though you tried your best to help it wasn't enough, it was hard to help someone that didn't want help. Your mother had unfortunately died in a drunk driving incident, there were no victims other than herself. She was on her way home when she nodded off at the wheel, crashing into a tree. She wasn’t wearing her seatbelt and was launched through the windshield. The worst and best part was that she died on impact, believed to be unconscious through the whole event, meaning she did not suffer.

 It felt like the room was spinning, you forced yourself to calm down, just like your mother had taught you. In through the nose, out through the mouth. You kept doing so until you reached your bedroom, your throat was far too tight and your eyes stung from the unshed tears that welled up. Shutting the door, you leaned against it and slid down to the ground. You tried your best to keep up the breathing exorcises but it proved not enough as shallow sobs shook through your body. The threat the man said rang through your mind, you really did not want to go through that again, even if it meant ripping your own heart out.

So you gathered everything you could think of, there were old suitcases from when you'd take family trips that you could use for storage, along with some old bins that you were supposed to use for college… but things got complicated after your mom passed. But right now wasn't the time to be thinking about that and you continued on, starting with the things in your room first. Everything was hastily packed away as you scrubbed away the tears that stained your face. Caleb’s dried blood reactivated on your skin from the moisture causing it to smear everywhere. You wanted nothing more than to take a shower and pretend like all of this never happened. That there wasn’t a corpse in the house along with a stranger that wants to take you away somewhere. 

You didn't know how much time had passed once you were finally all packed up. Pretty much everything in your room and the bathroom has been packed up, at least everything that could fit. Which apparently was a lot, judging from the man's face when you pulled everything into the living room.

“I said anything that's worth keeping” He said slightly in disbelief, but the daggers that you glared at him shut down his complaining. Together you both carry the containers out to the red pick up truck that you’d ridden in almost two months ago. After loading in the last bin you took a wistful glance back at the house. Your heart felt heavy, like someone gripped their fingers tightly around the organ, refusing to let go. Hesitantly you hop into the passenger seat before finally pulling off.

…

And now here you are, on a dirt road two hours into the drive. Half an hour ago the man- who you learned was named Tim- pulled onto a hidden dirt road. He had you get out to move a bunch of broken branches that covered up the entrance to the small unkempt path, and recover it after he drove through. It was a poor excuse for a road, the width was narrow and the dirt floor itself had been packed down unevenly from years use with no upkeep. And the trees that lined either side had been left to grow, limbs and branches jutting out against the car, thumping against the windshield before scratching the car in probably the most annoying way possible. It was like the world's worst carwash. Letting out a groan you ask Tim if you were any closer to your destination. You were getting pretty impatient at this point, everytime you attempted to ask he either ignored you or insulted you in some way.

“God you sound like Toby” He grumbled out and the conversation ended before it even started. That's how most of the drive went, the only question that was answered was Tim’s name, and even then it took him twenty minutes to finally answer. He didn’t seem like much of a talker, considering how long this drive has been you felt kind of grateful. But only kind of, you had so many questions you wanted to ask and there was just absolutely no hope for an answer. Until you finally asked why.

Tim mirrored your question while throwing you a puzzled look. 

“Yeah, why me?” 

“You’ll be useful.” His response left you somewhat disappointed… and unsettled, but you didn't know what answer would've been better so you allowed the silence to creep back in. That is until another few minutes pass by and something catches your eyes beyond the trees. Leaning closer to the windshield you try and make out what you could see, your vision might be good but it was still dark and the truck was being jostled around on the uneven road. Something was catching and reflecting the headlights of the truck. You can’t exactly see what it is yet but as you get closer you start to notice a few lights peeking through the trees, not in the way they should if it was just the reflections from the truck. No, they were rectangular and suspended in the air, and appeared to be getting bigger as you approached. The trees start to thin out, giving a better view. And that's when you see it.

“Holy shit”

It was a house, or so you thought. You could only see a portion of it but more was revealed as you neared. It was once painted white, the paint chipped in flakes off the walls of the exterior, some sections were entirely stripped, allowing the wooden grain to peek out. The shingles on the roof were worn and sticking up in places, like it'd been battling the wind for centuries. The house was much bigger than you thought as Tim finally pulled the truck up to the front of the structure. It was more of a mansion by the size of it. The length stretched far on each side, disappearing into the trees.You had to crane your neck so far to even see the tip of the roof, there had to be at least three floors. It looked so out of place, like it was scooped up from a  different time and placed directly in the middle of the woods. The foundation looked as though it was built right on top of the soil, not embedded into the ground like it should be.

 Despite all that, the architecture itself was hauntingly beautiful. 

 A gorgeous veranda stretched across the front, thick turned posts held up the slightly caved in porch roof. The intricately carved brackets connected to the posts had become the home to many spider nests, their webs sparkling under the moonlight. On the deck held the front door, the ornate carvings and stained glass had become chipped and broken over time though the craftsmanship still held strong. There was an abundance of windows lining the walls, fitted with trim around the sills, some were adorned with decorative balconies with metal railings that were twisted into pretty floral designs, though from how old they were the metal had rusted, seeping in and staining the wood in dark streaks. There were multiple corner towers lined with bay style windows, capped with turret roofs and sharp finials. And the roof itself was grand, gabled roofs intersecting to create a layered appearance.

All in all it was an elegant house, even if it had been left to rot. This was not the destination you were imagining on the way here. You don't know exactly what you were expecting, but a house taken straight from an old school horror movie was not on that list. You were in complete awe at the sight until the roaring engine of the truck cut off, Tim hurting out of the vehicle immediately after. Tentatively you unclick your seatbelt, it may have been a sight to see but the thought of actually entering has you weary. If this was its home then you were about to walk into the belly of the beast, which was the most uncomforting thought you could have in the moment. You take your place next to Tim at the end of the truck bed, grabbing your belongings. Both making it up the veranda steps you enter the home through the badly creaking door. 

The interior was also pretty run down but significantly nicer than you thought, considering how decrepit the exterior was, there were even working lights, even though they were dim and seemingly about to short any second. It makes sense, if there's people living here they wouldn't want to live in a dump, even if this was only the next step up from that. You stood in the foyer which would have been gorgeous in its prime. It was two stories, meaning there were railings all along the second floor landing, acting as a balcony looking over the stairs and the first floor where you currently stood. The staircase itself has definitely seen better days. Multiple splices of wood were nailed in from numerous repairs, the nails themselves sticking up and out. The perfect tetanus trap. To the very right of the front door were numerous coats hanging up on the wall, there was a mix of mens and womens coats, the smallest amount of relief flooded your system by the assumption there might be other women around. There were multiple doorways in the foyer, the closest one was parallel to the bottom of the stairs with more further down. 

Following Tim up the stairs you sneak a peek into the room that you were able to see and noted that it was probably a living room situation, from your angle you noted there was a musty looking couch and a coffee table littered with books and empty beer bottles. A rug was laid out over the stripped unfinished floors, though it was stained with dirt and something that looked suspiciously like blood. You scrunch up your face, slightly repulsed at the sight. You already yearn for your clean cozy home, even if it currently holds a very dead Caleb. 

The second floor opens into another passageway, there doesn't seem to be an end to the hallway  but before you can get a good look you ascend up another set of stairs leading to the third floor. Something you noticed on your way up was how quiet it was in the house, there were a few lights on that you could see when you were still in the truck but you haven't heard a single thing besides your own creaking steps, and the sounds of the breeze leaking through the walls. Though the place reeked. It smelled like mildew and dried blood all over the place, though more pleasant scents flitted through your nose as you passed by some of the rooms. 

Finally Tim stops in front of one of the doors in the hallway, setting down the bins he held. You mirrored his actions when he turned to you. He gave you a curt nod before pointing down the hallway, telling you where the bathroom was before leaving you alone. You watched as he walked away before opening the door to what you assume is your room. Your hand hovered over the knob, slightly afraid to open it. You couldn't hear anything behind it so you knew no one was inside, but that's not what you're afraid of. It's like the simple act of opening the door would solidify that this is your room. Starting tonight this was your ‘home’, not the one you grew up in, but a strange uninviting one. Once you gathered the courage the door opened with a long creak, softly hitting the wall. Stepping through the doorway you took in your surroundings. 

The pale moonlight lit up the room slightly, dust particles floating through the rays pooling through the windows. In the back left corner just below one of the windows laid a bed, fitted with a dusty comforter and pillows that look like they haven't been touched in ages. In the right back corner was a large dresser with cabinet doors, next to the dresser was a desk though the chair only had three legs… It honestly could have been worse, even though it was dusty as all hell and the wind seeped through the windows, and that the floors creaked every time you took a step, and  the bed looked questionable to sleep on… it could have been worse. You could be in a dungeon or a cave or not in a shelter at all. This was better than nothing you supposed. 

You pull everything in the hallway into the room and shut the door. There was no lock on it which greatly bothered you. You made a mental list of items you’d need to buy if you ever came in contact with a hardware store. Making your way over the bed you sit on the edge, a plume of dust erupts from the movement and you stare as it flows through the air. 

An overwhelming wave of disgust washed over you. The combination of two day old bloody clothes and the state of this room alone made you want to scrub your body clean. You decided thats the first thing you were going to do, take a fucking shower. The house was quiet so you doubted anyone was up… whoever is in this house anyway, right now might be the safest time. One of the suitcases held most of your toiletries so you opted to roll the whole thing with you while you searched for the bathroom. There was only one door in the hallway that was open so you figured it’d be that one. Surprisingly it was pretty tidy, obviously it could be nicer but it seemed someone actually took the time to keep up with the maintenance. There was dirt on the floor and the lid to the toilet was cracked but it wasn’t filthy. The tub and the sink were clean, you didn’t dare check the toilet, but thankfully you didn’t have to. That was one of the ‘perks’ of your new body, you were like a void, everything that went in didn't come out. It doesn't really feel like one though, it may be odd to want to be able to relieve yourself. But it made you alive, everything on earth that lives uses the bathroom, in some way or another. Call it silly but it was off putting, something so simple that was ingrained into your daily life was just… stripped of you. It's the same way you felt about not needing to eat regular food, or drink water. All your basic necessities as a person were just gone, replaced with the insatiable hunger for human blood. 

You could barely call yourself human when you really faced it. All you had left were your senses, but those were different too. Even in the moment it's a reminder. Instead of waiting for the water to go hot -if it even could- you stepped in while it's still cold, completely unaffected. It's the beginning of spring for crying out loud, it should be unbearable. But it's not. Bright red streaks of blood stain the water before collecting in the drain, and all you can do is blankly stare. 

 Finishing up your shower you return to your room, shake out the covers and lay down. The sheets were scratchy and the comforter smelled funky, but it was the only comfort you could find. Wrapping yourself with the blanket and curling up in a ball you thought about your situation.

You were in a rotting room laying in a rotting bed in the middle of the fucking woods. This is where you were living now. It hasn’t quite sunk in yet. You weren’t going to wake up tomorrow and ‘go home’, this wasn’t all just a bad dream. This was the cold undeniable reality you had landed in.  

You didn’t sleep that night.

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“I d-don’t know what y-you're talking about” he responds in the same flat tone.

“Oh don’t do that” she throws up a hand gesturing at Toby.

“Do what?” 

“That!-“ she points at him- “Don’t play dumb”

“I don’t k-know who t-this Toby guy is s-soo”

“Yeah like I’m going to believe that” she lets out an unamused laugh.

“ I j-just think you man-manipulated me b-because you thought I w-was some o-other guy, that’s kinda fu-fucked up” he was actually pissed about that, why would she play with his emotions like that? There wasn’t any other way she could’ve gone about this without completely humiliating him? 

“I manipulated you? You’re stalking me!” She exclaimed in disbelief.

“I d-don’t know what the f-fuck you’re t-talking about”

“Oh really? So it’s just a coincidence that I met you and your two ‘pals’ in the woods and then you show up to where I work the next day with THE SAME TWO GUYS? Or that I’ve seen you everywhere around town since then?” She’s directly in front of him now, she had walked over while yelling in his face. He can smell the sweet aroma of her perfume permeating off her body. Toby hated to admit it but she still looked so pretty, even though she was glaring daggers at him.

“I d-don’t know, m-maybe you have a c-crush on me” he didn’t really know why he said that exactly, he just wanted to get under her skin. He semi regrets saying it, but only because she jolts away from him with a look of shock and disgust. Was he really that revolting?

“Says you! You were practically drooling a minute ago” His fingers clench in his lap as a rough batch of tics attacks his body. 

“I mean y-you were the one w-who brought me up h-here”

“Because I want answers”

“I really d-don’t know w-what you’re talking about, I th-think maybe you had a lit-little too much to drink”

“Oh so you’re trying to gaslight me now?” 

“No, I just d-don’t think y-you’re in the right state of m-mind right now “ he lets out a small condescending laugh” I mean one s-second you’re fl-flirting with me then the n-next you’re ac-accusing me of b-being a stalker” 

“And now you’re calling me crazy? “She huffs out a breath, sliding her palms over her face.

“I d-didn’t say that b-but…” he puts his hands up in a mock surrender, sucking air through his teeth.

“I just want the truth! My life is already going to hell! I-I just want to know why. What are you and that- that thing going to do with me? Please!” She begged. 

Toby just purses his lips and shakes his head. He couldn’t answer that even if he wanted to, it wasn’t time yet.

“Am I- am I in danger? Can you at least tell me that?” She looked so desperate and distraught, Toby was starting to feel a little guilty, of course she’d be frightened, she had every right to be. 

“No, y-you’re not” there was no point in trying to cover up his identity now, he only hoped he wouldn’t get in trouble.

“Then why’d your friend shoot me?” She asked defensively. It would be a valid point, if it wasn’t for the fact that she was standing here perfectly fine.

“H-He was scared” Did she not realize she’s kinda fucking terrifying?

She stammered for a second “he was scared? I-I was scared” Wow she really doesn’t know.

“Well wh-when you’re getting ch-chased by someone who eats p-people. It gets a l-little hard not t-to be” she deflates a bit at his words, her face falling as well.

“…okay yeah that’s… fair, I guess” she concedes.

There was a beat of silence, both of you just staring at each other. 

Finally she breaks the silence “…so what now? What happens next?”

Toby sighs “you’ll know so-soon” probably a lot sooner than she thinks, especially now because of this conversation. He sees her go to respond, probably another argument but she seems to give up, loosely shaking her head. She just mutters a small ‘okay’ followed by more silence.

That’s when all of the sudden loud banging rang through the room, startling Toby to his feet. Someone was knocking aggressively against the door followed up with an angry sounding voice. Which sounded like it was saying ‘get the fuck out of my room’ or something along those words, the speech was incredibly slurred. Y/n whipped her head to Toby and then back to the door mouth agape. 

“Are you fucking serious” he could hear her mutter under her breath. 

“I-I think we should g-go” the door handle was now being jostled aggressively.

“Yeah no shit” she scoffed and headed over to the door and unlocked it. Whoever was on the other side had already begun to open the door when-

“Y/nnn? What the fuuuck” 

….

Could this night get any worse? Well you weren’t getting stabbed in the woods somewhere so it wasn’t too bad but still.

Out of any room you could’ve picked it just had to have been your ex-situationship’s room. There before you was Caleb, a very drunk Caleb, his dirty blonde hair clung to his sweaty forehead and his eyes were bloodshot. You didn’t even know he was at this party, let alone lived here. Serena hadn’t mentioned him at all to you, she knew how you felt about him so it made some sense as to why. But it still felt like a small betrayal that you were never made aware.

“You’re fuucking another guy in my fuck-ing bed” Caleb was slouched against the doorframe , too drunk to stand up straight, but he was staring sloppy daggers at Toby behind you. This was… incredibly awkward to say the least. 

“I-I didn’t even know this was your room!” You rushed to say

“Buuuuull shit” he slurred out, he began to right himself but stumbled back against the frame. 

“Iii’m gonna- *hic*-I’m gonna kick your aaass dude” he raised a wobbly finger up at Toby. He *tried* to take a step forward but instead tripped over literally nothing, landing at your feet. A small whine left his body, and you could hear Toby snicker behind you. There was no way Caleb was getting up from that but you didn't want to stick around so you took a wide step over his body and through the doorway. The groups that were standing in the hallway had all directed their attention to you and Toby. A part of you wished you had just climbed out the window instead. 

You ducked your head and rushed down the hallway, as you passed by you could hear giggles and whispers of gossip all around. The loud music was actually refreshing as the whispers died out during your descent down the stairs but it didn’t ease the embarrassment. The party was still in full swing but it was all too much now, the scarily vague knowledge you had gained from Toby mixed with the wave of incoming gossip was too much to bear.  You b-lined it to the front door and down the steps onto the front lawn. You continue down the road when you hear your name being called.

You whip around frustrated beyond belief. “What!”

“W-Where are y-you going??” Because of course it was him, who else would it be.You raise your arms and let them smack down against your sides, “home Toby, I’m going home!”

“You d-don't want a r-ride?

You turn and start walking again yelling back without looking. “Not from you!” You didn’t get a response back and you were relieved, you were so done with everything. You just wanted to go home and shut the world out, or maybe cry, or both. Probably both.  

You didn’t get very far before you heard the low rumbling of an engine and a car approaching you from behind. As the car rolled up beside you, you could hear the passenger window roll down.

“come on, le-let me drive y-you home”

“I said no.” You shook your head, refusing to look at him. 

“You’re s-seriously going t-to walk all the way h-home?” 

“I just want to be alone right now, okay?” Did storming out of a party not give that vibe? 

Oh shit. Serena. 

You stopped in your tracks, you could see the car break beside you in your peripheral. You were so swept up by your emotions you totally forgot to find Serena or even say goodbye. You were feeling a little conflicted, she never mentioned Caleb would be anywhere near you tonight. She had to have known, they run in all the same circles.

“Y-you getting in or w-what?” You looked over at him through the open window then back to the house. You heaved a big sigh of defeat and got into the car. It wasn’t the same red truck you had ridden in before but it was an equally beat up Altima. The passenger side floor was littered with candy bar wrappers and empty Monster cans that crinkled when you set your feet down.

“Yeah, s-sorry I uh, don’t r-ride with people a lot” you don’t respond, you just stare blankly out the open window as he pulls off. You hadn’t told him your address but you supposed he already knew it. God what were you doing. 

The ride was mostly quiet except for the occasional tics from Toby and the breeze coming through the windows. It had gotten colder as the night settled in, the air bit at your skin but it didn’t hurt. The feeling was soothing and you allowed your eyes to shut letting the wind wash over your face. You exhaled a long sigh through your nose feeling the warm breath get blown away. 

“I’m sorry” the words were spoken so softly you almost didn’t hear them. Lulling your head over to Toby you just looked at him. He threw you a glance out of the corner of his eye seeing if you had heard him. You held his gaze until he looked back at the road. 

“It gets…e-easier” he didn’t sound so convincing, but you slightly appreciate the attempt at comfort. You just look back out the window until you arrive home.

….

You forgot your purse. 

The incredibly frustrating revelation happened after Toby dropped you off. It wasn’t forgotten in his car but at the party. Your keys were in that purse, along with your car keys and wallet. Basically all of your most important possessions. You had a spare key, but that was moved into the house after your sighting of ‘big tall and freaky’. You didn’t really know what to do. The house was completely locked down so it was either breaking and entering or… well that was your only option honestly. It was only a matter of a door or a window, neither sounded optimal. 

You walked around to the backyard, you thought it would be better on this side so the whole street wouldn’t see the damage. Though it doesn’t really matter because people seem to come from the woods too.The blood that had spilled out of you still stained the grass at the edge of the treeline. You could see the black splotch now, your unnaturally good sight cutting through the darkness. It was all a cruel reminder of whatever you’ve become. 

You didn’t want to stay out here for too long, the quiet of the night was unnerving. You neared the closest window, it led into the kitchen so you figured it would be the safest one to break. You crammed your fingers as deep as you could underneath the seam of the glass pane. The wood frame splintered under your knuckles as you forced the window open. You didn’t want to pull too hard in fear that the glass would break, but eventually you hear the locks on the window break allowing the pane to shoot up. You exhale in relief and pull yourself up into the house, making sure to close the window after.

It was so… quiet. This is what you wanted… at least you thought so. The floors creaked under your weight as you made your way over to the bedroom. Your room was a mess, blankets strewn everywhere, piles of dirty clothes taking up the floor. Cleaning hasn’t been on your mind recently and you didn’t think that was going to change. You grabbed a lone blanket and crawled onto the bed. Curling up into a ball you lay there, you had no energy left to think. And you doze off into a dreamless sleep.

…

When you woke up it felt as though you hadn’t slept at all. Your body ached with that all too familiar feeling, hunger. It was strange how it crept in like that, slowly building until it was too hard to ignore. With everything going on it made some sense that you overlooked it, hell you got shot less than a week ago. And from what you learned last night you’ll be facing bigger problems soon. What did that even mean? Soon? You couldn’t possibly imagine what Toby had meant by that. You’d know soon? When was that even going to be? Your stomach churned, you couldn’t tell if it was from the anxiety or the hunger but either way it was uncomfortable. 

You writhed a little in bed before finally sitting up. Checking time on your phone you see multiple messages from Serena. Some were from last night and some from this morning, it was around eleven now. Through the previews you could see her questioning where you had gone, then some apologizing about not telling you about Caleb. Your cheeks burned in embarrassment, how much did Serena know? You weren’t sure but you have a good feeling that a lot of people will be talking about you again. You don’t respond and throw the phone somewhere on your mattress.

You decided to get up and check the kitchen window to see the damage, and make sure no one had gotten in. The house seemed empty besides you so that was a relief, and only the lock on the window broke so you’d only need to replace that, which wouldn’t be too expensive. It seemed like the only stroke of luck that had graced you in a while. Or so you thought.

The sharp sounds of knocking startled you out of your thoughts. You whipped your head around to the front door. Was that them? Why would Toby say soon if he really meant tomorrow. You didn’t know what to do, frozen in place. Another wave of knocks rapped against the door, a little more urgent this time. You slowly walked over trying to be as quiet as you could. You really wished you had a peep hole or something so you could identify who was there but again you weren’t a very fortunate person. Steeling yourself you unlock the door and crack it open.

Twice in less than twelve hours Caleb had surprisingly been on the other side of the door. You falter a bit and pull the door open a little wider, only so your head could poke through.

“…hey…” is all you could manage to say, though the words came out awkward. 

“Can I come in?”

“Why?” You can’t catch a fucking break ever.

“I just wanted to talk, and uh you left your purse at my house. Soo…” he raised his arm with your purse in hand. Well hey that’s good at least.

“We can talk right here” you say firmly 

He looks around at the street then back to you 

“Y/n, please? It’ll only be a second” he pleads softly.

“Fine… but make it quick” you swing the door open for him and step back, allowing him to enter. He takes a look around the living room, more specifically the book shelves that had been shoved up against your windows. 

“You redecorating or something?” He jokes a bit but it’s clear he’s a little unnerved, glancing between the room and at you.

“What do you want Caleb”

“All right fine” he raised his arms in defense “straight to the point, I get it” he remarks slyly with a small smirk. God he was so smug sometimes it drove you nuts, and not in a good way.

“I just wanted to talk about last night.” he says coolly. You had a feeling that’s what it would be but you still got annoyed anyway. You were grateful he brought your purse but this couldn’t have been a phone call or something? 

“Oh, come on man seriously? You scoff, face scrunched up in frustration. You had absolutely no patience for this right now.

“Don’t ‘seriously’ me! You slept with a guy in my bed!” He huffs out a breath “Why? Did you just want to tick me off or something?” Of course he thought you did it just to spite him, that’s so typical. 

“I didn't know you even lived there!”

“Okay? You still fucked someone in my bed!” You throw your head into your hands and slide your palms down your face.

“We didn’t have sex either, literally nothing happened” you deadpan, not like that would help anything, the situation you found yourself in last night was admittedly pretty suspect.

“Oh yeah like I’m going to believe that” he laughs sourly, shaking his head.

“It’s the truth! You asked and I gave you the truth” you snark back.

“Oh so you just took him to my room and locked the door with the lights off?

“I didn’t even know it was your room, let alone your house”

“So what did you do? Because I’m not fucking convinced” 

“Why does it even matter?!”

“You never even slept with me, and now your fucking another guy in my bed”

“Oh really? We never had sex?”you could hear Caleb murmur ‘oh my god’ under his breath while he pinched the bridge of his nose. 

“That’s funny because the last time I checked you were running around telling half the fucking town that we did.” You let out a shrill laugh, in disbelief.

“Y/n that was years ago! What do you want me to say?”

“I don’t know, maybe ‘I’m sorry’. I didn’t deserve that Caleb!” 

“Why does it even matter! Everyone thinks you’re a slut anyway!” 

You stood there for a second jaw agape.“Get the fuck out of my house.” 

“No I’m not-“ “NOW!”  You both were in a standstill. Completely idle until a small smirk spread across Caleb‘s face.

“Okay, alright” he said in a high-pitched smug voice, slowly walking towards you and to the door. Though he stops in front of you and leans in close, eyeing down your form. You were shaking with anger at this point, seconds away from snapping.

“Y'know if you didn’t want people to think you’re a slut then why’d you wear shit like this” 

He runs a finger along the strap of your top and that’s what does it. You shove him with all your strength sending him flying back. He crashes through your coffee table in the middle of the room. The wood splintered and shot out in pieces, one of which had lodged itself into Caleb’s forearm. He let out a strangled scream when he saw the sight.

“Fuuuck, wha-what the fuck”

He’s breathing heavily as his blood gushes from the wound. Your eyes narrowed at the sight, the sweet pungent scent filling your nose. You released a shaky breath as you took in the scene. Moving on their own, your legs led you over to Caleb.You got down on your knees before him and reached out to his injured arm, he whined as you gripped just below the wound.

“What- what are you doing” you missed the terrified look he gave you, too focused on the way the warm liquid flowed over your fingertips. You wrapped your other hand around the wood and tugged it out. It acted like a plug, a torrent of blood flowing now that it wasn’t obstructed. The action caused Caleb to cry out in pain, his legs writhing beside you. You bring his arm up to your face, latching your lips around the gaping hole. You sucked at the blood but it wasn't flowing nearly enough. You place a hand on Caleb’s shoulder and push him down until he laid up against the rubble of the coffee table. 

His chest heaved heavy breaths, you pressed your head against his chest listening to the erratic beating, in a wicked sense of amusement you laughed. It was small and sadistic but you couldn’t help it. In a weird sick way you enjoyed this, maybe it was the delicious smell of his fear wafting through the room or the cathartic feeling of seeing him in pain. Or maybe both… 

You release Caleb’s arm and place your hands on his waist, leaning in close to look up at him. His face was pale and his jaw was agape in horror. A smile spread across your face and you came closer and whispered in his ear:

“Are you scared?”  He didn’t speak, only nodding his head as you creeped your hands down to the hem of his shirt. Slowly tugging it up until it reached his collar bones you can literally feel the fear radiating off his body. You catch his gaze again and make sure you hold it before finally sinking your teeth into his flesh, right about his heart. You rip off the chunk and latch back into the wound, greedily sucking up the burning hot blood. Caleb tried to scream but you clasped a hand over his mouth muffling the sound. Just like the times before you remained until you were done feasting.

The euphoria buzzed through your body, warm and fuzzy. You’ve never done stimulants but you assume this is what the effects feel like. It was addicting.You licked the blood off your fingers until it clicked.

‘Oh fuck’ you look down at the lifeless body in front of you.

‘Ohhh fuck’

What were you going to do? This wasn’t some rando in the woods. You can practically see the headlines now: ‘Crazy Woman Brutally Cannibalizes Ex-boyfriend’. You were so absolutely fucked. 

You stood up and began to pace. Do you get rid of the body? Clean up? If you got caught that would totally make your case worse, but you absolutely could not turn yourself in. No way. You grab Caleb’s legs and start pulling him to the back door, but you stop in the kitchen letting his body fall. ‘Wait, I gotta slow down and think this through’ 

Unfortunately you were thrown into that cycle all day, moving to act but stopping at the last moment getting lost in your thoughts. The sun had just set as you finally decided you were going to bury Caleb. 

You had moved into the backyard retrieving a shovel from your small shed. You had only gotten to form a small hole until the gurgling sound of an old engine stalled and turned off outside your house. You go completely frozen, the shovel pierced halfway into the ground. You listen closely and hear the screeching door of the vehicle open and slam shut. You slowly start walking up to the back porch in tandem with the crunching of the gravel that led to your front door. You stopped in the doorway of the kitchen that led to your living room, staring at the door in anticipation. The suffocating silence was cut through by three simple knocks.

You had a good guess as to who it was, but you couldn’t be sure. For all you know it could be the cops, or a neighbor. You dreaded the lack of a peephole once again as you neared the door. On the other side you can hear the clicking of a lighter being flicked on. You notice that you never locked the door earlier when you let Caleb in and a sharp chill runs down your spine. Hesitantly you creak the door open just enough to see a sliver of the porch. 

It was the man with the sideburns. He exhaled from the cigarette he held, the smoke curling through the crack in the door. He was already looking you in the eye when your gaze met his.

“Start packing”

as always lmk if you want to be on the taglist!

You had the shades drawn on every window, any larger furniture you own was pushed up against the windows as well in a very shoddy attempt at barricading them. At night you didn’t turn on the lights, you didn’t want anyone knowing you were home. You were scared beyond all belief, every time you thought about the encounter with the frowning man your head went a bit fuzzy, the dull throb of a headache warning you to not think about it.

It has been a very dark and silent few days. Your phone has been dead, long forgotten on your kitchen counter. Though today you’ve convinced yourself that maybe you should have it in case anything bad happens to you, the police are useless but if you go missing… maybe they’d be able to track your phone? 

You finally plugged your phone in, and well… you wished you hadn't. The moment the phone booted back up messages upon messages flooded the screen. Most are from your boss, as to be expected he was furious with you. He threatened your job:

‘If you don’t come in I’ll… blah blah blah’ but you knew most of them were empty threats, if there's one thing you don’t doubt is that you're a hard worker. Your boss knew it and he knew finding another good waitress would be difficult. You just hoped that when things calmed down you would still have a chance at getting back your job. Continuing to scroll through the messages you see Serena has sent you a bunch of concerned texts.

‘Hey are you okay???’

‘Did something happen at work?’

Most of the texts sounded like that however the last one she sent to you made your heart clench,

‘You can always talk to me if you need it, I promise you… just please let me know you’re okay’

You really wish you did have someone you could talk to this about, but you know how that would go. If she didn’t believe you she’d definitely think you're crazy and want nothing to do with you. And as your only friend you didn’t want that to happen. But what were you even supposed to say? ‘Hey a big freaky monster and his goons are stalking and haunting my dreams… how are you!?’

In your struggle to come up with anything to say you notice Serena sent you another text:

‘I’m sorry for doing this but I’m coming over to check on you, I just want to make sure you’re okay’

‘Awe fuck’ you didn’t want her here. Not when murders and monsters are running loose around your house and the woods that surround everything. She could become a target or they could slime her out before she even gets to your door. You didn’t know the lengths these people would go to, to keep hidden. You ran to the window that looked out to the street, you needed to keep an eye out for both Serena and anyone who could be lurking. 

Eventually you see her car come from down the street and pull into your driveway, before she even got out of the car you rushed to the doorway and stood on the pathway on your front lawn. Once she saw you she rushed on over. 

“Hey, are you okay? You haven’t been answering anyone’s messages.” She slowly gives you a once over, you were in pajamas that have clearly not been changed since you first put them on. Your hair was a hot mess, unkempt and sticking out all over the place. You wished you tried to look slightly put together before she got here, but that’s not your main concern right now.

“Did something happen? You look …not… great?”

Serena cringed at her own words and you sigh, the time for excuses has come, and you were gonna lie your ass off.

“ yeah I um, I had a really bad date the other night… and I guess… it just reopened a lot of old wounds… and I’ve been like super depressed… and stuff” obviously a terrible lie, you literally told her you sworn off guys but it was the only thing you could come up with at the moment.

Serena gasps and pulls you in close for a hug, somehow believing you. You look over her shoulder out at the treeline. Quickly scanning to see if anyone was watching. You didn’t want to bring her inside and witness the state your house was in, but you also didn’t want to stand on the front lawn for everyone to see. For all you know those freaks are lurking nearby

“We should have a girls night” she pulled away and gripped your shoulders firmly, a serious expression on her face as she looked you in the eyes. Before you could even open your mouth Serena started up again. “We can just hangout, watch a movie with some ice cream, it’ll be super chill.” Honestly it doesn’t sound like a bad idea, it would be nice to have some company. But the doubts crept back in, would that be a safe decision to make? Serena was a nice girl, and the thought of harm coming to her simply because she’s associated with you would absolutely kill you. 

But as you looked into her eyes you saw true concern, this was your chance to feel even slightly normal again. Opportunities like this come rare to you and if there was ever a time you needed a distraction that would be now. Finally you nodded your head, agreeing to the idea. Serena smiled big and pulled you close again for another quick hug. She lets you go and starts to walk up to your house but you quickly yell no, slightly startling the girl. She turns to you, brows knit in confusion. Fumbling you come up with something to say.

“I… I don’t want to be home right now, can we go to yours?” 

“…yeah, yeah of course!” She quickly got over the sudden outburst from you, you told her to wait in the car and that you’d be right out. You gathered an overnight bag with everything you’d need for the night, plus some extra clothes for tomorrow. You were still unsure if you should really do this but taking a look around at your barricaded house you decided for your sanity this would be best for you.

….

Like Serena promised your night was filled with corny yet endearing romcoms and cookie dough ice cream. When she asked about the date you told her about the bassist…obviously not the crazy parts and you tweaked the story a lot but she was able to believe it.

“God what an asshole. This is why I don’t date guys in bands” Serena said while she was in the middle of licking her ice cream off the spoon.

“Yea well, I hope I never see him again” you had no clue how it would even go if you did see him, it’d be kinda funny you supposed.You can imagine his horrified face discovering you’re still alive… yeah it’d be pretty funny.

“Amen to that sister” she clinked her bowl of ice cream with yours in a toast. You chuckled and looked back at the tv. It was the ending climax of the movie. The male and female leads embraced each other and your heart tugged a bit. You wondered if you were ever going to have a chance at love again. Retelling the story about the bassist did strike a chord a bit, you can remember when you were so foolishly excited for the night. 

You sigh and Serena looks over at you.

“Hey… thank you for being here, y'know for me. It’s been pretty rough recently.”

She smiles sadly at you and throws an arm over your shoulder giving you a side hug. She told you she’s always free to talk or hangout whenever you need it, you couldn’t help but feel grateful for the offer even if you know you can’t truly go into the problems that have been plaguing you for almost two months now.

“Y’knooow~ there’s a party going on tomorrow night. It would be toootally cool if you went” she said while still holding you to her side. You go to argue but stop yourself, again another opportunity for a distraction. Plus if you need to bail it won’t be as concerning as when you left work, there’s plenty of reasons to leave a party. You run through all your options and finally cave. 

“Yeah sure… I can’t remember the last time I went to a party” Serena is all giddy now, practically bouncing in her seat in excitement. It was a shock to both of you that you actually agreed. Usually when she invited you out you politely declined, always coming up with something as to not go. Eventually she stopped asking so you could see why she was so happy now that you finally said yes. 

She quickly started going over a plan for tomorrow and you just laughed as you listened to her excited rambling. A part of you was… well, looking forward to the next night. This is the first time you’ve felt happy to see the next day in a long time. You try to keep it down, you need to set your standards low in case things don’t turn out right. But Serena’s giddiness was contagious and you couldn’t stop yourself from adding to her list of activities in preparation of the party.

….

The time to get ready for the party came quickly. You didn’t want to go home so you borrowed some clothes from Serena, which was slightly more revealing than something you’d typically wear but you didn’t mind much, beggars can’t be choosers right? Plus you couldn’t deny that you looked great in what you wore. Your only worry was that it might attract some unwanted attention, but you could handle yourself you always have.

After the two of you were finished getting ready you both decided getting an uber would be the safest option of transportation. You weren’t sure if alcohol would still affect you, considering your… condition, but you didn’t want to risk it. Drunk driving was not something you condoned, even slightly under the influence wouldn’t fly with you. Luckily Serena shared the same sentiment and the uber was quickly ordered. While you both waited for the driver to arrive you decided now would be a good time to pregame. You did a quick toast in the name of girls night and threw back a couple shots of vodka. 

The uber arrived only a couple minutes later and as you walked out into the cool air of the night you were pleased to feel the slight heat in your cheeks from the alcohol flowing through your system.

The ride over to the party was uneventful, the uber was fairly quiet-which you were grateful for- and you and Serena excitedly chatted about how the night could go.

Pulling up to the neighborhood you could easily tell which house the party was being held at. Cars were lined up on both sides of the street and as you pulled closer you could hear the house music from the car. Small groups of people littered the front yard, chatting amongst themselves. They were illuminated by the colorful lighting coming from inside the house, where you could see more people. You couldn’t lie, you were a bit nervous. You had spent so long isolating yourself-even before all the crazy shit in your life had started- and being around so many people so suddenly was starting to catch up to you. You were glad you came with Serena, knowing you had someone with you slightly put you at ease. 

You both thanked the driver and slipped out of the car. With each step closer to the house the more you could feel the beat of the music thumping through your body, in your buzzed state you had to admit it felt nice. The moment you step through the door the hot mugginess of the house envelops you. The air was thick with the scent of sweat and marijuana.

 A couple of people had come up to greet you and Serena-mostly her friends but also a few acquaintances of yours. They were all surprised you showed up and you were pleasantly surprised by the warm welcome. After not going out for a while you kinda get the impression that people wouldn’t vibe with you but you were proven wrong. Or maybe the liquid courage impacted how people interacted with you, either way it felt nice.

The group that was formed took you and Serena on a tour around the house to show you the amenities. The kitchen was big but felt cramped from the amount of people crammed inside, but one look at the counter let you know you didn’t have to worry about running out of alcohol. Just beyond the kitchen sliding door showed even more people setting up cup pong out on the deck. The house was big but you were still impressed by the sheer amount of people that came.

As the tour ended the group stood at the bottom of a set of stairs that led to the second floor, where even more people occupied. Whoever threw this party is absolutely loaded, you thought as you chuckled.  

You mingled a bit with Serena, until she let out a sharp gasp and called your name. With a big smile she pulled you in pointing across the room. You follow her arm to see what- or rather who she was pointing out. 

“It’s that guy! You should go talk to him~” 

Sure enough it was one of the guys you kept seeing around town, the one who always wore a face mask. But tonight the mask was replaced with a bandage taped on the left side of his face, it stretched from the corner of his lips to just above his cheekbone, whatever is underneath is definitely sizable. He leaned against the wall in the corner of the room, fidgeting with the cup in his hands he awkwardly shifted on his feet. As he looked around the room his dark unkempt hair swayed from the movement, falling just above his eyes, eyes that were looking back at you.

You turn your head quickly, returning your attention back to Serena. She was already giving you a sly look and you groaned, you knew her matchmaking tendencies were about to kick in and before she could say anything you offered to grab some drinks. She caught on to your diversion and rolled her eyes lightheartedly, though accepted the offer.

Shuffling back into the kitchen you begin to pour out the drinks. You see two hands suddenly smack down on the opposite side of the counter, startling you slightly. Your head shot up to the person who had done it and you were pissed off immediately.

“Ayyyyye haven’t seen you in a hot minute” 

This guy -named Dylan-  ran in the same circles as you when you were younger. And somewhere along the way he got the idea that you two were friends, or well his version of friends.

“I swear you get finer every time I see you” you would feel flattered but his eyes intensely trailed your form-mostly your breasts. You haven’t even said hello yet, what a fucking sleaze ball. 

You pick up your drinks and start to maneuver around the counter to the living room, but Dylan has snaked in front of you effectively blocking the way. 

“Come ooon don’t be like that, I was joking! But seriously where have you been?” 

Knowing that you can’t get out of the conversation you concede and tell him what you’ve been up to, which was mostly work…. Actually it was only work, it was kinda depressing when you say it out loud. 

“I see you’re getting that bag, I respect it” Dylan says while nodding his head but his eyes are looking out behind you, he was clearly not so interested with your response. Genuinely why even ask if you don’t care. 

Trying to be civil you try to excuse yourself from the conversation but he steps out in front of you again.

“Hey don’t go yet” he says with a chuckle “I’m not done talking to you.” The audacity of this guy astounds you.

“Yeah well I am, I’ve got people waiting for me so can you please move now.” You were done being polite, guys like this always thought they were entitled to a conversation or your time, and you weren’t having it. You go to shove past him but he grabs your bicep and holds you there. 

“What about cup pong? Loser does whatever the winner says?” His voice was dripping in smug confidence, like that would ever work on you… or any girl.

“Dude get fucking lost I don’t want to play” you yank your arm out of his grip but he wasn’t done yet. He spins you around by your shoulders “come on just one gam-“ he was shoved back… but not by you. 

“Hey m-man she said n-no” it was that guy with the bandage who intervened. He had inserted himself between you and Dylan using his body as a ‘shield’. Little did this guy know you could mop the floor with anyone in this house right now if you really wanted to. But the gesture was sweet you supposed. 

“And who the fuck are you?” Dylan spat out, puffing up his chest. Dylan was clearly sizing up the man in front of him even though the guy had a good few inches on him.

The guy shakes his head “It d-doesn’t matter, l-l-leave her alone” he firmly stated crossing his arms. 

“O-or w-w-what-t? Gonna t-t-tweak out on me?” Dylan mocks the guys stutter and before anything can escalate between the two men you step to the side and throw your drink in Dylan’s face. You can handle someone being an asshole to you but the moment it gets out of hand you shut that shit down asap. Especially when it steps into bigotry.

Dylan stumbles a bit and covers his hands with his eyes groaning out in pain.

“You crazy bitch, what the fuck”  he whines out. It’s funny how he was all bravado right before but when shit actually goes down he gets all pathetic. At this point Dylan’s friends had noticed the commotion and came over to collect him. It seems they had a bit more sense than he did and walked him out to the back patio. You were just relieved that nothing major had gone down, the last thing you needed tonight were guys fighting because of you.

You turn back to the counter to refill your drink, throwing a glance at the man still next to you. He’s glaring at the sliding glass doors that Dylan had just walked through and you can see his hands clenched tight at his sides, suddenly his head jerked to the side but it seemed more like a reaction than intentional. It was obvious the altercation had affected him and you wanted to show your gratitude even if you didn’t need his help. 

You offer him the cup you just poured and give a small thanks. He snapped out of his trance and looked at your outstretched hand in surprise. You could see his cheeks redden a bit and a bashful expression flashed on his face. He accepts the drink but doesn’t say anything for a second. You go to pour out another drink for the third time. Seriously can’t a girl just get a drink without all hell breaking loose?  You laugh to yourself softly and fully turn to the man now, he’s still shaken up and you can see his body jerk a bit but not as hard as before. 

“I um, I’m sorry a-about that” he mutters softly, his hand loosely gesturing towards where Dylan was just standing. All the bite he just had moments ago completely fizzled out, now he was just standing there awkwardly. 

“I’m all good” you reassure “I grew up with assholes like him so I’m used to it… I’m sorry about what he said, that wasn’t okay.” You shake your head in disdain. 

“Yeah well, w-what can you d-do?” He responded in defeat, slightly hunching into himself. 

“Vodka to face seemed to work” you joke, trying to lighten up the mood a bit. It seemed to work as he laughed a bit giving a small lopsided smile. Now that he was up close you couldn’t help but notice he was cute, in a shaggy way but still cute. Pushing those thoughts away you offer up your name, hoping to get his so you could properly thank him this time.

“T-Erin m-my names Erin” he sputtered out. you would’ve found it a little odd that he seemed unsure of his own name but you chalked it up to him being shaken up still.

“Well Erin, thank you for stepping in, but I gotta go, someone's waiting for me” you raise up the drinks in your hand as ‘proof’. He just nods and takes a step back so you could pass through. Glancing at him again you tell him you’ll see him around, he throws up a hand in good bye and you’re finally able to leave the kitchen.

Walking through the crowd you find Serena and the rest of the group and hand her the drink. She asked if something happened since you took longer than expected and you told her what had just happened.

“I’m so sorry I should’ve gone with you!!” She exclaimed. You dismissed her worries and mentioned how Erin stepped in. All concerns left Serena as she yelled in excitement.

“Ahhh that’s so cute oh my god” looking back it did seem like a scene straight out of one of the romcoms you guys had watched last night, but at the moment it definitely wasn’t as fun. 

But you felt better now that you were settled in with some friends.

…

The night continued on without incident and you were feeling pretty good. You had racked up a nice buzz, definitely not drunk but not sober at the same time, it was perfect. You danced with Serena and some of your other girlfriends. The rocky beginning of the night was completely overshadowed by the fun you were now having.

The girls wanted to play some cup pong but you decided you were going to take a little break. Partly because you didn’t know if Dylan was still out there and you didn’t want him to cause anymore trouble but you also did want to take a moment and sit down, feeling a bit fatigued. 

It dawns on you that maybe you were getting hungry again. It had been about two weeks since the last time you… ate. You hadn't noticed you felt a bit off due to the paranoia that you were constantly feeling. Right, how could you forget you were being stalked. All the joy in your body was zapped out when you thought about it. That’s right this is just a distraction from all the fucked up shit that’s been happening. Your head felt heavy, your mind flickered between what you had to do soon and the strange men. You sunk into the couch feeling everything weighing down on you. This was the downside to drinking, it was too easy to get wrapped up in your mind.

You didn’t notice when someone had sat down next to you on the couch, your eyes were far off not looking at anything in particular.

“Hey… y-you okay?” You heard the words but didn’t really process them. Who knows if they were even directed towards you. You felt something nudge the outside of your knee and you spring up not expecting the contact. You realize it was someone else’s knee who bumped you and you direct your gaze to who it was. It was Erin.

“Everything okay” he asked again. You just stared back at him until you remembered you should probably give him an answer.

“Oh…oh yeah, I just think… I’m a little hungry” it was a small confession, not like it was a big deal to hear if you were anyone else but… that was just the problem, you weren’t like anyone else. But he couldn’t have known that, right? You weren’t so sure when you saw that he looked scared?

“That’s… not good” his eyes scanned the crowd looking slightly worried then returned back to you. You must’ve given him some kind of look because he quickly fixed his face, but it was too obvious. He shifted his whole body to appear more relaxed but the way he fidgeted with his hands gave him away. What the hell is going on? 

“It’s not that big of a deal, I’m good for now” you try to gauge his reaction, but whatever mask he just put up was solid. That was strange, you didn’t know what to make of it.

“A-are you sure?” You furrow your brows and turn your body to him slightly, sitting up against the armrest of the couch. You were fully observing him now.

“Why? It’s not that serious” you wanted to see if he’d say anything out of the ordinary, something you could go off of.

“It’s not g-good to drink o-on an empty s-st-st” he huffed and gave up on the word “you gotta e-eat something” Yeah okay, that's completely reasonable. 

“Yeah you’re right, I think I saw a candy bowl in the kitchen” 

“Maybe a Sn-Snikers would h-help” okay wow you just got hit with some crazy Déjà vu. Or something like it. Then you think back to that night when you almost attacked Toby and the conversation you had… right after you explained how your hunger affects you. Even the way Erin says it is similar. 

You quickly stood up conflicted on what to do, Erin gave you a puzzled look and you quickly explained you were gonna check out the kitchen for food. But really you needed a moment. 

You didn’t know if it was all in your mind or if you really just put two and two together. That would be crazy though… or maybe not. The first time you (possibly) saw him outside of the woods was at the restaurant with his two other friends. Just like in the woods there were only three of them. Not only that but they had asked for you. And they left that weird note about seeing you around. AND you’ve actually been seeing them all around town. Holy shit Erin fumbled his own name because that’s not his fucking name. What do you do? Are you actually going crazy? Do you confront him? No you can’t do that here, not with everyone around. Maybe you could get him alone? No, you should talk to him more first, just in case. But what if he-

“Y/nnnn!!” A chorus of voices called your name. Shooting your head over to the noise you see Serena and the other girls waving you over to the back patio.

“We’re totally winning!!” Serena is jumping up and down and pulls you in by your hands when you get close. She’s totally drunk right now but not so much where she can’t handle herself. You almost forgot that was the whole point of going out tonight. 

“Heyyy you should join us!” The girls cheer in agreement, but all you can think about is how close you might be to revealing what’s been going on. The answers might literally be sitting in the living room right now, waiting for you.

“I can't, I'm sorry! Erin’s waiting for me” you fake a smile and Serena yells in excitement. She starts to jump again “See!! I told you!” This time you really did smile, you may not have hung out often with Serena but she always made sure you were having a good time, even now despite not knowing what was really going on. 

“I know! I should’ve talked to him sooner” you don’t want to ruin her fun but you were also telling the truth, just not in the way she thought. You slip your hands out of hers and start to leave when you notice through the opened door that Erin(Toby?) was walking into the kitchen seemingly looking for you. Maybe it had been a little longer than you thought but you hadn’t expected him to follow you. You steel yourself and head inside meeting him in the room halfway. 

“Hey! Sorry I was just talk-“

“HEYY ERINNN” the group of girls yelled out. You both looked over at the door and Serena and the girls were waving wildly and cheering.

“Treat her right!! 

“Have fuuuun~” 

You slap a hand over your mouth in disbelief “Oh my god” you said in a tiny voice, Erin looks over at you confused but with a smile on his face. You rush out of the kitchen completely flustered. Finding your seats again you plop down, you can feel the heat in your face and you try to calm down. Maybe that little show will work in your favor, you wanted to question him a little more but didn’t want to seem too obvious about your intentions. For the first time ever you wanted a man to get the wrong idea.

“Sooo wh-what was that about?” He asks nervously after there was some awkward silence.

“Oh uhm” you force a small laugh looking down at the ground “I told them about what you did earlier and they thought it was sweet” 

“W-what about you?” You looked up at him not really understanding. When you made eye contact he averted his gaze

“What?” 

“What d-did you think?” Oh wow, you were so not expecting that. He sounded so… sincere. He looked so timid right now you didn’t think he’d be so forward.

“I, I thought it was sweet” you hated yourself a bit for it but it was the truth, at the time you did think it was sweet. But to give yourself some credit you didn’t know he might’ve been a murder-stalker. 

He nods his head and a small smile spreads across his face.

“Oh.. c-cool” he gives a small laugh. Despite only a few words being said, the tension was so thick you could cut it with a knife. It was clear this guy hadn’t talked to many girls, or any girls for that matter. He was so awkward it seemed like he didn’t know what to do. You needed to take control of the conversation if you wanted to get anywhere with him so you started asking some questions.

“So… did you grow up around here? I don’t think I remember seeing you in school” 

“N-no I moved r-recently” that alone was suspicious, pretty much everyone you knew who lived here was born and raised, unless they were old and looking for somewhere quiet to settle down, but even then that was rare.

“What made you pick this spot? Do you have family that lives here?” 

“Nah, I uh I’m here for w-work” 

“Oh really? I didn't know we had any lucrative jobs around here, what do you do?”

“Oh” *tic* “I-I’m an abor-aborist” 

“Mm so you work with trees?” 

“Yeah I al-always liked the wo-woods so it works o-out” Of course he does, that’s where he murders people. 

“Yeah well this is the perfect place to be then.” You force yourself to be chipper. 

“So um, w-what do you d-do?” You knew he already knew the answer to that.

“You don’t remember me from the restaurant? You were staring at me the whole time” you tease him a bit, letting out a laugh.

“Hah, yeah. I d-didn’t think y-you noticed” his left leg was bouncing now and he wouldn’t look you in the eye. 

You leaned in a bit, not too close but just close enough to brush your arm against his, you could feel him jump in his seat from the contact.

“How could I not? You were being so obvious” you were laying it on thick now and his eyes flickered up to yours as he gulped. This was just too easy.

…

You chatted for a while longer before finally asking him:

“Hey… do you want to check out upstairs? I haven’t been up there yet.” you ask, putting on an innocent front. You wanted to get him alone, somewhere he couldn’t easily run from. You needed to be sure he was really who you thought he was and if he wasn’t? Well it would be awkward but at least you would know.

“Up-hah- up-upstairs? Really?” His face went red, at least you think so, the lighting in the room made it hard to tell but you could clearly see he was flustered. 

You grab his hand and start to pull him towards the stairwell. Behind you could hear Erin stammering, though every time he started a sentence he’d give up.

You snaked through the hallway, there weren’t as many people here but small groups looking for a quieter place stood around the edges of the walkway. You directed the two of you to the last door in the hallway. Hoping it was a bedroom you knocked on the door, not wanting to walk in on something you didn’t want to see. You heard nothing in response and pushed the door open pulling Erin in behind you. 

He stood awkwardly in the middle of the dark room, fidgeting with his hands, he couldn’t keep his eyes on you and frantically looked around the room. You turn and lock the door.

“H-hey what uhhh w-what are you d-doing?”

…

Toby had no fucking clue what was happening, one moment he’s talking to her downstairs, yeah maybe there was some flirting but this? In every movie Toby’s ever watched going upstairs at a party meant… well, y'know…

He watched as she locked the door, his head was reeling with what could happen next. Is this seriously happening orrr. He didn’t think he’d be able to go that far, for god's sake all he had to do was get some information out of her, maybe start a friendship to gain some trust. He was the only one of the three on this mission who could pass as a guest at this party. And he knew he already bit off more than he could chew by even showing up. He had practically no experience with girls, what the hell is he supposed to do!?

During his whirlwind of thoughts she had crossed over the room to him and he didn’t realize he was backing up until he felt the bed bump the back of his knees. Toby lets out a nervous laugh, she hasn’t answered his question. The vibes were completely different from just moments ago. The air was stifling and Toby found it hard to breathe.

“Sit down” she calmly told him and he obeyed without question. He didn’t really know why. He hated when people told him what to do, but this was different. He felt like jelly, completely malleable to whatever would come next. 

She was astonishingly beautiful. The soft rays of moonlight pooling through the window illuminated all her curves and edges. The light caught her soft skin as she looked down at him with such intensity. 

“What do you want with me Toby?” she had asked just as calmly as before. His mind was so fuzzy he almost missed what she said. Toby… that was his name. And she spoke it so softly… wait no that’s not right. He wasn’t supposed to be Toby right now. His already fast beating heart began to feel like it was hammering through his chest. A sharp tic cracked through his body.

Shit, he was caught.

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You could confront them, but what then? What if it truly is a coincidence and they think you're some kind of freak conspiracy theorist. You didn’t have any evidence of anything so you couldn’t go to the cops, you’d have absolutely no case to go on. Even if you did, the police force in this town is practically useless.

So you continue on as best as you could. The only place you feel semi safe outside of your home is work, but even then you’ve been getting the feeling of being watched when you walk to your car after each shift. Except for today. But today was unusual to say the least. 

It was like any other shift you typically worked but during the lunchtime rush one of the waitresses dropped a dish and while cleaning up, a shard of glass cut her hand. The moment the scent of her blood filled the air you stopped in your tracks, taking in a deep breath, willing yourself not to be tempted. The girl had a pretty gnarly cut and the warm blood that flowed reeked of panic. You hadn’t even realized you were standing over her now, eyeing the oozing cut practically buzzing with anticipation. When you noticed you were closing in on the waitresses you stopped, your hand outstretched almost gripping the girls wrist right below where the skin tore.

‘What the fuck am I doing’ 

You looked at your own hand in horror, afraid of what you might do. You quickly backed away, your head was fuzzy and the close proximity to the smell was becoming difficult to handle. You felt a hand on your shoulder and like a switch was flipped you were brought out of the daze, snapping your head to the owner of the hand you realized it was Serena, she was asking if you were okay. Your gaze flickered between the girl on the ground and your own hand and you backed away further. Shaking your head in response to her question you turned quickly walking into the back of the restaurant.

You couldn’t be here even a second longer, though the need to consume wasn’t exactly strong. You didn’t want to take your chances. It may be selfish but the last thing you needed right now was to go awol at work and feast on the poor girl in front of basically everyone you know. So you decided to leave, packing up all your things as fast as you could. You didn’t even take your apron off before stepping through the back door, not wanting to walk past the bloody scene just in case. You’d rather get chewed out by your boss than literally chew on one of your coworkers, you could come up with a half baked excuse when the time comes. 

…

You drive around for a while before finally getting home. Your mind raced as you stepped through the front door, though all thoughts halted when you heard shuffling coming from your bedroom.

Someone is in the house with you

Any normal person would be scared when faced with a break and entry but you were absolutely livid. Both of your places of safety have been irradiated, first it was work and now? Now it’s your fucking house. You dropped your bag on the ground and lunged at the hallway that led to your room, ready to pounce on whoever dared to enter your home. Gripping the doorway to the bedroom you see the back of a man who was already halfway out your window, running after him you just nearly missed grabbing the back of the jacket he was wearing, as he darts towards the woods behind your house. 

“HEY!!” You were furious, you wanted answers now. You couldn’t make him out very well so you couldn’t tell if it was one of the men you suspected that were stalking you, but at this point it didn’t matter. Whoever it was, was in your home. 

You follow after him through the window, quickly catching up to the man you shoved him forward hard. His body crashed into the base of a thick tree letting out a cry of pain though before you could do anything to the man a loud shot rang through the air. 

You doubled back, becoming increasingly aware that you had just been shot point blank in the neck. You could feel the way your thick blood gurgled and poured through your throat, effectively blocking out any air you needed. Stumbling in your spot you raise your hands to the wound, under your grip you could feel the intense throbbing of your pulse. Falling to your knees you faced the ground, blood oozed from your mouth and you could feel the muscles in your throat contract and expand pulling the bullet from its spot as it entered your esophagus. As you choked on the blood you could feel the entry wound begin to close up, the bullet made its way to the back of your mouth causing you to cough, spraying your blood out onto the ground and on the man’s pant legs. You didn’t notice he was still there and you trailed your eyes up his form, he was still against the tree, arm raised with the gun still in his hand. His chest heaved out ragged breaths and as your gaze finally settles on his face you realize… it was that frowny faced fuck you met in the woods, the one who never spoke a word. 

You look where his eyes would be under the mask hoping he was watching you, and you spit the bullet out right at his feet. You wanted him scared, you wanted to make sure he’d understand exactly what he was dealing with here. And now you are going to get answers, this time you’ll make sure he speaks.

“You *cough* are gonna-“ you rise to your feet slowly- “have to t-try a lot harder tha-than that” you gurgle through the sentence, your vocal chords still flooded with some blood. The masked man had shuffled to his feet by now still pointing the gun at you. You couldn’t help but laugh, though it wasn’t much of a laugh, more like a wheeze really. After what he just witnessed he really thought that tiny gun could protect him now.

“Y-you got any muc- *cough* -mucinex? I think… I’m all cl-clogged up”

You were truly just fucking with him now, the absurdity of the situation was getting to you. All you wanted was for things to be normal and now this guy and presumably his friends were meddling in your home. A girl just wants to catch a fucking break, is that really so hard to ask?

Apparently not because the man turns and darts into the woods, if he really wants to play around again then you’re game. You begin to run after him but are quickly stopped once more but this time for a different reason. It was here. You could hear the man running off and just in the middle of you two was the creature. You take a few steps back in horror but are brought to the ground. The pain you felt was almost unfathomable, the only thing you could compare it to was a head splitting migraine but upped ten notches. All thoughts were stabbed out of mind as blinding static filled its place. Your mouth fell open in a silent scream, hands ripping at your hair in an attempt to ease the agony.

 You don’t know how long you sat there, but all you know is that when the static left your mind it had felt like your brain was heavier than lead and you slumped in your spot. Taking deep breaths you looked back up at where the figure had been, relief flooded your system at his absence. You stayed there on the ground until you decided it was probably time to get up, afraid that the thing might come back.

Your body limply walked back to the home and went through the back door finding it already unlocked. You couldn’t think much of it right now- you couldn’t really think of anything right now. You just hobbled over to your couch and stared at the wall for hours until the sun set.

When you finally had the ability, you pulled yourself up from the couch and into your room, though you noticed your laptop was open. Sitting next to it on the desk was a piece of paper with writing scribbled and crossed out. Getting closer you realized it had been failed password attempts that revealed they had a lot of information on you. Your mothers maiden name, your birthday in multiple arrangements, old childhood pets, even different band names you were into. 

‘Why are they doing this? What could they possibly want with with me that they have all this shit already’

You think back to that night with Toby. He seemed so normal, well maybe not normal he was literally burning bodies with you, but still. You felt so stupid, you’d given him your name, that alone was way too much information. Who knows maybe Toby isn’t even his real name. Then it dawned on you. Maybe you were the next victim, he had said killing people was kind of his job, and now his buddies were in your house trying to find information on you. And you’ve discovered that that creature is now totally connected to him, I mean if it showed up to save his friend then it wouldn’t be a stretch to think so. How does one even be in cahoots with a creature like that.

You sat on the edge of your bed, head in hands, this was all too much to handle. At least you know who’s been stalking you, right? Though it doesn’t comfort you like you thought it would, they have the upper hand on you with whatever that thing is. 

With that thought in mind you curl up onto your bed and hug your body as close as you can, and you run through all the possible ways you can think of that could help you to get out of this situation. Maybe relocating? No, they have supernatural forces on their side. What's to say you completely uproot your life and it still haunts your ass. The more ideas you come up with the more you feel hopeless. Nothing could possibly work. Maybe this was really just your life now…

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Looking around the space as much as your line of sight could allow you, you noticed the details of the van were slightly off. Lettering on labeled items seemed like gibberish, the shapes of the objects that filled the back were slightly warped. Everything in the van seemed like a crude recreation of what it actually was. 

Beyond the windows of the van was practically a void, but you could see the faintest outlines of a forest passing by, but even then that wasn’t right. The trees swirled into each other, similar to how dark ink mixed in water. There was a ringing in your ears, constantly buzzing through your head. You closed your eyes thinking it would help lessen the noise, but when you opened them you were suddenly playing out the next sequence of events.

Already out of the van and next to the trail head, you felt your body move on its own like you were being puppeteered to move exactly the way you had.

“Is this really the spot?” The words were forced out of your body, the same ones you spoke that night. You could hear the bassist reply but at this point you weren’t listening, your head was reeling as the ringing in your ears intensified. Although you couldn’t move your head you could see something from the corner of your eye. 

Trying to focus in on it your heart dropped, you could feel it beat through your stomach as you realized what it was- it was the same faceless figure from outside your house. It was standing there ‘staring’ at you just like it was before, the more you stared back the worse the ringing became so you forced yourself to look away. 

You wanted to throw up, scream, run, anything.  You’ve never felt so terrified, you could tell that thing was all around you. Every step forward you saw a flash of its pale white face so you clenched your eyes shut, only for them to be forced back open. 

You moved onto the next scene, tied up on the ground your screams ringing out in the ‘forest’ as the three men surrounded you. And just beyond them was the abomination. This time you couldn’t look anywhere else but into its haunting face. You felt anger bubble under your skin. It was making you go through all of this again and just watched as it happened. You just knew it to be true, you haven’t had your dreams plagued with this memory for weeks and now, and now here it is again but so much more vivid this time, you could feel the pain in your wrists and ankles from the ropes cutting deep, the aching in your lungs from the screaming, head pounding from the constant ringing. You wanted to call out to it, plead to make it stop, to make your suffering end.

But it didn’t. It just stood idly by as the vocalist chanted the words off the paper in his hands and as the bassist gripped the dagger tight, ready to bring it back down into your chest. Once it was lodged back into place you were consumed by darkness and static. 

It was there when you opened your eyes, standing over your mangled form at the base of the cliff. It watched as your body reformed itself. Ever present as you ran through the woods towards your first meal. Stood behind the three masked men as your conversation with them was replayed. And felt his presence for the last time as he lurked behind you in your reflection as you pulled the dagger out from your chest.

The moment it was gone from your mind you were plunged into hollow darkness. 

…

You startled awake, hard gasps wracked through your body as you tried to catch your breath. 

‘What the absolute FUCK was that’ you couldn’t help but think as you recounted your… dream? Nightmare? But you knew better than that, you could feel everything in that dream like it had been the first time you experienced it. 

‘ This wasn’t a dream, it was a reenactment of that night.’

The idea solidified in your mind when you stepped out of your room to the bathroom. But you stopped just short of the doorway as you saw the dagger sitting on the bathroom counter exactly where you left it in your dream, not where it should’ve been. You kept it in the drawer in the nightstand next to your bed. The sight brought you to tears as harsh sobs left your body.

‘Seriously what the fuck is going on???’

Your life had already changed so drastically after you came back. You already struggled with the thought of having to live the rest of your life as this man-eating monster- if you were even really alive still- and now you have to worry about a strange being forcing itself into your life. You hoped that would be the last time you saw that thing but a better part of you knew it would come back. You just cried harder at that thought.

….

Once you were able to calm down a bit you entered the shower. You had a shift that started soon and you were completely dreading it. You were paranoid, the entity that you… encountered? Was stuck in your mind as you got ready. You occasionally checked through your windows to see if it was still around, even though you had no actual plan if you did end up seeing it. What could you even do? Yell at it to leave you alone? If you weren’t so scared the thought would be kinda funny. Your small in comparison frame screaming at a giant other worldly creature to mind it’s business.

But you just wanted to forget all about it. Trying desperately to think of anything else. You settled on worrying over your upcoming shift at the restaurant you worked at, you were working open to closing tonight, which was a drag. But hey at least you’d be around ‘normal’ people for the day. Though your regular clientele weren’t exactly normal, no one in this town after the age of… well… birth were exactly well adjusted. But hey at least they weren’t axe murders or scary figures that haunted you. You could handle the occasional drunk man at the bar and the rude customers that always wanted a refund or discount on something. Yeah, you’d be okay.

You stepped out onto your front porch cautiously, sweeping your head side to side to make sure nothing was waiting for you. Once you made sure the coast was clear you headed to your car, unlocking it and getting in. You contemplated getting a two way dash cam set up, just in case the figure, or something else showed back up outside your house. Though you wondered if monsters that can enter your dreams can even show up on camera.

You pushed the thoughts away as you neared the small restaurant. Heaving a sigh at the thought of spending the entirety of your day here, but you couldn’t complain after the night you had. After checking yourself in the visor mirror to make sure you looked okay, you exited the vehicle and went inside to clock in. 

You greeted your coworkers as you walked past to put your things in the break room. You put on your apron and shoved your notepad in the front pocket and got to work.

The shift had been going exactly how you’d expected. A mix of good and bad customers flowed through the door, and of course your regulars sat up at the bar chatting away with the bartender. She was a young woman named Serena, who was only a couple years older than you. You actually went to school together and she was the closest thing you could call a friend. Though you guys rarely hung out outside of work, she was nice but her other friends… not so much. The group she was in consisted of people you had not so fond memories with. One of which was a guy named Caleb, you’d gone on a couple dates with him long before he befriended Serena, and it didn’t end so well to say the least. His memory left a sour taste in your mouth but you didn’t want to dwell on that, especially when customers were waiting for you.

In between customers you conversed with your coworkers, trying to keep yourself occupied to stop the paranoia from taking you over. They were seemingly surprised by how outgoing you were today, after all you’d been kinda off for the past month. Some asked if something happened to cause your ‘good mood’ .You just completely ignored the question, changing the topic entirely if that phrase was mentioned. 

After you gave one of your tables their check you heard your name being called. It was the hostess, a girl named Yelena. She called you over and pointed at a table of three men who resided in the corner of the restaurant, strangely they felt familiar.

“ They asked for you” 

You glance back at the table in semi disgust noticing one of the men was already looking at you. You'd be creeped out over the fact they wanted you to serve them, but unfortunately your reputation preceded you and it’s not exactly the first time men have come asking for you. 

“By name orrr?” “No, they pointed you out”

You sighed heavily and grabbed a few menus. You made sure to fix your face before you turned to  leave the hostess stand, I mean you still wanted to get tipped even if they were trying to seek you out for… something else. 

…

Y/n looked over at the table and Toby jerked hard,  after accidentally making eye contact with her.

“Chill the fuck out” Tim said lowly.

“Yeah ha ha, f-f-fuck you” how could he even say that to him? It’s not like he can fucking help it. This whole situation is backwards. He thought the boss would want this girl taken out. Considering the trouble she could definitely bring, he reminded himself grimly. Lightly touching the bruised skin under his collar from when you overpowered him… and threatened to kill him. But the boss had a vested interest in this girl.

“Why a-am I even here?” Toby grumbled out, hunching further into himself, sliding down slightly in his seat. I mean he knew why. The boss wanted all three of them to go, something about ‘safety in numbers.’

‘What a fucking joke’ Toby thought.

“I’m t-totally going to b-blow our cover man” Toby whines out, he’s practically wilting in his seat right now, except for the occasional tic jutting through his body. Everyone knew Toby wasn't good at stalking people in such public places, he much preferred doing it from the shadows in places people least expected it. People don’t exactly mesh well with Toby, especially randos in a town like this, they… stare too much. 

“I think we all need to calm down, it’s not our first rodeo here guys” Brian tries to reassure the table, well mostly Toby, though it falls on deaf ears as he anxiously fiddles with his face mask.

Toby can see Tim go to say something but is interrupted by menus sliding onto the table. 

“Hi! I’m y/n-” she gestured to her nametag “-I’ll be your server for today, can I get you started on any drinks?” 

Toby for the first time got a good look at her, and he couldn’t deny it, she was beautiful. It was like she was a completely different person, well it helped that she wasn’t covered in blood unlike the times he met her, but still. He almost couldn’t believe this was the same girl he talked to last night.

Toby hadn’t noticed everyone put in their drinks already and were staring at him expectantly, not until you cleared your throat.

“Sir? Your drink?” She shifted on her feet nervously and Toby realized he must’ve looked like a total creep just staring at her. He quickly looked away,  scratched the back of his neck awkwardly and mumbled out that just water was fine. He didn’t look back up until he heard you leave the table and he let out a breath of relief.

“What the hell was that??” Tim asked, and Brian followed up with a chuckle “you totally malfunctioned” 

Toby groaned and threw his head in his hands, completely embarrassed by what just happened. See he wasn’t good at this type of thing, or maybe at least not with you. 

…

You were totally weirded out, you’ve dealt with pervs before but this guy perturbed you. You could feel his eyes on you as you dealt with other customers but completely avoided looking at you when you got close to their table. It wasn’t just you who noticed, when you went to talk to Serena from behind the bar you brought the guy up and she smiled real big. 

“I don’t knooow~” she said in a sing-song voice “ he looks kinda cute” she whispered leaning close to you and throwing a glance at him over her shoulder, you followed her gaze and sure enough he was already looking. Though he averted his eyes the moment you looked up, pretending to pick at the plate in front of him. You could see his friends laugh at him and you couldn’t help but find it slightly endearing.

You just huff out a laugh “kinda cute? What about kinda creepy. Plus he’s wearing a mask so I wouldn’t even know.” You did find it odd that he ate with the mask still on, turning his head away from everyone to slide it up a bit to take a bite.

“Ohhh come onnn” she coaxed “When’s the last time you had a date?”

You weren’t even even going to touch that topic with a ten-foot pole, technically you died on your last date. You dodged the question saying you're sworn off of boys and she just giggled and told you you can’t possibly keep that up forever.

 That was one thing about Serena, she was slightly ‘boy-crazy’, not necessarily in a bad way but you just couldn’t put yourself out there like she does… not anymore. You know what would happen if you did. Besides the rumors that would start back up, what would happen if you accidentally ate your partner.

“With the guys in this town I can” you shot back, maybe a little too aggressively, Serena falters a bit her bright smile falling into a sympathetic one. She looks around like she’s trying to find something to say before finally conceding. 

“If it makes you feel any better I don’t think he’s from around here.” She said like that would even convince you.

“How would you know?” Seriously, how would she even know??

“I know everyone in this town it’s like, half of my job as a bartender” she moved her hands to say ‘duhh’.  You guessed she was right, this restaurant and ‘The Worm Hole’ were the two main spots the residents of this town frequented. You just reluctantly nod at her words and she brightens up again. You turn to go back and check on your tables figuring it’s been long enough and Serena stops you before you exit behind the bar. 

“Sooo are you gonna ask for his number?” That’s another thing about Serena; she's absolutely relentless sometimes, always trying to play match-maker at work. You just laugh and say absolutely not like it’s ridiculous that she even asked, which to be honest it totally was. He was a complete stranger.

When you went to return to the table the three men sitting at you realized they were already gone. The check had been paid in a crumpled wad of old bills and scribbled in messy handwriting on the receipt were the words:

‘ We'll be seeing you around y/n ‘

The note rubbed you wrong, it was an odd message. You’ve gotten some crazy notes in your day but this just left you unsettled. It was more of a statement than a goodbye. It was even weirder when you noticed they tipped way more than necessary. 

The whole interaction replayed in your head over and over for the rest of your shift.

…

After closing up the restaurant you drove home in silence. You dreaded coming home, especially after what happened last night, you were afraid the tall creature would come back to visit you again so you took the longest way back.

When you entered the house that gut feeling that something was off radiated through you. You went around every room checking every place you could think of where somebody could hide. Nothing was missing or displaced so you figured you might just be going a little crazy from paranoia, but to be sure you checked all the doors and windows in the house.

 However when you reached your bedroom window you saw a few things that were definitely not right. The window wasn’t locked and there was a tiny amount of dirt on the window sill, clumped up in a way that looked like the treads on a shoe.

You knew for damn sure it wasn’t from last night. You made sure to clean up after yourself when you came back home through the window, and you surely remembered you weren’t wearing any shoes, you bolted in nothing but your pajamas. And after your sighting of the creature you triple checked all the openings in the house to make sure they were locked.

You were scared for sure but frustration crept in as well. Were you being fucked with? Was it those guys at the restaurant? The ones in the woods? The entity? Maybe not the last one but you tried to think of all the possibilities of what could be going on. 

You ripped open the window and stuck your head out, looking to see if anyone was possibly out there, but all there was to see were the woods. Without thinking you yelled out: “If anyone is out there leave me the fuck alone!”

@br0ke-b1tch @luvsztringa @ilovvesleepp @tipheeweefee @sour-patch-bitch

But sometimes when you close your eyes you can feel the blood rushing through your mouth, pooling on your tongue. The taste burned on your tastebuds when you thought too hard about it. The memory felt so tangible, you could still feel the way his body slumped below you, the way his skin ran cold beneath your fingers. You just couldn’t stop thinking about it, you should be disgusted by these thoughts but the shame never came. You knew you wanted to taste it again, the desperation scared you. You tried to bury those thoughts down, because whatever you remembered never happened. But you couldn't keep fooling yourself.

Your condition grew worse by each passing day, you felt empty, your skin itched but the sensation never went away. You were constantly irritated, turning mean and snappy to those around you. And people noticed, your coworkers constantly asked if you were doing okay, customers looking at you funny, people crossing to the other side of the street once they saw your sickly looking face. 

You knew what you needed. The hunger was consuming you once more. In a panic induced frenzy you’d eaten all the food in the house in an attempt to ease the pressure. Which unsurprisingly did not work.

You lay awake for another week, withering away watching as the hours ticked by. It was unbearable now, you shook and sweat writhing under your sheets. You were going through withdrawals and the desire-no- the need for blood took over.

Ripping yourself from the bed you look outward at the dark woods behind your house. Your reflection in the window caught your attention, you looked…well, fucking crazy. And in that moment you knew what you had to do.

You open the window and climb through, not wasting a second to care to use a door, or change out of your pajamas which consisted of shorts and a tee shirt. You need to deal with this now. 

You sniffed the air and let your nose lead the way. You could smell the creatures of the forest and thought that maybe a deer could quench your thirst for blood. It wasn’t enough, you didn’t feel any less hungry. So you moved along hoping to catch the scent of a larger animal, maybe a bear would do you better. 

You were deep in the woods at this point frantically searching for something to eat, but every animal you came upon left you dissatisfied. During your search you found yourself at the edge of the cliff that separated this part of the forest from the rest. 

As you peered over the edge and looked at the vast landscape, you noticed far off into the distance was smoke and the glittering light of a campfire. Which was strange because no one in their right mind entered that part of the wood, not even cops.

Wait… this might be your chance. Whoever it is, is all alone out there, and no one goes to these woods.

 Looking back down over the ledge you wondered if you should go down, you survived last time so it shouldn’t be a problem again, right? Looking back towards the fire your pulse spiked.  You were getting excited, knowing that you could possibly alleviate the churning pain in your stomach. 

And without much of a second thought you jumped. Instead of immediately hitting the ground you crumpled into a tree, each branch colliding into your body as you flopped down its length and unceremoniously hit the hard forest floor with a deep thud. You’d be embarrassed if you weren’t so focused on the prospect of finding your meal.

You could feel your ribs crunched inward, not cleanly broken but shattered, it didn’t hurt nearly as much as you thought it would, it just felt like the wind was knocked out of you. But it didn’t last long and the bones snapped back in place. 

You stood up from your position and sniffed the air, you couldn’t see the fire from here so you relied on your nose which picked up the faint smell of smoke… and there it was, the sickly sweet scent you’d been looking for this whole night.  

Your legs carried you almost in an instant to the camp site. But you lingered in the brush surrounding the clearing, trying to gauge what you were getting into. You crawled around the edges like an animal stalking its prey, staying as low as you could get so as to not be seen.

But you didn’t have to bother with that. Two bodies were littered on the floor, mangled by the deep cuts in their skin.  A cry rang out through the air, it was a girl's voice pleading ‘please no’ over and over. Moving from your spot you crept over to see that a man wielding two hatchets stood over the girl. His right arm raised high in an arch ready to crash down on her. He was going to kill her, that alone should have frightened you but instead you panicked. You could see her blood already gushing from a different injury you assumed he’d made, he couldn’t kill her, you needed her alive to feed. 

Rushing the man you launched at him, grabbing him by the back of his jacket and throwing him to the side as hard as you could, he hit the ground with a grunt but you didn’t bother looking. The girl gasped as you watched her watch the man, snapping her head to you “PLEASE!!! PLEASE HE-”  when she looked you in the face she stopped and let out a sob, you looked ghastly. Clothes torn and blood staining your mouth and chest. Your eyes zeroed in on the ever bleeding wound, teeth chattering in anticipation, drool dribbling down the side of your chin.

And the girl’s blood smelled so good, you know what it is now, it’s fear. It makes the blood taste better, and she was downright frightened. Struck so hard with the emotion all she could do is look up at you, mouth agape. You take a small step forward, then another and just as you were almost there-

You were brought to the ground in a tackle, the man-who you now recognize as the one with the muzzle from a month ago- is on top of you, he was absolutely fuming from what you would see through his goggles. He punches the ground next to your head and seethes.

“This one is mine” he grits out leaning down to your face. You see red, he’s actively keeping you from getting what you so desperately needed. 

Despite being in a weakened state you were still stronger than he was. You snatch him by the neck with a single fist, holding him in place as you stand up off the ground. He was kneeling before you, one of his hands gripped your own and you leant down and pulled him close, face to face once more. You could smell the sweet tang of fear bubbling under his skin, not nearly enough for your taste, but you drag your nose along his neck basking in the aroma. He lets out a shaky breath.

Growling, you look him in the eyes.

“I will eat your fucking soul” his eyes widen a bit and you shove him by his neck back to the ground. Instead of following through you stepped over his body and walked over to the girl. She dragged herself a few feet in an attempt to flee but unfortunately her injuries were too debilitating. She held out her arm signaling you to stop but you grabbed her wrist jerking harshly until a wet snap rang out, dropping her hand you put a knee on her chest and clutched her by the hair, forcing her head back to expose the flesh of her neck. And just like last time you sunk your teeth in deep and didn’t stop until the blood went cold. 

Leaning back on your heels you wiped the blood off your face with your arm, and let out a content sigh. It was amazing how fast the substance mollified the hunger in your body. It was euphoric, pleasure fluttered through your body in a way you’d never experienced before. You sat there letting its effects course through you. 

“Done g-g-getting off?” The muzzled man spat at you. You totally forgot he was there, your eyes met his and the glare he gave was palpable. 

“W-what?” 

He clicked his tongue and shook his head, clearly pissed off. 

“I’m n-not cleaning up your fuck-fucking mess this time”. It suddenly clicked that he and the other two guys you met must have covered up your last victim. You were struck with a pang of guilt, you didn’t mean to be a burden. 

You looked down at the girl, wracking your brain for ideas on how to get rid of her body, when you remembered what the man had told you last time burning the body would be easier. You realized that’s what he must be doing too as you watch him grab logs from a small pile of fire wood the campers had brought. 

Wanting to pull your weight, you walked out of the clearing to a nearby fallen over tree. It was easy to break down the base into rounds. Now that you were fed, your strength was tenfold. Grabbing a few rounds you brought it over to the fire pit. The man gave a wary look as you dropped the wood in. You could feel his unease, you didn’t blame him, you literally just threatened his life.

“I’m sorry if I scared you…” you said as you looked over to him.

“You s-said you were g-gonna eat my soul” he shot back at you.

“I know-“ you looked into the growing fire “-I don’t…I don’t think I’m really… me when I’m hungry” it was true, it was like you were an entirely different being, the unnatural urges completely took over.

There was a beat of silence, you looked over to him again and it seemed like he was weighing his words.

“ Have y-you…tried eat-eating a Sn-Snickers?" The tone shift caught you totally off guard, you hadn’t expected him to make a joke about what transpired, especially since he seemed so mad at you only a few moments before. You couldn’t help the laugh that slipped out, shaking your head you told him you hadn’t thought to try.

The mood improved significantly after that, you both continued to gather wood to make sure the fire would be big enough to burn the three bodies. Once it was, you watched the man heave one of the bodies off the ground onto his shoulder, in the time it took him to place the body in the fire you had already placed the other two in. He just scoffed and called you a show off.

As the bodies began to burn he took a seat in one of the chairs set around the fire, following his lead you sat in one adjacent to his. Leaning his head on the back of the chair he looked up at the sky and sighed. You figured he’d had a long night, y'know considering he murdered two people and there was no car in sight so he probably walked here too.

You didn’t want to leave just yet, in case he needed more help to clean up but, you felt…conflicted. It wasn’t lost on you that this guy killed these people for seemingly no reason, or at least you thought so until the man’s phone started to ring. He let out a groan and twitched hard. He fished the device out of his pocket and answered the call with an exasperated “what?” 

You could hear a voice through the phone start to talk but the man quickly said “yeah yeah it’s done don’t g-get your p-panties in a twist” without waiting for a response he hung up the phone. 

“Sooo… do you like, do this often?” You couldn’t help but ask. He threw you a sideways glance and sighed.

“More o-often than I’d l-like to” he huffed “why do y-you care”  he followed up in a sour tone, you noticed his mood tended to shift quickly.

“Hey man, no judgment here-“ you shot your hands up in surrender “- it’s just… this is the second time I’ve seen you out here, and we both have our reasons... you know mine obviously“ he gave you a look and huffed a small unamused laugh. He shook his head and looked back at the fire.

“I have to” is all he said. You nodded, taking in his words, but he didn’t really answer your question.

“Is it like your job? Are you a hit man or something?” He laughed at that, finding your words humorous.

“I-it’d be a lot c-cooler if I was. But-“ he looked down at his lap “- I j-just do what I’m t-told” he had a far away look in his eye as he said that last part, his head jerked hard to the left causing a loud crack from his neck. It seemed like he touched something a bit too raw when saying the words.

Taking that as a sign to drop the subject you asked if he needed help cleaning up the campsite and he shook his head saying you were good to go home. He didn’t seem to bounce back as he stared into the fire, the same empty look in his eyes.

You got up to leave and just as you reached the edge of the clearing you looked back at the man and asked his name. He looked over to you slightly surprised you asked but responded:

“Toby” you nod and and repeat the name getting a feel for it on your tongue. You told him your name and went to turn to leave. You stopped when you heard him call your name, you looked at him expectantly and he seemed a bit shy as he asked 

“Am… am I gonna s-see you again” you weren’t expecting that to be honest, you took a second to answer trying to find the words. He’s good at catching you off guard apparently.

“Yeah, I think so…hopefully not when I’m hungry” you both chuckle a bit and with that you finally turn and walk off.

…

When you arrive home you take a nice hot shower, scrubbing away all the blood that dried on your body. God you probably looked like a freak talking to Toby you think to yourself, slightly self conscious. You really hope that if you see him again it’d be under different circumstances. When you don't look as depraved as you have been.

You get redressed for bed and go to make sure to lock up the house for the night. As you approached the front door to see if you locked it earlier you felt compelled to look through the window that showed the street. And when you did your stomach dropped.

You didn’t know what you were looking at.

Leaning forward to see better, you froze. 

Standing there on the street under a street light was a figure of a man, an incredibly tall man dressed in a black suit, and as you looked further the chilling realization hit…

He didn’t have a fucking face

Where there should’ve been features the beings face was just smooth white skin pulled taut around angular bones. Though there were no eyes to look at you with, you could just tell deep in your bones that he was watching you.

Quickly you drew the blinds closed double checking if the windows were locked. But the feeling of being watched lingered for another few moments. You backed away into your room and stood there unmoving. The sight shook you to your core and despite your newfound abilities you didn't feel safe, not in the slightest. 

You kept a knife under the pillow that night, just in case that thing somehow got in. Though you weren’t convinced it would help.

It took you a while to finally drift into sleep, but once you did you had the worst nightmare you’d ever had… 

again sorry if this was short! but lmk how you liked it! also lowkey isnt edited... lol

@br0ke-b1tch

Everybody and their mom knew about you, due to some misplaced trust and a few bad dates from your high school days. You’d ended up as the talk of the town- none of it was true, not really. You were just a pretty girl surrounded by carnivorous men who didn’t know how to take rejection.

But not tonight, tonight was going to be different. It rang through your mind the entire time you’d gotten ready. Feeling giddy in the shower, singing along to the music while getting dressed in your best outfit. When you looked at yourself in the mirror, you truly and sincerely believed tonight was going to be great. 

Songs from the band you were about to see crackled through the speakers of your old car. If you were being honest with yourself… the music sucked… like really bad. They were no modern baseball that's for sure, but you had a free ticket and you really weren't going for the music anyway. In a perfect world (and in your semi delusional state) you'd be drinking cheap liquor and hopefully having one less lonely night.

The car stopped in the parking lot of the dingy bar that was hosting the event. If you could even call it one it doesn't seem like anyone in this town but you know they even exist, evident by the small population of cars in the lot. You pull down the sun visor and take one last look at yourself before heading inside. You looked the best you had in probably years even under the small shoddy light from the car.

Stepping out onto the crunching gravel you pulled your coat closer to your frame. It had been a particularly cold day, getting even colder as dusk started to set in, the last lights of the day being consumed by the dark forest all around you. But the entrance to the slightly decomposing bar wasn't too far from where you parked.

The muggy warmth of the bar -appropriately named “The Worm Hole”- engulfed you. The musky smell of cheap beer and cigarettes flooded your nose but hadn’t bothered you too much, many of your highschool nights were in places like this so it oddly felt nostalgic. 

The dingy bar looked as bad inside as it did outside and was in dire need of renovation, the floorboards groaning with every step you took to the bar. The walls seemed like they were almost buckling from the weight of the building and the wallpaper that was barely left flaked onto your coat as you leaned against it waiting for the bartender to finish making your drink. 

In the far back you watched as the band were in the last stages of setting up their equipment, testing the mic and making sure there was no feedback from the amps.

 Almost like he felt your eyes, the bassist you’d once dated in high school met your gaze.You felt your nerves in your stomach as you replayed your last days with him- senior year was ending and the prospects of entering adulthood loomed over everyone, he told you he really wanted this band to work and that they were all moving a few towns over to live in his grandma’s basement… he really wasn’t all that cool but he was sweet, and that’s all you were really looking for.

He waved at you with a smile and you collected your drink from the counter and walked over.

“Hey! you actually came!”  He seemed surprised and ecstatic that you were really there,  he let out a small huff of a laugh as you approached. You stopped and stood a bit awkwardly not really knowing what to do with your arms

“Yeah, it ah- it’s been a while I wanted to see how the band was” it wasn’t exactly a lie- he left the town he grew up in to pursue this…career. But you really didn't want him to see how desperate you were. 

He nodded a bit awkwardly too stammering through his words a bit 

“Yeah-hah, we’ve been- yeah we’ve been doing good y'know" he looked down as if that wasn’t really the case , but shot his head right back up grinning “our next big deal is coming up soon though, so uh big things are gonna be happening finally” he chuckled a bit after that last statement. You were a little surprised, based on the content you’d heard you didn’t really think anyone would pick up their music. 

“Oh! Like a label deal?” You were genuinely interested at this point, maybe you could even make music if the standards were that low.

He laughed a bit and looked down not really meeting your eyes “yeah… something like that” 

It was kind of a weird response but you don’t know much about the industry to really question it.

Quickly shifting he told you the show was about to start and asked if he could buy you a drink after, you tried not to show the excitement you felt at the offer and shyly accepted. 

Just like you’d expected the music wasn’t much better in person but you tried your best to show support. Not many people showed up so you felt like you owed it to them. 

You stuck around and watched as they packed up their gear for the night. While you helped to bring stuff back to their van the bassist asked if you wanted to hangout for the night. He mentioned a cool spot the band found, you were a bit apprehensive considering you thought he meant getting a drink here and not in a totally random spot. 

But unfortunately the thought of driving home alone and in dissatisfaction made you more prone to convincing. He even convinced you to take the van with them since the vocalist “doesn’t drink”. Looking back at your car you felt the needle pricks of anxiety, you knew you shouldn’t but… would it really be so bad? You dated this guy for a good while so it’s not like he was really a stranger, even though years had passed since you last spoke. 

Finally you hopped in the back with him and the moment he closed the door thick dread weighed down on you. 

You chatted a bit with the guys, catching up a bit with the bassist and trying to feel out the vibe. Every so often they looked over at you then each other and it felt almost like there was an unspoken secret amongst them. The dread you felt hadn’t subsided either and you dared to ask where the location of this spot was.

“ It’s not too far we’re almost there” you felt uneasy at the non-answer, looking past the windows you could see the dark woods stretched out seemingly forever making your nerves race even more. You felt stupid, so so stupid for getting into the van. No not even that you felt stupid for the whole night. You’d been so excited and now look at you, being carted away to your probably imminent death…or worse. 

You felt nauseous and it seemed as though the unease oozed out of your body and into the van, because the bassist grabbed your hand telling you not to worry and they were gonna have fun. Although it really didn’t help you feel better.

The van sputtered to a stop at the entrance of a forest trail. ‘Yup this is it this is my last moment right here’ you couldn’t help but think as you all stepped out of the van. The guys grabbed a bag and a couple of boxes of beer and started heading into the woods. You grabbed the bassist’s hand and stopped him 

“Is this really the spot?” You’d ask in a false light tone, really trying not to sound freaked out. He just smiled and slung his arm around your shoulders and started waking again “why are you scared?” If you weren’t before(which you were) you definitely are now. “Ahh hah no, it’s just, y'know, really dark out here” you said trying to keep up. You hadn’t planned on being in the woods tonight and your outfit really showed it, the shoes you wore definitely weren’t cut out for the dense forest floor, thinking that if you needed to run it’d surely be a struggle. 

You all walked pretty much in silence, for what seemed way too long before finally coming up to a clearing.  As soon as you got there the vocalist clapped his hands and turned to the rest of the group.

“Alllright lets get this party going! Right?” He clasped his hands in confidence. Before you could  even realize they were all on you at once. You thrashed as hard as you could but it was 3-1 and the odds certainly weren’t in your favor, and getting even worse they tied ropes to each of your limbs.  At this point you were hyperventilating, everything had flipped so fast and your head was reeling with the possibilities that they had planned for you… you wished they had just killed you outright.

They tied the ropes around the surrounding trees keeping you in a starfish position, all the while you thrashed-screaming and begging to let you go. And you kept chanting ‘stupid, stupid stupid’ to yourself in your head. But really how were you supposed to know the night would come to this- completely vulnerable and with the worst to come.

The band moved around you, placing things down in a strange arrangement, collecting items from the bag they brought. The vocalist clutched a piece of paper reading it over while the bassist grabbed an intricate looking dagger, the blade was longer than your hand. 

You stopped,  taking in the scene around you 

“What… what are you doing” the words fell out in a tremble.

“Well I guess it doesn’t matter if you know, you’re gonna die anyway” the vocalist knelt down to your face “sweetheart do you know how hard it is to make it big nowadays? Hmm?” You shook your head not really following what he meant.  “Well Our band sucks and if we want to make it anywhere we’re gonna need a little…help” he said casually as if everything that was going on is just normal. 

You really wished you were already dead, the air of the forest was suffocating and chills that sent through your body had you practically convulsing

You look over to the bassist angry and shaken. You really were stupid. It was all a ploy, the invite to the show, the excitement you thought was for you, the offer for drinks, they had probably felt the desperation through your first texts when you agreed to see them play. The dull ache of regret pushed down on your chest, flooding your stomach. You were going to die and it was all your fault. You closed your eyes and stopped fighting, there was no use and you knew it. 

Reading over the paper again the vocalist asked the drummer if he was sure this was the right incantation, the drummer said he was pretty sure which really did not make this situation any better.

An exasperated “dude” left the bassist’s mouth but the vocalist didn’t see too bothered “meh whatever”

In the next few moments all you heard was the vocalist chant whatever was on the paper and soon the striking sharp pain hit your chest ripping out an ear piercing scream. You feel warmth spill over you and you look down seeing the dagger protruding from your badly shaking body blood pooling onto your stomach. Your vision quickly faded away and you took your very last breaths.

….

The band stood there waiting for something to happen. Just staring expectantly at the girl on the ground 

“Dude, what if it doesn’t work?” The bassist asks, wiping the blood that tainted his gloved hands on his jeans.

“It’s gonna work, don't worry, everyone on Reddit said all the big stars did this , it’ll be fine” the vocalist said, absolutely cool as a cucumber, like they didn’t just murder a girl in the woods.

“Alright let’s get this cleaned up…or something” 

Just beyond the clearing was a cliff that dropped even further into the woods, no one ever goes down there since it’s too risky. Plus that part of the woods felt- alive in a way that deterred people from it. It was quieter there, and the darkness loomed heavy.

The three men cut the restraints and carried the girl's limp body to the abyss, heaving her over the ledge. The only sounds were the wicked thumps and snaps of your body hurtling down the cliff, hopefully never to be seen again.

“Ahh fuck” the bassist muttered out  “I forgot to take the knife”  he looked over panicked to his bandmates they just shrugged at him and turned to leave.

…..

You didn’t think you’d open your eyes ever again. But here you were laid out on the ground looking up at the treetops and the jagged edges of a cliff. You didn’t know if you were alive or dead and just laid there feeling…empty.

There was no warmth, or cold; devoid of any feeling. It was quiet, it was so quiet it’s like the world stopped around you- if you were still even in the world.

But you were, you were still here and miraculously not dead? But it wasn’t a miracle you’d survived the knife and the concluding fall. Whatever woke you back up wasn’t natural, it was a force. Something deep within you started crackling to life, quite literally. The silence was cut through by sharp snapping noises, and if you were still able to think in the moment you’d have realized it was your mangled body reshaping itself. But you didn’t feel it, you still stare blankly at the sky, unmoving.

Then a sickening feeling flushed through your body, deep and aching the emptiness became unbearable, like you were shrinking into yourself.

The first time since you woke up you felt something.

Hunger. You were so hungry, no. Starving. Your stomach clenched as though something’s claws dug in, it felt all the sudden like you’d never eaten a thing in your life.

You twitched your fingers, the feeling in your body coming back violently. Suddenly needing air you wretched your mouth open and wheezed in the cool air, you shook and sputtered with every breath but it never went even. It didn’t matter though because hunger trumped anything else in the moment. 

You felt your body move on its own, rolling over onto your hand and knees you pushed up from the earth below you. You weren’t standing right, like the bones in your legs hadn’t fully set yet but you couldn’t feel the pain from it, just the deep hunger.

It was all encompassing, and as you shuffled through the forest you sniffed the air just like how a dog catches a scent and low and behold it smelled good. It was faint at first, only slightly trickling through your senses but the more you moved the stronger it became compelling you forward.

…..

Stupid, stupid, STUPID. I’m so fucked.

Rushing through the familiar woods Toby mentally cursed himself. The target somehow SOMEHOW got away from him. That almost never happens so it’s not his fault y'know. Plus how was he possibly supposed to know this guy ran track in high school? He only found out after the dude bolted and Tim finally mentioned it to everyone.

The target faked left and sprinted to the right, trying to throw Toby off. It didn’t work, Toby was zeroed in on the guy and wasn't taking his chances with a punishment later. Nah he wasn’t going to let that happen. The guy might’ve been a track star or whatever but Toby knew these woods like the back of his hand, same with the other two who were also somewhere chasing the guy..

Plus they also got a few jabs on him already so the adrenaline is bound to start slowing down soon, they’ve been running for ages already. Toby was getting impatient and frankly flat out enraged, he always did when a hunt didn’t go his way.  It didn’t help that when he got worked up his ticks increased in frequency, slowing him down when they got too intense.

He was losing sight of the target. He needed to be faster. Why can’t he be good enough when he needs it the most? He’s going to get punished if he fails. And it’ll be his fault even if it really wasn't. ‘Stupid. stupi-‘

Toby’s thoughts were interrupted when he heard what sounded like a body hitting the ground.

‘Fucking finally’ Toby’s assumption was that the target tripped or fell due to his injuries and he thought he’s finally got a break. But soon he heard the screams of genuine agony, unless this guy really can’t handle the pain of falling or something else got him. That made Toby move faster, having the possibility that someone else took him out when he worked so hard for this kill really pissed him off. 

Someone else sure as hell got him, but not who he’d think. He soon realized when he lurched to a stop upon the scene before him.

“What the fuck- “

….

Closer. Closer. You could smell it so much better now it was so close.

At some point you’d begin to run, faster than you’ve ever ran before, almost impossibly fast but you were so desperate to eat. You could feel yourself salivate at the smell, teeth chattering,  it was so fresh and inviting and you needed it so fucking bad.

Then you were upon it, that delicious smell. You didn’t take time to care what it was, you just sunk your teeth deep into flesh. You could feel your mouth contort and you began to suck up the thick blood that was still warm. You already felt so much better. The panging hunger subsided into a warmth that slowly spread through your body. But you kept going you couldn’t stop not even when you finally noticed the resistance you were getting, not stopping when looking up to see exactly what it was you were sucking the life out of. Not when you realize it’s a man, a man who was still alive writhing under your clutch. 

You only felt the need to stop when the man’s been still for a few moments, no longer feeling the thirst when the blood started getting colder. 

God you feel so much better, almost like yourself before you woke up on the forest ground, honestly better than you’ve felt in a long time.

You relish in the sensation of being full, finally feeling whole again you heave a big sigh like the weight of the entire night has been lifted. 

Then you hear a rusting of the leaves behind you, snapping your neck over to the noise you become fully aware of the three men that stand a distance away. You can’t see their faces as they’re adorned with different masks and coverings, but you’d be dumb not to think they’re probably horrified.

For all you know this was their friend or something and you sucked him dry, like directly in front of them. You kinda feel bad but you don’t feel the guilt or regret that any sane person should feel for… doing whatever the hell you just did.

Shooting to your feet you watch as the men take a few steps back getting on guard, you didn’t want to scare them but they also don’t look super panicked? This is a weird situation for sure. 

Trying to make it semi normal and gauge the vibes you gesture to the guy in the floor, blubber a bit before you can find the words-

“Is this guy like… was he a friend of yours…?”  Too normal maybe? Should you apologize? 

“Uhh n-no..? The one with the mouth guard and googles spoke up 

“ oh good heh yeah good” you stammer out feeling the spotlight on you, the gazes of the men boring into you. Feeling the need to explain you start word vomiting 

“I don’t normally do this-“ gesturing to the body again- “ ac-actually I’ve never done this before, uh I-I had a pretty shitty night and um yeah… I got stabbed I think, and I think I fell or something after that I don’t remember much until- “ looking back at the body knowing this is definitely not helping your case- “ until now.” You fizzled out at the end knowing none of that explained why you drank this guy’s blood. After being met with a suffocating silence you start back up “It’s the truth i promise” you nod vigorously like it’d help solidify the story.

“Y-yeah no we believe y-you” the mouth guard guy says and he points to your chest. 

You actually take a good look at yourself, horrified and confused at the sight, covered head to toe in blood, most of it seems to be yours, the blood from the man a more vibrant red than the rest., the cherry on top though was that the dagger remained, lodged so far into your chest the handle had entered the wound.

“Holy shit- that’s just… that’s not right.” You’re so confused this is all too much to take in and the body is still there but all you can think to say next is:

“…can I get a ride to my car” you don’t know why but you don’t really think these guys are going to turn you in, you’re all in the woods at a suspicious hour, they’re clearly not here for good reasons- why else would they be wearing masks, and again there is a dead body on the ground, which you feel like they’re also connected to.

The other two men still haven’t said a word but they’ve relaxed a bit. However, the mouth guard guy just starts laughing, truly and genuinely laughing. Your cheeks flush a bit in embarrassment knowing it's a ridiculous question to ask in this incredibly offputting scenario. But he keeps laughing until the guy with the white mask smacks  mouth guard guy’s shoulder and tells him to shut it… which he eventually does, dying down into giggles before clearing his throat trying to get ‘serious’.

“We’ll take you, but never speak about us to anyone. I mean it” white mask guy points at you emphasizing the ‘I mean it’. 

“ I don't think that’ll be a problem” you say looking down at the man on the ground. 

Wordlessly the men turn and you take that as a cue to follow. 

“ thank you” you say after a short while of walking

“Don’t mention it, you look like you were dragged up from hell” grumbles the white mask guy. You feel like that's a little too close to what actually happened but don’t mention it, not wanting to scare them off before you get a ride back.

 Somehow you could see so clearly in the darkness, you hadn’t noticed until now that you could hear much more clearly too, hearing the ragged breath from the men ahead of you when realistically you shouldn’t be able to, especially through the noises of the breezy forest. 

You took in the appearances of the three men, as much as you could while staring at their backs. The one with the white mask wears a tan jacket, signs of dark sideburns peak at the corners of the mask and he’s got an air about him that screams ‘nonchalant’. The one that hasn’t talked at all wears a yellow hoodie and you noticed earlier that he sported a black mask with a frowny face-kinda juvenile but  it’s a stark contrast to how he conducts himself, stiff and rigid.

Out of the three mouth guard guy is the most interesting to look at, he wears a brown jacket with striped sleeves and a mop of unkept brown hair. slightly taller than the other two but he stays in a slouch that leans into his uneven gait. At his left and right side hang hatchets which he keeps fidgeting with. Every so often he twitches his head into his shoulder in a way that should definitely hurt, evident by the cracking in his neck. You assume it’s involuntary. 

The four of you approach a worn down red pick up truck and you hesitate to hop in, noting that this is the exact same way the night went sour. The men hop in and wait for you, white mask rolls down the driver's window and asks what’s wrong, but not in a caring way really but more like ‘what now?’ 

Feeling put on the spot again you ask if you should get in the bed of the truck since your covered in blood, he just shrugs and says “just get in it doesn’t matter”

Hopping into the back you notice it’s you and the mouth guard guy which you realize is actually a muzzle, you can’t tell if that concerns you or comforts you, but you can’t judge not after what you did. 

The truck roars to life and the man in the white mask asks where to drop you off, you give the name of the bar and he grunts in recognition seemingly familiar with the place. 

“I-is that where y-you got stabbed?” Not expecting the blunt question you just shook your head looking over to the man in the back with you. He’s already staring at the knife that’s still in your chest.

“Do-does it hurt?” He punctuates with a tick.

“ No, I don’t really feel it, I don’t think I should be alive right now” 

“Th-that’s a fucking u-understatement” he huffs out 

“You said you fell, is that where it happened? The gruff voice of the white masked man asked.

“Yeah I think, I don't remember the fall but I woke up next to a cliff…” that turns their heads a bit

“S-so you got stabbed, f-fell off a cliff and now y-your right as r-rain?” 

“Yea but thinking about it now I think they were trying to get rid of my body”  

“N-no shit, I’m s-surprised they didn’t b-burn you up i-instead, it’s easier” well that’s super concerning to hear, but again you are in no place to judge, you killed a guy tonight.

“Well I don’t think they planned on me…not dying, I think I had to be dead for it to work” this got them all looking at you now 

“For what to work” the white masked man asked sternly, looking at you in the rearview mirror. You felt like a kid getting in trouble with your dad after mentioning something he wasn’t supposed to know. You debated if you should tell them what happened, the worst they can do is kick you or say you're crazy and made it all up but the knife in your chest is proof enough right? 

So you started at the beginning about your past with the bassist, their shitty band and how they used you as a sacrifice to get big. When you woke up, you needed to eat, and didn’t realize what you’d been doing until they found you.

After you explained everything it was quiet again, trying to process your words that sounded so outlandish but had to be true.  

A low whistle rang out from the man next to you while he shook his head

“Yeah t-that sounds like a pretty sh-shity night” he mirrored the words you’d spoken when they first found you.

The yellow hoodie guy huffs and shakes his head at the man’s words. But the conversations over when you see the bar coming into view, you’re relieved to see your car is still there not having been towed off or stolen. They pull over on the street out front and you hop out, just being grateful you're one step closer to being home. They roll down the window when you reach your car.

Unlocking the door you call out to them

“Thank you! And uh not to be rude but I hope we never see each other again!” You wave in a goodbye 

“Likewise” the white masked man calls back and pulls off. 

You feel a sense of normalcy when you sit in your car , if that’s even possible after tonight. Turning the key the first thing you hear is the god awful music you’d been playing on the way here. Your stomach turns listening to the song, also realizing at the same time your phone was left in the car this whole time. You let out an exhausted and semi amused laugh. Even if you made it out before the ritual you had no way to get help, almost like everything was meant to happen. You laugh a bit harder though it melted more into a sob. You just pull out of the planking lot and head home.

Looking at yourself in the mirror in the bathroom was hard, what stared back didn’t even look like you, just a mess of blood and rot. You look down at the dagger and finally pull it out expecting blood to flow but instead a dark red viscous fluid runs out instead. And the gaping hole in your chest quickly closes back up like it was never there. 

And after you stepped out of the shower it’s like nothing even happened, like this whole shitty day was just one big nightmare.