secondary to who i really am

■  

Connections. Another track kid chasing their future. Emma nodded at the new information and didn’t care to press any further than that. “Arizona… hot as balls. Not that it doesn’t get pretty bad here sometimes.” Emma still recalled that day the school handed out free popsicles to students as a way to beat the heat a while ago. She also remembered that dumb playlist she made Ben as a sort of inside joke about the muggy weather. “Yeah, I’m from Portland. Chasing a momento from back home I guess…” She wished she didn’t care so much about it. It was a stupid piece of thick paper. Emma hated that she couldn’t just forget about it. “Are you missing anything?” She asked then, not wanting to dwell on that dumb postcard any longer. The sooner she could get herself to accept that it was gone, the better. “Not a postcard from Arizona, right?” She asked with a tilt of her head, obviously joking. Though it would be pretty hilarious in a twisted kind of way if they were both tragically missing a postcard from their respective hometowns.

✦

liluye didn’t think massachusetts got anywhere near as hot as it did in arizona, and even when it did it was more muggy and humid heat than the dryness they were used to. but they weren’t about to argue over weather, instead humming an agreement and accompanying it with a nod of their head, “ what it’s known for, i ‘spose. ” they commented. it was comforting to know someone was just as far from home as them. not as far as the breevort brothers, but still, across the country. though their tone was somewhat dismissive, liluye understood.  “ i’m sure it’s somewhere, someone probably just swept it up with their things by accident. ” they had no real assurance of that, but they said it anyway. if that hadn’t happened then they would have to accept that someone purposely took the card from their wall and emma’s postcard from portland which was ridiculous to say the least. her words earned a light chuckle from liluye and the corners of their lips perked up for a second. “ no, not a postcard from arizona, ” they answered first, but once they’d said it they realised what they were missing was technically a card from arizona. “ just an old playing card, usually it’s on the wall over my bed but– i don’t know, i haven’t found it yet. ”

✟ 

The pines around them creak, wind catching rustling leaves, and licking the fire’s smoke. The camp sight is heavy with the weight of ghosts clinging to shadows, but Amos thinks perhaps this is just his ghost. The one that weighs on his chest in the middle of the night and holds his head underwater in dreams. “Perhaps you’re not looking hard enough.” He always wondered if Liluye would see this in him, the black bodied mass he carried on his back. They were good at seeing past his bravado, past his golden laced words and sharp smiles. But he never knew how far their sight extended.

A smile adorns his lips with their musing, riddles, and tiny bits of half information making up the mystery that was Amos. He’d like this, that he could build these things with his words. “A beast ravenous with riddles, do you see me at the type to sink my claws into those that do not see the honesty in my words?” He poses his words as a question, but there’s too much teasing in them with his bared smile. “Don’t worry, you’ll outsmart me ever time Liluye.”

His eyes lit up when Liluye caved into hearing the rest of the story, their back straightening as the words flood to their tongue. “Blood sacrifice,” He didn’t think the other would believe him, which they had no right to believe the lies they spun. But Amos still attempted, “They’d steal kids from nearby schools and bring them back here for their rituals.”

✦

it was odd. in so many ways they were so different. but all the same liluye found they were entertained by amos and drawn to him in the same way they found themselves drawn to people they perceived to be similar to themselves. they were completely unaware of why they felt that way, that empath nature in them always drawing them to him. they thought it was his easy charm and willingness to put up with their curt and sometimes cold attitude. if liluye were a more socially confident person they might even call amos a friend. “ of course, ” they answered his riddle, a little facetiously. holding straight face for a moment before they joined him with a small smile. though truthfully, yes, if they understood his flowery words correctly and then loosely applied them to real life:  they fully believed that amos at least scorned people that didn’t try to understand him. then they chuckled lightly at what he said, “ your confidence in me is flattering, as always, ” they mused, and though they played up their amusement they were flattered by the comment. 

the second he says those two words, blood sacrifice, liluye had to resist the urge to roll their eyes. instead gave a heavy exhale, he really was so dramatic. but all the same they allowed him to finish, at this point they thought it would be rude to interrupt. “ isn’t that the story about the ruins? the old church out in the woods? ” they pretended they were playing along, but their tone gave away their insincerity. “ multiple spots for blood sacrifice just sounds messy. ” but they were well aware of how quickly they were once again dismissing the story, even if they thought amos was smart enough to know they wouldn’t believe it, they still felt rude. and so they also asked “ so what did sister michael say about it? ”

✥

“Peachy.” Luna said in a tone that clearly indicated she was anything but. “Thanks.” She said taking the crystal from their hands and shoving it into the only pocket her jeans had. In fact, her jeans had several pockets, but all but one were fake. She had never seen the point in fake pockets, they were evil, and the same thing applied to whoever had come up with the idea in the first place.

“Some things, but I’m still missing a few shirts and jumpers.” Her uniform was safe, it had been one of the first items she collected and it provided her with some sort of peace that regardless if she managed to find the rest of her stuff or not she would still have something to wear on monday. “I swear if I’m still out here when night falls, I’m— I’m—” She said clenching her fists before she sighed and dropped her postured. “I’m probably just gonna cry.” She admitted. “Did you find everything though? I heard some students were missing some stuff.”

✦

in response to the thanks liluye simply pressed their lips together for a second in a small pursed smile. it’s not like it had taken any effort on their part to simply bend over and pick up what luna had dropped. “ did you want to see if any of this stuff is your’s? ” they asked, gesturing into the bag they’d been slowly filling up as they walked around. holding that position for a second before they moved, pulling tote from their shoulder to hold it out to luna. “ i’ve just been picking stuff up, thought it’d be easier for people to go through, ” they explained. they didn’t want liluye to cry. both because crying sucked and being brought to tears sucked and they obviously wouldn’t wish anyone to be sad, but also because they sucked at comforting people. “ uh, yeah, pretty much, ” they nodded at first, but then supposed there was no point pretending they had. what if luna had seen what they were missing? “ just missing a card that i had above my bed. i’m sure it’s somewhere it’s just– i don’t know, sort of weird it’s the only thing i can’t find, you know? ”

𝐌𝐎𝐔𝐓𝐇 𝐎𝐏𝐄𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐆, 𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐍 𝐂𝐋𝐎𝐒𝐈𝐍𝐆, 𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐇𝐀𝐊𝐄𝐒 𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐃. Rion doesn’t even realize what he’d said until Liluye spoke, and he drops a stiff chuckle, gaze falling to his lap. “Um, moved to New York. Used to live in Maine,” he clarifies, omitting the change in guardians along the way. But he can’t help himself; the thought of his home state inspires a surge of nostalgia within him. “I miss it, actually. Maine, not New York. We lived in Portland, but every summer, we’d drive up near the border and go camping — and all of that was fun and all, but the best part was just… the sky. Endless. At night, all these stars like - like you could look up once and get lost forever.”

Swimming in his thoughts, when he looks up, he’s all-too sheepish. “Uh, sorry. I didn’t mean to talk at you.” Embarrassed, only because he’s inadvertently revealed bits of his past he’d rarely recalled for himself. “Oh — yeah, no. That’s not what I meant,” he says, easing back into his normal cadence. “You know, I was going to hang a scarecrow, cover it in fake blood. In the dark, it’s all the same, right?” Laughing awkwardly, Rion shrugs at their next question. “Yeah. Just saying. I kind of picked Broadripple at random. My aunt wanted me out of her house, so… here I am.”

✦

easily liluye falls into silence as orion speaks. they liked when people opened up to them. it allowed them to feel that sort of intimacy that came with closeness– or something close to it, without ever actually having to be vulnerable themselves. they couldn’t help but note the thing he said about the sky. or the stars more specifically. in a sense they related. though broadripple was far enough from any large cities to avoid too much light pollution, it wasn’t the same night sky they’d grown up with in arizona. noting the difference made them miss home.

they were pulled from their thoughts when he apologised. “ it’s fine, ” they thought sometimes their quietness inspired a sort of openness, that people felt they needed to fill their silence. after a tiny pause they continued, “ you can see the stars really clearly where i grew up too. when my brother and i were little we tried to make up our own stories and pictures in the stars. called them the narvaez constellations. ” they said, feeling as though they were trying so hard to be relatable but also genuinely wanting to share the little anecdote that warmed their heart so easily. “ nevermind, it’s stupid, ” they dismissed with a wave of their hand, regretting that they had submitted to the mortifying ordeal of being known. even if they’d barely shared anything.

they raised their brows as he further explained his prank. yeah, they were glad he wasn’t planning on tying anyone to it but they it still sounded a little dumb. but they took a deep breath in and raised their hands in mock surrender as they said “ if you do it, and you get caught, and sister michael drags you to detention by your ears– i never heard a word of this. ” another case of luye attempting a joke but not quite having the right tone. instead of obvious teasing it sat between that and disapproval. then another glimpse into orion’s life, a glimpse that now felt like prying even though they’d never asked for him to be open with them. he moved from maine to new york, he lived with his aunt before he came to broadripple. so something happened with his parents. presumably he moved from maine to new york to live with his aunt after whatever that something was. they weren’t going to pry further. “ that sounds shit, i’m sorry, ” they meant that but they now felt as though they owed an actual explanation as to why they were here. not just a cold defensive retort. “ i was invited to broadripple, for track. would’ve liked to have stayed closer to home, but this place has connections, and you know, all that shit. ” they said, deciding all that sounded better than they were on an athletic scholarship. even if between the lines they had admitted that. “ that’s what i’m doing at a catholic school. ”

■

“Fair enough,” Emma conceded. It was in that moment that she decided she might not hate this person. Whoever they were. And that was someone who apparently wasn’t new at all; a discovery that intrigued Emma, evident in the way her head tilted to the right slightly as she listened on. “Ish,” Emma repeated once asked. “Been here about a year,” she elaborated. “It’s a mixed bag,” given she wasn’t particularly keen about some of the people here, not to mention the shitty circumstance they were in having to sleep in derelict cabins like a bunch of second-rates, “but at least the education you get isn’t shit.” It was arguably Broadripple’s most redeemable quality. No one could deny that the opportunities you could get at this school were pretty choice. She’d shit-talk the academy till her very end but she couldn’t say their curriculum sucked. “Why Florida for track? You from there or something?”

✦

ish. that made liluye feel better. they worried they had just completely managed to miss this person before they went on exchange. it didn’t seem likely as whoever this was seemed similar to liluye. or at least someone that they could happily sit beside in almost silence over lunch. something they would certainly remember if they had to deal with a crowded cafeteria in the coming days. “ true, ” they allowed with small smile and quick nod. if nothing else, broadripple was a good school academically speaking. everything else, including current living situation, was sort of shit. they were completely intrigued by this person, maybe just because they were new-ish, or maybe because they didn’t have the same air of privileged pretentiousness that so many other classmates had. a light chuckle escaped them when she asked if they were from florida. “ no, um– there’s a coach down there, connections to colleges, that sort of thing, ” they explained, hoping emma didn’t put the pieces together that they needed those connections. in a small attempt to distract from that they added “ i’m from arizona. less swamp, more desert, but still a lot of weirdo tourists and old people. ”  though at least the weirdo tourists in arizona were hippies rather than disney adults. “ are you from portland? ”

☆

𝐑𝐈𝐎𝐍 𝐇𝐀𝐒 𝐓𝐎 𝐖𝐎𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐑 𝐈𝐅 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐈𝐒 𝐋𝐈𝐋𝐔𝐘𝐄’𝐒 𝐃𝐄𝐅𝐀𝐔𝐋𝐓: soft, half-spoken words issuing her a palatable sort of discomfort. He’s not some expert charmer himself, preferring the sidelines to the center of attention. Years of being an observer had made him privy to similar souls, and he thinks he sees it in them. Something deeper to chip away at, that they are someone more than what they let on.

A hint of an amused grin pulls up a corner of his mouth, eyes expectant. “Yeah, see, I grew up… Christian, in some way, so you know, the whole God will smite you thing was pretty common. At least up until I moved,” he adds, gluing his lips together. Clearing his throat, he swings his legs over the bench, moving himself upright. “I didn’t believe in it, but you know. Guess it still kind of creeps me out. I mean, you could probably crucify someone on that cross.” Eyebrows raised, he clasps his hands together. “That’s an idea for a prank,” he talks out loud, making a mental note to figure out how he could get ( or make ) fake blood. “Right, so what are you doing at a Catholic school?” 

✦

liluye stayed quiet while he spoke about his god fearing upbringing, listening to each word but not sure what to do with the information. they weren’t the type to open up and as a result they didn’t usually inspire a lot of openness from others. that didn’t mean they weren’t curious now that orion had brought up a fraction of his childhood “ moved here or ... ? ” they raised a brow to finish their question. was he talking about moving to broadripple or moving somewhere away from his christian upbringing. 

they’re about to agree that yeah, the fact that the cross was probably big enough to actually crucify someone was probably adding to the unnerving feeling that came with its presence then he mentioned a prank and they were out. “ like tie someone to it or something? that’s pretty fucked up, don’t you think? ” his next question made their chest feel tight. if they were a freshman and not a senior it might have visibly upset them. liluye didn’t like to offer up the information that they were there on scholarship. and though they didn’t think he meant it in the way some crueler people might, it didn’t stop the question from feeling like a test they had to pass. “ last i checked it’s a catholic school, not a catholic only school. ” they answered, tone cool again. “ what are you doing here? ” 

He’d already given up trying to set Liluye’s hairs on edge, and see their eyes widen with that slight fear for what or who could be lurking in the shadows their eyes can’t adjust to. This seemed to happen often, occasionally out of the blue they’d see Lilyue and spin some new tale that attempts to convince them of something he didn’t quite believe in himself. And every time they’d always be too logical to even extend their belief for a split second to anything he’d said.

Amos guessed outside of assisting with school work, and keeping his grades up, he didn’t really know much about the other. It seemed to be the same with most of those at Broadripple- he chalked it up to talking too much himself. “Oh, now you’re interested?”  His eyebrows raise as he turns his head to face the other again, teasing in his tone. “She didn’t say much, it’s mostly speculation. She was just warning the other staff of things this place was known for.”

✦

they scoffed a chuckle as amos called out their change of tone. yeah, okay, sister michael saying anything about the retreat was more believable and interesting to them than tall tales of trapping people for sacrifice– that wasn’t their fault. “ sister michael’s a real person who i heard yelling at juniors for hanging out by the well this morning. i haven’t seen anything that suggests people being trapped in the cabins. ” they explained their reasoning for believing one thing amos said more than another. as he continued only giving tiny tid bits of information they rolled their eyes. but once again that tiny smile appeared for just a fraction of a second. “ you’d make a real good sphinx, you know that? you basically talk in riddles, tiny little bits of half information, ” they mused, pinching fingers together. it was part insult and part compliment. it was as entertaining as it was irritating. but they suspected that was a part of amos’ charm that he already leaned into. they sighed. “ fine, i’ll bite. what’s it known for? because it can’t be scratches on walls because i haven’t seen any anywhere. ”

“I think they’re point was probably to inconvenience us.” Diana couldn’t think of any other reason someone had take such a random assortment of useless items. Her shoes may have been useful but not with only one of them stolen. Her stolen Item almost felt a little Cinderella. What with the single missing shoe. She doubted she’d be falling in love with whoever had done this.

“I haven’t found everything. I’m missing a shoe. You haven’t happened to seen it have you?” Diana knew it was a long shot and her shoe was likely with all of the other stolen item s hidden somewhere. But it never hurt to ask. Unless said question made her look like a fool. “Its a Navy Blue boot with a small heel?”

✦

“ well, consider me inconvenienced, mission successful, ” liluye mused sarcastically in response. it wasn’t that they were annoyed at diana, not in the slightest. just overall, this whole thing was annoying. and stupid. and why had they taken the card, that card was worthless. it meant nothing to anyone but them. they furrowed their brows when diana continued. “ like, just one? not a pair? ” they asked. that seemed weirder than their loss. and it completely explained diana’s stance on it all. losing a pair of shoes sucked, but losing one half of a pair? very inconvenient. you’d have to be hyper aware that you were missing one. but they hadn’t seen the shoe they described so they shook their head. “ no, sorry– i’ll keep my eye out though, ” they pledged, but a shoe wasn’t a small item to lose. surely if it was at the retreat, diana would have found it. “ maybe someone else grabbed it thinking it was theirs? ”

Emma sighed, giving a resigned nod of her head. That was stupidly hopeful of her to think the first person she’d ask would have seen it and she wouldn’t have to go around asking more people. Tiredness brought out the worst in her. Made her lazy and naive. “Alright, thanks.” A nod of her head and she twisted her body, about to turn away and go until she was spoken to again. Is that all you’re missing? The question had her tilting her head to the side in thought. Good question. She’d found most of her things but not all of them. Not the dumb postcard at least. The moment she discovered it wasn’t anywhere in her cabin room, her interest shifted. She hated how some random item that probably costed a buck at most could garner such a reaction from her. Stupid, stupid, stupid. 

“That I know of. I mean, I don’t keep a detailed list of my shit but if I see it, I’ll know it’s mine.” She shrugged. It wasn’t the greatest show of concern for her belongings but Emma didn’t like getting particularly attached to things. Or rather, the things she was most attached to were with her at the time this stupid prank took place. If either of her cameras, her laptop, or her AirPods went missing in all of this, she’d positively lost it, she was sure. “Oh–” She peered into the bag, using her hand to move stuff around and see if anything was hers. No such luck. “No, none of it’s mine. Think some of those books are Gunderson’s though. You’ll see him around here somewhere. He’s got pink hair, it’s hard to miss.” Emma leaned away from the bag and crossed her arms over her chest, wanting to feel something other than the palpable annoyance and nausea over this messy situation.

“Are you like, just collecting random stuff for people?” Or stealing. That was a stupid thought but also it wasn’t. Then again, Emma had forgotten that some people could just nice. It took a moment of observation but the Melleray junior soon realized she hasn’t seen this student around before. “Must suck starting somewhere and having this shit happen to you.” By ‘this shit’, Emma didn’t just mean the garbage fire mess the Retreat was in right now but having to stay at the Retreat rather than the dorms at all. “You’re new, right?”

with sturdy arms liluye held the bag open for her. unable to help from watching her movements, they kind of hoped that she would pull something from what they had gathered so far. in a way it was sort of an intimate thing, to become so well acquainted with everyone else’s belongings. but alas, she stepped back empty handed. the only information liluye had was that they were missing a postcard from portland. they pressed their lips together. “ gunderson, pink hair, ” they repeated back, committing it to memory. “ i’ll see if i can track them down– thanks. ” though they wondered how long this gunderson person would have pink hair, felt a little against the rules. but then again, liluye didn’t know anyone else who had tried before.

at emma’s question however they raised a brow “ it’s a whole lot easier to look for your stuff in a bag than it is to search all over camp, not even knowing what you’re looking for, right? ” they countered, bringing back the argument that not everyone knew exactly what they owned unless they were looking right at it. plus, they didn’t really want to hear a whole bunch of screaming about favourite shirts and jeans being ruined by the overnight weather first thing in the morning. " not really, ” they answered her next question. it wasn’t exactly a welcome but welcome back for liluye, though they would have preferred it without the whole retreat thing quickly followed by this mess. “ i was in florida for a year, for track– but it is still a shitty welcome back gift. ” they meant for it to be a joke but it toed the line of being too true and they were no comedian. “ are you new? ish, at least? ”

𝐒𝐌𝐈𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐆, 𝐇𝐄’𝐒 𝐈𝐌𝐀𝐆𝐈𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐀𝐂𝐓𝐔𝐀𝐋𝐋𝐘 𝐓𝐑𝐘𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐓𝐎 shove something up his nose to sleep. It isn’t a bad idea, though he’s not sure he wants to spend the entire night breathing from his mouth, but he nods anyways. “Right — I was actually thinking of putting some Vick’s right under my nose, but then I rubbed my eyes, and, well…” Rion shrugs. “Didn’t end well.”

There’s a running theme to their conversation, because the thought of the Broadripple’s Queen Bee herself on a rampage is certainly not something that’d end well, and he chuckles, shaking his head. “Yeah. Well, Margaret White is plenty scary, but if I had to choose, I wouldn’t want to go against Carrie’s telekinesis.” Inhaling, his eyes fall to the book again, fingers running through his tuft of hair. Too long again, which meant he hadn’t made a trip to town in far too long. “Listen, obviously I knew Catholic schools would have religious shit involved but…” He swings his feet over the side of the bench, peering up at them with a cautious look. “Does the massive crucifix freak you out too?”

vicks wasn’t a half bad idea, they’d give him that. even if it did end with a stinging eye. it was a step past just complaining, so liluye would give him props for that. silently anyway, considering they hadn’t voiced their criticism they wouldn’t voice their slight change of heart either. instead they sucked their teeth in a show of sympathy. “ it could have been worse, ” they said, though they didn’t know how bad it had been. “ i once rubbed tiger balm in my eye by accident– had my head in a sink for an hour trying to wash it it out. ” see? they could be relatable. not just permanently pessimistic.

maybe it was their own outsider status that made carrie white more relatable than terrifying. at least that’s what they thought from what they could remember of the film. so with that thought they decided they wouldn’t argue it any more. not that rion seemed the type but they didn’t want a rumour starting that they would carrie everyone. “ you’re probably right, you’ve got the book after all, ” they said, nodding towards said book in his hand. they purse their lips as they listen to his next question, wondering where it was going. as far as catholicism went, and catholic schools went, liluye wasn’t the most knowledgable. but it was just about that crucifix in the cabin. “ a little, i guess. ” they said, “ not in, like, a god is watching us through the crucifix or whatever way. just– it’s probably the size of one of those crosses at the top of churches, right? what’s it doing in a cabin in the middle of no where? kinda weird. ”

This was always much more fun to play with the juniors, words haunting, threatening with unfamiliar woods they’d never crossed paths of. It was all too perfect, an insect outbreak, closed cabins left to rot, abandoned for years. His words usually left others at least a fraction uneasy, second guessing the snap of a twig, or the birds that flutter from branches on their walk back to their cabins. But then, occasionally there were some too stoic for his stories.

Liluye would be one of these students, too knowledgable to fall into his stories. He liked that about them though, the way they always saw right through the words he offered with that slight smile he’d occasionally pry to their lips. “You know you’re no fun,” Eyes roll as he leans back, palms digging into the dirt and flinging his head back to look up.

“Probably sacrifice right, why else would you keep someone locked up? Sister didn’t say that much.”

liluye hadn’t thought of their back and forth as a competition, off the track they weren’t really a competitive person at all. to them it felt like more effort than it was worth. but it seemed they won. his claim along with eye roll earned a quiet chuckle, a sort of feeling of victory. “ giving up so quickly? ” they asked, playing innocent with a small tilt of their head.

he continued a little more, but they be a fool to think his heart was as much in it as it had been before their critiques. but one word he said caught their attention more than the rest. “ what, sister michael? ” from their years at broadripple sister michael seemed the least likely of broadripple staff to add to gossip about the cabins. but then again, they had been away for a year. maybe they were remembering her in correctly. “ yeah, right, ” they scoffed, but admittedly they were intrigued, “ what’d she say? ”

𝐅𝐎𝐋𝐃𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐎𝐕𝐄𝐑 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐂𝐎𝐑𝐍𝐄𝐑 𝐎𝐅 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐏𝐀𝐆𝐄, Rion places the book on the ground besides him, putting his hands behind his head. They seem familiar, as always, though he isn’t a hundred percent positive that their a senior. “Yeah. It smells bad. Swear it gets worse throughout the night.” Frankly, he isn’t exactly sure if it’s even mildew that he’s smelling, but all Rion knows is it smells like shit, and he’s sick of dealing with it. “Definitely not the book.” He grins, hand reaching down to pick up the novel again. “Carrie isn’t that scary anyways,” he reasons, flipping to look at the cover of the book with a curious eye. “Of course, unless you find the wrath of teenage girls and bullying terrifying.”

the smell kept him awake? liluye wondered silently if he was serious or if he was being dramatic just to mess with them. but they kept that wonder to themselves. if the smell was bad enough surely orion would figure out that cleaning it would remove the problem entirely. or maybe he’d just complain until they all got mold poisoning. hard to tell, liluye only knew them from being in some of the same classes. “ you could put cotton up your nose or something, block out the smell. or ear buds, ” they suggested instead of noting their criticism aloud. it didn’t matter, not worth point out. okay, maybe it was just their experience but yeah, the wrath of teenage girls was totally terrifying. “ have you ever seen gwen prescott on a rampage? that’s pretty terrifying. ” they joked, allowing a small smile for a second, “ but i thought the mom was the antagonist of carrie, all the jesus stuff. ” they thought a second, broadripple also had a whole lot of ‘jesus stuff’, namely the four foot crucifix currently in the walkway of the seniors cabin “ you know, the really intense jesus stuff, with the closet and all the crucifixes– i don’t know, it’s been a while since i saw the movie. ”

There were many times when Amos opened his mouth without much considering the next words that would leave it, stories to scare others forced into cabins of rotted wood and overgrown trees. Campfires, and crickets casting the perfect scene, sometimes it was all to perfect.. He just had to say something. Anything.

His smile didn’t falter when Liluye suggested his words were fiction, rather he leant in a little to the other, his voice lowering against the crackle of fire. “This is no laughing matter,” They were too smart for his dramatics, but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t try. “This place was abandoned, just up and left one night. There were still suitcases, and bedrolls left behind, they say some cabins with shattered windows from the inside. Doors locked, and scratches on the walls. Fingernails of course, but it makes you wonder.”

Words slipping into the air like secrets, his smile wide enough he could swallow the stars that began to crawl into the sky. The orange glow of the fire beginning to paint the scene in warmth, dramatic flickers cascading shadows to the trees around them and cabin faces. “They say they’re church gone rouge, it’s cabin one it all happened in. Second room on the right. There’s still some glass caught in the debris outside.”

they were well practiced in keeping a straight face, deciding years ago that they would rather be perceived as cold than lonely. but even so, their lip twitched upwards a fraction as he said it was no laughing matter. there was a certain soft spot for amos in liluye’s heart, not that they would ever admit that to him or anyone else. he was probably one of the closest things liluye had to a friend– again, not that they would ever admit that. how sad, that a bio lab partner they sometimes help out with school work was one of the closest things they had to a friend.

they noted all the details he described, not so they could look for them but so they could throw the descriptions back at him if ever the chance arose. “ bit ironic don’t you think? ” they noted once it seemed he had wrapped up this section of the story. “ that these people were locked in and now– i swear, none of the locks work. ” they said, smile spreading for second before they pressed their lips together again. “ but continue, please, ” they insisted, albeit facetiously, with a wave of their hand. “ why did the cult keep them locked up? what were they going to do with them? ” they asked, probing questions, intended to help him along the way with a story that wasn’t exactly frightening them. if it was intended to be chilling, liluye was on a beach in costa rica enjoying the summer sun. but that wasn’t his fault, they just weren’t easily spooked. “ were they crazy or something? gotta be to scratch at the walls before they busted through the window, right? ” they pointed out, perhaps a tiny flaw in amos’ tale so far.