WAIT......you might be cooking with the clockwork and Jeff pair....... please do elaborate 🩷
Should I make a video on it? I have a lot of reasons :3
1) Jeff and CW are friends canon on CW’s old character sheet
2) both strong and brutal and are good at fighting
3) Toby and CW break up / Toby dies and CW goes to Jeff for comfort and feelings developed.
4) in my story FM clockwork is forced to kill Toby and become Slendermans proxy to bring him back. And CW just couldn’t love Toby the same after that, causing them to break up and CW goes to Jeff, her friend to vent about it.
5) when Sebastia came to the manor and Seb and him started being affectionate, this made CW feel kinda shitty so Jeff tries to defend her (in a stupid way)
6) another reason Jeff doesn’t like Seb is bc he feels she “stole” Toby away and is rubbing it in CW’s face.
7) Jeff loves CW but doesn’t know how to properly express that so he just hates Sebastia and Toby bc he’s so protective of CW
8) I could go on about this, but I’ll stop here lol
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Sally and Clockwork can relate to each other in a way that no one else can. Clockwork sees herself in Sally. A representation of her inner child. Down to the stuffed animal she carries around for comfort. The long brown hair. The pretty green eyes. And unfortunately being taken advantage of by a male family member. Sally sees Clockwork as everything she could’ve been if it wasn’t for her evil monster of an uncle. A beautiful woman. In a relationship with someone she loves. Being able to move on from the trauma. Having someone who believes Clockwork when she talks about her S/A and Toby still loving her and seeing her as a person despite that. Sally had no one. Sally is stuck as the traumatized child that was killed in the woods. Never got to grow up. Never got to move on. Stuck with the trauma and blood and pain forever. Clockwork and Sally sometimes just sit together. Clockwork always tells her “I see you. I believe you. I hear you.” “Those words could’ve saved my life. Saved me.” “Me too” But it’s almost like Clockwork is talking to her younger self. Her inner child. They are sisters. And always will be. They take back the childhood and normal lives that were stolen from them by evil abusive men. They heal each other with their presence. With their love for each other. Sometimes Sally will sleep between Clockwork and Toby. It’s like Toby has a sister again and Clockwork gets to be the safe space and proper caregiver that Sally never had. They’re a family. Even if only for a short while.
(Clockwork is starting to grow on me so I thought she deserved a proper hc post. I’ll be reading this out on my TikTok later, but I wanted to write this down and share it before I forgot)
Sebastia found herself walking through a white foggy field filled with delegate white flowers. It’s eerily quiet as all she can hear are her own footsteps. She keeps walking, doing her best to not crush the flowers. Her body feels like it’s on autopilot. Her arms hang life lessly by her sides.
She moves forward.
She feels blood drip down her face onto her shoulders. Onto the long white dress she’s wearing. Onto the white flowers, ruining them, corrupting them. It’s painful for her to watch.
Sebastia keeps moving forward.
“Please let me still be pure. I’m not dirty. I’m not.”
The blood keeps spilling out of her head staining her white dress red.
“I’m not. I promise I’m not. I’ll be clean again one day.”
Her blood stained more of the white flowers. They’re ruined forever.
“I’ll go back, one day. I have to. I don’t belong in this place! Not while I still…have humanity in me.”
Sebastia is forced to keep walking and staring forward, her wide brown eyes surrounded by dark circles and eye bags. Her crimson blood ruining every flower she walks across, despite her trying not to step on them.
“Please let me go back. Please…Please…Please…”
She begs out loud, still walking forward, her blood spilling out heavily on the flowers destroying them, drowning them. The blood pool’s shallowly all over the field. The smell of iron is overwhelming. The sight is gut wrenching. The feeling of thick mud on her bare charcoal colored feet is disgusting.
“There’s no stopping it is there?”
Sebastia walks forward, crushing the barely white flowers under her wet, blood soaked feet. Not wanting to but having to. Being forced to.
She walks faster. Trying to escape the infinite eerie feild. But she can’t. She’s trapped here as if she was in a bird in a cage. It was like she was walking in circles even though she was walking straight.
“Show me the way out. I’ll do anything. Show me.”
Sebastia pleads unable to do anything else.
Her body freezes. A beautiful feild of green grass and blue skies in front of her. In that feild, stands herself. But not the Sebastia she is now. Sebastia as she was. Happy. Normal. Beautiful. Flawed and insecure. But it’s her. Sebastia the human. Her limbs aren’t black. Her hair is red with chunks of black along with a fringe covering her forehead. She’s wearing black skinny jeans and a plain black tank top. Normal clothes. Her clothes. Not a drop of blood on her. She’s smiles and waves at the current mess that Sebastia is, as if greeting an old friend.
Sebastia as she is now feels tears streaming down her face. She never thought she was pretty. Always deeply insecure. But as she looks at who she was, she craves nothing more than to be that person again.
Sebastia takes a step towards herself who waits for her in the serene feild of green.
But she’s stopped. She puts her hands out. An invisible wall between them.
“What?! Why?!”
“What would you do to go back, Sebastia?” Miracle’s layered voice rings throughout the feild.
“Anything.”
“Even cut him down?”
“Cut him…down? Who are you-“
“Don’t play dumb with me, girl.”
“Toby…”
“Could you strike him down? If he tried to stop you. If he tried to keep you here?”
“I…I don’t know.”
“Why is that?”
Toby appears in front of her as he speaks softly but firmly.
“Sebastia. You can’t go back.”
“What do you-?”
“You’re Not the same. Youll never be yourself again. You’re too broken to go back.”
“Toby! How could you say that?!”
“Am I lying, Sebby? Come on, stay here wth me. I know you love me.”
He talks with his smug face and voice. His hand cups her face.
“That’s not true!” Sebastia smacks his hand away.
“If I didn’t find you where would you be? Where would you be without me? Don’t you owe it to me to stay?”
“Stop it! Get out of my way, Toby! Don’t try to stop me!”
“Stop being so stubborn. You’re not leaving.”
Miracle’s voice surround’s Sebastia again. Toby is standing right in the way of the life she wants and staying here. Sebastia knows which one she wants.
“Toby, don’t make me do this! Get out of my way!”
“Only one way for that to happen.”
Miracle’s voice almost screams at her.
“What will you do?!”
“Anything!”
Sebastia didn’t understand how it happened, but she was holding a black scythe with
beautiful white detailing. Black particles came off of it and Miracle’s mouth comes off of the bottom of the pole of the long weapon.
Sebastia lets out a powerful scream, squeezing her eyes shut and swings the newly formed weapon as hard as she can.
She feels a warm liquid splash all over her, followed by the sound of something hitting the ground. Sebastia opens her eyes slowly.
Toby is on the ground lifeless, a deep slash in his chest. The blood pooling around him. His eyes were open, scarily so. Sebastia looked down into them, feeling the guilt, but not letting it stop her from running towards her past self and past life in the soothing feild.
Sebastia was once again stopped by the barrier.
“Let me come back.”
“You can’t. Do you really think you can come back after all you’ve done? All you will do?”
Her past self speaks to her.
“All I’ve done?! I’m a victim of kidnapping and torture! I didn’t ask for this! And you fucking know that! I want to leave this behind. I want to be you again.”
“That’s not possible. I don’t exist anymore. You have to accept where you are now. You have to make the most of it.”
“Never. I refuse to stay here.”
Sebastia watches her past self sadly shake her head and walk away, out of her view.
“No! Come back! You know we don’t belong here! Don’t leave me here!”
Sebastia feels something grab her leg, pulling her to the the ground. She lets out a scream as she falls, getting covered in the blood soaked dirt that made mud.
It was a pale hand tightly squeezing her leg. Her eyes follow the hand, to its arm, to its owner.
It was Toby. His eyes were completely white, his skin crawling with maggots as the poured out of the wound Sebastia had inflicted on him.
Sebastia’s throat felt tight. She was frozen in fear, unable to speak.
“Still here? You killed me and for what? You’re still stuck with me, stuck in this place. Like I said you’d be. You belong here, Sebastia.”
“Toby, let go! Get off me! I don’t want to be stuck here!”
“Sebastia.”
She gives Toby a silent, terrified look.
“You don’t have a choice.”
His words chill her to the bone. He says them like it’s not a threat, but a promise.
His hands digs into her leg, the blackness from her limbs spreading all over her body as she lets out pained scream. It grows on her, throbbing with wet noises as it consumes her. Her body was being taken over right before her eyes.
Her screams are muffled and replaced by pained growls as Miracle took over her insides as well. Sharp teeth filled her mouth as she felt her lips and mouth be stretched from how many teeth kept growing. Her mouth becoming full of them as she keeps trying to scream.
Tears spilled down her face as the charcoal covered substance, crawled slowly up her face, covering her nose, her ears, it covered one of her eyes as they became completely milky white.
Tears were still spilling from her free eye. As it was slowly consumed she looked up at the grey sky one final time.
And then she woke up.
Sebastia sat up quickly in bed, breathing heavily.
She looked around. She’s in her room by herself. Toby went to his room and Jane left out of the window last night.
Sebastia takes more deep breaths, panting trying to calm herself down, her hand on her chest. Her heart beat is going a million miles a second. Her chocolate colored skin glistening with sweat.
She shakily gets up and opens the brown wooden door to the left of her that lead to the bathroom connected to her room. She closed the door behind her, filling the white porcelain bath with hot water. The cool black and white tile feels nice under her feet, helping to her body cool off from the intense heat she was feeling.
Sebastia looks in the mirror. Deep dark eye bags. Great. Years of skin care just to get them in months from a situation that no one would believe if she even told them. Her medium mocha colored eyes had this tired sad glazed look. Her jet black hair was frizzy from last nights nightmare filled sleep. Her choppy black fringe sticking to her forehead from the sweat. Sebastia misses her red hair with chunky black highlights.
Come to think of it, how is her hair all black again? If it just faded overtime then…it would be a faded red color. Whatever. Who had time to debate that when you have a monster that comes out of your head.
Sebastia turns off the tub, stripping her clothes and looking in the mirror again. Jack mentioned she was malnourished a few days ago. Thank god she was recovering from it. You couldn’t see her ribs nearly as much, she was gaining her curves back as well. She pokes her slightly showing ribcage, shuddering.
She looks down at her pitch black hands, sadly.
“I wonder if this will ever come off.”
She sinks her body into the hot bath tub, sighing in pleasure a bit as she does. The steaming water relaxing her tense body.
Part of her hopes if she stayed in here long enough, the tar color that pollutes her limbs would melt away. Another part of her wanted to scrub vigorously. She’s still not fully used to being naked again. Even though she was by herself, the memories of hands all over her at the lab persisted. The feeling began to become too much for her.
Sebastia gets a wet towel and some soap and begins to scrub her limbs. Just like before, it does nothing.
“No-no! They can’t hurt me anymore! Why do I feel this way?! Why do I feel so damn dirty?!”
Sebastia feels hot tears of shame well up in her eyes.
She hugs herself, her fingers leaving a trail of wetness behind them as she rubs her arms. Letting out shaky breaths the tries to calm herself.
“I killed the ones that did this-I…they’re gone, Sebastia. Gone. So why do I still feel their hands?!”
Sebastia wasn’t calming down. Not at all. And she felt herself slipping again. The nightmare must’ve had her more on edge than usual.
“Stop. Stop. Let go. Let me go!” She said harshly to the memories of everything that happened to her. Even though the people were no more, the memories haunted her.
Sebastia knew she had to calm down before she lost it and hurt herself. Or someone else.
She tries to imagine the touch as someone else’s. Someone she likes. Someone that cares about her even a little. Maybe it wouldn’t feel so bad if she imagined it that way.
But she was disgusted at what popped into her head too. Him.
Toby.
Sebastia continues the action of slowly rubbing her arms, holding herself, bringing her knees to her chest as she does.
She thinks about when he offered his hand out to her when they had first met. How they sat on the forest floor covered in damp mud and orange and yellow leaves as they spoke. She could feel his body heat, how close they were. Sebastia thinks of Toby’s words in his voice as she imagines him holding her. “You’re better off with me, Sebby.”
Sebastia repeats her side of the conversation out loud.
“You mean that?”
Toby’s voice rings in her head. “Every word.”
Sebastia had finally calmed down. She held herself own face softly as she closed her eyes, imagining Toby holding it.
“It’s you. You’re the one who I want to be touched by.”
Sebastia opens her eyes and pulls her hands away, letting him sink back into the hot water.
“But I can’t.”
Why did she want that anyway? He was so cruel to her at times. It didn’t feel like malicious cruelness, though. Like Jeff’s did. Toby’s felt like that cruelness is all he knows. The only way he can express himself.
No. Why was she making excuses for him?
After washing her body, she starts to wash her hair, getting any remaining blood and dirt out of it. Not feeling like washing the shampoo out, she puts her head under water by laying on her back. It’s peaceful, the sounds of water surrounding her. If she could breath under water, she’d stay there, even though it was dirty from the blood and sweat.
Sebastia comes back up. Her hair shiny with water and her skin cleared of sweat. She wrapped her jet black hands around her hair and wrings it out.
Draining the tub, she stands up, watching the water go down. She wraps a black towel around herself.
“I need to get out of this place. It’s messing with my mind. How could I even think these things? Crave the touch of someone like him. He’s a murderer. Who in their right mind would even think of something like this? The sooner I’m gone, the sooner I’m normal, the better. I can’t wait to leave this mess behind.”
Sebastia says out loud as she dries herself off. She throws on one of Jane’s oversized black tee shirts. It hangs off her left shoulder. It’s followed up by black leggings. Black fur boots follow those.
“Thank god Jane has so much black in her closet. Don’t have to think about matching. Her clothes do fit me a bit weird, though.”
The leggings were tight in the thighs but a little long since Jane is taller than Sebastia.
Should she go downstairs on her own? Or wait for Toby? Wait. No why would she need him? It’s because he’s around so much that she’s developing these stomach turning thoughts. Maybe they needed time apart. Maybe Sebastia didn’t need to be around him right now.
At this moment she got a flash of that nightmare in her head. Toby wouldn’t..try and keep her here would he? He doesn’t think she’s broken and can’t go back does he?
A few more of Toby’s words pop up in her mind.
‘I’m sick of that look on your face! You’re stronger than you think.’
No. That’s what he thought of her. He made himself clear.
Sebastia stands up and opens the door to her room, shutting it behind her. She goes downstairs.
The architecture of this place was beautiful, although run down. Dark mahogany built up the pillars and floors. Faded black and white damask wallpaper. Beautiful fluffy black rugs. Sebastia makes her way down the large wooden stare case.
Only one other person was in the kitchen. That woman. The one Sebastia has been a bit nervous to face.
Natalie.
Her hair is a warm cozy light brown. Her eye a striking green. She was wearing a forest green hoodie with a white fur hood. A white tank top under it. Black jeans and combat boots on her lower half. The most interesting thing about her is the gold and white clock in her left eye socket. She’s scrolling through something on her phone while she sits at the table.
“Uh…hi.” Sebastia says awkwardly.
“Oh. It’s you. The woman who put my friend Jeff through the wall. Also the one who was hovering on all fours over Toby. Nice.”
Jeff? Friend? Oh god. This literally couldn’t get any worse.
“I’m…sorry? Okay that’s a lie. I’m not sorry about the Jeff thing. I’m suprised it doesn’t happen more.”
“I appreciate your honesty. Now be honest again. What are your intentions with Toby?”
“Excuse me?”
“Are you planning to hurt him? Is what I’m asking.”
“No. Not unless we’re training. Why?”
“Because you’re a timebomb with super powers. And you and Toby seem to be together a lot. So my main concern you’re going to lash out. Go crazy like you normally do. Hurt him. Kill him.”
Sebastia’s dream ashes in her head. ‘If you had to strike him down…would you?’
“You’re wrong.”
“How is that?”
“I don’t kill or hurt for fun. For no reason.”
“Oh? Only throwing them through the wall?”
“He lived, didn’t he? Unfortunately.”
“Still lashing out.”
“No. I’m completely calm right now. Look, I’m not trying to make an enemy out of you.”
“You’re not doing a great job.”
Sebastia rubs her arm and looks away, trying to think of what to say to even slightly diffuse the situation.
“If you think I’m here to hurt Toby, you’re wrong. He brought me here. He’s helped me a lot, even though he’s kind of…a dick. I’m grateful for it.”
“Hm. I see. I believe you. But let me tell you something.”
Natalie walks up to Sebastia about two inches taller than her so she has to look down slightly to meet Sebastia’s eyes. Natalie’s green eyes pierce into Sebastia’s brown ones.
“If you ever hurt him, you’ll answer to me.”
“Oh. Well..”
Sebastia’s eyes slowly become red as she gave a small shit eating smile, holding her face with her hand. She speaks but it’s not completely her voice. It’s Miracle’s many voices layered with hers. Controling her mouth and throat.
“I wouldn’t be the first mentally unstable woman to hurt him would I?”
Natalie glares as Sebastia’s eyes turn back to normal and she covers her mouth in horror. She didn’t even know why or how she said that. Sebastia doesn’t even know any information like that!
“Wait-“
Natalie attacks Sebastia by punching her, making her head swing left.
“Fuck! Ow!” Sebastia’s scream attracted other residents of the manor, everyone starting to surround the two. Beyond embarrassing. Sebastia felt warm salty liquid fill her mouth.
“You bitch! Don’t you ever say that to me!”
Sebastia feels her head pulse with throbbing pain. The holes opening up on her cheeks. The sharp teeth pierce through her skin and fill her mouth. Her now red eyes dilate on Natalie. Like a gun finding its target. Animalistic growls leave Sebastias throat. She’s been on edge since this morning. And now she’s found the perfect release.
The writhing tendrils burst violently out of her head as she growls and screams. Blood splatters all over. The walls. The people around them. It spills out of her head, down her face, onto her shoulders. Well. There goes the cleanliness from the bath.
Sebastia lifts herself slightly with the mouths that she plants into the ground, bringing herself to Natalie’s eye level. Cracking her neck, getting ready to fight. Sebastia doesn’t fully feel like…herself. Like she’s not fully in control. That’s not possible. It’s not supposed to be possible. Miracle and her are supposed to have fifty- fifty control. Miracle is supposed to be the one in the background. So why is this-
Sebastia’s thoughts are cut off by the feeling of her body being launched forward by the tendrils. Two of them hitting Natalie as hard as they could in the stomach. Her body flies into a wall. Her back hits it hard and she flops to the ground. Natalie gets up just as quickly, throwing a knife at Sebastia. One of miracles mouths catches it before it can pierce Sebastia’s body.
Natalie starts to laugh as the pain she starts to feel on her back from hitting the wall. The throbbing pain in her stomach. Natalie loves a good fight. And this one was going to be incredible.
“I think this is funny too. Look, I am smiling!” Multiple of Miracle’s tendrils give a smile or at least , what it thinks a smile is in Natalie’s direction. Sebastia, however stays stone faced, glaring.
“Glad we both have the same idea of fun.” Natalie speaks and rushes at Sebastia again. She’s extremely fast. Inhumanly fast, like Jane is.
She’s able to dodge a lot of miracles attempts to grab her. It’s impressive. But Miracle or Sebastia wasn’t having any of it
Sebastia eyes the large table in the center of the kitchen. Without a second thought Miracle’s mouths grab the table, using it to do multiple large sweeps across the room. Screams of excitement fill the room as everyone around the two also have to dodge like they’re all on a roller coaster. Miracle throws the table at a blinding speed, hitting Natalie, making her body roll across the black tiled floor with white grit. Along with breaking the large table into hundreds of pieces, it also leaves a large hole in the floor. Sebastia hoped she wouldn’t get in some kind of trouble for that.
“Give it up, you can not beat me.”
Sebastia’s body spoke. But it didn’t feel like her. It wasn’t her. Her voice was underneath all of Miracle’s false angelic feminine voices. It was scarily heavenly on the ears.
“Don’t have to beat you. Just have to beat the body you’re connected to.” She spits out a mouthful of blood and wipes some blood leaking from her nose.
She smiles manically at Sebastia, seemingly not caring so much about the thousands of voices she was hearing from a monster. A monster that she doesn’t even know how to beat or what it is.
“I admire your strength and abilities. A shame it will be wasted when you’re a red stain on the tile!”
Miracle, thrashes around as hard as it can, trying to brutalize Natalie in anyway possible. Natalie is able to dodge it all. Impressive. Sebastia’s eyes can barely keep up as they dart around trying to follow her.
She feels Natalie’s foot connect with her face, knocking her out of the air and making Sebastia go through the wall behind her from the force.
“That’s what you fucking get! Thats what you fucking get!”
Jeff screamed from the other side of the room as he watched Sebastia shake her head quickly as she sat up, groaning a bit.
Sebastia feels hot blood come out of her nose as she touches it, looking down at her hand.
Miracle quickly gets Sebastia up, planting two of its mouths in the tile floors again. It seemed angrier than Sebastia was at the fact she was hurt. Miracle quickly fixes the wound.
“Enough of this!”
Sebastia’s veins bulge with black substance, the color showing through her skin. Black growths resembling slimy bulging roots grow from her head and down her back. Thousands of them make wet, squishy noises as they cover the floors, the walls, the ceiling the furniture, the stove. Everything. Only leaving random spots of what’s underneath the black organic matter showing.
The surrounding onlookers move away from the walls, looking around making sure not to touch anything the black matter was covering. The floor makes squishing noises as everyone moves, as if it was soaking wet carpet.
Thousands of growths tangle around Natalie’s feet, moving all at once to bring her in front of Sebastia.
“Do you still think this is funny?”
Sebastia’s voice is getting fainter and fainter as Miracles many over powers her one. Control is slipping farther and farther from her hands.
Natalie stays silent, glaring as the vein like being, crawling up her legs.
“I do not think you understand the gravity of this situation, Natalie. Allow me to open your eyes.”
Sebastias hand raises. Ripping the clock out of her eye socket. Blood spraying out, covering both their faces. She lets out a small yell but not enough to give Miracle the satisfaction of knowing it hurt. Natalie’s blood runs down Sebastias arm from where her black fingers held the clock, dripping onto the would be floor of it wasn’t covered by the faux carpet. Sebastia drops the clock, it makes a wet noise.
Miracle looks around the room at everyone, speaking loudly and firmly.
“Sebastia…is a stupid girl. However, she is not like the rest of you fools! She is not bloodthirsty. She is not violent. Even though Sebastia and I share her body. We are not the same. While she may be kind. I am not. Sebastia is my body! I will not hesitate to kill anyone who dares lay a hand on this body. Sebastia is under my protection.”
Miracle turns Sebastia’s body, towards Natalie. Making their gaze meet.
“And anyone, who dares to attempt to harm her.”
Sebastia’s face is centimeters away from Natalie’s.
“Will answer to me.”
Sebastia backs away.
‘You’re stronger than you think.’ Toby’s voice popped into her head. If she doesn’t get control back, Miracle is going to kill Natalie right here! Everyone, right here!
“Stop it!” Sebastia’s real voice comes through, forcing Miracles tendrils back into her head.
Sebastia’s normal appearance returns. Eyes brown. Sharp teeth gone. The black veins subsiding. The holes in her face closing. But the substance room around her…didn’t go away.
“Oh no…oh no…what did I do?!”
Sebastia looks around the room, now corrupted by Miracle. Her eyes widen in fear and shock as she covers her mouth with both hands.
The front door opens. It’s Toby with three other people. One in a black ski mask with a white mask with small raised eyebrows and all black eyes and lips. The last had shoulder length black hair with a dark hole where the mouth was.
Sebastia looks at Toby. She’s embarrassed, ashamed, afraid.
Even though they were all wearing masks, Sebastia could feel their eyes looking into her.
Toby spoke, his goggles and mouth gaurd still on.
“Sebastia…did you do this?”
Sebastia stays silent and backs away. She’s too ashamed to explain. How could she let this happen?!
“I..I..sorry..” Sebastia whimpers almost, holding back tears.
Toby looks at Natalie. Blood running down her face from her missing clock that acted as a puesdo eye.
“Told you she was too dangerous.”
Sebastia opens her mouth to speak but shakes her head instead.
“I’m..not. I didn’t…I wasn’t..”
Sebastia turns around running out of the back door of the kitchen that lead into the forest, running into the dense trees. Away. Out of sight.
The man in the white mask speaks. “We’re going to go track her down.”
“No.” Toby rejects. “She’s still not..ready, give her some time. I’ll find her. She doesn’t know you guys, if she sees three masked people approaching her, she’ll kill you.”
“For fucks sake, Toby! Look around! She’s too dangerous to have here! Is this not enough for you?!”
She points to the empty bleeding socket on her face.
“Slenderman assigned her to me! I can’t let her die!”
“Unbelievable!” Natalie picks up the round small goes upstairs, slamming the door to her room.
“Toby, we’re going to pinpoint her location, but we won’t engage. Get ready to go. Go handle what you have to handle.” The masked man nods his head towards the stairs.
Toby nods and goes up the stairs, opening the door to Natalie’s room, closing it behind him.
“You care about her.”
“What?”
“You care about her! I know you do! You wouldn’t put this much effort and time into her if she was just as assignment!”
“It’s not like that-“
“Cut the shit, Toby! I know you! Even if you’re telling yourself you don’t, you do! I know because that’s how you used to be with me!”
“I still care about you, okay?”
“Then why are you going to bring her back here?! After what she did to me? The kitchen? Look at the damage she leaves behind!”
“No. Somethings wrong.”
“What?!”
If Toby was younger, he’d agree with Natalie. She is dangerous. He is upset that Sebastia hurt Natalie. No lying about that. But it just seems so out of character for her all of a sudden. Now that he’s older with more experience, he can look at the bigger picture of this. Something is different. Something is wrong with Sebastia.
“I’m angry that she hurt you! Don’t think otherwise! But it’s obvious something is wrong with her right now! I don’t think she actually wanted to hurt you.”
“So she ripped my eye out because she wants to be friends? Oh! How didn’t I notice before!”
“No! I mean when she fought J- I mean someone that she didn’t want to kill, Sebastia held back. Hell, she held me back too! She made it clear that she doesn’t like to kill or hurt people that don’t deserve it. It doesn’t make sense for her to attack you like that.”
“Well, she did! How are you justifying her attacking someone you care about?!”
“What? Not so fun when you’re on the receiving end, Nat?”
“Fuck you, Toby!”
“Stop.”
“What you brought home a new toy and now you don’t care about how I feel anymore?!”
“Stop!” Toby slams his hand on the desk nearby.
Toby sighs.
“I’ll always care about you. Just like you’ll always care about me. I’m so fucking angry that this happened Nat. I am. But me yelling and screaming at her isn’t gonna help. It’ll just make her worse. I don’t want to mess things up with her like I did with you…. Just like with you.”
Toby sits in the desk chair.
“When I first brought you here. I didn’t… fully understand what you had been through. Yeah, we had both come out of shitty abusive homes. But you were different. I didn’t understand why you didn’t want to be touched until…you told me. I felt like shit after. I think I was too pushy sometimes. I had no empathy towards how you felt before. I wasn’t gentle enough with you and…even though you forgave me because you knew I came from a fucked up home too, where there weren’t many gentle times for me…I felt bad. Because I cared about you. And the last thing I’d ever want is for you to feel like I didn’t.”
Toby runs his hand through his slightly curly brown hair.
“So now, I found Sebastia who also has that fear of touch. I’m trying my best here. You know how hard it is for me to not be touchy. But…you. I learned to be better because of you. Nat, you made me better. Despite how things ended. Obviously I’m still a pretty bad guy but…I do care about you.”
“Hm. You did always have a bias towards women,Toby.”
“Unstable ones, apparently.”
“Does…Sebastia really have that same fear?”
“Yeah. Definitely. If this didn’t happen today…you guys could’ve been really good friends.”
Natalie sighs.
“I guess I was sort of antagonistic to her. I threatened her and then she said something and I punched her. I guess that set her off.”
“What did she say?”
“She knew that I killed or hurt you before…..it pissed me off and I hit her without thinking.”
“Wait- she knew? I never told her that! Fuck. Now I definitely know something is wrong.”
Toby gets up.
“Well. Off to go get her. Sorry to cut this short.”
Toby walks towards the door
“Toby.”
“Yeah?”
“Come back in one piece.”
“Always do.”
Toby leaves and closes the door. Jack is waiting downstairs for him.
“Great. You’re here.”
“Yeah. Where the hell have you been, doc?”
“Studying Sebastia’s blood.”
“And what did you find?”
“Those Miracle Cells. They’re taking over every part of her. Slowly. But they are.”
Jack walks over to the kitchen, Toby following. The walls still pulse with the slimy wet noises.
“This…these are millions of cells. Making something bigger. Taking over. This is essentially what’s going on inside of Sebastias body. All those cells are taking over her. Corrupting her. Messing with her. Changing her. Controlling her.
“Is that why she acted like this today?”
“Mhm. She wasn’t in full control, if any at all. That thing inside her took over for a short period of time. I think Sebastia fought it off before it could do anymore damage. She had to fight really hard too. It’s worse than I initially thought. I think that’s creature is…trying to control everything around it too. I could be wrong, but that’s my theory.”
“So what do we do?”
“Two things.”
Jack holds up a syringe filled with red and black liquid. And a bottle of pills.
“The hell are these?”
“The liquid in that syringe is called Equalizer to bring back what I assume is shared control. The creature wasn’t this active before unless Sebastia summoned it. It seems to almost be pushing Sebastia out of the drivers seat of her own body, if that makes sense.”
He holds up the bottle of pills.
“These pills are to halt the corruption. After the Equalizer is distributed of course. I’m going to put these in her room by her bed. But you have to make sure to inject her.”
Jack hands Toby the syringe. Toby puts it in his jacket pocket.
“Thank you, Jack.”
“Mhm. I’ll go more in depth about this when Sebastia’s back. She…has a lot to handle. So do I.”
He faces the kitchen as Toby walks out of the door.
His three co workers are waiting on the porch for him.
“We know where she is. Didn’t engage, obviously.” The masked man speaks.
“Where is she, Masky?”
“At the river. She’s really unstable so be careful.”
Toby runs into the forest, knowing where he needed to be.
He pulls out his phone and calls someone as he runs. Thank God she picked up.
“Hello?”
“Jane.”
“Toby?”
“It’s about Sebastia. You got anymore suppressant?”
“Yes- what’s going on?!”
“Just bring a lot and meet me by the river in the forest. I’ll explain later!”
Sebastia lets out screams and sobs as her throat goes raw from how loud she was. Miracles voice torments her.
“Do you feel the filth, Sebastia?”
Sebastia scratches and claws at her skin, trying to get the feeling of the doctors hands off. She can feel them all over her. Holding her down.
“You know you’re dirty. Someone has to bleed for you. Being covered in the blood of others is the only way to become clean. Take your pain out on them.”
Sebastia throws herself in the very shallow river. Washing herself with the cold water. Trying to get all the blood off. Hers, Natalie’s, all of it.
She was soaked and freezing but she didn’t care. She had to get it off.
“You have tried this before. It never works. You still feel the dirt on you! I know you do!”
Sebastia keeps washing herself as much as she could. Sobbing. What did she do to deserve all this?
“You could kill everyone in that manor and go home! That is what you want right?! Why do you keep holding me back? In a manor in full of people that hate you! You stupid girl! You want to stay here! You are lying to me! You want to stay!”
The thought of killing everyone had crossed Sebastias mind before. But she felt like dire consequences would come if she acted so recklessly.
“You know why we are not as strong?! You keep holding me back like I am on a leash! You do not want to tell anyone, but I know. I know that you enjoyed ripping, crushing and devouring those lab people! I felt your heart beat. You smiled as well. You have not smiled since. You enjoy being powerful, making people feel weak under you! Why not do it to all of the people in that manor? Just let me take control!”
“No! I only did it because I had to escape! It did feel nice at the time but this situation is different. I won’t do it! I won’t let you do it! Now shut up!”
Sebastia slaps herself in the face. Trying to make the many voices of Miracle subside.
“You know you will never be the same person, Sebastia. Stop fighting so hard to be a person that is no more.”
Sebastia keeps hitting herself. Harder and harder.
“Let it happen, Sebastia. Let me save you. Let me lead you to salvation. That is an angel’s duty.”
“Please! Stop it! My God!”
Sebastia lays in the river twisted on her left side, letting the water run, soaking her even more. Her face is sore. She’s freezing. Her mind is in ruins. She closes her eyes.
“Sebastia?” A familiar voice. His voice.
“Toby?” Sebastia’s eyes widen, afraid to face him after what she did.
“Yeah. It’s Toby.”
“Get away!”
“Hey. I’m not here to hurt you.”
Toby walks towards her.
“No. Im filthy Toby. I’m dirty Toby.”
“What? You look fine. You seem to have given yourself a bath in the river.”
Toby is being as calm as he can, but he hasn’t felt this tense in years. Even though Jane was hiding in the trees with a suppression bullet loaded, the thought of Sebastia being this unpredictable and unstable, trying to fight him…it did worry him a bit. She obviously wasn’t thinking clearly.
“No. I’m still dirty. I feel the filth on me, no matter how much I..wash myself I feel it.”
“Sebastia…”
“I know you’re mad at me! I know you’re disgusted by me!”
“I’m not. I’m not mad at you.”
“Don’t lie to me! I know you are! How could you not be?!”
“Sebastia. I’m not. You’re struggling. I told you I’m here for you. We’re going to see each others out bursts. But you chose me. So I’m here for you through all of them.”
He walks closer to Sebastia.
“You hate me! Just say it, Toby! Say it!”
Sebastia’s eyes turn red. Her voice faded as Miracle’s started to take over.
Jane raises the gun to shoot, noticing Sebastia’s transformation about to start. Her finger is on the trigger, waiting until it was absolutely necessary to fire, just like Toby asked of her.
“I won’t.”
He gets in the river, kneeling in front of her, looking her in the eyes. He looks almost sad. He looks concerned. He looks serious. But hatred never flashed in his eyes. Not even for a second.
“Do..you wish you killed me, Toby?”
A single tear runs down Sebastia’s face.
“No. Not even for a second.”
Toby moves closer to her.
“Do you trust me, Sebastia?”
Did she? She didn’t have a reason not to. It was like he was looking past Miracle, only at Sebastia. Only at Sebastia. Not the monster trying to control her.
Without even realizing it, she nods.
“Look at me. Only at me.”
Sebastia looks at him. Not taking her eyes off him. Toby looks her in the eyes, giving her instructions.
“Don’t take your eyes off me.”
Toby says it to Sebastia and Jane, wherever she is in the forest. Don’t take her eyes off him. Incase she needed to use the suppressor.
Toby takes out the syringe and pierces Sebastias shoulder.
She turns to look. Toby grabs her chin softly, but quickly. Even though he knew she didn’t like touch. He didn’t want to have to use those suppressors.
“Only me, okay?”
He presses his thumb down on the syringe, letting the liquid flow into her veins.
The pair are lit by the silver light of the moon. Toby’s skin almost glows, his pale skin catching the pale moonlight. His eyes are a lovely brown. Like warm syrup. His hair is dark chestnut brown to match them, along with his thick brown eyebrows. His nose is slender and slightly upturned not too big, not too small. His lips are a super pale pink, not thin but not super thick either. The gash that’s in his cheek that exposes his teeth fit his face. It’s not supposed to be there but it fits. Maybe Sebastia is loopy, but he looks almost angelic right now. She’s probably loopy.
Toby watches as the red in her eyes fades to her normal brown. The serum must have worked. Jack came through once again. Toby looks Sebastia in the face as he holds her chin, studying her up close.
Her skin is a dark brown like coffee. Her wet hair surrounds her body like a black curtain. Her eyebrows are thin and not that arched. She has a button nose, although a bit wider. Her full, heart shaped lips are warm a brown to match her skin. Her piercings shine in the moonlight. Two nostril studs a tiny septum and two snake bites.
He slowly takes the syringe out of her shoulder. putting it back in his pocket. He looks into her eyes, wanting to try something.
Toby slowly puts his arms around Sebastias shoulders and hugs her. He didn’t fully understand why. But he did. He rubs her back, putting his chin on top of her head.
He somewhat learned from his past with Natalie, understanding a bit more that this is what she needed at the time and this is what Sebastia needs now. Gentleness and comfort. Although Toby wasn’t good at either, he is still a killer after all. But he
Sebastia wants to fight him. Wants to thrash around. Does she want to? Or should she? No. She doesn’t want to. Not right now. She’s exhausted. Honestly, she needed a hug. She wraps her arms around his shoulders too. She’s a bit shaky, but this is what she wants. What she craves, what she needs.
She puts her face in his chest. Looking into the trees as Toby held her in his arms.
Stears streamed down her face. Sebastia hadn’t gotten a proper hug, or any human contact at all, for months. Why did it feel so nice? Why did it feel so wrong? Why was her heart hurting? Why was it happy? She lets out small cries.
“Sebastia?”
“Do you think I’m dirty, Toby? I’m not. I promise.” Sebastia speaks through her tears.
“Why do you keep saying that?”
“It’s true I…even though it’s been months since I’ve been out of that lab. I still feel people touching me. This creature is still inside me. A permanent mark on me forever.”
“You’re not dirty, Sebastia. You..you’re just recovering. That’s all. It takes time. Don’t talk about yourself like that. Don’t give them the satisfaction.”
He rubs her back and holds her tightly. He feels her shaking.
“I want to be cured Toby. So this can all stop. The sooner I’m normal and gone…the better. I don’t want to hurt anyone else. But this place, my feelings. I feel my mind slipping. I have to leave. I don’t belong here.”
Guilt hit Toby’s heart for a second. He’s already snatched that dream from her. And she doesn’t even know. This wasn’t Sebby, the tool he brought here to be used that he was holding. He was holding Sebastia, the human.
The two didn’t let go of each other. Sebastia knew that when she let go, she won’t be able to bring herself to be touched by him again, despite how nice it felt.
The two listen to the rushing water that surrounded them both. The crickets that chirped like a symphony. The beautiful soft light of the moon that illuminated the green, red and orange leaves of the trees and the two of them.?
Toby savors the touch, holding the back of her head with one hand and rubbing her back with the other.
Toby backs away, cupping her face in his hands, wiping her tears away with his thumbs. Her skin is soft like silk, despite everything she’s been through.
“Your face is swollen, Sebastia.”
He stands up, offering Sebastia his hand, which she gently takes, standing up alongside him.
“Let’s go back so you can get some rest.”
Sebastia nods.
“You wanna come?” Toby says into the trees.
Jane emerges.
“Are you feeling okay?”
“Yeah..a bit better…why are you here?”
“Moral support for Toby.”
Jane obviously didn’t want to say that she had a gun with tons of suppression bullets loaded, ready to be used on her.
Sebastia nods. The three of them walk back, Sebastia too tired to talk.
When they finally arrive, Toby stops Sebastia.
“Come on, I’m sure you don’t want to be asked a bunch of questions by everyone.”
“I’ll meet you both in there.” Jane slips back into the trees.
Toby takes her through a door on the side of the manor, which has a small staircase leading them to the upper levels. They quickly go up the stairs and find Sebastias room, locking the door behind them.
Toby pulls out another oversized black tee shirt and black sweatpants.
“You might want to shower. That river is filthy.”
Sebastia nods, taking the clothes and going into the bathroom, closing the door and turning on the water of the shower.
“Toby.”
Jane’s voice hits his left ear.
“That serum that Jack made, the one you told me about and used. I was thinking it might be a cure if taken farther.”
“Wait. You’re serious?”
“Yeah. I mean if it can make the creature stop in it’s tracks, maybe it can be the base of a cure. But…”
“But?”
“Of course, that’s only a theory. But also..if Sebastia can’t leave, giving her a cure might not be a good idea. If she has to stay, the creature might be one of the only ways to defend herself. Especially if other people involved in the G.O.D project find her.”
“Then we don’t tell her.”
“What?!”
“It’s not a good time. If we tell her this and Jack does find a cure..she’ll take it and want to leave. But even if it worked, I’d have to stop her from leaving. I’d have to keep her here. And like you said, she’d be almost defenseless. So we can’t tell her. Not yet. It’s not the right time.”
Jane looks at the bathroom door filled with guilt.
“Doesn’t it bother you that you’re keeping her from what she wants?”
“It’s for the best, Jane. You know it too.”
“But she trusts you! If she ever found out we kept this from her-“
“Let’s say she takes the cure. What happens next? She’ll want to leave and go home. Then what? I have to stop her. By any means necessary, including violent ones. You know I don’t want to do that.”
Toby’s puts his face in his hands then looks back at Jane, crossing his arms over his chest.
“Let’s say she does make it past me. Makes it home. We both know she and everyone she loves would be in danger. Those people trying to find her won’t stop just because she’s cured and wants to move on. They’ll never let her go. They would either kill her, or bring her back to the lab, if Slenderman didn’t find her first or make me find her first. Sebastia would be ripped away from her life again, one way or the other. But you know that, don’t you? Better than me.”
Jane nods.
“Yes. I do. I just feel awful about it. I wish it didn’t have to be this way. Lying to her like this.”
“It’s to keep her safe. Not to be malicious.”
“I know, Toby.” Jane says sadly.
“Plus…the sacrifice Sebastia would have to make to leave…what Slenderman would make her do..”
“Are you worried about her? Or yourself in that situation?”
“Both.”
The water stops and Sebastia comes out in the new clothes.
“Hey, Sebby.” Toby smiles at her.
Sebastia yawns, laying on the bed., closing her eyes as she gets under the covers. “Hi..”
“We’ll see you tomorrow, okay?”
“Actually…can you both stay?”
“You want that? You won’t freak out tomorrow morning?”
“I probably will Toby, but right now…this is what I want.”
Toby hesitantly lays next to her on the left, not getting under the covers.
“I can’t stay the whole night. But an hour, sure” Jane says as she lays next to Sebastia on the right.
Sebastia quickly falls asleep. Both of them looking at her.
“You…care about her don’t you?” Jane asks softly.
Toby looks down at Sebastia, concidering the question.
“No. She’s just my assignment.”
That’s what he told himself. To make the twang of guilt fade away. That she’s nothing to him. Just work. Anything for The Slenderman’s and his fellow proxy’s praises.
Cold autumn sunlight poured into the room through the window.
Toby snores loudly as he sleeps, Sebastia leaning forward in her chair with her hands under her head is sleeping on the edge of the bed Toby was laying in.
They had fallen asleep while talking together.
Sebastia slowly opens her eyes, her gaze landing on Toby. Sebastia’s heart pounds with fear. It felt wrong to be so close to him. This moment wasn’t intimate at all. At least it wasn’t supposed to be. They had just happened to fall asleep. They weren’t touching. They weren’t even next to each other in the same bed. Most of Sebastias body was still on the chair.
Sebastias heart pounds faster, looking at Toby. She thinks about how he touched her yesterday during training. She knows it’s not intimate. None of this is. It’s not supposed to be. But she remembers the contact. How dirty she feels. How happy she feels. Even though she has this underlying fear of him for many reasons, she finds herself wanting to be around him.
Maybe it’s because he’s one of the only people in this place she knows. Maybe it’s because he saved her life multiple times already. Even though Toby was pretty mean to her, he still takes care of her in a way. And she loves it. Maybe she’s becoming too attached to him already.
She curses herself. Getting attached to a man so quickly is how she ended up here in the first place. But since she’s already here, does it matter anymore? Should she just let herself get attached?
Sebastia watches as his chest rises and falls. She thinks about their interactions. Every word they’ve exchanged.
Toby probably doesn’t want to be attached to her. At least not the way Sebastia would want to be attached to someone.
No. It’s a stupid thought. Of course he doesn’t want to be attached to her. He’s so upfront about how he feels. He blatantly called her ugly the first time they met. He expressed how annoying he finds her especially during her breakdowns and lashing out.
The saddest part is that she can’t blame him.
Sebastia thinks back to her old life. How cheery and social she was. How kind she was. How naive she was. Even with her low self esteem, she was normal. It feels like a lifetime ago. It feels like a different person.
If Toby had met the old Sebastia would they have been friends? Would he be less annoyed by her? Or would things turn out the same as now?
Does Toby even like her now? He insults her but also helps her. He said she’s “not bad company” but that can be said for almost anyone. Does he care about her? Does soneone like him have the ability to do that?
No. It’s only been a few short days. What was she thinking? Why was she thinking about this? Why did she care? This was a temporary place to stay until she was cured and could get back to her old life and leave this behind. Pretend this all never happened. Yeah. That’s what she wants. That’s all she could hope and pray for.
She looks at Toby again, his snoring subsiding temporarily.
Sebastia leans forward over him putting her face close to his. Her long jet black hair falling over her shoulder. She didn’t know why she’s doing it. Her heart is pounding. She’s terrified. Her heart is pounding. She wants more. Her heart is pounding. She hates herself.
This isn’t intimate. None of this is. But Sebastia wants it to be. And she’s disgusted by it.
Even after everything she’s been through, nothing has changed. It’s even worse than before. Clinging to the first person that shows her a bit of kindness. Wanting to be wanted. Wanting to be needed.
All of the feelings that got her here.
Her somewhat soft and thoughtful look fades into one of disgust and hatred as she looks upon Toby’s sleeping face that she’s still centimeters from.
“I hate you. For making me feel this way.” She whispers.
Sebastia doesn’t mean that.
“I should kill you. You think I’m annoying anyway. Think im ugly anyway. You’re going to get tired of me and kill me anyway. You’re going to hurt me anyway. I should kill you before you destroy me.”
Sebastia didn’t even realize it, but she was on all fours hovering over him as he laid in bed.
This isn’t intimate. This isn’t romantic. She needs it to be. She needs it now. She needs to be needed.
Sebastia is hovering over him centimeters away from his face. Her heart is pounding. She’s almost touching him. The feeling is disgusting. The feeling is wonderful. She’s disgusting. She’s wonderful. Toby’s disgusting. Toby’s wonderful.
Toby’s eyes snap open. Looking straight into Sebastias. Their faces still centimeters apart.
Sebastia’s eyes widen in shock and fear. Not even fully aware of what she’s doing. She stares back into his.
“Sebastia.”
“Yes…”
“What the hell are you doing?”
“I uh-“
The door opens. The two look at the person in the doorway.
It’s a woman that Sebastia doesn’t know. A woman Toby seems to know all too well.
The woman squints her eyes at the sight in disapproval.
“Hey, Nat.” Toby says awkwardly.
“Hi…” Sebastia says uncomfortably as she’s now been caught by two people.
“Hello.” The woman called Nat speaks.
Sebastia was still frozen hovering over him, unsure what of what to do. So she quickly gets off of him, standing next to the bed.
Toby watches as Sebastia moves off him. He’s confused as to what that was, but is excited he has something new to make fun of her with. Toby was definitely never letting this go.
Toby stands next to her.
“This is Sebastia by the way. Weird girl I found in the forest, yadda yadda. Im sure word got around.”
“Oh? The Sebastia that put Jeff through the wall?”
“Yeah! That one!”
Sebastia looks away in embarrassment. This was humiliating on so many levels.
“Toby, I need to talk to you.”
“Yeah? About what?”
Nat looks at Sebastia asking for privacy, silently.
Sebastia quickly nods and leaves wanting to be out of there as soon as she could be.
“Toby.”
“Nat.”
“Natalie.”
“Damn you were serious about the name thing?”
“Yeah. I was.”
“Okay, Natalie. What do you need?”
“Do you think it’s a good idea to have that girl here?”
“Sebastia? Yeah. I brought her because she could be useful. Slenderman agreed. So what’s the issue?”
“She’s unstable.”
“So am I. So are you. So is everyone here. Again. The issue?”
“You know what I mean, Toby. What if she goes crazy and kills you one day? She seems…emotionally unstable.”
Toby raises his eye brows gives a sad smile.
“Go crazy and kill me, huh? Like you?”
“Stop. I’m sorry, okay? You know I didn’t want that. I’m just worried about you. I still care.”
“Yeah. I know.”
Toby says it sadly and dismissively.
“I mean it! I don’t want to see you get hurt, Toby!”
“I got it. I don’t need you to keep me in check anymore, okay? We’re not nineteen anymore.”
“I know. I just…look to put it bluntly, you make stupid decisions. I think this is one of them.”
“Nat-“
Toby sighs.
“Natalie. Trust me. I got it. I dealt with you. You know I can handle anything.”
Toby smiles reassuringly.
“I just don’t want her to throw you through a wall because you hurt her feelings is all.”
“If she tried, I would dodge it. You know how good I am.”
Natalie playfully roles her eye. Toby has always been so dismissive of danger. She’s almost glad to see nothing has changed. Even after everything the two of them had been through.
“Are you and her…a thing?”
“Me and Sebby? No.”
“You already have a nickname for her?”
“Her names too long. I’m not saying that every damn time.
“Oh? So she was just on top of you for fun?”
“I..don’t know what the fuck that was, honestly.”
“So my point is proven? She’s unstable?”
“I never said she wasn’t. She’s so unstable. She’s always falling apart. Always. She’s annoying. She’s confusing.”
Toby’s vents a little.
“I mean, the woman won’t even touch me. Or let me touch her, but then I wake up to her on top of me. But when I was on top of her it was a whole big issue that warranted a breakdown. I know she’s unstable. Believe me, I do.”
Toby runs a hand through his hair.
“But I trust her. I don’t think she’s actually going to hurt me. Or anything like that. If that’s what you’re worried about.”
“You were on top of her?” Natalie teases.
Toby’s eyes widen.
“Wait- not like that! We were training and I… pinned her to the ground? We were fighting and I-“
Natalie laughs. It felt like they were younger again, Natalie teasing him and making him kind of flustered. She felt happy at the fact that Toby was still himself around her. She was one of the few people he’d be fully vulnerable with. Natalie hopes that never changes, even though they both have.
“I’m messing with you.”
“Damn it, Nat, you know how you get me.”
“Sorry. Couldn’t help it.”
Natalie puts a hand on Toby’s shoulder.
“Look. I care about you, okay? And I don’t want to see you hurt or in danger. Well, not anymore than you already are. So please be careful.”
“I got you. I’ll be fine. I promise.”
Toby smiles reassuringly.
“Now. I gotta go find unstable Sebastia, and have a hilarious conversation.”
Toby puts on a black tee shirt and leaves.
“Later, Nat.”
Toby walks down the hallway.
Natalie watches him leave, a concerned look on her face.
“Later, Tobes…”
Sebastia aimlessly wandered the halls luckily not running into anyone, thinking about how embarrassed she was.
‘Oh god what’s wrong with me?! Why’d I do that?!’
Was all she can think. Her thoughts were cut off by a door with her name on it.
“What?” She said out loud, not even noticing she said it.
She reaches for the handle, nervously.
‘Well if something does happen, I could scream loud enough and Toby would find me….No! I can do this without him! It’s a damn door!’
Sebastia reassures herself, opening the door and closing it behind her. She looks around the room.
“Huh….weird. This would’ve been my dream room when I was a teenager.”
Posters of emo bands, a plaid black and grey bed set, a large cartoony skull rug on the dark wooden floors. Warm fairy lights hung on the ceiling. Ab acoustic guitar in the corner. CDs on a black shelf. A black desk with a simple lamp.
She loved it in here.
“Hello.”
Sebastia gasps and turns around as her mouth gets quickly covered.
It’s Jane.
“I found you like you told me to.”
Her voice is low and quiet, it’s relaxing, even in this context.
Jane releases Sebastias mouth.
“Oh my god! I wasn’t expecting you to be here so soon!” Sebastia locks the door.
“Yeah? Well, couldn’t keep you waiting for answers.”
“How’d you even get in here?!”
“I have my ways. Enough of that though, let’s get to the Q&A.”
Jane sits on the bed, patting the spot near her.
Sebastia walks over and sits.
“I suppose I’ll start. Listen closely, Sebastia I’ll give you all the information I know. Hopefully that will get a majority of your questions out of the way.”
Sebastia nods. Jane crosses her arms and begins to speak.
“From what I gathered, you were unwillingly put through the Miracle Cell expirements that were part of the G.O.D project. Before you escaped, you were for eight months. The G.O.D project is an offshoot of the project I was a part of. And they share the same goal, essentially. To make super soldiers.”
Jane closes her eyes, continuing to speak.
“I was injected with something called Liquid Hate, which gives me all the abilities you’ve seen thus far, along with my appearance. The Miracle Cells have altered your appearance as well, although yours isn’t nearly as drastic as mine. Until you summon that creature, you look pretty normal, besides your limbs of course. From the information I was told, the injection to your head and brain went “wrong.”
Jane opens her eyes and puts air quotes around wrong.
“That’s why you have all the tendrils coming out of your head instead of it taking over your body and brain completely. But if we had an x- ray machine right now, that creature inside you could be seen all over your insides. But not in the way you think. How can I explain this?”
Jane stays silent, thinking about the best way to explain.
“Basically your limbs are completely immune to pain, breaking, anything basically. But the parts of you that aren’t pitch black can still be hurt. However, it’s harder for you to die. The creature can heal you, in its own way. You’re more durable and stronger. That’s because it’s still in all of your body, just not as dense, like your limbs.
“Since you have a similar injection to mine, you share some of my abilities.”
Jane’s body gets covered in the black bulging veins, hovering her hand from Sebastia’s hand up to her arm, black veins forming under Sebastia’s skin.
“Yeah, just like I thought.”
“What does that mean?”
“That your abilities aren’t fully functioning right now, which leads me to my last point. You’re unfinished.”
“What?”
“The reason it hurts so bad when you summon the creature is because you’re unfinished. Your scalp is supposed to be pitch black, along with the rest of you. You obviously escaped so that didn’t happen. Besides, the injection went wrong anyway. It was meant to take over your body completely. Not shoot out of your head. I dont know why that happened.
“How do you know all this?”
“I’m not part of the people that did this to you, however, I’m from a faction that’s meant to take down killers and supernatural beings. I was given you as a target since you fit both of those descriptions.”
“Hey! I didn’t ask to be experimented on! I didn’t kill people for fun!”
“I know. What I wasn’t told is that you were unwilling to participate. At least with mine it was voluntary.”
Jane’s veins go back to normal.
“Any questions?”
“Do you know what this creature is?”
“No I don’t. No one at my faction knows either.”
“Then how did you make a suppressant for it?”
“We used Liquid Hate samples as a base, since they’re so similar. Yesterday was a test run basically. And it worked. The suppression lasts twenty four hours. You have about three left before you can summon the creature again.”
“So why didn’t you kill me?”
“I don’t see a reason to. my intel wasn’t one hundred percent accurate. You don’t seem like a bloodthirsty person, but someone who’s trying to survive. Don’t tell my faction though, I’m breaking a lot of rules.”
Sebastia nods.
“Is…there a cure?”
“It’s highly unlikely that there is. It’s basically embedded in all of you. Inside and out.”
“Is there not even a chance?!”
“You’d have to go to one of their labs. I can track it down for you.”
“There’s multiple?!”
“Of course. Speaking of which, you don’t know how to fight. I assume that’s why Toby was teaching you.”
Sebastia nods.
“I mention it because the scientists from those other labs are definitely going to hunt you down. It’s a good thing Toby found you before I did. Or before they found you. You’d either be captured or dead. You need to know how to fight. Especially because there is a suppressant for the creature. If they used it on you, you’d be completely defenseless. By the way has he taught you anything? He’s an idiot who can go too hard sometimes. He can’t feel pain so he expects everyone to keep up with him.”
“We tried yesterday but I’m really bad, then you came. So not a good day yesterday.”
“God, straight to hand to hand? Do you even know how to shoot a gun?”
Sebastia shakes her head.
“Damn it, Toby.”
Jane pulls out two guns handing them to Sebastia, who takes them, shocked.
“I- I can’t take these!”
“Yes you can. You’re holding them aren’t you?”
“I mean, I don’t know how to use these!”
“I know. That’s why I’m going to teach you.”
“You?! You’re going to help me?!”
“Don’t sound so surprised. I’m a much better teacher than Toby. Consider it an apology for trying to kill you.”
Sebastia looks down at the guns.
“What do you mean I’m not the first woman Toby has brought here?”
“Oh. His ex girlfriend Natalie was the first when he was about nineteen. She was eighteen, I think. It was many years ago. they were together until he was about twenty five. Then tragedy struck those two. Sad, really.”
“Ex…girlfriend?”
Sebastia was triple embarrassed now. Also intrigued about the tragedy that happened.
“Yeah? Why?”
“Jane I-“
Sebastia is cut off by the door handle rattling and knocking.
“Sebby? You in there?”
Jane and Sebastia recognize Toby’s voice.
Sebastia goes silent hoping he’ll go away.
“Sebastia unlock the door, I heard you talking to someone.”
“Damn it..”
Sebastia looks back at Jane, who has disappeared.
“What?!” She didn’t even hear Jane move.
“Sebastia, open the door we need to talk.”
Sebastia puts her head in her hands, not excited to talk about what happened this morning.
She goes to the door, unlocking it and opening it.
“Hey…Toby…”
“Hey. Who were you talking to?”
“No one. I was just talking to myself. Ha ha silly Sebastia..”
Toby squints his eyes. She’s a horrible liar.
“Oh really?”
“Mhm!”
Sebastia sits on the bed, trying to act natural.
“Since it’s just us, let’s talk then.”
Toby closes and locks the door.
Sebastia is sweating and her heart is pounding.
She bounces her leg anxiously. She’d rather be anywhere else but here.
Toby sits on the bed next to her.
“Sick room. Reminds me of mine. Mine is cooler though.”
“How is this room even here?”
“It’s weird, whenever there’s a new person comes, the house reads their mind for a few days and a new room just appears. This place is almost alive because it’s connected to Slenderman.”
“….Should I meet this Slenderman?”
“No.”
Toby’s face turns serious and his eyes get un naturally large and his brown irises vibrate.
Sebastia is looks back at him with wide eyes of her own.
Sebastia had never seen fear in his eyes before. So when it was there for the first time, it made her even more afraid. If Toby’s afraid that means she should be terrified.
Toby’s face goes back to normal just as quickly as the fear crossed it.
“Anyway, about this morning…”
“What about this morning?”
“You were on top of me.”
“No I wasn’t.”
“Yeah you were. We were face to face.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Are you really gonna do this right now, Sebby?”
“Do what?”
“Fine. Guess I’ll go get Natalie to confirm what she saw.”
“No!”
“Oh? You ready to talk about it now?”
“…No”
“Too bad!”
Toby leans into Sebastia getting close to her face. With his actions came those feelings. The one of joy. The one of disgust. The one of craving. The one of wanting to be wanted.
“What? Uncomfortable?”
“No-yes- I don’t know!”
“Hm. Then why were you hovering over me? I’ll back up if you just be honest with me.
Toby wasn’t taking this seriously at all. He’s doing this to tease her and mess with her. Definitely never letting her live this embarrassing moment down.
“I…can’t tell you.”
“Why not? Do you not owe me an explanation?”
“I…don’t know why I did that. I don’t understand why.”
“Bullshit.”
“What?!”
“Don’t think about it too hard, just tell me. Let it spill out of your mouth. It’s the least you can do.”
Toby gets closer to her, messing with her, but also curious.
“I..you…look like someone. My ex boyfriend, Travis. He’s the one that put me in that lab in the first place. That could’ve set something off in me subconsciously. That and a bunch of other things. I’m not ready to talk about those feelings yet. I’m sorry, Toby. It won’t happen again.”
“I see…”
“Are you mad?”
“Nope. I have a question, though.”
“Yeah?”
“If I look like the guy who did this to you, why are you trusting me? Why’d you come with me so easily?”
“Well, I attacked you at first remember? In my scrambled , broken state of mind, I thought you were him. I thought…he’d come to take me back.”
Toby is still close to her. Sebastia looks him in the eyes as best as she can.
“Then I understood you weren’t him and I had no where to go, like I told you before. So when you offered to bring me here, if I trusted you or not, I had no choice.”
Toby almost feels guilt at this information. She escaped a man she once trusted, who lied to her and used her. Now Toby’s doing the same thing to her. Sebastia had no choice but to trust him and Toby still took advantage of her. She used her as a tool by someone she loved and trusted. Now Toby was using her for the same purpose. He tries to justify it with his next words. To say she had a choice. Like he wasn’t hiding the truth from her. Like this wasn’t his fault.
“Sure you did, you could’ve died out there if you wanted.”
“Toby, I’m serious! I’d be dead without you!”
“I know. I’m incredible, huh?”
Sebastia glares.
“Why aren’t you upset about this morning, Toby?”
“Because I know you’re weird. You were bound to do something weird. We both watched each other have breakdowns within days. Our relationship was bound to be weird from the start.”
Toby scoots a little closer to Sebastia as she hugs her knees on the bed.
“I think it’s only fair we forgive each other. I’m sure the weird interactions and watching each others breakdowns is going to become normal for us.”
“I..guess?”
“I’m so understanding, huh? You chose the right guy, Sebby.”
“Since when did I choose you?”
“Since I saved you in the forest and you never left my side.”
“You came to me most of the time!”
“You could’ve told me to go away anytime. Want me to go away, Sebby?”
Toby jokes.
Sebastia thought about it seriously though. Maybe it’s best if he’s not around so she doesn’t feel these confusing feelings. But without him she couldn’t make sense of this place or the people in it. She’s left bad impressions on almost everyone else. Sebastia knows she needs to stick by him.
“No. I don’t want you to go away.”
“Then it sounds like you chose me, Sebby.”
“Sounds like I did, Toby.”
Toby looks at Sebastia, thoughts racing through his head. Jane was right, Sebastia wasn’t the first woman he brought here. but maybe this time could be different. He didn’t have to make the same mistakes that ruined his relationship with Natalie. Sebastia could be different. This time could be different. This was his second chance.
‘You’re not good for anyone, really.’ Jane’s words rung in his head. She was right. He had been the center and cause of so much death and destruction. Pain and suffering. Even if it’s for his own selfish reasons and to prove Jane wrong, he wants to be good for Sebastia. He doesn’t necessarily care about her. It takes a long time for him to care about anyone. To feel anything for anyone. But still, he wants to be good for her. To prove the whole world wrong. To prove the universe wrong. For his own ego. This was another selfish act, but who is it hurting?
Toby wouldn’t admit it, but part of him loves that Sebastia needs him. Like only he could provide what she needs. He liked hearing her praises and thank you’s. It fueled him to do more. He likes her more than he thinks. He has to, for her praises to matter.
“Like I said. You’re better off with me, Sebastia.”
“Let’s hope that’s true, Toby.”
“Sorry to interrupt.”
Jane’s voice takes Toby out of his thoughts.
“Where’d you come from?! You totally disappeared!” Sebastia says in shock.
“Not telling you. Training starts again today I assume?”
“Why’s that your business, Jane?” Toby glares at her, standing up. “You know you’re not supposed to be here!”
“Because I’m going to help you teach her how to fight.”
“The hell you are! I don’t need your help!”
“Good thing this is about what Sebastia needs. Not you.”
“She doesn’t need you either. Our training was going fine till you showed up.”
“Mhm. Is that why she can’t even shoot a gun? You haven’t even taught her the basics. Besides, I partially know what’s going on with the creature inside her. She needs guidance with that. Guidance you can’t provide.”
“She still doesn’t need you.”
“Don’t be stupid Toby. I’m a better fighter than you. A better teacher. A better person. And I know about what’s going on with her. Sebastia needs me more than she’ll ever need you.”
Toby looks at Jane with pure anger. Not because she was wrong, but because it was a hit to his ego and he wants to be the one Sebastia needs. Not because he cares but because he wants to feel better about himself. It’s all about him.
Sebastia cuts them both off.
“Why don’t you both help me like Jane said, Toby? You know I’m really bad at fighting and I need all the help I can get. Especially because there’s people looking for me.”
Toby hated the thought of Jane helping. He wants to be the only one helping Sebastia. He found her in the first place. Why should anyone else be involved?
“Sebby. What if she’s lying to us? Just getting close to you and helping you so she can use you for something? What if she betrays us?”
Projection at its finest.
“She’s already risking a lot being here, even if that’s the case, she’s the closest thing I’ve got to answers.”
Toby couldn’t deny that.
“Fine. Don’t slow us down, Jane.”
“Wouldn’t dream of it.”
Jane turns to the window to leave.
“Oh and Toby?”
“What?”
“I’m sorry. For yesterday.”
Jane gracefully leaves out of the window, waiting for Sebastia and Toby to join her outside.
Toby furrows his brows, but not out of anger. He’s surprised to get an apology from her. Almost grateful.
Sebastia stands up.
“Toby are you-“
“I’m fine.”
Sebastia nods. One more question on her mind.
“Is Natalie mad at me?”
“Go ask her on your own time. Let’s go.”
Jane’s apology must have affected him a little bit. He’s a bit harsher and wants to stop talking about it so the memories and feelings from yesterday don’t affect him.
“Okay. Let’s go.”
The two follow Jane outside. Sebastia still has thousands of questions. But they’ll have to wait until training is over.
