In his life, Emmrich has spoken to many people with great skill or talent, people who were effortlessly charming, or brimming with genius, people who were incredibly beautiful. Even people that were all of those traits at once and yet he rarely stumbled. So what is it about Rook that twists his tongue into a knot? Why, when Rook calls him on his whim to impress, does his throat close and his jaw slacken? How is it that they look at him over a mortuary table, refer to him as dapper and his vocabulary escapes? They look up at him from beneath their lashes, soft eyes and that perpetual curve to their lips, and they flatter him and Emmrich’s eloquent tongue becomes useless.

Until they finally take the leap. With the certainty of affection beneath his belt, Emmrich is dedicated to finding new ways to express himself. A soliloquy of adoration comes easily and he can serenade Rook until the night is old. It’s when Rook turns those charms on him he has to feint. If his mouth is no good for words, he’ll put it to better use. His surprise becomes a queue, a reason to find Rook’s lips with his own and show them just how he cherishes them. What a joyful excuse to draw them against his body, to kiss their hand, their forehead, the lovely curve of their neck. The way their body melds against his is as lovely as any sonnet he could curate. If he can’t speak then he must paint his affection on their skin with thorough, patient hands and hot mouths.

It had been a stressful week. That animal had attacked Winston’s on their way home from a party. They weren’t sure what the hell had happened that night. They’d obviously drunk too much. Stray rabid dogs didn’t breathe fire and there was no way that a blast of light could ever erupt from their hands. That was something that might happen in their D&D groups but this was the real world and in the real world there were scientific explanations that were rationally and logically sound. On top of that Winston was behind on school work, they’d spent way too much time working on internship work and they had been forced to stay late. Rubbing their eyes, they slid their laptop shut and placed it in its sleeve. After packing up the rest of their stuff and shouldering their backpack, Winston headed out of the library. Nodding to a few other fellow late night academics. They stepped out of the university building and blinked in the darkness. Campus looked surreal veiled in the shadow of the evening and Winston couldn’t help but pat their jacket instinctively for their car keys, before releasing discouraged that they weren’t there. That was when they remembered leaving them on the desk they’d been working at in the library. But to get back into the library they needed their key card which was on their car keys. Fuck. Sighing to themselves, Winston headed in the direction of the campus security desk, hoping someone would be working this late. Otherwise it would be a long walk home. Fortunately they spotted someone who looked like they might be a security guard and headed over. “Hey, excuse me … uh I was hoping you could help me?”

Nighttime was quiet. That was why Remmy liked nighttime. And you could see the stars at night. Another good reason to like the night. Remmy liked looking up at the stars at night, it was relaxing. But tonight, they were working. Moose trotted right by their side, just like he’d been trained, and Remmy walked in a stiff, straight line, just like they’d been trained. Being campus security, though, was boring. And Remmy didn’t get bored that often. But this school? This town? Remmy was bored. All the damn time. They barely even slept, up at all hours. Tiredness seemed to be a thing of the past. It was probably the new pills they were taking, but damn, did Remmy need a hobby. They almost wished they could work full time, but the state would take away their disability benefits if they did, and that 3,000 dollar check every other week was nice. Still...they almost wished something would happen. At least then they wouldn’t be so distracted by the stars. And as if on cue, someone was approaching them. A young looking fellow. They looked a bit mousy, almost nervous, and Remmy stopped walking as they approached and Moose sat next to them. “Oh, yeah, sure,” they said, “what uh-- whadda you need?”

The still night air was cold against Winston’s skin, a puff of frosty breath plumed in front of their eyes as they glanced at the security guard gratefully smiling in greeting as they spoke. “Uh …” they swallowed somewhat embarrassed by their absent mindedness, “I left my keys in the library and I can’t get back in without my key card which is on my key chain with the rest of my keys so I’m kind of stuck…” they laughed awkwardly and shrugged, “can you let me bac…” they trailed off as there was a clatter and a bin rolled over in the background. The sound of metal and plastic on concrete shattering the silence that had been the backdrop to their conversation. “Uh, what was that?” Winston asked as they felt their heart race. Why was their previously mundane life beginning to get so weird all of a sudden?

“Oh, yeah, I can--” Remmy started, but was interrupted, too, by the clanging sound. Maybe there was some merit to those rumors, after all, that something was prowling the campus at night. Remmy narrowed their eyes, stepping forward a little. Moose stood as well, and his ears pressed back as his body sunk low. Uh oh, that wasn’t a good sign. “Get behind me,” they said to the kid, stepping between them and where they thought the sound had come from. It was hard to tell sometimes, even with the hearing aid. But Moose was never wrong, and Remmy oriented themselves to face the same direction as him as a low growl came from his throat. Remmy squinted, as if that would help them see into the darkness. What greeted them was a pair of glowing red eyes, and that was it. This was usually the point fear would set in, but Remmy’s heart didn’t even hiccup. Slowly, they reached down for their temp badge, even slower held it out to kid. “When I say run,” they said quietly, “run.”

Winston was pleased to know that if they managed to survive the catastrophe that this night was apparently beginning to turn into, they would be able to get their keys. But they should probably be worried about other things. Their first clue was the dog. Winston wasn’t completely oblivious, they could tell something had caused it to tense up. Was it the thing from the other night? They had hoped that whatever it was had been scared away by whatever bizarre act of god had saved them that night. “You don’t need to tell me twice,” Winston said quickly putting the dog and the security guard between the noise. When the red eyes came into view, Winston felt their heart drop and their pulse race. This really wasn’t what they had planned for the evening. They had so much work left to do and instead they were taking a temp badge from a security guard who’s name they didn’t even know. “You’ve got to come with me.” They whispered insistently. This was terrifying but they didn’t know what the hell that was, if one of them stayed behind they could get hurt or worse.

Remmy stayed quiet, even as the kid whispered something to them. Moose’s entire body was stiff and alert. Remmy let go of the leader leash. The thing in the shadow, the eyes piercing through Remmy, started moving towards them. Remmy took a slow step back, ushering Moose to as well, pushing the student back. This was what their job was, protecting others. It always had been. Sure, they might just be a simple rent-a-cop right now, but that didn’t change who they were. If Remmy had been faster, or better, or smarter, then they’d still have a left eye. And be in Afghanistan. And have friends, and a squad. If Remmy hadn’t gotten hurt, none of them would have died. Remmy blinked, something hot and wet on their hand. It was Moose, biting them softly, pulling Remmy from the memory. The eyes were still staring at them, and if by instinct, Remmy knew it was about to pounce. “Run,” they breathed, stepping back again. Snapped loudly, drawing Moose’s attention away. “Run!” they shouted again, more firmly, turning to look back at the student. “Now!”

A thin bead of ice cold sweat trickled from the nape of Winston’s neck down their spine. They found themselves shivering gently as the eyes began to bob forwards through the night. Winston was sure that there was nothing natural that had eyes of that colour. Their heart raced as they were pushed backwards by the security guard. Taking a stumbling step, they moved away. Whoever this security guard was they seemed to at least have an idea of what they were meant to do, or they were really convincing at faking it. At least this made Winston feel slightly less worried about what might be about to happen to them. As the eyes crept through the shadows, Winston felt their body’s natural instincts take over and before Remmy had said run the first time they would’ve probably heard footsteps as Winston hurtled away. The second command to escape only reinforced their fear, but they paused to turn back as they reached a corner, desperate to make sure that they hadn’t abandoned their saviour.  “You need to be running too!” they cried desperately.

Remmy didn’t need to be told twice. Once pull on Moose’s lead, and he was running in the direction of the building as well, Remmy hot on his heels. They gave the student a bit of leeway, making sure they were in front of them, always keeping themself between the kid and the pair of glowing eyes. Remmy was hesitant to call it a monster-- it was probably just a large, feral dog. It was definitely too big to be a coyote, but that was what all the locals said it must be. Shouldn’t animal control be out here, and not just extra security? Before Remmy knew it, there was something barreling by them. They stumbled, fell into the grass, but rolled and easily got back up. What greeted their eyes was a dog, with mangy fur and large teeth, getting ready to pounce on the kid. Not again. They couldn’t be responsible for someone else’s death again. Remmy grabbed whatever they could nearby-- a rock-- and hucked it as hard as they could at the thing. “Hey!” they shouted, “Over here!”

Winston hadn’t exactly ever excelled at sports. They had definitely been the type of kid that sat behind a screen with a keyboard and a mouse. Headphones keeping them in their own digital world. But now they were really regretting not making more of an effort with their fitness. Ricky was always trying to get them to work out with them, but they might not make it that long at this rate. Panting as they sprinted, they were pleased to see the security guard follow them, and then they were not pleased to see a huge dog with slobber dangling from its jowls shoot by and knock them down. Winston was nearly at the library, they were nearly at the pad for the temp badge and they would nearly have been at safety. But then they felt something collide with their backpack and they hit the floor hard. The dog snapping behind them as they rolled on the concrete beneath them. Then a rock came sailing through the air and hit the dog square in the ear. A very good shot if Winston did say so themselves. As they panted for air, they watched the dog circle around and face the security guard. Hackles raised, tensed and ready. “Fuck, fuck, fuck,” Winston said as they pulled their bag off of their back and started rifling through it. 

Good, Remmy had its attention. Wait...Remmy had its attention. The snarling dog snapped at them and Remmy felt their body stiffen, screeching to a halt in their dash towards the kid. Moose was low to the ground, a fair distance away from them. He started running towards them but Remmy snapped at him, putting up their hand. His signal for stay. And Moose stayed. Just like he was trained. Remmy grappled for the baton they’d given them as their only defense (they weren’t licensed to carry a firearm, after all) and held it up, tapping it on the ground. “C’mon bud,” they said quietly, “C’mon...come get the stick.” Held it out, watching the drooling beast follow the stick with its eyes. But it didn’t seem interested, and after a moment, turned back to the kid. As if it could smell their fear, their worry. Their beating heart. “Shit!” Remmy sprinted forward again, Moose whined but stayed put. The baton came down on top of the dog just as it was snapping at the kid. “GO!” Remmy said as they struggled with thrashing teeth, biting hard on the metal baton, nearly crushing it. “What’re you waiting for!?”

Winston was a smart kid. They had always known that they weren’t dumb and both of their parents had repeatedly insisted that their resourcefulness and intelligence would be the thing that got them out of jams. So Winston, being a naive and innocent fool had decided that now was the moment to try and assemble a makeshift weapon. It wasn’t difficult. They had a can of deodorant at the bottom of their bag, they also had a lighter in their back pocket for whenever they snuck the occasional cigarette. Remmy had distracted the thing for long enough for them to get this all together. Of that they were certain. Except they were wrong, and they had their arm deep in their rucksack when the feral creature came after them once more. “I’m trying to help!” Winston screeched as they leapt into the air and scrambled away. Pulling the deodorant out of their bag they dropped their rucksack and prayed that their laptop wasn’t broken after the collision with the concrete. Now all they had to do was use the lighter and maybe they could scare this thing away. Wolves always hated fire in the movies right? They’d read somewhere that dogs were closely related to wolves, this plan had to be full proof!

“Just...get...away!” Remmy said as they struggled against the grip of the dog. Damn, it was strong. Moose was off somewhere barking now. He was getting closer and Remmy whipped their head around. “Moose! No! STAY! STAY!” There was no way in Hell they were letting this feral dog get near Moose. Or this kid. It was their chance to prove that they weren’t a problem. That they could help people. That it wasn’t their fault. Moose had stopped in his tracks, bouncing back and forth on his toes, anxious about the situation. Torn between obeying his commands and helping his clearly in distress owner. But Remmy’s attention was brought back to the rabid dog when it finally snapped straight through their baton, landing on top of Remmy with a loud THUMP! This would have been the part where Remmy’s breath left their chest, but they felt just fine. It didn’t even hurt. But red eyes bore down on them, snarled teeth reaching for their neck. Remmy pulled their legs to their chest, then launched them forward-- a tactic they’d learned from self-defense training-- kicking the creature off. It yelped, landed a few feet away, and Remmy scrambled back up, standing between the kid and the dog again. Moose was howling and barking, but staying in place. “If you’re gonna do something, do it fast,” they said, looking back at the kid.

Whoever this security guard was, they were a bad ass. Winston was really impressed. Somehow they managed to stop the creature with their baton and wrestle with it long enough for Winston to grab the lighter in their right hand and the deodorant in their left. Positioning it they heard the baton snap with a crunch and winced as they were sure the security guard would have their throat ripped out or something equally gruesome. But moments later and they were kicking the rabid dog off of them and looking at Winston expectantly. Winston could see their lips moving but they weren’t hearing whatever it was that they were saying. They knew that it was now or never, and so their thumb struck the flint and sprayed the can. Except the flame didn’t take. Sparking again, they hit the same thing. The creature had risen and was on it’s feet once more. Swallowing, Winston tried a third time and was finally vindicated as a flame erupted forward. The entire quad lit up as the fire danced forwards and Winston turned it to face the creature. They didn’t want to actually burn it, but they also didn’t want themselves or someone else to get hurt by this. “I don’t know how long this will work!” they exclaimed, already feeling the metal edge of the top of the lighter grow hot. 

Click. Nothing. Click. Still nothing. Remmy was beginning to worry. And then, warmth. It flared up next to them, and the rabid dog howled, backing away quickly. As it did, Remmy finally signaled to Moose, giving a click of their fingers. He leapt forward and sprinted to their side, and Remmy snapped again, pointing for the building. “Doesn’t matter, we gotta go now while its distracted!” they said, grabbing the kid by the hand and yanking them away, dashing for the doors. Moose was ahead of them, leaping up the stairs. Remmy chanced a glance back, but the dog was still distracted, scraping off seared fringe from its nose. Reeling from the smell of burnt hair. “Almost there!” they shouted, pushing the kid in front of them. “Get the badge!”

Honestly, Winston was more adrenaline then human at this point. Breath catching in their throat as the security guard grabbed their hand, Winston bolted after them. “I won’t argue,” they replied honestly still somewhat taken aback by the entire situation, “I just can’t believe that actually worked.” They weren’t sure what they were expecting. Not for this to actually work out. The deodorant can exploding in the palm of their hand seemed to be a more likely outcome then that. As Remmy dragged them along and pushed them in front, they fumbled with the temp badge that they had slid into their back pocket. Their fingers felt like they were made of lead as they ripped it out of their pocket and slapped it against the side of the pad, hearing an electric beep and click as the door popped open. Wrenching it free, they held it open and stepped inside. “C’mon, c’mon, get in here and we can call animal control to deal with whatever the fuck that is.”

As soon as they were inside, Remmy shoved the kid back and locked the doors. They called for Moose, backing away, but when they went to look through the glass of the doors, the rabid dog had seemed to have disappeared, as if it were a shadow itself. Remmy felt a chill rise on their arms. “Get in the office,” they said, without even waiting for a response from the student. Something wasn’t quite right here. Moose was still stiff at their side, a low growl in his throat. And then they heard it. They didn’t even see it at first, but the loud !CRACK! As the dog threw itself against the glass of the door. “Fuck,” they cursed. “Get in the office!” they shouted, turning around. “GO!” Another loud boom as the dog threw itself again and again against the door, the metal groaning, the glass cracking.

This was a horror movie. Winston was convinced that they were in a horror movie. In the last week they had seen things that they were convinced were not real, from a gollum-esque creature to a dog that could breathe fire. Now they were being attacked by something that was apparently a dog, but had eyes as red as Satan’s skin and less patience then a child on Christmas morning. Wincing as they heard the glass crack underneath the force of the creature, Winston didn’t even have time to wipe the sweat from their brow as they winced at the noise. “Come with me then!” they exclaimed as they headed towards the office, throwing the door open and beginning to move furniture that they could use to barricade their way in. “We should call someone, maybe the police could help us?” Winston wasn’t sure if that was what they wanted, what if their dad was the one to turn up? What if they had to see them or someone else they knew get hurt?

Another loud boom shook the entryway and Remmy’s eyes unfocused for a minute. When they looked back up, Lieutenant Lancer and Private Mullberry were in front of them. “Stay back against the wall!” Lancer shouted. “Get Mullberry!” Remmy reached out to grab him-- their hand gripped Winston tightly, like a vice. They leapt up and yanked him into the office, slamming the door shut. “What now, Captain?” Remmy said out loud, pressed against the door. “We’re surrounded, wh-what do we do?” Remmy was shaking. When they glanced out the window, Taliban soldiers raced by the window and Remmy ducked quickly, pressing their back against the door, their hand across Mullberry’s chest, holding him back as well. Lancer was ducked under another window, and the others were checking the back room for a way out. “We have to lay low,” Remmy hissed, “we just have to wait out.” Their eyes glued to Winston, but they weren’t looking at them. They were seeing through Winston, to Dario. Seeing his face, his fear. One half of their vision darkened. Remmy could feel the bandage on their face again. They scratched at it, leaving a red mark down their cheek. “We just have to wait it out, right?”

Apparently there was more to this security guard then met the eye, Winston couldn’t help but feel a twinge of discomfort alongside the pervasive terror from this situation. Maybe this security guard was going through more then Winston had initially thought and suddenly they couldn’t help but worry that they had to take charge. Whoever they were, this person had saved their life three times already and they felt compelled to help them here. “Stay calm,” Winston said trying their best to put on a confident facade and play along, “we can barricade ourselves in and call for help.” They stayed pressed against the wall. They could hear another crack, then another and the glass from the door that they had closed behind them hoping that it would keep them safe shattered and the large red eyed beast came crunching through. Glass sprayed everywhere and Winston felt their breath catch in their throat. Their phone was in their rucksack, which they had been forced to abandon on the quad after improvising a flamethrower. “Lay low,” Winston thought out loud, although from Remmy’s expression they wondered if they even realised they were there, “we can wait it out, someone will find us, we should barricade the doors though…” someone must’ve set off an alarm. Or something. They had to keep them safe and staying here was the best way to do that.

“We can wait it out,” Dario said. But that wasn’t right. He hadn’t said anything. He’d just looked at Remmy with wide, terrified eyes. Moose was whining and growling, nudging his way into Remmy’s lap. He started with a low grumble, the beginning of a bark. The rabid dog outside the door was sniffing around. Remmy chanced a look. The soldiers were gone for now. But they weren’t safe yet. If Remmy’s heart had been working, it would have surely burst from their chest. Their eyes landed back on the kid. Their face was flickering between a student with big, round glasses and Dario, covered in dirt and blood and sweat. Remmy pressed their palm to their one good eye. “Just…” they started, grappling in their pocket. Something was in their lap. Something soft. Moose whined again and Remmy took their hand away from their eye. “Moose….” Blinked again and the room fell back into place. They looked over at the kid with hazy eyes. “I--” but cut themself short when a loud growl came from behind the door. Moose stiffened to growl back but Remmy held up a hand and he instantly quieted. They glanced sideways at the kid, put a finger up to their mouth, swallowed. A minute passed, another. It sniffed the crack under the door, made a disgusted grunt, and then backed away and headed down the corridor. Remmy let out a long breath. “Call the police,” they mouthed, handing the kid their phone, before crouching up to look out the window again. “It’s clear for now but we should stay in here,” the whispered.

Winston had never wished for a gun more then they did in that very moment. That in itself was a pretty strange emotion for Winston because they were vehemently opposed to guns. But at least they would have something to defend themselves from the most pissed off dog they’d ever encountered. The good news was that their new companion appeared to have snapped out of whatever had been going on for them. They were now semi cogent or at least appeared to be. It was nice that the pressure wasn’t all exclusively on Winston now. Though they were pleased that there was someone else who could help with decisions again. But they knew that they had to get out of here. When Remmy told them to call the police, Winston took their phone from their hands and dialed 911. The phone rang once before the emergency responder picked up. “Hey Wendy,” Winston said quietly, after all of course they knew Wendy, she immediately asked what they needed, “Police and I guess Animal Control to the university, I’m uh… stuck and there’s a rabid dog that appears intent on eating us if it can so if you could be quick.” They handed Remmy their phone back and pressed themselves against the wall, hoping that the dog wouldn’t come back. “Hey, I know you’re the security guard here, but are you okay?” they were concerned about their new friend, “You seemed kind of out of it then…”

The office still seemed to be jumping in  and out of Remmy’s vision, but their hand scrunched in Moose’s fur helped ground them in reality enough for them to focus on what the kid was saying. Good, police were on the way. All they had to do now was wait. Just...wait….Remmy screwed their eyes shut again, pushing the thought away. Moose whined again and they opened their eyes, giving him a quiet shush to let him know they were here. They were grounded. Remmy glanced sideways at the young student. “It’s...sorry...it just happens sometimes...I’m fine.” They glanced again back out the window. “I’m uh...I’m Remmy by the way,” they said, “and this is Moose.” Remmy gave Moose a good pat before giving another surveillance look out the window they were plastered under. 

Honestly, as Winston cowered there, nursing their injured pride, they couldn’t help but wonder what the hell was going on. White Crest had always been a town of eccentrics but this was downright weird. Like something out of a tv show. What next? Swallowing, they looked at Remmy and were about to offer them some water before remembering that their bottle of water was in their rucksack which was still in the quad. “I’m Winston, uh, thanks, that was really cool of you. I don’t know if everyone would’ve taken their job so seriously but I really appreciate it.” They would’ve probably died without their intervention. “If there’s anything I can do to help, let me know because God knows I really owe you one.” No one had ever risked their life for Winston before.

Remmy was quiet for a bit, letting themself calm down, letting Moose’s presence and the sound of the kid’s voice calm them down. They let out another long breath. “Winston,” they said, “that’s a name you don’t hear every day.” Another check. Still clear. Remmy, somehow, could hear sirens in the distance. That sure was a fast response time. “What? Oh, uh-- it was nothing. Just...instinct, I guess. I was hired to protect people, so…” a shrug, “I just did what anybody else would do.”

Winston didn’t usually relish silence, but their breath was still ragged, their heart was pounding and they could feel the sweat pouring down their back. All in all, a few moments to themselves helped to compose themselves somewhat. Adjusting their glasses, they turned to Remmy and shrugged. “Named after my great grandfather,” they shrugged for a second and smiled, “I like it though. Feels unique.” They picked nervously at their jacket, repeatedly buttoning and unbuttoning a button on their sleeve. When they heard the sirens, they let a breath of relief escape and shook their head. “Either way, you still did it. So, thanks.” Winston wasn’t sure they’d have the courage to do the same.

Remmy let out a long sigh. It seemed like the danger had finally passed. Moose was still quite on edge, but he wasn’t whining and growling anymore, which meant the other dog was most likely gone. Remmy stood, put a hand up to Winston. “Stay here,” they said quietly, opening the door as silently as possible, looking around. After a minute, they sighed and opened the door completely. “We’re good.” They could hear cops running up the sidewalk, too. “Oh, uh-- I’m Remmy. And yeah, you’re right. I’m glad I was here to help you.” Like, really glad, but Remmy didn’t need to let them know that. 

WOAHNOWS - Dipping Out