#macbeth torrence

“USELESS!” Glitch screamed, throwing balls of electricity at her sisters. Both jumped out of the way, flinching. “Absolutely useless! How are you both so pathetic?!” 

Juliette kept her head down, saying nothing. Though she was older, Glitch was far stronger than her now. Stacy, their dear baby sister, still hadn’t caught onto whatever shift had happened to Genevieve, instead trying to plead with her. 

“Genny—”

“Don’t call me that!” Their sister snapped, throwing another electric ball. This time, it unfortunately hit Stacy. “Ugh. I swear to god, your brain is full of static!” Juliette looked at Stacy with sorrowful eyes. She would get up and help, but Glitch was far too angry to try moving without permission. Still, she needed to say something before Stacy’s brain actually turned into static. 

“Perhaps—” Glitch glared at her. Juliette swallowed, continuing. “Perhaps it might be…easier if, uhm, we expanded.” 

“Expanded.” Her sister repeated flatly.

“...Yes. If we, uh, had another person on our…team, then we’d be more productive. I’m sure of it.” Glitch hummed, looking her over. Probably deciding which form of torture to use for speaking out of turn. 

Shakily, Stacy stood up. “You could—urg—you could have an army, even! Just think, a group of people devoted just to you.” A small smile escaped Juliette’s lips. Maybe Stacy was more clever than she initially thought. 

“An army…” Glitch muttered in amazement. “Maybe you two aren’t useless after all. Wait here. I’m going to do some recruiting.”

━━━━ 📼⚰️📼 ━━━━

Matthew cringed as he watched the blood pour out of the crow. Something had shot it, leaving the poor bird a helpless pile of feathers on the ground. Good thing he was there, then. He had been given the role of “The Healer”, and he intended to make good of that title. If only the job wasn’t so…gorey. 

Nevertheless, Macbeth waved his healing staff around. One of the perks getting assigned a healer, he supposed. The staff allowed him to heal virtually anything, including death. Useful for a situation like this. As he waved the staff over the crow’s dead body, it slowly twitched. Bones snapped, feathers ruffled, and soon the crow was back on its own two legs again. 

“There, isn’t that better?” Matthew said. The crow did not speak, for it was merely a bird, and a virtual one at that. It flew away without so much as a ‘thank you’. Not that Matthew expected it to speak. In fact, he’d be more freaked out if it did. 

What did freak him out, however, was the sound of clapping behind him. He turned, and there was a girl, around his age if he had to guess. “Bravo. That’s a neat little trick, isn’t it?” 

“Uh, thank you?” He leaned away. Something about her — her eyes. Blue with white irises. This didn’t feel right. “Who—who are you?” 

She smiled. A friendly smile. A too wide, showing too many teeth smile. “I’m Glitch. How are you enjoying Arcadia so far?” 

“It’s, uh, fine. Do you…know Vee?” 

“Oh, yeah.” She stepped closer. “We go way back. Why, she even created me!”

Matthew relaxed a little. “O-oh. Okay.” Well, if Vee made her, then maybe she wasn’t so bad…

“Did—did I do something bad?” 

Glitch tilted her head. “Hm? Oh, no. I mean, are you using your abilities to your full potential? No. But how you experience Arcadia is your choice.” He tried not to be too hurt at that statement. He tried not to show it, at least. 

“Then, uh, why are you here?” 

“Simple! I’m here to offer you an opportunity. You see, I’ve been watching you, Matthew. And you show promise. Have potential. But you’re never going to get there without some guidance. Join me, and I can help you—” 

“No thanks.” 

“...What.”

Ah, shit. Probably shouldn’t have cut her off. That was rude. “I-I mean, I’m thankful for the offer. I really appreciate it. But I kinda like just wandering around and helping those I come across. It’s more fun that way.” 

Glitch’s smile faltered. “‘Fun’? You’re going through all this effort and not even getting a reward. How is that entertaining?” 

“Well, just knowing people are doing better because of my help—”

“God, you’re pathetic.” Glitch looked him over. “But, not totally useless. I guess I can use you.” 

“E-excuse me? That’s a little rude, I think we should call Vee and—” 

“Shut up.” Wires shot out from nowhere, wrapping around Matthews limps. To his horror, the more he struggled, the tighter they became. Soon they were so tight he couldn’t move. Glitch was right in front of him, grinning. “Still want to reject my offer?” 

He gave one last tug to try and free himself. It was, of course, in vain. That was all Glitch needed. A bolt of electricity surged through Matthew’s body, causing him to scream out in pain.

“How about now?” Matthew’s bug-like wings dissipated. 

He groaned in pain. “You’re crazy!” 

More electricity. Matthew let go of his staff. Actually, from the corner of his eye, he could see it change shape. The tip was getting longer, sharper. A scythe? 

“And now?”

“Let me go! Please!” He pleaded. Of course, it was no use. Electricity took over his body, causing it to phase in and out. As it did so, more of Matthew’s appearance changed. Gone were his green tunic and pale skin. In their place formed a dark cloak, skin decaying into a sickly gray. Most notable change of all were his eyes: now a light purple, instead of their previous dark brown hue. 

“How about now, Matthew? Would you like to join me now?”

“...Yes.”