#romps

There was always whispers of something like grunts, but something was off about them. Perpetual smiles, exposed eyes and a weird uniformity to them. Grunts came in different shapes and sizes, colours and completions, but these uncanny valley look-alikes had no diversity to them. Little was really known about them, other than the fact that in large enough packs, they were lethal.

In the middle of nowhere, sweating while looking under the hood of your truck, broken down without proper means to fix your busted engine, or a way to contact your allies back at base, you were stuck.

Ram kept saying he'd get around to fixing up your truck, but he was an equally skilled mechanic as he was a lazy bastard. When you got back, you'd shove a wrench up his a-

Something shuffled near you, catching your attention. A blur of grey peeking out from a dying shrub, which quickly ducked down when it realised you spotted it. "Hey, wait." You wiped sweat from your grey forehead as you wandered over, and felt a pit rise in your stomach as this faux grunt stared back at you.

The lack of cross on it's face was disturbing, pictures didn't come close to the real thing. "Uh... I don't suppose you know any place with a radio or phone or something?"

The neutral look on its face changed to a slight smile, and in a preformative way, it gestured to a run down and almost crumbling building. Another thing of note, none of these impostors spoke, a collective muteness. You wondered if they were a failed clone offshoot from the Agency.

"In there?" You looked over at it, bile in your throat as it nodded, gesturing for you to follow it, seemingly with desperation. This didn't seem entirely safe. At least those who died to a hoard went quickly, even if they made a mess. You kept the wrench in hand, the other resting on your holstered weapon.

"Okay... I don't really have a choice but to trust you I guess."

The building smelled old, dust settling on every surface, seemingly abandoned and forgotten to time. You made a mental note of the spots of dried blood on the floor, aged, but still a grim warning.

The creature brought you into a slightly more pristine looking room, carefully cleaned as much as possible. This was more of a living space, the odd blanket and cushion laying around.

Your guide stopped in front of a wall, hand reaching out to touch a crack in the surface. You backed up as the wall started to crack and crumble, fearing the whole building would crash down on you, but something appeared behind the wall.

A star with the same weird face on it's surface glanced down at you, before it's lips curled up, showing needle like teeth poking from black gums. "A visitor... It's been so long since we had a visitor..." She had a feminine voice, despite the thick black moustache lining her top lip. "What brings you here... Visitor?"

This wasn't the uncanny valley anymore, this was the nightmare gorge.

"M-m-my car..."

The Star laughed, but it was forced and wrong. "Of course.... My car. I love riding in the my car." How she'd phrased it meant you knew for sure this thing hadn't seen a car, let alone been inside one before. "Has your my car stopped functioning?" Star tilted her head slightly, and the creature next to you copied her movement.

"Yes... He.." You pointed a shaky finger at the stranger next to you. "suggested that there was a radio or something to help me here."

"Wilf.... Yes... I can help make everything better. It's what I do, right Wilf?" The stranger nodded his head enthusiastically.

"I will help you, if you help me." The Star looked back to you, her eyes bright and wide, a hint of malicious intent in her narrow pupils.

You couldn't comprehend why you asked the following question. "How can I help?"

The Star grinned, showing off sharp yellowed teeth. "Return to us often... Bring something new... Interesting for my children to investigate. Should you fail to return...." Her face changed, distorted and evil, the mask of kindness well and truly off. "We will find you...... And it will be slow... And painful..."

That'd been two months ago, and you were heading back again to the ROMP den. Wilf was standing out by the road, waving at you in his normal, unsettling way. You'd grown slightly used to it, but the uncanny valley lingered.

You'd come to study the ROMPs, realising how they worked like wild dogs. They hunted together, teeth and claws, and makeshift weapons used to take down prey which was torn apart and shared. You'd been offered a few pieces now and then, which you kindly declined.

He greeted you in his usual way, bashing his forehead against your shoulder with a closed mouth smile, and you followed him into the lair. In the depths of the den was a pile of soft things, from torn up clothing, to old moth-eaten blankets, mix matched cushions and pillows among other things.

The ROMPs slept in a pile on their soft mountain, something you'd introduced to them when bringing a pillow once. Each perked up and rolled towards you, greeting you excitedly in their usual mute fashion. Sleeping together for warmth, another piece of their dog-like behaviour.

Family bonds were strong with the ROMPs, and you started to realise they'd accepted you as their own.

The Star appeared in the crack in the wall. "Hello friend." She greeted you in her same off-putting voice, at least she now called you a friend. "What have you brought for us today?"

"It's a special kind of picture." You smiled, setting down a jigsaw box. "It's in multiple little pieces, and you put them together and it makes a full picture. This one's a horse. At least that's what the box says, I haven't seen a horse before."

Wilf rested his head on your shoulder, watching your moves intently. "Like this piece, this is a corner, so you find them and set them down. And then you work on sorting the edge pieces, so you can make a foundation to work on."