#terrcrized

          gene didn’t understand why this was such a big deal, this wasn’t his real family, after all. they had died centuries ago when they had their heads chopped from their shoulders via guillotine, but these people were more of a found family bag. his ‘parents’,  andy who died in the 1750s and eddie, who was part of the many who ‘disappeared’ from roanoke in 1590. romus, a cowboy who died in the 1880s and his wife, florence, whom he met in the 1940s. finally, bill, who died in the 900s and his husband, jay, who died in the 1840s from a mining accident. an eclectic group that they called a family, even though eugene felt he’d never truly belonged. it probably didn’t help that out of the whole lot, he was chronically single, which was possibly why introducing josh, his very human boyfriend, to his immortal bloodsucking family felt like such an endeavor.            “i apologize in advance if they are insufferable. i know you’ve met my ‘siblings’ at school, but it’s a little bit different meeting them as what they really are. i did tell them to be on their best behavior.” gene opens the door and ushers josh into the living room, gaze shifting from one family member to the next. all of them, minus andy, were in various stages of odd behavior: eddie seemed to be boring a hole into the very core of josh, all 6′2 buff hillbilly anger honed, romus was likely trying to look normal while he held a tense florence by the waist, holding her back from devouring the newcomer, jay was actively shaking with anxiety (undead and he still had anxiety.....) while bill sucked on a cigarette near the open window (vampires couldn’t breathe, but bill had a strange attachment to the gesture).            “hey, everyone. this is josh.” gene’s jaw tightened as his eyes narrowed in on florence, muscles tensing as he prepared for the worst (the worst being fighting his own supposed sibling). andy was the first to speak, approaching as cool and calm as one could expect--he was a history teacher, he was used to interacting with humans. “hello, josh. it’s nice to meet you.” 

“Josh? Where the hell did you go?”

She’d lost him somewhere along the way. Rain was unfamiliar with the mountain, this being the first time that she had stepped foot on the place. It was cold, apparently, but she couldn’t quite tell. She’d brought a jacket that was just a little too light, and kept getting looks from all of the others about it. Even if it weren’t for the plan, she’d had stuck by Josh’s side anyways.

Despite the fact that she couldn’t feel cold, she still ends up hugging herself just a bit. It wasn’t the cold, but rather, the dark that came with it all. Rain didn’t have many fears, but she always got nervous when she felt too far out of her element, or felt like she wasn’t aware enough of her surroundings. 

     the object thrown in his direction is nothing dangerous. just a small pillow, probably tossed because he isn’t giving josh enough attention at that moment. bear was in the process of trying to read a book, one of the many that he had found at the washington’s house, the kind of thing he never had access to at ace. still, he doesn’t really want to get hit by the pillow. so instead of moving, he simply stops the pillow with his powers. it’s frozen in the air for a second, before it’s sent back in josh’s direction. not with any extreme force, but just enough to make sure it actually hit the target.

Ryder was still reeling from the entire situation when the comment escaped him. The adrenaline of almost dying had taken over him — All he could focus on was trying to calm down his breathing. Trying to, at least. Or focusing on the fact that he might have been shaking… Whether it was out of fear, adrenaline, the cold or all of the above was hard to tell. (Who was he kidding? It was probably all of the above).

The realization that he had been a second away of being dead was not lost on him. He would have been gutted, torn apart, any terrible and gruesome thing that he could think of. The thought made another wave of panic and what almost felt like nausea wash over him. If there was one thing that he remembered from the Flamethrower Guy from the last time he was up there? It was that those monsters liked to keep their prey alive as they began to feast on their bodies.

Attention snapped back to Josh’s face a second later. It seemed that he was finally able to process some of what had happened — Some of what was standing before him. The fact that the person in front of him was Josh but wasn’t at the same time. The last time hat he checked, his friend didn’t have a huge gash on the side of his face with sharpening teeth jutting out. His friend couldn’t take on some seven-foot-blood hungry monster all by himself.

They had been rescued--away from the lodge, the mines, the mountain. Sam had known it was strange to return after the twins disappearance, and yet she did it for Josh. A chance to reconnect with her friends after a tragedy, a chance to put the past behind her, behind each and every one of them. He had been insistent, and more than that, he appeared to have been okay. It really means a lot to me that everyone came back this year and you know, that you came, Sam. It hurts to look at him now, guilt & shame taking hold within her, ever since the infamous prank, that she could--that she should have done better. 

A small smile pulls at her mouth, instinct to keep him safe taking over. “Here,” She grabs a few fleece blankets, always kept close by in the winter months. Sam drapes one over Josh’s shoulders, giving a ( tentative, gentle, reassuring ) squeeze. “Do you need anything? I can fix you something hot to drink.” She offers, an arsenal of teas surely tucked away in the kitchen cabinet. 

        if there was one thing that was wholeheartedly embarrassing, it was being the ‘new kid’ in a small town where your arrival and existence was the biggest news that they’d had in months. eugene thought that his parents’ divorce would be the worst part of their divorce, but the after effects were molding into an all out royal flush. mary frank sledge could not take care of her son, so she sent him to live with his father up in washington state, of all places. the antithesis of alabama; cold, wet, remote and away from all that he held dear. gene had the inkling of a suspicion that his mother had sent him to his dad because he came out and she couldn’t deal, but. whether or not that was true would not fix the fact that he was now stuck in the middle of nowhere with his doctor father who was never home to pay attention to him.           that was fine. eugene was used to being the mature version of a freshly turned eighteen-year-old. the school was small, but that he did not mind. the other student’s curious gazes’ he did, however, and worst of all was this mysterious kid and his weird fucking family. jay and burgie had attempted to be delicate and polite while they had described the washingtons, but holy fuck had bill been right when he said that they were all out weird. terrifyingly off-putting, really. josh was boring holes into he back of gene’s head the entire lunch period, not touching any food himself. “’m gonna head to bio early, y’all. i got some homework to cram before class starts. i’ll see you later.”          gene had to get away from the stares. it just so happened that one particular set of eyes had stood and followed him out of the cafeteria upon his exit, forcing eugene, after a minute of it, to turn and glare at josh long enough to spout a terse, “can i help you?” before tripping on his first step forward and upending himself into the nearby brush. 

tim’s hands fell to his hips, lips pursed into a thin line as he stared josh down. “josh. it’s not ‘bout them carin’. i get it. shit, my daddy used to beat me ‘till i was black ‘n blue, i get parents who don’t give two fucks. this ain’t ‘bout that. i need to know what’s goin’ on here. y’said your mama knows ‘bout these woods, whatever the fuck is in it. that’s all i need to know.” 

he pinched the bridge of his nose between his forefinger and his thumb before he followed josh, bodily pulling him backward before he could open the door, dragging him all the way back to where they had been and handcuffing him to the nearest heavy object. “y’ain’t doin’ shit, joshua. you’re gonna stay here. ‘nd if you’re so anxious that someone play the dumbass hero, i will go look for them. when my backup gets here, tell them to follow me.” tim grabbed his shotgun from his duffle bag and headed into the pathway to the asylum; another kid was not going to die on his watch.

though, at the plain invitation he does move to sit himself down at the table. doesn’t do anything about it, but does sit there. he looks small finishing off the banana. he is small! don’t let him know. “bananas have potassium and like vitamin c. it’s an okay breakfast.”

a very unknown fact about tim was that he had a very naturally caregiving nature, one side of his coin that most were simply not allowed to see, because he didn’t want them to. this sort of affectionate care was left for only those that he truly cared about, people he dare to let into his heart. tim hadn’t spent an overtly exceptional amount of time with josh, but he had always been known for letting in and taking care of strays. he saw himself and his family, his past within them, and some feeling deep in his chest, impossible to avoid, encircled them in its grasp and pulled them into the quiet caverns of his heart. 

“there’s always some odor lingerin’, josh, ain’t nobody perfect,” when tim talked like that, he sounded like his mama, and he found some amount of comfort in that knowledge. at least there was some remnants of beverly gutterson within his hollowed form. “‘s not enough food, is all ‘m sayin’. here,” tim turned from his station at the stove to pile a plate high for josh with all the necessities: three scoops of scrambled eggs, two slices of buttered toast, a couple of slices of turkey bacon and two pancakes slathered in maple syrup. “you’re a growin’ boy, josh. gotta get those calories in.”