The Earnest System

“no. sorry. we didn’t know for sure how long it would take. so that is indefinite when you think about it. it just turned out we’re ready to go a lot sooner than expected.”

“I-I see.” Stacy looked down into the sink. The apple she’d been planning on eating as a tasty snack had fallen into the drain, blocking it up. “Is this... time-sensitive? Do I need to go out there.. now now?”

“sooner is better,” Misery said. “but i know. you want to talk to the kids, don’t you?”

“And... Colleen and Roisin, if I can,” Stacy mumbled. “Though I think Colleen might still be at work...” She looked out the kitchen window. It was getting late in the year, so it was already dark, even though it wasn’t that late in the day. She sighed. “Just Roisin and the boys, then.” She reached into the sink and awkwardly pulled out the apple. Her nails pierced its skin, even though she didn’t mean for that to happen. For some reason, it made her wince. But to put her mind off that, she turned and left the kitchen, heading upstairs to the guest bedroom.

Both Mathew and Larkin were in here. Mathew was playing on his newly-found Switch while it charged, and Larkin was excitedly showing him pictures of the chalk drawings he and Nick had done earlier. “See, they’re like... actually printed out! Isn’t that cool? You can hold the pictures!”

Stacy laughed idly. “Oh... is that so wonderful? You know, when I was your age, that’s the only way we interacted with pictures.”

“Mom!” Larkin turned around to look at her, beaming. “You saw the drawings earlier, right?”

“Yes, if you’ll remember, you brought me outside to look at them.”

“I do remember! Now look at this! Nick showed me his mom’s camera and Miss Roisin showed us how to print the pictures from the computer...” He trailed off slowly, his eyes going over Stacy’s shoulder. “Mom? Why... why does it look...” He paused. “Why is it so close to you?”

Mathew looked up as well, eyes going wide. “Is something wrong?”

“No, nothing’s wrong,” Stacy quickly said. “I don’t think so, at least. But...”

“It’s... it’s time, isn’t it?” Mathew put his console down. “Time for whatever you’re here to do. With John, right?”

Stacy nodded. “Apparently, I’ve got to go out to the edge of town now. Ideally... quickly.”

Larkin hopped off the edge of the bed. “Let’s go, then!”

“No, no, Lark, I...” Stacy sighed. She walked forward, crouching down so she was closer to Larkin’s eye level... though she didn’t actually have to go that far down. Was he hitting a growth spurt? “I think... you and Mathew should stay here.”

Larkin’s eyes went wide. “But... but we...” He looked at Mathew for help.

“Mom, we want to help,” Mathew said. “We at least want to see John! It’s been forever since we saw him, a-and we were worried about him, so... we want to know he’s alright!”

Stacy laughed a little. “John is... not...” She didn’t want to say it bluntly, but she had to explain. “John is... not hurt, but he’s not... really alright. The last time I saw him... that thing was... making him do really awful things. A-and I’m sure John would appreciate you two coming out to see him, but... I don’t want you two to get hurt. And the thing controlling John... I don’t think it’d hesitate to hurt you if you were nearby. Even though John wouldn’t want to. Do you two understand?”

The two of them looked at each other. Larkin’s eyes were still wide, though it wasn’t clear if that was from fear or something else. Mathew’s expression was more grim. “But... but Mom, we came over here to see you!” Larkin said. “You can’t just...”

Stacy tried not to flinch at the pang in her heart. “I don’t want to leave you guys,” she whispered. “But... I need you to be safe. I... I really, really do. Misery brought you here without me knowing, and that wasn’t... fair.”

“We decided to come here,” Mathew said stubbornly. “We’re facing our fears and shit! Really hard, bad stuff is going to happen, but we can’t just—just stay here and avoid it! We want to help you, Mom!”

Tears welled in Stacy’s eyes, but she blinked them back and smiled through them. “And I’m... I’m proud that you want that. That you’re willing to face danger to help people. I think... I think you’re both wonderful boys, a-and you’ll be wonderful men when you grow up. But... if something happens to you... you won’t... get that chance. And I-I’d...” She took a shaky breath. “It’s... it’s my job as a Mom to protect you until you can protect yourselves. And... I think... this is a situation where you need protecting.”

“What about you Mom?!” Larkin cried. “What if you need protecting?!”

“Oh, pumpkin...” Stacy pressed a hand to her heart. “That’s... that’s so brave of you. But I can protect myself. I promise I can.”

“and if you can’t, i will.”

She ignored that whisper, hoping Larkin couldn’t hear it with his special senses. “If you really want to help me, it would help me the most to know that you’re here, and you’re safe. If I’m worried about you being in danger, I won’t be able to do whatever I need to, because I’ll be thinking about you, and getting ready to run off to protect you no matter what. So... please. I need you two to stay here. Just until... this is all over with.”

Mathew and Larkin glanced at each other once again. “...fine,” Mathew said. “But I want to know where you’re going. A-and I want to know when you’ll be back!”

“Fair enough.” Stacy nodded. “I... Apparently I’m going to the edge of town. As for when I’ll be back...” She paused, then turned slightly towards the presence she felt on her shoulder. “Is there a more solid timeline for this thing?”

“sort of...” Misery said slowly. “sangria says it would be surprised if this takes until morning... but that it’s not impossible to take that long.”

“So you’re saying I should be back here by morning?” Stacy asked. “What time?”

“i don’t know time numbers that well. when the sun is well above the horizon. no longer twilight.”

“‘When the sun is well above the horizon’... so about... 7:10 tomorrow morning?” Stacy guessed. That was probably the earliest everything was completely bright around this time of year...

“Actually, it’ll probably be, like, 7:30 when dawn is over,” Mathew said. “Cause we’re farther north than in Los Angeles.” He nodded. “Alright. Mom, if you’re not back by that time... uh... we’ll do something.”

“Just, whatever you do, be careful,” Stacy said, giving him a small smile. “I... I’ll walk down Hewam Street until I reach the edge of town. Is there... anything you two need before I go?”

In response, Larkin jumped into a hug, throwing his arms around her. She gasped slightly, then naturally hugged him back. “Be careful, Mom...” Larkin mumbled. “We’re going to do something if you’re not back tomorrow. Remember that.”

“Yeah...” Mathew nodded. “I’m not... I-I’m not going to hug you too, cause that’s like... final. And this isn’t going to be final. But...”

Stacy laughed a little. Once Larkin let her go, she got up, and moved over to Mathew, putting an arm around his shoulder and squeezing. “Is that fine?”

“Yeah.” Mathew nodded. “Now... go and hurry. And stuff.”

“Kick the glitch thing’s butt!” Larkin said.

“Yeah, kick its ass,” Mathew added with a bit more bite.

“I will.” Stacy smiled. “I love you. Good—” She stopped. Goodbye felt... final. Mathew was right. “I’ll see you two later.”

“See you later,” Mathew said, looking relieved that she didn’t say the G word.

“See you later!” Larkin nodded. “Take one of the pictures!” He shoved one of the photos of the chalk drawings into her hand.

“I will.” Stacy laughed. “See you later,” she said again. And then, after a second of hesitation, she turned and walked out.

She didn’t have to go far to find Roisin. The old woman was waiting at the base of the stairs. “Sorry, couldn’ help but overhear ye,” she said. “Sound carries in t’is old house.” She chuckled, but then looked serious. “You’re not goin’ into the woods, are you?”

“No.” Stacy shook her head. “I know better than that. Even if I’m asked to, I won’t go in there.” Misery shifted behind her, as if offended she didn’t trust it or its friends. Which... she didn’t trust the cat one, at least.

“Alrigh’.” Roisin held something out. A heavy-looking flashlight made of blue medal, the sort with a handle that you held onto. “Take t’is to light your way. Even if you’re not goin’ to the forest, it’ll be dark.”

“...thanks,” Stacy said, taking the flashlight.

“T’at dial near the handle can make it brighter,” Roisin added.

“Oh. Nice flashlight. Er—torch.” She chuckled a little. “I’ll be sure to return it.”

“And return yourself as well, lassie,” Roisin said.

Stacy nodded back, matching Roisin’s serious expression. “I will. Until I do... watch Mathew and Larkin?”

“O’ course.” Roisin gave the slightest smile back. “Now go.”

Stacy nodded, and took a deep breath, heading down the hallway. She paused before the front door for a second. The hand on her shoulder squeezed tighter. “Don’t rush me,” she muttered as she twisted the doorknob and headed out. “Now... let’s go save John.”

And she walked out into the darkness.

* * * * * * * * * *

John woke with a pounding in his head. Two of them, actually. One seemed to be caused by the multiple blows to the skull, the last things he remembered before fading away into fuzzy non-consciousness. The other was something... internal. He could tell. He’d never had a migraine before, but... this felt similar to descriptions he’d read. It made opening his eye difficult, as the bright light of these hallways stabbed into his brain.

“Guten Morgen.”

He groaned at the sound of that voice. Right. He was still in that doctor creature’s clutches. Being... moved around, it seemed. Something beneath him was making a rattling sound, and he could feel forward motion. He turned his head to look for the sound. The rest of his body tried to turn as well, but it was stopped. Something was holding him to the surface beneath him. He turned his attention to that instead. This was... an old hospital gurney, made of spindly metal and a thin mattress. And leather straps as well, which were the reason he couldn’t move. He could see one going across his chest, and feel more around his ankles, knees, and stomach. That last one, across his midsection, was particularly tight, because it wasn’t just going across his torso. His wrists had been bound together in front of him, and the midsection strap was going over his arms as well, pinning them against his stomach. “Isn’ th’s... much?” he mumbled.

“Nein,” said a voice near his feet.

“Notarzt is right,” a voice near his head said. “You know you’re a risk right now. We don’t want Ľó±ŧĝÅ causing trouble before we get to our destination.”

Right... the other one was here too. Sangria. “Still...” John muttered. “You don’ even... trust me to... walk?”

“Nope!” Sangria said, sounding almost cheerful. “Be happy you’re not being dragged on the ground. That’s what Notarzt originally wanted.”

The doctor creature—Notarzt—grumbled under its breath.

John tested the straps some more, wriggling a little. But he was firmly secured to this gurney. He sighed... honestly, he knew this was probably for the best. Because the pounding in his head, the internal one, was growing stronger. He squinted up at the lights above. Each one had a halo around it... some sort of strange aura. Was that from the blows to the head? Or was it...

“It’s not long now, you know,” the voice in his head whispered.

“Shut up,” John grumbled.

“I wasn’t—oh.” Sangria paused. “It’s talking to you... isn’t it?”

“Yeah,” John admitted; he didn’t see any problems with admitting that. Besides, Sangria was smart. It would know if he was lying.

“Hmm... we don’t have much time, then,” Sangria hummed. “If we want to do this, it can’t get too deep into your mind. Or else it might start gathering power. Notarzt?”

The motion sped up, jostling John’s head around. He shouted in surprise and pain as the sudden hurrying forward exacerbated the head trauma.

“I wonder what they have planned,” the voice mused. “I don’t know how they could possibly undo what I’ve done to you. You’re on the verge of being me, you know. Can you feel it? Do you still know who you are?”

John slammed his head backwards against the gurney, crying out as he did so.

“Idiot,” the voice snapped. “The pain of that blow won’t distract you from me. Can you feel yourself slipping away?” A strange sensation filled John’s mind, like fingers digging into a jar of slime. He shuddered, choking back the urge to hurl at the feeling. “Soon, you won’t be able to stop me. And neither will they.” The voice chuckled. “No matter what their little plan is.”

The gurney abruptly stopped, jolting him around. “Wir sind da,” Notarzt said. Footsteps, and then its face came into view, glaring down at John. The straps loosened, and John found he could breathe again... meaning... was he not breathing before? “Raus aus meinem Haus.”

“...sure,” John muttered. “Just... step away so I can... get up.”

Notarzt’s eye narrowed, and it backed up. John tried to sit up, but it was still difficult, as the binding around his wrists hadn’t been removed. As he struggled, he felt hands grip his shoulders and push him up. “There you go,” Sangria said.

“I can help myself,” John said.

“Oh, were you not struggling just now?” Sangria asked, very clearly amused.

John bit his tongue trying not to reply. He simply swung his legs to the side and stood up—which was easier than sitting up—and looked around. They were at the end of a long hallway, seeming to extend forever behind them. In front of them was a featureless wooden door. Notarzt stood with its hand on the handle, looking at John expectantly. “Yeah, yeah...” he grumbled. “For what it’s worth, I’ve never... meant to give you trouble, if that makes sense. Even when I sorta... threatened you in the past, it was... just because I was desperate.”

“Das ist mir egal,” Notarzt said bluntly. “Raus aus meinem Haus.”

Sangria chuckled. “Our friend here is a bit low on patience, John.” He patted John’s shoulder, then walked around him, pushed the gurney to the side, and stood by Notarzt. “Your part is done. Go protect yourself once we’re out.”

Notarzt looked at it and nodded. “Danke.” Then it looked back at John... expectantly.

John just stared back. He didn’t really have sympathy for Notarzt. This creature fed on the pain of humans, and it tortured people to get its food. But he couldn’t help but feel strangely guilty. Something must have happened between it and ĭĮįªÝ... and since he carried that voice within him now, there was... the weight of responsibility on his shoulders. But he tried to shake that off. What happened between ŵèÞê¬ and Notarzt wasn’t his fault. It probably happened long before he got caught up in everything. Besides... they were both horrible. “I think I speak for both of us when I say... I hope we never meet again,” he said.

And Notarzt actually laughed. It opened the door, and gestured to the doorway. This door led to an outside—dark, the ground covered in grass and loose rocks. “Raus aus meinem Haus,” it said again... though without the bite of before.

John nodded at it. He stepped forward, passing Sangria. “Are you coming too?”

“Right behind you,” Sangria said. “Go on.”

And so, he did. He took a deep breath and stepped outside.

It was dark here... certainly nighttime, though maybe early on. Had he been out that long? And where... was he? He turned around, seeing the door embedded in the side of a brick wall. He faced forward again, and saw the ground gradually sloping upwards, until it met a dark mass of tall stalks, broken up by... white mist, which stood out in the darkness. Wait... was he...?

“John! Is that you?!”

He gasped. No. There was no way she was here. She was back in America, wasn’t she?! But he knew that voice anywhere. He turned around... and met the eyes of a woman with red hair down to her ribs, wavy, even with a large curl or two. Her brown eyes were wide in shock, and she looked pale under the freckles. Beneath the brightness of her flashlight... he saw a shadow of something else behind her, its hand on her shoulder.

“...Stacy,” he breathed. And he wasn’t sure if it was relief or dread he felt in his stomach.

* * * * * * * * * *

The road Stacy walked down led all the way to the end of town, where it met a paved circle, a few brick buildings lining its circumference. Beyond that, there was only darkness, the ground slowly forming a hill that led up to the forest... Cait Coill’s forest, with all its fog inside. “keep going,” Misery whispered.

“I’m not going into the forest,” Stacy said firmly.

“you don’t have to. just go around the back of these houses. there should be something on a back wall.”

“The back walls...” Stacy repeated in a mutter. Luckily, the houses here didn’t have fences or walls like they did in other cities. The back just faded into the countryside around it. Stacy pointed her flashlight straight ahead and walked around the first house on the left, leaving behind the safety of pavement and streetlights for the darkness behind it.

She walked around these houses, glancing at the back wall of each as she did. Nothing really stood out that much to her... and surely Misery would tell her if she missed something. So she just kept going—

Until she looked ahead and saw a figure stumble out from a door in the back of a house.

It took her a second to realize he was familiar.

“John! Is that you?!” she shouted, running closer to meet him.

He turned to look at her, an expression of absolute shock on his haggard face. He looked... awful. His clothes were stained reddish brown, though the harshness of it all had faded away into just clouds of shapes, and his hair and beard had gotten longer, more gray streaks lining the brown. The green eye had been hidden beneath bandages, but a strange greenish-black cloud colored the spot where the eye was, like ink was seeping through. His normal blue eye was bloodshot and had bags under it. And the clothes—the bloodstained clothes—hung strangely on his frame in a way she couldn’t quite place. His hands were also bound, a belt of some kind wrapped around his wrists and lower forearms.

“...Stacy,” he said quietly.

“John! It is you!” She hurried over... but then slowed a bit. The last time the two of them had been face-to-face... it hadn’t ended well. “Are you... alright?”

“I’m... I-I’m...” John seemed to struggle with putting it into words.

A second figure stepped out of the doorway—which then disappeared the next time Stacy blinked. “He’s in control of himself for now, but we all think that won’t be for much longer.”

“You!” Stacy gasped. “Jaq—Sangria!”

Sangria bowed. “Always good to see you again. And you too, Stacy.”

“good to see you,” Misery whispered.

“Stacy, I...” John swallowed a lump in his throat... and Stacy could hear a sound. Like liquid pattering against metal protrusions, but muffled by some sort of padding. “I... I’m happy to see you, but... I’m... Th-they didn’t... say you’d be here...”

Stacy laughed drily. “They don’t really tell us much, do they? At least I knew I was... coming to see you.” Her eyes flicked up and down as she looked him over once again. “I... don’t need to tell you how bad you look, do I?”

John laughed. It sounded... different than it had before. As if someone had played with the settings of a recording, then tried to set them back to normal, but couldn’t quite remember where all the sliders went. “No... and I feel just as bad, let me tell you.” His face fell as he spoke in a hushed voice. “There’s... changes... i-inside me... I can feel them. It wants... it wants to become me... or... it wants me to become it? And it... I don’t...” His eye welled with tears. “Nobody knows what will happen to me if it succeeds.”

Stacy felt tears threaten her eyes as well. “Oh, John...” She stepped closer, even as Misery tightened its grip on her shoulder.

“I... I can’t live with this anymore,” John whispered. “This whole time, I’ve just been... existing with it. Dealing with it. Surviving, but nothing more. But... not anymore. I want... I want to do something.” He laughed. “It’s like I’m treading water, but now I’m looking around, and I’m realizing that there’s stuff floating all around that I can grab onto. That can help me look for... look for land or something. If I can just figure out where land would be.”

Stacy nodded. “I’m going to help you, I promise,” she said firmly. “These things, they... you know they don’t like that glitchy one, I don’t have to tell you that. And they have a plan!”

John looked up, surprised. “You know the plan? What is it?”

“I know about the plan,” Stacy said. “But they won’t tell me much more!” She glared at Sangria, but it just shrugged. “It... it involves me, I... I-I can do something. I think because we know each other.”

“Do... what?” John asked.

“I... I-I don’t know!” Now that she was saying it out loud, it felt... foolish, that she didn’t know more. That she didn’t ask more questions or demand more answers. “These guys are so stubborn.”

“Your main goal is to get close,” Sangria said, stepping in.

“What, like... physically close?” Stacy took another hesitant step towards John.

“Yes... but not yet,” Sangria said. “We need to wait.”

John flinched. “I-it keeps... it keeps saying it’s close,” he whispered. “That it’s... it’s going to be... soon.” He shuddered. “I-I can move around on my own for now, but who knows when it’ll try to take control again?”

“it will be soon,” Misery whispered. “we can all sense you changing. like an eclipse. the moon is covering the sun, and soon, there will be total coverage. and at that moment, we’ll strike.”

Stacy went pale. “Wait... we’re waiting until right before John gets fully taken over? L-l-like... permanently?!”

John’s legs wobbled, and he almost fell over before he managed to take control of them. “Wh-what?”

“It’s a very small moment of opportunity,” Sangria said. “But it’s coming. And for it to work... you need to be a bit closer to the forest.”

“I’m not going in the forest!” Stacy squeaked. “I promised Roisin!”

“Of course, of course,” Sangria nodded. “I wouldn’t want to go in there, either. But you need to be close enough for the cat to react in case things go wrong. If ČæŽ°Ţ tries to make John run away, or if it tries to hurt you, for example.”

John looked towards the distant forest. He took a shaky breath. “It’s okay, Stacy. I don’t... I don’t think these things would hurt you... not while you’ve got that thing of your own. What’s its name, again?”

“Uh, it’s calling itself Misery...” Stacy said slowly.

“you will be safe,” Misery promised.

“I’m not just worried about me, though!” Stacy protested. “What about John?”

“He’ll be fine, too,” Sangria said. “I promise. Swear on my long, long, long life.”

Stacy pressed her lips together. There was still a seed a doubt, a distant scream of distrust. “We... won’t get too close...” she said slowly. “Y-you promise that John will be okay?”

“If the cat tries anything prematurely, I’ll be glad to step in,” Sangria said.

“...alright.” Stacy nodded. She reached out to John. “Do you... need help? I think it’s hard to walk up a hill without your arms. Balance and stuff.”

John smiled slightly. “That’d be great.” He walked closer to Stacy—only for his body to suddenly jerk to the side stumbling back. The smile on his face faded to horror. Again, he tried to take a step, but the second he raised his foot, it was like something suddenly shoved him to the side. He cried out, and Sangria caught him before he fell. “N-no!”

“Is that it?!” Stacy gasped.

“I-it doesn’t want me to get close to you!” John cried out. “I can hear it, I can—” His whole body flinched. “I-it knows you’re part of the plan! It won’t let me get close!”

“We have to move,” Sangria announced, and started dragging John towards the forest.

“I-I can w-w-walk!” John gasped. He tried to find purchase, but his own legs were fighting him as he wriggled like a worm on a hook.

“John! Wait!” Stacy ran after them.

“Go up the hill!” Sangria said.

“look, there’s a small rock there!” Misery hissed, and the beam of Stacy’s flashlight caught on a flat, wide rock, pale brown in color. “we can stop there. it’s halfway to the forest!”

“O-okay!” Stacy nodded. She ran up the side of the hill—which wasn’t really a hill, more of a gentle slope that occasionally had spots of more level ground. That rock was smack dab in the middle of one of these level spots. She stopped next to it, panting, and turned around to see Sangria dragging a struggling John up the hill right behind her. It glanced back at her, smiled, and put on a sudden burst of speed, depositing John on the ground about six feet away from her. “John!”

“S-S-S-St-Stacy-y-y,” John gasped, his voice stammering unnaturally, like a CD player with a scratch. “Somethin-thin-thin-thing’s very wro-wro-wrong.”

“It’s really starting now,” Sangria said grimly. It began backing away, moving back down the hill.

A laugh escaped John’s throat. “Do you think you all can stop me?” A voice hissed—a voice that didn’t sound like him, but didn’t not sound like him. “I am doing something never before seen! A creature of the ďÏģ¡ ŧĹ becoming flesh and blood! Walking among them!” John rolled to the side and heaved, though nothing came out. “S-stop it!” he gasped, his voice once again his own.

“John!” Stacy dropped her flashlight in a panic and rushed towards him—

John’s body moved with surprising speed, swiveling in place and lashing out at her, kicking her legs. She cried out as she fell. “You stay the fuck back!” that strange voice hissed. It let out that same laugh from before. It kept going, the peals deforming, disjointing. “It’s almost time. I told you, you wouldn’t be able to fight me! I was saving my strength for this, and now you can do nothing! Because you are nothing, Jack!”

Stacy froze in the middle of getting up. “Wh-what...? J...Jack...?”

“You can hear that now?” The voice laughed. “The person I ČØŋ§µ¶Êđ... As I become flesh, I suppose my property becomes more digestible. Relish that name, it’s the last time you’ll hear it!”

She stared at the grin on John’s face—no, on Jack’s face. She stared... and realized something. His blue eye... there was a hint of green in the corner, near the tear duct. And it was slowly staining the white sclera. Ink in water. Blood in water. Her heart jolted. “No! No! John!” She began crawling across the ground. “Fight it! You have to fight him!”

The voice growled. It lashed out again, kicking her in the collarbone, and she fell backwards, gasping.

“the time is coming,” Misery said in her ear. “hurry.”

Stacy gritted her teeth. She clambered up, despite the pain in her chest and neck—and leapt forward, landing on top of Jack’s legs. They started to flail immediately, but she wrapped her arms around them, pinning them together. “You have to fight, Jack!” she shouted. “F-for as long as you can! I know it’s hard! You have to try!” She stretched out one hand, grabbing onto the ground, pulling herself even closer. “Even if you’re just treading water—let me be there! Let me help you!”

“S-S-St-Stacy-cy-cy.” Jack’s voice gasped out, his eyelid fluttering. The green had reached the edge of his iris, infecting it as well, turning it dark. “I-I-I-I won’t let i-it...” His whole body spasmed, and he coughed violently. Blood came out of his mouth in spurts, along with bits of metal. Wires dangled from the edge of his lips, disappearing down his throat. She could hear them in his breathing.

“You’re doing great,” she said through gritted teeth. Jack’s body was momentarily still, so she crawled her way closer, wrapping her arms around his torso. “I got you. Jack. I got you.”

“Th-th-thanks...” Jack gasped, choking on the single word. His eye was rolling back, staring at nothing. The bandage was thoroughly soaked through with strange green-black liquid that dripped down the side of his face. And... the ones around his neck were the same way. His visible eye was half green, and the green was quickly gaining ground.

“It’s almost time,” Sangria called. “I can feel it from here. Misery!”

“you’ll need this.” Misery gently grabbed her right wrist. “open your hand.” She did so, and felt something press into her palm, which she wrapped her fingers around. The area grew brighter slightly. The flashlight.

“Wh-what do I do with it?” Stacy stammered.

“The corruption originates from his throat wound,” Sangria said. “Shine the light there.”

“Uh... okay...”

Jack made a gargling, choking sound, and then the voice laughed again. “Really? What’s a flashlight going to do?” it asked mockingly.

“it will help,” Misery said. “you just have to trust me.”

Stacy swallowed nervously and nodded. “Did you add some... special qualities to this flashlight?”

“Yep!” Sangria said. “Thanks for dropping it. You didn’t see the bit of fog reach out towards it? That flashlight is now imbued with the power of many souls... many more than it has.”

The voice just scoffed. “Sure. Fine. Shine a light in my face.”

Jack was still struggling, though it seemed like he was trying to fight back the force controlling him, as the struggles kept getting weaker, even as the green in his eye took over more and more. Stacy kept moving around, trying to find a good angle where she could shine the light on Jack’s throat wound while also keeping him secure. She ended up kneeling on his chest, pressing his head down with her left hand while she held the flashlight in her other. The creature made his face smile at her. The iris of his eye was almost fully black, just a rim of blue near the edge.

“It’s almost over!” Sangria shouted. “Hurry!”

“I-I’m shining it!” Stacy gasped. “It’s not... not that bright!”

“You have to get it closer, then,” Sangria said. “And faster, too! Jab it downwards.”

“...what?!” Stacy blinked in confusion.

“like you’re punching him in the throat,” Misery asked. “remember those self-defense classes? do that with what you’re holding.”

“And... that will... fix it?!” Stacy stammered in confusion.

“a fast and close motion will, yes.”

“D-d-d-do it, S-Stacy,” Jack stammered. “G-g-g-get rid o-of it-t.”

“I... I don’t want to hurt you, Jack!” She shouted.

“he’ll be better after this,” Misery whispered. “it will all be over. it’s so easy. there will be no more misery for him anymore.”

Stacy tightened her grip on the flashlight. A coil of doubt was settling in her stomach. This felt... wrong. But they were right, there was no time to act! Wasn’t there? Maybe if she just turned up the brightness on the flashlight. Roisin mentioned there was a dial on the handle to do that! Her thumb moved upwards to try and find where that dial was...

...

Wait a second.

This... wasn’t the same flashlight.

She wasn’t... holding it the same way. The one Roisin gave her had a handle, and you held onto it... horizontally. This one... she was holding onto... vertically. Like a classic flashlight.

“don’t.”

Misery knew what she was going to do. It didn’t want her to do it. But she did anyway, as she turned to look at the flashlight in her hand...

It wasn’t a flashlight at all.

It was a knife.

Gleaming in the moonlight—and in the beam of light still being created by the true flashlight, six feet to the side.

Stacy gaped at it. “Wh-what the—”

“do it stacy!” Misery shouted. “put him out of his misery!”

Jack’s eye widened. His iris also locked onto the knife. Shocked disbelief took over his expression—before the voice started to laugh.

“SHE KNOWS!” Sangria shouted.

Stacy started to drop the knife—but another hand shot out, leaving a dusty mark on hers as it wrapped her fingers more securely over the grip.

And then the fog surged down the hill. It moved rapidly, more like water barreling down a river than mist. Stacy cried out in shock—since when could the fog leave the forest?!—and that was all the time she had to do before her vision was completely grayed out. She couldn’t see anything! She coughed, choking on the mist.

“She’s all yours,” said a familiar voice... one they hadn’t heard in a while. Cait Coill. “Again, I mean. But be quick!”

Stacy shouted “What’s happening?! Stop!”... but her words didn’t leave her mouth. An unnatural silence had fallen over the area. And she felt something wrap around her wrist and her neck.

The Ragdoll was here too. They hadn’t told her that. They hadn’t told her anything.

And as that realization started to sink in, her arm moved on its own, plunging the knife downwards, towards the faint form of Jack’s neck through the fog.

Time seemed to slow for her as she went into panic mode. All this time, she’d been trying to save John! To save Jack! But that wasn’t their goal at all, was it? They only wanted to stop ÅŊŧ¦, and they didn’t care what humans they hurt in the process.

She was going to stab him, no matter what. But maybe—maybe she could shift the blade off course. For Jack. For the only one who’d stood by her, the only one who knew what this was like! He’d gone through enough hell. She wouldn’t let him go through some more... especially not by her own hand. He was her friend.

She gritted her teeth and poured all her thought and will into moving that downward plunge.

The blade didn’t go in. Not where it was supposed to. It hit bone, not throat.

Jack screamed. Despite the silence, he screamed.

The fog blew back in a circle around them. Stacy felt those strings around her wrist and neck disappear, as if they’d been pulled off. She looked down at Jack and saw the knife had hit his collarbone. In a panic, she tried to pull it out, but it was... stuck?! Had the point been that deeply embedded in the bone?!

She gave up. No time to keep trying! She could see figures moving about in the fog, which started to creep closer. They had to get out of here! Both of them! Stacy looked down at Jack, and wrapped her arms around him, lifting him up—! Adrenaline pumped her full of strength and she was able to throw him back over her shoulder. Glancing around, she spotted the flashlight and ran that way, scooping it up before turning and running down the hill, moving so fast that she felt she’d topple forward at any time.

“stacy, stop!”

No, she wasn’t going to listen to that voice anymore! She kept running forward, through the fog.

“Stop her already!”

“I’m doing it!”

The mist wrapped around her legs, grabbing them, holding them. She yelped as she almost tripped, but managed to stumble to a halt. Bits of fog began clinging onto her like cotton. “Get back!” She screeched, waving the flashlight beam around wildly like that would do something. Maybe it did, maybe her flailing around shook them off, either way, the second she felt them loosen she kept running forward. She couldn’t stop! The second she stopped, the fog would take them again! So she kept running, barreling down the hill.

Until the ground suddenly leveled, sending a jolt up her leg, and she burst out of the fog. She was behind the houses again. Her lungs were starting to tear at her ribcage, but she couldn’t stop now! Out of the corner of her vision, she saw the fog back up, then surge forward again like a tidal wave. So she let out a cry as she put on another burst of speed.

“She’s so fast! One of you get her!”

As she ran around the house, stepping from grass onto the pavement, she realized she couldn’t hear her footsteps. She staggered to a stop, trying to catch her breath, and her eyes darted around wildly. Looking for any sign of it. Because it was following her! She saw no sign of it around her, though, so—wait. She looked upwards, towards to sky... and saw a pair of spiral eyes looking down at her from the edge of a rooftop.

She instantly began running again, letting out a yell as she did—though no one would know, not even her, as the area stayed silent. Silent except for some discordant music, playing from behind her. Getting closer.

Fuck. She wasn’t sure she could outrun this one. It crawled across the rooftops as easily as she walked through the streets. But... it couldn’t attack her from above if she didn’t walk under anything.

She was running on the sidewalk next to the street, but now she turned and stepped off the curb and into the middle of the road. It was probably safe enough to do so, given how most people in the small town preferred to walk anyway. And the main streets were wide. As long as she stayed in the middle, she’d be far away from the houses and even out of reach of the street lamps.

Behind her, the fog was swirling at the edges of the houses.

Stacy’s legs were burning, but she put on a burst of speed. It was almost a straight shot from here to the Iontachs’ house! If she got there, she could at least put some walls between her and some of these creatures!

The discordant music kept coming from somewhere. She squinted ahead—occasionally seeing something glint in the lamplight. Like a spiderweb. No matter what else was ahead of her, she avoided those glints, staying in the middle of the road. It wouldn’t trap her. They wouldn’t take her. They wouldn’t kill Jack!

Sooner than she thought, she turned a corner onto the Iontachs’ street. She could almost see the house—

“Stacy!” A figure gasped, standing on the sidewalk around the corner. “What are you doing?!”

“C-Colleen?!” Stacy gaped. “What are you... doing out here?! It’s not safe! There’s... creatures!”

“I-I can see that, Stacy, I see the fog.” Colleen nodded, glancing around nervously. She stepped out into the street. “Are you okay? Who’s that man you’re carrying? Oh my god he’s injured!”

“Y-yeah, he is.” Stacy paused for a moment, gasping for air.

“Here, I-I can help.” Colleen walked closer. “I’m a nurse.”

“No!” Stacy backed away. “Nobody get close! I-it can be dangerous!” Even though Jack’s been limp for a while, he could lash out at any second.

Colleen blinked, then smiled. “Stacy, you know I’m a friend.”

“Y-yeah, I...” Stacy hesitated. She narrowed her eyes. Colleen... she was wearing... a red shirt.

“...Stacy?” the figure who looked like Colleen asked quietly.

Stacy didn’t answer, bursting into a run. She spun around—and almost walked right into a triangle of glinting air that extended outwards from a street lamp, like a flap of canvas in the wind. Quickly, she course-corrected, and began a dead sprint down the street. The house was so close!

“Damn it!” The figure in red cursed. “Get back here, Stacy! You don’t understand what’s at risk!”

“I do!” Stacy screeched, the word cracking from the strength of her yell.

“Come baaaack here, Stacy!” The figure in red drawled, the voice echoing behind her. It sounded... sweet. Enticing. “Everything will just be okay if you turn around and come back to ussss.”

She stumbled for a moment, then shook her head. Just keep going!

“Staaaacy,” the figure called. A beautiful sound... like the peal of a bell wrapping around her. “Staaaacyyyy.”

Stacy took a deep breath. “One plus one is two!” she gasped out. “One plus two is three! Two plus three is five! Three plus five is eight!” As long as she listened only to her words, paid attention only to the math needed for them to come out in a timely manner, that voice meant nothing!

And there was the house on the side of the road. She’d been running for so long, was so out of breath, that her vision was actually starting to waver and blue. It was a miracle she’d lasted this long, honestly. Now just... one... last... push! It was right in front of her! Feet away! She just had to open the door—

The discordant music came from up above.

She glanced upwards, and saw it waiting there. On the roof of the Iontachs’ house. Perched and waiting with strings already starting to dangle.

It would get her the second she paused to open the door.

But she couldn’t stop now. The fog was behind her, the figure in red was behind her. If she hesitated, one of them would get her. But she couldn’t—she couldn’t go to the house. She had to keep running, she had to go somewhere else—

And then the upstairs window of the house opened up, and out shot—something. She couldn’t really see what it was. Or maybe it didn’t really process, because it was actually absurd what she saw. A small, green... grabber... thing. With the head... of a dinosaur. It reached out and bit onto the strings dangling above the door and yanked. The discordant music played a few sudden notes, like someone banging on a piano.

The front door opened. “Inside! Now!” Framed in the yellow light from inside was Roisin.

Stacy gritted her teeth. With one final scream she ran forward. Roisin stepped to the side. As she approached the door, the small grabber clattered to the ground, the window slammed shut, the music rapidly approached as something fell from above—

And then she made it inside and Roisin slammed the door closed behind her. Something thudded against it, hard, but Roisin quickly locked the door. “Into the livin’ room, now!” she said.

Stacy stumbled to the side into said living room. She set Jack down in the first armchair she saw... and then promptly collapsed on the sofa, gasping for air. Her whole body felt like jelly. Especially her arms and legs, with her arms being practically numb. Her throat was dry, but it also seemed to be coated in thick mucus at the same time. Her body was uncomfortably hot, and her vision was all fuzzy and blurry. Even so, she only rested for a minute before trying to sit up. “Outside... creatures...”

“I’d be surprised if they can get in,” Roisin said. She looked at Stacy, a hard light in her eyes that wasn’t there before. “T’is whole town has buildin’s warded against t’ese creatures. Or at least... the oldest ones are warded. Which we are in.”

“...warded?” Stacy asked. “That’s... possible?”

“Yes... t’ough I’ll admit I don’ know how. T’ose spells date back to the magicians of old. They casted the spells to protect the town ages ago.”

“I... okay... then.” Stacy leaned her head back against the sofa.

Footsteps rushed down the hall. “Mom!” “Mom!” “Miss Stacy!”

Stacy turned her head and saw Mathew and Larkin rushing towards her. Behind them was Nick, who stopped next to Roisin and looked up at her. Stacy’s sons, meanwhile, stopped right in front of her, staring at her worriedly, hovering like they wanted to get closer but not actually. “Are you... a-are you okay, Mom?” Mathew asked.

“Really tired...” Stacy said, giving them a faint smile. “Ran here... but... okay.”

Larkin smiled. “Yay!”

“What happened? Why did you run back here?” Mathew asked. “There was that weird fog rolling down the street a-and that thing with the strings was outside the window—!”

“Did you two... distract it? With... the little...” Stacy lifted her hand and made a bitey motion, opening and closing it.

“I had a bad dream,” Larkin said. “And when I woke up, I looked out the window and saw it! S-so, uh, Mathew remembered there were those things, so I woke up Nick by going into the room for one—did we help? Miss Roisin told us she also had a bad dream and that we needed to do something!”

“So... you put this plan together... once you saw the fog outside?” Stacy asked.

“Indeed,” Roisin confirmed, patting Nick’s head. “It wasn’ a coincidence that both I and young lad Lark had th’ same dream to wake us up. We... sensed it. T’at they were comin’.”

By her side, Nick nodded. And then his eyes wandered. “Um... who’s that?”

Mathew and Larkin turned to the side. “Holy shit, is that John?!” Mathew gasped.

John—Jack’s eye was closed, but he opened it at the sound of the question. The green in it had retreated, and it was once again normal blue. He smiled faintly, despite the strange green-black liquid soaking through the bandages, despite the way his hands were still bound tight, despite the knife sticking out of the left side of his collarbone. “Yeah... that’s me,” he said faintly.

“His real name is Jack,” Stacy said.

Jack started. “You... you heard that? You... remember that?”

Stacy nodded.

“I... don’t know if that’s a good sign... or a bad sign...” Jack muttered.

“Are you... you?” Stacy asked quietly.

“I’m back... to how I was... a couple hours ago, I think,” Jack said slowly. “It’s... still there. I can still... h-hear it in my head. But... when you stabbed me, it... pushed it back slightly?” He chuckled. “I think it felt the pain and got scared... realizing that it was actually also in danger. That’s the price you pay for being physical, bitch.”

“Wait... did you say Mom stabbed you?!” Larkin’s eyes went wide.

“It wasn’t really me,” Stacy said quietly. “It was Ragdoll. Well... it was almost me, but only because they were tricking me. I-I thought...” She shook her head. “Nevermind. I-I can tell you all about it later. Right now... I just want to be sure they can’t get in.” She turned around in her seat, looking at the window... which was completely covered in white fog.

“No, none of the ones outside can get in,” Roisin confirmed. “Sure, we’ll be stuck in here for a bit, but at least we’re all together. An’ the city’s been prepared for somet’ing like t’is for decades. Ev’ryone will know not to go outside, and ev’ryone has food stockpiled.”

Stacy let out a long breath of relief. “Good... that’s good...”

Larkin frowned, though. His eyes were looking... behind Stacy. And Mathew glanced at Roisin worriedly. “Uh... you emphasized ‘the ones outside can’t get in’. Does that mean... there are some in here...?”

Roisin nodded. “Can’ be helped bringin’ them in.” She looked at Jack and Stacy. “But I do hope they’ll be on their best behave—”

A shadow suddenly moved behind Stacy. She started in surprise—then cried out as a heavy weight pressed down on her shoulders. The weight grabbed onto her throat, not making it hard to breathe, but impossible to ignore, and something moved into her field of vision. A... a face. It was upside-down, eyes peering into her own as it leaned over her from behind. Despite being upside-down, tears continued to flow down its cheeks as it stared at her, and dust filled the room, blocking out Stacy’s vision of everything except that face.

She tried to speak, but found it impossible. All she could do was stare at the face of Misery.