Ch. 1
I take my box full of saplings and pay Pierre. From behind me, I hear Sam calling.
"Hey, Vi. You gotta come check out this thing that Seb caught."
Abigail, who so kindly offered to help me plant my trees, responds to him with a "pffft." But we agree. I thank Pierre and we head outside, to find Sebastian holding a little yellow tube. As we get closer to him, the tube seems to have… Hairs, maybe? And it's wiggling. Disgusting.
"Disgusting," says Abigail.
"That's nasty. What is it?" I ask through a chortle.
Sebastian displays the thing. "It's a friggin sea cucumber. What the fuck, right?"
Sam laughs loudly, pointing at the wriggling ocean-dwelling tube. "What the fuck even." Then he takes it and puts it in my box.
"You want me to cook it?" I ask, all serious. Sam nods his head really fast.
The four of us head back to my place. These guys were the closest to my age in this town when I moved in, so we kind of clicked the best. Sam likes the same kind of music as me, Abigail likes the same video games. And Sebastian likes to smoke with me when I'm feeling down. I've come to really appreciate them. Especially in times like this, where we do weird shit like cook sea cucumbers.
We get to my cabin and the guys immediately occupy the sofa and turn the TV to Queen of Sauce. I only get like 4 channels in the valley, and this is their favorite one for some reason.
"I'm just gonna bake it, is that alright?" I call to them from the kitchen. They don't respond.
Abigail giggles. "That'll be perfect. They aren't picky."
"Do we have to kill it first? It's still alive, right?"
"Oh, Yoba. I don't know. It would die in the oven."
"Well. I mean. Yes. But I'm not gonna kill something in an oven. That just seems cruel."
"Just let it dry out. Like any other fish," Sebastian chimes in. Abigail explains to me in detail that letting it 'dry out' and putting it in the oven would essentially do the same thing. Either way, it suffocates. But in heat, it would suffocate faster. Hearing this, I am filled with guilt and grief for this tiny sea-bottom being.
I set the creature on a pan on top of the stove, and make a decision.
"Alright nerds, I'm going to leave this here while Abby and I go plant these trees. Sebastian, I'm going to heat the oven up. Please do not let the temperature exceed 450 degrees," I state clearly.
"Gotcha," Sebastian complies, "don't let Sam fuck with the oven."
I grab the box with the saplings. As soon as I turn around, I see Sam jolt for the oven in my peripherals. The last thing that happens before I shut the door behind me is Sebastian lunging for Sam's legs in a tackle attempt. Abby and I laugh loudly most of the way down to the field I have prepared for the trees.
"So this is gonna be a little orchard?" she asks.
"Yeah. Just a baby one. Only six trees," I reply. I dug the holes yesterday, so all we really have to do is insert the saplings, bury the roots, and give them a little water. We finish this pretty quickly. Abigail tells me about how she's planted trees with her dad before around the town square. She's basically a pro.
We head back inside and wash our hands. To my surprise, nothing has burned down. The sea cucumber has stopped wiggling, so I gut it and season it with some Miracle Blend. I have no idea what it's going to taste like, but Miracle Blend has never let me down. Then, in the oven it goes. It's about 2:30 PM now. This'll be an interesting lunch.
"Vi, do you have any stuff for salad?" Sam calls from the sofa. I affirm that I do, and grab some ingredients out from the fridge. I lay them out on the counter and start chopping up some lettuce when Sam rushes over and grabs my wrist. "No, you don't have to make them! Let me do it, please," he says. He seems sincere, so I back away and let him continue chopping.
"Thanks, dude. Why though?" I ask, impressed.
"You always make the food when we hang out. I can at least make salads for us this time," he replies.
"Awww, isn't that sweet," Abigail coos. I don't say so, but I think it's incredibly sweet.
The sea cucumber comes out. After a prayer that I requested be said over the defenseless meal we have, we dig in. I think it tastes fine; not that different from any other fish. But Sam raves about it. He loves it, and insists that we have a 'sea cucumber night' any time one of us catches one. We all laugh, and unanimously agree.
Then, out comes the wine. I have a ton of it saved up from the fruits I've been fermenting over the past year. We easily cruise through three bottles of peach wine by 5:00.
We're sitting in a circle on my living room floor playing truth or dare when the clock strikes 6:45. "Alright you guys," I say, stumbling on my way to standing up. "You know the rules. Gotta be out of here by seven."
"Vi come on, that's such a dumb rule. The party is just starting. I was gonna dare Abby to snort the cucumber residue," whines Sebastian.
"What the fuck, I would never do that, you dill hole," Abigail laughs.
"We can move the party somewhere else. But we just can't be here," I explain.
Sam looks uncomfortable. "We def can't move it to my place. My mom would literally poison my breakfast if I brought drunk people home."
Abigail says on another night she could host, but not tonight. It's Saturday, so there'll be a temple service in the morning, and we can't be messy and hungover around that.
"And we know there's no room at Seb's house. Bummer," I say. "We could go to the saloon?"
"NO dear Yoba, my dad goes there Saturday nights! I do not want him to see me drunk. We can just call it a night. Next Friday, we can get turnt at my place," Abigail preaches, standing up and making her way to the door. Sebastian follows her, offering to walk her home.
"You coming, Sam?" Sebastian asks from the doorway.
"I'm just gonna help Vi clean up. See you guys tomorrow!" Sam replies. The duo leaves.
I catch Sam's eye and tell him he has to leave, too. "You know the rules, dude."
"I know, I know," he slurs, finishing off a fourth bottle. "But Vi, I can't go home like this. Vincent would hate me. Actually I would hate me for being around him like this. I can't go home. Not yet. Is it cool if I just sober up for a bit?"
I swipe the bottle from him. "Okay first, stop drinking. Second. I'm mad at you. You didn't think this through. We've been hanging out for over a year. You all know you can't be here after dark."
He looks so sad. "I know, Violet, I know. But I don't get why. Can you just tell me why?"
"HA. You wouldn't believe me if I did." I start. I've never told anyone about what happens at my house after dark. It's dangerous, because no one would take it seriously. And then someone would get hurt. I'm not willing to risk that. But… Now I'm drunk. And I tell truths when I'm drunk. An unfortunate setup for when we play truth or dare, but. No one has asked me about this in a long time.
Sam raises his eyebrows high. "Bet," he says through a hiccup. He scootches closer to me. "Tell me, Violet. What's the secret?"
"Please stop being dumb," I plead, pushing him. "You can sober up here. Fine. But you have to stay in my room."
"But then we can't watch Queen of Sauce!"
The sun hasn't gone down yet. There's still time. "We can finish this episode. But then we have to move to my bedroom."
He gets this dumbass grin that makes his dimples show. "Finally some Sam and Vi action," he says, fist pumping.
I snort. "In your dreams."
He does help me clean up the dishes, and then we sit back down for the rest of the episode. Soon after it ends, my dog, Peen, comes into the cabin through his dog door. I glance at the window. Sure enough, the sun has set. Time to move. I help Sam get up and we move into my room. I close the blinds on the little window. Nothing to see out there.
My bed's a queen size, perfect for me and my giant dog, who takes up space similar to how Sam decides to. I pick up my ukulele and start strumming, and he sits up and starts singing. Even drunk and flat, his voice is pretty clean. And smooth. I start to drift away with the song, but I'm pulled back to reality when Peen sits down facing the window. I feel my face flush, and my palms get sweaty, but I keep playing to keep Sam distracted. Any moment, it could happen.
But he notices. "Hey, Violet. What's wrong?" he asks, moving closer to the end I'm sitting on.
I set my uke down. "Okay. Sam. I have to tell you. And you have to listen to me, because it's important. Alright?" I announce, sobering up fast. I grab his shoulders and lock into his gaze. "You must take this seriously."
"What is it?" He leans forward and rests a hand on my knee. I ignore it.
"Sam, there's…" I stutter. I have no idea what his response will be. "There's monsters. When the sun goes down. They come out and take things. So you must stay inside."
He chuckles quietly, which I'm thankful for. "Dude, no way. You're trying to fuck with me. That's actually lame. Monsters? Here?" He looks around the room. It takes him a minute before he spots the blade I have standing up next to my bed. It's an average sized, hard, black sword I picked up in the mines during the past winter. He does a double take, and slowly returns his gaze to me. "The fuck is that?"
Peen whines, and there's a loud tap on the window. Sam moves to open the blinds, but I grab his waist and sit him back down. "Do not!" I hiss. "Do not open the windows. Do not open the door. I will take care of this. Understand? You're safe as long as you're in this room. I swear."
"Holy shit. Okay. What was that?" he stammers.
"Probably a shadowcrow. No big deal. I'm just gonna go make sure it doesn't mess up my crops-"
"Are you insane? If you're safe in this room, why would you leave? Don't leave, dude."
I didn't notice right away, but Sam is holding my arm tightly and standing over me. We just freeze for a minute, and search each other's eyes. I open my mouth to explain, but a thud against the door interrupts me. I grab the sword and head for the door, despite Sam's protests.
"Man, I'll be fine, I deal with these all the ti-"
Before I can finish my sentence of confidence, the door bursts open and I'm swept up by the shadowcrow's hardened straw arms. I drop my sword in the doorway, and am carried off towards the forest. I can hear Sam shouting and Peen barking from inside. Sam lifts my sword and examines it, and I yell back for him to put it down and lock the door.
I can fight this thing with no sword, I think to myself. It's just straw and burlap. Zombified. Easy. I deadweight myself, which causes the thing to drop to the ground. From there, I deliver blows to its head, but it won't let go of my legs. I keep punching and writhing to try to break free, to no avail. I scan the surrounding area for a stick or a large, possibly sharp stone. Finding nothing, I turn back to the creature, only to find Sam bearing down on it with my blade. He chops right through it, and it bursts into dust, leaving behind tiny fibers.
I smile up at him, and move to stand, but one of my legs feels funny.
"Oh fuck," Sam gasps. "Oh shit. Oh no." He releases the sword, which is dug into my thigh. Fantastic.
He starts panicking. "Hey, no, bud, it's okay!" I say, gritting my teeth. In all actuality, it's not okay, and it hurts like a bitch. But one of us has to stay cool.
"I fucking chopped you, I'm so fucking sorry," he starts hyperventilating. I realize I'm not gonna get much help from him at the moment, so I pull the blade out myself. It immediately pools blood down my leg.
"It's fine Sam, we just have to get back inside-"
"Sweet Yoba, I'm so sorry, oh Yoba, fuck me, I just-"
I grab on to his pant leg and yell, "SAM!" He stops freaking out and finds my eyes. "We have to go inside. Now."
He nods, and helps me limp back to the cabin. "You're literally leaving a trail of blood," he whimpers. I sigh.
We get back inside, and after locking the door I slump on the sofa. I instruct Sam to get me a towel, some hydrogen peroxide, and sewing supplies from my cabinets. He brings them over and sits in front of me.
He eyes my wound. "I don't know if I can stitch it. I might throw up."
I laugh. Why do I laugh? Probably blood loss. I actually want to cry, or pray, or both. But I laugh. "Samson. Do not worry. I can definitely do it from here." He takes a seat next to me and turns the television to the Fortune Teller channel. Apparently, the spirits are not pleased today. No shit.
My pants have to come off, at least part of the way, if I want to cover this thing properly. There's a big hole in my jeans now, but it's fine because ripped is trending. I unbutton them and try to push them down, but my knuckles sink into the wound as I do. I reach out to Sam. He would appear to be watching the show at first glance, but he doesn't blink. His energy seems blank, or frozen.
"Could you please help me? Forget about the fact that you're taking my pants off, I just need these down a little bit," I plead.
He turns to me slowly and nods, all sober. He lifts both the front and back of my jeans away from my leg as he slides the denim down. Our eyes meet, and his expression says Is this fine? I'm so sorry. Is this okay?
I pause. Might as well just scrap them.
"Can you just do the whole thing?" I say quietly. He nods again, and removes the remainder of my jeans without breaking eye contact. I know he's trying to avoid letting his eyes wander, and I super appreciate it.
After my gash is dressed and the blood is wiped from the floor, Sam carries me to my room. He sets me in bed and turns out all the lights, per my request. It's dark, but the moonlight peeking through the windows is light enough to see still. He sits down next to me, and I shake my head in disapproval.
"What?" he says, exasperated.
"I told you to stay in my room," I mumble. The combination of wine and blood loss is making me awfully sleepy.
"Fat chance. And let that… That…"
"Shadowcrow."
"Right. That thing, just let it get you? No way." He shifts around and swings his legs up on the bed. "I killed it. You saw."
"Yeah, and then you slashed my-"
"I know, I know, I slashed your leg. Totally my bad. I'm still really sorry, I feel awful."
I shift my legs, looking for comfort. No success. "Don't be sorry. You did save me. I'm just giving you shit." I'm beyond groggy. "That was actually kind of romantic."
"Well. No. It was not. But it's cute that you think so." He brushes the bangs away from my forehead. He looks so serene in the faint white light that's sneaking in, with his blue eyes and adorable round nose. For a moment, I forget about the flaming pain in my thigh. Until he leans in to me and presses a hand into the bandage. I cry out, and clutch the blankets.
"Oh fuck, Violet, I'm the worst, I'm so sorry. For Yoba's sake…" Sam stands and helps me re-adjust to a better position. "Do you want any painkillers?"
"No, I shouldn't. The wine." I shake my head slowly.
Sam nods his. "Right. Tomorrow."
There's a gust of wind outside, and I flinch, thinking for a moment that it's another shadowcrow, or something worse. But Peen is calmly wrapped around himself at the foot of the bed, still. Maybe it's over for tonight. May Yoba have mercy... I can't fight any more tonight.
This is my first attempt at a fanfic. I just thought the whole monsters-at-night-farm option would make for a potentially fun story. Feel free to let me know what you think/ leave suggestions! Hope you Enjoy! Thanks! 3