**There's a link to that PDF version of this fanfic on my profile. It has a bit more content and looks better than what is on this website. You don't need to read that version, but it's here is you want it. Anyways, enjoy.
This game series adapts to the choices you make.
The story is tailored by how you play.
TELLTALE GAMES
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Day 2
Half of him thought this situation wasn't a big deal. The other half thought that the first half was a lying piece of crap and that there were roughly five billion things he'd rather do than go through this a second time. For example, the astonishingly lame and stupid neighbours of his friend were having an astonishingly lame and stupid party across the street. Mind numbing conversations over charbroiled barbecued food was a much better alternative to this.
But as Vaughan's pale and almost frail body paced around the small kitchen table, distressed puppy-like noises growing and fading with each lap, Nate felt no true need to leave his friend alone. This nonsense was nothing, no matter what the other half of his brain believed. They would deal with it and everything would be fine, regardless of how much the anxiety radiating off Vaughan caused him to feel a twinge of stress himself.
"Okay!" Vaughan said, voice normally a few octaves higher than Nate's had become even higher from dread. He stopped pacing and slapped his hands on the table, flinching when the legs scraped the unswept tiles. Empty beer bottles, a worn out bottle opener, and a cellphone shook nervously in place. Nate kept his elbow leaning against the lightly dust covered windowpane as he turned to look at him. "Um, we need to come up with a lie. It has to be something so bad it makes what I have to tell her not as… terrible." Placing one hand on the cellphone, he ran the other through his short black hair before giving Nate an apologetic look and pushing the phone past the empty bottles towards him. "And I need you to do it because I'm, um, I'm horrible at lying."
| Why do I have to lie? |
| Okay, let's do this |
| You don't normally lie |
| … |
"Wow." Nate said, arching a brow at him. "You that nervous Vee? You don't normally lie about shit." Vaughan's moral code rarely allowed for him to lie. If he was willing to do so now, then he was far more stress out and afraid than Nate originally thought. Despite this, Vaughan still looked much younger than him, despite being only three years his junior. Maybe it was an Asian thing, or more specifically, a Japanese thing. Nate's familiarity with the Japanese didn't go much farther than the knowledge that Vaughan was one of them, Vaughan's girlfriend was half of one, his little brother used to be obsessed with them, they ate with chopsticks, created weird porn he could sort of get behind, and had cartoons called Annie May.
"Y-yeah. I-I… I know." Vaughan said, his nervous tick finally settling in and causing him to stutter. He sounded guilty and disappointed in himself. He pouted at the cellphone. "It's just… you know how Charlie is. I-I… I don't, you know, um… yeah." Nate nodded, needing no farther explanation. He knew plenty well how Charlie was like.
| Are you sure you want me to do it? |
| A good friend wouldn't |
| Sure, whatever |
| … |
"You sure ya want me to do it?" Nate asked, moving away from the window and closer to Vaughan. "'Cuz the moment you give me that kind of power, I'm just gonna verbal-fart whatever comes to mind."
"Um… Y-yeah. I'm sure." Vaughan said, not sounding sure at all. Nate smiled mischievously and picked the cellphone off the table. He dialed the number and placed the phone to his ear. Vaughan pulled a chair a moved as if to sit on it, paused, drummed his fingers against the top rail, pushed the chair back in, and paced around the room again.
| Will you relax already |
| Stop pacing so much |
| Your head's going to explode |
| … |
"Your head's gonna to explode if you keep stressin' like that." Nate told Vaughan, following his movements with his eyes. The choice of words could've been better, Vaughan's expression of surprised hurt as he stopped moving made that clear. Nate scratched at the stubble on his face and looked away.
"Probably shouldn't have said that. M'sorry." Nate mumbled.
"It's… it's okay." Vaughan said softly, shoulders slumping. He took off his clubmaster eyeglasses and wiped them on a shirt a few sizes too big for him. The shirt, questionable stains and all, belonged to Nate.
"Hello? Vaughan?" The voice on the phone asked. Nate was always tickled by how feminine, if somewhat deep, Charlie's voice was when she wasn't nearly as feminine in person.
"Hey Charles." Nate said. Vaughan whimpered something in Japanese. Nate waved him quiet.
"Oh hey Nate. Ain't you got your own cellphone?" She asked.
"Yup." He said. "Left it in the truck though."
"Left it in the truck as in your fat ass broke it?"
"That only happened once!"
"Fat ass. Why'd you call?"
"It's about Vaughan." Nate told her. Vaughan sat down, the rapid placement of his weight causing the chair to creak and shift against the floor. His face was drawn, tense, filled with doubt, and still managed to look years younger than he actually was. Charlie made a puzzled noise. There was an edge in her voice when she spoke again.
"…That so?" Charlie asked slowly. "What happened to'm?" With a tilt of his head, Nate informed Vaughan that he was getting ready to freak Charlie out.
| He got someone pregnant |
| He's having an affair with me |
| He wants to break up with you|
| … |
"Your boyfriend's havin' an affair with me." Nate said, surprising himself with how serious he sounded despite trying hard not to laugh. Vaughan mouth flew open, a horrified protest ready to fly past his lips before Nate clasped a hand over his mouth. Muffled words of embarrassment and surprise tried to force their way through his hand, which only made Nate's attempts to stifle his laughter even harder.
(?) Charlie and Vaughan will remember that
"Bullshit." It was tempting to counter the relief in Charlie's voice with his own sarcastic remark, but Nate opted to keep his mouth shut. It was silent on Charlie's end for a few moments, no doubt waiting for Nate to make some sort of reply, before she spoke again, sounding more irritated.
"Bullshit! You're straight." Nate ignored the odd, mocking way she said the word 'straight' and continued to keep quiet. Vaughan stopped trying to speak and simply goggled up at him. Nate turned his attention to the very recent lip shaped bruise on Vaughan's neck out of fear that looking into Vaughan's mortified face any longer would cause him explode into fits of laughter.
"Nate." Charlie's tone darkened. "You still there?"
"Yes." He said. It took a substantial amount of willpower for Nate to respond with an equally serious tone.
"Good." Charlie said. "Remember what happened the last time you did somethin' like this?"
"Uh-huh."
"Good. But you're joking though, right?"
"No, Charlie. I ain't." Nate's lungs were burning with the laughter he was locking inside himself. Charlie's end went quiet again, and Nate wondered briefly if she had dropped her cellphone on her inevitable mad dash to find and murder them both.
"Are you at Vaughan's house?" Charlie asked.
"Yes." He answered.
"Good. Stay there so I can fuckin' kill you!" The last part of her sentence was a siren screech in his ear. Nate jerked the phone away. The jerking movement also made him remove his hand from Vaughan mouth, and the younger man took this opportunity to sputter out half sentences and broken off words. Vaughan looked around the room in disbelief, as if there were an invisible group of people in the kitchen he could ask as to why Nate said that of all things.
Nate put the phone back to his ear, only the dull ring of the dial tone. He guffawed, pressed the end call button, and tossed the cellphone back to Vaughan. The phone bounced off Vaughan's fingers. He did a pathetic juggling act before grabbing a firm hold of the phone.
"おやまあ!" Vaughan cried.
"She'll be here soon." Nate told him, ignoring the foreign words he couldn't understand. He went into the fridge to get them more beers.
"W-w-why!?" Vaughan asked.
"Why's she comin'?" Nate asked back with false confusion, glancing at Vaughan with a smile in his eyes before turning his attention back to the fridge. His hand floated above the six-pack before deciding to take the entire container. They needed all the liquid bread they could stomach. "Ain't it obvious? She's set-your-crotch-on-fire pissed and gonna try to kill the crap out of us when she gets here."
"Why did you say that!?" Vaughan elaborated, his voice shaking and his brows furrowed.
| I know what I'm doing |
| You wanted me to talk |
| You're going to have a heart attack |
| … |
"Vaughan, I know what I'm doing." Nate responded. He closed the fridge with his foot and walked back to the table. Vaughan let out a miserable bleat in Japanese, resting his elbows on the table and placing his hands over his smooth face. Nate sighed and continued. "Look, if I had said that you were cheatin' on her with some skank, Charlie wouldn't have come here right away. She would've looked for the woman first. You wanted her here ASAP, didn't ya?" Nate placed the container down.
"Then why didn't you say the girl was here?" Vaughan groaned through his hands. Nate picked the bottle opener off the table and tossed it in the air.
"Cuz if Charlie thinks we both wronged her, she'll come here faster." Nate told him. He caught the bottle opener. "And the ways things are between the three of us she'd find it more believable. Besides… that didn't occur to me when I was on the phone." Vaughan groaned again.
"C'mon Chopsticks, let's go outside." Nate said. "It's better we wait for her there than have her come and break the door down lookin' for us." He tossed the opener to Vaughan. Grabbing a firm hold of it, Vaughan took a moment to look down at his fly. Seeing as it was not exposing anything he wanted the public to see, he nodded slowly to the idea of going outside. He pushed his glasses up his face, picked up the container, and walked to the door.
Nate, after looking down and seeing that his own fly was open, zipped up and followed Vaughan.
—
Achievement Unlocked!
You're My Boy
—
The two men sitting on the stairs in front of the house were not assaulted by the sun's heat. The shade did not, however, block them from the smells. The rank and musky sweat of the people running around; the strong, burning charcoal that overpowered the meat cooking from across the street; the cut grass; the wooden frames of old homes; and even the heat itself had a smell, something hard to describe but undeniably there. All of this went unappreciated by Nate, more out of familiarity than apathy.
Vaughan once told him that the pros of having blue eyes despite his race did not outweigh the cons of ocular albinism. But irritation from the sun's bright rays did not stop the forlorn look from growing on Vaughan's face as he cherished the sights, sounds, and smells of the area. When Vaughan wasn't drinking his beer with a grimace, his Adam's apple moved up and down as if he were trying to swallow a stone.
(o) Look at house
The house across looked like all the other houses on the suburban street. The only thing that differentiated it was the smoke drifting off from the back.
"They didn't invite you to their party Vee?" Nate asked Vaughan, cutting through the silence between them. The younger man moved the bottle away from his mouth.
"They did." Vaughan answered. "I just, um, told them I couldn't go because I wasn't feeling well. I had to talk to you and Charlie so… I wouldn't be good company anyways." He paused. "…The guy who invited me, Tom, said that this lunatic bit his brother and now he isn't feeling well. But the brother still managed to make it to the party."
"He was tryin' to guilt trip you into going?" Nate asked.
"No." Vaughan said. His shoulders dropped as he averted his eyes from the house. "I mean… I don't think so…"
| Their loss |
| You can go another time |
| Don't feel guilty |
| … |
"Don't go getting all guilty about not partyin' with'm. Those people are fucking lame as hell anyways." Nate said. Vaughan sighed.
(o) Look at children
The neighborhood squirts and rug rats played; tackling each other, running around like little monsters, absorbing grass stains into their clothes, and not melting while doing strenuous activities in such hot weather like any reasonable person would. Nate rolled his eyes at the display. Vaughan smiled, which earned another eye roll from Nate.
"It's like they can't feel the heat." Nate muttered around his bottle.
"I think I want children." Vaughan said, bring the bottle to his lips.
"To eat?" Nate asked without missing a beat. Vaughan spat out the beer, laughing and coughing. Despite his nonchalant response, Nate was surprised. Vaughan never expressed any desire to have little brats of his own in the past. Though he supposed it only made sense for him to want someone to pass his genes onto now that the future was so uncertain.
"No!" Vaughan exclaimed after he caught his breath. "Not to eat!"
| Kids are okay |
| You shouldn't have kids |
| Children are gross |
| … |
"Children are fuckin' gross. Don't have'm. They ruin everything." Nate made a face as he said this.
(?) Vaughan will remember that
"They're not that gross." Vaughan disagreed. "And if they were, why would you want me to eat them?" Nate shrugged and continued drinking.
(o) Look at public flower memorial
It was attached to the light post across from Vaughan's house. The flowers weaved together to form a large circle. A picture of the deceased hung in the middle of the arrangement, but Nate was too far away to make out the face. He also couldn't tell what kind of flowers they were, not that he cared to know, but it could make out the colors; red, yellow, blue, and white. All were dirty and beginning to wilt, yet looked aesthetically pleasing despite the apparent randomness in the selection of the plants.
"What happened?" Nate asked, pointing to the memorial. Vaughan looked up and frowned.
"Hit and run. It was done on purpose from what I heard." Vaughan said, the muscles in his face tightening.
"Didja see it happen?" Nate asked.
"Um, no, but I heard it happen. It was the middle of the night. I heard someone scream and tires screeching. By the time I went to look the car was gone. The guy who got hit was… God." Vaughan squinted his eyes and shook his head. "I hope nothing like that happens again. We don't need any more violence here."
| There's violence everywhere |
| He probably deserved it |
| Maybe nothing else will happen |
| … |
The flowers swayed in the wind. Nate took a big gulp of his beer. "He probably deserved it." Nate said nonchalantly. Vaughan gawked at him.
(?) Vaughan will remember that
"What!?" Vaughan objected. "How could you say that?"
"C'mon man. No one kills people in the middle of the night for no reason unless they deserve it." Nate said. He let out a burp that caused a few children to stop playing and giggle at him. Frowning, Vaughan looked away from Nate and cleaned invisible dirt off his glasses.
(o) Look at truck
Nate's truck was in fine condition. He upgraded it with a wax treatment, a new engine and fixed lights on top of the roof. He wasn't the type of man who fell in love with vehicles, Nate thought people who did were stupid and needed to get laid, but he liked his truck and was pleased he was able to afford everything that he'd done to it. It sat in Vaughan's empty driveway looking, in Nate's humble opinion, like the baddest motherfucker on the road.
"You wanna wait for your hand-me-down girlfriend inside the truck?" Nate asked. Vaughan inspected the truck for a moment before shaking his head.
"That's alright." Vaughan said. "I'd rather wait out here. Your truck looks awesome by the way." He had complimented the vehicle before, but Nate never got tired of the praise it got.
"It damn well should, I paid a shit ton of money tweakin' it." Nate replied, smiling.
"I can tell." Vaughan said.
(o) Look at Vaughan
The younger man's shoulders drooped. There were bags under his eyes. His throat still made swallowing motions when he wasn't drinking. He kept on moving the glasses on his face when there was no need to fix them. When his attention was not fixed on anything specific, Vaughan looked as if he were staring into a void. Nate noticed all of this and was more worried than he would have admitted.
(o) Talk to Vaughan
Vaughan sighed, an action that made his entire body expand and then shrink to a size smaller than it originally was. He put down his beer, took off his glasses, held them in one hand, and covered his eyes with the other.
"Vee?" Nate asked. "You okay man?"
"I… um…" Vaughan slid his hand away from his eyes and stared at the public flower memorial. "It's just, you know, I realized… I-I'm sorry if I brought up any bad memories because what happened to, um… to your brother." Nate clicked his tongue. Of course Vaughan would mention that.
| I'm fine |
| It was a long time ago |
| Then why did you tell me? |
| … |
"I'm fine." Nate's voice came out flat. Vaughan stared at him. Nate cleared his throat and started over. "I'm fine. S'not like it's exactly the same anyhow."
"But-" Vaughan began.
Nate pat him on the shoulder. "Don't think about it too much Chopsticks," There was an air of finality to his voice despite the soft tone. "You have enough to worry about."
"I know. It's just, um," Vaughan sighed and covered his eyes again. "I can't believe I let this happen…"
"Let this happen?" Nate repeated incredulously. "Yes, cuz you let yourself get brain cancer." It was the first time he said his friend's illness out loud ever since Vaughan told him about it over the phone hours ago. Brain cancer. It wasn't a flesh eating disease, it wasn't untreatable, it didn't break down the immune system and make a person run the risk of dying from the common cold, but it was still horrible. So unexpected. So out of place in a thing so natural, like barbed wire around a family home.
"I know." Vaughan said. "I know it's not my fault. I know there was nothing I could've done to prevent this but… it still feels like I could have done something. Maybe I could've eaten healthier or… gone to the doctor more or… God." Vaughan moved his hand away from his eyes and wiped his mouth. "I don't…" He sighed again.
| What did the doctor say? |
| Do you have a chance? |
| About Charlie… |
| Exit |
Nate rubbed the back of his neck and looked up at the sky. The shade no longer felt like adequate protection from the heat, though Nate wasn't sure if the day was getting hotter or if the subject of tumours made him more aware of the cruel weather.
"What did the doctor tell you again?" Nate asked.
Vaughan hesitated before answering. "I… I don't really know. Um, I think the doctor said it was at stage two or maybe stage three. I think."
"You think?" Nate frowned as he repeated this.
"…I-I didn't listen much after she told me I had cancer." Vaughan said. "I was just so shocked and… yeah."
| You need to pay attention |
| You can find out later |
| She? |
| … |
"She?" Nate asked, smiling. "Your doctor's a woman? Is she hot?"
"Nate, not now." Vaughan pleaded.
(?) Vaughan doesn't appreciate that
"Okay, okay." Nate said, raising his hands in surrender. "Just tryin' to lighten the mood."
"I know, just…" Vaughan exhaled. "I know."
| Do you have a chance? |
| About Charlie… |
| Exit |
Nate took a swig of beer and wiped his mouth. He rubbed the back of his neck again and frowned at the ground.
"You never told me what your chances are at beatin' this. Is it too late or… whatever?" Nate said this without looking at Vaughan.
Vaughan sighed again. "The doctor said I should've come sooner." Nate spared him a quick glance before looking away. "But," Vaughan continued. "She also said it wasn't too late. If I took chemo it would be difficult to get rid off, and my chances aren't as positive, but it's not impossible that I'll live." It's not impossible. Nate hated the wording of that. It sounded like an indirect way of saying that the chances were akin to an ugly chick winning a beauty pageant. It's not impossible that your mother will stop drinking. It's not impossible that you'll afford the medication. It's not impossible that you'll live.
Nate only nodded at Vaughan's answer, face not betraying his distaste for what was said. Vaughan nodded back at him.
| About Charlie… |
| Exit |
"Whatcha gonna tell Charles went she gets here?" Nate asked, smirking.
"T-tell her the truth, obviously." Vaughan's voice wobbled. A light pink color rose to his cheeks. "I-I mean, I'm not going to make her continue to… to think… Nate why did you tell her that? My girlfriend is going to kill us!"
"Hey now," Nate chuckled. "Maybe things won't end badly-"
"Ugh." Vaughan interjected in disbelief.
"-Maybe she'll come over, forgive us, and suck us both off." The smile on Nate's face grew as Vaughan's face turned a bright shade of red.
"S-she'd be more inclined to, u-um, bite down at this point." Vaughan choked out after stuttering incomprehensibly. Nate threw his head back and laughed. Vaughan's lips twitched upward in an attempt to smile.
Vaughan waited for Nate's laughter to die down before speaking again. "Um… seriously though… y-you don't think Charlie will leave me because of this, do you?" He turned the upper half of his body towards Nate. He fidgeted in place and gave him a look weighed down by a week's worth of sleepless nights, unfinished meals, and cancelled phone calls. Nate averted his eyes from that look and scratched his chin.
| I have no idea |
| Time to look for a new girlfriend |
| She won't |
| … |
Nate took a finger and dug it into his ear. "Nah." He drawled. "Charlie won't leave ya. She dealt with worse shit with me." He removed his finger and wiped the gunk onto his jeans.
"Really?" Vaughan asked, his voice filled with a youthful optimism Nate hadn't heard in while.
"Your hand-me-down girlfriend ain't gonna dump your ass cuz you're sick. She'd reach into your head an' pull the goddamn tumor out if she could." Nate paused. "Except… now that you've been a lil puss, she'd be more likely to smash your brains out than fix it."
"…Why didn't you tell me that before?" Vaughan whined.
"I was bored." Nate's unashamed answer caused Vaughan to gape at him before covering his face with his hands.
"Naaaaate." Vaughan moaned.
"Whaaaat?" Nate mock-echoed his moan.
"あなたは私にこれを行うことはできません." Vaughan's tone was distressed and irritable.
"I dunno whatja said, but I'm gonna assume you forgive me." Nate replied, earning another exasperated bleat from Vaughan.
| Exit |
"It looks like we both could use a refill." Nate said, motioning to the vacant beer container and their empty bottles. Vaughan looked at his own like he forgot he was still holding it. He shook the bottle back and forth, listening for the last bit of beer to knock against the insides, but no sound was made.
"Well," Vaughan said, "If you're going to get some more, please be quick. I-I don't want to be on my own when Charlie comes." He looked at both ends of the street.
| I'll protect you |
| You pussy |
| I'll be quick |
| … |
"Don't worry, I'll protect you." Nate teased, patting him on the shoulder as he rose. "I won't let Charles ripping your balls off forever time."
(?) Vaughan will remember that
Vaughan suppressed a chuckle. "You're never going to let me forget that, are you?"
"I miss when your English was terrible."
"At least I don't get comments like 'You need to speak proper English. You're in America now' anymore."
"Aw fuck him. Your accent was hilarious. Used to piss myself laughing all the time." Nate made to turn towards door when he spotted Charlie's convertible speeding down the road.
"She's comin'." Nate told Vaughan. The younger man flinched. He fidgeted with his glasses, placed them back onto his face, and stood up alongside Nate.
"I-I'm not ready to tell her." Vaughan admitted. He ran his fingers through his hair and flexed to hands. "I-I know I have to tell her, she's my girlfriend but… I don't w-want her to know I have cancer."
| You want to keep lying? |
| Better get it over with |
| Stop freaking out already |
| … |
"Better get it over with Chopsticks. It'll be much harder if you put it off." Nate said. Vaughan nodded without taking his eyes off the road.
Charlie's car came inches from colliding into Nate's truck before it screeched to a stop in front of the curb. The children were startled by the noise and screamed, running away from the stationary convertible. A few of the neighbors peeked passed the blinds of their windows and opened their doors to see if an accident had happened. Noticing that nothing was out of the ordinary, they quickly went back to their own lives.
The car door opened. Charlie stepped out. She had a weapon in her hand.
"Is… is that a s-sword!?" Vaughan stammered in a low voice, his eyes widening.
"Butcher's knife, actually." Nate said, matching Vaughan's low tone without the fear. "I wonder how she got that." Charlie stormed towards them, strands of her kinky curly hair that escaped being tied into a hastily made bun bobbed up and down as she advanced. Her face was red, not from crying, because Charlie never cried, but from her rage forcing the blood to her head. Since Charlie's skin was camel colored, Nate was actually impressed by the pigment change. Charlie came to a halt in front of the two men, brown eyes burning into theirs. Vaughan covered the lip shaped bruise on his neck with a hand.
| What's up? |
| We can explain |
| This is all Vaughan's fault |
| … |
"Hey babe, what's up?" Nate greeted, as if the call he made had been normal and not caused her to come over armed and ready to kill.
"What do you mean 'what's up'!?" Charlie screeched. The butcher's knife shook at her side.
"C-Charlie-" Vaughan's timid voice was interrupted by Charlie ranting at him in Japanese. Vaughan responded to her, foreign words tense and startled. Nate stepped forward and in front of Vaughan, raising a hand in the air.
"Hey, hi, I don't speak your Annie May language." Nate told the both of them, wiggling his fingers. "At least speak engrish for me."
Charlie hissed. "You two got five fuckin' second to explain yourselves, now, before I stab this," She waved to knife at them. "So far up your asses that you vomit shit!" The children on the street had begun to stare at the three adults, the concept of discretion lost to them.
| I lied |
| Only five seconds? |
| Not much to say |
| … |
"Only five seconds? Gonna need more time to tell you everythin'." Nate said.
"Five! Four!" Charlie counted with barely veiled resentment in her voice.
Nate couldn't help but laugh. "Charlie calm down."
"Fuck you!" She snapped, raising the knife. "Three! Two!"
"W-wait! Charlie stop! I-" The screeching tires and roaring engine of another car speeding down the road cut Vaughan off before he could say more. The three of them watched as it swerved between both lanes before clipping the side of Charlie's car. Charlie screamed indignantly as her car almost tipped over, but the roar of the car's engine drowned it out. The car continued to drive in erratic circles; running over lawns, sprinklers, scraping against a fire hadron, flattening children's toys, until it drove into the house of partying people across the street.
The sound of glass and metal crumpling as the car collided with and through the wall of the house was explosive. Parents rushed towards their small children and brought them inside. Entire families, kids aside, left their houses to see what havoc had come to their street once again. No one, however, made a move to see if the person in the vehicle was still alive or if any of the occupants in the damaged house were hurt. Everyone looked at everyone else or at the house or what could be seen of the car, waiting for someone to come to the rescue.
"What the shit…" Nate whispered. His eyes threatened to pop out of his head.
"My fucking car." Charlie growled under her breath. She walked towards her convertible, fuming as she got closer to it. The sight of his girlfriend walking away distracted Vaughan long enough to snap him out of his shock.
—
Achievement Unlocked!
A Woman Scorned
—
"Nate!" Vaughan said, shaking Nate's shoulder. "We need to help them!"
| Wait for the police |
| Fine, let's go |
| YOU can go |
| … |
"Vee, wait for the police to come." Nate told him.
"B-but…" Vaughan said. "But w-what if someone's been hurt?"
"What'll we if someone has been hurt? We ain't doctors." Nate pointed out. A rebuttal was about to leave Vaughan's mouth when the screaming began. The crowd that gathered around the house backed away as horrible crying, pained shrieking, gunshots, and an unexplainable moaning and hissing polluted the area. A bawling and bleeding man holding a gun tried to leave the house through the hole in the wall but was pulled back in by a dark hand. He released the gun as he was dragged, howling for help. The gun went sliding onto the driveway.
The crowd backed away even farther; some ran into their homes, others were too stunned to move. Charlie shot the house a confused and guarded look.
"Okay, the police ain't gonna come on time." Nate breathed, pulling at the collar of his shirt. "We need to do somethin'."
"Y-yeah…" Vaughan whispered back, his voice shaking. Nate turned away from the house of screaming and moaning voices.
"Do ya have your bow and arrows?" Nate asked.
"T-they're inside." Vaughan said, still staring at the house.
"Get 'em." Nate ordered. "They're goin' to be useful outside of competitions for once." Vaughan nodded and broke his gaze of the house to look at his friend.
"What are you going to do?" Vaughan asked.
"A man dropped a gun on the driveway. I'm going to take it and shoot these fuckers." Nate answered.
"Have you used a gun before?" Vaughan asked, worried.
| It can't be that hard |
| Maybe |
| Nope |
| … |
Nate didn't answer that; instead he smiled awkwardly at Vaughan.
(?) You didn't answer Vaughan
"I-I'm going to take that as a yes." Vaughan said. "Y-you could always ask Charlie for the butcher's knife i-if you don't want to use the gun. Be careful." Vaughan ran back into his house. Nate watched him go in before jogging towards the wrecked house. Before he got off Vaughan's property, a shrill gurgle of a scream punctured the air amidst the groaning and other shouts of pain. The crowd recoiled. Charlie flinched but kept her eyes on her car. Nate froze mid jog. The scream stopped as soon as it had started, cutting off instead of fading into the other sounds of distress. Nate turned and jogged to Charlie.
He knew he was stalling. He knew he should just go to the broken house as soon as possible. But his nerves went weak from that god-awful scream. Nate needed a bit more time to strengthen them back up. It didn't matter that time for the partygoers across the street was limited. From what Nate could see, he was the only person aside from Vaughan willing to anything to help, and he wasn't going to do much good if he went into that chaos shaking like there were ants in his body.
Nate reached the car and stopped beside Charlie.
(o) Talk to Charlie
"Charles, I need to borrow your ass stabber." Nate told her quickly, pointing to the knife. Charlie kept her eyes on the deep scrapes and indents on her car.
"No. Eat a dick." Charlie growled. She paused and asked in a less aggressive tone. "…Why to you want it?"
"I'm going to help out with whatever's happenin' over there." Nate said.
"What? Why?" Charlie asked, turning her head towards him. "Let the police handle it, asshole."
"They ain't gonna come on time." Nate said.
"So you're gonna to do their job? Run in there like fuckin' Rambo?" A loud yelp came from the house as soon as she finished talking. They both looked at the house before looking back at each other.
| Please give me the knife |
| Someone has to help them |
| I'm Rambo |
| … |
"In town you're the law, out here it's me." Nate gave his best Sylvester Stallone impression. Charlie rolled her eyes and blew olive coloured strands of hair away from her face.
"How is it that you have two heads yet are still so fuckin' stupid?" She asked.
"Cuz I can only think with one at a time." Nate said.
"If mathematicians counted much you thought in a day, they'd come up with negative numbers." Charlie said. Another agonized scream came from the house.
"Gotta go." Nate told her. He stalled long enough. Afraid or not, he needed to drop his balls and deal with the situation before it was too late. He began to walk away from the car.
"Nate. Wait." Charlie called. He stopped and tilted his head in her direct. "Don't do this. It ain't worth the risk."
| Come with me |
| I'll be fine |
| I'll fix your car when I get back |
| … |
"Come with me." Nate told her. If he had Charlie backing him then he'd feel slightly better about rushing into whatever danger was ahead. She frowned.
"No." Charlie said. "Ain't no way I'm riskin' my life for strangers."
"Fine." Nate grumbled and walked away from her. A section of the people who hadn't left were in his way, standing in front of Vaughan's driveway. Nate grabbed the shoulders of whoever was blocking him and lightly moved them. One of the people he touched squealed in surprise, causing the rest of them to turn around and look at Nate, unconsciously clearing a path for him. He overheard a few whispered comments asking their neighbours what he was planning to do, ridicule about how he was crazy, and the hopes that the police would come before he got hurt. Nate ignored them.
"Useless dumbasses." He murmured under his breath. The air smelt like exhaust, burned tires and, for a reason that Nate couldn't explain, rotting flesh. He felt the number of broken pieces of metal, glass, and wood under his feet increase the closer he got to the house. As he reached the driveway of the former house party, it occurred to him that he no longer heard distressed sounds. It wasn't silent; there were strange chewing, crunching, and gnawing noises; there were groaning and moaning; but no crying, no yelling, and no sounds of the partygoers trying to fight back.
Fear slithered from Nate's stomach and into his chest.
(o) Look at gun
The gun, a glock, laid beside a large piece of the car.
(o) Look at car piece
"What part of the car is that?" Nate asked himself. "It might be a part of the door, but I can't fucking tell… Maybe I could use this as a melee weapon."
(o) Pick up car piece
He took a handful of his shirt and ripped it off. He then held the car piece and wrapped around the part that he would use as a handle. Nate squeezed it tightly to make sure it wouldn't cut him and nodded when it didn't.
(o) Pick up gun
Nate bent down and picked up the gun. Nate had held fake guns before but never held, let along fired, a real one. Not like Casey had. Now he was going to try shoot dangerous people with one. This was insane.
"Too late to back down now." Nate murmured to himself. "'Sides, there are people watchin'." He looked behind him and saw the crowd of people staring back at him expectantly, fearfully. Hopeful. All he needed to do was get the attention of the bastards inside of the house. Nate inhaled.
| Come out! |
| Hey assholes! |
| Fuck you! |
| … |
"Hey assholes! Hope you like heat because you're goin' to hell in five seconds!" Nate yelled. He held the gun in what he thought was the correct one-handed aiming position and waited for them to come out. All noise in the house stopped. Nate fought the urge to shout out again. He heard concerned muttering from behind him but ignored it. He wiped his forehead with the back of the hand holding the car piece.
Before he had finished wiping, he heard someone behind him scream. He spun towards the crowd, thinking that they were being attacked. However, to his unease and confusion, they were unharmed. Instead, the crowd was looking behind him, wide-eyed with fear. Nate turned around and nearly dropped his gun.
What came out of the house wasn't a gang of thugs. It was rotting flesh, split skin, bloody drool, and angry eyes. It was dragging feet, gashing hands, hissing and groaning voices, and dangerous thoughts. These we're fucking people once. Nate recognized some of Vaughan's neighbours in the growing gang of monsters. They were people once so how did they turn into such horrid things?
"Oh my God." Nate whispered, voice shaking out of him. One of them was nearing him. He backed up, nearly tripping over his feet. Stabilizing himself, Nate raised his gun and car piece and prepared to attack.
(o)(o)
Nate upturned his left arm and brought the car piece down on the zombie's neck. Black blood sprayed out, hitting him in the face. The monster tried to grab at him and Nate put a bullet through its head.
(o)
A monster of someone he had never seen before stumbled towards him. It's face was smashed in and pieces of glass protruded out of different parts of its body. Nate distractedly wondered if this had be the driver before impaling its eye with the car piece.
(o)(o)(o)
One who might have at one point been Tom lashed out at him. It took Nate three bullets to put it down.
(o)(o)(o)
Another monster shambled toward Nate, stepping over the one that had just fallen. Nate shot it in the chest, expecting it to fall down. The force of the bullet caused it to stumble back, but it did not collapse. It continued on its way, hissing and moaning towards Nate no more disturbed than it had been before.
Nate tried to shoot it in the head and missed. He fired again and missed again. He backed up, raising the car piece to hit the damn thing when a butcher's knife sliced through the side of its head. He turned to his left and stared at Charlie as she put her foot to the monster's side and kicked it away. She said nothing to him and went after the others.
He turned his attention back to the rest of the monsters, but he did so far too late. One of them grabbed hold of Nate.
"Fuck!" He screamed. Nate jerked and the gun flew out of his hand. "Fuck!"
««Q»»
The monster dug its boney hand's into the skin of Nate shoulders and attempted to bite down on his neck. He turned the car piece horizontally against the creature's chest and pushed, straining against the weight of the monster.
[E]
He shoved hard against the thing. It staggered back but did not let go. Nate yanked his arms towards himself in an attempt to pull free, inadvertently dropping the car piece, but the monster did not release its hold and was brought forward into Nate's body. This caused them both to fall down. Fear kept him from feeling most of the pain as his body slammed into the pavement.
««Q»»
Nate took hold of the monster's neck and pushed upwards to keep it from biting the flesh off his face. The weight of the monster's body was intensified now that Nate was supporting it through the neck. The thing bared its teeth, snapping them together as it got closer. Nate felt its bloody drool run down his face. His eyes burned as it hissed hot breath into them. Nate turned his head and felt its nose touch his check and-
It stopped moving. Nate slowly looked at the monster's face. Its jaw had gone slack, its eyes stared into nothing, and an arrow poked out of its right ear. Nate threw the thing off of him and looked in the direction the arrow had come from.
—
Achievement Unlocked!
Slamming Rotten
—
Vaughan's stance fixed in the position he was in when he let the arrow go. His wide eyes stared with mute horror at the thing he just killed. Nate stood up, his legs shaking, and wiped the muck off of his face with a trembling hand. This action took Vaughan out of his stunned state.
"A-are you alright?" Vaughan asked, running up to him. Behind Nate, Charlie killed the last monster in the front yard, stabbing it through the neck and up into its brain. The thing went slack and Charlie yanked the knife out. A dull thud echoed off the ground as its body collapsed. Vaughan looked at the fallen monster, muffling a gag through clamped lips. He looked at the one he had just killed, his aghast growing, and turned his attention back to Nate.
"Nate? D-did…" Vaughan quivered. "D-did I just k-kill someone? Did we just kill people? I-I shot someone in the head… but it doesn't look human anymore. I mean they kind of do, but not really? God… 私は殺人犯ではない."
| Yes we did |
| No we didn't |
| High five |
| … |
"Give me five." Nate said, willing his hand not to shake as he raised it. Vaughan paused before slapping his hand.
(?) You didn't answer Vaughan
"…Did… d-did we just high five to killing people?" Vaughan asked. Nate's face twitched in an attempt to smile. He didn't need a mirror to know that he didn't quite make it.
(o) Look at arrow
The clean surface of the arrow was in stark contrast to the rotting thing it had impaled. Blood trailed out of the ear of the monster, pooling around its head. The black blood smelled rancid. Nate involuntarily shivered. That fucking thing had been on top of him!
"Nice shot." Nate murmured.
"T-thanks?" Vaughan said, unsure if he should accept praise for killing something that might have been human.
(o) Take arrow
Nate inhaled through his nose and walked closer to the impaled monster. He placed his foot against its head.
"N-Nate, what are you-" Vaughan stopped talking as Nate grabbed hold of the arrow with one arm and pulled. There was a squishing, cracking noise as metal brushed against flesh and broke bone. Vaughan covered his mouth and gagged. Nate released the arrow, rotated his right hand to keep it from cramping, and grabbed the arrow again with both hands. He pulled, and the arrow came out with a popping noise and a small spray of blood.
"I will not throw up, I will not throw up…" Vaughan moaned. He slowly removed his hand from his mouth. Nate wiped the gore onto his jeans.
(o) Give arrow
He turned towards Vaughan and passed him the arrow.
"Here," Nate said. "Ya might need this later." Vaughan hesitantly took the arrow and put it in the carrying bag with the rest.
"W-why will I need this later? I mean it's over. R-right?" Vaughan asked, looking hopelessly at Nate. Nate's face twitched again. He didn't know what he meant by 'later'. Maybe he was referring to future competitions and not the possibility of more monsters. That was the last of them, wasn't it?
(o) Look at Vaughan
"Your glasses are crooked." Nate told him.
"Oh." Vaughan said. As Vaughan fixed his glasses with a trembling hand, Nate noticed that his friend no longer looked depressed. He did, however, look scared out of his mind. Nate wasn't sure which one he preferred less.
A hand touched his shoulder. Nate flinched and jerked away. Charlie slowly lowered her hand back to her side.
"You okay?" She asked. "I saw one of the psychos tackle you, but I got grabbed before I could help out." Psychos. Nate thought it was an appropriate name for these violent, walking dead people.
| I'm never eating spoiled food again |
| Did it hurt you? |
| Vaughan saved me |
| … |
"I ain't ever gonna eat spoiled food ever again, but I'm fine." Nate fought to keep his voice casual.
"…Good." Her tone suggested that she didn't believe that Nate was completely fine, but was willing to let it go for the time being. Charlie turned to her boyfriend. "大丈夫?"
"はい. 大丈夫です." Vaughan's voice shook. He wouldn't meet her eyes. Charlie frowned. She walked up to him and, grabbing hold of his face, continued to speak to him in hushed, foreign tongue. Nate watched them talk to each other, trying to guess what they were saying.
A series of footsteps grew louder behind him, making Nate turn around. The crowd inched themselves forward like lost sheep. One of them, an overweight black woman who Nate didn't know, stepped in front of the flock.
"Do you know what's goin' on?" The woman asked him. The crowd fixed their eyes on Nate, marking him as their informant. Nate looked back at Vaughan and Charlie, who kissed each other before looking back at him. He didn't know what was going on. He didn't know what to tell the group of scared people.
| Tell them off |
| Say what you know |
Scowling, he turned back to the crowd.
"Thanks for helping everyone. Seriously, you were all such a big help. Just standing there, doing fucking nothing." Nate sarcasm was venomous. "Thank you." Nate risked his life for these assholes, and they still stood there like mentally challenged deer caught in the headlights. He wouldn't have been surprised if none of them had called the police.
(?) You didn't answer the crowd
Different waves passed over the crowd. Some were made of shame, causing the heads of those dragged under it to lower until their chins touched their chests. Some waves were made of anxiety. One skinny white man kept breathing into a paper bag. Other waves were made of anger, sometimes mixed with guilt, which caused their furrowed eyes to ask him 'what else were we supposed to do?'.
"Nate… they were just scared." Vaughan said.
"So?" Charlie's tone lacked the empathy that had been in her boyfriend's voice. "It ain't like they don't have numbers on their sides. They could've all worked together 'stead of being useless plies of crap."
The woman at the front of the crowd growled. "Hey-"
"Don't even start!" Charlie interrupted. "I risked my life and you didn't, so don't fuckin' complain."
"It's not their fault." Vaughan said. "I'm sure they wanted to help but, um… You don't always think the way you want to when you're scared."
"Yeah, well some people don't think at all." Charlie said, glaring at the crowd.
| You're going to answer to your neighbors |
| It was scary |
| Is anyone in the house still alive? |
| … |
"I don't live here." Nate said. "But you people do. You guys are gonna have to answer to them when they find out you didn't help. If any of them are still alive." He wiped the sweat off his forehead. As fucked up as this day had been, at least the worst of it was over. He hoped.
The woman pushed passed Nate and ran into the house. Vaughan watched her go before running in after her.
"Vaughan!" Charlie called.
"I'll be back!" Vaughan said. Charlie took a few steps toward the house before jumping back as one of the fallen psychos weakly grabbed for her feet. A large chunk of its head was missing, blown out from when Nate shot it in the head. He could see the dark, spaghetti-like brain from the hole. It inched itself forward, moving like it's bones were made of lead, and reached for Charlie's feet again. Both she and Nate stepped back.
"How the fuck is it not dead?" Charlie gasped. Living people survived being shot in the head, Nate supposed dead ones where no different in that regard.
"Whatever." She said as if Nate had answered her. "Nate, shoot it."
"Wait!" A voice in the crowd said behind them. The both of them turned. The skinny white man with the paper bag cleared his throat. "I think we should leave that one alone for now."
"What?" Charlie didn't bother to hide the condescending tone in her voice. "Why the fuck would we do that?" The psycho reached for Charlie's feet. Nate stomped on its back, pressing his weight down so it couldn't move farther.
"Th-the police will wanna know why they did this. Interrogate them, you know?" Bagman said.
| What do you think psycho? |
| The police could help |
| It's dead |
| … |
Nate bent over, staring at the top of the monster's dandruff filled, blood-spattered, brain showcasing head. His stomach did a back flip and dove into his pelvis.
"Whatja say, psycho? You wanna to go to the police?" Nate questioned, trying not to throw up.
"BLWaaaAAAaaaRGH!" Was the monster's well thought out response. It's nails detached from its fingers, leaving small black lines of blood in the pavement as it tried to crawl from under Nate's weight.
"It's dead." Charlie said.
"Then how is it moving?" Bagman asked. The crowd murmured their confusion at this to each other.
"I don't fuckin' know." Charlie huffed. "But look at it! The psycho is clearly fucking dead! And with that hole it it's head, it ain't gonna last much longer."
"But we need answers!" A random voice in the crowd shouted. The psycho jerked towards the voice. Nate pressed more of his weight down. "The police will know what to do! We can restrain it until they come." The rest of the crowd murmured half-hearted approval at this. They wanted answers, but not at the risk of getting injured. They all watched Nate to see what he would do.
| Restrain it |
| Shoot it |
Nate aimed the gun at its head and fired. A tidal wave of blood and brain bits spayed onto his jeans. He grimaced. Not wearing shorts on a hot day turned out to be a smart decision. An air of disapproval seeped from the crowd.
(?) You killed the psycho
—
Achievement Unlocked!
Citizen's Justice
—
The random voice in the crowd spoke again, sounding indignant. "You should have-"
"When you decide to risk your lives, then you can judge the decisions we make." Charlie snapped. "But until them, don't fuckin' bitch at us you weak dumbasses!" The crowd glared at her. She sighed and turned back to Nate. "You're gonna need a new pair of pants."
| I need new skin |
| You offering? |
| Maybe I shouldn't have shot it |
| … |
"Fuck pants, I'm gonna need new skin." Nate groaned. "Fucking fuck, goddamn it." He shivered and stepped off the psycho.
Charlie took a moment to look Nate up and down before speaking. "Are you alright? Don't go givin' me that macho shit, I wanna know."
Nate gave her a lopsided grin. "Worried about me, babe?" He asked.
"No." Charlie deadpanned.
| I'm A-Okay |
| I need a shower |
| My insides are pissing themselves |
| … |
He felt like crap. His nerves were frying ever since this bullshit started and gave no indication of cooling down. Nate wanted to go to Vaughan's house and get more beer, but he didn't trust himself to come back once he went inside.
"I need to take a long shower, preferably with you also in the shower." Nate kept his voice casual, though the tone of his flirting fell a bit flat. "Then I need to sleep, preferably with you sleepin' with me." A sharp pain spread across his forehead as Charlie flicked. Nate swore and rubbed the abused area.
"Dumbass." Charlie muttered. "What did I say about that macho shit? Whatever, we'll talk about it later." She pulled her cuff of her sleeve over hand. She slapped his hand out of the way, grasped the side of his face, angled it down, and wiped the gunk off. Nate wrinkled his nose while she did this.
"What a piece of shit day this is." Charlie hissed when she was done, letting go of his face. "Why ya think the car drove into the house?"
| No clue |
| Psychos attacked the driver |
| Free blowjobs |
| … |
"The people in the house were probably advertising free blowjobs." Nate answered with a grin. Charlie stared at him. "What? I'd crash into a house for free blowjobs."
"Of course ya would, that's the only way you'd get one." Charlie said causally.
"Oh really?" Nate laughed.
"Really." Charlie said. "Cuz your dick's like Play-Doh; fun to play with, not to eat." A rebuttal was on the tip of Nate's tongue when the overweight black woman came stumbling out of the house with an injured woman in her arms. Nate and Charlie moved towards the two of them. The crowd followed.
"Are you alright?" The woman asked, placing the injured woman onto the ground. The injured woman looked around in a panic, shaking as her eyes darted back and forth between the people around her, the psychos on the ground, her own injuries, and back to the people again.
"Ma'am?" The woman asked again. "Are you al-"
"I haven't been bitten! I haven't!" The injured woman cried, her voice cracking. Nate and Charlie looked at each other, puzzled by the woman's insistence.
(o) Look to injured woman
A small bald spot lay in the center of scalp, surrounded by frayed hair. Tiny strains of hair littered the bald spot, making Nate wonder if that hairless patch had always been there or was recently given to her. Her casual party attire was torn in multiple areas. Blood, black and red, dotted her clothes. Her cream coloured skin was cut and bruised, but from what Nate could see there were no bite marks.
(o) Talk to injured woman
Nate crouched down until he was eye level to the hysterical, bleeding woman sitting on the ground. She looked and him, head hilted and twitching.
| What your name? |
| What happened? |
| Why bites? |
| Exit |
"What's your name?" Nate asked.
"It's Anya." She said.
"How old are you?"
"Thirty-nine."
"What country do you live in?"
"America."
"Do you remember how to breathe?"
She paused. "…Yes, I do."
"Then breathe. You're safe now." Nate said. Anya's eyes went wide and almost hopeful before the muscles in her body tensed. She cupped her hands to her face as shook harder.
"I don't think any of us are safe yet." She cried. Nate looked back at Charlie. She shrugged. 'You tried', her eyes said.
| What happened? |
| Why bites? |
| Exit |
"What happened in there?" Nate asked Anya. The injured woman shuddered. Her lips made a tight line on her face. Nate thought she wasn't going to answer until he heard her clear her throat. Anya looked passed Nate and the crowd of people around her; staring into a dark space only she could see.
"A party." She began. "It was Tom's birthday today. We didn't have many people come but he didn't mind. Tom wanted a small party; at least that's what he had told us. There was so much food, Jared brought a bunch of poems and… it was fun. We were having fun and then…" She trailed off, tears streaming down her face. The other woman rubbed her back.
"Then… then the wall exploded. No one was on the first floor; Tom's brother was upstairs sick and we were all at the back waiting around the barbecue, so no one got hurt initially. But when we heard the noise we left the backyard to see what happened. That's… that's when… A woman stumbled out of the car and slammed the door behind her. She had bite marks all over her; on some places there were chunks of flesh taken out. The right side of her check was just gone. I could see her teeth!" Nate grimaced. A few people in the crowd gasped and groaned at this. Bagman took long and deep breathes into his paper bag again.
"She wasn't one of… them, not then, but she was in shock. None of us knew what to do but we tried to help her. And then Tom noticed that there were some more people in the car, so he flung open the door to get them out. He wanted to know if they were okay. But they weren't okay and they weren't people. They were monsters. There was three of those things and they looked… they looked like they were dead but they couldn't have been because they were moving and…" Anya started sobbing. "They attacked everyone…"
The crowd spoke to each other in startled whispers. Nate looked back at the house. Vaughan hadn't come out yet.
| Why bites? |
| Exit |
"Why are you so fixated on bites?" Nate started. "I don't-"
"Because that's how you turn!" She cried. "They bite you, you die, and then you come back as one of them!" Another outburst of startled whispers went throughout the crowd.
| Are you sure? |
| That's crazy |
| Fuck |
| … |
"Fuck…" Nate hissed. If that was true, then he had a close call when the monster jumped him. He could have turned into one of them. Nate looked back at Charlie. The tense expression she gave back to him made Nate realize that she knew it too.
"Are you sure?" The other woman asked. Nate turned back to her.
"I'm positive Sable!" Anya wept. "I saw it happen! My sister… one of those horrible things bit into her throat and tore it out. She bled to death so quickly. But then she came back as that!" Anya pointed to one of the bodies on the ground. Nate and the rest of the crowd looked at the psycho. It was the one that had been shot by Vaughan's arrow. The rotting face of the zombie looked eerily similar to Anya's own.
"It wasn't just her!" Anya bawled. "It happened to Tom and Jared and the woman who crashed into the house! It happened to everyone at the party! Oh God!" She placed her hands to her face and wailed harder. Her entire body heaved and shook violently. It looked as if she would fall apart on the pavement, piece by piece, and become debris as useless as the fragments of the house, the car, and the bodies of her dead friends.
| Exit |
Anya put her knees to her face and wrapped her arms around her legs. Her breathing was heavy and rapid.
—
Achievement Unlocked!
Average Horror Story
—
"Anya." Sable said, gripping her shoulder. "You need to calm down. You're going to pass out if you keep hyperventilating." The warning didn't penetrate. The broken woman couldn't or wouldn't stop.
| Leave Anya alone |
| Give her a bag |
Nate stood up and searched for the Bagman.
"Hey you." He said, pointing at the man when he spotted him.
Bagman jerked. "Y-yes?" He asked.
"I need to borrow your bag." Nate told him. Before he could protest, Nate reached out and snatched the bag from him. He bent back down and handed it to Anya.
"Breathe in this." Nate ordered. Anya took the bag without resistance and panted into it. Her throat made whistling noises as she wheezed. Sable wordlessly thanked Nate with a nod. He stood up again and stepped away from the two women.
(?) You tried to help Anya calm down
"Y'know what?" Charlie asked, shifting to his side.
"Hmm?" Nate hummed.
"I haven't smoked in years." Charlie said. "But I really feel like a cigarette right now." She crossed her arms and frowned at the house.
| What about weed? |
| I'll buy you cigarettes |
| You shouldn't start up again |
| … |
"When this shit blows over, I'll buy all the cigarettes ya want." Nate told her, Vaughan's cancer momentarily forgotten.
Charlie looked back at him. Her shoulder's relaxed. "Really?" She asked.
(?) Charlie will remember that
"Sure." Nate said. "I'll do it all for the low low price of a free blowjob." Though the blow came with little pain, the force of Charlie back handing him in the stomach made him double over.
"You fuckin-" A scream from the house shocked the words from leaving Charlie's mouth. They both snapped their heads towards the noise. The group of people gasped and stumbled away. Sable tried to move Anya farther from the house but the injured woman wouldn't move. She stared at the house, eyes bulging past their natural resting place.
Vaughan staggered out of the gaping hole of house. A psycho dug its nails into his upper arms. Vaughan's hands were on its chest as he pushed and screamed in fear.
"Vaughan!" Charlie cried. She bolted from Nate's side. Before she got half way to where Vaughan struggled with the monster, her toes snagged on a broken off piece of the car. She tripped. Her knife flew past her boyfriend and into the house.
"Fuck!" Nate growled. He cast the gun out in front of him. Vaughan's twisted his body and shoved against the monster. Nate changed the position of his gun every few seconds to match the movements of the psycho. His fingers shook. What if he accidentally hit Vaughan? No, he couldn't think like that. Nate fired.
(o)
"Shit." He hissed. Nate missed. He aimed his gun again when Charlie pulled herself up from the ground and darted over to the monster. She grabbed hold of its shoulders and pulled. The psycho jerked back. Its head whipped back and forth, simple mind distracted by two targets. Nate held his breath and fired.
(o)
Blood jetted out of the psycho's temple. It let go of Vaughan's arms and collapsed into Charlie's hold. Charlie threw the dead thing to the side with a grunt. Nate jogged over to the both of them.
"Are you alright?" Charlie asked Vaughan. She grabbed his face and kissed him before he could reply.
"彼… 彼… 彼は死んでいた." Vaughan whimpered. He stared into the blood spatter on his glasses like each drop led into a distant and horrifying universe. Nate touched his shoulder and he flinched.
"English, Vaughan. I need you to speak English." Nate didn't know how he managed to sound so calm. That thing grabbed Vaughan. It could've bitten him. He could've been one of them.
"何… が?" Vaughan clamped his eyes shut. Nate could almost see him physically trying to remember how to speak English. When he did, his voice came out in wobbles. "I… I thought he was passed out. No one… n-no one was alive on the first floor. I went upstairs to check if a-anybody was alive up there a-and Tom's brother laying outside of one of the bedrooms, like he were trying to leave and… and lost consciousness."
A tremor went thought the younger man. "So I-I picked him up and carried him downstairs. By the t-time I got to the bottom he woke up. I put him down and I… I was about to ask him how he was, b-because he looked so pale and the whites of his eyes were yellow, when he… when he was when he lunged at me." Vaughan shook his head. Nate squeezed his shoulder. Charlie took off his glasses and wiped them clean.
—
Achievement Unlocked!
Close Call
—
"He's been bitten!" Anya's shrill voice scraped the air like a knife against glass. She flung herself off the ground and staggered in the direction opposite of Vaughan. The other people around them made startled noises as they looked between Vaughan and the trembling woman. The outburst made Nate momentarily freeze. Vaughan wasn't bitten, was he? Snapping out of it, his eyes flicked over Vaughan's body in search for the bites. He didn't see any. Nate made eye contact with Charlie as he looked away from him. The look on her face told him that she not only saw no bites on Vaughan, she was also going to choke Anya if the woman didn't calm down.
"W-what? N-no I haven't." Vaughan said. "Why does it matter? If I had g-got bitten I could just go to-"
"No! If you get bitten there's nothing anyone can do! You turn into one of those fucking things and eat people!" Anya hollered. She turned to the crowd. "We have to get him before anyone else get killed!" Charlie glared at Anya. She shoved the glasses into Vaughan's hands before walking into the house.
| He hasn't been bitten |
| Is she right Vaughan? |
| Have YOU been bitten Anya? |
| … |
"Have you been bitten?" Nate asked the injured woman, crossing his arms. "Ya look far worse than he does. For all we know, you're hidin' the bite somewhere."
"I wasn't! Don't redirect the problem!" Anya said.
"You're the fucking problem!" Nate snapped. Vaughan let out a distressed noise; a part whimper, part groan that originated from the bottom of his throat, muffled behind closed lips. Casey's lips had been clamped together; as he had a habit of doing when things bothered him, like their father disciplining them or the harsh words their mother said in her drunken stupors; to suppress his distraught sounds as the asshole boys ganged up on him. A much younger Nate stepped in front of even younger Casey to shield him from the group, in the same way adult Nate stepped in front of adult Vaughan to block him from the crowd of people and the woman who was too injured and too far away to actually do his friend harm.
"No I'm not! He… I… w-what's your name?" Anya's voice quaked and strained in the effort to not fall into a deeper state of panic.
| Nate |
| It doesn't matter |
| Asshole |
| … |
"…It's Nate." He told her.
(?) Anya will remember that
"Nate. Thank you for the bag." She said. She held the bag tight in her hands. "I'm really sorry. I know he's a friend of yours, but he's dangerous now! We have to do deal with this!" The ringleader of the asshole boys tried doing the same thing Anya was doing now, appealing to the kindness he had shown them previously to get him on their side. The boy had said that he remembered the time when Nate had given him some candy. That clearly made him cool, and cool nine year olds were allowed to beat on stupid six year olds because how else would those six year olds learn?
| Calm down |
| How can we convince you? |
| Vaughan's not dangerous |
| … |
"Vaughan is as dangerous as a bowl of kittens." Nate deadpanned. "He ain't gonna do shit." The appeal to his better nature hadn't stopped Nate from breaking the boy's nose when he insisted on picking on his little brother, and if Anya didn't stop her bullshit soon, he wouldn't hesitate to break hers either.
"He is. He's a threat and he's going to attack all of us!" Anya cried. She faced the crowd of her frightened neighbors. "None of you tried to help us when we needed you before, and I understand why. I really do. But now you have to step up before more of us get hurt. Please." The group of people murmured to each other. Some shook their heads, a few nodded in agreement, others tried to step forward but were held back by family members.
All of them, even the ones who tried to step up, had the fear of authority in their eyes. That look never changed regardless of how old people got. Whether it be out of fear of the police arresting them for the murder one of their neighbours or a teacher turning the corner and finding six boys in various stages of pain, anger, and distress.
"Bitch, you better shut up. Right. Now." Charlie said, leaving the house with knife in hand. She tried to walk past Vaughan but he grabbed her arm and whispered something in Japanese. She frowned at him but didn't pull away.
"Bitch? I'm a bitch because I'm trying to keep everyone safe?" Anya whined.
"He wasn't bitten, you bitch!" Charlie said. Vaughan said something to her in Japanese again and she responded in an agitated tone.
| You are a bitch |
| Vaughan, strip |
| Charlie calm down |
| … |
"Vaughan, strip." Nate ordered. Vaughan sputtered out alarmed noises before he was able to speak.
"W-w-what!? Why!?" Vaughan asked, face reddening.
"Because she ain't gonna stop bitching until she knows that you haven't been bit." Nate explained. "Don't be a pussy and just take off your damn clothes."
"No." Vaughan said.
"C'mon man!" Nate said.
"No." Vaughan said, crossing his arm.
"Vaughan." Charlie growled. "Stop being so-"
"I am not taking off my clothes!" Vaughan said.
"You see!" Anya said, pointing towards Vaughan. "He won't try to prove he's not bitten. He's hiding something!"
"N-no I-" Vaughan tried to explain.
"Please!" Anya pleaded to the crowd. "Get him!" The ones who agreed with her began to walk forward.
Charlie snared. "Now you decide to do something!? Fuck you!"
| Police can handle this |
| Fucking cowards |
| Fuck off |
| … |
"You people are fucking cowards!" Nate yelled. "The only reason why you're doing anything now is because you don't think he'll fight back. Well screw all of you! At least Vaughan fought when it fucking mattered!"
The steps of the oncoming mass faltered, but as they looked at the bodies on the pavement, the hole in the house, and the bruised and broken girl, they came to an unspoken but unified agreement: They would take out Vaughan. They would kill him humanely, but he would die. There were no police officers to protect or arrest them. There were no teachers to guild or discipline them. They could no longer be bystanders. They had to step up and protect their town and their families.
| Fight back |
| Let them take Vaughan |
(?) You chose to fight back
A deafening bang shocked the movements out of everyone in the area. Anya looked down at the red dot forming on her shirt. This dot started at her navel and grew until it encompassed her entire stomach and ran down her pants. This red dot was blood, pouring out of her because she had been shot, and the bullet that had entered her came from the gun Nate was holding.
He had shot the broken lady.
The paper bag slipped out of Anya's fingers. She pressed her hands to her stomach, held it there, and raised them to her face. She looked at them in great confusion, as if the blood leaking out of her body wasn't real and she couldn't understand why her hands were so dirty. Anya stood that way, swaying as she looked at her hands, until her eyes rolled up and she fell gracelessly to the ground.
—
Achievement Unlocked!
Peer Pressure
—
Sable, who had been at her side the entire time, shrieked. This caused the others to panic. They staggered back, wanting to run away but fearing the man with the gun too much to move any farther. Vaughan's horror filled mantra, a string of no's that escaped his trembling body, almost drowned in the white noise of Nate realizing what he had done.
| [Point gun at crowd] |
| We're leaving |
| Help me Charlie |
| … |
"Charlie, help me out here." Nate said. Charlie lunged at the crowd of frightened people. Their paralysis broke. They screeched and stumbled away. Bagman wasn't fast enough. The side of his neck sliced open. Blood sprayed out of the wound. The man dropped to his knees, gurgling as he clawed at his neck. He collapsed forward, still choking. Vaughan screamed. Nate grabbed hold of his arm and dragged him to the truck. Charlie led the way, swinging her knife at people but hitting no one else.
Nate opened the passenger door and pushed Vaughan inside. Charlie followed in after him. He slammed the door and jogged to the driver's side. Before he went in, he spared a glance at the people still around the house.
Small groups surrounded both Anya and Bagman. The ones around Anya were trying to see if the bullet had gone through her or was still in her body. The ones around the man were trying to stop the blood flowing out of his neck. Everyone else was either staring and the bleeding people or watching Nate, praying that he would go away. Nate got into his truck and sped off.
They drove without incident until Nate turned to leave the residential area. What he saw made him slam on his breaks. In his distress, Vaughan forgot to put on his seat beat. He nearly flew through the windshield.
"Why did you-" Vaughan's breathless inquiry fell into shocked silence as he saw the scene in front of him. It was the same monsters from before, only now there were thousands of them. They moved around like crazed vultures; lurching, grasping, and eating people.
"O-oh my god." Vaughan whispered. "Where… w-where…?"
"The city. They must've come from the city." Charlie answered, fighting to control her voice. Nate's eyes darted around to every psycho in view.
"N-Nate." Vaughan said. "Nate! W-w-we need to go back and find another way out!"
"There's no point. If they're coming from the city then all the exits are gonna be like this." Charlie said. Nate placed his head on the steering wheel.
"T-then what are we going to do!?" Vaughan cried. Without looking up, Nate turned the CD player on. A pair of guitars was strummed as Dan Sartain's low voice sang about swinging on stars, catching moonbeams, and a woman named Ruby Carol.
"I'm going to drive through them." Nate muttered. Charlie and Vaughan gawked at him.
"What?" Charlie asked. Nate raised his head from the wheel, reversed his truck a few meters and stopped.
"I said I'm drivin' through'm." Nate repeated. Vaughan stammered, trying to object to this idea. However, it dawned on him that there was no other way out of this situation. He took of his glasses with shaking hands, rested his elbows onto his knees, and covered his eyes.
"Can the truck take much damage?" Charlie asked.
| I think so |
| I don't know |
| Maybe not |
| … |
"Maybe not." He told her. "But I'd rather try to go through them than wait to die. I'm not going to let them eat us without a fight." Charlie nodded. Vaughan placed the glasses back onto his face and raised his head, lips trembling as he looked straight into the hoard. Nate tightened his grip on the steering wheel until his fingers ached.
Dan Sartain still sang of Ruby Carol as Nate drove forward.
—
Achievement Unlocked!
Rest For The Wicked
—
An hour past by the time they got to the cliff overlooking the city. Less than half of that was spent driving through the hoard of psychos, yet it was the longest period of time any of them had ever experienced. The bodies hitting his truck, their bones braking, and their blood splashing on the window was something Nate could still hear in his head.
He stopped the truck a few meters from the edge of the cliff. The second the truck stopped moving Vaughan took off his seatbelt and crawled over Charlie. She swore in surprise. He ignored her, opening the door and staggering out. Vaughan stumbled forward until he met a tree. He leaned his back against it and slid slowly to the ground, hugging himself when he reached the bottom.
"…We should leave him alone for now." Charlie told Nate. She got out of the truck and walked to the edge of the cliff. She stayed far left of the truck, giving Vaughan as much space as possible. Nate rested his head against the steering wheel, sighed deeply, before existing.
(o) Look at truck.
Fragments of clothes, blood splatter, and chucks of flesh and hair were all over his goddamn truck. Any hint that it had ever been waxed was gone. The lights on the roof looked loose but he could fix it. If there was ever a time to be glad that he was not a vehicle lover it was now. Otherwise he would have been dismayed. Nevertheless, Nate was irritated by the state of his truck.
"If I'd known my truck would end up lookin' like this, I would've never bothered tweakin' the fucking thing." Nate grumbled. "Shit…"
He looked over at Vaughan. Charlie was right, the younger man did need his space, but Nate was never a faithful follower of the laws of personal space. Besides, he was worried about him. He walked over.
(o) Talk to Vaughan
His friend's glasses were crooked. His body refused to stay still, choosing instead to make Vaughan continuously shake. He was murmuring; Nate couldn't make out the words until he got closer.
"Don't throw up." Vaughan whispered. "Don't throw up, don't throw up, don't throw up. あれまあ…"
"Vee…" Nate started. Vaughan glared up at him.
"Why did you shoot her!?" Vaughan yelled.
| They were going to kill you |
| What would you have me do? |
| Why didn't YOU defend yourself? |
| … |
"Vaughan, I had to do somethin'. They were going to kill ya." Nate said.
"You don't know that!" Vaughan argued. He grabbed hold of the grass and pulled at it.
"Yes I do!" Nate said, irritated. "They thought you were infected. They were going to murder you!"
"So she deserved to die? Like that man who died from the hit and run?" Vaughan's tone grew bitter. He was bringing up dirt now. "What are you going to do when another misunderstanding happens? Kill more innocent people?"
| No |
| If I have to |
| I'll make you kill them |
| … |
"I'll make you kill them next time, you ungrateful piece of shit!" Nate snarled.
(?) Vaughan will remember that.
Vaughan's glare intensified and gained a hurt tint to it. He wrapped his arms tighter around himself.
"Just leave me alone!" His voice cracked. Nate scowled at him.
"Fine." He growled. "See if I ever do anythin' for you again, fuckin' asswipe." He stormed off.
(o) Look at city
Everything looked normal. The building weren't falling apart, nothing was on fire, and the sky was clear. It was almost impossible to believe that down there, the dead were walking. In normal circumstances he'd have to worry about the police coming after them, but Nate had a feeling the police had their hands full. Assuming they weren't all dead already.
Charlie had her hands crossed behind her back. She looked out at the city like she hadn't just escaped its dangerous roads.
(o) Talk to Charlie
"Hey…" Nate muttered as he approached her.
"Toldja not to talk to him." Charlie said without looking away from the view.
"Charlie, don't start." Nate sighed.
"…You feel bad about what happened?" Charlie asked. She spared a glance at him.
| I think I do |
| Not really |
| It's bothering Vaughan |
| … |
"I… think I do." Nate said slowly. "S'not like I didn't feel nothin' when I shot Anya but… I don't feel as bad as I think I should. I always heard that having blood on your hands was the worst feelin' in the world." Nate looked at his palms. They looked clean. They felt clean. He was positive that dipping his hands in the ocean wouldn't cause them to turn the water red. "I feel fine though… Is there something wrong with me?
(?) Charlie will remember that
"You don't count the monsters as people?" Charlie asked, ignoring his question.
| Do you? |
| They're monsters |
| A little bit |
| … |
"Don't got no reason for feeling bad about killin' monsters." He said. "Besides, they're already dead." Charlie nodded and turned towards Nate.
"You shouldn't feel bad about that cunt." Charlie told him. "You did it to protect Vaughan. He'll understand that eventually." She paused. "…Thank you for savin' him."
| You're welcome |
| Don't thank me |
| You're not mad? |
| … |
"You're not mad at me anymore?" Nate asked. He wondered how the phone call earlier that day felt so far away. Charlie jabbed her fist into his side. His ribs burned with the sudden impact.
"Ah! Fuck!" Nate cried. "You bitch! Ow!" he hunched over, cradling his injured side.
"No." Charlie answered him like the outburst hadn't happened. Nate inched his back straight, the pain already beginning to fade. "I'd think you you'd know better by now than to steal my shit."
| Of course |
| No I don't |
| Your shit? |
| … |
Nate gave her a shit-eating grin. "Yessum." He chimed. Charlie gave him another smack, softer this time, and turned back to the view.
"My car is still down there. Goddamn it." Charlie grunted. She kicked a stone down the cliff. They both watched as it bounced down and far away. "…We need to make a plan about what we're gonna do and where we're gonna go." Nate nodded, but at that moment he felt so drained. Everything had gone to shit so fast. He just needed more time to breathe.
"Yeah, that sounds great an' all, but could we do that later?" Nate said. "I just need to fuckin'… fuck." Charlie looked him up and down.
"…Alright." She said. "This place is safe enough. We ain't gotta rush." Nate sat down on the edge of the cliff. Charlie sat with him. The wind blew the stray strains of hair into her eyes. Charlie brushed her face, moving the hair off to the side. Nate watched her do this. She was surprisingly pretty, but he supposed chicks that could pass for dudes could still be pretty.
"Nate, listen." Charlie said. "We have to be prepared in the event that this outbreak, or whatever the fuck it is, ends up lasting long. And we have to acknowledge that everyone is going to die. Not cuz this apocalyptic bullshit is gonna kill everyone off, but because that just what happens to people. They die. Ain't nothin' gonna change that. But remember this; though strong people may die, weak people drop like flies. We ain't weak. Don't mean we're in the clear, but it does bump our chances up for kickin' this shit in the ass."
| When did you get so deep? |
| We have to find a group |
| We need to stick together |
| … |
"If we stick together, we'll be fine." Nate said.
"Agreed." Charlie said. "As long as we take care of each other we-"
"Nate! Charlie!" Vaughan yelled. They turned towards him. He was standing up and backing away from the trees. "We got to go! I see more of those things coming!" They both almost slipped off the cliff jumping to their feet.
Nate barked. "Fuck!"
—
Achievement Unlocked!
No Rest For The Wicked
—
