A/N: So... I'm not sure why I did this. Okay, I'm about 50% sure I know why... (See what I did there? To those of you who get it, I give you a deep bow and a laugh.)
Disclaimer: I don't own Free! Iwatobi Swim Club, Tokyo Ghoul, or anything by H.P. Lovecraft.
-/-\-|-/-\-
Enter the Centipede
She was tickling his mind again, squirming within his subconscious like a writhing insect.
Ken Kaneki's lips parted in a bitter smile. No, writhing insect wasn't the best description. After all, that particular centipede was burrowing into his sanity elsewhere. Both worked together, the ghoul Rize and the 13th Ward's Jason, to undo the hinges of his senses with patience and ease.
Kaneki curled his fingers into his alabaster hair, grimacing and willing the two presences within him to go still, to cease their endless nagging. He'd disappeared from it all; Anteiku, Aogiri, the constant threat of the CCG, as an attempt to put multiple worries at rest. Unfortunately, few problems truly left him, and he could still feel both that woman and centipede penetrating deeper and deeper.
The ghoul's single, crimson eye throbbed, sliding every which way as though possessing a mind of it's own, and Kaneki swallowed down a high, mournful scream.
There was too long of a night ahead.
-/-\-|-/-\-
The storm bellowed endlessly as though gods above where in a heated quarrel. What such a quarrel would be about, no one could confidently say, however Nagisa did have his theories.
"They're fighting over which one of them finished the last of their godly feast," the young man was insisting, peering up through the dense network of tree branches as the rain continued its heavy descent. "One of them probably ate the last slice of cake, and now they don't know who to blame."
"You believe the gods eat cake?" Makoto inquired, smiling at the thought.
"Absolutely." Nagisa grinned brightly. "They're deities, so they can probably eat whatever they want. Naturally they'd pick cake as something worth fighting over."
"I would think they'd have bigger problems," Rei murmured to himself, but his words were lost under a clap of thunder.
The run down building they'd spotted from the beach was only a short distance away and all four breathed sighs of relief. They hurried towards it, desperate to take cover from the raging storm. Darker clouds on the horizon signified even more trouble in the form of stronger winds and rain.
"Thank goodness it appears to be in good shape," Makoto said, though the entire place gave him the usual knot of apprehension in his gut. Most places with dark windows, creaky doors, and old, nearly illegible signs did, but this was an extra daunting piece of work.
"Wait, we're really going inside?"
Rei's voice snapped him out of his thoughts, and Makoto blinked in alarm, staring after Nagisa who was making his way to the front door. Rei was quick to follow, casting a nervous glance towards the sky.
"Makoto."
Haru's voice kept the brown-haired teen from joining his friends, and he turned, frowning slightly at the concern his friend's blue eyes held.
"Are you okay?"
Makoto inclined his head with a smile. "Yeah, I'm fine."
A brief glow of lightning erupted from deep within the clouds, scarcely illuminating the windows of the Sukishima Rest House and the dark figure within. They peered through the layer of dust coating the glass, narrowing their eyes at the blurry figures and muffled voices below.
"Nagisa-kun, what makes you think it'll be unlocked?" one of the voices inquired hesitantly. "Although it looks abandoned, I would think someone on the main island comes around every once in awhile to keep it tidy."
The figure leaned against the window, running their fingers across the smooth pane to clear away just enough filth to see the strangers below.
"Look at the windows, Rei-chan," a higher, somewhat younger-sounding voice chided impatiently. "Do they look like they've been scrubbed recently?"
Four curious faces peered up towards his location and their unknown observer threw himself away from the window, gripping his face as the lone, red orb thrashed about within his skull. There hadn't even been the sight of blood, nor had the smell invaded his nostrils, yet his eye still went crazy.
You're just so hungry, aren't you, Ka-ne-ki-kun? A voice sang quietly within his subconscious. You need flesh. You need something freshly caught, not the stiffs you hide away downstairs. Go hunt, Kaneki-kun. Tear into your dinner. They're practically delivering themselves to your door.
Kaneki's neck snapped as his head shot up, ears straining for a noise. He heard something two floors below. The haunting creak of a door opening, followed by laughter and the indignant shouts of another.
They're inside. Kaneki mused, sliding to the floor and wrapping his arms around himself. They don't need to explore this far. Chances are they'll remain on the first floor just until the rain lets up and then they'll leave.
He sensed a disappointed sigh from within, followed by a quiet tsk tsk. He squeezed his eyes shut, attempting to ignore Rize, but the woman's firm, limber fingers drove into his shoulders as she pressed against his back.
You're hungry, Kaneki-kun. She hummed, stroking his hair comfortingly. You want to sink your teeth into those boys downstairs. You saw their muscles, the juicy flesh of each one. They would be so very tasty.
I won't. Kaneki shook his head, burying his face in his hands. I won't. I won't. I won't.
Rize's lips rested gently in the midst of his white hair, and he could almost see her eyes filled with mock empathy and mouth curling into its icy grin.
Kaneki-kun. She giggled softly into his head. What will you do about your currently rotting dinner?
-/-\-|-/-\-
Rei was shoved towards the smudged, run down fridge with a great intensity that left him cursing why he didn't pick scissors in the first place. If only he hadn't picked rock. What were the chances of him being the only one to pick rock while the others picked paper? Attempting the math was doing nothing to calm his stressed mind.
Behind him, Nagisa cheered, and he could hear Makoto's quiet protests of dread. Gulping, he secured his fingers around both doors of the fridge, staring into it's blemished surface with wide eyes. He would count to three... Okay, he'd count to five.
Silently, he counted down, past five like he'd originally planned, to six... seven... and upon reaching ten, he hastily threw the doors open.
The stench intruded his nostrils before his eyes had time to adjust to the sight before him.
Rei gave a cry of alarm and lunged backwards just as something detached itself from the mess in the fridge, hitting the cold floor with a nauseating splat! The shelves were stuffed with crimson flesh. Blood dripped from the sides and off the doors, staining everything.
Nagisa and Rei screamed, stumbling away from the carnage and covering their mouths.
A severed arm had been forced into one of the door's shelves, twisted upon breaking so it would fit within the narrow space. Dark, mottled muscles collasped into an oozing stream that leaked onto the kitchen tiles.
Makoto whipped around and braced himself against the adjoining countertop just before retching.
On top of the pile, crushed into the ceiling of the fridge so it's face was distorted, was a human head. The mouth hung open in it's last shriek of pain and one eye had turned to a liquified gel from being jammed against the ceiling. The other eye was threatening to roll from the skull, but only a few shredded pieces of skin and tangled nerves kept it in place.
Behind Makoto, Haru had turned away from the gruesome scene with horrified eyes. Covering his own mouth, he leaned forward uneasily as a bout of sickness clutched at his own insides.
From where he sat on the floor, turned away from the refrigerator and gasping for air, Nagisa peered up at Rei. His friend was white and trembling, staring holes into the cabinets across from him and grinding his teeth together.
All four of them remained quiet, save for Makoto whose stomach sent up another foul mess that left the young man groaning. The vile odors wrapped the room in a sickening grip, doing nothing to help the paralyzed swimmers. None of them had enough stability to close the fridge; even an apology to Rei was out of the question, but the younger man didn't seem too concerned.
Makoto spat a mouthful of bile onto the floor and turned to the others, lips parting to break the horrified silence when there came a noise from upstairs: A laugh. A shrill, chaotic laugh resembling shattering glass and an infant's heart-wrenching wails.
Each member of the Iwatobi Swim Club froze, blood solidifying into strands of ice as their lungs went still.
The cries continued, insane outbursts echoing throughout the entire building, tearing through the floors and walls, filling the ears of its audience. When it finally ended, there wasn't a single breath from any of the club members. It wasn't until they heard the deafening creak from a floorboard belonging to the room overheard that Makoto screamed for everyone to run.
And they ran.
As they bolted over the threshold and into the storm beyond, Kaneki strode easily down the spiraling staircase. His black fingernail scraped away at the ghostly writhing deep within his ear from a long evicted tenant. He bared his teeth in a malicious grin.
"I wonder if they know what one thousand minus seven is?"
-/-\-|-/-\-
They tore through the woods like the unfortunate protagonists of H.P. Lovecraft's stories; breathless, overflowing with fear, and stuck in a never ending prayer that their pursuer wouldn't catch them. Like Carter and Joel Manton, fearing something without definite form, they stumbled in the blackness and were lashed by passing tree branches. The rain turned the ground to sludge beneath their feet, hindering all desires to reach their destination in as little time as possible.
As Haru ran, grimacing against the pelting rain, he wondered just where their destination was. Were they heading to the beach to swim off the hellish island? Were they disappearing farther into the woods? What direction were they going? In what direction had they just come from?
The blue-eyed teen cried out as his arm snagged against the rough bark of a thick tree trunk, ripping through his skin and shooting pain up into his shoulder. The impact knocked him aside, and his foot twisted from the sudden change in direction, hooking beneath a fallen log and halting completely.
Haru hit the ground in an explosion of rain drops and wet leaves. The sound of the storm around him was deafening and although he called out to his friends, his voice did nothing to cut through the pandemonium.
Sparing a look over his shoulder, Haru's feelings were a mix of relief and dread when his vision failed to reveal a foul monster. He swallowed, pulled himself back onto his feet, and continued in the way his friends had gone, hoping they'd learn of his disappearance soon.
-/-\-|-/-\-
Deep within the woods, Makoto plunged blindly after Nagisa and Rei, wincing as thin branches struck his face and arms, striking his skin with red blemishes, but he didn't notice. He continued onwards, against the needle-like rain and away from the haunting laughter in the Sukishima Rest House.
Nagisa's strawberry blonde hair stuck out like a beacon, giving Makoto some insight as to which direction he should be running. He saw Nagisa turn to peer back through the darkness, meeting his frantic eyes for just a moment before his friend disappeared.
Makoto lunged forward, throwing an arm out for Rei just as the younger teen lurched the same way Nagisa had. His fingers grazed Rei's shoulder but his friend vanished the same way Nagisa had, tumbling violently down a deep incline in the midst of the trees.
Makoto yelled after his friends, staring wide-eyed at the dizzying slope. He heard Rei's body falling through the mist, landing in the long grass at the bottom. He wanted to call and see if they were okay or scramble after them but...
The brown-haired teen turned his head wildly, searching for their pursuing terror. He couldn't scream too loudly or he might be heard. Could he slide down the incline safely? What if he lost his balance as the others had? What if one of them had been seriously injured, or all of them for that matter? Could he support all three, depending on their injuries?
Makoto's mind reeled with question after question, and his heart wrenched every which way against his rib cage. He closed his eyes, grasping for a deep, calm breath when another thought struck: Nagisa had been leading them and Rei had been between himself and the blonde. He'd reached out to grab Rei right after Nagisa had fallen. The two had both disappeared.
Makoto's eyes slowly opened and his stomach curled. Haru wasn't behind him anymore.
-/-\-|-/-\-
The pain was blinding, biting through his ankle like a steel-jawed trap.
Nagisa rolled onto his side, screaming out from the searing burn running through his right leg. Beside him, Rei pulled himself upright, rubbing the side of his aching face and peering into the fog towards the top of the hill they'd hurtled down. He couldn't see anyone, yet he didn't think Makoto or Haru had fallen with them.
Nagisa gave another cry as he rose into a seated position, reaching for his leg with shivering fingers. His ankle didn't feel right and the skin was flushed with a deeper pink than usual.
Rei turned to the blonde and gingerly rested his fingers against the other teen's ankle, grimacing as he felt it over and apologizing when Nagisa barked in anguish.
"It's dislocated," the dark-haired teen confirmed shortly, swallowing down the bitter apprehension growing within. "I don't know how well you'll be able to run or walk. If Makoto-senpai and Haruka-senpai are able to get down here, I think we can support you and make our way to the beach. However, putting extra strain on a dislocated ankle can damage it further."
Nagisa looked back at Rei, eyes trembling as he fought to keep tears at bay. "You seem really calm, Rei-chan," he whispered, forcing a bare sliver of a smile.
Rei moved to secure his glasses on the bridge of his nose but faltered when they weren't there. Instead, he pressed his hand to his eyes, shaking his head. "I'm probably just as scared as you, Nagisa-kun, but I think we can all agree upon needing a plan about now."
Nagisa nodded stiffly and turned his attention back up the hill, trying not to dwell on the sharp pulsing in his ankle. "Do you think Mako-chan and Haru-chan can get to us safely?"
Rei followed Nagisa's line of vision, clenching his jaw. "I'm sure they'll find a way."
-/-\-|-/-\-
Makoto whipped back and forth, willing himself to take deep breaths, but they only turned more frantic and painful. His legs and chest ached, and he finally decided to holler for the others. He shouted Haru's name, quickly following with Nagisa and Rei. He strained his ears to hear over the whining of the storm, praying for some human voice, a friend's voice, to call back to him.
He heard a faint wail that sounded as though it had originated from all around. Makoto answered the voice, taking a few steps to the left in hopes of aiding his hearing. He heard it again, his name with the chorus of senpai and chan.
Rei and Nagisa.
The green-eyed teen cast a worried glance behind him, still numb over Haru's sudden disappearance. He wanted to search for him, but he at least knew where Nagisa and Rei were. The three of them together delivered some peace to his agitated heart.
Makoto pushed down the guilt squeezing his insides and moved towards the steep incline, calculating the best way to travel down it. Feet first, definitely, and if he trailed his hands behind him, perhaps he could make the descent a slow one.
"This bird is trying to figure out its wings."
Makoto spun around, eyes stretching wide at the figure who'd suddenly appeared before him, head bowed and clad in black. Their stark white hair looked like a wild flame in the darkened void, and they raised a hand, extending their index finger towards Makoto.
"I think Rize-san likes you the best," the stranger murmured, waving his poised finger almost hypnotically. He lifted his head, and Makoto's lips parted in the beginning of a scream as one manic, glowing eye stared back at him, pure red like the massacre they'd just discovered.
The stranger grinned and bent their finger beneath their thumb with a strong, definite force.
Crack.
-/-\-|-/-\-
A/N: The Unnamable is a one-shot by H.P. Lovecraft, featuring Randolph Carter and Joel Manton, two friends discussing a creature referred to as 'The Unnamable'. It's an excellent story, and one of my go-to authors when I need inspiration for horror-fics.
This was originally going to be a one-shot, but it started getting a little long. Hope you're enjoying it so far and return for the next chapter. It should be finished and posted fairly soon, I would think.
Reviews are always welcome. Thanks for reading and remember to come back for the final chapter.