WARNING!
If you are triggered by mentions of abuse, rape, and violence in general turn back now!
Proceed at your own risk!
BANG!
The worn wooden door hit the opposite wall with a deafening crash. Heavy breathing and frantic footsteps filled the silence and soon was accompanied by broken mutters.
"Fuck! I don't have the time-!"
"Oh, where did I put—there you are!"
The sound of a zipper unzipping grated on the woman's ears and she gritted her teeth. Her hand shot out at random, hastily shoving clothing and other things into a hiking pack. Eyes darted from object to object, judging its necessity in a split second before moving onto another.
"I fuckin' knew I should've come home right away!"
Sweat beaded her brow and she took a moment to impatiently brush it away before returning to her search. She glanced into the bag, bit her lip, deemed it satisfactory, and hastily zipped it. She slung the pack onto her shoulder, dashed out the door, barely remembering to lock it, and flew down the stairs and into her truck.
The frazzled woman jumped violently as a loud ring shattered the silence. Her fingers fumbled with her jeans pocket and she shakily pulled out her phone. Her heart stopped when she read the name on the screen and she hesitantly answered it.
"H-hello?"
"Hey Babe." A smooth, masculine voice answered. The woman involuntary shuddered and gripped the steering wheel with white knuckles. "What's for dinner tonight?"
"S-something came up at work and I-I gotta work a double shift…"
"Oh?"
"Yeah… I'm on break n-now…"
"Really? I don't see you anywhere. I've been sitting here for over an hour waiting for you."
"I-I-"
"I thought we agreed on being honest to one another?" The hand holding the phone started to shake. In her mind's eye she saw a snake uncoiling and poised ready to strike a mouse set in its sights.
The man on the other end sighed airily and continued, unperturbed. "You know what happens when you lie to me Lynn…"
Lynn gulped as her other hand found the fading bruises on her thighs. She heard him chuckling into the phone and hum as if he was talking about a favored song.
"See you tonight, Babe. Don't be late."
-Click-
The snake struck and hit the mouse.
Her breaths came in gasps as she leaned her forehead against the top of the wheel, trying desperately to calm herself enough to drive. The soft red hue of the building in front of her was enough to shake her out of her stupor and she started shaking for an entirely different reason.
"Oh God! Fuck!"
Lynn shoved her keys into the ignition and twisted, praying to any and every holy being that it started the first time. It sputtered and wearily rumbled to life, much to the relief of the young woman inside it. She glanced in the rearview mirror, ignored her bloodshot and terror filled eyes, threw the truck in reverse, and floored it out of the parking lot.
Lynn steadfastly ignored the ringing of her phone, though it gave her fearful flutters in her stomach every time it went to voice mail. She could only imagine the punishment she was going to get for this and it sent her stomach churning. Taking a deep breath, Lynn glanced at the speedometer and grimaced; she was going ten over the speed limit and she knew that slowing down wasn't an option. She'd never make it in time.
"It'd be fun, they said," she muttered bitterly, glancing in the mirror at the steadily sinking sun. "I knew I should've went straight home. But nooooo. I had to let them take me out to dinner…"
Lynn flinched as the phone rang for the umpteenth time, briefly taking her eyes off the highway to send it a hateful glare.
"God, shut up! I should throw you out of the fucking window!"
Lynn turned her attention back to the road just in time to make her turn. She shifted to accommodate the steeper incline of the unkempt road, feeling her tension ebb slightly at the familiar wall of trees towering on either side of her. She was almost there.
The old truck bounced along, barely keeping to its lane as it sped along. Lynn had to actively remember that it was illegal to drive in the middle of the road, no matter if it was deserted of not. She kept a sharp eye out now, eyes hungrily seeking the dirt turn off that led deeper into the forests around Mount Ebott. A thought nagged at the back of her mind but she ignored it in favor of glancing at the trees.
"No, no, no, no!"
The light painted the tops of the trees a deep red. She had roughly a half hour of daylight left, tops. It took her forty-five to get to the cabin.
Lynn glanced further up the road, then at her speedometer, and pressed the petal a tad harder. The truck rumbled and jumped up five miles an hour. Now she was going a least fifteen above and there was no stopping her.
After a tense few minutes Lynn sighed at the sight of the familiar turn off and slowed down. Maybe she would make it after all.
She turned off onto the lightly used dirt road and downshifted. She was familiar with the road but she didn't have a death wish. At least, not today. Another glance at the darkening treetops spurred her to creep slightly faster, though her hopes were sinking as steadily as the sun.
"Please let me get there in time…"
The treetops were just losing the last rays of light when she caught sight of the familiar run down cabin that was her destination. Some of her anxiety eased at that, though she knew that she didn't have much time left. She felt the moon's presence start to take hold of the world and, if she didn't hurry, make her night a living hell.
Lynn parked a little ways away and jumped out, barely remembering to grab her pack and lock the door. Her feet slid to a halt when she heard her phone ring from inside the truck. That moment of indecision, torn between going back and chucking her phone out into the forest and rushing ahead to safety decided her fate.
Realizing her grave error, the young woman lurched towards the cabin only to double over a moment later with a cry of pain and horror. She glanced up at the treetops and her eyes so happened to land on the eastern horizon, made visible by the altitude. To her absolute horror, the white, bulbous full moon was sitting low on the horizon.
As if the sight triggered something deep inside her, her left forearm burned as if lit on fire. She cried out again and jerked forward a few more unsteady steps before the pain dropped her onto her knees. The fire spread up her arm, into her chest and took hold of her heart. Another scream of pain tore out of her throat as she felt her bones snapping and re-configuring themselves. Fur sprouted out of every pore on her body and the last thing she coherently remembers was the feeling of her skull compressing and stretching and an unearthly howl ringing out over the silent treetops.
The beast, no longer a young woman, slumped over onto the ground, whimpering as the last of its transformation completed. The pain ebbed enough for it to shakily get to its paws and lift its lupine head towards the moon lazing on the horizon. With huff, the beast took deep draws of the air and, without any provocation, bound off into the dark forest.
"Hey Papyrus! Where are you taking us?!"
"NYEH HEH HEH! I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, HAS FOUND SOMETHING RATHER INTERESTING WHEN I WAS PATROLLING THE AREA TODAY!"
"What are you talking about punk?! We've been through this area a million times!"
"I'M SURE WE HAVEN'T SEEN THIS UNDYNE! IT SEEMS LIKE A HUMAN SETTLEMENT!"
"I guess we'll have to see it to settle what he meant."
"I'M GOING TO PRETEND I DIDN'T HEAR THAT!"
Sans chuckled and lazily looked up over the dark treetops. The full moon hovered over them, about three quarters through its journey across the sky. Things like the moon and the sun had a special place in the monsters' hearts ever since they first got a glimpse of them a month ago. Sans in particular had taken a special interest in the celestial beings, as the humans called them, and had been researching everything he could about them. This is the first time the moon rose full since Frisk, that godsend of a child, broke the barrier and led them all out. He never could've imagined how bright the full moon was until now and it filled the weary skeleton with a sense of peace.
A sense of unease befell the skeleton and he tore his eyes from the moon to glance around warily. It felt like they were being watched and he didn't like it one bit. Sans subtly quickened his pace and caught up to his brother talking enthusiastically to Undyne about their next 'cooking' lesson. He half listened to his brother's chatter and half listened to their surroundings, sweeping the area multiple times to try and catch anything unusual.
"—GOTTA TEACH THE HUMAN NEXT TIME! SANS! IS THERE ANYTHING WRONG?" Papyrus paused when he noticed his brother's inattentiveness. He lifted an eyebrow when Sans jumped and noted the way his constant smile seemed a little forced.
"nah bro." Sans brushed off the feeling and shot the taller skeleton a forced smile, unease still crawling down his spine. "jus' looking around. it's rather a-peel-ing. orange ya' think so?"
"SANS!"
"Hey, Punk!" Undyne cut in, glaring at Papyrus impatiently, "How much farther do we have to go?"
"WE'RE ALMOST THERE!" Papyrus pointed ahead and Sans could barely make out a structure nestled near a clearing. "SEE? I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WOULD NEVER STEER YOU WRONG!"
"Well, let's go! I want to go to bed sometime soon!" Undyne took off running down the dirt trail with Papyrus hot on her heels. Sans, still uneasy, took another glance around and followed them at a much slower pace. Undyne was already exploring the interior of the structure, an abandoned cabin from the looks of it, while Papyrus circled the perimeter, presumably looking for more curios. Sans listened to Undyne exclaiming over the contents briefly before looking around the clearing. A bright glint of moonlight in the trees caught his attention and he meandered towards it to get a better look.
"wha-?" His slippered foot kicked an object hidden in the grass and, upon examination, turned out to be a bulging backpack. The unease intensified and Sans made a point to turn right back around and beeline towards the cabin.
"pap! I don't think this is saf—" An unearthly howl cut Sans short and chilled his bones to the marrow. A hostile growl and Papyrus's surprised cry gallivanted the lazy skeleton into motion.
"pap! hold on bro!" Sans slung himself around the back of the house and horror slid him to a stop. Papyrus was on the ground with the biggest wolf he had ever laid eyes on pinning him down. The beast's teeth were locked around the skeleton's right arm and was clawing at his chest in an effort to inflict as much damage as possible.
"OW! N-NICE DOGGY! LET GO OF ME THIS INSTANT!"
"hey, you!" Sans shouted, delving into his magic and sent a volley of bones at it. "get off my brother!"
The bones hit the beasts' back and knocked it off the skeleton. At that moment Undyne barreled in and sent her own volley of magical spears at it. The beast rolled out of the way of most of them, grunted at the few that pierced its hide, and charged them. Sans reached out a hand, blue magic glowing from his skeletal fingers, and wrapped his magic around the beast. It yelped in surprise and attempted to free itself, but Sans was having none of that. With a series of gestures, he smacked it against the side of the cabin, to the ground, into some of the trees, and repeated until it was no longer moving.
"Papyrus! Are you okay?" Undyne rushed to the injured skeleton's side and examined his injuries. Sans, after watching the slumped form of their attacker for a moment, hurried to his brother's side.
"I-I think so?"
Papyrus glanced down at his fractured and chewed arm and grimaced. Sans closed his eyes, took a deep shuddering breath, banished away a hazy memory of him kneeling at Papyrus's side for an entirely different reason, and reopened them. He reached for his brother's hand and, once he had it, squeezed.
"we need to get you back. can you walk?" Sans's voice was utterly serious as he looked over the deep gashes in Papyrus's clothes and ribcage, reminding him eerily of his own.
"Of course I can!" Papyrus shot him a shaky smile and tried to roll onto his feet. Sans watched his brother's face closely and anger burned in him as he saw the look of pain wash over it. Undyne huffed and gently picked him up, letting him find his footing before letting go. Sans expected them to start back as soon as Papyrus was walking and started heading towards one of his many 'shortcuts'.
"SANS, WAIT." Sans looked back and nearly had a panic attack at how close Papyrus was to his attacker.
"pap no! we gotta get out of here before it wakes up!"
"WE CAN'T JUST LEAVE HER OUT HERE! SHE'S INJURED AND NEEDS HELP."
Sans groaned and ran a hand down his face. Of all the times Papyrus has to be stubborn. He would never stop believing the human kid was good until the last moment, in almost every single timeline. Damn him and his never-ending compassion.
"look. that thing just tried to kill you! just leave it and it will be okay."
Papyrus was silent as he examined the beast closer. He didn't dare touch it, much to Sans's relief, but he watched its shallow, pained breaths.
"Come on Papyrus! Sans is right!" Undyne came up behind him and tugged on his good shoulder.
"SHE NEEDS OUR HELP. I DON'T KNOW WHY OR HOW, BUT I HAVE A GOOD FEELING ABOUT HER."
Undyne scoffed and crossed her arms. "About the thing that attacked you?"
"YES."
Sans scrutinized Papyrus's face, the fallen beast at his knees, then back to his brother. He knew that look of stubborn and he ran another hand down his face.
"you really want to take this thing, the thing that attacked you, back home? where our friends are? where Frisk could be put into danger?"
Papyrus blinked, his stubborn façade faltering at the thought of his friends being in danger. However, he seemed to mull it over and nodded once.
"YES. I WILL KEEP WATCH OVER HER TO ENSURE SHE DOESN'T HURT ANYONE."
"pap…" Sans shook his head and sighed deeply. He looked at Undyne, who shrugged, at the beast, then back up to Papyrus's face, and finally relented.
"fine. but she will only stay until she's healed."
Papyrus's expression lightened some and he nodded his understanding.
"UNDYNE! WOULD YOU-?"
"Yeah, yeah. Move, punk." Undyne cautiously moved towards the fallen beast and effortlessly slung it over her shoulders. Her nose wrinkled in disgust as she followed Papyrus to Sans, who took the lead towards his 'shortcut'.
"I hope you have one of your shortcuts nearby Sans! It stinks like hell!"
Please review and let me know if I should keep this up or not! I am still unsure about the quality of this, so it would be wonderful if a few words of constructive criticism let me know what I'm doing wrong.
I will be posting trigger warnings at the beginning of each chapter.
Please don't be shy-ren! I love hearing from readers! Thank you very much for reading!
-Kat
