warnings: torture, OCs (don't let that discourage you!), guyXguy
There are things in this world that humanity has forgotten,
Things we ride off as myths and superstitions.
Things that are terrifying
Things that are very real
"I just don't believe in the ghosts or undead!" I replied running my fingers threw my long silver hair. I don't know how, but I landed myself in a heated debate about the existence of ghosts.
"How do you not believe in ghost?" Joey asked.
"I just don't!" I replied. "Like, the way some people don't believe in God"
"Do you believe in God?" Yugi asked.
"I have my days…" I replied.
Suddenly there was a sort of soft cackle coming from the desk in front of me.
"You know Marik, if you want to be a part of the conversation, you could turn around and talk to us, instead of listening in on us like a stalker," I replied sappily.
"Oh, Ryou, you know as well as I do, I can't stand you! I just find your little masquerade to be funny!" Marik laughed, putting an unnecessary enfaces on my name that drove me insane with annoyance.
"What masquerade?" I asked tossing my hair over my shoulders, then immediately pulling it back when I remembered the bruise on the crook of my neck.
"This new one, about how you aren't scared of Ghosts!" he replied.
"You can't be scared of something that doesn't exist!" I scoffed, wondering how much he knew I was lying about.
"Then prove it!" he replied. "Spend the night in the old town cemetery!"
"Alright," I said without giving it a second thought, because honestly I wasn't scared of the cemetery, and I would do just about anything to prove Marik wrong! "I don't know how you'll know I spent the entire night, though…" I said pointing out an obvious flaw in his plan, which I could have easily exploited if I didn't want to be difficult today.
"True," he replied, I could see the wheels turning in his head as he tried to work out a critical flaw in his plan.
"Why don't you two go together?" Tea asked. I cringed, there was no way in hell I would spend any more time with Marik than I already did.
"Sounds like a plan!" Marik replied. I felt like jumping over my desk and strangling him right then and there.
"NO!" I yelled. "No way in hell!"
Marik narrowed his eyes, knowing very well that he was getting under my skin. "You're not afraid of me now are you, Ryou?" he almost giggled.
"You're going to find a whole lot of random crap in your hair tonight!" I hissed. "And if you want to play that little game, fine, come with me, name the date and time!"
"Tonight, 10'oclock!" he replied.
Good! I thought that should give me more than enough time! "That'll be fine!"
It was Thursday, which meant one thing to me: voice lessons, so I changed out of my uniform into my running clothes, and ran home, to save time.
I knew the path well: down the street, hang a sharp left at the bus stop, or you'll run into the wall of the giant fanatical building, cross the street immediately, all the cars will stop for you, run up the steps of the post office, don't get distracted by the flock pigeons that you'll inevitably have to run threw, go into the post office, greet the security guards, so he doesn't think you're up to no good, and come out the other side, if you're lucky, you can catch the dart train, if not, you run alongside the tracks, when you get to the suburbs, jump the chain-link fence that surrounded the elementary school play ground, and go threw the school yard, run a few blocks, and make a right at the cemetery, then the next left, and you're there!
I walked up the path way that lead to my house, panting a little from my -maybe- one mile run, I took a quick shower and started dinner, I grabbed a 'ready-in-a-minuet' dinner from the freezer and pulled a pan out of the cupboard, and began to prepare dinner.
I stirred the vegetable around impatiently, checking my watch every now and then; I didn't have much time left! In my haste, I under cooked the vegetables, and somehow managed to burn the rice (a/n burned rice dose not taste very good!); I left it in the pan and placed it on the dining room table. I was going to pay for that later, but I couldn't be late!
I grabbed my old tattered jacket and the stack of sheet music from the back of the couch and headed out the back door, as I heard my father pull into the dive way, I jumped the small chain link fence of our backyard, and with an inhuman covertness, I slipped back around to the front of the house, without my father even knowing I had just left.
I don't know why, but my voice teacher lived in the giant white house in the middle of the cemetery that the grounds keeper used to live in way back when, I assumed it was because rent was supper cheep, and it was a nice house. I pulled my key ring out of my jacket pocket, and unlocked the large wooden door, I pushed all my weight against it and it slowly slid open.
"I'm here!" I yelled my voice echoing through the giant house. I pulled my jacket off and hung it on the antique coat rack that sat in the corner by the door, and continued down the hall. I pushed open another door and walked into a large room with nothing in it except a grand piano, a blue tin water bottle that sat atop the piano, a music stand, and an acoustic guitar . I set a stack of music down on the stand, and put a lot of work into adjusting the old piece of junk so I could see the music and at the same time my teacher (it didn't help that the person who had lessons before me was maybe 6-feet-tall). I looked around, seeing my teacher still hadn't appeared, I sat down at the piano, tenderly running my fingers of the ivory keys, muttering the notes under my breath.
"Are you planning on steeling my business boy?" I jumped, accidentally banged to hard on the keys.
I spun around coming face to face with my voice teacher. "Hello, Bakura!" I replied, hoping off the piano bench. (A classical singer never sits while singing)
"How are you today Ryou?" he asked, taking my former place.
"I got a D on my entrance exams, I had to run home, and I'm spending the night in the cemetery with a guy from school I really don't like, so not well!" I replied.
"None of that explains the blue hand-shaped mark on your shoulder!" Bakura replied not looking up from the piano (he was checking to see if I knocked anything out of tune), I quickly flipped my hair over the mark, I had a flash back to my father grabbing me and violently shaking my till I was dizzy.
"Well… I tripped down the stairs… and my dad caught me-by the neck!"
He gave me a scolding look; he obviously knew I was lying. "Ryou, I've met your father, there is no way he has the reflected or the strength to catch you like that!"
I gave him pleading look: don't make me tell you, please? "Well, that's what happened…" I replied, sticking to my guns.
Suddenly we were both alerted to the sound of hurried footsteps coming down the hall. "Bakura, Salem knocked over her water bole, where's the mop?" I looked up to see two girl now standing in the door way: one dressed in long a wife better that showed off her long, slender frame, bicker goggles, and baggy camouflage cargo pants, her soft black hair was feathered around her lower neck, with a thick yellow streak threw it, and her eyes were a hypnotizing deep green color that I would have thought were computer generated if she hadn't been standing right in front of me, I assumed she was Bakura's girlfriend. The second girl was wherein a draped shirt that hung down over her shoulder showing off her elegant shoulder line, and a silk skirt (dripping wet) that flowed like a water fall when she moved, she had softly curled snow white hair that spiraled down to her lower back, fair skin, and strangely beautiful grey eyes with little flecks of garnet in them, I knew she had to be closely related to Bakura somehow. "Oh, hi!" the first girl replied upon catching sight of me "Why didn't you tell me you had a girl over, is she from the university?"
"Mercy, Elizabeth, this is Ryou he's one of my voice students." I saw Mercy's eyes widen and her cheeks turn dark as she realized her mistake, Elizabeth quietly giggled "Ryou, this is Mercy she's my… cousin, and Elizabeth my dau-sister they're visiting from Salem, and brought their pets with them!" Bakura replied. Mercy stuck out her hand, and I shook it.
"Just out of curiosity, have you ever read the Crucible?" I asked (A/N if you haven't read it, it's a pretty good story, but it's in play form, so be warned!) Mercy gave me an amused smile, Elizabeth rolled her eyes like that was the millionth time she had heard that one.
"Yes, and I dance naked in the woods as well, if that's your next question!" Mercy teased.
"Would that be why you showed up on my door step crying 'my parents kicked me out, can I stay with you?'?" Bakura replied his voice imitating Mercy's exactly. Mercy stuck her tong out. "I'll rip your tong out of your head, if you don't put it in your mouth this instant!" Bakura sounded like the overly strike father from a bad sitcom "the mop's in the broom closet, by the way" he played an interact cord on the piano, Mercy turned and left, but Elizabeth lingered a while longer, Bakura gave her a scolding look, but said nothing "let's start with 'Sure on this shining night' and work our way down from there," he told me. He finally waved Elizabeth off.
"It was nice meeting you Ryou!" she replied, before she disappeared into the hall way.
"Have a nice night, Ryou!" Bakura said, closing the heavy wooden door behind the petite teenage boy. He turned to Elizabeth, who was comfortably perched on a large plush blood red divan pretending to be fully captivated by the book she was reading, she looked almost silver, sitting in the moonlight the way she was, it was almost mesmerizing. She shifted slightly and the title off the book became visible in the moonlight "dealing with zombies"
"What are you thinking?" Bakura asked, sitting on the edge of an unoccupied area of the divan near his "sister's" feet. Elizabeth's eyes slowly lifted, to look her "brother" in the eyes; she cracked an all knowing smile.
"You like him!" she replied in a sing song tone. "I can't say I blame you!"
Bakura leaned forward and kissed Elizabeth on the cheek. "I take it you approve, fillia*"
"When has my disapproval ever stopped you, father?" Elizabeth replied.
I got home late; my dad hadn't forgotten about dinner, when I got home he was waiting for me, and he was livid!
"what the hell is this shit!" he yelled, throwing the pan of cold rice at my feet.
"'I-I'm sorry sir I-" a loud cracking noise echoed threw the room as my father smacked me across the face.
"You were to busy playing singer, with that faggot boyfriend of yours, to do me the small favor of making a meal, when I so graciously let a little disgrace like you live in my house!" he yelled, he hit me harder with every word "why do you do it? You'll never amount to anything, you stupid little failure!"
Tears mixed with blood as I lay flat on the floor in a heap of worthlessness and self loathing. this was my fault! I told myself I brought this upon myself!
I strolled up to the cemetery twenty minutes late; Marik was waiting for me out front. No doubt he was going to hold this over my head. "What took you so long, trying to calm your nerves or something?" he teased, but I wasn't in the mood.
"shut-up," I replied lamely trying to hide my face from him, who knows how he would react, I started down the cobblestone path that lead to the heart of the cemetery.
"What's wrong with you?" he asked, I ignored him. "Hey, listen to me for a second!" he yelled I turned around halfway, still not showing my face.
"What is it then?" I asked coldly.
"There're a lot of… gangs who hang out around here, be careful," he replied.
"I live next door, Marik, I know!" I scoffed.
"Oh, you have no idea!" he muttered. I chose to ignore him, and walked on, taking a spot under a tree, were I was sure no one could see my black eye. Marik sat down across from me, leaning on a grave. We sat in silence for a while.
"You're too quiet, what's wrong?" Marik asked, this time with genuine concern in his voice that caught me off guard.
"Nothing I'm just tired!" I replied, hoping he would buy into it, but I was never a good liar.
Suddenly he reached out and grabbed my arm, pulling me into the moon light, and his lap. I stared up at him, shocked, he brushed the silver hair out of my face, and grabbed my chin, and inspected my swollen eye. "I figured as much!" he replied. "Who is it?" he asked.
I pursed my lips and looked away. "I'm not telling!" I muttered. "I don't even like you!"
Suddenly he pulled me closer; closing the gap between our lips I widened my eyes. I was too shocked to pull away, as he gently kissed my lips, a rush of enjoyment came over me, and I returned the kiss, it wasn't until I felt his tong run over my bottom lip that I came to my since, my eyes snapped wide open and I pulled away, a pink tinge appearing on my cheek.
"I'm going for a walk!" I replied standing abruptly. I had to clear my head!
I walked in erratic patterns around the head stones things were not getting much clearer; I just couldn't understand these stupid emotions. Suddenly I was jolted from my deep contemplation by the sound of voices "hurry up, or we're going to get caught!" I quickly ducked behind a large tomb stone, not wanting to know what they intended to do with me if they found out I was there. I peered over the head stone, trying to see if they were still there. There were three of them; it appeared they were grave robbers, finishing up their last job.
I shrunk into a little ball, my breath hiking in my thought knowing full well what they would do to me if they found me, I had heard stories, I myself had actually once discovered the mutilated corps of a girl who had a nasty habit of walking around the cemetery at night. Suddenly I felt a cold sharp object under my chin that could have only been a knife. I closed my eyes and said a quick prayed. "Look what we have here!" he seized a handful of hair and haled me to my feet, still holding the knife to my throat I let out a loud yelp "We got an ease dropper!"
"No, please I didn't see anything I swear!" I yelled. "I was just passing b-ah!" I shrieked as my hair was violently pulled up and back.
"Shut-up!" the one who was holding me scolded, holding the knife tighter against my throat. I began to sob thinking of my impending death.
"Please don't, I won't say a thing, I swear to God, I don't want to die! I don't wa-" suddenly a rag was shoved into my moth, hindering my ability to scream or talk.
"If you didn't want to die, then you shouldn't have hung around the cemetery at night!" one of them laughed, running his knife along my cheek, drawling a fresh flow of blood. He cackled as he stared deep into my eyes, running the knife lightly over my neck and chest. This was it, I was going to die!
Elizabeth walked the cemetery that night as she did every night, because, well, that was between her and a herself for the moment. She didn't expect to find much, maybe the boys who had a nasty tendency to practice cannibalism. She didn't know that what she would really find would upset the balance of the graveyard society she was accustomed to.
She wandered aimlessly the cool fall air nipping at her bare feet, when she spotted someone, leaning against a headstone, it appeared he was sleeping, but he (or she) had his back to her. "hey you!" she said, barely raising her voice at all.
No answer.
She inched a little closer. "excuse me!"
Still nothing. She circled him, immediately recognizing the soft blond hair and caramel colored skin. She let out a frustrated exhale.
"Malik get up!" she yelled, he awoke with a start. Looking around sleepily.
"Oh, hey Copernica !" he replied. "been a while hasn't it?"
Her eyes darkened Marik (or Malik) cringed, he knew what was going to happen "been a while hasn't it?" she repeated "that's all you've got to say? You left me in the middle of FUCKING nowhere and all you can say is BEEN A WHILE?" she yelled.
"… I'm sorry?"
"Oh, Fuck you!" Elisabeth hissed turning away.
"come on Copernica, you don't"
"That's not my name!" she yelled "that's what he called me!"
"I don't appreciate you talking about-" suddenly a loud scream ripped threw the night air.
"God what was that?" Elizabeth asked.
"oh crap, come on!" Marik replied running in the direction of the scream.
I closed my eyes and began to pray for some kind of miracle, as I listened to them argue about how to kill me! It took an agonizingly long time before I figured out my miracle had arrived.
"I thought I made myself very clear last time," Elizabeth said, great, my savior was a 5 foot tall collage student in a low cut shirt ",you only feed off the dead, and I wouldn't tell my dad you're on our turf!" I opened my eyes only feed off the dead?
"Screw you, Elizabeth!" one of them yelled, I shot a glance at Elizabeth, she didn't seem fazed, in fact she had an evil smile plastered on her face, then suddenly she vanished from my field off vision, and reappeared in front of one of my captors, it was at this time I noticed her extremely long, claw-like blacks fingernails.
"would you care to repeat that, Bones?" she asked digging her claws into the soft flesh under his chin and lifting him off the ground, blood dripping down her arm. "I don't think I heard you right!"
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Bones yelled, "I won't do it again!"
Elizabeth shot me a glance "I'm sorry, but you've taken it too far this time" she replied "I'm telling my dad!"
"you'll have to catch us first!" one of them yelled, hastily stick the knife into my lower abdominal before running off. I fell over on my side and screamed into the gag, Elizabeth ran over and undid the gag, I let an agonizing scream rip out of my throat.
"sh, don't worry Ryou, it's gonna be okay!" she said in a soothing voice, running her fingers threw my hair, suddenly I felt like I wasn't in my own body anymore, as if I wasn't feeling pain anymore.
Suddenly Marik appeared out off no where, wiping his hand together. "well they'll be there until daddy wants to deal with them-"
"Shut-up and come help me explain this to my dad!" Elizabeth yelled, picking me up.
"honey, he is going to kill us no matter what you say!" Marik replied, as Elizabeth started making her way back to Bakura's house.