Oh no, I thought today was Thursday. I thought I didn't have to post for two more days, not that I should have posted two days ago! I'm sorry!
Chapter 4: John: Discover Something Horrible
Karkat dove to one side as a beam of plasma cut through the air where his head had been moments before. Behind him, metal shrieked as it was torn to shreds by the blast of pure energy.
"Aww, now that's no fun!" a voice snarled. He knew that voice, he did—but he couldn't place it. When he looked up at the advancing troll in an attempt to identify him, all he could see was a vague outline with a shadowed face. "Stay put, Kar, so I can put you down like the landdwellin' scum you are!"
The way he spoke was familiar, but Karkat was too busy scrambling to his feet to stop and really think about just who was after him with a plasma gun. Another blast singed the hairs on the right side of his head as he flailed to one side to avoid certain death. He wasn't even sure where he was, all he knew was that someone was after him, someone was trying to kill him, and he had to run. And so run he did, jerking to his feet for a second time and staggering down the hallway as the other troll cackled behind him.
A hallway. A hallway lined with steel plates, a celling lined with steel plates, a floor lined with more fucking steel plates. A hallway in the lab. A hallway in the lab on the meteor.
He was back on the meteor.
"Can't run forever, Kar," that same voice sneered. "Sooner or later I'm shore to catch you, and then it's lights out for good!"
Another blast. This one caught his shoulder just slightly, and the troll couldn't resist a pained yelp as the force of the blast pushed him into the wall. A laugh echoed down the hall, and he quickly righted himself and kept running. Did the hallway ever end?
"Go ahead an' run, you fuckin', mutant! You'll never escape royalty!"
Karkat thought he could see the end of the hallway. There was no door, though—why wasn't there a door? Was he trapped?
There was a bright flash, and then a sickening pain overtook his entire right leg. His pursuer had shot right at him, catching him in the knee. After that, staying upright became an impossibility. He crashed to the ground, head catching briefly on the wall on the way down, and ended up sprawled out on his back as the other troll approached. He barely had the strength to move, pushing himself back until he was pressed against the end of the corridor. No door was in sight. He was completely trapped.
There was another flash of light, then a belated screech as a beam of plasma sliced through his other knee. He didn't even know if his legs were still there anymore.
"Aww," his assailant purred. "Did that hurt?"
He could only whimper as the figure drew closer, weapon held threateningly aloft in front of him. Another flash burned into his shoulder, then into his right side, searing at the delicate flesh of his gills. It was agonizing, but he'd lost the strength to scream.
"Would you look at that? Your blood really is candy-red, you freak. You mutant."
Mutant. The word cut through him almost as painfully as the plasma. Yes, he was a mutant. A mutant because of his blood, a mutant because of his gills.
"You don't deserve to live. You were hatched by mistake, as a fluke in the hemospectrum. You never should have survived the trials. But that's okay, because I'm aboat to right the mistake that nature made all those sweeps ago. I'm goin' to krill you, Kar. Right here, right now."
The weapon came up in a blur of light, and Karkat found himself staring right down the barrel of…something.
"Say goodbye, lowblood freak."
"N-no…" Karkat tried to beg for his life, to say something, anything that would get the troll to lower his weapon. But it was useless, he knew it was—and then the brightest flash yet seared straight through his think pan, and he could smell the scent of his own flesh burning, feel the way every single one of his senses was being ripped from him, hear the cackle of his assailant, taste blood dripping into his mouth, see a grin like a knife slash cutting across the face of the troll in front of him, and—
Karkat jerked awake for the umpteen time that night, eyes already streaming watery red tears as he tumbled out of his sleep slat in his haste to wake himself up. He screeched when he landed hard on his shoulder, phantom pains shooting through his body where he'd been shot. Shaking fingers felt their way down his body, grabbing at his gills, pressing to his face, ghosting across his kneecaps, grabbing at every place that had been seared by the attacks of his assailant. Assured that he was still in one piece, he fought to get his breathing under control. Every breath rasped out far swifter than it should have as he untangled his limbs, curling back in on himself the instant he was no longer twisted around himself like pretzel. His head came to settle between his knees as he forced himself to breathe in slowly, then out at the same pace, over and over again. Eventually he felt the frantic beats of his blood puser begin to slow, gradually coming back into its normal range.
Another nightmare, he thought miserably. He'd tried to sleep as John said, but he'd already woken up several times due to his horrid dreams. Tonight's theme seemed to be being killed by his friends. It was better than the last time he'd slept, when he'd been tormented by visions of a shadowy figure chasing him with a club, or the time before that, when he'd been plagued with visions of his friends being torn apart in front of him.
I've had enough sleep, he decided as his breathing finally returned to its normal pace without him having to consciously slow it. Enough to last me a few more days, at least. He remained where he was, though, head held between his knees as he tried to shake off the horror of his dream. He needed to call someone, and mentally he counted the people he could message at this time of night.
Kanaya? No…he could tell she wanted to help, but she just wasn't the right person to go to with all of this. As he'd thought countless times before, he wasn't his moirail and she never would be. He just didn't feel that way about her.
Rose, maybe? She'd tried to talk to him just a few days ago about his sleeping problems. But he knew that if he tried to talk to her, she'd either psychoanalyze him to death or call Kanaya up, and he really didn't want either of those things. Besides, he barely knew her.
He could try Jade; they'd been friends before being stuck in separate places for three years. But that had been three years ago, and they hadn't really spoken since. It would be weird to message her.
So…Dave. He was an option. But he'd pushed him away so vehemently after running into him in the middle of the forest; he couldn't imagine that the human would want to talk to him. He was just going to have to convince himself that Dave didn't want him anymore, had never really wanted him, had never enjoyed talking to him in the first place. They'd only grown close because of the meteor, and Dave had been quick to leave him behind once other options were available to him. John, namely.
Woah…where the fuck did that come from? Karkat curled in tighter on himself. They're not like that. They're just friends; I'm not jealous. He shook his head to clear the unpleasant thoughts.
I should call John, he found himself thinking, because he'd been so kind to him earlier that night. But then he stopped and really thought about it, and what exactly was he supposed to say when he messaged John? Hey, sorry about waking you at three in the fucking morning, but I'm a complete mess and need someone to let me snot all over their shoulder while I piece myself back together.
Not likely.
But his husktop was already in front of him, and the trollian window was already open, and what the actual fuck was he doing right now?
He stopped himself just before he sent the first message. Logged out of the program. Shut his husktop. Pushed it aside.
He couldn't message John. He'd already been such a burden on him; he couldn't take bothering him any further, despite what he'd said.
I'll eat something, then, he decided. But his stomach gurgled in protest, and he knew instinctively that he wouldn't be able to keep anything down. He hadn't been able to eat properly for days, weeks. Getting a handful of popcorn down earlier that night had been a blessing.
He eyed his husktop. He could call John. He could call him and he would come here and comfort him. He knew he would, even if he didn't want to, even if he wasn't obligated to, because he couldn't bear to hurt anyone's feelings. But he forced his hands away from the keys for a second time and instead chose to get to his feet, knees shaking slightly as he staggered towards the door. I should at least go grab something to drink from the meal block.
He walked out into the hallway. Then he paused, hair standing on end as he felt just how cold his hive was. His breath was practically fogging in the air around him. That's not normal.
He picked his way carefully down the hallway towards the meal block, feeling strangely nervous. Something malevolent was in the air, swirling out in tendrils and reaching down his throat, straining and squeezing his blood pusher. Was it just in his head? Or…
He jumped as a strange sound met his ears. He knew that sound. He heard it every time he placed a hand on the wall to steady himself.
It was the sound of claws scraping across a solid surface. Across his walls.
His breath immediately shortened. He wracked his think pan for who exactly could be in his hive and came up with only Kanaya, who he knew wasn't in his hive because why the fuck would she be in his hive at three in the morning?
He decaptchalogued his sickles as he crept to the end of the hall, ready to defend himself against whatever was in his hive. Maybe it was one of the lusus creatures from the forest that had found its way in. But what creature had good enough motor control to be scraping its claws continuously along the walls like that?
The scraping sounded close. Karkat reached the end of the hall, knuckles white as he grasped his sickles. Then he peered around the edge, searching for whatever was lurking around, and—
There was nothing there.
Karkat frowned, stepping fully out of the hallway and staring into the meal block, then the relaxation block, where the couch had been shoved back against the far wall after John's departure. But to his confusion, there was no one. No creature, no troll, no human—nothing. The sounds had entirely stopped, too.
So I'm going crazy on top of everything else, he thought. Great.
The troll stumbled into the meal block and reached for a glass, opening the thermal hull and reaching for a bottle of water. He emptied the contents of the bottle into the glass (Dave had often laughed at him for not drinking out of the bottle, but he could fuck off), then threw it back as fast as he could. Maybe dehydration was causing him to hear things. And see things, like those dark purple eyes he'd noticed the night before.
Maybe he was just tired. No, he knew he was tired. He really needed to sleep again, but he'd told himself that he could last a few more days and he would, damn it!
He put his glass on the counter and made his way back towards his respiteblock, determined to keep himself awake and sane.
It would be a challenge, he was sure.
†††
"Dave?" John asked sleepily, raising his head as he heard someone banging around in the kitchen. "Dave, is that you?"
"Yup. Don't worry about me, Egbert, just rooting around for something to take with me for a snack."
"Take with you?" John looked at the clock sitting beside the couch he'd fallen asleep on, realizing that it wasn't even seven in the morning yet. Wait—the couch? Why was he sleeping on the couch?
Oh. His mind clicked as he remembered inviting Dave over after the two of them had finished up their respective conversations and returned to their homes. It had already been pretty late when Dave showed up, and John had already watched a few movies, so watching a few more with the blond had put him out like a light. He guessed that Dave had fallen asleep too, thus why he was messing around in the kitchen.
"I'm going out by myself today," Dave called, and there was the sound of a chip bag rustling. "Got something to hunt down."
"And what exactly is that?" John asked, sitting up and swinging his feet over to rest on the floor. "I could help you if you want! I'm not a great hunter, but I know the landscape really well!"
"I know you do, but this is something I should do by myself."
Now he was really curious. "Dave, what are you after?"
All noise ceased suddenly. Then there was a light huff, and Dave said, "Promise you won't laugh."
"Of course! I wouldn't laugh at you over something you take seriously."
Another whoosh of breath. Then Dave was appearing in the doorway, hair sticking up at odd angles, sunglasses slightly askew as he looked over at him. "Look. You said that Karkat saw something strange in the forest, right?"
John frowned, thinking back to the conversation he'd had with Dave after the two of them had met up for movie night. Dave hadn't been willing to tell him much about his conversation with Rose, but John had told Dave everything about his interaction with Karkat—and that included the troll's belief that he'd seen something with purple eyes in the forest. Dave had taken it seriously, even more so than John himself. "Yeah, what about it?"
Dave was silent.
He blinked as realization grasped him. "Wait…are you hunting down that thing? The thing that may or may not have existed only as a result of Karkat's sleep-deprived state? The thing you don't even know is really out there?" Karkat hadn't looked like he was openly lying, but he'd been so exhausted lately that John couldn't deny that the troll could have imagined everything.
"Yeah," Dave sighed, running a hand through his hair as if he knew how ridiculous it sounded. He probably did. "Well, I wouldn't say I'm really hunting it. I'm not expecting to find anything, but still…" He trailed off, a troubled expression flickering across his features for the barest of moments. "I saw him the night he supposedly saw that thing. You didn't see his face; the guy was fucking terrified. He clearly saw something out there, and I'm going to go hunt around in the area and see if I can find anything. A lusus creature, maybe."
Well…he supposed that it wasn't the most ridiculous thing in the world. He had to agree, Karkat had looked really serious…and maybe it had been a lusus creature, and the troll had just been confused. Exhaustion was one hell of a drug. "How long will you be gone?"
Dave shrugged. "As long as it takes to either find the thing or convince myself that it doesn't exist."
"And what am I supposed to do without my exploring buddy?"
"Go to Jake, I'm sure he'd love to explore with you."
"And you're sure you won't let me help you? Come on, Dave, we make a great team!"
"I know we do," he snorted, "but if this thing doesn't exist I'll just be dragging you on a wild goose chase.
"But—!"
"If you don't want to explore with Jake, then go see Karkat," Dave advised coolly. "Or watch a few hundred movies, or go visit Rose or Jade or something. Just don't follow me, got it? I just want to look around for a bit, there's no use in you getting involved."
He suspected that Dave wasn't telling him the whole truth about why he wanted to be alone. But still he agreed with a nod of his head, knowing that the blond wasn't going to budge. "Well, okay…be careful, okay?"
"Yeah, yeah, I'll be more careful than chicken on a tightrope above a pool of foxes." He shot John a confident thumbs-up, and was gone before he could think to respond.
"Bye!" John called, even as Dave dipped out of earshot. "Look after yourself!"
†††
Dave stood in the place Karkat had claimed to see the strange creature. It was a small gap in the trees, not large enough to be called a clearing, with trees sprouting up in all directions. His eyes raked the ground for signs of the creature's existence, but all he saw was an obvious imprint where Karkat had fallen. Trekking around the place to look at all the trees, he saw no claw marks, no signs of anything having been there. The leaves Karkat had seen trembling remained untouched.
Is he crazy? he wondered, tilting his head just slightly. He was so terrified; he had to have seen something. But maybe John is right, and this was because he hasn't been sleeping well. Maybe I should shoot Rose a message about it, see how close she is to alchemizing one of those weird beds that the trolls like sleeping in so much.
Dave reached out with gentle fingers, tracing a path along the trunk of the closest tree. He'd already been inspecting the little opening between the trees for what felt like hours and there was just nothing. He'd spread his search to the surrounding miles after that, and in a span of time that really had been hours, he'd come up with absolutely nothing. Maybe the creature would only come out at night? But even if that was the case, there should be some sign of it out in the forest. And he'd come up with nothing. Not even a single claw mark.
What did Karkat see? A figment of his own mind?
A pang of concern assaulted him as he considered the very real possibility that Karkat had imagined the creature in the forest, as John had suggested. Rose had mentioned something about him being in a bad way, but if he was to the point where he was imagining things because he hadn't slept in so long…
Dave bit at the inside of his cheek. Not for the first time, or even the hundredth time in the past few months, he thought he wanted to go see Karkat. But really, what could he do for him? If he went to see Karkat they would just end up arguing, and that would make the troll feeling any worse. And that was ignoring the fact that seeing Karkat would ease the ache in his chest for a few moments, and then it would be back stronger than ever when they were parted again.
John's handling it, he told himself, trying to convince himself that there wasn't a spike of jealousy in his chest every time he thought about John going to comfort Karkat. He wondered if John had actually gone over to his house today, and if he was watching one of his shitty romcoms with troll in an attempt to cheer him up.
His phone dinged. It was John, right on cue.
- ectoBiologist [EB] began pestering turntechGodhead [TG] -
EB: dave!
EB: have you found anything out there yet?
TG: nah dude, not yet
TG: there's fuck all out here
TG: just a whole lot of useless trees
EB: oh
EB: well that's funny, because karkat is convinced that he heard that creature in his house at like three in the morning last night.
TG: what
EB: yeah dude, he seems really convinced!
EB: apparently he woke up from a nightmare and heard something dragging its claws across the walls,but when he went down to see what was going on there was nothing there.
TG: are there claw marks on the walls?
EB: hang on
EB: no, he says there's nothing there
EB: not a scratch anywhere in sight!
EB: strange, huh?
EB: ...
EB: dave?
TG: sorry, i got distracted for a moment
EB: you okay?
TG: yeah it's just
TG: karkat seemed so goddamn convinced that he saw something in the forest, but there's no sign that anything was ever here
TG: and now he's convinced that someone was in his house scratching up the walls, but there aren't any scratches there
TG: just seems a little suspect is all
EB: you think he's imagining things?
TG: i'm not sure what i think yet
TG: still letting the cogs in my head do their thing, you know?
TG: how does he look today?
EB: oh, i don't know
EB: i just messaged him real quick, i didn't go to see him or anything.
TG: oh
TG: yeah, right, forget i said that
EB: hey, dave...
EB: if you're really that concerned, maybe you should go see him yourself.
EB: i'm sure he'd appreciate the company.
TG: ...
EB: or i could go see him for you!
EB: if that makes you more comfortable, i guess?
EB: i did like hanging out with him yesterday.
TG: uh
TG: you know what, why don't you let me check on him today?
EB: you mean you're actually going to talk to him?
EB: dave, that's fantastic news!
TG: nonono
TG: i didn't say that, dude
TG: i'll just check on him from a distance, all ninja-like
TG: then i'll get out of there so fast
TG: you won't even be able to see me moving
EB: oh dave...
TG: i gotta go
TG: see you later bro
- turntechGodhead [TG] ceased pestering ectoBiologist [EB] -
Dave let out a silent string of curses as he stashed his computer back in his sylladex. Goddamn it, I really just volunteered to go check on him. And why, because I was jealous of John going to comfort the guy? Really? He's not my boyfriend; if John wants to make a move on him he can.
He realized with a jolt that he was already flying in the direction of Karkat's home, a pit of jealousy bubbling in his stomach. Fuck, I'm totally hopeless. Look at me, running off to him the moment I think someone else is trying to get close. And seriously, I know that John isn't romantically interested in Karkat. He's told me as much a hundred times, and he never showed any signs of jealousy that I was so close to him. This is just me being a fucking idiot, nothing new.
The twin suns were already beginning to sink in the sky, he noted. He'd been hunting for a long time, to no avail.
Gotta head in soon, he realized. It'll be night in a few hours, and it's obvious that there's no creature out here. The thought made his stomach flip, and he was suddenly stricken with the desire to see for himself if there were really no claw marks on Karkat's walls. After all, Karkat was the one who'd told John there wasn't anything there, and he wasn't exactly in his right mind at the moment. Maybe he'd missed them…and if he had, and there were marks across his walls, then he definitely wasn't crazy—and that was the news Dave wanted to hear more than anything else.
He wanted to see for himself.
And so…could talking to Karkat for a few minutes really hurt? He'd told John that he was just going to slip over and peek in the windows to make sure everything was fine, but…
He shook his head. Yes, you moron, talking to him will hurt! Just go over there, don't let him see you, check out the walls without letting him see like a fucking ninja, and that will be that!
Again he shook his head, as if in an attempt to physically shake such thoughts out of his head. He was already flying, already at Karkat's home, already drifting up to the door.
No, he told himself, standing on the porch and glaring and the door. No, he told himself, seeing how his hand was reaching out to rap on the door. Fucking no, he told himself, even as his knuckles made harsh contact with the sheet of wood separating him from Karkat. Oh god, I'm such a moron.
He waited, half ready to fly away the second the door opened and say fuck this to the entire situation. But the longer he waited without the door swinging open to reveal a furious troll, the more relieved he became, and the more disappointed he became.
"Karkat?" he called hesitantly, taking a step back and peering up at the darkened windows. "Karkles, are you in there?"
No response. So he'd run off, had he? He'd be lying if he said he didn't feel a prickle of concern at the concept of Karkat disappearing again, considering what had happened last time.
I'll message him in a minute, he decided. First, let's see about those claw marks.
He tried the door. It was open, which was so unlike Karkat that Dave had to take a moment to just stare at the thing as it swung inwards to allow him access. Then he refocused, making his way into Karkat's home for the first time since he'd ditched him all those months ago.
It was…dirtier than he remembered. But that was probably just Karkat and his refusal to clean it. There was a thin layer of dust over most things he came across, and he spotted a pile of old dishes in the sink as he poked his head into the kitchen. John was right—they looked very old, as if Karkat hadn't really been using kitchenware much over the past few weeks. Moving into the living room, he saw that the couch had been pushed over to the far wall. There were loose kernels of popcorn scattered across the cushions, though, suggesting that this was where John had crashed for the movie marathon he'd described. And next to the couch…
Dave's heart sank as he saw the pile of blankets Karkat had dumped onto the ground. He'd spent a lot of time with Karkat on the meteor; he was well acquainted with what piles were supposed to be used for.
He doesn't have a moirail to jam with, or even a matesprit to get some of his issues off his chest. He likes John, I can tell, but he's so defensive that he probably isn't sharing much with him. Dismally, he recalled Karkat's multiple mentions of how crucial it was for trolls to be able to discuss their emotions with someone else. If they didn't, the negative emotions would build and build and build, and then they would boil over into disastrous territory. The result of the boil-over of emotions was different for everyone, if he recalled correctly. Eridan had started murdering the other trolls, he remembered Karkat telling him. Gamzee had started collecting heads (but only after the faygo wore off and he had no emotional crutch to speak of). Others had been known to go on homicidal rampages. Supposedly trolls on the lower end of the hemospectrum weren't as badly affected by such tendencies, but taking chances wasn't going to help anyone.
This will have to be dealt with, Dave realized. Before he snaps and does something he'll regret. Hell, maybe that's what he's doing right now. Maybe he's out there waving his sickles at someone.
It was a joking thought, but it pierced right to the heart of his worry.
No time for that. Check for scratches, then you can worry about Karkat.
Dave immediately turned his eyes on the walls, shoving his face right up next to them, touching them with his fingertips and brushing the pads of them across the smooth surface in hopes of feeling something, anything that could resemble the scratches Karkat had reported hearing. He even pushed his sunglasses slightly down the bridge of his nose, hoping that glaring at the walls with unobstructed scarlet eyes would help him see the scratches that so obviously weren't there. He traced the walls with his palms as he moved around the room, searching up and down and through every room in the lower levels where Karkat had heard the sounds. But no matter how hard he looked, he didn't see a thing.
No scratches. Not a single one.
He snatched his computer out of his sylladex and shot Karkat a quick message, praying he would respond and tell him where he was. But then he heard a ding from the kitchen table, and he looked over to see that god damn it, the troll had left his laptop behind again.
He should look for him. He should run out into the forest again and he should scoop Karkat off his feet and drag him back home where he belonged.
But then he thought back to John, who had messaged the troll just a few hours ago and gotten a response. Clearly Karkat hadn't just fallen of the face of the earth, and he probably wouldn't be pleased to see Dave again so soon.
I'll wait for him, then, he decided. He won't want to see me, but at least I can make sure he's okay when he comes back. And if he isn't back within the hour, I'll go looking for him again.
And so he waited.
†††
Something was swimming in the ocean.
Karkat's eyes tracked it as it moved, a figure so far off in the distance that he couldn't make out how large it really was, or even what it was. He could only see flickers of gray and purple twisting in the waves, coming up for a moment before diving back down out of sight, then repeating the process in a playful dance.
He watched it, enraptured. He wasn't quite sure why it was so fascinating to watch the creature. Something about the way it moved, more fluid and graceful than any lusus creature he'd seen in the water before, just seemed to draw his eyes to it like a magnet. It was smaller than the average beast, he thought. Most oceanic life on this planet was massive, but this thing looked far more miniature. Maybe even close to his size.
The waves crashed against the cliff face below him. The tide had risen to swallow the entirety of the beach, which meant he had to perch atop the cliff if he wanted to watch the ocean. It was beautiful today. Dull and gray.
The creature jumped above the waves, flickers of gray and purple slicing the dark water. It wasn't the same purple he'd seen in the eyes of that strange being in the forest, he recognized—this purple was brighter, more…royal.
Reminded him of Eridan, actually.
…Hmm? Karkat strained his eyes out at the ocean, taken aback. He couldn't be sure, but…for just a heartbeat he thought he'd seen a flash of orangey yellow against the waves. But it was gone as soon as it began, and then the creature was gone too. What the hell was that? It almost looked like…horns?
"Kar."
He jumped a good foot in the air, whirling around in a panicked fit. "What the fuck do you think you're—"
Then he stopped. He could have sworn he'd heard a voice just then, but…there was no one behind him. No one to his right, either, and no one to his left. No one flying in the sky or peeking out from the forest.
Great…so I'm hearing things now. Guess I shouldn't be surprised after last night.
"Kar, can you hear me?"
His sickles were in his hands the second he heard it again, and he was whirling around to strike at the air behind him before he had even a moment to process what he was doing. A half-terrified snarl broke the air as he swung, half expecting to slice through one of his friends who was trying to sneak up on him—but again there was nothing, and he was certain he'd heard something behind him. Right behind him, too, as in at the edge of the cliff where there was nowhere to go but down against the jagged rocks sticking out against the shoreline.
Crazy, he reminded himself. I'm going crazy.
He captchalogued his sickles with a soft huff. The creature in the ocean really was gone now, he realized, not a hint of the familiar purple flickering against the dark water. He wasn't sure if that made him feel better or worse.
He thought it probably made him feel worse.
†††
John flew listlessly above the large fields that sprawled out just to the west of their town. Dave had told him to stay away from the forest so that he could hunt, but he hadn't been able to keep himself still after learning that his best friend was out there tracking down something that could be incredibly dangerous (if it even existed). And so he'd flown out into the fields, listlessly drifting along in a cruel mockery of his usual enthusiasm to explore the world around him. He knew he wouldn't find anything new; he'd explored this area hundreds upon hundreds of times before.
He paused at the crest of a hill, taking a moment to just look out in all four directions. He almost reached for his phone, but had to stop and remind himself that he'd already bugged Karkat once today, so another unnecessary pesterchum message would probably just make him upset. He'd certainly seemed upset that morning when John had messaged him, going on and on about scratches that he was certain he'd heard but couldn't seem to find on the walls. And as much as he wanted to know if Dave had found anything, he also knew that setting off the alert on Dave's phone could put him in danger if he was in the middle of stalking a dangerous lusus creature. So he forced his fingers away from where they were reaching for his sylladex and forced them to lay lax at his sides as he started moving again.
He really hoped that Dave would work things out with Karkat soon. He could see how much the blond cared about him, but he was just so stubborn. He was dead set on thinking that being with Karkat would just hurt him, and they were both suffering because of it. He's such an idiot. And Karkat is too, for not going to talk to someone sooner! He was overcome with the desire to snap at Karkat—and he would have done it, too, if not for the sight of something very, very red on the other side of the field.
He drew to a halt, a flicker of alarm shooting through him as he saw just how very red that thing was. He couldn't tell what it was from a distance, but it was decidedly unnatural. He rocketed forward, movements driven by a combination of curiosity and fear, and the closer he got the more he realized that something was horribly, terribly wrong.
There was a pool of scarlet around it. A pool that branched outwards from a central point like a deadly halo, covering an obscene amount of the brownish grass laid across the field. As John drifted even closer, he saw that the form lying in the center of the pool had distinctly white skin, even though said skin was mostly stained scarlet. Her—and it was a her, he recognized—clothing was in tatters, a formerly cream-colored robe slashed to bits and soaked through with the same liquid that was surrounding her body.
"Oh god…" John breathed, because he knew just from looking that the red substance was blood, and that nothing could lose that much of it and come out alive. He set his feet down on the stained grass, cringing when he felt the way it squished beneath his feet, scarlet bubbling up around the edges of his shoes. He padded closer with light steps, throat closing up at the thick scent of copper filling his lungs. And then he crouched down, careful not to let his knees touch the ruined ground, and reached out a hand to roll the figure onto her back. He nearly gagged when he saw the way her head lolled limply on her shoulders, blood dribbling from what appeared to be two deep slashes in her throat. Now that he was this close, he could tell what she was.
A prospitarian.
She was from the village, if he wasn't mistaken. He didn't remember her name, wasn't sure if he'd ever known it, but he knew enough to recognize her face. She was one of the merchants that lined the streets. But…what had she been doing out here? Judging by the bloodied pack slung over one shoulder, he guessed that she may have been on her way to the neighboring village where the salamanders had taken up residency. But something had obviously gone wrong along the way. Something had caught her, and had cut her down brutally.
This is the first death that's occurred since we came to this world, John realized. Our first tragedy. He raked his eyes further down the prospitarian's form, noticing with sadness that she had copious tears and slashes across her formerly pristine skin. It would have been a swift death, at least—it looked like her neck had been snapped cleanly upon initial impact with whatever had attacked her.
He drew back, lifting off the ground and fighting back another gag when he saw blood dripping from his shoes. His first instinct was to call an adult, ask them how to deal with the body. But then he realized that he was the adult on this planet, and that there wasn't really anyone he could call that would know what to do better than he would.
And he had no clue what he was supposed to do in this situation.
He flew back out of the splash radius and lowered himself onto the grass, grabbing his laptop out of his sylladex and opening pesterchum. Rose, he decided. She might have some ideas.
He fired off a quick message, eyes constantly flickering back to the slaughtered prospitarian, and hoped that Rose would respond soon.
†††
Karkat returned to his hive hungry, exhausted, and sorely in need of something to drink. He'd fled the cliffside shortly after hearing that strange voice (which he absolutely did not recognize, no matter what his think pan was trying to tell him) and had practically sprinted back through the forest in his haste to reach it before the sun set. He remembered all too well what had happened the last time he was out after sunset.
The troll trudged tiredly up the front steps and pushed his door open with a light touch. He'd left it unlocked when he left for a reason that now seemed completely foolish.
He closed and locked the door behind him with a heavy sigh, moving for the kitchen. He really needed a glass of water. He was already on edge as he walked, shoulders hitched high as he mulled over the strange events of the past several days. And so when he caught a flash of movement out of the corner of his eye, his first instinct was to take his sickles in hand and lunge threateningly for it.
He swung viciously towards whatever had been moving in his periphery, expecting it to dissolve into smoke or disappear entirely the instant he lashed out. Everything else had been doing that lately, after all. And so when he was met with the clang of metal on metal and an indignant, "Dude, what the fuck?" he realized that he'd just swung at a very familiar head of blond hair.
"Dave?" he voiced, surprised. "What…?"
"I was hoping to check up on you, but it looks like you're more interested in slicing my fucking head off! This is the second time you've attacked me, dude!"
Karkat stared in shock for a moment. Then he recoiled, sickles disappearing back into his sylladex as he realized what he'd almost done. Anger bubbled up in the pit of his stomach, but it was more aimed at himself than at anyone else.
"What," Dave snapped, "no response? Don't know what to say after nearly taking my goddamn head right off my shoulders?"
"Sorry," Karkat managed to choke out, but it was filled with undertones of frustration.
"You'd better be sorry!" was the answering snarl. Dave was practically bristling as he stood in the doorway of the kitchen, sword held threateningly aloft. "I didn't realize you hated me enough to take a serious swing at me!"
"What? No, that's not—!"
"No, no, message received." The sword disappeared. "I'll leave you here, Karkat, since that seems to be what you want. You can go and chum it up with John, just leave me the fuck out of it!" And then he was trying to push past him, and Karkat was so shaky from lack of sleep and food that it took no strength at all to crush him helplessly against the wall as he moved for the door.
Fuck, fuck, fuck! Karkat caught his balance, and before he could stop himself he was reaching out and grabbing at Dave's shoulder. I won't let this happen to us! "Dave!"
The blond whirled around, teeth bared as he threw his hand off his shoulder. "What, are you aiming to finish the job?"
"I wasn't trying to attack you, fuckass!" Karkat bit out furiously.
"Yeah right, like hell I'm going to believe—"
"I thought you weren't really there! I thought I was going to swing at you and then you would disappear like the last time!" Like what happened on the clifftop. Like what happened with those scratches last night. Like what happened in the forest a few days ago.
Dave paused. "What?"
Whoops. That had probably been the wrong thing to say…
The human turned fully now, asking, "Are you saying you swung at someone and they disappeared?"
He tried to recover. "It was a dream. Some moron was coming at me with a sword, I swung, he disappeared. End of story."
Dave's poker face actually morphed, then, features twisting angrily and locking there. "You're a horrible liar. Always have been."
"It's the truth!"
"Like hell! Tell me what happened, Karkat, now!"
"You don't get to order me around," he growled. "And if you're going to try, then maybe you should just leave!"
Dave looked like an affronted cat, every inch of him vibrating with fury. "Fuck off, I'm not leaving until you tell me what's been going on with you!"
"Then you'll be here for a hell of a long time, because there's no fucking way I'm baring my soul to someone who ripped my blood pusher out and trampled all over it like a hoofbeast romping across the battlefield!"
Oh, that got a satisfying reaction out of him. Dave's expression fell suddenly, and it was obvious that he was biting his tongue. "Well you have to talk to someone, because from where I'm standing it looks like you're going out of your goddamn mind!"
Karkat opened his mouth to fire back, but words failed him for the first time ever. His throat closed up, his tongue fell heavy to the bottom of his mouth, and he could feel his eyes prickling. Oh fuck no. I am not going to cry in front of this insufferable wiggler.
"Karkat?"
Great. Dave had noticed his expression crumple.
"Um…you doing okay there?"
Gog, Dave was as awkward as he'd always been with emotional situations. Completely hopeless. Then again, he wasn't much better.
"Shit, dude, are you—?"
"Just leave," Karkat rasped. "Get the fuck out, Dave."
"Really, I didn't mean to—"
"Just leave." If Dave stayed here, if he kept looking at him with that concerned face, he knew he would break. He would break and scream at him for leaving, roar with all his strength about how badly he'd hurt him, and he didn't think he could take it. Not now, when he was already on the edge because of the strange things he'd been seeing.
Dave teetered uncertainly in the hallway. "I really don't think I should leave if you're going to do something stupid."
"What do you think I'm going to do?" he snapped. "Off myself? I'm not that pathetic. It takes more than a few waking nightmares to put me down for good."
Still, Dave hesitated. "Look, this didn't go the way I wanted it to. I didn't come here to scream at you, I came here to make sure you were okay. And if you saw something else, you should tell me about it."
A low growl started in the back of his throat. "If I tell you, will you leave?"
"Maybe."
He glared.
"Okay, okay…" Dave's hands rose in front of him defensively. "I'll leave after you tell me."
"You'd fucking better." He glared. "Now—if you really want to know, then today I just so happened to run across a strange thing swimming in the ocean while I was sitting around on top of that cliff we used to go to all the time. Then it vanished and I heard a voice say something behind me, but when I swung at it there was nothing there. I heard it again, freaked out, and ran home. Then I ran into you, and my day got about a thousand times worse."
"You're hearing voices?"
"No, bulgemunch, I heard one voice. And I only heard it two times in the span of five minutes."
Dave watched him skeptically. "Karkat, if you're hearing voices this is a lot more serious than we thought."
"I'm fine. I told you what happened, now get out!"
Dave continued to watch him. His gaze was completely unwavering as he said, "No."
"What?"
"I said no." He took a step back towards the kitchen. "You know, everyone has been telling me that you're in horrible shape, but I just thought they were overreacting. Even when John told me you were imagining claws scraping along your walls, I thought that maybe you had a chance of recovery as long as you could just find a moirail or someone to talk to. But you're too goddamn stubborn to find a moirail, and you're not willing to talk to anyone else."
"Strider, I swear to fucking gog—"
"I wasn't kidding when I said I was going to stay here until you told me what was wrong."
"I told you what it was! I heard a weird voice, took a swing at it, and here I am! End of story!"
Dave brushed past him for a second time, making his way into the living room and plopping down on the couch with a determined cross of his arms. "Not fooling anyone, dude. I'm staying right here until you fess up to what's really been going on with you these past few months."
"Then you'll be sitting there a lot time," Karkat sneered. His heart was leaping excitedly at the thought of Dave being here again, where he belonged, but there was no way in hell he could show it. Dave had made it abundantly clear that he didn't want him anymore, and he knew what humans said about coveting.
Dave shrugged. "Hope you're ready to put up with me, Vantas."
"I am not—!"
Dave's phone made the sound of a pesterchum message coming through, cutting him off mid-sentence. The blond snatched the device out of thin air and turned his eyes down on it, features cool and collected. But then he jolted straight up in his seat, one hand waving in alarm, and he exclaimed, "Holy fuck, this will have to wait."
"Hmm? What is it?" Karkat walked closer as Dave held out his phone, displaying a pesterchum window with John's screen name plastered across it. He swept his eyes across it, forehead creased with irritation at being interrupted. But then his eyes widened as the words processed in his think pan, and he breathed out, "…What?"
Dave shoved the phone back into his sylladex and shot to his feet. "I think we'll need to take a rain check on the little hissy fit you were throwing."
Karkat was too shocked to realize he was being insulted. "Dave, someone is—"
"Dead," he finished. "Yeah, Karkles. Looks like we have a murderer on our hands."
