"Where did you get these wounds, Noct? Did you fight with something while you were outside? And how come your clothes aren't torn?" interrogated Yozora as we both sat on my bed facing each other. And by facing, I meant that he was staring right at me as I avoided eye contact, one hand on my shoulder in shame refusing to let him take another look at the scratches. When he alerted me to them, I hurried over to the mirror to check my back. When I looked over my shoulder to the reflection, I found three long reddish diagonal lines on my dorsal but there was no blood. Only marks. And Yozo just saw them.
"Yozo. Drop it. They're just scratches." I mumbled trying to get him to stay out of it.
"They don't seem like serious injuries but I wanna know how and when you got them."
"So that's it? You're gonna interrogate me every time I get injured?" I didn't want to get defensive but I was desperate for him to shut up about it.
"You don't have to put it that way, you know." he sighed, probably trying to stay patient. "It's just that I feel like something is off this time. I almost thought these scratches are old but I know you got them today. Because last time I saw your back was when you were changing this morning and it had nothing on it. And you didn't leave the house all day. Then when you got back from these so-called 'midnight strolls', your back is covered in what seems to be claw marks. But your shirt is still intact, Goddammit!"
Great. Now he's close to knowing the truth. How the hell could I have been so stupid? I remembered the moment my back felt funny when I exited the mansion. If I hadn't been so forgetful and easily distracted, I wouldn't have allowed him to get that close to me. I would have gotten in for a quick shower then put on something to hide the marks until they have been healed. But I neglect one simple detail and in a second, I'm struggling to keep my secret.
Stupid, Noctis! So stupid!
"You're hiding something, are you, Noct?" he stated matter-of-factly. My silence was the answer he needed. "You didn't even look so surprised about these marks and that was the first thing I noticed."
"Next time, I'll take acting lessons." I didn't want my sarcasm to kick in but my defensiveness got the better of me. Not to mention that I was mad at myself for easily letting a secret slip on its first night but somehow I was taking it out on him.
"Damn it, Noctis! I'm being serious!" he snapped. Good thing the door was closed. I didn't need the extra drama that would surely come with the others barging in demanding to know what's going on.
"These are just scratches, Yozo! Why do they bother you so much?" I growled from between my teeth.
"Because they are weird as fuck!" he hissed back. "They just pop out of nowhere covering your whole back from top to bottom and you're being awfully casual about it and you know what?" what he said next made me flinch. "I'm beginning to think that those midnight strolls aren't just strolls, Noct." Oh no. he must understand.
"Yozora, I promise you. That I was being truthful when I would tell you guys I'm going out for some air with my Familiars and that was seriously it. Nothing more. All my previous night strolls were pretty much normal and uneventful." I had to get that out of the way before he thinks I have been using an excuse all this time to go do who-knows-what.
"So I take it that something has happened this time?" oh fuck me…
And just like that, he made me almost let it slip faster than I would while taking a quick piss in an alleyway. I was beginning to give up and just tell him what he wants to know. There's no going back by this point. Even if I somehow got him to drop it, he will stay curious about it and it would cause nothing but tension later on. And it wouldn't be pretty if the others caught on to that tension and began to intervene. Thing is that I'm still hesitant about talking. What will he think of me when he discovers that I deliberately threw myself into a dangerous area for the sake of exploration like some rebellious teenager? That I broke into a haunted mansion just because I was feeling 'bored' or 'curious'?
I sighed heavily covering my face with my hands trying to imagine his reaction when I spill the beans. Until I felt his arms surrounding me in a reassuring embrace that I could smell his armpits which was a sign that it's been a while since that guy last showered. And the spar with Gallius this noon didn't help with the odor.
"Noct. I'm sorry if I was being too rough or pushy. I just want answers." I pulled out from underneath his chest and hugged back around his shoulders.
"Promise you won't tell anyone." I mumbled into his neck.
"I promise." He reassured rubbing my maimed back and moved to kiss my forehead. "Does it hurt when I do that?"
"No." I sighed into his shoulder. Despite how those injuries looked, they were pretty much painless. They were ghost marks after all. It felt surreal that I became part of what I used to simply watch on the internet. I've seen people who got marks like these starting from a small side scratch to a large red spot covering the entire rear. And now, I'm one of them.
I broke the hug and took a deep breath with my eyes closed. Here it comes. "Just… don't judge me, okay? I know what I did was stupid and irresponsible but... Please hear me out." He looked perplexed but nodded nonetheless. Then he switched from kneeling to a cross-legged position leaning with his chin on his hands. He looked amusing with that 'ok I'm listening' gesture and I smirked at the cute view then brushed it off in favor of unraveling the matter at hand.
Basically, I told him about the haunted house and how I sneaked in to record its insides and how this place was as abnormal as it looked. His eyes turned wide as he took in the weird details of the part regarding objects moving on their own every time I turn my back to leave to another room, and most importantly, the bloody details.
"Hold up. A pigeon in the sinkhole? Seriously?" he interrupted me for the first time.
"And fucking human remains in the fridge, Yozora! Fucking human remains!" I whispered sounding terrified at the memory of the lifeless head staring back at me with empty eyes. "They weren't even bones this time! They were fresh, damn it! As if they were just torn off recently and got tossed in the fridge!" the distress was clear in my voice as I told my disturbed lover one of the shittiest parts of that horror trip.
"What the hell have you put yourself through, Noct?" he mumbled shaking his head. "What's next?"
"H-here. Everything I recorded is right here. See by yourself." I hastened to open the laptop and double clicked on the video in question. Do I have any choice by this point? He already knows so might as well let him learn the rest of it. Once it started, I left Yozo to his devices to get a snack and something to drink. But not before washing my hands twice and, of course, put my shirt back on in case I ran into Galli or anyone who would want to – I dunno, have a 3 am drink of water or something. I have let my guard down enough as it is. I headed to the kitchen downstairs to open our fridge revealing its very normal contents. Naturally, I had to remember the last time I opened a fridge. Hopefully, this memory doesn't turn into a total fridge phobia.
I made myself a simple chicken luncheon and mayo sandwich and dug in. I never realized how hungry I was until I took the first bite. Being grabbed by ghosts and running away from weird creatures can really leave a guy famished. As I was taking my sweet time munching on the meal, my memory went back to the mansion events and how Yozora is in my room witnessing everything I have been through this very moment. Wonder how he would react.
On my way to the stairs with a couple of lemon mint and apple Tropicana bottles in hand, I passed by the main room's entrance and when I took a quick peek, my bodyguard was nowhere insight. But the computer chair was rotated in the opposite direction and the screen was on meaning he will be back later. Probably went for a bathroom break or something.
Fluussshhh. Yup, bathroom break alright.
Once I ran back upstairs, I found Yozo with his eyebrows pressed awfully together as he was staring at something on the screen.
Heh. I wonder which part he has reached. The pigeon part? Or the human remains part?
"Um... Noct?" he called.
"Mmm?" I was chugging down my apple beer as I handed him his lemon mint.
"What's that?" he asked innocently as he opened his bottle. "You didn't see that?"
"See what?" I asked beginning to feel dreadful. What the hell does he mean by that? Did I miss something?
I leaned down next to him on the bed and saw it. On the paused screen of the video, I saw the part when I have first walked into the kitchen. And right over there, in front of me, was a small black head peaking at me from the opposite doorway.
And I was entirely oblivious to it.
"N-no. No no no. you gotta be kidding me. I – didn't even see it." I whispered in complete shock at the fact that someone or something was right out there next to me, and in my field of view no less, and I paid zero attention to it.
"It even moved! See?" and he rewinded the video back to right before I walked into the kitchen. At that moment, the shadow head appeared at the other doorway at the far side of the room, then retreated back when I got closer without me even knowing it was there. I seriously wondered what I would have done if I did notice it. Would I have gone to investigate or would I have gotten too scared?
"Wow. This is some serious shit." He continued watching taking a few sips here and there. Reacting visibly at the food in the pot, the pigeon in the sink, and he almost spat his drink when he saw the fridge part.
"Oh my Sweet Lord!" he croaked and coughed as he saw the head staring back at him from the screen. The camera view jolting violently as I jumped back in fright in the video, until it was fixated enough to give a clear view of the unpleasant remains. I let him enjoy the scene as I got up to close the door for privacy. As I grabbed the handle, my heart sank at the sight of the dark figure standing in the hallway.
When I took a better look, turned out it was just a normal shadow cast by the chandelier. For a second there, I thought that whatever entity I may have faced at that house had somehow followed me all the way to my own place. It would have been an utter disaster if I subjected my own family to this kind of nonsense because of my irresponsibility. I sighed half in relief and half in annoyance at my shaky imagination. Get a hold of yourself, Noct. You're not gonna start seeing this shit for the rest of your life, are you?
Once I closed the door, I headed back to the bed to see how far in the video Yozora has reached.
"I had to skip through the part when you closed the fridge. You took your time to move again!"
"Yeah. I was too spooked, I forgot I even held a phone in my hand!" I chuckled.
"You went through all that on your own?" he held me down from the shoulder for a kiss that tasted like mint. "Damn would I hate to be in your shoes. Sorry you had to experience all this mindfuckery." He rubbed my back in comfort leaning with his head on my chest.
"Hey. It was my choice. I'm the one who chose to do this." I deadpanned as I adjusted my seat next to him.
"But why did you have to do this?" He paused the video waiting for my answer. I honestly didn't know how to reply. Maybe because I didn't have a legitimate reason for what I did.
"Just carry on with the vid, will ya?" I avoided the topic and luckily he did so silently. The screen revealed the toilet scene (had to ignore the way he laughed at my squeak in the video) followed by when I was down the corridor until I saw the shadow creeper across the backdoor window when that meathead's phone call ended it there.
"What? Why did you stop recording? There was someone over there!" that's when I had to explain the phone call and that at the time, I kept hearing noises coming from the kitchen and how that brush got tossed by itself.
"The rest are in that video." I moved my finger across the touch pad until the mouse was right on top of the second video and double clicked on it.
"Huh? The pot is on the floor and…" he stopped talking so he could keep watching. "Where is the pigeon?!"
"I know. That's when things got interesting." I stated calmly. We both stayed silent as the camera view revealed the altered scene of the bottom floor.
"Hold up. Is it just me or did something change?"
"Just keep watching." I told him as I took another sip from my bottle. He couldn't believe his eyes as he saw what he hadn't seen in the first video.
"Look! Over there!" huh? "At the top of the staircase. You saw that, Noct?" Oh no... Don't tell me…
Yup. Sure enough. When the upper floor stairs fell into the camera view briefly, there was another tall shadow figure standing against the window on the landing. The flashlight fell directly on it making it stand out more. Yet I still didn't see it.
"How long has it been standing there?" my voice cracked as I examined the figure on the paused screen standing very clearly at the top of the stairs. It didn't even vanish when the light fell on it so it can't have been a normal shadow. It had no features. No facials. Nothing that would indicate it was a living person. It looked a lot like the one standing in the backyard and there was one inside the house with me!
I let that piece of info hit me when Yozo pressed the Space bottom to keep watching. When the view switched back to where the shadow had been, it was gone. I didn't even hear anyone moving or running. All the more reason to believe that this was an actual otherworldly entity standing a few feet from me. I looked at Yozora to see him totally immersed into the video of my own making while I was sitting there eager for him to reach the juiciest part. I sat there hugging him from behind letting our bottles clink as I kept my eyes on the screen from atop his shoulder. Hehe. Here it comes! On three… two… one.
"Oh shit!" he jumped back almost hitting me in the teeth with the back of his head as I kept my grip on him. He paused the video sputtering obscenities while I buried my head in his back chuckling at his comedic outburst.
"Like the surprise?" I teased as I took another chug from my drink.
"No kidding, Noct! What was that?!"
"I think I just captured a jinn that manifested into that form. Well, at least, this one was right in front of me so I noticed it this time!"
"You wouldn't even notice a Bismarck swimming across your room, gimme a break!" we both laughed after the brief moment of terror before the attention was diverted back to the video again. "But, yikes, this thing is ugly." he leaned forward to take a closer look wow'ing at the entity on the screen with focused eyes.
"Bo!" I nudged him.
"Stop that!" he elbowed me playfully. Once we have gotten past this scene, he carried on watching until he reached the dining hall part. "This is not right…"
"Remember the iron rod I used at the fireplace?"
"On that poor dog, yeah. I saw you leave it on the floor!"
"Now it's on the table."
"And the candle holder was standing straight- "
"-now lying on its side."
That's when I heard footsteps coming from the laptop causing me to panic and bail out. The scene instantly switched in a blue flash from the dining room to the exit. My hand yanked the door open revealing the front yard of the mansion, ending the recording.
"Wait. What's up with those footsteps? Was there someone with you? You think it was a ghost?" Yozora looked at me with confusion apparent on his blue and red orbs.
"Yeah, well. I- didn't know what that was." I shrugged and ran my hand through my hair. "Considering everything so far, I doubt that was a person but I didn't wanna find out." Yozora looked as if there were so many things he wanted to say but didn't know what to start with. Instead, he sat there staring at the screen displaying the finished video then took a sip from his drink with a contemplated look on his face.
"Where did this all start?" he mumbled putting a hand to his forehead. I think I know where this is going. "Just what made you go to that house in the first place? Why would you willingly subject yourself to something like that?" I opened my mouth just as he hit the jackpot: "It's because of those horror videos you like to watch, isn't it?"
"I know what I did, okay? I'm highly aware that this wasn't the best choice I've done in my life but…" I didn't know how to finish my sentence when I couldn't even justify my poor actions. "I wanted to experience it myself."
"You basically got sick of just watching so you decided to play hero!" As expected, the disappointment was apparent in his voice. "Weren't these videos enough of a warning to know how dangerous fooling around with ghosts can be?"
"I just wanted to know if these things were real. I wanted to start an investigation of my own instead of watching others do it."
"Some things we should stay out of! Some things should be left in the hands of someone else!" he exclaimed. "Now you have gone and done it." He stated calmly. "Just what did you gain from all that, honestly?"
"I asked myself the same question on my way back actually." I confessed closing my eyes.
"And? What was your answer?"
"That I have learnt what I needed to know. Some things need to be confirmed or denied. The jinn do exist and this whole ghost thing was definitely no joke."
"Happy? Feeling satisfied now?"
"Not entirely…" I replied before stopping myself.
"What?"
"There's still an entire floor of the mansion I haven't explored."
"You… you're saying you're going back there again? You're crazy as fuck! After what you just saw-"
"I know I'm not making sense now." I interrupted. "But listen. I started this case so might as well see it through to the end."
"Why the hell would you force yourself into this again? There's just no way, shape or form should you feel obligated to repeat this experience. You don't have a solid reason whatsoever."
"It's not that I have to but more like I want to." His dumbfounded look demanded me to explain. "If I don't finish exploring the entire mansion, it won't leave my head until I've made sure I've got everything covered. I probably won't stop thinking about that upper floor and what could be up there. So might as well get it all off of my head then never do it again."
"What if you ran into that shadow dude again? What will you do?"
"I'll escape."
He stayed silent for a while which made me worry. Probably thinking up countless replies to talk me out of it. I understand where he's coming from though. I just did something unfathomable and even willing to repeat the deed. Even I didn't know what I was thinking. Just this morning, I was in the safety of my house away from all that ghost business with absolutely nothing to do with it but watch them from behind a screen. Now I'm involved to the bone with my back to prove it.
"Fine." He whispered the totally unexpected reply, I barely heard him.
"Huh?"
"Apparently there's no stopping you. I personally can't believe myself for letting you go. But it seems you wanna give it one last shot."
"One last shot." I repeated as if to confirm it. "Once I'm done with this mess, there would be no reason for me to dump myself in it anymore."
"On one condition. I come with you." He said raising a finger. I opened my mouth for some serious objection but he didn't give me a chance. "It's bad enough that I'm even allowing you to do this. Least I can do is to tag along. There's just no way am I going to simply let you face possible danger without me keeping an eye on you. It will be foolish and irresponsible of me to let you go through all that alone again." He said it in a way that made me know all too well that he wouldn't take no for an answer. Even though he wasn't a Crownsguard, he took it upon himself to keep me safe like it was his duty. So despite the fact that he may not be a member of the royal military force, he would still protect me as a friend if not a retainer. Something I'm willing to do for all of them in return.
"Yozo…" I whined as I took him for a desperate hug. "I don't want you to get hurt. Not because of me." My fear for his safety made me squeeze him more.
"I'll be fine, Noct. We both will be."
"How in the hell can you guarantee that? You're gonna make me change my mind and quit the whole thing just so you could stay safe. Investigation be damned."
"Hey. I don't wanna be the cause of you stopping what you have been doing. Even if I don't really approve of it. I just can't let you be on your own this time." I didn't reply and kept hugging him. "Tell you what, we'll just explore normally and do our thing. If something happens, we bail and never come back. Okay?"
"Um, that's what I said." I noted breaking the hug.
"Good! Better to be scared shitless together than alone!" he smiled.
"Is tomorrow night okay with you?"
"You left near 12 o'clock last time. 12 o'clock it is then." Had to agree with that. I almost wanted to know what would happen at 3 o'clock but that's enough pushing our luck. As if the things that unraveled at 12 weren't creepy enough.
"Alright. You, um... Charge your phone. Bring your camera and mask and... Hey, if you get scared, I won't hold your hand!"
"I'm not the one who chickened out on exploring the upper floor!" he retorted with a smirk.
"You smartass!" I jumped him playfully and laid on top of him. I cupped his cheeks and swallowed his mouth for a messy kiss that tasted like fruity mint. We stayed in that intimate position for a moment until we sat up again. "I'm going for a shower." I grabbed his arm. "You, sir, are coming with me. You reek of shit and it's been driving me bananas."
We stood under the shower head raining water down on our bodies as we simply held each other as if mentally preparing ourselves for tomorrow night. Occasionally caressing and massaging one another while rubbing our cheeks together lovingly (the cheeks on our faces, not the other cheeks!) had this been any normal occasion, I would have grabbed a shampoo and washed his hair then scrubbed his smelly pits until they don't melt my nostrils anymore. But this time, things are different. Tense, might I add. As relaxing as the shower was, I was too anxious and preoccupied for the second horror trip awaiting us the next day that I couldn't even let go of him to grab the sponge and bathe him like a dog.
One last shot. One last shot and this would be it. No more of this madness.
We laid together in bed not even bothering to wear clothes and just went with the nude cuddling until we both fell asleep. It has become a habit of me and my lovers to lay together ass naked whenever we would have trouble relaxing or falling asleep. And tonight was such a case. And I think the reason for that is crystal clear.
Just as I closed my eyes, I snapped them open in an instant. Feeling something was wrong. I felt like I was being-
Watched.
When I averted my eyes to scan the room, everything was normal until they fell on an extremely terrifying sight. Right at the entryway, watching us with a faceless silence, stood the shadow person in all its glory.