Hey guys! So, I am incredibly sorry for how long it took for me to get this out. I had a lot of really terrible shit going on in my life that I won't bore you with, and this fic kind of fell to the back burner. No worries though, everything is more or less fixed now so I'll be back on schedule hopefully.

Warning: this chapter contains reference to child sexual abuse and pedophilia. I won't go into detail, and it isn't against a named character, but it happens. proceed with caution, please take care of yourselves. If you'd like to skip it, stop reading at the second paragraph in the second scene, starting with 'When he was 13, he'd stayed in a foster home with a nice man...' and start reading at the beginning of paragraph five.

I don't have anything else incredibly important to say as of right now, except that I've found a beta! Shoutout to user acouvion for helping me out. Enjoy!

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'Little bird...'

The singsong voice echoed all around me, startling me enough to stumble over nothing. Thin branches slapped against my skin, tangling in the hair and catching on my clothes. My heart felt like it was going to beat right out of my chest, and my lungs burned furiously. Still, I couldn't stop. Not after seeing what they'd done to Joanna, what they'd probably done to Aubrey, if her screams had been any indication.

'Oh little biiiiiird~...'

I stifled a sob as I tripped for real this time, scrambling along the muddy, leaf strewn forest floor before pushing myself up again. This wasn't fair. I didn't deserve this, we didn't deserve this! We were just trying to help, finding an injured, crying girl in the forest during our evening walk. We hadn't expected...

'Come out, come out where ever you are...'

I should have known. Something had felt wrong even as we approached her. The girl had been... Strange. Something about the way she'd held herself, blood covered and writhing in pain, rang false. Like a scorpion calling for the help of a toad. Still, I'd let my better nature override my instincts and convinced Joanna and Aubrey that we needed to help her.

'I can hear your heartbeat, little bird...'

The moment she'd lifted her head, I'd known we had made a grave mistake. If her body language hadn't been enough, her face finally confirmed what my instincts had been screaming: this was a predator. Her skin, even covered in blood, was alabaster pale and smooth as marble, stretched over eerily perfect features. Her pouting cupid's bow mouth and quivering chin were covered in dark, dripping blood. And those eyes, oh, those eyes... By the time we'd turned to run, it already felt like too late.

'Enough playing with your food, Vivi'

A new voice sounded from right above my head, making me shriek and rear back. A figure dropped down from the trees, falling into a crouch just a few feet from me. The thick shadows cast by the trees made it nearly impossible to make out any distinguishing features, besides the fact that person seemed tall. I tried to scramble away, but only succeeded in trapping myself against a thick tree trunk.

'Please, please...' I begged, huddling back against the rough bark. My whole body trembled, fingers digging into the soft mud. 'I won't say anything, please just let me go.'

The figured scoffed, shaking their head ruefully. 'Really? Two of your friends were just brutally murdered in front of you, and you aren't going to say anything? And here I thought humans valued loyalty...'

'You're no fun, Bunny,' The girl appeared from the trees, pouting childishly at the woman (for, despite her deep voice and shadowed figure, I was fairly certain that the other person was a woman). Fresh blood stained the front of her blue t-shirt, and I shuddered, trying (and failing) not to think of who's it must be. 'Besides, she isn't food. I got a little carried away with the bigger one, so she's going to have to be our newest recruit.'

'The Ringmaster isn't going to be happy about this,' The older woman pointed out, sounding a annoyed. What were these people even talking about? Recruits, Ringmasters? If I hadn't been so busy shaking in terror, I'd be scratching my head in confusion. 'She's tiny, she won't even last a week, and that's if the bite doesn't kill her first."

'My brother will get over it,' The girl said, rolling her eyes. Then, as if remembering I was there, she turned to be, bearing her crimson-dyed teeth at me in a trrible parody of a smile. 'You're stronger than you look, aren't you, little bird? Bunny's just mad because you're going to be her replacement. Now stay still, this will only hurt a bit~"

Before I could even think to move away, she was in front of me, grabbing me in an inhumanly strong grip and wrenching my head to the side. there were two simultaneous needle-sharp pricks in my neck, and then pain like I'd never felt was coursing through my veins. All I could do was open my mouth and scream, and scream, and scream...

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Honey startled awake, the beginnings of a scream dying on his lips. His hand flew instinctively to his neck, looking for an injury that wasn't there, even as the last echoes of agony dissapated from his body. He groaned, resisting the overwhelming urge to punch his pillow. It'd been years since he'd had a dream like that, one that felt so real, as if he was truly there, experiencing it himself. One that he knew in his heart had happened to somebody else. He used to think it was cool when he was younger, like peeking into another person's life, but then, well...

When he was 11, he'd stayed in a home with a really nice foster dad named Isaac. He hadn't been very old, only in his mid-thirties, but he was already a widower, his wife dying of ovarian cancer just few years after they'd gotten married. Apparently she had really wanted children, but they hadn't had a chance to. So, he'd decided to start fostering kids after she passed. He was one of the only foster dads Honey had ever gotten close to, eventually even feeling comfortable enough to hug and cuddle with the man. Hell, there'd even been talk of Isaac adopting him.

There'd been an older girl named Rosie, probably 15 or 16, living there too. She was quiet, shy Honey had thought. She never really socialized with Honey, and she didn't seem to like Isaac. Honey had written her off as another moody teenager, definitely not the first he'd encountered in his years in the system. He'd been content to think that, too, until he fell asleep one night, and he... Saw. Saw what Isaac did late at night when no one was awake, saw exactly why Rosie flinched every time Isaac ruffled her hair or patted her back, finally understood the strange, sympathetic looks she shot him every time Isaac touched him.

He woke up with the taste of cigarettes in his mouth, unable to stop himself from wretching into his bedside garbage can. When he'd gone to his social worker the next morning, telling her that his foster father had gotten a little too tactile with him, he hadn't even been lying, really. It may not have truly been his body, but he could still feel the man's filthy touch on him. It had probably helped his story that he could tell her about the birthmark on the inside of Isaac's thigh. The last he'd seen of Rosie, she was shaking on the porch of their foster home, waiting for her social worker to collect her after Isaac's arrest.

Ever since then, Honey had dreaded the reoccurence of another dream like that, sometimes staying awake for days at a time to avoid them. When he'd gotten older, he'd started self medicating a bit, drinking and getting high when the fear got too bad. And so far, he'd been pretty lucky. But this? This just made no sense. Already, the dream was getting fuzzy at the edges, but he the things he could recall were impossible. Teenage girls with super strength who killed people with their bare hands (or teeth, as it were)? It was crazy. Oddly enough, however, that wasn't Honey's biggest concern. No, what was really bugging him was the second woman. She felt familiar, something about her silhouette ringing a bell in the back of his mind, and he swore he'd heard that voice before. It was on the tip of his tongue, teasing the edges of his brain but dissapating like smoke when he tried to grasp for it. It was fucking infuriating.

Before he could spiral too far, his thoughts were cut off by the incessant beep of his phone alarm going off, letting him know it was time to get up. He groaned, scrubbing at his face and rolling out of bed reluctantly. Fuck, after a dream like that, he felt like he hadn't slept a wink. It was not shaping up to be a good day.

It only took about ten minutes for him to get ready, taking a quick cold shower to wake himself up before getting dressed in the first clothes he found that vaguely matched. Now that his first day was over, he didn't give a damn about making an impression, good or otherwise. He gathered all his school work off his desk and into his backpack, then stumbled downstair and into the kitchen, eyeing the clock. Ten more minutes before he needed to leave to catch the bus. Wendall and Helena were already at the table, a third plate of waffles sitting at his seat.

"Good morning," He greeted politely, not wasting any time as he slid into his seat and began eating. He felt like he'd been running through a forest all night, he was fucking starved.

"Hey Honey, did you sleep alright? " Wendall asked, looking up from the sudoku puzzle he was solving between bites of waffle.

Honey shrugged uncomfortably, shoving another bite in his his mouth to stall for a few moments. When he swallowed, he gave quick smile, although it probably looked more like a grimace than anything. "Yeah, I slept fine. Could have used a bit more, though."

Helena chuckled, shaking her head fondly. "Teenagers, I swear you'd all spend 20 hours a day sleeping if you could get away with it."

"Come on now, Helly," Wendall reprimanded playfully, winking at Honey in a conspiratorial manner. "Honey's a growing boy, he needs his rest."

Honey felt some of the tension bleed out of him, feeling more at ease as the dream slowly moved to the back of his mind. "Yeah, I need all the help I can get in the growing department- I'm pretty sure I've seen elementary school students who are talller than me."

After that, Honey felt better, working through his breakfast and having just enough time to rinse his plate and put it in the dishwasher before he had to head out. He called a goodbye to his foster parents, hearing it echoed back to him before he headed out the door.

As soon as Honey walked outside, he felt like something was off. The back of his neck prickled uncomfortably, and he had the strangest feeling, like there were eyes on him. He looked around, scanning the nearby houses, but there was no one outside, and none of the curtains were out of place. His eyes were drawn to the woods, but no matter how hard he squinted, he couldn't make anything out through the thick shadows. He shivered, reminded of that night's disturbing dream. His shoulders hunched in a subconcious gestured of self-protection as he hurried down the porch steps.

The feeling of eyes on him followed him all the way down the hill to his bus stop, and then abruptly faded as he approached M.L. The other teen was leaning against the post box, dressed in camo print cargo pants and a form fitting black turtleneck. They looked up, smiling at him. "Hey stranger. Good to see you didn't run off in the middle of the night, It'd be a shame to lose the first interesting person to show up here."

"I thought about it," Honey admitted jokingly, coming to a stop beside them. "Unfortunately, the last bus out of town had already left by the time I'd come to a decision."

"Jokes on you- there aren't any busses that come through Charlotte," M.L pointed out with a grin.

"Damn, that's a drag. Guess I'd just have to leg it," Honey leaned against the post box as well, crossing his arms over his chest to fight off the early morning chill. "So how was your night last night?"

M.L rolled their eyes, groaning dramatically. "Ugh, the usual. My little cousins were over and absolutely would not stop screaming. My mother has the patience of a saint and even she was at the end of her rope. I swear, Tashi lets her kids get away with murder."

"Oh, so you have family here?" Honey asked, tilting his head. "That's lucky, moving so far from your hometown."

"Huh?" M.L gave him a confused look, before clueing. "Oh no, Tashi and her brats aren't really related to us, she's just a family friend. Half my extended 'family' is like that, you know how it is. Everyone's an aunt or uncle or whatever."

Honey nodded vaguely, but in truth, he couldn't really relate. His parents hadn't been a factor in his life for a very long time, and if they'd had friends close enough to be considered family, they hadn't been around in Honey's life. Hell, Honey was pretty sure he didn't have any blood related aunts or uncles, either, and if he remembered correctly, his grandparents had died before he was even born. The only family Honey could truly rememer having was his sister, and well... Well. These days, he was pretty much a family of one.

A slightly awkward descended, broken only by the arrival of the bus. the pair climbed aboard together, Honey sliding into a bench near the middle of the bus and M.L sat beside him. Angling their body toward him, they restarted the conversation. "So how was your night? Better than mine, I assume."

"Yeah, it was fine," Honey said with a slight shrug. "I helped Helena with some good samaritan project she was working on, and her husband Wendall came home so I got to meet him."

"Helena and Wendall Green?" M.L clarified, looking a bit surprised. "So like, are you a foster kid then?"

Honey stiffened, posture defensive. Damn it. He wasn't trying to hide it, per se, but he didn't exactly advertise the fact that he was in foster care. It wasn't shame that kept his mouth shut, but rather self preservation- kids could be assholes, and there was no need to provide people with more ammunition when his general existence was usually more than enough to make him a target anyway. Well, no use denying it now.

"Yeah, I am," Honey tried to keep his tone neutral, but a hint of steel shone through despite his best efforts. "Does that matter to you?"

"No, not really," M.L said, raising their hands in surrender. "I mean, not any more than it would to know if someone only had one parent, or if their parents were gay or whatever. I don't want to accidentally refer to your mom or dad and look like an idiot."

Honey relaxed at that, relieved. He hadn't truly expected M.L to turn away from him over something so petty, but it's not like it would be the first time someone had failed to meet his expectations. "Yeah, no, no parents. Or at least, none in my life. I think my father is still alive somewhere out there, but I try not to dwell on that unfortunate reality."

"Fair enough," M.L shrugged. "My mom and my bio dad divorced when I was like a toddler, and he's been out of the picture ever since. Good riddance, honestly. I don't remember much of him, but from what I hear from my older brothers, he wasn't exactly winning any father of the year awards. My step dad is pretty great, though."

"Another member of the shitty biological father club, high five," Honey joked, raising his hand. M.L rolled their eyes, but obliged, smacking their palm against his.

"It's not like that's exactly an exclusive club. It'd be easier to start a club for people for people with good fathers." They pointed out. Honey just shrugged, a silent 'fair enough.'

The bus came to a stop outside the school, and the pair slid into the aisle, staying quiet as they shuffled toward the front door. Once they climbed off, they made their way toward the front door, seeming to mutually agree that it was far too cold to stay outdoors, unlike the rest of the heathens crowding the lawn. As they passed the front office, Honey turned to M.L.

"Okay, so I have to know- is Principal Berger always an insufferable prick, or does he just hate me specifically?" Honey asked, following his friend as they led the way to their locker.

"Nah, he's always like that," M.L assured him. "He's only ever pleasant toward the athletes and kids with money. It also probably doesn't help that you're an outsider."

"Outsider?" Honey scoffed with a shake of his head. "That sounds like something out of a bad supernatural YA novel."

M.L shrugged, stopping in front of their locker and twisting their combination lock. "Yeah, this whole town is a little bit ridiculous. I swear, half the town is probably inbred, with how particular they are about right 'right; and 'wrong' types."

"Let me guess- if your family hasn't been here since the town was founded, you're the 'wrong' type?" Honey said, leaning against the adjacent locker as M.L gathered their things.

"Pretty much, yeah," They nodded, slamming their locker shut and locking it again. "Being white and straight probably helps. So and I probably aren't going to win any popularity contests. Sorry about that."

Honey rolled his eyes. "The day I start to craving fitting in with these troglodytes is the day I blow my brains out."

"That's the spirit! Death over conformity!" M.L raised a fist into the air, striking a powerful pose. Honey giggled, taking M.L's hand and beginning to tug them down the hall. Huh, he thought absently, they run really warm. He'd have to keep that in mind for future reference- maybe he could con them into handing over their coat if he ever forgot his.

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Before long, M.L and Honey reached homeroom, settling down at their desk pod. The announcements started, cutting off the conversation between them as they at least pretended to listen. The group of girls in front of them had no such qualms, chatting back and forth in voices they obviously thought were quiet and conspiratorial. Honey was content to ignore them at first, until something caught his attention.

"Did you hear about those girls up in Timberlea?" a tall blonde girl with over drawn eyebrows whispers loudly, leaning in closer to her friends.

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure that Aubrey girl is Suzanna Wynott's cousin," another girl pipes up. "It's so sad, right? Apparently they were just out for a walk and got attacked by something."

"My mom said it was probably devil worshippers that killed them," The smallest girl, a little redhead, said, fiddling with her tiny cross pendant.

The tall blonde rolls her eyes. "Your mother blames everything on devil worshippers. It was probably just a bear or something."

"A bear that drains somone's blood?" the religious girl shakes her head. "Doesn't seem likely. Mama's so upset she's talking about moving us away."

"That's crazy, it happened like six hours away from here. I just hope that Robin girl is okay- they didn't find her body."

Honey felt his heart stutter in his chest, tuning out the rest of what the girls had to say. Drained of blood? There was no way. His dream couldn't have been real, not this one. It made absolutely zero sense. But all the evidece said it was real. This was fucking crazy. He had to check this out for himself, see if i was real or just a fluke. Serruptiously, he reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone, typing 'Timberlea girls found dead' into the search bar.

Immediately he found what he was looking for. The first result was a link to an article from just a few hours before. His stomach sank further and further as her read, worst fear confirmed. Two girls, Aubrey Johnson and Joanna Ducard, were found dead, mauled by an unknown animal. The third girl, their friend Robin Hills, was missing, presumed dead. There were photos of each girl in the article, showing them happy and healthy and alive, but Honey couldn't block out the flashes of Joanna's terrified face or Aubrey's horrible screams from his dream the night before.

"Honey? Are you okay?" M.L whispered, jarring him out of his reverie. He blinked rapidly, swallowing the lump that threatened to form in hs throat.

"Yeah, I'm fine, perfect really, why do you ask?" Honey tried for calm and collected, but in came out more frazzled and frantic.

"Well, you've been staring into space for the past five minutes with a shellshocked look on your face. You're kind of worrying me." M.L bit their lip, eyes flicking down to his phone screen, which was still open on that damned article. "Whatever beast killed those girls, I'm sure it'll be put down soon."

Honey nodded vaguely, slipping his phone back into his pocket. He wanted to believe that, really, he did. But he couldn't stop seeing that strange, monstrous girl in his mind, remembering how fast and strong she'd been. He couldn't imagine that there was anything big or bad enough to take something like that down.

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Okay! So, I'm not really sure how I feel about this chapter, but its been festering for A While and it was time to get it into the world. I hope you guys like it, please read and review!