.
.
.
The Karcist and the Mekhanite
Were walking close at hand;
They wept like anything to see
The pure and virgin sand —
'If this were only plagued with filth!'
The Karcist did demand.
'If seven tons of putrid flesh
Upon the beach were poured,
Do you suppose,' the Karcist said —
The other'd hear no more.
'Machines,' exclaimed the Mekhanite,
'Those would improve the shore!'
'O humans, come and be my slaves!'
The Karcist did beseech.
'A raging fight, a show of might,
Along the bloodstained beach:
We'll do away with Mekhanites
And godhood, you will reach.' (1)
. . .
Goddamn, this hurts.
The boy weakly opened his eyes, his vision blurry from sleep. Even though he had just woken up, he felt exhausted for some reason. Hachiman took a second to take in his surroundings. He was in the truck again, the morning sun shining through the windows (broken or fixed). He tried to sit up, but a sharp pain on the right side of his body sent him back to a laying position.
"Ah, fuck." He exclaimed as he grabbed his right side.
"Hachiman, you're awake!" Lucy silently exclaimed, turning to him from the front seat. There were bags under her eyes, and her hair was rumpled. "Thank God."
"What happened?" He asked, slowly lifting and turning his head to look at her. "That thing-"
"It ran off," she interrupted. "I stayed up all night, but it didn't come back." Hachiman let out a sigh of relief as he let his head fall back on the seat.
". . . I guess we know why you're dad wanted you to stay with me." I guess we know why he kept me alive, is what he wanted to say, but he kept his mouth shut on that. Lucy nodded at that and looked away. "How're you feeling?"
"As well as can be expected."
"So awful."
"Yeah."
Hachiman tried sitting up again, fighting through the pain in his side as he pushing himself up. As he scrunched his face, he could feel dried blood flake and fall from his skin. The cuts were still there, no doubt, but they had scabbed over pretty fast. Not that he was complaining.
He looked past Lucy and to the tree he remembered passing out in front of last night. Yep, there was the charred corpse of that monster. Almost all its flesh was gone, leaving the hints of a skeleton covered in a burnt tarp of skin laid on the ground.
Hachiman felt sick.
He looked down at his left hand. It looked normal, even better than his right. He sighed as he slumped back against the seat.
This was too much.
He took a minute to process what had just happened. He reflected over it. These . . . things had chased him off the road, almost killed him and Lucy. For what? He doubted they had a reason, or that some nefarious force had sent them after the pair. What were they? Hachiman had very little idea about what the outside world was like, but he knew nothing like this should exist. Monsters that could mimic cars with heads as bright as headlights. That could run as fast as a car, strong enough to rip right through the metal, and push objects much heavier than themselves off of cliffs at neck-breaking speeds.
It made no sense.
Nothing made any sense.
He had escaped something he could only describe as a personal hell, but escaped to what, exactly? Was this reality? Was reality a place where monsters preyed on lonely cars and girls lived in constant fear because every male they would ever meet wanted to rape them? Where your mind could get snatched into a laptop? Where you could light yourself on fire and be okay the next morning? Where a man could wipe out countless lives with basically no consequences?
He was insane.
That was the only explanation.
Because if he wasn't . . . this was all really happening.
He didn't know which of those two possibilities was more terrifying.
". . . Hachiman?" Lucy's voice called him out of his stupor, though he was too exhausted to physically react.
"Yeah?"
". . . I'm scared . . ."
". . . Me too."
Silence fell between the two as the sat in contemplation. Hachiman stared up at the bent and broken ceiling of the truck, going over and over in his mind the events that had unfolded in the past half a day. He couldn't even say his entire world had been flipped upside down because he had woken up to . . .
SHIT!
"Where's the laptop?!" He almost yelled, startling Lucy.
"I-I think I put it in the glove box." Hachiman had to keep himself from moving too fast as he leaned over and opened it. The laptop had been placed under the box, along with two of Lucy's . . . food containers. Looks like they didn't spill open.
He pulled it out and opened it up. The screen came to life, his past texts with the A.I. still in full view. The battery had gone down to 9% percent, but it wasn't dead and didn't look like it was damaged.
". . . Phew, it's fine." He said, closing it back up. He didn't feel like talking to "Totsuka," but at least it wasn't dead. "J'avais peur que ça se casse dans le crash." (I was afraid it broke in the crash.)
"You keep talking in French." She said. "I'm more disappointed that the box survived than anything else."
"Ne sois pas impoli (Don't be rude) . . . So, what do we do from here?"
". . . I don't know. We could walk, but . . ."
"Who knows how far away the nearest town is," He finished for her. "Or if it's a safe place for us. Or if we're even heading in the right direction. We could follow the road again, but that would still limit us to two possible directions.
"Plus, if those things are out there I don't want them finding us again. I don't think we'd come out okay a second time."
He thought for a moment.
"Eh, I don't think we have to worry about that." He said, stretching his body. "Those things are probably nocturnal. Their bodies were pitch black, perfect for hiding in the dark, and in the dark of night in a backwoods part like this their little 'headlight' trick would be perfect for catching unsuspecting drivers off guard. But then again, they don't seem to follow natural biology, so they could still be out there for all we know."
". . . Do you think the Foundation placed them there?"
"No. What reason could they have? If they were meant to be like guard dogs, who would want a security system that killed its own workers? On top of that, you said they specialized in containing stuff like that, right? My best guess is, they were housed here and somehow survived being wiped out, just like us."
"That does make sense . . . but then that would mean that a number of things housed here could have survived. If something as physically weak as me somehow escaped that, I doubt some of the more powerful of the SCPs didn't."
"SCPs?"
"That's what they called anything the kept contained here." Oh, right. It was on the box they found and her report. He didn't know how he overlooked that. "All I know is I was SCP-166. They didn't share any other information than was absolutely necessary for me to know. If I didn't have to know, I didn't."
"That's shitty," he said, stretching. "So, there could be more things like that around here, or there couldn't."
"There's no way to know for sure."
"Hm. Welp, sitting here isn't gonna get us very far." He opened the door and stepped out, a slight limp on his right leg. How many injuries had he sustained within this short time period? He wasn't gonna live very long if this kept happening.
"Wait, we're really going to walk? I thought we just discussed why that is not a good idea."
"It's either walk or wait here for someone or something to find us. I'd rather take my chances on the road."
She looked up at him. She still wasn't making eye contact, but she was staring at his chin rather than his chest, so it was progressing. After a moment she sighed.
"Okay," she said, grabbing their "luggage" before stepping out of the car. Her sheet was still intact, mostly. A couple of tears here and there but nothing too scandalous or anything.
Hachiman took the laptop and charger, along with the box they had found, while Lucy kept a hold of her bible and "food." The folder she had was held at the bottom, and Hachiman could see a sliver of the letter out of the top of it. Hachiman turned to look up at the steep hill they had crashed down the night prior.
"You think you can make it up there?" He asked.
"I'll be fine."
"Okay, allez-vous."
"Komachi, wake up!"
The girl groaned as she opened her eyes. She wasn't used to oversleeping, but she had been up uncharacteristically late last night. She had been doing that every now and then for the last seven or so months.
She didn't like to think about it, but every day it was constantly pounded into her head that something was off. She hadn't touched his room ever since, although she knew her mother had gone in there some nights when she thought Komachi was asleep. One night her sobbing had gotten so loud that she actually woke up Komachi, but the girl never brought it up.
This didn't happen often, of course. Maybe once a month, twice in July. Komachi remembered it was the night after taking the entrance exam for Sobu.
She hated it. She hated that life seemed to move on without him as if he didn't matter. It made her feel queasy, guilty. She had been looking forward to going to school with Onii-chan, even if he would gripe about it the entire time.
She lightly smacked both her cheeks, banishing negative thoughts from her mind. She always got like this in the mornings, but she would be okay for the rest of the day,
"I'm up!" She called down.
.
.
.
After she got ready, she headed downstairs.
"Good morning, mom!" She said cheerily. The older woman gave Komachi a weary smile. She had gotten better sure, but Komachi could see she was far from fine. She had been home a lot more lately, though Komachi didn't know whether it was out of guilt that he was gone or hope that she would be here when he got back.
If. If he got back.
"Good morning, Komachi. You're father left early, so you get some extra."
Figures. Her father seemed to take this all a little better than her or her mother. He did take a week off work when Onii-chan was officially declared missing, but being the bread-winner of the family he was back to work normally right after. Although she was a little miffed at him for it, she knew there was no helping it. She knew that her father missed him as much as either of them, even if he kept his feelings buried down. He couldn't risk the stability of his wife and daughter, no matter how much he wanted to look for Onii-chan.
Yeah, that was the reason.
Komachi sat down to eat.
"Itadakimasu!" She proclaimed before digging in. She was used to cooking for herself, but she had to admit it was nice having a freshly-cooked meal ready first thing in the morning. She could see how Onii-chan would grow lazy with her cooking for him all the time.
A comforting silence fell between the family members as they ate. It was nice to able to eat with her mother like this almost every morning. She felt they were actually growing closer than they had before with every meal, even if they just had a casual conversation each time. They talked about silly things mostly, since Komachi didn't exactly know how she was supposed to delve into a serious conversation with her mother. She supposed that's what happened when your parents were almost completely absent from your daily life. That wouldn't have happened if they didn't work so much.
Heh, she should be careful or else she might start turning out like her unreliable Onii-chan.
"How's school? Making any new friends?" The usual starting question.
"Totally! Though Taisha-san has been pretty bummed out that I'm not spending as much time with him as I used to." She sighed. "I swear, that boy needs to learn to hang around other people besides me." Her mother let out an amused sigh at that.
"What about your studies? Midterms are coming pretty soon."
"Ugh, I know," Komachi deflated, "I'm sure I'll do fine, but everyone's so stressed out about it."
"That just means they're taking it seriously."
"I know, I just wish they wouldn't treat it like the end of the world. Every time I bring up studying it kills the mood." That must have said something about the crowd she hung around. She could just imagine what her Onii-chan would say. "I want to ask Yukino-senpai and Yui-senpai for help, but they have their own exams to worry about."
"Well, I'm sure you can help each other out, even if you are in different years."
"Maybe, but I feel like I would just be holding them back." Well, maybe not Yui-senpai.
"Well, it looks like you'll just have to figure something out, then," her mother said, taking a drink.
Eh, that's not helpful at all! You can at least give me studying advice or something!
"I guess," she said instead, continuing to eat her breakfast.
Silence fell between the two once again, an aura of comfort in the company. Even if conversations were strained between them nowadays, it was a definite improvement from what it used to be. Even if the reason behind this change wasn't one she was okay with. Her mom felt responsible for his disappearance. Even if she didn't have anything to do with it, she felt if she had just been there more, he would still be here. Komachi wondered what was going through her head every day, but she wasn't ready for a super emotional talk yet.
"Komachi," her mother said, interrupting her thoughts. "How have you been holding up?"
"I'm fine, mom," the same thing she always responded with.
"I know, but-"
"Oh, I have to go! Don't wanna be late," She rushed up, grabbing her bag and heading to the door. "I'm off!"
"Have a good day! Stay safe!" She heard her mother say before she closed the door.
She was a coward.
She was running away from an unavoidable conversation, she knew. She did that every time her mother tried to get closer to her, and she knew how much it hurt her mother to run away from it. But she wasn't ready for it. She wasn't ready to accept the fact that he might be . . .
I wonder if Taisha's free to study tomorrow? She thought, blocking out everything she had been thinking about prior. In the back of her mind, though, she knew that one day she wouldn't be able to run from it.
How long had they been walking for?
Honestly, just about ten minutes. It took just ten minutes for the signs of a town to pique over the horizon, about a mile past the end of the thick forest. It was a surprise to him, to say the least, but it was not unwelcome. He thought they would tear their feet bloody from the concrete before coming across any form of civilization.
"Oh, there's a town over there!" Lucy exclaimed.
"Good eye," He said. "So, what's the game plan?"
"Huh? Uh, well . . ."
"Their bound to have questions, you know. What's our story?"
"Why are you asking me? I'm no good in social situations."
"Well, I highly doubt I am," he said, remembering his train of thoughts while in . . . he would just call it "laptop world." He was going to say "in Totsuka," but that felt weird for him to say.
"So, what do we do. They're going to have questions about why we look . . . well, like this." The sheet-cladded girl said. Hachiman thought for a moment.
"Well, we might have to commit some light larceny-"
"Don't even joke about that," Lucy deadpanned, glaring Hachiman's neck down. He rolled his eyes.
"Well, how about a homeless shelter? I'm sure they will have some clothes or something we can have."
"You're not seriously saying we should steal from homeless people." She said, getting angrier.
"No, we're not stealing. Don't those places exist to give help and resources to the needy? Well, right now, we need it just as much as anyone else. We have no homes, no family, no outside help." Lucy became more and more depressed with each point he made. "You are literally wearing a sheet. We don't have shoes. The only things we have to our names are your bible, a couple of possessed objects, a trap A.I.-"
"Trap?"
"-And pieces of paper. We need clothes, food, shoes, a place to sleep, shoes, and in case I forgot to say it, SHOES."
"You said 'shoes' like three times."
"While I'm all for toughing it out if need be, if someone is offering help to those who need it, I don't think it would be smart of us to not take advantage of that."
". . . I admit you have a point, but I still don't like it."
"You can lecture me after we have shoes."
"Again with the shoes."
.
.
.
"This town is a bit bigger than I thought," Lucy said, close to Hachiman. He assumed since it was working hours that the streets would be fairly empty. What he didn't account for was that they would enter into something akin to a red-light district. There were different buildings around with very suggestive labels. Given that it was working hours, it made sense that the 'workers' would be out and about. Skimpily dressed women and some suggestively dressed men could be seen around the streets, talking casually and smoking.
"Yeah, let's just find somewhere to get some clothes," he said, keeping them moving forward.
Around them, they received weird glances and concerned looks. He supposed it only made sense, as Lucy was still wearing the sheet made to fit into a dress and he was wearing something akin to a Halloween costume.
Still don't know how she cut out the neck and armholes.
He directed them towards the edge of this district, pretty certain that there wouldn't be any kind of help they were looking for around these parts. They were a couple of catcalls, the majority directed at him somehow, but they were immediately silenced once they got a good look at their condition. Of course, even with the concerned looks they were getting, no one came up to them to see if they needed help. He guessed that was just the nature of people. That was fine, this wasn't their problem to deal with, so they weren't obligated to give them help.
It did tick him off just a bit though.
After about thirty more minutes of walking aimlessly around, they had finally found something that slightly resembled what they were looking for. A medium-sized piece of paper stapled to a light pole, with jackets and snowflakes colored on it.
"' Winter clothes drive?' Is winter that close?" Hachiman wondered aloud.
"It's September. I couldn't tell because it's kind of warm for this time of year, but I guess wintertime's almost here," Lucy said, reading the sign.
"No wonder they have it here. Standing outside all night in the dead of winter isn't good for someone's health," Hachiman said. They can't stop people from doing this kind of thing, so they may as well make sure they're safe while doing it. "I bet they'd be willing to give some stuff to us."
". . . I still don't like this."
"So you've said," he turned to her. "Look, if it bothers you that much, we can donate them back once we get at a place where we can afford to buy clothes."
"But what if someone else really needs them, but doesn't have them because we do?"
"Maybe they'll be fine, maybe they won't. But before we can help anyone, we have to make sure we can give help. Sacrificing your own health because someone else might need this stuff too is pointless."
". . . I get it. But as soon as we can, we're buying clothes to donate."
"Fine, fine, let's just go already," he said, waving her off. She followed close behind them as they made their way off.
"Hey there, cutie~!" An effeminate British accent called out to him from somewhere to his left. He shrugged the voice off as he kept walking. "Heeey~, it's rude to ignore people."
"Hachiman, I think she's talking to you," Lucy said quietly to his right.
"Which is why I'm currently ignoring her," Hachiman responded. "Just keep walking, I don't need someone trying to hustle me right now." This girl probably assumed they were a couple looking for some fun in this part of town. Or not, Hachiman had no idea what was going through this girl's mind.
"Wow, so you're really just gonna keep walking? A cute guy like you could use my company~. I could give you some fashion advice."
He turned to look at the newcomer. It was a girl, probably around his age, with bright rainbow-colored hair and clad in a tight leather jacket and ripped jeans. She had soft features and bright blue eyes. Kind of on the skinny side, but not too much so. She wasn't unattractive, but the way she was currently presenting herself sure was.
"After all, you - HOLY FUCK!"
"Oi, keep it down, would you." Hachiman covered his ear at the sudden volume.
"Bloody hell happened to you?!" The girl asked, although there was a tone of amusement in her voice that ticked Hachiman off. It was at this moment this girl had suddenly become aware of Lucy's existence. "Why are you wearing a sheet?"
"None of your business," the teen responded, turning away and continuing his path.
"Hey now, I can't let you go after a statement like that," she said, stepping in front of him. Hachiman glared at the girl. "Scary! You're a gang member or something, ain't ya? I didn't think yakuza operated around here."
". . . I'm gonna do us both a favor and pretend you didn't say that." Hachiman continued past the girl.
"Okay, okay, seriously, do you need help?" She cut in front of the two again. This lady can't take a hint, can she?
"You're being a bit pushy. It's annoying. We're fine." Hachiman stared blankly at her.
"Eh! The hell are you so rude for?" The girl pouted. Hachiman figured she either wasn't used to being turned away, or she was attempting a manipulation technique. Either way, she was annoying.
"Because you're being annoying."
"Hey!" The girl crossed her arms. "I'm offering you some help, ya twat! You're lucky you're cute or I would have walked away by now."
". . ." Did this guy really just say something like that with no shame. ". . . Aaaaand we're leaving. Goodbye." He walked past her.
"Fine, be that way." The girl said, walking in the opposite direction. "Your loss."
Hachiman paid no attention to her, continuing his path. The sounds of Lucy's footsteps filled the air over the almost empty streets. Well, that was one character he had run into that he never wanted to interact with again. Was everyone that annoying, or was he just in a bad mood? Eh, he was probably in a bad mood, but it's not like it was his fault. Plus, that girl really was being annoying. Oh well, if he ever saw her again he would probably apologize. Probably. Damn did his head hurt.
". . . That wasn't very nice, Hachiman," Lucy spoke up softly. Hachiman sighed.
"I know, all right, I'm just stressed right now."
"That's no excuse," Lucy said, giving him a stern look. He looked away.
"I'll apologize if I ever see her again, okay . . . I'm just . . . trying to deal, I guess," He finished timidly.
"I know . . . Just please be a bit more considerate of how others feel. You don't know what they might be coping with, too."
"Right."
". . . You could have asked him for directions."
". . . *Sigh* WAIT!" He called to the girl behind him, Lucy's smirk as he did so not going unnoticed.
.
.
.
"Here you are," The girl said, waving her hands at the church building in front of them. It wasn't that big and looked slightly shabby if he was being honest. Otherwise, it was what you expected a baptist church to look like, he supposed, complete with the sign warning about the end of times. The doors were closed right now. That was given since the clothes giveaway was set to start early the next morning. Hopefully, they could find something that would fit.
The girl turned to Hachiman with a sly grin. "You're welcome."
"Thanks, I guess," Hachiman said timidly, looking away from the girl.
"No need to thank me," she waved it off. You said "you're welcome," first, though, asshole.
"Well, I guess we'll be seeing you around then," Hachiman said, turning from her.
"Hopefully. You got scary eyes, but you're still quite cute, you know."
"Wh-whatever," He said, most definitely not blushing. The girl smirked at him.
"You're blushing."
"You're seeing things."
"Yeah, like you blushing."
Lucy looked between the two other teens, confused to the turn the conversation had taken.
"You're an ass," He said. She rolled her eyes and crossed her arms.
"You were an ass earlier," she pointed out.
"It's probably just the concussion. Probably." He looked up at the building. It was all but abandoned right now, which made sense because it was the middle of the week. The crowded buildings seemed to only emphasize the emptiness of the streets. He studied the exterior of the building. He noticed the stained glass windows had the slight hints of metal bars behind them, barely noticeable from the outside, and the four large oak doors that each had handles, and every handle had scratches on it. Nothing seemed to scream danger to him. Then he noticed a chain in the bushes next to the stairs that led to the front doors.
"Should we go in?" Lucy asked.
"It's closed today, sweetie," the girl said, somehow not coming off as condescending. "Pastor's out somewhere today. He's only here on weekends and Wednesdays."
"No. Something's wrong." He said, going over the appearance of the building again.
"What makes you say that?"
"Let me guess, the pastor chains up the door at night?"
". . . Yeah?" The annoying girl said. He looked back at her, noticing she hadn't moved from her spot while they had come forward. Interesting. "How'd you figure that?"
"For one, the chain in the bushes," he said gesturing towards what he was talking about. He picked them out. Sure enough, the lock was still intact, but the chain was cut through in multiple places. The cut looked clean as if something sliced through it almost instantly, rather than the signs of brute force a chain-cutter might leave. "Two, this is most likely a high-crime area. Everyone is scared of getting robbed, especially when you're low on money. We can rule out its someone who works here because they would have brought the chains inside, not hide them."
"You sure you're not just paranoid?" Rainbow-head crossed her arms. ". . . Wait, how do you figure he's low on money?
"He?"
"Pastor Frankum. He's the one who runs this place, yeah?"
"Well, the state of the building is a really big giveaway, but mostly the fact that they still chain the doors instead of buying locks. This place operates in a most likely low-income district, and I'm guessing that attendance is less than ideal." He stepped closer to the doors. "There are scratches on the handles as well."
"Yeah, that happens. People aren't exactly careful with stuff that isn't theirs."
"Not to this degree. There are no locks on the handles themselves, but these look as if someone had been scratching at it with some kind of metal object," He rubbed a finger over the cuts on one of the handles.
"Maybe, oh, I don't know, the metal chains?"
"The round and dull chains. The occasional bumping and grinding wouldn't cause scratches this deep and defined."
"You daft, ain't ya?" She deadpanned.
". . . Is the pastor here a drunk?" She glared at him. Interesting.
"I don't know, I don't exactly frequent this sort of establishment myself."
"Even if there's a reasonable explanation for these scratches, the chain itself being in the bushes is reason enough to worry." He stepped back and pulled the door open.
"Oh, if you're so worried, why're you going in? Shouldn't this be something to call the police for? Unless you're planning to go in and steal something yourself."
"Do I look like the type of person to do that?" The girl opened her mouth. "Don't answer that. If anything I'm just curious, I have no intention to steal anything, especially since Lucy would just yap my ears off if I did." He held the laptop and charger towards Lucy. "Hold these." He then pointed at the rainbow-headed girl. "You, come with me."
"Wait, why?"
"I'd thought you want to since you have a personal stake in this."
"The hell are you on about?"
"Pastor Frankum. You claim not to frequent this place, yet you know his name, as well as the fact that he chains these doors closed at night," She opened her mouth to protest, but he cut it off. "Not to mention that you haven't moved any closer to this building since we got here. You could play it off with the excuse that someone dangerous might be inside, or that you used to be religious then rebelled or whatever, but your reaction when I suggested that the pastor might be a drunk suggests you have a fond recollection of him." She flinched. "Taking all this into consideration, I believe you're avoiding him."
". . . You're an ass," She looked away from him. He smirked.
"But am I wrong, though?"
"What business is it of yours, eh?"
"None. I could care less about how you know the pastor, but given what could be inside, I thought you might be curious, too. Plus, as I said, I can't trust you, so I'd rather not leave you alone with Lucy, and I can't bring her in there, so," he gestured into the building.
"I'm coming too," Lucy said. He looked over at her.
"Why?"
"Because I know about . . . some things than you do. If it's something dangerous, you're going in blind."
"I thought you said they didn't let you know anything?"
"They couldn't keep everything from me, not in a place like that."
"Even so, I'm not risking your safety. Whatever it is, I can handle it, but I'm not betting your life on the possibility I can't."
"Oi, but you're fine betting mine?!" Rainbow-head said.
"You'll be behind me. If something goes down, you can get out and get her out of here."
"So?! I ain't bulletproof!"
"I'm going," Lucy said again, stepping closer to him.
"I-"
"We can stand outside arguing about this all day, or we can go in. Your choice."
". . ."
". . ."
". . ."
". . ."
". . . Fine, you can come," He gave up. "Just stay behind me. You too, rainbow-head." He turned to the girl.
"Like hell, I will!" She yelled, storming towards the door. She shoulder-checked him as she entered the church before them. Hachiman didn't acknowledge this, simply choosing to walk into the building with Lucy close behind.
Lucy sat on a pew inside the church, her belongings sat next to her, a little surprised at how well kept the inside looked compared to the exterior of the building. The pews were traditional, save for the cushions on the seats and backrests. The pulpit wasn't exactly grandiose, but it held an air of importance one would expect it should, with the wood carved into simplistic yet attractive designs. Paintings on the walls and ceilings were dull in color, and if you looked closely you could see where someone had painted over certain parts, probably because of chipping. How long had has it been since she was inside an actual church? Almost four years now. She had been taken into Foundation custody when she was 14, and she would be 18 in May.
She watched the Japanese teen lost in thought as he studied the surroundings himself, while desperately trying to ignore the tense air coming from the girl next to her. She felt obligated to say something but had no idea what she would say. She seemed to have put up some kind of wall to them around the time Hachiman had called her a boy, although she had no idea why. Being forced to follow them in here sure didn't help. Still, if she wanted to clear up the awkward air she should say something. How could she ever hope to have a normal life if she couldn't talk to normal people?
"Can I ask you something?" Lucy asked the rainbow-headed girl as they stood inside the church. Hachiman was studying the interior of the building around them, the ceiling and pillars. There wasn't any sign of a person around.
"No," she dead-panned, staring ahead. Lucy pouted at that.
"What's your name?"
". . . Jasmine," She said, turning away so that Lucy was staring at the back of her head.
"Nice to meet you, Jasmine."
"Enchanted," Jasmine said sarcastically. Lucy knew it wasn't her that she was mad at, but she didn't expect Hachiman to do anything. She didn't know him that well, but he just . . . didn't seem like the type, she guessed. He seemed more comfortable with dealing with physical problems that mental or emotional ones.
"I'm sorry about him. He doesn't really know how to deal with people."
"I can tell," she scoffed, turning to her. "You know, you don't seem half bad. How'd you end up . . ." She gestured at Lucy, insinuating that she meant "like this." Lucy let out a sigh.
"I'm trying to figure that out myself. We just escaped out of a pretty bad situation, not even yesterday. Should've died twice over. He's the only reason I'm alive right now."
"That right? That why you're taggin' along with him, then?"
"No, it's . . . a lot more complicated. Honestly, we don't know each other that well, but we were both forced into this. We're just trying to survive, and we can't do that without each other."
". . . You're really open to someone you just met, you know."
"I am? Sorry, I'm not used to . . . talking to people, I guess."
"I get it. What happened to you guys anyway?"
". . . Car wreck?"
". . . You said that like a question." Lucy chuckled nervously. "Now that I think about it, you lot were talking bout something strange earlier. About some 'bad people,'" Jasmine used air quotes as she stressed those last two words. "What really happened?"
"Oi, is there anyone who works here gives you the creeps?" Hachiman said suddenly, catching both their attention.
"What? Nah, it's just the Pastor and some volunteers, but they seem friendly enough, yeah? Why?"
"Whoever or whatever forced their way in here definitely did so for a purpose. There's nothing trashed or anything, even the clothes are untouched, so this wasn't a robbery. They needed something and knew exactly where it was, which limits it to someone who frequented this area."
"Unless it doesn't," Lucy pointed out. Hachiman looked over at her, a questioning gaze. He wasn't as used to it as she was (honestly she had no idea what his mind was accustomed to), but she knew that the . . . things that could exist in this world cared little for logic and reason. Sometimes things could just be, no purpose or explanation as to how. Sometimes something just was, and you had to live with the fact that it was this way, without ever being given a reason.
"What are you on about?" Jasmine asked her.
"Nothing," Hachiman drew her attention back to him. "Where's the pastor's office?"
"It's not that big a place, you can find it," Jasmine said, crossing her arms and looking away. Hachiman sighed.
"You know, you guys can help me look, right?"
"I think I'd rather let you waste your time," Jasmine said, turning back to him. "What are you even looking for anyways?"
"Whatever was stolen, or something interesting enough to be stolen," he said, walking around the back of the pulpit. "Ah, found a door."
"Congratulations, you found a door in a building." Jasmine rolled her eyes.
". . . Lucy, come and talk a look at this."
The blonde girl hesitated for a second, confused, before standing up to walk over to here she had seen Hachiman disappear. Coming around the back of the pulpit, she saw the door Hachiman must have been talking about. It was slightly propped open, and she could see it was behind the thick curtain of the back wall that she guessed usually hid it. She stepped through it into a dimly lit room, where Hachiman was pushing around large garbage bags full of clothing with an irritated look on his face.
"Found the clothes," he said, opening one of the bags and starting to go through it.
"Hachiman-"
"Here," he interrupted her by throwing a shirt at her face. "This looks like your size."
". . . Is this even clean?"
"Pretty sure. Although I think the fact that they're actual clothes should be the deciding factor here." He picked up a thick jacket from inside the bag and studied it. "Well, start looking for stuff, we don't have all day."
"Shouldn't we wait until the actual event starts to get clothes?" She said.
"Well-" What he started to say was interrupted by the sound of something falling outside. He looked towards the door towards the little sliver of outside he could see. "What was that?"
Lucy looked back behind her and opened the door slightly.
"Jasmine? You okay out there?"
"T-Totally, don't worry about me! Just a little careless!"
"Something's wrong," Hachiman whispered. Lucy looked back towards his direction.
"What-"
"SHH!" He insisted, reaching out and pulling her away from the door. "Something's wrong. Stay here, don't leave this room until I give you the okay."
"Wait, what?" Lucy whispered along with him. "What are you talking about?"
Hachiman didn't answer, simply standing up and creeping towards the door. Not even the wood underneath his feet creaked.
"I think this might be your size," he said in a higher volume, looking back at the blonde and gesturing at her. She looked at him for a second in confusion before figuring out that he wanted her to play along.
"O-Oh, I don't think it is, it's blue." She said, matching Hachiman's volume. Hachiman stared at her incredulously.
"What the hell are you on about?!" He whisper-yelled.
"I don't know, I was just winging it!" She countered, and Hachiman face-palmed.
"Act a little more natural!" He turned back to the door, attempting to look outside it without disturbing the door itself and yelled: "Hey, can you come help Lucy? I don't really feel comfortable with it."
"Can she not dress herself?" Jasmine retorted without hesitation. Hachiman looked over to Lucy, with a look that said: "Told you so." Lucy just looked at him confused. How did that statement prove his point?
"Wait here for a second," he whispered, stepping outside and closing the door behind him. Lucy blinked, looking at the door as it shut. What was he talking about? How in the world did he know something was going on? The blonde stood up and walked over to the door. There was a moment of silence before she heard Hachiman's voice speak up, but she couldn't make out what it was because the thick door and curtain cut out almost all the sound.
.
.
.
"Look, I can explain-" Jasmine had started.
"Where have you been?! It's been almost a year since I've seen you, and you come back here, looking like . . . that." The way the new voice said it caused Jasmine to flinch.
"I-I . . ."
"Pastor Frankum?" Hachiman said as he stepped into view, looking at the scene in front of him.
In front of him stood a towering figure of a man, the wrinkles and grey hair on his face betraying the absolute mass of muscles that were hidden underneath his well-pressed suit jacket. The man looked him up and down, a mixed look of anger and confusion as he looked at the cut-up teen.
"What are you doing here?" The pastor said. Hachiman noted that he had a more American accent in his voice.
"I had thought someone broken in, and I got curious. Started looking around for clues," he admitted.
"And that would have nothing to do with the fact that you just came out of my storage room?"
"D-Dad, it's not like that . . ." So, her father, huh?
"There were possible clues in there. Plus, we needed clothes," Hachiman shrugged. Jasmine looked at him like he had just shot someone.
"So you were stealing?" Pastor Frankum crossed his meaty arms.
"Besides the point," Hachiman deflected. "We came upon a possible crime scene where dangerous people could have still been lingering. Of course I was going to check it out."
"The only dangerous person I see here is you." Frankum glared at him. "I've half a mind to call the Barney right now."
". . . the dinosaur?" Hachiman asked, confused. Frankum's glare deepened as he took a step in Hachiman's direction. Jasmine looked like she was about to die on the spot.
"I don't think you're in the position to make jokes right now."
"I'm not, though."
"Could have fooled me. You probably are too drugged up to even understand me, with those meth-eyes you have."
"They're not, though."
"I'm calling the police."
"You shouldn't, though."
". . . Don't move." Frankum said. Hachiman sighed.
"Man, I just wanted shoes."
"Don't move." A voice called out. Hachiman blinked and looked around. "Don't move."
"What the hell did you say, smart-ass?"
"You heard that? Well, at least it's not in my head," he said, looking around. The sounds of scuttling filled the building.
"Don't move." "Run." "Don't fall for it." "Run." "Help me!" "Stop! Please!" "Don't fall for it." "Run!" "It's a trick!" "Jesus Christ! Engage, engage!"
A cacophony of voices filled the church, coming from seemingly every direction. Above them, the ceiling creaked as figures he could barely make out flew through and around the wooden supports.
"You wouldn't happen to have a rat problem, would you?" Hachiman asked loudly, not receiving an answer.
"They're killing him!" "Don't be afraid." "Don't fall for it." "Kill that fucking thing!" "It's your turn hothead." "Run!" "Help me!" "Run!" "It's a trick!"
Something fell from the ceiling right above Hachiman. He instinctively jumped back, letting the thing land on the ground between him and the other two.
It was a horrifying looking thing. Its body looked as if something had skinned it, the translucent red of flesh dominated most of its features, a row of long dorsal spines ran atop its back, vibrating as if it was . . . purring in anticipation. It shifted as it "looked" at him, and he used that term loosely seeing as the thing didn't have any eyes on its elongated head. Its fangs were fairly luminescent, despite how well lit the inside of this church was.
". . . Daddy? . . . Daddy, I'm scared . . . Daddy, where are you?" The voice of what appeared to be a little girl flowed out of its mouth. It took a silent step forward in Hachiman's direction. "Please help me . . . someone, please help me . . . it hurts . . ."
Hachiman stepped slowly to the side, out of its path, staring the thing down. His heart was pounding in his ears, but he was doing his best to keep his composure. The four sharp claws on each of its feet scraped the ground as it walked. It came to a small step in front of the pulpit. It froze its movement for a second, before slowly rising to stand on its hind legs. Hachiman tried to stand as still as possible while this thing, mere inches from him, rose to stand at a full two feet taller than him.
". . . Daddy? . . . Daddy, I'm scared . . . Daddy, where are you? . . . Daddy? . . . Daddy, I'm scared . . . Daddy, where are you?" It repeated.
. . . It's luring people in, the teen realized. It's using voices to try and draw someone towards it.
"Hachiman?" Lucy's voice called out from nowhere. His head whipped around to see the girl come out of the room she had just been hiding in. "What's going . . ."
The thing fell down to all fours and shot itself towards her. She let out a scream as it flew at her.
"SHIT!" Hachiman yelled as he sprinted at the thing. It swung at the pulpit, Lucy diving to the ground as it tore the top half of the stand clean off. Hachiman came around its right side and round-house kicked it, sending the thing tumbling to the side of the building with a screech of anger.
At that, three more of those things jumped down from the ceiling, landing on all fours with a screech. Two covered his sides and one stood between him and Jasmine (and the pastor). The one he had kicked away was already recovering, shaking off the effects of his kick. He hadn't expected to do that much with just a kick, considering how large it was, and that he was still injured from his run-in with those headlight things last night.
"Kill."
"Engage, engage!"
"Run."
All different voices coming from each of them as they stalked closer to him. Their bodies shifted and jumped with each step, the voices and growls they made growing louder. As they stepped closer, only one thought ran through his mind.
Well, shit.
As if on cue, they all pounced on him. Acting on instinct, he sprinted two steps forward and jumped. He flew over the head of one as two others collided with each other behind. He landed on the ground behind it, turning quickly and kicking it in the back (just barely missing the spikes on its back). It screeched as it was sent flying into the other two who were starting to gather themselves together.
"Lucy, get out of here!" He yelled at the blonde girl. She rushed around the pulpit and towards the other two people in the building. The first thing screeched, shooting towards her. Hachiman jumped at it, landing a punch on its jaw. It swiped at him as it flew away and into the pews, crushing the wood under its weight as it crashed through them. Hachiman landed on his feet and spun around as the three other things shot at him. He jumped backward as the first one landed in the spot he was just in. Soon they were scrambling over each other one by one to get him, his back-stepping just barely keeping him out of their reach.
He ducked under one as it swiped at him, and sucker-punched it in the jaw. He back-flipped out of the way as another's jaws closed right in the area he was in.
He jumped up, landing silently on one of the support beams in the ceiling, and crouched. Looking down at the things, they were scurrying all around, bodies swinging wildly in every direction as they tried to locate him. He stood still, silently watching them.
Shit, how am I supposed to get past these things? I head for the door, they'll just follow me, and I doubt there's anything in here to hold the fuckin' things . . .
He might have to kill them.
It wasn't something he wanted to do, but he didn't see any other options. It's not like he could keep dodging forever until they just happened to get bored of him. Besides, who's to say they wouldn't go and kill someone else if he just escaped and left them to their own devices.
But could he even kill these things? He was . . . a lot stronger than he anticipated right now, but what if they had some crazy healing properties?
I could try doing that thing again. But what triggered it last time?
". . . Daddy? . . . Daddy, where are you?" A voice called out from below him. They must have gotten tired of trying to find him and resorted to luring him out.
They're probably blind, given their lack of eyes. Not that it does me any good, as soon as I move they'll probably hear me.
Burn.
Hachiman shifted on his feet, grabbing the beam he was hiding on to support him.
Creeeaaak! The wood seemingly yelled out as soon as his foot shifted.
. . . fuckin' . . .
"Engage! Engage!" He jumped back from the ceiling as the things started climbing the wall to get to him. He felt his heartbeat quicken the closer they got to him.
Burn.
He rushed to the door. If he could get outside, maybe-
"Engage!" The voice yelled as he was tossed to the side. He landed against a wall with a hard thud, the wind knocked out of him as he hear something snap. His thoughts were jumbled, he couldn't focus, and they were getting closer. He needed to move, he needed to-
Burn.
"Kill." He felt a sharp pain on his leg.
He blacked out.
Lucy was being pulled along by Jasmine as they ran down the street. They turned a corner down an alleyway, the pastor a pace ahead of them but still close enough to ensure their safety. She could run a little better now that she had proper clothes on (the temptation of actually having clothes proved too great for her, she would pray for forgiveness later), but her feet were still sore and cut from the amount of time she had been walking barefoot. Not to mention she felt her terror grow more and more the farther away from Hachiman she got.
"What the hell were those things?!" Jasmine yelled, not getting an answer. Both she and the pastor were visibly terrified.
With force, Lucy yanked herself free from Jasmine's grasp, forcing herself to a shaky stop. Jasmine stopped about a second ahead of her, and the pastor a second further than that. Both turned back to stare at her, the pastor with confusion, the teenager with almost irritated disbelief. Lucy allowed herself to take in big gulps of air, catching her breath before speaking.
"I need to go back!" She proclaimed. The other two seemed to take a second to process that before Jasmine spoke up.
"Are you bloody daft?! Did you not see those fucking things back?!"
"I can't be away from Hachiman!" Lucy turned to run back, only for Jasmine to grab her and hold her in place.
"Look, I'm sorry about your mate, but if you can not go back there!"
"Harry, do you know what's going on?!" The pastor yelled.
"D-Dad, I-"
"It's a trap!"
Lucy froze. The pastor and Jasmine stopped talking.
"It's a trap!"
Stomp.
Lucy turned her head to look behind her. One of those things stood above the pastor, a foot taller and twice as wide. It looked uncomfortable standing like that, but also . . . smug, somehow. It opened its horrid mouth, its tongue swishing back and forth against the air.
"Please, somebody!" The voice came from its throat but seemed not to belong to it. Almost as if something else was speaking from inside it. "Help me! Please!"
It twisted its head to the side, so that its jaws were perpendicular to the ground, and bent over the pastor.
"Please, some-"
A flash of bright orange.
(1) Excerpt from "The Karcist and The Mehkanite" from the SCP wiki page.