1-4
Mark of the Beast

Casey sat as still as a rock on his hospital bed, the quiet of the room enveloping him like a familiar blanket while he awaited Mae's return with their pizza. Rain had once tapped along the roof like a ballet dancer, but now they had gone and all that was left was a thick silence that covered the area like snow. At first he basked in it, his ears having lacked a relief from the world around him for so long. But soon his mind began to fill in the silence with the squelching and pulsating sounds he had grown accustomed to for the past two years. He felt his body begin to burn and ache, the marks on his skin throbbing and his breaths growing quicker and heavier with each pump of blood. He tightly gripped his knees as his eyes darted across the room, looking for something to break this deafening silence with.

He then spotted an old TV in the corner on top of a rolling stand with some VHS tapes beneath it. Casey immediately shot up and darted to the TV, but before he could reach it he stumbled and fell onto his face. Before he even registered that he'd fallen he was back on his feet and in front of the TV. Without thinking he smashed every button on the TV until it flicked on and shot a beam of static against the boy's terrified face. The buzzing of the TV sent the nightmares that had infested his mind running back to whence they came, and allowed Casey to let out a deep sigh of relief while he collapsed onto the floor. A tape must have already been in the TV, as a movie began to flash across the dark room. He paid no mind to it however, as long as there was some form of noise keeping the nightmares at bay he could rest easy. Soon after there was a knock on the door.

"Someone order a pizza?" Mae quipped while she opened the door. The first thing she saw was Casey's body lying motionless on the floor.

"You alright?" She asked as she sat down next to him.

"Yeah," He replied, "just resting is all." Mae cocked her head to the side.

"On the floor?" Casey let out a chuckle and smiled.

"Yep. I'mma little floor baby."

"Can I be a floor baby with you?" She asked.

"Sure." She put the pizza down at her feet and laid on the floor next to him. Surprisingly, the carpet they were laying on was quite comfortable, more so than the mattress he had been on.

"Wow. This is really nice." Mae commented as she stretched her body out.

"Being a floor baby has many benefits."

"Floor babies for life." She sighed. Both of the young adults went quiet and silently lay on the floor, not a word was passed between them. The moment was enough for them both, especially Casey. He'd missed being with his friends, with Mae. When the time came to enjoy life to the fullest he would, but for now this was perfect.

"You want some pizza?" She asked

"Hell yeah." He said as she reached down rested the pizza box above their heads. The smell of lukewarm pizza escaped from its prison as the cat opened the box and grabbed slices for the both of them. She immediately took a bite out of hers.

"How is it?" She asked through a full mouth. Meanwhile Casey still held his slice, taking a moment to admire it before he flipped the slice around and took a bite out of the crust. If he hadn't cried himself dry already he'd certainly be tearing up. His eyes were big and emotional, and his quivering lips were pulled into a grin.

"This is terrible," He chuckled as he looked over at Mae and nodded, "but it's good to have it again." Mae smiled back at him before he took another bite. She was surprised at how slowly he was eating, normally he was done before anyone else had even sat down yet. "Should have gotten Pastabilities instead."

"Same, but they closed."

"What?!"

"Yeah, just last year actually."

"Nooooo!" He lamented. "Whyyyyyy?!"

"No clue."

"Ugh. RIP Pastabilities."

"Rest in Pepperoni."

"I wanna be buried in Pepperoni when I die."

"I'd wanna be buried in cheese. Mozzarella specifically. " Casey took another bite out of pizza before he turned to look at Mae.

"Dr. Hank said I was gone for 2 years, is that true?" Mae grunted yes through her pizza filled cheeks.

"Wow…" The cat went silent, just taking a moment to really understand the scale of that. He gulped down his food and looked down at his skeleton body. 'Two years?' He pondered, his mind not truly able to wrap around the concept. He was able to come up with a way to visualize it, albeit one that didn't truly make sense now given who was lying next to him.

"Wouldn't you still be in college then?" Mae finished off her slice and sighed.

"It didn't work out." Casey nodded understandingly.

"That's OK, school sucks anyways."

"That is so true. Do you remember Miss Labatt?" The orange cat's eyes widened in sheer unadulterated horror at the mere mention of 'she who must not be named's' name.

"I still have nightmares, I think she cut a few years off my life!" He exclaimed.

"Remember when she made us read Romeo and Juliet?" Casey scoffed

"Oh my god I felt just like Romeo cause I wanted to poison myself while reading that shit." She let out a snort and placed her hand on his shoulder.

"She's why we can't have nice things." She complained while her friend took another chunk out of his pizza.

"How's Gregg?" He inquired.

"Oh, He's good, great actually. He and Angus got engaged and moved up to Bright Harbor."

"Really?" He replied in a surprised tone "Well good for them! I've heard it's rough up there, are they alright?"

"Gregg says they've never been better, they even own a house." Casey let out an exaggerated gasp at the news.

"Woah! Good for them, never thought any of us would actually own one."

"Honestly same. I'd love to own a house that's like on the coast or something, that would rule. What about you?" Her friend took a moment to ponder just what his ideal house looked like.

"Something built into the side of a mountain, I always thought that was cool. I'd be a little dwarf mining for gold and finding unimaginable horrors and shit." Both of them laughed softly before he piped up again.

"What about Germ? How is he?" Casey asked

"Fine I guess, we don't talk much." She said as she stretched again.

"Mmh." Casey took another bite before continuing.

"What about you? What's going on with you?" Casey asked. Mae gulped down her pizza while her head became filled with the prior 2 years worth of events. There was so much she could talk about that it was overwhelming, but one answer sprung to mind however.

"Uh, I got a job." Casey scoffed at her remark.

"Sellout." Mae shot a suave look back at the orange cat.

"How do you think I bought that pizza?"

"I thought you stole it." Mae lightly punched her friend in the shoulder as he laughed to himself.

"You know what? Shame you didn't choke on that pizza." Casey gave Mae a confused look, before recognition swept over his face and he grinned.

"Shame you didn't trip and fall off a cliff."

"Shame you didn't get eaten by a rabid pack of wolves."

"Shame you didn't get put into a coma from a freak donut accident."

"Shame you didn't catch a severe diarrhea infection."

"Shame R. Kelly didn't find you."

"Oh my god. Casey!" She laughed at his crude joke as he smiled wide and sighed.

"It's good to be back." His face was filled with unadulterated joy, like he was a child again. "I was just messing with you, what's up with your job?"

"I work at the Snack Falcon, I ended up replacing Gregg after they moved."

"Damn, both of you?" He whined.

"Yeah and you're next, I'm gonna get you hired."

"Oh god have mercy!" He cried out as Mae laughed like a Disney villain.

"There is no mercy, only minimum wage labor!" Casey chuckled before taking another bite from his pizza.

"Why do you eat pizza like that?" She commented on his strange backwards-pizza slice eating ways.

"It tastes good like this."

"It's effing weird!" She shot her arms out to her sides.

"You just don't know how to eat a pizza then." He said as he swallowed the last of his slice.

"It looks like you're making rug angels." He commented.

"Rug angels?"

"Yeah, like snow angels but in the rug. Here, watch." He placed his slice onto his chest and began to make one of these so-called 'rug angles' below him. He was soon joined by his friend who mirrored him. The both of them laughed as they looked at each other with glee. Casey finished his slice before taking in a deep breath and looking at his friend.

"Hey Mae?" He asked in a tender voice. "Can I sleep at your house tonight?"

"Oh sure!" Casey's face lit up like a match.

"Thank you!" He rolled over to give her a pseudo-hug, which she gladly accepted.

"Mom and dad are on their honeymoon, so it'll just be you and me-" Suddenly the ear piercing wail of a bird startled both of them and Mae let out what could only be described as the tortured scream of a damned soul from hell as she mistakenly launched her phone across the room and against the wall.

"Oh shit that's my phone!" She quickly stood up and rushed to her hopefully not broken phone as her friend let out a nervous laugh. The good news was that it wasn't broken, the bad news was that Aunt Molly was calling.

"It's just aunt Mall-Cop." She declared as she flicked the lights back on.

"Ahhhhhhhh!" Casey yelled as he covered his eyes, "The light! I'm melting!" He pretended to melt into the carpet as Mae laughed before bringing it up to her ear.

"Yeah?" She listened to what her auntie had to say before nodding. "Got it, thanks." She hung up the phone and turned to Casey.

"That new old guy is gonna pick us up."

"What what what what what?" He sarcastically answered.

"There's a new police chief, he's picking us up for Molly." She said as Casey stood up

"Why doesn't she pick us up herseEEEEAAAAAAAAHHH!-" Casey accidentally stepped on the pizza box while he was approaching her and fell to the floor with a loud thud, landing directly on his boney ass.

"Casey!" Mae rushed over to her friend back up. "Are you OK?" He was gasping for air but failing at every opportunity to do so. He then suddenly took in a deep breath of air and began to breathe heavily.

"Holly shit, I had the wind knocked out of me!" He laughed in shock while she helped him stand back up. "My butt hurts too."

"With how skinny you are you don't even have one."

"Now that's tragic." He quipped as he sat down onto the bed, looking down at his sorry state.. Suddenly Dr. Hank burst into the room with a distraught look on his face.

"Everything alright?" He panicked.

"We're good." Mae explained.

"Alright then, I just heard a lot of banging and- Oh, Mae! I thought you had left with Molly."

"I was here the whole time!" She shot her hands straight to her sides.

"Oh, alright then. Do you two need anything?" He said while straightening his back and putting his glasses on.

"Some clothes." Casey answered.

"Ahhh, clothes! I actually prepared some for you." He stepped outside the room before coming back in with a neatly folded stack of clothes.

"I fear that they might be small by a size or two, but they'll work for now." He handed the boy them. On top of them was a bright pink shirt with a flower on top.

"Really?" He sarcastically asked.

"Sorry, that's all I have in your size right now." He said. "Hey, is that Citizen Kane?" He asked as he looked over at the TV.

"I guess." Mae answered. "Scared the shit out of us with some bird or something."

"Orson Welles was just making sure you were paying attention is all." He gave both the young adults knowing smiles as they returned bewildered expressions at him.

"Well it's better than nothing, thanks." He nodded before an awkward silence fell over them.

"Well? I'm not gonna change while you guys are looking." Mae turned around and covered her eyes while Dr. Hank waved them goodbye. Soon after she heard the rustling of clothes until he abruptly flicked her ear.

"Eff you Casey!" She cried out as she turned around.

"You wish." Mae nearly choked on her own spit as she began to laugh.

"Oh my god!" She gave him a light shove as she smiled at him. "What are we going to do with you?" She asked.

"Put me down, I hope." He quipped.

"No you just came back from the dead, you're not going back yet."

"You thought I was dead?" Mae's face slightly slipped into worry.

"Oh no, I just…" She paused for a moment. "You know what? Nevermind. Do the clothes fit you?" She asked. He was wearing blue jeans and a pink shirt with a flower on it, which contrasted well with his grumpy face.

"I wish they didn't." He answered.

"C'mon, you look fine."

"I'd look fine if I was a girl."

"Well then you look good, Miss Hartley. Now let's get out of here." The cat quipped as he smiled at her joke.

"Wait!" He suddenly reached down and picked up the partially stepped on pizza box. "It's still good, right?"

"As long as you didn't step on the actual pizza, then yeah." She nodded as she helped her friend leave the building. The outside air was frigid enough to freeze a solid man where he stood if he wasn't careful. The duo sat down on the porch and waited for the old man to show up as he began to chow down on another slice of pizza.

"Have you met this guy before?" He asked through a mouthful of pizza.

"Once, yeah, when he first got here like a week ago." She answered.

"What happened to the ol-" Casey yelped in pain when he accidentally slashed the box's corner against his stomach. He groaned as he lifted his shirt to identify the issue.

"What the hell?" He exclaimed in shock.

"Oh my god!" Mae's eyes widened in disbelief as they both stared at a series of strange markings carved onto his stomach. A circle had been drawn deep into his skin, with 8 short slices at a regular interval through it. She leaned down and took a closer look at the odd injury.

"A-are you OK?" She asked as she looked up at him.

"It stings when I touch it, but otherwise it's fine." He replied whilst lightly brushing his hand against the marks.

"Are they… new?" She inquired, face now contorted by deep concern and worry.

"Maybe? This is the first time I've noticed it." He let his shirt fall back down and he looked over at his friend.

"I'll be alright though, I think." She nodded softly, a deep pit slowly opening up in her stomach. The grumbling of an engine could be heard just around the corner, and soon enough an ancient clapped out pickup truck pulled up into the driveway, its striking red paint muddled by both age and rust. A gun rack was attached to the back of the cab with bolt and lever action rifles attached to it. An old wolf with silvering fur and an intimidating physique covered by an aged wool aviator jacket stepped out of the car and approached.

"Margret and Kajetan right?" He called out to them in a cheery tone. Mae gave Casey a confused look.

"Your name is Kajetan?" She asked.

"I wish it wasn't." He said as he stood up with his pizza box and approached the man, with her close behind.

"You want some pizza?" He asked kindly.

"Oh I'd love some!" He said as he grabbed a slice from the box and folded it lengthwise.

"I'm not sitting in the back of that death trap." Mae commented as she peered at the truck bed.

"Don't worry, it's got a bench seat. We'll all fit." He replied, "Sadly the pizza box won't. Are you OK with it getting thrown in the back?" Casey grunted yes before going to the back and throwing it in.

"Good, now let's blow this pop stand!" He cried out as he opened the door for both of them. Mae helped her friend clamber in before entering herself. The car's interior hadn't aged well, the seats were partially torn up and parts were rusted. It felt less like a car to be driven and more like a machine to be operated. There was no infotainment, no AC, no glove compartment, no cup holders, and most importantly no-

"Where are the seatbelts?" She asked while the older man got behind the wheel.

"This car doesn't have any, It was made before seat belts were invented." He answered.

"That's stupid." Alex turned the key and the car roared to life. She felt the engine rumble her butt as he pulled out of the driveway.

"You kids will be fine. I've been riding around in this thing for years and not once have I gotten hurt in it."

"It's a test to see if you should be allowed to drive or not." Casey added.

"Yeah! He gets it. So, where are you kids going?" He asked as they pulled up to a stop sign.

"My house, 408 Maple Street."

"Alright then, Maple Street here we come!" The wolf declared before revving the engine and lurching the truck forward.

"Uh, there's holes in the floor?" Mae worriedly announced as she pointed at their feet. Sure enough, there were 2 holes that were almost big enough to stick your foot in beneath them.

"You'll survive, just don't stick your foot in them, they shouldn't even fit."

"I'm pretty sure that's illegal." Mae commented.

"I think it's cool." The orange cat smiled as he looked down the floor holes to see the street rush past.

"Speaking of cool, wanna see something even cooler?" Alex asked.

"I feel like it's gonna blow us up." Casey shot her a dirty look. 'What's wrong with her?' He thought.

"It's an ejector seat so we don't have to listen to you complain anymore." The wolf quipped as the orange cat chuckled.

"Kajetan, there's a 8-track under your seat, hit the button furthest to your right and you'll turn it on."

"Call me Casey, please" He said as he bent over and pushed the button. Suddenly speakers beneath their feet began to play Link Wray's Rumble.

"Me and my uncle installed it, it's a miracle that it still works. Pretty cool, huh?" He asked.

"Very cool." She sarcastically responded as she leaned back in the seat and stared out the window.

"Oh I know this song!" Casey vocalized as he grinned.

"Well ain't that a shocker? We used to rock out to this all the time." Alex began to bob his head up and down to the beat, with Casey soon joining him.

"..Cause all I really need is some cool shit to mob, like driving down the street to the beat of a bloooww jooooooob…" Casey saw how Moore was looking at the cat, his face wearing an extremely confused expression.

"What the hell are you singing?" His face turned red as he was put on the spot.

"There's a song that uses this song as a sample…"

"Really? What's it called?"

"...Spread Eagle Cross the Block by Death Grips."

"Hah!" The wolf barked, "Well I'm just glad that more kids get to hear this song, even if it's getting used by 'Death Grips'." Alex went back to focusing on the road as the cats simply leaned back into the leather seat. He looked over at Mae, who was currently looking out the window with an aimless expression on her face.

"Hey, are you OK?" He asked.

"I'm OK." She replied.

"You sure? Did something happen?" All he got back from her was silence. The boy shivered slightly as he leaned back into the car seat. The officer looked over at Casey once more, who he now noticed was shivering slightly.

"Hey, are you OK?" Alex asked.

"I'm good." It was quite obvious that his lack of any real covering of fur was freezing him to the bone, but he didn't say anything about it. Moments later did they arrive at Mae's house.

"Thanks for the ride sir." Casey nodded as he climbed out of the truck.

"Please, call me Alex." He replied.

"Land ho!" He exclaimed as he landed on the ground. Mae simply clambered out without a word.

"Hey kids!" Both the cats turned to look at the chief, who had climbed out of the car and was sitting on the front wheel well.

"Uh, don't tell Molly I said this but there's been some weird stuff going down recently, so stick together and don't go snooping around anywhere that you shouldn't be, alright?"

"OK Mr. Mall-Cop." Mae replied.

"Well that's a new one. I'll be sure to tell Molly!"

"She knows it too well!" She called as she sauntered away to her front door, with Casey close behind.

"Kajetan- sorry, Casey, stay for a moment will you?" The boy stopped and approached the cop as he took his jacket off.

"You looked cold back there so take this." He threw the old jacket at him. "You can use it while your fur regrows. I know how it feels, one winter I got lice and they had to shave all my fur off!" The wolf barked out a hearty laugh.

"Thanks, sir." He smiled and nodded as he looked at the jacket. On the back was an emblem of an eagle biting at the viewer with the words 'Ride to Live, Live to Ride' embroidered on it.

"That was my uncle's biker friend's jacket, he gave it to him and then he gave it to me. You treat it well alright?"

"I will." He threw the jacket on and seemed to relax. "Cozy…" He muttered under his breath.

"Anytime, and one last thing!" His expression flipped from carefree to serious. "I'd tell this to Margaret too but I don't think she'd really listen. Now I've got nothing concrete to back up what I'm saying here, but I feel like something… bad is gonna happen soon. So God forbid it ever comes to that I want you to stay out of it, alright?" The cat began to look at him in a way that made the old man uncomfortable in a way he couldn't describe, like an itch behind your eye. It was a mix of despair, sobriety and just a hint of unearthly wisdom that no one man should hold.

"You don't know the half of it." And with that he left, Alex's coat clutching his back, the eagle on its back glaring at him with cold eyes. The wolf was left dumbfounded, frozen in place and contemplating what exactly he said.

"You don't know the half of it?" He repeated the phrase to himself. 'This kid knows something' He thought, 'And I need to know it too.'

"Casey!" He called out once more. By now he was already at the door, so he simply turned his head back.

"Maybe you can tell me some time? How does this Sunday sound? We can talk it through if you want?" Casey stared at the police officer before he responded.

"Bring a flashlight, a good one!" Before entering the quaint little house. The wolf was now alone, the cold night air whipping at his face and rustling the trees. He clambered back into his truck and pulled out his phone and called someone up.

"Eide? Yeah this is Alex, can we talk?" He put the car into gear and drove away from the Borowski house and into the night.

"Hey Margret?" He jokingly called out as he entered. It felt good to be back in Mae's house, despite all that had happened it hadn't changed one bit. The last time he remembered being there was for a sleep-over when he was 17.

'Wait, 17? Wouldn't that have been 3 years ago?' The thought entered his brain like a car crashing through a building. 'Oh god, I'm 20 now.' He didn't have the time to really think it through as he was shaken from his wonderland as he noticed Mae rushing up the stairs.

"Everything alright man?" He called out.

"I'm fine!" She cried out as she slammed the bathroom door shut. Truth be told, that marking on Casey's stomach had thrown her off balance like a brick thrown at a driving car, because that wasn't the first time she'd seen such a marking. She made sure to lock the bathroom door behind her before she collapsed onto the toilet and sighed. She threw her shirt onto the counter and looked down. Hidden beneath the thick fur on her stomach was the exact same scarring, aged with time but still recognizable.

"Fuck…" She muttered under her breath. Now there was no doubt in her mind, the Black Goat had spoken with Casey as well.

End

It's Friday somewhere! FR tho sorry about the delay, it's on me. I've spent Thursday through Today to work on the fic for what feels like forever, the only problem being I should have Monday through Thursday. The good news is that this one is a Duesy! Not only is this my longest chapter yet, but I rewrote chapter 3 (if you didn't read the rewrite then go do that otherwise you'll stay confused). I've been replaying NITW for this fic but I might still make mistakes with the cannon. For example I thought that Aunt Molly's surname was Borowski and used it multiple times. Yeah, really. if I mess anything up with the cannon then do let me know, please, I don't wanna make a fool out of myself because I missed something obvious. Also be sure to follow this story if you like it, and if not then leave a review and tell me why! Happy new year!"