hey back again sorry i take a long time but if any of you keep up with this story (if) then i would appreciate a review or a comment so I can get an idea of what else i can do in this story. Thanks a whole lot!

I'm so glad this chapter is done ;-;

And through the dust and gas of dark matter, it was all still nothing. And the dark silhouette knew of the presence of an uncanny, inevitable being which lurked everywhere. The future.

"The fucking nerve," Sickness muttered venomously. She and Eff had been snapping at each other over various subjects, each one deliberately chosen to make her explode. Like an annoying kid who can't stop breaking things just to hear the crash. Three days of traveling together had already been enough to drive an average human mad.

Eff thrived on Sickness's frustration, loving how close she came to tearing out of her own skin to attack him. The fact that he was faster and stronger than her only made it more thrilling for him.

"What was that?" he chuckled. "You wanna fuck me?"

Sickness swung at his face but missed. She couldn't wait to get her hands around his scarred neck. Traveling through the forests and back trails made the silence unbearable for someone like Sickness, who craved constant stimulation. Unfortunately, the forests would sometimes end, forcing them to traverse noisy city streets.

This was one of those times.

While Eff and Sickness continued their bickering, D-boy focused on the map, trying to figure out where they were. It seemed there was no other route but to go through the downtown area. Reverend, ever the curious one, was the only one showing interest in where D-boy was leading them.

"Where are we again?" Reverend asked.

D-boy sighed, looking up from the map. "Pennsylvania, near Pinchot State Forest. We took a longer route than planned, and that's how we ended up in this shithole."

Reverend chuckled. "You don't seem too happy about that."

"It's tolerable," D-boy replied. "Better than dealing with the brighter lights and busier streets."

They walked through a run-down part of the city, where dilapidated buildings stood shrouded in shadows. Some lights flickered from random windows, but most of the area was dark and desolate. They looked like any other homeless people wandering the streets, so no one paid them much attention.

After walking for two blocks, they came across a vacant alleyway. The night was going to be long, and D-boy knew their mortal bodies would handle it, but everyone hated how their flesh slowed them down. It was the second night they wouldn't be sleeping, and it made them all irritable.

"I hate feeling this fucking achy. I'd rather be buried in snow than walk through this cesspool," Sickness complained, stepping over puddles of garbage juice. Secretly, she wanted to stop for the night.

"Keep walking," D-boy ordered, his voice stern, shooting her an annoyed side-eye. She glared back with equal irritation. As the oldest among them, D-boy could sense the defects and emotions of the others, something he loathed. He called these sensitivities "tremors."

As they turned a corner, D-boy was hit by one of his tremors—bright flashes filled his vision, and voices swarmed around him. Before he could react, someone shoved him hard, slamming him into the asphalt.

"Move it!" a man shouted as he bolted down the alley, only to be caught by Sickness. Her morphing arms stretched out and grabbed the man by the neck.

"You..." she hissed, her eyes glowing with rage. "You splashed that shit water all over me!" The lower part of her pants was soaked from the puddles he had stomped through. She lifted the man high in the air, choking him.

Just then, five more men appeared at the end of the alley. D-boy blinked back into consciousness, realizing the situation. Sickness was slowly revealing her cryptic, otherworldly form. Reverend was about to reprimand her for exposing herself, while Eff looked eager to join the slaughter.

Screaming at the sight of glowing eyes, the men dropped their guns and tried to flee, but Eff's bloodlust got the better of him. He snatched them up one by one, instantly tearing them to pieces. Furious with their incompetence, D-boy struck Sickness down, causing her to drop the man. Then he struck Eff, leaving him bleeding from the side as three of the men managed to escape.

"Are you all fucking stupid, or are your brains rotting with syphilis?!" D-boy roared. "We're supposed to keep a low profile, and there's no excuse for exposing ourselves just because some sack of shit bumps into us! You better fucking behave if you want to keep your pathetic lives!" He hated dealing with humans, and drawing attention to themselves would only make things worse.

"Nutsack," Eff grunted, clutching his wounded side. Sickness scrambled back up, boiling with anger. "I do what I fucking please, you shit!" she spat.

D-boy ignored them both. His attention shifted to the man who had been attacked, now standing and limping, wide-eyed and visibly shaken.

"I-I dunno if it's because im high right now, but fuck, I'm glad they're gone," the man stammered, still breathing heavily. He touched his bruised throat, wondering if he should try running. But fear held him in place like a deer caught in headlights.

Reverend, always the opportunist, noticed the man's terror and ragged appearance—he was clearly in poor health, homeless, and likely addicted to something. Reverend's soft voice cut through the tension. "Why were they chasing you?" he asked.

The group found it a waste of time, but Reverend saw potential.

The man, froze for a moment, studied Reverend's tall, rotund figure and strange but inviting demeanor. He hesitated before finally answering. "M-my name is Raymond... I-I stole some smack from 'em. Those bastards tried to cheat me, so I took all they had." He pulled a plastic bag from his sweater pocket, revealing fresh syringes and a ball of heroin.

"Oh? So you use," Reverend said kindly. Addicts were his favorite prey. They fulfilled their desires, making them easy to manipulate.

Raymond giggled nervously. "Heh, yeah... been on the streets since I was a teen. You... you guys aren't human, are you?"

Reverend smiled, his voice laced with sincerity. "Sorry for what you saw. My friends and I... we don't belong here. But I doubt you want to hear about that." His ability to subtly hypnotize humans was in full effect.

Raymond's high was peaking, and he felt strangely calm. "Heh... fuck it. You got rid of those assholes, so... I guess we're cool." He chuckled, his fear dissolving.

Reverend's smile widened. "Well, I suppose you owe us then. Maybe there's something you can do for us in return. A place to stay for the night? We've got a friend here who's a bit hurt," he gestured to Eff, "and this lady could use some new pants."

Dboy definitely hated Reverend now, particularly his sick fascination with humans. Raymond had led them to an underpass beneath a massive bridge, where a small community of homeless people huddled together. The overpass above was teeming with cars, but down below, bonfires burned in the middle of pitched tents and scattered motorcycles. Raymond gleefully shared his stolen stash with the others, while Eff looked on with amusement, perceiving them as weak creatures. If it weren't for Dboy, Eff would have taken things far beyond his usual narcissistic mockery.

To Dboy, humans' need for social interaction seemed desperate and pathetic. Watching these people gather, form makeshift families, and cling to some semblance of community only deepened his disdain.

After changing in the large tent they'd be staying in, Sickness joined Dboy by the fire. Meanwhile, Eff and Reverend were off toying with the residents, subtly manipulating them for their own sick pleasure. They thrived on setting others up for failure, and it was a game they both took pride in.

Sickness stared into the fire before speaking. "I wonder if all that 'charm' Reverend had ever actually got through to Johnny," she said, her tone half curious, half mocking.

Dboy stretched his arms over his head, letting out a deep sigh. "No," he replied bluntly. He knew Johnny better than anyone. The boy had always been hard-headed, unreachable, and stubborn. When Johnny had first tried to end his own life, it had unsettled Eff deeply. The fact that their existence as real beings had been denied due to Johnny's subconscious walls not caving in was a bitter pill to swallow.

Sickness continued to ramble, her voice filling the cold night air. At some point, she jabbed Dboy in the arm to get his attention. "Hey! What the hell happened to you back in the alley? You looked like a fish having a seizure."

Eff butted in laughing, "Nah he's just a little retarded that's it."

Dboy begrudgingly explained the flashes in his vision—the overwhelming flood of thoughts and voices from all living things around him—and how it all crashed down on him in an instant, overloading his senses. His voice was flat, indifferent, as if he'd given up on trying to make anyone understand.

Sickness giggled a little, mocking him. "Kind of sounds like you're being autistic or something. But whatever the hell you're feeling, it doesn't matter."

Feelings? Dboy's mind hissed. Don't mistake me for what I am, you wretched outhouse. Unlike you, I'm not some feeble sliver of canvas that couldn't even take over its own fucking flusher for a day.

Eff began to laugh, further enraging Sickness, who crossed her arms and shouted furiously at him. She wasn't exactly clever when it came to verbal sparring, and that only made it worse. Dboy had had enough. He stood up and walked away from the campsite, needing space from the noise. He could feel eyes on him, watching. Maybe it was the addicts, or the drifters, or worse. But he knew it didn't matter—humans were always watching each other, waiting for a moment of weakness.

As he walked, he looked up. The stars and the moon shone above him, barely visible through the light pollution, yet still fighting to shine through. Johnny had loved the stars, and though it took Dboy time to understand why, he felt a strange pull toward them now. If he focused hard enough, he could hear the galaxies themselves roaring through space, mixed with the insipid thoughts of teenagers who ran away because they hated their parents. It was overwhelming.

The tremors were getting worse, and with them came an overwhelming desire to die. Dboy hated his newfound vulnerability, the way the visions and convulsions made him feel out of control. He wanted to die on his own terms—not accidentally, and not because one of these visions ended him. His only hope was that Reverend or Sickness might assist him in ending it all when they reached Maine. He couldn't trust Eff—Eff would drag him along for eternity out of sheer spite.

Suddenly, Dboy felt something following him, watching him. He stopped at the top of a concrete riverbed and sat down, closing his eyes. He thought of death and the peace it would bring. Then, he heard it: a voice.

Feelings, huh? It wasn't his thought. Someone else was speaking.

Opening his eyes, he saw a woman standing at the bottom of the sloped wall. She wore a loose headscarf, her brown face framed by dark brows and piercing eyes. She smiled, but it wasn't a friendly smile.

"Who are you?" Dboy demanded, his voice sharp.

"Sorry," she said, her tone almost playful. "I didn't mean to invade your mind. It's a private thing, I know. I try to contain it for everyone's sake." She looked him over, noting the scars and perpetual displeasure etched into his face. "My name is Zaira."

Zaira sat down next to him, as though they were old friends. She asked what he hoped to find in Maine, but Dboy wasn't convinced this was casual conversation. Reading his thoughts meant she wasn't human—or, worse, she was something more powerful than he wanted to deal with.

Her eyes flashed green, and she smiled wider. "So, you figured it out. Good. I don't have to spell it out for you."

Dboy didn't trust her. "I'm not going to be enslaved again, stuck in another goddamn shell. If you're going to do something, just kill me."

"Why not?" she leaned closer, invading his space, testing him. But Dboy didn't flinch. He was beyond intimidation. He had no fear left.

"You could just play the game a bit longer," she whispered.

Before he could snap her neck, a tremor hit. This one was different—violent and overwhelming. Dboy's vision went white. He saw flashes of her green eyes, a balcony, and each flash carried him farther from the image. Pain surged through his body, his senses were assaulted by a storm raging in his mind. He felt wind lifting him up, propelling him into the sky. His body hurt, his vision blurred, and then, with a violent thud, he crashed into the ground.

Gasping for air, Dboy sat up. He was back under the bridge. Alone. Zaira was gone, as if she had never been there.


Eff had had enough of Dboy's strange episodes. Last night, Dboy had come back from one of his walks, only to collapse in a vision again. His eyes had turned into the same eerie slits they had at the cabin, and no amount of poking or prodding from Reverend or Eff could wake him up. He just lay there, unmoving.

Eff was growing impatient. "He's deadweight. We should get going."

Reverend glanced at Eff. "He has the map. You sure you know where we're going?"

Eff hated being questioned. He flashed a dangerous grin at Reverend. "I don't need a fucking map. I can figure it out."

Sickness interrupted them, calling out that Dboy was finally moving. Sure enough, Dboy sat up, gasping for air as if he'd been drowning. His eyes were wide, swirling with a faint blue glow. He looked around wildly before locking eyes with the others.

"HOW LONG HAS IT BEEN?" Dboy shouted, still disoriented.

Sickness, taken aback, answered, "Since last night. We—"

"FUCK!" Dboy cursed, standing up, his frustration palpable. He couldn't believe he'd let Zaira escape. He'd been too slow, too careless. His own weakness disgusted him.

Eff, always ready to provoke, smirked. "I could've left you here, you know."

Dboy shot him a dark look, but said nothing. He couldn't shake the feeling that something much bigger was at play, something beyond even their twisted little world.

With a sigh, he turned to the group. "Let's go," he muttered, rubbing his temples. "And let's not make any more friends this time."