Installment Fifty-Nine

By Safaia

Owen found himself in darkness. Why he was in darkness he did not know nor did he know where he was. All he knew was that this darkness had him worried for some reason, it did not feel right, like someone was watching his every move. It was like someone was waiting for him to do something. Looking around, he found that the area did not give any indication as to where he was. Ahead of him, however, was a person. This person seemed to be walking with some sort of weight on their shoulders, a weight he could not see. Who this person was he could not tell, but as he reached out to touch them, he felt something in the air move and a sudden pain in his stomach. Looking down, he saw it, a knife stuck into his flesh and a black hand holding it there. The person, whoever had stabbed him, was shrouded in a cloak and he could not see their face, only that they smiled as they pushed the blade in deeper. Their mouth moved, but there was no sound as they ripped the blade out and pain exploded through out his entire body.

Eyes snapped open, the red head realized he was dreaming. He was sitting at the table in the kitchen of this other world and he had fallen asleep. I don’t remember falling asleep. Pushing himself to his feet, he found that his entire body hurt and a pain so sharp was suddenly on his stomach that sent him to his knees. Gasping for breath, he held his torso tightly, trying to clear his vision as the pain began to fade. Distract yourself, go do something else. He glanced around the kitchen, vision still blurred by the intense pain, trying to find something to do. Food, Ellos needs to eat, he’ll get sick if he does nothing but lie in bed drinking. The pain was beginning to fade as he slowly pushed himself to his feet, trying to clear his head, trying to think. His hand is broken, those fingers need to get set. I’ll bring him some food and do that, yes, that’s a good distraction. Looking around, he struggled to find something he could use to set those fingers and finding nothing.

Glancing out the window was not something he found himself enjoying. Every glance was a flash of the past, of some few seconds that were there as fast as they were gone. Someone was alive and moving, suddenly they were gone, all in the blink of an eye. Outside, there should be some wood I could use outside. And every muscle in his body, every brain cell in his head told him not go outside, and he ignored them, pushing the back door open and stepping into what remained of a backyard. Looking through what seemed to be the remains of firewood he found pieces that would suffice as splints of some sort. Shoving them into his pockets, he walked back inside as quickly as he could.

The kitchen turned out to have a lot more food than he thought it would. Some dry fruit, some bread that was only a little stale, and water that looked more than drinkable. Pilling up what he found onto a plate and filling a glass full of water, he went into the living room to head for the stairs. Glancing at the couch, he noticed that Thanatos was asleep. He body was completely still and his arm crossed across his chest. It was almost eerie to see him like that and Owen hurried up the stairs. Knocking on the door where Ellos was once, he pushed it open without waiting for a response and instantly regretted it. Ellos was sitting up, leaning against the headboard with Damian leaning over him as they were kissing. In his good hand, the younger man noticed a bottle of liquor.

“My timing is amazing.” he said out loud, feeling his cheeks start to turn a little red as he simply stood in the doorway. His former teacher moved away from Ellos, blinking heavily as he fell back on the bed.

“Hey there, little guy. This isn't what it looks like.” Damian said, his words heavily slurred. He’s drunk, how wonderful.

“Right, I’m sure it isn’t. Look, I just brought some food, but it doesn’t look like you need it.” He replied, setting the food on the floor near the door. His so-called guardian set the bottle on the floor near the bed and his movements seemed strangely solid.

“Hey, Dee? Go get some water.” He ordered.

“Right, teacher, teacher can't be drunk in front of his students. Don't tell him, okay, Elly?” Damian replied before getting up and walked for the door, stumbling a few times. I’m right here. Ellos got up and shut the door.

“So guess what you’re going to forget.” The painter said in a flat voice.

“I really didn’t need to see that.” Owen replied before pausing, looking at the broken fingers, “Let me see your hand.” He made his voice a little softer. Ellos did as he was told as he examined the broken digits and he could feel the older man’s eyes on him. They need to be set or they won’t heal properly. Thinking, he knew he had the wood to use, but lacked anything that resembled medical tape. Pulling his arm into his shirt, he used one of the tears he got in his new long sleeved shirt on the way to the village to tear the rest of the material off. Knowing he must have looked ridiculous with one long sleeve and another short sleeve, he found he did not care. “Make your fingers as straight as possible, I’m going to try and make splints.”

“Let me sit down.” The older man suggested before walking back over to the bed and doing so.

“Sure.” Was all he said as he dug into his pocket, pulling out the pieces of wood and breaking them so they watched the length of his fingers. He placed a piece under the Ellos’ index finger. “Make your fingers as straight as possible, this is probably going to hurt.”

“Thank you, doctor.” He inhaled before straightening his fingers, hissing softly. Jerk. He began to wrap the finger muttering,

“I’ll pretend that was a sincere thanks.” As he finished wrapping the finger, he came to what he knew would be the painful part; when he tied them all together. He felt Ellos jerk as he did so.

“Jesus fucking Christ--” Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the painter struggle to keep his hand steady as his shoulders hunched over. Owen thought he muttered something along the lines of a sorry before moving onto the next finger. “ Are my knuckles broken or is just my fingers?” His voice was slightly strained.

“In my personal, know-it-all, genius opinion; your knuckles are fractured and your fingers are broken.” The former student replied, his voice so bitter it surprised even himself as he finished the last of the fingers, “There, done.”

“Why are you so cranky, low blood sugar? Have you eaten yet?” Ellos asked, cradling his hand against his chest.

“Maybe I have gas and need a burping.” Owen snapped, realizing that he was angry in this world, angry, cold and scared, scared of those things that kept popping into his head and the dull pain that still lingered in his stomach. He stood, with all intentions to leave, before saying “And since when do you care anyway?”

“Why is that always the question that comes out of your mouth?” The painter lay back in the bed, “I’m your guardian, I’m looking out for you.”

“Because your concern is fake so why don’t you drop the act.” He replied easily, surprised with how easy it was for him to speak how he felt in this world.

“Same to you. Stop going through the motions of being that seemingly humanitarian kid when you can't stand to care for me. I didn't ask for your help so you have no right to call my sincerity fake.” Ellos replied, his voice becoming a little hard.

“I don't need your permission to help you or anyone else. I help because I want to, sorry that I'm trying to save your drawing hand. Next time, I'll make sure they heal the wrong way.” Owen said, his body suddenly feeling heavy as he rubbed his temples, trying to fight back that headache and this feeling of defeat, “You’re welcome, by the way.”

“Well, good thing I still have my drinking hand.” Was that supposed to be funny? “And just break the fuck down, already, we’re all so tired of you teetering on the edge. Just, just give yourself a break.” That’s what I need to do, freak out while Damian is fighting back god knows what is in his head, you’re drinking liquor that could kill you, and Than is dead. Yes, now is the ideal time for me to have a nervous breakdown.

“You just don't get it, do you? If you three are all falling apart, who's going to be around to pick up the pieces if I'm gone too?” Owen explained, hoping that maybe he would get through this time.

“Stop crediting yourself. Dee Dee and I had a perfectly functioning system until you and Juliet out there came along and started latching on to us.” Ellos said sounding far too haughty again.

“Be rest assured; I'll be gone as soon as we're back on Earth.” The former student said, his voice low.

“And I’m tired of all of these empty threats.”

“And I’m tired of the empty promises.”

“Then leave, get out of here.” With those words Ellos lay back on the bed, his back to Owen. And all he could do was shake his head at this man, this guy so desperate to forget something that he was drinking liquor that obviously had no effect on him. Shaking his head, he left the room, closing the door behind him. Leaning heavily against it, he struggled to push the pain from his stomach, how much it still hurt, and how angry it made him that it was all in his head.

Telling himself over and over again that it was just in his head, Owen started down the stairs. When he could see the living room he saw that Damian was sitting near the window, staring out at it. That familiar chill went down his spine and he mentally corrected himself that it was not Damian who was sitting there, but the other one. Carefully, he walked closer to the other one and despite how nervous he made him, he needed to get over it.

“Do you see something?” He asked the other after watching him for a moment.

“Just eye fucking Lao over there until I heard you leave the lush’s room.” it replied easily. This is one of those moments when I wish I hadn’t asked.

“That was more than I needed to know.” The former student muttered, crossing his arms, his own eyes falling outside the window. Looking into the square of the town was something that he tended to avoid, but now, he found he could not look away. It was like watching a few frames of a movie that were thrown into a different scene. The house across the square was on fire one second, whole the next, and a pile of ashes the next.

“You asked.” He thought he heard the other say.

“At least I know not to do that anymore.” He replied, his own voice sounding distant as he narrowed his eyes. Who are you? I keep seeing that one person standing in the same place.

“Suppose I should have started snogging him, to keep with the current theme, of course.” It said, but he was not really listening, he just could not focus when that same outline of a person kept appearing in the same spot.

“Right, of course.” He knew that he was not listening to what the other had to say, he really did not care much either, what was going on outside the window was far more interesting anyway.

“What the hell are you staring at?” It spit the words out and he could tell that it probably did not like to be ignored, but he did not care, the person was going to turn around, he would be able to see their face, the person who did this.

“I can see it...” He thought he said, but he was not sure because it was only a few more seconds before they turned around and looked directly at him.

“Oh for the love of--” The other shoved him, making the person and the visions vanish, “–hey, Peterson, answer my question.”

“What? I can see the slaughter, it’s happened again and again right outside this window. That’s what I’m looking at.” Owen replied, after regaining his footing. It rolled it’s eyes and settled back against the wall.

“Is that it? Well, look hard and find out if Marla or Maria or Miranda is out there so the boy scouts of the group can stop worrying.” The other said simply, but the former student creased his eyebrows.

“It’s not that easy. It’s just flashes. A house is on fire and then it’s not, a person is dying and then they are gone, it’s not consistent, it hasn’t been. The only time it was when we first got here.” He explained.

“Well then, if you want to figure something out, why don't you go out there and think your way through it.” It replied, sounding irritated.

“You want me to sit out there and try to relive that entire thing again?” Owen asked, realizing that he probably knew the answer already.

“When this place presents you with something, grab it and use it to its fullest potential. Turn a curse into a gift or some bullshit like that. Don't just sit there and whine.” The other said and it only took a few moments for him to realize that it was exactly right.

“Fine, but there’s no way I’m sitting out there alone.” The former student insisted after sighing heavily.

“I’m sure Stoker would be thrilled to stand outside to support a student.” It quipped.

“Right, I’m sure he would be. Then put him in charge.” And let’s get this over with, I don’t want to see it again, why do I have to see it again?

“Oh, that’s convincing. What if your teacher is still, ah, intoxicated? Would you really want him out and about?” The other asked.

“Are you offering to watch my back then?” Owen asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Oh, are we talking to each other in vague questions now?”

“I wasn't being vague, I'm asking a simple question. Are you capable of giving a simple answer in return?” He crossed his arms as it sighed.

“We’re alone in our sense of humor.” And it looked at him, it’s eyes fierce, and it made the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end, it made every nerve go on end, and it took every bit of his self control to hold his ground because he knew, he knew he could not show any more fear to this thing, not when it could use it against him at a later date, “You're slightly less annoying than the vampire. I'll keep an eye on you but only for the duration of this soul search.” I’m so fortunate.

“Fine, then let’s get this over with,” Owen stepped aside, knowing that the other would love the slight sign of respect, even if he was mentally mocking him, “After you.”

“Just the two of us? But, but this will be incomplete without Thanny’s lack of conversation.” It said.

“He’s sleeping,” The former student replied, glancing at his friend, “but I have a feeling you’ll wake him up no matter what I say.

“I have a feeling your feeling is right. How scientific!” It walked over to the couch and began to kick it with it’s foot, “Hey, hey, ripe and reap, sleeping beauty.” Thanatos opened his eyes slowly while groaning.

“What the hell do you want?” He asked, sounding irritated.

“Your best friend in the entire world is going to sit in the middle of an abandoned town in a strange place and close his eyes and we have to make sure nothing tries to eat him, of course.” The other explained simply. His friend sighed and stood up, stretching.

“Fine, let’s go then.” He replied, sounding half asleep still.

“But wait! We’re missing one! Thanny, why don’t you go get the lush?” It ordered.

“How about not.” Thanatos replied evenly.

“How about yes or I'll throw you against the wall and have my way with you in front of the kid.” The other stated, the two of them having a good stare now, fire in each of their eyes.

“I’ll just got get him. Just don’t kill each other in the next five minutes.” Owen suggested as he started up the stairs.

“Oh, did I not hear a ‘no?’” It asked, eyeing Thanatos.

“Shut up, just shut up.” Thanatos muttered, crossing his arms tightly across his chest. The two of them vanished from sight as the younger man knocked on Ellos’ door and opened it, sticking his head inside.

“Come on, we’re doing an experiment.” Owen said simply before starting down the hallway again.

“Fine, fine. Just as long as you’re done in five minutes.” The painter replied groaning and running a hand through his hair.

“No promises.” Owen went down the stairs and was silently thankful to find that neither Thanatos nor the other had killed each other. “Can we go now?”

“Oh, am I the leader now? Can I start giving orders? Fantastic. Vampire, strip. Shrimp, chill out. Lush, go fuck yourself.” The other barked, sounding pleased with itself.

“What a biting sense of humor.” Ellos said walking past the group and heading for the door, “Rather deal with Dee Dee crying about a tear in his shirt.”

“Probably would have safer with drunk Damian.” Owen heard himself mutter as he walked outside. Much to his own discontent, he found that a light rain was still falling and it was, indeed, freezing out. His ruined shirt left one of his arms wide open for the biting cold and he wondered why he always seemed to put himself in situations where he was in less than appropriate clothing for the weather. He heard it laugh to itself as the four of them walked outside. I’m not sure what to do, but I think I know where to start. Walking into the center of the town, he found the spot where he saw the person standing earlier. For a moment, he hesitated, before sitting down, realizing the spot was a giant mud puddle. He sat down in it without flinching giving himself bonus points for not reacting. “Not really sure what I’m doing here but...” he closed his eyes, “here goes nothing.” The world around him became blurry before the scene of the slaughter unfolded in his mind. Around him, amongst the carnage, he could see Thanatos, Ellos and the other still standing around as if it was not happening. They looked fake, almost see through, as the people ran around. It was not clear though, he could not see everything he wanted to.

“Oh whatever.” Fake Ellos said, leaning up against a building that was on fire and seemingly unaffected by the flames. The fake other walked over and nudged fake Thanatos with his elbow. Behind the two of them people were falling, dying, screaming even and they did not see it, they could not see it,

“How long were you asleep?” the fake it asked.

“Not long enough.” Fake Thanatos asked and for the life of him Owen could not focus on the village people as they were dying, he could not tell what was going on.

“This is the part where I chuckle at your lame joke as if you were a girl and this were a date.” The fake it quipped, sounding amused despite the fact that a woman was just impaled right in front of his face. Would probably find it funny anyway.

“I’m not a girl, this is far from a date, and that wasn’t a joke.” Thanatos replied easily and Owen gave his friend credit for not flinching with all of the blood in the air, even he could taste it, it tasted like copper on his tongue and the person who was doing, the person who’s eyes he was looking through, breathed deep and savored the taste.

“Will you look at that.” The fake other’s voice got louder, “Ladies and gentlemen, we are exchanging banter at a steadfast rate. We may get his pants off in the next twelve hours.” And all he could think about was how this was not the time, people were dying all around it and the other just did not care.

“Oh will you just shut up.” Thanatos snapped, sounding irritated and the other said something along the lines of “nah” before his focus was broken and he opened his eyes. His hands were resting on him lap, fists clenched so tightly he was sure was almost putting holes in his palms. The slaughter, the blood, the smoke and the blood in the air, it was all gone, as if was never real in the first place. He sighed and shook his head,

“I’m sorry, I don’t see her.” He lied, knowing that he just did not look very hard, that he could have looked harder, but the smells, the scenes, they were making his head hurt, his entire body ache, it was all too much for one person to deal with at once.

“That was what, five minutes? You damn kids today, no patience.” The other rolled it’s eyes, “Keep going.” And much to Owen’s displeasure that sounded like an order that need to be followed. He glared the other before closing his eyes, mentally telling himself that he needed to focus and everything would be clearer. And as the scene unfolded in front of his eyes again it was much clearer, he could see all of the details and he was the person leading the slaughter again. Ellos, the other, and Thanatos were even less clear now and when they spoke it sounded like they were far away.

“What exactly is he trying to see?” Thanatos asked, still unaffected by all of the blood in the air, on the ground, everywhere.

“You naked.” The other replied, sounding snarky.

“Hilarious.” His friend muttered and Owen wondered how he was so calm, someone was bleeding out right at his feet.

“All right, side splitter, we get it. You're funny, you're quick. Just put Dee Dee back, we get it already.” Ellos said, moving away from the flames of the house.

“All right, who wants him back? Show of hands everyone.” The other asked, eyeing the painter.

“Will be just as he was?” His so-called guardian asked.

“Naturally.”

“Damian is probably quieter.” He heard himself say, but it did not sound like his own voice, it was off slightly, it sounded distant and flat, fake, like there was another underlying voice with his own. If anyone else noticed it, they did not say anything.

“Oh, this’ll be fan-fucking-tastic. Me.” Ellos declared.

“Sure, why not.” Thanatos muttered, shrugging.

“I see how it is, you four have your fun now.” And then something strange happened when the other moved. It was distracting, but when the other moved away, for a moment, he saw two of them, standing next to each other. The other was smiling and it was a wicked smile as he forcefully shoved Damian in front of him, who looked bewildered. The other moved behind him, but kept a hand on his shoulder, leaning close to his ear. The two of them made eye contact from across the slaughter before it faded away almost completely, yet he could still a faint outline of it from over his former teacher’s shoulder.

“It’s like time traveling.” Damian’s voice said and Owen told himself that he needed to focus. As he tried to focus on what was going on around him, taking in the details of the faces of the people around him, trying so hard to see if Maia was among them, if she was there at all.

“Having trouble focusing here.” he heard himself say, but his voice was still so off, there was something wrong with it. He watched as Ellos moved next to Damian, completely oblivious to the outline of the other. It made a face when the painter got close.

“How you feeling, Dee Dee?” He asked, his voice low. His former teacher blinked and played with his hair.

“Um, headaches gone?” Damian replied as Ellos snaked an arm around his shoulders, smirking.

“Always glad to help.” He saw Thanatos side glance at them, but he did not say a word. And Owen struggled still to look around the bloody scene, looking for the woman who helped them, and found that she just was not there. There was nothing he could do about that, she just was not there, and that was the way things were.

“The person who did this saw everything, they took in every detail.” He stated, his voice still not sounding like his own. Out of the corner of his eye, as the images of the slaughter began to fade, Damian was suddenly forced out of control again. And it was so forced and so sudden that he blinked a few times to make sure he saw it right. It shoved Ellos away, a disgusted look on it’s face. The other forced Damian behind him and started to walk ahead, as the image of his former teacher began to fade completely from sight. By the time the other was standing in front of him, his teacher was gone, like he was never there in the first place.

“Then go through it again.” It demanded.

“I’d really rather not.” Owen replied, a little surprised and relieved when his voice sounded like his own again.

“Then we’re stuck here and you’re in charge of dinner.” The other snapped.

“I looked, there’s nothing to see, I can’t fabricate something that isn’t there. She wasn’t among the bodies we buried and I didn’t see her in the slaughter, she must have made it out alive.” He explained, wishing he could just show this thing was he saw so he would shut up and believe him.

“Then buck up and stop looking so gloomy.” It said simply and he looked up at it, into it’s eyes, for the first time.

“Okay, what would you suggest I do then?” Owen asked, knowing he probably was not going to get a straight answer. It shrugged.

“As the portal, he “knows” the area.” He made finger quotes around the word “knows” before laughing to himself. I figured. Sighing, the former student pushed himself to his feet, pants dripping with muddy water.

“You can go back to drinking yourself into oblivion then.” He muttered, glancing at Ellos.

“Actually, I was taking nap, but thank you for the permission.” The painter deadpanned before heading back toward the house. Owen felt the other’s eyes on him.

“That looks great on you, by the way.” it stated.

“Let me tell you, it looks as good as it feels, but I had to sit there. That’s where the person who slaughtered these people stood.” He replied easily before he also started toward the house. As he was walking, something was suddenly around his ankle and it pulled him to the ground. “What the...?” Looking down by his feet, he saw a hand coming out of the ground, a hand that was grey and rotten and holding him tightly.

“And that’s my cue.” The other said, eyeing the ground before the shift happened. It was not as oblivious now, but there was a slight change in the way Damian looked, the way he moved, something about him just changed. Damian was in charge again and looking around, obviously confused when an arm came out of the ground, grabbing at his waist and yanking him to the ground.

“Will you two shut up and--” Ellos cut himself off when he saw a zombie start to pull itself from the ground, paling, “–you’re not supposed to keeping coming back.” And Owen knew that they were seeing things again when Thanatos fell to his knees and whispered for the rotting corpse to forgive him for something he did not mean to do. Using the heel of his shoes, the former student kicked the hand that was holding him and jumped to his feet, backing away from the bodies that were pulling themselves up from the ground.

“Picked a perfect to go on the sidelines, Other...” He muttered. Vaguely, he could hear Damian screaming about how he did not want to get locked up as he struggled against the zombies that were trying to take him away. Ellos was talking to what appeared to be his sister, saying that everyone blamed him for what happened as he backed into another zombie, not even noticing when rotting arms wrapped around his waist. Thanatos was unable to look at his zombie, covering his ears with his hands, whispering for forgiveness as it backhanded him, hard. “Come on guys, wake up, wake up, wake up.” Owen whispered until he felt himself hit a body. Looking over his shoulder, he felt something grab his arm and twist it painfully behind his back. This thing is going to break my arm. He fell to his knees, hissing in pain. “Wake up, wake up, wake up, come on, you guys know they aren’t real, please wake up.”

“Help get, get the fuck out here--” Damian said suddenly before his entire body shuttered and he knew that the other was in control. It sat up on it’s elbows and got a foot lose before kicking the zombie in the head. It doesn’t seem to be fazed. The zombie that was holding him suddenly yanked him to his feet, twisting his arm still, and started to pull him away from the group.

“I know that’s you other, can I get a little help here?” Owen called.

“Aw, this is so cute, have you formed a hypothesis yet? Can I, oh, can I please, please be the control? I'll be so good and get you the right conclusion, I promise.” It snapped sounding amused. The zombie twisted his arm harder and he was sure heard something break.

“Any day now would be nice.” The former student said as he grit his teeth in pain. The other laughed and kicked the zombie on the ground one more time before picking up a rock and throwing it at him. For a moment, he was sure he was going to get a rock in the fact, but it narrowly sailed over his head and hit his zombie, the grip on his arm finally coming lose as it fell to the ground.

“Way to almost hit me.” Owen muttered, rolling his shoulder, “Thanks.” he side glanced at the other, “Why can you see through this and they can’t?”

“Now, now, too much exposition can be overwhelming.” It replied, brushing the dirt off of his clothes.

“Right. How do we snap them out of it?” He asked.

“Eh, I don’t know.” it shrugged before it walked over to Thanatos and hit the zombie over the head with a rock. “Aw, oops, I just broke the thing that was causing you to act like a apologetic vegetable--sorry.” His friend looked a little lost before looking at the body on the ground.

“Again?” He asked, putting a hand over his heart and standing, frowning deeply.

“We need to snap Ellos out of it, there’s too many for us to fight off.” Owen told them, jumping back to avoid getting snatched by one of the rotting bodies. They’re doing it again, they’re trying to disable us, not kill us. He watched the other roll his eyes before walking over to Ellos. It grabbed the other man and yanked him away from the zombies with no effort before stopping to backhand the other man hard. The painter seemed stunned as he blinked, holding his cheek.

“What the fuck--” He started.

“Quick, hit us back.” The other interrupted, pointing to Damian’s nose, “You like this better when it was broken anyway.” It grinned, his voice mocking. The painter’s shoulder swelled before he walked past it and toward the house. “What, running? Oh, wait, I broke your hand, didn’t I? We completely forgot about that.” It laughed as it followed him back to the house. Their timing is amazing. He and Thanatos managed to keep the zombies at bay until they were both in the house, slamming the door shut and the sound of bodies slamming against was far too loud.

“I don’t mean to be annoying, but this really isn’t the time.” Owen announced as he struggled to hold the door shut. Ellos said nothing, he simply started going up the stairs and the other just laughed. “You guys have amazing timing for when you want to get into fights.” Thanatos walked over and placed a hand on the door, holding it closed easily.

“No problems.”

“Yes, Elly, go off to hide in your corner. Unsure of yourself when you don't have at least ten girls wanting your cock, I see. Poor, poor dear. It must hurt not to be the most popular one of the group anymore.” The other called out.

“When we get back, I'm having Damian committed until you're reduced to nothing more than some sort of mommy complex.” Ellos replied as he leaned over the banister.

“But who will you fuck then?”

“Oh fuck this.” Ellos waved the other off before heading toward the bedrooms and the sound of a door slamming echoed in the house. The other stretched his hands above his head, looking quite content with himself. Thanatos merely shook his head.

“Joy upon joys.” His friend muttered.

“Is this really the time and place to get into fights?” Owen asked as he leaned against the door, the sounds of the bodies slowly fading. They’re gone, finally.

“It's just, we, we can't help it. We need the attention. We have a poor self image and feel that the only true relationship we have is to argue all the time.” It ranted, mocking Damian’s voice and making it sound high and whinny, “Because I want to, Freud. Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar and you need to leave it the hell alone.”

“What a pathetic excuse. Being difficult for diffucult’s sake, please.” Thanatos muttered, taking his hand off of the door,

“Oh, here we go, analysis time from the biggest fuck up of the group. Well, lay it on us, honey bunny, we're dying to hear it because you are the epitome of well-rounded.” The other snapped.

“I'm the biggest fuck up? Who's the one with god knows how many personalities floating up in that head?” Thanatos asked, sounding angry.

“We’ll remember to tell Stoker you think he’s crazy. He’ll love that.” The other turned and walked toward the kitchen.

“Please, it’ll probably get lost with the rest of the voices.” His friend muttered.

“All right, you little shit--” It turned and began to walk toward Thanatos, “--to begin with, there is only me, me and Stoker, get it fucking straight. I know every single gritty detail about you, buddy, and I will spill them to the pipsqueak. For instance--” The other was suddenly looking at him. He knelt down like he was talking to someone vastly younger than him, “--did you know that he and Stoker talk about living by themselves? And by themselves I mean without you?” Owen stood completely still, trying to keep his face as blank as possible as he stared into the eyes of the other, unable to look away. He thought he heard Thanatos say something along the lines of “you lying sack of shit, we never said that” but he was not sure. “And, also, did you know that the only reason they stumbled upon you was because they were going out for a walk after a good fuck? They never noticed that you had disappeared. Isn't that just the cutest?” The other continued and each word felt like someone was punching him in the stomach, but he refused, he refused to show it. Thanatos shoved the other away from him a few steps, but it did not seem to faze it at all. “And that Stoker wanted to kick you out from the beginning because he thinks you're too much of a hassle? Did you know that too, buddy boy? Huh? Did you?” Vaguely, he saw Thanatos shove it away from him, yelling “shut the fuck up” but it sounded so far away, why did it sound so far away? “What, are we defending the little guy now? But don't you think he's a commodity too? I mean, with everyone else, Thanny? If I remember correctly, I'm right.” The other placed a hand on its chin, looking pensive.

“You have no idea what I think.” Thanatos said, his voice low. The two of them stared at each other, their eyes meeting.

“And you have no right to group us with the other crazies, Thanny boy.” It said, smirking.

“I told you not to call me that.” His friend insisted.

“I’m sorry, Thanny, I really am.” It spit out, looking satisfied.

“Right, I’m sure you are. I think we’re done with this conversation.” Thanatos turned the other around and started to push him toward the kitchen, but it knocked his hands away.

“Oh, you’re just asking for it.” With speed that seemed to surprise even Thanatos, the other grabbed him by the shirt and threw him against the wall, pinning him there, “You do not touch us, we touch you.” It crushed their mouths together, smirking as he did so. His friend reacted almost immediately, shoving the it away and wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, looking angry.

“I don’t think so. You’re leaving.” He took the other by the arm and started to pull him by the arm. The other said something along the lines of “oh no, no, no” and it was Damian being pulled out of the room. In a matter of seconds, he was left alone, leaning heavily against the wall, the sound of Damian and Thanatos yelling at each other following only seconds later. My legs...they suddenly feel weak. Sliding down the door, he fell onto the floor, still slightly stunned. He hit every sensitive spot, he knew everything that could hurt me. Drawing his knees to his chest, Owen struggles to crawl into himself, wanting to push the words that were echoing through his head. He knew that his friend was denying it, but could it have been true? He really did not know and that sick feeling in his stomach made everything all the worse. That and the dull pain that was returning.

“I’m useless.” he whispered to himself, hoping that no one would hear, “I’m always just a burden.” He hugged himself tightly, his nails digging into his upper arms as his entire body began to tremble. “I’m useless.”

Hours later, Owen still felt like he was going to vomit. He had taken refuge right outside the door of the house, close enough that if something came for him he would just have to duck inside, but far enough away that he did not have to see anyone in there. Through the light clouds that covered the sky, he could vaguely make out the moon. Time seemed so differently here, the rain clouds making the night seem all more darker. A hand draped over the tender skin of his stomach, he silently contemplated going off on his own. He wondered how long it would take them to notice that he was gone, he wondered if they could notice at all, he wondered if they would care at all.

“They wouldn’t.” he said out loud, answering his own question, “I have no one looking after me. I have to stand on my own, I have to be stronger.” Letting his head fall back against the door, he closed his eyes and tried to think of something he could do. Maia isn’t here which means she isn’t dead. Maybe if I focus, I can see back before the slaughter and see where she went. He opened his eyes. Then she can send me back or I could get all us sent back and get out on my own. Standing up, he decided that he was going to have to take that risk, he was going to have to go out and try.

Taking a deep breath, he walked out into the middle of the village. A light rain was still falling, it almost felt like a mist. Closing his eyes, Owen walked forward, waiting for the perfect spot to hit him. And it did, it hit him like running into a brick wall. Opening his eyes, he blinked a few times before sitting down. Okay, I’ll be okay. Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes and sank deep into his mind. He felt his fists immediately clench as the vision of the slaughter was brought before him again, but he told the images no, he told them to go back further. The images in his mind skipped like that of a movie as he tried so hard to see further into the past. His entire body was screaming, he could feel his fists shaking. And all of a sudden, he felt a cold breeze. In his mind, it felt like death, like death was coming toward him. This feeling of death, it was suddenly on top of him.

“Excuse me?” A voice said and his eyes snapped open, the visions fading so quickly that he hardly had time to think.

“Holy mother of god.” He heard himself whisper before looking at his hands. All along his palms were tiny half moons that were bleeding, “Wonderful.” Looking up, he realized someone was standing close to him. It was a women, dressed in ragged and layers of shirts, pants and skirts, a dirty and well worn bag at her side, looking down at him. Her hair was long, slightly curly, and he found himself looking into dull brown eyes. Immediately, every nerve went on end, he was at full alert, and his heart was suddenly racing. He found himself overcome with a sudden sense of extreme deja-vu. Behind her stood another person, someone much taller than this woman, but he was shrouded in shadow, he could not see him, “I’m in your way, I’m sorry, I’ll move.” He said, standing quickly and stepping aside.

“Is it safe for you to be outside like this? I thought this village was empty.” She asked, her voice was soft, almost raspy.

“Thank you for your concern, but I’ll be fine.” Every bone in my body is telling me to run, to run as fast as I can, and I can’t make myself move. She started to walk by him before stopping, looking back at him.

“Where is the rest of your group?” She asked. What.

“How do you know about that?” He asked, side glancing at her.

“There are four of you, right? Where are the others?” She asked again. Suddenly, his head overcome with a pounding sensation, much like that of a migraine, but it was so much worse. It took all of his self control to simply blink the pain away.

“How do you know that? Who are you?” Owen demanded, the pain causing the edges of his vision to blur. The sense that he had seen this woman before would not go away, as she looked at him with her dull, it only got worse.

“Do you honestly think you came here unnoticed?” She asked him simply.

“No, of course not, but how do you anything about us? We only stopped in that town for a little while.” The pain was suddenly worse and the images of the slaughter were beginning to flash through his mind. Owen held his head with both hands, struggling to stay on his feet. “Who are you, why do you feel so familiar?”

“We have all four of you marked, though, of course, to different degrees, Owen.” She replied.

“Marked?” The pain was too much, he could not longer see entirely straight, and he fell to his knees, “Why do you feel so familiar?” The woman walked up to him so she was standing very close and he could feel her eyes looking down at him.

“You four do not need to be here, I made sure to erase this village from our maps. It was useless and unwanted.” She stated in a flat voice. That’s why, I understand now.

“You...did this?” Owen asked, looking up at her, still holding his head, “You killed all of these people?”

“I can't take all of the credit, Trey helped a great deal.” She motioned to the large figure behind her. His skin was a faint grey and it was sinking in slightly around his cheeks and eyes. His eyes were blank and glazed over, his hair was matted and dirty, caked in dirt and god knew what else. He wore what looked like a military uniform, a variation of the one he remembered seeing in the first town they went to.

“He’s...not alive.” He whispered before scrambling to his feet, “You were the one who has been sending all of those zombies after us. What are you?”

“My name is Bella and I am one of the generals for Our Lady. And I'm sorry, Owen, but you're going to have to come with me.” The woman declared and he felt his blood run cold. I have to get away. He backed away from her quickly. He thought he heard himself ask “what” as he tried to get away, he had to get away.

“Please don’t make this difficult, Trey is very gentle.” Bella motioned toward the huge zombie behind her. He walked like a normal person toward him, large hands reaching out for him.

“Leave me alone.” He demanded before be felt his back hit one of the broken down house’s. In a blink of an eye, he found himself lifted a half a foot clear off the ground by the zombie she called Trey as if he were nothing. Everything was suddenly different now, he was a prisoner, he was a captive, and he would not go quietly. Struggling with every ounce of energy in his body, he tried to get away. “Put me down.” But the zombie ignored him and threw him over his shoulder like he was nothing. Bella moved to the zombies back and looked up at him.

“I'm sorry, Owen, but your capture is going to cause the biggest reaction out of the rest of your group, it had to be you to begin with.” She said, her voice still soft, but she did not sound the least bit sorry.

“It wouldn’t, it’s not like they care.” Owen continued to struggle, landing a sharp kick in the zombies ribs, but it did not seem fazed by the blow at all, “Put me down.” He insisted, wishing he could get away because he did not want to be the weak one anymore, he did not want to be the one that always got in trouble, the one that always needed saving.

“Owen, honey, he cannot feel that.” Bella said, her voice was so flat and her responses so neutral.

“How do you know my name?” He demanded, “And let me go, put me down, now, please, put me down.” The panic was settling in because he had to get away, he knew that he had to get away, this was going to mean something very bad if he did not get away.

“We all know your names by now. Owen Peterson, you live in an apartment leased by Damian Stoker and Ellos Loewen. Your classmate, Thanatos Lao, also resides there with you.” She rattled off as if it were common knowledge. She began to walk and the one called Trey followed her mindlessly.

“Put me down, put me down, please, please, put me down, I need to get down, put me down, why do you need us at all?” He knew he sounded pathetic, but as he struggled he felt his movements getting more desperate. Bella stopped and pulled out a bottle from her bag, shaking out a pill. Trey moved him so he was facing this woman and held his jaw and head steady.

“We don’t want you to hurt yourself.” She said as she placed the pill into his mouth. Owen spit it back at her.

“How considerate, but I don’t think so.” He snapped, still struggling. She sighed indifferently before pulling another out and putting it in his mouth. This time, the zombie clamped his jaw closed to tight he nearly bit off of his tongue. The former student felt the bitter pill slide down his throat and almost instantly, his limbs became heavy. A sedative? As the world around him began to cloud over, he vaguely felt his limp body being thrown over that zombies shoulder again. Am I going to die? The world around him faded away and Owen found himself lost in darkness.