#+e is the only good person here and the only victim because OF SOME SOPPY FUCKING DUMB STORY AT THE END WHERE HER PARENTS FOUGHT FUCK HER N

[saintsarefake]

tiktok and tumblr stop stalking the ex victim of a stalker to send him photos of his stalker and re-traumatize him challenge

#also stop saying he's the one in the wrong and stalking his ex-girlfriend to harass her/traumatize her challenge #also also stop glorifying the show challenge #(99.9% of people fail this challenge :00) #bruh it was the most liked comment on a tik tok video saying that he purposely made her uglier than she was (she was an ugly fuck to start) #i don't fat shame normally but i will 100% fat shame that bitch to the point of body dysmorphia and hope she suffers horribly in the future #never the actress tho she was great #if i see ANYONE coming for the actress i'm throwing hands #also darrien i hope he steps on a lego and overdoses on his drugs #actually i wish both experience what it was like for donny all the fear all the pain all the trauma everything i hope they know the sufferi #anyway i just finished baby reindeer and holy SHIT i have never related to a character more since i first saw angel dust #fuck martha and darrien #there's a special place in hell for them #and when i die and go down to hell i'm going to make them wish they were with them six limbed devils #psa; THIS IS ABOUT REAL PEOPLE THEY'RE NOT CHARACTERS #end of my rant now this pissed me off with how people are so hyper focused on martha and everything about her that it makes it seem like sh #+e is the only good person here and the only victim because OF SOME SOPPY FUCKING DUMB STORY AT THE END WHERE HER PARENTS FOUGHT FUCK HER N #+O ONE LOVES YOU AND I HOPE NO ONE EVER LOVES YOU TIK TOK SHE IS NOT THE VICTIM DONNY IS AND YOU ARE ALL TOO DUMB TO REALISE PAST YOUR HYPE #+R FEMENIST ALL MEN ARE EVIL BULLSHIT #*sigh* #i'm fine i swear #i'll delete this later maybe #if i remember it

[korra-the-red-lion]

Unnatural Affairs. Chapter 21: The Banishment.

(Ally + Lyn + Michael)

Lyn.

“You’re going to training camp, aren’t cha, Lyn?”

I looked over at Matt who was hanging off the lane rope, water dripping off his beard. Andrew looked at me quizzically as well as they waited for my answer.

“Probably, yeah,” I said with a shrug. I’d totally forgotten about it, honestly. I’ve been so busy with all this spirit hunting junk that training camp just slipped my mind.

“Good. Kerry and I are going too.” Matt licked his lips. “So, you, Loryn, Kerry, Maddie, Thom, Ollie, and Will. Oh, and me!”

“I’m going to,” said Emma. “So’s Robin and Tams.”

“That’s not too bad,” I commented. “You only got like 7 people last year. You nearly got half the team. Wait, is Gunner not going?”

Andrew shook his head. “Me and Gunner are gonna go home together this year. I think he needs it.”

I looked over at Gunner, who just dove in the water for his heat. We were doing practice races today to work on our spirits and diving techniques. We got out of the pool since they started and walked over to the benches, where we sat and waited for it to be our turn again.

I rested my head against the wall and closed my eyes, thinking about all the shit we learned the last few days. I couldn’t believe that old prof was the killer. I didn’t like the guy, but I didn’t think he was capable of murder. Of course, not all killers looked like killers. That’s how Ted Bundy and Paul Bernardo got away with so many killings before they were caught.

We hadn’t told the police yet because we literally had no concrete evidence that he did it. We really only were going off what we’ve seen and what ghosts have told us and done to us. We couldn’t really say much in our defence. Whatever. Tomorrow we were going to get rid of the monstrous Fredrik Moore with the help of Katherine.

Ally told us this two days ago. Then she causally mentioned that she nearly got killed by Kinkly when she went to go speak to the ghost residing in the art building. I swear to God, between Ally and Michael, I was going to have aneurysm. Who the hell causally mentions they nearly died through a text message?? It was a little exhausting to keep up with, truthfully. I only understood so little, yet I was expected to keep up with all the crazy. I was definitely ready for it to be over.

Katherine had sent Ally a list of things that we needed for the ceremony tomorrow, or whatever you wanted to call it. I guess it was basic ghost hunting stuff like salt, iron or silver, special amulets. I didn’t really get it, but Michael was more than happy to find all that for us. Where he got it from, I didn’t really want to know.

“What’s on your mind, Lyn?”

Loryn’s voice pulled me out of my thoughts. I blinked back into focus. “Just some stuff.”

“Hm.” Loryn sat down next to me. “I can’t wait until this semester is over. I feel like once Christmas goes by, we’ll reset and refocus.”

“I agree.”

I watched Thom glance at Loryn as he walked up to the block. I wasn’t the most observant person on the planet, but I was starting to notice the looks he was giving her. I wondered if he had a crush on her or something. The thought of that brought a cheeky grin to my face.

“What are you doing for winter break, by the by?”

I shrugged. “Suffer until my flight, I guess.”

Loryn rubbed her hands together nervously. “Did you want to stay over at my place? We could leave together.”

“Loryn…” I stared at my friend, emotion building up in my chest. She was watching me with this stupid soppy look on her face too. “I can’t just impose on your family, especially not during the holidays.”

“And I can’t let my best friend go back to a place that makes her miserable,” countered Loryn. “C’mon, dad is totally okay with it. I just want you to think about for real, okay?”

“I will, I promise.”

She reached over and hugged me, and I hugged back. It really did mean a lot to me that she even asked. I didn’t know what I was going to do for winter break. I thought I’d just hang around here until then, but who knows, maybe the ghost problem was still going to be a thing then. I broke off the hug when I realized it was my turn to go up again. I patted Loryn on the head and headed over.

XXX

Michael.

I was so excited to see the list Ally had sent. I knew exactly where to get those things! As soon as my horrid math course ended, I raced down to the Dreaming Mythic. When I got there, Talia was in today. She smiled at me as I pulled off my hat and shoved it in my pocket.

“Mr. Yamamoto! It’s been a while since I’ve seen you last.”

“Yup!” I walked straight over to where the bags of salt were. “I’m here to stock up today.”

“I figured you were,” she said softly as she drifted over. “Katherine told me that you asked her for help.”

I froze. I smiled guiltily at her as I reached for the salts. “Yea’ I did. I hope that’s okay with you. I just got really excited when I saw her reading the spell book.” I did feel bad that I asked her like that, it probably caught her so off guard.

“Katherine is an adult,” said Talia wistfully. “If she wants to help, then she can make that decision herself. I just hope that you children are going to be safe.”

I nodded as I poked around the amulets. “I hope so too. I think that if we get hurt again, Lyn might kill us. And trust me, she doesn’t look that strong but that’s only cuz she’s wearing sweaters right now. She could crush my head if she wanted to. Plus, I’m pretty sure I’m scarred for life now because of this, so I don’t really need to add physio on top of therapy.”

Talia walked into the back room as I continued to poke around. I wasn’t really sure where I was going to get any silver from, but maybe the weird antique store down the road had something. These small towns and their wacky stores, huh? You could always find the weirdest stuff. This whole town had proven to be p r e t t y i n t e r e s t i n g so far.

I walked over to the counter with an armload of things. One could never be too careful when it came to fighting a giant ghost monster that could totally crush you with one hand. Never. I dumped my stuff and tapped my fingers against the counter as I waited for Talia to return. I wasn’t in a rush, so I didn’t mind waiting.

When she came back out, she was carrying a bundle in her arms. I looked at it quizzically as she set it on the counter delicately. My jaw fell open when I saw what it was.

A gleaming silver blade.

“This belonged to my mother, who got it from her father and so on,” said Talia as she ran her fingers on the flat part of the blade. “It served them well. I would like it if you took this to protect yourself. It’s much more efficient than a baseball bat.”

“How…?” I was dumbfounded.

“Mr. Yamamoto, I’m aware of how the minds of you people work,” she said, her eyes twinkling. “Also, I was a student once too, in a house full of girls. We all had our own weapons of choice in case anyone ever tried to break in.”

I ran my hand over my head. “I feel bad if any person ever tried to, after seeing this guy.”

She slid it back into the sheath and wrapped it back up. She put everything in a paper bag and handed it all to me. “Please, be careful. Those are dark forces you’re dealing with. And…” she paused, her face thoughtful. “Never mind. Take care, Michael.”

“Thank you, Talia.” I squeezed the bag to my chest tightly. It meant so much to me that she’s been so awesome this whole time. I can’t think of anyone else who would go to such crazy lengths to help a practical stranger. She really was a great person, no joke.

I smiled one last time before leaving the store. I couldn’t help but feel the nerves starting to creep in. It was going to be really dangerous, we knew that. It’s been dangerous this whole time. I think only when Ally spoke to Amelia was the only time she didn’t get hurt. These ghosts mean business, and their business is to kill.

In some weird way though, we had to do finish it. We were the ones who started this whole thing, really. If we hadn’t bothered to dig around more, then we wouldn’t feel the sense of responsibility to help them all move on. No one else could do this job but us. Sure, it was terrifying and stupid, but I’m happy in a way. I’m happy that we’re going to make a difference. Especially since all the victims were people that thought no one cared about this. But there were people who cared, somewhere out there. I mean, hell, we cared!

I understood their anger, though. I’ve been there. People making offhand comments about me behind my back. Being a biracial kid in Victoria hadn’t been terrible, but there were times that I was all too happy to forget about. I’ve been pulled over more times than I care to talk about because of the colour of my skin. There were times were people asked me if I was visiting people from home, as if my family didn’t live here in Canada. I understood all that. That’s why it was so important to me to help them out. Because someone had to.

So yeah, I was nervous. I was nervous because there was so much more at stake than just stopping Kinkly from killing again. It was about telling these people that they mattered. Because for the love of fucking God, they do.

XXX

Lyn.

When I got back to my room, I was surprised to see a package lying on my bed.

Nura would pick up my mail for me sometimes because she was a sweet and wonderful person. I didn’t order anything for myself, so I wasn’t sure where it came from. With a confused frown, I dropped my bag to the floor, grabbed the package, and opened it up.

A letter fell out, landing gently on my bed. I picked it up, surprised to see Olivia’s name scrawled on the front of it. Feeling even more confused now, I opened the letter to see what she had to say.

Lyn,

I just wanted to apologize again for making you come home for Thanksgiving. It was wrong of me to make you promise something like that when you needed a ride to the hospital. I still don’t know the real reason why you needed to go, but hopefully one day you’ll be able to share the truth with me.

It’s a little early for Christmas, but I got you a gift. It’s not much, and maybe you’ll hate it. What you do with them is your choice, and I’ll be none the wiser on what you decide. Speaking of, if you would like, Travis and I would be happy for you to come and stay for a while. I know you’re probably flying off to Florida or wherever again for your winter training camp. I just wanted to let you know the offer is there for you to take if you wish.

Anyway, I hope that you’ve been well and that all your finals go as you expect. You always give everything 110%, so I know you’ll do amazing.

With warmest love and regards,

Olivia.

I sat heavily on the bed, my emotions conflicted. I reread the letter a few more times, making sure I didn’t miss a single thing. It absolutely meant the world to me that Olivia went the extra mile to apologize for making me go back there. She didn’t have to, but she did.

I reached for the rest of the package and pulled out the box that was inside. It was a shoe box for Converse, and when I opened it, a brand-new brand of blue-green high-tops rested inside. I pulled them gently and examined them. They were my size exactly, and there was another note inside the box.

I know you loved those black ones you have, but since they were bloody, I thought these would be a good replacement.

They were gorgeous. I loved them already. I wouldn’t be able to wear them for while because of the weather, but Olivia made an awesome choice.

I thought back to Loryn’s offer. Now I had two places to go for the holidays, meaning that I wouldn’t be spending them alone, regardless of my choice. I felt warmth blooming in my chest. Maybe later tonight would end horribly for us, but for now I was content to just sit here and be thankful for the people in my life.

XXX

Ally.

December 1st.

If someone had asked me at the beginning of the term what I would be doing 9 days before the first day of exams, I probably would have said pretending that relearning the entire course wasn’t stressing me out at all. Instead, I was going to go back to the swim team’s locker room for the third time this term to hopefully help a ghost move on from this plane of existence. You know, a typical Wednesday.

I stared up at the clouds as I sat outside on one of the benches scattered around campus. It was a really peaceful day. It was cold, and the wood was wet on my legs, but still peaceful.

The nerves I felt were not as bad as I thought they would be. Maybe because we’ve already been through so much already. Scarred, bruised, hurt, but alive. We lucked out twice already, and I know we’ll do it again a third time. If everything went according to our plan, it should be fine.

I laughed to myself. When has anything gone according to our plans?

Still, I dropped my head back, so it was dangling over the bench, we’ll be okay. I have to believe that. I don’t want anything to happen to them. I won’t let anything happen to them.

I wasn’t a physical fighter, but I was going to try my best to make sure we all made it out of here okay. I owed Michael and Lyn that much. I dragged them into this wild world, and I was going to be the ones to make sure they got out of it alive.

“You’re doing your thinking face.”

I smiled as I sat up properly. “Hey. Did you get everything?”

“I totally did,” said Michael as he sat next to me. “Now, don’t divert the convo. What cha thinking about?”

“Just everything, honestly.” I tucked my hands under my armpits. “You know my brain is always running, it never stops.”

“Ain’t that the truth,” he chuckled.

We sat there as I rested my head against him. He put his arm around my shoulders. We took comfort in each other’s warmth. The steady rhythm of his breathing added to the calm I was feeling. There was something about sitting with a friend on a cold winter day that was under appreciated.

The day slowly waned away as we sat silently. I don’t know what Michael was thinking about, but it was probably about tonight. I could feel the anxiety emitting off of him. He wasn’t biting his nail, but he was bouncing his leg away from me quite a bit. I reached down and squeezed his hand in comfort, causing him to look my way. I smiled at him and he returned the gesture.

“Do you really think we’ll be okay?” His voice was small.

“I do,” I said firmly.

He nodded slowly, staring off again. “Do you think it was a mistake to ask someone else to help? I feel more guilty the more I think about it.”

I frowned in thought. “I’m not sure, honestly. I do think that she would have said no if she really was against the idea, though. She’s got spirit, I think.”

“Okay.”

“Hey,” I looked up at him. “Michael, I know you. Don’t beat yourself up over this. We’ll make sure nothing happens, alright?”

Michael closed his eyes tightly. “Alright. I just…I don’t know if I would ever forgive myself if someone got hurt because of me.”

A flashback of Michael smacking into the wall and the blood flying from Lyn’s arm shot through my head. I swallowed thickly as guilt rested heavy in my stomach and said, “Yeah, I get that.”

The sun dipped below the skyline as it started to get dark. It was only 6:00 now, and we had to wait until closing. Stupid winter and shorter days. It was starting to get too cold for me to stick around much longer, so I gently pushed away from Michael and stood up, my body shivering from the loss of contact. I fiddled with my glasses anxiously.

“I’m going to head back to my room for a bit,” I said. “See you soon.”

“See you soon,” echoed Michael.

XXX

“Hey, Ally?” The RA leaned against my doorway. “There’s someone waiting for you outside.”

I glanced at Sarah before pushing myself away from my desk. The RA walked all the way to the door with me before leaving without saying a word. I pushed open the door and saw Lyn standing there, her cheeks pink from the cold.

“Hey! Why didn’t you just text me?”

“Left my phone in my room,” she said with a shrug. “I don’t really want it to get ruined.”

I stepped out of the way to let her in. She gave me an appreciative smile as she came in. I wasn’t sure where we should go, since Sarah was still in our room. I decided on the common area and led Lyn that way.

After a quick look around, I walked in once I saw it was empty. I sat down on one of the sagging couches and Lyn plopped down besides me. She slipped her hat off and ran her hand over her hair to smooth it down. She took my hand into hers, which was freezing, and gave it a quick kiss.

“Are you feeling nervous?” she asked, her eyes searching.

“I’m definitely feeling it, yeah.”

“That’s good,” Lyn laughed. “I’m scared shitless.”

I nodded in understanding. “You’re not alone in that feeling.”

Lyn ran her free hand over her face before squeezing her ear. “That’s great to hear. Like seriously, you do all this crazy shit, and it always amazes me. Well, it makes me want to kill you first, but then I’m amazed. I don’t know how you can keep it up.”

I mulled over that for a few minutes before saying quietly, “Because no one else can. I mean…yeah, I totally scared. I literally think I’m going to die each time we go out, or that I was so stupid for doing this, or for dragging you guys into this. But…” I frowned, scrubbing a hand against my eye, “someone has to do this. I would feel terrible if someone else died while I sat by and did nothing about it, you know?”

Lyn looked thoughtful as she nodded. She didn’t say anything else as she released my hand, instead slipping her arm around me and taking my other hand back. She kissed the top of my head and held me close. I closed my eyes, taking comfort in her presence.

To be perfectly honest, I never would have done this alone. It was only because I had Lyn and Michael that I was able to do this. Not even counting the close encounters, it was really traumatizing to see how someone died. They have been here for me this whole time, and for that, I’m forever grateful. Sure, we’ll all be in therapy because it, probably. But at least it won’t be alone. At least someone I know will always understand what I’m going through, on some level. And hopefully after this was all done, we could figure out a way to stop Kinkly once and for all. Then it would all be over, and we can go back to being normal students. Students who were worried about their exams, not about whether they’ll be haunted that evening while studying in the library.

We sat together like this until it was time to go. My stomach lurched as we stood up, the realization of what we were about to do catching up with me. Lyn squeezed my hand tightly, her jaw set determinately. I could see the fear dancing in her eyes, the way she kept cracking her fingers, but she was ready to go. When she caught me staring, she winked at me with an easy smirk.

“Hey, we’re the Spook Searchers, this is what we do,” she said jokingly. “We search for spooks.”

“I don’t think dealing with monsters and witches is part of the description,” I pointed out.

She rolled her eyes as she held the door open for me. Startling, the wind was ranging outside. Despites my protests, Lyn pushed my back to my room. She was firmly insisting (read: leaving no room for argument) that I put on a pair of pants. According to her, every time we’ve gone there, we’ve had to flee outside and that I wasn’t going to be freezing my ass off just for the sake of my style. She had a point, but that didn’t mean I agreed with her. However, I sullenly complied because it did make sense.

Finally, we left Lukas and made a painful walk to the Athletic Centre, hopefully for the last time. The wind was biting into my face. It felt like tiny little cuts were opening on my skin. The walk only lasted 5ish minutes, but it sure as hell felt longer than that. Michael and Katherine were there when we showed up.

Michael grinned when he saw us, though I could see the tightness in his face. Katherine wasn’t even attempting to smile, instead glaring at us moodily. I gave Michael a quick hug while I nodded to her. She just stared back. Yay, this was going to be really fun.

Lyn patted Michael on the back and gave Katherine a nod of acknowledgement as she pushed the door open. Her friend was sitting at the desk and looked up as we walked over. Apparently, she had spoken to him the other day and told him this huge lie about how she wanted to sneak us into the pool for a secret party. She told him it was totally safe and that she’d lock up afterwards. Her ability to come up with believable lies was really amusing to me. First a camping trip gone wrong now this.

“Just make sure you put everything back to where it belongs,” he said to her nervously as he handed over the key.

“I totally will!” said Lyn in a bubble-gum tone. “Thanks so much for doing this for me, Hassan.”

“You owe me one.”

She gave him a big hug. “Yup! Have a good night, buddy.”

A smile flickered onto his face. “Yeah, yeah, you too, Lyn.”

Lyn cheerfully waved to him as he left the building. After she was sure he was gone, she quickly locked the main doors. Her shoulders were tense with stress as she came back over to the three of us.

“This better go well,” she said as she pocketed the keys.

“I think it will!” said Michael with a fist pump. “I have a really good feeling about it this time. Plus, look at all this awesome stuff I have!” He held his bag open for us to look inside. I saw bags of salts, some knives, and amulets. Katherine stuck her hand in there and pulled out the necklaces.

“I need you guys to put this on,” she said as she handed one to each of us. Michael readily put his on while Lyn stared at hers skeptically. I understand why, since the last time we relied on jewelry it didn’t do much for us. I took mine from Katherine and slipped it on, the weight of it feeling a little strange. Lyn finally shrugged and put hers on as well.

Katherine stuck her hand into her coat pocket and pulled out a small object. I felt my brows raise in surprise as she flicked it open, revealing the blade inside. I winced as she sliced her finger open. Michael’s face went pale, and Lyn frowned, her ears lighting up. Katherine hissed as she pressed the bloody digit to the center of her amulet, and it started to glow brightly. She muttered something under her breath and the brightness dimmed, the necklace reflecting only a warm glow.

“Who’s next?” she asked with her hand outstretched.

Michael tentatively stuck his hand out. Katherine took his hand gently, before quickly nicking the skin open. Michael’s face scrunched slightly in discomfort but otherwise he said nothing. She pressed her finger on top of his before placing it on the amulet. The same light show happened before it dimmed down.

I was about to lift my hand when Lyn quickly thrusted hers out. Katherine glanced up at her before cutting her thumb open, causing Lyn to flinch. She had her eyes closed the whole time Katherine worked silently. After it was over, she sucked on the thumb as if that would help with the pain.

Finally, I was up, and I gave her my hand. Katherine’s eyes searched mine before she took my hand into hers. Her grip was surprisingly gentle as she looked at my fingers. She grabbed my ring finger and sliced the knife against the skin. I felt the tingling in my face from the pain as she pressed our fingers together. I only just noticed now that she used a different finger for each of us, as three of her fingers dripped with blood. Once she was done with me, she quickly stepped away and dug out a clean thing of gauze with her other hand. She ripped the thing open with her free hand and grimaced as she pressed her fingers into it.

“Here, let me help,” said Lyn. She reached over the desk and grabbed the first aid kit. She quickly wiped up the blood and wrapped each of them in a small gauze.

“Thanks,” muttered Katherine.

Michael fingered his amulet with a curious look. “So…what was the point of that?”

“Protection,” said Katherine. “Your blood mixed with a witch’s should be a much better protection against anything that might try to take your body from you. It will do little against physical harm, so you still gotta be careful.”

“Gotcha.” Michael smiled at me. “Should we head down, then?”

“If we’re all ready,” I said with a smile of my own. I certainly didn’t feel happy, but I didn’t want all of us to be freaking out, so I put on a brave face. I did a quick look around and when everyone nodded in agreement, we headed down.

The hall lights flickered on as we walked down the stairs. The pipes were moaning overhead as they settled. I could hear the fans working through the pool doors as we walked by. Michael handed Lyn something that was wrapped up in a bundle, causing her to look very confused.

“What’s this?”

“Something I think suits you best,” he said with a wink. I could see the trembling of his hands but he hid them behind his back so we wouldn’t see his fear.

She pulled the rope off the bundle and let the cloth fall to the floor. She gasped as she held out the sword in her hand. I was surprised to see a weapon like that too. I looked over at Michael with wide eyes, who just gave me a shaky thumbs up. Katherine was eyeing the weapon with a strange look before she looked away, wrapping her arms around herself.

“We should keep moving,” I said, my voice echoing into the darkness.

Our footsteps sounded incredibly loud as we approached the locker room. When we stood in front of it, Katherine frowned in trepidation. She poked around for a bit before sighing deeply through her nose.

“This is it, then?” she asked, looking at us.

Lyn nodded. “Yeah. This is where the big fucking angry ghost in. The other one is apparently in the mirrors where the bathroom and showers are.”

“’Kay.” Katherine shrugged her bag off. “This is going to be a very dangerous thing. Once I start, he’ll fight against me. He’ll probably attack us. I wouldn’t be surprised if the other ghosts around the area get involved. Are you all ready for that?”

I swallowed thickly and nodded. “We know what we signed up.” Ugh, my voice definitely cracked there a few times.

Katherine looked at me for several long seconds before turning away. “Alright. Just give me a few minutes to get ready then.”

Only a few minutes before shit hit the fan, oh boy. Those were going to be a long few minutes.

XXX

Michael.

Watching Katherine work was something weird for sure.

She sat down on the floor and poured a bag of her own salt around her in a protective ring. Next, she set up a few black and red candles around her. She pushed her bangs out of her eyes as she muttered to herself quietly. I wanted to ask what she was doing but I thought leaving her alone was the right move to make. I went over to where the others were leaning against the wall instead.

Lyn looked really pale as she watched Katherine. Her face was devoid of any showing emotion, but I could tell by the way she kept tugging at her ear that she was really nervous. Ally was biting her lip as she fiddled with the zipper of her jacket. She attempted to give me a smile when I stood next to her, but it came out looking grim.

“We’re going to be fine, Ally,” I said. I believed it, too. I had to.

She nodded slowly, her eyes unsure. “I think so too,” her voice was so quiet. “It’s just what happens after that I’m scared about.”

“Whattya mean?” I tilted my head.

“With Kinkly,” her voice cracked at the end. “Sure, we’re helping Fredrik here and that’s really awesome. But what about the actual murderer? We don’t exactly have tangible evidence that says ‘hey, this guy is the killer!’”

“We’ll cross that bridge when we get there.” We both were startled by Lyn’s sudden jump into the conversation. She tore her eyes away from Katherine and gave us a tight smile. “We’ve already done so many crazy things together, what’s one more? I’m sure that we’ll figure it out once we have time to think about it. But first, we gotta focus on this, you know?”

We both nodded in agreement. My heart was thudding rapidly in my chest suddenly. The temperature in the hallway started to drop and I looked over at Katherine. Her face was screwed up in concentration as she continued to mumble to herself. Her gaze lingered up and when I caught her eye, she nodded towards the door.

It was time.

Trying my very best to swallow my growing fear, I held out one bag of salt in one hand and an iron knife in the other. Lyn drew the sword smoothly from its scabbard and held it tightly in both hands, her knuckles white. Ally took a deep breath as she held onto her own knife. She reached for the door handle, but it ripped open before she could even touch it.

Fredrik in his monstrous form bellowed at us in the cramped space. Suddenly, I felt the floor shifting beneath my feet as the area expanded. I stumbled a little before getting my footing again. I wasn’t sure what happened, but this wasn’t the locker room anymore. It was, but it wasn’t.

The whole space was distorted. The lockers looked like they were curved and wider than they usually were. The tiles on the floor were red with blood and the walls moved as if they were breathing. The whole area felt alive. Fredrik stood in the middle of it, his mouth drooling bloody saliva. Fiona stood next to him, her expression dark and hard to read.

“You shouldn’t have come here,” she said grimly. “You’ve made a horrible mistake.”

Her face twisted horribly as her own body began to transform. My pulse was pounding in my ears and my hands shook violently. My eyes flickered to Katherine, who was chanting loudly now, her eyes glowing brightly. All we had to do was make sure nothing bad happened to her while she finished.

Fredrik lurched forward, his powerful legs carrying him forward. We scattered away from the attack. He whirled and immediately went towards Katherine. My legs felt like lead. I tried to move but I couldn’t. I looked down and saw that my legs were trapped in a gory cast. I yelled in surprise, stabbing at it with the knife. Katherine was in danger, and I was helpless to do anything for her.

I looked up when I heard Fredrik scream. Lyn stood in front of Katherine, her eyes wide in fear but she held her ground. Fredrik’s face was dripping with fresh blood and the sword glistened with blood.

“That’s for scarring me, asshole!” Lyn swung the blade heavily, causing Fredrik to draw back.

Quickly I cut myself out of the gore cast and was about to run over to where they were when Lyn pointed over. “Go to Ally! I’ve got this!”

That sounded like a lie, but I wasn’t going to argue once I saw that Fiona was swiping at Ally, who was trapped waist deep in a gory hold. I ripped open one of the bags of salt I had and threw it directly at Fiona. She shrieked as she tore at her face. Pieces of flesh fell to the ground with a sickening wet sound as the blood welled on her face. The salt that landed on Ally’s gory prison started to dissolve and she started tearing chunks off with her own knife.

“What is this stuff!?” Ally scrambled back so we were side to side.

“I have no idea, but it felt very…fleshy,” I said with a heavy swallow. I was not going to be sick here.

Ally looked sick at the thought but nodded. “Okay. Okay. We need to stop them from getting to Kat.”

I nodded in agreement. I handed Ally a bag of salt. She looked around before kneeling down and ran the knife through a puddle of something liquid. She stuck the knife in the bag and pulled it back out, the blade now covered in salt. Geez, that was so quick thinking. I was about to do the same thing when Fiona screamed at us.

“YOU ARE GOING TO SUFFER FOR THAT, HUMAN. I WILL KILL YOU!” Her voice was distorted, sounding like it was being layered with something else. Her back ripped open with a wet sound as a second pair of bloody arms grew from her back. Her head twisted with a vicious crack as her jaw opened widely like a snake’s, only it didn’t seem to have a stopping point. Ally and I stepped away in fear.

We ran away from her attacks, each punch pounding into the floor with a fleshy sound. The floor kept trying to get a hold of us with its gory prison. Bones grew from the floor like tree roots, and we had to dodge them so we didn’t trip. Fiona was howling behind us like wounded animal. I could see the pain in Ally’s face as she tried her best to keep moving forward. But no matter how far we ran, it was like we couldn’t get away.

I barely felt fear as we rolled away from a smash of her claws. My body was running on instinct to survive. There were nearly no thoughts in my head besides run, survive, get away, dodge. Fiona picked something up that suspiciously looked like a body without a head and threw it at us. I shouted as we fell to the floor. Hands with rotting flesh shot through the floor and grabbed at us, keeping us in place. I struggled against their slimy grip, sweat dripping down my face. Fiona leisurely approached us, her twisted features manic.

“You should have kept your nose of this, Ally,” she said quietly. I could see the pain in her eyes, the agony she was feeling. She raised one hand, claws ready to tear into us.

“I’m sorry.”

Her eyes widened in shock. I twisted around to look at Ally, who’s face looked utterly heartbroken.

“I’m sorry,” she repeated. “I’m sorry that you’ve been forced to become this thing, Fiona. I’m sorry that they gave up on you and your brother so easily. I mean it, and I meant it last time. What happened to you two was tragic and it’s so horrible that no one tried harder. I can’t imagine the pain you’re going through, I really can’t. B-but,” there were tears streaming down her face, “I know you don’t want to do this. I-I saw how David was being controlled.”

Tears sprung to my own eyes as Fiona hesitated. There was a battle of conflict playing out on her face. Ally closed her eyes and took a shuddering breath. “You are in control here, Fiona.”

Fiona’s face twisted as she howled. She brought down both arms.

XXX

Lyn.

The sword was heavy in my hands as I swung it.

I thought it would be like a baseball bat, but man was I wrong. This thing was wearing me down so quickly. I could hear Katherine behind me, continuing with the spell. The hair on the back of my neck and arms were standing on end as the pressure around us continued to increase.

There was blood dripping off the sword where I had sliced Fredrik. My hands were covered in it from the splash back. My chest was rising and falling heavily as I panted. My whole body was shaking from the effort of keeping her safe. My heart was racing from a mix of adrenaline and fear. My stomach felt like it was cramping shut.

I was so worried about Ally and Michael too. I saw Michael run off to go help Ally, but I haven’t seen them since. I really had no idea what was going on and it was freaking me out big time. This whole place looked like a fucked-up rejection from a horror movie or something. The walls moved away from you each time you took a step. The floor fucking looked like it was made of human bodies. If I stayed still for too long, rotten hands reach up and try to grab me, or some gory entity does.

Fredrik watched me carefully, circling around. I sluggishly followed him with my eyes, careful to have the sword pointed at him the whole time. He was waiting for me to let my guard down. That wasn’t going to happen.

Katherine gasped loudly behind me, causing me to look back. Fredrik screeched as he launched himself at me. I swore viciously as I tried to defend myself. I really didn’t want another scar to match.

“Step back and swing upwards.” A jolt of panic shot through my whole system.

I did as the voice said, and Fredrik’s claw missed my face by half an inch. I swung upwards and caught him by the chin, Blood sprayed all over me and I blinked it out of my eyes as I stumbled back.

“Duck, then thrust forward.”

Again, I did as it said. The sound of his claws rushing by filled me with dread as I took a huge step forward. I jabbed the blade into his belly. Fredrik shrieked in pain as he doubled over, stumbling away from us.

“Good job. Stay close to the witch now.”

“Who are you?” I asked into the wind.

“Someone trying to help you, darling. I know we’ve never talked before, but you have to trust me.”

I shook my head as I stepped back. I stopped next to Katherine, who was breathing heavily. She pushed sweaty bangs from her face and looked up at me, her face going pale as she took in my appearance. I felt disgusting, so I could only imagine what I looked like.

“Are you finished?” I asked, kneeling down next to her.

Katherine nodded quickly. “It should only take a minute for the effects to kick in now.”

“Thank God,” I muttered darkly.

“Are you hurt?”

I glanced at my hands and shrugged. “I really couldn’t tell ya, honestly.”

“That’s…that’s fair.” She pulled her knees to her chest, her eyes wide with fear. “This place is so fucked. Is this what you’ve been dealing with the whole time?”

I shook my head. “Mostly just insane shit happening in the locker rooms. Though I took a lovely blood shower once,” I said sarcastically.

Katherine opened her mouth to say something when there was a huge roar that shook both of us to the core. Fredrik was writhing on the floor, clawing at his skin. Blood gushed from his self-mutilation. My stomach lurched from the display, and I looked away. But when I heard him howling, I found myself looking once more. Layers of flesh peeled away from his body. Bones became exposed as they crumbled away. Organs were exposed as they melted away into nothing.

“What’s happening to him?” I asked, my voice thick with fear.

“The monster is dying,” Katherine said flatly. “The human soul is becoming exposed.”

I watched in horror at the remaining parts of what was Fredrik dissolve into a frothy liquid. From the remains stood a boy, not much older than Ally or me. He looked scared and confused as he looked around. When he saw us, he tripped over the bones of the monster as he tried to walk over. He stopped a couple feet short of us and fell to his knees.

“You saved me,” he cried. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” said Katherine softly. “I hope you have a better time in the Shadow Lands, Fredrik Moore. I know this journey hasn’t been easy for you.”

He wiped at his eyes and nodded. “I hope so. Is…is my sister here?”

Katherine lifted her hand and pointed. Fredrik looked over and gasped when he saw his sister standing over Ally and Michael. I felt fear coarse through my veins as I saw her bring down her own claws. I screamed out their names as I tried to get to my feet. Tears left paths down my blood covered face as I stumbled over to where they were.

The plume of dust dissipated, revealing a very stunned Ally and Michael but otherwise unharmed. I collapsed next to them, grabbing a hand from each of them and trying to control my crying.

“We’re okay,” coughed Ally. Her eyes widened as she took in my appearance. “Are you okay?!”

I nodded as I squeezed her hand. “I think so,” I said with a hiccup.

Michael sat up, his face pale and ashy looking. “I’m okay too, in case you forgot I was here.” He said it jokingly, but I could hear how weak his voice sounded.

“I’m glad you’re okay too,” I sniffled as I gave his hand a good squeeze.

I stiffened when I saw Fiona approached us. She was no longer a monstrous version of herself, instead looking like a young woman. There were tears dripping down her face as she bowed her head. Fredrik put his arm around her and rested his head on hers.

“Thank you, Ally…for saving me. He was controlling me, and I couldn’t stop myself from hurting you.” Fiona wiped at her face.

Ally smiled tiredly. “You’re welcome. I’m just glad you are together again.”

Fiona grabbed Fredrik’s hand tightly as she looked around. Both her and her brother looked confused as to where we were. That was not a good sign. Even though my body was physically exhausted, the panic that was settling into my bones was causing me to feel twitchy.

Then we heard the slow clapping.

XXX

Ally.

I looked around, but I couldn’t place where the clapping was coming from. Fiona and Fredrik both looked terrified. Michael sat up straighter as he looked around as well. Lyn’s pupils were wide with fear. Katherine stood wearily next to us.

“You need to get out of here,” whispered Fiona. “He’s coming.”

The whispers of ‘he’s coming’ echoed all around us. I shakily stood up. Lyn and Michael did the same. We instinctually stepped closer to each other. Lyn reached out and even pulled Katherine a bit closer.

“I can’t believe you managed to pull that off, Alexandra,” said his voice all around.

“Pulled what off?” I called out, hoping my voice sounded stronger than it felt.

There was an unsettling chuckle. “Getting rid of me from Fredrik. That required a lot of power. I didn’t think you’d be able to find someone to pull it off. But you proved me wrong.”

“Show yourself, you monster!” I yelled.

The earth shook underneath our feet violently. Fiona and Fredrik ran away from our group, disappearing from sight. The ground split open to reveal beating organs beneath our feet. Michael finally couldn’t hold it in anymore and threw up. Lyn looked sick too, but she managed to keep it down. Katherine couldn’t tear her eyes away from the horror that we were standing on. When there was another chuckle, the ground shook again.

“I’ve been here the whole time, Alexandra. This is my body you’re standing on, after all.”

Shocked coloured my face. How was that even possible? I stepped away from the seeping wounds at my feet, trying to make sense of it all.

Then he showed himself.

Robert Kinkly looked just as he always did. Round glasses, frumpy sweater with crazy wispy silver hair. He smiled at us and gave a polite clap for us. Lyn gritted her teeth and hefted the sword back up. Michael held the knife high as well, his hand steady despite his fear. Katherine looked petrified as she stepped slightly behind us. I didn’t blame her at all. All I wanted to do was ran away and hide away forever.

“Honestly, I do have to ask, how’d you figure it all out?” He tilted his head in that way that he always did when he asked us questions in class.

“I’m not telling you,” I spat out. God, I was feeling a lot braver than I actually was.

He blinked owlishly. “Huh. Well, I suppose it doesn’t matter. I’ll just have to kill you three and make away with all that research you have. It will be tragic, three students losing their lives just before exams. But the roads are icy at this time of year, after all.”

“You’re a fucking psycho,” snarled Lyn. “I can’t believe you murdered all those people.”

“Language, Lyndsey. There is no reason for you to be speaking to me that way,” he scolded coolly. “Besides, I had to kill them. It was the only way for me to survive.”

“But why?” I cried out. “You died! I don’t understand how you’re even here!”

Kinkly held his hand up. “Patience, Alexandra. To be honest, I’m not quite sure myself. I remember when I died, and I remember begging for a second chance. The next thing I knew, I was alive and well. The only issue I ran into was my flesh began to rot away on me. However, I soon discovered I could stay alive so long as I could sacrifice someone else’s life in exchange for mine. And well…” he spread his hands out with a cold grin. “It was obvious who I was going to choose.”

“But…” Michael’s voice cracked with emotion. “How could you do that to innocent people? Amelia and the Moore siblings didn’t deserve that. Dahlia and Jamieson didn’t deserve that.”

Kinkly laughed with a shake of his head. “I didn’t kill Dahlia. She was already here when I died. But the others? Nobody cared when they were alive, and nobody cared when they died. Really, I may have been the way to swing the axe, but I wasn’t the one who killed them. Society did.”

I felt anger bubble in my chest as I took a step forward. “That’s a lie you tell yourself. These people, they had live. They had futures. You are the one who took that away from them, no one else!”

“Please, stop with the dramatics already,” he said with an eyeroll. “I told you so many times to keep to yourself and mind your own business. Really, your own death is on your hands. Shame, too. I thought you had potential.” His face twisted into something horrible. The grin was too large and stretched out, like it belonged on someone else’s face. His teeth were just slightly too pointed to be natural. He laughed loudly and the floor shook once more.

“Lie down and die for me, ALEXANDRA HOLLAND, LYNDSEY HART, AND MICHAEL YAMAMOTO.”

My whole body shook as panic shot through my brain. It was bad for a ghost to know your full name. It was really, really bad. But I didn’t really know why, I just knew it was. I could feel the power behind those words. I closed my eyes, ready for the end.

#unnatural affairs #ua #ally holland #lyn hart #michael yamamoto #katherine howard #talia howard #ghosts #anxiety #gore mention #blood #violence #fredrik moore #fiona moore #murder mysteries #paranormal #romance #wlw romance #sapphic lead #original story #original fiction