Where Every Scroll is a New Adventure
Tang barely had any time to process what the soldier said before she started moving away, managing to get further and further out of reach before he could even respond. He scrambled to catch up, tripping more times than he could count from the bumps and potholes in the road.
She said Zach woke up. If it was that fast, his injury must not have been that serious. I'm glad he's ok. Hopefully he'll be well enough to speak. Thoughts like this filled his head as he caught up to her. He was being taken down the main road, and the soldier, thankfully giving Tang's ankles and psyche some semblance of rest, eventually slowed her pace for him and didn't say anything else.
He took a minute to catch his breath next to her, holding a hand over his chest as they went past many people working for the day. He saw patrolling guards chatting with each other, workers transporting goods in wooden crates, and many other people cleaning buildings or reinforcing the barricade set up between the trees.
Wait, there's a barricade? Tang did a double take, staring at the giant wooden configuration behind all the greenhouses and work buildings. He… never noticed it before. It's no wonder why those officials were so uptight at my arrival. How did I get past that thing unnoticed?...
Squinting his eyes and looking closer beyond the camp, he could see the outline of a huge, wooden wall situated in the surrounding forest. It had almost twice the amount of soldiers patrolling it compared to the main area, and all of them wore strange masks on their faces unlike everyone inside. Each one had the exact same pattern: bright neon coloring with a complex symbol repeated over the dark fabric.
As soon as he saw them, Tang noticed his gut start to sink subconsciously. A feeling of something being just out of place burrowed into his head as he continued to stare at the masks. He just couldn't take his eyes off of them, and yet, looking at those things for too long was starting to make his skin crawl uncontrollably.
This feeling got so intense that he didn't even realize he had stopped walking. His eyes were hollow as his surroundings blurred, the initial fatigue and mission forgotten in the huge surge of unease. He probably would've stayed that way, too, if not for a hand landing violently onto his shoulder, bringing him back to reality.
He spun away sharply from the wooden border and toward the hand's source, blinking dumbly when he and the guide were face to face again. Her eyes narrowed at him, the strong grip on his shoulder grounding him in place.
“What are you doing?” She asked suspiciously, glancing to where he was staring so intently at.
Tang waved his hands in surrender, quickly trying to come up with an excuse. “Oh! Well, erm, I was just looking at all the new places and people here. Never a dull moment when everyone is constantly moving and doing something around this place. This is really the first time I've seen more of the area after all that lifeless busy work, so I guess I got a bit overwhelmed at the-”
“Ok, ok. Let's just get going. He doesn't like when people are late.” She interrupted, letting his shoulder go and turning back to the road. Tang decided to ignore that very ominous comment at the end for his own (fickle) sanity, now focussing on anything other than the barricade or whatever would be close to it. This apprehension eventually led him back to his guide.
Small details filled his brain as he observed, hands itching for his sketchbook to let his hands do something. From a quick once-over, the woman seemed to be no older than 30, with her silky black hair tied into a tight bun and her gray eyes filled with trained apathy, any of her thoughts or emotions hidden away from onlookers.
He also noticed she seemed highly ranked. She had a hat like the Head Soldier, and it was one that had more badges and stripes on it as well.
Looking away from the soldier in front of him, Tang let his legs rest while taking slow, careful steps. The soldier then stayed with his rhythm, never letting him get too far behind in his fluctuating pace. After a while of walking, he startled to fiddle with the bell on his wrist as his mind drifted from the guide, getting distracted by the surrounding area again. He didn't look past the buildings now.
Anyways, he saw in real time how the developed buildings thinned out as tents or dirt training grounds overtook the leftover space. The other soldiers on these grounds seem to have just started their afternoon drills, running laps, shooting guns at targets, and holding planks as the duo walked past.
They never did stop for any of these new settlements, though, just calmly walking further and further past them, with all of those places also eventually thinning out leaving only the forest and wooden barrier. Only after even the hum of shouted drills and stomping feet faded into the background, did the guide finally stop her pace and turn to face Tang.
“We're going to an undisclosed location for the meeting with your companion. Since it is located outside of this base, I'll need you to wear a blindfold for the rest of our trek. This is just a safety precaution, so please try not to struggle.” She said curtly while leading him aside and right onto the edge of the surrounding forest.
She then pulled a long piece of navy cloth out of one of her many pockets while Tang nervously took off his glasses and hung them on his uniform collar. He couldn't see anything clearly without them, and it wasn't like he could memorize the entire layout of the woods from one trip, but he was betting that the soldier wouldn't trust his words as far as she could throw him. (Well, he might have to rephrase that as from her arms alone, as she looks like she could definitely throw him at least a few feet if needed)
She quickly wrapped the cloth around his head, tying a knot in the back so tight that Tang couldn't see even the tiniest slivers of light coming through it. “Thank you for your cooperation. I'm sorry for the inconvenience, but we don't have any leniency for leaks. I'll try my best to keep you from tripping or hitting anything on our way there.”
Her voice had the barest hint of emotion as she apologized. It was noticeable compared to her cold demeanor from when she first walked up to him: a small pang of sympathy in her tone. Tang just nodded his head, hopefully in her direction as he guessed from her previous apology.
She then, slowly and gently, grabbed his wrist and started to walk into the forest brush. It was a strong hold, but one that wasn't bruising or harsh against his raw skin. Tang was grateful for the small mercy as they continued.
They had a small stop at what Tang assumed was the barrier, his guide whispering with what was probably a guard before said guard opened up what sounded like a heavy door, based on how it dragged on the dirt floor, and let them through.
The sounds of the rustling leaves and the small chirps of birds were the only things Tang could make out clearly. The breeze that made the sound ruffled his clothes, blew dead leaves through the air, (with some smacking Tang straight in the face due to his loss of sight. One leaf even made it down his throat and he had to cough for a solid minute, hunched against a tree with the soldier patting his back hard to get it out) and left his loose wisps of hair to wave in the wind as he walked.
The guide didn't say or do much other than lead him through the forest, but she did mutter small warnings for roots to step over or branches to duck under (which he would be grateful for if not for her lack of warning for the flying leaves of all things. Maybe that was on him for almost dying to something as stupid as that, though). He didn't want another face full of dirt or whatever else there was in here.
But it's not like he's in a place where he can complain.
After being made to take too many nonsensical detours and sometimes even backtracking more times than he could count, the scenery around them finally started to change. The ground of dead leaves and dirt smoothed out into plain grass as he was apparently led out of the forest.
The guide then put a hand on his chest, signaling him to stop, and let go of his wrist, leaving Tang for a second before speaking up, now behind him. “We've arrived.” Was the only thing she said as she undid the blindfold.
His eyes were immediately overwhelmed at the harsh sunlight, leaving Tang squinting hard and blinking out the spots. Once his eyes adjusted, he reached for the glasses on his collar and put them on, readying himself for what he was about to see.
Tang's reaction was immediate. His eyes, initially slightly curious and tired, were now high sprung and alert, flicking from place to place as he looked over what was before him.
The area seemed as if it was flattened out, most of the ground being only flat grass with the trees circling around the cutout. That was except for two hills, one straight ahead and the other to Tang's left, and a lake, or what was left of it with the water being less than a foot deep, to the right.
On the left hill stood a dead willow tree, a bizarre sight as the surrounding wood was mostly pine. However, the center hill is what really caught his eye. It was big, at least 5 feet tall, and was more of a slope down as it took up half the cutout.
On top of it was a giant stone monastery with cracks, vines, and other signs of wear scattered around showing its age. It had a wide arch as an entrance, with dirt steps carved out of the hill it was atop leading up to it.
Oh no. Was Tang’s only thought. It repeated over and over in his head as he was grabbed by his wrist yet again and was led toward the huge building. There were other smaller setups next to the building, but he didn't pay attention to them. The huge stone menace burned into his brain, invoking emotions deep down in his gut he thought he had long forgotten.
They had reached the dirt stairs in no time. Each step put a load onto Tang’s shoulders as he couldn't stop his emotions and thoughts from overflowing and filling his head with jumbled garbage he couldn't make any sense of. They just kept getting closer and closer, and he didn't want to know what would happen to him when he went past that entrance if this was his reaction to merely looking at it.
His stomach dropped as they reached the top. He craned his neck up to look at the intricate detailing lining the archway, moving his head away from what was past this point. He braced himself for what was to come, his hands clammy as he clenched his fists in anticipation.
They walked forward…
And then turned to the right.
Tang’s whiplash from deep dread to straight up confusion caused him to blink hard a few times to regain his bearings. Looking back up, they were still walking along the side of the monastery, not going inside as he had thought. He turned his head back behind him, seeing the archway getting farther and farther away.
A huge feeling of what seemed to be relief filled his senses, letting him focus back onto where they were actually going. Twisting his head back to the front, he saw that up ahead was one of the biggest tents he had ever seen in this camp.
It was almost triple the normal size compared to where he was being monitored, and had more workers surrounding as they ran in and out rapidly, delivering or taking many things at once. One even ran past them, almost bumping into him, and towards the entrance of the monastery with what seemed like a pile of used needles.
Tang already had a good idea of what this place was supposed to be even before being ushered into the tent. The inside was even crazier than the outside. Rows of beds lined the interior as people dressed in white ran around either preparing equipment or checking up on a current patient.
Countless grounds and cries echoed through the tent, though this noise was something Tang was used to by now. This didn't seem like the case for his guide, though, as she scrunched her brow and held onto his wrist a bit tight as she pulled him through the chaos.
Many different patients and injuries flew by him as they ran through. Burns, amputation, concussions, and major lacerations were the main things he could catch glimpses of through all the medical personnel. This made him wonder why these people were in such bad shape in the first place.
But he wasn't able to ask before he was suddenly pulled away and into a section near the back closed off by multiple white curtains. Soldiers were also situated right outside of the closed off area, giving away who was probably in the bed in front of him.
Zach looked worse for wear. His eyes were tired as he was surrounded by many more personnel, checking his vitals and IV as they asked him questions. Tang could barely hear his answers from how quiet they were, almost being drowned out from the other commotion surrounding them.
But almost as soon as he sat down next to the bed, all the personnel seemed to quicken up their pace, hushing each other as each one sprinted out of there in record time. The only people left by then were him, his guide standing next to him, and Zach, not including the soldiers stationed outside.
And awkward silence was cast among them. Tang really didn't know what to do here, as he's only known Zach for a day at most and didn't know how to comfort the kid. Luckily, he was saved the trouble as loud footsteps came close to the area, causing the guide to perk up and walk over to the entrance.
Hushed words were exchanged with whoever was on the other side, their body being obscured by the white curtains. The conversation seemed to go sour almost immediately, though, with his guide getting cut off at just one harsh command, leaving her quiet.
She came back in with her face schooled again, regaining her place next to Tang and putting her hands behind her back. Then the curtains parted yet again, revealing whoever she had been talking with.
To Tang's surprise, it was an elderly man, one who was wearing tan robes and held a wooden cane. He had a full head of white and gray hair, eyes a dark brown as he glanced at the guide. Looking away, he slowly walked over to an empty chair and plopped himself down across from Tang with Zach between them on the bed.
The old man kept his head down as he only glanced up, staring Tang down with a harsh look the scholar couldn't quite make sense of. He didn't really need to, as two other soldiers came in, one with a clipboard in hand.
Tang recognized the two as the ones from his own interrogation, Red Hair and Aggressive Guy whispering some nonsense to each other as he stared them down. Aggressive Guy then huffed and sat down as Red Hair walked up to Zach, exchanged a few words with the taxi driver, and then stood up next to the bed, readying her clipboard.
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Tang's shift went on routinely.
Grab from the basket. Try to scrub out the stains or top layers of grime. Throw the piece into the machine. Let it run along once it's full. Go until the baskets empty. Ignore the worker taking and refilling the basket. Rinse and repeat.
That's how everything went; no pleasant chatter or white noise to cover the rumbles of machinery or the whispers of the actual workers. Oh, yeah, he forgot to mention that apparently they weren't considered actual workers as they were under “tent arrest”, which was just a polite way of saying they were slaving away under the “official” workers’ scrutiny.
He was lucky to even be allowed his own station instead of being an errand boy, though, as he saw some running around delivering soap or baking soda to whatever worker yelled out the loudest. Maybe it was because he wasn't making a scene and seemed to be mild-mannered with just a little intimidation. It's not like they're wrong, though.
The staring had also gotten a bit worse from there, as they seemed to get over the shock of his presence and start to test his limits. After a bit, the soldiers patrolling and workers coming for the baskets were not very subtle with their discomfort around him anymore. They seemed to be waiting for him to slip up and make some kind of mistake as he continued those tedious patterns of scrubbing, throwing, and silently screaming in his head.
It was easier to zone out when Tang didn't have constant looks directed at him 24/7. His mind and body were tired from the constant stress now, and he thinks his ankles would give out any minute from how long he's been standing and shuffling in place.
He wanted nothing more than to yell screw you to this place, and fall asleep back in his apartment; he wanted to sink away from all these prying eyes.
Maybe this was why he started to disassociate more, letting the piercing stares and scrutiny fall into the background as he let muscle memory do most of the work. Maybe this was when his mind started to blank with his head then trying to fill in the space, subconsciously bringing back some old friends to fill the void.
‘Everything is going wrong. What are we even supposed to do against that thing!?’
Tang sighed internally as he was brought back to reality. He thought, since he now had Cian yapping into his ears whenever it wanted, he would be free from the other annoying voices. There was no such luck to be had, though.
‘______ is already on the problem. The setup is going through and ____ get everything back __ the way it was. ____ whining.’
‘Well I'm so _____ for being a bit worried that it's got some grubby mitts on ____ now. How ___ we even going to get the _______ back up again?’
‘Ughhhhh…’
They didn't stay for long and faded out soon after he noticed them. Tang relaxed a bit at their departure, letting out a breath he didn't know he was holding.
He knew they had something to do with what was happening with his head (as Cian used to also be “just a voice”, and it turned out to be something way more than something like that) but he didn't want to try interacting with them yet. He knew they didn't look too kindly to him, and seemed anxious when he seemed to notice their existence.
He didn't want to know what would happen if they figured out he could hear them the entire time. It's especially risky to try and interact with them now since he knows they might be able to interact with the world like Cian did, maybe to even more serious degrees if they were more powerful.
Thinking this much about everything was starting to hurt his head. I don't even know where these stupid voices are coming from in the first place, less so why they're messing with my life! He thought, accidently ripping a piece off of a tent in his stupor.
He cringed at that, and then carefully put it into the wash for someone else to deal with. He really needed a nap, and maybe a good story to fill his mind with distractions. But almost no breaks are allowed in here. He had learned just how harsh this place was when there was a big commotion two rows down in front of him.
One of the other workers (the one who refused to get up from the ground near the start of the day. Tang recognized the guy from the burn marks up the side of his face) was forcefully dragged out of the building when he tried to sleep on the floor. Wherever they were taking him, it didn't seem good as the guy knocked over baskets and other cleaning supplies, and Tang really didn't want to find out for himself.
He quickly woke himself up by slapping his cheeks and went back to his work after that instead of gawking any more at the scene. His body probably couldn't take another harrowing experience like that this week lest he collapse onto the ground. Maybe I would be brought to where they were keeping Zach if I collapsed.
Anyways, after what felt like hours of scrubbing and washing after that incident, the loud sound of a bell rang throughout the camp, signaling what Tang assumed was the lunch break. He was probably right based on the looks of relief that came over all the other peoples’ faces as they started moving away from their stations.
Tang quickly went with the crowd, moving with the wave of people trying to squeeze through the entrance doors with everyone else. His stomach had started growling an hour ago, and after he almost ate a detergent pod thinking it was another one of those gross breakfast bars, he really didn't want to wait any longer.
But before he could even get close to those doors, he was pulled out of the crowd by his sleeve and almost landed onto another station at the force. Looking up and about to argue with whoever stopped him, he realized it was the Head Soldier from earlier, and quickly bit back his retort.
The guy was gruff, obviously. He had a buzz cut and a 5 o'clock shadow that didn't help hide any of the guy’s wrinkles. He also had a branded military cap unlike anyone else in the building. Tang didn't look that closely at anything else though, mainly because the guy looked down at him with a snarl and furrowed brows before speaking up, too loudly in Tang’s opinion.
“Don't go wandering off now. You and the other low-lives eat in your tent away from the workers and soldiers. Wouldn't want you all to conspire or have fights to break out, would we?”
Tang didn't answer the rhetorical question, yanking his sleeve out of the guy’s hold as he looked away from his gaze. Seeing a small commune of people near the back of the building, he quickly walked away and started going towards them, seeing Carlson near the back which solidified that this was probably his group.
The Head Soldier slowly walked behind him until he was back with all of them near the back, and then clapped loudly to get everyone's attention.
“Go with your assigned team back to the tent and take your lunch break. Remember that it's only 25 minutes, and if you're late you'll have to report to me for appropriate punishment. Now shoo.” He waved a hand before walking out of the building's back door, leaving the group alone with the 3 chaperone soldiers.
They were almost immediately ushered out of the room by said soldiers, many of them having to speed walk back to the tent from how fast these guys were going. Tang quickly looked around the place, trying to see everything in a new light compared to yesterday.
All he could were groups of people sitting at picnic tables further away, digging into their bowls like dogs who haven't been fed in weeks. Their faces held many scars and bruises, but no emotion as they ate, scarfing down all the brown stuff they could around a fire before the next bell would ring out. One seemed to lock gazes with him, crazed eyes looking into ones of apprehension. But that was all he could see before getting forced back into the tent with a shove along with the others.
Many grunts of disapproval were let out before everyone slowly went back to their own devices. Tang swallowed heavily, standing in place for a bit after the rush, and then quietly went back to his bed while swerving away from the other inhabitants.
He just sat back down onto his cot after that, letting the white noise distract his head from anything else. He only stares at the ceiling, if you could call it that, not bothering to move even when hearing the tent flap open and the clinking of metal signaling the food is here. He didn't feel that hungry anymore.
He stayed that way for a bit, letting his situation finally sink in after the hectic time he's already had, and it's not even 1 o'clock yet. He squints his eyes, letting the world blur and refocus at his will. He flinched as a hand landed onto his shoulder, and it quickly retracted at his reaction. It was Rick, holding two bowls of whatever this place was serving to them.
Rick didn't seem that deterred by the reaction. “Woah there, didn't mean to scare you that badly, heh. You seemed all out of it, and your slop was getting cold, so I brought you a bowl.” He explained, setting down a bowl onto Tang's cot next to his hand.
Rick continued his speech as Tang took the bowl, smelling it carefully before taking small sips bit by bit. “I get why you're so high-strung. No one likes being put into time out, doing all these dumb errands while we get ordered around by those damned workers who think they're better than us. You were probably also interrogated, which is no one's favorite thing, and you seem to not know anything about this place or why everyone here is so weird. So scared and alone, I reckon.”
Tang slightly squinted his eyes at the last part, but he just nodded along anyway, finishing the bland soup(? all he knew was that sludge was in a bowl, but it might just be its own ecosystem by now judging by the weird slimy chunks here and there) and setting the bowl back onto the cot.
Rick sat a hand onto Tang's shoulder again after the scholar was finished, letting the lack of flinch be the acceptance he needed as he gripped the shoulder harder. “So~, I have decided to be your guiding light, your navigator, or whatever you want to call me throughout your camp experience! We'll never really be in the direct line of fire, by the way, as we're most likely going to be running around for the people working in the background. So I was thinking I could fill you in on this total mess we call an HQ, and you could stick by me when I need it! So, what do you think?”
Rick stared into Tang’s eyes, a sharp grin on his face as he waited for a response. Tang got a feeling of deja vu yet again. Why do I seem to be involved with more dubious deals than usual? This is starting to become a pattern. A very concerning pattern…
But before Tang could even try to think of a response, a hand dragged Rick’s own off of Tang’s shoulder.
“I think you should stop harassing us new guys. Nothing good will come from forcing us to be your personal errand boys like the workers do to us. A bit hypocritical, don't you think?” An unfamiliar voice spoke out. It seemed familiar to Tang, but he couldn't exactly pinpoint where he'd heard it from. He didn't think too hard about it anyway as Rick's eye twitched annoyance before he started to retort loudly.
“Hah! Please, I was just being friendly to our new member. He would obviously be eaten alive in here unless he had some help from a pro. I was just offering my help, like a good samaritan. Gotta get outta this tent someday, ya know?” He narrowed his eyes as his grin fell slightly.
“It's not like you can talk, either. I haven't seen you around before, so you don't know this place very well. Are you trying to act all heroic in a “noobs stick together” sort of way? ‘Cause that won't end well for you or him in this place, trust me.” Rick spoke with venom, his laid-back tone with Tang vanishing in an instant as he spat at the newcomer.
Now that Tang thinks about it, he hasn't seen this guy in the camp either. He definitely would have remembered this guy, mainly with how bright his eyes were. They were a light yellow, bordering white in some areas, with some wisps of pure black hair falling in front of them from his short, messy hairstyle. His voice was smooth, almost comparable to Cian with how he spoke. He held a grin like Rick, but it didn't seem as sharp as the other's was.
Maybe this guy was one that he had just missed in the chaos of the morning and last night? That was probably it, as Tang didn't remember Rick from the tent until he introduced himself in the bathrooms. Tang just shook his head at that and focussed back into the present when another bell went off throughout the camp, signaling the end of lunch and stopping the two's argument for now.
Rick laughed, but it was one without humor. “Well, I guess it's time for us to go back, huh? I'll let you have this one today, as I really don't want to be put back in the Pound when someone intriguing finally shows up in this tent. You better get moving though, those soldiers really don't like when they're put on Guard Duty, especially when it's just for bums like us.”
Rick waved a hand beside his head as he walked away and took his untouched bowl with him to dump into a trash can outside the tent, shoving the now empty bowl to whichever unsuspecting soldier was closest.
Tang looked away from where Rick had gone and looked to the guy beside him. The cold guy glanced at him for a second, something gleaming in his eyes the scholar couldn't decipher, before silently ignoring his presence and stepping out of the tent himself.
That was weird. What Tang’s only thought before readjusting his cracked glasses and carrying his bowl to the front. The guy with greasy hair stared at him from his own cot as the scholar walked out, his own bowl halfway finished and halfway on the floor. Tang just ignored him, again, and gave his bowl to the soldier beside the trash can.
But before he could actually enter the building again, a soldier grabbed him by the shoulder, turning him around so they were face to face. “Are you Tang?” The woman deadpanned.
“Oh, uh, yes I am. What's the problem?” He answered, nervous he'd already done something to warrant this place’s wrath.
“Your friend finally woke up in the infirmary, and we have some questions we'd like to ask you when we arrive. Now, follow me, and don't go wandering off like some others in your tent; remember that we have eyes everywhere, so keep your hands and feet to yourself. Let's go.”
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Tang couldn't feel his legs. Or his arms. Or even his torso, for that matter. He couldn't feel anything. It felt wrong, like he wasn't connected to the world anymore. Like he couldn't even try to scream or yell or shout at his troubles when there isn't anything to hold onto in the first place… where did my throat go…?
He continued to float(? he couldn't really describe what he was feeling). Nothing changed; nothing burned his eyes out of his skull, nothing overloaded his hearing with whispers, nothing grabbed or scratched with such desperation. For some reason, this didn't feel like his void. It couldn't be. It just felt wrong…
But before he could ponder anymore, he felt a slight pull. It was yanking at what he assumed was his wrist, dragging his arm (which he could now feel, even if it was mainly just static) towards somewhere unknown.
He didn't react, though. Well, it was more like he couldn't. Everything just felt numb. Nothing he could try would affect anything here, even his differing emotions. And so he just silently swayed with little apprehension; the pull grew stronger and stronger, enveloping his body with heavy pressure that seemed to swallow him whole.
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He could feel his body again. Scratchy blood, thin sheets, a hard mattress, and a pounding headache all came in a rush, forcing Tang to stir at the sudden feeling. He sat up slowly, rubbing his temples as his ratty hair hung on his neck. He felt like he hadn't slept at all.
Blinking spots out of his eyes, he noticed he didn't seem to be the only one up at this time. He could hear someone mumbling to themself rapidly, someone chatting with another about boring topics such as supply routes and drills, and one that seemed to be meditating as they breathed loudly while sitting perfectly still on their bed.
He couldn't really see any of these people, though, as his glasses were still under his bed. Well, hopefully, that is. He had just started to lean over and under his bed when loud feedback drowned out any other noise and caused him to flinch, alerting everyone at the camp of an announcement.
“Attention all soldiers and workers! This is your daily wake up call! Soldiers, go to your respective training facilities and check in with your superiors. Workers, you should head out to your assigned buildings immediately! You have 30 minutes for hygiene before your time is up, and any late participants will be punished accordingly! That is all.”
The speakers clicked off and everyone around Tang started to rise, quickly gathering what seemed to be uniforms by the matching colors. They all left the beds messy and carelessly pushed the tent flaps aside as they walked out. Tang scrambled to grab his glasses, and when he had them on there were only 2 people still in the tent.
He quickly looked for his own uniform, finding it under his rickety bedside table. It was just a dark blue outfit of a t-shirt and long pants. He grabbed them and his boots harshly before sprinting to the front of the tent, which wasn't that fast considering his exhaustion.
Oddly, there was someone still in the tent when he got to the flaps. Through his harbored breath Tang saw that he was probably a punished soldier by the slight tanning and the ramrod posture the guy had. He was kind of skinny, with short brown hair that was greased back and piercing brown eyes as he stared him down.
Tang didn't know what the guy’s problem was, and he didn't want to find out as he threw the flaps out of the way and hurried to what he assumed was his group. They were standing together in front of the fountain, surrounded by other soldiers in their own green and brown uniforms.
He walked over nervously, shuffling to the back of the group as one of the soldiers around them spoke up. “Welcome back malingerers. Today you're doing something fairly simple: manual labor in building 6. You can thank the fresh meat for that one. He could barely stand syraight for more than half a second on arrival.” The soldier seemed smug as all the group turned to stare at him, causing Tang to start fidgeting nervously.
It was like they were seeing an interesting bug on the ground. Noticing how he moved, looked like, and seeing if he could be a threat or should just leave him be for natural selection to take its course. They seemed to deem him uninteresting, thankfully, with most of them turning their heads back to the front except one.
That one had greasy black hair going in all directions. His eyes seemed crazed as they were wide and bloodshot while he stared into the back of Tang’s head. Tang tried to ignore the clear wacko, turning his head back with the others. Of course I'm already being targeted by the insane character.
“You’ll start working with supervision from 8 AM until the soldier in charge, ME, signs you off and walks you back to your tent. The bathrooms are near the entrance, and is where I'll be leaving you all to change and shower if need be. Now follow along.” The soldier smirked as he started to walk back and towards a one-story brick building.
They all followed without much hassle, except for two of the guys near the front which everyone had to pass by. One was laying on the ground and refusing to move, even with threats of violence by the chaperones, and the other started to wander off and had to be dragged back multiple times. Both were being heavily chastised, but everything said to them seemed to go in one ear and then out the other.
Walking past those two while holding his clothes tightly to his chest, Tang hurried through the double glass doors. He was struck with the violent glow of fluorescent lights as he stumbled in, accidently knocking into the guy in front of him. The guy had no reaction other than staring ahead with a blank expression.
Mumbling out a short apology, Tang stepped back and looked up at his surroundings. It wasn't as big as he’d expected, but that's probably because of the washing machines lining the left and right walls. Foldable tables were scattered on the empty floor, with people in that same blue uniform milling about and scrubbing those brown and green uniforms.
This is depressing. He thought, seeing how everyone seemed dead inside or completely up in the clouds. After these short observations, he saw everyone headed towards the bathrooms, and he decided to do the same. This was mainly to clean himself up after that attack: the dried blood with the assorted dirt and leaves on him was starting to become unbearable.
Walking through the door with everyone else, Tang booked it towards the nearest sink. He set down his clothes between his feet and rolled up his dirty sleeves, taking off the guaz above his elbow and starting to scrub the hell out of his arms with the cheap hand soap provided. Ignoring the odd absence of the cut from the interrogation, he focussed on how the flakes of red and black slowly swirled down the drain. After that water finally became clear of either color, he grabbed an old wash cloth to dry off.
He heard some start to take showers, with the sounds of running water filling the bathroom. He thought of doing the same, but he wouldn't know where anything would be, probably leaving him naked in the middle of these people. Quickly discarding that idea, he turned to the mirror above his sink.
He saw the small scrapes and smudges that dotted across his face first, most likely from when he was “passed out” and Cian did whatever it did. The second Thing he noticed was his hair. It easily passed his shoulders now, and has some streaks that were lighter than the rest. It was matted from sleep and filled with grime from when he got here. He could only groan. This'll take at least most of the next paragraph to take care of.
He started picking out the big stuff, like dead grass, and brushing out what he could with his fingers. It hurt, obviously, but now it was only slightly bad to look at. He looked around and saw a small cupboard between a few sinks down, hopefully holding a hair brush. But then, when shuffling his feet, he caused his pile of clothes to fall over and the roll of gauze he got last night to roll a good couple of feet before bumping into a wall and falling pathetically.
Tang looked at it confused. He didn't remember picking it up. However, he doesn't remember much of anything to begin with, and he probably just packed it between the uniform by mistake. He picked his stuff up and walked over to the roll, picking it up too and heading to the cupboard. When he looked in it, all he could find was air freshener and some toilet paper packed into a corner.
Closing the cupboard, he turned around and almost immediately bumped into another person, causing Tang to stumble back and the guy to fall onto his butt. “Dang it… hey, are you okay?” Tang spoke slowly, holding onto his clothes a bit tighter.
The guy just nodded, pushing himself up and dusting off his clothes. He had medium length gray hair with messy bangs that covered his eyes. He looked pale, but Tang guessed that was how he normally looked based on how the guy wasn't thin in any way you put it. He looked like he could probably snap Tang’s neck in 5 seconds if he truly wanted to, which made it weird how easily he fell.
Awkward silence engulfed them, with Tang averting eye contact and the guy fidgeting his his hands. Suddenly, the guy went to pull something out of the cupboard behind Tang, making the scholar flinch away as the guy retrieved… a brush?
To be fair, it wasn't anything high quality, but a brush was a brush. Tang only had some shreds of dignity left, and he really didn't want to waste them begging some trouble maker for a pink plastic hair brush. But, thankfully, before he could give it up, the guy silently shoved the brush into Tang's chest.
After some slight shock at it being easily handed over, he noticed he notion felt oddly familiar. “Hey wait, weren't you the guy who gave me gauze last night?”
The guy nodded. “Oh. Thanks for that, I guess. There isn't even any scarring… Uhm, anyways, what's your name?”
The guy pointed to a name tag on his shirt. Well, the term name tag is being generous. It was really just a piece of duct tape on his chest. It read “Carlson F”.
“Well, n-nice to meet you. Thanks for the brush, by the way. How did you even find that? I didn't see anything other than-”
“It's ‘cause he stole it from the women's bathroom and hid it behind the toilet paper.” A cocky voice interrupted. Tang swerved his head towards the source; the guy was leaning against the wall with a small grin. He had short black hair, with small purple highlights throughout.
He took some steps forward towards the two. “You can call me Rick.” Rick held a hand out for Tang, and he shook it nervously. Rick raised an eyebrow at that.
“C'mon~ there's no reason to be so tense here! Is it because Carry here showed you you're stuck with a bunch of “lunatics”?” Rick’s grin grew sharp at the final word, staring Carlson down. Carlson responded with a glare back.
“Well, no. I, uh-” Tang tried fumbling for a coherent answer, but was saved the effort by a shout near the entrance of the bathroom.
“5 minutes, people! Every minute of work skipped is a lap around the camp!” The soldier in charge yelled out. Rick just rolled his eyes and let Tang's hand go, and Carlson left them both to head out of the bathroom.
Rick threw an arm around Tang's shoulders. “A word of advice. Carry only acts in his own self interest. He's in here because he tried to desert his post near where you popped up. He'll probably use you as a scape-goat if he tries to escape again, since you're the talk of the town right now. Don't trust him, or anyone here, for that matter; other than me of course.” Rick whispered with a wink before walking out of the bathroom himself.
Tang just grimaced, looking down at the hair brush he was given. He was obviously suspicious, and didn't know who he could rely on here. Pushing that problem off for another time, Tang quickly changed into his uniform with the combat boots.
He had wrangled his hair best he could, but there's only so much he could do in 3 minutes. His hair stuck out awkwardly in the braid he made, but he was happy with it and tied the end with some of the gauze he got from Carlson. He rushed to the door after he was finished, getting out only seconds before the head soldier blew his whistle.
“Alright. Y’all already know the drill down here. One of you, go help pipsqueak operate the machines correctly.” The soldier said absent-mindedly waving a hand at the group.
Tang got offended at the blatant insult. “I know how to work a washing machine-”
“No one here cares, noodle arms. Now, is anyone gonna volunteer, or do I have to- oh, Carlson. Didn't expect the lazy grunt to be up for more work. Well, that works for me I guess. Go to your stations and start doing something useful.” The soldier shoos away the group, leaving Carl and Tang standing next to each other.
And then, before the scholar could ask anything, Carl took Tang's arm and started to drag him between the tables, leading him to what he assumed would be his work station with all the other poor souls working for less than minimum wage.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It had been a bit difficult learning which button does what and how to get rid of stains of all kinds with someone who doesn't talk, but it worked out in the end. Everyone here basically had to wash and dry uniforms, sheets, tents, etc, for a good chunk of the camp.
It's good that Tang is the best at zoning out during tedious work, or else he probably would've become brain dead at the repeating tasks. No one caused any trouble surprisingly, which Tang was thankful for, but he also wished that he wasn't even here. That he had free reign to read and discuss things with his old friends like he wanted to do in the first place.
His stomach cramped at the thought of having tea with his colleagues. They had breakfast bars handed out to them near the start of his work, but they were as bland and unfilling as soaked cardboard. He sighs, thinking back to Pigsy’s noodles and how he would probably kill just to taste them again, even if he was still stuck here.
He had just finished cleaning mud off some pants when he was knocked out of his thoughts by a slight tug on his wrist. Looking up, he saw Cian sitting on his table and looking at him with its head tilted in question.
‘What exactly are you doing?’
After throwing the pants into the machine to his left, he picked up a shirt with blood on the sleeves and started working on that. Manual labor. Stuff they make prisoners do while they're stuck.
Cian observed Tang’s expression, seeing the stress in the creases of the scholar's forehead. ‘I scoped the area out last night. The place we came in is now heavily guarded with at least 4 people actively patrolling around it.’
Tang finished scrubbing the blood on one sleeve, moving to the other. So we really can't leave?
‘I never said that. I just need time to recharge after getting you away from the earlier attack.’
He finished the other sleeves, chucking the shirt into the machine and picking up another shirt, but now covered in what seemed to be ketchup. And this is why I need to learn my own abilities. I have bubble shields I've used before! Can you show me how to enhance that, or at least use it on command?
‘That power is one I'm… unfamiliar with. I never seemed to have needed a shield in my life, so I never needed to activate it. I can't help you with that one.’
The ketchup on the shirt refused to go away, no matter how much scrubbing or chemicals Tang threw at it. He grumbled angrily and shoved it harshly into the machine, adding detergent before closing the door and starting it up. ...How long do you need?
‘At least a week. I'm sorry, but you'll have to be stuck in this place for a good long while.’
Tang just yelled into the air, smashing his head against his station table. Many people looked in his direction before going back to their own jobs, pitying the new soul trapped in the same cycle as them all.
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The ground was covered in dust and dead grass; it scratched against Tang's face as he tried to block everything out. I just had to get attacked back there. Just had to be the only one conscious. I just had to stumble back to this place after all of my efforts.
His hair had been released from the hair tie for a while now, which made his hair cascade in front of his face and back. It worked like a buffer from him and the crowd, but it was uncomfortable to have it get tangled with the dead brush beneath him. He groaned as he banged his head into the ground with what little strength he had left, causing guns to clink together as the crowd flinched.
After a few seconds, the whispers and steps of the crowd suddenly started to get louder, like they were parting for something to get through. Although, Tang could care less at the moment as he was completely exhausted from basically everything. The blood on his arms and upper lip have dried to a point where it started to flake and crack on his skin. He really didn't like the feeling.
He couldn't even lift his head as heavy footsteps approached him and Zach’s bodies, the crowd of people around them quieting down as they grew closer to them. A large, calloused hand hauled him off the ground by his left arm, forcing Tang onto his wobbly feet.
His legs almost immediately gave out from beneath him, but the guy who picked him up quickly caught him by the shoulders. With his head falling forward, Tang’s hair fell in front of his face, full of dust and dead grass as it obscured his vision along with his cracked lense. It seemed longer than he remembered…
“This is gonna cause something awful…” The guy holding him up grumbled to himself before carefully grabbing Tang’s wrists and tying a long piece of rough rope around them. He left a long piece of rope between Tang’s wrists, maybe for better mobility or something to grab onto if he tried to run (he doubted he would get even 2 feet in his current state, even without the rope). It scratched against the dried blood uncomfortably.
Tang almost collapsed again after the ordeal was over, but he was caught yet again and had his right arm thrown over the guy’s back as they started to move. Tang's feet dragged across the ground as the guy walked slowly to somewhere he couldn't guess. He heard someone else walk over and presumably grab Zach as he heard the dead grass rustle and more heavy steps join and start to walk beside them.
Looking out of the small slivers of light between his hair, he could see Zach's head facing the sky as he was held princess style by a built soldier, if he were to guess by the heavily defined arms and uniform the person was wearing. However, he couldn't look long as the campfires around them died down and left most of the area in darkness.
Tang closed his eyes, letting his head drop fully, hoping that wherever these people were taking him would be far, far away from that demon.
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Orange filled his vision; a familiar color from his last dream. But now he no longer floated, laying face first on a cold hard floor similar to concrete. He sighed heavily.
‘What have you gotten yourself into already, little cicada?’
Tang didn't bother looking up. “Cian…” He mumbled with distaste. Silence overcame the void. Then, a small hum was all he heard before soft footsteps approached him. A thin hand soon grabbed his shirt and lifted him up with ease, making them face to face. It held a cocky grin as it looked down on him.
‘Now what’s with that tone? I think I deserve some recognition for getting you out safe and sound.’ It said as its grin grew wider.
It seemed taller than him now, at least a good couple of inches. Tang ignored this and pushed its hand away, stumbling only slightly as he landed. “W-What's happening? Why am I here again? Why did you save us? Probably to get something from me. What did you do while I was out?” He rambled on accusingly, pointing his index finger into its chest.
Its expression never wavered. ‘And to think I thought you would have been thankful, groveling at my feet for saving your cowardly self and the dead weight you brought along.’ It sarcastically replied, grabbing Tang's hand off its chest and pulling him closer by the wrist with the bell.
A cold sweat went down Tang’s neck. “I-I know you have ulterior motives! Just w-what do you want with me to make a deal for? And how did we even get away from that demon in the first place?” He lost a bit of steam as he continued, pushing himself away from Cian as he grit his teeth nervously.
This got a reaction, with Cian's eye twitching in annoyance. ‘Don't worry about the semantics. All that matters is that this deal we made has me protecting your feeble body to the best of my ability.’
This didn't comfort him one bit. Tang nervously picked at the end of his stained scarf. “And what does that exactly entail? I've read enough stories with the warnings and consequences of taking those types of vague deals at face value. N-Now I ask again, what do you want with me, really?” He asked, a bit unsure of himself.
It only sighed, letting its grin finally fall as its voice started to grate. ‘Why are you still questioning me? I explained our deal. It's not like I can hurt you in any meaningful way.’ It started to walk closer, the color underneath them rippling from its steps.
‘I know you need me. You know you need me. And now that you've been dragged back into this place? You'll need my assistance now more than ever.’ Now it's only a foot away from him, yet it didn't feel overwhelming. Like it was purposely keeping itself in check.
Tang's brow creased in thought, thinking over what he should say next. “Well, y-your right. I do need your help here, especially since I don't have my friends around to protect me anymore… Maybe that's a good thing. Uh… hey wait!” He suddenly shouted, stars appearing in his eyes as he tried to push down his dread.
“Can't you teach me how to harness my powers like what you did back in the forest? I don't exactly know what you did in the first place, but some protection while your not around would be-”
‘NO.' It growled immediately, squinting its eyes as the ground shook and its clothes and hair flew in all sorts of directions. 'The pure power that's inside you would tear your body to shreds before you could even try to cast anything useful. Even if you now possess my abilities like they're your own, you’d have to face over 15 years of body conditioning to harness even a tenth of it effectively.’
It spoke with wavering conviction, turning its head to the side as if to avoid Tang's gaze. The sudden reaction from Cian shook him up a bit, but he couldn't even reply before Cian decided to speak up again.
‘Our deal is set. I'll do everything I can to protect your body, so I'll try my best to strengthen myself now that we're bound. I will be there to protect you from anything coming your way, so you don't need to give away years of your life for something as simple as glamor or similar cowardly tricks.’ It leaned down over him as it spoke, making sure Tang couldn't ignore what it said.
He could only nod quickly at Cian's words, letting it lean away from him once more. Tang let out a breath he didn't know he was holding, then looked back to Cian, too tired for anymore banter. “Can you at least tell me when you're going to show up, or basically do whatever you did back at the road? I would just like some clarification-”
All of a sudden, the air felt like it was knocked out of his lungs. He clutched his stomach as he dropped to his knees, trying to gulp for air as Cian gasped at his display. He coughed as slivers of air were finally gifted to him before being drawn back out by an unknown force, his vision blinking in and out from his dream.
‘What the hell are those mortals doing!? Th__ m__t be g__ng ___!’ He could barely hear Cian's shocked remarks as the cycle continued. Bits of air entered his lungs before they were taken away violently, taking longer and longer in giving him release. He could barely hold himself up before he fell to the ground with Cian standing over him as the last thing he saw before blacking out… weird that this could happen in a dream…
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His eyes shot open. Gray walls, metal table and chair with his wrists tied to a ring on the table, a hand holding his head harshly. Those were the things he could make out before starting to violently cough over everything, heaving as he bent over his stomach and gasped in all the air he could.
His top half was soaked with what he hoped was water and his face and arms felt sore as he continued to cough; the hand on his head never moved, as to make sure he couldn't even move on his own. After what seemed like hours, Tang could finally breathe again, his body shaking as he tried to make sure he didn't hyperventilate or throw up.
“Good. You're finally awake filth.” A harsh voice sounded from behind him, most likely male from how deep it was. His hair was soaked as it hung over his eyes and obscured his vision, so he couldn't look at the guy as he let go of his head and walked to the other side of the table.
After another moment to catch his breath, Tang slowly brought his hands to his face, parting the hair and throwing it over his shoulders. A dim room met him, with two people sitting in front of him across the table. He couldn't Make much out of them, but he could see a bucket of water on the table. He's interrupted before he could see any more.
“Now, let's let go of the pleasantries. You are in Human territory, and we don't know how our blind spots have been leaked to someone like you. If you tell us your source, we will keep you prisoner and won't execute you after this interrogation.” A different voice, one more feminine but holds more authority and wrath than the other.
“W… what?” Tang asked slowly, tilting his head to one side to make sure it didn't fall forward from his exhaustion. A very bright light suddenly shot into his eyes, causing him to flinch back.
“We know this place is secure on all sides. How did you enter camp without our scouts detecting you? Tell us how your side got this information and we won't put your head on a spike out in town square. Those demon bastards really thought they could send a spy into our camp? HA! Do they really think that low of the Bellfield troop!?” The guy cackles out, clearly not in the best head space if Tang had to guess.
“Calm down, lieutenant. We still need what it has to offer. Now, who gave you the information on how to sneak in here? Even if you did a rather shoddy job at the stuff after the infiltration, you must be pretty high up the food chain if you got delivered this kind of info.”
Tang suddenly shot up in his chair. “Wait what?! Who do you think I am!? Me and Zach got attacked on the way here by a demon with red eyes a-and this was the closest place I could remember to go!”
The light tilted away from his eyes, letting him see the faces of his captors. One had long, straight red hair tied in a ponytail and sat right across from Tang. She had sharp eyes and was probably the one who’s in charge. The other was a guy with short loss and a big snarl on his face. He seemed aggressive towards Tang for whatever they think he is and stood next to Red Hair, leaning on one hand over the table.
“And why do you think we'll believe you? You showed up out of nowhere, got past all of our defenses, have an unconscious body over you and are covered in demon blood.” Red Hair said in a cool tone, staring into Tang's eyes as he shrunk back.
“Then why would I put in all that work just to get captured?! That’s not even my blood anyways! I don't know who you people are, but if I really was whatever you say I am, why would I let myself be taken? That would just be a big waste of time and energy on your part. I couldn't even stand!” Tang was starting to get annoyed at how little they seemed to trust him. He leaned back in his chair and started looking away from those people to steel his nerves and control how much he was already shaking.
They shared a look before Aggressive Guy stood up straight and took a pocket knife out of his uniform pocket. Tang paled at the notion as the guy walked towards him. “WAIT! Hey, I'm innocent! Just check my story with Zach’s and it'll all make sense since I don't have anything on me and Zach is just a guy I met today on complete accident! Please you gotta believe me I'm not who you think I am and OW!”
The guy aggressively took Tang’s arm, rolled up the sleeve and sliced just above the elbow. Tang screamed at the attack, seeing the blood drip out and onto the floor. Red Hair brought over a cup of something to gather the blood, shining UV light over the mix before sitting back down with Aggressive Guy following.
“You're not a demon.” She said matter-of-factly.
“Yes?! I told you we got attacked on the back road by a demon!” He answered incredulously.
The two across from shared another look. “We will have to talk with the other person you brought here to confirm. We have had human spies before, and it's a bit too convenient for you to have wandered in here effortlessly like that, especially covered in demon blood.” Aggressive Guy spoke up, walking up next to Tang again, making the scholar brace for whatever the guy would do next.
“But, you don't seem to be a threat at the moment, given you are unarmed, dehydrated, and sleep deprived. You probably couldn't lift a water bottle if we asked you to right now. So, we'll have to keep an eye on you.” Aggressive Guy leaned down and untied the rope against his wrists, letting them fall to Tang's sides.
Red Hair spoke up after the guy finished and went back to her side. “We will put you with the cleaners near the river. You will work in the laundry tent for the food and bed that we will assign you. You aren't allowed to go anywhere without a chaperone, and we will summon you whenever we need your presence and after your friend wakes up. Remember that if you are lying about anything, you will have your cold body be thrown to the livestock. We have eyes everywhere.”
Tang felt as if he was drowning in the tension; he nodded quickly after Red Hair finished talking. She gestured for him to stand, and after he did, Aggressive Guy harshly grabbed his shoulder and led him out of the interrogation room behind Red Hair.
Outside, it was early dawn as the sun started to rise over the trees, giving Tang a better view than when he was dragged through here before. The houses all seemed rough on the outside, with big vehicles and tents scattered around every corner.
Red Hair led them through the main road they were on, going towards what seemed to be the heart of the town as they passed more and more people whispering as they got close. Looking closer, she and Aggressive Guy both wore the same brown and green uniforms, along with combat boots and guns plus knives strapped all over their bodies.
He was glad they didn't resort to using those on him, even if the place above his elbow still hurt and he could feel it start to scab.
They stopped in front of an empty fountain surrounded by supply stands, greenhouses and other buildings with people setting up for the new day. Red Hair turned to him. “Your sleeping quarters will be right behind me in tent 12. This is where we keep low level safety hazards or misbehaving soldiers. It is guarded 24/7, so don't try to think you can get out of this like how you got in. Wake up at the bell and head to building 6 beside greenhouse 2. This is where you'll work while we investigate your claims. You’ll be given a longer briefing tomorrow, as I have better things to do than list everything off to a prisoner.”
Tang’s eye twitched at that, with Aggressive Guy finally letting go of his shoulder. He was about to walk right into the tent to get away from them, but he hesitated before turning back to Red Hair. “Where is Zach being kept then? I assume he hasn't woken up yet based on what you said. Is he alright?”
Red Hair seemed annoyed at the question. “Yes, yes, your friend is fine. He's in infirmary 3 as he's recovering from some bruised ribs and other stuff. Happy?”
“Yep. Thank you.” Tang replied with a dry tone. He started to walk to his tent after that, lifting the flap and stepping inside and away from those crazies. There were about 10 single beds in there with one table each, and it seemed like no one woke up as he stepped inside. Four beds were empty, but there was one with undone sheets, so he whittled the available beds to 3.
He took the one farthest right in the back and laid down after taking his boots, scarf, and coat off. He tried to scratch the dried blood off his arms, but that only irritated his skin. He sighed quietly, putting his excess clothing and glasses under his bed in case someone tried to take them while he was asleep.
He stiffened when he heard someone sit up in their bed. They continued as they stood up from their bed and seemed to walk over to Tang from what he could hear and barely see. They stopped in front of him, silently handing him what seemed to be… a roll of gauze? Tang took it and rolled it in his hands. Yep. This is definitely gauze.
He mumbled out a thank you to the stranger, and they silently went back to bed and left Tang to his own devices. That was a little weird, but the scholar wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth. He quickly wrapped a bit of it over his new cut and then thought about what happened to his forearm from that demon.
He ran a hand over his right forearm, but he couldn't feel anything wrong, not even a scab. He grimaced at this. I know the slash was real from the hole in my jacket, so why can't I feel it?
He could only sigh again, knowing that he wouldn't get anywhere stewing by himself at dawn. So, he finally laid down on his bed and looked at the tent ceiling. He could hear the snores of his tent-mates and cicadas chirping from the nearby forest. The small talk of people outside and the wind blowing through the branches outside. He let the white noise guide him into sleep and then finally let himself succumb to unconsciousness as all the noise floated away.
Previous | Next | Start
Tang was uncomfortable in the taxi. The sun was barely above the horizon now, and he just felt plain awful from his apparently non-hallucinated “ghost of debatable deals”. He also noticed how Zach gave him nervous glances through the mirror, probably noticing how he had talked to himself and gave a wide variety of meaningless expressions to the empty seat.
The tension, for Tang at least, was so thick he could probably cut it with a butter knife. Zach had tried to make everything less weird; putting on music, rolling down the windows, and making small talk to name a few examples. Nothing really lifted the atmosphere though, leaving Tang to stew as Zach continued on that third option to fill the awkward silence.
“... but yeah, I don't get why her sister would up and leave with a guy she didn't know, right? I would obviously be pissed too if someone I cared about, even if we didn't talk much-” The car hitched up, causing the passengers to jump in their seats.
“OOF! Dang, another pothole. Gotta watch the road Zach… anyways, as I was saying, I don't blame Elsie for freaking out at her sister for what she did-” He had been going on for about half an hour at this point, rambling about some movie by a corporate overlord rat Tang didn't bother remembering the name of. He had been shocked out of his trance by the bump, making him refocus onto his surroundings as he started to hear the driver's talk again.
But as soon as he came out of it, he tried going back into that dull state of mind immediately. He hadn't been paying that much attention in the first place anyway, zoning in and out the entire ride as he tried to get his mind to blank. Zach didn't seem to mind. Tang just didn't like how many thoughts were swirling around his head at the moment.
Then his hands had started to twitch as he tried to zone out, needing something to do as a mindless distraction. He went to the bell around his wrist, examining it closely to see if it was still solid (and how maybe he was just imagining it all of this… a baseless wish).
It seemed to be made of some sort of metal based on the signs of rust inside of it. On a closer look, he saw there were intricate designs carved into the outside, so thin Tang wondered how it was even possible.
The images were mainly shapes; circles, diamonds, and waves were all around the outside. It seemed to have a dark color highlighting the markings, making them noticeable compared to the color of the bell.
He felt it in his hands; it was rough, chipped, and definitely aged from the amount of wear on its sides. He rolled it in his palm, unconsciously tuning back into what Zach was saying.
“... which is the most pointless reveal ever! There was almost no buildup, and nothing we could've seen to clue in that he was a villain! I know they probably wanted a twist villain to finally be impactful and unseen, but some clues in his behavior or what people could say about him with Anne would have been nice to clue in that he's not who he exactly seems!” Zach took a breath, readjusting his mirror, slowing down for a sharp turn, then going back to his rant.
“But noooooo. They had to resort to almost no clues whatsoever because the writing team couldn't think up anything clever or interesting!”
Tang nodded along to what Zach was talking about, even though he didn't understand much of it. He looked back out the window as Zach started to go on about unnecessary sequels, tuning the driver's voice out as he saw the last bit of orange trying to fight off the coming night. Tall pine trees covered the light's effort, gifting the road with long, fading shadows.
He closes his eyes again, letting the white noise lull him into a sense of peace as the bumpy road comforted him. He was actually going. Leaving and going to figure out how to fix himself.
The diminishing light covered the car in a soft golden hue. Zach paused his blabbering as he noticed the movement in the back seat ceased, then looking back and seeing Tang dozing off with his face squished against the window. A look of concern flitted across Zach's face briefly, but he only shook his head before looking back at the empty dirt road.
With the new silence, Zach looked around the back road and found he could see the mountain ranges around them: how they towered in the distance with trees all over until the top, which glistened with pure white snow. Fog had started to appear after Tang went to sleep, refracting the remaining light in all sorts of directions as it obscured the tops of the trees.
Zach didn't pay the thin fog much mind, turning on the headlights and continuing down the dirt road. This part of the Golden South province didn't have many towns or man-made settlements, mainly because of disputes with the unresponsive locals and zoning issues which in turn, let nature take its own course on the place most of the time.
Today, only some original settlements from before these disputes were littered near the middle of the place, making them basically shut out from the outside world except for each other. Zach couldn't remember what the names were as he didn't drive in the area often, but those quaint towns seemed to be doing alright as he’d seen people from those places more often lately. They seemed happy enough.
Zach smiles at the oncoming memory. I hope they’re doing alright. They seemed like a nice family. That girl ran all over the place with that poor man trying to run after her through the grocery aisles. I guess that's where the guy’s gray hairs came from. The old woman next to them kept talking with me until the other two came back and then they had left together. They looked at peace with each other.
He glanced back to Tang’s sleeping form leaning against the taxi window. Zach wondered if Tang had that same type of support, remembering how the guy seemed exhausted, falling over and mumbling stuff to himself. He probably needs that rest.
Looking back to the road, a deer suddenly jumped in front of the taxi, displacing the fog and staring the headlights down-
*SCREEEEEEEEECH*
The driver slammed on the brakes, his heart beating rapidly into his ears as his chest was slammed into his seat belt. The deer just continued to stare into the lights, almost looking Zach Right in the eyes. He quickly honked the horn once, startling the thing as it jumped back into the trees.
Looking to the back seat to check on his passenger, Zach saw how Tang was still fast asleep, just leaning forward onto his seat belt from the sudden stop. He saw the guy was breathing just fine, snoring quietly as he continued to hang over the seat belt. Zach sighed and decided not to do anything with that: now he knew the guy really needed that sleep.
He took a deep breath before continuing down the road, trying to get his heart to stop beating so fast. Zach saw how the fog had thickened quite a bit as he went deeper into the woods, the barest hint of light only creating shadows through the branches.
After he got his bearings, Zach realized he hadn't been on one of these back roads this late at night before. That deer was weird. It was unsettling him, and he started to drive a bit slower. The fog seemed to settle onto the floor, causing the ground to be shrouded in the cloud-like cover.
Only the headlights could help them see where to go now; the road was barely recognizable under the fog and the sun had finally set, leaving the woods in complete darkness. Cell service was basically non-existent out here, which is why he couldn't use any GPS in the first place, relying on his memory. Zach tightened his grip on the steering wheel as an uncomfortable feeling welled in his gut.
Tang only then started to stir as he pushed himself off of the taxi window, wiping the drool off of his mouth and sitting up straight. He took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes, putting them back on a blinking a few times to refocus.
He looks at Zach. “How long was I asleep?” He asked, his voice heavy with exhaustion.
“Just about half an hour. I haven't been out here this late before, and I think all this fog is pretty neat, along with all those deer! If a bit creepy, heh…” Zach awkwardly replied, nervously sweating and avoiding eye contact.
“Uh huh.” Tang said with disinterest, looking back to his wrist and seeing the bell still securely stuck to it. He grimaced at his hand heavily.
A sudden stutter in the car has him snapping his head back up, seeing how the headlights began to flicker through the road, and eventually go out entirely. The inside lights were still on, with the engine running fine; only the headlights had shorted out.
Tang anxiously spoke up. “What just happened?”
Zach looked worried, sweat forming above his brow. “I don't know. This hasn't happened before. I'll get a flashlight and go check it out. You can stay in the car.”
Tang just nodded, a bit tense as Zach unbuckled and reached for the glove box, grabbing a small flashlight and getting out of the car. His steps displaced the thick fog on the floor, making a ghostly trail behind him as he looked at the front of the car.
Shining a flashlight onto the bulbs showed they were shattered; pieces of glass were rattling behind the plastic covers. A cold sweat ran down Zach's neck as he walked back and opened the driver's door, leaning his head in.
“The bulbs are shattered. Can't replace them unless you have any extra light bulbs in that backpack of yours.” He said lightly, trying to make sure Tang wouldn't freak out.
He reacted better than Zach expected. “Heh, just great. Well, these things happen, I guess. Is there anywhere nearby to pick up more; we can't go on without them, right?” Tang asked, wringing his hands together nervously.
Zach nodded. “Yeah, we kind of need them to get through the fog. Moonlight can't get through, so we're stuck here until we can get new bulbs or the fog clears. Now I'm totally gonna be late…” He mumbled. He started moving to get inside, hand on the door handle.
“But yeah, there isn't anywhere modern that close by, but there's one of those remote places past some of the trees that way. I think it was called something starting with a B-”
A shrill scream echoed through the woods as Zach was pulled violently out of the car, leaving the door he was about to close wide open. Tang quickly unbuckled his seat belt, scrambling to duck under the back seats on the floor next to his backpack.
The outside was unnaturally silent as Tang covered his mouth with his hands, trying to quiet down his erratic breathing. He was hunched over trying to hear anything else happening outside. The lights in the car went out after a few seconds, the car shutting off as it left Tang in the dark.
Then long, heavy footsteps sounded from the side of the car. Slow and deliberate, as if whatever was making them was looking for something- trying to find its prey. Tang continued his attempt at silencing his breathing, digging his nails into his cheeks in a panic.
Whatever was out there sniffed the air, growling something deep that shook Tang's resolve. The footsteps trailed off in his ears, almost like they were leaving… He carefully took his hands off of his face, looking up at a nearby window.
Fast steps suddenly bombarded his ears, growing louder as they got closer and closer. He had barely any time to react as something rammed into the side of the car, making it flip towards the wooded area.
He screamed as he was thrown about, his voice burning as it was already raw from before. His head hit the ceiling, then he landed on his right shoulder as he rolled and got thrown onto his back. It flipped again as he got his nose slammed into the side door, and then landed harshly onto his stomach as the car finally came to a stop, causing him to cough violently.
His glasses were hanging off of one ear, with his bag on top of one of his legs. He groaned in pain as he tried to push himself up by his elbows, making it to his knees before the thing ran into the car again, crumbling the two front seats as Tang stared in horror.
OH MY GOD OH MY GOD OH MY GOD OH MY GOD, I CAN'T STAY IN HERE THAT MUCH LONGER-
He heard the thing start to back up again, leaving the area in complete, utter silence. Tang knew what would happen next as he scrambled to open his side door that was luckily unblocked from the crash. The door clicked and swung open after a few pulls; Tang quickly tried to run out but his leg got caught onto his backpack strap, making him tumble face first into the floor of fog, grass, and pine needles with his bag still hanging off his foot.
He was just in time too, as almost right after he fell he heard the fast footsteps again, and a deafening crash behind him from what he assumed was the rest of the taxi he was in. All he could hear was ringing in his ears as he grabbed his bag strap and his behind a nearby tree, begging to whoever listened that he wouldn't be found so fast.
He heard the thing's steps slow, stalking the area again presumably looking for him. His breathing was heavy and he felt something drip from his nose but he couldn't really think about those things right now. What is that thing!? Why am I being attacked!? How do I get out of here!? Is Zach okay?! Oh no oh no oh no-
He heard sniffing again, then heavy steps coming towards his hiding place. This stopped his spiraling as the world seemed to stop. The steps got closer as Tang's heart beat faster, trying to break out of his ribcage if he had to guess.
It crushed the dead leaves on the forest floor, walking through the trees loudly, as if to taunt him. Suddenly, he heard the steps grow a bit faster, heading in his direction. He was panicking as the sounds got closer and closer, not knowing what that thing would do if it found him.
He could feel the tremors coming from its direction, and he knew that he didn't have much time left to make a decision. He quickly rubbed his nose, blood now covering his scarf and hand as he saw his blood flow through the crevices of the bell on his wrist-
*Ding*
A small chime rang out, echoing through the trees. The bell started to glow as a huge gust of wind blew around him, picking up the fog and displacing it everywhere creating a smokescreen. Tang could only shield himself with his arms, scared of what was happening.
‘I see you've already gotten yourself into trouble’
Tang's head shot up (getting a bit dizzy in the process). “What the hell…?”
Cian stood in front of him, in all its golden glowing glory, leaning over Tang in a mocking manner. It stared into his eyes.
‘You don't have that much time. I have done what I could, but I can't help you anymore unless I lend you my strength.’ It explained briefly, grabbing Tang’s bell and lifting him up to his feet with ease.
Tang quickly spoke up in defense, shock and fear clearly on his face. “What?! I can't do that! I know that-”
A loud, furious growl interrupted him. It sounded dangerously close, as if it would jump out at him at any moment. He was right, yet again, as the fog suddenly parted. All he could catch were red eyes and black fur before it pounced. Tang dodged, tumbling out of the way as its claws got embedded into the tree he was hiding behind, struggling to get them out.
‘You know you won't make it out of this alive without me.’
Tang shook his head as he got up and started to run. He weaved through trees and fog as he heard a crunch from behind. Out of instinct, he looked back and only paled at what was looking straight back at him.
It stood on two legs. Long black hair cascaded from its head to its back as its red eyes stared Tang down, locking onto him as it flicked the remaining bark out of its claws.
Tang ran faster. His legs felt strained and his ankles felt like they were about to collapse but he had to run. Hide. Do anything to get away from that demon.
Cian just floated with Tang’s vision, hovering in front of him as he ran. ‘Just let me help you. You need to make it back to those friends of yours, right?’
He grunted angrily at Cian as he made it back to the road somehow, running across it, going into the opposite piece of woods and sliding to a stop back against another tree.
Putting a hand on his chest, his legs wobble as he doesn't think he can take anymore running on his ankles. The ringing in his ears hasn't stopped. He doesn't think he'll make it out of here in one piece.
He focussed back into reality as loud steps came closer and closer yet again, making Tang freeze in his hiding spot. The steps thankfully passed behind him, going further away as he slumped down for the moment, resting his legs.
“*cough**cough* Ugh…”
This isn't something from the demon. He quickly looked towards the noise, glancing anxiously past the tree to a nearby one. The fog obscured most of it, but he could see a vaguely human body slumped on a tree a few feet down.
It was Zach. It had to be Zach. Who else could it be? Tang didn't know what to do. Zach could be dead. Should he help? Will that get them both killed…?
He decides to risk it, trying to run over to Zach’s (hopefully) unconscious body. The demon immediately knew what he was doing, locking its eyes onto him and starting to run at full speed towards the open shot. It was faster than before, with Tang stumbling back as it caught up to him in seconds and aimed for his neck.
He raised his arms subconsciously, fortunately only costing him only some skin on a forearm instead of his limb as he fell back. The gash was still deep, though, causing blood to slowly drip through the ripped cloth as he landed on his side into the thick fog.
Tears ran hot down his face. He looked around frantically for a way out before the demon's next strike, seeing how it rolled its shoulders back, as if preparing a final blow before taking slow, heavy steps towards him.
‘You know this won't end well.’
Shut up.
Pure red looked deeply into his eyes as he scrambled backwards.
‘Just agree to my offer. I can help you break this pathetic worm in no time.’
No, no, stop talking.
Its slow steps echoed in the silence, continuing its pursuit even when its prey was already cornered.
‘LISTEN. If you die here, what was the point? In making your bonds, maintaining everything you have, trying to fix yourself?’
I can't change anything…
It started to move faster. A brisk pace as it snarled and dragged its claws through the fog. Agitation started to build in Tang’s gut.
‘You would leave everything behind without showing everyone who you could’ve become from this feeble failure that you insist on dying as.’
His breathing was too shallow. It was coming at him fast. 12 feet, 8 feet, 3 feet-
‘You could have been someone special. They could have DEPENDED on you, had you not selfishly given up. You could finally be someone worth living for.’
“FINE!” Tang screamed, shaking the trees and parting the fog around him.
This seemed to shock the demon out of its reverence, making it step back at the sudden noise and hold its ears in pain. It narrowed its eyes at Tang, who couldn't care less at the moment.
Blood and tears mixed onto Tang's scarf as he continued. “I accept! I will take this fucking deal if that's what you want! Just do whatever you like, because what's the point anyway! I'm a lost cause, MIGHT AS WELL DIE KICKING AND SCREAMING!”
The wind started to pick up as Tang's words became more heated, with the trees bending in all sorts of ways at the force and the fog colliding and becoming some sort of tornado around him, forcing the demon to stumble away further.
Orange light started to build up in the middle, growing brighter and brighter until it became blinding to anyone witnessing it. A beam of orange light shot into the sky, parting any fog, trees, or clouds in its way.
Then the light thinned almost immediately, clearing out the remaining fog as Tang's body fell to its knees. His hair was wild as it blew in the harsh winds whipping through the forest. Both the demon and Tang had regained their composure, Tang standing up tall as the demon went defensive, a sliver of fear in its eyes.
Rolling up his sleeves, Tang ran a hand through his hair, sporting an unnatural grin on his face as his forearm glowed orange in the wound. He laughed, cracking his knuckles before staring the demon down, now dawning pure white eyes.
“Now, let's finally get this started!”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Tang woke up sitting against a tree. His head was killing him, with his hands feeling like they were thrown into a blender overnight. He rubbed his temples and lazily looked to his side, seeing Zach in a similar position as him, with the crushed taxi in the distance.
Seeing those sprung Tang into action as he stumbled over to Zach, feeling that his pulse and breaths were steady. He did see a big bruise on the guy's back peeking through the shirt, but he couldn't really help with something like that at the moment.
He fell back against the tree in relief, seeing the moon high in the sky as it graced everything in soft shades of gray. Looking back at his hands through his dirty glasses, he saw the knuckles were bloody, with dirt and black blood covering his arms and hands.
He also saw the bell was still on his wrist, maybe it was a part of whatever deal he made… oh no.
He groaned heavily into his hands, remembering that he had made a deal with that pest he's still 15% sure is a hallucination. “Awwgh… just great.” He groaned, crossing his legs and leaning back. He is alive though, and that has to count for something, he guesses.
All he remembers was yelling at Cian, then agreeing panicked to that offer, then… nothing. He decides not to think too much about it, as Cian isn't here, that demon isn't here, and he has an unconscious body to take care of plus find somewhere to crash for the both of them.
He readjusted the backpack on his back before trying to wake Zach up. He yelled, hit, and shook the guy with everything he had. Apparently, that wasn't enough as Zach was still unconscious after all that effort. Sighing internally, Tang decided to lift him onto his shoulder, and start dragging.
As you probably expected, this wore him out. By a lot. He had to take breaks every 2 minutes just to be able to carry the guy again. But he still did so, as he didn't want that demon coming after him again and staying in the same place he was attacked was not good for that sort of thing.
He remembered Zach saying there was a place past a few trees over… that way, he guessed. So, now with direction, Tang began to drag this guy's body through the woods, hopefully going to find some help.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
After what felt like hours maneuvering through the forest, getting lost, and then yelling at the sky that Zach was still unconscious, Tang finally found something other than trees and weird deer. It was a billboard next to a small dirt path. The writing was so faded that he couldn't make much out, but anything man-made here was a good sign.
Quickly taking a breath before throwing Zach over his shoulder again, he started going along the dirt trail, hoping to find literally anyone with something to at least wake the driver up.
After a couple of minutes, Tang saw smoke rising in the distance. He immediately brightened, going faster than his usual pace. His face was definitely red with exertion at this point, but he really didn't care as he got closer and closer to the smoke, seeing light through the branches.
When he finally emerged, he saw houses, people, and campfires littered everywhere. He collapsed almost immediately after getting there, with his ankles and upper body strength suffering at the sudden use. He could hear people stand up and crowd around them, but farther than Tang would usually think of crowding. Raising his head, he saw everyone there was at least 6 feet away from him, whispering to each other.
When he tried to sit up after a few seconds, everyone went deathly silent, he only got to his knees when every single person drew a gun on him and Zach, some with lasers even aiming at their heads.
He was shocked at the response, looking around the area trying to make sense of the harsh treatment when he saw a wooden sign behind some of the crowd. A very familiar sign, he might add. it said “Welcome to Bellfield: part of the 4TA!” in a loopy font.
His face dropped immediately, shooting daggers at the sign as fell (slowly, don't wanna get shot here) back onto the floor, trying to erase that stupid sign from memory.
“Of course, it had to be Bellfield…”
Previous | Next | Start
He's back yet again. You must already know what he's talking about. His void, his dreamscape, his personal hell hole. Call it what you want.
Although, it hasn't changed from the last time he remembered coming here. He can still feel the warmth that encompassed him when he was caught. How the tension the original place held seemed to melt into the new atmosphere.
It was kind of overwhelming; the drastic change probably overcompensates for something else he was worried to even think about.
So, he pushes those paranoid thoughts to the back of his mind, embracing the surroundings. He even feels nice enough to open his eyes, still wincing at the bold, solid color. However, it was dimmed compared to his first time here: manageable.
He lets his eyes adjust before looking around, only seeing a burnt orange as far as his eyes could show him.
He could move his limbs, too, almost like swimming through water, but he didn't really need to go anywhere at the moment. Everything stayed that simple color no matter where he looked.
So he waited, slowly spinning in the weightlessness that filled this place. Tang had almost become bored at the endless silence. Everything was just so quiet. He couldn't even hear himself… he didn't know if that was a good thing.
Something saved him the chance to ponder on it longer, though, as the sound of grating metal reached his ears. It made him jump, the sudden sound raging through the original silence.
He couldn't tell where it was coming from, the noise seemingly coming from all over. He couldn't even tell which way was up at this point; everything stayed the same exact color.
It grew more intense as he frantically looked around the endless space, finding nothing as the sound only grew closer.
Then the grating stopped abruptly, letting the dreamscape fall back into complete silence. Tang was sure if he could hear himself at the moment, his erratic breathing would have been enough to drown out the whole void.
The new bout of silence didn't last long.
‘Hello again.’
The smooth voice sounded from behind. Tang could suddenly hear himself again, his breaths heavy with grinding teeth and a fast heartbeat drowning out the sudden noise. Tang whipped his head around to the foreign sounds source.
It was a person. Or, well, something that looked like one. It had an average human-ish figure, along with the right amount of arms, heads, and legs to assume.
But that was where most similarities ended. It glowed a faint orange hue all over its body, highlighting its translucent, golden skin. The limbs he could see were covered in many undecipherable symbols, with what seemed like steel rings on its wrists and ankles.
It had light, loose clothing covering its body, baggy pants and half of a robe to name some, with multiple pieces of hanging jewelry all over. Its hair was short with bright highlights and a wavy texture, floating around its head as the hair seemingly went by its own rules. Its eyes were pure white, giving away little to what it was thinking.
It smiled, huffing out a laugh that echoed in the void. ‘My apologies. I didn't expect you to be this… jumpy. I even made all of this more digestible for you.” It sounded out, almost condescendingly.
Tang stared wide-eyed at the newcomer, staying strikingly still even as he floated. “Wh-who are you!?” He nervously shouted at the unknown threat.
The being lolled its head to one side, looking Tang up and down. After a second, it seemed satisfied with what it found, giving Tang a wolfish grin. ‘You may call me Cian.’
Tang seemed shocked at getting an answer. He hasn't had an actual conversation in his dreams for months, so he expected to be thrown away or woken up by now.
Okay. This is weird. It seems familiar… But this is fine. It's just a dream. Everything here is your head mashing together memories. Tang weakly thought as he curled in on himself. His stomach flipped uncomfortably as he tried to reason with what was happening.
The being- erm, Cian, frowned. ‘I expected better than those foolish excuses. Is this not enough for you?’
Tang quickly looked back at it, surprise clearly on his face. It only sighed at the reaction, seemingly annoyed with its predicament.
Its body then seemed to adhere to gravity, landing on a platform Tang couldn't see, and walking towards the scholar with a new tactic in mind.
‘I know how much you’ve struggled. Pain, suffering, loss: those are things you have wanted to avoid so badly, yet keep finding throughout your life.’
Tang tried to back away, but he couldn't seem to find a grip as he kept floating in place, the feeling around him changing from being underwater to something more like being stuck in space.
‘You are WEAK. You have been thrown around from birth, treated as less than based on what you have failed to provide. How you failed to do anything meaningful.’
Cian’s voice shook the area, making sure that Tang couldn't ignore it as it drew closer.
‘But it doesn't have to stay that way. I can help you, little cicada. I can gift your body the strength to give back what those demons have done to you and those you cared about.’
It's right in front of him now; its eyes seem to stare into his soul as it talks. Tang tries to look away, but it grabs his chin and roughly turns his head to face it.
‘Just let me in; I have what you need. Stop fighting what you know you’ve been searching for.’
Tang didn't know what it was talking about. It looked sharply into his eyes, and it looked for a long time, trying to see something Tang couldn't fathom.
Small hairline fractures appeared in the colorful void in Tang's peripheral vision, but Cian didn't seem to care at the moment. It frowned in the end, letting Tang's face go as it stepped back, wisps of hair floating into its face.
‘I suppose this isn't working. I'll give you a token for now.’ It grumbled, yanking off a string around its neck that held a small bell as its charm.
Tang froze at Cian's actions, feeling uneasy at the behavior as he was worried the figure would snap at any moment. He stayed that way even as it walked closer, reaching towards his wrist to tie the bell around it.
‘There.’ It said softly, stepping back in front of Tang after finishing the knot. Tang lifted the hand to his face, trying to inspect what he was just given.
A sudden shake interrupts the moment, causing larger cracks to form in the color surrounding them. Cian looked up at the fractures, glaring at them as its body seemed to flicker in and out of existence.
“What's happening?!” Tang gasped, seeing the cracks grow larger and Cian’s body starting to fade away.
‘Those damned snakes.’ It spat to itself, turning slowly to Tang's panicked form as its body kept fading more and more.
‘We will see each other again. Keep that bell on you at all times. Just wait for me…’ Its voice faded out, becoming background noise as its body finally disappeared and the cracks overcame the color.
Pieces of color began to crumble down, revealing a familiar black void underneath. Tang couldn't hear himself after Cian vanished, so he could only feel himself screaming as he was sucked downwards by a sudden pull, taking him away from the warmth and stability.
Now everything was cold. Pieces of the former void changed to blend into the new one, giving Tang only darkness as he slowly started to lose himself. He closed his eyes and he continued to fall. He flailed his limbs as he did so, screaming at the top of his lungs to no result except silence; nothing caught him this time.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Tang wakes up on the hardwood floor. His limbs felt numb to sensation, as he could only feel prickles as he came to realize he was awake. He couldn't remember much from his dream…
After staying in place for a good couple of minutes, he regained some feeling, but only the soreness in his arms and legs. It felt like the time he tried training with Sandy: like his muscles would fall off at any attempt to move them.
Still, he groans as he raises his head, trying to look at where he ended up this time. He was on his bedroom floor (again. Maybe that's why he felt so sore) near the open window, one arm hanging outside, almost as if he was trying to climb out in his sleep. The sky was dim, and he could feel the early breeze outside, causing a shiver to run up his spine.
He quickly pulled his arm out of the window, letting it fall to the floor when the prickly sensation became too much to continue. Staring at the ceiling was the only thing he could do at the moment when his body was out of commission, so he did just that.
Waiting for the exhaustion in his limbs to go away seemed to take forever. He could hear how more and more people began to go outside as it turned from dawn to morning. He saw how sunlight entered his bedroom, shining onto his torso as he laid still. The warmth was nice, he supposed.
He only tried to move after he saw his whole room lit up with the sun's rays, with a shadow suddenly blocking some of the light, most likely a cloud, then moving out of the way for light to come back with a vengeance on his face. He squinted, annoyed at the light now trying to blind his already crap eyes.
Moving forward, he pulled his arms in and pushed himself onto his elbows, then taking a knee as he pushed off from there. After grabbing the window ledge for stability, Tang was now fully standing!
That only helped so much as his limbs still felt like lead with everything else giving off prickling sensations, and his vision was blurry without his glasses. He sighed heavily, knowing he would have to get to his bedside table to have his sight back.
Slowly but surely, he wobbly stepped up to his bed, flopped on top of it, and rolled on his side, leading himself to the side table.
Mentally cringing that he had to do that, he quickly reached to where he put his glasses, and then put them on. He felt more secure when his vision returned.
Now with more stability, Tang slowly sat up, raising his hands to rub the drowsiness from his eyes. However, something snagged on his scarf as he did so, making him look down as his wrist confused.
It was a bell. A small, golden bell attached to a thin bracelet that was tied with a bow.
Wh-what… He thought, shocked at the piece of jewelry around his wrist. It was in my dream, how did it get here!? HOW IS IT REAL!?!?
In his panicked state, he tried everything to get rid of the thing. Pulling it off didn't work unless he wanted to dislocate his thumb. Ripping it off didn't work, as it only hurt his wrist in the process (it ripped off so easily earlier…).
Finally, cutting it off didn't work either, as Tang forced himself up to the kitchen, leaning on the counter, and then tried every sharp item he could grab to get it off. An assortment of knives: nope, but he did cut himself a few times, bleeding a bit onto the counter. Scissors: became crooked and useless after the attempt. Pizza cutter: couldn't even scratch the band.
Now tired and with a hurting wrist, he wobbled over to the living room, took off his glasses, now holding them in his hand, and flopped onto the couch face first. After a few seconds, he screamed into the cushions.
He wanted nothing to do with this. Whatever was messing with his dreams, and probably sanity, could go suck on a lemon for all he cared. He didn't want to put up with this anymore.
I want to leave. I'm going to leave. I'm going to go so far that whatever is affecting me can't chase me this time. So I can finally figure out what’s wrong with me. So I can get rid of it. So I can see my friends again…
He tilted his head to the side as he put on his glasses, seeing how his apartment looked like a hailstorm had run through it from his previous episode. All of his stuff was still thrown about; he could easily see everything that he had trashed around the room.
‘I can't ____ __em at ___.’
Tang quickly sat up, grabbing his head in frustration. Adrenaline rushed through his body as he stood up, grabbed the previously discarded backpack near his front door and started to rush around the apartment, grabbing anything useful. He's going to put this into action. He's not going to chicken out again.
A thermos left on the counter from his previous search along with a plastic water bottle and a small water filter get thrown in first. All of these items have signs of wear from continuous usage.
Then he walks towards a fallen pile, taking a pair of baggy black shorts and some t-shirt advertising a random acting troupe, extra socks and underwear, and a well worn sun hat from it and throwing most of the clothing into the front pocket, letting the sun hat hang from his neck.
‘Som___ing isn't _____ here, he ________ b_ ____.’
The voice was muffled, being drowned out by Tang's erratic movements, digging through the piles of junk looking for specific items.
He came up with one of his old journals, the leather binding making it seem older than it really was. He picked it up harshly, opening the strap and looking through the pages.
There was a big number 3 circled at the start of it. Tang used to number his journals when he just started writing, but he let up with it when he started to mainly doodle instead of write.
He looked further through the writing. It was his travel journal; it was something he kept as he went from place to place, writing about his days and interesting events that he saw or was involved in.
There were a good couple of pages left in the journal. He remembered he stopped writing in it when he came to Metrapolis in his 20's, getting an apartment and settling down in one place.
After a moment of thought, he took the journal and packed it into the main part of his backpack with the water bottle and thermos. He then grabbed a small umbrella on the floor near the pile, putting it into one of the water bottle pockets on the side.
He then walked briskly to the bathroom, ignoring the mirror and looking under the sink. He grabbed a small zipped up bag containing first aid equipment. Things like bandaids, antibacterial packets, tweezers, a small pack of sunscreen, bug bite patches, and other small aids were inside.
‘Why is __ __ing so ____ like th__?’
He ignored the voice again, harshly putting the first aid pouch in front of his backpack next to the clothes. He quickly goes back to the kitchen after leaving the bathroom, taking out as many non-perishables that he can fit into his bag. Things like chip bags, canned food, and some fruit strips plus granola bars.
After he finished, he seemed to just stare at the bag. Looking through its seams, almost like he was trying to reason something from the backpack. His breathing slowed as he did so, becoming deep and rhythmic as he continued to stare, letting his adrenaline drop.
He took the plastic water bottle out, then zipped up the bag. He quickly filled it up with water before putting it in the other pocket on the bag's side, matching the umbrella.
Taking some time to rest, he left the backpack on the counter and walked to his living room window, looking down at the people below.
Down on the street, he saw the grannies on their way to class together, walking past people in uniform serving the outside tables of a popular chain restaurant. Kids walked with their parents, and a hoverbike raced by above traffic causing some napkins to fly up and away in the daylight.
He felt the warmth of the sun through the window. This was all regular. This was all normal. No shocks, no loud noises, no orange. It helped him relax, letting the tension bleed from his limbs and shoulders.
Leaving the living room, he went back into his bedroom for his phone. Its screen was cracked like his glasses; he grabbed it off the bedside table (he tried to turn it on, but it was dead again) and put it into his pants back pocket.
He then opened the drawer under it, taking out a solar powered battery bank and his wallet. After wrapping the battery cord in his hands, he looked to the floor, seeing The Origins of JTTW open on the ground.
After a bit of hesitation, he crouched down and picked up the book. It was open to the page of the Great Monk, how he was involved in the original story and how he differed from the legends based on what remnants archeologists could find of him.
The Great Monk took up a few more pages after that, most of it being clear pictures of the scrolls and other items recovered proving his existence. Tang closed the book and tucked it under his arm, walking back to the kitchen and packing the book, letting the solar battery hang on a zipper like a keychain to charge as he walked.
He didn't really have anything else to do now. He leaned on the counter, glaring at the backpack, like it was the one who made him crazy. After a few moments, he bowed his head and sighed, walking back to the living room and looking at the mess.
There was nothing else he needed; nothing else jumped out at him to take it along with him. Well, that was until he saw something reflecting the sunlight from the window, buried under ripped paper and post-its.
Walking to the small pile, he brushed aside the pieces of paper, finding his old combat boots underneath. He didn't need to use them much when he first got them, as he mostly stayed in place as he read at his station.
They looked like they would still fit him; he deflated a bit as he noticed that he hasn't grown much since then. Slowly pulling them out of the scraps, he took them to the couch. As he changed from his new-ish flats to thin socks and his old combat boots, he thought how nice it was that he didn't have to shave his head to wear these again.
After tying up the laces and tucking the top of the boots under his embroidered pant cuffs, he stood to grab the bag from the counter and reached for his key ring near the door.
Leaving his apartment, he closed and locked the door softly, making sure he wouldn't be heard leaving. Putting his key ring in his other pants pocket, he went down the stairs towards the building entrance.
Standing in front of the double doors, Tang hesitated. Will this be alright? I'm not even sure that leaving will get rid of these voices… But what if I can find some answers? What if I can finally get better? I might as well try.
He steps out the doors determined. The white noise washes over him; discussions, multiple vehicles passing by, and nature blurred together in the community.
Tang starts to walk. He walks past familiar spots like Lazy Susan's, unfamiliar people that walk by just the same, and the new visuals popping up as all of this keeps changing with the times.
He walks, and walks, and walks. His ankles feel like you would give out, but he needed to keep walking to get away from the familiarity and sameness of Metrapolis. He won't find closure here: he needs to find answers elsewhere, and on his own.
Zoning back into his surroundings, he sees that his muscle memory has led him somewhere he recognized. He was right in front of Pigsy's Noodles, in all its glory.
He saw how the metal blinds were drawn and the sign signified it was closed. The entrance wasn't the same as the window, though, still open for anyone to waltz in if they like.
Sighing to himself, Tang checks inside the restaurant to make sure no one was looting the place, then reaches up and pulls down the metal entrance cover with a bit of effort, locking it at the bottom for Pigsy.
After shaking his arm at the slight effort (the bell on his wrist never rang out), he figured that he should probably let someone know where he was going so he wasn't plastered on a missing poster or something.
Remembering his dead phone, he grumbled as he reached into his bag, pulling out his journal and first aid kit, then ripping out a page and some medical tape. After putting the materials back in the bag, he took a small pen off of his key ring and wrote out a note for Pigsy.
Hey Pigsy, this is from Tang. I'm just letting you know that I'll be out of town for a bit. I probably won't have any cell service most of the time, so I'll message you when I can. Also, I closed the restaurant entrance for you, protecting it from any potential thieves! I think that my actions deserve a free bowl of noodles when I get back.
—Warm regards, Tang ♡
After finishing the note, he used the medical tape to secure it to the metal blinds over the window, mainly under its awning to protect the message from the elements.
Now someone knows I'm leaving. Maybe people will actually listen if he's the one to tell them. Tang thought as he walked away from the shop, not thinking about it too much longer for his remaining sanity.
He continued to walk, seeing the neon on the skyscrapers and tall buildings thin out to smaller houses next to small Mom and Pop shops. He sits on the edge of a cleaner sidewalk to take a small break, taking the solar battery off the zipper and plugging in his phone.
He checked the time on it when it was charged enough, seeing it was about 2:37 PM at the moment. That's probably why the sun is glaring down at him right now, making him put on the sun hat and take a drink from his water bottle.
After putting everything back into his bag, he rolled up his sleeves, put his phone into his pocket and continued his walk to the outskirts of Metrapolis.
The buildings seemed to dwindle as he went farther and farther out, only seeing a few houses spread across grassy fields as he came closer and closer to the exit.
After he walked for a few more minutes, he could see the exit sign (more like a billboard) in full. It said, “Now leaving Metrapolis, we hope to see you again soon!” In bright yellow, pink, and blue.
Tang huffed at the bright colors, looking past the sign at the road leading out of the city. No buildings filled the sides, no signs lit up the road, and no one seemed to be walking along its side like he was. Only a flat road led out of the city, showing how different the inside compared to the flat plains ahead.
This was it. He only needed to walk a bit further to be out of the Metrapolis. Away from his city and friends. He could finally start to figure out what was happening to him.
He took a deep breath, focussing on the path ahead, and stepped past the sign.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The sun had barely started to set when Tang arrived at his first destination. It was a small gas station, a piece of the city between the rolling hills and fields around them.
A car that looked like a taxi was parked near one of the pumps, with a person no older than 25 seeming to be having trouble with it as he kept kicking the pump near the taxi.
Ignoring the person, Tang walked inside the gas station to refill his water bottle. He exchanged pleasantries with the cashier before exiting again, seeing the presumed taxi driver still going ham on the pump, seemingly not letting up since Tang saw him last.
Sighing internally, Tang tried to walk past the unfortunate driver, but was stopped when the kid started to shout at him. “Hey! Hey you! Can you help me out here? This stulid pump ate my card, and I have a time limit to make it back!”
Tang looked back suspiciously, trying to see if he was about to get kidnapped or not. The person looked decent, short shaggy brown hair with a navy button down along with gray leggings and white tennis shoes with a panicked expression: not that suspicious. He also saw the cashier had a clear view of this specific pump, and some cameras were sprinkled around the gas station, so Tang was willing to risk it.
As he got closer, he saw the card was too far in the reader to get it out with your fingers. Tang nodded his head in sympathy. “Erm, sure. Just give me a second.” He pulled out his first aid kit and took the tweezers out, starting to try and pull the thing out of the reader.
The driver talked his ear off as he did so. “Thank you, thank you, thank you! I tried to do a long drive for someone down at the Golden South province all the way to Metrapolis, but I ran out of gas on my way back. I got a lot of tip money from it, but now I might not make it back in time to turn in the taxi. I don't want to have to pay the late fee again: my boss racks it up depending on how many times it's been turned in late, and I've already been late 6 official times-”
“Here you go.” Tang interrupts, shoving the now free card into the driver's face. The driver lit up at receiving his card back, pocketing it and unlocking the taxi, getting in after pulling the pump out. Tang goes to wipe the tweezers down before putting them back in his bag.
Then before Tang could leave, the driver rolled down the taxi window, poking his head out. “By the way, do you need to go anywhere? I'm just going back to Open Border, but I can drop you off anywhere along the way, free of charge! I can even take a shortcut for you if need be.”
Tang debated his options. He did need to get to Golden South as it had one of his old colleagues there that he could consult with, and getting there purely on foot would take a while. It was also that Tang didn't really want to waste any time in getting rid of his problem. The driver seemed nice enough, no big dents or scratches on the car and no oddities as far as Tang could see.
He decided to accept on a whim. It's not like there were any nearby hotels anyways, and he didn't want to sleep outside this time, especially with what's been going on. “Oh, sure. Just drop me when you stop in Golden South; I'll find my way from there.” Tang accepted, opening the door and getting into the back seat.
“That sounds good to me! I'll let you out before I turn in the taxi. By the way, my name is Zach.” Zach introduced after getting back into the driver's seat and rolling up the window.
“Nice to meet you. You can call me Tang” Tang replied from the back seat, quickly taking off his backpack and putting it on the car floor.
“Will do Tang!” Zach then put the car out of park and into drive, pulling out of the gas Station, and then driving down the smooth road away from Metrapolis.
Tang looked out the back window,seeing more and more of the city fading from view. He looked away after some moments, going to look out his side window, out at the grass and setting sun. He closes his eyes.
‘Are you done?’
Tang shoots his eyes open, trying not to freak out when someone else is currently in the car. He attempts to look around discreetly, but he already knows it won't result in anything meaningful.
Just ignore it. It's not like it'll talk to you again. Just let it babble along and fade away. He reasoned, going back to looking out the window.
‘Are we really doing this?’
Tang didn't react, ignoring the voice and letting himself disassociate.
‘You are making this difficult.’
Tang didn't reply. The hands on his lap held onto his pants with a death grip.
The voice sighed heavily, then let the car ride fall into silence yet again. Tang sighed in relief, sagging into his seat…
A huge flash of light suddenly came from the seat beside Tang, causing him to jump at the blast. “You okay back there?” Zach asked concerned, stopped at a traffic light.
Tang took a second to respond. “Oh! Oh, yeah, I'm completely fine. Don't worry about it!” Zach looked unconvinced, but returned his eyes to the road when the traffic light turned green.
Tang quickly looked to the empty seat beside him, jaw dropping at the figure now sitting there, jogging the foggy memory from his dreams. It was Cian.
‘Will you converse with me now?’ Cian asked, a bit smug.
Wh-what the hell?! How is this happening?! Tang thought, panicking internally.
Cian scoffed at the question. ‘Do I have to spell everything out for you? I’m projecting my body through the token I gave you. Only you can see and hear me as you're the one wearing it.’
Tang started to spiral. Token? Does it mean the stuped bell?! Have I finally snapped…
Cian seemed like it was about to snap itself, deeply frowning at Tang. Suddenly, it reached out to grab Tang's wrist, physically pulling on the bell he woke up with. Tang fell onto his side at the sudden pull, alerting Zach again. “Are you sure you're okay? You're completely fine if you have motion sickness! I can pull over if you want.”
Tang quickly refutes. “No, no, it's alright. I just dropped something.” He sat up slowly, rubbing the now sore wrist from the pull.
‘Will you acknowledge me now?’
Tang grimaced, staring at his feet as he scooted as far away from Cian as he could. You're real. How are you real? Were you the one messing with my dreams for some sort of sick amusement?
Cian sighed, getting closer and lifting Tang's wrist up by the bracelet. ‘To answer the last question, no. How I'm here is because I'm connected with you through our shared abilities. I was once able to harness the same power you used against the Lady Bone Demon.’
Cian then let his wrist go, letting it fall onto the car seat. ‘But now you have them. So I think it's only my duty to help you before those flares get out of control. They mainly affect your perception of reality, which is why you've been experiencing more and more visions as time went on.’
Tang took a deep breath, still staring at his feet. Then how can I get rid of them? The visions, voices, whatever's affecting me.
Cian leaned back and looked out the window. ‘They stop once you get control over your powers. However, you're too weak at the moment to even try overcoming anything by your own will.’
Tang laughed bitterly to himself as he ran a hand through his messy hair, dislodging his sunhat. That figures.
Cian grinned widely out of Tang's view at the scholars's response. ‘I do have a solution to help, though. I can offer my previous strength to help you overcome your weaknesses.’
Tang looked up to Cian, a condescending smile on his face. And why should I trust you? For all I know, you could be the one giving me these hellish visions in the first place, or I'm still hallucinating! It's not like I'm being coerced by a random voice that only I can see and speak to in my mind at the moment.
Cian didn't take the sarcasm lightly; loose dust and other debris floated up from the floor as it looked Tang in the eyes. ‘I can easily let you keep living your days alone and paranoid, plagued by visions. I am trying to give you an escape and some way to fight back. And you're judging me this quickly? What would those so-called friends of yours think when they find you huddled in your trashed apartment, trapped within the confines of your mind and reliving the worst moments of your life over and over? You would become useless to them. They wouldn't give you a second glance before leaving you in your filth.’
Tang didn't grace Cian with an answer, keeping a white-knuckled grip on his pants.
Before either could break the new silence, Zach spoke ahead. “I'm going to take a small back road if that's okay. Be warned, it's a little bumpy as it's mainly gravel and dirt.”
Tang just gave a hum of affirmation, looking back out his window at the dimming sky and the trees now blocking his view as the car detoured to the back road.
Cian didn't speak again after that, disappearing from view. The dust dropped abruptly as it did so, letting Tang continue his car ride with some semblance of peace.
Previous | Next | Start
-The day before, at 10:30 AM-
Pigsy’s Noodles was just opening shop, with the owner of said restaurant hauling up the metal door and blinds, then lighting up the store's sign to show it was in business.
Then he walked back into the kitchen to check all the appliances and heat up the broth, going into a sort of trance as he checked over everything in his kitchen. A friendly face came by a couple minutes after the official opening, helping to take down the chairs and putting them in the correct spots. After finishing up, the friend went over to the bar and started to chat with the chef.
“Hello Pigsy!” He offered with a grin, sitting down a bit uncomfortably onto one of the nearby stools. “Hey there, Sandy.” Pigsy answered absent-mindedly, focussing on his prep before finishing and walking towards the bar. This was the bit of free time Pigsy had before orders started showing up, so he had some time to talk.
“Do you think Mk will come by today?” Sandy asked, looking around the shop as if he expected Mk to pop out at any moment.
“Not exactly.” Pigsy grumbled. “He hasn't been by here for the past three days, not like he was even pretending to deliver noodles before.”
“Aw, don't be like that Pigsy! I know Mk has been out and about for the past few weeks, but it's only because he's been stopping demons left and right! We're his friends, so he wouldn't just leave without a reason to.” Sandy offered, leaning over the bar as if to make a point.
“I know, I know Sandy.” Pigsy says, waving off the blue giant before staring out onto the street, seemingly lost in his thoughts.
Sandy noticed the change in tone immediately. “What's on your mind, Pigsy? It's never good to bottle up your thoughts or emotions. You seem a little tense. Is this about Mk, or something else?”
Pigsy paused for a moment, thinking it over before sighing heavily. “It's about Tang” “What about him exactly?” Sandy asked.
“Well, ugh. It's just that he's worrying me. He's been cooped up in that apartment of his for the past couple weeks, which you know he only does when he's trying to ride something out on his own, and he's been especially weird after the whole library fight!
“You saw how he didn't answer his phone that day. When I went up to get him, I… his entire apartment was trashed. Things broken and thrown around the room sort of thing. He also looked like a complete mess, with his hair all over the place along with dust and other stuff covering his clothes. His glasses were even cracked!
“Then he brushed me off when I tried to get him to talk, saying how he'd been through a lot that day, dropping a bomb on how he was stuck under a building for hours, and then how he just needed some time alone. I let it go at the time, but staying alone after an event like that happened to him is worrying me about what actually happened at the library.
Pigsy pauses for a second before continuing, now a bit more solemn in his tone. “If he thought what happened at the library was something he could handle by himself, then I'm concerned for all the other stuff he thinks is better going through alone. I'm just wondering if there's something he's not telling me: something that he's been harboring at his apartment all this time.”
Sandy nodded along with Pigsy’s words, growing more and more concerned as Pigsy went on. “Have you tried asking him about this? Maybe checking in on him, too?”
Pigsy huffed, looking at the ground before turning back to Sandy. “I didn't know it had gotten this bad until I saw him yesterday. But I did tell him to come here at noon to talk about it, and that I would drag him here myself if he were late. I'm just hoping he'll actually come by himself instead of staying inside again.”
Sandy nodded, still looking concerned at what Pigsy had told him. “Does anyone else know this is going on?”
Pigsy looked to the side, a bit ashamed. “No one else needs to know the specifics yet. I wouldn't want to overwhelm Tang with that many people knowing. It's not like I have that many people I could tell anyways.”
Sandy looked like he wanted to say something, but he never got the chance when the bell on the shop door rang, taking Pigsy's attention away from the conversation.
“I'd better get to that order. We'll continue this later, Sandy.” Pigsy said, leaving Sandy at the bar to attend to the growing crowd.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Pigsy was spread thin throughout his restaurant. He had to stop offering delivery at the moment when no one acceptable would apply for the job in Mk's stead, which definitely put a dent into his profits.
At the start, it was fine. People would often order out through his window instead of delivery, and all he needed to do was throw the noodles onto the shelf for people to grab.
Then more people would start to line up, and the pressure of making everything on time became overwhelming along with the struggle of waiting on everyone eating in.
All of this combined started to grate on Pigsy's nerves as more and more people started to complain about the wait time.
If they want their freaking noodles in 5 minutes, then why don't they COME IN AND MAKE IT THEMSELVES.
Pigsy might actually kiss Tang if he came by so he could finally get a break from all the complaints and passive aggressive comments, even if Tang is already way too late just for a slap on the wrist. Pigsy would go out there and drag him down himself if Tang didn't show up in the next few minutes-
*CRASH*
The sudden noise dragged Pigsy's focus away from the noodles he was preparing. He looked up rapidly and saw a mop of brown hair coming towards him at an alarming speed, knocking some chairs over in the process.
“Kid, what are you doing here?!” Pigsy yelled out, but it fell on deaf ears as he was grabbed by his elbow and pulled out of the kitchen.
“No time Pigsy. Something's up with Monkey King, the island has become a bit overwhelming and I need your guys's help stat!” The kid replied, going over to where Sandy was sitting and yanking him out of his stool. Sandy had to contort his body almost inhumanely just to keep the tea in his hands from spilling out.
But that work was for naught as the kid was suddenly getting ready to fly off again, only giving Pigsy a second to cut off the sign and drag down the blinds before the kid jumped off towards Flower Fruit Mountain. Sandy dropped his cup somewhere on the way.
When they landed in front of the waterfall entrance, they only had seconds to recover before all the duo could hear were the kid's ramblings. “I'm not sure what's wrong but he hasn't come out of the waterfall for a week and the sigil on it has been acting weird and I don't know what to do- wait, where's Mr Tang? I thought I grabbed everyone at the bar.”
The kid looked at them both, searching for a certain scholar, yet coming up with nothing other than the small monkeys hanging around the waterfall coming a bit closer to inspect the new visitors.
Pigsy, after recovering from the whiplash, cleared his throat. “Mk, Tang is probably at his apartment. He's going to be at the shop any minute to talk with me though, so I need to get back pretty soon.”
“Oh, I can wait for Mr Tang to get there for you! I just needed to get you all here to figure out how to get Monkey King out and ask him about the island. It wont take too long, right?” Mk asked with a nervous grin.
Pigsy sighed as he pinched his nose bridge. “I wanted to have some time to have a serious talk with Tang. Alone. I can't exactly put that off for whatever Monkey King has gotten himself into this time.”
Mk wouldn't back down at Pigsy's protest, though. “You can just have it here, then! Mei's already inside and all I need Tang to do is sort through all the mystic junk for anything useful and ask him what he thinks is wrong with the island and Monkey King. After that, all I need him to do is sit back and watch as we help Monkey King fix everything up-”
The ground suddenly shakes as the sigil on the waterfall started to glow, cracks in the surrounding stone growing before loose rock fell into the dense forest, knocking down some trees in the process. The monkeys around them jumped and started to run at the sounds, huddling together in fear.
Mei came running out of the waterfall at the commotion. “Another one already!? AUUUUGH, THIS BLOWS!” She yelled as she took a stance in front of the waterfall and shot up towards its sigil, using her family sword to stab it infused with the Samadhi Fire.
The sigil glowed sporadically, the shaking becoming more severe before it finally cracked under the pressure and started to dull, slightly softening the shaking.
Mk's expression became more tense as he yelled to Sandy and Pigsy. “Do you guys see what's happening now!? I need you to keep us safe from the falling rocks while I help Mei.”
Mk ran off before either of them could respond, leaving them in the path of all the debris with a job to do.
Sandy immediately jumped up and started to punch the rocks into bits before they could hit the ground and cause more damage, and after a few seconds of hesitation, Pigsy joined him.
This went on for what seemed like forever: the continuous tasks becoming tiresome for the both of them. But then, long after their knuckles became bloody and numb, the rocks finally stopped falling and the island became silent. When Pigsy and Sandy made it back to the waterfall entrance, they saw how the sigil had gained more small cracks compared to when they saw it before.
Then, looking towards the floor, they could see Mei and Mk laid out on the ground, both breathing heavily as Pigsy and Sandy approached.
“Are you both alright?” Sandy asked, crouching down near the duo to see if they were hurt.
“Nah, *huff* we're both *huff* fine. Just tired from the *huff* overuse.” Mei answered from the floor.
Pigsy sat down next to them. “What just happened back there? Is this why you snatched us out of the shop?”
Mk took a few moments to breathe, and then he finally answered after sitting up. “Yeah, this is why I went and got you. I just figured out this was happening after I hadn't heard from Monkey King in a while and went to check on him.”
Mk looked around the waterfall entrance, a pensive look forming on his face. “I'll tell you more inside. It'll be easier to show you there.” Mk said, standing up with some difficulty along with Mei before walking to the entrance.
Standing in front of the seal with everyone behind him, Mk put his palm up and onto the seal and waited.
It flickered, the image shorting in and out of everyone's view, before it dulled completely. Mk sighed in relief at that before stepping in. Mei, Sandy, and Pigsy followed in his stead.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
They walked through hills of weapons, scrolls, and other junk Monkey King had piled in here over the years. Sandy knocked some of the stuff over in the process, and everyone almost tripped over the junk more than once.
They eventually made it to a clearing with a small, wooden hut in the middle of it. Mk looked past it and went towards some logs on the floor, sitting on the one with moss covering half of its side.
Mei sat beside him with Sandy and Pigsy choosing their own logs, looking at Mk expectantly.
Mk sighed heavily before speaking. “The seal has been acting completely overkill since I got here. I don't know what affected it, it's just been going crazy at random times and doing that to the surrounding area.”
Pigsy looked towards the wooden hut, and then back to Mk. “Then where's Monkey King? Shouldn't he be able to fix all this, as it’s his own waterfall seal or whatever?”
Mk grumbled to the floor, so Mei answered instead. “Mk's already looked into the shack with his golden vision. He now knows for sure Monkey King is in that hut right now, but no matter what we do, that monkey won't come out: I even played the Nyan Cat theme for an hour and a half straight! Nothing we do can even scratch what that shack is made of anyway, so breaking it open won't work either.”
This only made Pigsy more annoyed with the king. “So he won't even come out when his island is going to crap? Why is he hiding in the first place anyway?” Pigsy spat, clearly fed up with how Wukong had been handling everything.
Sandy gives Pigsy a pat on the shoulder. “I'm sure Monkey King has a reason for shutting himself away, and now that me and Pigsy are here, we can try and help as much as we can to get him out.” Sandy offered, trying to lessen the growing tension.
Pigsy stood up quickly, shrugging off Sandy’s hand as he marched towards the hut. “If nothing you tried was able to get that stupid monkey to come out, then I'll have to resort to my Special Recipe to get him out of that stupid shack.” He mumbled with a sadistic grin, marching up the stairs to the hut’s main door.
Sandy just sighed and Mk winced in sympathy. “What's the big deal about it?” Mei asked curiously.
“You remember that one time I passed in my room from training for a day straight and was late for my job at Pigsy’s the next day?” Mk asked Mei, seeing Pigsy grab a whole thing of pots and pans out of somewhere.
“Yeah?” Mei responded, a bit more confused than before.
“Apparently, I was sleeping like a rock, and Pigsy couldn't shake me awake or do anything to get me conscious. So, instead, he grabbed the strongest smelling ingredients he had at the time, cooked them together, and shoved the finished product in my face. I was shocked awake so badly that I almost made a hole in my ceiling.” Mk laughed slightly at the end, looking back at Pigsy and seeing the chef giggling to himself as he added what seemed to be garlic and chilies.
“Ohhhhh! That's why you kept taking my scented hand sanitizer for like, a whole week that one time!” Mei remembered, poking at Mk’s cheek.
“Yeah, yeah. I wasn't even allowed to taste the dang thing he made either!” Mk complained a bit, shaking his hand in the air to Mei’s amusement as she chuckled with Sandy.
The story had lightened the mood, lifting a bit of stress off of everyone's shoulders. A few moments after, Pigsy finally finished whatever he was doing near the door and gestured rapidly for them to come up near the hut.
With a bit of hesitation, they walked towards the door and almost immediately gagged at the strong smell. Even Pigsy had a cloth over his face as he picked up the bowl emitting what they were smelling.
“Are we even sure that's gonna work? I don't want that lingering here longer than it has to.” Mei said, a bit muffled under the sleeve she used to block out the smell.
“Did I wave you over here to critique my methods? No, I got you over here to help me get Monkey King outside.” Pigsy rebutted.
“How are we even going to get that stuff inside piggy? Like I said, this shack is basically indestructible!” Mei complained, leaning on one of the wooden rails near the stairs as Pigsy covered the bowl from the complaint.
A moment of silence passed…
Sandy spoke up in a small voice, pointing somewhere at the hut. “Uh, maybe we could do something with that cracked window?”
Everyone followed Sandy's hand to a busted up, dirty looking window that had about an inch of a gap underneath it from being pushed to one side.
Mk spoke up in a chipper tone. “Oh! I didn't see that before… that could work!”
After all of them used almost too many attempts at lifting the window, (Mei trying to leverage it with her sword with Pigsy plus Sandy trying to lift it bare handed), Mk was able to open it by shrinking down his staff, putting it in the gap, and growing it big enough to shove the window open.
The staff went flying at the extra force, but it was luckily caught by Mk before it could hit Sandy square in the nose.
After everyone settled down, Mk volunteered to get the monkey as no one knew what Monkey King would do when he woke up if someone like Mk almost put a hole in his ceiling. Mk also had the highest chance of surviving whatever the king threw out at him.
“Okay, just be careful in there, kid.” Pigsy stated, handing the bowl (now with a cloth over the top) over for Mk to carry.
“Don't worry Pigsy, I'll be in and out no problem!” Mk then slinked in through the window, careful not to spill anything, before standing up in what seemed to be Monkey King's living room.
“Do you see him anywhere?” Sandy yelled through the window.
“Nah, just a bunch of Monkey King merch so far!” Mk yelled back, balancing the bowl in one hand as he lifted blankets with the king's face on it and looked through piles of video tapes.
When he put the bowl back in both hands, he finally activated his golden vision, looking through the walls for the king. He finally saw Monkey King at the end of the hallway, huddled up on a pile of blankets on the floor.
“Monkey King!” Mk called out, rushing over to the monkey's side.
The king looked worse-for-wear, fur matted and dirty along with how his brows were creased and sweaty. He looked like he was in a deep sleep: like he was having a nightmare.
Mk took no time in leaning down, taking off the cloth and shoving the bowl into Monkey King's face. The monkey's eyes shot open as he punched the nearest wall behind, causing a hole 2 feet leading outside wide to splinter into existence. The king also yanked to bowl out of Mk's hands and drank the whole thing as footsteps approached.
“WOAH- What was that?!” Pigsy yelled out, running to the punch site with Mei and Sandy in tow.
“It's ok, it's ok! Monkey King just woke up.” Mk reassured. Said Monkey was still on the ground, his breathing slowing down yet not becoming any less heavy.
Pigsy was about to say something else, but Monkey King quickly raised his hand to quiet him down. After a few more moments of catching his breath, Monkey King put down the bowl, finally stood up, and turned to Mk. “What are you doing here bud?”
Mk looked at Monkey King confused. “What do you mean “Why am I here”? I'm here because I haven't seen you all week and when I got here, the island was going crazy!”
Monkey King furrowed his brow, looking out of the hole he made. His eyes widened with a look of shock. Suddenly, gold mist filled the area as the king transformed into a bird and flew out of the house towards the waterfall entrance.
“Where is he going?!” Mei yelled, the rush of wind following the king making it hard to hear.
“I don't know, but we should probably follow him!” Mk shouted back, already speeding after the golden trail the monkey left behind with his own transformation.
Then everyone started running back through the junk piles and tunnels, trying to catch up to Monkey King and Mk as they sped off.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Monkey King flew over the island, staring down at the lines of fallen trees, the jagged rocks jutting out of the ground, and the cracks on his mountain he could clearly see below him.
He quickly de-transformed on one of the surrounding beaches, seeing everything in perspective with rocks double his size littering the sands.
He also noticed the sun had already set by the time he landed. The stars shone down onto the shore he stopped at, the waters uncharacteristically calm as they reflected the starlight.
He didn't know how all of this happened while he was… incapacitated. What got by him?
Mk finally caught up to him pretty quickly after his landing, going back into his regular form and running up to where the king was standing in the sand.
“Monkey King! *huff* Why'd you run off!?” Mk shouted out, still a good couple yards away.
“Oh, Mk! I'm sorry, I just… didn't expect everything to have gotten this bad. I had to check for myself, y'know” Monkey King answered nonchalantly, giving Mk a small grin.
Mk huffed at him when they finally stood side by side. “Well, you could've told us that before you ran off to who-knows-where. Everyone else is probably still behind-”
Right on cue, Mei, Sandy, and Pigsy came tumbling out of some of the nearby trees, clearly roughed up from trying to keep up with Mk and Monkey King.
“Did he finally stop???” Mei asked tiredly, immediately sitting down on the sand as Sandy sat with her and Pigsy moved past her.
“Oh hey guys! Yeah, I just needed to look over the damages. You didn't need to follow me though.” Monkey King stated with a shrug. Both Mei and Pigsy, obviously annoyed, were about to speak up before getting shushed by Monkey King.
“Shushushush, don't worry! I'll just bring you guys back to the entrance so you don't have to complain. Easy peasy!” He said cheerfully, grabbing them by the arms, even taking Mk by his tail, and summoning his cloud to ride back up to the waterfall.
“AHHHHHHH-” Everyone’s screams blurred together as Monkey King laughed and flew the cloud higher and higher.
When they finally arrived, he immediately poofed the cloud and let everyone fall to the floor. He casually walked up to the seal while everyone had to get their bearings, again, and looked over the dull image on the waterfall.
His grin fell a bit as he continued to look it over, turning to Mk, who was still on the floor. “So this is what’s making my island go crazy?”
“Oh? Yeah, I mean, I'm pretty sure. It glows whenever the mountain shakes, and when we attack it, it causes the tremors to stop.” Mk answered, a bit shakily as he stood up again, helping Mei and Pigsy up afterward with Sandy’s help.
“Huh… Well luckily, I know how to fix this! Probably.” Monkey King boasted, mumbling the last part under his breath.
“Wait REALLY?!” Everyone shouted in surprise.
“Well, yes, but I actually need a certain item to fix this, and it's inside.” Monkey King replied, kicking a pebble around while he did so.
Multiple groans sounded throughout the group. No one wanted to do more work after the day they all had.
Pigsy spoke up for the group, a bit exasperated. “Let's just do this tomorrow. The tremors aren't super often, right?”
“Yeah, they happen pretty randomly, and the latest one was the worst one so far. It usually just takes a hit from my staff to stop them completely, anyways.” Mk answers absent-mindedly, Mei nodding along.
“So let's just call it. Nothing good will come from doing all this now.” Pigsy continued, crossing his arms to make his stance clear.
“I agree with Pigsy. We've already exerted a lot of our energy, and trying to use any of our powers at the moment might not end well for us.” Sandy replied with a serious expression.
Monkey King looked pensive, but agreed nonetheless. “You guys are right. I have some extra blankets and stuff for you guys since getting back safely right now isn't exactly possible. Follow me.”
After waiting for the seal to unlock, Monkey King led the group back to the wood hut and went inside, leaving them standing outside.
And then, after a few minutes, he came back out with what seemed to be an excessive amount of sleeping bags, pillows and blankets stuffed in his hands.
“Here you are! I'm sorry this is the best I can do: there isn't much space in here now considering the hole in my wall. This space is protected from outside elements though, so don't worry about being rained on or something. Goodnight!” Monkey King said, throwing the items at the group and going back inside almost immediately.
Grumbling under his breath, Pigsy grabbed a Hello Kitty sleeping bag from the pile. Don't judge him too quickly, it was one of the only sleeping bags that didn't have Monkey King’s colors or face on it.
Sandy took most of the blankets and layered them on the floor for a more comfortable place to sleep. Mk took a sleeping bag with a yellow and red palette, thanked Sandy, and fell asleep almost immediately on the floor.
Mei followed soon after, taking a blanket with some lime patterns all over it with a matching pillow and falling asleep right next to Mk.
Then Sandy went a few minutes after her, taking his time to find the biggest blanket in the pile, a white blanket with a blue and yellow trim that couldn't reach Sandy's feet, before laying down near the edge of the softened ground.
And now Pigsy was the last on up, staring at some of the stars he could see past the configuration of the mountain. He couldn't fall asleep that easily, even though he was practically exhausted from the day like everyone else.
It took a couple more minutes, but he did end up falling asleep eventually, finally nodding off in his bright pink sleeping bag.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The shaking woke them up again. The sigil had apparently thought it was the best time to activate as everyone got a very violent wake up call, slightly throwing them around on the floor.
Mk got up first, rubbing his eyes as he walked up to the hut to get Monkey King to help. He knocked once: no one answered. He knocked twice: no answer again.
Mk was too tired to continue knocking, so he just decided to deal with it himself. “Hey everyone, *yawn* ehh, I'm just gonna deal with that real quick. I dont think it's too serious right now.”
Everyone gave various noises of agreement as Mk went to deal with the sigil.
Pigsy noticed some light was peaking through the ceiling, but he saw how everyone still felt tired to the core.
Sandy tried to go back to sleep, and Mei went on her phone. Pigsy heard short curses when she did so, so he assumed it didn't have much battery left.
Pigsy decided to do the same as he pulled out his own phone, a considerably older model than Mei's but still functional.
He checked the time and saw it was near 10:40 AM, which was a lot later than Pigsy had thought. Ignoring that for now, he checked on everything else on his phone, which wasn't much other than his messages and some social media that he scrolled for inspiration sometimes and to promote Pigsy's Noodles at Mei's request.
After looking through some mediocre recipes for pot pie and some weird throwback gelatin dinners, he goes and looks at his messages from the past few days.
The one at the top was Sandy, which wasn't a surprise as Sandy almost always sent him photos of the therapy cat's every day. The photo from yesterday was a calico cat curled up on Sandy's sofa, sucking in the sun from a nearby window.
Pigsy smiled at it before looking at his other messages, skipping a lot of spam he had built up, and then seeing a name that made his stomach drop a bit.
He saw his texts to Tang from that night under everything. This finally kicked in Pigsy's memory as he realized he had totally blown Tang off and how he had even threatened Tang to come by or else he would drag him there…
But before he could go and type out a huge apology text, he noticed how Tang hasn't texted him at all since that day at the library. There weren't any missed calls either, which put Pigsy a bit on edge. Maybe Tang didn't even know they were gone yet.
And now he was debating telling Tang everything that happened. He's wondering if Tang is okay, that if he dumped everything that happened at the mountain on Tang that it would put too much pressure on the scholar, and what he should text to make sure Tang wouldn't freak out and to show that him and everyone were ok and didn't just disappear.
He debated with himself for a long time, typing out words and then deleting them almost right away. He couldn't make up his mind as he didn't know what to say in the end.
Mk came back soon after, yawning and going straight back to sleep in his bag, encouraging Mei to do the same.
Now Pigsy was the last one up again, overthinking over what to text to reassure Tang everything is okay and that Pigsy wouldn't put him off again.
He just decided to wing it after his eyes started to become heavy, trying very hard not to give the scholar another thing to worry about. He already had enough on his plate.
Freeloader 📖🤎
10:46 AM
You: Hey Tang
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Chapter 11 has been posted! This is the last one I can paste over, so the writing might take longer to post now.
Chapter 10 has been posted!
Chapter 9 is now posted!
I forgot to post the chapters after chapter 4, so I'll just put the latest one here.
I'm sorry for not posting anything on here or ao3 for the past week. I was in an area with little to no internet, so I couldn't update even if I wanted to, and I forgot to inform you guys of this before leaving for the 4th. I'll try to get stuff back up and running this week, and I hope it wasn't too much of a wait!
I have been struggling to get the motivation to write something for the next chapter. Like I have said before, I have many ideas for what should happen, I just don't really know how to put them into words. To make up for this, I'll try to update the existing chapters onto ao3 a bit faster than I would usually post a chapter here on Tumblr. This will be easier because I copy and paste along with touch-ups, which I dont have to write new plot points for. I hope this won't be too inconvenient for people who actually want a new chapter, but these rewrites will most likely have new info as I flesh out scenes or add more character to have a situation play out better! This will also help ao3 catch up to the Tumblr amount of chapters. With this announcement, I hope you all have a good day and will enjoy the chapters on ao3! (Ps, I will also upload the new ao3 chapter links here for anyone who wants them)