Eyes followed my every move.
After coming from such a dark place, the paranoia was setting in when i walked aimlessly in the search of authority or some sort of map to tell me where i was.
Of course, nobody used paper maps anymore. And nobody trusted each other enough to lend out their phones they clutched as close as their own children.
Maybe i was seeing things?
People parted when i wandered the shops clustered together. Others saw me coming and quickly crossed the road to avoid me.
They didn't even know me. I didn't even know them. How come they were being so judgy?
Maybe it was the dead man's clothes? I didn't even have access to my own money to grab clean ones. Everything had been burnt when my car had gone up in flames.
I had no ID. I couldn't just walk into a bank without proving who i was. And by the way strangers were reacting to me now, i was sure heading to the bank would be worse.
Maybe it was.... the wristband?
I took a seat outside the supermarket and stared down at it.
The red bulb blinked steadily; the only life in this thing. The screen was blank, unlike the other two i had hitched a ride here with. They had writing on theirs.
How come mine didn't?
Either way, it was the cause of the panic. I saw how people exiting with their trolleys veered them so they didn't need to cross my line of sight. This stupid little thing caused them visible panic while i didn't even know what it was.
I wasn't going to find out either. I was going to get it off.
My march to the toilets nestled at the side of a cafe on the end of the cluster was followed with whispers or scraping chairs as the diners fled.
I barged into the toilets and saw a kid literally press his back to the wall as he slid around me to dart out the door.
Stupid. Everyone was overreacting. All because of some grey band.
The water squealed out of the taps and cascaded over the smooth surface when i shoved it under.
It was electric for sure. Water would malfunction it and make it open up again like how it had for the woman who placed it on me.
I had to smile at how smart i was being. They wouldn't be expecting this at all.
But, as water continued to flow, the wristband didn't budge. I couldn't even wedge a finger beneath it to try and budge at any leverage i would have had over it.
OK, so it was waterproof. What else?
I smashed it against the wall, deliberately training the blows onto the bulb. Each strike grew more desperate until i saw that it wasn't coming off that way either.
What the fuck was this thing made from?
Ok, ok. Water and force wouldn't move it. What else did i have to work with?
I glared at the door when it opened again and watched the teen slowly retreat with wide eyes at the sight of me there, clutching the wristband like i was trying to strangle the life from my own arm.
That was it!
I snatched up the bag and shoved from the toilets that the teen darted into to relieve himself. I stormed to the cafe setting with my objective clearly in my mind.
Those who were brave enough, or stupid enough, to remain seated watched me snatch up one of the coffee cups and groan when i saw it was empty.
I needed a full one. One filled with boiling coffee, freshly brewed from the spurting machine hidden in their little wall shop.
A waitress darted around me to place down the food she was carrying. She was meek and obviously intimidated by me hovering over the tables yet to be cleaned for the coffee cups.
I had to be more bold.
I darted for ones people sat around, smiling apologetically when i wrapped my hands around their cups to test the heat radiating from them.
They were lukewarm! None of them were how i needed them to be!
"Who has hot coffee?!" i grumbled when another cold cup touched my fingers "just made?"
Everyone was silent. None of them wanted to answer me when i stood there on the verge of tears.
"I have hot chocolate" someone raised their hand and pushed the paper cup towards me.
It was scalding against my fingers. I pressed it to my lips and instantly burnt my tongue.
It made me nervous how perfect it was.
I ripped the plastic lid off and flung it back onto the table. With the thin paper doing nothing to protect my fingers from the boiling drink, i felt fear bubble up and make me hesitate.
Now was not the time for it! I had to get this thing off!
I held out my arm and trained the drink over the wristband. With a deep breath that did nothing to soothe me, i poured it over my trembling arm and cried out.
The drink that cascaded over my arm also boiled my exposed skin in the process. It felt like my skin was being wedged apart by fire itself and put through its scalding grip that twisted tighter and tighter to send agony pulsing through it. The cold air only tore along the skin that was now bright red and as angry as.
And the wristband. It was still fucking there! Even heat couldn't pry it open!
"NO!" i wailed out, trying to shake the hot chocolate from my skin, and come to the realisation that my fate looked bleak "NO!"
"Here!" the waitress called and rushed to my side with a jug of water she forced my hand into. The burning cold of it snapped onto my fingertips and flared the boiling skin to stab me in response.
"Keep it in there!" she warned me, forcing me down into a chair so i could cradle the jug "why the hell would you do that?!"
I said nothing. Shame burned across my face i hung low to avoid the stares still trained on me and the scene i had caused.
Someone was already rushing out to set down signs and mop up the mess snaking along the concrete.
"What town is this?" I asked when she rushed over to the frozen customer that had helped me burn myself, darting past to the bin with the lid and the cup i didn't realise i had dropped "hey! Lady!"
No answer.
"Chester Woods" someone else piped up for me.
Chester Woods? That was a good five, maybe six hours from my actual hometown. And that was by car.
Which way did i have to go to get there? How long would it take to walk there?
I scanned the road passing the shops and saw that it ran seamlessly to the right and left. The left led up over a hill, while the right continued until the trees obscured it.
I didn't want to go the wrong way. I needed a good head-start if i was going to leave all traces of that Base place behind. I still had those two red-eyed ones wandering around here somewhere too. They wouldn't hesitate in taking me 'home'.
"A phone. I need to borrow a phone."
"There's a payphone down the road, kid!" a disgruntled employee from inside the wall snapped out with a point of her finger "you cant just come over here and st...."
"A PHONE!" I slammed my hand down on the table top, glaring at everyone frozen in their seats "I NEED A FUCKING PHONE! NOW!"
Someone dropped theirs beside my hand, and i smirked up at the scowling employee.
This wristband carried power that i wouldn't have as a lowly worker myself. It commanded fear and bought whatever i wanted with it. It was a curse, but a beautiful curse.
"Thank you" I smiled at the old woman wringing her hands together, swiping away from the messages she had been sending to some loved one. I swiped open the digital maps and stabbed in my destination. It rolled around a loading bar for a few moments before showing me that glorious blue path leading straight to my house.
As expected, it was six hours and eight minutes by car. I saw the blue trail was snaking along the coast, with another grey one bulging inwards. No bus would travel that far. It wasn't even an option on the map.
It was eleven hours by train. I had no money for a ticket, and was doubtful i could intimidate the staff there as easily as these ones with my newfound hold over them. Those people dealt with attempted free-riders all the time; my tactics wouldn't work there.
Then i saw the walking trail.
"Five days?!" i moaned and threw my head back in defeat before gluing my eyes back to the screen to see the bold line turn to spots and recommend the best resting spots along the way.
If i had a damn bike, i would be one day of nonstop peddling. All of my options were laid across the top of the map i glared bitterly at.
It showed me how limited my options really were. After so much preparation, i wasn't ready at all. I had been so focused on my end goal that i hadn't taken into thought anything of how i would get there.
Winging it was a terrible option.
Then there was the other i didn't even like thinking about.
I could return to that place and take one of their cars now that i knew where they were kept. I could just drive out of there and keep going. I wouldn't be stranded, and i wouldn't be threatening people to help me. It wasn't me at all. Just raising my voice earlier had adrenaline pumping through me in preparation of someone biting back.
After seeing it all at work, i knew there was always one who would push back. And when there was one, many rose up.
I couldn't have that. I had to wrap this up quickly.
I wiped the map clean and passed the phone back to the woman. When i rose with my hand still submerged in the jug, nobody seemed to breathe.
"I'm sorry about that" I mumbled out to them "I'm just scared. Could you please ring the police and tell them that i was here. I can't wait, but maybe they can find me?"
"You...want... us to ring them?" the waitress frowned back.
"Yes" i nodded, looking down at the jug "and if they don't want to find me, then they can at least follow me for theft. I'm...taking... this."
I was so thirsty. The dry towel knotted in my throat made itself known now that i had the possibility of drowning it. It was a terrible feeling, but one that ached for the refreshment I had been given.
And besides, it was a nice jug. I could put some flowers in it for my mum when i made it back home.
I saw the waitresses hide laughter. Even some of the customers found my petty theft amusing, turning back to their food now that they knew i wasn't as serious as i had tried to make myself out to be.
I was just Birdie. I wasn't one of those marked people they assumed i was. They truly must have been terrible if the mere sight of my wristband bought fear and chaos with it.
"Well, Mr Soul Stealer" the waitress smiled at me, handing me a muffin from the counter behind her that was already bagged up "now they can catch you for muffin theft now."
I laughed at her offering and took it gratefully while another was already phoning who i assumed was the police. I left with a farewell and opened the bag eagerly.
What a strange name she had called me. Soul Stealer. It had a ring to it though; something about it made me seem tougher than anything i ever could be.
Soul Stealer.
I bit into the cold dough and sniggered. At least part of it was already true.
I was quenching my thirst when the red-eyed man from before darted into view at the other side of the shops. The woman followed closely behind him with a loaded plastic bag, checking behind her to the people giving chase.
"The car!"he yelled out to me and stabbed a finger in its direction near me "get in!"
I was tempted to just ignore his frantic yells and keep walking up to the road to try my luck at hitching a ride closer to home.
But the harsh reality of it all was chasing the man and his woman, screaming and hurtling more than just their abuse.
I was not going to get far. All because of this damn wristband.
They were my chance and i had to take it.
"What are you, deaf?!" he snapped when he bolted to my side and snatched up my arm to force me into a run beside him "get in the car!"
I was thrown forwards and stumbled. The man tore open the driver's side and watched the woman throw herself into the front. The car was locked and already being reversed when the angry people slammed their fists on the glass and bellowed.
The woman laughed at it when we sped off through the parking lot. She held the bag close and leant over to whoop when the people couldn't keep up behind us.
"Did you get it?" the man frowned to the woman who kissed his cheek.
She rummaged through the bag and held up a white box with a pink ribbon printed onto the front of it.
A pregnancy test?
"I got it" she breathed back in excitement, being met with her partner's lips.
"What did you get, Bird Boy?" he smiled widely back at me through the rear view mirror.
"A muffin" I mumbled back through another bite "and a jug of water."
The woman burst out laughing before the man did. She reached over to take the muffin from me before handing it back.
"It's really good" she muffled through the food "good going, Bird Boy."
I smiled back at her when she handed me a cold chocolate milk and cracked one open for herself.
"You burnt your hand" she noted when i greedily gulped down the rich flavour.
"I was trying to get this thing off" I held it up, shaking my wrist to emphasise my point "water, force, and heat doesn't do a thing."
I saw the woman peer at me sympathetically and nestle back down into her seat.
"Nothing will" the man spoke up "not unless you want to cut it off. It's designed to track wherever you go."
Track? So even if i had ignored the help and struck out on my own, i would have been hunted down again and dragged back to the Base?
The bitter truth of it all made me silently seethe over how i had never figured it out to begin with. The damn bulb was continuously flashing ; of course it had to be a tracker.
One that could be removed.
"Lucky we bought you back first" the woman commented "Fresh Meat always runs. It was obvious you weren't out here on a Mission to begin with."
"But you...?"
"We were humouring you, kid" the man chuckled "you weren't going to get far with a single bag! It would be fun to see how far you got though. Props for that."
More laughter. More embarrassment.
"Remember when we tried?" the woman smiled fondly and held onto the man's hand "you were so tough back then. It was sexy."
"Back then?" the man scoffed in offence "I'm still the best they've ever seen! I'd never let anyone take you from me. I'll have to remind you how tough i am when we get back."
I turned my gaze out the window and tried to turn deaf ears on the giggling coming from the woman that turned to cheeky gasps.
It was times like these i wished i couldn't hear the world at all.
"Still here" i reminded them.
"We know" the man bluntly replied, ignoring me to please his woman in the front seat and force more small gasps from her.
I could smell how badly she wanted him now. It was sweet and smooth, trying to lure my own body into an erection when i heard how wet she had become so quickly.
"Oxy" she slapped his hand away finally when it was climbing "save it for later."
"Please" I groaned out at how easily i had been baited into the burn of desire "when I'm not around."
I tried to play it off as annoyance, but i really wanted to be the one that forced desire like that from her. I didn't even know her and already i was feeling my heart race at just mere thoughts of hearing her again from my touch.
It would make him so furious and jealous. That's what i wanted.
But i was a good person. Only my thoughts were where i could be as dark as i wanted to.
"When we cant be disturbed then" i heard him mutter and flash a glare at me through the rear-view mirror.
I turned my attention back out the window and kept it there, hoping to quickly be back at the Base before my body betrayed me.
I had never been more relieved to see the rocky mountainous landscape of where i knew the Base was hiding beneath.
Once the car was pulled over, I quickly got out and inhaled the fresh air to rid my mind of the thoughts prancing about in it.
The woman snatched up the tarp to cover the car while the man noticed me watching her.
She did have a nice figure, i had to give her that. You couldn't even tell she was pregnant. Perhaps it was too early to tell?
Why was she really trying to have kids in a place like this? Was her dreams of family more than the reality of where they would be? It seemed absurd and delusional.
I saw the scowl on the man before he lunged for me and pinned me to a tree with his arm across my chest, his teeth bared and his hot breath flitting across my clammy skin.
The same man who had been carefree and joking with me was now a beast out for my blood. The switch in his attitude had been instant.
"You stay away from her, got it?" he snarled to me, shoving me back when i tried to move beneath him "she's mine, not yours."
I saw blood trickle from his mouth that he didn't even react to. My eyes tracked it down his chin where it dripped onto the leaves below.
"Oxy!" she snapped to him from the car, still covering it "are you bleeding over something like him? There's no fight there; just weakness."
"That hurt" i winced back, feeling his weight press down more "I'm not starting anything, honest."
I felt and sounded like a damn coward squirming beneath him. Of course someone as tough as her wouldn't want anyone like me. She already had someone who was waiting for the chance to beat up anyone even caught looking in her direction the wrong way. He was what she wanted; an aggressive and possessive brute of a man.
Only, he wasn't a man, was he? I was looking into the fury of another monster hiding in plain sight.
What kind was he? And why was he so intimidated by me? I had no monsters hiding beneath my skin.
"I'll end you if you so much as try to speak to her behind my back" he growled, slowly loosening the hold he had over me as his eyes scanned mine "don't even try it."
"I can look out for myself" the woman huffed and left the tarp to wipe the trail of blood from his mouth and place it into her own "it's insulting you think i need protecting from him. Agnosia is the only threat to us."
"Agnosia?" I frowned when i saw how much the name angered the man "is he like you two?"
"He's nothing like us!" the man snapped back, confirming my question.
Now i really was curious at what these two looked like. And that Agnosia guy too.
Would it be a nightmare like Nightshade? Or something more tolerable and tame?
"You can cover the car" the man grumbled to me, wrapping an arm around his woman's waist to pull her close, which she wriggled from "don't mess it up."
"It was nice meeting you, Fresh Meat!" she smiled cheekily at me when she went to the front passenger side and bent over suggestively to pick up the bag sitting there. I could see the swell of her pussy in the tight pants she wore perfectly.
More images danced through my head when she decided to end the tease and walk back to her man who had his murderous glare trained on me, more blood trickling down his face.
He would be unforgiving in sex with her later. I felt a jolt through me when i thought of him punishing me brutally instead to show me how powerful he was and how wrong i had been.
Clean thoughts, Birdie, clean thoughts; he was still here.
I felt my body ache when I watched them leave, and clutched the tarp to redirect myself. It didn't do much though, only making me wish i had more of a show before she had left my standing there with an erection.
I had nothing else on my mind on my way back to my room, hiding my hunger behind my bulging environment bag.
Darkness danced while lust pulsed its beat through my bloodstream. Eagerness swirled around with darkness, the both of them grinding against each other.
The bedroom was the first thing I hit, noticing the clean sheets tucked in across it. My body froze from the contact of the cold sheets on my skin and wavered the dance spiralling through me.
Instinctively, i reached for the bedside table for my phone.
That's right. It had been thrown into the fiery wreck of my car. Solonine still had the SIM on him too.
Could that remember all of the things i had searched?
The dance wavered again before i shoved aside everything else and focused only on it.
I wanted this. Even more, i needed this. I had to blow off some steam before the darkness overtook my rational thinking and made me do something stupid in the hum of horniness.
So, while clouded with images of the most vicious sex from two red-eyed strangers, i masturbated on the bed of a dead man and cried out to my shuddering release on the clean sheets tucked around me and flopped back to see two eyes staring at me from the door frame.
Solonine said nothing as he slowly closed the door and flicked the lights on so i could watch him stalk towards me.
Darkness was an eager thing indeed. It projected my buzzing feelings towards him and begged for him to start the show again.
And so, i let him approach with his own feelings playing out for only me to see; eager to be within a dead man's sheets.
ns 15.158.61.48da2
