Ьlaring șilence [o/f]

[Corifish]

Jonathan Brian Clouse

●So I'll blame it on bad luck, And I'll say a hard life did this to me●

You don't even bother anymore
You cut to the bone
Pick up the phone
To hear my swan song but I'll admit I'm impressed
By your vanishing act
Place your bets on your best guess
Of when you're coming back

A smirk appeared on Eric’s face as Davik burst through the room, yelling and screaming at Kailee. This was perfect. Just wonderful. What a perfect time to take advantage of the situation. Eric grabbed Kailee by the neck, lifting her up as he stood. He then got behind her, placing her in a choke hold. He smirked, holding onto her waist tightly so she couldn’t turn around. He whispered softly in her ear, so that Davik couldn’t hear him.

“If you say a ******** word, I will have no choice but to kill you where you stand. The time to play nice is up.” Eric cooed, smirking as he held her tighter to him. His attention then turned to Davik, a wild, evil grin appearing on his face.

His warped his voice, making it sound closer to Jonathan’s. Eric hoped that, with Davik in a blind rage, he wouldn’t be able to hear a difference.

“Davik… You’re right. This is all a joke. It’s for this new Tv thing. The producers paid us all to be here. I’m gonna get in trouble for saying this, but I still want to be friends with you after all this is done. Each and every one of us was paid to stay at this place and make you think that you were actually cared for. We were practicing this for months, just to make sure none of us would mess it up, but good on you for figuring it all out so fast.” He couldn’t help but crack a large smile. Oh this was going to be wonderfully messy.

“During practice, I head Grey and Hazin calling you stupid, saying that it would be hard to try and pretend to be your friend again, after so long, and especially after they heard where you had ended up and what had happened to you.”

To be honest, Eric was just trying to pull at Davik’s strings; to see where vague answers would take them. Pull hard enough, and something would be bound to break.

Abandon the people who shaped who you are
Selfish and thoughtless, you drown in the dark
I hope that you realise the damage you've done
You could not see light even staring at the sun

[The Defective Doll]

Shipwrecked by a sea so stormy
I'm lost but I'm never lonely,
I follow my heart through it all...

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxκailee ɱay ϩerath

Out of the Rain
Kailee stared at Davik, dumbfounded and scared. He was in a rage that she had never seen before, and it chilled her to the bone. Her mind's eye still saw the boy from school, and refused to accept the new version. It was a coping mechanism. Just like how she brushed Jonathan off as foolish and refused to accept any sort of commitment or romance. It didn't work like that. Not unless she had control. Kailee always had to be in control. He was screaming at her, calling her a liar, saying that he wasn't deaf and that he knew what Jon sounded like. What the hell did that mean? And then he did it. He called her a whore, and accused her of running around with Jonathan. He started to rant about how they were all plotting against him, and that...oh. Her stomach churned. He thought that she was with some stranger. That put her in a terrible position now, because he wouldn't listen to anything she said, any answers she tried to give him, and especially wouldn't believe her when she said it was Jonathan. Who could blame him though?

Davik then snapped at someone, though she wasn't sure who. There was nobody else there. Her emerald eyes were wide with fear and the sensation of being trapped started to make her skin crawl. Of course, Eric...Jonathan? Did it mater? He took the opportunity to use her. He lifted her by the neck, causing her to squirm and squeak in protest, just long enough for him to threaten her under his breath, and hold her pretty much hostage. She wanted to scream. Scream bloody murder. Yell at Davik for believing such foolish things, scream for Greyson, scream for anyone.

Her heart pounded in her chest, and Kailee swore she could feel it echoing in her ears, her face flushed a bright red and tears starting to roll down her face. She couldn't do it. Then Eric proceeded to act out the horrible fear that was creeping into her head. He let Davik believe it. Worse, he made him believe they were doing this to torture him. Whatever...whatever this was. Kailee wanted to scream, to push Eric away, and explain everything. That she had never meant for this to go so badly...that all she wanted was to see the friends she loved...that her husband was dead, and it was all a misunderstanding.

But her words could kill her. Her own foolish pride could kill her. "He's a liar." She choked. Her words were so garbled, so soft, so barely audible, that she couldn't even really hear them. It came out as just a fraction of a sob and a sharp inhale. She wasn't going to get herself killed over three words. Davik would never believe her. And that killed her. More than any poison, any knife to her throat, the fact that he thought she was capable of such horrible things...that did it. If she even lived through this...what was the point?

She couldn't be near Jonathan without him turning into a monster. She couldn't talk to Grey without him pushing her away. Davik thought she was a whore who lied to him for fun. Winter was sick and refused to accept help. Hazin...Hazin had been lying the entire time she had known them. Her only option was to run, run and never come back. Maybe she was the one who needed to go. For a fraction of a second, she considered that maybe she was the problem, and everything was her fault. She looked at Jonathan for a moment, then squeezed her eyes shut. As if it would all go away.

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I'm beat but I can't be broken,
These scars on my heart I own them,
Dark days when my will was stolen...
I can bring it back!

[Zephyrantha]

.:~If [S E E I N G] is believing then I don't believe in [you]~:.

Jonathan spoke up at last. God, had he been here all along? Watching Kailee snog her new toy, no doubt, the sick tosser that he was. He admitted that this was a new television show and that they were being paid to do this, all of them, pretending to be his friends again. Davik went very still, his blind eyes fixed in the direction the voice had come from. Something about it all didn’t sound right. Something was wrong but he wasn’t sure what. Apart from the words, obviously. Kailee made a noise which sounded like words, but too quiet and too choked for even his sharp ears to make out. He had a pretty good idea, though. “You’re a damn awful liar,” he said, the calmness in his voice taking even him by surprise. “Television hasn’t gotten to the point where I’m entertainment enough to pay your miserable way. Not least ‘cos I do this.” And then he, with great satisfaction, told the both of them exactly what he was thinking of them with language that, never mind a sailor, would have made Gordon Ramsey blush. On any television network anywhere in the world, it would have just been one long string of shrill beeping.

Once he’d finished, he fell silent, trying to find that thing that was escaping his notice. Something was wrong, he knew something was wrong, but what was it? His mind, more than paranoid enough to supply him with a damn good memory, kicked into gear and supplied the answer, slotting things into place neatly. First, his friends were bad actors. Except for Hazinyul, it seemed. That was why they were fighting so much in the first place, because none of them could do anything but wear their hearts on their sleeves. Second, if anyone was going to admit that he was on some kind of reality show, it wouldn’t have been Jonathan, cagey b*****d that he was. Third, though his opinion of American telly was roughly equal to his estimation of dog turds, he was sure that what they were doing counted as psychological torture and not even television was going to sink that low. Apart from that, he wasn’t nearly entertaining enough to warrant the budget.

Fourth… “And what did happen to me?” he demanded. “Where the hell did I end up?” Because they couldn’t know, could they? Even the guy impersonating his brother hadn’t said anything specific, just vague reminders. They couldn’t know everything. Not… everything. The only ones who knew everything were – his family – and no one here knew about them. And no one there knew about his friends. No way to make contact. Right? So they couldn’t know. Could they?

Fifth. The biggest piece. Something was wrong with Jonathan’s voice. He frowned, recalling the sound of it as it had been when last he spoke, compared to earlier today. That was wrong. Similar, but wrong. The intonation was spot on but the timbre was too different. You couldn’t change the timbre of your voice, not voluntarily anyway, and definitely not in a matter of hours. So someone was trying to sound like Jonathan, someone he’d heard before… He thought back further and came up with a match: the man in the study. He’d grabbed his throat and seen Toby’s face. He hadn’t recognised the voice. Now he did. And Kailee was over right by him, having trouble speaking. Damn.

His blind eyes narrowed as he searched uselessly for the exact spot the stranger was standing. "Who are you?" he asked, caution doing little to temper the hostility. "Where's Jonathan?"

You can whine until your mouth dries up
You can hang your head and wonder why
You can die or you can stand upright
And never go down again.

.:~Davik [A R I A N -- Byw ]~:.xxxxxxx
xxxxxx

[Corifish]

Jonathan Brian Clouse

●So I'll blame it on bad luck, And I'll say a hard life did this to me●

You don't even bother anymore
You cut to the bone
Pick up the phone
To hear my swan song but I'll admit I'm impressed
By your vanishing act
Place your bets on your best guess
Of when you're coming back

Davik was smarter than Eric thought he was. He picked up on too many subtle cues from Eric. Eric gave a scowl, and then a snicker. What to do now that his plan had backfired…? How could he make this messy. Eric had a feeling already that Kailee was defeated, that there would be no hope of her and Jonathan getting together, so now it was just Eric’s job to break the others and make sure Jonathan would be left alone to rot after this whole trip.

“You’re smarter than I thought, Davik.” Eric cooed, a smirk spreading on his lips. He laughed a little, pulling Kailee as close as she could be to him to keep her from talking. He wasn’t choking her yet, but he could with just the flex of a muscle.

“Though you are half wrong. I am Jonathan, and yet not at the same time.” He smirked, looking down on Kailee. “My dear Kai, why don’t you explain to Davik what you have seen happen. Tell him what you think about me. About who I am and where I came from. I gave you the option to ask questions, and you chose to ignore it. Now speak. For every answer you get wrong-” Eric dug his nails into Kailee’s side, pushing through just enough to puncture the skin and make a little bit of blood drip down, “-I will poke more and more. Now go on. Speak.”

Abandon the people who shaped who you are
Selfish and thoughtless, you drown in the dark
I hope that you realise the damage you've done
You could not see light even staring at the sun

[The Defective Doll]

Shipwrecked by a sea so stormy
I'm lost but I'm never lonely,
I follow my heart through it all...

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxκailee ɱay ϩerath

Out of the Rain
Kailee watched Davik as he went off on his rampage, swearing at a camera that wasn't there, going off every name under the sun. He was her only hope right now. He was the only one that could get her out of this situation. And he didn't see...she cursed his blindness, possibly more than he did at this time. Was that even possible? Surely. She trembled under Eric's grasp as she listened to Davik's ranting and conclusions. What had happened to him? It wasn't like he had opened up and told anyone...she winced, opening her eyes and watching a figure pacing behind Davik. Her husband. Watching the scene, everything so perfectly played out to his specifications. Kailee cringed, struggling in Eric's grasp. Like it was going to get her anything but killed. But then, something beautiful happened. Davik started to realize that it wasn't a hoax. And that something was wrong. He started to snarl and threatened Jonathan...Eric...whomever he was at this current time, questioning where Jon was. She was free.

No. Not quite. His hand closed quite dangerously around her throat, and he yanked her closer to him. The fact that it was Jonathan's body should have soothed her. But the mind was all wrong, and that brought horror and terror to her. She gasped when he spoke, threatening her and telling her to tell Davik what was going on. His nails dug into her side, causing blood to drip down in warm droplets. There was a pause, then she let out a whimper of pain. Anything beyond involuntary noises was admitting defeat. Admitting that he was hurting her was letting him win. Yelling for help, begging him to stop, anything giving him power was losing the fight. Kailee squeezed her eyes shut, tears rolling down her cheeks and her voice catching in her throat. She cleared her throat, then opened them and looked at Jonathan pointedly.

"Jonathan's sick. He thinks he's Eric." She paused, trying to catch her breath. "Don't hurt him, Davik." Kai begged, though he was doing that to her in every way. "Jonathan doesn't know. He's a good kid." She felt her hands shaking as her voice started to steady. "Jon, I know you're in there, somewhere." She pleaded, jade eyes wide and focused on him. "Somewhere is the sweet, crazy, beautiful person I know. The one who would never hurt me. He's there somewhere." She paused, taking a breath. "But Eric...Eric is another thing...he looks the look, sounds kind of like him if he tries...but he's not a man...he's a ******** monster." She spat at him again with what willpower was left.



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I'm beat but I can't be broken,
These scars on my heart I own them,
Dark days when my will was stolen...
I can bring it back!

[Corifish]

Jonathan Brian Clouse

●So I'll blame it on bad luck, And I'll say a hard life did this to me●

You don't even bother anymore
You cut to the bone
Pick up the phone
To hear my swan song but I'll admit I'm impressed
By your vanishing act
Place your bets on your best guess
Of when you're coming back

A monster. Yeah. That sorta summed up what Eric was. He was the broken fragments of a sick mind, a monster in its own right. Eric smiled, and then just as quickly as the smile flashed on his face, the smile faded away. What a surprise. Jonathan had gained some conciseness and was silently watching from within, trying to get his strength back. All Jonathan heard was Kailee calling monster, which Jonathan, being in a half concise daze, assumed that it was meant for him. Something broke in the poor man’s heart, as Jonathan, teary eyed, retreated to the darkness in his mind. Eric just laughed.

“Your words don’t hurt me Kai. But maybe you’ve just hurt someone else.” Eric smirked, pushing Kailee away from him and towards Davik with a huge shove. “You disgust me, Kailee. Go have fun with Davik for a bit. I need to take care of some... other issues. More pressing matters, you see.” Eric took a sarcastic bow, smirking and giving a chuckle as he did. He turned, and made his way back into the conjoined bathroom. Eric shut and locked the door behind him.

That would give him at least a little bit of time to sort out how long Jonathan had until he would be fighting for control. If he could push a few hours, he could probably kill one of the other house guests, or just make them hate Jonathan. That was his goal, after all – to break Jonathan to the point of not being able to ever fight him.

“Now what to do about you, Jon…” Eric cooed, laughing a little.

Abandon the people who shaped who you are
Selfish and thoughtless, you drown in the dark
I hope that you realise the damage you've done
You could not see light even staring at the sun

[Zephyrantha]

.:~If [S E E I N G] is believing then I don't believe in [you]~:.

The stranger called him by name. Davik’s blind eyes narrowed, partially obscuring his cloudy blue irises. He didn’t like the familiarity this weirdo was using. Didn’t like him in general, come to think of it. He claimed to be Jonathan, but not Jonathan at the same time and told Kailee to explain. She did, her voice strained in the way of someone unable to move their throat. He was choking her, Davik decided. She called the stranger – Eric – a monster. Seconds later, a warm body was shoved up against him. Davik caught her automatically. Now she was close to him, he could smell blood. He recoiled, backing away toward the door. The door to the bathroom snapped shut. Davik could hear someone talking on the other side, but he wasn’t paying attention to what they were saying.

“So Jonathan is Dr Jekyll,” he summarized, “and I just met Mr Hyde.” Bloody wonderful. Just what he needed right now. He thought back over everything that had happened in the last five minutes and scowled dangerously at Kailee. “Talk. Tell me everything – the whole truth. I swear to God, Kailee, if you lie to me I will know and I will not take it kindly anymore. Whose idea was it, how are you doing it, and how the hell did you find someone who sounds like him?” His hand was cold and his fingers, when he moved them, were sticky. She must have been bleeding on her shirt enough that he’d gotten some when he grabbed her. He started shivering. He hated blood. It was the last thing he’d ever seen, blood. It brought up so many images that would never, ever fade from his mind. Carnage. He’d never get away from it. Davik clenched his fists to keep them still but the movement only reminded him that his hand was covered in it. Blood-stained hands could never be clean. All the perfume in Arabia would not sweeten this little hand. He swallowed hard to get rid of the feeling that he might puke, and set his jaw firmly so that his expression wouldn’t show it. He might forget every other colour in the world, but he would always know what red looked like – because red was blood, and he’d never forget blood.

Davik retreated to the hallway. He sank down against a wall, afraid that his legs might give out otherwise, and held his left hand – the dirty hand – as far away as he could. He hated being weak. He was such a mess. No matter how strong he pretended to be, no matter how strong he thought he was, one little thing render him as helpless as a lamb. He couldn’t stand this. He hated himself sometimes. His mind’s eye, still unfortunately functioning, had not yet stopped replaying the events he wanted nothing more to forget. He watched the show inside his head with fascinated horror, unable to look away. “I hate being lied to,” he repeated blankly.

“No one’s lying to you, Davik,” Toby’s voice soothed. “I’m here to help you do the right thing. Your friends are here because they love you. This isn’t a trick; this isn’t a lie.”

“Don’t you love me?” Davik asked helplessly. He was barely aware that he’d spoken aloud, and couldn’t bring himself to care that his voice was fully audible where Toby’s might not be. No answer came. He knew he shouldn’t have bothered hoping. He knew there was no way his brother could still love him. Even though he knew it was just someone with a speaker system – right now, he didn’t care. He wanted to be fooled. He wanted it to be real, something he could latch onto when nothing made sense. He gave a dry sob. “I’m sorry, okay? I am, I’m sorry – please say something. Please, please – talk to me!”

But if he’d ever been there, he was gone now.

You can whine until your mouth dries up
You can hang your head and wonder why
You can die or you can stand upright
And never go down again.

.:~Davik [A R I A N -- Byw ]~:.xxxxxxx
xxxxxx

[The Defective Doll]

Shipwrecked by a sea so stormy
I'm lost but I'm never lonely,
I follow my heart through it all...

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxκailee ɱay ϩerath

Out of the Rain
Kailee gasped as she was thrust forward, and smacked into Davik, spinning to look at him when he caught her. He moved away from her, her blood on his hands, and started insisting that she tell him what was going on, and how they were doing...whatever it was he insisted they were doing. What the hell was he talking about? Her attention divded as Davik stumbled out into the hall, and she was aware of the fact that Jonathan had locked himself into the bathroom. She was torn now. It was either follow Davik and try to talk to him, or get Jon out of the bathroom. There was a part of her that knew that if she left Jon there, it might make things worse. But with what he had just put her through, conscious of it or not...she couldn't face him again. Kai wrapping her arms around herself, stumbling out to the hallway and finding Davik, his back against the wall, sitting on the floor. Talking to himself. Or someone? Her? No. Something else. Everyone was disoriented and sick tonight. She couldn't exclude herself from that.

Kailee slowly approached, not getting close enough to touch as she crouched down near him, biting her lip. What was she supposed to say? She didn't know what was going on right now. She was ready to cry and scream and tell everyone to get out so she could breathe for one minute without the place exploding in her face. But that wasn't an option right now, so she just sat there and looked at him for a moment or two. What was she supposed to say?

Well, here went nothing. "Davik...I wouldn't lie to you." her voice cracked as she talked, causing her to pause and clear her throat. "I don't know what's going on in this house." She trembled, squeezing her hands into nervous fists. "Everyone is miserable, Jonathan went batty on me, I keep...I keep seeing things..." It was hard admitting that she was losing it, too. Kai didn't want Davik of all people to think she was crazy. "I think there's something wrong here. If it is being controlled by someone...well then they're intent on ******** with me, too." She was aware that her voice kept fading in and out. That she sounded pathetic, and weird, and insane. But there was no way in hell she was letting him believe for one second that she would lie to him and try to trick him.

"I can't lie to you. This is me being completely and totally honest with you. If you don't believe me, I have all reason to get up, walk out, and never come back. Because I need you to believe me." And she did.

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I'm beat but I can't be broken,
These scars on my heart I own them,
Dark days when my will was stolen...
I can bring it back!

[Zephyrantha]

.:~If [S E E I N G] is believing then I don't believe in [you]~:.

He heard Kailee sit down next to him. He heard the way her clothes moved and there she was, not touching him but close enough that he could feel the warmth radiating off of her, close enough that there was no doubt in his mind she was really there. She promised that she wouldn’t lie to him. Her voice cracked. He could hear how little she liked that – so she hadn’t done it on purpose. His wide eyes flickered uncertainly to her face, trying to see her, trying to gauge her sincerity. Her voice shook and she told him that something weird was in this house – that whatever it was, she wasn’t controlling it. Davik croaked, “I’ve…” and then paused to allow his voice to recover. He continued more normally, “I’ve been… hearing voices. Ones I know. Ones that can’t… can’t be here. I thought – someone – you – were doing it. Had found someone who sounded right and were pretending not to hear it. To mess with me.” He stopped, aware that he was making very little sense and not entirely sure how to rectify the situation. “Everyone lies to me. They think I don’t know. Can you really not hear it?” He reached out with his clean hand to where Toby’s voice had come from, but his fingers only touched empty air. If he had been there, he wasn’t anymore.

Kailee assured him again that she wasn’t lying. She said she needed him to believe her. “Swear you can’t hear it,” he said, making his voice gruff to try and cover his frantic need to hear her say it. If she couldn’t hear it, it was real. Toby was real. Toby would tell, eventually, if he didn’t tell first, but not for a while, not until they could hear him – if they ever could. “Then I’ll believe you.” He turned his face away from her, toward the place Toby might have been, looking for him with eyes that would never see again. Probably. “I saw a face last night,” he added distractedly. “You went upstairs and I saw a face. With my own eyes. Earlier today, I saw something. Not imagined, not remembered. Saw it. Clear as day. I… I…” He pressed his clean hand to his mouth to shut himself up, since nothing else seemed to be working, and remained that way until most of the tension had leeched out of him and he felt like he would probably be able to speak without babbling.

“God, I’m a mess,” he sighed. “I’m … sorry. I’m usually in control of myself better. I’m usually not so – so – helpless.” He pulled a face and leaned into the wall behind him, summoning up his usual air of insolent relaxation. Right now, it was just an act. The next time something unusual happened, the act would break apart and he would be helpless again. For now, though, he’d cling to it.

You can whine until your mouth dries up
You can hang your head and wonder why
You can die or you can stand upright
And never go down again.

.:~Davik [A R I A N -- Byw ]~:.xxxxxxx
xxxxxx

[The Defective Doll]

Shipwrecked by a sea so stormy
I'm lost but I'm never lonely,
I follow my heart through it all...

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxκailee ɱay ϩerath

Out of the Rain
Kailee was silent when he explained his side. He sounded tired. So tired, and upset...and even a little scared. She was watching everyone come apart and going with them. Even Davik. That was startling in its own right. It still hurt that he thought that she was capable of doing that to him or any of her friends...but could she blame him? She stared at him, noting the shifts and changes in his voice as he tried, much like her, to mask how much it bothered him. One in the same. Kai frowned, running her hands nervously through her hair, cursing silently in her head as some faint streaks of blood now ran through her curls. He asked her if she really couldn't hear it, and she shook her head, knowing full well he couldn't see it. Why did he care? Didn't he just think she was a liar anyways? But next, he made her swear that she couldn't hear it.

"I swear I haven't heard it," she responded firmly, running her hands against her pants. Her side twinged in response, reminding her of how much of a mess she was. Once more, she briefly praised the fact that he was blind. Which was quickly addressed as he said that he had seen things. Faces, particularly, and it seemed to really bother him. She couldn't blame him, though, what she had seen was absolutely horrifying. To see anything when he had accepted that he was blind...she couldn't fathom how much it would screw someone up.

Then he was apologizing for being a mess, as if it was his fault. Kailee stared at him for a bit, then hung her head, and scooted towards him, reaching with a shaky hand to gently nudge his. "Don't be sorry. Happens to...well...everyone." She paused, not comfortable with the words that were going to come next. "Davik...I can't begin to lie to you. I'm scared." Those words came down like a bitter pill she wasn't ready to swallow. Maybe she never would be. "Jonathan has torn me apart twice so far. He's dangerous to himself...and to everyone else. And everyone else. Look. Hazin is lying to us, and Grey has gone awol on me...and Winter...I don't know anymore. I planned this trip to be happy and to get away from what I left stewing at home...and it seems everything has gone so wrong. I can't pull it back together. I can't even keep my feeling straight." She inhaled sharply.

"And to top it all off...I keep seeing my husband. Everywhere. And I can't fight. I should have ripped Jon apart. I should have punched him in the face and took him to the ground. But instead...I stood there like a goddamn damsel in distress and let him bleed me out and coat me in bruises." Why was she rambling this to him? Oh, yeah, because for a split second, she was convinced he understood. Because she finally got his side. Where she could get up, walk out, and get hit by a car, and not regret it if she didn't wake up. Everything had gone to hell and she was going with it.

"I--I did something terrible." She admitted. It came out and her eyes got wide as if she had heard someone admit it for her. Like she was being exposed, and had no control. Why was she blabbing off to him? She was being foolish and irrational but that was just how she got around him lately.

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I'm beat but I can't be broken,
These scars on my heart I own them,
Dark days when my will was stolen...
I can bring it back!

[S T A T i C H0RR0R]

SPAAACEｗｉｎｔｅｒ ｍａｙ ｅｓｔｒｅｍ



Come on skinny love justlast the year,
Pour a little salt, we were neverhere
Staring at the sink of blood and crushed veneer
In the morning I'll be with you, but it will be a different kind
Cut out all the ropes and let me fall
Come on skinny love what happened here?

Winter had no idea how long she sat there, in the rain, staring blankly at nothing in particular. Finally, the blonde emerged from the dug out that she had created, slowly walking back through the woods and across the grounds of the manor. She didn't know what she was doing, she was not in control. The blonde's blank eyes suggested that she was elsewhere as she slipped back into the manor, closing the heavy front door behind her. Her feet, which were covered in mud and blood padded quietly along the hallway, leaving a terrible mess behind her. The young woman still looked like something out of a bad horror movie, having not had a chance to clean herself up from her earlier ordeal. She stopped and stood in the doorway of the lounge, not speaking for a good few minutes, not looking at Grey or Hazin, didn't acknowledge them once, she just stared.

"Soon. It will happen soon." the voice was not one which belonged to Winter as a nasty smirk curled the corners of her lips. She hovered there for a few moment more, before slowly turning and heading upstairs, back to her bedroom. She passed Kai and Davik without a single word, as though she had not seen them, and left her bedroom door wide open as the blonde lay carefully on the large double bed, closing her eyes and falling into a light sleep. The boy appeared next to her, gently stroking her matted hair as he watched her sleep.

[Zephyrantha]

.:~If [S E E I N G] is believing then I don't believe in [you]~:.

Davik relaxed. She couldn’t hear him. He heard fabric shifting as, presumably, she wiped her hands on her jeans. Maybe not, but that’s what it sounded like to him. She didn’t say anything about what he’d seen. Maybe she didn’t believe him. Which was fine – he didn’t entirely believe him either. She shifted closer to him as he apologized and touched his hand. The dirty hand. He flinched, but managed to keep from jerking away. “That hand has blood on it,” he commented casually.

She said she was frightened. Everyone had changed and nothing was how she remembered. “Hazin isn’t lying to us anymore,” Davik pointed out, wondering if he was the only one who saw it that way. The way he saw it, she’d probably been right to lie at the start. How was she to know that they wouldn’t try and kill her? And then once you started lying, telling the truth was one of the hardest things in the world. Kai ignored him and kept talking, leaving Davik to marvel at her lung capacity. Had she drawn breath at any point in the last minute? She inhaled suddenly and his lips quirked. There was his answer. She continued, more slowly, that she kept seeing her husband. He knew from experience that it didn’t necessarily mean her husband was really here, but he understood the effect. It was paralyzing. Every time Toby spoke, he lost his ability to function normally. He became a child, waiting for someone to come and save him. And Toby loved … used to love him. Toby wasn’t here to harm him. Her husband – was another story.

Kailee said she had done something terrible. The blind man waited for her to elaborate, but she didn’t. He shrugged. It didn’t make a difference to him. Whatever she thought was terrible, it couldn’t be as bad as what he’d done. “I don’t care,” he said blithely, with all the charm of a seasick crab. “Wha’ever it was, I don’t care. S’long as you don’t lie to me. Could’ve killed the b*****d ya married, wouldn’t make a lick of difference to me.” And if she hadn’t, he might. It wasn’t as if he wasn’t headed straight for Hell already. Maybe he could become a serial killer. That might be fun. Except that he hated blood. That might become a bit of an issue.

Someone, the steps were so light that it had to be Winter, walked past. He didn't recognize the gait. Maybe he was imagining things again. Maybe no one was there and no one else could hear the quiet footsteps. He said nothing. He was already chronically paranoid and halfway out of his mind; he wasn't going to say anything and make it worse.

You can whine until your mouth dries up
You can hang your head and wonder why
You can die or you can stand upright
And never go down again.

.:~Davik [A R I A N -- Byw ]~:.xxxxxxx
xxxxxx

[The Defective Doll]

Greyson
xxxxI swear to God we've been down this road before...

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxThe guilt's no good, and it only shames us more...

Michael
xxxxAnd the truths that we all try to hide,
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxare so much clearer when its not our lives...

Endere
xxxxxxxxxOur promising lives, are full of empty promises...
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxTemptation's falling and calling you home again

Grey was sitting, idly listening to the yelling and thumping from upstairs when Winter appeared. She was a wreck. Covered in mud and blood, dripping from head to toe, and generally disoriented. Greyson swore he had left her asleep in her bedroom, and definitely not a wreck like that. He stared at her, concerned for a few seconds, then really worried when she spoke. Her voice was wrong, as if someone had played a recording and moved her lips to the words. He stared for a moment, then climbed to his feet and gave chase after her. "Winter! What are you doing?!" He called from the base of the stairs, then jogged up after her. But she ignored him. He looked at Kailee and Davik, outside against the wall, but didn't speak to them, instead following Winter where she lay down in her bed. What the hell was she doing? What was wrong with her? What the ******** was going on with this place?! Had everyone lost their minds?!

Grey rushed in, kind of scared to touch her as he climbed up on the bed, leaning over her. God, she was destroyed. Why was she covered in dirt? Blood, sure, but...dirt? "Winter..." He murmured, shaking her shoulder. What the ******** was going on tonight?! He sure as hell didn't know, but he was going to get to the bottom of it. "Hey, no, you can't just go to bed and pretend nothing happened." He insisted earnestly, dark eyes wide and concerned. This place was falling apart and taking everyone with it. Why the hell had she gone outside? When? Did she just wander past when he was talking to Hazin? Better, why was she covered in dirt? What a mess! Not even the mess, she would only make herself sick that way. Holy hell.

I'm sorry, if we've let you down....

Won't you believe in this lie with us all?

[The Defective Doll]

Shipwrecked by a sea so stormy
I'm lost but I'm never lonely,
I follow my heart through it all...

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxκailee ɱay ϩerath

Out of the Rain
Kailee was quiet for a while. There was no easy way to come out and tell someone that you were a murderer. That was such an ugly word. In fact, she hated that word. She wasn't a murderer. She was a tired wife who was tired of the abuse who had finally snapped and gone after her attacker. In any other words, it was self defense. Even though he couldn't defend himself. There was a small smile when Davik said he didn't care if she had killed her husband, and she briefly considered telling him. Something urged her to tell someone, anyone. She didn't have to be alone...but who said if he was serious about not caring? Kailee looked at him, nervously drawing her hand back and wringing both her hands together in anxiety. She couldn't just spit it out. Not in the hallway.

"Maybe I did." She said softly, then let out a nervous laugh, trying to pass it as a small joke. It didn't matter if he noticed that she was trying to push off the truth. Because as soon as she said it, Winter trudged up the stairs, absolutely destroyed. She was covered in mud, blood, and water, and was moving like a zombie. Kailee stopped, looking up at her in concern. "Winter, what the hell?" She questioned, but her friend just kept going, as if nothing happened, and went to her room. She was followed by an anxious Grey, who ignored her and followed Winter to her room. Why couldn't he just leave things alone? But then, she was sort of concerned. "Well...it seems Winter is playing horror movie makeup dressup." She murmured to Davik, irritated and concerned as she slowly climbed to her feet. She was tired, stressed, and kind of scared to go back to her room. However, she didn't want to go and check out what Grey and Winter were doing, either. Kailee hesitated there, running her fingers through her hair. "I'm tired of this, Davik."

Like he gave a damn. Kailee was silent, then sighed heavily and slowly began to go towards Winter's room to see what was going on. She walked in on Grey shaking her and trying to wake her. "What the hell is with you people today?" She called, and raised her eyebrows at them.

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I'm beat but I can't be broken,
These scars on my heart I own them,
Dark days when my will was stolen...
I can bring it back!

[S T A T i C H0RR0R]

SPAAACEｗｉｎｔｅｒ ｍａｙ ｅｓｔｒｅｍ



Come on skinny love justlast the year,
Pour a little salt, we were neverhere
Staring at the sink of blood and crushed veneer
In the morning I'll be with you, but it will be a different kind
Cut out all the ropes and let me fall
Come on skinny love what happened here?

The boy's face darkened as he watched Grey climb on the bed, tried to wake Winter. He tried to shove Grey from the bed, but he was not yet strong enough to do more than move him ever so slightly. He still needed time, but that was exactly what he was running out of. As he disappeared, Winter woke with a start. The last thing that she remembered was being in the woods, the pain, the warmth of her own blood soaking her. Grey's face looming over her, and there it was again. "No!" she screeched, grabbing at his arms, eyes wild. "Please! Please stop!" she clawed and scratched at his arms. "Get off of me! Let me go!" tears poured down her face as she caught sight of herself in the large mirror. She looked like hell, and then she saw the way that Grey and Kailee were looking at her. She was back in her room. Had it all been a dream? But it had felt so real...no, she was covered in mud. It had to have happened. Her face crumpled as she released Grey, her hands shaking. "What's happening to me?" Was she going crazy? Was the tumor making her hallucinations worse? She drew a shaky breath and recoiled into herself, wiping a few droplets of blood from her nose. She just wanted it to stop. "I'm sorry." she whispered, looking over at Grey, who had deep marks in his arms from where she had clawed at him.