Hearts of the Lonely (Reader x Mountain Ghoul)

38- An Eventful Halloween

Ground beef, beans, tomatoes, spices. Maybe some noodles or green vegetables if you were lucky. Warm bowl by bowl. Lunch and dinner. Day after day.

Chili was becoming unbearable.

"Put some cheese on the top." Swiss pointed his spoon at you. He stopped over at your house to drop off a note from Sister Imperator, and he stayed to help you finish off the last few bowls of chili.

You grimaced as you gazed into your bowl. "Cheese won't help. I can't eat this anymore."

"More for me," Swiss said. You pushed the bowl across the counter to him. "Gotta tell Terzo not to give you this much next time, huh?"

You nodded. "No more chili for a long, long time."

"Do you have a plastic container?"

"Yea. What for?" You turned to open one of the kitchen cabinets where the plastic storage containers were kept.

"I want to bring some to Phantom. He's never had chili, and it might make him feel better. Poor boy is sick."

"What's he got?" You found a bowl and gave it to him.

"Just a cold. But since he's never been sick before, it hit the 'lil buggy pretty hard." Swiss finished the last of his chili and then put the other bowl into the plastic container. "Phantom was dozing on the recliner under a pile of blankets when I left this morning. Aether is staying home to take care of him. Although it might be a disguise to spend time with Sunshine since she has the day off. . ."

You softly chucked as Swiss continued to tell you all the gossip and drama he knew about.

". . .but she was worried it would be too scary. She's like a mom to us all, especially him."

"I understand Cumulus' concern, but tell Rain he can watch it here with me if he wants to."

"Will do. Hey, you want to stop by for a Halloween party tonight at our place? It's after the Ritual."

"Sure!"

Swiss grabbed his keys and phone off the counter, and you walked him to the door. "Perfect! And get a front-row seat at the Ritual!"

. . .

You looked at all the open windows. It was too cold to have them open even though the church was packed and you had a light jacket on. At least the bugs were going away due to the colder temperatures. You and Terzo, who sat next to you, both agreed that the best part of fall was the disappearance of all the bugs. You watched the final candle flames flicker as they were put out to begin the Ritual.

Like the first one you attended, the Ritual started off with "Year Zero". Sodo and Aether stood at attention on both sides of the elevated center platform and Rain was on the third step of the platform. Swiss and the ghoulettes were on their own little platforms around the main one where Mountain was. You were busy watching Copia sing, but Terzo tapped you shoulder and pointed out something to you. During the song, Sodo came up and gripped Rain's throat. Rain tensed at his touch, but you saw him subtly melt into Sodo's grip. Next up was "Prime Mover". Rain switched spots with Copia to be front and center.

Then one of the new songs was played. Copia introduced it and told everyone it was called "Miasma" before taking a break and getting water offstage. The crowd seemed to be alright with the song until Papa Nihil came out with his saxophone, driving everyone wild. Aether and Sodo were by his side, and Rain was over by Swiss' platform as the song continued. Cirrus and Cumulus played their instruments and danced along.

As the song was ending, Papa Nihil seemed a bit winded. One of the security members tried to get him to stop, but the old man used his last bit of strength to push him away and play the final notes. The crowd burst into applause, which soon turned into screams and cries for help as Papa Nihil collapsed onto the steps of the big platform.