Shudders: Retribution

Chapter 40 - The Peace

       B propped her head up on her knee as she watched her Zone below. "Can you keep it a secret? Even from my family?"

       The demon girl slowly nodded but was still confused. Should she be worried?

"There's a man in my head." B kept her voice down but was quick to say it.

       Now (Y/N) was even more confused. "W-What-"

"There's a man in my head." B repeated, watching for (Y/N)'s reaction. "Sometimes he shows up and talks to me. Sometimes he disappears."

        (Y/N)'s words were caught in her throat. Her expression kept changing as she tried to process this information. A man... in her head..?

        The two watched each other for a second before (Y/N) leaned closer with her voice down. "Are you sure you're not just- a little-"

"Wow, ok." B pulled away.

"No n-no no wait I didn't mean it like that!" (Y/N) rushed. "It's just- it's a little-"

       B started to laugh which made the demon girl even more anxious. "You're not... offended, right?"

"Well, I can't expect a normal reaction from what I said, so no. I'm not." B giggled. "But it's true. I just haven't told anyone. People already look at me in some type of way and my family worries about me enough. Just best if I kept it to myself."

       (Y/N) nodded along. She still didn't quite understand B when it came to her abilities. The same can be said with her mother.

"You wanna meet him?" B asked with a sneaky smile.

      She almost laughed at how her friend's eyes widened.

"The man in your-"

"Yup! He's chill, I promise."

       (Y/N) looked around nervously. This was probably the most strangest thing she was ever going to do. She hesitated but trusted her friend, making B smile even more. She pointed to her eyes and (Y/N) looked into them as she fiddled with the seams on her jeans.

       B's eyes began to glow and (Y/N) could feel her body get lighter as everything around her began to blur. The bright morning sky, the crashing waves of the river, the squawks of the seagulls, they were all drowned out and soon replaced by somewhere much darker. Faint walls covered in posters and graffiti appeared, LED lights of signs and bulbs gave off colorful light, and the wet street below was slightly littered with trash formed underneath them.

     When (Y/N) was able to fully move, she looked away and saw all of these things appear. She became confused. What happened to the river? The camp ? The sky?

      Her eyes darted up and above, all she could see was a dark but rocky ceiling, far above them. But LED lights strung along lines help illuminate the ground.

"Welcome to my home!" B exclaimed as she got to her feet. She helped her friend up as well, seeing how shocked she was.

"Your... home?" This murky place? It took her a second to realize, but soon she started to understand. "This is underground?"

"Just an alley. I promise everywhere doesn't look this bad. This is just what my mind creates." B looked around too, seeming comfortable here.

      They were in her mind. How is that even possible?

"This is definitely the strangest thing I've ever done..." (Y/N) whispered to herself.

"Yo, Ruby! My guy!" B called out, making (Y/N) face her. B turned back to look around for him. "Reu- oh there you are."