"Oh, you reminded me we need more milk. Njörd keeps finishing our milk" Sól said as she put some milk in their cart
"What is it with you always finishing milk???" Thor asked as he browsed the opposing aisle
"Right? I feel like each time we go to the groceries Njörd always has to get milk" Gefjon added
"I eat a lot of cereal at night :(" Njörd replied
"Is it just me or is this store way too quiet" Gefjon asked looking around. The four of them have gone for some grocery shopping, after spending dinner together for the weekend. It was their usual weekend dinner, a way of them keeping together in the busy run down city life of eastern Uppsala
"I mean, it is nearly midnight, and we're like on the far outskirts of the city" Thor replied
"Gods I am dreading the ride home" Njörd said
"Dibs not driving!" Sól said
"I'm not driving for shit my back hurts" Thor added
"Old man" Gefjon mocked him
"YES I KNOW IM THE ONE WHOS GOING TO DRIVE AS ALWAYS THATS WHY IM DREADING IT!" Njörd said as Sól giggled. After some more browsing, they went to the cashier and paid, taking their bags to Njörds car and getting in. Njörd was driving, with Gefjon in the passenger seat, reading a book, and the other two in the back
"You alright Sól? You look a bit down" Thor asked
"I'm okay, I just... miss home I guess" she replied
"Home as in Rädslaheim?" Thor asked
"We've been there like a month ago though, it hasn't been that long" Gefjon added
"We didn't manage to relax there though, cause of that fucker that decided to show up out of no where" Sól replied
"Oh the assassin, what was his name again?" Thor asked
"Zhurong" She replied
"At least he's a decent guy, the chief seems to trust him" Njörd said
"Decent my ass. I don't trust him one bit. His girlfriend or whatever was sweet though" Sól said
"She was funny yeah" Njörd smiled
"I still don't get why Freyr is refusing to get Zhurong to help us deal with Rollo" Thor said
"This fight has nothing to do with him" Sól said
"Rollo literally employed Zhurong of course it has to do with him" Njörd said
"Exactly, dumbass! How do you know that this isn't all a plot by Zhurong? Maybe he's still working with Rollo and just needs an opening to get Freyr again" She replied
"You're way too paranoid" Njörd said
"I'm a fucking shield maiden Njörd, I've seen sneaky people and I know how they fight. They use their brains more than their arms. No wonder you can't understand that concept you don't even have a brain to begin with" she said
"That was unnecessarily mean" He replied
"Freyr literally saved Zhurong's life as well as rescued his girlfriend from that psychopath, I'm sure he's decent enough to put us on good terms with him" Thor explained
"I'm much more concerned with what Völva told us, about those creeps in the woods" Gefjon replied
"Thökk? Yeah, it's worrying how desperate the chief is to getting at him" Thor added
"Can you blame him? That psychos been terrorizing our entire village for years now" Sól mentioned
"Right but you've seen how Hel and Frigg described him, this isn't any ordinary man" Thor said
"I dont think he's 'man' at all, especially after how Sif described him to me" Gef added
"Alright folks that's all our time today for talking about unnecessarily spooky stuff. I'm not a fan of ghost stories on an empty highway at 12 am thank you this road looks creepy enough as it is" Njörd said making the others giggle
After a long drive, they finally reached back home. Njörd dropped of Thor and Gefjon at their apartment building, before driving back to his and Sóls apartment, that was a few blocks down the road. Their apartment buildings were quite close
Thor was holding the groceries as Gef tried to pull out the house key, fiddling in her pockets
"Any day now, no rush!" Thor said, straining as he held all the groceries in one hand not wanting to make multiple trips
"Bitch hold on I'm trying to- wait, what was that?" She asked as she perked her face up looking back
"What?"
"There was a noise back there, hold on"
"It's probably just a squirrel or something now please open I am sleepy" Thor said and she rolled her eyes and eventually opened. They put the groceries in the kitchen, before each heading to their rooms
"Don't miss your alarm again tomorrow, you haven't been to work in a while" she said as he yawned, clearly not listening and going into his room
She sighed and laid in her bed, on her phone, texting Sól as usual before bed, before she too eventually passed out, succumbing to her exhaustion and laying on the bed. It seemed like she's been passed out forever, fast asleep in a rich sea of dreams. A long movie of sleep that was soon cut short as she woke up. Rubbing her eyes and frowning, she looked around, hearing a static noise. It was distant, heavily meshed and not clear. She got up, using her phone as a flashlight, she didn't want to turn on the lights and wake up Thor. She looked around the house, tracking the creepy radio static voice to the living room where she found the source.
The TV had been turned on, playing a channel that... neither of them have even heard before. Seemed to be some sort of news report, or... alert system of some kind. But it sounded heavily vintage, really old and... quite analog. It was static, barely comprehensible, She knew Thor didn't watch TV, she remembered him crashing straight into bed. It was playing a very very strange report, an emergency alert system of sort, but it was very.... abnormal
"DO NOT TURN OFF YOUR DEVICE
If you are receiving this message. A hostile entity is in your vicinity. You must follow strict precautions to avoid detection. There is very little known about the entity. It is confirmed that the entity has came from the far woodlands. Its motivation is unknown
Follow these direct steps:
-Block out all doors and windows
-Avoid any national broadcasting
-Avoid excessive religious practice
-Do not accept calls. Even if it is from someone you know
-Do not open the door. Even if its for someone you know
-They are deceitful. They know what you're thinking. They know your intentions. They are hunters.
-If you see someone who looks identical to you or a loved one. Do not engage. Distance yourself. Lock yourself away
-No matter what, do not let-"
The broadcast blared, the black and grey light illuminating the tiny portion of the living room, as Gefjon watched, confused. She yelped as it suddenly stopped and cut to a familiar picture. It was their front door camera. The plain front door mat, and the dimly lit light at the top of the door, as if it was a live broadcasting. A video feed, showing their front door in extremely static and analog footage. She frowned and grit her teeth, rushing to get her phone that she dropped, but as she looked back at the TV, she gasped, her eyes widening and heart dropping in horror, seeing someone at the front door.
Gefjon was not someone to frighten easily. Growing up in a place as tough as Rädslaheim, then training to be a hardened shieldmaiden, fighting in the military with Sól, she's seen it all.
But when she saw... her friend at the front door, her eyes sunken, her mouth leaking with blood, some of her... fingers missing, her posture crooked and unnatural, even she couldn't handle looking at that
"W-What the... F-Freyja?!" Gefjon asked, and the moment she did, Freyja instantly looked up at the camera, almost too quick, an emotionless expression
"Please open the door. I fell over and... hurt myself. I need your help" She said. Gefjon panicked, looking at the TV, then at her front door. She stormed over to Thor's room, pounding on the door a few times, before barging in, shaking him awake
"Thor, Thor get up, I need you to get up now!" She said as she shook him wildly
"W-Wha...? What's going... on?" He asked groggily half awake
"There's someone in our house... Thor get up! GET UP ALREADY!" She yelled frantically as she slapped him and he sat up
"S-Someone in our house? What do you mean there's- WOAH" He yelped as she pulled him out, grabbing him by the arm and dragging him to the living room, showing him the TV. But she frowned as she saw the front door was empty. There was no one there
"W-What? NO THERE WAS- WHAT THE" She yelled, annoyed but also confused
"Why are you watching TV at 3 am, no wonder I'm not getting any sleep"
"IM NOT WATCHING TV! THERE WAS SOMEONE OUTSIDE, IT SHOWED ON THE CAMERAS!"
"Gef who the hel would be at our door at this time. Since when do we even have front door cameras"
"FREYJA! SHE WAS JUST OUTSIDE IM NOT MAKING THIS UP!"
"Woah what? Freyja? Like, our Freyja? Freyja Kärlek? Are you okay? How would she come here"
"I have no idea, why the fuck do you think I'm freaking out???? Her face was covered in blood and she looked like she was in trouble I- I SWEAR"
"You're scaring me Gef, whats going on?" He asked, obviously not believing her. She frowned and went to the kitchen, grabbed a sharp knife then grabbed Thor's arm with her other hand, yanking him to follow her. She opened the door and got out, holding the knife and looking out
"Listen I don't know what's gotten into you but standing outside my apartment at 4 AM looking for someone who's in another village is pretty ridiculous. Whatever's happened we can talk about it in the morning" He said
"Not before I make sure were safe" She said as she walked around the apartment building, flashing her phones flashlight around. As suddenly her eyes widened "See? Come here" She said calling him over, and he frowned as they both saw a puddle of red liquid, a trail of drops of the stuff
"Is that... blood?" He asked
"It appears so, why is it that color though? What's this grey stuff leaking in it..."
"Gef, look I'm sure you saw something, I don't think its a good idea to come out here and look for it. We should wait for day to come, and then we'll discuss what to do, okay?" He said, as she closed her eyes and sighed. She even started doubting herself, what if she was just... too tried?
Either way, he was right. Running around the building with a knife late at night is not reasonable. She agreed, and they went back into the apartment, locking it as Thor went back to his room
"You call me if you need anything, okay?" He asked as she nodded and went to the kitchen, grabbing a glass of water. She sighed, she was worried. Not only for their safety, but also... for her friend. Her mind raced as she thought of what was going on, trying to find a suitable explanation. Her thoughts were interrupted by a sudden super loud banging on the door. She nearly dropped her glass, as this time, even Thor got up, looking at her as she looked at him, and they both rushed to the door
"Hold on, don't open" She said as she turned on the TV, seeing the front door camera again. They saw... Njörd and Sól. He was clearly very frantic, pacing back and forth, while she appeared tired, crossing her arms, as he started banging more
"Guys, wake up, please! We need to talk!" He said
"Hold on they're fast asleep, I'll try to call her" Sól said as soon Gefjon's phone started ringing. Thor walked up to the door as Gefjon stopped him
"Wait. Listen I... I don't think the person I saw was really Freyja" She said, cautioning him
"What?" he asked, not listening as he opened the door. Njörd instantly burst in, pulling them both into a hug "Woah woah, what's going on, hey buddy, are you okay?" Thor asked as Njörd sighed
"He woke me up, saying he saw someone at the front door" Sól said
"I didn't see 'someone' I saw Freyja. Freyja herself I know what I saw!" He replied, as Gef and Thor looked at each other. Thor seemed to believe her more and more now
"I just... saw the same thing. She was at the door, she asked for help, then... disappeared" She said as Njörd's eyes widened, nodding
"She was covered in blood, she... freaked me out!" He said as Thor and Sól looked at each other, clearly at first neither of them believed them, but now... it was different.
"I... have a feeling this has to do with what Hel told us..." Gef said
"Thökk?" Sól asked
"No, no no what is he doing here! We're miles away from Rädslaheim!" Njörd said in a panic
"We should... spend the night together, just in case" Sól said
"I'm not staying here, were going to my parents house, they wont mind" Njörd replied
"Its late at night Njörd, how are you gonna explain it" Gef asked
"They're not home they're in another country, I have the key. Lets not waste time" Njörd he said, urging everyone as they got their pillows, blankets, and a coat. They got into the car as he drove to his old parents large family home.
They new Njörd came from a wealthy background, but never saw his actual childhood home, it was marvelous. He lead them to his room that was on the top floor. Since there was only one bed, they all agreed to sleep on the floor together. The room was quite spacious yet still cozy. The roof had been replaced with a skylight, showing the night sky and the multitude of stars dotted around the sky, the four of them watched, laying beside each other in their blankets, as the sky started glowing with green, blue and purple lights, the aurora borealis that they grew up watching appearing once again, and it looked just as pretty as the first time they saw it. Only this time, none of them could focus on its beauty, especially after what they just went through.
"Guys?" Njörd asked
"Whats up" Gef replied
"I'm... scared" He said as they all looked up. Despite Njörds friendly and enthusiastic appearance, they know just how emotional he is, but even so, this was a very reasonable time to feel what he's feeling
"You're not alone there" Sól said laying beside him
"Like, what is it that we've done to deserve all this? What does this psychopath want from us? Not only him but like, even Rollo, what have we done? We don't deserve any of this. Freyr is a wonderful man, he's a kind and fair chief, what has he done to have his people suffer in this way?!" Njörd asked
"Men who kill and purge without reason cannot be reasoned with, Njörd. Who knows what the gods have in store for us? There could be a reason for all of this. Hel talked about how we're in for a ride, how there's a lot coming our way, she knows better than any of us. We should trust her" Thor said
"The important thing is we stick together. We'll be okay if we stay side by side" Sól said, calming him down a bit
"I think... we should go back to Rädslaheim" Gefjon said
"What? We've been there very recently though" Thor asked
"Yeah but... if this really is Thökk, I'm worried about Freyja. I want to make sure she's okay" Gefjon said
"I don't want to bother the chief, I'm sure he has a lot on his plate" Thor said
"Freyr wouldn't mind, what do you mean? He loves it when we come over" Gef said
"Besides, don't you miss Sif, Thor?" Sól asked, teasing with a slight smile
"I do, every day. 'Ill call her in the morning and see if we can come over" He replied
"We'll get to the bottom of this, it'll all be okay" Gefjon said
"Chief will protect us. I'm sure of it. We'll protect each other" Sól said
"Gods damn it I just wanted to head out for milk. Odin's toying with me again I didn't sign up for this" Njörd said making them laugh