[TRIGGER WARNING: THROUGHLY DESCRIBED GORE ]
"This place is ugly." Eden O'Malley's voice rang out, as she stood amongst the dusty ground.
Her hands were positioned on her hips as her skirt flapped against the back of her thighs. Green eyes scanned the rusted pipes of the old mill, a slight frown working itself in between her full eyebrows.
"It's not the prettiest," Peter agreed, kicking up dirt with the toe of his shoe as he stood beside her. He then turned towards an approaching Roman, pointing towards the shiny red car. "Is there anywhere we can park this out-back? You know, in case someone-"
"No one gives a shit about what happens out here," Was Roman's reply, sticking a cigarette into his mouth.
"Except us, right?" Eden pointed out, only to earn a shrug from Roman in reply.
Both Peter and Eden watched as Roman made his way towards the gates of the old mill. He worked a shiny key into the lock, twisting his wrist until it popped open. Pushing the door wider with a long arm, Roman stepped through the doorway with both Peter and Eden following.
"Cool." Peter murmured, blue eyes glancing around the mill's walls.
Watching him, Eden felt a tiny smile ghost across her face. His childish wonder was as contagious as it was endearing. Peter turned towards her, and Eden looked away, pretending that she hadn't been staring at his profile.
Moving towards the side of the old mill, Roman removed another key from his pocket before he unlocked the door. It slid open with a high pitched squeal, making Eden wince as she clomped her feet into the darkness of the mill's innards.
"Ever see this place when it was running?" Peter asked, his voice sounding eerie in the silence of the abandoned building.
Scanning her eyes around, Eden could hear a buzzing in her head. It was soft, but still present in her consciousness. She stuck a finger in her ear, trying to see if it would stop - to no avail. The buzzing was faint, so she assumed that it was because she had popped her ears somehow without knowing.
"My old man closed it down before I was born." Roman said, lanky body bending down to weave underneath the pipes. His back was stiff underneath the dress jacket he was wearing. It made his shoulders look defined and broad.
Large holes and gears were on the floor of the mill. Eden ran her hands over them, liking the rough texture against the pads of her fingertips. She was entranced in a strange way by the obvious neglect of the mill; and judging by the curious look in Peter's eyes, he felt the same.
"Lots of people died here. Workers and shit." Roman continued, voice monotone.
Passing by a pipe that had the numbers 116 B written on it in white spray-paint, Eden began to hear water splashing down onto the ground. It sounded like rain, but it was accompanied by the smell of mold and dust.
Once her footsteps splashed into some water, Eden glanced upwards from the pipes and felt her mouth fall open as she stared at the holes in the ceiling. Water was rushing from everywhere, pouring down from the many broken shafts of the mill like a fountain.
"Take this." Roman turned around, handing Eden a flashlight before doing the same with Peter.
Clicking on her flashlight, Eden moved the beam around the room. She smiled in wonder as slightly tinted green water flowed from every available crevice. Eden was tempted to run her fingers through the liquid, but held herself back.
Stepping over fallen pipes and jagged wire on the ground, Eden stood in between both Roman and Peter. Their bodies, warm and tough, guarding Eden from the cold of the mill. She felt safe amongst them, like she could take on anything that came after her.
"You know when you close your ears, sometimes the sound of your heart is like a little man walking through snow?" Roman began, voicing his words like a question.
"Yep," Peter prodded, stepping over a large pile of rock.
Roman didn't continue for some reason.
"Hey, what was that big structure that was outside?" Peter asked, turning to glance at Roman over his shoulder.
"It's a Bessemer Converter." Eden replied before Roman could.
"It once made pig iron into money," Roman followed up, giving Eden a slight appraising look for her knowledge. Eden wasn't sure why Roman was so surprised. She knew a number of random facts about a collection of miscellaneous things.
The buzzing in Eden's ears became louder, turning into a hum as she continued walking onwards. It made her jaw tense in annoyance, and she rubbed her ears to try and sooth away the tone. However, it didn't fade and she pressed forwards, trying to keep up with Peter - whom was in front of her, jumping from rock to rock.
"Do we have any idea what we may be looking for?" Eden asked, her booties skidding against the rock.
"Uh...driver's license, social security card, dream journal.." Peter began to list, a slight laugh to his voice.
The three of them came to a stop, where the pipes cleared into two distinct pathways. Roman turned towards them, flashing his light in time with his words. "This is a joke. Left or right?"
"I don't know. Let's split up." Peter said, moving towards the left as Roman went opposite.
Eden went to follow Peter when she caught sight of another path. It was slightly hidden, narrow and would require some skill to get through. However, Eden was up to the task.
Pushing her hair from her face, Eden moved herself closer towards the small passageway. Once she was in the narrow passage, she placed her hands onto the pipe in front of her, shuffling her feet as she moved downwards towards the end.
The humming in her ears began to be accompanied by a burn as she shuffled onward, causing Eden to hiss in pain. Eden slapped her hands to her head, trying to understand what was happening with her hearing so suddenly. As if cued by her thoughts, the burning sensation stopped altogether, going back to humming.
Adjusting herself midway through the tunnel, Eden began her postponed journey down the narrow pipes. She moved quickly, trying not to let claustrophobia get the best of her. The toes of her feet were beginning to get damp as the water rose higher, but she powered through nonetheless.
Finally, a breakage in the passageway made itself present to her. She shuffled quicker, before breaking free. Sucking in a breath she didn't know she was holding, Eden winced when the heat in her ears returned, starting from the tips of her ears and working its way downwards.
Moving through the water, Eden flickered her flashlight against the walls of the pipe-way she had found. Her body was calm, moving at it's own leisure pace as she glanced in every direction, looking for anything out of the ordinary.
Turning down another passageway, Eden staggered backwards. Her head was beginning to ring violently, causing her temples to ache and for her chest to feel heavy. Placing a weak hand onto a nearby pipe, she tried to catch her breath, not sure what was happening to her body.
"Roman! Peter!" Eden shouted weakly, not sure if she would be able to later, given that she felt like she was about to pass-out. Vomit crawled up her throat, and something wet was sliding down her neck as her feet seemed to continue to move forwards on their own accord.
It reminded her of that time in the graveyard, where she had seemed to be moving on strings. However, Eden was too focused on the pain in her head to really care where she was moving towards. She just needed to sit down for a few moments, to gather her stren-
The passageway broke again, this time revealing a dome like arch of the mill. It was filled with rocks, but they were covered in moss and water. Eden moved towards them, lifting her hand towards her neck as she felt more water land onto her fingers. She brushed it away, spreading the wetness across her neck.
Slipping slightly on the rocks as she walked through the dome, Eden felt her legs begin to tweak in pain. The humming in her ears stopped, being replaced by some type of strange chanting. The voices in her mind were untranslatable, but they were furious with her.
A shape amongst the rocks began to form as Eden walked some more. Rain water was pelting against her throat now, covering the front of her shirt in an uncomfortable manner.
This sensation seemed to be moot amongst the others she was feeling; as Eden stopped amongst the jagged rocks, foggy green eyes taking in the scene before her.
Sitting amongst the large rocks was the mangled torso of a human.
It was pale, ripped and torn, with rotting innards spun around the nearby rocks. Amongst the dried blood and carnage, Eden knelt to the ground, ignoring how the smell of the carcass made her throat constrict with disgust.
With a shaking hand, Eden fought against the scorching pain in her ears and pressed her palm flat against the innards of the body. Her fingers then gripped the scattered intestines roughly - the slick, wet sounds accompanying her actions made Eden's mouth open in a dry heave.
Viciously, Eden jerked the innards away from the bottom half of the body, and lifted them towards her face. Her nostrils flared, breathing in the horrid smell of decay. Inside of her head, Eden was screaming, begging herself to stop touching the chopped in-half body.
Her body had it's own agenda it seemed.
Eden moved the sticky intestines, filled with bugs and water, in between her hands. She tightened her grip suddenly, knuckles going white, and the foreign voices chanting inside of her mind became clear.
Help me. Please, someone help me. Please, I need help. Someone. Anyone.
The voice was distinctly female, screaming viciously inside of Eden's head. Eden's fists were clenched tightly against the intestines in her hand, her mouth continuously opening in painful dry heaves as her senses were still susceptible to the grotesque smells around her.
Mid-thought, Eden's hands brought the intestines to her lips, almost touching her top lip when someone was shouting her name. The voice was nearing, coming closer with every step.
The loud sound caused Eden to snap into focus, her ears shattering as her neck was splashed with water, and her hands released the intestines on the ground with a sickening 'splat' of fat. Narrowly missing falling in her awaiting lap.
Roman's hands jerked her backwards, cologne floating into Eden's nose as he grabbed her into his arms. Peter was there in another second, grabbing Eden's blood caked hands and keeping them away from her face as he stared at her in horror.
"It's okay," Roman was murmuring, kneeling in the water and shaking her softly in his arms. "It's okay. Everything is okay."
"Fuck Ed's, you're bleeding." Peter announced, voice stark with worry, as he used his shirt to wipe around Eden's ears and neck. When he pulled away, the bottom of his shirt was stained with rich crimson.
Eden moved to nod her head to him, lips popping open to speak, but with a violent dry heave, she went limp in Roman's arms.
It was quiet in the O'Malley home as Eden stared at herself in the mirror of her bathroom. Her body was shaking softly, wrapped securely in a towel as she had just stepped out of the foggy shower.
The events at the mill were still replaying over and over again in her mind. She tried to fight them away, knowing that whatever had been possessing her at the mill, wasn't something she should push onto her sane consciousness.
Changing into the clothing she had brought into the bathroom with her, Eden left her hair wet and sticking to her neck as she opened the bathroom door to her room.
Roman was fiddling with the pictures on her dresser, his body looking out of place in Eden's two-sizes-too-big sweatpants. She tried to ignore the fact that Roman only had to wear her sweatpants because his knees had been soaked through with water.
Peter was in the same position, shirtless, with his stained shirt running in Eden's washing machine with hot water. He had used his shirt to wipe away what Eden had thought had been water falling against her neck, but had actually been blood pouring from her ears.
"Hey." The werewolf spoke to her, giving a soft smile as he watched her approaching form.
Eden gave him a weak smile in reply, climbing onto her bed with shaking limbs and laying amongst her many pillows. Her red hair would dampen the fabric, but Eden couldn't find it in herself to care at the moment. Not when every movement made her body feel like it was struggling to stay functional.
"Scooch over." Peter murmured, climbing up the bed and laying on Eden's left.
His warm body coiled around hers, shifting so that Eden's head was on his collarbone. He tangled their legs together, his jeans scratching against Eden's bare shins. Eden pressed her nose into Peter's neck, breathing in his woodsy smell. Peter always smelt like the Earth.
Trying to close her eyes, Eden couldn't shake the feeling that something was missing. It took her a second to figure it out, and she was opening her eyes to look at the third occupant in her bedroom.
Roman was watching her and Peter on the bed, something shining in his eyes. They brightened when Eden stuck her hand outwards in his direction with a soft whimper, needing him close too.
As if he had been waiting, Roman removed his designer jacket and slipped into Eden's right side. Unlike Peter, he didn't tangle their legs, but instead wrapped his arm around Eden's waist, pressing in tightly to her.
Eden sighed softly, her heart calming as she sucked in the soothing scent of Roman's obnoxious cologne. It complimented Peter's smell nicely, lulling Eden into a slight unconscious state.
She wasn't awake, but she wasn't asleep either.
"Thank you." She spoke softly to both of them. Ignoring how her voice sounded close to tears.
Peter simply kissed her temple, the Gypsy used to more psychical signs of intimacy. Whether platonic or not. Roman grunted in reply, but his hand tightened on her waist, giving a soft squeeze, before relaxing.
Eden let her eyelids slip shut, and found that this was how she wanted it to always be. Swaddled in between Roman and Peter like a baby bird. Protected from every possible angle.
Her boys.