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S
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"Scott! Great job on your solo. Please tell me that you're finally going to send it in as your audition. I am not going to National Choir without you." A bubbly girl asked. Her name was Kirstin and she was everything Scott wasn't. She was popular, beautiful (hell, she was a bikini model from time to time) and she never seemed to struggle with singing.
Scott didn't answer her. He was crying. He had overheard news about a brutal murder that took place in a club downtown. He wasn't even involved with any of the victims nor was he a part of the conversation two other boys were having about it.
He was just crying over it.
"Are you seriously crying? You don't even know these people." The boy asked.
"Hey, leave him alone. It's a big deal. He doesn't like it when people get hurt." Kirstin argued. The boys rolled their eyes, but no one would make an enemy of Kirstin. She had way too much influence. "Come on, Scott, it's gonna be okay."
"But-"
"Hey, Kirstie, Mr. Montana is calling!" A girl called. Whoever the girl was, she was put in charge of guarding Kirstin's phone and checking for calls. Scott didn't know who 'Mr. Montana' was, but Kirstin seemed to.
"I'm sorry, I have to go take that. Can you wait for a minute? I'll be back very soon and then we'll walk home together." She said before turning on her heel and running over to the girl holding her phone. Scott just stood awkwardly by the door, waiting for her until Kirstin finally walked back to him, calling Carissa, a friend of hers, over as she came.
The three walked home together. This was routine now. They were all in the choir and lived in generally the same area. It kept Scott from feeling lonely at the very least.
"I gotta go, Mr. Montana wants to talk to me. Bye! See you at school tomorrow!" Kirstin suddenly piped up once they reached the main road. She sped off without allowed Scott or Carissa to reply.
"Of course. She's been running off like that a lot recently." Carissa commented once Kirstin was out of sight. Scott simply stood there confused. He hadn't seen her run off like that before today. Maybe Carissa was just around her more. That didn't seem likely, but it was the only explanation.
Scott walked with Carissa until they reached her road, where the two parted ways.
"Be careful. It's getting dark and it's dangerous to walk alone at night!" Scott called after her. Carissa just dismissively waved her hand at him with a smile.
Scott walked but didn't go home. He went straight to the park. Kirstin spent a lot of her time there.
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K
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Kirstin sighed, leaning back against the tree. Montana had been driving her insane lately, bombarding her with offers for a photo shoot at his 'private studio'. No matter how much she said no, Montana wouldn't listen.
As Kirstin watched the sunset, the faint sound of beatboxing could be heard, followed by. . . rapping? Are they serious?
Kirstin looked towards the direction of the sound, and sure enough, three men were walking in her direction. They were quick to surround her before she could leave, still going on with the rapping. Something about how the park is rife with lowlifes and criminals.
Takes one to know one.
"Okay, I listened to your rapping, I have to go now." Kirstin said once the group finally quieted. The group laughed a little, grasping her wrist as she tried to leave.
"Aw, why should we let a girl like you go out all on her own? It's almost dark." One of them said. He was smirking all the way, stupid lopsided hat and all. Kirstin groaned, trying to wrench her hand from the grip.
"I know it's getting dark out. That's why I want to go home. I want to get there before the sun goes down. Now get off of me." Kirstin argued, still struggling against the man's grip.
"We know who you are, Kirstin Maldonado. Everyone knows who you are. You're a lot prettier without all the retouching on those photos, you know." He whispered into Kirstin's ear.
"Oh, you are the last person who should be making comments about my body. Let go of me before I hi-," Kirstin began, but was cut off.
"Hey, can you guys let go of her please?" Someone asked. Kirstin's head whipped around to see Scott walking towards the group. One thing about Scott is that he was tall. He might be a little baby-faced, but being a solid three to five inches taller than most guys gave him some brownie points.
"Who the hell are you?" The man questioned, but let go of Kirstin's wrist, allowing her to back away from them. Scott smiled a little.
"I'm a good friend of hers." He said, stopping just in front of the man in the white shirt that had been holding onto Kirstin's wrist.
"Friendzoned, huh?" One of the others group members asked, smirking. Scott shook his head.
"We're just friends. Now let her go. Her parents are probably worried about her." Scott answered, finally getting close enough to size up the others. Kirstin hadn't realised how small they actually were. They barely reached Scott's jaw.
The group just stood face to face with Scott for a while, not saying or doing anything. Maybe this was a guy thing. Kirstin had stared someone down before, but it had never lasted this long.
"Hey, Scott, planning to make a move anytime soon?" A different voice called. It was high-pitched and a voice Kirstin didn't recognise. She looked over and saw a man wearing a long black-and-white coat, with all black clothes underneath. He looked sophisticated. He was wearing polished dress shoes to a park! Only fancy people and businessmen did that. Scott, however, immediately lit up and ran over to this unfamiliar man gleefully.
"Mitch! Is that actually you? I thought you were in England or something." Scott asked after effectively hugging this 'Mitch' near to death. His arm was still around the other man's shoulders.
"Not England, California. How do you mix those two up?" Mitch joked, then turned towards the group. "Anyways, do we have a problem? You shouldn't be bothering other people like that."
The men jolted, gaining a new kind of spunk back. The returned their faces to their arrogant smiles, blocking Kirstin from exiting again by pushing her up against the tree behind them. They had taken advantage of her shock. Of course.
"What's it to you?" They questioned.
"Just asking." The man smiled back, almost warm, but somehow condescending as well.
"What are you gonna do? You're scrawny as hell. You couldn't even stand up against us." The one in the red shirt cackled just a little before spitting in the direction of Mitch. The man just rolled his eyes before reaching into his trench coat and pulling out a gun. An assault rifle to be specific.
Holy shit this man has an assault rifle. He has a rifle!
Mitch began firing just above the heads of the group, hitting the tree mere inches above Kirstin's head. The rain of bullets lasted only for a few seconds, but it did some serious damage to the tree, and easily made the group disperse and run off.
"Sorry for that! You'll be alright and if they ever bother you again, don't hesitate to make Scott call me!" Mitch yelled as he grabbed Scott's hand and forced him to run off with him.
What the hell?
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S
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Mitch lead Scott to what was obviously an impossibly expensive white Tesla Model S, forcing him into the passenger seat with fervour. As soon as Scott was seated, Mitch ran to his spot on the driver's side and was speeding off before he even had his seatbelt on.
And by speeding off, Scott means speeding off. Mitch was most definitely way over the speed limit.
"Mitch, slow down! I want to at least talk to you for a second. I haven't seen you in two years. You've been off being a professor or whatever it is you do in California." Scott shouted.
"No time, we'll catch up later. I have something very important to show you. But first, I have to tell you about what happened to me while I was studying ancient peoples in Peru." Mitch replied.
"What then?" Scott asked, finally settling down into the admittedly comfortable leather seat.
"Demons are real." Mitch said bluntly. He opened his mouth to continue, but Scott stopped him before he could.
"Wait, what? Demons? Are you kidding me?" Scott interrogated Mitch incredulously. There was no way Mitch was thinking straight. Scott began to consider taking the wheel from Mitch in fear that his friend was drunk or high on something.
"If you'd let me finish, I would explain." Mitch said haughtily, pausing for a moment to make sure Scott would truly stay quiet. "As I was saying, demons are real. I can prove it.
"While I was in Peru with Professor Asukashi, he began acting weird. I think I really started noticing it when he wouldn't stop staring at the birds. At first, I just thought they were interesting to him, but the next day I heard the most unbearable squelching noise from the tent next to mine. I immediately thought the old bastard was masturbating, but no. He was crushing the birds with mallet. There were feathers strewn all across the room. There was blood dripping from the table. When I asked what he was doing, he told me that 'the birds were quiet now'.
"And that isn't where it ends. The next day seemed completely normal, although with far fewer birds than usual. Professor Asukashi and I continued studying tools and texts given to us by a nearby tribe. However, at night, while I was out going to the bathroom, the Professor had wandered out to the jeep and was pouring gasoline over himself. He was completely soaked in it. After the gas can was empty, he opened the gas tank on the jeep and let it pour onto himself.
"Obviously, I told him to stop, but he wouldn't listen. He said he wanted to die before the demon overtook him. He took a lighter and lit himself on fire. While the flames were burning him, tentacle-like appendages burst from his throat. The creature just starting writhing in the fire until I shot it." Mitch concluded his tale. Scott looked at him, confused. Mitch had been so earnest about it. He couldn't see a single lying pore on his face.
"And what does that have to do with me?" Scott asked.
"Ah, you're connecting yourself to this. See, once the autopsy was done on what remained of Professor Asukashi's body, they were able to find traces of a mystery drug in his system. I have affectionately named it the Demon Pill. There's an event called The Sabbath that will be taking place tonight. The whole place will be filled with people high off of the pill that will soon turn to demons just like Professor Asukashi. You are going to be my eye-witness. I'll need you when I go to the government with this information. Until then, I desperately need you to cooperate with me. This whole operation will be our secret." Mitch said. The whole thing sounded elaborate and frightening. Scott could already feel the tears welling in his eyes from hearing the Professor's demise. How was he supposed to handle this?
When Scott began to cry, Mitch didn't say a word. He seemed to get even quieter, in fact. It was almost as if there was a sound that was quieter than silence.
The building they arrived at was dingy and run down. Scott understood why such a shady party would be taking place here. The rusting red doors lined the halls, but only one was left unblocked. The others had all been covered with thick layers of plywood.
"Scott, listen. I need you to stay as close to me as you can. Got it? When they change, I need you to stay alive." Mitch said once they reached the open red door. Scott nodded. Mitch then pushed the door open, revealing a menagerie of bright lights, interesting acts occurring on the other level and a large variety of half-naked people. Some of them were even having sex in the corners. The room was filled with loud music and slapping skin. Scott almost cringed. It was too much too fast.
"Hey there!" A girl asked. She was a good foot shorter than Scott, but obviously older. She didn't have a top on, allowing her breasts to be completely exposed. She only had on a tiny, lime-green skirt. She smiled, turning to Mitch. "Is he a newcomer?"
Mitch just nodded impassively. Had he been here before?
"Oh, well, in that case, let me get you started. Come here." The girl said, pulling a pill from the basket she had been holding. She popped into her mouth before immediately sealing her lips against Scott's. Their mouths were left wide open when they came into contact, allowing the white and blue pill to slide down his throat. The girl got off with a popping sound. "There we go! You'll fit in just fine. The bar's open if you want anything!"
Oh no. Oh no.
"Mitch, I-" Scott started. He was beginning to panic.
"Hey, don't worry about it. It takes days to manifest. I'll be able to get it out of your system before that happens. Just relax a little so you don't pass out before they transform. They'll kill you if you do." Mitch said, throwing two bills on the counter of the bar behind him and being given a bottle of some unnamed alcohol in return. Scott thought they only labelled alcohol as 'XXX' in the movies.
Mitch brought Scott over to one of the seats along the back wall. They were made of the uncomfortable vinyl you'd find in a run-down diner. They had seated themselves right in between two people fucking and a man who seemed to be passed out against the wall. Mitch reclined against the seat, opening the bottle and taking a drink from it.
"You want some of it? You seem a little jittery. Maybe this would help you calm down." Mitch asked. Scott shook his head.
"No, I'm not old enough. Neither are you, though. How did you even get that? You're younger than me. Do they just not check IDs here?" He questioned. This whole place seemed off. The performer in front of them was moving almost unnaturally. That or Scott has never seen a woman dance like that before, her ass put on full display and dressed just as skimpily as the woman who had forced a pill down his throat.
"They are a giant drug club. What gives you the idea that they'd care who buys alcohol from them?" Mitch retorted. Scott nodded. That did make sense.
They sat in silence after that. The slapping sounds of skin were loud in Scott's ears by the time Mitch finished his drink and stood up.
"Now this is where the fun begins." He said. Scott looked at him quizzically. Mitch smirked a little before walking up to a pole, smashing the bottle against it, making the end sharp and jagged.
Time seemed to slow when Mitch shoved the bottle into the chest of a girl, pulling it out when the blood began to gush. Mitch then continued, slashing aimlessly, splitting open necks and chests and faces. Scott felt sick watching the blood spurt and spray, coating the room in maroon.
The girl from before, the one that had given Scott the pill, finally came into view. She was laughing, loud and shrill. It almost sounded pained. She grabbed her head and began to tense up when an almost slug-like creature shot out of her mouth. Scott felt fear pierce him as he shot up from his seat and began to inch along the outside wall. Other creatures were making themselves known, with teeth exploding from chests and even spikes coming from people's eyes and necks. Some grew wings, others became snakes. It was absolute horror.
"See Scott?! I told you they were real. They've smelled blood and now they're all awakening! They're all going to show themselves!" Mitch yelled before ducking behind a set of chairs.
Scott tried, but it felt like he wasn't going anywhere when he ran. It was now pitch black and there was something breathing down his back. It was an almost humid feeling as he began into a sprint. Suddenly a large mouth was looming above him. Scott began running faster than he ever had, desperate to get away. He reached out one last time before the teeth curled around him, pulling him in. He screamed loudly, desperate for someone to save him.
But no one was coming. There was nothing now.
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It is here! The true start to this story. This is already pretty graphic to begin with, but it's going to get way worse before it gets any better, so be prepared.
Not a whole lot to say. Just that I thank you for reading this clusterfuck of a story :)
I love comments and votes because I'm a huge attention whore but I do truly appreciate them! Thank you in advance if you do those things. I'm always sure to reply to comments, especially if they are a question of some sort
-laser_ghost