“Vivian Alexander, come help me with the luggage you two.” A man called out from behind a car, taking a deep breath of the forest air. The air smells good, he heard loud inhales and began to chuckle. It may smell like damp moss and rain due to the recent storms but it was fresh, something they didn’t get a lot of living in the city and moving around so much. Once he was done taking in the air he would begin to lift out some boxes turning and seeing his children in front of him. His daughter Vivian(Vi) Omoth and his son Alexander(Alex) Omoth, both of his children and then he saw..their mother.
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“Dad? What’re you looking at?” Alex asked his father.291Please respect copyright.PENANAtEY0GCujb4
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“Just the scenery, happy to see we’ve finally got a good thing going after so long. You two ready to work hard and make this place the best it can be?”291Please respect copyright.PENANAXJHB5DuA74
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“Heck yeah pops!” Alexander smiled before grabbing one of the boxes and lifting it up to help his dad out, he managed to lift the box up and onto his back. Once he had a proper grip he carried the box inside leaving Vivian and their father outside with one another.
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“Are you alright dad? I-..I’ve seen you staring off, is it because of me?” Logan knew why his daughter would ask such a thing, the rest of the family told her she resembles her mother, the blue eyes, blonde hair and all. She was the reason they moved out here to her Grandfather’s old home because her Mother’s side of the family began to become too violent too..over the top with how they’d act.
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“Of course not Vivian, I don’t stare because I’m sad. I’m just focusing on your growth, I don’t want to miss a second of it.” Logan would put the boxes he was holding down and kneel in front of his daughter.291Please respect copyright.PENANApPLI1Bzq0g
“Sweetheart, don’t feel bad that you look like your mother. Her beauty was her own and the same thing goes for you, you didn’t copy your mother. As the child you’ve made something entirely new.”291Please respect copyright.PENANA0osIgBzoz1
“Like Alexander with you?” She asked.291Please respect copyright.PENANAvcUwZjRxtf
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“Nah Alex has waaay too many years left before he can hold a candle to your old man.” Logan joked and Vivian smiled, once he was sure she was okay the family worked together carrying boxes inside together. They looked around inside and saw the place was decently kept, Logan took a deep breath and then looked at his kids.291Please respect copyright.PENANA31IQzm5bnI
“Alright. Everything has been properly wrapped and covered, we’ve gotta get this place properly taken too. So some sweeping and scrubbing is in order for you two, hope you both saved up some energy.”291Please respect copyright.PENANACvoaEJLcRb
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“I call dibs on sweeping!” Alexander raised his hand.291Please respect copyright.PENANAfawqc1LWN4
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“Oh no no no, I’ll do the sweeping. You can’t do it fast enough and you spread the garbage more than you seep it up. I’ll do the sweeping, dad can do the scrubbing and you can wipe the dust off things.” Vivian put her thoughts out there and looked up at her dad.291Please respect copyright.PENANAtpq62DgbDX
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“Pops!! I can sweep, don’t give me that!”291Please respect copyright.PENANAPORMWUuUyn
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“I meeean ya did learn from me and your sister here learned from your Mother, I was never a good sweeper either. So let’s just do it this way, don’t worry once w-{B-Bzzt}!” The family watched as the power went out, Logan huffed as he put his boxes down and rubbed his head.291Please respect copyright.PENANAy2ncm4tUrG
“Change of plans, Alex. You’ve got scrubbing and wiping duty, Vivian does the sweeping. I’ve got electrical duty.” Logan began to walk towards a door, both assumed it must’ve been the basement.291Please respect copyright.PENANAxZAzKf14t7
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“Soooo..tag team??” Alexander asked his sister with a smile.
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“Yeah tag team, also what’s got you so happy about all this? Won’t you miss your friends or anything about the city?” She asked her brother, she can’t lie she did like the new pace change but she felt he was adjusting too quickly to it all.291Please respect copyright.PENANAalbtDmnmQz
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“Course I will but now we’ve got a super sick house to show off and even better it shows off that my- I mean OUR dad is the coolest. Sorry sis, force of habit.” Alex apologizes, his father always told them that whenever they speak to one another he is equally their father so they should say our dad instead of my.
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“It’s fine Alex, what’s not fine is us standing here and not doing anything. Come on, let’s get to it.” Vivian and Alex both began working together, the siblings went room by room by room. One would sweep and once they felt they were done they’d move out while the other came in and did the next steps to finish up the room. Working together the siblings managed to finish up the entire upstairs cleaning the rooms pretty well, in the middle of working Vivian found some stairs that lead further up.
“Hey Alex, we have some more work further up.” Vivian called out to her brother who son came over291Please respect copyright.PENANA83wFPeNnFN
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“Alright let's- that’s a solo door. Oh yeah lets get this done so we can take a break.” Alex began to go up the stairs first with his sister following behind him, she would follow behind him as he opened it up revealing a study inside. Full of books on multiple shelves that had many many rows to each, different contraptions along with some knick knacks and doodads strung about, and various other things scoured around the room.
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“Oh sick, uuuh no clue what this is supposed to be.”
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“Dad’s study, he always went nights in here. Never really grasped why but he always stuck around in here for some reason.” Logan patted his kids on the head and walked past them, he looked around and began to check stuff.291Please respect copyright.PENANAT01uL6iuoR
“Go for it everyone, he said once he was gone well..we could check the stuff out. Guess this is the time for answers.”291Please respect copyright.PENANArhTHyUW8uB
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“Wow gramps did all this and still managed to make time for us?” Alex spoke impressed as he ran up the spiral stairs that led up to an upper area. He looked over the railing and waved at Vivian, she waved back and began to walk around soon finding an Altar with a book on it. She leaned forward and began to inspect the book, it looked like some kind of journal and inside of it she saw various sketches. Something odd appeared to be happening, the book went from coherent sentences to further delving down into babbling, then scribbles, and finally ending in sketches then fully detailed drawings of monsters. It’s all she could describe them as, they were taller than buildings and stronger than any man, woman, warrior, child or beast could be. Corrupted by thighs called artifacts and finally she saw something else,some kind of collar or scarf with eyes around it.
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“Seems dad had some demons to get rid of.” Logan grabbed the book and began to examine it, he saw what Vivian had seen and began to close the book placing it down as he sighed.291Please respect copyright.PENANAJEbZQOQx2E
We’ll be sleeping in the car tonight anyway, I’ll get a priest to come bless the place tomorrow just in case.” He told his kids as they both nodded and all began to walk away, while leaving Logan saw a door and it said storage above it. He smiled a bit and then led his children back to the car, outside it began to get much much darker.291Please respect copyright.PENANAGYL6Kh6mG4
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“Got the food and stuff dad!” Alexander called out bringing over the take out they ordered, he would watch as his father and sister were working together to set up a tent using the back of the trunk to reinforce the stability. Logan began to place down some fake grass for the flooring, he swapped out with Vivian and continued to nail the tent down, bringing in the heater and using the cables from his car to power a small generator which they used to power the electronics. It was a lot of work but by the end of it all they were safe inside, warm, and Logan had started cooking for the kids, while he cooked they played some board games waiting for the stew to finish.291Please respect copyright.PENANAMKKZQRvL2u
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“So. Not the best start to this living style huh?” Logan asked his kids, both looked up at him and then each other before shaking their heads.291Please respect copyright.PENANAOG3vf7F817
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“What’re you on about dad? We’re lucky you think so far ahead for us, otherwise we’d be sleeping in a cold possibly demon infested house during a heavy storm shivering our butts off while Ghosts whisper creepy stuff in our ears.” Alexander began to make a silly face and ghost noises, it got a small laugh from Vivian and a chuckle from Logan. The family seemed to be in good spirits, the stew finished and Logan served it out to his kids. He’d turn off the lantern and watch them as they began to fall asleep, once they were asleep he began to doze off himself. SPLRRACH!!291Please respect copyright.PENANAhGY5mX4v0t
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“How do ya like that ya giant cockroaches?! Think ya can just run up on me?! EH?!{SPLAT}” Logan jumped awake as he heard someone’s shouting cut straight through the thunderstorm, they were close to the tent. He grabbed the pistol he kept nearby and began to step outside, he aimed it toward the person and saw..a woman? She was beating something to death with a crude baseball bat with spikes around the end.291Please respect copyright.PENANAyPLfiIaQfy
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“Huh? Oh good you’re awake, makes my job a whooole lot easier. Oye double tap this thing for me will ya?” She poked the beast, whatever it was it looked like some kind of octopus creature that had multiple spider like legs. Without a second thought Logan shot the thing twice, he then aimed his gun back at the woman.291Please respect copyright.PENANA0no1QdSHoq
“Oh c’mon mate, if I wanted ya dead I wouldn’t have been shouting. Heck I was beating that nasty bastard for a while before ya sprung awake.”291Please respect copyright.PENANAIJxxteN13l
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“Who’re you?” Logan asked as the woman pulled out some gum and began to chew on it and then answered him.291Please respect copyright.PENANACJEegvBfdC
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“They call me Ratchet, I’m a mechanic automation. Basically an android, that’s what they call us here. I’m from another world, I came out here to get you all an- BEHIND!” Ratchet shouted, causing Logan to turn and he saw one of the creatures had Vivian and began to devour her; he fired four shots at it but was stopped by Ratchet.291Please respect copyright.PENANAa35y9FV6M0
“Don’t! It's absorbin her, she's inside its body and if ya keep firing at it you’re gonna hit her!”291Please respect copyright.PENANAABnbwiSE5u
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“Vivian!!!” Logan ran at the beast just as another one came out of the woods and attacked him, he grabbed its tentacles and held it back sliding through the mud and doing his best to keep his balance.
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“Oye! Lemme give you a hand mate!”
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“No! This is my fight, save my daughter!!” Logan shouted out and Ratchet huffed in annoyance before rushing to the beat and slapping it with her bat getting knocked away easily, it began to run to the house and she chased after it.291Please respect copyright.PENANAvnHwxNZy2d
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“Dad!!”291Please respect copyright.PENANAqxu1Wc6Y4R
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“Alexander! That thing has your sister! Follow the woman and take my gun, remember what I’ve taught you!!” He shouted as Alex panicked, suddenly Ratchet grabbed him and the gun and ran after the beast together. Alexander was scared out of his mind and groggy but he quickly woke himself up and ran beside Ratchet, the pair followed the creature up to the room and through the storage door chasing it down.
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“Why aren’t you shooting it?!”
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“I mean if ya want yar sister to die I can shoot it ya.” Ratchet ran faster and then stopped midway as she huffed, she then proceeded to shoot it in the leg and it screeched and ran faster.291Please respect copyright.PENANAxq3cdArXbj
“There.”291Please respect copyright.PENANAySr1LgfUOV
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“Wh-What did you just do?” Alexander asked Ratchet as she looked over at him.291Please respect copyright.PENANAOA813dgyp9
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“Gave us a chance, now let’s go get yar father and we-”
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“No need, where are we headed?” Logan spoke from the top of the stairs, Alexander looked at his father seeing he was holding a tentacle from the creature. Ratchet laughed as she looked up at Logan.
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“Holy ha ha ha right on, now that’s what I’m talking about. Definitely get that from ya barbaric side don’t ya?” Ratchet continued laughing before beginning to walk away and motion them to follow.291Please respect copyright.PENANALU8YBJ28g6
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“Dad?” Alexander looked at his father and continued.291Please respect copyright.PENANAHlbmqrAok8
“Think we can trust her?”291Please respect copyright.PENANACKdQTkwNMA
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“She’s helping us get your sister back, we trust her until then. After that we come home and we get out of here.” Alex nods and they both watch Ratchet walk over to a door, she then twists the knob and it doesn’t open..she twists it again and again and then kicks the door open making it swing causing light to pour in. The group traversed through the door and exited out into a deserted land, it looked like life once resided here but had died off.
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“Alright so the little bugger is taking a break due to the injury I gave it, gives us time to do all this catching up and whatnot.” Ratchet spoke as she motioned them to follow, seeing no other choice since she was their best bet at getting Vivian back.
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“So uh bat lady.”291Please respect copyright.PENANAnCIFjK4RJY
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“Whaddya want?”291Please respect copyright.PENANA7G4fgEaPat
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“I’m currently not freaking out but I have to know, where are we? What’s this place? What do you know and-”291Please respect copyright.PENANAZNvGFydcdW
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“Can it, gonna make me fry my box hearing ya.” Ratchet looked at Alexander before she blew a bubble with her gum, Logan was about to pull his son away just as she spoke.291Please respect copyright.PENANAc9bvmPbM4f
“Alright. So this world of ours we call it Belhaliam, why? I have just about as much of an idea as anyone. Where we currently are is the “Dead Lands” pretty obvious as you can see, ain’t no grass for miles and the water is highly acidic and anything attempting to be anything but a carnivorous beast is either already eaten, going to be eaten or eating meat now. Hope that sums it up but because I love my own voice here’s a small run back, ya drink the water without the propa steps to cleanse it yar gonna be feeling easily worse for wear, everything wants to eat you in various ways, and this is basically just dead lands and sediments. Yeah I know a lotta nonsense and I keeps it all to mahself because sharing too much gets you attention ya don’t want, finally we’re heading back to meet your gramps so we can save your sis.”291Please respect copyright.PENANAJ5xVumE3YD
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“Grandpa is here?”291Please respect copyright.PENANAKA40uSQZE4
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“My father…” Logan walked faster and stood leveled with Ratchet blocking her.291Please respect copyright.PENANAlGbMobnI1s
“My father has been-”291Please respect copyright.PENANA2cJL4MGO3E
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“Missing for ages right? Or were ya going to say dead? Either way that’s how “Missing” works mate, he’s been here helpin out in this world. Ya pops is a good man, been holding out for much longa than he should’ve.” Ratchet walked past Logan bumping him, he looked at his son and nodded as Alex gave him a nod back and followed beside him. The group wandered for a while and soon arrived at their destination, a large dome of vines and shrubbery.
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