Author Note63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrXjcnwbURM
63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNvUHoVbpme
Hey so when you go through this chapter, I think it's important to remember the good times we've had together. You know? The hero is coming, I think. Everything will be fine... in the end. If anyone needs to complain, find me at the end of the chapter. I will get you in touch with the complaint's department.63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6gMAepJt5m
63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBSVdC7MgBA
~~~
63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbQIzJlB4aO
Dinner forks played their song against the plates.
63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzGrF5m902c
It wouldn’t have been any less quiet with Papa there. Not to say that his absence wasn't felt, but he normally liked a silence at all times of the day.
63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv1j12Bs0cW
It was Willy who broke this silence.
63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaqhNUykMgu
“So Dylan, you aint from ‘round here?”
63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ37VHMgFOja
“Where isth here?”
63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaOrYyMYF1k
Willy blinked. “You really don’t know where yer at?”
63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGaNsByPlhj
Dylan only shook his head.
63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOJsmqAt579
“Nearest town’s Baker. Three miles that way.” He pointed through the wooden walls. “Where are you from.”
63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCnbMLAcZmn
“Pine Oakth.”
63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmcitHy7gv4
“Pine a what now?” Willy looked for any sense in what came out of Dylan's mouth. But then he remembered how Papa would sometimes get after the bottle. He resisted touching his cheek, suddenly sore from the memory.“Were you… Were you safe there?”
63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMoMx9lMmau
Dylan’s eyes welled and he slowly shook his head.
63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSXMHs8KZBi
“Now, don’t worry, Dylan. Eat yer food.” Willy hungrily filled his mouth. “There ain’t nuffin to fear out here ‘cept them coyotes.”
63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg1R4u6LdVi
He struggled to gulp down two cheeks-full of potato and pork. It hurt his throat and then his eyes watered too. “And they don’t come in the house. Yer safe here.”
63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUJ0RI8q5HA
They spent the rest of dinner with minor exchanges while they chewed, not minding the food they spit as they talked. It was probably the most lively dinner they’d had since Mama went to see Heaven.
63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3hExiqvOx4
Willy smiled to finally hear Walt laugh. He was really laughing and Dylan didn't get the joke. Classic Dylan. He’d just met the boy but he was convinced they would be best friends. Best friends for life.
63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwMcRHzpsAa
And so they ate and laughed.
63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbPJsZMMqIG
Dinner and the sentiment were only interrupted when a flash brightened the dusk from the window. A rectangle of purple light careened across the room as it's source descended to the earth, illuminating the boy’s faces. They all watched as another shooting star landed in the freshly tilled plot, no more than a stone’s throw from the house.
63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡykXrH2tGnB
It was louder, and heavier than when Dylan landed but still managed to only tear up a small patch of earth. Walter and Willy stood to peer out the window at the new crash site.
63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgEjNtUlHPT
As the dust settled, they could see Albert first to stand at the edge of the plume.
63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuhzl5ySsOc
He put an arm up in front of his face to shield his eyes from the dust. He walked closer when something stopped him in his tracks.
63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgrw1GtRl2d
Someone reached out from the gash in the dirt, digging long shadowing fingertips into the dirt. The sun set as a gray hand clambered out of the hole, dragging a tall figure to a stand in the field in front of the crash site.
63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZYkoAQvznm
It stood at least a head taller than Albert, maybe two. It would look like a person, if not for its smooth, featureless face and body. Its appendages were lanky and spindly, with fingertips that came to a point like long thin knives.
63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDAYUntbi5o
The two stood only a short span from each other.
63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXvz25FoAvP
“Hey,” Papa cleared his throat as he stumbled a little closer. “This is private property.”
63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHt4OdagJt4
The figure rolled its head back and straightened its back. It took a deep breath and looked around as if it was searching.
63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLeeHY1XGvP
“Hey!” Papa didn’t like being ignored. He took a couple steps forward. “Did you hear-!”
63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsqhiMII18I
The figure swung a flagrant hand that passed over the man’s throat, slashing her razorlike nails through his gullet.
63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXVuEZqpJ2g
His final moments were quick, too instant. He didn’t know how much he wanted to live until it was taken away. Blood gargled halfway up his throat, escaping through the gaping gash in his neck. The words he wanted to say, questions he wanted to ask drowned in crimson before they could be uttered. The weight of those words dragged him to the ground as his legs grew weak and his vision grew dark. His lungs filled and his last thoughts were of dread and fear.
63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVhKmvKWWP1
Then, she spoke. A slit where a mouth should be peeled back and mimicked human voice with distorted tones. It wasn’t as clear and sure as any normal speech. She couldn’t find her pitch or tone, testing the sound as if she was trying to find a sound that was most acceptable and disarming.
63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYjO78Eiuqb
“Hey!- Hey, hey.” The voice shifted from deep to high and back down again. “Did you hear? This is priva- private, private. PROPERTY!”
63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW0tZl3jsjU
Her shape adjusted from a 2 ½ meter, titanous creature into a smaller, more feminine form. She was still tall, just not the inhuman height she was before and adopted a more athletic build.
63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWgjmEV8lZ0
Her skin crawled with pitch black slickness that sheened like oil. From the sliding tar poked out exaggerated, shifting features. Her muscles stretched and bunched beneath her pale skin before settling. A long nose sprung in the wrong place on her face, shifted and shorted before adjusting to the right spot.
63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfk838ebT6v
Finally, her face solidified into the familiar shape it once was in a different time. A face this place had never seen, but she wore many times before. She licked her teeth and remembered her purpose.
63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEZg7k7a3lo
Her hunt.
63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdbUYCZKzdZ
She was Vermille.
63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCmhhUEc7Pi
She sniffed the air to catch the scent of her prey.
63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5QIU3DeOaS
Her eyes locked on the house.
63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9CYQ6MfQyY
Walter ducked below the window sill.
63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu41Vagssxf
“Go!” He yelled a whisper over his shoulder before turning wet eyes to Willy. “Take Dylan. Hide.”
63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAJKjX4w3yy
“Papa?” Willy stood dumbly. Walter grabbed him by the shirt and slapped him, not lightly. The sting still didn't seem to truly register to the boy.
63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbDngipfh5Q
“Hey! It’s time to go, William! Take Dylan. Hide!” He pushed him away and sprinted to his father’s shotgun hung by an iron hook on the wall. It was old but it had claimed more than one coyote by Walter’s hands alone. He knew it was loaded but for some reason, he felt he should grab a few more shells anyway.
63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC0mmKiOyK5
For Willy’s part, he cleared his teary eyes with a blink. There would be time to cry for Papa later. He had his task. He turned to the table behind him where Dylan was cowering covering his ears and squeezing his eyes shut.
63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWzDgQqJ5ay
He didn’t hesitate, he grabbed Dylan by the wrist, dragging the boy behind him like a hay bail. They reached the door to the back room in only a few strides and closed the flimsy wooden door behind them in the same motion.
63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ8O0uU0uA8
The wardrobe wasn’t big enough for them both so he pushed Dylan inside. His new friend was safe. Hidden. He took a breath, spared a moment to look to the door. He knew Walter would be okay. He was a deadshot.
63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0dXTD12ChS
Still, he couldn’t shake a feeling from the back of his neck, so he swallowed it, huffed another breath and dove under the bed. He’d hoped he wouldn’t need it but he pulled out a small folding knife, determined to do what had to be done.
63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVuyiEqPAnC
He laid still and listened.
63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5GulQqbpKk
Beyond the bedroom door, a creak ached from the kitchen. A too heavy thump at the door step to the house. Then another, and the complaint of old wood undertoe as some leaned a little closer into the house.
63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQVtQbR6eUa
BANG!
63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOowfLWzcJW
A slight stumble against the wood and splinters rain to the ground.
63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaeVg4NfaDI
BANG!
63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH1goAc16C7
More splinters and metal balls clattered against the floor and droplets of someone liquid splashed at the front door.
63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNGz4nN0D9B
Willy jumped at the sound of two shotgun blasts. He never heard the shots inside the house before, it sounded like her was standing next the blast. He could hear Dylan whimpering from the wardrobe afterward.
63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzLwobD5Sx6
Darn kid couldn’t keep quiet.
63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM672FPXijy
Then heard the shotgun reloading and steps approaching the bedroom door.
63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDriajvlpoK
“Hey! I’m not done with you, bitch!”
63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBDQPe6reZj
Another shotgun blast came but it sounded like it hit only wood and spraying splinters to the floor. Then a loud crash sounded from the other side of the door like something heavy hit the wall, then the ground. Or someone.
63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3geaIgynt0
Walter? He thought, biting his finger.
63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYqcVzusUHc
Willy eyes welled and the bedroom door creaked open. The bloody and bare feet of a woman bent the tire floorboards. Behind her, he could see Walter, collapsed against the wall seemingly knocked out.
63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuAkPIQmNsa
He didn’t know what to do. This monster cut through Papa like paper, walked off shotgun shrapnel like it was nothing and tossed Walter like a sack of corn. She dripped with blood but she kept walking as if those shotgun shells were mere suggestions.
63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUEbeLT5SFJ
He was helpless again, just like when Mama died. Just like when he used to knock at the barn door, trying trying to get his old Papa back. So damn close to the problem yet too weak and helpless to change it. He couldn’t do a damn thing.
63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoho7CGefWr
But he couldn’t do nothing.
63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLBF8j26aJd
He slid from under the bed to stand between Vermille and Dylan’s wardrobe, wielding his blade in front of her.
63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL4KUmFR9Iq
“I’m warning you!” Willy wouldn’t let her pass. For that moment, he faced evil. She could’ve been pretty, he could tell that much, if it weren’t for the torn flesh and mangled bone dangling from her otherwise perfect skin. He wouldn’t let the monster get anywhere near Dylan.
63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqIMVQWwKfG
She smiled.
63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1nVE7sErAE
She didn’t look scared. That was her first mistake. She reached out to the boy as if toying with him.
63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWiBZ5up10S
He closed his eyes and slashed her hand, removing her index finger. She recoiled and when he heard the finger hit the floor. It sounded like dropped sausage. He grinned to himself and crouched to pick it up.
63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtGmExhWFkz
“See?!” He held up the finger. “Want some more?”
63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9k6wbxLB8w
She looked back at him with pure disdain. This time she wasn’t playing. She grabbed him by the throat and lifted him off the ground.
63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqeAYJ6OaTd
Willy couldn’t breathe. Her grip tighten, squeezing the blood to his face and eyes.
63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7SpZtIEpNl
He dropped his tiny pocket knife the to the floor.
63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyjWIgG8aCc
With a flick of her wrist, she snapped his neck.
63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8vUAnvmCbT
It was over instantly.
63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoz16Vpl57q
She dropped his lifeless corpse to the ground, then opened the wardrobe. Inside, Dylan silently sobbed, staring down the unstoppable force that followed him across dimensions and killed frivolously just to find him.
63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr1kMwBlrK5
Vermille looked down at Dylan and spoke in the voice of battery acid.
63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5Ms8V6ZgpJ
“Come.”63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGEIwsnTgSS
and then Add to home screen.