Critter Volume 4 Chapter 3 : Ghost Town

Ghost Town

Lauren saw what she saw and although it was hard to grasp, she knew it was done. Lena was gone forever and those things were swarming the house. Mitchell was dragging Lauren in tears toward the back door. Rachel came running back into the house “Their everywhere! There’s no way out!” she cried. Mitchell was holding a sobbing Lauren in his arms as he was trying desperately to think of a way to escape. Time was running out.

Kyle stood, out of breath with a racing heart, of all the things he’s been through the thought of this being the death of him was more unbelievable than what was happening. Kyle felt a slight tickle on the end of his nose, a housefly landed quietly as if he too was scared and wanted to find safety. It was then Kyle knew what to do “I got this” he said “I’ll shift” he whispered. The group turned to look at Kyle as he closed his eye and took a deep breath “I’ll distract them and meet up with you guys after” Kyle whispered as he shifted into the fly. He buzzed around in one spot before he flew out the crack in the window. He flew over top of the creatures that were investigating the outside of the house to find a way inside. Once he flew over the crowd he turned back around and shifted back into himself. Kyle fell to the ground naked; he stood up and yelled “HEY! OVER HERE!” he screamed as the Critter’s begun looking in his direction “let’s do this” he whispered as they begun storming in his direction. One of the creatures actually almost reached Kyle before he began running; he turned into his most comfortable form, a cougar, and bolted into the forest while most of the Critter’s followed.

“Where’s Lena?” asked Rachel as she watched Lauren cry in Mitchells arms “we have to go now!” yelled Logan “please don’t tell me” Rachel could sense the tone of the room “no” she whispered. Lauren looked up at her friend Rachel as her shoulders sank; she stood up and walked over to her. The two girls embraced in a hug “I know, I know” whispered Lauren as the two of them cried for their friend. Rachel’s thoughts were all over the place, but there was no time to try and piece it all together. Kyle had bought the group some time and they were going to take it “we need to leave, come on!” yelled Mitchell as Logan and him swung the back door open.

Mitchell had his hands raised in the air like a cocked gun with the safety off. He was prepared to blast away anything that got in their way “Lauren! I could use your help!” he yelled. Lauren was holding Rachel’s hand as they ran along side Logan, she could see one of the Critter’s running in their direction so she raised her hand and incinerated it. Lauren’s abilities were always stronger when she was emotional and clearly Mitchell’s had recently evolved which made the two of them unstoppable. The four of them came across a vehicle covered in a tarp behind Laurens house “It’s Chevy’s!” she yelled “it was left here after the funeral, the keys should be in it!” she yelled “so many god damn funerals” whispered Mitchell as he ripped the tarp off and opened the drivers seat. The keys were luckily in the ignition so he started it as the group crawled in “GO!” yelled Lauren as they just peeled away in time; the Critter’s were hot on their trail.

“It’s quiet out there, Clay” whispered Kelly as she turned to her brother who was laying beside her in Jordan’s old sleeping grounds. “I’ll go check it out, we can’t be certain” he whispered “we’ve been down here for hours Clay, they probably moved on. We have to see if everyone’s okay” she said “alright, let’s go” Clayton said as he pushed open the floorboards and grabbed his sister’s hand to pull her up. The two of them peeked outside and saw that it was clear and quiet; it seemed too quiet for Claytons liking. They opened the front door; still hand in hand the two of them made their way across the front lawn. “Where too?” asked Clayton “we can start by checking Lauren’s house” explained Kelly. The two of them looked around to see that the neighbors house along with the houses down the road were completely deserted. After all that just happened and not a person in sight, seemed weird to them.

“Do you hear that?” asked Kelly “It’s a car!” yelled Kelly. Clayton stood in front of his sister to give protection; in his mind nothing was safe until proven so. The car came speeding down the road sliding on gravel and spitting mud in every direction. The small four doors Honda came to a screeching top when it reached Jordan’s house. Clayton was nervous, until he saw Mitchell’s face in the passenger seat.

Driving past each house, it became clearer that the events that had occurred caused a town wide evacuation “I’m guessing no one else’s phone works?” asked Kelly “nope” replied the group. The mood in the car was extremely gloomy. They had lost so many people, and there was no one in sight for miles. Bon Temps was a ghost town. “Mitch where are you taking us?” asked Rachel. The group pulled up to a old homey looking cabin far into the forest. “This is the only safe place I know, we can hold up here and load up on weapons until we come up with a plan” replied Mitchell “this is Kindred’s place isn’t it?” asked Lauren “yes” Mitchell replied as he was immediately reminded of Ashley.

Kyle flew over the town of bon Temps in the form of a falcon. This was a new species Kyle had never become before but it felt good. He was looking for his friends as he came across a small fire that was lit between the trees below him. Kyle swooped lower to come closer to the commotion. He perched on a branch as he examined the area. Beside the fire was an old gray Camaro with each door propped open. One person’s feet were sticking out of the back seat as if they were sleeping. Someone else was digging through the trunk. Just then Kyle saw someone else approach from underneath him, it was a tall man with blonde hair and was wearing a hooded sweater. “Your back” the woman sifting through the trunk was pleasantly surprised “what did you bring us?” the woman with long curly brown hair asked “I hope it’s actual food this time” another woman said from the back seat of the car. She slid out from the back seat and smirked at her friend. The woman stood up from the car and began walking, but then she froze “what is it?” said the man “I can sense something, very close to us” she said “it’s the shifter” she said as she looked in Kyle’s direction “THERE!” she yelled. When the woman pointed at Kyle, he felt powerless. This woman was no doubt a supernatural. Kyle fell off the branch and shifted back into himself as he hit the ground.

Kyle opened his eyes, he felt dizzy. He half expected to be chained up or gagged or even dead. Instead he was propped up on a lawn chair with an ice pack on his forehead “I’m sorry about that” the woman who had discovered him explained “long story short, I have the ability to discover and clutch others abilities, I could sense you there and I really didn’t mean for you to fall from the tree, naked. My name is Emma and these are my friends Becky and Aaron and you must be Kyle?” the woman said, “we’ve been looking for you”.

Rachel sat with a blank stare on a coffee table where she was continuously pricking her finger with a tack she found in the wall, each prick healing within seconds. Clayton stood with Mitchell as they sifted through the weapons they found to load them with ammunition. Kelly was walking with her arms crossed looking at photographs hanging from the walls. Lauren sat on the couch with the palms of her hands pressed against her mouth, still shocked at the death of her best friend Lena.

“Hey Mitch, if what Dayna said about the glitching is true, if those people never really existed than how does Athena disappearing make any sense? I mean we saw Lena go through the pregnancy, she gave birth to a little girl remember?” she said “I know just as much as you Lauren” he said “nothing makes sense anymore” Lauren said as her voice began cracking with tears “sometimes, I can still hear the screams of all the people we’ve killed and for what? For this place? I doesn’t seem worth it anymore” she cried “AND DO YOU KNOW WHAT I THINK’S PRETTY MESSED UP?” yelled Logan startling everyone “that the word red is in Kindred’s name and she was a little old lady who lived in a cabin in the woods who dated a lumberjack and was hunted by a wolf, I mean HELLO! Little Red Riding Hood anyone?!” Logan yelled as he paced around with a hand gun “who told you that?” asked Mitchell “WELL IT CERTAINLY WASN’T ANYTHING IN THAT MAGICAL BOX DAD LEFT YOU” Logan began laughing “Logan give me the gun” said Mitch as he began feeling nervous “who are you?” asked Kelly as she began backing away from him “you wanna know who I am? Well my dear sweet Kelly I am the plumber” he yelled “the guy that gets sent in to do all the dirty work while everyone collects the reward” Clayton looked over at Kelly with nervous eyes, the gun in Logan’s hands was making everyone begin to react. “Well, I’m sick of it all” added a sweaty, shaking Logan “I’m sick of being the guy who pretends to be someone’s brother, who brings him a box of junk and pretends it has meaning! Well it didn’t Mitchell!” he yelled as he pointed the gun at him “I put that engraving on the ring, it was me! I did it so that you would fall in love and-“ just then, Logan glitched “fuck” he whispered, “he’s pissed” said Logan “who’s pissed!? LOGAN WHO?” screamed Mitchell. Logan stared back at Mitchell as the glitching began getting worse “Curtis” he whispered and then he was gone.

Ghost Town 

Critter Volume 4 Chapter 2 : Mothers & Daughters

Mothers & Daughters 

All she did was hop in a cab, and all this had begun. The day Clayton arrived in Bon Temps was the first time she had ever even seen him. Warren was just a cab driver and everything seemed so easy. Girl meets boy and girl likes boy, nothing was complicated. Lena soon found that nothing comes without baggage. Warren was a Mermaid and Lena didn’t quite know how to handle it and then soon enough, he was gone forever. Warren left Lena with the most beautiful gift, a daughter. Athena gave Lena’s life purpose; she never felt special like the others, she didn’t have abilities and she was not supernatural, believe it or not this actually set her apart from her friends. She was a brutal alcoholic for years until she met Jordan and she fell in love for the first time but just like most things in Lena’s life, he died, twice. Athena was the only shred of life she had left in her and she was gone.

Evelyn and Ericka stood in front of Laurens house; rain began to pour as if the heavens were upset about what they were about to do. “Let’s do this” said Evelyn as they moved towards the house. Just then Mitchell and Kyle came speeding down their direction. On top of the truck was a small, not quite developed Critter. One of its pincers had gotten stuck in the roof of the truck. Mitchell slammed on the breaks sending the critter flying in the girl’s direction. It quickly stood up and swiped Evelyn clean in half. “Did you mean to do that?” asked Kyle “nope” replied Mitchell as they both stepped out of the truck.

Ericka blasted the Critter into bits; she glared at Mitchell as if the death of Evelyn meant nothing to her. “Hello again, Mitchell” she yelled, “Welcome to Bon Temps” he replied. Mitchell could see Ericka’s hand begin to light up “Kyle go get the others, make sure their safe!” he yelled as his hands began to light up. Ericka and Mitchell both send beams of energy at each other at the same time causing some sort of magnetic pull in the form of a giant ball of light. Ericka was strong, Mitchell was stronger. He began forcing more energy into his beam but he was weak from earlier. His began to weaken as Kyle ran past them to the house.

Kyle turned to Ericka who was facing Mitchell, it was then he had an idea. Kyle closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He then sunk to the ground and through his clothing came a long snake. The Jararacussa snake was the deadliest snake in all the world, Kyle learnt about it years ago from his science teacher. It had piercing yellow spots with a river of black flowing through its body. Its eyes are big, black and empty. As if it’s life only serves one purpose, to kill. Kyle slithered in snake form towards Ericka’s legs, he felt the power of the bones in the snake’s torso, he was able to pick himself up and prepare for an attack. The power of the venom flowing through him was like nothing he had ever felt before. It was then that he snapped. Jararacussa venom takes up to 12 seconds to sink in, first the body is paralyzed then 15 seconds later the heart stops. There is enough venom to kill over 600,000 mice. Things weren’t looking good for Ericka.

She fell to the ground immediately and so did Mitchell, he was gathering himself as he stood back up. He looked towards Ericka, just then Kyle shifted back into himself. He ran to grab his clothes “what did you do?” asked Mitchell “took care of it” he said “she’s not coming back from that”. The front door of Lauren’s house swung open “GET IN HERE!” yelled Logan. Kyle helped Mitchell up and the two of them headed for the house. Mitchell walked in to see Lena on the couch with a blank stare, her eyes puffy from tears. Rachel was consoling her with her arms wrapped around her. Lauren stood up from the table “where’s Ashley?” she asked. Mitchell’s expression was all she needed to know that she didn’t make it. “What happened?” she asked “I couldn’t save her, he got to us” he said as a tear brewed. Lauren ran to him with a hug “I’m so sorry Mitchell” she said. Rachel heard the news and began crying, “where’s Clayton and Kelly?” asked Mitch “we haven’t seen them since the party” replied Logan. “Look, we don’t have much time, we need to find somewhere safe, those things are coming” Logan added.

Mitch looked around the room; all he had left of his friends and family were standing around this very room. He was going to fight until each and every one of these people was safe. “Maybe this is it for us” said Kyle “who knows, maybe we all deserve to die” he added. Mitchell leaped across the table and grabbed him by the shirt “say something like that again and you’re on your own, understand?” Kyle nodded “Listen up! We ARE NOT going to give up this easy, these things have no idea who they’re messing with! We are all extraordinary people! We have survived so much!” Mitchell chanted, “We need to get out of this house, we stand no chance in here. One thing for sure, we are leaving Bon Temps! First things first, we need to find Clayton and Kelly.

Rachel stood up and walked towards the group talking around the kitchen table “I think Clay said something about the peer, they were headed down there with the other Mer’s” she said. Mitchell began thinking of how to say what he had to say next “things are different this time guys, I have a feeling that there are greater powers at work here” he said “she glitched” the whole room turned to Lena as she whispered these words over and over “she glitched” she said again “Lena, who glitched?” asked Lauren “my daughter, she flickered and then she was gone” she explained “how is this possible?” asked Mitchell “Dayna mentioned the glitching to me, right before she died” he stood up “she told me that when you glitch, it’s because you don’t actually exist, and it’s the universes way of getting rid of you, forever. That’s all she got out, and then she was gone” he explained. Just then Rachel let out a scream, the critters were surrounding the house.

Lena sat on the couch as her friends panicked and began leaving through the back door “Lena let’s go!” Lauren yelled as she grabbed her arm and pulled her off the couch. They began running toward the back door, but Lena heard something. It was a cry, a baby’s cry. She swung around to the direction of the cry. She ran to the window to see outside, she heard another cry. It sounded just like Athena “Athena! I’m coming!” Lena screamed as she swung the front door open to follow the screams. Lauren turned to her friend who was running in the opposite direction toward the Critters. “LENA!” she yelled “What are you doing?” she said as she ran back to get her friend. Lena ran down the porch, she could hear the screams all around her. Lauren ran to the doorway but Mitchell grabbed her and held her back “Lauren no! You can’t go out there!” he yelled as hundreds of Critters began flooding through the tree’s “NO LENA!” she yelled tears flew from her face as she cried for her best friend. Lena stopped when the crying stopped; it was then she heard laughing, but not Athena it was Ericka “Where’s my baby” Lena said “You’re no mother, you’re nothing but property” Ericka was chocking, the venom had caused vomiting “let’s not forget, he calls the shots and if he wants you, he’ll take you” she said as she choked out her last breath.

Lena then looked around her, she could see the creatures running at her in every direction, she looked over at the house where Lauren was trying desperately to blast away the critters. There were too many. Lena knew she was going to die, so she looked up at the sky, it would only hurt for a second, she thought, and then she would be with her family “I’ll see you soon, baby girl” she whispered as the critters took yet another life.

Mothers & Daughters 

Volume 4 Chapter 1 : Trouble

Critter : The Final Volume. 

Trouble

Lauren gripped tightly to the roses. She could barely look at the casket without feeling sick to her stomach. Death had become too common for this group. She walked past her friends and to each person a rose was handed. They would all place it on top of the casket before it was lowered. Rachel held onto Lena’s hand while they cried together, Kelly was buried in Claytons shoulder and had been since the funeral started. Kyle stood with a blank stare, as if he hadn’t quite yet believed it. Lauren placed her hand on Ashley’s shoulder “I’m so sorry Ashley” she said as she handed her the last rose.

Ashley was wearing a beautiful black laced dress that cut off just after her knees, her hair was covering part of her face, she figured this way at least not everyone would see the tears. She wanted to be strong, for him. She began walking towards the casket. “I love you Mitchell” she said as she tossed the rose in the grave. Each of her friends then followed and each rose fell to the hard wood like heartbeats. They all cried as a man in a suit began lowering the casket into the ground.

The sudden movement of the casket awoke Mitchell. His eyes opened, and his instinct was to panic, but he couldn’t move. It was as if his body was molded in cement, he could not scream either. His pupils rapidly moved left to right, his effort to scream caused a blood vessel to pop.

The bottom of his casket then opened, his body free fell until he landed in a pile of sand. He could feel his fingertips brushing up against another. He was able to turn his head slightly to see the person to the right of him was Natasha and the person to the left was Julia. Both women bleeding from the eyes as if the blood vessels had exploded. Mitchell then broke free and regained control of his body. He sat up and noticed that there were many more bodies. Warren, Chandra, Simone, Jenna, Chris, Shaun, Paul, Jason and even Kindred. They were all stuck, lying in their own blood, the blood that had leaked from their eye sockets.

Just then an old record player began playing in the corner of the room. It was a dark corner, although Mitchell could make out a silhouette. The music was old polka music; the song was on a continuous loop. “Hello?” Mitchel yelled. The man then leaned forward, it was his father. This was the first time he had seen his father since he left him as a child. His father’s eyes began dripping blood and his body flickered several times. “She’s better off dead” he said as he began crawling towards Mitch. Mitchell realized he had no legs, as if they were ripped off. “Your legs” Mitchell whispered “critter’s” he said as something appeared behind Mitchell. It stuck its pincer into Mitchell’s chest. He let out a scream, the pain felt so real.

Then he awoke, still lying in the ruble of the cabin where his fiancé’s life was taken. The dream he had just had, seemed so real that he was clenching and clawing at his chest like it had actually happened. This wasn’t the first time he has had a dream so vivid. He almost forgot, about Ashley. When he woke up, it was as if she wasn’t really dead. He knew this wasn’t true but it was a nice feeling at the time. He  wasn’t ready to move on without Ashley, he was planning a future with her and it was stolen from them.

Mitchell heard the spinning of tires on gravel speeding down his way. A jeep was zooming down the pathway to the cottage towards Mitchell. He lifted his head from the dirt to catch a glimpse. A woman stepped out of the front seat; she was wearing brown zipped up boots with tight blue jeans. She had blonde hair and when she ran in Mitchell’s direction he hoped it was Ashley. He then realized it was Dayna. She ran towards him and sat him up “are you okay?” she yelled, “there are things I haven’t told anyone and time is running out. This town is in trouble”.

Clayton sat patiently as his sister and friends were down in the cave investigating the bodies, whatever was left of them. He looked down at his toes digging in the bright green grass. Clayton liked his alone time, it was a moment where he could take time to think but suddenly it hit him, the sadness of losing Jason. He often thought of how perfect he was and how his biggest regret was that he never kissed him. He came close at one time, but he backed out. The fact that he would never have a chance to relive that moment made Clayton have more of an appreciation for life. Little did he know, life was something that would become a rarity.

Kelly shot out of the water gasping for air. She waited for Tara to reach the top until she headed to shore. The two of them swam faster than ever before and came out of the water. Kelly looked at Clayton who had just lifted his head to recognize Kelly “HELP!” she screamed. Clayton ran towards them “What is it? Where is everyone?” he was asking, but Kelly was out of breath. “Their dead, those things are back” she screamed “hundreds of them!” she added “we need to go” she said as a large splash followed by several others occurred behind them. The Critter’s were reaching the surface. “Run, Go NOW!” yelled Kelly.

Kelly had only ever seen small Critter’s, some of these were much bigger. They stood about ten feet tall, digging their sharp pincers into the ground, which helped them gain momentum. They were fast, smart and dangerous, not to mention ugly as all hell. Where they came from, they had no idea. All that seemed to matter was getting to safety before they claim any more lives. Clayton’s idea was to hide away in the underground sleeping quarters of Jordan’s house. They ran past the empty bar, nobody in site. “Hurry! Their coming!” yelled Kelly who turned back to yell for the last of her Mer friends, Tara who was moving slow. “Kelly we have to go!” yelled Clayton “I’m not leaving her! I swore an oath to these girls” she snapped back at her brother. It seemed all too late, the Critter’s had gained too much speed and took Tara out in one clean swipe. Her body was pulled away so fast by the Critter’s as if she was shoved in a wood chipper.

Kelly screamed for her friend as Clayton pulled her away to continue running. They ran through the forest approaching the long driveway that led to Jordan’s house. Clayton and Kelly saw the front door, just then one of the creatures came to the front area of the house. They had to get in some other way. A small window on the side of the house presented itself. Clayton grabbed Kelly’s hand and grabbed a large rock on their way across the lawn. Clayton threw it at the window leading to the basement “Kelly, GO!” he whispered as she fell to the floor to crawl through. Kelly fell to the floor and helped her brother down as well “what about everyone else?” Kelly asked “we just have to hope they found safety, it’s not safe out there for us to be looking for them” Clayton said “God help us” said Kelly “I don’t think God has much to do with this” he replied while pushing a book shelf against the window.

The two of them opened Jordan’s bed and crawled down underneath. “What were those things?” Clayton asked “all I know is that there were hundred of eggs down there, they began hatching and they got Chandra and Simone, but it’s the same creature that was inside Ashley and that killed Chevy, their known as Critter’s”.

When Dayna saw Mitchell lying on the ground, she knew what had happened. “You can’t loose control like this, Mitchell. Your powers are more powerful than you know” she explained, “You need to keep your strength for what’s to come” Mitchell looked up from the ground “who are you?” he asked, “it’s me, Dayna. Some of you knew me as Medusa, but now I’m just Dayna” she replied calmly “whatever’s left of this town needs your help, you’re the only one who can stop what’s happening. You’re the only one powerful enough” she looked around “clearly” she added. Every word that came from Mitchell’s mouth seemed to suck up so much energy “stop what from happening?” he asked “a certain species has released itself onto Bon Temps, they are known by many names. You know them as Critter’s but the technical term is a Blood Drifter. Nasty creatures, they multiply fast and are hard to kill.” She knelt down “the thing is, these creatures have been extinct for over 150 million years and no one knows how they got here” she said as she rubbed Mitchell’s back and stood back up “Now let’s go we have work to-“ she was interrupted by a presence behind her. Dayna had a gun tucked away in the back of her jeans, someone ripped it out. “Kyle” she said “can I have my gun back please?” she asked while holding her hand out “who the fuck are you?” she asked, “what have you done?” he asked again as he looked around at the mess, and his friend Mitchell half alive all beaten and bruised “let me explain” said Dayna as she took a step forward “When will the end Dayna?” he asked “I hope Jenna kicks your ass” he said as he pulled the trigger. A bullet flew through Dayna and came out the other side, splashing blood in Mitchell’s direction. Her body hit the ground and Kyle dropped the gun in fear “she was a killer” he said to a terrified Mitchell.  Mitchell crawled over to Dayna’s body “what do you know?” he said as she whispered her last breath into his ear. What Mitchell heard would change everything.

“What the hell happened?” yelled Rachel “we need to go see if someone’s hurt” she yelled again referring to the blast coming from the cabin. Rachel paced around Lauren’s house and she seemed to be having a bit of a panic attack “wow, for someone who literally can’t die you seem to be taking this harder then the wrest of us” yelled Lauren. Lena sat at the bottom of the stairs with the baby monitor, Athena had been crying for several minutes but she was waiting for some kind of an explanation as to what the hell that explosion was. Nobody knew, and at this point nobody had the answer.

Logan came thrashing threw the front door breathing heavily “We need to get somewhere safe, now!” he yelled, freaking out the others “those things” he said while shaking “their everywhere” Lauren ran to the window and turned on her porch light. She saw something moving in the distance, it was a person, she was running in the direction of the house. Just then she saw another woman running in the same direction. When she realized who they were there was no time to waste. Evelyn and Ericka had somehow found their way back and no one was safe. The feeling that flew through Lauren was anger; there was no way she was going back to Faetasia without a fight. She turned to Lena “go get Athena! And the rest of you, get ready for the fight of your lives” she added.

Lena ran up the stairs and into Athena’s room. Her mothers presence hushed the crying, Lena reached into the crib and picked up her baby girl. She wrapped her up in an old blanket that was no doubt homemade. “Shhh!” she said as she bounced Athena up and down and wiped away her tears. Lena turned to leave the room when something was wrong, Athena glitched once again, but this time was different. She flickered twice and then took longer to come back. Then, she was gone. Athena had completely disappeared. The homemade blanket hit the floor. She couldn’t handle the feeling of not having her baby in her arms, she looked around the room as if she had just crawled away and hid somewhere. The fact that she was really gone hadn’t quite sunk in “Athena!?” she yelled “WHERE’S MY BABY!?” Lena fell to the floor in tears. 

Trouble

Critter Volume 3 Chapter 12 (Finale) : The Impossible

The Impossible 

Clayton was walking along the beach digging his toes into the sand. As a child he often wondered what was under the sand, so he would dig and dig until he would just find more water. He then wondered if the whole world was just water underneath his feet, this way, he thought, Kelly would always have a place to stretch her fins. His train of thought was distracted by something in the distance washed up on shore. Clayton ran closer, it was a body. A body that was familiar, he flipped it over and it was then he knew.

Traci walked upon the soil of Lauren’s front yard. She brushed back a tree branch and pointed to a rather large window, which was lit all thanks to a solo lamp placed by the window.  “Here, your princess is inside” said Traci as she gracefully pointed a path to the house that she has become all too familiar with. Evelyn nodded to her and approached but Traci placed her arm in front of the path “you must keep your word, Mitchell is mine” she demanded “and what will you do if we don’t keep our promise?” she replied. Traci then smirked as she lit her hand up with a purple sparkle. It surrounded her hand like a pissed off cobra ready to attack. “He’s yours” she said. Traci put down her hand and disappeared into the forest, she was happy.

Minutes later, Laurens house was surrounded. Evelyn and Ericka stood with their most trusted soldier, goes by the name Steph. The three of them were standing near the end of the driveway. Of coarse fairies have the ability to be invisible, and that they were. All it took was one flick of the wrist and their small army would be revealed. Evelyn turned to Ericka “Kill anybody that get’s in your way, our primary target is the princess” she said. She was about to give the order when movement distracted her, coming from Steph. She turned to her “are you alright?” she asked. Steph glanced up at her and her entire existence flickered. It was as if she glitched. Half her body was gone, and just like that the other half went with it. Ericka and Evelyn looked around at the rest of the army and noticed they too were nothing but flickering images. Gone within seconds. The two of them were now alone “where did they go?” asked Ericka “I have no idea” Evelyn fixated at the front door of Laurens house “one things for sure, we can’t take her alone. Looks like we’re stuck here”.

Rachel was cleaning her small house that she had been renting from Mitchell since she arrived to town. She began to wonder why she was still here, it was then she remembered, any sort of life she had back home was nothing compared to the life she has built here. She cares about people here and has surrounded her self in people that understand her gift and will fight to protect it. “I never had the opportunity to thank you” a man said behind her. She turned her head halfway through the statement, it was him, the man in the mother fucking suit. “Thank me for what?” she asked “for winding up right where I wanted you too” Rachel stood quiet as she backed up towards the kitchen knife set “you think you can just burn the folder and expect it not to follow through? It’s time” he said. He reached into his suit jacket and pulled out a rather large machete “it’s your time” he said as he ran at her with the knife. Rachel turned to grab a knife from her kitchen when she was cut up her spine. Her sweater was open from the wound. The man watched as the flesh began to heal itself “of fuck I forgot you could do that” he said as she turned around to greet him with a knife to the stomach. The man looked in her eyes, and Rachel stared back even harder “you listen to me, I will die when I say I can fucking die” she twisted the knife in harder, and he faded away. Not quite dead, but like always just disappears without explanation. The only thing that stuck in Rachel’s head while she was trying to gather herself was the question of what? What makes him decide when it’s her time to go?

Logan and Mitchell were driving back from the creepy cabin they had discovered. They took nothing from it, in the attempt to not leave any evidence of them being there. “There’s no way our dad lives there” Logan said “how else can you explain it?” Mitchell asked “whoever lives there has been keeping tabs on us for our entire lives” he ranted. “Here’s the plan, we don’t tell anyone about this just yet, not before we know who we can trust” Logan said “how do you know it’s not one of your friends that did this, after all some of them have known you your whole life” he explained “but who? Who would do this?” he asked in a panic “all I know, is we need to keep this place a secret, until we know more about it”. Logan was right, it was probably in everyone’s best interest if they kept it to themselves, together they would find out what it means and until then no one will know it even exists. One thing that crossed Mitchell’s mind, was that one of his friends, someone he has trusted was most likely behind this.

Lauren tied up her apron tight, it was a busy night at the bar & grill and she needed to make sure she was ready to work. Lena sat in the back with Athena in her rocking chair, rocking her back and forth to sleep. The restaurant was like a family; they all kept on eye on Athena as Lena was serving customers. Lena was working the bar while Athena sat in the back in the company of Dayna and Jenna.

Athena held tightly onto Jenna’s finger. Dayna sat over her shoulder “she’s brand new” said Dayna as she glared into the baby’s eyes “so free of hurt and confusion, like a clean slate. What I wouldn’t kill to have that” she laughed. Jenna smiled at Athena, but it happened again. Athena glitched, she flickered and this ensured Jenna that what she saw the other day with Dayna was real “did you see that?” Jenna yelled at Dayna “yes” Dayna, replied, “It happened to you too! What the fuck is going on” she yelled. Lena came to the back room to calm the yelling “are you okay?” asked Lena “she’s fine, she needs some fresh air” Dayna said as she dragged Jenna out the back door by her arm. “You know what I’m talking about don’t you? Asked a frantic Jenna “you had that same thing happen to you the other day, I saw it! You glitch-“ Jenna was stopped by Dayna’s hand covering her mouth “I’m sorry Jenna, but you should have just kept your mouth SHUT!” she yelled as she cranked back at her neck, snapping it. Jenna’s body hit the floor like a dead fish “I really didn’t want this for you, Jenna” said Dayna”.

In cougar form, Kyle sat camouflaged in the tall grass, watching as Dayna took the body away. When would it end, he thought, when will people stop dying for this place.

Clayton sat with Kelly on the peer, she was the whole reason why he came to Bon Temps and she is the whole reason why he’s still here. “I wanted to tell you something” Kelly said “what’s that” he asked “I don’t want to be the whole reason why you stay here, I don’t want to be the reason why you can’t be happy. I’m sure you’re reminded everyday of what happened to Jason, it’s not fair to you” she explained “I just want you to know that you don’t have to stay here anymore, I think I’m okay” she said as she held his hand tight “I don’t want to leave you again Kelly, the last time that happened you almost died and you lost your humanity” he said “Warren saved my life, it was either become a mermaid or die and at the moment, becoming a mer didn’t seam so bad, it gave me a purpose” she said “I want you to go find your purpose, I have always wanted that for you” she explained. “The minute I leave, something bad will happen I just know it” he said, “Clayton, I’ll be okay. I love you so much” she said as they hugged “I’m staying for you, yes, but not just you. My best friend is here and my other friends. I have a job, I have a house and I now have a life here as do we both, I’m staying!” he demanded. Kelly then smiled; you could tell it was the kind of smile that suggested that Clayton said exactly what she wanted to hear. “I don’t know how I could ever repay you for looking for me, for finding me” Kelly explained, “actually, you could do me a favor” Clayton said “the other day I found a body, washed up on shore. It was a Siren. One of the bodies that you guys took down to the underwater caves, it washed up on shore.” He explained “I’m gunna need you and your girls to go down there and make sure that no other bodies are falling into the water, we can’t have them washing up on shore.” He explained “Ya, we can do that, let’s hope no others floated away I mean there were hundreds under there!” she said “I’ll take care of it”.

6 Months Later

Mitchell was hosting a party at Laurens house with all their friends and most of the town invited. Mitchell had something in mind; it was somewhat of a mystery party.  It was a party, but for some it didn’t feel that way. People stood with a drink in hand, smiling but it was as if they were wearing masks and the mask was whatever secrets they were keeping from the others. Logan and Mitchell knew about the cabin, Kyle knew about what happened to a recently disappeared Jenna, Dayna was a killer, Lauren was responsible for Jordan’s death, Lena knew of Athena’s glitching, the secrets were piling up. It was only a matter of time before they blew up in everyone’s face.

The only thing bigger then secrets in this town were questions. Where was Alex? Jenna? Why wasn’t Jasmine returning any of Lena’s phone calls? What happened to Rachel in that forest? Where was Mitchell and Logan’s dad? Was someone responsible for the library burning down? Who is the man in the suit? One question that was for sure to be answered, according to Mitchell, is that what was engraved on the ring he found in his Dad’s box was a coincidence? Or fate? Mitchell believed in fate. Inside the ring said ‘to my beloved Ashley’ Mitchell thought long and hard about what to make of this. After knowing that the answer would not come so easy, he decided to make something of it. It was then he gathered everyone’s attention. Mitchell walked to wards Ashley “Ashley, since I met you our lives have been a mess, things have been going really well with us and I know that in a town like this, love doesn’t come around too often, so when you find it you better keep hold. Ashley, I want to spend the rest of my life cleaning up the messes with you, being your one and only and protecting you until the day I shrivel up and die” he said as the entire crowd of his best friends and loved ones surrounded in awe. It even brought a tear from Lauren, who had given up on Mitchell months ago, it stung a little but she would be fine. “Will you marry me?” he asked with a big smile and a trembling lip as he got down on one knee.

Ashley never knew her parents, when he proposed the first thing she thought of was not having a father to walk her down the isle and not having a mother for support. Just then she gazed past the crowd with a tear gracing her cheek. It was like an out of body experience when she saw her. Kindred stood on the other end of the room with a big smile on her face, her hair was more beautiful then the sun and she was wearing a long white flowing dress as she nodded. Ashley then returned back to reality and knew, she just knew “yes” she said to him “YES!” she yelled as they hugged and kissed and he placed the ring on her finger. The crowd cheered as the happy couple popped a bottle of champagne. This was going to be a good night, they all needed it.

Hours later, the house was empty and Mitchell and Ashley drove home. They were on the road when their favorite song came on the radio. Ashley turned the nob and placed her hand in Mitchell’s “I love you” she said “I love you too Hun” said Mitchell “LOOK OUT!!!” yelled Ashley as Mitchell slammed on the breaks to avoid a person standing in the middle of the road. The truck swerved into the ditch slamming Mitchell’s head against the windshield, he was unconscious. Ashley’s forehead was bleeding as she wiped the blood off her face. She could hear footsteps walking on broken glass approaching her window “help!” she yelled. It was then she realized the person standing outside her window was not here to help “Traci” she whispered, “Hello again Witch” she said as she released a burst of energy to knock her unconscious.

Mitchell opened his eyes, it was blurry but his surroundings seemed familiar. He quickly realized he was in the cabin and all around him were his friends, pictures and lists and articles just like before. He then thought, what happened to Ashley? His fiancé was gone; he then heard a noise behind him. He tried to turn around but he was tied down, to a chair. He turned his head back as far as he could “ASHLEY!?” he yelled “Mitch! It’s me, I’m here!” she yelled back as she was also tied to a chair. “Where are we, get us out of here!” yelled Ashley “I can’t, my powers won’t work” he yelled “of coarse they won’t work, not around me they won’t” a man said as he walked through the dark doorway. A man wearing a suit approached, someone neither Mitchell or Ashley have ever seen before “what do you want” Mitchell said as the man ran towards him placing his hand around his throat “I WANT WHAT YOU TOOK FROM ME!” he yelled. Ashley was screaming and crying behind them “I didn’t take anything from you!” he yelled while trying to breath. “I know you were here, and something went missing. Give it back to me and I’ll let her live” he yelled “LET US BOTH GO!” yelled Ashley “hmm I’m afraid he is already spoken for” he said.

The piercing sound of Traci’s laugh then began behind him as she approached them through the doorway. “He’s mine” she whispered in the background “you killed my sister, I should have finished you long ago when I had the chance, and now with the help of my friend here you are powerless, and I can finish what I started” she said “NOT NOW!” yelled the man in the suit as he pushed her against the wall. “Now, where is it!?” he yelled again “I never took anythi-“ it was then he realized “Logan” he whispered “Logan?” the man said. “You leave him alone!” Mitchell yelled. The man began pacing the room “I’ll get you out of this Ashley, I promise!” he said as he looked up at Traci as she laughed. The man then opened up his suit jacket and pulled out a big machete. He walked towards Ashley “NO I TOLD YOU, I TOLD YOU WHO HAS YOUR THING!” Mitchell yelled “ASK TRACI! SHE HAS A CRYTAL BALL SHE CAN LOCATE LOGAN FOR YOU!” he begged “It doesn’t matter what I do, their time is up” he said “it’s okay Mitch, I love you so much” she said as he screamed her name and begged him not to do it “I love you, I love you” she kept saying over and over “I love yo-“ she stopped when the blade entered her chest. Mitchell saw what had happened and lost all emotion, drool fell from his mouth and tears flowed down his cheeks. “Why?” he whispered as anger flowed through his veins “you’ll know soon enough” he added.

“Now my turn” Traci said. Mitchell looked up “you stupid bitch, you really think you’re leaving here alive don’t you? You heard the man didn’t you? He said their time is up, he used you to bring us here when he could have done it himself. Your time is up too fucker!” he yelled as Traci turned around as the man had pulled the machete from Ashley. “You lie” said Traci. The man then raised his arm “thank you Traci, you’re done here” he said as he swung the machete slicing her head clean off. As it flew through the air it began to disintegrate and crumble into black dust. Mitchell looked over at Ashley who was face down, blood falling from her wound and dripping from her mouth. It was then he felt it, the anger, it was taking over. The man couldn’t move “how are you doing this?” he yelled Mitchell’s chair began to rise off the ground and it burst into pieces as he hovered in the air, the entire cabin began to fall apart and all the pictures, articles and lists floated around them. “STOP IT” the man yelled as Mitchell’s eyes turned white. The entire cabin flew in every direction and Mitchell and the man began floating higher and higher into the air. “This is impossible” the man whispered when he knew it was too late. His arms and legs began to fall off and fly away, he was slowly being torn limb for limb “I’ll see you again, my puppet” he yelled as he burst into nothing but a sea of blood. The power then stopped, Mitchell fell to the ground. He was empty inside, he lost his love. He clenched onto a rock as it began to crack, he then let out a scream that could reach the heavens.

Kelly stood on the peer with her friends, Chandra, Simone and Tara “alright so just a warning this is probably going to be really gross” Kelly said as she dove into the water to swim to the underground caves. Clayton stood on the dock “good luck!” he yelled as he would wait at the top for a report on the bodies. Kelly and the girls swam to the bottom and were quickly approaching the caves. Kelly pointed to the opening and the girls headed in that direction. They swam threw the hole and came to the surface. It was pitch black, but the smell that surrounded the cave was unbearable “all right let’s do a head count” Kelly said as she cranked on her flashlight. Their legs formed back as they walked onto the rocks. She flashed the light at a couple bodies, but that’s all there were, only a couple “where are the rest of them?” asked Tara. Kelly knew something was wrong, she flashed the light onward “holy fuck” she said as she came across a pile of bones, a big pile, probably the size of Laurens house “it looks like something ate them” said Simone “guys, we need to go” said Kelly, when she turned to run she stepped in something, it was what looked to be an egg. When she stepped inside it she heard a cry, something died. She flashed the light on It, and it was a creature she had seen before, something deadly that has only been known as a Critter. She shines the light upwards and there were more. She then lit the cave walls and roof and they were covered in them. Hundred’s and hundred’s of eggs “they’ve been feeding down here this whole time” Kelly whispered, “what has?” yelled Simone, they then heard a cracking sound, followed by another and another. “Kelly?” Simone asked again. Kelly pointed the flashlight towards Simone; right behind her were dozens of eggs. “They’re hatching” Kelly whispered, before she had time to lay down game plan, one of them came from behind Simone and wrapped around Simone using it’s pincers to tear her apart. Chandra then let out a scream and attracted another one, it leaped onto her and began biting down on her head “Tara!” she yelled as she ran to her and grabbed her hand “RUN!”. 

 The Impossible 

Critter Volume 3 Chapter 11 : Any Last Words?

Any Last Words? 

Logan popped open the trunk of his car, inside was a dusty old box. “This is what I really wanted to show you” said Logan as he pulled it out and shut the trunk. He placed the box on the car, on the side, written in black marker was ‘Mitchell’ “I think this is for you” Logan added.

Later that night, Mitchell had closed the bar and sat with Logan and a couple beers as they began going through the box. Inside were dozens of scattered photographs of his father holding them as babies as well as scattered papers such as birth records and family archives. “I honestly never thought I’d see his face again, this is probably the weirdest thing that could have possibly happened” Mitchell said as he held onto a photo. Logan reached his hands into the box “what’s this” he pulled out a small velvet pouch. He handed it to Mitchell, he opened it up and dumped it’s contents into his palm. A ring fell out, a diamond wedding ring “do you think this was my moms?” Logan looked closely at the ring “there’s an engraving” he said. Mitchell looked into the ring “well, what does it say?” asked an impatient Logan “nothing, it doesn’t make sense” Mitchell said as he tucked the ring into his pocket. He clearly had read something that didn’t sit right, he kept it to himself.

Lena put Athena to sleep in the living room and then joined Lauren in the kitchen for a drink. Lauren was pouring gin into two glasses full of ice “it’s been a while since I’ve had a drink” said Lena “is this okay?” asked Lauren “of course” she replied. The two of them clinked their cups and took a sip, their faces cringed. “I really thought you were dead Lauren. I lost everyone; all I had left was Athena. Leaving didn’t feel right but I had to protect her” she said “it’s okay Lena” Lauren replied as she hugged her best friend “we’ve been through a lot, things will start looking up, I promise” Lauren explained “this world is full of so much evil, I’m scared Lauren” she said as she took another sip “I’m scared too”.

Lena wondered into the living room where Athena was sound asleep. Lena stood over Athena’s crib and smiled, her life has changed so much since she had her; everything she has done was for her. Lena thought that maybe Athena wasn’t a Mer Maid, she knew that it was possible and she would love her no matter what, but maybe she was plain old human, like her mom. This would ease some of the fear; Lena wanted a normal life for her daughter. Just then, as Lena was gazing into her daughter’s eyes she thought she saw something, she leaned in closer. It happened again, something was wrong. Athena flickered, her body glitched. It was there, then not, then back again. It was as if she was fading away. Lena reached into the crib to wake her and she immediately started crying. Lena picked her up and held her tightly as she whispered, “no one can have you”.

Clayton sat outside Kyle’s meat shop. He began honking the horn repeatedly until he saw Kyle come out from the front door. Kyle shot him a smile and a middle finger as he locked up his store. He ran and hopped into the front seat of the truck, Kyle looked into the back seat and there it sat. The chest, and inside was the black book and the locket. These items have caused Kyle so much pain and suffering, together they would get rid of them. “I was hoping the old man at that book store could give us some answers about why Tyson even had these in his attic, but of course he died” said Kyle.

~Flashback~

1981 – Bon Temps

Today was the day, Tyson was marrying Ellesiette and the whole town was attending. Tyson had been dressed for hours, waiting with his best friends in his house. The farm was beautifully decorated, the ceremony would be held outside under a big white tent. He was looking out his window while he bit his nails, something he did when he was nervous. He looked over at the barn where the gift table was located. He saw a man standing at the table holding a box. “Hey guys do you recognize that man?” Tyson said, his friends all nodded. He wondered who he was, so he walked out to greet the stranger. He was all dressed up in a suit, so Tyson assumed he was part of the wedding, maybe on Elle’s side.

“Hello sir” he shouted as he approached the man “do I know you?” Tyson asked as the man turned around “I love weddings” he said “I heard you were having a wedding here and I thought I’d drop off a gift, something that one day will come in handy” he said as he handed Tyson the gift “oh well thank you, and your name is?” Tyson asked, “You’ll find out, soon enough” he said as he walked away “Okay, well see you around!” Tyson yelled. He opened the gift and sifted through the box, in it was a black book. He pulled it out and flipped through the pages, he then pulled out the locket and held it in the air. Confused as to what this stuff was, he stuffed it all back in the box and headed in the house. When he entered the house he saw one of his cousins leaving the kitchen with a laundry basket full of odd’s and end’s “where are you going with that?” he asked “the attic” the boy said “here take this up there” he said as he through the box into the basket, and it disappeared up into the attic.

~ --------- ~

Clayton and Kyle sat above the bridge; underneath them was the Bon Temps River. It ran into a large lake. Deep enough for the chest to disappear forever. No one would ever find it. Clayton and Kyle had it tied together with chains and weights.  “Any last words?” Clayton said, as he looked at Kyle “fuck you Julia”. The box fell hundreds of feet into the deep waters. It sank to the bottom of the river, hopefully never to be seen again.

Traci stomped though the field, she knew exactly where they were. That’s the beauty of having a crystal ball. She came to a clearing “listen you fairy bitches show yourselves I know you’re here” she yelled. A few moments of silence passed before they finally showed themselves. “Hello Evelyn, Ericka” she yelled “how do you know our names” Evelyn yelled “I’ve been watching you” replied Traci “I came here to propose something to you all, I’ll help you find the ones you seek under one condition” Evelyn then came forward “what?” she asked “you leave Mitchell to me”.

The box was about empty, a 6 pack a beers in and a couple hours of digging. One of the last things he found was a piece of paper, folded at the bottom of the dirty box. There was a smear of blood on it “is that blood?” asked Logan as Mitchell unfolded the paper “what is it?” Mitchell gazed at the sheet for several moments until he looked up at Logan “It’s an address” he said “I know where that is, it’s near by” said Logan “let’s go!”

Several messages from Ashley were on Mitchell’s phone, he decided to focus on finding the address, if she knew where he was she would just come find him, it may not be safe. After about 25 minutes of back road driving the two of them pulled up to a long dirt road. “This is it” Logan said “this is the address, there must be a house back there” he added “what if it’s our father?” asked Mitch “let’s go find out” he sad as they drove down the road.

They pulled up to a run down cottage by a swamp. “This is creepy” added Logan. The two of them exited their car and walked towards the front door “hello” they yelled. No answer was given; Mitchell walked up to the front porch and knocked on the door. Instead of an answer, it swung open. It was dark inside, no one was home. The two of them walked in. There were dirty dishes in the old rust covered sink, the walls were molding and the wooden floors were cracking, it had holes in certain places.

“Oh my god, look at this” Logan said from another room. Mitchell followed him, when he entered the room, he was terrified. The walls were covered in pictures from wall to wall, newspaper articles and hand written notes. Pictures of Mitchell, Logan and their friends. Lena, Rachel, Kyle, Clayton, Kelly, Lauren, Ashley and everyone else. Whoever lived in this place had been following them for what looked like forever. “Look” said Logan as he pointed to a coat rack in the corner. On it were 5 or 6 black suits. Complete with a tie just hanging there perfectly. “What is this?” asked Mitch as he yanked a piece of paper off the wall. On it was a list of names, people that Mitchell knew. Natasha, Chris, Shaun, Tyson and even Kindred. All people that were dead, each name was crossed off. Except one, at the bottom of the list was Rachel’s name not yet crossed off  “what the fuck is this place?.”

Any Last Words?

What Happened To Us?

Critter Volume 3 Chapter 10 : The Parting Glass

The Parting Glass

Mitchell lay in the bed, knowing that what was about to happen would be amazing, but also wrong, but he didn’t care. He felt Laurens fingers running up his leg closer to his inner thigh. Shivers were sent up his body, the warm touch of Ashley’s skin soothed him. Ashley’s hair brushed against Mitchells chin as she leaned over his shirtless chest to meet Lauren with a kiss. Lauren softly graced Ashley’s cheek with her perfectly soft hand and began kissing intensely. Ashley’s body thrust closer to Mitchell as the kiss began getting more in depth. Mitchell had one hand running down Laurens spine approaching her underwear line, and the other hand was placed firmly inside Ashley’s bra.

Mitchell then removed his hand from her bra and noticed it was dripping with blood. He flicked his wrist attempting to remove the blood, he then looked back up at Ashley who was now in a wedding gown “I was the one” she said as blood began pouring out of a gun shot in her chest, she then hit the ground, dead. Mitchell sat up in a panic and looked at Lauren. Dozens of tiny hands were pulling Lauren away screaming, “I don’t wanna go back!” she yelled. Lauren then disappeared into darkness, the darkness consumed the room. Our of the darkness emerged a man, wearing a suit. He laughed at Mitchell and then leaned in closer “wake up” he whispered, “I still need you”.

Mitchell then woke in a sweaty panic. He looked to his left and saw Ashley sleeping peacefully beside him. He wiped away the sweat when he looked down at his phone. The caller display read ‘Lena’ so he answered the call “Hey Mitch sorry for calling so early, I just wanted to make sure I had a job when I arrive today” she laughed “I’ll do you one better, you have a kid to raise, you are officially the head manager” he replied. After minutes of gratitude they ended their conversation. When he hung up the phone he wondered what the dream meant. He has had visions, but this was different. Things were different, but his biggest worry, would it come true?

Lauren and Mitchell’s grave stones were taken away, the restaurant was back under Mitchell’s control. Things began to seem normal again; a party was being thrown tonight to celebrate the return of Mitchell and Lauren. The restaurant was closed early to accommodate the party. Dayna and Jenna frantically served drinks to the town locals and friends. Kelly sat with Simone, Chandra and Tara. Lauren sat at one end of the bar with a beer, she watched as Mitchell and Ashley laughed and kissed each other at the bar. Clayton approached “hey there” he said “Hey Clay” replied Lauren “Ya know, you don’t need him, don’t waste your night thinking about someone who’s most likely not thinking about you” he said as he placed his hand on her shoulder. Just then Mitchell looked up from his beer and shot Lauren a smile, this killed her. How could he be so calm, and act like nothing was between them?

Alex then walked in threw the front doors, her hair to the left resting on her shoulder in a tight braid. She looked around the bar, all eyes were on her when she spoke “What reason do you all have to celebrate? People have died so that you could all have your precious town. The truth is, this place is hell. If you stay here you will die, leave while you still can” she said as she left out the front door.

Dayna then cleaned up a slight spill on the counter and walked into the back room to rinse out the dirty cloth. Jenna came back with a tray full of empty beer mugs “it would be nice if we could sit and have a beer” she groaned “I’m loving the tips though” she stated. She then noticed Dayna was staring into the sink with the water running. She was non-responsive “Dayna?” Jenna nudged her on the shoulder, just then her body flickered. One minute she was there, and then the next she was gone. She then returned and continued to rinse her cloth “oh hey Jenna” she said as she pranced past her and back into the restaurant. Jenna was shocked at what she saw, it was like she had some sort of glitch and disappeared for a brief moment.  Jenna rubbed her tired eyes and began washing her dishes.

Alex stormed out of the bar and ran towards the woods, she was walking alone through the bush to get to her house. She began crying. Now that Jordan was dead, what was she supposed to do with herself? She heard a crack coming from behind her. She swung around and Dalton was standing there “I followed you” he said “Dalton! I miss you!” she shouted “Don’t be afraid” she said as she moved closer, his body was sweating and shivering “why do you look so scared?” she asked. Just then Dalton pulled a steak that he had clearly carved himself from his back pocket “you can’t live like this” he whispered as he drove it into Alex’s heart. She burst into blood and Dalton was covered. Just like that, she was gone and Dalton felt no better. He whipped blood off his face and then ran through the forest. He came to a halt when he saw a man in a suit sanding by him. “Hello?” Dalton yelled at the man who was facing the opposite direction.  “Thank you Dalton” the man whispered as he turned around with a shotgun pointed at his head, and with one shot he was dead. The man then looked up at the sun and breathed deeply, he then disappeared.

Lena then came barging through the front doors with Athena, within minutes people were surrounding her “SO CUTE!” they were shouting. “Clear the way people!” yelled Mitch “say hello to the new manager of Mitchell’s Bar & Grill” he said as he shook her hand. “So good to be back” she said. Mitchell caught a glimpse of a familiar vehicle parked outside the bar. Logan was leaning up against the back of his little car, Mitchell then ran outside to greet him. “Logan, I have to be honest I never thought I would see you again, come in for a drink?” he asked “I came to show you something” he said “come here” Mitchell walked towards the car. Logan then pulled out a small box, he slid the top off and threw it on the front seat. Inside were hundreds of photographs, he handed the first one to Mitchell. “What is this?” he asked “read the back” replied Logan, Mitchell turned the photo around to read ‘Mitchell Age 4, Logan Age 2’ he looked up at Logan “I think we’re brothers mate”.

Jasmine was cleaning her kitchen when she heard a knock on the front door, she ran to answer it “hold on, hold on” she yelled. She swung open the door to silence the very impatient knocking, but there was nobody there. She stepped on the front porch to look around; she eventually gave up and headed back inside. When she went back to the kitchen she could feel a draft, she had shivers down her arms so she went to shut the window. She then saw a reflection in the window from behind her, the man in the suit. She turned to greet her death. A large knife was shoved into her heart. She fell to the ground. The man smiled and disappeared.

Kelly stepped outside to get some fresh air; she had a few drinks in her and was feeling a slight buzz. There was a ringing in her ear, more like a siren. She then realized that the sirens were coming from afar. Down the road came three fire trucks speeding towards town with the sirens blaring. Clayton and Lauren came running out of the bar to watch as they passed “let’s go see what’s up, you can never be too careful these days” said Lauren as the three of them hopped into her truck and followed the trucks. They eventually could start seeing smoke; black smoke was billowing from an area in town. They came to an opening where they could see that it was in fact the library, where Clayton got the exorcism advice from that old man who owns it. They parked the car and ran towards the caution line. They could hear people screaming “HE WAS STILL INSIDE!” just then the building collapsed.

Rachel ran through the woods, whipping past tree after tree until she got to a clearing. She was panting as she was out of breath from running so far from her house. She was clearly scared, she then pulled something out from her bag, it was the folder. Rachel threw it on the ground and then pulled out a flask from inside her leather jacket. She poured gasoline over the folder. She was trying to stop it from happening, Athena was gone from the book but yet another was added. The wind gusted through her feet as it flipped the pages to the most recent, as Rachel lit a match and dropped it on the folder she could see her face. She was in the folder.

Mitchell sat in his office, unpacking things that were placed in boxes after he disappeared. He placed the picture of him and his friends on opening day back on his desk. Ashley walked into the room slowly “I need to tell you something” she said as Mitch took a seat in his leather office chair. “I was with Traci, while you were gone. I know it sounds stupid but I needed to learn how to protect myself” “from what?” Mitchell asked, “If you only knew what it’s like being me, the only one that seems at all human. I’m haunted by images of what happened to me, I never sleep.” Mitch stood up and held her in his arms “I got you now” he said “there’s something else, your crystal ball. She has it” Mitchell had a blank stare “she can see everything now” he explained “It’s time for this parties parting glass” he said as he rushed by her to send everyone home.

The swamp was so peaceful. The sounds of frogs and crickets flooded the air, the moonshine down upon the murky waters leaving a glowing reflection. The air was still, that was until the portal opened. A burst of light appeared near the swamp. When the light disappeared, there was a group of men and woman who stood in battle suits. The woman who lead the group stood in front of them “Let’s bring her home, kill anyone that gets in your way but I need Lauren alive, she’s our princess” said Evelyn as she shot a look at Ericka who signaled the group to move in on Bon Temps. 

The Parting Glass