It's ya girl AJ back at it again. This is my sideblog, I follow from @glittergelpensherlock . I write fanfic and rp here (and sometimes draw). 18+ only please :). Asks/reqs are always open and welcome! (this is a multi muse blog so specify if you want something specific) ♡♡♡♡
Current Muses: Ruth McAdams (RDR oc) and West Stanton (RDR2 oc) [[I've got plenty of ocs and am also willing to rp characters from fandoms too!]]
Fandoms: Red Dead, Supernatural, Doctor Who, Sherlock, NCIS, Ninjago, Marvel, Hell on Wheels, Star Wars, Indiana Jones (and a lot of others)
Masterlist Here :)
Tags:
#girllocks fics — my original works
#girllocks recommended — fics/writing by other amazing authors that I totally suggest you read!!
When Ruth offered her hand started to pet Grumpy, the animal immediately melted into her touches, understanding she was one of the good people, his tail wagging so much, the little jumps he would give as she scratched behind his ears, and it just stayed there, enjoying all the pets, and when she paused, he'd stand, pressing both his paws against her chest, sniffing her all over, letting out happy little cries.
"Huh. He likes you. That's....that's actually rare. Normally he's grumpy to people and people are grumpy back or just scared because of his size.
The dog had a lot of soft skin to be pet because of its age, and it seemed to be a very calm animal.
The thunders started to hit loudly again, the power oscillating, as if the typhoon was trying to catch up.
"Thanks for helping." John said once he locked the door and went downstairs, Grumpy jumping onto the backseat and curling on his place, already preparing to take a nap. Traveling made it sleepy.
"Hey...you'll be home in no time, alright?" If he wasn't used to be acting rough, maybe he'd be saying a lot more, offering a hug or apologizing about everything, but it was his job and he needed to keep her safe.
The storm was quite violent as they left town. The power oscillating outside, some trees had fallen, some lower areas were flooding. The amount of water that started falling from the sky was formidable to say the least. Gladly John's driving was good, the truck was robust and they weren't having any problems. Because of how late it was, the streets were mostly empty, and one they got to the suburban area, he felt like he was in one of those liminal spaces, the sky so dark, absolute silence but the sound of the car engine, the lights outside limited to each house, all the rest, the fields, the distance, all seemed so pitch black.
John even shivered at some point, it was getting so cold. He looked to the side to see Ruth, she seemed so...she seemed so sick. Exhausted. He felt bad for her. The address, he didn't even need a GPS, until they were close to Cholla Springs. Gently he poked her shoulder. "Hey, we're almost there. Cheer up a little...." He tried, but he was a bit tired too.
Once he parked by her little ranch like property, he also let a sigh of relief. "If anyone asks....remember to say what we talked. That some maniac was stalking you....destroyed your car...I'm keeping you safe for a few days, alright?" He wasn't aware she was totally alone. He imagined at least a parent, sibling or boyfriend would be around, but...the place seemed so damn quiet.
"Come on, let's wake up, boy, we arrived."
Grumpy started wagging its tail and looking around, jumping off the car as soon as John opened the door, the animal froze when it felt the fresh breeze of the fields, of countryside.
'Awoooofff wooof wooffff wofff wuuuuuff wufff wuffff!' It started to hop in circles as John tried to remove the leash. "Easy boy...I'm trying to take this off...." Once John did, the dog bolted towards the house, jumping and rolling on the green grass, resting on its back and wiggling its paws up.
"Huh. I've never seen this big boy so energetic. I guess being here for a while will do him good" He smirked at little as he took his things from the car, rushing inside following Ruth. The rain had taken a short break before it started hitting hard again. John waited before walking in. "Where is everyone?" He asked, finding everything too silent.
"Grumpy, come boy, or you'll get all wet." Marston took a towel from his bag, crouched down to dry the animal, it seemed so happy, it made John chuckle. "Give them paws....let's dry your feet....good boy..."
"Miss...thanks for accepting me here, even if...." He sighed. "Well, even if there wasn't much of a better option. I'll explain everything tomorrow when you're well rested..."
Where did she go?
"Alright...I'll take the room upstairs then. Thank you. Could I maybe take a shower?" The dark rings under his eyes seemed larger, driving amidst that storm, the damn typhoon, which was threatening to get worse made him extra tired. "Can Grumpy sleep inside?"
Where was she? He was holding a pistol, ready to give it to her, but....where?
"Maybe tomorrow then....I guess everyone's tired."
He saw the bunny in the kitchen, it seemed so angry for some reason. "Hey little feller."
Marston didn't know if Ruth would allow his dog upstairs, so he took Grumpy's bed and placed near the bunny, by the small pen in the kitchen. "Behave, boy. Don't mess anything up, we're guests." The huge scary german shepherd curled down and started to whine though, crying to John, giving the puppy eyes. 'Abueh bueh bueh bueh bueh....' He sighed. "It's her house...and...just tonight..."
The dog rolled on his back and started to move its paws in the air as if it was dying. "Oh no need for drama...come on. Come on. You ain't alone, there's the bunny there." Grumpy paused and looked at Dinner. The little bunny looked like a fur ball of pure rage. Grumpy looked back at John, cried and jumped up to curl on his lap, Marston had to catch him.
"You're afraid of it?? Oh...why?? Well....it does look angry....alright...I'm taking you to my room with me...but no noise, no mess, alright? You already peed outside, right? Not wet cocks staining the floor, alright? It's a lady's house." He kept drying the animal with the towel, in more detail now since it was coming inside. "Your chest is all wet...play in the grass tomorrow, okay?" Grumpy rested his head on John's shoulder and closed its eyes to rest, loving the caresses of the towel. "You're such a big baby. You're getting heavy." John carried the animal and its bed upstairs, and he had no idea which room was his.
He set down the dog bed on the corridor and gently placed Grumpy on it. "Just a minute, boy."
John had left his boots by the porch, stepping silently to inspect if that was the right room, and the moment he looked, his lips parted as he saw the lady, naked on her bed, spread on soft sheets- he froze. The memory of what he had seen at the scanner room, and now again, that perfect body, and she seemed so relaxed. Her thighs and delicate legs, her ribs and that soft skin, those perfect breasts and that golden hair. He blushed, even stopped breathing for a while, eyes locked on her, feeling guilty each second he admired her, her perfect bottom, she seemed like a holy statue and he hadn't felt so horny in such a long time. "Mnm." He gave an awkward nod and stepped back and out of her room, cheeks and ears warm and red, he silently made his way to his own room. "Oh boy....she must be so tight." He panted and shook his head as he opened the other room, carrying his things inside, Grumpy grunting a little a John's comment, as if judging his owner. "Ah don't you start, I know what you do to the Santa Klaus plushie." The dog looked offended as it followed John carrying his little bed with his mouth.
Once his things were in the room, he felt sleep hit him, but he needed a shower. He was smelling precinct and that molded big city. Smelling like Blackwater, and that town, it was...different, he felt a shower there would make him feel pure and clean, like countryside.
He went to to shower, turned on the water, relaxed finally, the only tension left in him was the one seeing her all nude caused. Oh how he wanted to have that woman, he knew thoughts like that were his entrance ticket to hell, but....the thought of she asking for it...and him having her sweetly on that bed of hers....ughh....he closed his eyes and kept imagining it as he washed himself and relieved that tension.
Once he was done and had dried himself, he also felt the last of his energy gone when he got close to his bed. His bare feet against the wooden floor felt right and relaxing, he also sunk into his bed, didn't even pull the sheets, he just rested on top of them, his dark hair spread on the pillow- Grumpy was sleeping on his little dog one when he checked, but didn't take long until he felt the animal jumping onto it, resting by his side. Since John looked so peaceful and so tired, the dog respected his space this time. The rain outside, the wooden noises caused by the wind, it was all so relaxing. Didn't take long for him to hug a pillow, dreaming about her, her lips, those breasts, that perfect spot between her thigh and her sides. "Dang....why did she have to look so.....so perfect like that, Grumpy...." The hot water that relaxed him for good, he was so calm and sleepy he even seemed to be drugged. "I'll wake up hard like hell for sure....mnmhg...she's so perfect..."
The dog grunted at John, judging him again, wanting to sleep. "Alright....I'll shut up....just...this pillow is mine...."
He blacked out, had very sweet dreams, and for the first time in years, he didn't have a nightmare. He just...loss track of everything, he just slept. Slept for so many hours.
His phone vibrated a couple of hours later, but he didn't even notice. If not shaken, he probably would sleep until noon, it had been the best sleep ever, breathing in and out, using the pillows as cover, he even forgot who he was or where he was.
@girllock-writes
"Good, amazing Mark. I guess you finally understood. Gimme that." John took the key card, then cuffed Mark's wrist to the metal table. "You ain't going nowhere. And Richard for the fuck's sake lower that shotgun." John used the card to lock the door, so now the men couldn't leave, not until things were crystal clear. Richard lowered the weapon and slowly followed John, silent, tense, as if he was curious to know what the man would say, as if he was waiting to decide what he'd do.
'John, why don't you just leave? No need to do this. You could just go home and forget this.' Richard said weakly. 'I'll open the game, we saw the footage from Mia's office, we know how you...got...warm together, a certain night after work. How you nuzzled against her, how you...seemed to hold her so dear. So you...you definitely shouldn't see this. You...shouldn't. I say that as a friend.' John just snarled. "Mia was your friend too and you guys gave her brain damage, you let that happen to her, lied to everyone saying she was dead. Friends my ass. You're in just for the money and some proud biased sense of duty." John was acting tough, but his voice was shaky, he was anxious about what he was about to see. "I don't trust you no more, damn, truly never did. Mia was different. She actually wanted to do things right, she wanted to help, she was good, no cheating or mischief, she was just good and that's what was the end of her." Richard tensed more, trying to talk, trying to interrupt John's firm walk but failing.
It was about three doors John used the card to open. Labs and areas he had never seen. At some point, a way to the left and one to the right. "Where's Ruth? And...where's Mia?? She's still here, right??" Richard sighed. 'Just see for yourself. No matter what I say, you don't listen. You could go home and not see any of this. It will be impossible to unsee it later.'
That just made John more nervous. He turned left, while where Ruth was being kept was on the right, but he didn't know.
After unlocking another door, a larger one this time, what John saw crushed his soul, or what was left of it. He froze, hands went numb, his spine too, cold shivers he had never felt before, not even when he had faced the monsters.
It was Mia. Attached to some machine of sorts, inside some fluid, nude, wires and whatever probes and ducts attached to her- her brain, huge, so huge it didn't fit her head, her belly so large, her eyes so dead, like she had some severe metal damage, her vitals and brain waves on a screen, on the sides of the room, glass cilinders with embryos with codes, numbers, 108, 109....
John just froze, went pale, lips parted. The way Mia's lips kept moving, like she was trying to learn how to speak but had no clue of what words even were. 'You see...many of the studies pointed in the direction being a sensitive could be related to genetics. Her brain getting reduced to some newborn state...she couldn't help like before, but...well, more stem cells, more possibilities. It's what the development team said. Her brain has been helping us read the waves, that's how our scanners work. In theory it should cause pain, but she doesn't even know what pain is anymore. It's the data her brain interprets that allows us to use the advanced scanners, and you see, all our work now has only been possible because of that.'
John felt nauseated, he vomited on the floor, stumbled to the side, rested his weight against one of the large glasses, made the cylinder with the fetus fall down and break. He was shaking. Stood up quickly, stepped back from it.
'Don't worry, John....it wasn't a sensitive one. Most of them aren't. These are going to be discarded anyway. Well, not totally discarded, more likely donated to other projects. Making a life go to waste as some routine, that wouldn't be acceptable. You see, all this has a purpose, it's not for nothing. The ones that were her clones, they were more sensitive, but died too early before they could develop. Even so, the brains and cells have been useful to calibrate the scanners, to try and develop a biological mixture where we could properly isolate the cells of those creatures. They always melt down and vanish when we neutralize them, if we could study them, it would help us understand what those creatures are. Now can you handle the sacrifices? Can you handle dealing with this? I doubt.' Richard raised the shotgun towards John.
Marston was speechless. He didn't know what to feel, he was...feeling everything. "You've been keeping her here...for 8 years....you said...her brain went back to the one of a newborn...she doesn't even know what's happening....she....she didn't....it...it's Mia.....it's Mia...Richard....you guys....how....did you even allow this to..."
Richard shook his head. 'We allowed it just like we allowed you to stay alive. Because she asked, we agreed and you proved this could be possible. That human cells could adapt to these monsters and keep them stable, so we could study them.'
John seemed so shocked and so confused, the bundle of cells contorting on the ground making him feel dizzy, his eyes trying to look away but everything seemed ultimately disturbing. "Me? What the fuck you're talking about? You were gonna kill me and she told you not to?? How did I prove anything?"
Richard rubbed his eyes, smiled in anxiety.
'Well, one of those things scratched you, didn't it? And you didn't become one of them. I mean, its claw fucking penetrated you, fluids, blood, it carved into your spine, and then Mia ran you and the damn thing with the car, felt guilty later, wanted to save your life at all costs. The creature's claw, part of the tentacle, it got stuck inside your spine. We thought you were going to turn, but you didn't. Maybe because the tentacle got ripped from the creature's body before it transferred its consciousness to you? Or maybe your genetics were just immune to it? We really don't know. What we do know is that the claw...fang thing...it integrated into your body in such a perfect way it was impossible to detect. Scanners, X Rays....nothing. You don't emit any waves, you have nothing related to the monsters even if you have claw....nail...cock....tongue...whatever the fuck that is inside you. It became you. Became one with your spine. It's what kept your movements after Mia ran over you and that thing with the car. We knew...but nobody else did. We decided to keep that between us, the team. If the higher ups knew, if we had told them, you probably would be inside some secret national security lab being studied. See? Some things need to stay secret. We like you, you were part of the team, we didn't want you gone.'
John was shocked. Frozen in place. Reality seemed worse than all the nightmares he used to have.
He just knew one thing. That had to end. John knew how important the research was, but seeing his Mia like that, the numbers past 100 in those fetus, all that- it seemed so worse than those creatures could do. Damn, slitting some throat and having some tumors grow from it, that sounded like mercy compared to being kept in that place for 8 years, being used like some incubator for illegal experiments.
Fuck, the world could end, but he couldn't allow that. Not to Mia, not to Ruthie.
'John, I know you loved her, and for sure, she loved you too but—'
A loud bang, the glass shattered, liquid spread everywhere, monitors turning off— John had shot Mia in the head, ending her suffering. A strong wave of relief filled the whole facility, and then it faded, in joy of finally being able to sleep. Richards quickly raised his shot gun to John. 'THE FUCK YOU JUST DID MARSTON??!!!'
Ruth shifted in her half-conscious state. Her eyes felt heavy and a wave of something between pain and relief washed over her. There was a woman in her dreams... one she didn't know, but that felt very familiar. Ruth took a step toward her, calling out, but the woman didn't reply. Tilting her head in confusion, Ruth could have sworn she'd seen the woman somewhere before. No matter how close she tried to get, the woman just seemed to be far away. The invisible thread between them seemed to pulse and hum, filling Ruth's ears and drowning out her calls. Then it snapped. The woman finally turned to look at Ruth. She stopped, staring back in wonder and confusion.
Something unspoken passed between them. Ruth felt her heart sort of stop. "What do I do?" She asked, desperate to know. Someone had to help. There were people suffering and she felt like she was the only one who could help. The woman said nothing, only gave her a kind smile.
The vision vanished as Ruth woke up to a clatter.
The vent cover in the room had fallen to the floor. A gurgling hiss came from the open space on the wall. Ruth rubbed her eyes, adrenaline pumped through her veins fighting against her sleepy state. Tentacles, dripping in the black goo, crawled slowly from the vent. Ruth's limbs felt heavy, but she pushed herself up from the bed and tried to protect Grumpy as much as she could.
The monsters were here. They were here for her. Surely the agents would help... After all, they were trying to kill the monsters. Ruth rushed to the door, making sure Grumpy wasn't left behind as the creature started to reform in the room. "HELP!" Ruth banged on the door, pulling at the locked handle. "It's here! Anyone, please!"
Grumpy was barking loudly at the creatures, staying between them and Ruth, but they were starting to be without enough space to run from them. The dog was a brave boy, even with the muzzle, it kept growling and trying to intimidate the things. It would look at Ruth from time to time, hoping she'f manage to open the door.
Meanwhile Robert was scared, angry, insecure, surprised- John's action of shooting Mia, ending her, ending all the experiment, all the progress. He just couldn't believe it, but at the same time, he realized how far they had gotten, from using senstive people to help to slowly dehumanize them and experiment on them. Still, it wasn't something Robert suffered much about. 'We are trying to do the right thing. We're trying to save people out there, so no way that we are wrong!'
Ruth feeling Mia's last glimpse of herself fade, her trapped soul being set free, that ressonated within John's heart and made him shed some tears, quietly, still in shock, with a growing rage. Ruth and him were linked somehow, maybe because she thought about him a lot, maybe because he felt the same.
'Marston?? What are you going to do??? You already caused enough damage! Don't move!!' He raised the shotgun, hands shaking. "You'll take me to Ruth. You'll get her outta here." Robert shook his head. 'No way. She's the last hope now that Mia is gone!!'
And just the thought Robert and the team would make Ruth go through all Mia did- the flashes of those gruesome images in his head, it was enough to make John raise his gun to shoot Robert, and when he pulled the trigger and the bulled crossed the corrupt agent's chest, his body tensed and he fired the shotgun.
Like the night hadn't presented enough horrors, an agonizing Robert had to watch John hit the wall and fall, bleeding with this gory hole opened on his ribs, in shock like he was dead.
But as Robert started to try and crawl away from all that bloodshed, John started to move—
The dark vine like things started to come out from John's organs and ruptured muscular fibers, the things hiding in him inside every layer of tissue spreading like a living thing, without mind though, at this point it had already been one with him for too long. John stood up, apparently in shock, the black things making his organs and bones start to regenerate—
He seemed quiet, so much making sense now— he started to wonder, when he asked to be close to Ruth to ease his nightmares, he wondered if those creatures were approaching her just wishing the same. He looked down coldly, raised his gun and finished Robert, taking the shotgun from him.
Returning to the main lobby, he saw Mark, still there, cuffed to the table just like he left him, but this time with the look of horror in the man's eyes, seeing those things coming out from John's wound, attached to him like some parasite, integrated with him.
Before Mark could say a word, John shot his head with the shotgun. There was no point in discussing anymore. John was still shocked, the nightmares, the faded memories of some hospital room, the dreams of some thing entering him- in the end it had been that claw tentacle that got stuck in his spine and became one with him. No creature control since the monster's original body was long gone.
He could feel her, hear her voice from afar, and by the end of the corridor, he saw the door, shot it open with the weapon— Ruth was finally in front of his eyes, and Grumpy too.
The bang against the door made Ruth jump. She moved away as it opened, hoping the agents had finally come. The creatures were still weak, getting closer. Her eyes flickered at the man, almost in unbelief. John.
"John!"
He was alive. He was safe. He was here. Her heart exploded with joy before her eyes moved the the healing hole in his ribs. Still gorey and bloodsoaked, with the tentacles closing the last bits up. Her heart stopped. Had the monsters gotten him? Was her vision true? That he had fallen to them as well.
Her eyes moved back to his, seeing only worry and relief in his eyes. He was still her John. She could feel it. It all happened very fast. A large shriek came from the creature and Ruth ran to him without hesitation. Her cold hands immediately clung to his arm, following him quickly from the room. The touch seemed to fill her with new life. Despite how terrible she looked, her soul felt less restless. Tears stung at her eyes. She just wanted to hide in him, she wanted to go home... She felt as if she had been there for years.
Behind her, Ruth felt that familiar tug of the creatures. Come back. Come with us. Come see.
"I was scared you wouldn't come–" she choked out as their feet pounded down the hallway. "I tried to reach you... But they... they asked for my help. I tried to... it hurt so much and then they hooked me up to this machine..." Ruth knew now was not a good time to panic, but her senses were still damaged from overuse and everything was very overwhelming for her. "I tried to keep Grumpy safe too... I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have gone out alone."
The alarms had already started ringing, the panels on the walls already suggesting the quarentine activation, the scientists inside that secret compound that the larger John realized it was, the more he believed the higher ups had to know about it. A small group simply couldn't build such a facility and go unnoticed. It wasn't fucking simple. That lab didn't pop up from a month to another. It had to be something older. He had joined the force 12 years ago and not even a month the whole police station above had gone into maintenance. That lab was already there and the bosses fuckong knew it, they had to know. Hyerarchy was like concrete pillars in the CIA, in the Secret Service— anyone who broke the protocol was often offered to reconsider or just transferred- it was impossible a small rebel group in the task force had made all that to be.
"This way, Ruth." His hand gripped her hospital like garments as if making sure she was actually there. She was....she....she definitely wasn't okay....she looked so drained....so tired...did they hurt her? Did they impregnate her with some experimental fetus or implanted anything in her? Did they cut some piece off her? Did they torture her? His eyes were already wet because of Mia and all the horrors he had witnessed, for killing two men he always thought he could believe, for seeing the team, the ideals, the force he worked in to turn out to be obsure and malicious, and seeing Ruth like that made more tears roll down his face— but there was no time to lose, they had to get out.
Grunpy's woof and his quick run to John, pressing its paws against his waist and back, glad to see him- glad. That was pretty much the word that defined the best what both owner and dog were feeling. They had muzzled Grumpy, a non violent dog...that made him mad, but John would keep that for later.
Her voice was like music, like air for someone who had almost drowned, like sunlight to a plant who survived a long storm. "Don't apologize, dear. You have no fault in any of this." He held her hand so tight, covered the wound on his ribs with his coat and kept making his way out of that hell.
As soon as he passed by the final door, cruelty and anger and hate filled his eyes, he pulled the lever of the quarantine used Mark's card to confirm it, activated all levels of warning, and he knew what it meant, he knew what he was doing. He had been taught how such facilities worked, pretty much like a CDC. Everything behind them locked with planned incineration. John was sending everything and everyone in there to hell. Main energy got cut, only emergency generators on. No cameras, no registers, no memory, no wifi, no regret in his soul.
"Everyone at the police station probably already evacuated by now. The alarms should have started as soon as I shot....that." John seemed so burned out. So tired. So shocked. So hurt. Anger that still burned, but not like raging flames, more like dying charcoal. "Come on, let's get out."
He picked her up and walked up the stairs, reachimg the police station above,everyone had already left, it was very late, there was just a few personal working there were already officers organizing the evacuation. Leaving through the garage, placing Ruth in his truck, getting on and driving away, and time seemed to go faster, they were more than five blcoks far away from the station, and the explosion undeground still could be heard. The hoarse crack, incinerating everything and everyone under that station, which above ground level basically didn't suffer any damage. Whatever creatures, whatever poor souls trapped in that hell now had to be gone for good.
John kept taking deep breaths and closing his eyes a little bit, he was spent, hurt— the pain of the gunshot, always there, something he had been enduring because the fear of losing her alone hurt so much more. "Let's go home. Your home. Alright?" It was where he was driving to. He believed no one else knew they had taken Ruth, the files about her, everything probably was gone together with the labs and secret offices and interrogation rooms.
"Nornally thet don't share vital information via network. Normally it's just isolated files or physical ones. For safety. It all went to shit so...I think you're safe." He has just killed the whole team. Anyone who knew as much as he did or more. While driving, he tested it, took his phone and started calling one by one of his team.
This number in unavailable.
Not "doesn't exist", not "busy", not "out of area". Just unavailable. The devices probably incinerated with all the air in that facility. If a big move had been made, if Ruth had been taken, then the boss also had to be in the building, his phone wasn't answering, so probably he was dead as well. He would know only the next day probably. Who Ruth was? No way John would never ever leak what she could do, how special she was. She was supposed to be free, like bunnies and golden butterflies.
A gas accident below BlackWater Police Department, officers dead and missing.
It was what John hear in the radio while almost arriving to Ruth's little farmhouse, it was what the news showed that late night, by 4am. News people would only read by the morning, that people would talk about only by lunchtime. And they still had the rest of the night to rest, before any consequence, before any discussion. Those hours belonged to them and no one else. The horror he had seen there always would be bigger then any guilt he could ever come to feel.
Ruth didn't let go of John once. All the panic and death, Ruth could feel it. As John detonated the panic system, she could almost feel the building crying out. By the time they had made it to the exit, she could hear the voices of the dying cry out as they ceased to exist. It was a loud roar and she pressed her hands to her ears, trying to hide in John's chest as he carried her out.
The truck was safer. A little quieter. As they drove, Ruth still kept her hand on John's arm. She couldn't bring herself to let go. Her limbs shook. It seemed awful, that all those people died just for her to be saved. Surely she wasn't worth it... the lives of others. The city limits provided some relief. Ruth had been too disoriented to notice until now, but a nervous hum still filled the car. She looked at John as he stared stoned faced at the road. Her chest grew tight. Something was very wrong. And not just those tentacles she'd seen in his chest... something else deep in his soul had been wounded.
"Thank you for coming for me," she said quietly. The pain in the air was almost tangible. She loosened her stressed grip, rubbing her fingers along the inside of his bicep, in an attempt to soothe them both. "What about you? Will you be safe? Will they come for you?"
She thought about her earlier offer, for him to stay with her. She had meant it. Even now, especially now, she still wanted him to. Ruth was sure their bond was formed by the trauma and stress of the past weeks, but she didn't mind. If anything, it was even more reason to keep him with her. Not only for safety, but because they could heal together.
Silence had fallen over the little home. Ruth was almost calm, gald to just be home and be with John when the sight of cars made her chest explode. A sleek sports car was parked close to the house and Johnson's pickup was behind it. The lights on in her house told her everything she needed to know. Ruth didn't want to see people. She didn't want to explain.
When they made it to the door, she was slightly stunned when the first person she saw was her father. Eli turned to the creaking door, his eyes bloodshot and wide. For all his faults and struggles, Ruth couldn't help but tear up again at the burst of energy that seemed to fill her father's chest. He was a good man deep down. 'Ruth?' She crossed the small space quickly, before her face pressed to his chest. "Daddy!"
The noise alerted the others in the house. Johnson and his wife appeared in the doorway of the kitchen. They had been trying to keep things peaceful while Johnson called every contact he had in the city. The sheriff's eyes went right to John in a harsh look between concern, relief, and a demand for answers.
'Where the hell have you been?' A new voice rang as a woman rose from the couch. She was a little older with frizzy, dark blonde hair. She had similar features to Ruth, but her eyes were much sharper. The woman glared at John. 'Who the hell are you?'
'Deborah, please,' Eli hissed, holding his daughter who flinched at the sound of the voice. 'Getting upset won't get you answers.' Ruth's mother's eyes flashed in annoyance and the closest thing she knew to concern.
'Don't patronize me, Eli. My daughter has been missing and I want answers.'
"No one should come after me. They don't know, they can't possibly know. About you too, the team is gone. They deserved it. They deserved to be gone." A tear rolled down his face, his voice shook a little. "They were doomed anyway. Those things would get them." John was tense, trying to relax, as he drove.
Her gentle fingers caressing his biceps helped soothe him, he gave her quick glances, tired ones. "What everyone thinks at the station is that there's a maniac after you. A serial killer. You can say he got you and then you managed to escape or...or something like that." He rubbed his eyes. "Just...don't feel guilty...none of this was your fault."
Once home, Grumpy left the car, John had already removed the muzzle, the dog gave tired but hurry steps into the house, walking through the guests legs, found his way near Dinner by the kitchen, curled near him to take a nap.
People were there. Her family, Johnson, like all of them were staring him like it was all his fault. And he knew it wasn't. She'd be still in that lab if it wasn't for him, and Mia...and all those... — he already started to feel sick. "I'm...police." It was all he managed to say as his brain tried to avoid the stress and all those memories.
Seeing Ruth hugging her father, that made him want to cry again- funny that day, it was like tears that accumulated for years had escaped.
Dinner sniffed curiously at Grumpy. The dog smelled like sterile rooms and funny chemicals, making the rabbit scrunch its nose. It could sense the large animal was stressed and curled close to it, knowing that Gurmpy wasn't just a guest anymore but a friend.
'Police? You don't look like police,' Deborah huffed. Johnson took a step forward, wanting to calm the situation. 'He is,' he defended. 'He's a friend. I know you're worried, Ms. Claymoor, but now is not the time–'
'Of course this is the time,' she snapped. 'My daughter has been missing and comes home with a strange man? I'll be as upset as I like. I'm her mother.'
'You're only making things worse,' Eli interjected. 'Just calm down, woman. You'll get your answers.'
The woman's face turned an angry shade of red as Ruth clung hander to her father, trying to block out the yelling and the overwhelming weight of the tense room. 'Oh, like you are making it any better by being passive?'
'That's enough,' Johnson interjected. His voice was calm and commanding. The stress of the room was getting out of hand. He glanced at John, seeing the tired and pained look in his eyes. He had figured something awful had happened, and seeing John look so empty and Ruth shaking in her father's arms, he knew he must have been right. 'Let's just all calm down. It's late. We can get our answers in the morning. Pirscilla, why don't you take Ruth upstairs?'
Johnson's wife nodded, going quickly to the girl and taking her arm. 'C'mon, sweetheart.' Eli placed a last kiss on her hair before letting go. Ruth followed the woman to the bottom of the steps before looking back at John. Her bloodshot eyes could hardly stay open. "John–" she managed to call, not wanting to go anywhere without him. Pirscilla looked at Ruth, then John, then her husband. Johnson glanced at John again, his gaze softer than it had been in their last meeting. 'You look like hell, Marston. It's okay. Get to bed.' He nodded after Ruth where the girl still refused to move any further without John by her side.
'You're just going to let him go up there with her?' Deborah glared at Eli. 'Alone?' She crossed her arms as the man huffed. 'Why are you worried? Ruth's an adult. And if Johnson trusts him–' 'You never listen to me you cowardly piece of–'
'I said enough,' Johnson interjected again. 'Ms. Claymoor, get to bed.' The woman let out an annoyed cry as she threw her hands in the air and stomped upstairs. Eli took up residence on the couch and after Pirscilla Johnson had made sure Ruth was settled in bed, she left with her husband, promising to return the next morning. In bed, Ruth could feel her hands still shaking. She felt so tired and cold, it was no surprise when she pressed herself so hard against John she might suffocate him. Tears stung at her eyes again. She could feel his pain. She could feel the anxiety of her mother across the room and the worry of her father downstairs. All mounted on her own stress. It was overwhelming, like a hundred voices were screaming at her all at once. Whatever had been done to her, it opened her senses to such a point that they could never be dulled back down. She would have to get used to it, but the change was very sudden for her.
"I'm sorry, John," she apologized again, not knowing how to comfort him. Her tears stained the sheets and her sobs were muffled against his shoulder. The only thing in the whole world that was keeping her from falling apart was the fact that he was still there, still next to her.
He was just so tired, so overwhelmed, they were arguing and discussing and his head was aching. He saw Grumpy resting and that made him relax a bit more. Slowly, he made his way to the bathroom as people argued, took a shower, changed into clean clothes. His wound was closed, no sign of those dark tentacle claw things coming from him. It was not like having a parasite. It was like...part of himself. It wasn't a creature inside him either. It was...him. Like the part of the being had been totally split from it and had become an organ of his body. It had been there since that day. He didn't know what to think about it, he didn't know his body had changed like that. He also didn't emitt any particles, he was always normal to all sorts of tests. That new organ had integrated into his tissues in a way no x ray or test had ever detected it. It was part of him and he was trying to accept and understand that.
So much to process. A shower helped him lot.
All that discussion, accusations, questions, he just listened, didn't say a word, let Johnson handle it. He was always passing out right there due to stress, and next time he realized, Ruth was looking at him, eyes begging him to follow, so slowly, he did, his brain still in shock about everything. What they had done to Mia? What did they do to Ruth? He was afraid to find out. He just lied down next to her, such a tired painful expression on his face. He just blacked out, robes all clumsy, body full of superficial wounds, specially his ribs.
Ruth was tired as well, but she had a harder time falling asleep. Each time she closed her eyes, she saw the florescent lights of the station, she felt the electrical pull of machines and heard that nagging call of the creatures—we need you. Come to us. Ruth eventually fell half asleep, enough to lose awareness of the space around her. There was an ache in her bones and in her soul, wishing she could just heave peace, wishing she could go back to how things were before when she was ignorant of the monsters.
But even in her ignorance they would have found her eventually. And maybe she would have never met John. With half open eyes, Ruth turned to look at his sleeping face. He looked exhausted even in sleep. It was nearing dawn, they had been up so late and a faint blue glow filled the room as the sun prepared to peak over the horizon. Ruth groaned, pulling the covers over her eyes to hide in the warm darkness next to John.
By the time sleep finally took her, gold light was spilling into the room. Dozing in and out for a while, Ruth hugged tightly to John's arm as her legs curled around his.
Downstairs, Eli had woken the earliest. He was always up with the sun and made sure to fill Dinner and Grumpy's bowls for when they awoke. He made himself a coffee before returning to his place on the couch to read and ponder the stress of the past few days. Johnson stopped by before heading into work to check if everything was okay. The house seemed peaceful again, now that Ruth and John had returned... or almost peaceful. By 10 am, Ruth still slept, not even caring about getting up in the brief moments she was awake between bouts of sleep. Deborah had gone downstairs once for coffee.
'I can't believe you're alright with this,' she snapped at Eli as she raided the pantry for food. 'Her living on her own... being alone with a strange man... going missings. You never looked out for her.'
'At least I didn't smother her,' he retorted. Eli didn't want to be angry. He understood that the last thing that was needed was for them to be fighting. Deborah huffed before returning upstairs, shutting the door loudly and not caring who was still sleeping.
Grumpy whined and cried a little during the whole night, whimpering out the stress he had been through. The noises were very low though, it was a way the animal had to control his stress. He hadn't sniffed anyone or greeted anyone. He was too tired and all the others seemed so stressed, he was just trying to heal. He didn't even eat out of anxiety, just drank water before he slept near Dinner.
John fell asleep so quickly, didn't have any nightmares and didn't dream until it was almost morning, when Ruth held his arm and wrapped her legs around his, his body couldn't help but remember the time Mia and himself had been together, years ago. The memory was still so alive. They had been team mates. Never talked about friendship or relationships, Mia and him, but both knew there was something, some chrmistry between them. He secretly loved Mia's sweetness and Mia secretly loved how John could be an aggressive naive adorable idiot.
The night Mia and John had been together in her office, they hadn't even exchanged any words. They had just looked at each other, started to kiss and strip, she had stroked him so strongly, thirsty, pushed him to the couch, sat on him and pressed herself in such a wild way that seemed foreign to someone as shy and calm as Mia. The way he gripped the couch and she had him with a passion he had never seen, and they underdtood each other so well, without ever having to sit down and talk about it. She knew exactly what kind of man he was. When she got tired, he sat her, supported her legs with his arms and kept doing it just like she loved it, and even for that they didn't have to exchange word— it had been this mutual understanding between them, and the cameras, the rest of the team, they caught it all, and the moment Mia got incapacitated weeks later, they knew they had to hide it from John.
He woke up with the sudden bang, stood up still half asleep and went to the corridor to check— his robes still messy, his hair even worse, his eyes heavy, a sense of alarm, only to realize everything was okay. He sighed, rubbed his face, he still felt so tired, just slowly returned to the room and lied next to Ruth. This time, awake, he just embraced her. Embraced her whole and closed his eyes. Didn't care if his robes were half open, didn't care if their skin touched, didn't care about anything. He just urgently needed to soothe his heart. Show it she was okay.
Ruth stirred when she felt John move. He was the only thing keeping her calm, and the second his warmth vanished, she tensed and gave a small whine as she shifted. The sheets were wrinkled and warm, yellow light peeked through the cracks of the curtians, and blankets were twisted across the bed. The bed dipped beneath John's weight, and Ruth felt herself drawn to the low center of gravity.
His arms felt like the safest place in the world. Strong and warm... slightly tense from worry but safe. Ruth's face felt the warmth of his bare chest and the slight tickle of hair against her cheek. She sighed deeply into the skin, rubbing her face against him. The skin felt good compared to the lingering memory of medical tools. She never wanted to leave the spot. Choosing to forget that her family was in her house, Ruth pressed herself closer just wanting to be close to him.
It should have been more awkward, but Ruth was much too tired to be thinking about what was proper. He'd been staying with her anyway. And no one made her feel as comfortable as he did. And he'd saved her life... multiple times now. She was in his debt. Ruth was sure he was too nice to ask anything of her, but she still felt like she owed him something. But what would someone like John Marston even need? What would he want? Blinking slowly, Ruth tilted her head up. Her nose traced alonge the skin of his chest as she moved before her chin rested on a spot above his heart. "It's okay," she muttered sleepily. "We're safe now. There anything you need?"
The moment he had left to check the noise he stated feeling this oppressive anxiety to come back to her, like each second away felt absolutely wrong and dangerous. As soon as he went back to bed, he made sure to wrap his arms around her, embracing and shielding her and also trying to comfort. Comfort Ruth and maybe also himself. He was trying to forget all he had seen, all he had discovered and having ended all that made him feel safer.
John tried to focus only on her. The way she moved against him, it was so relaxing, he could feel she was comfy. When he felt she got a bit tense for some reason, he'd nuzzle his cheek against her head briefly, run a hand over her back to sothe. Eventually he got all soft and relaxed, specially after she started to brush her nose against him, lean against him, finding shelter between his arms. He managed to relax and forget all that chaos for a bit, enjoying each second of being so close together.
The world could end outside, but he felt safe with her. He had understood she would show him kindness even if he messed things up, he knew she wouldn't blame him for things that weren't his fault, and he knew she wouldn't hurt him or attack him or his heart, not on purpose. Cuddling like that calmed him down better than any medicine. To the point she brushing her nose against him started making him blush softly out of instinct.
He was embracing her like he wanted to shield Ruth from all sides. Nose buried in her hair, neck, head, shoulder, wherever he could, eyes closed, nose feeling her scent he whole time, keeping him in peace. He didn't want to go anywhere else. The fear of having lost her, it trampled any hesitation he could have of holding her tight and being so close. Whenever she seemed to start to tense at her thoughts, he'd start to plant soothing kisses on her head, nuzzle her a bit and pull her a bit closer again, adjusting and making sure she was comfy.
That intimacy had bacome some sort of bliss. The bond he felt with her, he definitely had never felt something so strong. Gently and a bit shyly, he intertwined his fingers with hers, holding her hand. Not just to calm her, but because he was afraid too. He didn't want that to end anytime soon. Didn't take long for him to press his forehead against hers, embracing her smaller self with his legs too just to be sure she felt safe.
She seemed to have found shelter against his chest, were his heart was beating with so much love for her, which had grown more each day he was close, and the moment he thought she was dead or worse, it had become so clear. Whenever he opened his eyes, they were on her, so calm and lazy and loving. When she moved again, he rested his hand on her side, gently caressing over her ribs trying to keep her relaxed- he still had a little bit of hesitation that moment, it was the first time he was activelly touching her, caressing, even if it held no malice, he was a bit scared. Scared of everything. Of himself, the world, of her going away. Damn, he was so scared. He just closed his eyes again and curled against her, trying to leave those fears behind and focus only on her presence.
When she muttetered things were okay, he calmed down for good. If she who could sense things was saying it was safe, then it was safe. He knew he could take a few days to recover, to decide what they had to do, to know what Blackwater was going to do. At least now he thought she would be safe, with all those files and documents gone. "I need...to be with you. I need a break from all that. I need you. Just you." He didn't even think to say those words, and he didn't even think whe he pressed a little shy sleepy shower of kisses over her face. She had gotten out of him a soft side he had been hiding for ages. "I wanna stay."
Ruth was only half shocked at how gentle he was being. He'd been through a lot the past few days, and Ruth knew deep down he was a good man, she just hadn't expected it like this. His warm hands against the thin fabric of her shirt, warming her skin and keeping her safe. It made her heart race a little. He was just so close... The had been close before yes, but in his moment all the fear and worry was desolving into a bond of comfort they found in one another. Ruth's eyes danced across his face for a moment, as if she was waiting for him to change his mind about her.
But he never did. Instead her hand was in his and he had embraced her without a second thought. She could feel his heartbeat and sense how he calmed down. Ruth needed to be with him too. She wanted him to stay. She was glad that he wanted to stay too. Tensing only in surprise, Ruth let out a giggle as she blushed at the kisses.
"J-john," she laughed quietly, pushing at his chest. It wasn't very hard since she didn't really want him to stop, but for her own sake of pretending to care.
Wiggling a little, her legs shifted against his. Butterflies were exploding in her chest and her hand tightened on his. She felt sort of silly and girlish, but also very excited because of how warm he was making her feel. It was dizzying almost. "I told you before, you're welcome to stay..." By stay she meant more than just at her house. Ruth really meant in her heart, and even here in her bed. "I want you to want to stay. I mean... my parents will be annoying for a few days, but they'll be gone soon. And maybe...maybe the police will leave you alone now. It's not good for you in Blackwater."
a/n: i got burnt after 20 minutes in the sun and its painful. ive wanted to do smth for luke for a hot minute and this was the first thing that actually came to my brain. sorry its short but ya :3 (images from pintrest) (dividers from here)
🔆 luke doesn't even consider the idea that you might burn easy at first. sure, he's seen people get bad sunburns on tattooine, but most natives of the planet are skilled in avoiding getting burned. he sort of just assumes most people know how to deal with the sun/heat.
🔆 it never really comes up in conversation since so much time is spent at a base or on a ship where the sun never really reaches your skin. but the minute someone suggests going to an extra sunny place, you have to mentally prepare to have the products and clothes you need to keep for getting a bad burn.
🔆 luke has this permanent tan. the minute he steps into the sun, he looks golden. that's because he's used to it and unfortunately you aren't. after about two minutes, you can feel your skin getting hot as you try to stay in shaded areas or cover any exposed skin in an attempt to protect yourself from the harsh rays.
🔆 by the time you can find refuge, you know it's too late. your cheeks and shoulders are hot and starting to get itchy as the burn settles into the skin. luke notices the discoloration and frowns, forgetting for a moment that not everyone can tan like he does. once he realizes, he feels a little stupid for not realizing. you assure him it's alright, that you should have prepared more, but he's already asking what would make it feel better.
🔆 he's offering to get lotions and balms to help the burns heal faster. luke dips his fingers into the cool cream, giving a worried and sorry look as you wince when he makes contact with the inflamed area. 'I'm sorry,' he mutters as he does his best to be gentle. You tell him to quit apologizing.
🔆 and when your skin starts to peel, he feels even worse. he tries not to let you see the worried little frowns or concerned glances, but you definitely catch them. it takes a lot for you not to show how painful it really is, you don't want to worry him more, but he can pratically feel how you're warmer than usual.
🔆 luke kinda hates the fact that he can't really touch you when you get burned. especially if it's really bad and covers most of your skin. he's a hugger, he likes to brush your arm or hold you at night or just bump into you as an excuse to gave contact. but you flinch in pain when anything irritates the burn, making him feel a little worse for not noticing the first time. when you lay in bed at night, you refuse to let him touch you because the pressure of laying down is already making the burn feel worse. he just lays there, staring longingly at your bare skin. he thinks you look good, just laying there all flushed from the sun, but he feels bad that it's painful for you.
🔆 luke never ever forgets again. any time you might even be exposed to the sun he asks if you have sunscreen. he always checks if you have a hat or a jacket. he will deliberately find shady areas to stay or he'll move so you are in his shadow. his excuse is that he wants to protect you from everything, including the sun.
╰┈> summary: your obsessed with biting deans biceps.
dean had long since accepted that you were weird.
at first he’d catch you zoning out during research, your chin propped in your palm, eyes nowhere near the lore book in front of you- instead staring at his arms. specifically, whenever he rolled the sleeves of his flannel past his elbows.
dean leaned back in his chair trying—and failing—to hide the smug grin spreading across his face.
“sweetheart” he teased, “you got a thing for muscles?”
you buried your face in your hands with a groan. “…its embarrassing.”
“nah.” his grin widened. “kinda flattering.”
then it started as a joke the first time you grabbed his arm during a movie marathon, frowned thoughtfully before sinking your teeth into the solid curve of his bicep- the toned skin rough under your soft lips.
“ow- what the hell?” dean groaned looking at the noticeable marks of your teeth dug into his skin.
“you just look biteable!” you whined, nudging your cheek into his bicep.
“…seriously? no wonder the hounds love me..”
you nodded with complete sincerity before kissing the mark gently like you hadn’t just assaulted him…
…now it was just… a thing.
dean would be sprawled across the motel bed after a hunt, sleeves rolled up and exhausted. you’d wander over without a word, curl up against his side, wrap around his arm with both hands and bite. not hard enough to hurt—just enough to leave the faint crescent marks and kisses that disappeared by morning.
“there she goes.” dean would sigh dramatically. “my little vampire, always gotta have somethin in your mouth huh?”
you’d hum against his skin taking in his scent- taking in him and refusing to let go while he’d try to keep up the fake complaints.
“y’know normal girlfriends kiss their boyfriends…”
“i do kiss you!”
“you also gnaw on me.”
“it’s affectionate.” you sigh while dean rolls his eyes so hard it was a wonder they didn’t get stuck.
“…yeah.” he’d mutter unable to hide the smile tugging at the corner of his mouth- unable to hide how much he actually enjoys the feel of your lips all over him.
When Ruth offered her hand started to pet Grumpy, the animal immediately melted into her touches, understanding she was one of the good people, his tail wagging so much, the little jumps he would give as she scratched behind his ears, and it just stayed there, enjoying all the pets, and when she paused, he'd stand, pressing both his paws against her chest, sniffing her all over, letting out happy little cries.
"Huh. He likes you. That's....that's actually rare. Normally he's grumpy to people and people are grumpy back or just scared because of his size.
The dog had a lot of soft skin to be pet because of its age, and it seemed to be a very calm animal.
The thunders started to hit loudly again, the power oscillating, as if the typhoon was trying to catch up.
"Thanks for helping." John said once he locked the door and went downstairs, Grumpy jumping onto the backseat and curling on his place, already preparing to take a nap. Traveling made it sleepy.
"Hey...you'll be home in no time, alright?" If he wasn't used to be acting rough, maybe he'd be saying a lot more, offering a hug or apologizing about everything, but it was his job and he needed to keep her safe.
The storm was quite violent as they left town. The power oscillating outside, some trees had fallen, some lower areas were flooding. The amount of water that started falling from the sky was formidable to say the least. Gladly John's driving was good, the truck was robust and they weren't having any problems. Because of how late it was, the streets were mostly empty, and one they got to the suburban area, he felt like he was in one of those liminal spaces, the sky so dark, absolute silence but the sound of the car engine, the lights outside limited to each house, all the rest, the fields, the distance, all seemed so pitch black.
John even shivered at some point, it was getting so cold. He looked to the side to see Ruth, she seemed so...she seemed so sick. Exhausted. He felt bad for her. The address, he didn't even need a GPS, until they were close to Cholla Springs. Gently he poked her shoulder. "Hey, we're almost there. Cheer up a little...." He tried, but he was a bit tired too.
Once he parked by her little ranch like property, he also let a sigh of relief. "If anyone asks....remember to say what we talked. That some maniac was stalking you....destroyed your car...I'm keeping you safe for a few days, alright?" He wasn't aware she was totally alone. He imagined at least a parent, sibling or boyfriend would be around, but...the place seemed so damn quiet.
"Come on, let's wake up, boy, we arrived."
Grumpy started wagging its tail and looking around, jumping off the car as soon as John opened the door, the animal froze when it felt the fresh breeze of the fields, of countryside.
'Awoooofff wooof wooffff wofff wuuuuuff wufff wuffff!' It started to hop in circles as John tried to remove the leash. "Easy boy...I'm trying to take this off...." Once John did, the dog bolted towards the house, jumping and rolling on the green grass, resting on its back and wiggling its paws up.
"Huh. I've never seen this big boy so energetic. I guess being here for a while will do him good" He smirked at little as he took his things from the car, rushing inside following Ruth. The rain had taken a short break before it started hitting hard again. John waited before walking in. "Where is everyone?" He asked, finding everything too silent.
"Grumpy, come boy, or you'll get all wet." Marston took a towel from his bag, crouched down to dry the animal, it seemed so happy, it made John chuckle. "Give them paws....let's dry your feet....good boy..."
"Miss...thanks for accepting me here, even if...." He sighed. "Well, even if there wasn't much of a better option. I'll explain everything tomorrow when you're well rested..."
Where did she go?
"Alright...I'll take the room upstairs then. Thank you. Could I maybe take a shower?" The dark rings under his eyes seemed larger, driving amidst that storm, the damn typhoon, which was threatening to get worse made him extra tired. "Can Grumpy sleep inside?"
Where was she? He was holding a pistol, ready to give it to her, but....where?
"Maybe tomorrow then....I guess everyone's tired."
He saw the bunny in the kitchen, it seemed so angry for some reason. "Hey little feller."
Marston didn't know if Ruth would allow his dog upstairs, so he took Grumpy's bed and placed near the bunny, by the small pen in the kitchen. "Behave, boy. Don't mess anything up, we're guests." The huge scary german shepherd curled down and started to whine though, crying to John, giving the puppy eyes. 'Abueh bueh bueh bueh bueh....' He sighed. "It's her house...and...just tonight..."
The dog rolled on his back and started to move its paws in the air as if it was dying. "Oh no need for drama...come on. Come on. You ain't alone, there's the bunny there." Grumpy paused and looked at Dinner. The little bunny looked like a fur ball of pure rage. Grumpy looked back at John, cried and jumped up to curl on his lap, Marston had to catch him.
"You're afraid of it?? Oh...why?? Well....it does look angry....alright...I'm taking you to my room with me...but no noise, no mess, alright? You already peed outside, right? Not wet cocks staining the floor, alright? It's a lady's house." He kept drying the animal with the towel, in more detail now since it was coming inside. "Your chest is all wet...play in the grass tomorrow, okay?" Grumpy rested his head on John's shoulder and closed its eyes to rest, loving the caresses of the towel. "You're such a big baby. You're getting heavy." John carried the animal and its bed upstairs, and he had no idea which room was his.
He set down the dog bed on the corridor and gently placed Grumpy on it. "Just a minute, boy."
John had left his boots by the porch, stepping silently to inspect if that was the right room, and the moment he looked, his lips parted as he saw the lady, naked on her bed, spread on soft sheets- he froze. The memory of what he had seen at the scanner room, and now again, that perfect body, and she seemed so relaxed. Her thighs and delicate legs, her ribs and that soft skin, those perfect breasts and that golden hair. He blushed, even stopped breathing for a while, eyes locked on her, feeling guilty each second he admired her, her perfect bottom, she seemed like a holy statue and he hadn't felt so horny in such a long time. "Mnm." He gave an awkward nod and stepped back and out of her room, cheeks and ears warm and red, he silently made his way to his own room. "Oh boy....she must be so tight." He panted and shook his head as he opened the other room, carrying his things inside, Grumpy grunting a little a John's comment, as if judging his owner. "Ah don't you start, I know what you do to the Santa Klaus plushie." The dog looked offended as it followed John carrying his little bed with his mouth.
Once his things were in the room, he felt sleep hit him, but he needed a shower. He was smelling precinct and that molded big city. Smelling like Blackwater, and that town, it was...different, he felt a shower there would make him feel pure and clean, like countryside.
He went to to shower, turned on the water, relaxed finally, the only tension left in him was the one seeing her all nude caused. Oh how he wanted to have that woman, he knew thoughts like that were his entrance ticket to hell, but....the thought of she asking for it...and him having her sweetly on that bed of hers....ughh....he closed his eyes and kept imagining it as he washed himself and relieved that tension.
Once he was done and had dried himself, he also felt the last of his energy gone when he got close to his bed. His bare feet against the wooden floor felt right and relaxing, he also sunk into his bed, didn't even pull the sheets, he just rested on top of them, his dark hair spread on the pillow- Grumpy was sleeping on his little dog one when he checked, but didn't take long until he felt the animal jumping onto it, resting by his side. Since John looked so peaceful and so tired, the dog respected his space this time. The rain outside, the wooden noises caused by the wind, it was all so relaxing. Didn't take long for him to hug a pillow, dreaming about her, her lips, those breasts, that perfect spot between her thigh and her sides. "Dang....why did she have to look so.....so perfect like that, Grumpy...." The hot water that relaxed him for good, he was so calm and sleepy he even seemed to be drugged. "I'll wake up hard like hell for sure....mnmhg...she's so perfect..."
The dog grunted at John, judging him again, wanting to sleep. "Alright....I'll shut up....just...this pillow is mine...."
He blacked out, had very sweet dreams, and for the first time in years, he didn't have a nightmare. He just...loss track of everything, he just slept. Slept for so many hours.
His phone vibrated a couple of hours later, but he didn't even notice. If not shaken, he probably would sleep until noon, it had been the best sleep ever, breathing in and out, using the pillows as cover, he even forgot who he was or where he was.
@girllock-writes
"Good, amazing Mark. I guess you finally understood. Gimme that." John took the key card, then cuffed Mark's wrist to the metal table. "You ain't going nowhere. And Richard for the fuck's sake lower that shotgun." John used the card to lock the door, so now the men couldn't leave, not until things were crystal clear. Richard lowered the weapon and slowly followed John, silent, tense, as if he was curious to know what the man would say, as if he was waiting to decide what he'd do.
'John, why don't you just leave? No need to do this. You could just go home and forget this.' Richard said weakly. 'I'll open the game, we saw the footage from Mia's office, we know how you...got...warm together, a certain night after work. How you nuzzled against her, how you...seemed to hold her so dear. So you...you definitely shouldn't see this. You...shouldn't. I say that as a friend.' John just snarled. "Mia was your friend too and you guys gave her brain damage, you let that happen to her, lied to everyone saying she was dead. Friends my ass. You're in just for the money and some proud biased sense of duty." John was acting tough, but his voice was shaky, he was anxious about what he was about to see. "I don't trust you no more, damn, truly never did. Mia was different. She actually wanted to do things right, she wanted to help, she was good, no cheating or mischief, she was just good and that's what was the end of her." Richard tensed more, trying to talk, trying to interrupt John's firm walk but failing.
It was about three doors John used the card to open. Labs and areas he had never seen. At some point, a way to the left and one to the right. "Where's Ruth? And...where's Mia?? She's still here, right??" Richard sighed. 'Just see for yourself. No matter what I say, you don't listen. You could go home and not see any of this. It will be impossible to unsee it later.'
That just made John more nervous. He turned left, while where Ruth was being kept was on the right, but he didn't know.
After unlocking another door, a larger one this time, what John saw crushed his soul, or what was left of it. He froze, hands went numb, his spine too, cold shivers he had never felt before, not even when he had faced the monsters.
It was Mia. Attached to some machine of sorts, inside some fluid, nude, wires and whatever probes and ducts attached to her- her brain, huge, so huge it didn't fit her head, her belly so large, her eyes so dead, like she had some severe metal damage, her vitals and brain waves on a screen, on the sides of the room, glass cilinders with embryos with codes, numbers, 108, 109....
John just froze, went pale, lips parted. The way Mia's lips kept moving, like she was trying to learn how to speak but had no clue of what words even were. 'You see...many of the studies pointed in the direction being a sensitive could be related to genetics. Her brain getting reduced to some newborn state...she couldn't help like before, but...well, more stem cells, more possibilities. It's what the development team said. Her brain has been helping us read the waves, that's how our scanners work. In theory it should cause pain, but she doesn't even know what pain is anymore. It's the data her brain interprets that allows us to use the advanced scanners, and you see, all our work now has only been possible because of that.'
John felt nauseated, he vomited on the floor, stumbled to the side, rested his weight against one of the large glasses, made the cylinder with the fetus fall down and break. He was shaking. Stood up quickly, stepped back from it.
'Don't worry, John....it wasn't a sensitive one. Most of them aren't. These are going to be discarded anyway. Well, not totally discarded, more likely donated to other projects. Making a life go to waste as some routine, that wouldn't be acceptable. You see, all this has a purpose, it's not for nothing. The ones that were her clones, they were more sensitive, but died too early before they could develop. Even so, the brains and cells have been useful to calibrate the scanners, to try and develop a biological mixture where we could properly isolate the cells of those creatures. They always melt down and vanish when we neutralize them, if we could study them, it would help us understand what those creatures are. Now can you handle the sacrifices? Can you handle dealing with this? I doubt.' Richard raised the shotgun towards John.
Marston was speechless. He didn't know what to feel, he was...feeling everything. "You've been keeping her here...for 8 years....you said...her brain went back to the one of a newborn...she doesn't even know what's happening....she....she didn't....it...it's Mia.....it's Mia...Richard....you guys....how....did you even allow this to..."
Richard shook his head. 'We allowed it just like we allowed you to stay alive. Because she asked, we agreed and you proved this could be possible. That human cells could adapt to these monsters and keep them stable, so we could study them.'
John seemed so shocked and so confused, the bundle of cells contorting on the ground making him feel dizzy, his eyes trying to look away but everything seemed ultimately disturbing. "Me? What the fuck you're talking about? You were gonna kill me and she told you not to?? How did I prove anything?"
Richard rubbed his eyes, smiled in anxiety.
'Well, one of those things scratched you, didn't it? And you didn't become one of them. I mean, its claw fucking penetrated you, fluids, blood, it carved into your spine, and then Mia ran you and the damn thing with the car, felt guilty later, wanted to save your life at all costs. The creature's claw, part of the tentacle, it got stuck inside your spine. We thought you were going to turn, but you didn't. Maybe because the tentacle got ripped from the creature's body before it transferred its consciousness to you? Or maybe your genetics were just immune to it? We really don't know. What we do know is that the claw...fang thing...it integrated into your body in such a perfect way it was impossible to detect. Scanners, X Rays....nothing. You don't emit any waves, you have nothing related to the monsters even if you have claw....nail...cock....tongue...whatever the fuck that is inside you. It became you. Became one with your spine. It's what kept your movements after Mia ran over you and that thing with the car. We knew...but nobody else did. We decided to keep that between us, the team. If the higher ups knew, if we had told them, you probably would be inside some secret national security lab being studied. See? Some things need to stay secret. We like you, you were part of the team, we didn't want you gone.'
John was shocked. Frozen in place. Reality seemed worse than all the nightmares he used to have.
He just knew one thing. That had to end. John knew how important the research was, but seeing his Mia like that, the numbers past 100 in those fetus, all that- it seemed so worse than those creatures could do. Damn, slitting some throat and having some tumors grow from it, that sounded like mercy compared to being kept in that place for 8 years, being used like some incubator for illegal experiments.
Fuck, the world could end, but he couldn't allow that. Not to Mia, not to Ruthie.
'John, I know you loved her, and for sure, she loved you too but—'
A loud bang, the glass shattered, liquid spread everywhere, monitors turning off— John had shot Mia in the head, ending her suffering. A strong wave of relief filled the whole facility, and then it faded, in joy of finally being able to sleep. Richards quickly raised his shot gun to John. 'THE FUCK YOU JUST DID MARSTON??!!!'
Ruth shifted in her half-conscious state. Her eyes felt heavy and a wave of something between pain and relief washed over her. There was a woman in her dreams... one she didn't know, but that felt very familiar. Ruth took a step toward her, calling out, but the woman didn't reply. Tilting her head in confusion, Ruth could have sworn she'd seen the woman somewhere before. No matter how close she tried to get, the woman just seemed to be far away. The invisible thread between them seemed to pulse and hum, filling Ruth's ears and drowning out her calls. Then it snapped. The woman finally turned to look at Ruth. She stopped, staring back in wonder and confusion.
Something unspoken passed between them. Ruth felt her heart sort of stop. "What do I do?" She asked, desperate to know. Someone had to help. There were people suffering and she felt like she was the only one who could help. The woman said nothing, only gave her a kind smile.
The vision vanished as Ruth woke up to a clatter.
The vent cover in the room had fallen to the floor. A gurgling hiss came from the open space on the wall. Ruth rubbed her eyes, adrenaline pumped through her veins fighting against her sleepy state. Tentacles, dripping in the black goo, crawled slowly from the vent. Ruth's limbs felt heavy, but she pushed herself up from the bed and tried to protect Grumpy as much as she could.
The monsters were here. They were here for her. Surely the agents would help... After all, they were trying to kill the monsters. Ruth rushed to the door, making sure Grumpy wasn't left behind as the creature started to reform in the room. "HELP!" Ruth banged on the door, pulling at the locked handle. "It's here! Anyone, please!"
Grumpy was barking loudly at the creatures, staying between them and Ruth, but they were starting to be without enough space to run from them. The dog was a brave boy, even with the muzzle, it kept growling and trying to intimidate the things. It would look at Ruth from time to time, hoping she'f manage to open the door.
Meanwhile Robert was scared, angry, insecure, surprised- John's action of shooting Mia, ending her, ending all the experiment, all the progress. He just couldn't believe it, but at the same time, he realized how far they had gotten, from using senstive people to help to slowly dehumanize them and experiment on them. Still, it wasn't something Robert suffered much about. 'We are trying to do the right thing. We're trying to save people out there, so no way that we are wrong!'
Ruth feeling Mia's last glimpse of herself fade, her trapped soul being set free, that ressonated within John's heart and made him shed some tears, quietly, still in shock, with a growing rage. Ruth and him were linked somehow, maybe because she thought about him a lot, maybe because he felt the same.
'Marston?? What are you going to do??? You already caused enough damage! Don't move!!' He raised the shotgun, hands shaking. "You'll take me to Ruth. You'll get her outta here." Robert shook his head. 'No way. She's the last hope now that Mia is gone!!'
And just the thought Robert and the team would make Ruth go through all Mia did- the flashes of those gruesome images in his head, it was enough to make John raise his gun to shoot Robert, and when he pulled the trigger and the bulled crossed the corrupt agent's chest, his body tensed and he fired the shotgun.
Like the night hadn't presented enough horrors, an agonizing Robert had to watch John hit the wall and fall, bleeding with this gory hole opened on his ribs, in shock like he was dead.
But as Robert started to try and crawl away from all that bloodshed, John started to move—
The dark vine like things started to come out from John's organs and ruptured muscular fibers, the things hiding in him inside every layer of tissue spreading like a living thing, without mind though, at this point it had already been one with him for too long. John stood up, apparently in shock, the black things making his organs and bones start to regenerate—
He seemed quiet, so much making sense now— he started to wonder, when he asked to be close to Ruth to ease his nightmares, he wondered if those creatures were approaching her just wishing the same. He looked down coldly, raised his gun and finished Robert, taking the shotgun from him.
Returning to the main lobby, he saw Mark, still there, cuffed to the table just like he left him, but this time with the look of horror in the man's eyes, seeing those things coming out from John's wound, attached to him like some parasite, integrated with him.
Before Mark could say a word, John shot his head with the shotgun. There was no point in discussing anymore. John was still shocked, the nightmares, the faded memories of some hospital room, the dreams of some thing entering him- in the end it had been that claw tentacle that got stuck in his spine and became one with him. No creature control since the monster's original body was long gone.
He could feel her, hear her voice from afar, and by the end of the corridor, he saw the door, shot it open with the weapon— Ruth was finally in front of his eyes, and Grumpy too.
The bang against the door made Ruth jump. She moved away as it opened, hoping the agents had finally come. The creatures were still weak, getting closer. Her eyes flickered at the man, almost in unbelief. John.
"John!"
He was alive. He was safe. He was here. Her heart exploded with joy before her eyes moved the the healing hole in his ribs. Still gorey and bloodsoaked, with the tentacles closing the last bits up. Her heart stopped. Had the monsters gotten him? Was her vision true? That he had fallen to them as well.
Her eyes moved back to his, seeing only worry and relief in his eyes. He was still her John. She could feel it. It all happened very fast. A large shriek came from the creature and Ruth ran to him without hesitation. Her cold hands immediately clung to his arm, following him quickly from the room. The touch seemed to fill her with new life. Despite how terrible she looked, her soul felt less restless. Tears stung at her eyes. She just wanted to hide in him, she wanted to go home... She felt as if she had been there for years.
Behind her, Ruth felt that familiar tug of the creatures. Come back. Come with us. Come see.
"I was scared you wouldn't come–" she choked out as their feet pounded down the hallway. "I tried to reach you... But they... they asked for my help. I tried to... it hurt so much and then they hooked me up to this machine..." Ruth knew now was not a good time to panic, but her senses were still damaged from overuse and everything was very overwhelming for her. "I tried to keep Grumpy safe too... I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have gone out alone."
The alarms had already started ringing, the panels on the walls already suggesting the quarentine activation, the scientists inside that secret compound that the larger John realized it was, the more he believed the higher ups had to know about it. A small group simply couldn't build such a facility and go unnoticed. It wasn't fucking simple. That lab didn't pop up from a month to another. It had to be something older. He had joined the force 12 years ago and not even a month the whole police station above had gone into maintenance. That lab was already there and the bosses fuckong knew it, they had to know. Hyerarchy was like concrete pillars in the CIA, in the Secret Service— anyone who broke the protocol was often offered to reconsider or just transferred- it was impossible a small rebel group in the task force had made all that to be.
"This way, Ruth." His hand gripped her hospital like garments as if making sure she was actually there. She was....she....she definitely wasn't okay....she looked so drained....so tired...did they hurt her? Did they impregnate her with some experimental fetus or implanted anything in her? Did they cut some piece off her? Did they torture her? His eyes were already wet because of Mia and all the horrors he had witnessed, for killing two men he always thought he could believe, for seeing the team, the ideals, the force he worked in to turn out to be obsure and malicious, and seeing Ruth like that made more tears roll down his face— but there was no time to lose, they had to get out.
Grunpy's woof and his quick run to John, pressing its paws against his waist and back, glad to see him- glad. That was pretty much the word that defined the best what both owner and dog were feeling. They had muzzled Grumpy, a non violent dog...that made him mad, but John would keep that for later.
Her voice was like music, like air for someone who had almost drowned, like sunlight to a plant who survived a long storm. "Don't apologize, dear. You have no fault in any of this." He held her hand so tight, covered the wound on his ribs with his coat and kept making his way out of that hell.
As soon as he passed by the final door, cruelty and anger and hate filled his eyes, he pulled the lever of the quarantine used Mark's card to confirm it, activated all levels of warning, and he knew what it meant, he knew what he was doing. He had been taught how such facilities worked, pretty much like a CDC. Everything behind them locked with planned incineration. John was sending everything and everyone in there to hell. Main energy got cut, only emergency generators on. No cameras, no registers, no memory, no wifi, no regret in his soul.
"Everyone at the police station probably already evacuated by now. The alarms should have started as soon as I shot....that." John seemed so burned out. So tired. So shocked. So hurt. Anger that still burned, but not like raging flames, more like dying charcoal. "Come on, let's get out."
He picked her up and walked up the stairs, reachimg the police station above,everyone had already left, it was very late, there was just a few personal working there were already officers organizing the evacuation. Leaving through the garage, placing Ruth in his truck, getting on and driving away, and time seemed to go faster, they were more than five blcoks far away from the station, and the explosion undeground still could be heard. The hoarse crack, incinerating everything and everyone under that station, which above ground level basically didn't suffer any damage. Whatever creatures, whatever poor souls trapped in that hell now had to be gone for good.
John kept taking deep breaths and closing his eyes a little bit, he was spent, hurt— the pain of the gunshot, always there, something he had been enduring because the fear of losing her alone hurt so much more. "Let's go home. Your home. Alright?" It was where he was driving to. He believed no one else knew they had taken Ruth, the files about her, everything probably was gone together with the labs and secret offices and interrogation rooms.
"Nornally thet don't share vital information via network. Normally it's just isolated files or physical ones. For safety. It all went to shit so...I think you're safe." He has just killed the whole team. Anyone who knew as much as he did or more. While driving, he tested it, took his phone and started calling one by one of his team.
This number in unavailable.
Not "doesn't exist", not "busy", not "out of area". Just unavailable. The devices probably incinerated with all the air in that facility. If a big move had been made, if Ruth had been taken, then the boss also had to be in the building, his phone wasn't answering, so probably he was dead as well. He would know only the next day probably. Who Ruth was? No way John would never ever leak what she could do, how special she was. She was supposed to be free, like bunnies and golden butterflies.
A gas accident below BlackWater Police Department, officers dead and missing.
It was what John hear in the radio while almost arriving to Ruth's little farmhouse, it was what the news showed that late night, by 4am. News people would only read by the morning, that people would talk about only by lunchtime. And they still had the rest of the night to rest, before any consequence, before any discussion. Those hours belonged to them and no one else. The horror he had seen there always would be bigger then any guilt he could ever come to feel.
Ruth didn't let go of John once. All the panic and death, Ruth could feel it. As John detonated the panic system, she could almost feel the building crying out. By the time they had made it to the exit, she could hear the voices of the dying cry out as they ceased to exist. It was a loud roar and she pressed her hands to her ears, trying to hide in John's chest as he carried her out.
The truck was safer. A little quieter. As they drove, Ruth still kept her hand on John's arm. She couldn't bring herself to let go. Her limbs shook. It seemed awful, that all those people died just for her to be saved. Surely she wasn't worth it... the lives of others. The city limits provided some relief. Ruth had been too disoriented to notice until now, but a nervous hum still filled the car. She looked at John as he stared stoned faced at the road. Her chest grew tight. Something was very wrong. And not just those tentacles she'd seen in his chest... something else deep in his soul had been wounded.
"Thank you for coming for me," she said quietly. The pain in the air was almost tangible. She loosened her stressed grip, rubbing her fingers along the inside of his bicep, in an attempt to soothe them both. "What about you? Will you be safe? Will they come for you?"
She thought about her earlier offer, for him to stay with her. She had meant it. Even now, especially now, she still wanted him to. Ruth was sure their bond was formed by the trauma and stress of the past weeks, but she didn't mind. If anything, it was even more reason to keep him with her. Not only for safety, but because they could heal together.
Silence had fallen over the little home. Ruth was almost calm, gald to just be home and be with John when the sight of cars made her chest explode. A sleek sports car was parked close to the house and Johnson's pickup was behind it. The lights on in her house told her everything she needed to know. Ruth didn't want to see people. She didn't want to explain.
When they made it to the door, she was slightly stunned when the first person she saw was her father. Eli turned to the creaking door, his eyes bloodshot and wide. For all his faults and struggles, Ruth couldn't help but tear up again at the burst of energy that seemed to fill her father's chest. He was a good man deep down. 'Ruth?' She crossed the small space quickly, before her face pressed to his chest. "Daddy!"
The noise alerted the others in the house. Johnson and his wife appeared in the doorway of the kitchen. They had been trying to keep things peaceful while Johnson called every contact he had in the city. The sheriff's eyes went right to John in a harsh look between concern, relief, and a demand for answers.
'Where the hell have you been?' A new voice rang as a woman rose from the couch. She was a little older with frizzy, dark blonde hair. She had similar features to Ruth, but her eyes were much sharper. The woman glared at John. 'Who the hell are you?'
'Deborah, please,' Eli hissed, holding his daughter who flinched at the sound of the voice. 'Getting upset won't get you answers.' Ruth's mother's eyes flashed in annoyance and the closest thing she knew to concern.
'Don't patronize me, Eli. My daughter has been missing and I want answers.'
"No one should come after me. They don't know, they can't possibly know. About you too, the team is gone. They deserved it. They deserved to be gone." A tear rolled down his face, his voice shook a little. "They were doomed anyway. Those things would get them." John was tense, trying to relax, as he drove.
Her gentle fingers caressing his biceps helped soothe him, he gave her quick glances, tired ones. "What everyone thinks at the station is that there's a maniac after you. A serial killer. You can say he got you and then you managed to escape or...or something like that." He rubbed his eyes. "Just...don't feel guilty...none of this was your fault."
Once home, Grumpy left the car, John had already removed the muzzle, the dog gave tired but hurry steps into the house, walking through the guests legs, found his way near Dinner by the kitchen, curled near him to take a nap.
People were there. Her family, Johnson, like all of them were staring him like it was all his fault. And he knew it wasn't. She'd be still in that lab if it wasn't for him, and Mia...and all those... — he already started to feel sick. "I'm...police." It was all he managed to say as his brain tried to avoid the stress and all those memories.
Seeing Ruth hugging her father, that made him want to cry again- funny that day, it was like tears that accumulated for years had escaped.
Dinner sniffed curiously at Grumpy. The dog smelled like sterile rooms and funny chemicals, making the rabbit scrunch its nose. It could sense the large animal was stressed and curled close to it, knowing that Gurmpy wasn't just a guest anymore but a friend.
'Police? You don't look like police,' Deborah huffed. Johnson took a step forward, wanting to calm the situation. 'He is,' he defended. 'He's a friend. I know you're worried, Ms. Claymoor, but now is not the time–'
'Of course this is the time,' she snapped. 'My daughter has been missing and comes home with a strange man? I'll be as upset as I like. I'm her mother.'
'You're only making things worse,' Eli interjected. 'Just calm down, woman. You'll get your answers.'
The woman's face turned an angry shade of red as Ruth clung hander to her father, trying to block out the yelling and the overwhelming weight of the tense room. 'Oh, like you are making it any better by being passive?'
'That's enough,' Johnson interjected. His voice was calm and commanding. The stress of the room was getting out of hand. He glanced at John, seeing the tired and pained look in his eyes. He had figured something awful had happened, and seeing John look so empty and Ruth shaking in her father's arms, he knew he must have been right. 'Let's just all calm down. It's late. We can get our answers in the morning. Pirscilla, why don't you take Ruth upstairs?'
Johnson's wife nodded, going quickly to the girl and taking her arm. 'C'mon, sweetheart.' Eli placed a last kiss on her hair before letting go. Ruth followed the woman to the bottom of the steps before looking back at John. Her bloodshot eyes could hardly stay open. "John–" she managed to call, not wanting to go anywhere without him. Pirscilla looked at Ruth, then John, then her husband. Johnson glanced at John again, his gaze softer than it had been in their last meeting. 'You look like hell, Marston. It's okay. Get to bed.' He nodded after Ruth where the girl still refused to move any further without John by her side.
'You're just going to let him go up there with her?' Deborah glared at Eli. 'Alone?' She crossed her arms as the man huffed. 'Why are you worried? Ruth's an adult. And if Johnson trusts him–' 'You never listen to me you cowardly piece of–'
'I said enough,' Johnson interjected again. 'Ms. Claymoor, get to bed.' The woman let out an annoyed cry as she threw her hands in the air and stomped upstairs. Eli took up residence on the couch and after Pirscilla Johnson had made sure Ruth was settled in bed, she left with her husband, promising to return the next morning. In bed, Ruth could feel her hands still shaking. She felt so tired and cold, it was no surprise when she pressed herself so hard against John she might suffocate him. Tears stung at her eyes again. She could feel his pain. She could feel the anxiety of her mother across the room and the worry of her father downstairs. All mounted on her own stress. It was overwhelming, like a hundred voices were screaming at her all at once. Whatever had been done to her, it opened her senses to such a point that they could never be dulled back down. She would have to get used to it, but the change was very sudden for her.
"I'm sorry, John," she apologized again, not knowing how to comfort him. Her tears stained the sheets and her sobs were muffled against his shoulder. The only thing in the whole world that was keeping her from falling apart was the fact that he was still there, still next to her.
He was just so tired, so overwhelmed, they were arguing and discussing and his head was aching. He saw Grumpy resting and that made him relax a bit more. Slowly, he made his way to the bathroom as people argued, took a shower, changed into clean clothes. His wound was closed, no sign of those dark tentacle claw things coming from him. It was not like having a parasite. It was like...part of himself. It wasn't a creature inside him either. It was...him. Like the part of the being had been totally split from it and had become an organ of his body. It had been there since that day. He didn't know what to think about it, he didn't know his body had changed like that. He also didn't emitt any particles, he was always normal to all sorts of tests. That new organ had integrated into his tissues in a way no x ray or test had ever detected it. It was part of him and he was trying to accept and understand that.
So much to process. A shower helped him lot.
All that discussion, accusations, questions, he just listened, didn't say a word, let Johnson handle it. He was always passing out right there due to stress, and next time he realized, Ruth was looking at him, eyes begging him to follow, so slowly, he did, his brain still in shock about everything. What they had done to Mia? What did they do to Ruth? He was afraid to find out. He just lied down next to her, such a tired painful expression on his face. He just blacked out, robes all clumsy, body full of superficial wounds, specially his ribs.
Ruth was tired as well, but she had a harder time falling asleep. Each time she closed her eyes, she saw the florescent lights of the station, she felt the electrical pull of machines and heard that nagging call of the creatures—we need you. Come to us. Ruth eventually fell half asleep, enough to lose awareness of the space around her. There was an ache in her bones and in her soul, wishing she could just heave peace, wishing she could go back to how things were before when she was ignorant of the monsters.
But even in her ignorance they would have found her eventually. And maybe she would have never met John. With half open eyes, Ruth turned to look at his sleeping face. He looked exhausted even in sleep. It was nearing dawn, they had been up so late and a faint blue glow filled the room as the sun prepared to peak over the horizon. Ruth groaned, pulling the covers over her eyes to hide in the warm darkness next to John.
By the time sleep finally took her, gold light was spilling into the room. Dozing in and out for a while, Ruth hugged tightly to John's arm as her legs curled around his.
Downstairs, Eli had woken the earliest. He was always up with the sun and made sure to fill Dinner and Grumpy's bowls for when they awoke. He made himself a coffee before returning to his place on the couch to read and ponder the stress of the past few days. Johnson stopped by before heading into work to check if everything was okay. The house seemed peaceful again, now that Ruth and John had returned... or almost peaceful. By 10 am, Ruth still slept, not even caring about getting up in the brief moments she was awake between bouts of sleep. Deborah had gone downstairs once for coffee.
'I can't believe you're alright with this,' she snapped at Eli as she raided the pantry for food. 'Her living on her own... being alone with a strange man... going missings. You never looked out for her.'
'At least I didn't smother her,' he retorted. Eli didn't want to be angry. He understood that the last thing that was needed was for them to be fighting. Deborah huffed before returning upstairs, shutting the door loudly and not caring who was still sleeping.
Grumpy whined and cried a little during the whole night, whimpering out the stress he had been through. The noises were very low though, it was a way the animal had to control his stress. He hadn't sniffed anyone or greeted anyone. He was too tired and all the others seemed so stressed, he was just trying to heal. He didn't even eat out of anxiety, just drank water before he slept near Dinner.
John fell asleep so quickly, didn't have any nightmares and didn't dream until it was almost morning, when Ruth held his arm and wrapped her legs around his, his body couldn't help but remember the time Mia and himself had been together, years ago. The memory was still so alive. They had been team mates. Never talked about friendship or relationships, Mia and him, but both knew there was something, some chrmistry between them. He secretly loved Mia's sweetness and Mia secretly loved how John could be an aggressive naive adorable idiot.
The night Mia and John had been together in her office, they hadn't even exchanged any words. They had just looked at each other, started to kiss and strip, she had stroked him so strongly, thirsty, pushed him to the couch, sat on him and pressed herself in such a wild way that seemed foreign to someone as shy and calm as Mia. The way he gripped the couch and she had him with a passion he had never seen, and they underdtood each other so well, without ever having to sit down and talk about it. She knew exactly what kind of man he was. When she got tired, he sat her, supported her legs with his arms and kept doing it just like she loved it, and even for that they didn't have to exchange word— it had been this mutual understanding between them, and the cameras, the rest of the team, they caught it all, and the moment Mia got incapacitated weeks later, they knew they had to hide it from John.
He woke up with the sudden bang, stood up still half asleep and went to the corridor to check— his robes still messy, his hair even worse, his eyes heavy, a sense of alarm, only to realize everything was okay. He sighed, rubbed his face, he still felt so tired, just slowly returned to the room and lied next to Ruth. This time, awake, he just embraced her. Embraced her whole and closed his eyes. Didn't care if his robes were half open, didn't care if their skin touched, didn't care about anything. He just urgently needed to soothe his heart. Show it she was okay.
Ruth stirred when she felt John move. He was the only thing keeping her calm, and the second his warmth vanished, she tensed and gave a small whine as she shifted. The sheets were wrinkled and warm, yellow light peeked through the cracks of the curtians, and blankets were twisted across the bed. The bed dipped beneath John's weight, and Ruth felt herself drawn to the low center of gravity.
His arms felt like the safest place in the world. Strong and warm... slightly tense from worry but safe. Ruth's face felt the warmth of his bare chest and the slight tickle of hair against her cheek. She sighed deeply into the skin, rubbing her face against him. The skin felt good compared to the lingering memory of medical tools. She never wanted to leave the spot. Choosing to forget that her family was in her house, Ruth pressed herself closer just wanting to be close to him.
It should have been more awkward, but Ruth was much too tired to be thinking about what was proper. He'd been staying with her anyway. And no one made her feel as comfortable as he did. And he'd saved her life... multiple times now. She was in his debt. Ruth was sure he was too nice to ask anything of her, but she still felt like she owed him something. But what would someone like John Marston even need? What would he want? Blinking slowly, Ruth tilted her head up. Her nose traced alonge the skin of his chest as she moved before her chin rested on a spot above his heart. "It's okay," she muttered sleepily. "We're safe now. There anything you need?"
"I- I love you... I loved you!” She pitifully sobs, face flushed and her words cracked with all the sorrow she’s built up over the years. So full, she can’t even breathe. “You were everything to me… You were all that I wanted.”
For a while, that’s the only thing she does. Mutter soft, sad whispers of her love as he stares at her. Eyes that were once stonecold hours prior, holding a tender regard for the girl he can still see—curled up in tears after shooting her first buck or coming home covered head to toe in human blood, wondering who he was becoming, and if he was going to hurt her.
In the end, it seems he did just that.
“My… dad. M- My daddy- I loved you-” Her lungs sucked up all the air she could manage in one single intake, sharp and vulnerable. “I would have done anythin’... I was gunna’ kill him. Was gunna’ kill ’em, because he hurt me. Because he-”
A sudden burst of hot fury made her lids pull back, teeth barred as she forced her body upward in his direction with a weak growl. Nonetheless, she stood no chance; he’d always been her achilles heel, and kept her firm in the grass.
“He took you from me! You were mine- You were everything, and then all you wanted was money- a- and freedom, and- everything that wasn’t me!”
Snot caked on her upper lip in a disgusting show, but Dutch didn’t see her any differently. This was exactly how he remembered her, and forever would. An angry, sad little girl he couldn’t control, and would always strive to keep. Even when he lost who he was along the way. He wanted to wipe her tears with his thumb and make her sweet again, but he’d long since waited; he would never get that chance.
Sighing long through his nose, he spoke softly. "I should've never sent you on that run ."
The coil in her chest grew tighter, a new kind of misery. “You knew…?”
“Not for certain…” He told the truth, for may have been the first time in his life. The way he truly felt, despite never telling anyone. Especially the people that mattered. “But I knew… my little girl was hurting in more ways than I could understand, that night in Clemmons Point. That I knew.”
She didn't know where all the tears dried up.
“... You didn’t show me. Why’d you stop showing me…?”
He doesn’t respond.
“... I would have followed you everywhere.”
A life unfulfilled, without an action ever taken. “I know.”
⏾ fxxez — please don't copy, steal, or translate any of my work.
When Ruth offered her hand started to pet Grumpy, the animal immediately melted into her touches, understanding she was one of the good people, his tail wagging so much, the little jumps he would give as she scratched behind his ears, and it just stayed there, enjoying all the pets, and when she paused, he'd stand, pressing both his paws against her chest, sniffing her all over, letting out happy little cries.
"Huh. He likes you. That's....that's actually rare. Normally he's grumpy to people and people are grumpy back or just scared because of his size.
The dog had a lot of soft skin to be pet because of its age, and it seemed to be a very calm animal.
The thunders started to hit loudly again, the power oscillating, as if the typhoon was trying to catch up.
"Thanks for helping." John said once he locked the door and went downstairs, Grumpy jumping onto the backseat and curling on his place, already preparing to take a nap. Traveling made it sleepy.
"Hey...you'll be home in no time, alright?" If he wasn't used to be acting rough, maybe he'd be saying a lot more, offering a hug or apologizing about everything, but it was his job and he needed to keep her safe.
The storm was quite violent as they left town. The power oscillating outside, some trees had fallen, some lower areas were flooding. The amount of water that started falling from the sky was formidable to say the least. Gladly John's driving was good, the truck was robust and they weren't having any problems. Because of how late it was, the streets were mostly empty, and one they got to the suburban area, he felt like he was in one of those liminal spaces, the sky so dark, absolute silence but the sound of the car engine, the lights outside limited to each house, all the rest, the fields, the distance, all seemed so pitch black.
John even shivered at some point, it was getting so cold. He looked to the side to see Ruth, she seemed so...she seemed so sick. Exhausted. He felt bad for her. The address, he didn't even need a GPS, until they were close to Cholla Springs. Gently he poked her shoulder. "Hey, we're almost there. Cheer up a little...." He tried, but he was a bit tired too.
Once he parked by her little ranch like property, he also let a sigh of relief. "If anyone asks....remember to say what we talked. That some maniac was stalking you....destroyed your car...I'm keeping you safe for a few days, alright?" He wasn't aware she was totally alone. He imagined at least a parent, sibling or boyfriend would be around, but...the place seemed so damn quiet.
"Come on, let's wake up, boy, we arrived."
Grumpy started wagging its tail and looking around, jumping off the car as soon as John opened the door, the animal froze when it felt the fresh breeze of the fields, of countryside.
'Awoooofff wooof wooffff wofff wuuuuuff wufff wuffff!' It started to hop in circles as John tried to remove the leash. "Easy boy...I'm trying to take this off...." Once John did, the dog bolted towards the house, jumping and rolling on the green grass, resting on its back and wiggling its paws up.
"Huh. I've never seen this big boy so energetic. I guess being here for a while will do him good" He smirked at little as he took his things from the car, rushing inside following Ruth. The rain had taken a short break before it started hitting hard again. John waited before walking in. "Where is everyone?" He asked, finding everything too silent.
"Grumpy, come boy, or you'll get all wet." Marston took a towel from his bag, crouched down to dry the animal, it seemed so happy, it made John chuckle. "Give them paws....let's dry your feet....good boy..."
"Miss...thanks for accepting me here, even if...." He sighed. "Well, even if there wasn't much of a better option. I'll explain everything tomorrow when you're well rested..."
Where did she go?
"Alright...I'll take the room upstairs then. Thank you. Could I maybe take a shower?" The dark rings under his eyes seemed larger, driving amidst that storm, the damn typhoon, which was threatening to get worse made him extra tired. "Can Grumpy sleep inside?"
Where was she? He was holding a pistol, ready to give it to her, but....where?
"Maybe tomorrow then....I guess everyone's tired."
He saw the bunny in the kitchen, it seemed so angry for some reason. "Hey little feller."
Marston didn't know if Ruth would allow his dog upstairs, so he took Grumpy's bed and placed near the bunny, by the small pen in the kitchen. "Behave, boy. Don't mess anything up, we're guests." The huge scary german shepherd curled down and started to whine though, crying to John, giving the puppy eyes. 'Abueh bueh bueh bueh bueh....' He sighed. "It's her house...and...just tonight..."
The dog rolled on his back and started to move its paws in the air as if it was dying. "Oh no need for drama...come on. Come on. You ain't alone, there's the bunny there." Grumpy paused and looked at Dinner. The little bunny looked like a fur ball of pure rage. Grumpy looked back at John, cried and jumped up to curl on his lap, Marston had to catch him.
"You're afraid of it?? Oh...why?? Well....it does look angry....alright...I'm taking you to my room with me...but no noise, no mess, alright? You already peed outside, right? Not wet cocks staining the floor, alright? It's a lady's house." He kept drying the animal with the towel, in more detail now since it was coming inside. "Your chest is all wet...play in the grass tomorrow, okay?" Grumpy rested his head on John's shoulder and closed its eyes to rest, loving the caresses of the towel. "You're such a big baby. You're getting heavy." John carried the animal and its bed upstairs, and he had no idea which room was his.
He set down the dog bed on the corridor and gently placed Grumpy on it. "Just a minute, boy."
John had left his boots by the porch, stepping silently to inspect if that was the right room, and the moment he looked, his lips parted as he saw the lady, naked on her bed, spread on soft sheets- he froze. The memory of what he had seen at the scanner room, and now again, that perfect body, and she seemed so relaxed. Her thighs and delicate legs, her ribs and that soft skin, those perfect breasts and that golden hair. He blushed, even stopped breathing for a while, eyes locked on her, feeling guilty each second he admired her, her perfect bottom, she seemed like a holy statue and he hadn't felt so horny in such a long time. "Mnm." He gave an awkward nod and stepped back and out of her room, cheeks and ears warm and red, he silently made his way to his own room. "Oh boy....she must be so tight." He panted and shook his head as he opened the other room, carrying his things inside, Grumpy grunting a little a John's comment, as if judging his owner. "Ah don't you start, I know what you do to the Santa Klaus plushie." The dog looked offended as it followed John carrying his little bed with his mouth.
Once his things were in the room, he felt sleep hit him, but he needed a shower. He was smelling precinct and that molded big city. Smelling like Blackwater, and that town, it was...different, he felt a shower there would make him feel pure and clean, like countryside.
He went to to shower, turned on the water, relaxed finally, the only tension left in him was the one seeing her all nude caused. Oh how he wanted to have that woman, he knew thoughts like that were his entrance ticket to hell, but....the thought of she asking for it...and him having her sweetly on that bed of hers....ughh....he closed his eyes and kept imagining it as he washed himself and relieved that tension.
Once he was done and had dried himself, he also felt the last of his energy gone when he got close to his bed. His bare feet against the wooden floor felt right and relaxing, he also sunk into his bed, didn't even pull the sheets, he just rested on top of them, his dark hair spread on the pillow- Grumpy was sleeping on his little dog one when he checked, but didn't take long until he felt the animal jumping onto it, resting by his side. Since John looked so peaceful and so tired, the dog respected his space this time. The rain outside, the wooden noises caused by the wind, it was all so relaxing. Didn't take long for him to hug a pillow, dreaming about her, her lips, those breasts, that perfect spot between her thigh and her sides. "Dang....why did she have to look so.....so perfect like that, Grumpy...." The hot water that relaxed him for good, he was so calm and sleepy he even seemed to be drugged. "I'll wake up hard like hell for sure....mnmhg...she's so perfect..."
The dog grunted at John, judging him again, wanting to sleep. "Alright....I'll shut up....just...this pillow is mine...."
He blacked out, had very sweet dreams, and for the first time in years, he didn't have a nightmare. He just...loss track of everything, he just slept. Slept for so many hours.
His phone vibrated a couple of hours later, but he didn't even notice. If not shaken, he probably would sleep until noon, it had been the best sleep ever, breathing in and out, using the pillows as cover, he even forgot who he was or where he was.
@girllock-writes
"Good, amazing Mark. I guess you finally understood. Gimme that." John took the key card, then cuffed Mark's wrist to the metal table. "You ain't going nowhere. And Richard for the fuck's sake lower that shotgun." John used the card to lock the door, so now the men couldn't leave, not until things were crystal clear. Richard lowered the weapon and slowly followed John, silent, tense, as if he was curious to know what the man would say, as if he was waiting to decide what he'd do.
'John, why don't you just leave? No need to do this. You could just go home and forget this.' Richard said weakly. 'I'll open the game, we saw the footage from Mia's office, we know how you...got...warm together, a certain night after work. How you nuzzled against her, how you...seemed to hold her so dear. So you...you definitely shouldn't see this. You...shouldn't. I say that as a friend.' John just snarled. "Mia was your friend too and you guys gave her brain damage, you let that happen to her, lied to everyone saying she was dead. Friends my ass. You're in just for the money and some proud biased sense of duty." John was acting tough, but his voice was shaky, he was anxious about what he was about to see. "I don't trust you no more, damn, truly never did. Mia was different. She actually wanted to do things right, she wanted to help, she was good, no cheating or mischief, she was just good and that's what was the end of her." Richard tensed more, trying to talk, trying to interrupt John's firm walk but failing.
It was about three doors John used the card to open. Labs and areas he had never seen. At some point, a way to the left and one to the right. "Where's Ruth? And...where's Mia?? She's still here, right??" Richard sighed. 'Just see for yourself. No matter what I say, you don't listen. You could go home and not see any of this. It will be impossible to unsee it later.'
That just made John more nervous. He turned left, while where Ruth was being kept was on the right, but he didn't know.
After unlocking another door, a larger one this time, what John saw crushed his soul, or what was left of it. He froze, hands went numb, his spine too, cold shivers he had never felt before, not even when he had faced the monsters.
It was Mia. Attached to some machine of sorts, inside some fluid, nude, wires and whatever probes and ducts attached to her- her brain, huge, so huge it didn't fit her head, her belly so large, her eyes so dead, like she had some severe metal damage, her vitals and brain waves on a screen, on the sides of the room, glass cilinders with embryos with codes, numbers, 108, 109....
John just froze, went pale, lips parted. The way Mia's lips kept moving, like she was trying to learn how to speak but had no clue of what words even were. 'You see...many of the studies pointed in the direction being a sensitive could be related to genetics. Her brain getting reduced to some newborn state...she couldn't help like before, but...well, more stem cells, more possibilities. It's what the development team said. Her brain has been helping us read the waves, that's how our scanners work. In theory it should cause pain, but she doesn't even know what pain is anymore. It's the data her brain interprets that allows us to use the advanced scanners, and you see, all our work now has only been possible because of that.'
John felt nauseated, he vomited on the floor, stumbled to the side, rested his weight against one of the large glasses, made the cylinder with the fetus fall down and break. He was shaking. Stood up quickly, stepped back from it.
'Don't worry, John....it wasn't a sensitive one. Most of them aren't. These are going to be discarded anyway. Well, not totally discarded, more likely donated to other projects. Making a life go to waste as some routine, that wouldn't be acceptable. You see, all this has a purpose, it's not for nothing. The ones that were her clones, they were more sensitive, but died too early before they could develop. Even so, the brains and cells have been useful to calibrate the scanners, to try and develop a biological mixture where we could properly isolate the cells of those creatures. They always melt down and vanish when we neutralize them, if we could study them, it would help us understand what those creatures are. Now can you handle the sacrifices? Can you handle dealing with this? I doubt.' Richard raised the shotgun towards John.
Marston was speechless. He didn't know what to feel, he was...feeling everything. "You've been keeping her here...for 8 years....you said...her brain went back to the one of a newborn...she doesn't even know what's happening....she....she didn't....it...it's Mia.....it's Mia...Richard....you guys....how....did you even allow this to..."
Richard shook his head. 'We allowed it just like we allowed you to stay alive. Because she asked, we agreed and you proved this could be possible. That human cells could adapt to these monsters and keep them stable, so we could study them.'
John seemed so shocked and so confused, the bundle of cells contorting on the ground making him feel dizzy, his eyes trying to look away but everything seemed ultimately disturbing. "Me? What the fuck you're talking about? You were gonna kill me and she told you not to?? How did I prove anything?"
Richard rubbed his eyes, smiled in anxiety.
'Well, one of those things scratched you, didn't it? And you didn't become one of them. I mean, its claw fucking penetrated you, fluids, blood, it carved into your spine, and then Mia ran you and the damn thing with the car, felt guilty later, wanted to save your life at all costs. The creature's claw, part of the tentacle, it got stuck inside your spine. We thought you were going to turn, but you didn't. Maybe because the tentacle got ripped from the creature's body before it transferred its consciousness to you? Or maybe your genetics were just immune to it? We really don't know. What we do know is that the claw...fang thing...it integrated into your body in such a perfect way it was impossible to detect. Scanners, X Rays....nothing. You don't emit any waves, you have nothing related to the monsters even if you have claw....nail...cock....tongue...whatever the fuck that is inside you. It became you. Became one with your spine. It's what kept your movements after Mia ran over you and that thing with the car. We knew...but nobody else did. We decided to keep that between us, the team. If the higher ups knew, if we had told them, you probably would be inside some secret national security lab being studied. See? Some things need to stay secret. We like you, you were part of the team, we didn't want you gone.'
John was shocked. Frozen in place. Reality seemed worse than all the nightmares he used to have.
He just knew one thing. That had to end. John knew how important the research was, but seeing his Mia like that, the numbers past 100 in those fetus, all that- it seemed so worse than those creatures could do. Damn, slitting some throat and having some tumors grow from it, that sounded like mercy compared to being kept in that place for 8 years, being used like some incubator for illegal experiments.
Fuck, the world could end, but he couldn't allow that. Not to Mia, not to Ruthie.
'John, I know you loved her, and for sure, she loved you too but—'
A loud bang, the glass shattered, liquid spread everywhere, monitors turning off— John had shot Mia in the head, ending her suffering. A strong wave of relief filled the whole facility, and then it faded, in joy of finally being able to sleep. Richards quickly raised his shot gun to John. 'THE FUCK YOU JUST DID MARSTON??!!!'
Ruth shifted in her half-conscious state. Her eyes felt heavy and a wave of something between pain and relief washed over her. There was a woman in her dreams... one she didn't know, but that felt very familiar. Ruth took a step toward her, calling out, but the woman didn't reply. Tilting her head in confusion, Ruth could have sworn she'd seen the woman somewhere before. No matter how close she tried to get, the woman just seemed to be far away. The invisible thread between them seemed to pulse and hum, filling Ruth's ears and drowning out her calls. Then it snapped. The woman finally turned to look at Ruth. She stopped, staring back in wonder and confusion.
Something unspoken passed between them. Ruth felt her heart sort of stop. "What do I do?" She asked, desperate to know. Someone had to help. There were people suffering and she felt like she was the only one who could help. The woman said nothing, only gave her a kind smile.
The vision vanished as Ruth woke up to a clatter.
The vent cover in the room had fallen to the floor. A gurgling hiss came from the open space on the wall. Ruth rubbed her eyes, adrenaline pumped through her veins fighting against her sleepy state. Tentacles, dripping in the black goo, crawled slowly from the vent. Ruth's limbs felt heavy, but she pushed herself up from the bed and tried to protect Grumpy as much as she could.
The monsters were here. They were here for her. Surely the agents would help... After all, they were trying to kill the monsters. Ruth rushed to the door, making sure Grumpy wasn't left behind as the creature started to reform in the room. "HELP!" Ruth banged on the door, pulling at the locked handle. "It's here! Anyone, please!"
Grumpy was barking loudly at the creatures, staying between them and Ruth, but they were starting to be without enough space to run from them. The dog was a brave boy, even with the muzzle, it kept growling and trying to intimidate the things. It would look at Ruth from time to time, hoping she'f manage to open the door.
Meanwhile Robert was scared, angry, insecure, surprised- John's action of shooting Mia, ending her, ending all the experiment, all the progress. He just couldn't believe it, but at the same time, he realized how far they had gotten, from using senstive people to help to slowly dehumanize them and experiment on them. Still, it wasn't something Robert suffered much about. 'We are trying to do the right thing. We're trying to save people out there, so no way that we are wrong!'
Ruth feeling Mia's last glimpse of herself fade, her trapped soul being set free, that ressonated within John's heart and made him shed some tears, quietly, still in shock, with a growing rage. Ruth and him were linked somehow, maybe because she thought about him a lot, maybe because he felt the same.
'Marston?? What are you going to do??? You already caused enough damage! Don't move!!' He raised the shotgun, hands shaking. "You'll take me to Ruth. You'll get her outta here." Robert shook his head. 'No way. She's the last hope now that Mia is gone!!'
And just the thought Robert and the team would make Ruth go through all Mia did- the flashes of those gruesome images in his head, it was enough to make John raise his gun to shoot Robert, and when he pulled the trigger and the bulled crossed the corrupt agent's chest, his body tensed and he fired the shotgun.
Like the night hadn't presented enough horrors, an agonizing Robert had to watch John hit the wall and fall, bleeding with this gory hole opened on his ribs, in shock like he was dead.
But as Robert started to try and crawl away from all that bloodshed, John started to move—
The dark vine like things started to come out from John's organs and ruptured muscular fibers, the things hiding in him inside every layer of tissue spreading like a living thing, without mind though, at this point it had already been one with him for too long. John stood up, apparently in shock, the black things making his organs and bones start to regenerate—
He seemed quiet, so much making sense now— he started to wonder, when he asked to be close to Ruth to ease his nightmares, he wondered if those creatures were approaching her just wishing the same. He looked down coldly, raised his gun and finished Robert, taking the shotgun from him.
Returning to the main lobby, he saw Mark, still there, cuffed to the table just like he left him, but this time with the look of horror in the man's eyes, seeing those things coming out from John's wound, attached to him like some parasite, integrated with him.
Before Mark could say a word, John shot his head with the shotgun. There was no point in discussing anymore. John was still shocked, the nightmares, the faded memories of some hospital room, the dreams of some thing entering him- in the end it had been that claw tentacle that got stuck in his spine and became one with him. No creature control since the monster's original body was long gone.
He could feel her, hear her voice from afar, and by the end of the corridor, he saw the door, shot it open with the weapon— Ruth was finally in front of his eyes, and Grumpy too.
The bang against the door made Ruth jump. She moved away as it opened, hoping the agents had finally come. The creatures were still weak, getting closer. Her eyes flickered at the man, almost in unbelief. John.
"John!"
He was alive. He was safe. He was here. Her heart exploded with joy before her eyes moved the the healing hole in his ribs. Still gorey and bloodsoaked, with the tentacles closing the last bits up. Her heart stopped. Had the monsters gotten him? Was her vision true? That he had fallen to them as well.
Her eyes moved back to his, seeing only worry and relief in his eyes. He was still her John. She could feel it. It all happened very fast. A large shriek came from the creature and Ruth ran to him without hesitation. Her cold hands immediately clung to his arm, following him quickly from the room. The touch seemed to fill her with new life. Despite how terrible she looked, her soul felt less restless. Tears stung at her eyes. She just wanted to hide in him, she wanted to go home... She felt as if she had been there for years.
Behind her, Ruth felt that familiar tug of the creatures. Come back. Come with us. Come see.
"I was scared you wouldn't come–" she choked out as their feet pounded down the hallway. "I tried to reach you... But they... they asked for my help. I tried to... it hurt so much and then they hooked me up to this machine..." Ruth knew now was not a good time to panic, but her senses were still damaged from overuse and everything was very overwhelming for her. "I tried to keep Grumpy safe too... I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have gone out alone."
The alarms had already started ringing, the panels on the walls already suggesting the quarentine activation, the scientists inside that secret compound that the larger John realized it was, the more he believed the higher ups had to know about it. A small group simply couldn't build such a facility and go unnoticed. It wasn't fucking simple. That lab didn't pop up from a month to another. It had to be something older. He had joined the force 12 years ago and not even a month the whole police station above had gone into maintenance. That lab was already there and the bosses fuckong knew it, they had to know. Hyerarchy was like concrete pillars in the CIA, in the Secret Service— anyone who broke the protocol was often offered to reconsider or just transferred- it was impossible a small rebel group in the task force had made all that to be.
"This way, Ruth." His hand gripped her hospital like garments as if making sure she was actually there. She was....she....she definitely wasn't okay....she looked so drained....so tired...did they hurt her? Did they impregnate her with some experimental fetus or implanted anything in her? Did they cut some piece off her? Did they torture her? His eyes were already wet because of Mia and all the horrors he had witnessed, for killing two men he always thought he could believe, for seeing the team, the ideals, the force he worked in to turn out to be obsure and malicious, and seeing Ruth like that made more tears roll down his face— but there was no time to lose, they had to get out.
Grunpy's woof and his quick run to John, pressing its paws against his waist and back, glad to see him- glad. That was pretty much the word that defined the best what both owner and dog were feeling. They had muzzled Grumpy, a non violent dog...that made him mad, but John would keep that for later.
Her voice was like music, like air for someone who had almost drowned, like sunlight to a plant who survived a long storm. "Don't apologize, dear. You have no fault in any of this." He held her hand so tight, covered the wound on his ribs with his coat and kept making his way out of that hell.
As soon as he passed by the final door, cruelty and anger and hate filled his eyes, he pulled the lever of the quarantine used Mark's card to confirm it, activated all levels of warning, and he knew what it meant, he knew what he was doing. He had been taught how such facilities worked, pretty much like a CDC. Everything behind them locked with planned incineration. John was sending everything and everyone in there to hell. Main energy got cut, only emergency generators on. No cameras, no registers, no memory, no wifi, no regret in his soul.
"Everyone at the police station probably already evacuated by now. The alarms should have started as soon as I shot....that." John seemed so burned out. So tired. So shocked. So hurt. Anger that still burned, but not like raging flames, more like dying charcoal. "Come on, let's get out."
He picked her up and walked up the stairs, reachimg the police station above,everyone had already left, it was very late, there was just a few personal working there were already officers organizing the evacuation. Leaving through the garage, placing Ruth in his truck, getting on and driving away, and time seemed to go faster, they were more than five blcoks far away from the station, and the explosion undeground still could be heard. The hoarse crack, incinerating everything and everyone under that station, which above ground level basically didn't suffer any damage. Whatever creatures, whatever poor souls trapped in that hell now had to be gone for good.
John kept taking deep breaths and closing his eyes a little bit, he was spent, hurt— the pain of the gunshot, always there, something he had been enduring because the fear of losing her alone hurt so much more. "Let's go home. Your home. Alright?" It was where he was driving to. He believed no one else knew they had taken Ruth, the files about her, everything probably was gone together with the labs and secret offices and interrogation rooms.
"Nornally thet don't share vital information via network. Normally it's just isolated files or physical ones. For safety. It all went to shit so...I think you're safe." He has just killed the whole team. Anyone who knew as much as he did or more. While driving, he tested it, took his phone and started calling one by one of his team.
This number in unavailable.
Not "doesn't exist", not "busy", not "out of area". Just unavailable. The devices probably incinerated with all the air in that facility. If a big move had been made, if Ruth had been taken, then the boss also had to be in the building, his phone wasn't answering, so probably he was dead as well. He would know only the next day probably. Who Ruth was? No way John would never ever leak what she could do, how special she was. She was supposed to be free, like bunnies and golden butterflies.
A gas accident below BlackWater Police Department, officers dead and missing.
It was what John hear in the radio while almost arriving to Ruth's little farmhouse, it was what the news showed that late night, by 4am. News people would only read by the morning, that people would talk about only by lunchtime. And they still had the rest of the night to rest, before any consequence, before any discussion. Those hours belonged to them and no one else. The horror he had seen there always would be bigger then any guilt he could ever come to feel.
Ruth didn't let go of John once. All the panic and death, Ruth could feel it. As John detonated the panic system, she could almost feel the building crying out. By the time they had made it to the exit, she could hear the voices of the dying cry out as they ceased to exist. It was a loud roar and she pressed her hands to her ears, trying to hide in John's chest as he carried her out.
The truck was safer. A little quieter. As they drove, Ruth still kept her hand on John's arm. She couldn't bring herself to let go. Her limbs shook. It seemed awful, that all those people died just for her to be saved. Surely she wasn't worth it... the lives of others. The city limits provided some relief. Ruth had been too disoriented to notice until now, but a nervous hum still filled the car. She looked at John as he stared stoned faced at the road. Her chest grew tight. Something was very wrong. And not just those tentacles she'd seen in his chest... something else deep in his soul had been wounded.
"Thank you for coming for me," she said quietly. The pain in the air was almost tangible. She loosened her stressed grip, rubbing her fingers along the inside of his bicep, in an attempt to soothe them both. "What about you? Will you be safe? Will they come for you?"
She thought about her earlier offer, for him to stay with her. She had meant it. Even now, especially now, she still wanted him to. Ruth was sure their bond was formed by the trauma and stress of the past weeks, but she didn't mind. If anything, it was even more reason to keep him with her. Not only for safety, but because they could heal together.
Silence had fallen over the little home. Ruth was almost calm, gald to just be home and be with John when the sight of cars made her chest explode. A sleek sports car was parked close to the house and Johnson's pickup was behind it. The lights on in her house told her everything she needed to know. Ruth didn't want to see people. She didn't want to explain.
When they made it to the door, she was slightly stunned when the first person she saw was her father. Eli turned to the creaking door, his eyes bloodshot and wide. For all his faults and struggles, Ruth couldn't help but tear up again at the burst of energy that seemed to fill her father's chest. He was a good man deep down. 'Ruth?' She crossed the small space quickly, before her face pressed to his chest. "Daddy!"
The noise alerted the others in the house. Johnson and his wife appeared in the doorway of the kitchen. They had been trying to keep things peaceful while Johnson called every contact he had in the city. The sheriff's eyes went right to John in a harsh look between concern, relief, and a demand for answers.
'Where the hell have you been?' A new voice rang as a woman rose from the couch. She was a little older with frizzy, dark blonde hair. She had similar features to Ruth, but her eyes were much sharper. The woman glared at John. 'Who the hell are you?'
'Deborah, please,' Eli hissed, holding his daughter who flinched at the sound of the voice. 'Getting upset won't get you answers.' Ruth's mother's eyes flashed in annoyance and the closest thing she knew to concern.
'Don't patronize me, Eli. My daughter has been missing and I want answers.'
"No one should come after me. They don't know, they can't possibly know. About you too, the team is gone. They deserved it. They deserved to be gone." A tear rolled down his face, his voice shook a little. "They were doomed anyway. Those things would get them." John was tense, trying to relax, as he drove.
Her gentle fingers caressing his biceps helped soothe him, he gave her quick glances, tired ones. "What everyone thinks at the station is that there's a maniac after you. A serial killer. You can say he got you and then you managed to escape or...or something like that." He rubbed his eyes. "Just...don't feel guilty...none of this was your fault."
Once home, Grumpy left the car, John had already removed the muzzle, the dog gave tired but hurry steps into the house, walking through the guests legs, found his way near Dinner by the kitchen, curled near him to take a nap.
People were there. Her family, Johnson, like all of them were staring him like it was all his fault. And he knew it wasn't. She'd be still in that lab if it wasn't for him, and Mia...and all those... — he already started to feel sick. "I'm...police." It was all he managed to say as his brain tried to avoid the stress and all those memories.
Seeing Ruth hugging her father, that made him want to cry again- funny that day, it was like tears that accumulated for years had escaped.
Dinner sniffed curiously at Grumpy. The dog smelled like sterile rooms and funny chemicals, making the rabbit scrunch its nose. It could sense the large animal was stressed and curled close to it, knowing that Gurmpy wasn't just a guest anymore but a friend.
'Police? You don't look like police,' Deborah huffed. Johnson took a step forward, wanting to calm the situation. 'He is,' he defended. 'He's a friend. I know you're worried, Ms. Claymoor, but now is not the time–'
'Of course this is the time,' she snapped. 'My daughter has been missing and comes home with a strange man? I'll be as upset as I like. I'm her mother.'
'You're only making things worse,' Eli interjected. 'Just calm down, woman. You'll get your answers.'
The woman's face turned an angry shade of red as Ruth clung hander to her father, trying to block out the yelling and the overwhelming weight of the tense room. 'Oh, like you are making it any better by being passive?'
'That's enough,' Johnson interjected. His voice was calm and commanding. The stress of the room was getting out of hand. He glanced at John, seeing the tired and pained look in his eyes. He had figured something awful had happened, and seeing John look so empty and Ruth shaking in her father's arms, he knew he must have been right. 'Let's just all calm down. It's late. We can get our answers in the morning. Pirscilla, why don't you take Ruth upstairs?'
Johnson's wife nodded, going quickly to the girl and taking her arm. 'C'mon, sweetheart.' Eli placed a last kiss on her hair before letting go. Ruth followed the woman to the bottom of the steps before looking back at John. Her bloodshot eyes could hardly stay open. "John–" she managed to call, not wanting to go anywhere without him. Pirscilla looked at Ruth, then John, then her husband. Johnson glanced at John again, his gaze softer than it had been in their last meeting. 'You look like hell, Marston. It's okay. Get to bed.' He nodded after Ruth where the girl still refused to move any further without John by her side.
'You're just going to let him go up there with her?' Deborah glared at Eli. 'Alone?' She crossed her arms as the man huffed. 'Why are you worried? Ruth's an adult. And if Johnson trusts him–' 'You never listen to me you cowardly piece of–'
'I said enough,' Johnson interjected again. 'Ms. Claymoor, get to bed.' The woman let out an annoyed cry as she threw her hands in the air and stomped upstairs. Eli took up residence on the couch and after Pirscilla Johnson had made sure Ruth was settled in bed, she left with her husband, promising to return the next morning. In bed, Ruth could feel her hands still shaking. She felt so tired and cold, it was no surprise when she pressed herself so hard against John she might suffocate him. Tears stung at her eyes again. She could feel his pain. She could feel the anxiety of her mother across the room and the worry of her father downstairs. All mounted on her own stress. It was overwhelming, like a hundred voices were screaming at her all at once. Whatever had been done to her, it opened her senses to such a point that they could never be dulled back down. She would have to get used to it, but the change was very sudden for her.
"I'm sorry, John," she apologized again, not knowing how to comfort him. Her tears stained the sheets and her sobs were muffled against his shoulder. The only thing in the whole world that was keeping her from falling apart was the fact that he was still there, still next to her.
He was just so tired, so overwhelmed, they were arguing and discussing and his head was aching. He saw Grumpy resting and that made him relax a bit more. Slowly, he made his way to the bathroom as people argued, took a shower, changed into clean clothes. His wound was closed, no sign of those dark tentacle claw things coming from him. It was not like having a parasite. It was like...part of himself. It wasn't a creature inside him either. It was...him. Like the part of the being had been totally split from it and had become an organ of his body. It had been there since that day. He didn't know what to think about it, he didn't know his body had changed like that. He also didn't emitt any particles, he was always normal to all sorts of tests. That new organ had integrated into his tissues in a way no x ray or test had ever detected it. It was part of him and he was trying to accept and understand that.
So much to process. A shower helped him lot.
All that discussion, accusations, questions, he just listened, didn't say a word, let Johnson handle it. He was always passing out right there due to stress, and next time he realized, Ruth was looking at him, eyes begging him to follow, so slowly, he did, his brain still in shock about everything. What they had done to Mia? What did they do to Ruth? He was afraid to find out. He just lied down next to her, such a tired painful expression on his face. He just blacked out, robes all clumsy, body full of superficial wounds, specially his ribs.
Ruth was tired as well, but she had a harder time falling asleep. Each time she closed her eyes, she saw the florescent lights of the station, she felt the electrical pull of machines and heard that nagging call of the creatures—we need you. Come to us. Ruth eventually fell half asleep, enough to lose awareness of the space around her. There was an ache in her bones and in her soul, wishing she could just heave peace, wishing she could go back to how things were before when she was ignorant of the monsters.
But even in her ignorance they would have found her eventually. And maybe she would have never met John. With half open eyes, Ruth turned to look at his sleeping face. He looked exhausted even in sleep. It was nearing dawn, they had been up so late and a faint blue glow filled the room as the sun prepared to peak over the horizon. Ruth groaned, pulling the covers over her eyes to hide in the warm darkness next to John.
By the time sleep finally took her, gold light was spilling into the room. Dozing in and out for a while, Ruth hugged tightly to John's arm as her legs curled around his.
Downstairs, Eli had woken the earliest. He was always up with the sun and made sure to fill Dinner and Grumpy's bowls for when they awoke. He made himself a coffee before returning to his place on the couch to read and ponder the stress of the past few days. Johnson stopped by before heading into work to check if everything was okay. The house seemed peaceful again, now that Ruth and John had returned... or almost peaceful. By 10 am, Ruth still slept, not even caring about getting up in the brief moments she was awake between bouts of sleep. Deborah had gone downstairs once for coffee.
'I can't believe you're alright with this,' she snapped at Eli as she raided the pantry for food. 'Her living on her own... being alone with a strange man... going missings. You never looked out for her.'
'At least I didn't smother her,' he retorted. Eli didn't want to be angry. He understood that the last thing that was needed was for them to be fighting. Deborah huffed before returning upstairs, shutting the door loudly and not caring who was still sleeping.
✮ Most people would expect him to be impatient when teaching someone. That he’d get annoyed when they repeat a question or can’t seem to learn. And in most cases yeah he would be, but with you? Never
✮ You could ask him the same question four times and he’d still explain it to you kindly and throughly “yea’ nah sweetheart that’s not where ya put the oil, this is”
✮ Dean will be positioned behind you, his arms coming around you as with one hand points at what he’s talking about while the other is rested on your waist
✮ Radio station playing classical rock can be heard in the background as he explain
✮ Dean loooooves it when you ask questions about what he was explaining
✮ He will suddenly kiss you when you’re all focused because he just thought your concentrated expression was too adorable “ ‘is not my fault you’re all cute”
✮ Lastly will do a lil pop quiz asking you questions about everything he had taught you
You stared at the greenish ring on the skin of your finger. The tarnished band rested in the palm of your right hand.
Something inside you felt like exploding.
Dean Winchester had never been rich. He knew how to live off snacks and adrenaline, he stole from people, he gambled... He'd hardly done an honest day's work in his life. But for an engagement ring, he didn't want that to be stolen. He managed to do some odd jobs for Bobby, he collected lost coins on the street, he even asked around for work a few times on his travels.
Because you deserved something real... Or, as real as he could give you.
Fifty dollars from a pawn shop. It wasn't a real diamond. It wasn't even real metal. The ring was costume jewelry. It left that dyed circle on your skin and was pratically rusting as the paint chipped away.
Buying that ring was perhaps the most genuine thing Dean Winchester had ever done in his life. He was terrified to propose. Even after dating for a while, he was sure you'd never want to commit the rest of your life to someone like him. He couldn't give you the apple-pie life. Hell, he wanted to. But that damn family business kept pulling him back in.
He fumbled through the proposal. His heart raced and his green eyes flickered in doubt, barely able to meet your eyes.
"You're the only thing I've ever been sure of," he admitted when he pulled the ring out. "I know it's not fancy... but will you... would you..."
When he started to almost retreat at your initial silence, he was shocked when your lips crashed into his. Relief, and a little bit of fear, swept over him. He didn't know why you'd ever love him, but he was glad when you beamed at him with a firm and unapologetic "Yes." It was pure bliss to just exist in peaceful happiness with him.
And now he was off on a hunt again. You'd stayed behind because you had a small cold. Dean, in his usual overdramatic fashion, had acted like you were on the brink of death and wanted you to stay home. Grudgingly, you agreed. As you got ready to shower, you shed your clothes and the rest of your jewelry, now staring at the ring. It really was nothing special. No big fancy diamond. No pure metals. No enormous price tag.
As you stared at it, tears welled in your eyes.
It was beautiful to you. And worth more than anything in the world. Because Dean had worked his ass off for it. He had taken time away from the supernatural, away from his insane life, away from the family business, to get this. This small, worn, cheap ring which symbolized his love. Dean Winchester was not a man who loved easily or sparingly. All the money in the world couldn't buy the sound of his laughter at your jokes. All the peace of a normal life could not offer that enamored look he would give when you smiled. It almost broke your heart a little to think that you had so much ground to make up for all that hurt you weren't there to protect him from.
The buzz of your phone pulled you out of your thoughts. Answering the call, you smiled. "Dean?"
"Hey, baby," his voice rang over the line. "I miss you."
You laughed. "Dean, you left an hour ago."
"Yeah, but I still missed you."
You rolled your eyes, looking at the green stain. The mark was not a sign of cheap jewelry, but of a fierce and eternal love. Your heart rose in your throat. "I miss you too, love."
a/n: hey, so i cried writing this. idk. instead of talking about my emotions i will continue to repress them. this was short, but hope yall enjoyed! im trying to write at least one thing a week cos im very busy. thinking about maybe a spn normal au a lot, perchance ill write something for that eventually.
When Ruth offered her hand started to pet Grumpy, the animal immediately melted into her touches, understanding she was one of the good people, his tail wagging so much, the little jumps he would give as she scratched behind his ears, and it just stayed there, enjoying all the pets, and when she paused, he'd stand, pressing both his paws against her chest, sniffing her all over, letting out happy little cries.
"Huh. He likes you. That's....that's actually rare. Normally he's grumpy to people and people are grumpy back or just scared because of his size.
The dog had a lot of soft skin to be pet because of its age, and it seemed to be a very calm animal.
The thunders started to hit loudly again, the power oscillating, as if the typhoon was trying to catch up.
"Thanks for helping." John said once he locked the door and went downstairs, Grumpy jumping onto the backseat and curling on his place, already preparing to take a nap. Traveling made it sleepy.
"Hey...you'll be home in no time, alright?" If he wasn't used to be acting rough, maybe he'd be saying a lot more, offering a hug or apologizing about everything, but it was his job and he needed to keep her safe.
The storm was quite violent as they left town. The power oscillating outside, some trees had fallen, some lower areas were flooding. The amount of water that started falling from the sky was formidable to say the least. Gladly John's driving was good, the truck was robust and they weren't having any problems. Because of how late it was, the streets were mostly empty, and one they got to the suburban area, he felt like he was in one of those liminal spaces, the sky so dark, absolute silence but the sound of the car engine, the lights outside limited to each house, all the rest, the fields, the distance, all seemed so pitch black.
John even shivered at some point, it was getting so cold. He looked to the side to see Ruth, she seemed so...she seemed so sick. Exhausted. He felt bad for her. The address, he didn't even need a GPS, until they were close to Cholla Springs. Gently he poked her shoulder. "Hey, we're almost there. Cheer up a little...." He tried, but he was a bit tired too.
Once he parked by her little ranch like property, he also let a sigh of relief. "If anyone asks....remember to say what we talked. That some maniac was stalking you....destroyed your car...I'm keeping you safe for a few days, alright?" He wasn't aware she was totally alone. He imagined at least a parent, sibling or boyfriend would be around, but...the place seemed so damn quiet.
"Come on, let's wake up, boy, we arrived."
Grumpy started wagging its tail and looking around, jumping off the car as soon as John opened the door, the animal froze when it felt the fresh breeze of the fields, of countryside.
'Awoooofff wooof wooffff wofff wuuuuuff wufff wuffff!' It started to hop in circles as John tried to remove the leash. "Easy boy...I'm trying to take this off...." Once John did, the dog bolted towards the house, jumping and rolling on the green grass, resting on its back and wiggling its paws up.
"Huh. I've never seen this big boy so energetic. I guess being here for a while will do him good" He smirked at little as he took his things from the car, rushing inside following Ruth. The rain had taken a short break before it started hitting hard again. John waited before walking in. "Where is everyone?" He asked, finding everything too silent.
"Grumpy, come boy, or you'll get all wet." Marston took a towel from his bag, crouched down to dry the animal, it seemed so happy, it made John chuckle. "Give them paws....let's dry your feet....good boy..."
"Miss...thanks for accepting me here, even if...." He sighed. "Well, even if there wasn't much of a better option. I'll explain everything tomorrow when you're well rested..."
Where did she go?
"Alright...I'll take the room upstairs then. Thank you. Could I maybe take a shower?" The dark rings under his eyes seemed larger, driving amidst that storm, the damn typhoon, which was threatening to get worse made him extra tired. "Can Grumpy sleep inside?"
Where was she? He was holding a pistol, ready to give it to her, but....where?
"Maybe tomorrow then....I guess everyone's tired."
He saw the bunny in the kitchen, it seemed so angry for some reason. "Hey little feller."
Marston didn't know if Ruth would allow his dog upstairs, so he took Grumpy's bed and placed near the bunny, by the small pen in the kitchen. "Behave, boy. Don't mess anything up, we're guests." The huge scary german shepherd curled down and started to whine though, crying to John, giving the puppy eyes. 'Abueh bueh bueh bueh bueh....' He sighed. "It's her house...and...just tonight..."
The dog rolled on his back and started to move its paws in the air as if it was dying. "Oh no need for drama...come on. Come on. You ain't alone, there's the bunny there." Grumpy paused and looked at Dinner. The little bunny looked like a fur ball of pure rage. Grumpy looked back at John, cried and jumped up to curl on his lap, Marston had to catch him.
"You're afraid of it?? Oh...why?? Well....it does look angry....alright...I'm taking you to my room with me...but no noise, no mess, alright? You already peed outside, right? Not wet cocks staining the floor, alright? It's a lady's house." He kept drying the animal with the towel, in more detail now since it was coming inside. "Your chest is all wet...play in the grass tomorrow, okay?" Grumpy rested his head on John's shoulder and closed its eyes to rest, loving the caresses of the towel. "You're such a big baby. You're getting heavy." John carried the animal and its bed upstairs, and he had no idea which room was his.
He set down the dog bed on the corridor and gently placed Grumpy on it. "Just a minute, boy."
John had left his boots by the porch, stepping silently to inspect if that was the right room, and the moment he looked, his lips parted as he saw the lady, naked on her bed, spread on soft sheets- he froze. The memory of what he had seen at the scanner room, and now again, that perfect body, and she seemed so relaxed. Her thighs and delicate legs, her ribs and that soft skin, those perfect breasts and that golden hair. He blushed, even stopped breathing for a while, eyes locked on her, feeling guilty each second he admired her, her perfect bottom, she seemed like a holy statue and he hadn't felt so horny in such a long time. "Mnm." He gave an awkward nod and stepped back and out of her room, cheeks and ears warm and red, he silently made his way to his own room. "Oh boy....she must be so tight." He panted and shook his head as he opened the other room, carrying his things inside, Grumpy grunting a little a John's comment, as if judging his owner. "Ah don't you start, I know what you do to the Santa Klaus plushie." The dog looked offended as it followed John carrying his little bed with his mouth.
Once his things were in the room, he felt sleep hit him, but he needed a shower. He was smelling precinct and that molded big city. Smelling like Blackwater, and that town, it was...different, he felt a shower there would make him feel pure and clean, like countryside.
He went to to shower, turned on the water, relaxed finally, the only tension left in him was the one seeing her all nude caused. Oh how he wanted to have that woman, he knew thoughts like that were his entrance ticket to hell, but....the thought of she asking for it...and him having her sweetly on that bed of hers....ughh....he closed his eyes and kept imagining it as he washed himself and relieved that tension.
Once he was done and had dried himself, he also felt the last of his energy gone when he got close to his bed. His bare feet against the wooden floor felt right and relaxing, he also sunk into his bed, didn't even pull the sheets, he just rested on top of them, his dark hair spread on the pillow- Grumpy was sleeping on his little dog one when he checked, but didn't take long until he felt the animal jumping onto it, resting by his side. Since John looked so peaceful and so tired, the dog respected his space this time. The rain outside, the wooden noises caused by the wind, it was all so relaxing. Didn't take long for him to hug a pillow, dreaming about her, her lips, those breasts, that perfect spot between her thigh and her sides. "Dang....why did she have to look so.....so perfect like that, Grumpy...." The hot water that relaxed him for good, he was so calm and sleepy he even seemed to be drugged. "I'll wake up hard like hell for sure....mnmhg...she's so perfect..."
The dog grunted at John, judging him again, wanting to sleep. "Alright....I'll shut up....just...this pillow is mine...."
He blacked out, had very sweet dreams, and for the first time in years, he didn't have a nightmare. He just...loss track of everything, he just slept. Slept for so many hours.
His phone vibrated a couple of hours later, but he didn't even notice. If not shaken, he probably would sleep until noon, it had been the best sleep ever, breathing in and out, using the pillows as cover, he even forgot who he was or where he was.
@girllock-writes
"Good, amazing Mark. I guess you finally understood. Gimme that." John took the key card, then cuffed Mark's wrist to the metal table. "You ain't going nowhere. And Richard for the fuck's sake lower that shotgun." John used the card to lock the door, so now the men couldn't leave, not until things were crystal clear. Richard lowered the weapon and slowly followed John, silent, tense, as if he was curious to know what the man would say, as if he was waiting to decide what he'd do.
'John, why don't you just leave? No need to do this. You could just go home and forget this.' Richard said weakly. 'I'll open the game, we saw the footage from Mia's office, we know how you...got...warm together, a certain night after work. How you nuzzled against her, how you...seemed to hold her so dear. So you...you definitely shouldn't see this. You...shouldn't. I say that as a friend.' John just snarled. "Mia was your friend too and you guys gave her brain damage, you let that happen to her, lied to everyone saying she was dead. Friends my ass. You're in just for the money and some proud biased sense of duty." John was acting tough, but his voice was shaky, he was anxious about what he was about to see. "I don't trust you no more, damn, truly never did. Mia was different. She actually wanted to do things right, she wanted to help, she was good, no cheating or mischief, she was just good and that's what was the end of her." Richard tensed more, trying to talk, trying to interrupt John's firm walk but failing.
It was about three doors John used the card to open. Labs and areas he had never seen. At some point, a way to the left and one to the right. "Where's Ruth? And...where's Mia?? She's still here, right??" Richard sighed. 'Just see for yourself. No matter what I say, you don't listen. You could go home and not see any of this. It will be impossible to unsee it later.'
That just made John more nervous. He turned left, while where Ruth was being kept was on the right, but he didn't know.
After unlocking another door, a larger one this time, what John saw crushed his soul, or what was left of it. He froze, hands went numb, his spine too, cold shivers he had never felt before, not even when he had faced the monsters.
It was Mia. Attached to some machine of sorts, inside some fluid, nude, wires and whatever probes and ducts attached to her- her brain, huge, so huge it didn't fit her head, her belly so large, her eyes so dead, like she had some severe metal damage, her vitals and brain waves on a screen, on the sides of the room, glass cilinders with embryos with codes, numbers, 108, 109....
John just froze, went pale, lips parted. The way Mia's lips kept moving, like she was trying to learn how to speak but had no clue of what words even were. 'You see...many of the studies pointed in the direction being a sensitive could be related to genetics. Her brain getting reduced to some newborn state...she couldn't help like before, but...well, more stem cells, more possibilities. It's what the development team said. Her brain has been helping us read the waves, that's how our scanners work. In theory it should cause pain, but she doesn't even know what pain is anymore. It's the data her brain interprets that allows us to use the advanced scanners, and you see, all our work now has only been possible because of that.'
John felt nauseated, he vomited on the floor, stumbled to the side, rested his weight against one of the large glasses, made the cylinder with the fetus fall down and break. He was shaking. Stood up quickly, stepped back from it.
'Don't worry, John....it wasn't a sensitive one. Most of them aren't. These are going to be discarded anyway. Well, not totally discarded, more likely donated to other projects. Making a life go to waste as some routine, that wouldn't be acceptable. You see, all this has a purpose, it's not for nothing. The ones that were her clones, they were more sensitive, but died too early before they could develop. Even so, the brains and cells have been useful to calibrate the scanners, to try and develop a biological mixture where we could properly isolate the cells of those creatures. They always melt down and vanish when we neutralize them, if we could study them, it would help us understand what those creatures are. Now can you handle the sacrifices? Can you handle dealing with this? I doubt.' Richard raised the shotgun towards John.
Marston was speechless. He didn't know what to feel, he was...feeling everything. "You've been keeping her here...for 8 years....you said...her brain went back to the one of a newborn...she doesn't even know what's happening....she....she didn't....it...it's Mia.....it's Mia...Richard....you guys....how....did you even allow this to..."
Richard shook his head. 'We allowed it just like we allowed you to stay alive. Because she asked, we agreed and you proved this could be possible. That human cells could adapt to these monsters and keep them stable, so we could study them.'
John seemed so shocked and so confused, the bundle of cells contorting on the ground making him feel dizzy, his eyes trying to look away but everything seemed ultimately disturbing. "Me? What the fuck you're talking about? You were gonna kill me and she told you not to?? How did I prove anything?"
Richard rubbed his eyes, smiled in anxiety.
'Well, one of those things scratched you, didn't it? And you didn't become one of them. I mean, its claw fucking penetrated you, fluids, blood, it carved into your spine, and then Mia ran you and the damn thing with the car, felt guilty later, wanted to save your life at all costs. The creature's claw, part of the tentacle, it got stuck inside your spine. We thought you were going to turn, but you didn't. Maybe because the tentacle got ripped from the creature's body before it transferred its consciousness to you? Or maybe your genetics were just immune to it? We really don't know. What we do know is that the claw...fang thing...it integrated into your body in such a perfect way it was impossible to detect. Scanners, X Rays....nothing. You don't emit any waves, you have nothing related to the monsters even if you have claw....nail...cock....tongue...whatever the fuck that is inside you. It became you. Became one with your spine. It's what kept your movements after Mia ran over you and that thing with the car. We knew...but nobody else did. We decided to keep that between us, the team. If the higher ups knew, if we had told them, you probably would be inside some secret national security lab being studied. See? Some things need to stay secret. We like you, you were part of the team, we didn't want you gone.'
John was shocked. Frozen in place. Reality seemed worse than all the nightmares he used to have.
He just knew one thing. That had to end. John knew how important the research was, but seeing his Mia like that, the numbers past 100 in those fetus, all that- it seemed so worse than those creatures could do. Damn, slitting some throat and having some tumors grow from it, that sounded like mercy compared to being kept in that place for 8 years, being used like some incubator for illegal experiments.
Fuck, the world could end, but he couldn't allow that. Not to Mia, not to Ruthie.
'John, I know you loved her, and for sure, she loved you too but—'
A loud bang, the glass shattered, liquid spread everywhere, monitors turning off— John had shot Mia in the head, ending her suffering. A strong wave of relief filled the whole facility, and then it faded, in joy of finally being able to sleep. Richards quickly raised his shot gun to John. 'THE FUCK YOU JUST DID MARSTON??!!!'
Ruth shifted in her half-conscious state. Her eyes felt heavy and a wave of something between pain and relief washed over her. There was a woman in her dreams... one she didn't know, but that felt very familiar. Ruth took a step toward her, calling out, but the woman didn't reply. Tilting her head in confusion, Ruth could have sworn she'd seen the woman somewhere before. No matter how close she tried to get, the woman just seemed to be far away. The invisible thread between them seemed to pulse and hum, filling Ruth's ears and drowning out her calls. Then it snapped. The woman finally turned to look at Ruth. She stopped, staring back in wonder and confusion.
Something unspoken passed between them. Ruth felt her heart sort of stop. "What do I do?" She asked, desperate to know. Someone had to help. There were people suffering and she felt like she was the only one who could help. The woman said nothing, only gave her a kind smile.
The vision vanished as Ruth woke up to a clatter.
The vent cover in the room had fallen to the floor. A gurgling hiss came from the open space on the wall. Ruth rubbed her eyes, adrenaline pumped through her veins fighting against her sleepy state. Tentacles, dripping in the black goo, crawled slowly from the vent. Ruth's limbs felt heavy, but she pushed herself up from the bed and tried to protect Grumpy as much as she could.
The monsters were here. They were here for her. Surely the agents would help... After all, they were trying to kill the monsters. Ruth rushed to the door, making sure Grumpy wasn't left behind as the creature started to reform in the room. "HELP!" Ruth banged on the door, pulling at the locked handle. "It's here! Anyone, please!"
Grumpy was barking loudly at the creatures, staying between them and Ruth, but they were starting to be without enough space to run from them. The dog was a brave boy, even with the muzzle, it kept growling and trying to intimidate the things. It would look at Ruth from time to time, hoping she'f manage to open the door.
Meanwhile Robert was scared, angry, insecure, surprised- John's action of shooting Mia, ending her, ending all the experiment, all the progress. He just couldn't believe it, but at the same time, he realized how far they had gotten, from using senstive people to help to slowly dehumanize them and experiment on them. Still, it wasn't something Robert suffered much about. 'We are trying to do the right thing. We're trying to save people out there, so no way that we are wrong!'
Ruth feeling Mia's last glimpse of herself fade, her trapped soul being set free, that ressonated within John's heart and made him shed some tears, quietly, still in shock, with a growing rage. Ruth and him were linked somehow, maybe because she thought about him a lot, maybe because he felt the same.
'Marston?? What are you going to do??? You already caused enough damage! Don't move!!' He raised the shotgun, hands shaking. "You'll take me to Ruth. You'll get her outta here." Robert shook his head. 'No way. She's the last hope now that Mia is gone!!'
And just the thought Robert and the team would make Ruth go through all Mia did- the flashes of those gruesome images in his head, it was enough to make John raise his gun to shoot Robert, and when he pulled the trigger and the bulled crossed the corrupt agent's chest, his body tensed and he fired the shotgun.
Like the night hadn't presented enough horrors, an agonizing Robert had to watch John hit the wall and fall, bleeding with this gory hole opened on his ribs, in shock like he was dead.
But as Robert started to try and crawl away from all that bloodshed, John started to move—
The dark vine like things started to come out from John's organs and ruptured muscular fibers, the things hiding in him inside every layer of tissue spreading like a living thing, without mind though, at this point it had already been one with him for too long. John stood up, apparently in shock, the black things making his organs and bones start to regenerate—
He seemed quiet, so much making sense now— he started to wonder, when he asked to be close to Ruth to ease his nightmares, he wondered if those creatures were approaching her just wishing the same. He looked down coldly, raised his gun and finished Robert, taking the shotgun from him.
Returning to the main lobby, he saw Mark, still there, cuffed to the table just like he left him, but this time with the look of horror in the man's eyes, seeing those things coming out from John's wound, attached to him like some parasite, integrated with him.
Before Mark could say a word, John shot his head with the shotgun. There was no point in discussing anymore. John was still shocked, the nightmares, the faded memories of some hospital room, the dreams of some thing entering him- in the end it had been that claw tentacle that got stuck in his spine and became one with him. No creature control since the monster's original body was long gone.
He could feel her, hear her voice from afar, and by the end of the corridor, he saw the door, shot it open with the weapon— Ruth was finally in front of his eyes, and Grumpy too.
The bang against the door made Ruth jump. She moved away as it opened, hoping the agents had finally come. The creatures were still weak, getting closer. Her eyes flickered at the man, almost in unbelief. John.
"John!"
He was alive. He was safe. He was here. Her heart exploded with joy before her eyes moved the the healing hole in his ribs. Still gorey and bloodsoaked, with the tentacles closing the last bits up. Her heart stopped. Had the monsters gotten him? Was her vision true? That he had fallen to them as well.
Her eyes moved back to his, seeing only worry and relief in his eyes. He was still her John. She could feel it. It all happened very fast. A large shriek came from the creature and Ruth ran to him without hesitation. Her cold hands immediately clung to his arm, following him quickly from the room. The touch seemed to fill her with new life. Despite how terrible she looked, her soul felt less restless. Tears stung at her eyes. She just wanted to hide in him, she wanted to go home... She felt as if she had been there for years.
Behind her, Ruth felt that familiar tug of the creatures. Come back. Come with us. Come see.
"I was scared you wouldn't come–" she choked out as their feet pounded down the hallway. "I tried to reach you... But they... they asked for my help. I tried to... it hurt so much and then they hooked me up to this machine..." Ruth knew now was not a good time to panic, but her senses were still damaged from overuse and everything was very overwhelming for her. "I tried to keep Grumpy safe too... I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have gone out alone."
The alarms had already started ringing, the panels on the walls already suggesting the quarentine activation, the scientists inside that secret compound that the larger John realized it was, the more he believed the higher ups had to know about it. A small group simply couldn't build such a facility and go unnoticed. It wasn't fucking simple. That lab didn't pop up from a month to another. It had to be something older. He had joined the force 12 years ago and not even a month the whole police station above had gone into maintenance. That lab was already there and the bosses fuckong knew it, they had to know. Hyerarchy was like concrete pillars in the CIA, in the Secret Service— anyone who broke the protocol was often offered to reconsider or just transferred- it was impossible a small rebel group in the task force had made all that to be.
"This way, Ruth." His hand gripped her hospital like garments as if making sure she was actually there. She was....she....she definitely wasn't okay....she looked so drained....so tired...did they hurt her? Did they impregnate her with some experimental fetus or implanted anything in her? Did they cut some piece off her? Did they torture her? His eyes were already wet because of Mia and all the horrors he had witnessed, for killing two men he always thought he could believe, for seeing the team, the ideals, the force he worked in to turn out to be obsure and malicious, and seeing Ruth like that made more tears roll down his face— but there was no time to lose, they had to get out.
Grunpy's woof and his quick run to John, pressing its paws against his waist and back, glad to see him- glad. That was pretty much the word that defined the best what both owner and dog were feeling. They had muzzled Grumpy, a non violent dog...that made him mad, but John would keep that for later.
Her voice was like music, like air for someone who had almost drowned, like sunlight to a plant who survived a long storm. "Don't apologize, dear. You have no fault in any of this." He held her hand so tight, covered the wound on his ribs with his coat and kept making his way out of that hell.
As soon as he passed by the final door, cruelty and anger and hate filled his eyes, he pulled the lever of the quarantine used Mark's card to confirm it, activated all levels of warning, and he knew what it meant, he knew what he was doing. He had been taught how such facilities worked, pretty much like a CDC. Everything behind them locked with planned incineration. John was sending everything and everyone in there to hell. Main energy got cut, only emergency generators on. No cameras, no registers, no memory, no wifi, no regret in his soul.
"Everyone at the police station probably already evacuated by now. The alarms should have started as soon as I shot....that." John seemed so burned out. So tired. So shocked. So hurt. Anger that still burned, but not like raging flames, more like dying charcoal. "Come on, let's get out."
He picked her up and walked up the stairs, reachimg the police station above,everyone had already left, it was very late, there was just a few personal working there were already officers organizing the evacuation. Leaving through the garage, placing Ruth in his truck, getting on and driving away, and time seemed to go faster, they were more than five blcoks far away from the station, and the explosion undeground still could be heard. The hoarse crack, incinerating everything and everyone under that station, which above ground level basically didn't suffer any damage. Whatever creatures, whatever poor souls trapped in that hell now had to be gone for good.
John kept taking deep breaths and closing his eyes a little bit, he was spent, hurt— the pain of the gunshot, always there, something he had been enduring because the fear of losing her alone hurt so much more. "Let's go home. Your home. Alright?" It was where he was driving to. He believed no one else knew they had taken Ruth, the files about her, everything probably was gone together with the labs and secret offices and interrogation rooms.
"Nornally thet don't share vital information via network. Normally it's just isolated files or physical ones. For safety. It all went to shit so...I think you're safe." He has just killed the whole team. Anyone who knew as much as he did or more. While driving, he tested it, took his phone and started calling one by one of his team.
This number in unavailable.
Not "doesn't exist", not "busy", not "out of area". Just unavailable. The devices probably incinerated with all the air in that facility. If a big move had been made, if Ruth had been taken, then the boss also had to be in the building, his phone wasn't answering, so probably he was dead as well. He would know only the next day probably. Who Ruth was? No way John would never ever leak what she could do, how special she was. She was supposed to be free, like bunnies and golden butterflies.
A gas accident below BlackWater Police Department, officers dead and missing.
It was what John hear in the radio while almost arriving to Ruth's little farmhouse, it was what the news showed that late night, by 4am. News people would only read by the morning, that people would talk about only by lunchtime. And they still had the rest of the night to rest, before any consequence, before any discussion. Those hours belonged to them and no one else. The horror he had seen there always would be bigger then any guilt he could ever come to feel.
Ruth didn't let go of John once. All the panic and death, Ruth could feel it. As John detonated the panic system, she could almost feel the building crying out. By the time they had made it to the exit, she could hear the voices of the dying cry out as they ceased to exist. It was a loud roar and she pressed her hands to her ears, trying to hide in John's chest as he carried her out.
The truck was safer. A little quieter. As they drove, Ruth still kept her hand on John's arm. She couldn't bring herself to let go. Her limbs shook. It seemed awful, that all those people died just for her to be saved. Surely she wasn't worth it... the lives of others. The city limits provided some relief. Ruth had been too disoriented to notice until now, but a nervous hum still filled the car. She looked at John as he stared stoned faced at the road. Her chest grew tight. Something was very wrong. And not just those tentacles she'd seen in his chest... something else deep in his soul had been wounded.
"Thank you for coming for me," she said quietly. The pain in the air was almost tangible. She loosened her stressed grip, rubbing her fingers along the inside of his bicep, in an attempt to soothe them both. "What about you? Will you be safe? Will they come for you?"
She thought about her earlier offer, for him to stay with her. She had meant it. Even now, especially now, she still wanted him to. Ruth was sure their bond was formed by the trauma and stress of the past weeks, but she didn't mind. If anything, it was even more reason to keep him with her. Not only for safety, but because they could heal together.
Silence had fallen over the little home. Ruth was almost calm, gald to just be home and be with John when the sight of cars made her chest explode. A sleek sports car was parked close to the house and Johnson's pickup was behind it. The lights on in her house told her everything she needed to know. Ruth didn't want to see people. She didn't want to explain.
When they made it to the door, she was slightly stunned when the first person she saw was her father. Eli turned to the creaking door, his eyes bloodshot and wide. For all his faults and struggles, Ruth couldn't help but tear up again at the burst of energy that seemed to fill her father's chest. He was a good man deep down. 'Ruth?' She crossed the small space quickly, before her face pressed to his chest. "Daddy!"
The noise alerted the others in the house. Johnson and his wife appeared in the doorway of the kitchen. They had been trying to keep things peaceful while Johnson called every contact he had in the city. The sheriff's eyes went right to John in a harsh look between concern, relief, and a demand for answers.
'Where the hell have you been?' A new voice rang as a woman rose from the couch. She was a little older with frizzy, dark blonde hair. She had similar features to Ruth, but her eyes were much sharper. The woman glared at John. 'Who the hell are you?'
'Deborah, please,' Eli hissed, holding his daughter who flinched at the sound of the voice. 'Getting upset won't get you answers.' Ruth's mother's eyes flashed in annoyance and the closest thing she knew to concern.
'Don't patronize me, Eli. My daughter has been missing and I want answers.'
"No one should come after me. They don't know, they can't possibly know. About you too, the team is gone. They deserved it. They deserved to be gone." A tear rolled down his face, his voice shook a little. "They were doomed anyway. Those things would get them." John was tense, trying to relax, as he drove.
Her gentle fingers caressing his biceps helped soothe him, he gave her quick glances, tired ones. "What everyone thinks at the station is that there's a maniac after you. A serial killer. You can say he got you and then you managed to escape or...or something like that." He rubbed his eyes. "Just...don't feel guilty...none of this was your fault."
Once home, Grumpy left the car, John had already removed the muzzle, the dog gave tired but hurry steps into the house, walking through the guests legs, found his way near Dinner by the kitchen, curled near him to take a nap.
People were there. Her family, Johnson, like all of them were staring him like it was all his fault. And he knew it wasn't. She'd be still in that lab if it wasn't for him, and Mia...and all those... — he already started to feel sick. "I'm...police." It was all he managed to say as his brain tried to avoid the stress and all those memories.
Seeing Ruth hugging her father, that made him want to cry again- funny that day, it was like tears that accumulated for years had escaped.
Dinner sniffed curiously at Grumpy. The dog smelled like sterile rooms and funny chemicals, making the rabbit scrunch its nose. It could sense the large animal was stressed and curled close to it, knowing that Gurmpy wasn't just a guest anymore but a friend.
'Police? You don't look like police,' Deborah huffed. Johnson took a step forward, wanting to calm the situation. 'He is,' he defended. 'He's a friend. I know you're worried, Ms. Claymoor, but now is not the time–'
'Of course this is the time,' she snapped. 'My daughter has been missing and comes home with a strange man? I'll be as upset as I like. I'm her mother.'
'You're only making things worse,' Eli interjected. 'Just calm down, woman. You'll get your answers.'
The woman's face turned an angry shade of red as Ruth clung hander to her father, trying to block out the yelling and the overwhelming weight of the tense room. 'Oh, like you are making it any better by being passive?'
'That's enough,' Johnson interjected. His voice was calm and commanding. The stress of the room was getting out of hand. He glanced at John, seeing the tired and pained look in his eyes. He had figured something awful had happened, and seeing John look so empty and Ruth shaking in her father's arms, he knew he must have been right. 'Let's just all calm down. It's late. We can get our answers in the morning. Pirscilla, why don't you take Ruth upstairs?'
Johnson's wife nodded, going quickly to the girl and taking her arm. 'C'mon, sweetheart.' Eli placed a last kiss on her hair before letting go. Ruth followed the woman to the bottom of the steps before looking back at John. Her bloodshot eyes could hardly stay open. "John–" she managed to call, not wanting to go anywhere without him. Pirscilla looked at Ruth, then John, then her husband. Johnson glanced at John again, his gaze softer than it had been in their last meeting. 'You look like hell, Marston. It's okay. Get to bed.' He nodded after Ruth where the girl still refused to move any further without John by her side.
'You're just going to let him go up there with her?' Deborah glared at Eli. 'Alone?' She crossed her arms as the man huffed. 'Why are you worried? Ruth's an adult. And if Johnson trusts him–' 'You never listen to me you cowardly piece of–'
'I said enough,' Johnson interjected again. 'Ms. Claymoor, get to bed.' The woman let out an annoyed cry as she threw her hands in the air and stomped upstairs. Eli took up residence on the couch and after Pirscilla Johnson had made sure Ruth was settled in bed, she left with her husband, promising to return the next morning. In bed, Ruth could feel her hands still shaking. She felt so tired and cold, it was no surprise when she pressed herself so hard against John she might suffocate him. Tears stung at her eyes again. She could feel his pain. She could feel the anxiety of her mother across the room and the worry of her father downstairs. All mounted on her own stress. It was overwhelming, like a hundred voices were screaming at her all at once. Whatever had been done to her, it opened her senses to such a point that they could never be dulled back down. She would have to get used to it, but the change was very sudden for her.
"I'm sorry, John," she apologized again, not knowing how to comfort him. Her tears stained the sheets and her sobs were muffled against his shoulder. The only thing in the whole world that was keeping her from falling apart was the fact that he was still there, still next to her.
Hiya sweets. So my thought is a little season 15 angst. Dean x Reader. Dean finds out about God manipulating their lives, and starts doubting if reader really cares about him or if they would have gotten together if God hadn't intervened. A little angst, a little fluff? K love you byeeee
⋆｡ ˚ not his to write
summary ˚˖𓍢ִִ໋ after learning god’s been shaping your lives, dean starts to doubt whether your love was ever really yours.
pairing ˚˖𓍢ִִ໋ dean winchester x reader ( gn )
wordcount ˚˖𓍢ִִ໋ 2037 genre ˚˖𓍢ִִ໋ hurt / comfort
warnings ˚˖𓍢ִִ໋ season 15 spoilers, god/chuck manipulation, existential crisis, relationship insecurity, dean’s self-worth issues, emotional argument, fear of being unloved
notes ˚˖𓍢ִ໋ ִ❀໋ consider supporting my work .ᐟ
dean gets quiet once he learns the truth.
not the usual quiet, either. not the kind where he’s tired from a hunt and needs ten minutes with a beer before he can talk without biting someone’s head off. not the kind where the case got ugly, where the blood took too long to wash from his hands, where the drive back to the bunker stretched out under bad radio static and nobody knew how to make the car feel normal again.
this is different… this is dean sitting at the library table with his hands around a bottle he hasn’t taken a sip from in twenty minutes, staring at the label. this is dean flinching when sam says chuck’s name. this is dean looking at you from across the room and then looking away so fast your stomach twists before you can stop it.
you give him space at first. you hate giving him space. space, with dean, is a dangerous thing. space turns into walls. walls turn into locked doors. locked doors turn into dean making decisions alone because he convinces himself that pain counts as protection.
but you try anyway.
sam disappears somewhere down the hall, probably to read until his eyes burn or call eileen with that terrible softness he tries not to show too much around dean. the bunker settles into its late-night hum, pipes ticking behind concrete, old lamps throwing tired yellow light over books and weapons and half-empty cups of coffee.
you stand in the doorway for a long time before dean speaks.
“you should go to bed.” his voice is low. flat.
you fold your arms. “is that what you’re doing?”
he does not look at you. “eventually.”
“dean.”
his jaw tightens. the warning sign. the little shift in his face that means your voice got too close to something sore. you step into the room anyway.
“don’t do that” he says.
you stop beside the table. “do what?”
“do the thing.”
“the thing where i care about you?”
he laughs once, but there’s no humor in it. only something bitter and worn thin. “yeah. that.”
your chest goes cold. “look at me.”
he doesn’t. you wait. you’re good at waiting when you need to be, even when every part of you wants to reach across the table and drag his face up with both hands.
finally, after what feels like an eternity, dean looks at you. he looks awful. something underneath him has come loose. there’s a crack in his expression you don’t know how to patch, and the worst part’s that he looks embarrassed by it. ashamed to be this shaken. ashamed to need anything after finding out need itself might have been written into him by a cruel little man with a god complex and a writer’s room in his head.
“what’s going on?” you ask, softer now.
dean looks away again. “nothing.”
“don’t insult me.”
his mouth hardens. “i’m not.”
“you are. you think i don’t know when you’re spiraling?”
that gets him, but not enough to make him talk. enough to make his fingers tighten around the beer bottle until his knuckles pale.
you sit across from him. “say it.”
he shakes his head.
“dean.”
“what do you want me to say?” he snaps, sudden and sharp, and the sound of it cracks through the library. “that i’m having a bad night? that finding out every screwed-up thing in my life was some sick bastard’s entertainment doesn’t exactly make me feel great?”
“yes,” you say. “start there.”
he stares at you, breathing a little harder. “fine. i feel great. fantastic. i love knowing my mom burning on the ceiling was a plot point. love knowing sam’s pain was a season arc. love knowing every choice i fought for, every person i lost, every time i thought i was doing something right, chuck was sitting there getting off on it.”
his voice breaks on the last few words.
dean scrubs a hand over his mouth. “and now i keep thinking about you.”
something inside you tightens. “what about me?”
“all of it.” he gives you a look then. wrecked. angry at himself before he even answers. “you showing up when you did. staying when anybody with half a brain would’ve run. loving me.” the word comes out rough, almost resentful. “how am i supposed to know that was real?”
the room seems to tilt. you hear the heater click somewhere in the walls. hear the tiny shift of paper under your elbow. hear your own breath come in too slowly, because if you breathe the way you want to, you’ll start shouting before he finishes digging the grave he apparently plans to throw both of you into.
dean’s eyes drop to the table. “maybe chuck wrote that too,” he says. “maybe he needed me happy for a minute so it’d hurt worse later. maybe he wrote you into this because it made better television. maybe you and me were just—”
“don’t you fucking dare—” the word leaves you quiet.
dean stops.
you stand so abruptly the chair legs scrape against the floor. “do not finish that sentence.”
his face tightens. “i’m just saying—”
“i know what you’re saying.” your hands curl at your sides, shaking now from the effort of not throwing something. “you’re saying he gets to have that too.”
dean blinks.
“you’re saying he gets your childhood. your mother. sam. every awful thing you survived. fine. he took enough. he wrote enough. he poisoned enough.” your voice rises despite the way you try to hold it steady. “but now you’re sitting here trying to hand him me.”
“how dare you,” you say, and it comes out less polished than you meant. too honest. almost ugly with hurt. “seriously, dean, how dare you look me in the face and tell me loving you might be something he made me do.”
his jaw works, but no words come out.
“i chose you when you were unbearable,” you say, stepping around the table because distance suddenly feels insulting. “i chose you when you shut me out. i chose you after hunts where you came back mean because you were scared and didn’t know how to say it. i chose you in motel rooms with bad water pressure and diner booths at three in the morning and in that stupid car when you sang too loud on purpose because you knew i had a headache.”
his eyes flicker.
you keep going, because if you stop now, you might cry, and you’re too angry to cry first.
“i chose you when it was inconvenient. when it hurt. when i had every reason to walk away and could have. don’t you dare make that small. don’t you dare make me into some line in a script because you’re scared there’s no other reason i’d stay.”
that lands. you see it hit him, see the flinch he tries to bury under his usual hard stare. except there’s nothing usual about him right now. he looks younger, almost. not softer, exactly. exposed. standing there in the wreckage of a thought he probably carried alone for hours before you ever came into the room.
“i don’t know how to trust anything,” he says finally.
the anger in you stumbles.
dean’s voice is quieter now, scraped raw at the edges. “i look at you, and i want to believe it’s mine. that this is ours. but then i think about him watching, moving pieces around, putting people in the right place so i’d break the right way, and i can’t—” he stops, swallowing hard. “i can’t tell where his story ends and my life starts.”
your throat tightens. you move closer, slowly this time, until you’re standing in front of him. dean doesn’t reach for you. his hands stay braced on the table, like touching you without certainty would be another kind of sin.
“i can’t prove it,” you hate the truth of that. hate it. there’s no neat answer, no holy stamp you can press onto your heart to make it undeniable. chuck has ruined that, too. certainty. memory. trust in the shape of your own choices.
his eyes lift to yours.
“i can’t prove he didn’t shove us into the same room the first time,” you say. “i can’t prove he didn’t make the road bend or the hunt go bad or whatever else he does when he wants to feel clever. but he didn’t make me sit with you afterward. he didn’t make me learn how you take your coffee. he didn’t make me stay up when you couldn’t sleep, or get pissed when you threw yourself in front of something dangerous again, or love that stupid face you make when you’re trying not to smile.”
dean’s mouth trembles faintly.
“he didn’t make me angry at you right now,” you add, voice breaking a little. “that’s all mine.”
dean looks down.
“and i am angry,” you say, quieter. “because i love you. because you’re scared and you decided the safest thing to do was doubt me before i could disappoint you.”
his eyes shut. the silence after that is heavier than anything either of you has said.
you reach for him, then stop before your fingers touch his sleeve. for once, you let him see the hesitation. let him see that this hurt you too. that love isn’t endless softness, not with him, not with anyone. sometimes love is standing in a cold library at night, furious and scared, trying to pull the truth out from under god’s dirty fingerprints.
“i’m not asking you to be okay,” you say. “i’m not even asking you to believe me all at once. but don’t punish me for what he did.”
dean’s face crumples so briefly you almost miss it. then his hand catches yours. fast. desperate. rougher than he probably means. he holds onto your fingers without looking up, thumb pressed hard against your knuckles as if he needs the bones of you to argue with the thoughts in his head. “i’m sorry.”
you let out a breath you didn’t realize you were holding. “i know…”
he nods once, still staring at your joined hands. “i didn’t mean—”
“i know.”
and you do. that’s the awful part. you know him well enough to understand the wound and still be hurt by where he pointed it.
dean’s grip loosens, giving you the chance to pull away. instead, you step closer until your knees bump his, until he has to tilt his head to look at you. his eyes are red but dry, jaw tight with the kind of restraint that’s ruined him more than once. you lift your free hand and touch his face, careful at first, two fingers against the rough edge of his cheek.
he leans into it.
“you’re not a puppet to me,” you whisper. “you’re not a character. you’re not some doomed thing i was assigned to love.”
dean’s breath shakes.
“you’re my dean,” you say, and it sounds too simple for what you mean. too small for the size of him in your chest. “and i’m here because i want to be.”
his hand rises to your waist then, hesitant, almost asking. the first touch is careful. then firmer. he draws you in by inches, giving you time to refuse even now, even after everything. when your body meets his, his forehead drops to your shoulder, and something in him finally gives. just the slow, heavy exhale of a man who’s been holding himself together with both hands and is too tired to keep pretending he doesn’t need somewhere to put the broken parts.
you thread your fingers through his hair.
dean’s voice comes muffled against your shirt. “i don’t want him to have this.”
“then don’t give it to him.”
his arms tighten around you. for a while, neither of you moves. the bunker keeps humming. somewhere far away, the world remains terrible and watched and written over in ways you don’t know how to undo. but dean’s warm against you, breathing unevenly into the fabric at your shoulder, and his hand is splayed over your back as if he’s trying to memorize something chuck can’t narrate properly.
ꔛ. all works ; writing guidelines ; writing schedule.
When Ruth offered her hand started to pet Grumpy, the animal immediately melted into her touches, understanding she was one of the good people, his tail wagging so much, the little jumps he would give as she scratched behind his ears, and it just stayed there, enjoying all the pets, and when she paused, he'd stand, pressing both his paws against her chest, sniffing her all over, letting out happy little cries.
"Huh. He likes you. That's....that's actually rare. Normally he's grumpy to people and people are grumpy back or just scared because of his size.
The dog had a lot of soft skin to be pet because of its age, and it seemed to be a very calm animal.
The thunders started to hit loudly again, the power oscillating, as if the typhoon was trying to catch up.
"Thanks for helping." John said once he locked the door and went downstairs, Grumpy jumping onto the backseat and curling on his place, already preparing to take a nap. Traveling made it sleepy.
"Hey...you'll be home in no time, alright?" If he wasn't used to be acting rough, maybe he'd be saying a lot more, offering a hug or apologizing about everything, but it was his job and he needed to keep her safe.
The storm was quite violent as they left town. The power oscillating outside, some trees had fallen, some lower areas were flooding. The amount of water that started falling from the sky was formidable to say the least. Gladly John's driving was good, the truck was robust and they weren't having any problems. Because of how late it was, the streets were mostly empty, and one they got to the suburban area, he felt like he was in one of those liminal spaces, the sky so dark, absolute silence but the sound of the car engine, the lights outside limited to each house, all the rest, the fields, the distance, all seemed so pitch black.
John even shivered at some point, it was getting so cold. He looked to the side to see Ruth, she seemed so...she seemed so sick. Exhausted. He felt bad for her. The address, he didn't even need a GPS, until they were close to Cholla Springs. Gently he poked her shoulder. "Hey, we're almost there. Cheer up a little...." He tried, but he was a bit tired too.
Once he parked by her little ranch like property, he also let a sigh of relief. "If anyone asks....remember to say what we talked. That some maniac was stalking you....destroyed your car...I'm keeping you safe for a few days, alright?" He wasn't aware she was totally alone. He imagined at least a parent, sibling or boyfriend would be around, but...the place seemed so damn quiet.
"Come on, let's wake up, boy, we arrived."
Grumpy started wagging its tail and looking around, jumping off the car as soon as John opened the door, the animal froze when it felt the fresh breeze of the fields, of countryside.
'Awoooofff wooof wooffff wofff wuuuuuff wufff wuffff!' It started to hop in circles as John tried to remove the leash. "Easy boy...I'm trying to take this off...." Once John did, the dog bolted towards the house, jumping and rolling on the green grass, resting on its back and wiggling its paws up.
"Huh. I've never seen this big boy so energetic. I guess being here for a while will do him good" He smirked at little as he took his things from the car, rushing inside following Ruth. The rain had taken a short break before it started hitting hard again. John waited before walking in. "Where is everyone?" He asked, finding everything too silent.
"Grumpy, come boy, or you'll get all wet." Marston took a towel from his bag, crouched down to dry the animal, it seemed so happy, it made John chuckle. "Give them paws....let's dry your feet....good boy..."
"Miss...thanks for accepting me here, even if...." He sighed. "Well, even if there wasn't much of a better option. I'll explain everything tomorrow when you're well rested..."
Where did she go?
"Alright...I'll take the room upstairs then. Thank you. Could I maybe take a shower?" The dark rings under his eyes seemed larger, driving amidst that storm, the damn typhoon, which was threatening to get worse made him extra tired. "Can Grumpy sleep inside?"
Where was she? He was holding a pistol, ready to give it to her, but....where?
"Maybe tomorrow then....I guess everyone's tired."
He saw the bunny in the kitchen, it seemed so angry for some reason. "Hey little feller."
Marston didn't know if Ruth would allow his dog upstairs, so he took Grumpy's bed and placed near the bunny, by the small pen in the kitchen. "Behave, boy. Don't mess anything up, we're guests." The huge scary german shepherd curled down and started to whine though, crying to John, giving the puppy eyes. 'Abueh bueh bueh bueh bueh....' He sighed. "It's her house...and...just tonight..."
The dog rolled on his back and started to move its paws in the air as if it was dying. "Oh no need for drama...come on. Come on. You ain't alone, there's the bunny there." Grumpy paused and looked at Dinner. The little bunny looked like a fur ball of pure rage. Grumpy looked back at John, cried and jumped up to curl on his lap, Marston had to catch him.
"You're afraid of it?? Oh...why?? Well....it does look angry....alright...I'm taking you to my room with me...but no noise, no mess, alright? You already peed outside, right? Not wet cocks staining the floor, alright? It's a lady's house." He kept drying the animal with the towel, in more detail now since it was coming inside. "Your chest is all wet...play in the grass tomorrow, okay?" Grumpy rested his head on John's shoulder and closed its eyes to rest, loving the caresses of the towel. "You're such a big baby. You're getting heavy." John carried the animal and its bed upstairs, and he had no idea which room was his.
He set down the dog bed on the corridor and gently placed Grumpy on it. "Just a minute, boy."
John had left his boots by the porch, stepping silently to inspect if that was the right room, and the moment he looked, his lips parted as he saw the lady, naked on her bed, spread on soft sheets- he froze. The memory of what he had seen at the scanner room, and now again, that perfect body, and she seemed so relaxed. Her thighs and delicate legs, her ribs and that soft skin, those perfect breasts and that golden hair. He blushed, even stopped breathing for a while, eyes locked on her, feeling guilty each second he admired her, her perfect bottom, she seemed like a holy statue and he hadn't felt so horny in such a long time. "Mnm." He gave an awkward nod and stepped back and out of her room, cheeks and ears warm and red, he silently made his way to his own room. "Oh boy....she must be so tight." He panted and shook his head as he opened the other room, carrying his things inside, Grumpy grunting a little a John's comment, as if judging his owner. "Ah don't you start, I know what you do to the Santa Klaus plushie." The dog looked offended as it followed John carrying his little bed with his mouth.
Once his things were in the room, he felt sleep hit him, but he needed a shower. He was smelling precinct and that molded big city. Smelling like Blackwater, and that town, it was...different, he felt a shower there would make him feel pure and clean, like countryside.
He went to to shower, turned on the water, relaxed finally, the only tension left in him was the one seeing her all nude caused. Oh how he wanted to have that woman, he knew thoughts like that were his entrance ticket to hell, but....the thought of she asking for it...and him having her sweetly on that bed of hers....ughh....he closed his eyes and kept imagining it as he washed himself and relieved that tension.
Once he was done and had dried himself, he also felt the last of his energy gone when he got close to his bed. His bare feet against the wooden floor felt right and relaxing, he also sunk into his bed, didn't even pull the sheets, he just rested on top of them, his dark hair spread on the pillow- Grumpy was sleeping on his little dog one when he checked, but didn't take long until he felt the animal jumping onto it, resting by his side. Since John looked so peaceful and so tired, the dog respected his space this time. The rain outside, the wooden noises caused by the wind, it was all so relaxing. Didn't take long for him to hug a pillow, dreaming about her, her lips, those breasts, that perfect spot between her thigh and her sides. "Dang....why did she have to look so.....so perfect like that, Grumpy...." The hot water that relaxed him for good, he was so calm and sleepy he even seemed to be drugged. "I'll wake up hard like hell for sure....mnmhg...she's so perfect..."
The dog grunted at John, judging him again, wanting to sleep. "Alright....I'll shut up....just...this pillow is mine...."
He blacked out, had very sweet dreams, and for the first time in years, he didn't have a nightmare. He just...loss track of everything, he just slept. Slept for so many hours.
His phone vibrated a couple of hours later, but he didn't even notice. If not shaken, he probably would sleep until noon, it had been the best sleep ever, breathing in and out, using the pillows as cover, he even forgot who he was or where he was.
@girllock-writes
"Good, amazing Mark. I guess you finally understood. Gimme that." John took the key card, then cuffed Mark's wrist to the metal table. "You ain't going nowhere. And Richard for the fuck's sake lower that shotgun." John used the card to lock the door, so now the men couldn't leave, not until things were crystal clear. Richard lowered the weapon and slowly followed John, silent, tense, as if he was curious to know what the man would say, as if he was waiting to decide what he'd do.
'John, why don't you just leave? No need to do this. You could just go home and forget this.' Richard said weakly. 'I'll open the game, we saw the footage from Mia's office, we know how you...got...warm together, a certain night after work. How you nuzzled against her, how you...seemed to hold her so dear. So you...you definitely shouldn't see this. You...shouldn't. I say that as a friend.' John just snarled. "Mia was your friend too and you guys gave her brain damage, you let that happen to her, lied to everyone saying she was dead. Friends my ass. You're in just for the money and some proud biased sense of duty." John was acting tough, but his voice was shaky, he was anxious about what he was about to see. "I don't trust you no more, damn, truly never did. Mia was different. She actually wanted to do things right, she wanted to help, she was good, no cheating or mischief, she was just good and that's what was the end of her." Richard tensed more, trying to talk, trying to interrupt John's firm walk but failing.
It was about three doors John used the card to open. Labs and areas he had never seen. At some point, a way to the left and one to the right. "Where's Ruth? And...where's Mia?? She's still here, right??" Richard sighed. 'Just see for yourself. No matter what I say, you don't listen. You could go home and not see any of this. It will be impossible to unsee it later.'
That just made John more nervous. He turned left, while where Ruth was being kept was on the right, but he didn't know.
After unlocking another door, a larger one this time, what John saw crushed his soul, or what was left of it. He froze, hands went numb, his spine too, cold shivers he had never felt before, not even when he had faced the monsters.
It was Mia. Attached to some machine of sorts, inside some fluid, nude, wires and whatever probes and ducts attached to her- her brain, huge, so huge it didn't fit her head, her belly so large, her eyes so dead, like she had some severe metal damage, her vitals and brain waves on a screen, on the sides of the room, glass cilinders with embryos with codes, numbers, 108, 109....
John just froze, went pale, lips parted. The way Mia's lips kept moving, like she was trying to learn how to speak but had no clue of what words even were. 'You see...many of the studies pointed in the direction being a sensitive could be related to genetics. Her brain getting reduced to some newborn state...she couldn't help like before, but...well, more stem cells, more possibilities. It's what the development team said. Her brain has been helping us read the waves, that's how our scanners work. In theory it should cause pain, but she doesn't even know what pain is anymore. It's the data her brain interprets that allows us to use the advanced scanners, and you see, all our work now has only been possible because of that.'
John felt nauseated, he vomited on the floor, stumbled to the side, rested his weight against one of the large glasses, made the cylinder with the fetus fall down and break. He was shaking. Stood up quickly, stepped back from it.
'Don't worry, John....it wasn't a sensitive one. Most of them aren't. These are going to be discarded anyway. Well, not totally discarded, more likely donated to other projects. Making a life go to waste as some routine, that wouldn't be acceptable. You see, all this has a purpose, it's not for nothing. The ones that were her clones, they were more sensitive, but died too early before they could develop. Even so, the brains and cells have been useful to calibrate the scanners, to try and develop a biological mixture where we could properly isolate the cells of those creatures. They always melt down and vanish when we neutralize them, if we could study them, it would help us understand what those creatures are. Now can you handle the sacrifices? Can you handle dealing with this? I doubt.' Richard raised the shotgun towards John.
Marston was speechless. He didn't know what to feel, he was...feeling everything. "You've been keeping her here...for 8 years....you said...her brain went back to the one of a newborn...she doesn't even know what's happening....she....she didn't....it...it's Mia.....it's Mia...Richard....you guys....how....did you even allow this to..."
Richard shook his head. 'We allowed it just like we allowed you to stay alive. Because she asked, we agreed and you proved this could be possible. That human cells could adapt to these monsters and keep them stable, so we could study them.'
John seemed so shocked and so confused, the bundle of cells contorting on the ground making him feel dizzy, his eyes trying to look away but everything seemed ultimately disturbing. "Me? What the fuck you're talking about? You were gonna kill me and she told you not to?? How did I prove anything?"
Richard rubbed his eyes, smiled in anxiety.
'Well, one of those things scratched you, didn't it? And you didn't become one of them. I mean, its claw fucking penetrated you, fluids, blood, it carved into your spine, and then Mia ran you and the damn thing with the car, felt guilty later, wanted to save your life at all costs. The creature's claw, part of the tentacle, it got stuck inside your spine. We thought you were going to turn, but you didn't. Maybe because the tentacle got ripped from the creature's body before it transferred its consciousness to you? Or maybe your genetics were just immune to it? We really don't know. What we do know is that the claw...fang thing...it integrated into your body in such a perfect way it was impossible to detect. Scanners, X Rays....nothing. You don't emit any waves, you have nothing related to the monsters even if you have claw....nail...cock....tongue...whatever the fuck that is inside you. It became you. Became one with your spine. It's what kept your movements after Mia ran over you and that thing with the car. We knew...but nobody else did. We decided to keep that between us, the team. If the higher ups knew, if we had told them, you probably would be inside some secret national security lab being studied. See? Some things need to stay secret. We like you, you were part of the team, we didn't want you gone.'
John was shocked. Frozen in place. Reality seemed worse than all the nightmares he used to have.
He just knew one thing. That had to end. John knew how important the research was, but seeing his Mia like that, the numbers past 100 in those fetus, all that- it seemed so worse than those creatures could do. Damn, slitting some throat and having some tumors grow from it, that sounded like mercy compared to being kept in that place for 8 years, being used like some incubator for illegal experiments.
Fuck, the world could end, but he couldn't allow that. Not to Mia, not to Ruthie.
'John, I know you loved her, and for sure, she loved you too but—'
A loud bang, the glass shattered, liquid spread everywhere, monitors turning off— John had shot Mia in the head, ending her suffering. A strong wave of relief filled the whole facility, and then it faded, in joy of finally being able to sleep. Richards quickly raised his shot gun to John. 'THE FUCK YOU JUST DID MARSTON??!!!'
Ruth shifted in her half-conscious state. Her eyes felt heavy and a wave of something between pain and relief washed over her. There was a woman in her dreams... one she didn't know, but that felt very familiar. Ruth took a step toward her, calling out, but the woman didn't reply. Tilting her head in confusion, Ruth could have sworn she'd seen the woman somewhere before. No matter how close she tried to get, the woman just seemed to be far away. The invisible thread between them seemed to pulse and hum, filling Ruth's ears and drowning out her calls. Then it snapped. The woman finally turned to look at Ruth. She stopped, staring back in wonder and confusion.
Something unspoken passed between them. Ruth felt her heart sort of stop. "What do I do?" She asked, desperate to know. Someone had to help. There were people suffering and she felt like she was the only one who could help. The woman said nothing, only gave her a kind smile.
The vision vanished as Ruth woke up to a clatter.
The vent cover in the room had fallen to the floor. A gurgling hiss came from the open space on the wall. Ruth rubbed her eyes, adrenaline pumped through her veins fighting against her sleepy state. Tentacles, dripping in the black goo, crawled slowly from the vent. Ruth's limbs felt heavy, but she pushed herself up from the bed and tried to protect Grumpy as much as she could.
The monsters were here. They were here for her. Surely the agents would help... After all, they were trying to kill the monsters. Ruth rushed to the door, making sure Grumpy wasn't left behind as the creature started to reform in the room. "HELP!" Ruth banged on the door, pulling at the locked handle. "It's here! Anyone, please!"
Grumpy was barking loudly at the creatures, staying between them and Ruth, but they were starting to be without enough space to run from them. The dog was a brave boy, even with the muzzle, it kept growling and trying to intimidate the things. It would look at Ruth from time to time, hoping she'f manage to open the door.
Meanwhile Robert was scared, angry, insecure, surprised- John's action of shooting Mia, ending her, ending all the experiment, all the progress. He just couldn't believe it, but at the same time, he realized how far they had gotten, from using senstive people to help to slowly dehumanize them and experiment on them. Still, it wasn't something Robert suffered much about. 'We are trying to do the right thing. We're trying to save people out there, so no way that we are wrong!'
Ruth feeling Mia's last glimpse of herself fade, her trapped soul being set free, that ressonated within John's heart and made him shed some tears, quietly, still in shock, with a growing rage. Ruth and him were linked somehow, maybe because she thought about him a lot, maybe because he felt the same.
'Marston?? What are you going to do??? You already caused enough damage! Don't move!!' He raised the shotgun, hands shaking. "You'll take me to Ruth. You'll get her outta here." Robert shook his head. 'No way. She's the last hope now that Mia is gone!!'
And just the thought Robert and the team would make Ruth go through all Mia did- the flashes of those gruesome images in his head, it was enough to make John raise his gun to shoot Robert, and when he pulled the trigger and the bulled crossed the corrupt agent's chest, his body tensed and he fired the shotgun.
Like the night hadn't presented enough horrors, an agonizing Robert had to watch John hit the wall and fall, bleeding with this gory hole opened on his ribs, in shock like he was dead.
But as Robert started to try and crawl away from all that bloodshed, John started to move—
The dark vine like things started to come out from John's organs and ruptured muscular fibers, the things hiding in him inside every layer of tissue spreading like a living thing, without mind though, at this point it had already been one with him for too long. John stood up, apparently in shock, the black things making his organs and bones start to regenerate—
He seemed quiet, so much making sense now— he started to wonder, when he asked to be close to Ruth to ease his nightmares, he wondered if those creatures were approaching her just wishing the same. He looked down coldly, raised his gun and finished Robert, taking the shotgun from him.
Returning to the main lobby, he saw Mark, still there, cuffed to the table just like he left him, but this time with the look of horror in the man's eyes, seeing those things coming out from John's wound, attached to him like some parasite, integrated with him.
Before Mark could say a word, John shot his head with the shotgun. There was no point in discussing anymore. John was still shocked, the nightmares, the faded memories of some hospital room, the dreams of some thing entering him- in the end it had been that claw tentacle that got stuck in his spine and became one with him. No creature control since the monster's original body was long gone.
He could feel her, hear her voice from afar, and by the end of the corridor, he saw the door, shot it open with the weapon— Ruth was finally in front of his eyes, and Grumpy too.
The bang against the door made Ruth jump. She moved away as it opened, hoping the agents had finally come. The creatures were still weak, getting closer. Her eyes flickered at the man, almost in unbelief. John.
"John!"
He was alive. He was safe. He was here. Her heart exploded with joy before her eyes moved the the healing hole in his ribs. Still gorey and bloodsoaked, with the tentacles closing the last bits up. Her heart stopped. Had the monsters gotten him? Was her vision true? That he had fallen to them as well.
Her eyes moved back to his, seeing only worry and relief in his eyes. He was still her John. She could feel it. It all happened very fast. A large shriek came from the creature and Ruth ran to him without hesitation. Her cold hands immediately clung to his arm, following him quickly from the room. The touch seemed to fill her with new life. Despite how terrible she looked, her soul felt less restless. Tears stung at her eyes. She just wanted to hide in him, she wanted to go home... She felt as if she had been there for years.
Behind her, Ruth felt that familiar tug of the creatures. Come back. Come with us. Come see.
"I was scared you wouldn't come–" she choked out as their feet pounded down the hallway. "I tried to reach you... But they... they asked for my help. I tried to... it hurt so much and then they hooked me up to this machine..." Ruth knew now was not a good time to panic, but her senses were still damaged from overuse and everything was very overwhelming for her. "I tried to keep Grumpy safe too... I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have gone out alone."
The alarms had already started ringing, the panels on the walls already suggesting the quarentine activation, the scientists inside that secret compound that the larger John realized it was, the more he believed the higher ups had to know about it. A small group simply couldn't build such a facility and go unnoticed. It wasn't fucking simple. That lab didn't pop up from a month to another. It had to be something older. He had joined the force 12 years ago and not even a month the whole police station above had gone into maintenance. That lab was already there and the bosses fuckong knew it, they had to know. Hyerarchy was like concrete pillars in the CIA, in the Secret Service— anyone who broke the protocol was often offered to reconsider or just transferred- it was impossible a small rebel group in the task force had made all that to be.
"This way, Ruth." His hand gripped her hospital like garments as if making sure she was actually there. She was....she....she definitely wasn't okay....she looked so drained....so tired...did they hurt her? Did they impregnate her with some experimental fetus or implanted anything in her? Did they cut some piece off her? Did they torture her? His eyes were already wet because of Mia and all the horrors he had witnessed, for killing two men he always thought he could believe, for seeing the team, the ideals, the force he worked in to turn out to be obsure and malicious, and seeing Ruth like that made more tears roll down his face— but there was no time to lose, they had to get out.
Grunpy's woof and his quick run to John, pressing its paws against his waist and back, glad to see him- glad. That was pretty much the word that defined the best what both owner and dog were feeling. They had muzzled Grumpy, a non violent dog...that made him mad, but John would keep that for later.
Her voice was like music, like air for someone who had almost drowned, like sunlight to a plant who survived a long storm. "Don't apologize, dear. You have no fault in any of this." He held her hand so tight, covered the wound on his ribs with his coat and kept making his way out of that hell.
As soon as he passed by the final door, cruelty and anger and hate filled his eyes, he pulled the lever of the quarantine used Mark's card to confirm it, activated all levels of warning, and he knew what it meant, he knew what he was doing. He had been taught how such facilities worked, pretty much like a CDC. Everything behind them locked with planned incineration. John was sending everything and everyone in there to hell. Main energy got cut, only emergency generators on. No cameras, no registers, no memory, no wifi, no regret in his soul.
"Everyone at the police station probably already evacuated by now. The alarms should have started as soon as I shot....that." John seemed so burned out. So tired. So shocked. So hurt. Anger that still burned, but not like raging flames, more like dying charcoal. "Come on, let's get out."
He picked her up and walked up the stairs, reachimg the police station above,everyone had already left, it was very late, there was just a few personal working there were already officers organizing the evacuation. Leaving through the garage, placing Ruth in his truck, getting on and driving away, and time seemed to go faster, they were more than five blcoks far away from the station, and the explosion undeground still could be heard. The hoarse crack, incinerating everything and everyone under that station, which above ground level basically didn't suffer any damage. Whatever creatures, whatever poor souls trapped in that hell now had to be gone for good.
John kept taking deep breaths and closing his eyes a little bit, he was spent, hurt— the pain of the gunshot, always there, something he had been enduring because the fear of losing her alone hurt so much more. "Let's go home. Your home. Alright?" It was where he was driving to. He believed no one else knew they had taken Ruth, the files about her, everything probably was gone together with the labs and secret offices and interrogation rooms.
"Nornally thet don't share vital information via network. Normally it's just isolated files or physical ones. For safety. It all went to shit so...I think you're safe." He has just killed the whole team. Anyone who knew as much as he did or more. While driving, he tested it, took his phone and started calling one by one of his team.
This number in unavailable.
Not "doesn't exist", not "busy", not "out of area". Just unavailable. The devices probably incinerated with all the air in that facility. If a big move had been made, if Ruth had been taken, then the boss also had to be in the building, his phone wasn't answering, so probably he was dead as well. He would know only the next day probably. Who Ruth was? No way John would never ever leak what she could do, how special she was. She was supposed to be free, like bunnies and golden butterflies.
A gas accident below BlackWater Police Department, officers dead and missing.
It was what John hear in the radio while almost arriving to Ruth's little farmhouse, it was what the news showed that late night, by 4am. News people would only read by the morning, that people would talk about only by lunchtime. And they still had the rest of the night to rest, before any consequence, before any discussion. Those hours belonged to them and no one else. The horror he had seen there always would be bigger then any guilt he could ever come to feel.
Ruth didn't let go of John once. All the panic and death, Ruth could feel it. As John detonated the panic system, she could almost feel the building crying out. By the time they had made it to the exit, she could hear the voices of the dying cry out as they ceased to exist. It was a loud roar and she pressed her hands to her ears, trying to hide in John's chest as he carried her out.
The truck was safer. A little quieter. As they drove, Ruth still kept her hand on John's arm. She couldn't bring herself to let go. Her limbs shook. It seemed awful, that all those people died just for her to be saved. Surely she wasn't worth it... the lives of others. The city limits provided some relief. Ruth had been too disoriented to notice until now, but a nervous hum still filled the car. She looked at John as he stared stoned faced at the road. Her chest grew tight. Something was very wrong. And not just those tentacles she'd seen in his chest... something else deep in his soul had been wounded.
"Thank you for coming for me," she said quietly. The pain in the air was almost tangible. She loosened her stressed grip, rubbing her fingers along the inside of his bicep, in an attempt to soothe them both. "What about you? Will you be safe? Will they come for you?"
She thought about her earlier offer, for him to stay with her. She had meant it. Even now, especially now, she still wanted him to. Ruth was sure their bond was formed by the trauma and stress of the past weeks, but she didn't mind. If anything, it was even more reason to keep him with her. Not only for safety, but because they could heal together.
Silence had fallen over the little home. Ruth was almost calm, gald to just be home and be with John when the sight of cars made her chest explode. A sleek sports car was parked close to the house and Johnson's pickup was behind it. The lights on in her house told her everything she needed to know. Ruth didn't want to see people. She didn't want to explain.
When they made it to the door, she was slightly stunned when the first person she saw was her father. Eli turned to the creaking door, his eyes bloodshot and wide. For all his faults and struggles, Ruth couldn't help but tear up again at the burst of energy that seemed to fill her father's chest. He was a good man deep down. 'Ruth?' She crossed the small space quickly, before her face pressed to his chest. "Daddy!"
The noise alerted the others in the house. Johnson and his wife appeared in the doorway of the kitchen. They had been trying to keep things peaceful while Johnson called every contact he had in the city. The sheriff's eyes went right to John in a harsh look between concern, relief, and a demand for answers.
'Where the hell have you been?' A new voice rang as a woman rose from the couch. She was a little older with frizzy, dark blonde hair. She had similar features to Ruth, but her eyes were much sharper. The woman glared at John. 'Who the hell are you?'
'Deborah, please,' Eli hissed, holding his daughter who flinched at the sound of the voice. 'Getting upset won't get you answers.' Ruth's mother's eyes flashed in annoyance and the closest thing she knew to concern.
'Don't patronize me, Eli. My daughter has been missing and I want answers.'
The man didn't plan on staying long with the Van der Linde Gang. It reminded him too much of the gang he'd been in some years go. The charismatic leader with a vision so grand it squashed the souls of all who got close enough. Sons, desperate to prove themselves only to be betrayed. Men with faith who would fall from the false grace of their God. Women with no where to go, no one to love them save the outlaws who were much closer to real gentlemen than any they would find elsewhere.
West could see the signs.
He'd befriended Arthur Morgan quite on accident. They had both been in the jailhouse, waiting for the arrival of a judge when they had plotted their escape. Usually, men like West Stanton and Arthur Morgan didn't get along. But West was a social fellow and rather honest, making it easier for the quiet outlaw to trust him for, if nothing else, their escape.
That is how West ended up at the camp. Just to spend a night. Rest. Enjoy company that wasn't some deputy across the bars. West was almost jealous of Morgan. The gang was a family. A fragile one, doomed for failure, facing destruction at every turn. But it was a family none-the-less. It reminded him of a time when he had a family like that. It even reminded him of his real family, or - a time when his family felt like a family.
The rest of the gang members didn't seem completely trusting of him, but he hadn't expected them to be. They were nice enough.
Sitting by the campfire, West scanned the camp. Outside of Dutch Van der Linde's tent, the gang leader danced slowly with a woman. The music was soft and romantic, slightly scratchy on the gramaphone. His eyes must have lingered a few seconds too long because Arthur Morgan gave a small exhale as he took a drag of his cigar.
"That's Dutch's girl," he explained. His tone wasn't accusatory, but his words were like a warning. She's taken. Such things had never stopped West before, but that wasn't why he had stared so long. For all his faults, West was good at reading people. He was good at seeing the things people tired to hide. And that woman with Dutch was lonely.
"I figured," West responded casually. It was one of the rare occasions where he had no ill intent. "Seems a bit refined for a outlaw camp." It was a simple observation - one which most of the gang members made often. But it wasn't harsh coming from his lips. It was just a fact.
Arthur nodded. "Yes." There was a small moment of silence as the fire crackled against the darkening night. "Miss O'Shea is more or less what Dutch wishes the rest o' us were."
West gave a low chuckle as he took a swig of his beer. "Can't say I'd disagree with him," he hummed, only half-joking.
Arthur huffed a laugh. He gave a small smirk, but his eyes were serious. "Careful, friend. You best not let folks hear you talkin' like that."
The man waved his hand with a grin. "Don't worry, Morgan. I ain't tryin'a cause trouble. Just thinkin' is all.''
"That's how most trouble starts," Arthur pointed out.
West laughed. "I suppose you're right." The rest of the night was quite peaceful. West had taken up a spot on some grass close to the horses. The night wasn't too cold, so he didn't much care he was out in the open. Stars blinked against the sky. West thought it was a shame it was only him who could admire them.
Across the camp, a figure moved away from the tents and toward the edge of the camp. West sat slightly, his eyes trailing after the movement. Standing, he secured his hat on his head and followed. The woman - the lonely woman - was smoking a few yards from the camp. Her hands shook. West could hear muttering. Clearing his throat, he stepped closer to her, not wanting to spook her.
"Everything alright, miss?" He inquired.
With a small jump, the woman turned. Her eyes glared, but he could see the tears begging to fall. "The hell do you want?" She snapped. Turning away, she huffed, her red hair brushing over her shoulders as it caught silver streaks of moonlight. "I'm not in the mood fer talkin'."
A smile tugged at West's lips. "Corse ya aren't," he said slowly. Despite her clear dismissal, he didn't move away. "But I am. Mind keepin' a man company?"
Molly frowned. "I ain't dat sorta girl," she stated, a firm and defiant venom in her voice.
West laughed. "And I ain't that sorta fella," he lied. He was, but in this moment, he didn't really have any intentions with the girl beyond curiosity about her. Perhaps she reminded him of a girl he knew back when he rode with his old gang. The young woman had been the closest thing he had ever known to a sister... Molly was a lot like her. Prideful, desperate, and terribly sad.
"Just saw you here all alone. Thought it was curious that your Mr. Van der Linde wasn't out here with ya."
Molly's eyes flickered with a vulnerability she didn't know how to hide. "Dotch is a busy man," she defended quickly. "I don't have ta spend every minute wit 'im just cos I'm wit 'im." The two knew she was here alone simply because Dutch didn't want her around, but Molly was too defiant to admit it and West was too polite to anger her further.
"Corse he is," West agreed, pulling out his own cigarette. The match struck against the dark sky as he blew out puffs of smoke. "Just thought... that a nice girl like you shouldn't have to stand alone if she didn't want to."
"I want to," Molly lied quickly. West nodded with a low hum, but he didn't move immediately. He stared out at the sky, letting the nicotine in the cigarette fill his lungs before he turned to look at her. The woman was staring at the ground, her poised shoulders curved in, her pretty face downcast and her shoes shuffling in the dirt. It wasn't hard to tell that her mind was running in circles or that her heart was aching for someone to just notice her.
West knew the feeling well. Not knowing her place... not knowing her worth. He was all too familiar with that pain.
"Evenin', Miss O'Shea," he said, with a tip of his hat and a slightly bow. He dismissed himself as she stared at him. Her eyes were wide with confusion and skepticism. West was a naturally charismatic man and Molly was frankly done with charismatic men. Dutch was enough for a lifetime. But her heart still jumped. He'd seen her. He'd come over. He'd stayed a bit despite her clear rejection. And even now as he was leaving, it wasn't a retreat but a respect for the things she had said. He listened. Sure, she had lied. But he still listened... that was more than what Dutch had been doing lately.
Upset that she could even think such a way, Molly huffed, turning back to her solited. West's boots thudded in the dirt as he made his way to his small area. He gave a gruning sigh as he sat down. "That poor girl," he murmured to himself as he settled in. As he closed his eyes, he just hoped that she would make it outta this gang alive.
idek what this is. its been sitting in my drafts for ages and i finally got around to finishing it. i maybe ship? not really. maybe in some universe. west def pitties her and molly is clinging to any many who gives her attention (which shes real for) i just wanted to write and be productive. this probs sucks ass. love west in a doomed ship tho 👀 i need more of him so bad. thoughts on mollywest?
⤷ ft. the winchester brothers + castiel :: masterlist ; reqs open
⟢ dean winchester
if you fall asleep in the car he will honest to god take a longer detour that has smoother roads he does not fucking care
gets jealous, but not in an overbearing way. he'll make himself part of the conversation instead of dragging you away. an arm over your shoulders. a hand on your back. ‘what're we talking about?’
eye contact. way too much of it. you didnt quite get the concept of ‘eye fucking’ until you met dean.
puts his hand behind the passenger seat while backing up………………..
fixes things around you/that belong to you before you even realize theyre broken
physical touch is his default love language. hand on your knee while driving. bumping shoulders. nudging you with his foot under the table.
absentmindedly drums his fingers against your knee to the beat of a song.
instinctively reaches an arm across your chest if he brakes suddenly.
in another universe where dean went to highschool, he would’ve absolutely been that guy to do crazy embarrassing promposals
alwayssss rolls up his sleeves bro
lets you steal food of his plate
remembers which songs you skip and skips them before you do
walks half a step behind you in crowded places so he can keep an eye on you.
always saves you the last bite if he knows it's your favorite
automatically grabs the grocery bags that look heavier. doesnt matter if youre stronger than him, or if you’re bigger than him.
likes buying you dumb little gas station gifts. plastic dinosaurs. novelty sunglasses. your favorite candy.
⟢ sam winchester
puts his hand on the doorframe so you don't hit your head getting into the car.
remembers little errands you mentioned and does them while he's already out.
reaches things off the top shelf without making a joke about it, and will do it regardless of how tall you are
slows his pace to match you without realizing it
always offers you the better/comfortable option of seating
also automatically gives you the side of the booth instead of the chair
but if its a two-sided booth, he’ll sit next to you
researches things just because you mentioned being interested in them.
quietly takes things off your plate without making a big deal out of it if he notices you not eating something, even if its a food he absolutely despises
if you have long hair, he always keeps an extra hair tie on him
gets jealous, but internalizes it first, and spends an hour wondering if he’s being irrational.
will brush your hair out of your face or adjust your collar while you’re talking, without breaking eye contact
stays up with you if you can’t sleep, and will ask if you want to do something, go out, or if you’d rather just lay together quietly
compliments things that you chose, not just things you cant control
will do chores you hate doing for you, like laundry or dishes
⟢ castiel novak
watches you with absolute complete attention while you’re talking and will pointedly ignore anyone else that talks to him, even if they started talking first
straightens your necklace if the clasp turned around.
learns your weaknesses and incorporates himself without you needing to ask. if you struggle with brushing your teeth, he'll place the toothbrush on the sink with the toothpaste already on it.
will argue with people over your preferences even if its miniscule (ex. someone sits on your side of the car or uses your favourite mug)
waits for you without complaint before going anywhere, if you’re tying your shoe or if you’re going back inside to change your shirt
stands incredibly close to you and doesnt understand the concept of a personal bubble. attatched at the hip, because he realizes that he's allowed to
asks before holding your hand the first few times, then forgets to ask because now it just feels right and normal
tends to your things if he notices theyre out of place, like untangling your earbuds or putting your shoes back on the rack.
watches your footing if the ground is uneven and keeps his hand on your back 'just in case.'
stares at your face while you're talking because he likes watching expressions change, tilting his hedad like a dog.
will do things that make him uncomfortable if it makes you happy without question. sees it as his duty as your partner.
sees you in everything and thinks its a sign from heaven. thinks dean is quite odd when he tells him thats just how being in love feels
actually enjoys doing mundane thing with you, even things that other people would find boring, like cleaning up after baking
his version of flirting is solving your problems before you notice them
he does compliment you, but he thinks that its odd that humans considers such as flirting. he thinks its just matter-of-fact
When Ruth offered her hand started to pet Grumpy, the animal immediately melted into her touches, understanding she was one of the good people, his tail wagging so much, the little jumps he would give as she scratched behind his ears, and it just stayed there, enjoying all the pets, and when she paused, he'd stand, pressing both his paws against her chest, sniffing her all over, letting out happy little cries.
"Huh. He likes you. That's....that's actually rare. Normally he's grumpy to people and people are grumpy back or just scared because of his size.
The dog had a lot of soft skin to be pet because of its age, and it seemed to be a very calm animal.
The thunders started to hit loudly again, the power oscillating, as if the typhoon was trying to catch up.
"Thanks for helping." John said once he locked the door and went downstairs, Grumpy jumping onto the backseat and curling on his place, already preparing to take a nap. Traveling made it sleepy.
"Hey...you'll be home in no time, alright?" If he wasn't used to be acting rough, maybe he'd be saying a lot more, offering a hug or apologizing about everything, but it was his job and he needed to keep her safe.
The storm was quite violent as they left town. The power oscillating outside, some trees had fallen, some lower areas were flooding. The amount of water that started falling from the sky was formidable to say the least. Gladly John's driving was good, the truck was robust and they weren't having any problems. Because of how late it was, the streets were mostly empty, and one they got to the suburban area, he felt like he was in one of those liminal spaces, the sky so dark, absolute silence but the sound of the car engine, the lights outside limited to each house, all the rest, the fields, the distance, all seemed so pitch black.
John even shivered at some point, it was getting so cold. He looked to the side to see Ruth, she seemed so...she seemed so sick. Exhausted. He felt bad for her. The address, he didn't even need a GPS, until they were close to Cholla Springs. Gently he poked her shoulder. "Hey, we're almost there. Cheer up a little...." He tried, but he was a bit tired too.
Once he parked by her little ranch like property, he also let a sigh of relief. "If anyone asks....remember to say what we talked. That some maniac was stalking you....destroyed your car...I'm keeping you safe for a few days, alright?" He wasn't aware she was totally alone. He imagined at least a parent, sibling or boyfriend would be around, but...the place seemed so damn quiet.
"Come on, let's wake up, boy, we arrived."
Grumpy started wagging its tail and looking around, jumping off the car as soon as John opened the door, the animal froze when it felt the fresh breeze of the fields, of countryside.
'Awoooofff wooof wooffff wofff wuuuuuff wufff wuffff!' It started to hop in circles as John tried to remove the leash. "Easy boy...I'm trying to take this off...." Once John did, the dog bolted towards the house, jumping and rolling on the green grass, resting on its back and wiggling its paws up.
"Huh. I've never seen this big boy so energetic. I guess being here for a while will do him good" He smirked at little as he took his things from the car, rushing inside following Ruth. The rain had taken a short break before it started hitting hard again. John waited before walking in. "Where is everyone?" He asked, finding everything too silent.
"Grumpy, come boy, or you'll get all wet." Marston took a towel from his bag, crouched down to dry the animal, it seemed so happy, it made John chuckle. "Give them paws....let's dry your feet....good boy..."
"Miss...thanks for accepting me here, even if...." He sighed. "Well, even if there wasn't much of a better option. I'll explain everything tomorrow when you're well rested..."
Where did she go?
"Alright...I'll take the room upstairs then. Thank you. Could I maybe take a shower?" The dark rings under his eyes seemed larger, driving amidst that storm, the damn typhoon, which was threatening to get worse made him extra tired. "Can Grumpy sleep inside?"
Where was she? He was holding a pistol, ready to give it to her, but....where?
"Maybe tomorrow then....I guess everyone's tired."
He saw the bunny in the kitchen, it seemed so angry for some reason. "Hey little feller."
Marston didn't know if Ruth would allow his dog upstairs, so he took Grumpy's bed and placed near the bunny, by the small pen in the kitchen. "Behave, boy. Don't mess anything up, we're guests." The huge scary german shepherd curled down and started to whine though, crying to John, giving the puppy eyes. 'Abueh bueh bueh bueh bueh....' He sighed. "It's her house...and...just tonight..."
The dog rolled on his back and started to move its paws in the air as if it was dying. "Oh no need for drama...come on. Come on. You ain't alone, there's the bunny there." Grumpy paused and looked at Dinner. The little bunny looked like a fur ball of pure rage. Grumpy looked back at John, cried and jumped up to curl on his lap, Marston had to catch him.
"You're afraid of it?? Oh...why?? Well....it does look angry....alright...I'm taking you to my room with me...but no noise, no mess, alright? You already peed outside, right? Not wet cocks staining the floor, alright? It's a lady's house." He kept drying the animal with the towel, in more detail now since it was coming inside. "Your chest is all wet...play in the grass tomorrow, okay?" Grumpy rested his head on John's shoulder and closed its eyes to rest, loving the caresses of the towel. "You're such a big baby. You're getting heavy." John carried the animal and its bed upstairs, and he had no idea which room was his.
He set down the dog bed on the corridor and gently placed Grumpy on it. "Just a minute, boy."
John had left his boots by the porch, stepping silently to inspect if that was the right room, and the moment he looked, his lips parted as he saw the lady, naked on her bed, spread on soft sheets- he froze. The memory of what he had seen at the scanner room, and now again, that perfect body, and she seemed so relaxed. Her thighs and delicate legs, her ribs and that soft skin, those perfect breasts and that golden hair. He blushed, even stopped breathing for a while, eyes locked on her, feeling guilty each second he admired her, her perfect bottom, she seemed like a holy statue and he hadn't felt so horny in such a long time. "Mnm." He gave an awkward nod and stepped back and out of her room, cheeks and ears warm and red, he silently made his way to his own room. "Oh boy....she must be so tight." He panted and shook his head as he opened the other room, carrying his things inside, Grumpy grunting a little a John's comment, as if judging his owner. "Ah don't you start, I know what you do to the Santa Klaus plushie." The dog looked offended as it followed John carrying his little bed with his mouth.
Once his things were in the room, he felt sleep hit him, but he needed a shower. He was smelling precinct and that molded big city. Smelling like Blackwater, and that town, it was...different, he felt a shower there would make him feel pure and clean, like countryside.
He went to to shower, turned on the water, relaxed finally, the only tension left in him was the one seeing her all nude caused. Oh how he wanted to have that woman, he knew thoughts like that were his entrance ticket to hell, but....the thought of she asking for it...and him having her sweetly on that bed of hers....ughh....he closed his eyes and kept imagining it as he washed himself and relieved that tension.
Once he was done and had dried himself, he also felt the last of his energy gone when he got close to his bed. His bare feet against the wooden floor felt right and relaxing, he also sunk into his bed, didn't even pull the sheets, he just rested on top of them, his dark hair spread on the pillow- Grumpy was sleeping on his little dog one when he checked, but didn't take long until he felt the animal jumping onto it, resting by his side. Since John looked so peaceful and so tired, the dog respected his space this time. The rain outside, the wooden noises caused by the wind, it was all so relaxing. Didn't take long for him to hug a pillow, dreaming about her, her lips, those breasts, that perfect spot between her thigh and her sides. "Dang....why did she have to look so.....so perfect like that, Grumpy...." The hot water that relaxed him for good, he was so calm and sleepy he even seemed to be drugged. "I'll wake up hard like hell for sure....mnmhg...she's so perfect..."
The dog grunted at John, judging him again, wanting to sleep. "Alright....I'll shut up....just...this pillow is mine...."
He blacked out, had very sweet dreams, and for the first time in years, he didn't have a nightmare. He just...loss track of everything, he just slept. Slept for so many hours.
His phone vibrated a couple of hours later, but he didn't even notice. If not shaken, he probably would sleep until noon, it had been the best sleep ever, breathing in and out, using the pillows as cover, he even forgot who he was or where he was.
@girllock-writes
"Good, amazing Mark. I guess you finally understood. Gimme that." John took the key card, then cuffed Mark's wrist to the metal table. "You ain't going nowhere. And Richard for the fuck's sake lower that shotgun." John used the card to lock the door, so now the men couldn't leave, not until things were crystal clear. Richard lowered the weapon and slowly followed John, silent, tense, as if he was curious to know what the man would say, as if he was waiting to decide what he'd do.
'John, why don't you just leave? No need to do this. You could just go home and forget this.' Richard said weakly. 'I'll open the game, we saw the footage from Mia's office, we know how you...got...warm together, a certain night after work. How you nuzzled against her, how you...seemed to hold her so dear. So you...you definitely shouldn't see this. You...shouldn't. I say that as a friend.' John just snarled. "Mia was your friend too and you guys gave her brain damage, you let that happen to her, lied to everyone saying she was dead. Friends my ass. You're in just for the money and some proud biased sense of duty." John was acting tough, but his voice was shaky, he was anxious about what he was about to see. "I don't trust you no more, damn, truly never did. Mia was different. She actually wanted to do things right, she wanted to help, she was good, no cheating or mischief, she was just good and that's what was the end of her." Richard tensed more, trying to talk, trying to interrupt John's firm walk but failing.
It was about three doors John used the card to open. Labs and areas he had never seen. At some point, a way to the left and one to the right. "Where's Ruth? And...where's Mia?? She's still here, right??" Richard sighed. 'Just see for yourself. No matter what I say, you don't listen. You could go home and not see any of this. It will be impossible to unsee it later.'
That just made John more nervous. He turned left, while where Ruth was being kept was on the right, but he didn't know.
After unlocking another door, a larger one this time, what John saw crushed his soul, or what was left of it. He froze, hands went numb, his spine too, cold shivers he had never felt before, not even when he had faced the monsters.
It was Mia. Attached to some machine of sorts, inside some fluid, nude, wires and whatever probes and ducts attached to her- her brain, huge, so huge it didn't fit her head, her belly so large, her eyes so dead, like she had some severe metal damage, her vitals and brain waves on a screen, on the sides of the room, glass cilinders with embryos with codes, numbers, 108, 109....
John just froze, went pale, lips parted. The way Mia's lips kept moving, like she was trying to learn how to speak but had no clue of what words even were. 'You see...many of the studies pointed in the direction being a sensitive could be related to genetics. Her brain getting reduced to some newborn state...she couldn't help like before, but...well, more stem cells, more possibilities. It's what the development team said. Her brain has been helping us read the waves, that's how our scanners work. In theory it should cause pain, but she doesn't even know what pain is anymore. It's the data her brain interprets that allows us to use the advanced scanners, and you see, all our work now has only been possible because of that.'
John felt nauseated, he vomited on the floor, stumbled to the side, rested his weight against one of the large glasses, made the cylinder with the fetus fall down and break. He was shaking. Stood up quickly, stepped back from it.
'Don't worry, John....it wasn't a sensitive one. Most of them aren't. These are going to be discarded anyway. Well, not totally discarded, more likely donated to other projects. Making a life go to waste as some routine, that wouldn't be acceptable. You see, all this has a purpose, it's not for nothing. The ones that were her clones, they were more sensitive, but died too early before they could develop. Even so, the brains and cells have been useful to calibrate the scanners, to try and develop a biological mixture where we could properly isolate the cells of those creatures. They always melt down and vanish when we neutralize them, if we could study them, it would help us understand what those creatures are. Now can you handle the sacrifices? Can you handle dealing with this? I doubt.' Richard raised the shotgun towards John.
Marston was speechless. He didn't know what to feel, he was...feeling everything. "You've been keeping her here...for 8 years....you said...her brain went back to the one of a newborn...she doesn't even know what's happening....she....she didn't....it...it's Mia.....it's Mia...Richard....you guys....how....did you even allow this to..."
Richard shook his head. 'We allowed it just like we allowed you to stay alive. Because she asked, we agreed and you proved this could be possible. That human cells could adapt to these monsters and keep them stable, so we could study them.'
John seemed so shocked and so confused, the bundle of cells contorting on the ground making him feel dizzy, his eyes trying to look away but everything seemed ultimately disturbing. "Me? What the fuck you're talking about? You were gonna kill me and she told you not to?? How did I prove anything?"
Richard rubbed his eyes, smiled in anxiety.
'Well, one of those things scratched you, didn't it? And you didn't become one of them. I mean, its claw fucking penetrated you, fluids, blood, it carved into your spine, and then Mia ran you and the damn thing with the car, felt guilty later, wanted to save your life at all costs. The creature's claw, part of the tentacle, it got stuck inside your spine. We thought you were going to turn, but you didn't. Maybe because the tentacle got ripped from the creature's body before it transferred its consciousness to you? Or maybe your genetics were just immune to it? We really don't know. What we do know is that the claw...fang thing...it integrated into your body in such a perfect way it was impossible to detect. Scanners, X Rays....nothing. You don't emit any waves, you have nothing related to the monsters even if you have claw....nail...cock....tongue...whatever the fuck that is inside you. It became you. Became one with your spine. It's what kept your movements after Mia ran over you and that thing with the car. We knew...but nobody else did. We decided to keep that between us, the team. If the higher ups knew, if we had told them, you probably would be inside some secret national security lab being studied. See? Some things need to stay secret. We like you, you were part of the team, we didn't want you gone.'
John was shocked. Frozen in place. Reality seemed worse than all the nightmares he used to have.
He just knew one thing. That had to end. John knew how important the research was, but seeing his Mia like that, the numbers past 100 in those fetus, all that- it seemed so worse than those creatures could do. Damn, slitting some throat and having some tumors grow from it, that sounded like mercy compared to being kept in that place for 8 years, being used like some incubator for illegal experiments.
Fuck, the world could end, but he couldn't allow that. Not to Mia, not to Ruthie.
'John, I know you loved her, and for sure, she loved you too but—'
A loud bang, the glass shattered, liquid spread everywhere, monitors turning off— John had shot Mia in the head, ending her suffering. A strong wave of relief filled the whole facility, and then it faded, in joy of finally being able to sleep. Richards quickly raised his shot gun to John. 'THE FUCK YOU JUST DID MARSTON??!!!'
Ruth shifted in her half-conscious state. Her eyes felt heavy and a wave of something between pain and relief washed over her. There was a woman in her dreams... one she didn't know, but that felt very familiar. Ruth took a step toward her, calling out, but the woman didn't reply. Tilting her head in confusion, Ruth could have sworn she'd seen the woman somewhere before. No matter how close she tried to get, the woman just seemed to be far away. The invisible thread between them seemed to pulse and hum, filling Ruth's ears and drowning out her calls. Then it snapped. The woman finally turned to look at Ruth. She stopped, staring back in wonder and confusion.
Something unspoken passed between them. Ruth felt her heart sort of stop. "What do I do?" She asked, desperate to know. Someone had to help. There were people suffering and she felt like she was the only one who could help. The woman said nothing, only gave her a kind smile.
The vision vanished as Ruth woke up to a clatter.
The vent cover in the room had fallen to the floor. A gurgling hiss came from the open space on the wall. Ruth rubbed her eyes, adrenaline pumped through her veins fighting against her sleepy state. Tentacles, dripping in the black goo, crawled slowly from the vent. Ruth's limbs felt heavy, but she pushed herself up from the bed and tried to protect Grumpy as much as she could.
The monsters were here. They were here for her. Surely the agents would help... After all, they were trying to kill the monsters. Ruth rushed to the door, making sure Grumpy wasn't left behind as the creature started to reform in the room. "HELP!" Ruth banged on the door, pulling at the locked handle. "It's here! Anyone, please!"
Grumpy was barking loudly at the creatures, staying between them and Ruth, but they were starting to be without enough space to run from them. The dog was a brave boy, even with the muzzle, it kept growling and trying to intimidate the things. It would look at Ruth from time to time, hoping she'f manage to open the door.
Meanwhile Robert was scared, angry, insecure, surprised- John's action of shooting Mia, ending her, ending all the experiment, all the progress. He just couldn't believe it, but at the same time, he realized how far they had gotten, from using senstive people to help to slowly dehumanize them and experiment on them. Still, it wasn't something Robert suffered much about. 'We are trying to do the right thing. We're trying to save people out there, so no way that we are wrong!'
Ruth feeling Mia's last glimpse of herself fade, her trapped soul being set free, that ressonated within John's heart and made him shed some tears, quietly, still in shock, with a growing rage. Ruth and him were linked somehow, maybe because she thought about him a lot, maybe because he felt the same.
'Marston?? What are you going to do??? You already caused enough damage! Don't move!!' He raised the shotgun, hands shaking. "You'll take me to Ruth. You'll get her outta here." Robert shook his head. 'No way. She's the last hope now that Mia is gone!!'
And just the thought Robert and the team would make Ruth go through all Mia did- the flashes of those gruesome images in his head, it was enough to make John raise his gun to shoot Robert, and when he pulled the trigger and the bulled crossed the corrupt agent's chest, his body tensed and he fired the shotgun.
Like the night hadn't presented enough horrors, an agonizing Robert had to watch John hit the wall and fall, bleeding with this gory hole opened on his ribs, in shock like he was dead.
But as Robert started to try and crawl away from all that bloodshed, John started to move—
The dark vine like things started to come out from John's organs and ruptured muscular fibers, the things hiding in him inside every layer of tissue spreading like a living thing, without mind though, at this point it had already been one with him for too long. John stood up, apparently in shock, the black things making his organs and bones start to regenerate—
He seemed quiet, so much making sense now— he started to wonder, when he asked to be close to Ruth to ease his nightmares, he wondered if those creatures were approaching her just wishing the same. He looked down coldly, raised his gun and finished Robert, taking the shotgun from him.
Returning to the main lobby, he saw Mark, still there, cuffed to the table just like he left him, but this time with the look of horror in the man's eyes, seeing those things coming out from John's wound, attached to him like some parasite, integrated with him.
Before Mark could say a word, John shot his head with the shotgun. There was no point in discussing anymore. John was still shocked, the nightmares, the faded memories of some hospital room, the dreams of some thing entering him- in the end it had been that claw tentacle that got stuck in his spine and became one with him. No creature control since the monster's original body was long gone.
He could feel her, hear her voice from afar, and by the end of the corridor, he saw the door, shot it open with the weapon— Ruth was finally in front of his eyes, and Grumpy too.
The bang against the door made Ruth jump. She moved away as it opened, hoping the agents had finally come. The creatures were still weak, getting closer. Her eyes flickered at the man, almost in unbelief. John.
"John!"
He was alive. He was safe. He was here. Her heart exploded with joy before her eyes moved the the healing hole in his ribs. Still gorey and bloodsoaked, with the tentacles closing the last bits up. Her heart stopped. Had the monsters gotten him? Was her vision true? That he had fallen to them as well.
Her eyes moved back to his, seeing only worry and relief in his eyes. He was still her John. She could feel it. It all happened very fast. A large shriek came from the creature and Ruth ran to him without hesitation. Her cold hands immediately clung to his arm, following him quickly from the room. The touch seemed to fill her with new life. Despite how terrible she looked, her soul felt less restless. Tears stung at her eyes. She just wanted to hide in him, she wanted to go home... She felt as if she had been there for years.
Behind her, Ruth felt that familiar tug of the creatures. Come back. Come with us. Come see.
"I was scared you wouldn't come–" she choked out as their feet pounded down the hallway. "I tried to reach you... But they... they asked for my help. I tried to... it hurt so much and then they hooked me up to this machine..." Ruth knew now was not a good time to panic, but her senses were still damaged from overuse and everything was very overwhelming for her. "I tried to keep Grumpy safe too... I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have gone out alone."
