the trope of ‘this entity exists only because we think it does’ is so so so fucking good and cannot be overdone in my opinion
like the idea that you built the monster hunting you, that you invited the entity into our world, that your fear is what it feeds on, and that once made real, it cannot possibly be killed because you’re stuck in this loop of ‘he’s real because i’m scared’ and ‘i’m scared because he’s real’
Since i've seen an increase in people saying Osiris is mean (again) I'd like to touch on this topic again.
Osiris is blunt, not mean. I know a lot of people focus on his tone of voice but that's just how he talks. It's easier to put a mask on when so many have such high expectations of him — especially when he takes it upon himself to ensure humanity's safety and secure a hopeful future.
Just because he isn't soft spoken that doesn't mean he's being mean.
He often doesn't have time for niceties and when he realizes he was being a cunt/too blunt he apologizes immediately.
Osiris nods, realizing he had no right to demand action. "I apologize. Thank you."
Immolant pt. 1
I'd also like to touch on the whole "he's egotistical" thing that's cropping up alongside the "he's mean" narrative. He really really isn't. He has confidence in his ability — he genuinely has no equal, that doesn't mean he's full of himself. In Spire of the Watcher Osiris talks to us about how much he needs this — this is the first time he's shown us such vulnerability.
This is the first time he's asking for something for himself.
Osiris has a lot of weight on his shoulders that he places there himself because he feels it's necessary, he feels an intense sort of responsibility towards humanity and the future.
Beneath the layers of masks and bluntness he's an incredibly kind person. I will leave you with this: the implication being that it was Osiris who spoke to Failsafe in this adventure.
Failsafe: Thank you, Captain. I have spent the last decade speaking with a fellow prisoner.
Ghost: A decade? It didn't take us that long!
Failsafe: Time must work differently within the Network. He was a very good listener. It's a shame I couldn't take him with me. He showed me a myriad of potentialities for this galaxy. How the Vex intend to shape them. I will share them with your Vanguard.
actually started playing The Quarry since a few days ago - I had only watched other people play it before. I’m currently at chapter 7, after the jail escape.
I know I am biased but I just want to say again how amazing Ted is in his role. Travis’ character is quite different from his usual “nerdy” characters, yet he is incredible at it. He is not even a playable character, but yet he is - to me - the most interesting, multi-layered, complex character. And Ted played a huge part in it. The game wonderfully captured every details of his facial expressions, body language, voice intonation and subtle movements.
I am rambling but I just really wanted to say that Ted deserves every single bit of success and recognition he is getting with this game :’)
That dreadful night at the quarry, Laura kills Silas instead of Kaylee and everybody can move on with their lives. But when the traumatic events in her life just keep on happening, and every past trauma hits her in the form of depression, who will be there for her? Will the unexpected friendship she formed that day as her life took a dramatic turn be enough to pull her up again? Is someone even capable of protecting the protector?
Tags: slow burn, enemies to friends to lovers, fix-it-fic. drama, humor, angst with a happy ending, implied/referenced self-harm, suicide attempt
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Chapter 3
Laura and Chris stayed in touch after that. They kept messaging each other back and forth, checking up on the other. They talked over the phone at least once a week and Chris became something like a father figure to Laura. A place where she could simply be herself, talk about her insecurities, anxieties, and fears and not be judged.
He never pushed her to talk about anything in particular, but even if she said she didn’t want to talk about something at first, it usually ended up spilling out of her mouth anyway.
She became invigorated and dedicated herself back to her studies. With her newfound motivation it became easier to keep up and she could honestly say that she had fun studying again.
Her personal life lit up again as well. While she still didn’t really talk to her peers, she got comfortable leaving her apartment again. She had even gotten her eye checked out professionally and had a surgery to be able to fit a glass eye in the socket. The scarring around it was still bad but at least it wasn’t inflamed anymore. She looked almost like a normal human being and not like something out of a horror movie again.
The initial surgery had been covered by her insurance and Chris had insisted he paid for the implant, claiming it had been his fault in the first place. And not because he had bitten Max, but rather because he had seen the message on his answering machine but had decided not to listen to it.
In her off-time Laura had taken up weightlifting and boxing. At first it had been simply a way to keep in shape and to build up the necessary muscles for dealing with large animals and livestock but aside from that, her confidence had strengthened again as well. She sometimes wondered if it was an unconscious desire of her mind to gain physical strength as a compensation for her mental break during the winter, but she rejected that idea immediately; she had fun, and that was the main thing.
All things considered Laura was comfortable in her skin. Sometimes a depressive episode would hit, but they weren’t as bad as the first one. The voice at the back of her mind had quietened down and stayed exactly that- a voice at the back of her mind.
Now, her first year at Landis was nearly coming to an end. It was the last week of lectures, and she was frantically searching for an internship position to get some practice hours in over the summer break. So far, she had asked three local vet clinics, but all had turned her application down even though they had sounded more than positive over the phone. She couldn’t help but think that her disfigured face might have been the cause for that.
This was why she was now looking for places in wildlife care, thinking they would be more open to her application since she wouldn’t have to deal with customers there. Her laptop currently displayed the homepage of a wildlife rescue and rehabilitation organization in Baltimore, and she was in the process of jotting down the number when her screen changed with an incoming video-call.
Laura’s face instantly lit up when she saw Chris’ name appear on screen. Without hesitating she accepted and used the time while the call connected to comb her hair with her fingers. A distraction was just what she needed.
“You’re a sight for sore eyes, Chris. How are you?” He seemed cheery but there was a certain tiredness in his face that wasn’t present in their last video chat.
“Ah, you know, busy preparing for the summer. How are your exams going?”
“Fine, yeah. Nearly finished now. Got two more upcoming ones next week and then I’m off to… somewhere.”
“So, you still haven’t found a place, yet?”
“Nah, but to be honest that’s kind of on me. I was a bit discouraged after the last rejection, so I’ve been procrastinating.” Laura shrugged and wanted to play it off, but her guilt crept up to her regardless.
“Oh well, it’s nothing to be ashamed of. In fact, it might actually be a good thing.” How was this supposed to be a good thing? Her internship was supposed to start in two weeks, and with her now being forced to look further away from her college, she would have to find a place to stay as well. She could feel her anxiety returning while she was internally freaking out.
She still didn’t know how he did it, but Chris managed to see her teetering on the brink of a panic attack again. So he specified his statement, “Look, with the curse gone the local wildlife at the quarry has begun to flourish again. Which in turn means, that we can add wildlife care back into our camp program. And we would obviously need a qualified counsellor for that. So, maybe I was thinking I could kill multiple birds with one stone by inviting you.”
Laura was flabbergasted. Did she really want to go back there? Her instincts were screaming at her to decline but her logic was pleading to not even think about it. On one hand she would have to face her fears and revisit the place where her sanity had gone out the window but on the other, she would have an actual internship. One where she would be doing more than just brewing coffee and guiding people to their respective treatment rooms.
Don’t let your doubt and insecurities turn you against yourself. You are stronger than this. Her internal debate was rather short-lived, it seemed to be a no-brainer. But she wanted to see where this was going, she wanted to let Chris work for it. He seemed pretty intent on getting her to come back, so she decided to play dumb.
“But if I was to kill birds, how would that be described as wildlife care? Or do you have some kind of avian flu going around that would warrant emergency slaughter?”
He actually seemed taken aback by her sarcasm and did a double take before answering, “Um, I hope you know that it was supposed to be a metaphor. I just thought that since you were looking for a place and I had a spot open, it would benefit us both. Also, Kaylee and Caleb are really looking forward to meeting their saviour. And well, I’d like to see you in person again as well, I guess. And you could spend some time away from college…”
Chris seemed to be aware of his rambling and stopped himself. Laura was too focused on not bursting out laughing that she didn’t register his eyes flying open in a shocked expression, thinking that he might have made things worse.
As soon as she did though, she put him at ease. “Relax Chris, I was joking. Though I would really appreciate not having to kill anything this time around.”
Relieved, he chuckled. “I think we can arrange that. Does it mean you’re saying you’re in?”
“Hell yeah. How could I say no to that?” Laura was aware that she sounded far surer of herself than she felt. She guessed she had some more emotional unpacking to do before the last fibre of her being was on board with the idea.
“Great! Camp starts July 13th, but maybe you’d like to come a few days earlier? I promise I’m not letting Travis arrest you this time.”
“Uhh sure, I’ll let you know as soon as I sorted things out on my end.” She didn’t think his last statement was necessary, though she could appreciate the foresight.
They made some more small talk before Chris had to rush to the door for a delivery he had been waiting on, so they decided to call it a day.
----------------
Laura was rushing home from college with a spring in her step. Her stepfather had just agreed that she could borrow a car for the summer and the time of her internship. Of course, he didn’t know that it would be in North Kill, but then her parents never really knew what happened last summer anyway.
Jogging through the stuffy streets, the slapping of her trainers onto the concrete matching her pounding heart, she couldn’t believe her luck. It seemed like the stars had aligned for her again and she was back on track in her life.
As she got back to her dingy little dorm room to pack up the last of her clothes for the summer, she shot Chris a short text to tell him she’d be there tomorrow evening. Unbeknownst to her, he’d already been sitting on pins and needles because he hadn’t heard a peep from her for the whole week.
Stuff all packed up Laura relaxed back on her couch and put on a random Netflix show. She didn’t pay the TV much heed while she was simultaneously researching the area of North Kill. Something she probably should have already done last summer but had been too lenient to do so.
Concerning the town itself her search wasn’t very fruitful. But there was more than enough information on the local wildlife, albeit mostly the huntable part. That was probably also why she only found information about local diners and pubs.
The Harbinger Motel actually had a decent web presence. Everything the hunters obviously needed were a place to stay, food and alcohol. And prey. God, Max and I should have just gone to the motel.
Before her thoughts could drift off again into the dark abyss that made up the could-have-been, her phone pinged with an incoming text message. Chris affirmed her arrival and invited her to dinner at the lodge.
With that she closed her laptop and went to bed. Tomorrow would be an exhausting yet exciting day.
----------------
You’re the voice in my head when I’m at my weakest
You’re the ache in my chest and I hate to feel this
Hey doubt, there’s no doubt, I’m here to prove you wrong
You’re dead to me now, I’m done living with this doubt
The speakers were blaring loudly while Laura drove into the forests of North Kill. Carefree and on the top of her voice she sang along to the lyrics of ‘Doubt’ by Through Fire. The perfect song to quieten down her raging subconscious thoughts.
You place your hands around my neck
And now I feel you stealing every breath
As you’re telling me what I’m never gonna be
But in the end, you’d be nothing more than a memory in time
When I say goodbye
As the trees grew denser around the road Laura was currently driving on, her phone slowly but steadily lost connection. Thankfully, she had planned ahead this time and marked the position of Hackett’s Quarry on her map.
With a little sense of direction finding the Quarry was a piece of cake this way. She parked next to Chris’ car in front of the lodge but stayed seated to gather her scattered belongings and finish listening to the current song of her playlist.
She just got out of her car and made her way to the trunk when another car pulled up alongside hers.
You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.
Even if the lights fixed to the cars roof weren’t proof enough, the word sheriff written in bold letters on the side was like a slap in the face.
Laura had absolutely no intention of running into the sheriff on her first day in North Kill. Or ever. Yes, she supposed it wouldn’t have been possible to evade him for her whole stay. He was Chris’ brother after all.
But him being the first person she crossed paths with? Again? It was like a fucking déjà-vu. A morbid, infernal repeat of events past. What was she going to do now?
She decided to give him the cold shoulder. Do not talk to him at all. She wasn’t so sure she could remain calm if she talked to him. She didn’t want to embarrass herself by accidentally cussing him out in front of his brother. She was supposed to be above that by now.
But something in the back of her mind nagged her that there was a much bigger chance of her spilling all her recent breakdowns and insecurities. And there was just no way she would give Travis Hackett the satisfaction of seeing her carefully re-curated façade crumble.
So, without further ado she grabbed the duffel and made her way up the stairs. In the broad daylight the front porch looked far less intimidating than she remembered. She’d almost say cosy if it weren’t for the memories of her last visit.
Before she even got the chance to knock on the door, a deep and well-known voice called out behind her.
“Hey! What do you think you’re doing? This is private property.”
So much for the slight chance of the sheriff being replaced by someone else.
Closing her eyes and mentally bracing herself for the inevitable, she feebly lifted her fist to knock on the door.
“Ma’am!” before she could rap her knuckles against the wood, he interrupted her again. “I’m talking to yo-“
He immediately broke up as she spun around. Laura was surprised that he was far closer to the stairs than she had anticipated. But it gave her a clear view of his face. He looked baffled.
“Cat got your tongue?”
So much for giving him the silent treatment. His face still triggered a flight or fight response that Laura was unable to resist. Since fleeing didn’t work, she would just have to engage. Just don’t say anything stupid.
‘’Miss Kearney,” he pursed his lips as his face went back to a neutral expression. “What are you doing here?”
“I don’t see why that would be any of your business.” snapped Laura. It was familiar territory.
Surprisingly he relented, “You’re right. It’s not.” The fuck? Travis Hackett has a conscience all of a sudden? “Doesn’t mean I won’t ask again.” Or maybe not.
While he stared relentlessly at her, she held his gaze as good as she was able to. It wasn’t much but she had to stand her ground. To evade the uncomfortable position he has her trapped in, she turned back around and knocked on the door.
She was invited after all. As soon as he opened the door, Chris would tell Travis politely to get lost since he had company.
She counted the seconds in her head because while she heard footsteps from inside the house, she also heard the sheriff advancing on the stairs behind her. Just as Travis reached the top of the stairs, a cheerful Chris opened the door. Thank God.
“Laura! It’s so good to see you.” Before she could reply he wrapped her in a fierce bear-hug. As he released her, he adjusted the kitchen towel draped over his shoulder and turned to his brother. “Perfect, now that everybody’s here, dinner will be ready in ten minutes. Come on in!”
“Wait,” Laura and Travis exclaimed simultaneously. Warily, Laura glanced back at Travis. He looked as confused as her. For a split second their eyes met before she averted hers to the floor. As she turned back towards Chris, she found he had already disappeared back to the kitchen probably.
With a gentle shove Travis ushered her further inside so he could close the door behind him. Without another word he snatched the duffel bag out of her hand and brushed past her into the large dining area where he unceremoniously deposited it on a bench.
Not knowing what else to do with herself, Laura followed him cautiously. As she glanced around the vast area, she couldn’t help but wonder how she got to this point in the first place. Nope, no, don’t go there.
To divert her thoughts from going back in time, she fixed her sights on the sheriff who had gone to sit at one of the tables. He was still in uniform -as if he owned anything else- and he looked as grumpy as ever. Chris obviously hadn’t told him she’d be here either.
As if he knew she was looking at him, he looked up. “So, how has life treated you?” Laura tried to fill the uncomfortable silence with small talk and to avert him from her staring at him.
As an answer he raised an eyebrow. Working his jaw, he thought about a reply. “Can’t complain. Though I have to say it’s refreshing to have someone else judge me again.” He offered sarcastically.
Wow, was that an insult wrapped in a compliment?
“You know what? Never mind. Sorry I asked.” Civil was definitely not a word that could be associated with Travis Hackett. But he wasn’t the reason she was here, so she’d just have to bear him until he left. She was here for a reason, and she wouldn’t let a creepy cop stop her from achieving her goals.
Thinking about her practice hours gave her the courage she needed to face the upcoming hour. This summer she was going to leave the past in the past and forge ahead. Just like she used to. Chris made sure of that, and he had promised to keep Travis at bay though she seriously questioned his methods.
As if summoned by her thoughts, she heard Chris approaching and announcing, “Dinner is ready!”
Tags: slow burn, enemies to friends to lovers, fix-it-fic. drama, humor, angst with a happy ending, implied/referenced self-harm, suicide attempt
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Chapter 2
Fair warning, this got way darker than I had initially anticipated. As you may have noticed, the rating has changed. Please heed the tags! This chapter contains an explicit suicidal scene, and if this may act as a trigger to you then please, stay safe and don't read this! But I promise fluffier times ahead <3
It’s been a while since Laura has been back at Uni and the semester is already in full swing. At the start of the semester Laura had forced herself to socialize and keep up with her peers but as the days dragged on, it got more and more difficult.
Where she had once been carefree, she now found herself thinking about the future and the past more often than not. Thinking about the consequences of her actions. In those moments, she lost track of her surroundings and simply zoned out making it hard to focus on her studies. She was still determined to see them through, but she couldn’t wait to be finished now.
It had all escalated when Max broke up with her shortly after her start at Landis, claiming she wasn’t the Laura he used to know. He refused to understand the changes in her, but maybe the breakup had been for the better, really. She wasn’t about to change back, and she wasn’t even sure she wanted to. She had accepted that she wasn’t how she used to be and that was fine with her. She all took it as a part of growing up.
And that was the main problem of what made socializing more difficult than it used to be. She saw her fellow students as immature, where the term carefree became careless in her mind. While she was once outgoing, she now became withdrawn. It was better to say nothing than to participate in a conversation that made her cringe. And as it turned out a missing eye wasn’t that much of a conversation starter either. Who would’ve thought…
But now she didn’t even have an emotional outlet at home. Because Max had left her due to that specific point. He didn’t want to concern himself with fear and anxieties, he simply wanted to live in the moment. They had argued a lot and in a heated moment he’d suggested breaking up, and though Laura would like to think it was mutual, she couldn’t shake off the feeling that he broke up with her.
Max. She found herself thinking back to the end of the summer.
Everything had gone so well after they broke out of their prison. She had set him up for the night at the island, figuring it would be the safest place for him. For him not to get hurt accidentally and for him not to hurt anybody.
After she went back for him, they met up with the other counsellors, Mr. Hackett, and Travis. Though Max had been wary of the sheriff at first, they had very civil and nearly pleasant conversations until dawn broke. Or maybe that was just me and Max simply sat through it for my sake. But Max had considerably perked up after getting the chance to talk to other people his age. People that were not me, obviously.
They had helped the other counsellors fix their van and Chris had offered to drive the both of them back himself. Claiming it was the least he could do, since the van wasn’t big enough to seat nine people. He had made them all exchange numbers too so they could keep in touch.
When they got back to Max’ parents’ house, they had had sex, and everything was fine. Everything was not fine, duh. Max had refused talking about the summer at all, simply saying that they had spent another evening with the counsellors, talking and reminiscing about the summer when his parents inevitably asked why they’d been back a day late.
Without getting the chance to speak for herself, Max exclaimed that Laura had lost her eye to a rabid bear that attacked her while she ‘pretended to be a vet and wanted to help it’. That had hurt more than losing her eye had, but at least she could deal with blame.
While it was obvious why they couldn’t have spoken to his parents about anything, it had still hurt that he hadn’t confided in her. But maybe he had simply brushed it off, instead focusing on the path ahead of them.
She had wanted to talk about it though, wanted to make him share his burden so he didn’t have to carry it alone. This was her way dealing with things, facing them head-on and processing her own experiences by taking the blame and concerning herself with the burdens of others. It wasn’t healthy but she used to be good with compartmentalizing.
It had all been part of her upbringing. Her birthparents had gotten divorced when she was five years old, and she had had to stay with her mother who married again soon after even though she didn’t want to.
Since her parents weren’t home most of the time, she had to learn early in her life to care for herself and to become independent. She took charge at home when her parents were away because her stepsiblings, even though they were older, were only interested in themselves. Her own feelings had to take a backseat.
Though her parents were concerned with their own things, nothing was good enough for them. They couldn’t have cared less for Laura’s schoolwork if they tried, but her grades still weren’t good enough. If she brought home a test with 99 of 100 points, the only thing they would say was “why not 100?”. Praise was something that happened to other people.
It had shaped her into the person she was. She had no problem taking charge when she had to, but she needed some sort of guidance. Though she was independent and forged her own path, her parents had groomed her into seeking validation in her decisions. A form of mental dependency. She simply wanted to make them proud of her.
It had always been different with her dad though. He would always be the first in line to tell her he was proud of her and to lift her up when she was down. In her teens it caused her to drift apart with her parents and gravitate closer to her father. But he lived too far away for her to simply move in with him.
Then she had met Max and the constant nagging from her parents had stopped because she moved in with him for college. With Max’ parents she learned what parental comfort and support were supposed to look like. Unconditional and without being constantly seeking.
Without Max’s support nowadays she found herself drifting closer to her own parents again. Even though they stoked up her guilt instead of comforting her.
And still after all these years, they haven’t changed. But she didn’t know who else to approach with her daily troubles, so it was a necessary evil. Her dad still offered unbridled support though whenever she called him. All her worries were erased after talking to him because he gave her life-advice instead of criticism. He was the only person she knew that she could rely on 100%.
And then her dad died.
----------------
The days kept on coming and Laura kept on going. Because what else was she supposed to do? Wallow in self-pity? Yeah, not gonna happen.
What surprised her the most was that she didn’t shed that many tears over his death. But he had lived his days to the fullest and had been happy. He died happily and painless, simply dropped dead one day while he came back from grocery-shopping.
Except for the fact that he had been far too young to die, he had one of the best deaths you could ever wish for.
Laura knew he wouldn’t want her to drown in sorrow over him, so she didn’t. She channelled all her attention on her studies instead. Her grades improved tenfold and her already negligible personal life became non-existent. It was a win-win really because she didn’t have time for overthinking anymore.
A few weeks after her father’s death winter break rolled around. With no more course work to be done, Laura supposed it was time to give her parents the courtesy of informing them about her dad’s death, knowing that his wife wouldn’t have done that.
She was glad that it was her stepdad who picked up the phone because she had always had a slightly better relationship to him then to her mother. It was sort of like a business call. No unnecessary emotional mumbo-jumbo and simply a promise to call again if Laura needed anything.
But of course, nothing could ever be that simple.
In the early evening when it was already dark outside her phone rang. It was her mother.
“Laura, honey, what happened?” without preamble her mother demanded between sobs.
It annoyed Laura to no end but she recounted the story again. There wasn’t much to be told anyway. During that, her mother started crying harder. “Oh my god, Laura, I am so sorry. How are you holding up?”
“There’s nothing to be sorry for. It happened and can’t be undone. So, I’m fine- life goes on, that’s what dad always used to say.” It irked her that her mother had the audacity to cry over his death. Laura felt that she had lost that right when she divorced him seventeen years ago.
“Nothing’s ever your concern, is it? How can you be so calm? Your father’s dead and still you let nothing affect you. What is wrong with you?”
Laura was speechless. She had known that this inevitable conversation would be unpleasant, but that her mother would find something to berate her with in this situation was simply unbelievable.
“You’re only ever concerned about yourself. You’ve always been that way. I just don’t get how I managed to raise you like this!” her mother continued in anger.
Inwardly fuming, Laura forced herself to remain calm. “Yeah, whatever. Bye.” She ground out and ended the call. She didn’t want to make things worse by replying and failing to reign in her temper.
Laura was angry. Angry at her mother because instead of being glad that her daughter soldiered through the death of her own father, she felt the need to criticise her coping. Angry at herself because she let her mother’s words affect her like this.
Her carefully curated headspace shattered, and her resolve faltered. The well of self-doubt that she had managed to close over the last few weeks opened, and it was her mother’s words that pushed her down.
The voice in the back of her mind managed to take over her thoughts like never before.
You are a pathetic excuse for a human.
You killed a person in cold blood. You wanted to kill another because it wasn’t the one you meant to kill.
You can’t even mourn your own father’s death right.
You’re a murderer, a failure of a daughter. A heartless human being that has exceeded its right to live. You’re worthless.
Laura was shaking violently. The voices in her head drowned out her consciousness and she lost the ability to think clearly. With no memory of how she got there, she found herself sitting on the bank of an old canal. It was pitch black outside and she didn’t know how much time had passed.
As if in a daze, she noticed her right hand holding a hunting knife. It was poised over her left wrist.
Yes, go on. You don’t even feel the pain of the blade cutting into your skin.
The voice was right. She didn’t feel any pain from the shallow cuts. Her consciousness that was pushed to the edge of her mind briefly entertained the thought that there truly was something seriously wrong with her.
See, you don’t deserve to call yourself a human being if you can’t feel. You don’t deserve to be alive. You only bring pain and suffering to others. Do the right thing for once and end that torture.
The words felt right, but also not. It felt like the thoughts weren’t her own, but they were in her head. She felt helpless. Tears rolled down her cheeks as her consciousness struggled to regain control of her mind.
The knife sliced deeper into her skin. The blood ran down her forearm and dripped into the still and murky water below. Concentric waves rippled outwards as if the water sucked Laura’s suffering right from her blood.
Her knuckles were white from her tight grip on the handle. The cuts weren’t deep enough to reach her artery yet, but it was only a matter of time. Her consciousness was strangely surprised about the force it took to slash one’s wrist.
Don’t think about it. Just do it. Do it for your family. This is your way to repent your sins. Make your mother proud.
Her hand trembled as she brought the blade back to her skin. She was about to cut again when a shrill noise broke the silent night around her. It barely registered in her mind, yet it was enough to break her trance for a short moment.
She picked up her phone without looking at the caller-ID and brought it to her ear. She didn’t speak.
After a few beats of silence, a voice came through the speaker. “Hello? Is this Laura Kearney? This is Chris Hackett.” “And Kaylee!” another voice chimed in. The phone was obviously on loudspeaker on the other end.
“Yeah, uhh- we just wanted to call to thank you again.”
Laura heard the words but couldn’t process them. “What for?” she asked, confused.
“What for?! You dummy-“ Kaylee’s voice was abruptly broken off.
“Kaylee, this is not the time,” Chris said shortly before Laura could hear a door opening and closing on the other end. The background noises faded as the speakerphone was disabled.
“Laura, what’s wrong?” Chris sounded genuinely concerned. It was like he knew what she had been up to simply from the tone of her voice. And he obviously knew it was her that had picked up the phone.
“I uh- I don’t know,” she confided as she let the knife drop to the floor next to her. Her mind was strangely empty all of a sudden. “I’m fine. How have you been?” she blurted out, trying to deflect.
But Chris didn’t buy it. “Laura, take a deep breath.” She wasn’t even aware that she was breathing hard and fast.
She took a shuddering breath and felt the tension leave her body. As she fell back onto the dirty stones that made up the footpath next to the canal, she started crying again.
“Chris I’m sorry, I can’t take this anymore. I can’t do anything right. I can’t even end my own life.” The dams had burst and there was no way of holding in the words that came tumbling out of her mouth.
“Woah, hold on there. What do you mean you can’t do anything right? You ended my family’s curse in one night with no collateral damage. I’d call that a fucking success.”
“But I killed a person in cold blood. A little kid at that. And I was going to kill you, too. I’m a murderer!” she screamed, not caring whether anyone overheard her. Let them lock her up, let them institutionalize her, she didn’t care.
“Laura Kearney, you are not a murderer. You are a saviour. But please, do go on.” Did he even hear what she was saying? Her sadness morphed into anger at that point.
“I didn’t even mourn over my father’s death!” Something could be heard over the phone that sounded suspiciously like ‘oh, shit.’
“My mother’s right, I’m a cold-hearted bitch that-“ her voice broke and a painful sound escaped the back of her throat. There were no more tears in her, but her throat constricted over what she was going to say. She sat back up, pulled her legs up to her chest and hung her head. The phone dangled precariously between her ear and her right knee.
There was a heavy silence over the phone. Laura was acutely aware that he hadn’t hung up, but maybe he was pitying her and didn’t know what to say. That was fucking worse.
“You know what?! I’m sorry for bothering you. Go live your peachy life and forget about me.” She wanted to hang up with that, but an authoritarian “Laura!” stopped her from doing so.
“I don’t care what you think about yourself, and I don’t care what your mother thinks of you. I just want you to know that we appreciate you. That we are thankful for what you did for us. ThatI am proud of who you are and what you did.” Chris had started out forcefully, but his voice had gone soft to the end.
His words were her undoing. Reality came crashing back to her and her shaky breaths evened out. She took in her surroundings and noticed the bloody hunting knife next to her as well as the already crusting over wounds on her left wrist. A soft fuck escaped her mouth.
She felt like she owed him an explanation. “Shit, Chris, I’m sorry. I don’t know what came over me. Hell, I don’t even know where I am exactly.” Though it wasn’t funny, she let out a breathy laugh.
“Hey, it’s okay. Now you wanna tell me what happened?” So she told him everything. From the break-up to her attempted suicide. By the time she got home and ended the call, she couldn’t help but notice that it was way past midnight and that she had talked to Chris for over two hours.
Tags: slow burn, enemies to friends to lovers, fix-it-fic, drama, humor, angst with a happy ending
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Chapter 1 of ?
Hell yeah, I'm back! And with my first own fanfiction at that!
Bang! The kickback of the shotgun rocketed through Laura’s arms and made her flinch, still she held on tightly to it. The limp body in front of her was already covered in blood so it would have been hard to see where or if she actually hit it, if not for the fact that the flesh on its back started sizzling around the entry points of the silver shrapnel.
“Silaaaas! Oh, my poor boy… What have they done?” The shrill voice reverberating through the dark night sent a chill down her spine, though she was too high on the adrenaline cursing through her body to notice.
Laura’s gaze was so transfixed on the werewolf laying in the grass in front of her, that she didn’t notice the collection of people accumulating at her back. When the body exploded in a shroud of blood and transformed into that of a young boy, her gaze went to the weapon in her hands. Aghast, she watched her hands as they trembled around the trigger, then lowered the gun to her side.
“Is it dead?” said a timid voice behind her.
Laura, having found her bearings again, whirled around and stared at the group of people behind her. “What the fuck?”
In her defence, everyone looked as dumbfounded as her in that moment. They seemed to be around Laura’s age as well, and she had a sickening realisation. “You’re the other camp counsellors, right? What are you still doing here?”
“Who are you?” A dark-skinned boy seemed to have found his voice first and asserted his leadership of the group, while the others still stared in varied levels of shock and apprehension at Laura’s face. The eyepatch is kind of badass, I guess, she thought self-deprecatingly.
“Is she, like, one of those hunter dudes?” Another one of the counsellors chimed into the not-conversation.
Mentally shaking herself out of her apparent stupor, Laura assessed the situation before her. Whatever werewolf she had killed, it hadn’t been Chris Hackett. At least it couldn’t have been, because unless the camp had been run by a kid all along, there was no way that the boy lying face down in the mud in front of her was camp leader Chris Hackett. Brother of Travis Hackett, sheriff of North Kill, who was 56 for god’s sake.
Which meant, there had to be more than one werewolf. What a mindfuck.
Laura addressed the group of counsellors, “Where is Chris Hackett?”
Before anybody could attempt an answer, there was a rustling in the trees and a dark figure burst through the dark underbrush and into the clearing. “Nobody moves!” a deep voice shouted with an authoritarian tone that brooked no argument.
Speak of the devil, Laura thought and rolled her eyes.
The sheriff strode past the group of counsellors and placed himself in the middle of the small gathering. His face set into a grim expression that depicted the underlying anger, frustration, and annoyance at the current situation. The flashlight of his shotgun travelled over each person individually, resting on the dark-skinned boy for a while who, as Laura only then realised, had an own shotgun trained on her.
He lowered it hastily which seemed to appease the sheriff, who then proceeded to fix his sights on Laura. “What the fuck do you think you’re doing?!”
“What does it look like, dumbass?” Laura replied angrily. “I’m cleaning up the mess you left us with!”
While her brain was still working overtime to figure out what was going on, the counsellors observed the exchange with rapt fascination. They didn’t understand what was going on either, because they shouldn’t have been there in the first place. Nobody seemed inclined to move or speak, as the tension in the air was palpable.
Then an eerie quietness overcame the camp as the sheriff’s gaze settled onto the body behind Laura. His eyes went wide and his face paled as he stared at the blood-covered corpse of the young boy, then he immediately returned his gaze to Laura. He seemed flabbergasted.
A pained grunt followed by a dull thud broke the silence as one of the counsellors fainted. The sheriff and Laura looked over to him and saw the inky blackness in his veins blossoming outwards before fading completely.
“Nick!” The resulting chaos between the counsellors spurred Laura into action. She used the distraction of the sheriff to bolt into the trees and in the general direction of the lake. If that guy had been infected and was cured now, there was a slight possibility that Max could be as well.
Or the person she had just killed was actually a kid from the summer camp who had been at the wrong place at the wrong time, got bitten and bit the counsellor in return. Which would still leave Chris Hackett as the first werewolf. Either way, her immediate priority was to get away from Travis, because she couldn’t help Max if he locked her up again.
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Sprinting through a dense forest in the dark with only half her field of vision and no depth perception was harder than she imagined. She had difficulties judging the height and length of the tree branches sticking out into her chosen path, which caused her to run into most of them or barge into a tree while dodging instead.
But it didn’t matter. She had to get as far away from the cop as she could.
Only when the muscles in her legs trembled and were close to giving out did she stop. Catching her breath, she let herself fall back onto her ass and rested her arms on her knees, the shotgun cradled loosely in her hands.
Her breaths still came in deep and quick succession, and she used the time to look around. She didn’t know for how long she had been running, but it had to have been a while. Still, she was nowhere near the lake and she didn’t even know where to start looking for Chris Hackett.
Fuck, she thought. How the hell was she supposed to know where she was going? There wasn’t anything she could use to guide herself if she didn’t follow the normal paths. All trees looked the damn same!
She perked her ears to gauge if anyone was following her. She could hear some faint rustling and snapping branches, but it sounded like it came from the direction she was going in, not where she came from.
Warily, she looked ahead but couldn’t see anything. Probably just an animal, she calmed herself. Hopefully just an animal.
Then it started raining, and the pattering of the thick droplets of water hitting the leaves drowned out all other sounds. In addition to being half-blind, her sense of hearing was now compromised as well.
But she couldn’t sit around moping all night. She had to check on Max. If the counsellors were still here, and had apparently found a shotgun, she had to make sure that Max was alright. With the weird Hackett family, there was no telling whether that shotgun could have been loaded with silver.
Mentally backing up her decision, she stood and adjusted her grip on the gun. With a glance left and right, she continued forward in a jog.
After a few minutes, a thick branch in her way forced her to dodge to the right again. Her pace had picked up again as well, and by now she didn’t even flinch when she yet again collided with a tree on her blind side. Only that tree was oddly… soft?
She grunted as she toppled over. Trees weren’t supposed to give in to my weight, she thought right as she heard a soft “Ugh,” beneath her. And they definitely weren’t supposed to make human noises.
Realising that she actually collided with another human being, she scrambled backwards and fixed her shotgun on the man in front of her.
“Stay back,” she demanded. “Who are you?”
The man, still bewildered by her presence, replied with a counterquestion, “Who are you?”
“Answer the damn question!”
Obviously intimidated by her, or more precisely the shotgun aimed at his face, he relented. “Name’s Chris Hackett. I’m the owner of the summer camp. Now what are you doing out here in the woods?”
“Wait, you’re Chris Hackett? Aren’t you supposed to be a werewolf?” Laura couldn’t wrap her mind around the events unfurling in front of her.
“I- err… How- …WHAT?” The man seemed at a loss for words. Laura couldn’t blame him though; she wasn’t much better off.
Chris’ face shifted from several emotions at once, then settled into a surprised frown as understanding dawned on him. “You must be Laura Kearney, one of the counsellors my brother had locked up for the summer. But why are you here?”
Laura, deciding that the man in front of her wasn’t going to be a threat to her in his current state, lowered her weapon to the ground.
And should you yourself be cursed, armed with silver, end the first. The poem Travis had let her read revolved around inside her mind. Now she had solid proof. If Chris Hackett was cured, then so was Max.
She decided that honesty was the best policy. Maybe this Hackett would be more forthcoming with information than the last and only one she encountered. “I actually came to kill you, but seeing that you are cured, whoever it was I killed back there, must have actually been the first. Which means, Max is cured as well, isn’t he?”
“Yeah… wait. Whoever you killed? Who did you kill?” He was sounding desperate now and it was further solidified as he stood up and yanked her with him. “No-, Kaylee, Caleb…” he whimpered.
“I obviously don’t know who it was, but it was a boy. Don’t tell me your whole family consists of werewolves.” Laura couldn’t look at the shell of a man in front of her and averted her eyes while speaking.
Chris grabbed her shoulders and shook her, rage now clouding his vision. “Caleb?” he screamed at her, spittle flying onto her shirt. Shit, and I just had to rub it in his face.
He crumpled back to the ground, sobbing. Laura didn’t know what to do, but she had to know more. She tried again with a bit more tact and hoped that she didn’t put her foot further in her mouth, “if it’s any consolation- I’m guessing Caleb is your son. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to kill a kid. But I thought-,“ she rambled. “Whatever. Please tell me my boyfriend is cured now, too.”
He bristled at her words, and she had the sickening feeling he was going to lash out again. But then he raised his head and stared at her, “Did you say a kid? How old was the boy you… killed?”
“I don’t know, I thought he was a camper from the summer camp. He couldn’t have been more than twelve, but it was dark.”
“But that can’t be… Did he have dark hair?” Chris obviously wasn’t going to be more forthcoming with information until he had his own questions answered. Laura felt like she owed him as much though.
“I don’t know, he was covered in blood, and it was dark.” Thinking back to the body laying in the dirt she tried to make out his complexion. “I couldn’t really see his hair colour, but it he had to have had fair hair, definitely not black.” Otherwise, she wouldn’t have been able to see the blood in it, she supposed.
Chris Hackett’s eyes widened in shock as he continued to stare at her. “That can’t be,” he repeated. Seemingly coming to a decision, he stood up. His face set into an unreadable expression as he levelled his gaze with hers again. Resting a hand on Laura’s shoulder he pressed on, “Where was it?”
Something in his eyes told her that he meant no harm. Kind of like the impression she got from his brother Travis, but different. More paternal. She felt compelled to be honest with him. “At the camp. The other counsellors are there as well.”
He purposefully strode in the direction of the cabins. She followed him because she didn’t have much choice, all sense of direction had been lost while running through the woods. She would figure out a way to get to Max in time, she told herself.
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She could hear the commotion at the cabins even before Chris and her made it through the treeline into the clearing. Everybody seemed to speak at once, yet nobody said anything.
And amidst the group of counsellors stood Travis, desperately trying to gauge how much they had seen. Judging by the grim expression on his face, that endeavour proved to be more difficult than he had anticipated.
Laura was surprised that he was still there. Shouldn’t he have gone after her? Maybe she had outrun him, and he had decided to go back instead. Whatever the case, he was here but hadn’t seen her yet. She could still run away again, but the tense man beside her compelled her to stay.
“Chris?!”
All eyes turned towards Laura and Mr. Hackett, who still stared at the corpse of the boy in front of them, dumbfounded and at a loss for words. He didn’t seem to notice the other people around them. Time seemed at a stand-still as his brothers’ exclamation fell on deaf ears.
Laura risked a glance at Travis and couldn’t believe the expression she saw in his face. Even though it was only illuminated by the faint glow of the moon, he looked younger. As if an invisible weight had been lifted off his shoulders and he was finally free again.
Then Chris turned towards her. She saw the expression from Travis’ face mirrored in his own before tears spilled out of his eyes again. He wrapped her in a giant bear-hug. Through his sobs, he chanted “Thank you, thank you,” over and over.
Her own face was a mixture of bewilderment and shock. There was a grown man crying in her arms. Not out of grief, but rather out of joy. Even though she just killed someone. A child.
“Could someone please tell me what the hell is going on?” Laura yelled at no one in particular while she wrapped her arms around Mr. Hackett’s body and patted him awkwardly on the back.
The Sheriff composed himself first. “You just killed Silas, the Dog Boy. The one who cursed my whole family. You did in one night, what I didn’t manage in six years.” He said in a flat tone.
“That is great and all, but does it mean that Max is cured as well? That we can leave?” She couldn’t help being snippy with the cop.
“You broke the curse. Everyone can finally go on now,” whispered Chris in awe. He loosened his grip of her and addressed his brother. “Travis, I’m sorry for doubting you. Whatever you saw in her, now I see it too.”
Laura could feel a moment forming between the brothers there, so she decided to stay silent and observe them. It also gave her time to digest the words that were said. Whatever Travis saw in me? She actually had to be careful not to burst out laughing at that. She was sure he saw her as nothing but a brat and would it have been her laying dead in the grass between them, the only thing he would think would be good riddance.
He held you captive for two months, why would it matter what his thoughts would be? Deciding she needed to stop that train of thought before it derailed, she pushed it down and focused on the here and now.
She looked down at herself and noticed that she was still holding tightly onto the shotgun. She also noticed that her arms were covered with scrapes and bruises where she had her sleeves rolled up. Briefly, she wondered what her face looked like, but that wasn’t important at the moment. She had to know if Max was alright, her own wellbeing wasn’t her priority.
The idea of simply running off crossed her mind, but she wasn’t one to run away from the consequences of her actions. Never could it be said that Laura Kearney was a coward.
“Hate to break your moment there, but I really gotta check on Max.”
“You didn’t run off to check on him in the first place?” Travis Hackett actually had the gall to look offended at her interruption.
“Well, no. I came to kill Chris, and seeing that it wasn’t him I shot, I went in search for him. I never expected to encounter him in his human form, though. Why didn’t you tell me that I ended the whole curse in the first place?” She didn’t know why she felt the need to defend herself and talk back to the sheriff.
His eyebrows rose and if he’d still had a hairline they could disappear in, they would. “Because you bolted before I could say anything,” he deadpanned.
