whumptober, day 1: "how many fingers am i holding up?"
In all reality, it’s not often that missions like this go wrong. It’s supposed to be easy- get into the Maze. Grab the phone. Put some posters up. Get out. It’s supposed to be easy, especially when there’s more than one kid doing the posters and a couple kids running interference. It’s supposed to be easy.
But of course, nothing is ever easy in Redacre. Why would it ever be? The phone mission had turned into running from a Stalker that seemed hellbent on a team wipe, not caring about whether or not anyone got hurt. And people had gotten hurt- one of them was currently unconscious (or dead) on the lawn of 919 Hoadly, another was currently trying to staunch the bleeding from a cut they sustained while jumping a fence, the third was currently crouched on the awning of 1005 Hoadly…
And the fourth? The fourth was hellbent on making herself the biggest target out of everyone there.
Liv’s lungs ached as she ran, the sound of the Instrument underground rattling around in her mind. She always hated the way it sounded, the way the strings seemed to somehow cut into her very fiber. How easy it seemed to worm into her mind and sit there. She hated how ingrained in the Song she was- really, how ingrained in the Song everyone in Redacre was. How she wanted to burn it.
She knew the location of all three of the other children she’d come out with tonight, yet didn’t know exactly who they were. They’d only given codenames: Hawk, Bonzai, and Vendetta. Three people she had never met, three people she was responsible for. She’d already failed one- at least, she thought she did. They hadn’t moved from the lawn, splayed out with their hockey mask tossed to the side. Their eyes… well from this far, Liv couldn’t tell. She hoped they were only stunned and suppressed, but something in her gut told her that they weren’t.
Another strum rattled her, causing her to stumble slightly before righting herself. She snuck a quick glance behind her, quietly squeaking as she noticed not one, not two, but three Lucids behind her. They weren’t exactly able to keep pace; Liv ran Unstoppable, she was quick, and she was tiny. It was something she thought was useful- keep the speed, keep Chorus off of her teammates, and finally escape when the time came. She’d done this dozens of times before, to the point it was almost second nature.
Something about tonight was… wrong, though. Maybe it was the Song being angry. Maybe it was that she’d been put in charge of a group of kids that hadn’t run a mission before. Maybe it was how the air felt far too heavy, far too thick.
As Liv bolted up to Old Growth, there was a sudden burst of light in her peripheral vision. Of course they’d followed her- take out the one that knew what she was doing so that everyone else could be rounded up.and suppressed or killed. The Instrument let out an angry sound, cacophonous and sharp, and for a moment, she froze. Why did she freeze? She needed to be running. But the pain in her head was brutal, like a nail digging into her skull.
There was another flash. And another. And another.
And then, a red light in the woods, a rumble, and a feeling of being hunted.
Liv was dazed, but she kept running. She had to. She had to loop back around to save them. She couldn’t leave them behind like that. She couldn’t. Not after how she’d been saved from certain death. If she got somewhere that she could have a second to breathe, she’d send a message to their group chat for a headcount. She had the phone. They’d put the posters up. It was just getting out that was proving to be the issue.
The pressure building in her mind was making her thoughts foggy. Where was she? What was she doing up here? Shouldn’t she be at home? Home was nice and safe and-
Wait. That’s not right. The pressure was building more and more, and there were more pictures being taken. That fucking Stalker. They were so deadset on a wipe, and she wasn’t about to give them it. Fuck a safe place- she whipped her phone out, typing a quick, disjointed message to the group. She hoped someone answered. She hoped someone answered.
Until then, she’d go for the one that wanted them out of the picture. When the next picture came, a flashbang went back at them. The side of the school lit up, bright as day, and a tall, lanky shadow curled and covered its head.
Jackpot.
In a second, the hum of Unstoppable filled the air, and a tiny but angry girl launched herself at the form, throwing another flashbang the moment the dazed feeling would have worn off from the first one. They were too close to the building, and when Liv collided with them, their head hit the wall before the rest of their body. There was a yelp that escaped them, but it was choked and strangled and weak. Liv didn’t care- she forced them to the ground, a knee in their back while she wrestled their arms behind them and tied their hands. They didn’t even struggle- when their hands were tied, they just collapsed onto their side, the eyeball mask they’d had on cockeyed.
Wait. Eyeball mask? Liv quickly flicked her flashlight on, sweeping over the still form in front of them. Eyeball mask. Black jeans. Black boots. A simple blue and black shirt…
She ripped the mask up, lurching back when Vendetta’s cold, dead stare met her own. She was going to be sick. She was going to be sick. There hadn’t been any messages in the group chat, Hawk was dead, and she was pretty sure Bonzai was, too- they still hadn’t moved.
Another light flashed from behind her, and moments later, a photo of her standing over Vendetta’s body showed up on her phone. She couldn’t stay there. She couldn’t. She didn’t care where she ran at this point- she just needed to go. Save who she could, and go.
When she stepped off, the pain in her head seared, and a scream from the other side of the school told her all she needed to know. A purge. She couldn’t do anything but run now- it was too late for them.
Hot tears streaked down her face as she bolted, looking for any escape she could find. She hated this. She hated this.
She also hated when a certain masked stalker tackled her, sending her down to the concrete. Her head bounced off the street harshly, everything around her turning into a myriad of colors. Her mouth tasted like copper, warm and disgusting as it slid down her throat. It wasn’t like she could turn anyway- a needle sunk into the side of her neck, and though she tried, she felt her eyes slipping shut.
—
“... a purge.”
“We found her stumbling around lower…”
“... woke her up, she screamed...”
“I don’t think we can blame her.”
Everything that Liv heard was choppy. Where was she? Her eyes finally managed to open, blurry and extremely unfocused. Even laying down, her vision spun. She was home, wasn’t she? She was home, and safe, and nothing was wrong. A tired, quiet mumble left her, and it was only then that she felt something move under her head. What?
“Oh, shit-” The voice that spoke was quiet, more than a bit southern, and full of concern. “Hey, hey, yer alright. Shouldn’ be movin’ too much, though.” He sounded so familiar, but her mind couldn’t make the connection. Her eyes fluttered shut, opening slowly once more. Nope, still unfocused. Still can’t piece together where she is. “... Liv? Can ya understand what ‘m sayin’?”
Wait. Southern. Something connected there. Liv turned to squint up at whoever was talking to her, eventually meeting the stare of a boy with tied back red hair and eyes that looked like they were cut from a block of ice. How did he look so pretty?
“Hey, there ya are, darlin’. Y’scared us. Found ya stumblin’ around like y’were still on a mission.” The boy began running a hand through her hair, but even that seemed to hurt, and she let out a yelp and tried to move away. “Ya… ya know who I am, right?”
“... “ Probably. If it was any indicator, Liv wasn’t even looking at him. Her stare was at the wall, eyes constantly shutting and opening slowly. “M… Moss?”
“Yeah, there we go.” The way she wasn’t even looking at him was a cause of concern. Slowly, he scooted away from her, propping her head up on a pillow. Once she seemed to settle, he sat in front of her again, holding up a hand with three fingers out.. “Hey, can ya do somethin’ fer me? Can ya tell me how many fingers ‘m holdin’ up?”
Liv squinted, looking towards him but now at him, nor his hand. He was holding fingers up? It took her a few seconds, but when she finally found his hand?
There were two of them, each holding up three. And they kept moving and multiplying. But it always seemed to come back to six fingers, three on each hand.
“S-six?” Even focusing for that long made it feel like her brain was melting. ”Y-yeah, six.” She sounded confident, like she’d answered the easiest question known to man. The frown that crossed his face and the hand dropping into his lap told her everything she needed to know- she was wrong. The worst part was that she was entirely too tired to care much.
“... O-okay. Okay.” Moss sighed softly, grabbing a blanket to place over her with a shake of the head that she’d missed. “That’s… okay. Okay.” He sounded so concerned, but even that didn’t register. “I… I gotta tell Gwen. She’s gonna wanna hear that-” He moved to stand, but Liv's fingers brushed his hand and a whimper escaped her. "I'll be back, 'kay? I'll be back 'n I won't leave 'til ya want me to."
There was another plaintive whine as he stood and headed for the HQ car, closing the door behind him as quietly as he could. The sleeping car was quiet again, candles flickering lightly in the corners. It all made her head hurt far, far too much.
At this point, sleep was the better option.
