I WROTE SOMETHING!!
My first g/t story! So far just a first meeting (with a cliffhanger)
cw for mild cursing, negative thoughts, mentions of death (none happens)
This is part one and it's 1694 words!
I have part two in the works, so we'll see where this goes from there :)
edit: i'm making this one a draft and extending it a bit, I'll repost this with the rest with a proper name!
ok enjoy!!!
*SLAM*
For what felt like the millionth time that day, Ashlyn slammed her computer shut in frustration. She had stayed up all night the night before to try and write this stupid paper, but every time she started to write more she lost focus. Why did she choose to write about philosophy?
I should have just gone out with my friends. It wouldn’t have changed anything.
She just stared at her computer, trying to will the words into existence. It didn’t work. With an overexaggerated groan, she checked the time to see how doomed she was.
How is it noon already? I’ve wasted half the day, she thought. Maybe I just need some rest.
“Yeah,” she said aloud, “That sounds good.”
Not having the motivation for anything else, Ashlyn got up from her desk and made her way over to her bed. The gentle sounds of rain and distant thunder outside called to her, but she managed to set an alarm for 12:30 before collapsing into bed, though she didn’t think to pay attention to AM or PM. She did think to put her phone further on the nightstand, even moving the tissue box in front of it, as an effort to block her future self’s attempts to stay in bed.
Just 20 minutes, she thought, and then I can get some real work done.
⌯⌯⌯
Vac had been having a pretty good day. He got a good amount of sleep, had plenty of food left in his stores, and, despite the fact that the human was home, he felt confident about a safe supply run. Yes, he was rudely awakened by the sound of her snoring, but she only snored like that when she was completely out cold. The last time he heard her that loud was when she was sick and disoriented enough that he didn’t have to worry about being seen.
As he continued to listen in on the human’s blissful sleep, a shock of excitement raced through his veins. He could go out! To be sure, Vac checked the watch on his wall, courtesy of a forgetful former resident, but hesitated when he saw the time.
Weird, he thought, It’s only about 11:38 at night. She’s usually up later than this.
It was a little weird that she went to bed so early… not that he was complaining. It meant he got more time outside of the walls, and he wasn’t about to gift a horse his mouth, or whatever the humans liked to say. He knew he really shouldn’t go out if the human changed her schedule, but he was willing to bet that everything would be fine. It was a quick run, so what could go wrong?
⌯⌯⌯
It had all gone wrong.
How did I even get here? Vac thought. The past thirty or so minutes of events flashed through his head again, trying to make sense of everything. His borrowing trip had been going smoothly. He got the paperclips he needed, a stray rubber band, and a lucky chunk of granola; he even found a gold-tipped sewing needle that had fallen between the desk and the dresser. He was drawn to the shiny surface and, though he wasn’t much of a fighter, figured it could be useful and stuck it through his belt.
The last thing he needed was a bit of tissue. The one he had nabbed a couple weeks before was running out, and it was always good to have some on hand. Unfortunately, the tissues were on top of the nightstand. The easiest way was to go under and to the back, then shimmy up the space between the wall and the nightstand. Unfortunately, a spider had recently taken up residence there, and Vac wasn’t feeling like paying it a visit. So, then came his more recently used route: up the bedspread.
The human was currently sleeping in the bed, so it was only slightly less scary than a territorial spider blocking his path. Though, Vac had made it past the slumbering human before. He had only done it once, when she was sick, but he was confident he could pull it off again.
Looking back, that was a stupid idea.
He had taken the needle out of his belt, worried it would hinder his climb, before getting out his climbing gear. He had fashioned gloves and shoes out of cloth, glue, and bits of sharpened wire. The design was sort of inspired by velcro with small, slightly curved metal tines to grip fabric without ripping it.
Pulling them on, he began his ascent. He climbed, cautiously, up the side of the bedspread, careful not to snag anything or get caught on any loose threads. Once he reached the top, he removed his climbing gear and tucked it into his bag. He didn’t think he’d need to make a quick getaway, so he had left his climbing hook and thread stored in the bag. He glanced at the clock: 12:26. Plenty of time.
Vac was making his way over to the nightstand, balancing on the uneven surface, when the human, who had been facing away from him, started to shift towards him.
In a panicked split-second decision, he dove for cover by the edge of the pillow. He held his breath as everything around him shook. Despite his crouched posture, he still had to maintain a tight, white-knuckled grip on the pillow to stay upright. Then, as fast as it had begun, the movement stopped. He wanted to run, but stayed still.
After another moment of stillness, Vac peeked up above the edge of the pillow, trying not to make any noise. Her face was right there, he could almost feel the warmth radiating from her skin. Luckily, her eyes remained closed. He took a moment to stare, then, very slowly, stepped towards the nightstand. The human didn’t make any more movements, just exhaled. He shuddered as he felt the warm air brush past him. An uneasy feeling was rising in his chest and he was starting to regret coming out. But he had come this far, so he bolted, hopping over the gap between the bed and the nightstand. With practiced fluidity, he slid behind the tissue box and crouched low to the ground. He closed his eyes, taking a moment to catch his breath.
That was terrifying, he thought. I’m never doing this again.
Picking up his pace, he clambered up to the top of the tissue box and grabbed a tissue, trying to pull it out of the box in a way that would drag the next one up. While he was pulling it out, he absently wondered why the tissue box was so close to the edge. Normally, it was on the other side of the nightstand. He chalked it up to humans being weird and focused back on the tissue retrieval.
Once the last of the tissue was taken from the box, Vac shouldered off his bag. He moved things aside to make room so the whole tissue would fit. Now that he had everything he needed, he felt grateful that the trip had gone smoothly. He took a deep breath and hopped down from the tissue box.
That’s when the noise started.
A loud, disorienting, blaring sound filled the space around him.
AGH– what IS that? Is the ground shaking? It’s– it’s too loud!
Rhythmic vibrations threatened to steal the ground from beneath his feet, buzzing out a strangely familiar pulse. He noticed light emanating from in front of him and realized the source of the offending sound: the human's phone alarm.
Why does she have her alarm set this late? This– no, no time to think!
The incessant screeching of the alarm was doing its best to deafen him. He didn’t have time to think. He had to shut it off.
Vac tried to step over to the phone, but he tripped. Now that he was down, he could feel the vibrations rattling his teeth. He curled up, hands clamped over his ears, it was all wrong and he couldn’t be here, he couldn’t move, he–
Shit!
He saw a massive, dark, logic-defying appendage looming over him. Not a second after he saw it, he felt it slam down on the nightstand, right next to him.
With cold dawning horror, he realized the human was feeling around to find her phone, trying to turn off the alarm while retaining her sleep. He had to move.
Before he got the chance, the hand came crashing down onto the tissue box. His brain felt scrambled, but the whispers of fear still came through.
What if you were still getting your tissue? You’d be dead. You’ll be dead. You can’t move. You’re going to get killed by a human, and you’re so useless that she’s going to do it in her sleep.
The human was starting to wake up. Vac could hear her half-asleep grumbling turning into half-spoken curses. She was moving faster, too.
You need to move. You need to do something. You’re going to die without a fight? You won’t even try to survive this? Figure something out. Get up. Get UP. MOVE.
He couldn’t afford to stay on the ground. Against all reason, he found himself bolting towards the phone in a last-ditch effort to bring quiet back to the room. Everything was shaking. He tripped. He felt the thump of her hand, closer this time. He got up. He stumbled, then fell onto the phone, only hesitating for half a second before slamming his hands down on the STOP button.
The screeching and the vibrations stopped, and Vac felt like he could breathe.
Thank goodness that’s over.
The phone screen was bright, so he was blinking the spots out of his eyes when he realized that, in silencing the alarm, he had eliminated the only thing distracting the human from noticing him.
He needed a quick getaway. He went to grab his hook and thread–
They’re in my bag, he realized. Where’s–
He was frantically looking around for his bag when he heard a sharp *click* and everything was blinding again.
Shit.
⌯⌯⌯
thank you for reading :D
