Zacharie Granger

"A character that likes to play around with machines and usually gets filthy doing so. A side effect of his grunginess is that he often turns out to be Mr. Fixit in some way, shape or form ... and favor elbow grease to solve a problem. In other words, this is a mechanic, be he mundane or fantastic, with a lot of similar threads regardless of the type."

[zachattheshack-blog]

The End? (Zach&Del)

Bang. Zach barely had time to register the cop’s words, barely enough time to register the gunshot, before he was blown backwards.  A flare of pain, then pressure.  Right on his forehead.  Where that bastard had shot him. Dammit, now he had two people to deal with.  

Zach sat up, but it felt wrong ... lighter, maybe? Either way, he got to his feet pretty quickly,  but neither Henri nor his buddy seemed to be paying him any attention - in fact, Henri was already making another victim out of the cop.  Zach watched the guy’s body fall to the ground.  Well, good riddance to that one.  Wait.  There was another pair of feet down there.  Zach looked behind him, and ... well, fuck.

“I’m dead.”  As the realization hit, his breathing hitched, picked up speed.  How could he be dead?  Henri, of all people, was still breathing - he couldn’t let that guy go, could he?  It wasn’t fair, not to Delphine, not to anyone who’d fallen to Henri.     

[henrixolivier]

    VICTIM #TWENTY-SEVEN            ZACHARIE GRANGER

Zach paused from his beating of Henri, his expression full of anger. ‘Do you know what this guy’s done!? Do you know how many people this monster has killed?’ The cop held his aim firm, repeating his command. ‘Take a step back, and we’ll get this all sorted out. I only wanna help you.’ He assured Zach. Slowly, against his better judgement, Zach let his fingers fall from Henri’s throat and stood back up. Henri took in a gasp of air, staying on the floor. ‘Are you gonna arrest the sonofabitch now or what?’ Zach asked, waving his hand at the cop. ‘Actually, that dumb-ass sonofabitch called me down here.’ The cop fired off a shot into Zach’s forehead, and perhaps before he’d even had time to register the words, Zach had fallen to the ground beside Henri.

           “I guess we’ll be seeing each other in Hell, then?”

[facethekiller-blog]

                 "Is letting all those kids die worth it just to kill me?“

“Funny. But they can wait.        –It’s not like you’d let us out of this hell if you weren’t dead already, right?”

Keep reading

[zachattheshack-blog]

youralmostprofessionaldoctor

Tristan looked up to see Zach right beside him, almost missing the fact that he was punching the walls. They turned the screen off his phone, not wanting anyone to see what whoever sent, and what he’s done. He wanted to turn his phone off so that he didn’t have to see anymore of the messages, didn’t have to be some puppet they used, but he knew he needed to see them. Tristan didn’t reply for awhile, staring blankly at the rest of the people still alive. If he don’t see the messages, someone else here may die. But he was killing people too, it’s their fault Jack’s dead, probably Jackson too because he thought he was saving another. He glanced towards Rosie for a split second before turning back.

They noticed Zach’s bleeding knuckles and reached for the first aid kit and a bottle of water he had to sober up before. “Here,” Tristan mumbled, pulling the wounded hand towards them and washed the cuts. “If we all think like that, we might as well serve ourselves up on the dining table for.. whoever,” they finally said as they worked on Zach’s hand.

At first, Zach tried to pull away, Tristan's action catching him off guard. But the cold water felt soothing, like it was washing away more than just the blood. "What are - You don't - nevermind," he said, giving in and letting this person clean up his hand. It wasn't even that bad of an injury, he could've let it be. Whatever.

"Well, running ain't an option, sitting ain't an option, so -"

The crowd in the room had gotten even louder, it seemed, distracting Zach from his thoughts. Looking up, he caught sight of someone... smiling? He blinked; maybe he'd imagined it. "You know him?" Zach nodded towards the guy, nudging Tristan's shoulder as he did so. Then the room erupted into more text message tones.

[zachattheshack-blog]

delphinemarceau

Each time Zach assured her that things couldn’t possibly be as bad as she worried, Del felt another kick in her gut mirroring those Xavier had given her an hour prior during their escapade in the tunnels. “Zach I can’t tell you–I.” She shook her head, putting her arm on his shoulder and stopping him for going anywhere once more. After a second she realized her grip had been rough, and gave an apologetic look before rubbing his arm where she had grabbed him.

         “It’s bad. It’s _go to jail **forever **if anyone finds out_, bad.”

She sighed dropping her arm. “I can’t tell you anymore. Because if I tell you you’ll be in trouble too.” Oh, and there was the fact that he would probably detest her for being a horrible human being.

 “I don’t want to hurt you.” Del said softly, looking into his worry-creased face.

Zach could feel a slight draft now as they approached the exit of the tunnel. Once out there, he could call Mani himself, get Delphine somewhere safe, something. In his eagerness to get her out, he almost blew right past her. At least, until that vice-like grip of hers stopped him dead in his tracks.

"Can't tell me?" He echoed, lost at the thought, "Del, we've known-" That look. What was that? Pain? Anger? No, it wasn't something he'd seen in her before. Dumbstruck, he fell silent as she kept talking. Jail? What the hell was she talking about? He moved his hand to catch hers, where she'd had that grip on his arm, but she'd already moved away from him.

"What is this, plausible deniability?" He asked, half-heartedly attempting a smile. "You can't hurt me, Delphine, I'm too stubborn. Or too stupid. But you sure as hell are scarin' me."

[youralmostprofessionaldoctor]

Tristan sat down at the side of the church. He looked across the faces of those already dead, finding more and more faces he really hoped not to find. Jack was right there, the acid still lingering on his broken body. But seeing Jace sitting there lifeless, made them realise that they were too late, he could’ve warned them earlier, could’ve tried to get them out. But they were all dead. Henley probably is too. But even then Tristan still tried to call her one last time. Everyone was talking left and right or looking at their phones of whatever disturbing messages they’re getting. Tristan buried his face in his hands, not wanting to think about what happened and what’s gonna happen. They rarely went to parties, but when they gave in the Jace dragging him into this, they never expected to see his friend dead. “We have to get out of here, no one else should die anymore,” they muffled words came out as nothing but a quiet trembling plea.

[zachattheshack-blog]

Delphine was dead.  Gone.  No more.  And what the fuck happened to her face?  Dammit, this was his fault, wasn’t it?  He’d let her come back down without him and now... now... Zach turned, slammed his fist into the wall.  And all these people?  He recognized some of them too, some dead, some living.  Could he have stopped this, if he had paid attention?  If he hadn’t waited so long to look for her?  Zach hit the wall again, one, two, three times, splitting his knuckles open from the sheer force.  He pulled back, about to go in for round three, when he heard a familiar voice.  Well, not that familiar; he’d only heard it one or two times, and certainly not that quiet, but it was enough to stop him.

“Do ya really think -” Zach cut off as his cell chimed, one, two, three times.  Damn, what did that guy want now?  He didn’t even check it - instead, he sunk to his knees next to Tristan.  “You ever seen a horror movie?”  He asked, quietly, as the room erupted into noise, both electronic and human, “Whoever’s doing this, he ain’t gonna let us out through the tunnels.  We’d never make it out - not all of these people,”  He muttered, more to keep himself from sprinting out of this - this hell as Delphine had said, than for the benefit of the guy beside him.  

[zachattheshack-blog]

delphinemarceau

“Because I’ve probably said it a dozen times before.” She shrugged, her eyes looking off in the distance as to not meet his own. “Look..I’ve really fucked up tonight, Zach.” Her voice cracked. “…I just need to find Mani and–I. I don’t know.” She sighed, shaking her head and looking at him. She couldn’t drag him into this. Delphine couldn’t stand for him to look at her like the terrible person she had become. “I don’t know.” She repeated. “I’m sorry.” For being painstakingly vague. For making him come back here. For anything and everything she’d ever put him through. Del offered a sad smile.

This probably wasn’t the best time to tell her tragic backstory, even if she wanted to. Delphine started walking again, her arms wrapped around herself in an attempt to keep it together just a little while longer. She remembered the gun in the back of her jeans, and felt her cheeks flush. “Je ne peux pas croire ..” The words were more to herself than Zach, and she stopped before finishing.

"So I guess I've just gotta hold ya to it this time, huh?" He gave a half-hearted laugh. If Delphine went back on her word this time, he couldn't stop her. No one could. He shuffled his feet, keeping his eyes on her even as she looked away. He wanted to keep moving, to get outside and get her fixed up, but she had something to say. And she didn't seem inclined to move just yet.

"Whatever it is, it ... it can't be that bad," Zach said, wincing at the crack in his friend's voice, "We'll find Mani, and you'll be okay, alright? Alright." He wasn't sure exactly if he was confirming for Delphine, or for himself. "Sorry for what? Everything's fine, Del." Maybe he believed that, maybe he didn't. Either way, it got her moving again.

Zach followed behind her, flashing his light at the path. The elevation started going up - maybe they'd been going in the right direction the entire time. "Huh?" Had she said something? He walked a little faster, catching up to her, "You okay?"

[zachattheshack-blog]

delphinemarceau

“Mmm. My cold, cold heart is warmed by your concern.” Delphine lightly nudged Zach with her shoulder. The reality of it all was slowly setting in, and doubt was beginning to assail her. Was killing two people really going to make any of her pain go away? No–and that was pretty fucking obvious. Things were only going to get worse from here on out. She fucked up. Big time. “Good, maybe I’ll use it to flee the country.” She was kidding. Mostly. “Zach?” Maybe now was as good as time as any to tell him. “I–I don’t really know if you’ll care or not. But I’m done, with the drugs. For good.”

"And I was just thinking it'd stay frozen forever," he bumped her shoulder in return. At least now she didn't seem so shaken up. But what had happened down there? He opened his mouth, but Delphine spoke before he did.

"What, and leave me behind? What if you crash - who'll put up with you long enough to fix it again?" If she did flee the country, he'd sure as hell make sure he knew about it, though. None of this uncertainty crap.

"Yeah?" He stopped when she said his name. Something about the way she said it ... this was important. "Not care? How could I not care?" She'd said stuff like this before, but ... somehow, he knew she was serious, "Honestly, Delphine, that's the best news I've heard all night." Probably in years, actually. Though, he did wonder, what made her so certain now? Then again, maybe the reason wasn't important.

[zachattheshack-blog]

delphinemarceau

“Oui–Yeah.” She agreed when Zach suggested they make their way to the surface and try to call Mani. Delphine wiped away at her eyes, both in an attempt to sober up and to stop any tears that were threatening to spring from them. She wondered what Zach thought of all this–Delphine got in trouble sometimes, sure… But never something like this. “Let’s go.” She said, determined to get the Hell out of here and not look back. As they walked, she looked up at him confused. “You said the cops came. Why are you here?” Why come back to such a shit hole? …"You’re supposed to be working on my car.” Delphine added, in some attempt at a joke.

Zach pocketed the phone, and continued leading the way to the surface ... hopefully. After all, this was only the second time he'd been in this place, it wasn't like he'd become an expert on its map. "Yeah, they showed up. I ran. I came back," he grinned back at her, "You disappeared on me, girl. And then you didn't text back. I have the right to worry about my most loyal customer." He returned his attention back to the tunnel in front of him - if he remembered correctly, it should open up soon. "Oh, and, fyi, I finished your car twenty minutes ago."

[zachattheshack-blog]

delphinemarceau

She hadn’t accounted for this, in all her hasty planning. Never once had Delphine thought of how she would tell Zach of the nights’ events, should the issue be forced. Sylvia, and Sebastian if possible, were supposed to die. Delphine was supposed to leave, go home and clean up. Zach would never know, in an ideal world.

Well..in an ideal world, Delphine would never have had to go through all this Hell in the first place. “Is anyone else here still?” She asked, her brain finally kicking into gear. Where was Xavier–Mani? X could handle whatever shit he’d gotten himself into on his own, but Delphine was more than a little worried about Mani. They shouldn’t have been here tonight. She should have told them not to come. “I lost my phone.. But. I need to make sure Mani got out.” Delphine looked at Zach, hoping he’d understand her need to ensure the other’s safety. God, she wanted to get out of here, but she couldn’t leave Mani to the hands of their brother.

"Anyone else?" Zach hadn't even thought about other people - he'd been too concerned with Delphine's silence to even consider that there might be other people down here too ... including whoever was killing people. Shit. "I don't know, Del, most people left when the cops showed up, and ..." The look on Delphine's face cut him off. "Okay, sure, " he nodded. At least now he knew why she hadn't contacted him. "You know Mani's number?" He asked, pulling out his phone. 24% battery remaining. Shitty technology - he should've just stuck with a flip phone for battery life. And no service, either. "We'd have to get to the surface, but we could call 'em with mine."

[zachattheshack-blog]

delphinemarceau

Of course it was Zach. It had to be Zach. “…Trust me.. I feel even worse.” She commented, offering a delayed smile a few seconds after. She tucked her hair out of her face, walking towards him and throwing her arms around him. Personal space be damned. “We need.. –We need to leave.” She said softly, in more so a plea than a demand. She was still shaking, perhaps even more violently than before now that she was faced with telling Zach what she had done.  “Something bad happened. I…” She stopped herself, pulling away from him. “I need to get out of here.”

God, what had she gotten herself into? Zach stood there for a second, absolutley dumbfounded when she got so close to him. Hesitantly, he wrapped his arms around her. She was shaking. Bad. Damn, what happened to her down here? "Alright, we'll get you out of here, just ..." He trailed off, glancing around. Shit, this place was going to be confusing to get out of.

Something bad happened. "Well, no shit," he forced another laugh as she pulled away. "Alright, we'll talk about later. C'mon, this way," He nodded his head in the direction he'd come from, shining the little light down the tunnel. Hopefully he'd figure out how to get back to the surface.

[zachattheshack-blog]

mani-sargent

Mani was pacing up and down the tunnels, nails chewed to the quick and blood still drying on their clothes. Their brother’s blood, Xavier’s blood. They had killed him, he was dead, gone, shoved unceremoniously into the corner of a room with stab wounds in his chest. God, their mother would never get over this. This was going to ruin absolutely everything. “Fuck!” Mani screamed, the outburst sudden and a surprise to even them. They shoved their fingers into their hair and pulled, holding back tears of frustration- which was ridiculous considering how much they’d cried tonight.

Then there was a flash of light, so quick Mani wouldn’t have noticed it if they hadn’t been looking in just the right spot. Someone was coming this way.

“W-who’s there?” They called, stumbling backwards.

He'd heard a sound, further down the tunnel - someone had screamed something out. He picked up his speed, the little light whipping back and forth at a faster rate. He passed a few passageways that lead off from the main tunnel, but they didn't exactly attract his attention until a voice called out from one. He backtracked, turned down the passageway.

"Uh, I'm Zach," He addressed the person at the other end of the light - they looked terrified, and ... was that blood? That was the second time he'd met someone in this state - jesus, what was going on around here? Zach stopped walking, showing the person his free hand. "Do you need some help?"

[zachattheshack-blog]

delphinemarceau

Delphine could smell the smoke on her clothes, bringing back to scent of Sylvia’s burning flesh; It was nauseating. If she thought that stripping here and now would solve the problem, she might have done just that. But some part of her knew that the smell would never quite leave her. She walked through the tunnels, hands shaking as she held a flashlight out to try and navigate her way. What time was it?

She looked like hell. The injuries that Xavier had given her during her faux-death scene, had been very much real. Delpine was busted and bruised, and yet there was a terrible silence to her as she walked through the darkness. She’d been so out of focus, she hadn’t heard the approach of another person. It was only when their light was all but shining in her face did she snap out of it. “S'il vous plaît. Arrêtez.”

"Delphine?" Zach held the light on her face - was that really her? "You ... you look like shit, " He laughed, whether from relief, suprise, or shock, he wasn't sure. "What in the hell happened, Del?" He dropped the light to the ground, and his smile dropped with it. She really did look awful - way worse than what you'd get from getting lost for a few hours. And what was with that smell? "Are ... are you okay?"

[zachattheshack-blog]

kirbymcadams

“You’re friends with a demon? That’s so cool.”

"Uh, not exactly. Don't tell her I said that."

[zachattheshack-blog]

1:05 am. Zach checked the time on his phone as he descended into the catacombs for the second time that night.  42% battery remaining. Well damn, good thing he charged it before the rave.  Putting the phone away, he grabbed the little flashlight he used in the Shack.  The beam wasn’t as powerful as the one on his phone, but it sure did save battery power.  

With the lights off, this place looked creepy enough, without all the leftovers from the rave.  Zach kept his mouth shut as he swept the flashlight back and forth across the ground, but there wasn’t much sign of anyone nearby.  Yet.  So, naturally, he headed down the nearest tunnel.  Maybe he’d find Delphine if he just walked across the entire system - after all, she had to be down here somewhere, right?

[zachattheshack-blog]

delphinemarceau

“No take backs.” She agreed with an amused look. Delphine had been wanting to tell Zach somethng for the past week, but had yet to find the courage to do it. She was afraid he wouldn’t believe her. Would laugh at her, or even worse–pity her.

So instead Delphine had kept quiet, waiting for the right moment to tell him that this was it. She was going to go clean–for real. “Show me some American dance movies.” She teased, swaying her hips slightly to the music.

"American dance ..." Zach rolled his eyes, " Really? That's like, number one on the to-do list for embaressing people." He laughed, but the music was overpowering. There was no way he could refuse Delphine's request. "How's this?"

[zachattheshack-blog]

In the Meantime (Self Para)

Dude, you need to calm down

Zach leaned against the door to the Shack, slowly regaining his breath.  He’d practically sprinted the entire way here as soon as the cops showed up.  Never be around when the cops show up - he’d learned that the hard way.

When his heart felt nearly normal, Zach turned the key and let himself in, flipping on the lights as he did so. After he blinked away the brightness, he headed straight for Delphine’s car.  It needed another tuning before she took it out again, so he might as well take the time now, right?  There’d been some weird crap tonight, but maybe if he could just work on something, he could make sense of it all.

That girl who said she’d seen a dead body.  The boy with blood all over him.  What was that all about?  Maybe she’d been hallucinating.  Maybe that was paint, and that guy had just come down. Maybe, maybe, maybe ... that’s all there ever was - maybe.  Maybe it was all real - but why would it be?  Someone wasn’t really murdering people down there - it didn’t make sense.  Why at some party where ... there were a bunch of people ... who didn’t know each other ... surrounded by ... shit, it made perfect sense.  And that weird kid ... he’d reacted to Delphine’s name.

Zach grabbed his cellphone, checked for any message from Delphine.  Usually she’d be texting him about something by now.  But ... nothing.

Zach: Where r u

Zach: Do I need to bail u out?

Zach: Ur car’s almost done

He’d thought that last one would maybe get a response, but, half an hour into his work, there was nothing.  As he worked, he kept thinking, trying to piece together everything, but every thought just took a darker turn.  And Delphine still hadn’t responded.  Zach put down his tools.  He had to go back - he had to find her.