BE-E AGGRESSIVE! (be_aggressive) wrote in shadows_rpg, @ 2020-06-12 08:10:00 |
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Entry tags: | #group scene, #january 2018, carson, jasper, jules, neil, nic |
Who: Carson, Jules, Neil, Nic, Jasper and the rest of the infected
When: Around 10pm, Wednesday night, January 24th
Where: Blackwater Woods along Witcham Road
Status: Complete
Jules felt like she might barf. Again. She had already puked twice that morning, knowing what was coming. She had spent most of the day with Nic, Carson, and Neil, working out their plan and hoping that they could get through the day without being tracked down by one of the infected. Jules had been practicing opening portals since talking to the others on Monday. It had been terrifying, but she was learning she could do it on demand, though she wasn’t very good at controlling it. As soon as she felt her hands start to burn she would pull it back, not wanting to swallow the entire town in badness.
And if she couldn’t do it tonight, then… everything would be fucked. It was a chance they were taking because they had no other plan. Jules did feel better knowing Nic could do magic, and Neil had his lightning hands. They could do so much more than she could and she knew this plan wouldn’t work without them. Admittedly, Jules wasn’t sure how Carson was feeling, or what he could do, but he was a part of this for a reason and she felt like maybe they wouldn’t know what that reason was until they were all in it.
Jules could tell they were all nervous. No one was confident. This had been her idea, sort of, and Jules knew if it failed it would be her fault. But was it really her fault? She hadn’t asked for any of this. She just wanted Jasper to be Jasper again. She wanted things to go back to normal. She wanted to go to prom and finish high school. Was that too much to fucking ask?
They were all quiet on the drive to the woods. The closer they got to the proper spot, the spot from their dreams, Jules’s anxiety spiked. For a second she thought she was being strangled because she couldn’t breathe. But thankfully it passed quickly. She had no doubt the other three were as nervous as she was. All they could do was hope this worked. If it didn’t, well, there was no Plan B.
It was dark and cold when they parked on the side of the road and walked out into the woods. The fog was thick around their legs, even out here. Jules knew it was a sign. It felt like months of the dreams and fears and uncertainty was finally coming to a head. Jules wished she felt more ready for it.
There was a smallish clearing in the woods and Jules noticed how they all slowed at the same time, like they all instinctively knew this was the place to be. Taking a deep breath, feeling the chill in the air soothe her throat, Jules glanced between the men.
“Well… let’s do this, I guess.”
She wasn't the only one who didn't want to be there, none of them wanted this but they'd been backed into a corner and needed to act if they wanted to live. Neil didn't think he was being overly dramatic in thinking this was a life or death situation and that was the only reason he willingly set food into the woods. Carpooling there felt safer than showing up alone but at the same time he missed the safety of being able to run to his own car if things got out of hand. He had been the first to agree to Jules's plan, which felt a little out of character and he would admit that himself, but it felt like a portal had already been opened at that point. There was that creepy fog lurking on the ground, threatening to grow into the repeated horror show of those terrible days before Christmas.
There was another possibility that they hadn't really talked about but Neil wondered if the others were considering it too; that the injured people might simply disappear. That wasn't even the worst case scenario, he felt it was likely especially since that part of Jules's plan felt vague to him, like opening a portal might somehow suck the badness out of them. Maybe it was too late for them and in that case it was a sacrifice that Neil was more than willing to make. He just wanted life to go back to normal - or as normal as his life had ever been. Of course he didn't really know any of those people - nor care about them - so calling it a sacrifice was a stretch.
He had buried his hands deep in his pockets as soon as they'd stopped walking and hunched his shoulders against the cold. This was where Nic did his thing and Neil only nodded to show he was as ready as he possibly could be for what came next.
Carson’s feelings went beyond nervous, if he was being honest. He was straight-up scared. Of the infected people who knew who they were and were apparently sucking the life out of the town, of Jules opening up another portal, of being the only one standing there who didn’t have a supernatural way to defend himself. Carson had brought a gun, kept concealed in his big front coat pocket, but he knew that wouldn’t help him much if the dozen-or-so people they intended to “fix” all turned on him. He still didn’t understand why he was there, why he’d been chosen for this ... if there’d been any choosing done at all. Maybe he was just unlucky. The rest of his life seemed to point in that direction.
In any case, he was there, even if it was just for moral support or to be another pair of lookout eyes. Carson’s body felt crackly with nerves and adrenaline, and he wasn’t feeling very chatty either, so he also nodded and turned his gaze to Nic. “Let’s get this party started,” he murmured without much humor.
Nic didn’t feel good about this plan and had argued against it, but when it came down to it, it was all they had. They couldn’t wait any longer, that was for certain, so they might as well give it a shot. The worst that could happen was they all got killed, but the way things were going that looked like it might be on the table anyways. They were okay, as far as he could tell, but everyone else in town was losing their minds or going into a coma. It couldn’t last, so there they were, standing in the middle of the woods, waiting for him to perform a spell bigger than anything he’d ever attempted. No pressure at all. If he fucked up, then they were screwed.
“Okay,” Nic sighed and ran a hand through his hair, then turned his focus inward as he walked to the center of the clearing. A pillar of ice began to manifest there, twice the height of Nic, and when he reached it he sliced his finger on the edge, drawing blood. It felt like he’d been doing a lot of blood magic lately, but it was stronger than almost anything else. He didn’t have an object for each of the people injured by the fog, but he could offer a piece of himself instead and draw off his own intent. He’d never done it before, but it should work. Nic circled the pillar, chanting quietly as he drew a rune of blood on each side, able to feel the magic stirring even if the others couldn’t see it. It pulsed through the pillar, projecting outwards, summoning Vex and the others to the clearing. When he was done, he turned back to the group, though his eyes kept darting to the forest around them. “I’ve called them here. I don’t know how long it’ll take, but… I’m going to set a perimeter so that once they’re here they can’t leave. Hopefully it won’t take too long.”
Jules breathed in through her nose and exhaled softly to try and calm the nerves that had taken over. She kept her hands in her coat pockets, her fingers curled tightly into her palms. Obviously in the dark, with fog on the ground, everything was going to seem scarier than it really was, but Jules was feeling out of sorts and creeped out by the bare trees alone. All they could do now was wait. Jules shifted from one foot to the other to stay warm, glancing around the area to try and stay aware of their surroundings. Hopefully Nic's magic could also protect them from harm. It was silly to think they could just call all of the infected here and everyone would comply without a word. What if they brought guns or something? The waiting sucked. All of the scenarios in her mind of how this could possibly end only grew more frightening and more morbid. After what felt like an eternity, Jules licked her lips to ask Nic if he was sure the magic worked, but the question died on her tongue as several dark shadows began to emerge from the trees. The shadows were people and Jules didn't know who some of them were, but she recognized a few faces, including Jasper. Her chest grew cold and tight and she drew her hands from her coat. "They're here."
It really wasn't Neil's M.O. to stand and face the danger and every atom in his body was yelling at him to get out of there. That flight instinct kicked in stronger than ever when those first people appeared and it hit him just how vulnerable they were, like little lambs surrounded by wolves - wolves they'd invited. He couldn't help but take a step back, slowly but not too subtly moving behind Carson. He had a gun too but he was also better equipped at defending himself than Jules and Carson since he'd been doing good at controlling the weird electricity in his hands. Of course he was terrified it would simply stop working tonight when he might actually need it and god, he wanted to run. Jules speaking honest to god made it feel even creepier and slowly but surely the people became more visible, no longer shadows but that made them no less terrifying.
One would think that after everything he’d been through, watching someone do magic wouldn’t be amazing to Carson, but it still was. He was too nervous to be too awed by what Nic did, but ... it was so immediate and visual and obvious, and it was fucking magic. Those moments of brilliance was followed up with some interminable waiting, and then a very unpleasant jolt when he spotted the first shadow turning up. Carson’s spine straightened and he squared his shoulders, his hand settling more solidly on the pistol in his coat pocket. Most of them seemed to be coming from one direction, but he was feeling the same paranoia about being surrounded and penned in. After all, they didn’t really know how many people were coming, right? And Nic was locking them in ... but he was also locking the four of them in too. Fuck. “How do we know when they’re all here?” he asked nobody in particular in a low voice. Carson could feel Neil moving closer to him, but most of his focus was on the people coming into view.
“We don’t,” Nic said, wishing he had a better answer. “But they’ll be compelled to come, so long as they haven’t skipped town.” Vex came to mind and Nic thought that was probably the test, whether he showed up or not. The spell could only reach so far; he was only one witch and smart enough to know he wasn’t the most powerful of them. If they needed the spell to reach far beyond the bounds of Point Pleasant, they were going to need help they didn’t have. But then Vex’s form joined the others, the tallest shadow of the lot, and Nic thought they were good. Except for the part where they were being surrounded by people that wanted them dead. “Now would be a good time to start though,” he said, panic creeping up on him as the people got closer. “I know some of them have guns. I think we’d like them to not shoot us.” It wasn’t very helpful, but he knew they weren’t just going to stand around and talk it out.
Jules's gaze snapped to Nic briefly before she was searching the people in front of them again, some of whom remained in the shadows. She was searching for guns and it left her paralyzed for a second. And then it sunk in that yes, they had to do this and now. Standing around and talking would only give the others a chance to potentially hurt them. This could go bad so fast. Jules quickly tugged off her gloves and shoved them into her pocket before holding them down at her sides, her palms facing out. It suddenly felt really silly to trust her dreams. How was she going to do this? Who was to say she'd open the right portal, or whatever the hell they were. How did she talk three grown men into doing this?? Jules nearly laughed, the hysterical, slightly panicked sound forming in her throat before it caught there. And then her hands were burning, aching, and Jules grit her teeth against the pain. The woods in front of the four of them began to change, the woods where the infected were coming. The night was already foggy and dreary, but everything began to lose all color, turning a sallow looking gray. The fog began to thicken, pouring out from behind the trees. It was just like in their dreams and Jules nearly shouted in triumph, but the only sound she could manage was a strained sort of cry. The victory was short lived, however, because along with the fog came those things... menacing and slithering in the dark. Slithering towards them. "Nic, you got that perimeter up, right?" Jules asked, her voice cracking. "Neil, some light would be nice right now!"
Neil wanted to run more than ever because things were changing for the worst and it was literally a nightmare come true. He almost wished Jane was there with them before remembering this wasn't a dream she could manipulate, this was real life and they might all die horrible deaths here tonight. And then Jules was barking orders- no, he couldn't even call it that. She sounded as scared as he felt and there was a rush of something other than fear going through him now, some sense of purpose as the hair on his arms stood on end and lightning crackled in the palms of his hands. If he was a praying man he'd be sending up every prayer he had that these things really were scared of lightning as he sent it crackling overhead, stepping back to give himself some space, careful not to put the others - the ones on his side - in danger. Much like Jules he almost felt like shouting with glee when it made the giant shadows retreat but he knew this could all turn ugly any minute and it felt like a jinx to celebrate too soon.
Carson ducked his head out of pure instinct when lightning pierced the dark sky above them. The only time he’d seen his dream companions exercise their powers was in a dream, and goddamn if it didn’t feel different in real life. He could see the space where Jules was opening the portal, bizarrely overlaid against the backdrop of the trees that were there in their own world. He felt terrified and helpless as he pulled his gun out and frantically looked around at the semi-circle of infected people that were moving ever closer around them. The monsters in the fog might have shrunk back from the lightning, but not all of them were and while Carson didn’t want to start shooting people ... well. They were there to end this.
Jasper couldn’t say what it was that had drawn him to the woods outside of town, just that he had the undeniable compulsion to go. There was nothing else occupying him as he drove aimlessly around town with the windows down, feeding on any stray energy he came across, so he went. He’d stopped his car at the side of the road and left it, not giving it a second thought as he walked into the woods. He wasn’t thinking about much, but he noticed the others and knew they were Like Him. So this pull must be something important drawing all them all in. That idea hadn’t lasted long as Jasper stepped into the clearing and saw who was at the center of it. Cold anger washed through him. Jules and her bastards. It was immediately clear that they were trying to stop the inevitable. It didn’t take long for things to begin to get weird -- the color drain, the extra fog, the way their masters were suddenly present in their world. Jasper knew where it was coming from, and though he was feeling an insane sort of joy that a passageway was opening up again, he was more focused on the tiny cluster of assholes in the middle of the clearing. The lightning gave him a start, but didn’t stop him as Jasper rushed forward, all his focus on Jules. She was at the center of all this, and he was going to take care of her betrayal personally.
Carson spotted one infected break off from the rest and dart toward Jules, and he shouted a “hey!” and raised his firearm. The young man didn’t look. More dark figures were coming spilling out of Jules’s portal along with all the extra fog, and he felt panic starting to tighten his chest. Neil’s lightning was slowing them down but not stopping them completely, and things were quickly starting to spiral out of control. How were they going to put all this back? Carson squeezed off a round but the infected didn’t stop, quickly crossing the distance fast enough to grab for Jules.
"It's up!" Nic called back to Jules and his eyes lifted to the sky as Neil's lightning lit up the clearing. The faces of those affected by the fog glared back at him and suddenly things were happening too fast for him to keep up with it all. Fog was rolling out of the portal, along with various inhuman creatures that Nic couldn't get a good look at. A fire broke out on one side of the clearing and Nic cursed as Brianna McCarthy came into view. While he'd been worried about guns, he’d forgotten he might have to fight another witch off. Luckily, she was weak compared to him, still new to her craft, and if fire was the worst she could do, then he could handle her. Nic summoned water out of the air and poured it down over the fire, only to see another one crop up a few feet away. "Will you fuckin' stop it! We're trying to help you!" he shouted, then ducked as a large tree branch flew across the clearing, almost taking him out. Fuck. If they didn't figure this out soon, he wasn't sure they'd survive.
The lightning was frightening but also pretty badass, though Jules didn't have much time to stand there and admire it. The fog was growing thicker, the creatures that had sunk back into the shadows were dipping below the fog, unseen. It reminded Jules of treading water, unaware of what could possibly be below the surface, circling your kicking legs. There were larger creatures in the woods, behind the people they had called there. Jules could see them coming, just limbs and sharp claws curling around tree trunks. The infected still looked... pale. Glassy eyed. As soon as she heard Carson yell, Jules snapped her gaze forward to see Jasper running toward her. It was only then she was hit with some brutal clarity that they hadn't been called there to fix anyone. They had been called there to re-open that horrible place and save everyone else. All of the people who didn't know who they were, or what they could do. But before Jules could reconcile that with what she wanted, she heard a gunshot. "No!" The scream was broken but Jules wasn't sure if she was screaming it at Jasper, or Carson. It didn't matter. Jasper had already grabbed her and yanked her nearly off her feet as he began to drag her toward the other place. The fight or flight instinct kicked in at that point and it was fight. He might have been stronger than she was, but Jules was still trying to swing away, wanting to land a punch that would loosen his grip on her. She screamed for help then, suddenly aware of how bad this was getting, and how fast. They were losing control.
Neil did feel pretty badass for all of maybe a minute or two before the reality of the situation began to sink in. In order for his lightning to be effective, there needed to be so many more of him doing the same thing. He was just one guy with only two hands and it wasn't enough. What had felt nearly god-like at the start, now felt like pitiful sparks compared to the power he really needed and it was becoming increasingly difficult to aim the lightning with the intent to keep the monsters back without frying his allies. Acceptable losses echoed in his mind but it was different to read that in a history book than to actually live it and apply it to himself. There were no acceptable losses except the infected, they needed to get them out of this dimension or reality or whatever the hell it was they were dealing with and into that other terrible one - where they belonged.
He almost stopped with the lightning to draw his gun when the shooting started and people started screaming. Jules was screaming in fear, Carson and Nic in alarm but there were others too, screaming threats at them, near-howling in anger. The fire was unexpected but Nic seemed to have that under control though it was hard to keep tabs on what was really going on around him. No wonder stories of war could be so inconsistent, how could anyone keep track of events when they were under siege! One gun shot became many was all he knew and it was clear it wasn't just he and Carson who had brought guns. Neil wanted to yell out a warning when he saw Vex raise a gun of his own but his voice utterly failed him. Someone was going to die here today, maybe all of them.
Carson felt like the air around him had gone weird somehow. He couldn’t breathe well. There was the fog, yes, which was rising with every minute, obscuring the dark shapes twisting through it, and he could smell the acrid scent of spent gunpowder. Had he heard the shots? Had all of them come from his gun? Everything seemed to get quiet for him and wind down into slow motion for a moment as Carson watched the infected kid drag Jules across the clearing toward the portal. She was trying so hard to keep her feet while he was snarling, pure hatred in his face. Carson had time to think we’re not going to win this before the pressure that had been building in his chest got unbearable, then spread throughout his whole body. He dropped his pistol, both hands rising up to clutch at his temples as he stumbled. The sudden feeling in him was familiar but terrifying -- he was shifting.
It happened fast, with the rip of shredding clothes and a cry that morphed into a roar as the heaped man on the ground turned into a beast. The werewolf rose up on his three massive paws and launched away from the others fighting off the crowd, a single purpose in mind -- save Jules. With a deep-chested growl, it ran down the teenagers in only a couple of seconds. The part of it that could still think any human thoughts didn’t want to hurt the girl, so it skidded to a stop before barrelling both of them over. The werewolf roared and snapped into Jasper’s face, pushing Jules away from both of them as the startled boy’s grip on her loosened. Then there was more screaming as it shoved and snapped and drove Jasper away, further into the otherworldly area of the woods.
“Fuck,” Nic muttered as he turned towards the roar, knowing what had happened even before he saw it. There wasn’t a full moon tonight, he was sure of it, yet there was now a werewolf added to the chaos and they had absolutely no way to stop him. Nic watched in horror as Carson charged towards Jules and the guy holding her, expecting a slaughter to follow. When Carson went for the boy instead, Nic breathed a sigh of relief, only to have it shattered by the sound of a gun. Pain blossomed in his shoulder as he fell back into the snow, and he clutched at the wound, frantically trying to stop the bleeding and keep tabs on what was happening around him. They had to pull back. They had to stop it all or they were all going to die. “Jules!” he shouted, trying to see her through the fog and the fire. It looked like Carson had spared her, but he couldn’t be sure. If she died while the portal was open, what would happen? It was a terrifying thought. “Jules, you have to close it!”
It took Jules a second to understand what was happening, and that the beast in front of her was Carson. She fell back and landed on her ass when Carson pushed her away but she didn't feel any pain. Just shock and fear that the werewolf would tear into Jasper. But there was no blood, no torn flesh. It was like Carson was just pushing Jasper back into the Other with the rest of the infected. It smelled like smoke and something else, something rancid and dead. Jules screamed Jasper's name before she heard Nic's voice yelling at her. Eyes wide, Jules turned her face to see Nic on the ground. Was that blood? What was he saying? Close it? "No! Carson!" If she closed it, Carson would go with it. And... Jasper. Jules ignored the rising knowledge that they were meant to do this and if they didn't finish it everything would go to shit. But she didn't want to lose Jasper or Carson. And what about the others? Jules got to her feet, trembling violently. The wind had picked up and she had no idea where to look first. There was so much chaos... so many shadows. It was like the night was becoming darker. Her hands burned but she couldn't do it. She couldn't. Wouldn't. "We have to get Carson!"
Neil was already freaking out and he hadn't thought he was capable of freaking out more until Carson quite literally turned into a monster right before his eyes. He couldn't watch when he ran toward Jules, his hands shaking as he kept the electricity coming but shut his eyes to not see the carnage he was sure was about to take place. The screams he was expecting didn't come, instead Nic was yelling at Jules to close the portal and she... she wanted to get Carson out? So Neil reluctantly opened his eyes again and took stock of what was happening. The infected were where they were supposed to be and the three of them, the ones who remained human, were outside the portal. Now was the time, only the wolf thing was still in there, snarling to keep the others back.
This had never been the plan, not officially, but Neil knew this was how it had to happen. He'd always known this was probably how it would go down. "Jules!" he yelled because even if Carson got back out - he wasn't human right now, Neil didn't understand why he wasn't killing everyone in sight but he had no interest in finding out if he would turn back or not if he actually got out of there and he could see Vex raise his gun again so... No. "Jules! Close it!" he near shrieked when one of the larger creatures started getting too close despite the lightning. What he did next was awful, he knew it even while he did it and he knew Jules might never forgive him but he didn't care. He sent a small part of the electricity her way, just enough to zap her, hoping to either snap her out of her wishful thinking or force her to close the portal.
Neil's words carried on the wind, and the zap was a painful shock, but it jolted her back to the reality of their situation. Carson was keeping the infected at bay where he could. So was Neil, but it was starting to fail. The shadows - creatures? - were climbing up the trees and disappearing into the fog below them and she was sure at any moment she might feel one of them wrap around her legs. Despite everything going on around her, Jules suddenly felt numb. Numb and accepting. She closed her eyes and let her hands do the work, because they knew what to do even if she didn't want to do it. That didn't mean she had to watch.
The burning sensation licked up her arms, but Jules was finding she could handle the pain now. The wind picked up, causing her hair to lash painfully against her face. It grew into a strong whirlwind before the force of it knocked her off her feet. Jules landed on her back so hard it took her breath for a moment. She struggled to breathe for a moment and when she was able to suck in the oxygen, she rolled onto her side, carefully pushing up on her hands. The first thing she noticed was the fog had dissipated. The creatures were gone, and the spreading darkness. The infected were gone too. Jasper. And Carson. Jules stared at the empty clearing before her eyes ticked over to see Nic and Neil were still there. "They're gone." The words felt distant on her lips, like they had come from someone else. "They're gone."
If Nic had been an air witch, maybe he could have pulled Carson out of the portal, but his control was weak on a good day, when he wasn’t flat on his ass, cringing in pain. He gave it everything he had, but they didn’t even budge and all he could do was watch as Carson and the others got shut inside the portal. Miriam D’Onofrio. Brianna McCarthy. Vex. What the fuck was he going to tell Lem? They may have managed to save the town, but Nic was pretty sure he’d mortally wounded someone he loved. He climbed to his feet to join the others as a feeling of numbness spread through him. He wanted to scream, to hit someone or something, but there was nothing to absorb the anger by himself. “They would have killed us,” he said softly, needing to reassure himself as much as Jules. “They would have killed everyone.”
"It had to be done," Neil said firmly and while he was suitably horrified that Carson was gone, he was equally relieved that so was everyone else. It was quiet out here now, it felt normal with the fog gone, no more shouting, no more gunshots. He felt like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders. "We had no other course of action." He glanced at Nic as he spoke, eyes widening as he took in the state of him. "You've been shot," he forced out and after everything that had happened that shouldn't have unsettled him as much as it did but the thought of the blood and having to deal with explaining this to doctors and cops? He suddenly felt faint, as if he'd been the one to take a bullet. "We need to get you to the hospital."
Nic had been shot. Jules could see the blood better now without the fog, even in the dark. Jules got to her feet, her gaze drawn back to the clearing. They had to get Nic to a hospital. But... the others. They were gone. Jasper. Jules brought her hands up to her head, tears filling her eyes. “We sent them there. That awful place. How could we do that?” What if they died? What if they were already dead? Jules felt like she couldn’t breathe. She hurried forward to the space where the Other Place had been. It was like they had never been there at all. “We’re just going to leave and go home like nothing happened?!” Maybe she was freaking out but it felt warranted. They had to freak out too! This was all insane!
“No hospital,” Nic said, unwilling to even consider it. Doctors would ask questions, they’d involve the police, and that was the last thing they needed on top of everything else. His shoulder hurt like a bitch, but he didn’t think he was losing blood too rapidly, so he did his best to play it down while still pressing his palm to the wound. “I don’t think it hit anything major. I can deal with it at home.” He followed slowly after Jules, his teeth clenched against the pain, both physical and emotional. She was right to freak out. They’d just sent, what, a dozen people into hell? It was the second sacrifice he’d been involved with this week, but it made slaughtering the deer seem like child’s play. It still felt wrong, even though he knew it was for the greater good. “No,” he said tightly, trying to keep his own emotions reigned in when he felt like shouting himself. “I don’t think that’s possible. But we couldn’t— we didn’t— There wasn’t any other choice!” he said, his voice rising despite his efforts. “If we’d let them stay, they’d have killed us. And everyone else. Maybe not on purpose, but—we had to stop them!”
Neil felt faint relief when Nic said he didn't want to go to the hospital. He'd already started trying to come up with a plausible reason for why Nic had been shot right at the same time a police officer and at least a dozen other people had gone missing. That relief was mostly muted by the panic that Jules would try to open the portal again and all the madness would start over with monsters spilling out into the world and the next bullet going through him. "Jules," he choked out, shaking his head wildly. "We have to go, it's done. It's over. We have to go." He half expected the woods to change again because Jules might have proven herself capable and smart beyond his imagination, but she was still an emotional teenage girl whose boyfriend had just disappeared. If only Carson was still with them, he would know what to say, he'd work some charm and comfort her while Neil had no idea how to even attempt such a thing. "We can't stay here, we can't leave any... evidence we were here."
It's done. It's over. The words were sharp and painful, stabbing directly into her chest until she realized she wasn't breathing. Jules inhaled sharply and lowered her hands. It couldn't be over. Jasper couldn't really be gone. She wanted to argue and demand that they help her bring everyone back. She didn't want to go back home without Jasper. Jules's chin trembled and she looked back at the empty clearing. Maybe she was waiting for a miracle. Maybe they would all just reappear, no longer infected or wanting to hurt people. Maybe. Jules waited, her gaze scanning the trees, searching for any sign of movement, any sign that they had saved everyone, not only those left in town. But the night was calm again. There was no sound. No movement. Her hands didn't burn anymore. She wished they would. Because then she knew something was coming. But there was nothing. "Okay," she whispered. Without waiting for them, she began to walk the way they had come, feeling like they had failed everyone. Especially Carson.
Nic looked around the clearing, at the trampled snow, the beacon pillar of ice, and the blood where he’d fallen. He didn’t think anyone would come looking there, but all it took was a sweep of his hand to whisk it all away. It was just water, after all, and smoothing out snow was so simple it was almost alarming when he thought about what it meant. The evidence was gone, just like that, just like the people. “Come on,” he said softly to Neil. “I have some calls to make.” He was already trying to decide who to call first and was shocked to discover Caius might be the easiest of the lot. He knew how weirdly dangerous Point Pleasant could be, had seen how chaotic things had become the last few days, and would hopefully understand that they’d never intended to lose Miriam. Shayna Mae would hopefully be the same. He wasn’t sure James McCarthy would be as understanding. Zania could reach out to Rost for him. And then there was Rylee. And Lem. Those two were going to be the hardest by far.
"You have a bullet hole to attend to," Neil replied stiffly, dismayed by Nic's inability to prioritize right. Phone calls could wait until tomorrow, it was late, Nic was bleeding and looking around the clearing was disturbing on a whole new level now that there were no signs of what had really happened. He walked after Jules, giving Nic fretful little looks as he wondered just how badly he was injured. Getting shot was no small deal but he was carrying himself well and worrying about other things so perhaps it wasn't too bad. Of course he might just be distracting himself from the pain and was ready to keel over at any moment. The thought made Neil blanch and by the time they neared the road he nudged Nic lightly on the forearm. "I'm driving back," he told him. "You're in no shape." The words all but died on his lips when he looked out at the road leading into Point Pleasant. It was lined with cars, at least ten of them at quick glance, all parked in rows at each side of the road. "Oh Jesus," Neil whispered. Of course they all drove there, it would have taken them far longer to get to the clearing if they hadn't, but Neil had utterly failed to think about what to do about their cars.
Jules knew Nic had been shot and was bleeding but he seemed to be doing fine so Jules didn't feel guilty about not showing concern, or walking ahead of the two men. She could barely feel her limbs but Jules wasn't sure if that was because of the cold or the shock. Like Neil, Jules was taken aback by the sight of the abandoned cars. It was eerie and slightly terrifying. What were they supposed to do with the cars? Nothing, that was what. They were going to be found by someone else, or the even the cops. Like Neil said, they couldn't leave behind any evidence that the four of them... three of them... had been there. But Jules's gaze landed on a car she recognized. Inhaling sharply, Jules ran across the road towards it. The driver's side door was still open, like Jasper had just parked and gotten out without a care in the world. The car had been turned off, but the keys were in the ignition. Straightening, she looked over the hood at Nic and Neil. "I'm taking this back to Jasper's dad," she told them, her tone making it clear that they weren't allowed to argue with her. "I'm not leaving it here."
“I don’t think I’m going to bleed to death,” Nic muttered, though he couldn’t deny that his shoulder was on fire. Every little movement made pain pulse through his body and he did his best not to jostle it as he walked. It made him wonder if he could will the blood to stay in his body. For the first time in his life he wished he was a healer, that he’d learned how to handle more than surface wounds and cuts from blood letting. It would come in handy about now. All thoughts of dealing with his wound and who would drive slipped from his mind when he saw the cars lined up on the road. He spotted Vex’s van, haphazardly parked, and it wouldn’t have surprised him if the keys were still in it as well. “Are you okay to drive?” Nic asked, rather than arguing with her. He didn’t see the point. He’d be coming back for Vex’s car as well, once he was sure he wouldn’t bleed all over it. He thought about the others, then thought about fingerprints and decided against it. At some point there would be an investigation and they needed as little leading back to them as possible. “What’re you gonna tell him?” He didn’t want to say it, but he really didn’t want the cops showing up on his doorstep in the morning.
Was she okay to drive? Probably not, but that wasn't going to stop her. There was no way she was going to leave Jasper's car here. Licking her lips, she met Nic's gaze. "I'm going to tell him the truth. He already knew what we were going to try and I think he knew this could happen. Mr. Lucas isn't going to call the cops on us." It was hard for her to imagine Jasper's dad involving the cops in anything, really. It was well known in town that the Lucas family and the cops weren't usually on civil terms. "I mean... we've got to tell some people the truth, don't we? Carson's family deserves to know... my friend Bash, his mom was in those woods. We can't lie to them. What they decide to tell other people is up to them, but I don't think they're gonna tell people some kind of crazy doorway opened in the woods. It's crazy."
Neil had now had the taste of being stalked by dangerous people so the thought of grieving and possibly angry relatives knowing he'd had a hand in their loved ones' disappearance didn't much appeal to him. He furrowed his brows and gave Jules a very disapproving look but in all honesty, he was too rattled and tired to argue. "Keep our names out of it," he said. "There are too many people who already know." One of these people had been a cop and Neil knew very well that cops could easily plant evidence if they wanted to take someone down. They might not be able to pin him for murder since he hadn't killed anyone and yes, portals were hard to prove but that didn't mean he hadn't had a hand in these people going missing.
Nic shot Neil a look of contempt, then refocused on Jules. She was right about one thing, even those that believed them weren’t likely to spread the truth. No one was going to tell the cops they’d sucked all the fog damaged people into a portal to another world or dimension. If they did, they’d just sound insane. And even then, there was no proof. It wasn’t like Jules was going to demonstrate her ability. “I’m going to Rylee’s before I go home. She’s Carson’s cousin and they’re close. She’d be waiting for him. If Bash is Bash McCarthy, tell him his father can call me with any questions.” He didn’t really want to talk to James, but he wouldn’t leave that all to Jules. “There are a few others I know that’d believe me, but… I know we can’t tell everyone. I don’t really want to reveal what we’re capable of to people who don’t already know, if that makes sense. But don’t worry, I won’t name names,” he said, shooting a glance at Neil, though it was more for Jules’s sake. She didn’t need people hunting her down, asking questions she couldn’t answer.
Jules nodded when Nic spoke, but she kept her heated glare on Neil's face. Coward. She definitely didn't want to be the one to tell Bash's dad about any of this, so letting Nic deal with him was something she was more than willing to do. And she felt a sharp stabbing in her chest, knowing Carson's cousin was waiting for him. But Carson was gone too, and it was their fault. They should have tried harder to get him out before having to close that doorway. But they didn't. Jules could tell Bash what happened, and Jasper's dad and then they could tell people they knew, but what about the people who wouldn't know anything? Wouldn't not knowing hurt worse? Her throat felt tight and dry all of the sudden, and rather than cry it was just easier to refocus her grief in another way. Which was anger. "You're an asshole, just so you know," she snapped at Neil. "And what are you going to do if I do tell someone your name? Electrocute me again?" Jules slipped into Jasper's car and slammed the door before fumbling for the keys to start the engine. Maybe she could just run Neil over on her way back to Point Pleasant. It was a nice mental image, but not something she knew she would actually do. Instead she kept her focus on getting Jasper's car in the direction of town and getting the hell away from this place.
It certainly wasn't the first time Neil had been accused of such a thing and he supposed Jules actually had a good reason for calling him that, unlike most of the idiots who had in the past. He still pursed his lips in displeasure and shook his head as he stalked to Nic's car. "People are vicious," he told him. "Maybe she's too young and naive to understand that but things could get worse for us if people know we did this. You know this, I know this. Some might want revenge and most wouldn't understand what happened." He was ranting more for himself than for Nic at this point, stung by the way Jules turned against him when just minutes before they'd been on the same team. Sure, yes, he'd electrocuted her but only a little and only because they were about to die. That felt fair!
“She just lost someone she cares about and now has to go tell his family that he’s gone. Which is the right thing to do, by the way, even if it means they know she’s responsible. ‘Cause otherwise, he’s just another missing person in this fucking town, and if you caught the name you’d know the Lucas’ already lost someone this year. So maybe cut her a little slack. She’s in high school. She shouldn’t have to deal with this shit,” Nic snapped, unloading on Neil because he was the only one left and he’d made himself such an easy target. “You don’t have to deal with this after tonight, and that’s great. How lucky for you.” He couldn’t stop thinking about Lem and how bad she was going to take this. Could he say he’d done everything to save Vex? Probably not, but it had all happened so fast and if they hadn’t acted while they could, he wasn’t sure they’d still be alive.
The urge to electrocute Nic came on strong as he vented and Neil had never before felt this urge to inflict violence on someone. Not like this. Maybe because up until now he'd been weak and unable to actually hurt anybody. Punching someone would have been ineffective and more likely to get him hurt, but electricity felt so easy. His jaw was set as he let Nic go on, biting back his every response. It wasn't fair, Nic was being a dick! Neil was sort of okay with Jules telling her boyfriend's dad but she wanted to tell a whole lot of other people too and that was different, that was dangerous. You didn't share your secrets with people because once you did, it was no longer a secret. People always told someone else who then told someone else, that was just human nature and Neil loathed it. "How lucky for me indeed," he said through clenched teeth, somehow managing to keep his composure. Probably because it was Nic's car and Neil really didn't want to take one of those other cars to get back into town. It was both creepy and it put him at risk of discovery by the police - or worse. "Give me the damn keys so we can actually put this behind us."
It was probably a good thing for both of them that Neil managed to keep his composure because Nic would have loved a reason to hit him. The idea that they could put this behind them was a farce, there were too many people involved, and just because everyone infected was gone didn’t mean that they hadn’t told people things before they left. Vex had known things Nic had never shared with him. He suspected Caius would be able to confirm the same from Miriam. If every person that disappeared had seen them as a threat, even if they told one person, those people would be looking for answers. Nic just hoped they all showed up at the library. He kept quiet as he handed over his keys, then circled around to the passenger seat. He could probably drive, and would have to as soon as Neil got home, but this would give him a chance to gather his thoughts before he started delivering bad news. The danger might have passed, but the worst part of the night was yet to come.