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Out of all of them, Susie had the hardest time adjusting to their new reality—a world engulfed in fog that seemed to know no end, where time stood still and the dead never truly died. No, Susie had a hard time to adjust to her new reality, but the voice inside her head tried to force her hand, command her to kill, just as Frank did when he took her hands and forced the knife in the janitor’s throat.
Susie rematerialized back onto Mount Ormond, not far away from the ski resort; she could spot the looming aura of the dilapidated building from the corner of her eye. The cold wind at the mountain nipped at her skin, the sweat that had gathered on her back in the swampy grounds in the trial had chilled, freezing her to the bone.
She started walking back to the ski resort, leaving mud from the swamp that caked her converse sneakers on freshly fallen snow. She felt numb, and not just from the cold. Her hands were dirty but free from blood. She had failed again, she couldn’t even hit one of them. Susie felt tears of frustration burn in her eyes, hidden behind a twisted mask she could see through so poorly.
She stepped into the lobby of the ski resort, there was no door to close and the temperature inside was barely better than it was outside. She still preferred it over the humidness and uncomfortable warmth of the swamp. Mount Ormond was home to her, to the Legion.
Susie whined as she felt a migraine begin to throb in her head, before entering the fog she never had them so she suspected it had to do with her failure; displeasing the deity, a voice berating her on her failure. With a frustrated cry, she yanked off the mask from her face and hurled it as far she could throw it. It ended up near Joey’s feet, who sat on the circular couch near the fire, craving the little warmth radiating from the flames.
In the middle of the room, she sank to the floor, hugging her knees, as white spots flashed before her eyes, blinding her, due to the darkness her mask provided had vanished. Silent tears of pain, anger and frustration streamed down her cheeks to her chin. She didn’t want to cry, she was done crying, but she couldn’t stop it.
A hiccup trembled over her lips, she sucked in a breath and bit her bottom lip to prevent herself from sobbing. Susie covered her eyes with her hands, wiping the oncoming tears from her cheeks angrily. The migraine getting worse as time ticked on.
“Rough match, eh?” she heard Joey inquire from the middle of the room. Susie quickly glanced up to look at him, there is a hint of concern in his eyes, but she could also notice that he was bored out of his mind. She couldn’t blame him, they had nothing to do here outside the trials. No games, no music, no nothing.
But at least they had each other’s company.
Susie let out a displeased groan, she felt awful, due to shameful match and the pain the spiderlike clawed deity is putting her through. The intensity of the punishment is more painful than the previous two times. “It hurts, Joe,” she whimpered, lips trembling as another hiccup escapes her.
Joey didn’t seem to have much trouble adjusting to this new world. He did what he was asked, and impulsively still tries to one-up Frank, to either impress the older teen or outdo him. He did well in the trials the demon assigned them to do. His first trial was shaky, but by his fifth trial, he managed to down and sacrifice all the prey to their new deity. Joey was fast, thanks to his tall legs, even if his pants hung low. He almost treated the trials as a challenge; like a competition against Frank.
Susie watched Joey slip from the couch and saunter towards her, the old floorboards creaking underneath his weight. He stopped in front of her and crouched down, holding his arms up for her to grasp. Susie unwrapped her arms from herself and placed on Joey’s, gripping into the cloth on his upper arms with white clenched fists.
“Third time doesn’t have to be the charm, Sue,” he muttered as she steadied herself against the younger teen’s bigger form. He helped her towards the circular couch and sat her down. “Don’t cry now, Sue. You know Frank doesn’t like it when you cry.”
Susie rubbed her cold hands once more over her cheeks and wiped her nose with her sleeve. “I hope Frank gets picked next time again,” she grumbled, bitterness lacing her words. “He is the one with a talent for killing.” She feels anger burning in her chest, she doesn’t want to blame it all on Frank, nor on Julie, but a part of her does.
After all, it’s easier to put to blame on someone else.
Susie had stopped sobbing, and now little trembled gasps would pass her lips every now and then as she calmed down. Her head still hurts and her little outburst seemed to have made it worse. She dug her hands into her hair, thumbs slipping under her bangs and rubbed her temple to try the sooth the pain.
She lifted her legs from the floor and placed her feet on the already filthy cushions, not caring about dragging more mud on it. Once more she hugged her knees, burying her head against them; her vision darkened and the white spots diminished.
Susie hated to admit, but she wanted to go home; arguing parents be damned. She craved the warmth of her bed, a good shower—oh God, what she wouldn’t do to feel clean again. But she knew she would never be able to go home, even if they ever would manage to escape this foggy world. They had killed someone in the real world, all of them all complicit in it; even if it was involuntary.
“How long have we been here?” she whispered, turning her head to the left to face Joey. It was a stupid question but she asked it anyway. As Joey answered Susie closed her eyes and leaned back into the cushions, letting her feet slip off the couch smearing the fabric with swamp mud. Her feet hit the floor with a dull thud.
“A week or two, give or take,” the taller teen guessed, he huffed in frustration and Susie, even with her eyes closed, could see his face contort into a snarl as he always does when he is frustrated. “I dunno, I don’t keep track of that shit.”
Susie hummed in agreement, besides, the day and night cycles felt weird; either the night would drag on forever or vice versa. On Mount Ormond the day seemed to last a little longer than she could remember in the real world. The weather never changed, or barely. It was always a grey and solemn place, always snowing, the wind howling against the walls; slipping through the cracks, freezing you to the bone.
After a moment of silence, praise it be, Susie dared to ask Joey what Frank and Julie were up to.
“Probably fucking,” Joey deadpanned.
Susie snorted at the crude answer, only to whine and grip her head as another stab of pain burned through her skull. Joey was best known for his dry commentary and Susie wasn’t always a fan of it—the puns were terrible, but it would make her laugh at least a little bit.
“I wouldn’t be surprised,” she admitted, rolling her eyes at the mental image flashed in her mind for a second. Susie shrugged, closing her eyes again to stop the white flashes. “I don’t hear anything, though.” Thankfully.
The pink haired girl remembered how vocal the two were after Julie returned from her second trial. The older girl had blood smeared all over her; it had soaked into the grey hoodie underneath the dark but weathered leather jacket that she favoured so much. The hunting knife, coated in a shiny layer of thick blood, fell on the floor. Her bloodstained hands had ripped off the mask to reveal a pleased but manic grin on her best friend’s face.
Julie practically had leapt into her boyfriend’s embrace, exclaiming that she had done. She downed all four of the prey and managed to sacrifice two of them. Like Susie, Julie hadn’t been able to get a single kill in her first match, but unlike the pink haired girl, the blonde managed to at least get blood on her hands during the first match, downing one, who managed to wiggle out of her grasp.
It took Julie almost no time to adjust to the realm submerged in fog, hiding the sun under a thick grey cloud. Her love for Frank grew near obsessive after entering the fog, and she would do everything for him without a single doubt. As long Frank would urge her on, she would adjust just fine. So when she came from that trial, bloody and grinning, Frank had swooped her up into a passionate kiss. He praised her as Julie’s fingers ran over his face, leaving bloody trails over his cheeks.
Susie swore she saw him lick her best friend’s finger, and she wasn’t surprised that the sight of Julie turned him on. They soon took off to a more private area upstairs afterwards, into the bedrooms, leaving Joey and her in the dust. Only a little later the noise of the two their act was heard throughout the cracks of the walls that had fallen into disrepair, much to the younger two their dismay.
“You need to pull it together, Sue,” Joey breaks the moment of silence this time after it had fallen between the two of them once more. He shifted on the couch to face her, a serious expression on his paint covered face. “You can’t keep fucking up, I heard something about severe punishments.”
The girl grimaced, frowning at the younger boy. Easy for him to say, with his long legs. “I’m the weakest, why can’t you understand it,” her voice raised in volume, her breath stuck in her throat. She dug her nails into the skin of her forearms, an old habit she had for ages. “I can’t keep up with them, I’m not fast enough—and getting all frenzy hurts so much, Joe.”
Joey all the sudden grabbed her by her shoulders, a scowl on his face, panic in his eyes. “C’mon Sue, don’t start crying again—” letting go of her shoulders, he groaned in dismay. “We—I really don’t like to see you upset.”
Susie hadn’t noticed she had started crying again and once again ran her cold hands over her cheeks again. She pulled them away to stare at the wet fingertips, traces of her mascara, eyeliner and grime mixed in with her tears. She wiped her hands on her the thick cloth of her tights in frustration.
She felt so angry. At Frank. At this demonic thing that commanded them to do it’s bidding. She’s mad at herself for failing so much, and for trailing behind Julie like a lost puppy, following her into Frank’s world of violence—into the mist.
As Joey calmed her down, Susie could hear Julie giggling from the second floor followed by the low mumbling of Frank’s voice. Susie glanced up to see Julie walking towards the stairs until the blonde caught her stare. She watched Julie’s face lit up but then furrowed her brows in worry. God, Susie thinks, she must look like a fucking mess with her mascara stained cheeks, runny nose and swollen eyes.
“Oh Susie!?” she heard Julie gasp. The blonde hurried down the stairs, nearly tripping over a missed step. Her hair, usually sporting a ponytail, hung messily over her shoulders. “You’re back already?”
“That didn’t take long,” Frank scoffed as he trailed behind his girlfriend, lazily stepping over the missing plank instead. The hood is down, giving away how greasy his hair seemed in this light. “It’s only been—what? thirthy minutes?”
Susie lowered her head in shame, but she heard Julie shush Frank for his comment and imagined in her mind that the blonde would be scowling at him as he approached his gang. Frank lately knew what to say to make her feel even worse, ever since they entered the fog it had become worse. What had been playful remarks turned into asshole comments as time progressed here.
“I can’t hold your hand in the trials, Susie,” she shot a glare into Frank’s direction. With a stupid grin on his face, he continued to mock her. “You have to stab them yourself this time, remember, the neck is always a nice spot.”
The short girl felt anger build up, she gripped the cloth of her tights, fists whitening starkly against the dark tights. Suddenly, she got on her feet in a burst of anger. Clumsily, she tried steadying herself but her knees wobbled and her head spun, nearly making her fall over again if Joey hadn’t grabbed her— he always had fast reflexes.
“Shut up, Frank!” she fumed, anger consuming her. Once more tears welled up in her eyes, this time of anger. “I try and I try, for the spider fuck up the sky—for us!”
Her head is pounding, and she felt a nausea spell wash over her, but she didn’t care about that for now. She’s too angry to care, she felt so, so furious and Frank’s stupid face and stupid mocking aren’t helping either. She saw Julie grab Frank’s arm, a silent sign to tell him to stop. But knowing Frank lately, he won’t back down from a verbal fight. He had no qualms with shutting down Joey when the younger boy challenged him.
“I’m not like you, Frank,” Susie argued at him, she spits those words with so much bitterness that she surprised herself because she sounded, well almost jealous. “I’m slower, weaker…” she faltered, the anger abruptly ebbing away as she confessed her insecurities. She dropped her hands that she didn’t realize had balled up in front of her to her side. “I’m not like you,” she repeated, worrying her bottom lip between her teeth. “I’m too scared of what I will become.”
Frank was the complete opposite of her, he had adjusted right away, to the fog and the trials; like he was born for this world. It sated his newfound bloodthirst and he triumphed in it. He was the chosen one, handpicked by the demon itself. He would come back dripping in blood, he was brutal, not always sacrificed prey but straight up murder them in cold blood. She heard from Julie that is was called a Mori, a special sacrifice for the deity to allow it to happen.
He almost never let anyone alive, those that got away were lucky.
Deep down, Susie is fully aware that the demonic deity didn’t care for her, nor for Julie and Joey, it just wanted Frank. It never planned to have the other three, but they showed their use. Well, Julie and Joey did, they adjusted just fine, did their killing. But she knew that the spider fuck never wanted her. Too weak.
A burden.
She saw Frank open his mouth to say something, but remained silent as Julie, still at his side, shot him a glare. Susie heard her best friend say something, but it was so quiet and only for Frank’s ears to hear. He mumbled something back to Julie and she gave him a grim smile back.
It has only been two weeks, give or take, but the tension had between them had grown. It felt like they were falling apart already, and Susie feels herself to blame. God, just like at home, where her parents would argue and argue, and she would be the reason why.
“Stop doing that, Sue,” she heard Julie call out to her. The blonde left her boyfriend’s side and strode towards her. Julie turned her head to look at Joey, who still held the Susie after catching her. The older girl gave the boy a nod, a signal that it is okay to let go of Susie. Julie took Susie’s hands and held them firmly.
Julie’s eyebrows furrowed in concern, making them peek out from underneath her bangs. “I know that face, Susie. Stop being so hard on yourself, you’ll get through the trials next time.
“I suppose boredom is slowly tearing us apart. But things could be much worse,” Julie let out a giggle, her shoulders lifting in a shrug. “We could be starving in the real world, or maybe arrested and thrown in prison!”
“Things will get better if—when we get better,” Frank stated after Julie finished up. He plopped down on the couch, dust specs flying in the air. “Spider God told me if we do our job, it’ll give us more stuff to do besides the trials. Rewards and stuff.”
“Why didn’t you say so earlier,” Joey spoke up, finally popping into the conversation with the group. “Man, if I knew that I would do my job even better. Fuck man, Frank, I miss music man!”
“You never asked, man” Frank commented with that stupid grin on face. Susie took a quick glance at Joey’s face to see his reaction. As expected he looked annoying, but something playful glimmered in his eyes. Frank continued. “Besides, I wanted Sue to pull her shit together.”
He didn’t know about the migraines; but then again, like Frank, she kept her secrets since she didn’t want to burden the others. “Let’s not keep any secrets to each other anymore, I thought we were supposed to be a team?” she queried as Julie gave her a hug, neither of two smelled great but hey, what can you do when all you have is snow to clean up in?
“Fuck yeah, we’re the Legion!” Frank pumped his fist in the sky. He looked pleased with her conclusion.
“No more fights,” added Julie with a gentle smile, smacking Frank on the back of the head as he made a little comment about no promises. If anyone could keep Frank in check it would be Julie, well most of the time.
“No more tears,” Susie added, more to herself than to others. As she said it, she noticed her headache ebbing away into a more uncomfortable throbbing rather than the painful stabs she felt earlier. It must be pleased with their decision.
“I’ll do better in the next trial,” she promised, looking at her friends, a timid smile on her lips. But determination burned in her eyes, just as the anger before did. “I have to learn one way or another. And soon, for us.”
Out of all of them, Susie had the hardest time to adjust to this new realm. She may lack Frank’s bloodthirst, nor did she have Julie’s infatuation with Frank to fuel her and neither did she have Joey’s competitive spirit. She was just Susie; sweet, naïve Susie. But underneath the shyness, a new grown sensation of anger had started to grow. A feeling that’s easy to manipulate.
Soon that girl would no longer be a failure, the Entity would make sure of that.