>You are Anonymous
>You are not a strong man
>But right now, you could care less about the battery acid sting in your muscles
>Or the cold sweat threading its way down your face
>It's a welcome feeling
>Because it means you're keeping Sam safe
>She's resting in your arms as you carry her bridal-style up the hill, back towards the church
>Under cold and delicate stars, you watch as her timid chest rises and falls
>Her face isn't relieved
>It isn't strained
>The worried lines that often bunch up under the dark circles beneath her eyes are absent
>All you see is sheer exhaustion
>You can still see the frustrated, angry marks pressed into her throat like a necklace
>The red lines of fury
>You can even see where his fingers had pressed hard — little splotches of red — as if Sam were molding clay and he was trying to sculpt her into everything he hated
>It makes you hate her Dad even more than you already do
>Soon those marks would fade from Sam
>And old wounds will scab over and heal
>But the scars will remain, like a broken jar
>You can put all the pieces back together, but it will never be the way it once was
>Mike glides up next to you,
>You're too intent to hear him
>"Can you carry her all the way up?" He says. “Because if you want…"
>His voice trails off
“No. I need to do this," you say to him
>Even if your arms strain and burn, you're going to carry this stupid, brave bun all the way to the top
>Mike is silent for a moment, then says: “Police?"
>Your answer is quick and short
“No."
>"Don't you think someone will notice that Sam's dad is gone? I'm no fan of the police myself, but… her dad is dead. There's a body down there."
“Good. He was a monster trapped in a memory. He tried to murder his own daughter, and then kill himself." You cradle Sam's head in the crook of your arms like you would a child
“As far as I'm concerned he's better off dead."
>"You know that was my first time meeting the guy, right?"
“What's your point?"
>"He didn't make a great first impression on me either." Mike spits on the ground
“You should have been there the first time I met him. I about pissed myself."
>You were nearly at the top of the hill now
>You were tired, sweaty, and your nerves were burnt to a crisp
>Sam obviously had it worse, but at least she was unconscious now and could get some rest
>She deserves that
>"So no police then?" Mike asks again
“We'll let the conductor call the police — if he ever does. Who knows, there may not be enough of his body even left over to identify. At least, I hope so."
>The police never came that night
>And neither did sleep
>Alex and Jenna spoke in hushed voices to each other, often rising from their rickety pews to stretch and ask if you were alright
>You were alright
>You were watching Sam sleep for hours
>Mike stood guard outside, wielding Sam's baseball bat
>What was there to keep guard from anyway? Do the goths even know where you are?
>Is their behemoth resting in the school somewhere on the night before their ritual can be completed?
>Is there someone in this entire conflict that knows peace right now?
>Maybe it's you
>Watching Sam, doubled in on herself, not dreaming, not kicking in anxiety, not fighting with demons (real and imagined)
>What you felt at first was concern for her
>Then, as you laid her on the pew in the front row, like an offering to God, letting the full weight of her being rest, relief washed over you as if it were water from baptismal springs
>She was alive
>Wanted
>And breathing
>Alex drops down next to you, lowering his frame with an exhausted grace so as not to wake Sam
>"How you holding up?" He says with a tired smile
>His voice is low and scratchy, and for the first time, you sense there's a small touch of nerve there
“You know, one thing I never thought I'd be doing last weekend was… this…" you say
>"I did." Alex's matter-of-fact tone gives you pause
“Bullshit, you didn't know any of this would happen."
>"Well, not this specifically."
>"But I did know we were going to do something important. Something like save the world, and save Sam."
“Alex," you sigh, exhaling your nervous energy. Sleep was just starting to fall on you — or maybe it was exhaustion?
>You look down at Sam, who is utterly conked out on the pew
“I'm too tired to play games with you right now."
>"It's not a game though. I just know we were meant for this. Some people just have greatness running through their blood."
“And you're saying we have greatness in us?"
>"Maybe, I don't know." Alex shifts his body nervously
>He absently begins chewing on his nails
>"You remember when we were on the roof?" He says, not looking at you, but instead towards the altar, sitting high on steps of polished wood
“Which time?" You say with a heavy yawn
>When is the sun coming up? It's gotta be close
>"The first time. On top of the school. So much has changed since then. You, Mike, Sam, Jenna — even me."
>You close your eyes, fighting sleep
>It's kind of true
>Sam — she's proved she's made of stronger stuff than what she's been made to think
>That her life is worth living on her own terms
>She's not a bad replacement for her brother, a burden or a coward
>And you know that, and somewhere deep inside, she probably does too
>That courage will blossom in her, with time, care, and a lot of healing
>Mike… he's kinder to you
>He seems to care more about you and everyone else, and especially Jenna
>He can't go it alone anymore and he knows this
>Unfortunately his future is still kind of fucked, but maybe something will change tomorrow?
>Alex… is Alex
>And you
>You're much less of a coward than you were
>You can sense an anxious strength in you, and not from the curse that the goths gave you
>But from scaring yourself shitless
>You've also decided you're going to college, and though the very idea of leaving Ranchview and everyone and everything you know behind knots your stomach, you've decided you're going to do it — you need to do it
>The thought of Sam all alone in town, nowhere to go, all alone again while you study in some expensive school's dorm house, gives you pause
>You care so much for that stupid fucking rabbit that the idea of not leaving is a genuine option for you
>You really, really, really care for her
>You'd tell yourself that you have a crush on her, but you know that's not true
>You honest to God love her
>"Yes sir," Alex says in a tired, dragging voice. “Despite all that's changed since last Friday, I do know one thing."
>"We are definitely doing something that matters."
>Sam doesn't wake with the first of the morning's light
>You watch it filter into the church, laying bars of gold across the pews
>One of them strikes Jenna directly across the face, who is sitting a few rows behind you
>The fox squints, as if in pain, and then blinks herself awake
>She shields her eyes with the thin length of her arm
>You turn to Alex, who is dozing away
>His snores fills the whole church
>The way they echo off the high ceilings is vaguely reminiscent of a guttural Gregorian chant
>You were restless the whole night, obsessively watching Sam, just observing the careful rise and fall of her chest, just making sure she was alive
>You forced yourself to fight through sleep and keep a vigil (though you did take some time to read through The Book of Rite a bit more)
>And now the result was a live current of energy singing through your veins
>You can feel your heartbeat stumbling in your chest with a misplaced sense of purpose
>This happened sometimes — you didn't sleep and then you'd end up with the shakes, but full of energy and purpose
>Still, going into tonight without sleep may not be a great strategy
>Well, no sense in fighting it now
>Everyone would have to be up soon anyway for school
>Sam especially
>You don't want her to miss her chance at a GED
>She's missed enough school already
>You go to shake her awake, but stop short, your hand hovering over her
>You can see one of the glossy bulbs of her amber eyes — like molten gold in a crucible — peering up at you through the thick strands of hair that fell over her face in the night
>You lock eyes with her, still frozen
“… Morning…"
>"Morning…" she returns, her voice above a whisper, but not by much
>She still sounds tired
“You… doing alright?"
>Fuck
>What was that?
>She just watched her Dad die
>Even if she didn't like him, she might still have some weird connection to him
>Who knows?
>And all you can ask is 'you doing alright?'
>She sits up, stretches, and says, rather flatly: “I-I'm not sure. I d-d-don't f-f-feel n-nervous. N-Not like I normally do when I-I wake up."
>She turns and fixes you with a clear gaze, thick ropes of her falling across her face
>"W-W-What do you think t-that means?"
“I… think that's a good thing?" You say, not sure how to process this or respond
>She nods, slow
“You look better though. Like there's a weight off you."
>She doesn't toss her head to the side in evasion, like she normally would
>Her gaze is clear and steady, like she was looking at you for the first time
>Her fingers still anxiously drum on the pew, however
>"I-I guess? I d-don't know what t-to feel. H-He was n-no fa-father to me, b-but he was st-still my dad."
>You open your mouth to speak
>Do you really think you can help this situation?
“Well let me put it like this: do you have any positive memories of him?"
>…
>She stirs a bit, and then turns her head to stare out the cross-shaped glass window that sits over the altar
>"N-No." She says after a long moment of silence. “I-I tried t-to think of some b-but I can't. Al-All I ca think of is h-how messed up my head i-is because of h-him."
>You nod in affirmation
“Well look, I'm not trying to ruin any fond memories you have of him, but you were effectively his prisoner — physically and mentally."
>"You k-know what?"
>She turns to face you
>"Y-You're right. I-I-I'm glad he's gone."
>Nobody seems to want to talk much about last night, Friday morning
>You all sit around in a semi-circle outside your car, which has become something of a morning ritual for you all, a designated meeting post even
>Still dressed up in your priest costume, you, fruitlessly, try to get people to start talking
“Sooooooooo…" you trail off, unsure of where you were even going to take your sentence. “Today is the day, right?"
>Nobody speaks
>Guess nobody really knows what to say after last night?
>Nobody except Sam
>She gathers her arms around herself, shivering in the frosted Halloween air
>Above her, leaves drift in the wind in a storm of russet brown, auburn red, and gold
>"I know l-last n-n-night was…"
>She pauses
>"L-Last night w-w-wasn't e-e-easy.. B-But I wanted to th-thank you a-a-all for being there. A-A-And for being-"
>She looks at her father's abandoned car, drifting into a sharp memory of angled features and coarse hands; of devil eyes and devil smirks, imprisoning her; trapped in the grasp of a memory
>Shaking her head, she banishes those thoughts — if only for a moment
>You watch her fidget and shake, and know, deep down, she will never be whole again — If she ever was to begin with
>"-F-For being my f-f-friends. I don't t-t-think I would h-have made it l-long i-if I d-d-didn't h-have any of you."
>"None of us," Mike chimes in, “would have made it this far without each other."
>…
>He looks around, intensely self-conscious and hungover
>"But I ain't doing a group hug thing, alright? That's not what I'm saying this is."
>"Not even as a show of solidarity?" Alex questions in reply
>Mike shrugs. "Why do we always have to hug and pat ourselves on the back? I get it — we're all friends now."
>"Then will you settle for a homo-erotic high-five?" Alex raises his arm in preparation for a very hetero palm tip-to-tip
>"Alright, but you can't call it that. This is purely a high-five."
>"Gotcha," Alex winks at you for some reason. “No homo."
>Mike groans and slaps Alex's palm as hard as he can
>Sam and Jenna just exchange looks, while you, the third wheel, the dick between these two balls, just watch with folded arms
>Well this is as close as you'll get to group hugging
>And that's alright with you
The Leaves of Fall Act 3: Something That Matters (Part 15)
You've never really 'fit in' with the heavily divided Ranchview High School crowd. Jock, Goth, Prep, Cheerleader, Nerd... you were never any of these. But as Halloween approaches, strange things start happening, and a dark ritual begins with the finding of a curious red book. It's a race against time for you and your friends to stop a group of students from ushering in an age of darkness, and to also figure out just what the hell is wrong with that rabbit.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
About this version: originally, The Leaves of Fall was split into two pastebins to compensate for the length of the story. Given that pastebin has chosen to censor this story for ambiguous reasons, it will forever be stored here and on AO3. This new version contains spelling, grammar and content fixes. Please understand that the content is all the same as the earlier versions minus some sentences being changed and fixed up. I cannot stress this enough: no new content has been added. It's my hope that this is a cleaner, easier-to-read version of the story.
Cover: https://imgur.com/a/vZS4Q
Sam (drawn by Akella of /hmofa/) https://imgur.com/a/nk3t1wT
Fan art collection: https://imgur.com/a/SCCSIQv
Accompanying playlist (WIP): https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL9aXlzDRA49QKxgYsOV2JuDd410_nI-0J
Alternative link: https://www.sofurry.com/view/1479078
Total word count: 147,552 words
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
About this version: originally, The Leaves of Fall was split into two pastebins to compensate for the length of the story. Given that pastebin has chosen to censor this story for ambiguous reasons, it will forever be stored here and on AO3. This new version contains spelling, grammar and content fixes. Please understand that the content is all the same as the earlier versions minus some sentences being changed and fixed up. I cannot stress this enough: no new content has been added. It's my hope that this is a cleaner, easier-to-read version of the story.
Cover: https://imgur.com/a/vZS4Q
Sam (drawn by Akella of /hmofa/) https://imgur.com/a/nk3t1wT
Fan art collection: https://imgur.com/a/SCCSIQv
Accompanying playlist (WIP): https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL9aXlzDRA49QKxgYsOV2JuDd410_nI-0J
Alternative link: https://www.sofurry.com/view/1479078
Total word count: 147,552 words
4 years ago
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Estimated reading time
10 Minutes
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