>You are Anonymous
>And you feel like crying
>Like, actually dropping to your knees in a terrible fit of anger and frustration
>You’re drenched in sweat and your body is badly bruised and beaten
>The ritual started
>The books are nowhere to be seen
>And neither is Sam or Vanessa
>You made it to the altar room, the one all scarred up with cryptic drawings and that burning ‘31’ etched onto the wall
>And the basin at the center of the room is filled with fresh blood
>Bunny blood
>In the ephemeral orange light of the room, you see a steady trail of blood leading your eyes across the room, back into the halls, and disappearing into the dark
>Standing between you and that trail of blood is Reese, a goth
>The guy who carried Sam up here
>He’s roughly your size, though pale as cream cheese. His blue lips look almost suffocated
>Black hair drips across his sweat-soaked face
“Outta my goddamn way, Reese,” you snarl at him. “I don’t have time for your bullshit right now.”
>”Pathetic mortal,” Reese scoffs, showing his bright vampire fangs. “I can’t let you past me. Turn around now.”
“Don’t give me that ‘pathetic mortal’ shit, you useful idiot. Step aside or I’m going through you.”
>”Sorry dude. Guess you’re just going to have to go through me.”
“Reese I swear to fucking G-”
>The vampire goth is too eager
>He leaps over the bloody altar, mouth wide open, ready to sink his fangs into your neck
>You move to the side easily as the useful idiot crashes clumsily into the wall behind you
>He turns to you with a growl
>”Heh, you’re fast, but I’m faster.”
>Actually you’re not fast
>That was the easiest dodge ever
“Nothing about that was fast at all, but nice try.”
>”I guess I’ll have to use… THAT…”
>What is this, a shitty anime?
>He lunges directly at you, catching you in the midsection and hurling you against a wall
>Okay, that one actually hurt, you think, as your body collides with the scarred up walls
“Why do you obnoxious cunts have to be so strong?” You rise to your feet, still shaking out the adrenaline and the pain in equal measures
>”Because we have been given the gift of speed and strength by our queen, Vanessa Doermuth.”
>You draw your water pistol from under your robes and level it at his chest
“Bet she didn’t make you immune to this.”
>”A water pistol? My queen will be most pl-”
>You spray him in the face
>”MOTHER FUCKER!” He shrieks, clawing at his cheeks and eyes
>The smell of melting skin makes your stomach churn, and you don’t like doing this, but my GOD is your body in pain
>You’d drown in morphine right now if you could
>So with anger you pull the trigger again and blast Reese in the crotch, melting away any chance he ever had of reproducing
>He collapses, legs kicking violently underneath him
“I told you, I don’t have time to put up with your shit right now.”
>You holster your water pistol in your a belt loop beneath your robes
>Every motion and movement fucking HURTS as you grunt your way into the dark hall, leaving Reese to turn to a pile of goth-goo and ashes
>You have one singular goal in mind as you follow the trail of blood into the dark:
>Find Sam
>The door to the rooftop shuts behind you as the raised wind batters it
>You stand on the rooftop, the night sky dominated by the moon
>And
>Standing as a shadow against the titanic moon, is Vanessa
>But you don’t care about that dumb hoe right now
>Your eyes quickly fall on Sam, who is unconscious near the roof’s edge, laying in a big heap of herself
>”You know, her blood is really useful. Plus Reese tells me she’s light as a feather. She’ll come in handy in the new world.”
“Reese is dead,” you say, taking a step forward, clenching your fists. “He’s melting right now next to the altar. Don’t you care?”
>The doe throws her head back and laughs
>The canvas bag dangles in her hands
>”You think that’s going to get me to drop everything and rush down there? Nope!” She laughs again, her bright fangs glistening with need. “Reese served his purpose. And so did you! Look at what you brought me!”
>She holds up the canvas bag
>”Like a good little idiot.”
>The sight of that bag is enough to make your heart start to race
>All you’d have to do is… somehow beat Vanessa and get both of those books back… and… grab Sam and… do it all before midnight rolls around
>Speaking of
>A quick glance at your phone
>It’s 11:40
>20 minutes until the end of the world
>”See that?” Vanessa points up at the red moon. “It’s almost time for the new world, Anonymous. Aren’t you excited?!”
>The moon is so close that you swear, if you were good and drunk, you might leap off this roof in an effort to grab onto it
>Bright flashes of memory come back to you in lightning bolts of clarity
>You can see yourself sitting next to Sam and Alex and Mike on the edge of this very roof, chucking beers over the edge
>Bullshitting about lives you didn’t live
>You, hiding your cowardice, avoiding the big questions like college and what will become of your friendships after school is over
>Taking your anxiety out on Sam
>And Sam, still hiding who she is, covering her abuse and neglect with the oversized clothes and awkwardness and a false gender
>Sam
>Who is now broken-legged and on the edge of the roof, one good shove from oblivion
>But Vanessa doesn’t seem to want to hurt her
>’She’ll come in handy in the new world.’
>What new world?
>You lurch forward a little bit, grunting as you put pressure onto your beaten joints
>Vanessa smiles as she sees you approaching
>”Oh? You’re approaching me? Instead of running away, you’re coming towards me?”
>Ooh you hate her
“I’m not saying the lines,” you say through clenched teeth. “Now get over here so I can punch your lights out you evil bitch.”
>”Fair enough.”
>She darts forward, head down, eyes forward
>This anime bitc-
>She plants a strong right foot in front of her, cocks back her arm and swings into your stomach
>You manage to block it with your arms
>But the bone-shattering force of her hit forces a scream out of you
>You swear you’re seeing stars
>And she didn’t even have to blast you in the head
>Your arm rings and vibrates with pain, but you bring your leg up for a kick
>You’re no karate master, but you do manage to hit her in the side
>She winces with pain
>The ensuing psychotic smile she flashes makes you regret having kicked her
>And when she grabs onto your leg, leans back, and starts twirling you in a tight arc, you REALLY regret kicking her
>The world becomes a blur
>Colors and shape lose their meaning
>Everything is just a mishmash of everything, atomized and reduced to smears of motion
>Then everything snaps into focus as she releases her grasp on your leg
>You’re airborne now, sailing across the roof of the school like a human comet
>You skid back to earth, your back scraping on the grit and gravel of the rooftop
>When your body comes to a halt, you’re dangerously close to the edge of the roof, and dangerously close to being paralyzed by Vanessa
>Why?
>Because now she’s airborne and falling fast, her heavy black boots ready to smash your skull and grind your brain into a fine paste
>Splayed out on the gravel, it takes a good amount of your strength just to throw yourself out of the way of her killing blow
>She lands like she weighs 20 tons
>You feel the shock wave of her landing in your palms
>You climb to your feet and throw a quick jab at Vanessa
>Yet again, she catches your fist with little effort
>Still holding your fist in the air she sucker-punches you in the gut
>And there, on the rooftop, the final hope for humanity is brought low
>You seem to crumple around her fist
>All the air is forced out of your lungs as you drop to your knees
>You suck oxygen like earth was running out
>And who knows, in Vanessa’s new world, maybe that’s the case?
>Through all of this, that canvas bag is still in the crook of her elbow
>The two most important books in the world, and there they are, in a thin canvas fucking bag, right in front of you
>Shaking and badly bruised, you reach for the bag
>The doe laughs and bats your arm away like an annoying fly
>She all but punches your lights out with an unnaturally wild right cross that sends you skittering across the rooftop
>Your eyes snap shut, and you try to pretend that it’s not happening, which has been your strategy for everything in your life that scares you
>You try to pretend that none of this is real and that this is all some really bad teen movie, or that you’re trapped in some shitty dubbed anime
>But it’s real. It’s all real. Vanessa, the moon, Sam, Mike, Jenna, Alex, The Behemoth
>You’d rather get a slap to the face to wake you up, but you can’t choose how things happen
>Vanessa starts laughing in that really obnoxious laugh that’s made you hate her for so many years, and you want to tell her to shut the fuck up, but you can’t put your energy into words
>”Outnumbered, outclassed, outdone,” she lifts you easily in the air by the collar of your vestments and stares into your eyes. “And here I thought at least you and I could see common ground. I really thought you’d understand. And after all you’ve done for us, I was perfectly willing to let you live.”
>Well, here we are
>This same tired start where the story began
>You on the rooftop, the parking lot a total wreck, you close to death, and everything everywhere a complete and utter mess
>Vanessa’s lips curl up into a smile, and the fangs — which a doe definitely shouldn’t have — slide forward
>”Unlike people, I guess some things change.”
>You never thought it’d end like this. In all the fantasies you’ve had of your demise, death-by-doe was not one of them
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