AUs are awesome haha Cassia16
~~

Another day, another night.

More silence, other than the occasional creak of the wind going through the old floorboards.

It smelled.

I suppose dead bodies make it smell bad.

I didn't mean to, honest.

I woke up one day and whoever I touched, died.

We lived in a small town, one that wasn't on a map, too small to have signs to tell you how to get there.

So when I went out, I would always say something to everyone, and usually give them a hug.

By the time they were dead, I was already in another part of town, touching more people.

And then, I went home, without seeing all the dead bodies and noticing the too sweet smell of oranges.

My parents were panicking, they saw someone's eyes melt in front of them. The person dropped dead soon after, orange syrup dripping from their eye sockets.

They were so afraid.

I comforted them, gave my mother a hug.

She was beautiful, long curly black hair with silver eyes.

Those silver eyes melted after I hugged her.

My father screamed, clutching my mother in his arms and telling me to get away, telling me I was a monster.

I didn't understand, I was only 10.

I grabbed his leg, he was trying to leave me. His eyes were so blue, bluer than the sky on a summer day. They melted into orange.

Nobody ever came through the town. It was in the middle of nowhere.

Which is why, I guess, nobody ever came to investigate.

~~~

Carry on my wayward son,
There'll be peace when you are done
Lay your weary head to rest
Don't you cry no more-

I turned the radio off, sighing in frustration. I'd been driving for months, trying to find the lost town of Castle Rock, Wyoming. Its disappearance was in the paper of a nearby town. The person interviewed had gone out on a hike, and found a dead town with no eyes and orange syrup everywhere. The people in charge of the newspaper humored the man by publishing the article, which ended up on my office desk in Dallas, Texas five years after it was published.

As I mused, I wasn't paying attention to where I was until there was a bright red flash. I swerved without thinking, the car flying off the road and into-

d a r k n e s s

-God, my head..

I sat up quickly, immediately regretting it as I hit my head on my steering wheel.

Shit.

The car was melted into a tree, literally. Like, the front part with the engine was bent around the tree and fastened at the back. I tried my door, but it was welded shut.

Great, I'm trapped in a car that's melted shut-

Sunroof.

I nearly forgot I had my sunroof open, it was a cool day and I had passed it off as the air conditioning. I can be so stupid sometimes...

Anyways, I gladly squeezed my body through the sunroof. There was a faint scent of oranges in the air, which confused me. Wasn't I far from most towns...? There aren't even oranges in this part of the country!

I staggered away from my car a bit, wincing as I put weight down on my right leg. I could see a road, but not the one I had been driving down. I shrugged to myself, heading towards it. What's the worst that could happen, right?

I followed the road for a while, nothing but trees and road, trees and road, hey look a desert, trees, road, sand...

Hey look! A town!

:D

There's no sound coming from it, that's odd...

Also the smell of oranges is really strong.

Okay let me describe this to the readers, because I am successful at breaking the fourth wall! :3

*angry typing to stop Cassia's fourth wall breaking*

The town was small-ish, really old looking, smells a lot like oranges... there's another smell underneath that, I can't quite place it. The wind blew against my neck softly, which sent a chill down my spine. Is... is this it? The town of Castle Rock, that I've been looking for?

...nah, just some town.

Oh wait.

Are those.... skeletons??

aAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

The previous screaming was all in my head, just saying...

I walked carefully through the empty streets, gingerly avoiding the skeletons that were surrounded with an orange syrupy liquid. It was as if the whole town had been dead for years, just like the paper said. As I mused, I heard a sudden movement, as if a box falling. My eyes darted to the source, seeing nothing. If it was true and everyone was dead, what was that?

~~~

I sighed, sitting cross legged on the worn floorboards. Something seemed off, but I wasn't sure what. For so long, years at least, the town was quiet with only the wind making a sound. The wind had stopped today, entirely gone. I sluggishly stood, realizing I would probably have to go chase some animal away from my limited food stock. As I carefully maneuvered from the house to the store I had food stocked in, I heard footsteps along the street.

But that can't be, I have to be hallucinating...

I carefully look over into the street, looking around and seeing someone walking down the street slowly. I dropped the box I had and ducked down in terror, I'm totally fucked.

I can't let them see me, let alone touch me.

I let out a small sigh, peeking around the box to see the person looking straight at me. I turned back quickly, heart beating out of my chest as I tried to calm myself. I carefully took one more look, and they had turned back to keep walking. I sighed in relief, just sitting there holding a can of peaches. The scent of orange syrup floated in with the breeze, and I winced. As soon as they were far enough away, I slipped out of my hiding place and dashed for my house.

~~~

The scent of oranges was growing to be sickening, and I had looked through almost every house in town. The one remaining house loomed over me, sending shivers down my spine. It was also the only house that seemed to be fully intact, and with an old coat of pale blue paint over the outside it was straight out of a horror movie. The wind picked up and I could clearly hear the floorboards creaking even from outside.

Swallowing my fear, I stepped onto the old porch gingerly. It creaked, but held. I glanced to the shredded couch that sat facing the road, then to the dark unpainted door. A ripped white curtain hung over the one pane of glass remaining in the door, and I carefully reached out to open the door. It swung open with a sharp push, and I was met with a sudden blast of orange. Well, the smell of oranges. The room was dark, a couch and two chairs along two of the walls.

I shied back upon seeing the body, a skeleton by now with long dark hair scattered around it. Orange syrup was around it as well, and I grimaced. A crash resonated from upstairs, and I whipped my head up to see nothing. Probably just an animal, at least hopefully...

~~~

I flinched as a floorboard cracked under me. I was trying to stay hidden, but this town seemed to have it out for me... I shivered despite the summer heat, fidgeting with my long brown hair. As footsteps came up the stairs, I stiffened, sliding into the closet quickly and silently.

Whoever it was checked the first room, where I remembered that there was nothing but a bed shredded by animals and the only way onto the roof. Instead of leaving, they stepped into the hallway, right outside the door of what used to be my room. I could hear their breathing, although only faintly. I squeezed my eyes shut, preparing.

~~~

I frowned, peering into the next room. There were two beds, and a dresser. It seemed like a nice room, but I needed to find whatever was making the noises first. There were two closets, one on either side of me. So I carefully stepped in front of the right one, raising my gun as I held the door handle.

I yanked the door open, pointing my gun at... oh. OH. THAT'S A PERSON. A LIVING ONE. OH.

Okay! This is fine. This is perfectly okay.

This is not fine at all!

This... child was curled up in a ball on the floor, trying to get as far away from me as possible.

I gently slid my gun back into its holder, stepping towards them. They jump, "G-get back! Don't touch me!"

I take a few steps back, hands up. They straighten up, standing. I realize that they're a girl, maybe a few years younger than me. She has long brown hair, falling over her frightened violet eyes.

"Hey, kid, calm down. I'm not here to hurt you." I attempt to calm her down, a bit distracted by how cute she is. She may be terrified, but if I ran into her anywhere else, I'd totally be checking her out.

She simply raises a hand, pointing at me, "If I touch you, even just for a second, you will drop dead. Your eyes will dissolve and become this syrup all over the town." At that statement, I noticed the significant orange stain on her lilac hoodie.

"Okay, just relax. Here, I'll tell you about myself. My name is Detective Cassia Rose, I work out of Dallas. In Texas. I'm here about the mass disappearance. This whole orange syrup thing. You can talk to me about it."

She stays still, quiet for a moment. "...My name is Kit. And... This is all my fault..." The last part was quieter. I nodded, reaching towards her without thinking.

"Here, come with me. My car is just out of town." In a flash of stupidity, I grab Kit's hand. There was a flash of orange, but nothing else.

(That was bc I accidentally got Doritos in my eye lol)

She kept holding my hand, "You- idiot! Now you're going to die too!" I simply ignore her words, realizing that if I was going to die, I might as well go out with a bang. I lean in and kiss her gently, suddenly tasting oranges.

She stiffened, barely kissing back. I pulled away for air, looking around. "I'm not dead, so..." I shot her a grin, "Now let's get you to my car. I can take you back to Dallas with me."

She smiled a little, "I... I've never left here before. Are you sure I won't be a problem to you? I... I'm a murderer."

I smiled back, "It's okay."

~×~

Songs used:
It's Quiet Uptown
One More Light
Fairly Local
Sorry For Now
The Light Behind Your Eyes

I really enjoyed writing this one. It's a concept I've had for a while.
Cassia16

I finished it lol