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Neon Moon
chapter fifteen

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❛ i could drown myself in someone
like you. i could dive so deep and
never come out. ❜
— Impossible, Nothing But Thieves

WHEN DID LIFE GO FROM SCRAPED KNEES TO BULLET GRAZES? When did her life take that drastic turn away from a picket fence and babies on her hip? She went from the refreshing taste of iced tea to the metallic taste of blood on her tongue. Her skin, once littered with nothing but the kiss of sun rays, now stained with scars from the past. How did it get like this? How did she let it get like this?

          Be still, she thought. Can for one moment, everything just be still? The running, the hiding, the inexplicable fear... it was all growing so tiring. Everything in her wanted to keep going, to run and never look back. But she knew that she couldn't. It would creep up on her, many times, until she finally can't move on any longer. She needed to move. She needed to go. She needed to push herself, to push them out the exit where they could finally be free.

          Her eyes locked with the stranger before them, over the barrel of his double barreled shotgun. Seth, who he had hit, slid his fingers delicately through the blood now staining his hairline. "You want to put down the deathstick, Roadblock?" he asked sarcastically, anger seeping into his tone. Jacob's hands raised, a sensible thing to do when being held at gun point.

          "Do I have a smile on my face?" he asked. Not an ounce of him seemed to be amused by Seth. His body remained stiff, but confident. He must have used that gun before. "Does it look like I'm happy to see you?" She gulped. The best explanation toward his confidence would be fighting off the vampires, but how could they know if he's killed a human before? They could be in real danger, in even realer danger.

          "Newsflash: we're friendlies, okay? We're not those freaks." A smile seemed to crack across his face. He was listening, that much she could tell, but he didn't care. "I want you outta here. Go back the way you came." Her head started to shake. Slowly, it increased in speed as panic settled into her bones.

          "W–We can't," she spluttered out. "If we go back that way, we'll die. We have nothing to protect ourselves with." Her hands began to tremble. He didn't seem moved in any way. He remained stone faced, staring down the group like they were intruders in his home. To calm her hands, Marisol took hold of the back of Seth's jacket, fisting the material between her fingers. His body rocked toward her, an action that went unnoticed by the panicked officer.

          "You don't have much hope standing here,"
he replied, "staring at the barrel of my gun." Her frustrations seemed to overpower any common sense in her head as Kate barreled forward. "Stop!" she demanded, Jacob calling her name in a worried whisper. "Stop," she repeated, turning only briefly to silence her father.

Some call this stupid courage. Staring down the barrel of the gun and yet acting as if you're the one in charge. It's a dangerous thing, courage. "Mister, my brother is lost down here. And we're trying to find him."

"You never will," he stated matter-of-factly. "Nothing's gonna survive down here." For once, the facade he wore began to crumble. Little by little, he was becoming easier to read. The way he looked at Kate, almost as if he owned an ounce of sympathy. "You survived," she argued.

The air filled with a tense silence. The grown ups watched intently, ready to move if their little one was in harm's way. "How long have you been down here?" she asked, her voice gentle. He glanced over her head, noticing the way they all seemed to be protective. They were ready, ready to pounce. "A month. A year. Time's like a ribbon. Finds a way of knotting itself into a bow."

"Okay, buddy, listen. We gotta get at this stuff," Seth explained, fingertips grazing the shelves. "Okay? We gotta find a way to defend ourselves. You understand?" The aggression was back. His body language spoke louder than the tone of voice he used. Seth was growing impatient. Seth was growing worried. Seth was scared.

The stranger's eyebrows raised, amused that he was speaking so harshly at him, the one with the weapon. "I'm a bad judge of character," he said. Marisol flinched. Sometimes she felt like that too. "Either you go back the way you came..." The side of his fist hit a box, causing her to jump, and another wooden box slipped out. On top of it appeared to be a wheel like Wheel of Fortune with words scribbled on it.

"...or you play the wheel of misfortune like everybody else." — "Wait, everybody else? There were more people?" she asked in disbelief. His head tilted only slightly. Surely the idea couldn't be that implausible. "Did they make it out?"

          A sliver of hope. That's all it really takes. She tugged at Seth's jacket, hope glimmering in her eyes. "Seth, we could really make it out," she whispered. Seeing her so lively, compared to the previous events, made his heart skip a beat. The corner of his mouth tweaked upward. "You want to play games?" he asked, turning back toward the stranger. He scoffed. "I'm not playing the game. You are."

Seth peered down at the wheel. Go to Hell. Eat Lead. Fire & Brimstone. Shopping Spree. Suck the Pipe. Feed to the Vamps. A majority of the options didn't tickle his fancy. Honestly, he'd rather snatch something and make a run for it. But he knew that with Jacob's bum leg and the fact Marisol refuses to leave anyone behind, he wouldn't make it far. He couldn't leave, not without his girl.

His finger hovered over the spinner. Everyone's eyes landed on him. Their fates were tied in his hands. Whatever it landed on, was up to chance. Marisol found herself moving closer to Seth, her free hand pressing against his shoulder. He could feel the curve of her body against him. His heartbeat quickened.

          For a moment, he searched for her eyes. He looked over his shoulder at her, searching for anything that would make him gather the courage to put not only her life in risk, but several other lives. When they met, his mouth ran dry — well, drier. "It's okay," she whispered. "Just... spin it—"

          She had never anticipated his next move. Despite all of the eyes, despite all of the years apart, Seth knew. He knew that this was it. Gently, he turned only slightly and pressed his mouth to hers. She winced at the pressure against the split in her lip, but made no effort to push him away. Instead, her hand found purchase in his hair. Her lips parted and welcomed the kiss wholeheartedly.

          Their breaths became one. Their hearts once again became two halves of a whole. He pulled away, that familiar, cocky grin present on his face. "For good luck," he muttered, using his thumb to trace over the expanse of her top lip. Her eyes rolled playfully, amusement and happiness filtering inside of her. "Yeah," she replied. "For luck."

          With a new spout of courage, Seth turned back to the waiting wheel. He drew in a breath, hovering over the spinner, before giving it a nice flick. The broken fork clacked against his nail, spinning fast over the cardboard. Marisol's arms wrapped around his torso and she pressed her face into his back. Silently, she began to pray.

          Arise, Lord, and defend Your people. Lead us swiftly through the valley of the shadow of death. Come as a pillar of fire and illuminate our path to make it out of hostile lands...

          Seth released a breath. Her prayer halted, eyes snapping open. "It's your lucky day," the man said with a wide, sarcastic smile. "Shopping spree!" Confusion was a shared emotion amongst the group of survivors. Marisol glanced toward the others, finding matching expressions on their faces. "You get ten minutes to get whatever you want and ease on down the road."

He whirled around, catching Marisol by her arms. That cocky smirk was replaced by a genuine smile, a smile she remembered exclusively from their teen years. "I knew it," he exhaled, hands moving to take her face between them. A laugh bubbled in her throat. "Knew what?" she asked, fighting it back down. His eyes sparkled as he looked at her. "It's you."

She thought that, perhaps, he would kiss her again. She wouldn't be opposed to it. That one quick kiss was enough to awaken the need inside of her. "Wha– What are you talking about, "it's me"?" His hands squished her cheeks between them before releasing her. "Wait," Tanner spoke up from his corner, "hold on a second."

          Marisol glanced toward the blond man, brows puckered. "You've been deeper into this temple?" Her head snapped toward the survivor, mystification present on her features. "I fought my way to the heart of it," he admitted. Suddenly, her pulse started to become louder — too loud. She took a tentative step toward him, her breath coming out in nervous puffs.

          "What happened?" she asked. She wasn't sure she really wanted to know. She wasn't sure she wanted him to answer because what if that hope she had just rekindled like a suffocated ash dwindled to nothing? What if every last bit of energy that that hope conjured up inside of her vanished. Poof. You're dead.

          His eyes remained glued to hers. His tongue darted out to wet his bottom lip. "It showed me things," he responded, his voice lower. Her eyes flickered toward Seth. Like Richie, she thought. Seth must have been thinking what she was. "What things?" he asked, almost demanded.

          A cruel, deprecating chuckle left his lips. "If hell has circles... you just stepped off the bottom rung." Marisol shook her head in disbelief. She grabbed Seth's jacket and pulled him back. "You're lying... or, or you're exaggerating," she spluttered. His brows lifted in amusement. "You believe what you want, sister."

          His head turned for just a second to take something off of the shelf next to him. A timer sat between his fingers. "Ten minutes. Better be quick. Better be smart. Or else you're dead, anyway."

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"Who even plays hide and seek anymore?"

Marisol pressed her finger to her lips, silencing the younger boy as they crept through the shed in the Gecko's backyard. It was mostly full of junk, and lots of hiding spot opportunities. He followed close behind despite knowing that it wouldn't take long for Seth to find them. If he even really looked.

          "Those lockers," Marisol suggested, only for Richie to shake his head. Any tight space wouldn't do for him. There was a tarp slung over something in the corner. He grabbed her wrist silently and pulled her in that direction. As silent as he could, he lifted the tarp. It was one of those boxing partners and it looked to have been used often.

          She crouched with ease under the tarp and situated herself between the mannequin and the wall. Richie followed, letting the tarp fall over them and wash them with darkness. She repressed the urge to laugh, excitement bubbling up within her at the suspense.

          "How come the urge to pee almost always comes when you find the perfect hiding spot?" Richie asked, his legs tucked close to his body. He wrapped his arms around his legs, careful not to force too much pressure on his bladder. "I think its another way for your body to express nervousness," she replied.

          "Why are we doing this?"

          The question seemed innocent enough. It had been sort of a shock when she suggested the game out of the blue. Especially considering she was sixteen years old and no longer a child. She shrugged her shoulders, ignoring the way the wood on the wall scratched at her t shirt.

          The atmosphere was starting to grow warm. Her head rested back against the wall, wood pieces sticking inside of her hair. Richie sighed. "Seth said you got into a fight," she whispered. Her eyes hesitantly cast over toward the younger boy. "You don't typically entertain a fight."

          "He deserved it," the boy mumbled. She nodded. Her tongue pressed to the roof of her mouth, a clicking sound escaping moments after. Hurriedly, her hand flew to cover her mouth, surprising herself with the volume of the sound. "Sorry."

          Seth had a fairly decent way to go. Not many people can count to one hundred in five seconds. Besides, it wasn't like the couple had a conversation previous to the game suggestion (they totally did, unbeknownst to little Gecko).

          "Want to tell me what happened?" she asked. Nothing about his body language said he wanted to talk about it. If anything, it screamed at her to drop it. But she couldn't. Her friend, her little brother, was in a fight. He was in a physical altercation. It worried her, enough to have her freaking out on her walk home with Seth when she heard the news.

          "Was he picking on you? Was it over a girl?" Richie grimaced. A part of her had hoped maybe he was still naive about cooties. "You know you can tell me... but if you think I'm pushing you too far, tell me. And I'll shut up."

          "They call me a freak." His chin dropped to his chest, shame written across his face. "They say that I... I like getting beat up by my dad. And that I'm a faggot."

          Her throat slowly began to swell up. Almost everyone in the town knew what happened behind closed doors of the Gecko home. Marisol's parents knew, and that was a big reason they were so against her relationship with Seth. Despite the fact that they were living in a house with a known abuser, they were the ones who got more shit for it. The police did nothing, the other adults did nothing. Marisol wanted to do something.

          She wanted to put a bat in his face. She wanted to grab those snot nose little jerks and make them eat sand. She wanted to scream at everyone who dared to say one off putting word about those brothers, and force them to apologize. She wanted to fight God for doing this to them.

"Are you crying?"

She hadn't noticed the tears. She hadn't noticed Richie look up, or at her for that matter. Though she knew that she was caught, she couldn't help but deny them. The crinkle between his brows disappeared as he rested his head back against the wall beside him. "Liar."

Her fingertips brushed the side of his face tenderly. His hair had grown so much, and he had started to try and style it. She brushed back the strands sticking to his sweaty face with a small smile. "Did you at least win the fight?" she asked. He exhaled a snort, chin once again dropping to hide the smile that cracked across his face.

"I'll take that as a yes." Just as those words left her lips, the shed door creaked open. Their eyes widened, locked on one another. Shit, she thought. We're doomed.

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Marisol had filled Jacob's pockets with gauze and those tiny alcohol wipes just in case for emergency. She had also filled her own pockets with glow sticks and those tiny firecrackers that look like TNT. Besides that, she had settled on a harness she had found with steel knives lining the length. It was a little baggy, but she'd make it work. Her finger looped with one of the throwing knives, twisting the metal around it with sharp eyes. If she could aim a bullet, she assumed she could aim a knife.

          Just as she picked up a bottle of very old wine, the timer went off. She held onto the neck, contemplating whether or not to keep it. Perhaps it could be a celebratory drink when they got out. Or maybe it could be something to drown in when they reach the end. With a sigh, she set it back down, and instead focused on the things she had gotten.

          "Time's up!" the game master shouted, though most of the group had already stopped fumbling for things seconds ago. Marisol turned to find Seth, the man staring down the length of a stake gun with a retractable stake. "This'll work," he said to himself, proud of his find.

She sauntered up to Seth silently, appreciating the gun in his hands. It was a good find, much like Jacob's thruster. His eyes lifted curiously upon hearing nearing footsteps. They widened once he noticed the harness. "Wow," he exhaled, dropping the gun to his side. She grinned, gave him a little twirl, before having to muffle her anxious laugh. "Do you... think you could tighten it for me?"

He nodded, tongue inexplicably dry. His finger dipped in the waist band of the harness and he tugged her that little bit closer. Her heart pummeled her ribcage with ferocious flaps of its wings. His eyes left hers and traveled down her bloodied, dirtied shirt until he found the buckle. With swift hands, he shifted the holes until the harness sat comfortably tight on her. "Good as new," he mumbled, eyes flickering back to meet hers.

          Locks began to unlock. The noise echoed within the small room. Marisol and Seth turned back toward their exit. With no warning, he grabbed her hand. Their fingers interlocked. Her breathing went from stable to nervous. "There it is," the man sighed. "Your one-way ticket is about to get punched, but don't come crawling back, 'cause once you go through there, I'm shutting the door."

          His hand was the first to slip from hers. Their eyes remained on what appeared to be impenetrable darkness before them. Kate, still frustrated, approached the man. "You keep acting like you don't care if we live or die, but you keep helping us. Why don't you help us fight our way out of here?" she asked. "You know your way around down there, don't you?"

          "I'm not partial to suicide missions," he responded gently. Marisol snorted. "You know, I thought that, too," she chortled. "And, yet, here I am." His eyes didn't leave Kate's. It's hard to when she's being so sincere, so desperate to save someone. "My brother's down there. Alone. In the dark."

          "Kate, the man has made up his mind," Jacob said, gently. Her eyes sparkled with unshed tears. "Wait. My family might survive if we stick together... because we're better together." Marisol couldn't stop herself from glancing over at Seth. Kate was right. They were better together, even if she hadn't meant them in particular. "When we're alone, we're lost. You say that you're surviving, but you're just rotting away."

          The empathy that once showered his features were long gone. He leaned in a little closer, eyes wide with fear. "This place will mess with your mind. It will dig deep down into your brain, stir up the most heinous shit." He took a pause to look at the group, one individual person at a time. "Last time I was in there... I was in Fallujah... One hundred thirty degrees. In the reeds and smoke. Dying of heatstroke. They dropped ordnance. The commander sends me out to do a dead check."

          She swallowed. "I find a little boy," he continued. "Shell done torn him in half. No clothes on, crawling to me. Life just bleeding out of him. I wanted so bad to put him out of his misery, but I can't. He's just screaming. And no matter what I did, I just can't do anything to help him. So the dogs had to come finish the job."

          Seth noticed the tension between her shoulder blades. He noticed the tears threatening to pelt down her face. Gently, he pressed his hand to the side of her face, fingers sliding against her scalp. His thumb rubbed soft lines against her cheekbone. "Don't be afraid of what's in there. Be afraid of what's in here."

          After a pregnant pause, Seth was ready once more. He cracked his neck, shook out the nerves building in his muscles. "Alright," he exhaled. He clamored between Kate and the stranger, right into the darkness. Marisol, her heart leaping into her chest, followed him. "Thank you," she breathed out.  "And I'm sorry."

          It was that moment Marisol knew that she'd follow Seth Gecko anywhere, just like when they were kids. She didn't hesitate to break past the dauntless barrier and into the unknown. Not when she knew he was waiting on the other side.

rumi says . . .
i hope this chapter made up for the two
puny ones!! we're almost done with
episode eight (finally), which means
there will be two more episodes left until
the end of act one!! not sure how many
chapters that'll be, but we're close!

honestly i though about just giving mari
a shotgun but i desperately needed to see
her wearing a harness and throwing knives
like a badass. in tribute to her fallen lil bro

also the flashback,, honestly i really needed
some more platonic richie x marisol content.
plus i thought it fit the chapter pretty well. idk.

how was the chapter?
what was your favorite part?

i hope you guys enjoyed it!
feedback is seriously appreciated!