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Neon Moon
chapter sixteen

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❛ you don't have to believe me, but
the way i, the way i see it, next time
you point a finger, i may have to bend
it back or break it. ❜
— Playing God, Paramore

THE AIR WAS DAMP. The walls were covered in some kind of moss. Marisol stood behind Seth, a blade hooked to her finger, eyes flickering through the narrow passageway. "This reminds me of when we'd play hide and seek," she said, watching as the blue glow from their flashlights ran along the walls and the ground before them. Seth snorted. "This is a little more dangerous, sweetheart."

The hall continued on, though there were a few sharp turns. She used the flashlight in her other hand to peer down one, but when Seth continued forward, she followed. "The adrenaline is kind of the same." He didn't glance back at her, but she could see the way his face moved. He had smiled. "Can't be," Tanner spoke up, shaking his head. "Hide and seek's for kids. This is... adult stuff."

"What, murder?" she retorted, peering over her shoulder toward the arrogant professor. He blinked back at her. "Murder doesn't have an age limit. Obviously." Seth sighed, shoulders remaining tense as he kept his weapon at the ready. "Remember when Richie fell in the river basin outside of the Methodist church?"

"Kid couldn't even swim," Seth sighed. "Had to fish his dumbass out before he drowned." The memory, however long ago it was, felt fresh in their minds. Neither of them could fight the smiles off of their faces. "To be fair, the water was up around that time from the rain. And poor Rich was still a shorty."

          A scream rose from the distance. It differed from the cries of the monsters. Their heads turned in sync, hearing Jacob's shout for his daughter right after. Marisol pushed past Tanner, hurriedly racing back toward where they had come. "Kate!" she called. "Jacob!" He was still standing there, flashlight and weapon pointed toward a hole in the ceiling they hadn't detected.

          "They took Kate!" Jacob shouted, pointing up toward the hole. "Those things took Kate!" Marisol stepped beneath it, pointing her own flashlight up the hole. "Shit," Seth hissed. Just another casualty in what started out as a no casualty plan to paradise.

          There was something up there. There was something up there. Marisol turned toward Seth and Tanner with a quick spin. "Um, this might sound weird, but I need you two to lift me up," she stated. Seth and Tanner both looked to one another, but were in no position to argue. "Like a cheerleading pyramid. Stand over here."

          She hadn't ever been a cheerleader. Neither had Seth, and she highly doubted Tanner was one. But she maneuvered them in place with ease. "I'm gonna step in your hands first," she muttered, her eyes flickered toward Seth. He nodded, readying himself to handle her weight. "I got you," he replied. "Me too," Tanner blurted out. "We won't let you fall."

She stuck the flashlight between her teeth, held onto their shoulders, and stepped into Seth's hand first. "I'm going up," she announced, her words muffled, before kicking off. Tanner caught her foot just in time. Once up there, she released Tanner's shoulder to take her flashlight and point it into the darkness.

Just as she had expected. Something was up there. "There's a pathway," she exclaimed. "It goes that way." She placed the flashlight back into her mouth and re-grabbed Tanner's shoulder. The two men eased her low enough for her to dismount. She didn't bother waiting. Instead, she turned back and started running down the narrow path.

          "What the..." Seth released a heavy sigh, but followed anyway. Kate's screams could still be heard faintly. Tanner followed Seth and Jacob brought up the rear. Her shoes slapped against the damp cement. Her flashlight waved through the area, lighting up her path haphazardly. "Mari! Wait!" Seth called after her.

          Her heart pounded away in her throat. Her breaths came out in short gasps. Once she reached two parting paths, she flashed the light down both halls. We gotta pick one, she thought. She's got to make a decision and hope for the best. "Left," she breathed out. She could hear their footsteps approaching quicker, closer. Marisol glanced over her shoulder before taking the left path.

          The darkness consumed her like a blanket. The steady dripping of water, or blood, filled the distance. Plink. . . plink . . . plink. Cold air wrapped around her, slapping against her cheeks with fervor. "Marisol!" Seth shouted again and her steps faltered. Air barely slipped past the pin prick hole in her throat. The blue glare from her flashlight flickered until it went out.

          A gasp escaped her frowning mouth. She slowed to a stop, slamming the flashlight against her palms. Once, twice, the light flickered before dying again. A chill slithered up her spine like a serpent. Sweat collected at the base of her neck. She attempted to swallow, struggled breaths inhaling through her nose.

          "Seth?" she croaked out. She couldn't see. The darkness was silent, moving with every turn of her head. "Seth!" she screamed. Suddenly, a hand found her mouth. Her back was pressed tight against a hard place, forcing her back until she could no longer move. Arms wound around her, holding her arms to her side.

          A cold feeling washed over her. Her eyes widened, breath catching. She struggled against their hold, her nails clawing at the arm angrily. A hiss sounded in her ear as she bit down into the perpetrator's palm hard. "God damnit," they growled, shoving her forward. She caught herself on the opposite wall. "You can't be screamin' in here like that."

          Light erupted in front of her and right in her face. She blinked against the harsh intrusion. "Do you seriously have a fuckin' death wish?" She moved her hand between the flashlight and her eyes. "You shouldn't grab someone like that," she argued, her eyes finally adjusting to find the soldier from before. "Frost?" He frowned. He wore a holster made for explosives around his torso and his chest. The sawed off shot gun rested by his hip.

          "Fuck," she cursed, opposite hand pressing to her forehead. "Fuck, we got separated. The culebras, they got Kate." His frown softened. He stared silently at the woman for a moment before taking the shot gun and reloading it. "I might know where they took her," he explained. "These bloodsuckers have a ritual. When I tried to get out the first time, I found a... a alter."

          Marisol nodded her head. It made sense. They were all originally sacrifices, anyway. "Okay," she exhaled. Frost looked down at the weapons against his body. There was a slight tremor in his hands. "Why'd... Why did you come after us?" she asked. His eyes returned to hers, his face once again cold and stoic. He shook his head. "I don't know. Guilt, I guess. Empathy."

          Both of his hands gripped his gun tight. He straightened his posture, towering over her a bit. "Ready?" he asked. She didn't hesitate to nod. She held a knife in both hands, the ring around her pointer fingers. "Lead the way."

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The moon was at full attention when Marisol got the call. A friend of hers had thought of her after the news began to spread. Fire touched the heavens that night, scorching everything in its path. And Seth... he was gone.

The air was hot. Firefighters and police kept the scene fairly calm. Marisol had fought tooth and nail with her parents to go. The house she had stayed the night in several times, the house her beloved had lived in was dying. It was crumbling to ash against the fierce fire. The water was hopeless, a last ditch effort to save something.

Everyone was whispering. Not many people liked the Gecko family. If anything, they were one of the most hated families in their quaint town. Mr. Gecko was a piece of work. He was the type of person to show up drunk to public places and start an argument with the work staff. He was never truly sober. Marisol had found that out through Seth, but also the many times she had seen him in town.

He had an infatuation with her mother. She was a beautiful woman, a natural beauty that most would kill to be. It made sense why he would be attracted to her. She was a fashionista in the best sense of the word. She held herself confidently and with no hesitation. It was a summer night when Mr. Gecko approached Marisol and her mother when they had left the movie theater.

They had just finished watching a romance film that had successfully tugged their heartstrings enough to initiate the waterworks. He was drunk and he smelled like beer and piss. The moment he saw her mother, words began to vomit from his mouth. He called her a treasure, a beauty, a goddess, the sole reason for his life. He proclaimed his undying love for her, his attraction, and his late night activities that Marisol should not have heard at age thirteen.

Watching the fire eat away at his house felt somewhat blissful. Knowing that that rotten man would suffer from this loss made her feel happy. After finding out more about him and the way he treats his sons, she had grown a blinding hatred toward the man. He disgusts her more than any other thing.

"I heard the boys did it."

It was a hushed whisper, almost drowned out by the steady outpour of water from the hose. There was a short gasp. "Think about it. Why else would they not be here?"

Marisol glanced around stupidly. Part of her hoped to see them running up, stunned by the situation. She hoped to see Seth console Richie as they mourned the death of their possessions. Richie's figurines were toast, and Seth's movie collection was barbecued. It would surely shut these old hens up to see it. But they didn't come. Instead, they were greeted with a firefighter coming out with a body.

It was obvious that it wasn't one of the boys. They were too small compared to the bloated sack dropped on the lawn. It was Mr. Gecko, charred like a link of sausage left on the grill for too long. The stench of cooked flesh floated into the air, mingling with the harsh smoke burning her eyes. She watched in disbelief as the firefighter began CPR. Another approached with a gas tank and a mask. It was amazing that the tank didn't explode from the heat.

"Oh, my Lord," someone exclaimed. This changed things. This changed everything. Seth, the same boy who had been at her house hours before, was missing and his father was dead. His abusive, alcoholic father was dead on the front lawn. And both of his kids were gone, like ghosts.

She struggled to swallow around the lump in her throat. Water collected at her waterline to protect her eyes from the smoke. Two hands pressed gently but firmly into her biceps. "Mija," her mother cooed, pulling her daughter into her chest. Her arms wrapped tight around Marisol. She felt like a mouse in a python's grasp. Her bottom lip trembled ever so slightly.

Her father's head fell. He shook for a moment, hand pressed to the hat on his head. "The old man's dead," another person stated. "And his kids disappeared?" She bit down on her bottom lip to stop it's movement. Her mother squeezed her that much tighter in hopes to block out the voices around them.

"What if they started the fire?"

"Everyone knows how Gecko was. It wouldn't be too much of a surprise."

"That poor man. He raises those boys on his own for years and they do this."

"He probably never even saw it coming."

"Marisol?"

Her head turned in the direction of her name. It was soft spoken. Her eyes found the empty space surrounding her in the trees. "Seth," she whispered to herself, voice breaking ever so slightly. She grabbed her mother's arms as her body unraveled like a roll of yarn. Her face crumpled, emotions overtaking her features.

He can't be gone. He'll come back for her. He'll tell her that it was all a misunderstanding. He probably took Richie out for some fast food. That always seems to cheer up the younger boy. A sob escaped past her clenched teeth. Her knees wobbled beneath her.

He'll come back... right?

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"Help! Please, help!"

          Marisol trailed Frost, her knives ready. They followed the narrow path and the shouts, and the hissing of creatures. "How much farther?" she asked, heart in her throat. He didn't respond. Kate's cries had died down. The hissing, it heightened. "Conflict," he blurted out. Her eyes narrowed at the man. "Conflict?" she parroted. "What the fuck does that mean?"

          He stopped abruptly in front of her. They had run into a dead end. He waved his flashlight from one wall to another until he noticed the small clearing. "Follow me." He slipped between the walls, chest grazing the stone. His flashlight bounced around the tight space. Once he was far enough in, she slid in after him.

          There was more hissing. It was growing louder and louder as they pushed through. Her back scraped against the wall, hands pressed firmly against the opposite one. It was times like this that she felt grateful for not having claustrophobia. "Careful," he whispered. They were coming to the end, a slightly bigger opening opposite of them. She could hear the snarling, see the flashlight she hoped belonged to the others.

          Her anxiety began to increase. She pushed faster, her chest hitting the opposite wall with every stuttering breath she inhaled. Frost exited first, snatching off an explosive from his vest. He flicked the pin off and tossed it at the creatures. It burst into flames, burning away the monsters' skin, leaving a pile of ash in its wake. She was finally free.

          Frost cocked his gun once more. She was uneasy on her feet. She stumbled into the room, her eyes meeting Seth's. "Oh, God," she whispered, hurriedly rushing toward him. He met her in the middle, his arms instinctively wrapping around her waist. "Where the hell did you go?" he asked, his words muffled by her hair. She shook her head. "I don't know. I don't—"

          "There's a passageway just beyond the altar," Frost exclaimed, breaking up the two's reunion. Seth pulled away first, his hands pressed on either side of her face. "Move, God damnit! Go!" Kate looked happy to see them. She smiled over at Frost. "You came back," she sighed. Marisol turned back to the man who had found her and helped her find her people.

          But before she could thank him, another culebra came out of the dark. It's claws sunk into his skin, an ear piercing roar escaping its fanged mouth. Seth gripped Marisol's arms, pulling her toward the alter. "Go!" Frost shouted. "Get your brother!"

          "Frost!" Kate screamed. Jacob ushered his daughter through the passageway, Tanner following right after. Seth pushed Marisol through first before following after her. "Let's go," Seth exclaimed, forcing the group further through the dark passage. They got only a couple of feet away when another explosion hit.

          Seth covered Marisol with his body, hands instinctively moving to cover her ears. Frost was dead now, too. Why did everyone around them have to die?

rumi says . . .
damn,, its been a while. 💀

i will not lie, i kinda got writer's
block for this. i ended up starting more
books too which probably isn't the smartest.
speaking of those, if you guys are into
The Office or It by Stephen King,
then do i have the books for you.

Paper Rings is a jim halpert x fem!oc with a
best friends to lovers trope. Two Birds is a
stanley uris x fem!oc with a neighbors to
best friends to lovers fic. so if you're interested,
check them out!

how was the chapter?
what was your favorite part?

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