"Impossible. Socks hasn't come in contact with any—"

I interrupted Ryzo, the suspicion we were believing a fraud boiling over and shooting out like a flaming arrow,

"Well, you have to explain something. I listened to you about the tearglass and I almost just got killed! Again!"

"I know what it sounds like, but listen! I remember October thirty-first, twelve-fourteen, as if it were yesterday, and the tearglass worked then just like it worked two weeks ago."

Meme interjected,

"October thirty-first?"

Ryzo stiffened as his eyes widened. Looking to the side, he showed his regret of bringing up the topic. Getting suspicious, I asked,

"What's that date? Halloween?"

Ryzo sighed,

"Tbh, remember how I said humans hated us?"

My face dropped in remorse as I realized what he'd brought up because of my pushing. Meme stared at Ryzo, confused. He looked at me as he asked,

"What did I miss as a ghost, again?"

Confused, I looked back at Meme. I accused,

"You guys didn't even leave for the tearglass yet by the time we figured that out."

"Just because I became a ghost doesn't mean I became omnipresent. I'm not everywhere at once."

I sighed, turning back to Ryzo. I assured,

"Don't worry, you don't have to explain all that stuff."

As he readjusted Laff's mask over his face, almost as if to take it off, he paused. Seconds later, their hands dropped and Ryzo's gravelly voice admitted,

"I trust you guys enough and I think I'd rather talk about it than not."

My gaze softened as I glanced at the ground. I asked again,

"Are you sure? I feel bad putting you on the spot about something personal."

"You're not going to get anything out of Gulvic, that's for sure. This needs to wait until later, though."

Meme shrugged and squawked,

"Fair."
______________________
-Socks POV-

I groaned, covering my face with my forearms in a small attempt to shut reality away from my eyes.

"Gulvic, please just go."

My left ear deafened itself as if I were wearing noise-canceling headphones. It sadly made Gulvic easier to hear when he talked mentally, which was something that hadn't happened before.

"You know I won't."

I lowered my arms and turned on my side, digging my fingers into my bed, annoyed. I grumbled,

"Why would you want to do this?"

"I told you."

"Would you mind explaining again?"

"I'll show you instead."

Before I could even fight it, Gulvic possessed my body and used it for his own. Again. My conscious self was sucked into my mental body for the second time today.

Knowing I couldn't do anything to stop him, I simply stood there and stared at him. He glared back, assuming I was going to panic and fight him over control. When I didn't, we continued to stare at each other until it got awkward. Confused, with slight disappointment, Gulvic asked,

"Aren't you going to do anything? Don't you care?"

I spat,

"I never said I didn't care. There's just no point in fighting you for control."

"What do you mean? You've won me before."

I smirked as Gulvic turned around to face me, therefore leaving my physical body 'lifeless' and limp on my bed. I scrambled to the panel, shoving him out of the way. Gulvic, surprised by the maneuver, took a few steps back to regain his balance and stared at me, wide-eyed, as I took control. Suddenly overcome with anger, he ripped me away from control. Expecting to be shoved away, I got ready to fight back against the force. However, it wasn't as strong as I had prepared for, but it instead came out as a light push. Nothing meant to harm me. Nothing extreme. It felt like something Blaza, Meme, or Joocie would do after I made a stupid joke.

Switching roles again, I paused and stared at Gulvic. I raised an eyebrow, confused. Gulvic never looked back at me this time, but instead was fully focused on exiting my bedroom. He had a stern look plastered on his face, with his eyes narrowed and his mouth a long scowl. There was no use trying to pry him away now that I made him annoyed.

Walking into the kitchen, we saw Blaza and Nadwe. Blaza already looked paranoid because of what had just happened about thirty minutes ago. After our eyes met, he grabbed Nadwe by the arm. I glared at Gulvic mentally, telling him to back off. He refused— however, his eyes rippled into rings for a split second.

Odd.

Before I had the chance to drag Wulvic out longer, Gulvic wrapped a tentacle around my mouth and neck, slamming me into the wall. I was essentially paralyzed. Again.
___________________________
-Nadwe POV-

Blaza had just told me that Gulvic was back. I just wanted some lemonade to wash the bloody taste out of my mouth. Coincidentally, he now stood in front of us. In nothing but a panic, I twisted behind me to grab one of the steak knives that were kept on the counter behind. I turned back around, aiming for his gut with my elbows locked and both hands on the handle. My gaze locked with his snake-like pupils. My stomach felt as if it had just jumped off a cliff, barrelling into the ground. I heard my heart jump up to my ears. My body fell numb. I was so messy-minded that I didn't even feel Blaza grab my arm. Gulvic chuckled,

"Well doesn't this look a bit familiar?"

We stood there in deafening silence, waiting for each other to speak. I wanted to scream at the homicidal maniac to go away, but it was obvious where that would lead us.

"Nadwe, hasn't it been a short while?"

Gulvic was targeting me for some reason.

Why me?

I was forced to swallow back the fear that arose as he recited my name. Blaza tugged at my arm, implicitly telling me to escape, but my options were limited. If I became a bat, Gulvic could easily squash me into the wall or stab me with one of his tentacles. If I stood here with Blaza, then he could be killed easily and I'd be left to bleed out until I somehow healed myself. I didn't want to leave Blaza here defenseless. On the other hand, there's no telling what Gulvic will do— he might only try to scare us.

Looking up at Blaza for any kind of confidence, he glared down at me sternly. I could see the fear penetrating through his dark sunglasses. They couldn't hold anything back. There was no use in trying to keep a facade. My grip loosened around the knife handle, debating a dilemma on how I should risk my life. I glanced back at Gulvic, who was leaning against the wall with his arms and legs crossed, tentacles slowly floating through the air, with a stupid-evil grin on his face. I asked,

"What do you even want?"

Blaza's glare got even sharper. I felt it. Gulvic uncrossed a hand and gestured with it as he spoke, as if it were a business meeting.

"Well, I've stated my reasons multiple times, just,"

He pulled his free hand close to his chest, as if he cared about hurting my feelings. He sharply breathed in, and mimicked a face full of regret.

"Not to you. Nothing personal."

My lips pressed into a straight line, barricading the words that wanted to burst from my mouth like a firecracker. My pointed ears slid back and pressed against my head. Despite how much I tried restraining myself, I blurted,

"Gulvic, just go away and never come back! All you've ever done is—"

I cut myself off with my own scream as a piercing pain shot up my right arm. I dropped the knife, nearly stabbing Blaza's foot. My elbow became numb, but slowly faded back into my sense of touch as a blistering strike wrapped in a tentacle. My arm had been hyperextended backward— I'm surprised it didn't start spewing warm crimson.

I got angry. It felt like I just walked in the sun. Before the tentacle could slip away, I grabbed and dug my left hand into the tentacle. Of course, out of pure instinct, Gulvic flinched back— which included pulling the tentacle back toward him. I grabbed the knife with my right hand after bending down, which hurt my elbow, but it wasn't like I could die from that stupid of a circumstance. I felt my teeth ache as my vision was engulfed in red. Gulvic's second tentacle was about to rise to stab through my head when I attacked first.

Everything went silent.

My vision returned as I stumbled backward. Blaza stood there, probably terrified of both Gulvic and me, now. I stabbed them in the chest. Socks and Gulvic. My own chest sunk as I rethought everything that had just run through my head. I quietly wailed,

"No, no, no,"

Please don't die, Socks. I didn't mean it.

I wanted to run but I felt sewn to the ground. I just broke the law, how was I supposed to react? Socks' brown irises flashed into sight, and he was surprisingly calm, for being stabbed in the chest that is. He was silent. My heart skipped a beat as his gaped-open mouth managed to find a gentle smile.

"Thanks,"

I could barely keep eye contact for more than a second before staring back at the wound, which increasingly began to spit out red and black blood. I needed to look at the ground before the vampire in me surged out. My eyes began to burn from the guilt. I looked at Blaza for any sign of forgiveness, but he only continued to stare at Socks, growing more distraught by the second. Suddenly, Blaza gasped and lunged to grab me, and I stood there confused. What an idiot I was. I looked back at Socks to see glowing red eyes right up in my face, his hands nowhere in sight. Typically, that isn't a very great sign.

I was confused, until I felt a warm liquid drip down the left of my chest. I sharply inhaled to scream, only to be drowned alive by my own heart. Agonizing, extreme pain shot across my body, making me scream through the blood I began to cough up anyway. Gulvic just stabbed me in the lung. I fell backward, startled by Blaza's arms wrapping around my torso. I shrieked as pressure was placed around the knife lodged into my chest, consequently straining my lungs even more. I felt claustrophobic, like I couldn't escape the situation. My vision blurred as burning hot tears streamed down my cheeks. The one thing that scared me the most was the smile. I knew I wouldn't die. I physically couldn't— but that smile on Socks' face. It wasn't his– nor was it Gulvic's. It was so thin and piercing, like it could slice right through steel. His eyes lacked emotion, yet were filled with a twisted, euphoric, backwards amusement that belonged in hell. It terrified me so much that despite barely being able to move, I tried to stand up straight, which failed miserably. The demon's chuckle was cut short by the door slamming open. Ryzo yelled,

"Gulvic, I swear to all three of the gods above if y–"

I begrudgingly looked over my shoulder and watched as Ryzo, Tbh, and Meme stared at the knife neatly wedged in my chest. I tried to speak, but only coughed out blood instead. Ryzo's red irises quickly became small circles, the color being familiar to me at the moment. Before I could brace for any sort of impact from either infected, I was dragged to the couch. The sudden movement forced me to scream, as if someone were squeezing every last bit of oxygen from my lungs. I laid down, which might've made the knife cut down into my flesh even further. Blaza knelt down beside me, staring at the wound with his bare, panic-stricken eyes. His sunglasses must've fallen off his face while he was dragging me along. Meme ran off down the hallway toward his room, hopefully to grab bandages at the least.
—————————
-Ryzo POV-

"WHAT THE ZAIT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?"

I was angry. I didn't think I could physically be angrier than I was the night when Ally, Joocie, TBVG, and Oof arrived. No one could control how often my tentacles twitched, nor how fast our heart pulsed. I couldn't control that my hands were shaking with anticipation as the thought of stabbing Gulvic through the eyes crossed my mind— but no. I had to stop myself before I killed Socks as well. In response, Gulvic only stared back at me. With a stupid smile on his face. It kinda freaked me out, the idea that he was the calm one here. He had been the one to lash out. Despite it, I made the first move.

I ran toward the infected, and as I did, Gulvic sprinted toward Nadwe. Determined to protect the humans, I smashed my tentacle into Gulvic's face and pushed him backward into the wall. What made me even angrier is that he barely reacted. Almost no emotion, except for a slight bit of surprise. He still smiled, and it made me furious. I couldn't explain why I was so angry.

This good-for-nothing ligtai has nothing better to do with his afterlife.

Growling, I tightened my grip on the screwdriver in my coat pocket. I shoved the back of Socks' neck against the wall with my tentacle. I couldn't think properly. I wanted to hurt him.

Bint- don't do it, you hypocrite.

I held the tool above my head, staring daggers into Gulvic. Why is it that when he needs to get a point across, he scares people into listening to him, but when I do the same back to him, I'm nothing but a joke? How is that fair? I just wanted him gone.

On top of all of these thoughts, Laff was screaming from my head, begging for me to calm down. I wanted to but I just couldn't. Whilst in the midst of my own head, Gulvic chuckled. He chuckled.

"Make up your mind would ya'?"

I pulled back my arm, and at the very same time I took my shot at his face, Laff dragged me into half control forcing my tentacles to retract. It felt like I had a flash bang go off in my head. I heard nothing but a high squealing for a few seconds. It took a moment for me to get reoriented. When I did, we felt Socks' blood on our hand. I took control and looked back up. Gulvic had already ran down the hall into the library, slamming the door on himself.

Glad that he was 'gone' for the moment, I looked back at Nadwe. He couldn't die. He was a vampire. That meant he was going to have to suffer until he was healed- however long that would take. In a brighter turn of events, Meme sprinted into the room with me, Nadwe, Blaza, and Tbh. He had bandages with him, and other things that were non-existent in my day.
__________________________
-Socks POV-

I managed to seize control from Gulvic about halfway down the hallway. I just kept running until I reached the library. I opened the door and slammed it behind me. I stumbled backward until I was leaning against one of the bookshelves, allowing myself to slowly slide down onto the floor. I curled my legs into my chest and cradled my left arm as my shoulder sent out a piercing, burning sensation every two seconds. One inch to the left, and Nadwe would've stabbed my heart. One inch to the right, and Ryzo would've stabbed my throat.

This is how I die isn't it.

"IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT."

I was holding back tears. Barely. How was I supposed to stop bleeding as bad as this? Where Nadwe stabbed me with the knife, there seemed to be gallons of blood that had already spilled out. Gulvic hadn't said a word since he broke Nadwe's arm, or whatever.

I should've never given him a second chance, that son of a-

My eyes widened as a shiver was sent throughout my body. It was from him. He shoved my hand outward, which killed my shoulder. I couldn't help but start sobbing from the pain. Through the now-blurry vision that I now had, I watched as the screwdriver wound was healed before my eyes. I muttered in disbelief,

"W-what.."

Feeling a similar feeling to the one I felt in my shoulder, I looked down at my torso. The stab wound had been healed too. It felt odd, but familiar at the same time, as if a million tiny scars had been made and merged together. On the outside, it looked like I had become an alien, which at this point I sort-of am. Taking a moment to think and breathe, all I did after was whisper,

"Dammit, why-"

"Shut up."

"You realize Nadwe can't die?"

I took a breath, so I could scream at Gulvic some more.

"Now he's going to be stuck on that couch for however long it takes for him to heal. Honestly, I don't think he will be able to heal from that. How do you manage to have no heart? Especially for someone who has apparently gone through so much-"

I got no answer. Only a sigh. I caught my breath for a moment, still comprehending that I was no longer stabbed in two places at once.

"How did you-?"

"I have my ways."

Deciding I was done talking, we both sat in silence for another ten minutes. I couldn't tell what he was thinking about, but I was thinking back to when I was just in the kitchen. It kind-of just came out. I mean, I don't think I actually meant to say "thanks". Did I? Was I happy that there was a possibility-? I couldn't even figure it out for myself. I heard a distant,

"Sorry."

"Sure."

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Dear cod it's been too long uAAAAAAAAAAAAA
3039 words :p