Chapter 7: S1, Ep 7: Search and Steal (1)
Four days had passed since this whole game began, and if Maxwell would be honest with himself, he had half expected something to have happened by now. No one had ventured out from their bases, aside from that Judy Valetina girl, and even then, she didn't venture that far past The Alpha Squadron's headquarters.
Maxwell sighed, watching over the entire forest with his elaborate setup of hidden cameras and drones, boredom coating his features as his right fist rested on his cheek, slumping to the side as he glanced at one of the blank screens.
Everyone seemed peaceful. Too peaceful. Sure, there was interior drama within the teams, moreso with Foxtrot between Emelia Warstoch and another member, Hilbert. Kennedy was trying to rope in Cody and stop him from blowing a fuse. That Luz girl and Judy seemed to bump heads more often than not, with Stanley having to force Judy to "cool off" so to speak.
Oh, and Stanley and Judy were breaking one of the rules that he had set up. The whole "no diddling allowed" rule. They thought they were clever, but they weren't. Not that he cared. They were adults, basically. It was only a problem when the younger ones decided to try and get frisky—which none of them had, thank God. He did not want to see that. He knew he was a piece of shit, but he wasn't that much of a piece of shit to watch kids fuck each other's brains out and get off to it.
He wasn't like Tyler, who was a walking blackhole for morality. Don't get him wrong, Tyler was his friend, that was true, but Tyler was also a fucking creep. Hell, he had tried to marry his daughter off to an older man! Like, 20 years older! Honestly, maybe her dying here was better than going back to that fucking nutcase.
Not that he was going to spare any of them. This place would get carpet-bombed regardless of what the result of this little game was. Though, how he'd explain that to the public, he didn't know. Texas was smart by having theirs by their border, so they could get away with it being a defensive maneuver against Mexican invaders.
And even then, Greg was dragged out from his house and lynched for doing that and was replaced by some other shmuck that he hadn't bothered to remember the name of. Besides, he only cared about the part where Greg was brutally killed like Ceaser. He watched the whole thing live on TV, smiling the whole time.
That bastard deserved it. Stole 100,000 from him and called it "claiming what he owed from a bet" which was bullshit because he had already paid that asshole, but he digressed.
He wanted something to happen, damnit. Staring at the screens, watching basically nothing happened over the course of the last 120 hours was really killing the mood. The first time he and his benefactor set this whole thing up, said benefactor being Tyler, everyone went straight for each other's throats. The winner of the ordeal was a special case, too.
They had tried to end him via a carpet bomb, but the bastard lived. When that didn't work, they tried shooting him with a firing squad, and the bastard responded by turning into some funky purple smoke.
Instead of trying to do what he suggested next, that being containing him in a gas canister and dumping him in a lake, Tyler decided to hire him as a personal assassin, which had created the souths worst serial killer in recent memory, The Southern Ripper. Then he got the idea to make an entire special forces unit out of any super freak he could get his hands on that wasn't a child or inexperienced in killing.
Tyler kept mentioning how useful those with powers were. How they made detractors disappear quickly when paid enough to do it. Personally, Maxwell didn't think that way. He found them to be nothing by eyesores and blights. But, if Tyler said they were useful, then he wasn't going to knock him for his opinion.
Though now, it made him wonder why Tyler would want to team up with him for a second time after what he had said. If he had seen the usefulness in them, or the lack thereof in Maxwell's opinion, then why would he want to exterminate a new generation with him? Maybe there was something else to it that he wasn't understanding, but it wasn't like he cared.
The only thing that Maxwell cared about was making sure that his state was safe from the heathens that were invading it. The only problem was that, unlike last time, well over 10,000 of them showed up. He had only thought a handful would crop up like last time, but that turned out to be a lie. What was worse was that, if he didn't get this over with soon, he knew that The Federal Government would be on his ass.
It was only a matter of time before someone noticed a whole sect of the Military was taken away from their posted position. If he was found out, then his political career would be in shambles. Scratch that, it would be done for, and he'd probably spend the rest of his waking life confided in a cell. And that was assuming Tyler didn't just outright kill him after it was all said and done.
The true mastermind behind this, the one who planned for and gathered everything that they needed to start this game again was Tyler. It made sense. After all, he was the head of the Witch Hunter Association. And while it had been limited to only him and his assassins, seeing as everyone was coming out of the woodworks with superpowers now, it was only a matter of time before the number of people who joined the WHA exploded.
Although, that made him wonder what would happen to those whom he cared about who woke up with superpowers. Which was hypocritical, he knew. But still, it was a genuine concern of his.
Hell, even his three-year-old son, according to his wife, woke up with the ability to sprout claws from his knuckles, like Wolverine. Oh, and his niece in New York, who had the ability to fire lasers from her eyes. She was just six years old. If something bad happened to her...
"Damnit, don't get cold feet now," Maxwell thought, setting his jaw as he sat up straight. He had already sunk time and money into this. To pull out of the operation now would surely get him killed. Regardless of what he said to Tyler. And that was assuming Tyler would be the one who did it.
Times were changing, he knew that. But he didn't like those changes. Humanity wasn't meant to sprout wings from their backs. They weren't meant to blast fire from their palms. They weren't meant to turn into smoke and slip through doors and cracks in walls.
"What the hell is happening to the world..." Maxwell thought, slumping in his chair. If someone were to have told him 20ish years ago that those with superpowers would become commonplace, past him would tell you that he had already wiped out the "super freaks" with his first run of this death game he created.
And while there were some exceptions he made, that smoke guy being one of them, and that one girl who he only remembered as "Thatcher" it wasn't like he was going to see them again. One was with Tyler, and the other was in some backwater town in his state, probably smoking crack or something. Well, when she wasn't harassing him with emails.
He never read them, so he had never really planned to interact with that slut. Although, a week ago, when he saw the name "Thatcher" he nearly spat out his drink, because that was just a bit too much of a coincidence. Namely because last week he made a joke about how he would've found it funny if he ruined the life of another person in the cunts life.
At first, he thought it was just a fluke, but then he saw her and realized that she was related to the same Thatcher that he had almost killed all those years ago. He had only spared her because she was pregnant back then. But now, he had the offspring of that woman in the palm of his hands, and he couldn't help but smile.
Oh, how irony was bittersweet sometimes. Like mother like daughter, he supposed. Though, maybe he wouldn't copy the whole rigamarole. He was already doing the most with the whole death game thing. So he saw it as enough.
And hey! Maybe it would finally get that bitch of a woman to shut up if her daughter was dead. The child wasn't his daughter anyhow. No matter how much that bitch whined and cried about it. It wasn't his fault he was tempted by her outfit. She shouldn't have been wearing those booty shorts at the time. If she didn't want to be treated like a slut and fucked like one then she shouldn't have dressed like it back then.
Besides, what was the term again? When you're a prisoner, you're at the whims of the prison master. Yeah, that was the saying. And she was his prisoner. So it stood to reason that he could do whatever he wanted back then.
Though, looking back at it, he kind of regretted it. That was a little much, even for him.
Oh well, he would be able to rid of her and forget about that stupid thing he did. Though, speaking of stupid things...
Maxwell looked down at the stack of papers on his desk, a small smile taking up his visage. It was a court summons, and frankly, he found it laughable. The fact that they would try and sue him was funny. At least, it was, until he realized that they were planning to sue him in Washington, and he had no control over there.
He, and Tyler, to be exact.
At least, it was a problem, until he told Tyler. Tyler said he'd deal with it personally, which was good. The less detractors, the better. Although, it was kind of funny. Out of all of the signatures on the piece of paper, he would've expected to see all of the parents have signed on to it. But after double and triple-checking, there was one missing.
That one, the one who didn't sign, was smart. That one most likely understood that it was a bad idea to go directly after them. If he ever got to meet her in person, he would probably give her props. After all, it takes a lot to push one's own feelings regarding their children to not sue the people who kidnapped them.
Either that, or she didn't believe that nosey pastor. Or, the more nefarious idea, which was that she just didn't care. And if that was the case, that meant he was doing her a favour. And that would be oh-so-funny.
"All's well that ends well," Maxwell thought as he leaned back in his chair, kicking up his feet on the desk he sat in front of, before reaching over to press a big red button labelled "Launch". It was the button that launched the drone that sent down the care package for the week. A smirk took up his visage as he watched the drone fly into one of the screens holding a massive package with military-grade rope. "That'll surely get something going... and if it doesn't, then I'll have to do something of my own."
As he thought that, he glanced over at the monitor that was focused on Luz Noceda and frowned. The information he had overheard regarding her was troubling. The fact of the matter was that she was the most dangerous one there, despite appearances. She needed to die, and soon. She was probably the only one that, if pushed too far, would have the chance to actually do something.
After all, he had looked into every one of the people who he had decided to capture. And Luz? She was terrifying. If her criminal record was to be believed, she was the only one here who truly had the spine to kill, aside from Judy.
While most people here had petty theft somewhere on there, and while some had mental health issues like Emelia and her psychopathy, and Kennedy with his Bipolar disorder, Luz was the only one that he genuinely believed was a true threat to everyone who agreed to chip in with the Death Game idea.
After all, you don't just walk away from being convicted of attempted murder and not be somewhat fucked in the head.
If he was remembering correctly, the victim of the attack was a girl by the name of Amber Stirwell—ironically, she was one of the prisoners here as well, but that didn't matter. What mattered what had happened.
He didn't know the specifics, but what he did know was that, according to the document regarding the case, Luz had stabbed Amber around 38 times, and had nearly killed her doing so. Although, she had avoided jail time due to being a minor, and the judge and jury were surprisingly lenient.
Her sentence amounted to three months of house arrest, being banned from Gravesfield High and any school within its district, a restraining order placed on her from the Stirwell family for up to 50 feet in any direction, and her mother, Camila, being slapped with criminal neglect for allowing Luz to get to that point, fined $50,000 dollars, owing the Stirwell family $500,000 in damages for unpaid medical expenses, and court fees which added up to $585,000 in damages.
Overall, aside from the financial debt, Luz had gotten it easy. But, that was ignoring the real danger here.
The fact that, combined with the power that she had, and combined with the kind of person she was, Luz could become a major threat in the future.
Luz, from what he gathered, was a reactive kind of individual. She didn't act unless she was prompted, and it was that kind of thinking that caused Maxwell to be worried about her. According to the records, she allowed nearly a full year of abuse to occur to her before she did anything.
And when she finally acted?
It was explosive, to say the least.
To say that Luz was a walking, talking, breathing time bomb was an understatement. Coupled with her power, "All For One" or something like that, she could go from a complete nothing burger to a massive fuck you in a matter of seconds.
And god-forbid if she snapped...
She was a danger to society, and as Governor of Connecticut, he believed himself responsible for making sure that a threat like that wasn't allowed to leave this place. She needed to be put down like the rabid dog she was.
Call it a gut feeling, but he believed that if Luz Noceda was allowed to live any longer, then all of Gravesfield would pay for it.
The only question was, how? How to kill her without making it look personal? He glanced over to a monitor, where a red-haired boy dressed in a red shirt and brown cargo shorts was practicing doing something.
If he had remembered his name, the boy was Cody Johnson. He was shadow-boxing over in the corner of The Heaven's Devil's base, and was using his, uh, what was it, Pyrokinesis powers? He was doing kickflips, strong jabs and punches, all of which ended in trails of flame...
Flame...
Burning flesh...
Fire burns the flesh, and leaves nothing behind...
Maxwell smiled. Yeah, that would work. He deployed a drone, and activated its microphone and camera, before flying it over to the base of The Heaven's Devils. It didn't take long to make it to the specific area where Cody was training, and as soon as it got close, Maxwell turned on his microphone and cleared his throat. Once he got Cody's attention, Maxwell spoke.
"Cody Johnson, I have a job for you. If you complete it, I'll give you and a person of your choosing immunity to the rest of the game, and let you go home early."
[XXXX]
Luz couldn't sleep.
Well, it wasn't that she couldn't sleep, but it was more like she didn't want to sleep. If she slept, it would mean she'd have to talk to him again. And yes, she was aware that she looked like a zombie, and had passed out a few times standing up, but the last thing she wanted to do was see him again.
To put it simply, Shigaraki terrified her. The more she thought about what he said, she couldn't help but realize that he was right. Not only was he right, but he was hauntingly, and horrifyingly correct. Thinking about his words made her realize that she wanted to strip power from those she believed didn't deserve it.
She truly wanted to make those who wronged her suffer. After all, anyone would want that, right? She wasn't crazy for thinking that way, was she? A little revenge never hurt anyone, right?
But, then, what would Papa think of her?
When she died and moved on from this life, what would her father think of her? After she had done what she had done?
She wasn't a monster...
She wasn't evil.
But, even so, even if she didn't think she was evil, that didn't mean other people wouldn't. Especially after what she did to get herself into this mess.
There was only a certain amount of things a person could put up with. And she tried—by God did she try. But that... that bitch had the audacity to say what she had. If she had just left her alone, then this wouldn't have happened.
Her Mama refused to talk to her after the incident. Locked her in her room for the three months, and while technically she had been complying with her sentence, locking her in her room for three months and only letting her out to use the bathroom was harsh. Meanwhile, all she did was go to work, get piss drunk, and sometimes forget to feed her.
If she wanted it to be like prison, then she had done a bang up job.
It was only a week out from her going to Reality Check Summer Camp that she let her out, and even then, she ignored her just as she always had. The extent of their conversations only ever went as far as "good morning, I'm off to work, good night" and when she was drunk, the only thing she ever said was that everything bad happening to her was Luz's fault.
Then, of course, the night before she got kidnapped happened, and the less she spoke of that, the better.
A part of Luz wondered if it would've been better if she had actually gone to prison than be here? The circumstances were pretty much the same. The only difference was that, at least in prison, she'd be fed three square meals a day and not have the threat of death loom over her head constantly.
It was stable place to be, too. Frankly, the more she thought about it, maybe this was worse? Scratch that, it was worse. Sure, she might've been made someone's bitch, but better a bitch then a potential corpse on the floor.
"Damnit..." Maybe the lack of sleep was causing her to think irrationally—because that was the only way to describe that line of the thought. That was why she had been lying down in her bed in one of the cabins, staring up at the bottom of the mattress above her. She was wearing a different set of clothing, that being a purple shirt with a wide collar and a pair of black baggy pants. Oh, and a pair of rainbow-themed socks, for added measure.
She wanted to sleep, but she couldn't bring herself to close her eyes. She was tired, but not really. And every time she closed her eyes, she could see his face. It had gotten to the point that she had been genuinely afraid to fall asleep. Because if she did, she'd run into him.
There was no doubting the fact that he was evil, vile, and manipulative. To say he wasn't was to say that Kim Jong Un wasn't a dictator, which was a blatant and obvious lie. And what made this whole thing worse was that he was in her head, or, better put, in her dreams—like Freddy Krueger from Nightmare on Elm Street.
Luz sat up, resting a hand on her forehead, frowning as she did. Her eyes were heavier than a bag of bricks, but there was nothing she could do to sleep. Counting sheep? Nuh uh, wouldn't work. Singing a lullaby in her head? It just got her excited and made her think of a different song. Nothing worked, so, instead of continuing to do the impossible, she turned to face the wall of the cabin, and the other beds.
It was nighttime, and most of, if not everyone else who was a part of The Alpha Squadron, was asleep, split up between the two cabins. She shared a cabin with the girls, the sole exception being Stanley. He slept at the back, though, so it didn't matter. And besides, he didn't snore, so that was good. If he did, she would've preferred to sleep outside. But, that was irrelevant to right now.
Right now, she was staring down the empty bed that Julia usually slept in. Luz had caught what she looked like sleeping before, and she didn't know how to describe it. The best she could do was as if she was staring down an angel peacefully resting.
But right now, she wasn't there. Maybe she was out on a walk? That was possible.
Luz looked down at her hands, and frowned, staring at the holes in her palms yet again. She regarded them with disdain. She hated her power, now more than ever. Each passing day, now that she had been made aware of it, she resented looking down at her hands. It was a reminder that she was cursed with a power that wasn't a true match for her.
No matter what the old fart living in her head told her, All For One did not, nor would it ever match her.
"Or does it?" Luz thought, cringing slightly. The fact that there was any doubt in her mind at all regarding All For One upset her greatly. There was a part of her that told her that it was pointless to deny the truth.
And that truth?
That Shigaraki was right, and it was hard to disagree with him aside from being stubborn about it. The truth of the matter was that she did want to strip power from those who didn't deserve it. That she did want to make those who had harmed her suffer greatly.
And there was no better example than that bitch Amber Stirwell—the very same Amber Stirwell that she had seen at the camp. The one that had a restraining order on her, although, considering the circumstances, it was now more than likely null-and-void.
She was the reason why she was even here in the first place. If it hadn't been for everything that she had done to her... if it hadn't been for her burning the last thing that she had of her father... if she hadn't had said what she had said, then Luz wouldn't be in this situation right now.
But, it wasn't as if Luz regretted it. Far from it, actually. She remembered it fondly, to the point where she could recall it in complete, vivid detail...
[Four Months Ago, March 24th, 2020]
Luz sat on the edge of her bed, staring at her bedroom floor, her eyes narrowed. It was 4:45 pm. School had gotten out an hour and a half ago, and the only thing on Luz's mind right now was what had happened at lunch.
Today was supposed to be different. It was supposed to have been better. It was one of the few days that Amber wasn't supposed to have been at school. She had eavesdropped from one of her lackies that she had a dentist appointment, so that meant she probably could get away with not having to worry about her.
It had been for that reason that she had brought The Good Witch Azura to school so she could read it at lunch time at the back of the school, where she would be left alone. But, much to her surprise, Amber had come to school anyway.
In hindsight, she should've never brought it to school. Should've known that it would've been a bad idea.
The whole event had been a blur for her. One moment, she was reading peacefully underneath the oak tree. In the next, Amber's cronies had grabbed her, took her book, lit it on fire and held her down and forced her to watch as the only thing that she had left of her father was burned in front of her.
Amber knew that book had meant something to her.
She knew that it was the last thing that her father gave her—even if it was her mother who had actually given it to her in her Dad's stead due to his passing. She had said as such during a show-and-tell segment when the semester began in Mr. Anthony's homeroom.
And yet, Amber didn't care.
Amber burned the book in front of her, spat on the ashes, and said that she was glad that her father had died, despite never meeting the man.
There was a lot of things that Luz could tolerate. But speaking ill of her father?
No...
No one, ever, spoke ill of her father.
So now, here Luz was, sitting at the edge of her bed, staring at the floor as she contemplating wrapping that whore's throat around a steel pipe and watching the life drain from her eyes. Luz scowled, her hands balling into fists before looking over to her closet.
Standing up, as if on autopilot, Luz opened her closet, pulled out a black hoodie, then closed the closet and laid the hoodie out on her bed. Then, she walked over to her dresser, pulled out a pair of black leggings and black socks, before looking out the window. The sun was starting to set. It would be dark out soon.
Good.
Luz got changed, swapping out her usual outfit for the all black attire. Then, once she was done, she closed her drawer, put her old clothes in the dirty laundry pile, then exited her bedroom and walked downstairs to the main part of the house. Glancing over to the living room, she saw her mother outstretched on the couch, passed out, drunk.
Again.
For the second time this week.
"Pathetic..." Luz thought bitterly, but otherwise ignored it. Besides, it turned out in her favour, didn't it? Walking into the kitchen, Luz approached the block of knives on the counter, and grabbed the eight carving knife from the set. The knives had been recently sharpened—she had watched her mother do it when she was downstairs on her phone—so she knew that they were would perfect for what she intended on doing.
The walk from her house to Gravesfield High School was only about a ten minute walk, give or take depending on her mood. She also knew that today was the day that Amber would be going to Cheerleading practice, which started at 5:10 pm—she would know, she had tried out for cheerleading, and had caught a glimpse of the schedule.
Meaning that her timing couldn't have been more perfect.
Slipping the knife into her hoodie pocket, Luz walked over to the front entrance, slipped on a pair of boots, and as quietly as could be, slipped out the front door and made sure to close it as silently as possible. The last thing that she needed was for her mother to catch her leaving the house.
Once done, she quickly made her way to the sidewalk and began her short walk from the house to the school. Midway through, she flipped her hood over her head to ensure that no one knew it was her, and the moment she got the front doors of the school, she stopped and stared.
Unlike most school's in America, her's didn't have a metal detector stationed at the front entrance. Why? Because no one had ever done anything like she was planning to do. No one in this town had been bold enough to, anyway.
That changed today.
Luz scowled, approaching the entrance, opening the front door, and walking into the school. The only reason why she was able to get in was because the doors weren't locked until 6:30 pm, because that was when all the staff left. She had enough detentions to have figured that out.
Being familiar with the school's layout, Luz made a direct beeline for the girls change rooms. They were close to the gym, which was toward the front of the school, and having recalled tryouts, she knew that Amber was always last to get changed. She didn't know why, and nor did she care.
All that mattered was that it lined up perfectly with what she had wanted to do.
It didn't take Luz long to get to the change rooms, and when she had, she had made sure to open and close the door as quietly as possible. Luckily, it was one of those push open doors without a handle on the entering side, and a handle on the other, making it possible for her to open it, slip in, and close it slowly to prevent any racket.
As soon as she entered, she could hear Amber whistling—and she knew it was Amber because her voice wasn't exactly easy to replicate. Not to mention that, again, she was always the last one to change. That was just a fact. People complained about it enough for Luz to have known that off by heart.
Luz looked over to her left, and saw that the light switch had been next to the front entrance. "How convenient..." Luz thought, before killing the lights.
"What the fuck?!" Amber shouted, as Luz narrowed her eyes. Her eyes very quickly adjusted to the darkness, and as soon as they did, she stalked over to where the side of the lockers was. As she did, she spotted Amber fumbling around, looking for her phone to turn on the flashlight app. When she finally grabbed her phone, she cursed. "Damnit! Batteries dead... Did the power go out or something?"
Luz smirked. Talk about luck? She waited for a few moments, allowing Amber to walk over where the turn between the wall blocking the view of any would-be peeping toms and where the entrance to the change rooms was. From what she could make out, Amber was only wearing a pair of underwear and a bra, leaving her body practically exposed.
Perfect .
The second that Amber got close to her, Luz lunged, grabbing Amber by the shoulder, startling her, before turning and socking her in the face with a right hook, sending her staggering back. Too shocked to make a sound, Luz grabbed her by the bra straps, and threw her against one of the lockers.
It was at that point that Amber realized what was happening, and went to scream, only for Luz to clock her in the face again. "Shut up!" Luz barked, before hoisting the surprisingly light girl a little bit off the ground, and throwing her to the tiled floor below.
"You—"
"Shut. Up!" Luz interrupted, stomping on her stomach, causing Amber to gasp, stunning her for a second. Then, using that brief time that she had, she lowered herself to the ground, sitting on her legs, grabbed her by the throat, and began repeatedly punching her in the face.
With each hit, Amber tried to fight back, but it was practically useless. Luz had positioned herself in such a way that it was damn near impossible to reach her, but making it the opposite for herself. Amber was somehow shorter than Luz, and had less reach than she did, making this even easier.
Luz didn't stop punching Amber in the face until her knuckles were covered in blood from the bloodied nose and busted upper lip on Amber's face. She could hear Amber whimper, begging for her to stop.
Funny.
She never stopped when Luz begged her to.
So why should she?
Luz didn't say a word. She didn't respond at all to Amber's begging. Instead, she pulled out the knife from her hoodie pocket, the sheen on the blade reflecting in the darkness as Amber's eyes widened. "N-No! S-Stop! Please! I'm sorry! It was just jokes! Right? It was all just one, big, joke!"
"Joke?" Luz muttered, venom in her tone. "Joke?!" Luz spat, plunging the knife into Amber's stomach, prompting the ginger to scream. If that had been her attempt to try and calm Luz down, the only thing it did was piss her off more.
"Was spreading rumours about me a joke?!"
She plunged the knife into Amber again, this time, piercing just underneath her bra.
"Was beating me every other day a joke?!"
The sound of flesh being sliced filled her ears...
"Was lying about Mr. Jones and ruining my reputation a joke?!"
Amber begged for her life, pleading with her... it didn't matter.
"Was assaulting me in the bathroom stall with a pencil afucking joke?!"
The smell of copper filled her nose... it was almost intoxicating.
"Was putting out cigarettes on my arm a goddamn joke to you?!"
"P-Please, s-stop—"
"FUCK YOU! YOU WORHTLESS PIECE OF SHIT!" Luz punched her in the face again before tearing the knife out of her chest and shoving it into her sternum, causing Amber to scream, if only faintly.
"WAS DUMPING EXPIRED MILK ON ME A JOKE?!"
Blood splashed against her hoodie and face, not that Luz cared.
Amber tried to reach up at Luz's wrist, only for the knife to plunge into her again, and again, and again, and again.
Months of torment.
Months of pain.
Months of abuse.
Months of torture.
All of it was being paid back, and then some. With each plunge of the knife marked a crime that Amber had committed. Assault, abuse, hate crimes, other forms of assault, all of it. Each plunge of the knife represented it.
And Luz didn't stop until she got what she wanted.
And what was it that Luz wanted...?
She wanted Amber to die.
Picking up speed, Luz carved and stabbed manically, wildly, and without pause all over Amber's torso, before plunging the knife into the center of her chest, shouting: "WAS BURNING THE LAST HEIRLOOM OF MY FATHER A JOKE TO YOU!?"
Blood drenched her black hoodie, her arms hanging at her sides as she breathed heavily. She looked down at her handiwork, hatred burning in her eyes as she slowly stood up. A pool of blood about four feet in diameter had gathered around Amber, who had tears streaking down her bloodied and bruised face.
All Luz could do was stare.
Stare at what she had done.
Slowly, a small, almost manic smile spread across her lips. Then, not too long after that, a tiny, barely audible laugh escaped, and before long, she had gone into full on hysterics. Laughing and crying at the same time as she slid against the locker next to Amber's body, brushing a bloodied hand through her hair as she tried to register everything that had happened in the last three or so minutes.
She was so out of it, that she hadn't even realized that the lights had turned on, and that the janitor had walked in.
And after that...
Everything else was history.
[Present Day]
To say that Luz had been fully committed to killing her when she had attacked was an understatement. When everything was said and done, after she had done what she had done, she had assumed that Amber had actually died. Somehow, by some grace of God, she lived. But that didn't matter.
She didn't remember much after the fact. All she remembered was being arrested on the spot after she was found having a mental breakdown in the girls change room, was given a Defence Attorney, slapped with an attempted murder charge, and had practically set up to lose.
Except, that wasn't what happened. The Defence Attorney they gave her turned out to have been sympathetic to her, and did everything that they could to lessen her sentence.
Which was exactly what they did.
The only reason why she hadn't gone to jail was for a few reasons.
The attack, while premeditated, was able to be twisted into a self-defence attack because not only were the cameras off for repairs in the changing rooms where the attack happened, making it ambiguous on who struck first. Furthermore, Amber had been provoking her and tempting fate for nearly a year, so even if Luz had been the one who attacked Amber, then it was after months and months of constant abuse, which was substantiated by several witnesses and even some of Ambers lackies admitting to doing down right deplorable crimes to Luz herself, making Amber look less innocent in the eyes of the jury, which helped sway opinion of her.While the wounds on Amber were still proof of the attack happening, no one had said they had seen Luz enter the change room with Amber, and while the Janitor did testify, he was drunk, having been drinking on the job when he had both made the call to the police and said that he had seen Luz being the one who had attacked Amber, when in reality, according to Amber, the only people in that room were Luz and her, so that meant that his testimony could be shaky at best. Something the Jury agreed with, having thrown it out.
Her age. Luz was still a minor, and couldn't be tried as an adult until she turned 16 years old. So that came in clutch to avoid what would've been a surefire life sentence in prison. Furthermore, it was argued that due to her young age, the constant stress and abuse put on her by Amber, and the lack of help the staff provided in order to prevent this tragedy from happening, by technicality, the real people who were to blame would be the school itself.
Amber was still alive. She didn't die, meaning that, while her appointed Defence Attorney said that Attempted Murder was good enough, combined with everything that he had provided to the judge and jury, they believed that Luz was, for the most part, innocent in what she had supposedly done.
The prosecutor, on the other hand, felt the opposite. Deeming her a danger to society due to her willingness to jump to violence. The prosecutor did everything in his power to tear down the defence attorney's arguments, but the DA had a solid case, built on evidence. All the prosecutor had was conjecture and flimsy alibis and testimonies.
That aside, Luz was found guilty for attempted murder, but the sentence had been so lenient that she might as well have gotten away with it. Three months house arrest, a complete ban on going to any school in the same district as Gravesfield High School, and a fifty-foot restraining order in all directions from the Stirwell family.
However, she wasn't the only one who got charged with a crime. Her mother was also charged with criminal neglect after it had come to light the conditions that Luz had been living in. The only reason why Camila hadn't been taken to jail was because Luz had no one to go to, and she was too old to be put in the foster system.
So, instead of that, Camila was slapped with a $50,000 fine, forced to pay $500,000 in damages to the Stirwell family, and made to pay the court fees which were around $35,000. In total, Camila owed $585,000 to the court, which would be taken directly out of her paycheque's by splitting them in half.
After it was all said and done, when Luz got home, Camila had chewed her out thoroughly—not that Luz remembered a single thing she said—before being unceremoniously dragged to her room and locked inside of it. Camila even went as far as to saw off a chunk of the door so that she could slide food underneath it.
The only times Luz was allowed out was to use the bathroom. She was cut off from the outside world by having her phone and laptop taken away, all of her books were removed, too. The only things she had to keep herself occupied were her art supplies and that was it.
Luz was still bothered by that. During court, her mother constantly sided with the Stirwells. She refused to take her side in anything. She would make excuses and say it was blown out of proportion, what with their being no security footage of any of the events that would have caused all of the bullying; something that was a bunch of nonsense if you asked Luz, but that was beside the point. However, during the final week of the trial, Luz was given her chance to testify, since she hadn't been allowed to. The jury was still flimsy on the case, and had no idea which side to pick...
Until Luz spilled everything.
Luz told the court everything that happened to her. Since Connecticut was a one-party consent state to recordings, Luz made a bunch of them and kept them on her phone, having told her defence to wait until she got a chance to testify for herself to play the audio.
Every assault.
Every cruel prank.
Every incident.
Everything. She made sure to record everything.
Including what happened in the stall.
Needless to say everyone had been horrified. Her mother was flabbergasted and appalled, and quickly switched sides on the matter, but Luz didn't care for it.
She found it ironic. How her mother refused to believe her until there was substantial proof. The fact that she refused to believe her based on the fact that she was her daughter was disturbing as is, though. Whatever. It was in the past now, so it didn't matter.
Through it all, Luz felt zero remorse for what she had done. Not for nearly killing Amber, not for causing her mother stress and grief—especially after blaming her for the shit that Amber did—and certainly not for driving a wedge in the non-existent relationship she had with her mother.
The only reason why she was even thinking about any of this was because, for starters, she was sleep deprived. Second of all, her last conversation with her mother made her mind wander, allowing her to recall half of the shit that had happened because, of course, she had forgotten a lot of it. Finally... there wasn't really anything to do, now was there?
Although, the funniest part about all of this was that, in the end, it was found out that Amber was the one who had a secret relationship with a teacher. Mr. Morgans. A math teacher. Turns out that Amber was the one who had been giving under the table blowjobs to teachers. In the end, it was just a bunch of self-projection.
Did Luz care?
No.
No, she did not.
Frankly, as far as she had been concerned, Amber should be dead. But no. She survived, and now, once again, they were in the same place. Amber had somehow found herself here, and while Luz had said that didn't want to kill anyone...
She could make an exception for Amber.
That aside, she wondered if that moment—when she had brutally mutilated and scarred Amber—contributed to awakening the power that she had now. To awakening All For One. Objectively speaking, no matter how she personally sliced it or diced it, she had committed an evil act. Evil begets evil, so to speak. So, the fact that she was willing to do horrible things like that could have been one of the key factors to awakening it.
Luz sighed, standing up from her bed as she did. She knew that, for the longest time, she needed to be checked into a therapist for all of the bullshit stirring around in her mind. The only reason why she hadn't was because she didn't want to be diagnosed with anything. What she was worried about the most was being labelled a Psychopath.
It wasn't hard to tell that she might've been. After all, she met most of the criteria. For starters, she had a lack of remorse and empathy towards people. She had next to no self-control and was impulsive at times. She had the capacity to engage in criminal behaviour if the whole Amber incident wasn't proof enough. She definitely lacked a conscience, and she needed to have constant stimulation in order to stay from being bored.
Now, granted, just because she checked five of the six boxes, that didn't mean she was a psychopath. All that meant was that she had the symptoms of being one. Plenty of people had those traits and weren't labeled psychopaths. That didn't mean that she wasn't concerned that she would be labeled one. Especially after the whole Amber thing...
Sighing, Luz looked over to the others, peacefully sleeping, or, as peacefully as they could. Her eyes landed on Arla, who had been curled up into a ball. Earlier, she had been crying, most likely because she was scared. Not that Luz blamed her, but right now, she was too tired to emote.
Her eyes lingered on Arla, and for a brief second, she thought about using All For One. While she had said that it was an awful power, her curiosity was palpable, to say the very least. And while she found the whole concept of ripping away something so personal from someone to be disgusting, for all she knew, it might not have been as bad as she had imagined.
However, again, there was the problem of figuring out how to use it. How was she going to use it without coming across as a horrible person? She couldn't just walk up to someone, place her hand on their head, and drain them of their power because she was "testing it out" and then not expect to get beat up.
It was wrong.
It was gross.
It might as well have been a form of rape.
And yet, for some strange reason, the urge she had to do it was almost unbearable. It had been mounting up for the last few days—and maybe it was because she hadn't slept, but she felt like a damn about to burst. The sweat trailing down the side of her face was a testament to that.
But even so... it was wrong.
Then again, it wasn't as if she was new to doing bad things. But, at the same time, she wasn't going to do it to someone who was entirely undeserving of such an action. She drew a line at innocent people.
Looking away from Arla, Luz frowned. "All For One..." Luz murmured, looking down at her hands again, for the second time in the hour. "A power of The Chosen One..." Her frown transformed into a scowl before she scoffed. "Yeah, if they're a villain..." Luz grumbled. And with that, she stepped outside of the cabin, stopped just before the campfire pit, and looked up into the night sky.
When she first saw the stars in the sky, she thought them to be beautiful, majestic even. But now? She didn't really care. Probably because she was tired. They lost their spectacle and became just another thing for her tired eyes to distract herself with. She walked over to the put-out campfire, and sat down on one of the logs, draping her arms over her legs as she leaned forward.
A wave of various emotions came over her. Anger, sadness, frustration, and worst of all, stress. Nothing had happened in the last four days, which was weirding her out. No contact had been made with the other two teams, no one wanted to leave the confines of the base, and no one had mentioned anything about seeing anyone nearby. All of it was causing her paranoia to skyrocket.
What were they planning? Were they planning to invade one another? Wipe each other out? Were they planning to team up and attack them? She didn't know, and it was freaking her out. Moreso due to the fact that, again, she wasn't thinking straight, which she knew.
Luz groaned, looking down at the ground with a frown on her face. How was she supposed to be a leader while she was sleep-deprived and unable to function properly without bugging out? She had hardly any confidence in herself from the get-go, and to make matters worse, she couldn't keep a coherent thought together for longer than a few seconds before her brain began to shut down from tiredness.
Luz was annoyed. That much was obvious. Everyone here was, but there was something else boiling within her that had been allowed to seep out ever-so-slightly.
Her anger.
The last time her anger exploded was when the thing with Amber happened. And now, she could feel it happen again. There was one person whose fault this really was. Her stress, her lack of sleep, the fact that she was here now instead of at the place she was supposed to be at.
Governor Rodger Maxwell.
For some, unknown, stupid reason, a smile began to take up her face. It spread from one side of her face to the other, the corners of her mouth upturned in a predatory, downright manic smile. Her eyes gleamed with the same calm, cold rage that a serial killer would inhabit.
And there was only one thought bouncing around in her head.
One of revenge.
"Once this is over... Maxwell is going to pay for this with his life."
"Luz?" And just then, she was broken out of her thoughts, causing her to look in the direction of where the voice had come from, and it was none other than...
[XXXX]
The Wittebane family. A family that was known for two things: The founding of Gravesfield, and owning the largest Mega Church in all of America. It was more right to call it a castle, because not only did the Wittebane family live in it, it also acted as a Church.
Julia Scotsman Wittebane, until recently, was the youngest member of the family, and compared to her father, she was a saint. She treated everyone as if they were a person, even the "dirty poor's" as her father would say. She cared not for how a person looked. As long as they didn't commit horrible crimes, she viewed everyone as a person.
That was the major difference between her and Tyler Kirkman Wittebane. Whereas he viewed anyone who wasn't him, his wife, and his lineage as nothing but dirty, pathetic, wastes of air, Julia saw them as the opposite.
Julia was embarrassed by her family's past. After all, in the 1600s through the 1800s they hunted anything that wasn't white, believed in the Christian God, and God-Forbid you happened to be a former slave... From the 1850s to the early 1900s, they were staunch believers in segregation and even went as far as to believe the Nazis were good, even after the reveal of the Genocide they committed.
Of course, there were a few good apples sprinkled about. There was Gary Wittebane, who lived from 1670 to 1720 and donated most of his wealth to orphanages across the country. There was Jackie Wittebane, who lived from 1844 to 1901 and opened several soup kitchens across southern America for the homeless. Then there was Stan Wittebane, who was the shortest-lived and happened to be Tyler's Grandfather, who lived from 1922 to 1943 and was one of the people who discovered and reported back about the Jewish Concentration Camps. He died shortly after that, being killed on the D-Day Siege.
But, out of very few descendants that had been good people, most of them were not. And no matter how much good those few people did, it did not wash away the stains that had been left on their family name. She never viewed her family as the heroes they proclaimed themselves to be. Some days, she was ashamed of being a Wittebane, but even then, she had to try.
She was going to be the good one, she decided. She wasn't going to be like what her father wanted, even if it got her kicked from their family home. Though, that didn't mean she wouldn't do as he asked. After all, just because she wanted to be better, it didn't mean she had to forgo her religion. It wasn't the religion that made her father as bad as he was. She simply believed that he was born evil, and used God to justify his cruelty.
So, every Sunday she went to Church. When she was asked to, she knocked on doors to spread the word of her God and the Lord Jesus Christ. She always donated when asked, and it wasn't small amounts. It was large sums, and it was entirely to Children's hospitals and smaller churches. She even often chipped in around the town, constantly going out and protesting bills that were seen as awful by the wider public, like that one bill that mentioned something about trying to ban Abortions for the eighth time that decade.
But, aside from that, Julia lived a rather sheltered life. Her family had a few rules: no Television, for it was sinful. No non-Christian Media, especially books related to magic and witchcraft, and absolutely no LGBTQ discussions, for it was "disgusting" and "immoral." Which proved to be a problem when Julia discovered that she found girls attractive.
Like, a massive problem.
Like, to the point where, when she was found out by her father, it was when she was caught kissing a girl at her Girls only school. Rebecca was her name. They had a secret relationship, and one day, at the back of the school, when they thought they were alone one thing led to another, and they had begun making out.
And then, she guessed her father was looking for her, and Tyler found her doing "ungodly things" with Rebecca. And when they were found out, Rebecca's parents also found out. Julia was removed from the school, and the last she had heard, Rebecca had committed suicide after being verbally and physically abused by her father.
And it wasn't much better for her, either. She was locked in her room and was forced to be home-schooled. Her mother tried to fight it, but Tyler was a far more dominant man. And, well... she suddenly listened to everything that Tyler said. Leaving Julia with no one. Well, no one but the butlers. They were still nice.
There were days when Tyler would read bible passages to her about how it was wrong to be with the same sex. Beat her whenever he felt like she is "giving into her sinful ways" and when he found her secret stash of comics and books consisting of the X-Men, Harry Potter, and The Dresden Files, she was forced to burn them.
It devastated her. Especially when she had to burn the X-Men comics. Those were the last things that she had to remember Rebecca by since she had been the one to have purchased them. She had cried herself to sleep that night, but at least, she had thought, that her life couldn't have gotten any worse.
Until last week.
The final straw was her Super Power awakening. Her vines. She hated them with a burning passion. Because of them, her mother and father disowned her completely and kicked her out of the house the day before she was sent to this place. All of her friends, including the ones that she had thought would have never abandoned her, did just that.
The only place she had left to go was St Peter's Liturgical Church, and even then, she felt wrong for being there. Not because of any unjust looks or glances, but because it just felt wrong. It felt wrong to be in a house of God when those who had been so intrinsically tied to it left her to die. At first, she thought it was figurative, but now, it had become literal.
It was funny. She found herself in a similar situation to all those people that her father laughed at, calling them beneath her and her family. She was without a home, with only a suitcase, a few changes of clothes, a couple of snacks, and her phone with a charger. Sure, it was more than what some people could claim to have, but going from living in luxury to living on the streets with nothing but a handful of things to her name was a shock to the system.
Her only saving grace was a nun at St Peter's letting her inside to sleep in one of the backrooms so that she didn't get soaked by the rain that had been projected to come down that night. It would've been awful otherwise. But, in a sea of nothing but despair, one splash of hope meant a whole lot of nothing. Especially when she was still homeless.
At least she had RCSC to look forward to, which she was originally opposed to going to. But now, considering she was homeless and without proper shelter or people to rely on, she had been excited. At least, all until she had been hit in the back of the head with the butt of a gun.
And now, it turned into some stupid death game. A death game that, should they not comply by the end of the summer and do what the Governor wanted, i.e. kill each other, they would've been carpet-bombed and killed anyway. It was a lose-lose situation, and it had left her drained.
And when all hope seemed lost, when she was left with nothing, there was one beacon of light left in her life. And it came in the form of a brown-skinned angel with a name that quite literally translated into the word "Light".
Luz Noceda was, by far, one of the only good things to come from this nightmare scenario. She was kind, if not a little rough around the edges due to random mood shifts that caused her to do silly things. She was excitable, and she was as cute as a button. In a lot of ways, she remembered Julia of Rebecca, just without the obvious ADHD.
But, it wasn't like that had detracted from anything. If anything, it made her even more adorable. But, that was a conversation for another time. Her crush on her leader had nothing to do with this conversation. Because while that was one of the many upsides of knowing Luz, there was another upside.
An upside that could possibly save her.
Originally, from what Luz had told Julia, was that she could see who had powers, and she had tiny holes in the palms of her hands, and people with powers had strings attached to their heads. She didn't know what that meant, and neither did Luz. But, power-wise, Julia had completely disregarded Luz. Not that she needed power, mind you. All she needed was to be nice and lead them to victory.
Sure, there were a few bumps in the road, one of these bumps being named Judy. But, aside from that, things had been moving pretty smoothly.
But then, Luz explained what her power was. All For One. The power to take other's powers from them and make them hers.
A power perfect for curing Julia of her curse.
If Luz could take away her stupid vines, and while she had no intention of returning to her family, at least then, she could go back to being the person she was. Maybe, at the very least, her old friends would take her back. Would be with her again.
Maybe, just maybe, if she survived this, she could take over The Mega Church from her father, remove him from the family, completely and utterly, and free her mother and potential sibling from him and his manipulative ways.
And maybe, just maybe, she didn't have to be alone either.
Of course, she knew things probably wouldn't have been that simple, but at least she could try! At least then she could have a chance.
The only thing that had stopped her on the first day of finding out that Luz had the power to strip powers from others was a nagging voice in the back of her head telling her that it was a stupid idea. After all, she was in a Death Game surrounded by others with superpowers. She would become fodder rather easily and god-forbid that she was caught by anyone outside of her team. She would be killed faster than she could defend herself.
And besides, there were times when her power had come in handy. Such as when that tree had nearly fallen on the cabin that Luz was sleeping in. But, at what point did the positives outweigh the negatives?
Sure, it came in handy, but when it was one of the reasons that she was now homeless, at what point did one keep that power? She had a way to get rid of it, so why not? All she had to do was approach Luz and ask. It was just that simple, right?
So then why, oh why, was she so nervous about it?
Sitting atop the rear wall of The Alpha Squadron base wall, staring out into the wilderness, as the wind blew back her hair, Julia couldn't help but feel more than a little nervous about what Luz would say. What if she said no? Would she just continuously beg her?
Then came the fact that Luz was incredibly sleep-deprived, and hadn't slept in days. What if she said the wrong thing and upset her? After all, people who haven't slept in a while are prone to snapping more easily.
But even so, she needed to try.
If Luz could cure her of her suffering, then she would get on her hands and knees if she had to. She didn't care if it embarrassed her, she would do it anyway. And so, getting down from the wall, she began to walk back to the cabins to see if Luz was still in there, because she had been trying to get some sleep, no less thanks to her chewing her out for it.
As she walked around to the front of the base, she couldn't help but get flustered. What if she said yes right off the bat? What if she was all for it and she was just worried? Or, what if the opposite was true? What if she got mad at her for even suggesting the idea? What if her worrying was justified? Julia didn't know what to think, but whatever the outcome was, she just hoped that it didn't hinder their friendship.
Once she reached the front of the base, she spotted Luz sitting at the campfire, slouched and looking at the floor. Had she passed out sitting at the campfire? Or was she still awake? Nervously, Julia called out to her, keeping her voice down so that she didn't wake the others. "Luz?"
As soon as she had spoken out her name, Luz perked up immediately, before looking over her shoulder. When their eyes met, Julia could tell that hers were bloodshot and red from the lack of sleep. She looked like someone who had just smoked a half-a-pound of crack, at least, when it came to the bloodshotness in her eyes.
She really needed to sleep.
"Julia?" Luz asked, standing up as she did. "I was wondering where you were."
"I was sitting on the edge of the southern wall, watching the forest. I'm sorry if I worried you," Julia began as Luz smiled softly, as if relaxed.
"It's alright, I'm just glad you're okay," Luz responded as Julia nodded. She approached Luz, stopping just a few feet in front of her. This was the moment of truth. If she was going to ask, she would do so now.
"Luz... I know this is going to sound weird. But... can you take away my Vines?"
As if erased by a chalkboard eraser, Luz lost all emotion on her face, her expression becoming blank, and her eyes narrowing ever-so-slightly. As if she was insulted by the very notion of her suggestion. It caused Julia to flinch at the sudden shift. "I'm sorry, what was that?"
"I-I-I wanted to know if you—"
"No, I heard you," Luz replied, crossing her arms, frowning. "Why? You do realize that you could get killed easily if I do this, right?"
Julia blinked. That was true, but she thought that she was mad because of the idea as a whole. Not for her safety... "I thought you were mad at the whole idea... Is that all you're worried about?"
"Is that all I'm worried about? Are you seriously asking that?" Luz asked, incredulously with a raised eyebrow. "Don't get me wrong, I'm curious to see what would happen. It would be my first time doing it. But that's not the issue. The issue is the situation we're in. Did you even think of that?"
"Yes, I did. I know the risks. I understand that it could get me in trouble. But..." Julia paused, looking away from Luz's gaze for a moment. Luz shifted her weight to one leg, tilting her head to the side in a questioning gaze as if she were trying to analyze her.
"But what?"
"My power is the sole reason for ruining my life," Julia said, as Luz's expression softened.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean exactly that. My family hates me because of it, my friends abandoned me, and my Church kicked me out. The only place I felt safe after that was St Peter's, and even then I felt so far out of place there, it wasn't even funny," Julia explained as Luz uncrossed her arms, and stood straight, her frown shifting from annoyance to sadness.
But Julia wasn't finished. "Luz, I beg of you, please... please remove this curse from me. It's done me nothing but bring me harm and pain. I know it's a lot to ask for, but please, I beg of you!" Julia all but exclaimed, even getting down on her knees in the process. She was begging, and it looked ridiculous. Her hands were clasped together as she looked up at Luz, a sprinkle of hope in her eyes.
For a moment, Luz's hand twitched, as if tempted. And for just a moment, Julia could've sworn that her left eye flashed red. Maybe it was a trick of the eye, or maybe it was because of the angle, but her whole pupil turned from a shade of golden brown to a deep, crimson red, before returning to normal.
There was a long, agonizing, drawn-out silence that caused Julia to lose hope. Of course, she wouldn't do it. It was stupid of her to ask, she should've just—
"Fine."
And then, without any hesitation, Luz placed her hand on Julia's forehead. Her fingers grasped against the top of her head, her palm lying flat against her forehead, as Luz took in a deep breath, exhaling, and then speaking. "I don't know what will happen when I do this. For all I know, this could be the most painful thing in the whole world. But just know, you asked for this. If you get hurt because of this, this will not be my fault, do you understand?"
Julia hummed in affirmation. And as soon as she did, Luz's arm began to spark red. Red, crackling electricity began to bounce up and down her arm, as if she was amping herself up. She inhaled, then exhaled, and as soon as she did, the red sparks of electricity began to surge, and travel toward the palm of her hand, which was directly touching Julia's forehead.
And as soon as the two connected, Luz's grip on her head increased, her eyes narrowed, as if focusing, and then, a moment later, a surge-like feeling washed over Julia, causing her pupils to dilate, and for her body to feel like it was on fire.
Her muscles locked in place, her bones ground to a halt, and all she could do was sit there and take it. In the darkness, there was only Luz, the red light given off by All For One working its magic, and the light of the moon, casting a shadow over them.
The way the shadows washed over Luz, it completely covered her eyes, and slowly, a smile spread across her face. One that intimidated rather than relaxed. That, mixed with the pain that she was feeling, only one thing came from it.
Fear.
And when someone was afraid, and in pain, what was something that they did?
They screamed.
Julia screamed, and it was shrill and filled with pain and fear. But not once did Luz flinch. Not once did she stop or pull away, she kept going, and it got worse. It was agonizing; as if she was being ripped open and splayed apart of the world to see. Like someone was taking a knife to her and carving her open. It was horrible, and it only got worse with every passing micro-second.
Time seemed to slow, and it got to the point where Julia was starting to drool from her body being essentially fried. Tears welled up in the corners of her eyes, and just as it came to a crescendo, it stopped.
Julia crumpled to the ground, her breathing heavy as sweat and tears fell from her face as she looked up at Luz, who now had vines growing from her fingertips, her arm still sparking with red electricity. Her face had a smile on it, staring at the vines, before glancing down at Julia. The smile disappeared, as did the vines, as she got down to Julia's level, reaching out to her.
For some reason, Julia flinched, inching away, afraid. Luz stopped, backing away slightly. "Julia? Are you okay?"
"Y-Yeah... I-I..." She paused, her eyes still stinging with tears. "I-I... that hurt... it hurt a lot..."
"I'm sorry, I didn't know it would hurt that badly," Luz said, before reaching out to her again. This time, Julia accepted the hand, as Luz helped her stand up. She glanced back at the cabins, but no one had come outside.
Had they even woken up? Were they still asleep? If so, then that was—
Suddenly, a weight was put on Julia, and when she looked back, Luz had practically fallen into her chest, eyes closed and breathing softly. She had passed out. Julia quickly corrected how Luz had fallen, lifting her up before scooping her up into her arms, holding her bridal style. She was a little heavier than Julia had expected, but that didn't matter.
All that mattered was that now, finally, Luz was asleep. And more than that, she had done what she had asked. She had stripped her from the curse that she had been burdened with. She walked her back into the cabin, before slowly laying her down on her bed. The way she curled into herself made her look far too vulnerable.
Julia brushed her hand across the side of Luz's face, before turning away and walking over to her bed. As she sat down, just for good measure, she tried to bring forth her vines, only for nothing to happen. Good. That meant that they were gone for good.
And so, with nothing else to do, Julia laid down on her side, closed her eyes, then went to sleep. Now, she could finally be happy, and maybe, just maybe, things would start to get better for her.
Unbeknownst to anyone at the time, however. The next two days were going to be a living hell. And there was nothing that anyone could've done to stop it. No amount of planning, no amount of foresight, and certainly no amount of power could've stopped what would happen in the coming days.
An event so tragic.
An event so twisted.
An event so horrible.
An event so barbaric, that it would plunge the small town of Gravesfield into darkness.
And that event would later be written down in history as...
The Massacre Of Fools.