oh dear god i just realized you can read the chapter titles dear god oh gd dear god oh god dear god oh god dear god oh god dear g
damon was sitting under a group of trees. the fenced-in chickens were roosting. they sat facing the fence, shotgun laying on the tree beside them. the sun had already set. they only had the light of an oil lamp. it was the middle of a summer night, and it was eerily silent. it was usually deafening loud at night.
this is so stupid, they thought. i'm gonna get killed by a fucking coyote. i'm never getting out of here.
just then, a snap. or maybe a rustling. it was too dark to see what made the noise, but just out of the sphere of light, damon could hear breathing. for a second, damon considered throwing themselves at it. letting it kill them. ending the cycle. being free.
a creature stumbled out of the brush. it looked very strange. what is that thing. holy shit. i don't want to die. it looked humanlike, but too different to be human. it crawled around on all fours. damon backed up until they were curled into a fetal position, hugging their knees. then they remembered the shotgun. whatever it was clearly didn't acknowledge their presence. it's footsteps were light and it didn't make a single sound. in fact, stepping on that twig was probably the only way they would've known it was there.
they picked up the shotgun and aimed it at the creature. it turned its head toward them just as damon pulled the trigger. the shot echoed throughout the entire forest. then silence. damon watched the creature struggle a bit. they'd shot it in the chest. they blinked, and it changed shape. damon gasped. it transformed into a person? they were covered in blood. damon had no idea what they were wearing but he could see their face. it was a boy about his age. he was wincing in pain.
damon had heard stories from their family about humans that've turned into monsters roaming the woods but by 17, they knew that they were just stories. they didn't know that monsters could come back to their original form. damon dropped the shotgun and ran over to him. they rolled him over and brushed the hair out of his face.
"oh my god! i'm so sorry! you're bleeding!" damon was basically screaming. they could probably be heard from the house but the adrenaline pushed them to keep talking. "i can help. i'm sorry. i need to stop the bleeding. i can-"
the creacher looked up at them
"yo shut UP. YOURE GOING TO GET US BOTH KILLED" he screamed back.
"DAMON. IS SOMETHING OUT THERE" their father called out from the back door. damon didnt respond. what the hell do you say!?
"come with me," the boy held up a hand with surprising strength. damon looked down at him.
WHAT
oh i mean
"WHAT." they lowered their voice. "that's dangerous. i dont even know y-"
a bullet flew by their heads and hit a tree nearby. damon whipped around to see the silhouette of their father running at them in the dark, another shotgun in hand. the boy grabbed their hand and before damon could protest, they disappeared. the last thing damon heard was their father calling out to them. good fucking bye.
they seemed to be nowhere. in the void. holding hands to stay together
"where are you taking me?" damon looked but couldn't see anyone. they could only feel the grip on their hand.
"my house." a voice from nowhere responded. am i going to die?, damon cried softly. the voice again. this time, softer. "hey, don't cry. you're safe. i promise."
at that moment, damon felt solid ground below them. they felt disoriented. they blinked a few times and the world appeared around them- wait holy fuck. it looked vaguely familiar, somehow.
the boy beside them looked much more like a boy now. no blood. just casual clothes. damon felt a little safer.
"what is this place?"
the boy smiled. "hell"
