Turning the tables

Chapter 20 - Rewind

Warning: Coughing up blood, war, hospitals.

I groaned as I awoke, my side aching as I looked up. Bill was still passed out, snoring lightly as drool dripped down the side of his chin. I cringed as I sat up, stretching my arms despite the way the skin around my wound stretched and ached. I gently disentangled Bill's arms from around my waist, slipping out of bed. I had to brace myself against the wall at first, but eventually got somewhat used to the pain and made my way to the kitchen, making a nice meal of meat and mild for my hedgett, which I hadn't seen for a while. Even so, the creature came bounding into the kitchen, squeaking excitedly as I sat down at the table. "Hey, Freud... did you hide while the kids were here?" I asked, my voice raspy. Freud only squeaked at me, chowing down on his meal as soon as I offered it to him, the hedgett making a large, chaotic mess. I laughed, but my laughs soon turned to coughs as my breathing became slightly irregular. I covered my mouth with my hand, only pulling it away once I had stopped coughing. I stared at my hand, black blood covering my palm as some dripped from my chin.

I could taste the metal in my mouth as I sighed and walked to the kitchen sink, washing my hands before making my way to the bathroom to rinse out my mouth and brush my teeth. Confusion hit me like a total wave as I looked into the mirror. "Why am I still coughing blood? I should be healed..." I muttered, frowning as I placed a hand on my side. I winced, but as I pulled back the bandages, I noted that the blackness was in fact still gone, so I must just be coughing up the residue. I shook my head in dismay and started looking for my satchel as I currently had absolutely no idea where it was. I made my way back downstairs and into the hall, glancing into the living room and kitchen before looking near the door. The satchel sat near it in the small hall, having gone untouched since the night of the party. I walked over, bending down to pick it up. I hissed as pain shot through my side, but tried my best to ignore it as I went back upstairs and into my office. I sat down at the table and took out my journal, setting to work and beginning to write down what I had learned about the shadow demons. I hadn't yet figured out why they had chosen to imitate the seven princes of hell, but thanks to my wound I knew what they were made of and would be able to do tests on them to find other properties.

And so, I did. I spent the next few hours testing and writing down hypotheses and new-found facts. In the journal, I wrote;

The umbra seems to be composed of some sort of mystical, yet still clearly scientifically sound, substance akin to condensated tar. The beings can shapeshift- as shown by their ability to move in unnatural ways. They have shown that they are able to harm humans; though they only do so when triggered by 'angel crystals, which have appeared to only ever been found in gravity falls as I have not, could not, find any reports of strange crystals appearing at random times in forests.

The wounds consist of a sort of burn, the 'tar' sinking itself into the skin and muscle around the wound, which most commonly looks like a large cut as if from a knife. This confirms that they can use their body to cause harm and infect humans and possibly animals [this theory is neither confirmed nor denied.] The tar can spread through your skin, causing prolonged suffering and wounding even after the first initial cut. However, this will only happen if the wound is large enough. The tar from the wounds can be swabbed and tested, once again proving that the substance is in fact not just a sort of hallucinogen.

If ever you are to be harmed by one of the umbra, find one of the crystals. By conducting an experiment with my own wound, I found that the specific composition of the crystal can cause the tar-like substance of the umbra to dissipate. The crystal seems to be able to remove the substance, even if residue may remain and the pain will not easily dissipate. I must warm, if you ever are in such a situation that you will need the crystal, it will NOT be a pleasant feeling. You must be prepared for a pain that makes you feel like you are about to be torn apart, however, it only lasts a moment as the crystal's effect is immediate. You may experience coughing, but I assure you that it is simply the residue of the tar exiting your system.