Misinformation Can Be Deadly

Chapter 65: The Power of Christ Compels you!

CW: grief over lost loved ones

Virgil sighed in content as he laid back in bed. His hair was still wet from the shower, which was very difficult to take. The day was long, and he was happy to be able to rest now.

Roman took his usual spot on the bed, though he had to make room for the giant bat stuffed animal. He decided it would be easiest to set it on his lap.

"We should give this bat a name," Roman hummed.

Virgil turned his head to Roman. "Why don't you name him?"

"Hmm, what about Green? To match Purp."

"Purp! That's right! He must be back at the house."

"Oh, hold on!" Roman set Green on Virgil's chest before teleporting away. Not even a second later, he reappeared with Purp in his hands. "There we go!"

Virgil smiled wide with a laugh. "You're ridiculous."

"Well, don't you think it's fair that your oldest stuffed animal meets your newest?" He set Purp next to Virgil, who was moving Green back off of him.

The human smile turned sad for a moment as he looked up at the ceiling. "You know... It was my biological dad that had bought me Purp."

Roman faltered, starting to feel a sadness come from Virgil. "I'm sorry your parents couldn't take care of you."

"You know what? I don't think I am anymore. My mom didn't seem to like me too much. She did her best though, but... She was the first to give up on me. My dad couldn't take care of me by himself, and I don't remember any grandparents or any other relatives. It wouldn't have been a happy home if my parents had forced it, so I'm glad I have Logan and Patton now. It took a while, but I got here eventually." Virgil looked around the room. "And it seems like we'll be close with Remy and Emile. I just find it funny that I got a stuffed animal when I lost a home, and that I got a new one when I officially got a home again."

Roman took Virgil's hand, and the human looked back at him with tears in his eyes. "Virgil..."

"I'm-I'm sorry," Virgil laughed and rapidly blinked his eyes. "I'm just so happy."

"I'm glad you are, love. You deserve to be happy. I know it's been hard for you, but now that you officially have a family, you can relax."

"And I have you too. Gods, if I had known how happy I would have been, I would have summoned you myself years ago."

Roman laid down next to Virgil. "I'm glad you're so happy. You've had a long day, why don't you rest now?"

Virgil nodded and closed his eyes, ready to fall asleep. He squeezed Roman's hand and smiled. They were going to be okay. Everything is going to be fine now.

~~~

Nothing was fine. Alice didn't feel okay. It seemed like it was going to be another sleepless night as she drowned in her grief. She held her hand tight against her mouth, fighting back sobs.

She stayed like that for who knows how long, tears covering her cheeks, soaking her hair that fell in front of her face. The black locs were sticking against her skin and she felt disgusting.

She sat up and used her sleeve to wipe the tears away with a quiet sob. Her phone lit up as she got a notification. One from Instagram, she hadn't been on the stupid app for weeks, and often got several notifications from it.

Grabbing her phone and unlocking it, she cleared all her notifications. She stared at the screen as she sat there in bed. Well... it wasn't like she was going to be able to sleep...

Her finger tapped the camera icon and she clicked photos. There were pictures of random things, of her old college friends before she had to come home. She continued swiping through until she found a picture that made her freeze.

It was taken the last time she came home seven weeks ago... before that happened. She was at the bottom, taking a picture at an angle with a giant smile on her face. In the background was her mother in the kitchen, chopping some carrots up. Then there was her dad, frying some meat on a pan set on the stove. And finally her brother, grabbing some candy from the candy bowl set in the kitchen.

She missed her dad and little brother so much. Sure her dad was stoic and often hard on them, but he was comforting and fun to be around. And her little brother was annoying as hell other times, but he was still her little brother.

"D-Dad..." She cried, laying down and hugging the phone to her chest. "C-Cecil... why...?"

She sat up again, leaving her phone on the bed as she stood up. Stumbling at first, she had to grab the desk for balance. She hasn't been eating enough lately, and her mom didn't have time to make sure she was eating enough, she was too busy with her new duties as the head cultist. Even if she asked if Alice had eaten three meals a day, she probably would have lied.

She walked out of her room and down the hallway. She stopped by her mom's door, the light coming out from the cracks. Straining her ears, Alice overheard a small snippet.

"What do you mean? Of course we need both!" her mother hissed, clearly speaking on the phone. "Are you seriously asking me this now? Gods, you're impossible!"

Alice didn't stay to hear the rest, turning to walk away. She felt drawn downstairs, so her feet slowly made their way down the stairs. She didn't stop at the main level and continued down to the basement.

Once there, she found her way walking to an altar. There was a wooden figure of their goddess. Hawk talons for finger tips, and feathers poking up instead of hair. The wooden figure had her wearing robes, though there wasn't too much detail besides that.

There were candles around the wooden figure, and Alice picked up the lighter. One by one, every candle was lit, and Alice sat in front of the altar. Folding her hands, and bowing her head, she felt more tears fall down her face.

"Please, my god. Please help me find the one who had killed my family. I... I need to avenge them. I want the one responsible to pay. I-I need to... I need to honor them, and I need to honor you by getting rid of those that would hurt your loyal followers. Guide me..." Alice pleaded. "Guide me to salvation. I'll do whatever you tell me to."

The basement remained quiet as she continued to sit there. She didn't open her eyes, staying in the praying position for a few minutes. She didn't notice the candles flickering all at once.

Sleep.

Alice's eyes opened wide and she looked up, first at the altar in front of her and then around the room. Did she really hear that voice? Was it real?

"Who's there?" she asked, her voice wavering.

There was no answer.

As questions ran through her mind of what had just happened, Alice found her eyes getting heavy. Her thoughts slowed down as her eyes fluttered shut.

"I... I think I'm going to go to sleep."

However, instead of her standing up and falling asleep, she laid down in front of the altar. She didn't notice how the cheeks on the wooden figure cracked, a soft red glow coming from inside.