Embers and Icicles

Chapter Ten

Jake stalked through the night, eyes trained on his prey. The only sounds were ambient traffic and the telltale slide of his prey against the ground. They advanced, pushing onwards as if they were looking for something. All of them moved in perfect synchronicity. It was a curious thing to watch. Even more curious was the way the creatures had been formed.

Jake followed them until they squeezed themselves under the edge of a loose manhole and disappeared into darkness. He pulled a cotton swab and baggie from his pocket to collect some of the trace residue they left behind. Below him in the gutter, the entities sloshed through dirty water.

They couldn't see in the darkness, but they could sense each other's presence. Once they were sure they wouldn't be disturbed, they began the process of rejoining. It took a few minutes, and it was exhausting. Eventually, a man-sized and shaped figure rose from the sloshing liquid in the sewer. He looked around slowly, clunky in this body. A scurry to his left caught his attention, and he lumbered towards it. It was gone before he could get a hold on it, but he wasn't discouraged. He sat still, silently waiting until another one appeared.

This time, he was smarter. Instead of trying to grab the rat, he shot out a clump of himself. It hit the rat dead on, trapping it as he approached. He absorbed the piece he shot back into himself, and with it the rat. Satisfied with his snack, the figure trudged deeper into the sewer. Slowly, the shadows swallowed him whole.

Sol ran over a loose manhole cover, and it rattled behind her. She was on her way back to her apartment, and she was alone. As much stress as it caused her to try to live up to her fans expectations, and the much more talented content creators around her, she had to admit there were a lot of perks to being famous.

Beyond the interactions with supporters, which she adored, the giant two-bedroom apartment (she used the second one for streaming) in one of the biggest cities on the continent was a huge perk.

She realised it had been a full day since the disaster of a convention, and she still hadn't addressed it. With a turn onto the highway, she rode her gas a little harder. A few hours later, she was pulling into the parking garage under her apartment complex.

She texted Jenny that she had arrived, and rushed up to her place. Everything was as she left it–the lush purple curtains covering a gorgeous view of the city, all the comfy seating, and unfortunately some laundry she hadn't felt like doing before the convention. She stared at it, like she could make it disappear. It stared right back at her. Rolling her eyes, she threw her laundry in the washing machine and continued to her streaming room.

Pale pink soundproofing covered two walls, to the right of the gaming chair and behind the monitors. Sol took a moment to appreciate her setup. She had the classic subscribe sign in neon lights, various fan-art and merchandise set up on shelves, and some flashy LED-strip lights. Two monitors and an ergonomic keyboard took up most of the desk, leaving just enough room for her soundboard.

She pulled her microphone out of the box she stored it in, then opened her computer to see a flood of notifications on all her social media.

It was mostly concern and well-wishes, with a few death threats sprinkled in–angry because her appearance at the convention was cancelled. She disregarded those and got to work writing.

It took a while to get the wording right, but eventually she was able to put together a suitable explanation and apology for the whole situation. In an especially guilty feeling moment, she also posted several give-aways and promised to schedule future appearances as soon as she could, to make up for everything.Despite the fact that she had no control over what happened, she felt herself taking on some of the blame.