Unknown Society

New and Old Memories

Valarie and Bene were chasing each other's tails like dogs. Meanwhile, Pixel was in the corner of the room, her back turned to everyone else. It had been a year after Bene was brought into the orphanage, and Valarie could tell that her best friend was starting to change mentally—not for the better. There were nights where Valarie couldn't sleep because of Pixel's strange behavior; she'd sometimes stand above Valarie and breathe heavily, or maybe even wear one of her makeshift masks to scare her.

Valarie was quick to catch wind of this, though she didn't tell anyone about it until it got worse. "I don't think Pixel is okay," Valarie whispers to Bene.

"What's wrong with her?"

"She's been crying in her sleep, staring at me while I sleep, or she might sometimes stand over me while just staring daggers at me. I don't like it..." Valarie explains, looking back at Pixel who looked to be in a state of panic.

Bene shrugs, "Can't be too much, so I wouldn't do anything." So she did, but as she predicted, things get worse.

Valarie couldn't help but stay up late to observe Pixel's strange behavior, and she did. What she found was puzzling and astonishing... at first, she was afraid—Pixel was in the corner of the room, murmuring things to herself, almost as if she had gone insane. Valarie coughed up the bravery and approached her. "Pixel..?" She reaches for her.

Pixel turns around slowly, a razor in her paws. Everything was clear now, she had been slitting her wrists. Pixel had no clue how to hide it anymore, so she burst into tears. "I'm sorry, Valarie..." she hugs her, "I just—haven't been myself."

Valarie was visibly upset and worried. She didn't know how to react.

Pixel hands her something. "Here. I made a key. It'll help you get out of here. Use it when you can." She whispers. Valarie examines it for a second before closing her paws. The key was a metal rod with a sharp end.

"But what about you?" Valarie says through a broken voice.

Pixel wipes her tears, "There are more important things than me—your life is on the line. If you get out of here with your beating heart still going at it, then consider yourself lucky. I've spent most of my life here, these four walls have been keeping me company, now it's your turn to experience a world outside of the walls. I know I won't be there when you get out, but I'll be in here." She points to Valarie's heart. "Promise me you'll stay out of trouble, Valarie, okay?"

"I promise."

Martinez will never forget that night. As she laid on her back, looking up at the starry sky, she started to feel a sense of relief and comfort within her surroundings. She closes her eyes, and begins to slowly drift off.

Rumble...

Everyone jumps. Shivers was the main one to scramble around and panic. "What was that?! What happened?!"

"Calm down, you idiot!" Martinez snarls, "It's probably an earthquake. Go back to sleep."

"Earthquake?! That's even worse!" Shivers shouted. He didn't like earthquakes, or any natural disasters at that.

Bene says, "I don't think that's any earthquake, Val—"

"Shh!" Martinez stops her, "That name is dead to me."

"Val? That's your name?" Shivers began to calm down.

"Don't make me hurt you." Martinez warns.

Shivers remained quiet, however, the rumbling of the ground still sounded menacing. As the sound got closer, Martinez's heart raced. When the rumbling came to an abrupt halt, she was quick to react. "Stay quiet, and don't move." She whispers.

Shivers looks around, "But—"

"I SAID DON'T MOVE!" She hisses, then grabbing him by the horn, "Hide, boy." She says through gritted teeth.

Shivers was quick to stumble into the closet.

"What did he do?" Bene asks.

"Stay quiet!" Martinez shushes her, then putting on her face mask and stepping out of her den. She was met with a large figure who stood as tall as ever; on their shoulder was a smaller Human being, about half the height of Martinez. Martinez remained in her bravery stance. "What?" She growls, "This is forbidden territory—unless you know how to kill, leave."

The smaller Human climbs down the bigger Human's back, apprehensively approaching her. "We are not any trouble. We are just here to pay someone a visit, specifically a coward who refuses to pay his debts to us."

"No one lives here," Martinez quickly says.

"We don't believe you," she replies, "Allow my friend to see for herself." She steps out of the way as she talks; the bigger Human punches the door down.

"Get back!" Martinez immediately lunges at the bigger female, "I told you, no one lives here!"

The bigger Human looks at her arm, blood trickling down. She growls quietly, but that growl turned into an angry roar. Martinez hisses, she then pounces on the giant. The two toss and turn, taking turns striking each other. Martinez gets a chance to bite down on the giant's arm, causing the other Human to yowl in pain. She then grabs her dagger and stabs in giant Human in the paw, hindering her to stay put. Her paw was stuck.

Meanwhile, the smaller Human managed to crawl inside the den, using all of her strength to lift shelves, open doors, and destroy everything in her path. She was very determined to find him. Shivers held his breath as he watched a figure go by. When the figure stopped walking, the boy felt his heart dropped.

...There was silence, for about five minutes, but those minutes felt like days.

Martinez, on the other paw, had her own problems to deal with. By the time she had warded off the giant Human, she sauntered back into the den. There was blood all over the walls and ground; the jars and skulls of the many enemies she had came across were all shattered, the shelves had collapsed, the walls were tinging with a feeling of revenge. Now, it was her turn.