Illuminated Silence

44

Heaven's gate is a bop. Favorite song on mania?

Trigger warning. Ps, I don't support animal cruelty in any way just saying

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"When you said playground, I envisioned like a giant fortress thing. And here we are, standing in front of a tiny motherfucking playhouse."

Josh clapped Gerard on the shoulder, a look of amusement on his face. "Welcome to Ohio. And its not that bad," Gerard shrugged josh's hand off,  stalking over to the small tower–tunnel–slide combination, beelining for the small boy that was there.

"Beat it kid, we have adult stuff to do." The boy ran screaming from where he'd been playing on the slide, yelling about a vampire invading. Gerard looked expectantly at the older girl, who just jumped down and raised an eyebrow at him. "This is a kids park. Not for adults." Gerard rolled his eyes and pulled out his wallet, grabbing a few bills before thrusting them at the kids face. "Will fifty do?" The girls eyes trailed from Gerard to the money and back again, before snatching it, putting him on the ground and running off laughing. Josh and Mikey began to shake with uncontrollable laughter at Gerard's pained face as he gripped his crotch and sunk to the ground.

"You've been out of school for almost fifteen years and still you managed to get bullied by a twelve year old!" Mikey huffed whilst wiping is eyes and attempting to regain his composure. Once that was settled, he helped up a muttering Gerard and they followed josh up the ladder to the top of the tower and into the small plastic tunnel like protrusion, equipped with a small window that looked out onto the street, Stellar's house in almost full view of their position. Mikey slithered in first, spidery legs awkward and clumsy in the small space as he sat, but that didn't deter him from using them as a laptop stand and setting up the supposed surveillance equipment Brendon had bought on eBay. Gerard piled in next, leaning up against the wall in the limited space as he sulkily began texting frank about his ordeal.

Josh leaned in. "It's a tight squeeze, but its the best vantage point for this stuff, plus who'd think two grown men would be hiding in a jungle gym? Just hold out until 9pm when we get here, then you can do whatever afterward. I'll see you then."

Both Way brothers snapped their heads up to Josh in bewilderment. "Dude, that's like what, four hours? What the hell?"

"You need to make sure its safe for us idiot. "

"Why can't we be be ninjas too? You live around the corner, can't we do shifts—"

"Goodbye, Gerard." Josh backed out and slid down the fire pole, sprinting back to the red Nissan that definitely wasn't so obvious in the bleak street.

"Fuck sake. Did you bring snacks?"

"No, why the fuck would I do that?"

"Uh, because you're supposed to be the smart one?"

"Gerard, do the room a favor and shut up. Not even kidding. "

Gerard rolled his eyes and shoved Mikey slightly before moving a few inches away whilst pulling his sketch pad out. Lately since the band broke up, he'd had more time to work on his art and comics than before much to the delight of his bosses. Life was more enjoyable.

"Dude, is that stellar? "

Gerard snapped his head up from his drawing and looked across the street. Sure enough, there she stood, standing in the middle of her front yard in nothing but a nightgown. "Shit. It is! Call for backup. I'm going over."

"Gee no, Pete said to call him. That's his fiancée man,"

"Hurry up then."

Mikey dialed Pete's number and he picked up immediately. "Yo dude, any news?"

"She's outside. Just standing there. She's not doing much. Hurry up and get here and we can just grab her and run," Mikey and Gerard could hear Pete talking to someone and and then a car starting up, before being hung up on. Not even a moment later Josh's car pulled up not far down the road, before Pete scrambled out and bolted toward her.

"Stellar! Oh my god I've been so worried– Pete stopped. Josh came walking a few meters behind. "Pete? What's up?" Pete looked down, putting his hands to his stomach, dumbfounded. "Pete?"

"Blood."

"What?"

Pete looked up and down and then back at Josh. "Blood. I'm bleeding. I– shit! Don't come near us! She stabbed me! She's got a fucking Knife!"

Josh looked over not fully understanding until he saw the bloody kitchen knife in her hand stained dark red with Pete's blood. "What the fuck, Stellar–"

Josh was cut off as a huge dog came barrelling around the side of the house, brown fur a blur as it landed next to Stellar, fangs bared and eyes narrowed as it growled. Josh backed off, pulling Pete with him. "Dude, we gotta go. We gotta go now."

"But what about–"

"She just fucking stabbed you and has a huge crazy motherfucking dog next to her that probably has rabies and is gonna rip our throats out, we'll come back later. "

Pete nodded and staggered back to the car with Josh, locking the doors as they got in. Josh's phone began madly ringing, picking up to a frantic Gerard. "WHAT THE FUCK JUST HAPPENED? COME PICK US THE FUCK UP NOW SHE'S STARING RIGHT AT US." Josh looked up and sure enough Stellar was staring up where Mikey and Gerard had been hunkering down. "Fuck. Okay. get down now. " He started up the car just as Stellar began taking slow steps across the street toward the playground. Josh put his foot down and sped across the street, going over the sidewalk and straight to the base of the junglegym. Stellar was getting faster, knife twitching in her hand, still slick with scarlet, the dog trotting ahead of her and uncomfortably close to them. "Hurry up fuck heads!" Pete yelled. Gerard got in the door and locked it, panicking at all the blood covering the front seat. The dog was a few meters away now. Mikey wouldn't be able to get down in time. "MIKEY! GET IN NOW!"

"MY LAPTOP!" He fumbled with it on the top rung of the ladder as the dog reached the bottom and began barking and snarling, jaws snapping and spit flying at Mikey who barely was getting eaten.

"FUCK THE LAPTOP! YOU'RE RICH ENOUGH TO BUY A NEW ONE! NOW FUCKING JUMP!"

Mikey looked down at the dog, then the gap, then the car. He narrowed his eyes just as the dog made a leap for him, ripping off a portion of his pants. "DUDE CMON! IF THE DOG DOESN'T GET YOU, STELLAR FUCKING WILL! JUMP!" Stellar herself was now only a few meters away. Mikey caved in. looking at the dog who'd barely just dragged him down again. "FUCK YOU DOG!" Mikey threw his laptop hard at the dogs head, leaving him enough time to jump onto the car roof and leap in through the sunroof into the back seat. "DRIVE!" Josh didn't need telling twice. He hit the gas and swerved around Stellar, back onto the road and toward the hospital. Gerard hugged Mikey before dialing the others and letting them know what had happened. "We're alright, yeah, just barely. On our way to the hospital. You wanna speak to Pete? Hang on,"

Gerard leaned over to the front seat. "Pete. Pete. Dude, Patrick wants to talk to you. Pete?" Pete didn't answer him. Gerard shook him slightly, but he didn't respond. "Shit! Pete! Meet us at the hospital. Hurry." Gerard pushed the button to put Pete's chair down and he moved to the side slightly as Josh sped up and run red lights. "He's not responding and his breathings bad." Gerard sat on the console and removed Pete's hands from where they limply clutched his stomach, replacing them with a spare shirt and applying pressure with his own. Pete's pulse was getting weaker. Josh halted near the hospital doors, rushing out. "I NEED HELP HERE! MY FRIEND'S BEEN STABBED! I NEED HELP!"

His heart slowed.

His breathing slowed.

Time slowed.

Everything slowed.

Why was everything so slow?