Book 1: The First Fallen Human

Where The Freaks At

"Heya Ink... how are you?" His voice was soft and light as he tipped his head. Ink gulped.

"I'm fine. And you?" He said evenly. The first kept that unsettling gaze on him.

"I've been well." He said softly. Ink nodded. He knew his game. If he looked away or showed any sign of fear, he would eat him. He kept steady eye contact.

"I need a favor." He stated. The first tipped his head.

"Of course" He said. Ink nodded. He formed a neon yellow button, handing it to the other. The first held it in spindly, bony fingers. On the other side was a black button.

Ink nodded. "If a human comes through, calling herself Scooter. I need you to catch her and press the yellow button. If you fail and she escapes, press the black one." He instructed carefully. "Do NOT kill her." The first nodded before quietly asking if that was all, tucking the button, already stained with blood, into his pocket. Ink nodded.

"Then goodbye." The first stated, keeping his gaze. Ink backed up, sinking into the ground.

"Yes, goodbye." He said, his fear showing through in his voice as he disappeared. "Freak."

Freak opened his eyes. He was at his disheveled post. One eye was bright yellow, while the other twitched, a maddened blue. The light shone from within his torn open skull. His yellowed grin spread wider. He could taste the dust in his mouth. His ribs twitched from under his blood-stained T-shirt, causing his hoodie to ripple. He shivered in excitement. What a thrill that had been, to catch that petty little monster known as Snowdrake. He'd been DELICIOUS. He didn't know where Papyrus was, nor did he very much care. He chuckled quietly to himself, leaning back, causing his long, spindly fingers to drag against the wood.

Freak twitched. That human... Scooter... Why had Ink not told him what she looked like?? He found this irritating and growled, the sound rumbling in his throat and causing his ribs to snap in and out in annoyance. Dust fell through his jaw, forming little piles on the counter. He tapped his fingers on the counter in a fast, unsettlingly out-of-tune manner. Finally, he heard exactly the sound he was hoping for. The creak of the door in the Ruins. He immediately sprung up onto the counter with an excited buzzing noise before teleporting.

He landed in the snow with a loud puff, giggling quietly on his side. His ribs reached out and pushed him upwards, retreating back to his sides. His eye sockets twitched. He tapped his fingers together in quick succession, tipping his head. Should he kill the human right here?? He knew the taste of FLESH was much better than the tasted of dust. The thought made him drool a bit. He trained his eyes on the path. Should he allow the human to play their Run? What Run even was it?? Pacifist, where the human released them onto the surface to prey on the human race...?? Genocide, where the human annihilated their horrifying, twisted existence, only to bring them right back for the next one?? Ooh, he couldn't wait...

This showed in the impatient curling of his ribs, the coastal cartilage that had connected them so long ago, long gone. His hand slid up and the bony fingers snaked their way into the inside of his skull. He giggled quietly. He removed his hand forcefully from his head, shoving his hand in his pocket. He felt the button and paused. What if it was... THAT human...? He twitched. Well, Ink has said not to KILL her... not that he couldn't take a bite... right??

Oh, how he craved for the taste of flesh. The rich texture of meat and the iron-filled taste of blood. He giggled to himself. Oh, yes... just a bite... He snapped back to reality as something fizzled. The human was outside the door. His human. But... He paused. The door had shut behind them and they seemed to be frozen mid-walk. The entire world had turned grey except for him. Freak blinked. This was different. His yellowed grin curled upwards. "It must be her... oh yes, it must be her..." He murmured quietly. He teleported next to the human, studying them.

The human always baffled him. With such a small form, you wouldn't have expected them to be so much of a threat. He reached out to their face, blinking as his hand went right through them. His spine made a loud cracking noise as he heard someone speak.

"It'd be cheating if I let you touch them."

It was a deep voice with a raspy undertone. Like it hadn't been used for decades. Female. Freak grinned wider and immediately flipped over, practically folding himself in half. His legs snapped together, fusing as his ribs ripped out of his hoodie, forming spidery legs. He grinned at the upside-down human. "HeYa!!" He spoke in a shrill, scratchy voice when in this form. His legs had fused and become a scorpion tail, complete with the sickly-looking barb at the top. "I tAkE iT yOu'Re ScOoTeR!!"

The human was older. In her 20's with grey eyes, pale skin, piercings and grey hair with orange tips. She had lots of shiny rings. This immediately attracted Freak's attention as he tipped his head. His spindly bone legs tapped the ground. She nodded slowly. The thing that threw Freak off, besides her multiple layers of clothing, was her face. Maybe it was because he was upside-down, but her face was completely absent of emotion.

Unsure of this, Freak twisted his head upright with a horrendous cracking noise. His neck was oddly bent and there was a small flash of recognition in Scooter's empty eyes. Freak stared at her, noting the tightly-tied ribbon. He blinked. She looked so ready for eating. Her eyes were glassy and he saw no indication of breathing. He trembled excitedly, walking a bit towards her, only pausing when parts of her body glitched in and out.

The scent of blood hit him and Freak's pupils narrowed, drawn to her fingers. The tips were glowing red. He tipped his head. Scooter blinked.

"Ink has you looking for me as well."

Ink? Oh, yes! Ink! Freak giggled and pulled the button from his pocket. "InDeEd!! I mUsT cAlL hIm!!" He screeched out quietly. Scooter held up a hand.

"What can I do so you will not call him?"

Her question was soft and monotone. Freak blinked. He twisted his head 360° as his grin widened, threatening to split his skull in half. "WhAt cOuLd yOu pOsSiBlY oFfEr mE??" He squealed out, seeming amused. He blinked as Scooter lifted her hands. The red strings unwrapped from her fingers, revealing their origins to be cuts in her fingertips. The strings were blood. He watched as she formed a small ball of the stringy blood before cutting the strings off and holding the blood ball out to him. He stared at it, all of his instincts screaming that he must have it.

"WhAt wAs tHe dEaL?" He asked, realizing he'd forgotten. Scooter blinked at him before taking a deep breath to speak.

"I'll give you this if you press the black button instead."

Really!? Freak squealed. His bony hand held the button delicately. "Is tHaT rEaLlY aLl yOu cAn gIvE??" He asked. Scooter blinked before lowering her hand and removing the large ring from her pinkie. She held those two things out. Immediately, Freak's bloody hand slammed down on the black button and it disappeared.

"Thank you."

Scooter said quietly, handing him what he was promised. Freak let out a soft cooing noise, slipping the ring onto one of his own spindly fingers, admiring it. He held the blood ball in the other hand. He scuttled away from the frozen human, before snapping himself down into his regular form. He looked back, blinking in surprise, seeing that Scooter was now gone. Color returned slowly and the human took off running down the path.

Freak didn't care about them. He blinked as he fiddled with the blood ball, finding that each strand of blood was able to be pulled off like a twizzler strand. His grin widened. The ball stained his hands red, but he didn't care.

He began to eat, red spattering the gold ring on his finger.