Starlight

XXXII: Those You've Known

Content Warnings:

As we reach the end of Starlight, it will become darker in tone. At no point, however, will it include material darker than the canon.

Given this, I don't feel like it's a spoiler to warn you that from now on the story will include instances of character death, violence, and injury.

If you would like to have some more in depth and specific warnings, please feel free to message me and I'll be more than willing to provide those for you.

I want to make sure that everybody has a comfortable reading experience. That being said, I hope you enjoy this chapter.

xx.xx

Those you've known
And lost, still walk behind you
All alone, they linger till they find you

Still your heart says
The shadows bring the starlight
And everything you've ever been is still there in the dark night

- 'Those You've Known', Spring Awakening

xx.xx

Robbie swayed on her feet as she stared at the five people in front of her. Three men, two women and...

Well, it was six people - if you include the corpse.

Let this be a dream. Please.

The head, caved in and glowing blue at the back. The fear in the people's eyes. The ineffable sadness of the older woman crouched next to the body.

Robbie wanted nothing more than to erase the horror of the sight from her memory, and yet she was completely unable to break away from it.

"Hey, are you okay?" asked one of the group, an anxious-looking man of about thirty. "Just... Don't freak out. Please. We're not going to hurt you."

"And how do we know that that she's not gonna hurt us, Paul?" The mustachioed guy behind him stepped forward, glaring at Robbie. "No way she can hide out here. She might be one of those... things, and--"

He pointed toward the corpse on the ground, and the older woman - a redhead with a sweet - pained face, wailed in protest. "Shut up, Ted!"

"Please," Robbie stammered, her voice shrill but fighting to be heard, "P-please, I don't know what's happening, I j-just left my house and I came straight here, I--" Her words faltered, failed, came to a shuddering halt as tears began to stream silently down her cheeks.

"Hey..." the last of the three men attempted to calm her down: he had a kind face and a soft, fatherly voice. "We know you're not going to hurt us. But we do need to get out of here. You should come."

Robbie shook her head furiously, hair whipping around her face, getting stuck to her cheeks, wet with tears. "No. N-no. I want you to tell me what that is," she gestured shakily toward the cop, "And then I'm going to find my cousin. She works in this building."

An uneasy silence fell over the other five people immediately.

"We're not sure exactly what's wrong with him. But... who's your cousin?" The kind man continued, "We work here too, but--"

"Her name's Melissa."

"Melissa? ...Yeah, she works in our department. She's our boss' PA."

A port in the storm, an oasis of comfort: they knew Mel! And even better - Robbie realized that she knew them. Mel had told her so many stories about her work colleagues, and - and the names! Of course! Ted, Paul... She guessed that the kind man that spoke to her now must be Bill: Mel had always spoken so fondly of him. And the redhead - was that Charlotte? It had to be!