So I’m supposed to write about my thoughts and feelings here. That’s probably the dumbest idea I’ve heard in a long ti, but if I don’t do this, then that damned girl will never leave alone… How she got the thought in her head that she would be the one to “fix” , I will never know. Not that I need any fixing to begin with… Anyway, now I have to write this journal (Not a diary, I refuse to call it that), or the demon will keep bothering even in school. Just like she did today. Dear God, I just hope this wasn’t another idea she found on the internet…
Leo snorted. He was a right prick back then, pushing everyone away even when the Hales had taken him in after Edward left. He was probably the reason for their first gray hairs, and if Lily wasn’t her normal annoying self, he would have never accepted his foster family.
Worse than a prick. He shook his head and returned to the journal, trying to decipher the scrawl he once called his handwriting.
If I go about it like every low-budget TV show does, then I probably should start with an introduction, no matter how dumb that sounds… Right, so my na is Leo Brown, and no, it’s just Leo, nothing more. I turned sixteen a few weeks back, and my parents are dead. My mother died in a car crash just because so drunk bastard couldn’t stop at a red light. He killed her, destroyed my family, and, in return, received only a few years in prison. What a wonderful justice system we have, hmm?
Then there is my father, the person I needed the most when my mom died. That fucking asshole promised! He fucking promised to never leave , and yet, after a few weeks of casual neglect, he just left. No warning, no goodbyes, nothing. I only found out that he wouldn’t be coming back from the Hales… Now that fucker might as well be dead to . May he rot in hell.
He had no clue what ca upon him back then. Ever since Edward had left, Leo refused to even ntion his biological mother and father. And then, for so godforsaken reason, he sat down before the empty journal, and the words just ca out on their own. He wrote and wrote, spilling his heart on a piece of paper. Blunt as ever.
And the mont he finished?
Well, the dozens of lines scrawled all over the writing described his reaction quite well. As did his increased coldness toward everyone for over two weeks. Hell, even Lily stopped her attempts at “fixing” him at that ti.
In her words, he played the part of a broody teenager with daddy issues quite perfectly.
Turning to the next page, Leo retrieved the half-eaten candy bar and returned to the book. The journal didn’t inspire many positive feelings in him, but he welcod the respite from the looming apocalypse all the sa. Not even so of the interesting parts of the journal could stop him from reading, which, in hindsight, might not have been the best of ideas.
In no ti, his eyelids grew heavier, his head coming closer and closer to the desk. The writing inside the journal slowly blurred as his eyes closed and the darkness welcod him with its warm embrace.
The mont Leo woke up, sitting on one of the most uncomfortable chairs and still feeling better than ever, he couldn’t even be mad at himself for falling asleep. The soreness finally left his body, and most of the wounds he sustained yesterday had almost disappeared. So had already scabbed, while others were gone altogether, leaving only a bit of discolored skin behind.
He glanced at the small gap in the curtain, through which a thin ray of red sunshine entered the room once again, and smiled. At least now he had another day to plan and maybe move along with his goal.
Yet before he could get up, another notification from the System decided to appear.
You managed to survive the night outside a safe zone. Zero Voidlings and survivors killed. Congratulations.
Is this bullshit mocking ? Leo furrowed his brow. And what do you even an by a safe zone? Is it just another na for a secure shelter? Nah… Until now the System was quite consistent with its naming policies.
With a scowl etched onto his face, he dismissed the ssage. He had no doubt in his mind that his parent’s house wasn’t considered a secure shelter, much less a safe zone. A few curtains and wooden shelves had no chance to stand against the nightmares of the Night. There was no doubt about that.
Way to ruin a sowhat happy morning. He grumbled.
No matter what the System said, he would still have to use empty buildings like this one to hide during the night. Make them as secure as possible, and then hope that none of the Nightmares had a reason to enter a seemingly empty house. And in case they did?
Well, he planned to at least try to escape. Then again, there was a saying, “No plan survives contact with the enemy,” and the Nightmares just might kill him before he even moved. F and E rank seed like quite a big gap, so who really knew…
Yeah, let’s not think about that now. I really don’t need the images of being torn to shreds in my head. Leo grimaced, pushing those thoughts away.
The problem of sleep was another matter altogether. Even with those new superpowers, there was no good mont to sleep until he could find or create this so-called secure shelter.
Last night, he was lucky enough that nothing decided to check his house and get a free snack. Besides, if it weren’t for the journal, his troubled mind would have never let him close his eyes after seeing the Collector carry out the body of Mrs. Gibson.
So the night is out. At least until I find sothing more secure.
Then again, sleeping during the day had its own disadvantages, as it was the only ti when he wasn’t scared shitless to travel. With the sun out and no Nightmares wandering around the city, his chances of survival rose significantly. Also, who said that normal Voidlings couldn’t try to kill him when he slept during the day?
“This is hopeless,” he murmured, head in his hands. “In the end, it will depend on luck and the safety of the place I can find. Nothing more.”
Out of nowhere, his stomach grumbled. Leo scowled and reached into his backpack, removing so dried at and another bottle of water. He always thought better with so food in his stomach, so why not kill two birds with one stone?
As he ate, his mind drifted, searching for ideas to solve at least one of his problems. Everything seed too risky, wasted too much ti, or was straight-up impossible.
No good way to go around it. Risk is always involved, so I might as well just wing it and try to sleep during the night while hiding in a barricaded bathroom or basent. Most of those don’t have windows.
He sighed. Maybe it wasn’t the best idea, but he had no better ones.
With that, he put the leftovers back into his bag and approached the window. Let’s see what the night brought to the world.
The curtains parted, and instantly a curse slipped past his mouth.
The sun and transford plants still colored the entire world in hues of red. What truly surprised him were the branches and pieces of roof tiles scattered all around the neighborhood. To add to the absolute chaos outside the window, he had already spotted two Cursed Humans walking around mindlessly, their red eyes scanning the area.
“You’ve got to be kidding ,” he mumbled, the urge to bang his head against the window getting particularly strong now. “Where did you even co from?”
Getting no answer, Leo walked away, muttering curses on the way out. He made his way downstairs, and when he entered the living room, his body froze as a loud crunch reached his ears.
He looked down and lifted his leg, eyes widening as the glow of his arm glinted against dozens of small pieces of shattered glass.
Like a spring, he jumped away, his dagger rising just below his face as he scanned the almost dark room for any signs of life. Nothing seed out of place, and while he spotted a few more glass shards reflecting the light of his arm, it certainly wasn’t anything to pull his hair out for.
Still not lowering the dagger, Leo approached one of the windows and slowly pulled the curtains apart.
Rays of sunlight blasted the entire room, bathing it in dim light. He once again sent his gaze searching, finally finding a large pile of glass under another window.
This had to be the wind, right?
He really hoped that was the case. The thought of a Collector or any other Voidling walking inside the house when he slept didn’t fill him with much joy.
Gripping the dagger even tighter, he decided to check the entire house. Just in case sothing wanted to surprise him when he moved on to looting the building.
For once, luck shined upon him, and there were no uninvited guests inside the house. As such, Leo moved on to the final task: looting his adoptive parents’ house. Sothing he promised to keep to himself when he finally found the rest of his family. They didn’t need to know who trashed their house.
Not that it really matters anymore.
Honestly, not much was left to be looted, as his parents left almost no food before their trip and he had enough clothes for now. Only the first aid kit—which he almost dismissed thanks to his recovery in the span of one night—and his dad’s hunting rifle interested him.
He found the long rifle—a well-crafted CZ with a walnut stock—inside a box within the attic. The box might have been locked, but his claws didn’t really care about such mundane things.
Along with the weapon, he took a scope for later use and two boxes full of ammunition. For the first ti, Leo thanked whatever deities were listening that his dad had an unhealthy obsession with hunting.
I just hope “Identify” isn’t lying about the fact that you are still in perfect condition, he thought as he gazed at the weapon in his hands.
Happy with his find, he tied it to the side of his backpack and retreated downstairs, ready to unbarricade the backdoor.
I really need more points in Might, especially with the bonus from the trait gone. He grumbled, taking a mont to catch his breath and activate Stealth.
Soon, the barrier once again ford around his skin, and he opened the door just enough to slip outside.
He hugged the back of the house and slowly walked toward the end of the wall. He peeked around the corner and instantly snapped his head back when he noticed a Voidling standing right in his path. With a scowl, he walked to the other side of the building and checked the situation there.
Empty. Leo sighed and followed the thin path between the fence and the wall. Once again, he stopped at the next corner and leaned out, hoping that the Voidling from the other side of the house just remained there.
It hadn’t.
This ti, the Cursed Human stood next to the front door, its nails scraping against the walls as if testing its durability.
Of course it couldn’t be that easy. Can they feel my presence around here, or is my luck just that shitty?
He could jump over the fence next to him and go behind the neighboring house, but he didn’t trust himself enough to be completely quiet during the climb. Besides, he had no clue if the other side was even safe…
Just then, a brilliant idea entered his mind. It was one of the oldest tricks in the book. Sothing that always worked in movies, TV series or the few gas he played. Hell, the idea even seed quite smart when he took the Cursed Human’s stupidity into consideration.
Shrugging, Leo bent down, retrieved a small rock, and threw it on the road.
The Voidling screeched, and he smiled when it turned and howled toward the place where the rock fell. Then, as if guided by a godly hand, the monster’s head snapped toward Leo’s position.
Okay, that’s just straight-up bullshit. The beast hissed, and Leo again hid behind the corner, both of his hands gripping the shovel as he settled into position.
When the growls of the Cursed Human almost rang in his ears, he swung with everything he got.
Crunch!
He threw away the slightly bent shaft of the shovel as the Voidling collapsed to the ground with a thump. The monster twitched, trying to recover from having its head flattened.
Not today.
Thinking quickly, Leo reached for the dagger tucked in his waistline and jumped forward. He straddled the creature and pushed the weapon against its thick skull while his claws dug into the monster’s stomach.
The Voidling writhed under him, flailing its arms at everything but him.
With one last push, the skull cracked open while his claws drank the last bits of the monster’s Essence. Power filled his veins as the Tainted trait activated, giving him the much-needed strength as another Voidling almost barreled into him.
Of course you had to co, he cursed, rolling away.
To prove that today just wasn’t his day, the monster recovered almost instantly after it stumbled upon its kin’s body.
With a growl, Leo dashed to the side, jerking away from another mad charge. The beast was relentless and even faster than the husk of Charles Gibson. No way they are at the sa level.
The bent shovel once again landed in his hands, and he quickly used the tool to block a swipe from the monster. tal t weaponized fingernails, but the tool didn’t give in.
I love this thing. Leo pushed forward, forcing the Voidling’s back into the wall.
The monster montarily lost its footing, and he swung the shovel again. The tal handle sailed true, and the Voidling bent forward, a primal screech escaping its throat.
“Go to hell,” he growled, and with the blunt side of the shovel, he sent the monster sprawling on the ground.
It tried to crawl toward him, but Leo quickly bonked the creature in the head again and positioned the blade of the gardening tool right above its neck.
Like a guillotine, the shovel fell with all of the strength he could muster.
Blood sprayed everywhere as it cut through the Voidling’s neck, severing an artery. The tal reached almost the end of the neck before it stopped, not having enough force to continue.
Bile rose in his throat as the blood splayed on the ground. The natural reaction of his body almost won, only to be stopped by the twitching of the monster’s arm.
Leo gulped, grimacing as his throat burned. However, with a quick tug, he yanked the shovel out and brought it down again, finishing the job as the Voidling’s head rolled to the side.
With the bloody shovel still in hand, he turned away from the sight and collapsed against the fence, sliding down until his bottom hit the floor.
Fuck.
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