*HEY GUYS! WELCOME TO ANOTHER CHAPTER OF C&B! I'M HOPING TO GET A CHAPTER OUT DURING WINTER BREAK OR MAYBE EVEN ON CHRISTMAS (Dec. 24 or 25). BUT DAMN, CAN'T BELIEVE ITS 50 CHAPTERS ALREADY AND THE YEAR'S ALMOST OVER. OH CRAP. ANYWAY, HAVE SOME QUESTIONS!

Questions!!:
-If you like Oreos, are you a cookie or cream person? (Personally, the cream can be too sweet or sticky so I prefer cookie.~)
-Can you give me any dog tips, dog owners? (I will be getting a female Australian Shepard puppy on Dec. 24 and I would like to know of any additional tips to train and take care of her. Ahh, this dog is gonna change stuff. I can hardly wait for my precious child.~)

ENJOY THE CHAPTER, EVERYONE!*

Stay Creepy, My Friends!~

Chapter 50

Ao's POV

A cold front came in today, causing most of the kids at school to gear up in sweaters, scarves and beanies. I also couldn't walk anywhere in the school without seeing a girl in Uggs. The cold season was definitely underway.

Surprisingly, school was cut short to an early release today. Apparently, there was a rescheduled staff arrangement today so students have to go home. It was fine with me, considering I can take the extra time at home to complete more homework, practice my violin and maybe even train more with Jack. If he comes to the estate earlier, that is. I have no way of telling him that I'm home since he comes at a certain schedule to make sure he meets me as soon as I get home, which is about three and a half hours later.

Before heading to the front of the school, I stopped by the orchestra room to pick up my violin. I missed grabbing it from my locker after school hours. It's been so long since I've practiced outside of class.

I ran to the front and found Craig and Kayla waiting around for me. As soon as I came up to them and set my violin case on the ground, Kayla whistled and said, "Looks like you don't kid around with your winter fashion, Blue."

I blinked and looked down at my clothes. I wore a royal blue coat, plain long sleeve shirt under, a white scarf, black pants and suede boots. "Thanks," I replied.

Kayla beamed, "So, now that we're outta school earlier, what should we do? I say hit up the mall or McDonalds. Either one is good."

"Ah, don't mention food. I'm starving," Craig muttered, holding his stomach.

I chuckled and added, "That all sounds great but I think I should head home. I have a ton of work to do."

"Aww," Kayla whined.

Craig gave me a smile and said, "Let's head to my truck and I'll take you there."

Picking up my violin case, I followed Craig and Kayla to his truck. Before we could get to student parking, I heard someone calling out my name. I slowed my pace and looked around to see who it could've been. Sure enough, I found the culprit and stopped.

"Mr. Harris?," I called back.

The brunette haired man casually strolled up to me from the front parking lot, waving. I flashed him a smile as he said, "Ian, is fine, thank you."

"What are you doing here?," I asked him.

He adjusted his glasses as he stated, "Well, your father heard about the school closing early beforehand, and with special permission, he sent me to come get you."

"That's very nice of you, Mr. Harr--Ian, but I could've gotten one of my friends to take me home," I replied, pointing to Craig, who waited for me with a curious expression. Kayla as well.

Ian waved at them as he told me, "I understand that, but I would like to talk with you. Or, in better terms, we need to discuss something." He bore a smile but I could see in his eyes that whatever this was was important.

You should go.

"Let me handle a few things first," I said, listening to Sam's advice, before walking over to Craig and Kayla.

Kayla was the first to ask, "Who is that guy?"

"That's Ian Harris. He works at TIRACorp. He's an intern for one of my father's colleagues, Dr Stephens," I explained.

"Why is he here?," Craig asked. I could tell in his voice that he was feeling protective.

"He wants to talk with me. He's offering to take me home, too," I said. Hearing myself, I sounded pretty stupid.

Craig eyed Ian from afar, then me. "We still haven't even talked about that incident where you ran off with a guy on a motorcycle," he muttered.

"You what?," Kayla blurted.

Oh shit.

Panicked, I said, "I-It was him!"

"Him?," Craig and Kayla said in unison.

Nodding, I lied, "Y-Yeah. He had to pick me up early for something important with my father...!"

"But, you went missing after that," Kayla mentioned.

Crap.

My thoughts were the same as Sam's.

"We got jumped along the way," I lied again. "Ian tried protecting me but, uh...yeah it didn't go well. But, he's alright now! See?" I gestured to Ian, who stood around, whistling. Craig and Kayla stared at him as if he slipped on a chair that was right in front of him.

I quickly walked over, grabbed Ian by his sleeve and led him over to my friends. "Guys, this is Ian. Ian, these are my friends," I said, gesturing. All three of them shared handshakes and casual smiles.

"I hope you two are not bothered with my being here," Ian said.

Kayla beamed, "It's fine." Craig stayed silent.

Ian adjusted his coat and raised his hands, "Listen, I'm gonna be blunt and say that I'm not going to lay a finger on Ao. You'll see her again, etcetera. I just want to take her to get some lunch and get her home, that's all. Trust me, I wouldn't do a thing, and even if I wanted to, her dad and my boss would chop my head off."

I probably could, too. But, ya know, he hasn't done anything, so I won't.

I ignored Sam's comment.

I could tell Ian's words were more directed towards Craig, who still bore a rather suspicious expression. After a tense moment of silence, Craig finally eased our nerves and said, "Alright... You can take her home." The tension disappeared and I felt at ease.

Ian smiled and said, "Thank you, you two. You have a wonderful day." He turned to me and added, "Ready to go?" I nodded, gave Craig and Kayla hugs and told them, "I'll see you Monday."

Afterwards, the three of us waved good-bye to each other as I followed Ian to the front parking lot. We made it to his car, I placed my violin in the back and we hopped inside. "Agh, finally out of the cold," Ian commented as he turned on the car. "So, does coffee sound good to you?," he asked.

"I'm more of a tea person," I remarked.

Ian chuckled and said, "Well, wherever there is tea, we shall go."

Ian pulled out of the parking space and began cruising out of the school. We drove into town and as the minutes passed, I asked him how he had been doing all of this time.

"Ah, I'm sure you don't want to hear about me," he replied.

"It'd be rude if I didn't let you talk," I said.

He sighed and smirked. "Well, if you insist," he said. And, so, he talked about how he was doing. How he worked with Dr. Stephens, how life was at home, how his fiancé was doing, his friends. He didn't have many, which he was content with. The only people he likes to hang around with is his fiancé and their best friend, Addie. At the mention of that name, I began putting pieces together and had a huge realization, though I didn't announce this to Ian. Also, he and his fiancé didn't live together, although they plan to once married, but they see each other frequently. He'll sometimes visit her at work and act like a customer, then afterwards he gives her lunch. It all sounded heartwarming.

"She thinks I'm a dumbass," he said, "but I'm her dumbass."

After listening to him talk, I was surprised to see that we got to a strip mall. Ian parked the car and I got out with my backpack on my shoulder. As I walked upon the sidewalk, I noticed that Ian now carried a messenger bag. The same bag he had the last time we met at TIRACorp. "Let's head inside," he said as we walked towards a café. Inside it was nice and warm and the aroma of coffee and pastries pleased my senses.

Ian found us a booth at the back of the shop, where he set his stuff down. I followed after him and set my backpack down as I took my side. "What would you like?," Ian asked as he stayed standing.

"Just some green tea, thank you," I answered. Ian nodded and headed off towards the front counter to order.

Well, this seems nice.

"Yeah," I murmured, as I looked around the shop.

Do you wonder what it is he has to tell you?

I nodded and replied, "Yeah. I'm a bit concerned really."

Do you think it has something to do with you being a proxy?

I pursed my lips and thought for a moment. "Possibly.."

...Would he do anything to you?

I smiled assuredly and said, "Of course not. I trust him enough. My father does as well, it seems. Besides, even if he did, I know you'll have my back."

Well, yeah.

I chuckled. "Let's just relax, okay?"

Alright.

After a couple more minutes, Ian came back with two cups. "Here you go, one hot tea for you," he said, "and a coffee for me."

"Thank you," I said, grabbing my cup and holding it close to me on the table. I took a sip and it warmed me up more, so much that I took my coat and scarf off.

"So, how have you been?," Ian asked me.

"Oh, just fine," I replied.

"School?"

I went on to explain to him how everything was at school. I even told him about my struggle to try to pick my grades up again. "Why are you failing?," he asked.

"I'm just behind on class work," I responded.

"Why? What's up?" He cocked an eyebrow and there was a curious glint in his eyes.

I shrugged and said, "Um...I've been working out... And, ya know, the whole getting kidnapped thing kinda screwed me up."

"You're so casual about that," Ian commented, sounding disturbed.

I took a quick sip of my tea and shrugged. "It's not the first time. Although, I can't remember anything that happened to me recently. One moment, I was knocked out, the next I find myself in a hospital bed with a gnarly--." I stopped myself. Not because I was afraid of Ian finding out the reality of my kidnap but because I couldn't bear to say it. Even now it gives me chills.

"What happened?," Ian inquired.

Tightening my grip on my cup of tea, I looked away and stared hard at the table. Maybe I could show him the bite. He wouldn't have any clue as to who did it, so why should I worry. Actually, it sucks that he might not know. If he did, I'd have a lot more closure about my kidnap.

Looking around first, I told Ian, "However you react is fine but do not tell my father." Ian raised his hands and crossed his heart.

I nodded and moved my shirt slightly to reveal the bite mark on my shoulder. It was already starting to fade into a scar but it still looked brutal. I took a glance at Ian to see his expression turned into a grimace. I waited a few more moments before pulling my shirt back and grabbing my tea once again. It was quiet between us, and I felt guilty for ruining the pleasant mood. Then, Ian spoke up in a grim voice, "There's something I need you to see."

I watched as Ian grabbed his messenger bag and opened it up. He dug through it and pulled out a laptop. He set it on the table and as he opened it, he said, "There's a video that you should see. I really don't want to have you watch it but deep down I know that you should..." As I stared at him with quizzical concern, he typed away at his laptop, clicked the mousepad a few times, then finally turned the laptop screen facing me. It was black, save for the video player bar at the bottom.

"What are you showing me?," I asked.

Ian looked around nervously and answered, "It holds some of the answers to your kidnapping, I'm sure. You won't like it, though. I felt terrible watching it. So, if you get too uncomfortable, let me know and I'll shut the laptop off completely."

My stomach felt queasy, like it was about to flip out of my body. My heart was racing. Despite how anxious I was, I said, "Play the video."

Ian nodded and pressed play. After that he sat back and watched the shop. It was only Sam and I watching the screen.

Are you sure about this?

I disregarded Sam's question as the screen finally showed me something.

A camera, I'm guessing, was positioned in the top corner of a large, concrete room. Only a small bed and a silver toilet sat inside, along with a figure on a chair in the center of the room--no, the cell. Curiosity made way for ominous dread as I realized that the figure was me. But, I wasn't just sitting, I was clamped down to the chair by metal cuffs. I looked exhausted for some reason, hair tussled, face pale, and I wondered if this was right after I was kidnapped. As I analyzed the video more, I noticed black lines tracing from somewhere beyond the camera, to my body.

Suddenly, a voice spoke from some intercom, a man, and he said, "Now, Ao, answer the questions this time. Are you or are you not affiliated with this...proxy?"

I didn't answer. No response whatsoever. I sat as still as a statue.

"No response," the man announced, "Up the volts."

Suddenly, I watched myself convulse on that metal chair, screaming my lungs out. I stared at the screen in horror as I realized what the black lines were, as I realized why I looked so deprived and exhausted. The electric shock seemed to last forever and I couldn't imagine how the actual thing felt at the time. An uncomfortable heat started up in my stomach and I knew Sam's anger was churning.

Finally, the electricity stopped and I was left panting and sobbing.

The man on the comm said, "Do you or do you not have supernatural abilities?"

This time I said something but it wasn't an answer to his question. All I did was whimper "please let me go, stop it, stop it, stop it, please let me--".

The electricity was turned up again and I cried out. After the second electro shock was finished, I had been trembling and sniveling.

More heat increased in my stomach

Another question asked. "Who is Sam?"

No answer, just crying.

More electricity. More screaming and crying. More heat.

"Do you know the whereabouts of the vigilante 'Scapegrace'?"

I only muttered, "I don't know, I don't know, please just let me go, I don't know, I don't know, I don't know.."

I was electro shocked again and I let out a coarser wail that echoed around in the concrete cell. After a minute, the electricity stopped and I was left still twitching in my confines.

"Are you or are you not the proxy?," the man asked.

I had only started muttering, panicked, in Japanese, "Ie ni kaeritai. Watashi wa watashi no okāsan o mite mimashou. Watashi wa watashinochichi o mite mimashou. Watashi ga ika sete kudasai. Ie ni kaeritai. Ie ni kaeritai. Ie ni kaeritai." (I want to go home. Let me look at my mom. Let me see my father. Please let me go. I want to go home. I want to go home. I want to go home.)

Another electro shock was sent through me and I had screamed again.

"Please, speak in English," the man had said.

I watched myself shake my head and heard myself whimper incoherent Japanese.

"Up the volts again," the man ordered to some unknown being. Upon the order, my body convulsed and this time I could hear the aggressive buzzing of electricity at volume with my screams of pain. As I was getting shocked, I shrieked, "Teishi! Teishi! Teishi! Mō iya! Onegaishimasu! Mō iya! Mō iya! TEISHI!!" (Stop! Stop! Stop! No more! Please! No more! No more! STOP!)

As I watched myself scream the same desperate words over and over again, I could feel my eyes burn from the tears that were soon to come. I began to wonder where I had been, who had been hurting me and for what. I also wondered why Sam never came to my aid. What had happened to him? Why did I go through this..?

I kept watching the video and as the electricity had kept buzzing, I had grown more and more fearful and angered in the video. Soon I was hearing myself spouting out the most disgusting things, things I'd never, ever say. I'd switch from English to Japanese and through again but my futile, enraged message was clear.

To my horror, the electricity never stopped. My assailants just kept it going and going, even daring to increase the voltage going through my body. My screams had become less and less like my screams and more like the crying of a dying animal. I could hear the scratchiness of my voice get worse and worse.

Sam's anger took a toll on my body and I wasn't sure I could take the heat of his fury anymore.

Eventually, my wailing had begun to die down until it seemed that I had fallen unconscious. My body still twitched from electricity but I was out cold, my head hung over. The man on the comm sighed and announced, "Get her off the chair. No sedatives this time. The electricity did enough."

Next, I watched two men in white protective suits and masks come in and remove me from the chair. They both carried me over to the bed and one of them checked my pulse on my neck and wrist. The other opened one of my eyes and flashed a light into it. I seemed fine so they left me there and walked out of the cell.

The man on the comm stated, "Attempt seven of Ao Matsukochi's interrogation: failed. End time: three o'five p.m. Restart: five o'clock p.m." As soon as the mic shut off, the video went to black.

Looking up at Ian, I asked in a feeble voice, "Is that all of the video...?"

To my dismay, he shook his head. "I cut whole hours worth of footage. Most of it was you lying unconscious, and they only electro shocked you. Well...until the ninth attempt."

"Wh-What happened on the ninth attempt...?!"

Ian bit his lip nervously and messed with the laptop again. He pulled up another video file and pressed play. I looked at the screen again and the cell room came up. This time I was on my knees in the center of the floor, hands restrained behind my back. I watched myself fumble over, wiggling around like a fish out of water. Nothing worked and I sat around, helpless.

The man on the comm from the other video spoke and said, "Attempt nine of Ao Matsukochi's interrogation has begun. Send in Caedis."

My expression changed to confusion, both in real life and in the video. Who is Caedis?

Suddenly, my heart faltered a beat as I saw a figure with a head of white hair walk into the cell. The Ao in the video shook her head, stared up at him with pure fear and started scrambling away from him. "Get away from me!," I had screamed, "Get away!!!"

The white haired man --Caedis-- just stood a few feet near me, staring away from me, past the camera's view.

There was a few moments of silence as Caedis seemed to wait for something. I had just kept trying to get away from him, wiggling over towards the bed, possibly trying to hide under it. "You know what to do, Caedis," the man on the comm suddenly stated ominously.

My heart began pounding hard as I watched Caedis storm over and grab Video Ao by the arm just as she reached the bed. He had aggressively dragged me to the center of the room as I started screaming and kicking at the floor. Then, he shoved me against the concrete and I began to crawl away from him. "Stop it! No! No!," I shrieked. He clawed at my shirt and pulled me back towards him. He suddenly put me in a chokehold and wrapped his legs around my waist to hold me down. My cries were halted as he pressed his arm against my throat and constricted my movement more and more.

I started feeling sick at the sight of this Caedis pulling at my shirt and exposing my shoulder. I knew what came next yet it still rattled me to my bones to see him open his mouth and clamp down hard onto my skin.

In the video, I released a shrill cry of pain. Caedis kept biting, possibly increasing the pressure of this jaws. In real life, I could almost feel the sensation of teeth on my skin, digging inside. The warmth and disgusting instance of breath and saliva. I gulped, trying to compose myself again. As if what Caedis was doing before wasn't bad enough, he had started shaking his head, mauling my skin. I could hear the gurgle in my cries and saw my cheeks glisten with continuing tears. Blood had begun to drip from my shoulder, staining my clothes. "Itai! Itai! ITAI!!," I wailed in Japanese. With all of my screaming, Caedis must have had enough because he jerked his arm against my throat and I shut up quick. All I had mustered was quiet whimpers and desperate gurgles as my body twitched from immense pain mixed with fear.

Finally, Caedis pulled away from my shoulder and let me go. He set me down on the floor where I curled up into a ball, shivering, shoulder still bleeding. The white haired man stood up and I spotted my blood all over his mouth and chin.

"Anything?," the man on the comm asked.

Caedis shook his head in response.

"Really?" A sigh. "Alright then. Come back."

Caedis began walking off camera, out of the concrete cell. Two men in white, possibly the same ones from the last video, came in and picked up my body from the floor. As they carried me, I heard the sad murmuring of my voice, the words "Sam. Jack. Help. Please. Please" seemingly echoing from the laptop and burrowing into my mind. The men in white put me on the bed again. The man on the comm ordered, "Sedate her again. Afterwards, dress her wound." The men followed the command and one of them pulled out a syringe from his pocket. He removed the cap, tapped the tube then used it on my neck. I expected myself to put up a fight but I must've been too weak to do a thing.

After the men had put me to sleep and saw to my wound, the video cut off. I sat in the booth, staring at the laptop screen with tears on my face. It took a few moments to realize I was holding my scarred shoulder and that I have been throughout the entire video. Ian closed the laptop and handed me a napkin. Gingerly, I took it in my hands and cleaned my face.

"I'm terribly sorry that I showed you something you may have been better off not seeing," Ian started, glumly, "But, I knew I couldn't let this go unnoticed." He paused for a moment, then continued, "Ao, the people that did this to you are a lot closer than you think. They're also relentless when it comes to getting what they want, who they want. You'd be captured again if it were not for one thing that keeps them away."

"What?" I murmured.

Ian cast his eyes down. "I can't tell you. It'll be hard for you to keep going as you are, which is what I want. These people...they can have eyes anywhere. You need to be careful and pretend like what happened did not happen. They think you forgot, so keep it that way."

I furrowed my brow. "Who are they..?"

He pursed his lips and adjusted his glasses. "They're called SCP, but don't bother doing your research. There's nothing online about them, no articles or documents outside of their facilities. Everything is under wraps."

SCP. That name was somewhat familiar. I inquired, "Then...how do you know they exist?"

He released a light chuckle and replied, "I know a lot of things I shouldn't. Plus, I have association with them but that's as far as I'll tell you. Can tell you." He scratched his chin and sighed. "We should stop talking about this. At least for now. I don't recommend you call me over the phone, though, or email me. I don't know when I'll have the time to see you again, either. At some point, we can meet, and I hope nothing happens between now and then." His expression went hard and he added, "Listen, I know what's going on. I know you're the proxy."

I froze in my spot and stared at him with wide eyes.

He shook his head and added, "There's nothing for you to worry about with me. I'm as violent as a two week old puppy." He chuckled before casting his eyes down somberly and he muttered, "I just want to warn you, ya know. I...had a friend who was in the same situation. She went through a lot of shit --pardon my language-- to be who she was meant to be, to protect humanity. Now I don't know where she is. I miss her...a lot. There's a lot of stuff I wish I had said to her, that I wish I could've done to make her feel better at times. If I had done one little thing, then maybe things wouldn't have turned out the way they did. Johanna tells me that's not healthy to think about, though. Addie says to think about the good times instead of the bad. But if it were not for our friend, I wouldn't be alive. None of us would be alive."

Ian went quiet for a moment, then looked me straight in the eyes with a sincere mien. "Ao, this proxy thing will put you and your loved ones through hell and back. Maybe I didn't take as much of the load as some others but I can guarantee that everyone felt it in the end. You'll want to give up, but like with everything else in this world, you have to keep pushing on. No one should have to lose you like I lost my friend, not to this proxy thing, not to anything...! Look out for the ones you love. But, most of all, protect yourself. After you've been through so much, after everything and everyone you love has gone, all you'll have left is you."

I took Ian's words into mind and they scared me more than they probably should have. The shock of the videos started to wear off, along with Sam's prominent anger. That didn't mean they didn't leave a mark on me. I grabbed my tea, took a sip and found that it had lost its pleasant warmth.

"Hey," Ian spoke up in a quiet tone, "I know there's nothing I can really do to make you feel better, but would you like a pastry?"

I stared at him for a few moments and I could already see he was regretting asking me. I nodded answered, "A brownie would be nice."

Ian gave me a soft smile before getting up from his booth and heading to the front counter. I stayed sitting in the booth, eyes tight from crying. Staring at the laptop, I suddenly had an idea that I really shouldn't go through with. I grabbed my backpack and rummaged through one of the pockets.

What are you doing?

"Something," I murmured as I pulled out a flash-drive. I use it for school but in this case it's for something else entirely. I grabbed Ian's laptop, opened it, plugged in the flash-drive and searched for the videos. Sure enough, I found them and transferred them into the USB. He mentioned that these were cut, though. Would he have the whole footage on here too? Before I could search, Sam spoke.

He's about to come back..!

Quickly, I pulled out the USB and shut the laptop. I hid the flash-drive into my pocket and placed the laptop back in its original position. As soon as I sat back into my seat, Ian started walking back to the booth. When he arrived he gave me a smile and handed me the brownie he promised.

"Thank you," I told him.

"No problem," he said and took his seat. "So, have any homework you have to do?"

As I took a bite of the brownie, I nodded.

Ian beamed and said, "Well, whip it out! We'll deal with it right here, right now."

I chuckled and dug around inside my backpack again to get my homework. I set all that I needed to do onto the table and Ian took a look at it all. He laughed and said, "This stuff's a cake walk! You can get this done in no time."

I knew he was just trying to make me feel better and I was glad he is. It's starting to work so far. It almost makes me forget that I ever watched my own torture in a café.

...

Ian and I spent about an hour and a half at the café working on my assignments. After everything was done, we got up from our booth and left the shop. As soon as we were in the car and Ian turned it on, I checked the time on the radio. I have about two hours left until I see Jack again for training. Should be enough time for me to practice my violin and maybe warmup with a few exercises.

"Let's get you home," Ian said, as he backed out of the parking space and drove out of the strip mall parking lot. Unfortunately, not even a few streets through and we ran into serious traffic. Lanes were filled with long lines of vehicles and I wondered what must've happened. Maybe there was a huge car crash in the middle of the street or at an intersection. Usually that's the case. It's probably recent, too, since there hasn't been a way through this traffic. Police usually find a way for vehicles to get around the mess in no time, especially if it's on a busy street.

Little by little, Ian inched the car forward as the many other cars did too. It wasn't enough though. I was left staring at the same building for almost five minutes, which is too long of a time for a street like this. Like many of the other drivers around us, Ian grew agitated. He groaned and leaned against the arm rest of his car door. After too long, he finally honked the horn. He must've been the first one to break the tension because afterward almost every other car began to honk too. "God dammit," Ian whined as he leaned his head against the steering wheel.

I looked around, seeing nothing but cars and a few pedestrians on the sidewalks. Turning to Ian, I asked, "Do you want me to see what's going on?"

"Y-Yeah, sure," he permitted, "just take a quick peek out the window."

Nodding, I scrolled the window down and slipped most of my upper body through. Lifting my head as high as I could, I looked over most of the cars to see ahead. There were too many for me to see anything although there was definitely something wrong at the front. I slipped back into my seat and scrolled the window up again. "Any way through this traffic?," Ian asked. I shook my head at Ian and he sighed sadly. "What the hell happened," he muttered as he rubbed his face.

If there was an accident, it must've been a major one. Or, maybe not an accident at all. Suddenly, this uneasy feeling settled in my stomach, like something bad was causing this, something related to me.

Stupidly, I opened the passenger door and told Ian as I stepped out, "I'm gonna go check out what's going on. I'll be back!"

"Wait, Ao--." I shut the car door before I let him finish.

Hurriedly, I ran down the aisle between the many idle cars, towards the front.

Ao, I don't think you should be leaving the car.

"I need to know what's going on," I panted.

That's exactly something a protagonist would say right before shit hits the fan.

I slowed down for more breath and said, "Relax, Sam. I'm just going to run and come straight back to the car."

That's not a good idea.

"Why?"

Because, something doesn't feel right to me either...!

I paused for a moment, contemplating what I was doing. Then I looked ahead and ran forward. "Just gonna run and come back!"

Ao!

As Sam kept scolding me for not listening to him and to get back to the car, I noticed a pedestrian running on the sidewalk to my right. The only difference was that they were running the opposite direction. I thought nothing of it at first. That was, until I saw two people running, then three, then five, and soon that's all the pedestrians on either side of the street were doing. Running, with panicked expressions.

Before I could stop and decide to turn back, I suddenly ran straight into a car door. Landing on my back, I groaned on the asphalt and rubbed my head. Then, I saw people exiting their cars near me. One of them, the owner of the car whose car door I ran into, yelled at me, "The hell are you doing on the ground?! Get up and run!" He helped me up quickly then bolted off down the way I came.

I turned around and looked towards the direction I was heading. I couldn't see much, I only made out smoke and the small blaze of fire.

Ao, I'm pretty sure you should start heading back now.

"Hold on," I murmured, lifting a finger in the air.

Oh my god, c'mon!

"Shush!"

Ao!

"Sam!" I scolded.

Don't you 'Sam' me!

He said his name in a high pitched voice, trying to imitate me.

I'll yell at you as much as I like because you're being ridiculous, plus you can't shut me up because you can't touch me! Ha!

"Sam, please."

I could literally rant about toast! Right here, right now! And, you'd be stuck with it!

I face-palmed. "Sam, this isn't the time--."

Any time is the perfect time to rant about toast!

"This isn't about toast!" I exclaimed. "I am trying to listen around me because I hear something in the distance and it sounds like--." There was a sudden, burning pain on my hip and I winced. Staggering against a car, I unbuttoned my coat and moved my shirt up to look at my skin. My eyes widened at the sight of the proxy mark glowing red on my skin. I covered it up quickly and clenched my teeth. Something is definitely wrong. Why would it show up now? It only comes out whenever I'm going to run into--.

There was suddenly a booming, monstrous roar, followed by a loud crash. Out of the corner of my eye, something black dropped to the ground hard. Before I could peer over the car next to me, I noticed that it knocked over a street lamp in the process. The looming metal started leaning towards me and I quickly dropped to the ground. It crashed onto the windshield of the car in front and back of me, sending glass pieces flying around me.

After the glass pieces subsided, I uncovered my head and looked up over the car in front of me. Through the empty cabin, I could see a large, black figure stagger up from the ground. My heart pounded wildly in my chest as I recognized its disfigured, grotesque features. The oil black exterior of its dark hide. Corrupted.

There was a loud thud behind me and I quickly turned my head to see another large figure standing atop of the car behind me. I held back a scream as I reeled away. Two Corrupted? No, no, no. And, I'm sandwiched in between them!

But, my panic decreased slightly as I took another quick assessment of the beast on top of the car. It had a body of black fur, almost feather like. It's front paws were nearly humanoid, save for the protruding, black claws and one less finger. Hind legs like a dog, no tail. What stood out that made me think twice about it being Corrupted was the face. It was elongated, dark holes where eyes should be, a hole at the very bottom, yellowed skin that once must've been white, topped off with black stitching all over. It was almost like a mask but something told me it wasn't. I stared at it for longer than I intended. It was enormous, maybe almost bigger than the Corrupted. Plus, it looked familiar.

This creature may not be a Corrupted but that doesn't mean it's any less dangerous. Quietly, I tried inching away from both beasts, being careful not to cut myself on glass. I stopped moving once the Corrupted released a howl and climbed on top of the other car. I was as still as stone as I watched the two creatures howl angrily at each other. The Corrupted hissed and attempted to swipe at the unknown animal but the attack didn't work. Instead, the unknown creature struck the Corrupted across its sickly face, causing it to whine in pain.

While they were growling at each other, I took this time to start slipping away again. I sneaked past the glass and wiggled under a small space between cars. As I was squeezing through, I heard a loud yelp followed by a crash. I disregarded it, taking the noise to my advantage.

Ao.

"What?" I whispered.

Don't move.

My body froze, but not because Sam commanded it but because I was afraid of why he did. To my disgust, black gunk splattered onto the ground next to me. Slowly, I looked up and my heart almost stopped at the sight of the Corrupted looming over me, on top of the abandoned cars. My breathing grew shallow and I felt like screaming. The Corrupted bared black stained teeth and more black saliva dripped over me. "S-Sam," I whispered, voice shaking, "Do something, quick."

Suddenly, the Corrupted howled, its volume deafening, and lunged its teeth toward me. I screamed and covered my head, despite that it was a futile move. Then, to my relief, I caught the sight of the monster being thrown off of the cars by a projectile street lamp.

Go!

Without hesitance, I scrambled out from beneath the cars and sprinted. No one was around anymore so it was only me on the sidewalk. Good, because I won't run into anyone. Bad, because I'm an easy target. Glancing behind me, I spotted the Corrupted recovering from Sam's hit. I pushed myself to run faster. Looking over at the shop window's beside me, I watched the Corrupted bound after my moving figure.

Just as soon as it was about to reach me, the unknown creature popped up out of nowhere and tackled the Corrupted into one of the shops. Brick and glass flew from the sheer force of their bulky bodies crashing into the building. I kept running as this became more distraction for the two creatures.

I finally made it to the front of the street and saw what the cause for traffic had been. A large gasoline truck had been over turned, blocking not only the street I was stuck on but every other street that connected to the intersection. Across the tank were slash marks, which I could only assume were from the one or both of the two monsters. The entire vehicle lay disheveled and in flames. That's why people started running earlier. I rounded a corner without instance and kept running. The howls and growls of the beasts behind me echoed well beyond the buildings and streets.

After a while, I grew tired and stopped to regain my breath. I hid away inside an indent for a shop door and leaned against the wall. I looked over at the shop door and peeked through its glass, into the dark room. I saw movement and I only guessed it was someone hiding out from the disaster. I'm sure everyone is.

Finally, catching my breath, I murmured, "What do we do?"

Those creatures seem too far away now to get you. You might be able to keep running to a safer place.

"But...what about Ian? Do you think he's okay?," I said, voice lined with concern.

I don't know. I'm sure he must've ran away, too.

Gulping, I peeked out of the indent, staring at the abandoned streets. To think that only a few minutes ago, cars and people were passing through. Holding myself, I murmured, "I want to know if he's okay.. I also left my stuff behind." Then I gasped like I was just slapped across the face with a pan covered in sandpaper. "My violin."

My. Violin.

"Sam.."

Ao, don't even think about it..!

"That thing costs two thousand dollars!!"

You don't cost two thousand dollars!

"It's a one of a kind edition!"

You are one of a kind! Your life isn't as replaceable as an instrument!

I frowned. "It is not just an instrument, Sam! It's practically my child!"

Your parents are rich, for crying out loud! They can get you another two grand, one-of-a-kind edition child!

"No, not for this one," I muttered.

Ao, please, do NOT. I swear, if you do--.

I ran out of the indent and started circling back to the street I was previously on.

Oh mY GOD, YOU'RE DOING IT.

"I love you..!"

NO.

I need to know that Ian's okay, if he's still where I left him. I doubt it, but I still need to check.

Carefully, I peeked around the corner and saw that the Corrupted and the unknown creature were not there anymore, although I could still hear them fighting somewhere. I began running back down the street, keeping an eye out for monsters and Ian's car.

I made it a few meters before a large, black mass flew across my vision to the right. Cars were shoved around and crushed as the unknown creature was the one thrown. I turned and saw the Corrupted barreling out of an alleyway, head on into the unknown creature. Quickly, I ran past the two of them and kept on. After a few moments, a guttural, distorted roar signaled me to stop. I turned around and saw the Corrupted staring right at me with its vile, red eyes. Gulping, I continued running and I heard it break into a sprint behind me. Teeth clenched, I kept running until it came too close. That's when I slid across the hood of a car and ran down the aisle. The Corrupted was confused for a moment until continuing to chase me. Far off I heard the sounds of the unknown creature giving chase as well.

I ducked under an idle 18-wheeler's trailer and heard a loud thud as the Corrupted ran into it. Glancing over my shoulder, I saw the unknown creature dodge the semi-truck and bolt after me. My heart raced. All this time it's been after the Corrupted and now me? I guess I shouldn't have expected anything different.

"Sam, stall it," I said. Without a moment to lose, he knocked over street lamps to hit the unknown beast. The first lamp hit its back but it shrugged it off and kept going. After that it jumped over or ducked under every other street lamp Sam threw at it. Next thing I knew, the unknown creature suddenly increased its speed and was charging towards me at an alarming rate.

"S-Sam, try something else..!"

Just a sec..

Out of the corner of my vision, I caught a car being dragged and thrown over towards the unknown creature. It was hit and ultimately halted. Some relief washed over me as I kept running.

The building I stared at for the longest time in Ian's car came into view but as I came closer, I saw that his car was nowhere around. I noticed that there were less and less cars further on and I presumed that he somehow got out of the traffic. But now I don't know where he is and I'm stuck out in the open with two hungry creatures.

Right on cue, the Corrupted came back, growling and drooling black saliva. It snarled and snapped its razor sharp teeth. Frowning, I backed away until I bumped into an abandoned payload truck. The Corrupted prowled towards me, eyes flaring with vicious intent. "Sam," I started, "you know what to do."

Of course I do.

He shoved a car at the Corrupted but a split second before impact it lunged forward into me. Within seconds I was grabbed by the creature's large paws and thrown across the asphalt. I groaned and found the Corrupted on top of me. It howled in my face and I screamed. "Get away from me!," I shouted. Without a second thought to what I was doing, I lifted up my fist and punched it in its snout. As soon as my knuckles connected, I felt a heated sensation run down my arm. Past my sleeve I caught a glimpse of the proxy mark surrounded by glowing, scarlet vein markings. I was dumbfounded to find that I had punched in the Corrupted's nose deep into its face. It released a muffled wail and I stared wide eyed at my hand. It glowed a dangerous red, emitting this powerful aura.

Curiously, I slipped out from the Corrupted's grip, stood up, reeled my hand back and punched. I could feel normal force on my knuckles yet I watched with disbelief as I knocked off the Corrupted's lower jaw. As it wailed in pain, its tongue wiggled around, dripping black ooze. I just stared in awe.

Just as its snout and jaw was coming back in place, I landed another punch. The face was nearly crushed and I could see bone protruding out of the dark hide. I punched again and knocked out an eye. Again and I removed a few teeth. Again and I practically broke its neck. Whatever I was doing, whatever the symbol was doing, it was so much more stronger than what I could achieve alone.

In my daze, I was startled by a growl behind me. Turning around I saw the unknown creature. Despite everything it went through it stayed standing large and tall. It roared and shook its head, fur spreading out more and making the body look bigger. The Corrupted in front of me howled back and suddenly grabbed me and threw me behind it. I tumbled over the ground and landed in the middle of the road. In that moment, the unknown creature just snapped and charged into the Corrupted. Both of them collided; fighting like tigers, claw against flesh, growls and groans echoing off the surrounding buildings. I saw black blood and red blood spill over the street and the air was only filled with their cries of anger and ferocity.

Wearily, I lifted myself up and held my arm as it throbbed in pain. A shrill wail of utter agony echoed through the streets and I raised my head to see that the Corrupted had bit into the unknown creature's arm. A strange feeling of dread over came me as I knew what would happen to it. But, to my amazement, the unknown creature kept fighting. It ripped its arm out of the Corrupted's maw, tearing off skin in the process and it began to repeatedly smash its claws into the Corrupted's face. This only caused the Corrupted to bite onto it again and again and again. I could already see the black markings of Corruption travel across the unknown creature's skin. It was crazy but I found myself rooting for it. It was going to die but I kept cheering it on in my head until I actually said aloud, "Keep going."

The unknown creature bashed its paws into the Corrupted's head and overturned it onto its back.

"You've got this," I murmured.

It pounced on top and created a large gash across the Corrupted's chest with its claws.

"You're close."

The unknown creature released a deafening howl and smashed its paw into the Corrupted's face, pinning it down.

"Win. C'mon win...!"

Amazingly, its stitched up face split open down the middle, just below the eyes, to reveal a mouth of razor sharp teeth and a pink, slithery tongue. It screeched in triumph as it dived down and took a huge bite inside of the Corrupted's chest cavity. Bit by bit, it ripped away black flesh while the Corrupted howled and flailed. As the unknown creature yanked itself away and black blood flew into the air in an arc, I caught a brief glimpse of a black heart between its vertical jaws. With one bite of its teeth that sent black blood exploding and oozing to the ground, the Corrupted began to wither to nothing.

I smiled at the pile of ash and the unknown creature standing tall in victory. Unfortunately, that did not last long. It suddenly staggered and fell over. My smile dropped and I sat on the asphalt in silence.

Ao, we have to kill it while its down. It'll turn and you'll get stuck in a bad situation again.

Hesitantly, I murmured, "Right.."

I carefully creeped over towards the unknown creature's body and lifted my still red blazed hand. Staring at the creature's face, I sighed. Raising my hand, I brought it down into a fist to finish it before it turned. Something happened though. Instead of me bursting through to its heart, my fist stopped right before I touched its fur and the red markings on my skin changed to blue. Furrowing my brow, I muttered, "What is this?" The proxy symbol glowed a cool blue and the vein-like markings were now pleasant swirls. The light faded once I moved my hand away from the creature's body. When I moved my hand closer, it glowed brighter. Gulping, I inched my fingers ever so slightly into the fur until I touched warm skin.

Through the fur, I saw glowing, blue swirls travel across the skin and all over the body, bathing the creature in nothing but light. I could feel something being pulled out of me. It traveled from my chest, through my arm, into my fingertips and out. It felt odd but I had a feeling it wasn't dangerous. As this power kept flowing out of me, I witnessed the sight of the Corruption fading away wherever the blue light traveled. Words couldn't express how confound I was.

My awe was brutally interrupted by the sudden awakening of the creature. It snorted and shot up to its feet as fast as I could blink. The surprise sent me toppling over onto the ground and the blue light on its body receded. Before I could pick myself up, the creature loomed over me and practically shoved its face into mine. With wide eyes, I sat still as it sniffed me, looked all around me and, to my disgust, licked me with a tongue that slithered out from the hole at the bottom of the face.

Even though the chance to kill me was there, it never did a thing. It only stood and stared. Staring up at its enormous figure, I finally remembered what its name was. "Seedeater?," I murmured. It did not respond. Carefully, I stood and lifted my still glowing hand up to its face. The surface was rough and warm. My hand made its way to the fur and it really did feel soft and light, like feathers. I felt the warmth of this creature's skin, the muscle that moved when it shifted its feet, the hot breath on my shoulder. This was absolutely phenomenal. It was standing, breathing, living. No black ooze, no rotting flesh and falling fur, no distorted tone to its groans. I stared back into the two dark holes where eyes would be and marveled. I can't believe it...

Seedeater suddenly snorted and sprinted off. I staggered forward, exclaiming, "W-Wait..!", but to no avail. It ran off down the empty streets and out of my sight. I wasn't sure why it ran until there was a distant honk behind me. Turning around, I saw the familiar white car of Ian Harris. He stopped a few feet away from me and stepped out of the vehicle.

"Jesus Christ, Ao, are you alright?!," he worried, running over to me.

"Yeah, I'm okay."

"Holy crap, you're covered in dirt! Why are you holding your arm like that? Did you break anything? I saw something next to you, where'd it go?!"

When he mentioned my arm, I looked down and noticed that my hand was no longer covered in blue glowing marks, nor red marks either. The proxy symbol was gone once again.

Smiling, I told Ian, "I'm completely fine. I'm tired though."

"But, the thing--!"

"You're just panicked. Nothing's wrong."

Ian reluctantly nodded and said, "Y-Yeah, alright. L-Let's finally get you home." He gently grabbed my shoulder and led me back to his car. "You're sure you don't need to go to the hospital?," he asked along the way. I declined it.

Once we made it to the car, I saw that my backpack and my violin case were still in good shape. Awesome.

Oh wow...

I could just hear the eye roll.

Ian started up the car and the both of us sat in silence for a while. Then, he spoke up, "Promise me something, Ao?"

"Yeah."

Ian gulped and said, "Please don't mention any of this to your father."

Chuckling, I crossed my heart and he smiled. After that he sped off down the street. A moment later I heard distant sirens of police and possibly ambulances. The car was quiet, save for the soft hum of music coming from the radio. I checked the time again. I have an hour left until Jack trains me at home. Sighing, I leaned back into my seat and tried to relax before I was thrown into more action.

The unknown creature was still on my mind, more so than it actually should be. Not because it wasn't Corrupted; not because it looked different and acted different, not because it spared my life. It's because it's still alive that I'm so entranced. That creature was supposed to die, it was supposed to turn into another Corrupted. I was supposed to kill it. It wasn't supposed to stand, healthy and dormant. But, I saw the Corruption leave it behind. I had no idea what I had done at the time, but the more I think about it now the more I know. There's no denying it.

I purified the Corruption.