Jannik would never say that being a sentry was his dream job. I mean, the pay was pretty decent and his coworkers were nice enough, but being assigned to a guard post in the middle of the woods with absolutely nothing to do at the best of times wasn’t what he had envisioned for himself when he was a kid.
Most people would be honored to serve their king, no matter how small or insignificant the job; but forgive him if he was a little indignant that they’d even bother installing a post with the closest town being 8 miles away. Not an insane hike, but the chances of any sort of problem coming up was few and far in between— especially during the night.
Yes, Jannik was on the graveyard shift this week. Phillipe broke his arm and was in no shape to come in, and Alina had a family emergency. Jannik had to pick up the slack for the night shift, and here he was.
It was only him and Gerald. Uptight, boring Gerald.
Gerald was a new hire; he was training to be brought into the outer order of knights, but needed to prove his loyalty through government work. He was insistent on it, even though it was a small chance he’d actually be recognized for his efforts anyway.
“Jannik, keep your head up and your shoulders square.” Gerald’s voice bit through the silence and Jannik begrudgingly followed. He didn’t have the energy to snap back that this wasn’t necessary, especially here and especially now. Complaining about being micromanaged wouldn’t do much; he’d already tried that, and all it did was get him reported and awarded the world’s smallest demerit. He tried not to sigh, only rolling his eyes as soon as Gerald turned away.
Being bossed around by a young hire was grating at best. The only reason there were two of them here was because of standard protocol, and technically Jannik was his boss, if only measured by seniority. It wasn’t really that big of a deal, but good lord was it obnoxious. What he wouldn’t give to see little Gerry knocked down a peg.
Jannik tapped his pencil against a blank sheet of paper, watching as the graphite lightly marked the page. It was completely dead tonight— like how it had been on literally every other night he was working. The only thing that could keep him potentially entertained was the stories floating around.
There were a few good ones, actually. At first he dismissed them as just rumors: people loved to make shit up just to have an interesting conversation. Although, every once in a while, there would be some interesting ones. Like the one about the dead people walking.
One of his coworkers swore up and down that they saw the living dead stumble around in the darkest hours of the morning. They were sort of drunk when this was recounted, and Alina was known for exaggerating at the best of times, but when they were seated at the tavern after their shift, Jannik couldn’t believe how stone faced they were when they retold it.
Towns would report the smell of dead bodies to the local authorities, but nothing would turn up when the area was searched. Jannik was pretty sure it was just an animal nearby that died too close to the town’s edge. Those types of things tend to happen.
There were “legitimate” sightings of dead bodies showing up randomly around the southern half of Ushire. Jannik had never seen any of these bodies, or met anyone who’d seen them. Gerald seemed to take these reports very seriously.
A friend of a cousin of his wildly claimed that there was a wingless angel walking among mortals, bleeding pure magic instead of blood. People said that wherever she was spotted, the damned would be seen a few days later. As if they were following her, screaming and clawing for salvation.
Jannik didn’t believe it for a second. It was probably being spread by Loethe worshippers to get more people to go to church. They were still forced to document all of it, though; the files were rotting in their shelves, neatly filed as if they were just as important as the proven sightings.
Some people claimed there was a monster roaming around – Not the dead bodies that were supposedly being spotted, but an actual, living monster. It apparently wandered around the woods, covered in blood and viscera, smelling like death and sounding like a madman.
Barely anyone was talking about that rumor. Probably because it seemed the most outlandish.
There was one story going around that was actually worth looking into. He heard about it a week and a half ago, and it’s only escalated since.
Something was going on in House Allinger. A few weeks ago(roughly, no one can get the timeline right), communication between Count Allinger and the kingdom went completely dark. Not just that, but all communication was severed. Nobles planning their funerals, maids and chefs trying to get in contact with the house to return to their work, no one could get a hold of the few souls who remained there.
Almost all the staff had been sent away days prior, the Count exclaiming that his daughter was extremely sick. Lots of employees wanted to stay, at least to see what was going on, but he insisted they be sent away. There were accounts of his feverish demands, many stating the desperate look in his eyes as he sent nearly all of his staff away for an indefinite amount of time.
And then, nothing.
As quickly as many people had been rushed out, a silence soon followed. As Alina had explained it, the kingdom was starting to get antsy. Any letters delivered remained entirely unanswered, and nobles and unofficially fired staff were starting to complain. So Duke Hastings, as the head of noble relations, ordered a few guards go down south and physically demand an answer.
By the time they got there, the estate had been set ablaze. They couldn’t find a single person.
Well, there was one person. He just so happened to be dead – burned so severely that he was unrecognizable.
As for Count Allinger and his daughter, there was nary a trace of them. The assumption is that they burned up in the fire. The only thing left of the place was the shell of the walls, and the catacombs themselves.
This was where Alina started to exaggerate. She claimed that she heard several of the bodies in the catacombs were missing. Jannik asked her to elaborate, and she started muttering that she heard it from her cousin’s sister in law or something like that. Obviously it was bullshit, but she was insistent that the missing bodies were linked to the corpses people have been claiming to see. Jannik could only nod and order another ale.
It truly blew his mind that the kingdom hadn’t bothered to send out an official statement. He knew of at least two funerals that were completely blown off and ruined because the families had been really vocal about it. It even baffled him that the house could’ve been burned down for weeks, and nobody noticed. Jannik hadn’t even been that far south since he was a child, but House Allinger was far in some back off corner of the country – But someone had to have noticed beforehand. He hadn’t run into any of its now former employees, but Alina told him she’d let him know what else she found out.
Come to think of it, where the hell was Alina getting the rest of this information? He’d always figured she was embellishing for the drama of it all, and regardless of that he loved to listen to it. Even if he was sure she was just exaggerating.
When Jannik was feeling less violent about Gerald, he’d try to bring it up. Gossiping among coworkers was probably the only fun he had with this job. But of course, Gerald was pissy about that too.
“Those are baseless rumors. Don’t spread anything that hasn’t been officially sanctioned to our unit.”
Ugh. Prick.
What did Gerald even do for fun? Aside from kissing ass. He figured it would be fun to contemplate while Gerald went on his hourly patrol. It was a nice 10 minute reprieve from having to have perfect posture.
“I’m off for the 2 AM patrol. I’ll be back at 2:10.”
“Right. I’ll see you then.” Jannik mumbled, focusing with all of his might not to flip him off. At this point, Gerald could say anything and Jannik would have to fight not to snap at him.
As soon as he stepped out the door, Jannik slumped in his chair. Ten minutes would be just enough time to rest his eyes and unwind.
He drifted off relatively quickly, resting his head on his arms over his desk. And for nine blissful minutes, Jannik enjoyed pure silence.
As the ten minute mark approached, he fixed his posture and waited.
The clock hit 2:12 and Jannik was instantly suspicious. Gerald was extremely punctual. Like, so punctual that even being one minute late was legitimately concerning. He pulled out his communication stone.
“Officer Gerald, do you copy?” He spoke strong and clear into the stone and waited for a response. Thirty seconds. “Assisting Officer Gerald, do you copy? This is Officer Jannik. Respond.” A minute.
Jannik put the stone down in disbelief. Was something actually happening? He didn’t hear anything outside. No sound of a fight, or running, or even Gerald’s barking. His eyes flicked over to the other’s desk- perfectly neat, as always. The communication stone wasn’t in its usual spot. Gerald definitely had it with him, so why the hell wasn’t he answering?
Jannik stood up suddenly, the wooden chair scraping against the floor. He couldn’t believe that he’d actually have to go outside and look for Mister Perfect. But it was 2:15 and he wasn’t answering, so clearly something was going on.
It wasn’t protocol to leave the guard station unattended( which was why Gerald patrolled by himself in the first place), but Jannik was pretty sure he could mark this down as an emergency in the report he would assuredly have to file.
Well, maybe when Jannik saves his ass, Gerald won’t breathe down his neck so much anymore.
He stepped outside and decided to follow the typical procedural route outlined in the beginners guide. Gerald was definitely following it beat for beat, so Jannik had an easy time retracing his co-workers steps. And for the first five minutes, there was nothing out of the ordinary; no sign of a struggle or any sounds indicating anyone was nearby. The silence was more concerning in a way- Gerald had a booming voice, even when he tried to be quiet.
If there was anything of note, however, it was probably the smell.
In the air, ever so faintly, Jannik could smell something off. He couldn’t quite place it at first; but as he followed the procedural route, it slowly became easier to identify. At some point, the scent of wet earth faded into something stale and musty, like an old cellar. And as he followed the path, the offending order grew stronger and stronger. It plugged up his nose and soon his head started to ache from proximity alone. At some point, he could’ve sworn it started to morph into something sweet.
His mind immediately jumped to the rumor. Is this what Pauline was smelling? Jannik had hunted before, and he’d been to burials before. When his father would cut the heads off of chickens and let the muscles rest, their bodies didn’t smell like this. Death didn’t smell like this.
All those people probably didn’t know what death smelled like anyway, he would reason. People get carried away.
Honestly, when Jannik had stepped outside, he never intended to stay on the predetermined path the whole time. But there was nothing that indicated anyone was outside. Like, at all. It was bizarrely still, and barren. He didn’t hear any signs of a struggle, or see Gerald in the distance: it was as if he had never gone outside in the first place.
It didn’t bother him much before, but halfway through the route with nothing to show for it started to get under Jannik’s skin.
For all he knew, Gerald could’ve abandoned his post.
He stopped walking. Not because the thought stunned him (which it did): but because of the smell, again. It was disgustingly strong at this point, to an unignorable degree. He was still on the route, next to the edge of the woods and before it got really dark. Jannik stopped to look around futilely. He hated to say it, but Gerald was nowhere to be seen.
He wasn’t sure why he wasted his time doing this. Gerald was probably tapping his foot back at the guard post, just waiting with bated breath for Jannik to show up so he could chew him out. That had to be it.
It was time to abandon his mission. For all intents and purposes, that’s what Jannik was going to do- but not five steps forward, and his ankle snagged on something. It completely knocked the wind out of him and he slammed into the ground, head first. He stood up almost as quickly as he had fallen, wiping the debris off his face.
“Fucking rock,” Jannik cursed under his breath, turning around to find the offending boulder. He looked down, silently thankful he didn’t twist his ankle, and found that it wasn’t a rock but a tree root he tripped over. He rolled his eyes.
Of course he’d trip over a damn root. It was barely in the ground as is, misshapen and gnarled. This was where the smell was strongest too— probably coming from whatever tree it was.
Yes, that made sense. Plants could smell weird too, so it was probably that.
Jannik reached around for his communication stone, only to realize it was next to the root. He dropped it when he was on his way down. Well, that was no matter— it was a rock, so dropping it a few feet wasn’t going to damage it.
He reached down to pick it up. It was resting right under the highest part of the root, raised surprisingly high above ground. Jannik picked up the stone easily, and that was about to be all. But as the top of his hand lightly grazed the root when he pulled away, he paused.
It felt like jerky.
Jannik snatched his hand away, disgusted– the root jostled from its original position.
That was easily one of the worst textures he’d felt all day. And one of the most confusing; any old, gnarled, rotting tree has chipping bark. Why didn’t he get scratched? He wasn’t exactly an expert on plants or anything, but trees didn’t feel leathery. He knew at least that much.
He looked back down, unwilling to touch it again but more unwilling to stand up and leave it be. It had shifted towards his body, the strangely shaped end of the root now turned in the other direction. The base of it had moved forward, but the end had turned the other way, much more flexibly than he would’ve thought.
“Ok,” Jannik reached for the light at his hip, finally seeing a reason to use it. He couldn’t play pretend anymore– there was no way in hell that this was an old root. He activated it, the soft glow of the rune lighting up the area around his hand. He lowered it down, trying to illuminate whatever it was. The light revealed as much as it could in that darkness. He moved it back and forth, taking in the wrinkled browned outside. It looked as leathery as it had felt, and as Jannik finally moved the light to the very tip, he stopped.
There wasn’t just one end, but five; all short and not pointed at all, rounded even. He couldn’t help but think that it looked sort of like a foot.
Jannik stood up. The light dimmed, but he could still see what he had been looking at. Not just something that coincidentally looked like a foot, but it was also coincidentally attached to something that looked like a leg.
His brain finally caught up to his eyes and his stomach dropped, hard.
“Oh shit,” He felt out of breath, his throat tightening. That was a leg. He tripped over a leg.
Jannik’s own legs locked up, his heart beating out of his chest. He couldn’t bring himself to move. He kept waiting for the body to pull itself up, to do something. And when Jannik finally worked up the nerve to start moving, he heard it.
Somewhere to the left, where his eyes couldn’t see and his light couldn’t reach, it sounded like metal scraping together. It wasn’t like when Jannik would sharpen an ax– but like creaking, groaning, like metal on metal. And the longer he stayed, the louder it got.
Something finally clicked inside Jannik and he booked it. If he dropped anything, it wasn’t worth it. As fast as he could, Jannik finished the rest of the route in record time. His breathing was so loud he wasn’t sure if the scraping was getting any closer, but he didn’t care. He didn’t need to know what it was.
If Gerald was out there, he could figure it out himself. Jannik had done his part.
It felt like a million years until Jannik had found the door to the guard post, innocuously closed just as he left it ten minutes ago. He slammed it open and shut, moving fast to lock the door and get his bearings.
Faced with the sudden quiet, Jannik could finally hear his heart pounding in his ears. And for a split second, he tried to calm down. He closed his eyes and listened, ear nearly pressed to the door.
No creaking… no groaning…
“Jannik!”
The officer’s eyes shot open and he whirled around, the sudden exclamation driving his heart back into overdrive. Standing there in the near empty office was the missing Gerald, perfectly alive— if not completely frazzled.
If Jannik weren’t so shaken up, he would’ve delighted in seeing Gerald a complete mess. Not addressing him by the proper title, uniform askew, acting completely inappropriate. He didn’t even have time to consider making fun of him because Gerald had already approached him, all but shouting.
“Where have you been?! We have an emergency!” Gerald wildly gestured towards the door, arm shaking.
“Where have I been? Are you serious- where have YOU been, that’s what I should be asking!” Jannik couldn’t resist firing back, rage building. “You went missing! I walked your entire patrol path and NOTHING!”
Gerald’s brow twitched, and he wiped a thin layer of sweat accumulating on his brow.
“Things got complicated.”
“Oh, too complicated to let me know?”
“No it’s-“ He paused. “I… dropped my communication rune.”
Jannik scoffed, practically slamming his own communication rune on his table. “Are you joking? Perfect Gerald dropped his communication rune? Oh, that’s just fucking fantastic,” He brought a hand to his head, pinching his temples. “Yeah, well, while you were losing equipment, I ran into a dead guy!”
“Yes, I did too!” Gerald shouted back, his temper getting the better of him. “We need to report this as soon as possible. I was just filing the paperwork!”
“We don’t have TIME for paperwork,” Jannik began to pace a few feet. “Just call the main line!”
“We have to report it regardless!” He shook the paper in front of him. “We have to get in contact with one of the larger Guard Stations. 31 is the closest.”
“That’s all the way in Peroledi! 10 miles at least,” Jannik all but gasped out, losing steam. “We can’t wait all night for them to get here!”
“Then I’ll meet them there.”
“If you want to brave the walk tonight, be my guest. But I’m not taking a single step outside until whatever leaves, leaves.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Listen, there is something out there. I heard it,” Jannik gestured toward the door, a thin bead of sweat trickling down his brow. “It was this metal scraping sound- I don’t know, but it was getting closer, and I really think it would be in our best interest to wait this one out.”
“We are officers of the king-“
“We are forest rangers,” Jannik cut him off quickly, seething. “It’s great and all that you wanna get a gold star for this but this job is not worth risking your-"
He stopped talking suddenly. His ears weren’t mistaken.
Gerald looked like he wanted to continue the argument, willing to raise hell to make his point. He opened his mouth, but no words came out.
They both heard it. The groaning, like slamming two wash basins together, right outside their wooden walls. The world felt incredibly still for a moment.
Their faces mimicked each other in that instance: drained of all color, with wide eyes. Jannik’s eyes darted to Gerald as he backed away from the door, watching him shake. Gerald was palming around for his defense stick, his eyes never leaving the door. As if the second he did, something would burst through. Jannik clutched the knife at his hip, grimly. For a second it all went quiet. For that second, Jannik thought he may have overreacted. The feeling passed as soon as the door was blown off its hinges. Gerald screamed, a white knuckle grip on his weapon, flinging the club in front of him as a sort of makeshift protective shield. Jannik, heart in his chest, couldn’t bring himself to make a move. He watched as the door fell to the floor. He stared at the empty frame where the door had been, throat tight. Hands, sharp and large, gripped the door frame with a tight crunch of wood. The claws— CLAWS, dug themselves into the frame, wood splintering around them. It was like watching a real horror story as whatever the hands were attached to pulled themselves into their station, the scraping noise following along. Jannik’s mouth felt like it had cotton in it. When the thing finally stepped through, loud thudding steps that crushed the wooden door, Jannik still hadn’t found his voice. The groaning noise had already destroyed it– The only sense that he still had control over was sight. And oh lord, what a sight it was. In the light of the still lit lantern, he finally saw it; the rusted armor, stretched over a tall and broad body. It was distinct– Jannik couldn’t help but notice its ornamentation, or what looked like it could’ve been, a really long time ago. What the fuck was he looking at? Its shoulders rose and sagged with each heavy breath, lifting its swath of long and tangled white hair as it moved its neck upwards. The hair finally fell, and Jannik could see the face, his face. They locked eyes– those wide eyes, staring right through him and Gerald and oh fuck he completely forgot about Gerald. Jannik wanted to check on his coworker. In fact, it would be impossible not to: he could hear his heavy, panicked breathing. So close, like it was right in his ear. And yet, his neck couldn’t bring itself to move. He was terrified, he realized. Like, if he took his eyes off of the guy for a second, he’d lose sight of him. Whatever he was, it was sort of like a person. Jannik wasn’t sure what to make of it. It was the tallest person he had ever seen– he made the doorway look short, he had to duck just to break in here. The smell hit him next. It was old, yet sweet. Like melting sugar in a dirty old pot. Like your grimy basement you don’t touch. Like dry rot. Like the body he found outside. It felt like his eyes took up half his face. Wide and wild, and entirely focused on him. If Jannik looked close enough, he could see the man’s pupils dilate as they made eye contact. His eyes narrowed, and he smiled at him, grimly. Jannik could feel the hostility from all the way across the room, like a permeating vibe. Before Jannik could choke anything out, he spoke. “So,” he drawled, and Jannik’s hair stood on end. His voice was about how he expected it to sound; slow and mirthful, and deep. The man paused for a moment, swaying himself upright lazily. “This is a pretty shitty job, huh?” The sentence was so ridiculous that Jannik was finally able to say something back. “What?” His eyes darted back to Gerald, who wasn’t doing much of anything except for shaking like a little dog, white knuckles curled around his weapon. Another ear splitting scraping sound had his eyes fly back to the man, who was busy brushing wood chips from his fingers. He was drawing this out purposefully, Jannik was coming to consider. Like he was playing a little game. But what type? “Yeah,” The man started again, a dark sort of amusement edging his words. He stepped forward, the floorboards bending a bit under his weight. “I mean, what do you guys even do out here? Paper work? Maybe- walk around the woods?” He chuckled. Jannik wasn’t sure if he even wanted to answer that question. One because he was right, and two— was this even a legitimate question? Or a rhetorical one? Try as he might, Jannik couldn’t possibly think of what this guy wanted. Had he really just broken down the door to make fun of them? No, that couldn’t be it. It had to be an opener, or something. It had to be leading to something. What was even in here that this guy could possibly want? Or maybe… maybe he didn’t want anything. Maybe he was playing a sick game with them; inhumane, matching his appearance. He looked like he’d crawled out of a grave that very night, gaunt face and all. Maybe he had. Jannik did not want to play any sort of games, but agitating this guy sounded a hell of a lot worse than playing along. They’d just have to do what he says, and then he might leave. Or, at least, he could buy Gerald time to call for help. Jannik prayed that Gerald was thinking the same thing as him, the smart thing. To his horror, Jannik had given him far too much credit. He stepped forward, awkward determination on his face. “Gerald, no—” Jannik nearly shouted, tension at his lips. But Gerald— uptight, boring Gerald— seemed strangely immature in that moment. “You are trespassing on government property,” Gerald’s voice was loud, but shaky. His veneer had cracked immediately and Jannik could see the sheer terror on his face right under his mask. “Leave the premises immediately, or we will use physical force to… to remove you.” The man paused for a moment, and for a second Jannik was sure it was over. Then, a laugh. “Ha!” It was more like a bark, really. It bit through the awkward silence, sharp and sarcastic. His mouth had stretched into a large smile, too big for his face. Gerald was rattled; somehow confused that he hadn’t convinced him to leave. “Oh yeah, I’ll leave,” The man started, walking closer. The air felt thick, tension clogging Jannik’s throat. “But you two have something that I want. So just give it to me—” He shoved Jannik’s desk out of the way with a loud crash, the wood hitting the wall and splintering on impact. “— and I’ll be out of your hair. Ok?” Jannik watched as his papers scattered to the floor, landing on top of pencils and wood splinters from his office table. He broke his fucking desk. Thankfully(and it was a very delicate thankfully), getting to the meat of the issue didn’t take a dreadfully long time. Jannik was just grateful that no one had gotten killed yet, staring at the remains of his workspace. He really didn’t like the man getting closer though, closing the gap in the already small space. “A-and what would that be?” Gerald stuttered out, somehow still with the gall to speak. “Oh, you know,” The man was just a few feet from them now, sauntering into their personal space casually, as if he worked there himself. His eyes darted to the file cabinet. “Just some files.” “No!” Gerald piped up, aghast; Jannik almost threw up in his mouth. How could someone be so against survival in every sense of the word? The man(?) quirked a brow, still amused by the younger guard’s antics. Jannik prayed it was amusement. He bent down, face just a few inches from Gerald. Jannik scooted to the side. “…No?” The man spoke so quiet, for a second. His eyes burning a hole in Gerald’s flesh, studying his facial expression. Just— soaking in the refusal. It was then, while Gerald sweat under the proximity, that Jannik could really see the guy’s face. His eyes really did take up half his head— round and expressive, wide and sunken into his skull. It could’ve been partially the dark shadows, but his eye bags were prominent. His skin was pale and hueless, untouched by any bit of sun. He looked exaggerated, Jannik realized, and uncanny. “That’s so cute! You’re really cute,” The man chortled, reaching up to pinch Gerald’s cheek like he were patronizing a child. Gerald grimaced at the contact, audibly gasping. When his metal fingers pulled away, Gerald grasped his bleeding cheek, gritting his teeth. Jannik stared at the blood on the man’s claws. “So cute, and so dumb,” he continued. “It was really a rhetorical question. I was just being polite. You know, a good house guest?” The man unbent his back to his full height, and turned away towards their files, finally intending to get what he came for. Thank fucking god, Jannik thought, utterly relieved. Just grab what you want and get the fuck out. He was gonna berate the fuck out of Gerald when this was over. Jannik turned towards his younger coworker. Jannik wasn’t prepared for how bad he felt for Gerald, staring at the twisted up look on his face. He had always seen him as some obnoxious, stick up his ass brat; and he was. But he was earnest, and horribly naive. And even worse— if Jannik didn’t correct this behavior now, they were both gonna die. “Gerald,” Jannik whispered, his eyes never leaving the man as he sauntered to his goal. “Stop taunting him. Just let him take what he wants. It’s not worth your life.” Gerald whipped his head around like Jannik had smacked him in the face, distressed. “You can’t be serious,” he mimicked Jannik’s own whisper for once. “We don’t know what he’s intending to do with that information.” “Does that even matter?” He snapped back, his voice taking a hard edge. “We don’t even know what that guy is. Whatever he wants, it’s not worth fighting him over.” Gerald’s mouth morphed into a tight line, blood clotting on the fresh cut on his face. “Besides, the cabinets are locked. He needs a k—” The man ripped the lock off the cabinet, tossing it aside. Gerald’s face fell considerably. Jannik, halfway through a reassurance he never thought he’d utter, nearly choked. “What the fuck that was a new lock,” He gasped out, dragging Gerald back a step with him. If the man heard them, he didn’t give any indication. With a snap, he’d already pulled the top drawer out and started to sift through them, with a strange gentleness. He’d pick up a file, carefully, then toss it to the side when he was done. Whatever he wanted, he needed it all intact. Legible. At this point, the brute should just take the whole fucking file cabinet. It would only take a few more seconds before the man pulled out a thin folder from near the front. He brought the file title comically close to his face. Squinting dramatically, he read the front cover. At first, he seemed happy— relieved, even. He opened the document to skim through it. For a second, Jannik thought it was a Hail Mary. And then, his fingers flexed so hard it tore a hole through the papers. Gerald seemed to go pale— Jannik wasn’t sure why or how that particular file was any worse than the others. It was newer, and didn’t even look like it had more than a couple of documents in it, tops. “You can’t take that one.” Jannik wanted to choke him, so bad. The man’s head whipped around to stare at the two guards, scrutinizing them with just a look. “Why?” His taunting voice hit them, slower this time. Testing the waters. Trying to edge out another response. He wanted a real answer. “Those documents are brand new. Highly classified,” Gerald’s words rang clearer than earlier, goaded on by the legitimate question. The man turned to face them with his whole body, waving the folder in the air. “Makes sense why I’d want them then, right?” He looked self assured. Like he knew something they couldn’t even begin to comprehend. It made Jannik’s skin crawl. “Besides. It’s just a couple pages. Just about a little gossip. Nothing you’d miss, really.” “But you don’t understand!” Gerald stepped forward, emboldened. Jannik had no clue where Gerald was getting this audacity. “We’ve been entrusted as officers of King Henrich. It’s our duty to keep those documents out of the hands of… unsavory individuals.” “The king!” The man sneered, something less comical about his expression. His demeanor shifted on a dime, something much more aggressive taking hold. “Your king means nothing to me. He is nothing.” He knocked over the file cabinet, the sound of wood on wood loud and grating to the ears bursting into their eardrums. The rest of the filed papers scattered to the floor. He prowled back over to them, and Jannik was going to kill Gerald if this guy didn’t. “You think I give a damn if some middle aged man named HENRICH approves of what I do? Cause I don’t. And honestly, neither should you.” He pointed an accusatory claw at Gerald’s chest. A few heaving breaths, and then an attempt at calm. The man’s dominating veneer came back on after he settled, but Jannik couldn’t help but notice he was much more frazzled than before. He pulled away, for once maintaining a distance. Ok, Jannik was done with this conversation. Gerald had screwed them, severely— before this little altercation, the two probably would’ve made it out just fine. But no, poke the fucking bear! Great god damn idea. Fight for ideals that don’t hold water, I’m sure the insane guy won’t take offense to it. He had to notify someone. Fuck, where was his communication rune? Awkwardly, he palmed around his back pocket, hoping he had placed it there instead of the table that had been shattered. Of course, he spied it across the room in the rubble. Gerald was unfocused, growing irrational. Jannik could sense that they were both going to get their asses beat or worse at this rate. “Do you even know who you’re working for?” The mystery man, putting a bit of distance between them, spoke again. “This isn’t really what you want to do, right? What do you get out of this?” His eyes, now focused on Gerald and only Gerald, looked right through him. There was a sense of bemusement about him, genuinely; and Gerald seemed unsure of what to make of it. “There’s…” He started, shakily. “There’s no greater service than to the kingdom.” Jannik inwardly grimaced. That had to be the wrong answer. Looking at the man for half a second gave him that confirmation better than any verbalized expression would. The man scoffed, wide eyes narrowing. “Of course. Of course you’d say that.” His smile was pulled taut, not as excited as before. “It’s a shame, really. A real shame. Such a shame. A shame. A shame you’re like this.” The repetition grew harsh. Jannik couldn’t help but feel this was oddly personal. The man’s hands gripped onto the documents slowly, his smile now more of a grimace. “You’re stupid. You don’t think anything through.” With his other free hand, he slammed it on Gerald’s desk with a nasty crunch. “You just do what you’re told. Everyone must be so proud of you! What a stand up guy.” Gerald’s panic turned to a slight indignance. “It’s expected of me. It’s an honor for me to be in this position. And I… I take my work seriously.” “Oh, you would say that, wouldn’t you.” He ground it out. “Aren’t you just the perfect little soldier!” He raised the semi-crumpled documents in his hand, as if to brag. “But not. Perfect. Enough.” Gerald’s eyes widened, suddenly realizing. Jannik, who had already forgotten about the basically useless files, had barely registered that the man still had them. Frankly, he didn’t see how those were more important than their lives. Jannik would like to think that Gerald thought that too. But one look over would confirm his fears; Gerald was taking the documents too seriously. “I’m sure they’ll be understanding. After all, I was just too tough for you, right?” He leaned down as if to mock the guards’ lack of height, jaw still stuck in a tense grin. “You can’t keep those!” Gerald shouted, poison to Jannik’s ears. “Can’t I?” As if to mock them(and Jannik was positive it was to do so), the man raised back up to his full height. Jannik’s ears were starting to get used to the ugly sound his armor made. The man, looking more pissed off than anything, suddenly gripped the remaining desk with his free hand and flipped it. Papers and desk supplies flew everywhere. Fucking ok. Whatever man. He stood there for a moment, contemplating something. They all stood in a strange, uneasy silence. But Jannik’s heart soared when he saw the man turn around and— oh my god— finally start leaving. He dare not sigh in relief but the pressure in his chest began to release slowly. Terrified that any sound would trigger his attention, Jannik stood perfectly still, grateful that this bizarre nightmare would soon be over. With ugly thumping steps, the mystery man was approaching the door. Taking stupid useless files with him of course, but going all the same. As much as it would annoy him, Gerald would have to understand. He’d have to! Jannik didn’t think he could ever be more horrified than what his eyes caught next. He couldn’t fucking believe it: in a fit of complete stupidity or something, Gerald rushed passed. Jannik put a palm to his forehead and pulled his fingers through his short hair, face slick with panicked sweat. This was a nightmare. This had to be a big nightmare. Maybe sweat was getting in his eyes; maybe he wasn’t seeing Gerald run to his certain death. But it was too late. Jannik wasn’t entirely sure what Gerald planned to do— jump on him like an animal? Attack him? Grab his arm? Every thought was stupider than the last, and the worst part was Gerald would do every single one of them. “Stop-“ Jannik screeched out, too horrified to remain frozen any longer. It didn't matter. By the time Jannik had pushed himself to speak, Gerald had already put himself into the blast zone. He obviously went in without a plan— Gerald practically slammed himself into the man’s arm, the loud clang of metal meeting forehead reverberating throughout the cabin. The man paused, every part of his still as death. Gerald had grabbed onto his arm in an attempt to apprehend him. The light in the cabin seemed to dim as the man slowly turned his neck to look back. Jannik had already seen his face earlier— an ugly, manic sort— but somehow it looked different here. Worse, if that were possible. It could be the fact that he could only see one eye. One large, bloodshot eye that stared daggers into his coworker. Gerald stopped pulling and looked up. Maybe he finally sensed the horrible vibes that Jannik had been suffocating on for the last twenty minutes. Before Gerald’s breath could even hitch in his throat, there was a disgusting crunch. Jannik’s eyes hadn’t registered the movement until the man’s free hand swung and collided into Gerald’s face, knocking him flat into the nearby wall. He slumped over. Bright red blood illuminated by a dying light cascaded from the open wound on his forehead. The wood behind him had splintered on impact. Jannik’s mouth, now agape, could only bring himself to stare holes into his coworker’s body. He desperately searched for a breath, a fluttering eyelid, a beating heart in his chest. The telltale sound of armor alerted Jannik to movement, and he looked up just in time to see the man had turned to take a look at his work. Crumpled files in one hand, the man flexed the offending other. He stared down, as if he were in contemplation, silent and death-like. And then, he smiled. “Ha, ha ha…” He huffed, face falling into its original state. “Wow, I feel so much better.” He laughed, it somewhat catching in his throat. Jannik’s eyes darted from (please dear god please be unconscious) Gerald to the man, unsure what was more important. The intruder turned his gaze, slowly, in his direction. It felt like he couldn’t breathe. “...” He tilted his head, white strands of hair falling back on his face. With a sick sort of satisfaction, he spoke. “You’re ok with me seeing myself out, right?” Jannik didn’t say anything, but he didn’t need to. The intruder turned back around and continued to leave. He shoved his way through the door, nasty creaking and all. Jannik watched with gritted teeth and a tight chest as the armor, the white hair, and the ear splitting sounds disappeared into the night. And it was suddenly like he had never been there at all. When a few minutes had passed, and when he was sure he couldn’t hear him anymore, Jannik’s adrenaline finally failed him. He fell to the ground, heaving and sweat dripping from his forehead. What the fuck, what the fuck. He looked around the room, the panic from earlier coiling in his stomach as hard as it could. The office was completely trashed; a busted file cabinet, broken desks, a shattered doorframe– Jannik watched the busted door swung on its hinges, a gentle nighttime breeze enough to push it to move. The creaking made his skin crawl. Anyone would’ve thought a natural disaster had torn through their shared space. That must’ve been what had really happened. He turned his attention towards his comatose coworker. He was still slumped over against the wall, head lolled to the right side of his body. “Hey,” Jannik called, surprising himself with his own shaky voice. It took all of his willpower to crawl over to Gerald, knees scraping over the busted floorboards, pants catching on a crooked nail. “Hey.” Grabbing Gerald by his shirt, Jannik pressed his head against his chest. He waited, still as death and frozen in place. The shaky exhale hit his ears and he felt the weak thrum of his heart and Jannik relaxed instantly. “Fuck, oh thank god. Oh my god.” He wasn’t sure how bad his injuries were yet, but judging by the spiderweb-like cracks on the wall, it would have to at least be for a while. Jannik was just grateful he wasn’t dead. He pressed the drying blood from the young man’s forehead with his left sleeve. The boiling anger and resentment that Jannik thought he would feel only sputtered out. Gerald had caused the majority of the problems, and so Gerald received the backlash. That was punishment enough, wasn’t it? Well. Maybe he’d chew him out when he woke up. Jannik would have to eventually fish around for his communication rune. He knew it. Yet he was too terrified to move around in the one room cabin, eyes darting every so often to the open door. His ears became much more fine tuned like an animal, stopping dead in his own tracks to listen. Every sound became his enemy. He kept imaging the body he tripped over. He kept thinking of it pulling itself up with shaking and emaciated limbs, cracking and groaning a guttural sound. He kept thinking of the leathery skin, and where it lay. He kept thinking the intruder had to have been responsible for it He couldn’t have been… He couldn’t have been a person. Unnatural, in the shape of an idea of someone, felt more apt to say. Could things like that even exist? Those stories that he rolled around in his brain for fun— those couldn’t have any real merit to them. They couldn’t. He knew they couldn’t. And yet the thought sunk into the back of his brain and stayed there. The air still smelled like old sugar. It burned his nostrils and Jannik felt sick.