Sunset
Kaiju Enthusiast and Researcher
- Local time
- Today 6:30 PM
- Messages
- 588
- Age
- 28
It was supposed to be another night for them. Another investigation, another mystery to solve, and then they went back home. Sure, there was some trouble with some of the requests they received but they always got the job done. The Forensic club had dealt with certain circumstances that quickly became their area of expertise, all of them involving someone that had committed some form of crime. Be it the normal everyday criminal or something nobody could quite explain...something supernatural.
They faced vengeful spirits, wizards, and actual demons, things that would give a normal person lasting nightmares. Yet, what they were facing wasn't anything of the sort. Tanya was on the ground watching almost helplessly as her childhood friend Drew was battling for his life against...a bear. A lime green bear in overalls with a comically large smile. It was apparently one of the mascots for the park they had to look through, the call they received told them about many kidnappings near the abandoned amusement park. She had expected a stereotypical psychopath to offer them up as sacrifices to some arbitrary entity, not some person in a fursuit.
Granted, however, the person behind that suit was stronger than they expected. Even as Drew had picked up a steel pipe and wailed at him, he just seemed to be shrugging it off and toying with him. Tanya grimaced a bit as she struggled to get back up, the pain from having been tossed aside unexpectedly by the Bear still tender at her back. Still, she fought through it in favor of wanting to help her precious friend
Drew noticed her movements in the corner of his eye but didn't take his eyes off the bear. "Tanya get out of here, I got this!" The moment that her name was uttered, the Bear then turned its unblinking eyes toward Tanya. Then, they immediately smacked Drew hard enough to have his head hit the wall hard enough to draw blood. Tanya's eyes went wide with her eyes glued to her friend's motionless form, at that moment her breath was unsteady and there was a slight ringing in her ears. Her eyes then flicked toward the person slowly approaching her which caused her to form a glare, almost immediately, the woman got to her feet.
"Drew…" She muttered. All club members were provided with pistols for self-defense, which was advised by the police who had worked with them numerous times. Though they had enchanted the bullets for dealing with troublesome situations, they weren't meant to be used on normal humans in favor of bringing them to the authorities. But at the moment Tanya wasn't thinking. Internally, something began to bubble in the pit of her stomach, it slowly spread to her head to the very tip of her toes. A heat that felt familiar, yet unfamiliar at the same time. Without realizing it herself, her sclera had changed to a dark red and her pupils turned into a steely blue. This made the bear freeze in place, noticing the change in her as well as the air around them, which was electric.
Tanya silently raised a hand towards the bear and almost instantly they were flung backward. The Bear crashed through wall after wall, the sound of destruction echoing as clouds of dust settled in the room they were in. She could see the body of the Bear lying on top of the rubble through the holes he made and changing the position of her hand. In the next moment, the ceiling in the next room caved in on itself and buried the Bear underneath. Her breathing was ragged, her eyes not turning away from the debris pile for a moment but eventually, they turned towards Drew who was currently staring at her with widened eyes while holding a hand towards his wound. Relief soon washed over Tanya as a sound akin to happiness eased its way out.
"You're okay…" Two voices came out of her, commingled into a disturbing sound. One was his childhood friend and the other...something that he didn't recognize. The thing wearing Tanya's skin made its way over to him with a smile but Drew didn't give it the chance to get closer as he raised the pipe in defense.
"Stay back!" He shouted.
Tanya's smile faltered as she stopped, completely stuck like a deer in headlights while blinking. "D-Drew…?"
"I command the evil spirit to leave this vessel at once." His voice was deep and authoritative.
"Drew...it's not-"
"I command you unclean spirit to leave this vessel immediately!" He shouted.
"Drew."
"I command you to leave this vessel! Give her back, give her back to me!"
"It's me!"
Drew was stunned into silence. Still holding the pipe, grip tight around it as he hesitated to keep it up. Ultimately he held fast as he glared at her. "Don't lie to me…!"
"It's the truth, it's really me."
"Bullshit, we've dealt with this type of shit before! I know your type, I don't know what you are but you better get out of her body!"
Tanya raised both hands in an attempt to placate Drew but didn't come closer. "I promise...it's me. I know that it doesn't sound like me but I'm in complete control. There's nothing in here besides me."
Although she said this, Drew still didn't look convinced of what she was saying. Tanya exhaled before continuing, " If you don't believe me then just take my gun and shoot me."
It was at that moment that there was a flicker of confusion in the man's eyes, a question of why the possessed spirit would suggest something like that if it knew what the bullets did to demonic spirits. Drew cautiously made his way over to her to grab the gun at her hip before eventually taking a few steps back to aim it at Tanya's face. She, however, remained unphased by the action based on her neutral expression, if she feared for her life she could easily stop him from pulling the trigger. This was a complete act of trust.
Drew's resolve was visibly wavering until he eventually lowered the gun. The pain was etched on his features as he tried to form words, "I...I...fuck, Tanya is it really you…?"
"Yes." She responded quietly.
Running a hand through his hair to calm his nerves, he looked as though he was gathering his thoughts before he asked his next question, "There wasn't any activity from the EMF when we came to the park...so...how?"
Her smile returned yet it was much sadder than what she gave him and the other club members, "Do you remember case number 120? The Asylum Incident?"
Drew nodded, how could he forget? It was one of their more infamous cases. Little over an hour had passed since they entered that abandoned place, similar to the amusement park they were in now. Except that place was dripping with evil, the EMF that Merlin, their tech guy provided didn't pick up any readings at first but over time the Asylum was swarmed with entities. All of them eventually got separated, him, Tanya, Camille, and Merlin. Drew had to fight his way out of there to get back to his team and somehow, by pure luck, they managed to cleanse the Asylum. Yet what they witnessed in there...stuck with them, Camille especially.
"When we got separated from one another, I was attacked not long after. It was maddening trying to outrun and avoid all of those spirits...I eventually ran out of bullets and charms. I took a route through the cell blocks in the other building...I thought I got away but...somehow one of them latched onto me. I wasn't feeling the effects immediately after we all met up but over time it felt like complete agony trying to force the demon out. It was powerful I have to admit, in the process of our struggle I was losing pieces of my psyche, and it was the same for it as well. Seems both of us were too stubborn to go down easy." She laughed lightly to ease the heavy atmosphere if only a little. "But in the end, that struggle wore both of us down to a stalemate. With how long it had inhabited my body, both our minds had melded into one, its energy mixing with my soul."
Tanya then placed a hand on her chest. "I am Tanya, but at the same time I'm not."
"B-But…" Drew sputtered as he tried to find the right words, "But this doesn't make any sense according to the records we have on possessed humans, how were you able to keep it at bay for so long?"
"I used what you taught me over the years, meditations, surrounded myself with the stronger charms to keep it from completely taking over and all that. Its voice always taunted me and tried to make me give in which was why you'd sometimes see me look a bit exhausted. Why I avoided interaction with you guys on campus for a while."
"That explains that." Drew sighed as he was starting to calm down a bit more with the initial shock and unease wearing off. His eyes avoided looking at Tanya's as he still couldn't somehow accept what she had become. Part of him started to blame himself for his negligence as well as the fact that all of them got separated. If he'd been with her then maybe she wouldn't have been-
Before he could finish his thoughts, he instantly felt arms loop around his neck in a comforting grasp. The action caused Drew to flinch, yet he remained still in Tanya's hold as he took in the familiar scent of her perfume, the one he would notice whenever they walked side by side together. It was still the same, even after they graduated high school.
"Don't blame yourself."
"I'm not-"
" I can tell that you are. You were never good at hiding your feelings from me. We all knew the risks of this job, you and I, Merlin and Camille. Of course, we weren't prepared to die but we knew we would be facing dangerous situations. This is just the best option out of a bad situation." Tanya finalized before she pulled back to properly look into Drew's eyes, he was unable to look away as her hands had a soft grip on his shoulders. Her eyes were oddly mesmerizing as they carried a hint of sadness in them. "Do you still want to kill me…?"
"No, I...I don't. I get why you kept this to yourself but...it's still frustrating. All of this is." Tears threatened to roll down Drew's cheeks along with the blood from the slight gash from his temple. "Merlin and Camille are gone...because we separated again, every time we get separated bad shit always happens!"
Tanya offered him a sympathetic smile as Drew trembled as he choked back tears. And he was right, this always happened when everyone was left to their own devices during investigations. Something always unexpected and inconvenient occurred during the process of their investigations. Yet, none of it resulted in actually losing their lives. She raised a hand to his temple and wiped away the blood. "Then we'll stay together from this moment on, no more going off on our own. We'll watch each other's backs just like we've always done." Drew's expression finally broke from his childhood friend and her words with precious memories flooding back to him. The closeness that was apparent between them, the happiness that he felt just being next to her, the way that they would always feel safe just being next to the other. It was still her.
Drew quietly sobbed as his arms wrapped around her in a tight embrace. The two sat there in that ruined building still holding onto one another, not too keen on moving just yet. But eventually, the two felt the need to finally leave the abandoned park, walking down the path among attractions from bygone years. Despite the harrowing situations they found themselves in, Drew thought that this would have been a good place to go for a club trip. At that moment a morbid thought crossed the researcher's mind, "Jesus, I just thought of Merlin and Camille's parents, then the guy...we were supposed to take him in." He sighed.
"The situation with the culprit could be written down as self-defense and as for their parents...it won't be easy but it can't be helped. It'll make the pain easier to deal with as we go from there." Tanya's voice returned to how it was previously although a bit melancholic.
"Yeah…" Drew sighed as his eyes stayed on the entrance as the two walked side by side, Tanya looked at him and knew that there was something else on his mind but didn't ask unless he wanted to tell her. But the question that Drew asked completely took her by surprise.
"Hey, do you think that we should take a bit of a break from club activities?"
"A break?" Tanya turned to him with an arched brow.
"Yeah, like not take any requests and just be normal college students and just not do anything involving ghosts or crazy murderers for a bit." Drew shrugged.
Tanya then turned towards her friend with a chuckle. "Okay who are you and what have you done with the mystery-solving dork I've come to know and love?"
"Look who's talking." Drew laughed along with her and bathed in a moment of comfort. It was something that helped with the pain of the situation.
"You know I think that..look out!" Tanya pushed Drew out of the way as a shock wave erupted between them, effectively separating them. A large cloud of dust settled in the area, Tanya coughed as she looked up to see what was the colossal head of one of the mascots. Tanya's eyes immediately switched to their demonic state before looking up, "Drew are you okay!?"
"Yeah, what the hell was that!?" Drew coughed as he looked around but couldn't see due to the cloud. However, Drew's gaze was fixed on something...something beyond the dust. He couldn't exactly make it out but there was a figure that seemed to be making its way toward them. It was huge. Drew's eyes were wide with fear as it came closer. His mind automatically went to the bear, there was no other explanation. But as the cloud dissipated, the figure seemed to shrink to human size and the culprit stepped out...but not how they expected them to. It was the Bear...but it didn't look like they were in a suit, what they were seeing looked like actual hair on the body, and the body itself looked lankier yet athletic. Its wide eyes and innocent smile seemed as though it was staring right into their souls.
It stood there swaying in the breeze as it looked between the two, but its eyes settled on Tanya. Without any word of warning, it lunged at the woman with a fist reared back. Tanya quickly used her telekinetic ability to take hold of the large head and put it in front of her. Yet the bear's fist easily broke through and landed on Tanya, the impact sending her back a few feet but she managed to right herself and stay suspended in midair. She touched her cheek and felt the sting of the hit, Tanya looked at the bear who was swaying once again. This didn't make any sense, like Drew said they didn't sense anything supernatural about the kidnapper, he should have been a normal human...was it the fur suit that was some advanced technology?
Claws then emerged from the tips of the Bear's fingers, razor-sharp like knives as it began its assault again. Tanya's eyes widened as she gathered more of the debris and any items that she could hold, from parts of the rides to trash cans, anything that could fend him off. She flung them at them one by one, but the bear either shrugged them off or sliced through them. Before it closed the distance, one of the gathered items- the spinning ufo ride, slammed into it and sent them into the haunted house.
Drew stood up with Tanya's gun in hand as well as the other items for the battle, "You think it's some sort of demon?"
" Don't know, I didn't feel anything like that but it's definitely not normal. Don't get careless." Tanya warned. Soon enough the bear broke its way out of the debris and immediately rushed towards them, Drew wasted no time in firing off a few shots at it but the bear continued even as they were hit. Yet it went after Tanya once again as it leaped after her, its claws swiping at the woman who avoided them and pushed the bear away but it was not enough to deter it from its assault. It was relentless, Drew tried to fire more shots but it was to no avail. He could use the charms to hold it in place or damage hope they would damage them in some way. With that in mind, Drew reached for his backpack to get the exact charm to give Tanya a bit of aid.
They were paper charms that were written in Kanji and used to suppress entities. Drew threw one of the charms at the bear, it stopped from just barely touching them when an electric surge coursed over its body. The charm seemed to do some bit of damage which answered the question if it was supernatural or not. But that recent attack caused the bear to finally set its sights on Drew. In a quick burst of speed, it made its way toward the male investigator for a punch but before it made contact, Tanya held the bear back with her telekinesis. It struggled against the force and Drew was going to take the chance to shoot it point-blank-range. The bear, however, broke free and delivered a punch to the cheek which sent Drew toward the ground.
In a fit of rage, Tanya flew towards the Bear with the intent to fully rip it to shreds. An emotional reaction that would prove to be fatal. At that moment the bear scooped up a ball of dirt and threw it at her face, effectively blinding her. "Ah, fucker!" Tanya roared in her demonic voice as she tried to rub away the soil. "I'm gonna yank your fucking guts out through your mouth!"
The bear didn't waste its chance and attacked her while she was incapacitated. Delivering a series of brutal punches to the face, stomach, and chest. They made her body tremble despite her supernatural healing, albeit it was a low-tier one. For the final punch, the bear grabbed a fistful of her hair and reared back for a powerful haymaker. Ultimately it broke Tanya's nose and put her flat on her ass, rendering her unconscious.
"No!" Drew shouted but just before he could do anything, the Bear was already upon him and placed a foot on his chest. He let out a heavy cough and struggled to get free but it was pointless. All he could do was glare at the monster above him, who just looked back at him with those soulless eyes.
"W-Why…? Why are you doing this?" Drew wheezed, but the bear didn't answer him and just continued to stare until the young investigator looked completely unnerved. The Bear's smile grew larger until it finally revealed its teeth...rows of rotating, circular buzz-saws. It raised its foot off of Drew's chest which brought momentary relief to him, but then everything went completely black.
Drew's eyes slowly fluttered open as a throbbing headache began to develop. His vision was slowly coming back to him and focusing on his surroundings. He noticed that he couldn't move all that much and soon realized that he was strapped onto a slab, naked. Drew tried his best to break out free but the restraints were too strong for him. He also noticed that Tanya was beside him still unconscious and naked, but more than that, the room they were in sent chills running down his spine. It looked like a regular kitchen equipped with a fridge, a sink, and pantries but there was an unmistakable feeling of dread settling in him. Recollections of what happened earlier made him squirm that much more for freedom. The bastard was gonna make a meal out of them!?
"Tanya, Tanya wake up!" Drew called out to his friend quietly at first at the risk of catching the attention of the Bear. But that wouldn't matter as they opened the double doors and looked at the two with his hands on their hips. Drew's eyes were wide with fear and anger as the bear noticed that he was awake. With two nods the Bear walked towards the shelves and pantries to pull out spices and ingredients that looked exotic. But when the Bear finally pulled out various cutlery, that was when Drew increased his struggle accompanied by grunting effort as well as persistence to wake up Tanya.
"Tanya please, please wake up! Please we have to get out of here!"
As the man kept calling out to his unconscious friend, the Bear glanced over their shoulder to look over at Drew and shrugged. They turned their attention to a Bluetooth portable speaker and took a moment to connect it to their phone to play the music. They adjusted the song to an appropriate volume to drown out Drew's screaming, next they went to warm up the grill for a bit before they took up their favorite butcher's knife and approached the table that Tanya was strapped in.
Drew's voice finally seemed to reach the woman as her eyes slowly opened to see Drew's panicked expression. A small smile graced her lips as she was about to speak, "Dr-" unfortunately, before that, the Bear brought down the knife on her head effectively severing it from the shoulders. Drew let out a blood-curdling scream at the sight but the Bear didn't care as it continued to chop up the rest of the body. Drew only stared on in horror as she was cut up into symmetrical slices. Once that was done it gathered all the pieces and chucked them into a meat grinder and waited for them to come out at the other end. The Bear moved rhythmically to the music, while it did all this like it was finding it all truly enjoyable as it prepared a meal. This evaporated all of Drew's despair and promptly replaced it with rage.
"YOU SON OF A BITCH! YOU BETTER FUCKING KILL ME BECAUSE IF I GET OUT OF THIS-" The Bear still didn't pay him any attention, they were too giddy for what was about to happen next as it opened the fridge at the top half, it held jars that were labeled "Demon Meat" and the one below that held "Corrupted Meat". It got two jars of Demon Meat and scooped out the contents on a cutting board on an island, along with the recent addition of Tanya's remains. It added several spices and herbs to mix, making sure it was carefully implemented, and formed them into a large patty. Next, the Bear placed it on the grill and over time a strange yet tantalizing smell wafted through the room as it sizzled. As that was finishing up, he momentarily left the grill to dig through the pantry to reveal hamburger buns that were the appropriate size for what was to be created.
Then came the lettuce, cheese, tomatoes, pickles, and unions all put to the side. Drew's voice was hurting as he continued to yell obscenities towards the demented fry cook but eventually ceased and chose to lament over Tanya. Time passed with various aromas mixing together in a completely alien aroma, although it was sickening, the smell was making Drew hungry. He leaned up to look at the Bear and it looked like it was sprinkling some sort of sparkling substance onto the onions and cheese. Then he retrieved a small bottle of some red substance after topping off the hamburger with a bun, a few drops were added to the top bun and both pieces of bread turned blood red with steam coming off of the finished meal.
The Bear carefully picked up his latest masterpiece and held it up, marveling at the craftsmanship of his latest creation as though it were the holy grail itself. It sauntered over to Drew and pointed at the burger, obviously proud of the work. Besides the fact that it looked amazing, Drew hardened his glare and spat in the Bear's face. "Fuck off, you sick freak!" He said, spitting venom at the kidnapper.
The Bear paused for a minute before giving the investigator a hard smack on the head. It caused Drew to let out a pained yelp before The Bear turned back to the sandwich. It opened its razor-sharp maw with its buzzsaw teeth activating as it slowly bit into the burger. It paused almost as still as a statue, then tears began to roll down its hairy cheeks before its eyes closed, pleasantly pleased with the flavor. The first sound that Drew ever heard it make was a delighted sound that almost sounded human, but overall the sound made him cringe. It danced around the area just from that one bite.
Drew looked on in exasperation, no more tears came from him. There was only despair in his expression, "All of this…for a fucking burger. My friends...for a fucking burger…" The Bear snapped its attention towards him and looked as though he had offended him as it frowned at him. It marched over to the slab and then pointed directly at a menu of sorts. The Bear walked towards the menu and gestured towards one specific item.
The Hot Damn Deluxe
Ingredients
Drew looked at the strange menu and then towards the Bear before resting his head on the slab. He was completely defeated, not wanting to move...all ambitions of trying to escape had completely evaporated as he awaited his own fate. "If you needed all that...then why kill us when we aren't even demons ourselves?" Drew asked with all his life drained from him.
The Bear then shook its head before smacking the slab to get Drew's attention. He looked up once more to see it pointing at a menu item under the Hot Damn Deluxe. At the Sinner's Delight, everything about the burger was about the same except for a few preferences for the buns and sauces. But the item that caught Drew's attention was the Corrupted Human Meat that stood out to him. "Gather 20 corrupted humans who have demonic energy on their souls…?" Drew slowly started to piece it all together as his eyes widened in realization. All the people that they had kidnapped had dealings with demons or evil spirits, the longer that one spends with the entity the more it slowly starts to corrupt them. It was twisting their souls over time. That was what being near Tanya was doing to them and they didn't even realize it.
As Drew wallowed in his self-pity and shock, it looked over at him and raised the cleaver overhead with drool spilling out between its teeth. To them, it wasn't just another night or just some other meal, from all the trouble of facing and killing all those high-leveled demons to preparing the burger just a few feet away from him. It was a culinary achievement.
They faced vengeful spirits, wizards, and actual demons, things that would give a normal person lasting nightmares. Yet, what they were facing wasn't anything of the sort. Tanya was on the ground watching almost helplessly as her childhood friend Drew was battling for his life against...a bear. A lime green bear in overalls with a comically large smile. It was apparently one of the mascots for the park they had to look through, the call they received told them about many kidnappings near the abandoned amusement park. She had expected a stereotypical psychopath to offer them up as sacrifices to some arbitrary entity, not some person in a fursuit.
Granted, however, the person behind that suit was stronger than they expected. Even as Drew had picked up a steel pipe and wailed at him, he just seemed to be shrugging it off and toying with him. Tanya grimaced a bit as she struggled to get back up, the pain from having been tossed aside unexpectedly by the Bear still tender at her back. Still, she fought through it in favor of wanting to help her precious friend
Drew noticed her movements in the corner of his eye but didn't take his eyes off the bear. "Tanya get out of here, I got this!" The moment that her name was uttered, the Bear then turned its unblinking eyes toward Tanya. Then, they immediately smacked Drew hard enough to have his head hit the wall hard enough to draw blood. Tanya's eyes went wide with her eyes glued to her friend's motionless form, at that moment her breath was unsteady and there was a slight ringing in her ears. Her eyes then flicked toward the person slowly approaching her which caused her to form a glare, almost immediately, the woman got to her feet.
"Drew…" She muttered. All club members were provided with pistols for self-defense, which was advised by the police who had worked with them numerous times. Though they had enchanted the bullets for dealing with troublesome situations, they weren't meant to be used on normal humans in favor of bringing them to the authorities. But at the moment Tanya wasn't thinking. Internally, something began to bubble in the pit of her stomach, it slowly spread to her head to the very tip of her toes. A heat that felt familiar, yet unfamiliar at the same time. Without realizing it herself, her sclera had changed to a dark red and her pupils turned into a steely blue. This made the bear freeze in place, noticing the change in her as well as the air around them, which was electric.
Tanya silently raised a hand towards the bear and almost instantly they were flung backward. The Bear crashed through wall after wall, the sound of destruction echoing as clouds of dust settled in the room they were in. She could see the body of the Bear lying on top of the rubble through the holes he made and changing the position of her hand. In the next moment, the ceiling in the next room caved in on itself and buried the Bear underneath. Her breathing was ragged, her eyes not turning away from the debris pile for a moment but eventually, they turned towards Drew who was currently staring at her with widened eyes while holding a hand towards his wound. Relief soon washed over Tanya as a sound akin to happiness eased its way out.
"You're okay…" Two voices came out of her, commingled into a disturbing sound. One was his childhood friend and the other...something that he didn't recognize. The thing wearing Tanya's skin made its way over to him with a smile but Drew didn't give it the chance to get closer as he raised the pipe in defense.
"Stay back!" He shouted.
Tanya's smile faltered as she stopped, completely stuck like a deer in headlights while blinking. "D-Drew…?"
"I command the evil spirit to leave this vessel at once." His voice was deep and authoritative.
"Drew...it's not-"
"I command you unclean spirit to leave this vessel immediately!" He shouted.
"Drew."
"I command you to leave this vessel! Give her back, give her back to me!"
"It's me!"
Drew was stunned into silence. Still holding the pipe, grip tight around it as he hesitated to keep it up. Ultimately he held fast as he glared at her. "Don't lie to me…!"
"It's the truth, it's really me."
"Bullshit, we've dealt with this type of shit before! I know your type, I don't know what you are but you better get out of her body!"
Tanya raised both hands in an attempt to placate Drew but didn't come closer. "I promise...it's me. I know that it doesn't sound like me but I'm in complete control. There's nothing in here besides me."
Although she said this, Drew still didn't look convinced of what she was saying. Tanya exhaled before continuing, " If you don't believe me then just take my gun and shoot me."
It was at that moment that there was a flicker of confusion in the man's eyes, a question of why the possessed spirit would suggest something like that if it knew what the bullets did to demonic spirits. Drew cautiously made his way over to her to grab the gun at her hip before eventually taking a few steps back to aim it at Tanya's face. She, however, remained unphased by the action based on her neutral expression, if she feared for her life she could easily stop him from pulling the trigger. This was a complete act of trust.
Drew's resolve was visibly wavering until he eventually lowered the gun. The pain was etched on his features as he tried to form words, "I...I...fuck, Tanya is it really you…?"
"Yes." She responded quietly.
Running a hand through his hair to calm his nerves, he looked as though he was gathering his thoughts before he asked his next question, "There wasn't any activity from the EMF when we came to the park...so...how?"
Her smile returned yet it was much sadder than what she gave him and the other club members, "Do you remember case number 120? The Asylum Incident?"
Drew nodded, how could he forget? It was one of their more infamous cases. Little over an hour had passed since they entered that abandoned place, similar to the amusement park they were in now. Except that place was dripping with evil, the EMF that Merlin, their tech guy provided didn't pick up any readings at first but over time the Asylum was swarmed with entities. All of them eventually got separated, him, Tanya, Camille, and Merlin. Drew had to fight his way out of there to get back to his team and somehow, by pure luck, they managed to cleanse the Asylum. Yet what they witnessed in there...stuck with them, Camille especially.
"When we got separated from one another, I was attacked not long after. It was maddening trying to outrun and avoid all of those spirits...I eventually ran out of bullets and charms. I took a route through the cell blocks in the other building...I thought I got away but...somehow one of them latched onto me. I wasn't feeling the effects immediately after we all met up but over time it felt like complete agony trying to force the demon out. It was powerful I have to admit, in the process of our struggle I was losing pieces of my psyche, and it was the same for it as well. Seems both of us were too stubborn to go down easy." She laughed lightly to ease the heavy atmosphere if only a little. "But in the end, that struggle wore both of us down to a stalemate. With how long it had inhabited my body, both our minds had melded into one, its energy mixing with my soul."
Tanya then placed a hand on her chest. "I am Tanya, but at the same time I'm not."
"B-But…" Drew sputtered as he tried to find the right words, "But this doesn't make any sense according to the records we have on possessed humans, how were you able to keep it at bay for so long?"
"I used what you taught me over the years, meditations, surrounded myself with the stronger charms to keep it from completely taking over and all that. Its voice always taunted me and tried to make me give in which was why you'd sometimes see me look a bit exhausted. Why I avoided interaction with you guys on campus for a while."
"That explains that." Drew sighed as he was starting to calm down a bit more with the initial shock and unease wearing off. His eyes avoided looking at Tanya's as he still couldn't somehow accept what she had become. Part of him started to blame himself for his negligence as well as the fact that all of them got separated. If he'd been with her then maybe she wouldn't have been-
Before he could finish his thoughts, he instantly felt arms loop around his neck in a comforting grasp. The action caused Drew to flinch, yet he remained still in Tanya's hold as he took in the familiar scent of her perfume, the one he would notice whenever they walked side by side together. It was still the same, even after they graduated high school.
"Don't blame yourself."
"I'm not-"
" I can tell that you are. You were never good at hiding your feelings from me. We all knew the risks of this job, you and I, Merlin and Camille. Of course, we weren't prepared to die but we knew we would be facing dangerous situations. This is just the best option out of a bad situation." Tanya finalized before she pulled back to properly look into Drew's eyes, he was unable to look away as her hands had a soft grip on his shoulders. Her eyes were oddly mesmerizing as they carried a hint of sadness in them. "Do you still want to kill me…?"
"No, I...I don't. I get why you kept this to yourself but...it's still frustrating. All of this is." Tears threatened to roll down Drew's cheeks along with the blood from the slight gash from his temple. "Merlin and Camille are gone...because we separated again, every time we get separated bad shit always happens!"
Tanya offered him a sympathetic smile as Drew trembled as he choked back tears. And he was right, this always happened when everyone was left to their own devices during investigations. Something always unexpected and inconvenient occurred during the process of their investigations. Yet, none of it resulted in actually losing their lives. She raised a hand to his temple and wiped away the blood. "Then we'll stay together from this moment on, no more going off on our own. We'll watch each other's backs just like we've always done." Drew's expression finally broke from his childhood friend and her words with precious memories flooding back to him. The closeness that was apparent between them, the happiness that he felt just being next to her, the way that they would always feel safe just being next to the other. It was still her.
Drew quietly sobbed as his arms wrapped around her in a tight embrace. The two sat there in that ruined building still holding onto one another, not too keen on moving just yet. But eventually, the two felt the need to finally leave the abandoned park, walking down the path among attractions from bygone years. Despite the harrowing situations they found themselves in, Drew thought that this would have been a good place to go for a club trip. At that moment a morbid thought crossed the researcher's mind, "Jesus, I just thought of Merlin and Camille's parents, then the guy...we were supposed to take him in." He sighed.
"The situation with the culprit could be written down as self-defense and as for their parents...it won't be easy but it can't be helped. It'll make the pain easier to deal with as we go from there." Tanya's voice returned to how it was previously although a bit melancholic.
"Yeah…" Drew sighed as his eyes stayed on the entrance as the two walked side by side, Tanya looked at him and knew that there was something else on his mind but didn't ask unless he wanted to tell her. But the question that Drew asked completely took her by surprise.
"Hey, do you think that we should take a bit of a break from club activities?"
"A break?" Tanya turned to him with an arched brow.
"Yeah, like not take any requests and just be normal college students and just not do anything involving ghosts or crazy murderers for a bit." Drew shrugged.
Tanya then turned towards her friend with a chuckle. "Okay who are you and what have you done with the mystery-solving dork I've come to know and love?"
"Look who's talking." Drew laughed along with her and bathed in a moment of comfort. It was something that helped with the pain of the situation.
"You know I think that..look out!" Tanya pushed Drew out of the way as a shock wave erupted between them, effectively separating them. A large cloud of dust settled in the area, Tanya coughed as she looked up to see what was the colossal head of one of the mascots. Tanya's eyes immediately switched to their demonic state before looking up, "Drew are you okay!?"
"Yeah, what the hell was that!?" Drew coughed as he looked around but couldn't see due to the cloud. However, Drew's gaze was fixed on something...something beyond the dust. He couldn't exactly make it out but there was a figure that seemed to be making its way toward them. It was huge. Drew's eyes were wide with fear as it came closer. His mind automatically went to the bear, there was no other explanation. But as the cloud dissipated, the figure seemed to shrink to human size and the culprit stepped out...but not how they expected them to. It was the Bear...but it didn't look like they were in a suit, what they were seeing looked like actual hair on the body, and the body itself looked lankier yet athletic. Its wide eyes and innocent smile seemed as though it was staring right into their souls.
It stood there swaying in the breeze as it looked between the two, but its eyes settled on Tanya. Without any word of warning, it lunged at the woman with a fist reared back. Tanya quickly used her telekinetic ability to take hold of the large head and put it in front of her. Yet the bear's fist easily broke through and landed on Tanya, the impact sending her back a few feet but she managed to right herself and stay suspended in midair. She touched her cheek and felt the sting of the hit, Tanya looked at the bear who was swaying once again. This didn't make any sense, like Drew said they didn't sense anything supernatural about the kidnapper, he should have been a normal human...was it the fur suit that was some advanced technology?
Claws then emerged from the tips of the Bear's fingers, razor-sharp like knives as it began its assault again. Tanya's eyes widened as she gathered more of the debris and any items that she could hold, from parts of the rides to trash cans, anything that could fend him off. She flung them at them one by one, but the bear either shrugged them off or sliced through them. Before it closed the distance, one of the gathered items- the spinning ufo ride, slammed into it and sent them into the haunted house.
Drew stood up with Tanya's gun in hand as well as the other items for the battle, "You think it's some sort of demon?"
" Don't know, I didn't feel anything like that but it's definitely not normal. Don't get careless." Tanya warned. Soon enough the bear broke its way out of the debris and immediately rushed towards them, Drew wasted no time in firing off a few shots at it but the bear continued even as they were hit. Yet it went after Tanya once again as it leaped after her, its claws swiping at the woman who avoided them and pushed the bear away but it was not enough to deter it from its assault. It was relentless, Drew tried to fire more shots but it was to no avail. He could use the charms to hold it in place or damage hope they would damage them in some way. With that in mind, Drew reached for his backpack to get the exact charm to give Tanya a bit of aid.
They were paper charms that were written in Kanji and used to suppress entities. Drew threw one of the charms at the bear, it stopped from just barely touching them when an electric surge coursed over its body. The charm seemed to do some bit of damage which answered the question if it was supernatural or not. But that recent attack caused the bear to finally set its sights on Drew. In a quick burst of speed, it made its way toward the male investigator for a punch but before it made contact, Tanya held the bear back with her telekinesis. It struggled against the force and Drew was going to take the chance to shoot it point-blank-range. The bear, however, broke free and delivered a punch to the cheek which sent Drew toward the ground.
In a fit of rage, Tanya flew towards the Bear with the intent to fully rip it to shreds. An emotional reaction that would prove to be fatal. At that moment the bear scooped up a ball of dirt and threw it at her face, effectively blinding her. "Ah, fucker!" Tanya roared in her demonic voice as she tried to rub away the soil. "I'm gonna yank your fucking guts out through your mouth!"
The bear didn't waste its chance and attacked her while she was incapacitated. Delivering a series of brutal punches to the face, stomach, and chest. They made her body tremble despite her supernatural healing, albeit it was a low-tier one. For the final punch, the bear grabbed a fistful of her hair and reared back for a powerful haymaker. Ultimately it broke Tanya's nose and put her flat on her ass, rendering her unconscious.
"No!" Drew shouted but just before he could do anything, the Bear was already upon him and placed a foot on his chest. He let out a heavy cough and struggled to get free but it was pointless. All he could do was glare at the monster above him, who just looked back at him with those soulless eyes.
"W-Why…? Why are you doing this?" Drew wheezed, but the bear didn't answer him and just continued to stare until the young investigator looked completely unnerved. The Bear's smile grew larger until it finally revealed its teeth...rows of rotating, circular buzz-saws. It raised its foot off of Drew's chest which brought momentary relief to him, but then everything went completely black.
. . .
. . .
. . .
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. . .
Drew's eyes slowly fluttered open as a throbbing headache began to develop. His vision was slowly coming back to him and focusing on his surroundings. He noticed that he couldn't move all that much and soon realized that he was strapped onto a slab, naked. Drew tried his best to break out free but the restraints were too strong for him. He also noticed that Tanya was beside him still unconscious and naked, but more than that, the room they were in sent chills running down his spine. It looked like a regular kitchen equipped with a fridge, a sink, and pantries but there was an unmistakable feeling of dread settling in him. Recollections of what happened earlier made him squirm that much more for freedom. The bastard was gonna make a meal out of them!?
"Tanya, Tanya wake up!" Drew called out to his friend quietly at first at the risk of catching the attention of the Bear. But that wouldn't matter as they opened the double doors and looked at the two with his hands on their hips. Drew's eyes were wide with fear and anger as the bear noticed that he was awake. With two nods the Bear walked towards the shelves and pantries to pull out spices and ingredients that looked exotic. But when the Bear finally pulled out various cutlery, that was when Drew increased his struggle accompanied by grunting effort as well as persistence to wake up Tanya.
"Tanya please, please wake up! Please we have to get out of here!"
As the man kept calling out to his unconscious friend, the Bear glanced over their shoulder to look over at Drew and shrugged. They turned their attention to a Bluetooth portable speaker and took a moment to connect it to their phone to play the music. They adjusted the song to an appropriate volume to drown out Drew's screaming, next they went to warm up the grill for a bit before they took up their favorite butcher's knife and approached the table that Tanya was strapped in.
Drew's voice finally seemed to reach the woman as her eyes slowly opened to see Drew's panicked expression. A small smile graced her lips as she was about to speak, "Dr-" unfortunately, before that, the Bear brought down the knife on her head effectively severing it from the shoulders. Drew let out a blood-curdling scream at the sight but the Bear didn't care as it continued to chop up the rest of the body. Drew only stared on in horror as she was cut up into symmetrical slices. Once that was done it gathered all the pieces and chucked them into a meat grinder and waited for them to come out at the other end. The Bear moved rhythmically to the music, while it did all this like it was finding it all truly enjoyable as it prepared a meal. This evaporated all of Drew's despair and promptly replaced it with rage.
"YOU SON OF A BITCH! YOU BETTER FUCKING KILL ME BECAUSE IF I GET OUT OF THIS-" The Bear still didn't pay him any attention, they were too giddy for what was about to happen next as it opened the fridge at the top half, it held jars that were labeled "Demon Meat" and the one below that held "Corrupted Meat". It got two jars of Demon Meat and scooped out the contents on a cutting board on an island, along with the recent addition of Tanya's remains. It added several spices and herbs to mix, making sure it was carefully implemented, and formed them into a large patty. Next, the Bear placed it on the grill and over time a strange yet tantalizing smell wafted through the room as it sizzled. As that was finishing up, he momentarily left the grill to dig through the pantry to reveal hamburger buns that were the appropriate size for what was to be created.
Then came the lettuce, cheese, tomatoes, pickles, and unions all put to the side. Drew's voice was hurting as he continued to yell obscenities towards the demented fry cook but eventually ceased and chose to lament over Tanya. Time passed with various aromas mixing together in a completely alien aroma, although it was sickening, the smell was making Drew hungry. He leaned up to look at the Bear and it looked like it was sprinkling some sort of sparkling substance onto the onions and cheese. Then he retrieved a small bottle of some red substance after topping off the hamburger with a bun, a few drops were added to the top bun and both pieces of bread turned blood red with steam coming off of the finished meal.
The Bear carefully picked up his latest masterpiece and held it up, marveling at the craftsmanship of his latest creation as though it were the holy grail itself. It sauntered over to Drew and pointed at the burger, obviously proud of the work. Besides the fact that it looked amazing, Drew hardened his glare and spat in the Bear's face. "Fuck off, you sick freak!" He said, spitting venom at the kidnapper.
The Bear paused for a minute before giving the investigator a hard smack on the head. It caused Drew to let out a pained yelp before The Bear turned back to the sandwich. It opened its razor-sharp maw with its buzzsaw teeth activating as it slowly bit into the burger. It paused almost as still as a statue, then tears began to roll down its hairy cheeks before its eyes closed, pleasantly pleased with the flavor. The first sound that Drew ever heard it make was a delighted sound that almost sounded human, but overall the sound made him cringe. It danced around the area just from that one bite.
Drew looked on in exasperation, no more tears came from him. There was only despair in his expression, "All of this…for a fucking burger. My friends...for a fucking burger…" The Bear snapped its attention towards him and looked as though he had offended him as it frowned at him. It marched over to the slab and then pointed directly at a menu of sorts. The Bear walked towards the menu and gestured towards one specific item.
The Hot Damn Deluxe
Ingredients
- Fresh Lettuce
- Fresh Onions
- Pepper Jack Cheese
- Deep Sea Pickles
- 1 milliliter of liquid hell flame
- High-quality Demon Meat *Hunt down and harvest 4 High demons for it to work.
- Mayo
- -100° ketchup (enchanted)
- Zesty mustard
- Fluffy Brioche buns
Drew looked at the strange menu and then towards the Bear before resting his head on the slab. He was completely defeated, not wanting to move...all ambitions of trying to escape had completely evaporated as he awaited his own fate. "If you needed all that...then why kill us when we aren't even demons ourselves?" Drew asked with all his life drained from him.
The Bear then shook its head before smacking the slab to get Drew's attention. He looked up once more to see it pointing at a menu item under the Hot Damn Deluxe. At the Sinner's Delight, everything about the burger was about the same except for a few preferences for the buns and sauces. But the item that caught Drew's attention was the Corrupted Human Meat that stood out to him. "Gather 20 corrupted humans who have demonic energy on their souls…?" Drew slowly started to piece it all together as his eyes widened in realization. All the people that they had kidnapped had dealings with demons or evil spirits, the longer that one spends with the entity the more it slowly starts to corrupt them. It was twisting their souls over time. That was what being near Tanya was doing to them and they didn't even realize it.
As Drew wallowed in his self-pity and shock, it looked over at him and raised the cleaver overhead with drool spilling out between its teeth. To them, it wasn't just another night or just some other meal, from all the trouble of facing and killing all those high-leveled demons to preparing the burger just a few feet away from him. It was a culinary achievement.