Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

She, an androgynous little thing, woke from the sun shining down directly on her eyes. It illuminated the brick cubicle, which had nothing more than a bed, a few possessions, and a showerhead. No roof. 

She let out a middy groan, rubbing her eyelids as she sat up. 

She was not very pretty, to say the least.

Messy hair that hadn’t been brushed in days. Teeth that also hadn’t been brushed in days. Eyes that hadn’t been properly woken up in days. Clothes that had been worn for days.

At least she smelled good.

She looked at her face for mere seconds in the nightstand mirror, resisting the urge to send it flying across the room. But only because she paid a quarter of a weekly paycheck for it.

“I’m not that pale. Liar.” She huffed, turning it to the wall before she reached out to grip the can of Axe Body Spray™ labeled “Arc deterrent” . Because it was time to ruin the one thing she had up for her.

Spraying it over every surface area on her body to mask her scent, she checked the time.

(7:42?) She furrowed her brows.

(But I wake up at eight fifte-…)

(Oh right, my clock‘s been broken for the past two years.)

She then stretched her legs and got up, finally, setting the can down.

Grabbing her mail carrier from its hook on the way out, she pushed the fence gate open, stepping into the maze.

It was just as cold as her room. 

She rushed out of there, legs kicking furiously, trying to get warmth spinning into her system.

She stepped out of the mouth of the alley.

And there was noise, the chattering of a few citizens down the block. Almost enough to make her cover her ears.

It was overstimulating.

She made her way down the emptier than yesterday streets, barely more than twenty people out. All ones she’d seen before. One walking their dog.
Her breath frosted against the cold air.

More walking, more of the same. More corpses seen in the alleys, hidden just not well enough for her to not notice. 

She growled in distaste, coming to rest  down on a bench.

To catch her breath. She used to be faster. She used to be so strong, able to lift anything. Super annis (over the years), she’d gotten sick and healed. 

Never fully.

You have a job to do.

She got up and continued walking, legs stiff down the sidewalks. It was still cold. Still so cold.

There was a stain on the ground.

An empty bottle of alcohol.

A dead bird on the side of the road. That she poked at.

…

Nothing terribly interesting.

…

She finally made it to the good side of the city. Well. The better side of the city. The part where the police actually gave a shit. She got up to the door of an apartment building, opening it.
Warm, very warm. Almost too warm.
Oh, the joy of two dingey space heaters.

She made her way up to the second floor through an elevator, and stepped out. It was colder around here, but now warm to a bearable degree.

Swirling her mail carrier to the front of her body, she reached in and pulled out a piece of mail addressed to an apartment on the second floor. The one she was on.

She dashed over. The mail was something about taxes. Whatever. Not her business to look through a human's stink.

She set it on the mat in front of the door.

So started a marathon of dashing back and forth, looking at human mail, and setting it down.

Just like every weekday she didn’t skip. So. Just like every four days.

The whole thing took three hours, and by the time she was done, she was exhausted. Legs shot. Not sure if she’d make it home without fainting exhausted.

She went down the elevator, into the lobby, and out the door, practically keeling over by that point.

Into the cold made it worse.

She hated cold.

She started making her way back ‘home’.

Past the dead bird. 

Past the bottle of alcohol.

Past the strange stain.

Until she made it back.

But she hadn’t made it back, no.

She passed out on the concrete and woken up somewhere else.

Quiet.

Empty.

And there was more walking to do. 

More thoughts to think. 

More pondering without a care in the world.

More alleys to trot down. Less hunger to worry about.

With no control of her body.

and she woke up

and it was all covered in blood.

A severed arm held disgustingly close to her mouth.

In front of her, a body propped up against a dumpster. missing a head.




Missing a life.




Missing any meaning at all.




Slowly, she trotted away, dragging it behind her.

What’s the point when there’s no control over your actions?

What’s the point of starvation?

What’s the poin-

Noise broke her train of thought. She immediately snapped her head back, only to see the pitiful figure in the darkness, who caught up to her rather quickly.

Tap.

Tap tap tap tap tap tap tap.

"Hm, Say? What's that there. I heard you having a tizzy earlier. Which was nice to hear, but it sounded like you were in pain. Y’good?”

A starved little boy who had bandages covering his eyes came up to Say. He was roughly the same height as her, an incredibly short four feet or so.

He sniffed at the corpse, but couldn’t actually smell anything other than Say’s Axe Body Spray™ (Arc deterrent). It did not go as she wished, however. Instead of running away in agony at his nostrils being burnt, he just complained .

“Oh my god. You smell like shittttt. What the fuck is that?”

She stepped back, sweating, eyes darting around for an escape.

"Please leave me alone…”

"Nuh uh. Say. You, like, you have a corpse in your hands, plus you smell like deer piss. What are you even doing.” He pointed in the corpse's general direction, then back at Say. Completely blank.

"Um. That’s actually a big lamp. Yep. It's a human stink lamp. Y’know how you like weird things? Like Irritator Challengeri? Well. Uh. Me too."

“I know it’s a corpse. I’m just wondering why you smell like piss.” He queried.

…

Say then ran away.

(Dubious blind stare.)

“I know you’re introverted but.. I was just talking to you..” He squeaked, moping into the other direction.

“-WAIT! Say! Come back! I need your help!” He took off after her, running right into her and slamming them both onto the ground.
“Oh SAY! SAY! I have a job for you! It’ll get you some more.. Meat, carnes, carnibus, carnae, whatever you call it!” Arc exasperated, hands on Say’s chest. “I bet you could carry just one more thing, couldn’t you?” He favoured.

“I mean.. Yea.. I guess…” She heaved.

“O, GRATES!!!!! (oh, thank you!)” Arc yelled, running off again.

Surprise surprise, he came back with another corpse, dumping it on Say. He could’ve carried it himself, but, he... I dunno if ‘wanted to see her suffer’ is the right sentence to use here. Because he doesn’t. He  really just wanted to see her be a badass for some reason.
 

Say’s gaze flickered to the sick-looking meat, a drop of cold sweat sliding down her face. She gulped audibly. “I’m not so sure, Arc.. How long was he dead for..?” She asked, knowing it would provide nothing useful.

“A week.” He replied.



“...ok……..”

Carrying two bodies in her arms, they walked, Arc, a goopy smile draped over his head.
Say had more of a flat line pressed against hers.

There was a lot of walking.

bork.

She slammed his food down into the metal dumpster that he periodically lived in when not with Say.

"There. Happy now?” She asked, a little disgusted, wiping her hands onto her jorts. 

"Yep. Thanks, Dica (say). I promise I will give you scraps." Arc said, jumping into the dumpster and immediately filling his mouth with organs.

"You're welcome, Male (evil guy). Also I’m not so sure I want to eat any.." Say relented, bringing the other corpse into her grip.

She walked home. It was quiet.
Turning on the shower water, she detangled her hair and made sure to scrub every molecule of Arc Deterrent off of her body. Except for under the bandages on her legs, which hurt to the touch.
Turning off the shower water, she grabbed a lazy outfit and went to sleep.

Chapter Text

They both were already up.

Arc sat on Say’s old bed, playing solitaire solitarily, as if he’d never met her. He wore the same clothes as yesterday. It was unnecessary when they were gonna get stinky anyway.

Say had gone outside to take out some of the trash.
She’d called off work today. She was apparently doing well enough on money to do that.
Despite being homeless.

She chucked the bag in the dam, watching the slow fall.

It took around five seconds to reach the water.

crash.

Big dam.

...

Back to her cubicle, Arc was still playing solitaire on her mattress. He seemed quite interested, actually.

She walked up to him, laying down on the bed.

Arc’s cards slid towards her gravity, messing up his game of solitaire.

…

He didn’t care that much.

.

“Sorry.”
Say pushed his cards back towards him, looking down with a small frown.

He, still, didn’t care that much, setting up his game again.

…

“You wanna play war together?”
Say smiled at him.

“I don’t know what I’m doing. I can’t count.”
He looked down blankly.

Oh. So that’s why he didn’t care.

“Mm, okay.. uh.. You want me to.. teach you? How to count?”
She knew she was messing up. She knew she shouldn’t offer to the dumb boy, but what else did she have to do? Sit around ‘n sleep all day? Well, actually that did sound kinda nice.

“Sure.”
Arc flipped himself onto his stomach, kicking his feet in the air. He grinned, not the usual creepy Arc grin, just a smile.

“So, um.. This number.”
She pointed to a six of spades.
“This is six. It goes after five.”

“...”
He snatched the card, rubbing his fingerpads over the surface of it.
“Got it.”

“So, what comes after five?”
She asked plainly.

“Sex.”
“Six..”
He giggled. The mere mention of sex made him giggle. So funny. Peak humor.

“..Mhm… Siiiix...”
Say nodded slowly, looking awkward.

She pointed to a seven of hearts, putting it in Arc’s skinny, grubby, sweaty, grabby hands.
“That’s seven. It goes after six. It’s also a lucky number.”

Arc nodded, his smile somehow stretching further, now sitting up rocking on the bed. She could tell he was getting antsy. 
She thought.

“So, what goes after six?”
Say questioned, starting to look nervous.

“Seven.”
Arc replied.

“Good, good.”
Say was getting really anxious now, needing to get it done faster. Before he did something….

She gave him an eight of clubs.
“This is eight. It goes after seven.”

…

He set the card down.

…

“Say? Why are you shaking?”
He tilted his head at her as if he could see her. He could feel the vibrations through the mattress.

“You’re not trying to hide it, are you?”

…

“Sorry. I’m just paranoid, okay?”
She put the card back in his hand. Arc was just.. foreign to her.
“Eight.”

Arc nodded with a hint of suspicion.
“Yep. Eight comes after seven.”

Say handed him a nine of hearts.
“Nine. Arc, why was six so scared of seven?”

“Because seven ate six’s family.”

“..close enough.”
She sighed, handing him a ten of spades.
“Ten. Ten comes after nine.”

“Ten. Yup.”
He gave a thumbs up.

Say put a hand on Arc’s shoulder, looking into his.. Bandages.
“Now, Arc, can you count to ten?”

“One two three four five.. six.. seven eight nine ten.”

Say released his shoulder.
“Good job. Now, what’s this card?”
She handed him an eight of diamonds.

Arc felt around, scratching at the card a bit, feeling the raise of a few molecules of colour.
“..Six. No, eight. It’s eight.”
He smiled.

“Good job, Arc.. you wanna learn the rest of the cards now?”

Arc thought for no more than three seconds.
“Can we play checkers?”

Her smile faltered slightly.
“We don’t have checkers.”

He frowned.

breathes in.

“Oh.. Say… pretty please…. Could you go and get some checkers… please….. Pleasepleasepleasepleaseplease…….. There’s a shop down the street.. You could get a vape and checkers.. You like vapes, don’t you? Or you could get some lettuce? Your favourite snack.. And some check-

“I’M GOING OKAY!!! I’m gonna go get you some FUCKING checkers! And I am NOT a rabbit! I do NOT eat lettuce!!!!!”

Say, half pissed, half amused, half joking, half serious, grabbed her wallet and stumbled out the fence gate, tired of Arc’s Swedish-little-boy voice.

Arc snickered quietly.

After an hour, Say returned, carrying a plastic shopping bag.

Arc shot up, seeming really interested. Anything was interesting with Say.

She dumped the contents onto the bed mattress.

A box of checkers, two lollipops, a lighter she immediately stuffed in her pocket before Arc could even feel, and a burger.

A burger? Why would she get a burger…

He decided to ask about it as Say fiddled with the box of checkers.
Her short nails struggled to peel the piece of tape.

“Hey, what’s with the burger?”
He tilted his head, looking quite null.

“Snack.”

“Say. We don’t eat burgers. They aren’t filling.”

“That’s why it’s called a snack.”

“Can I have a bite?”

“No.”

He frowned.

“So, what’d you do while I was go- phhhhhhhhhOW owwwww-”
She’d gotten the piece of tape up and snagged in-between her nail bed, eyes going wide.

“You okay?”

“..mmyea.”
She pulled her hand away, eyes going back dimmed and overtired like always.

“Here. Lemme help.”
He snatched the box of checkers, using his long, not claw-like, just long nails to cut the tape in half.

“There.”
He handed it back.

“Grates.”
Say opened the box, setting it on the bed and sweeping all her other items onto the floor. Except for the burger. She unwrapped it and took a nibble, patting the bed next to her.

“Come, sit.”

Arc came to sit, his knees popping into oblivion as he formed a criss-cross.

Say was barely phased as she set the board down in-between them, starting to set the pieces up.

“You know how to play checkers, right?”

“Yep.”
He nodded eagerly.

So much effort to keep a boy from committing mass geno-.. Murder. Mass murder.

“Black or red?”

“...”

“Right.”
She picked up his pieces and pulled out a pocket knife, whittling a chunk out of the side of each one.

He was red. Black was cooler. The dark, edgy colour.

She then set the pieces back.

“You or me. Who’s going fi-

Arc moved C3 to B4.

"Okay, checkersweat."

F6 to E5.

D2, C3.

B6, C5.

G3, H4.

G7, F6.

“Jee, Say. When are you gonna pull a move?”

C3, D4.

E5 takes D4, to C3.

“Are you happy now?”

“Very.”

B2 takes C3, to D4, takes C5, to 6B.

D6 to E5.

E4…

…

Say lost.

…


“Are you seriously going to cry about checkers?”

“Seriously?”

Chapter Text

Arc ‘stared’ off into the distance from the rooftop, wondering why he was just ‘like that’. Why he had to do what he did to survive.

More of a blessing than a curse.

He sniffed the air, picking up the scent of desperation, mingled with tobacco and alcohol, as well as various types of Mr. Brownstone.

He and Say were really the only ones. Really the only ones fucked up in their such way.

No, Arc. No, you’re not alone. There’s others.

Well, he’d side with himself. Because he was, in truth, the bad side of a narcissist. There were more opportunities to find friends. Definitely.

Think of it like this, there’s so many fish in the sea. You’ll find them. You’ll find your coelacanth.

Well, why have I only found one prehistoric fish so far? One who’s kind of a bitch.

You need to look harder.

I’ve already searched my damn near hardest.

Well, try harder.

But I’ve already tried harder.

When I say try harder, I mean keep trying harder.

Well, I can’t fuckin’ do that.

Do you want to be alone?

Arc was starting to get physically angry, grinding his all-too-many teeth together. He gripped his sides, steam almost blowing out his ears.

Deep breaths, deep breaths.

No. I don’t want to be alone.

You need better coping skills.

Well, what if I naturally suck at coping?

Try harde-

“TA-CE! (Shut up!)”

Arc had gripped the sides of his fluffy blonde hair with a grimace. A raging grimace. His eyes shot so wide that they bulged slightly from beneath the bandages.

Nevermind, nevermind on not being an impulsive angry loser. He threw himself forward, up and off the edge of the rooftop. Time seemed to slow down around him. It felt like a lot smaller of a jump.

Shit, it was, like, what? Eight ‘n a half stories? Holy hell. What was he even thinking?

No one could survive that.

No o-



bonk.

It sounded like a bowling pin being smacked into a wall.

“..ow..”
He wheezed.



He got up perfectly fine except for a dislocated jaw and blood pouring down from the impact of his head. So, not perfectly fine.

After a good scouting of his head with his hands, he shoved his jaw back into place.
However, Arc couldn’t shove his anger back into place.

Fix it brand new.

It only stewed.
In his head.
In a broth of leaking spinal fluid.

Arc had an.. affinity for firearms.


As such, he owned a few.


What do you get when you mix brain damage, a gun, and a very angry teen together?


Certainly nothing good.


“ Try harder? ”


He’d try harder.


((hi, here’s the spooky edgy part

((trigger warning

((gore

The alley walls were stained with blood and bits of epidermis, bits of brains. A limb or two lay strewn on the concrete. He was cackling, having himself a tizzy.

The shots rang in his ears, every one, leaving the high noise of a dog whistle. Except, unlike before, he didn’t cover his ears.

He loved it. The sick bastard loved it.

More people than he could count. Six more fingers than he had. No, now seven. All killed mercilessly.

Why am I here again?

Arc was oh-so-riled, he was experiencing hyperthermia. He couldn’t catch a breath. Maybe Say would stop viewing him as a weakling. Maybe in a universe stuck in November of 2013.

His efforts were completely futile. Even if he did get the one-in-ten-thousand chance of finding another member of his species, he wouldn’t be able to tell them apart. The scent of blood was shoved too high up his nose to tell a difference.

But he didn’t care, no, when did he ever care? It was all meaningless, just like the pity of the things around him. Everything could be taken away in an instant. At the push of a finger.

That’s why he liked guns. Created by.. Eugh, humans. He’d use them to undo the things that made them. Also, they felt cool in his hand. He felt cool, caked and smothered in blood and flesh.

But he still had a mission.
Arc stalked down the maze, sniffing furiously for anyone who hadn’t run away in the attack. Not even a minute later, he caught the scent of human sweat. Coming from a small dumpster.

Closer.

Closer.

He opened the lid.

Setting the lid on the top of his head and creating a shade, Arc slipped the bandages down and took a peer inside.

“Peekaboo.”
He giggled.

Stepping into the dumpster, he pressed himself against the human, touching their noses together as he grinned.

“I found you.”

The man was paralyzed at the sight of the boy, face frozen in fear. Worst of all, his breath STANK.

“Possum te video. Possum te audio. Et putatis te tutum? Ridere volo, iuvenis. (I can see you. I can hear you. And you think you're safe? Makes me wanna laugh, young man).”
“Eo habere tantum fun. (I'm going to have a lot of fun.)"

Arc pulled out his blood-soaked revolver, emptying the ammo carefully into his hand, which he shoved in his back jean pocket. He loaded one bullet, spinning the cylinder ‘round.

He pressed it against the man’s head, who’d started to cry.

“What’s that, pretty boy? Can’t take an impending death?”
“Aren’t you a grown man?”

Click.
It was not the bullet.

“Hm. I wonder what would happen if I bit you. Would you scream?”

Click.
It was not the bullet.

“Do you have a family? What’s your mom’s name?”

Click, a blast, and a ringing ear.
It was the bullet.

“Did you have a family? What was your mom’s name?
He giggled too hard at his own shitty joke.

“I’ll wait before I eat you. Don’t worry.”

Arc sat back in the dumpster, watching the man carefully, who wasn’t crying anymore.

…

He flashed a tongued smile with a peace sign.

…



.

.

.

It had been three minutes.

…

Nine minutes.


…


Half an hour.


…


“I’m too impatient for this.”

Arc touched the man. They were both very warm.

He could feel the blood still pumping.

He hoped he was braindead.

…

He started with the forearm.

…

Arc came ‘home’ to solemn Say who sat on the bed, his bandages back on, body covered in half-dried blood, posture looking only a little ashamed. He made it halfway through the fence gate before she took a glance.

aaaand he’s trekked blood all over my floor. great. so awesomesauce.

“Nope. You’re not coming in here. Wait ‘till you dry off first.”

“But it’s cold out here..”

“And?”

“I might get hypothermia.. I’m so drenched.. You don’t want poor orphan boy Arc getting hypothermia, do you?”

“Sure I do.”

He frowned.
“Say.. Is this over checkers… Don’t tell me you’re still upset over checkers ..”

She got up from the bed with a blank expression. He realized way too quick what she was going to do.

“No. Nuh. No you are not.”

She  s l o w l y  pushed him away, getting the tips of her fingers covered in red.

“I SWEAR TO GOD YOU MOTHERFU-

Then she shut the fence.

-CKING BITCH. YOU’RE GONNA REGRET THIS WHE-

And put a towel over it.

-N I DO SOMETHING REALLY BAD!!”

…

“You’re gonna regret this when I do something bad!”

…

“Bitch.”

He slept in the dumpster.

Chapter Text

The boy stood at the front of the fence gate, listening to his “best-est friend” trying to nap. He’d been there since about two in the morning. Everything went by faster when it was about her. It felt like thirty minutes.

But he was starting to get bored of her repeated breathing. He wondered if she’d change the pattern up a bit. He needed stimulation.

The sun started to perk over the horizon, dyeing the alleys a pretty orange-pink that could provide perfect stimulation for him. It even turned the red boy pretty-looking. Like a princess. If only he could see it for himself.

He squinted, reaching forward with his hand and gripping the fence gate, which he shook and rattled.
“Saaaaaay. Wake uuuppppp. I need to shower. I feel yuckyyyy…”

She did not wake up. She didn’t even notice. She didn’t even start to wake up. Her breathing was the same.
"Dica.. Excitare nunc.. Hannibal.. ante portas? Is that it? Nescio. Requiro te auxilies loqui lingua Latina. (Say... wake up... hannibal's at the gates...) (I dunno. I need your help speaking Latin.)”

Say, one, would rather sleep than fix his shitty Latin, and two, was still a little pissed at him. She opened one eye and saw him, sleeping possum.
An idea popped into his head.
What if I just climb the fence? What’s she gonna do. Push me off? Nahhhhhh.

And so, he did that, gripping his toes into the grates and hulking himself over.

Thunk.

He tip-toed over to Say’s sleeping form, jostling her. She glared at him, her words a drunken morning murmur.
“How the fuck did you get in here. I thought I locked the damn gate.”

.

“I just did.”
Ah, yes, foreshadowing. Arc was so smart that he’d predicted, if he told her how he actually got in, she’d take measures to assure that it never happened again, so if he was vague, he could be a jackass now and be more of a jackass in the future.

I am SUCH a genius.

“I know you climbed the gate, twink. You fell like a brick to a window.”

Fuck.

“Ehhhhh… Can I just use your shower?”

“There’s showers in the lobby.”

There was a lobby? A shower room in the lobby too?

“Where’s the lobby?”
He twiddled with his fingers.

Say turned her head to stare at him.

With a sigh, she got up and off of the bed, pressing her hands hard into her silly straw spine, then into her hips as she popped her knees. Arc listened, looking half concerned and half desiring his bones could be that fucked.
She then grasped into the clothing pile, picking out flared jeans and an oversized tan hoodie, as well as several other outfits. Giving him her clothing was more a service to her, he smelled like pure ass.
Plus, she knew he’d love it as long as it smelled like her.

“C’mon. Let’s go.”
She reached out to grab Arc’s hand, but his came first.

They walked down The Maze in unison, Arc being a weirdo and immediately matching Say’s pace as soon as she tried to change it. One forty steps a minute, one hundred steps a minute, it didn’t matter.
So she led him directly into a wall. Twice.

Eventually, they made it to the lobby. Two bysitters sat in the chairs for whatever dumb human purpose.
Say finally led him to the men’s locker room, coming in. No one was there. She didn’t even have to pretend to be a man.
Usually, there were at least three people there at a time.
There was no one.

She handed the clothing pile to Arc, which almost toppled him over due to weight. Then she kicked him into a shower stall, which actually did send him toppling.

But the floor wasn’t wet. It was dusty. Which was good, Arc wouldn’t have wet clothing, but dust was sure interesting.

…

A few minutes went by, she’d moved to a wooden bench in the locker room as the water started.
She reached into her back pocket, pulling out her lighter. She flicked it, watching the flame.

…

She reached into her other pocket, pulling out a pack.

She hadn’t had one in a while.

Why not.

Arc finally came out in his hoodie and jeans, carrying the clo-

“SAY! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING! TAKE THAT SHIT OUT OF YOUR MOUTH! GIMME THAT!”
Arc stomped forward, sensing Say’s body heat trailing off as she leaned away from him. The clothes laid on the floor, forgotten immediately in his barge. He was angry at her smoking, despite being fine about vapes.

“I THOUGHT THE PLACE WAS ON FIRE! Only to find out YOU’RE SMOKING AGAIN! THAT’S WORSE, SAY! THAT’S FUCKING WORSE! AT LEAST ARSON IS FUNNNNN. ”
“DO ARSON! NOT SMOKING!”

“Quit shouting at me. At least I’m not addicted to killing people.”

Arc gave her a nasty bandaged glare.
“Shut it.”

He took the cigarette out of her mouth, crushing it in his fingers.

“Waa!! Waa! Shut up, Say!! Waa!”
She mocked, unexpectedly snatching his revolver from his belt.

He went silent, shaking a little. Either furious or scared.

“I wonder what happens when I-

BANG.

She hadn’t even pulled the trigger. It misfired directly into Arc’s stomach, piercing through the brick wall behind him.

.

“Ow.”

…

“Arc? Why don’t you have safety engaged?”

…

He shrugged, putting his finger over the bullet wound. It already began to heal, not even enough blood let out to get his hoodie stained.

…

“Yep. You’re not allowed to have this.”
She snapped the barrel in her two hands.

He drew in a breath that stretched his ribs.

“OHH SAY! WHY DO YOU DO THIS TO ME!? WHY. DO. YOU. DO. THIS. TO MEE!!! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAUGHH!!! MY REVOLVER!! MY REVOLVER IS BROKEN IN HALF!!!! SAY YOU DICK!!! WHY!!!!!!!! WHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!... I GOT THAT WITH MY OWN RAID OF THE DEFENSE DEPARTMENT! DO YOU KNOW HOW HARD IT IS TO CALCULATE A RAID ON THE DEFENSE DEPARTMENT? NO! BECAUSE YOU’RE A PUSSY ASS BITCH WHO NEVER HAS ANY FUN E.V.E.R. I HATE YOU!!! I HATE YOU IHATEYOUIHATEYOUIHATEYOUTEODITEODITEODI. ODI TE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

‘Tears’ started pouring from his eyes, a dark orange stain welling up on his bandages. He jumped up and down with his anger, in true pain….

She could either aggravate or leave.



So she grabbed the clothes and left.

Say was getting ready for bed, brushing her teeth with iron-like shower water and cinnamon toothpaste. Even if she hadn’t eaten that day, it was still good to brush. She also forgot to brush for a month beforehand, so.

She spat into the shower drain, staring at her feet.

She knew she wasn’t alone.

You’re just being paranoid again. Like ######. He won’t hurt you.

She fed herself word gruel, slipping into her outer space themed onesie and going off to bed. Not before locking the fence gate as hard as she could. She added another lock. And another lock. And tied them together with string. But no, she was still biting her nails scared. It wasn’t enough.

She grabbed a wooden board and tied it securely in front of the fence, removing the ability to climb it. She spent two minutes re-locking the contraption.

She gave her work a nod before heading off to bed for realsies this time. She was finally safe.


Eh not really.


Arc dropped in from the open roof, landing seamlessly. He had a knife in his hand.
He knew what he needed to do. Make the bitch feel pain. Like he did.
“True” pain.

And he stepped on a plastic bag, waking Say up immediately.

And now he has a bloody nose.
And now a broken rib.
And now an eye poked out.
And now a concussion.
And now he’s out.

Say heaved, holding the chair above him.
Resisting the urge to bash him again.

…

Fuck, he needs medical help.

In the waiting room.
Say waited with an unconscious Arc.
Rehearsing her lines.

“He got caught in the middle of a gang fight.”
“No, we don’t want bloodwork done.”
“Yes, we want an X-ray, just not his head.”
Scratch that.
“No, we don’t want an X-ray.”
“No, we don’t have insurance.”
Shit, we don’t have insurance.

We don’t have any insurance.

We don’t have an ID.

We don’t have a birth certificate.

We can’t prove we’re real.

We can’t prove we’re human.

And what after that? 

She picked him up in her arms, exiting the urgent care.
He was breathing.
He was beating.
He’s gonna be fine.

So she sat on the floor.
With him on the floor.
With a meal for him when he got up.
If he got up.

She hoped he got up.

I can’t call off work tomorrow.

Chapter Text

Say was still up, cuddling Arc’s unconscious body under one, two, three, four blankets, rocking him slowly.
So much for apparently hating him.
She stroked his soft hair, waiting there with a plain look.

“Wake up, buddy.”

She looked into the bandages, unraveling them slowly to reveal his eyes.
He looked pretty okay. His left upper eyelid was a bit swollen from her stamping it with a chair leg.
Gently, she pried it open to check for damage.
Coppery tears started streaming down his face. Slowly.
His iris was a deep gray.
She watched as it twitched, looking around painfully. He locked his eye with hers.
She let go, letting him shut it again.

“You’re okay, right? You’re alright?”

She began to close her eyes, her eyelids getting heavy, begging to pull her into darkness.

“I-I’m sorry… for hurting.. you..”
“i shouldn’t have done that.”
“i shouldn’t… have..”

She fell asleep, rolling over onto her side. Arc felt like a heated blanket against her, nothing more.

She woke up.

Burying Arc in tons of blanket, she didn’t feel manic enough to properly start the morning. She grabbed a polka-dotted gas mask with her mail carrier and left, still in her pajamas.

Sand. Flew. Everywhere. Out the gate. Whipping and lashing her brown hair and causing her bangs to cover her eyes.

They expect me to work like this?

Nonetheless, she got on her merry way, trudging through street after street.
Past the faded stain.
The bottle was gone.
And the now dried up bird. It was mummified, practically.

Unsurprisingly, no one was out. It was completely empty. Empty streets. But twenty feet in front of her, she spotted her prize. She looked left and right, no cars of course.
She padded across, yanking open the apartment door and calming herself down. Trying not to hyperventilate as the wind howled and blew. It sounded like thunder.
Say stopped at the drop-off box, grabbing all the mail in a single handful. A lot of mail.

Maybe I should’ve done my job a bit earlier.

She traveled into the elevator, pressing the down arrow for it to immediately open, light flickering like most of the street lamps in the city.
She pushed the third floor.

The elevator came to life, creaking and shaking. She feared it would get stuck one day. No one would truly be there to fix it.

She felt the little drop before the end that felt like a good intestinal hug, getting off to do her job.

Mail. More junk mail. Spam mail. Letters from loved ones. Old letters from Independence Day. A wonder that still existed.
“Reminder that school is canceled for Independence Day.”

What a waste of paper.

Say started sorting through the mail, looking at it. She sat down in the middle of the hallway, reading the outside of each. One by one.
Was she crazy? Humans weren't that.. interesting. No, they never were.
She found a newspaper, opening it just a smidge.

Fourteen Confirmed Dead, Five Miss-

wide stare.

That's enough of that.

She started actually dishing out mail, walking slowly to avoid what happened on ######.
Addressed to Sir Hughme Claris.

Who the hell names their kid Hughme?

Who the hell names themselves Say?

By the time she was done, Arc would've woken up under normal circumstances and tried to sniff her down.
But he didn’t.
And it made her feel sick.
She sighed and took the stairs down, not wanting to take her chances with the elevator again. She almost tripped, twisting her insides further.

Say got home, Arc in the spot she left him.
She put her mail carrier and mask on their respective wall hooks.
She stared at the meal left for him on the floor.
Slowly, an idea popped into her brimmed head.

She grabbed a chunk of the meat, slugging over to Arc and holding it above him.

As expected, he did nothing.

Say came to a kneel on him, placing a hand over his stomach. She pressed the meat against his lips, tears starting to roll down her cheeks and into her mouth as she showed her double canines.

“P-please, I’m so sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I swear on my.. I swear on your grave. I swear on everything I’ve ever done. I’m sorry. I-I don’t want to be alone. You’re not gonna die on me, right? You’renotgonnadie. Pleasedon’tdie.”

Say had started to shake, tears rolling harder and harder like a human baby. She could feel something rising up her throat. She rolled off of him, continuing to shake and cry and gasp. It was getting harder to breathe, she was starting to hyperventilate.
It was also, strangely, getting harder to cry. Like the tears were viscous.

She placed her hands on her throat, squeezing it, trying to soothe the burning lump of whatever it was called. She fell on her side and kicked her legs wildly, feeling it starting to pour into her mouth. A thick, acidic goop that dripped to the floor like drool to a pillow.

She tried to make a sound, but as soon as she activated her vocal chords, a huge, slick mass of it came out and splattered against the concrete.

And more.

And more.

And she was hungry again.

Her eyes drifted to the floor, staring at the swirly black pooling. It started dripping out her sinuses and tear ducts, down her face. All she could do was gasp and cry and shake while making noises akin to a dying animal.

It coated the inside of her mouth.
It coated her face.
It coated the base of her neck.
It dripped into her hair.

Reluctantly, she pushed herself up with her weak arms, staring at her hands with one open sliver of an eye, vision dimmed at the edges.
Her lips parted, splitting the void in half.

She was smiling. Well, she tried to smile.

Say got up on her feet, staring at Arc’s form, wrapped up in blankets on the bed. She nudged him curiously, as if she’d forgotten everything.

With him giving no input, she yanked her hacksaw out of her mail carrier and exited the room, stumbling out into the maze.





But she came back with nothing.






She couldn’t find anything.





Alright. That was alright fine . She had some food left under her bed.
So she yanked out a piece of meat, maybe part of a leg or something.
And she tried to take a bite.
But her face melded around it. 

…

She dropped it, heading towards the mirror on her wall.
It looked weak.
She twisted it to the opposite direction

Now awake Arc took the opportunity to get right up to her, poking at her face.
“Are you freaking okay? The hell’s up wi-

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII. AII.”

…

-with your fa-

“AA.”

-face.”

He took the yell time to get a good whiff. Despite his stuffy nose, he could smell something like vinegar all over the floor.
“Ooga booga!! Did you have a breakdown with the tamar-. Soy sauce? What the flip is that?”

…

“...hggghhh..”
She drooled.

A bit got caught on Arc’s left foot.
“Ah, great, so you’re just gonna be a wreck and drool soy sauce all over me like I’m shoe… shoes.. soosi.. Like I’m that fish rice thing. Got that.”
And it hit him, eyes bulging out the bandages. He shook Say by the shoulders, yelling into her face, spittle flying everywhere.
“ow OW I’m HUNGRY. GET ME. BITCH. DO YOU HAVE ANY FOOD IN HERE OR ARE YOU FUCKING ANOREXIC AGAIN. I’M STARVING. I’M STARVING!!!!!!! SAY!!!!! DO YOU HEAR ME!? I’M STARVING! YOWCHIE!”

She would’ve bitten him if she hadn’t almost killed him not that long ago. Her voice gurgled as she choked and tried to speak, vocal chords beaten and raw.
“get.. get your own.. fuckin’.. food..”

Arc crossed his arms, looking completely to the side of her with a frown. He probably thought he was looking right at her and therefore being menacing. But he just looked stupid. Arc stupid.
“Yea you do. Don’t lie to me. I can smeeeeeeell it. It’s under the bed, isn’t it, Say? Stashing food again, aren’t you? Well, you’re not supposed to do that, so, just.. Give it here ‘n I’ll deal with it.”

“No.”

“Yes.”

“ No. ”

“ Yesss. ”

Say wasn’t in the mood for arguing.
“Fine.”

“HAH! I told you Say! I knew it was under your bed! Lemme just..”
He slipped on Say’s “soy sauce" and landed on his ass.
“Ough.”
He walked into the wall next to the bed.
“Ow.”

Say watched.
Not killing him was a mistake.

“Ah! There it is!”
Arc pulled out a severed human leg, all gross and pale.
“This was from the lammmmp, wasn’t it.”
He immediately tore a chunk off, chewing it loudly, mouth open. His nose seemed to scrunch as he ate.

That marked Say’s exit as she left through the fence gate, face still dripping onto the ground.

“..Every time. You’re so sensitive, Say!”
Arc continued eating annoyingly loud, getting old blood all over the bottom of his face.

…

Then he put it down, his bandaged eyes scrunching.

…

He moved to the entrance, listening to Say’s footsteps as she stumbled off against the torrent of sand.

…

“Say. It tastes kinda UEERGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH-

It all came out onto the floor.
Say looked back in disgust, quickening her pace.

And it smelled like vinegar.

Oh.

Arc grabbed an umbrella from the little box near the entrance, opening it and peering out from the bandages, down at the bile on the floor.
It was black.
Then he looked back at the rest of the room. It looked like someone got in a fight with.. Um.. a very goopy unreliable narrator.

“Oh my shit.”

Chapter Text

Another day.

Another hunt.

Say held Arc up above her head by his waist, ignoring his gigglefit.
“Tell me. Y’got anything? Anyone perhaps?”

His giggles were unstoppable.

Seeing how uncooperative he was, Say set him down.
“C’mon. Aren’t you hungry? You’re always hungry. Why won’t you do anything?”

Arc proceeded to mach-4 out of the alley, kicking up a sandstorm as soon as she looked away. She watched, mouth pressed into a fine line, blinking, trying to make sense of what just happened.
“Oh my god.” She pinched her nose bridge, speeding off after him.

“Come back! This is the one time I want to do what you want!”

Arc was silent as he ran, pretty much undetectable to Say. Only thing she had to go off of was his starting direction, yet she still tried to find him, going through a circle in the maze.

Until she found him. 

Say skidded to a halt, taking a few steps backward, then forward into the alley.

“There you are, Say! It felt like an eternity for you to get here. But there’s a human!” Arc babbled, pointing to the fence gate, teeth gleaming.

“Oh, good job..” Say mumbled. “..you need me to go.. do the thing?” She asked, gripping the hacksaw tighter.

“Nope! Took you so long to get here, I just had to kill him myself. But you’re lucky, you don’t like killing, no no, no you don’t. So it’s free food for a hungry girl!” He said as he got way too close and poked Say’s stomach teasingly.

“…can you not. Also I spent five minutes getting here. Impatient ass.” She grumbled, crossing her arms with her hacksaw held precariously close to her throat.

“Oh! So you want to kill someone! Is that what I hear!? Oh boy oh boy OH BOY!! We’re gonna have SO MUCH FUN!” He yapped excitedly, halfway to gripping Say’s hand.

“No.” Say had to pinch her nose bridge again, smacking his hand away. 

“I’m not in the mood and haven’t been in a while. Just- gimme the food.” She tapped her foot like an agitated cat’s tail, doing a quick scan behind her to make sure nobody was there. Of course there wasn’t. 

Because they were, like, the ten percent who hadn’t fled the city due to an astronomical crime rate.

"Ooh, look who's impatient now!" Arc teased. "No. Tell me you're hungry. Tell me how hungry you are. Tell me you need it, because I'm not one to work in the soup kitchen down the road." He giggled and stepped even closer, horrid breath up her face.

Unsurprisingly, Say backed up a few feet, looking confused and uncomfortable. She wrapped her arms around her torso defensively. "..Isn't it clear I'm hungry? Look at me. Skin and bone. "

Arc’s shoulders slumped, looking almost bored. “Eh. Fine enough.” He murmured, stepping out of the alley.
His absence was quick, though, returning with the corpse of a mangled man in his hands. He dragged it towards Say with an immense amount of effort.

“Eat.” Arc commanded.

“Umm…….. Urghhhhhhhhhhhhhh…” She itched her scalp. “I’m not so-

“Eat.” He stomped on her foot.

“OW okay!” Say bent down, picking up the forearm and shoving a hand into her mouth. She chewed the palm slowly, nervously.

“..I didn’t think it’d be that easy. Huh. Well. Thanks for making my existence a little easier.” Arc sat down next to the meat, biting down on the other arm, tearing, wrenching his head back and forth. The flesh gave way, tendons tearing as he gulped it down. He immediately went back for another morsel.

Say tried not to look at him, knowing she’d probably get a deal of nausea. Plus she was already nauseous from the taste alone.
She bit off a finger, lowering the hand to her chest.
And she ate it.

Arc was already done with his wreckage, rising to Say. “You’re so slow with eating. Here. Lemme help.” He shoved the hand back into her mouth, startling her.

“..mm..” She tried to say something, but nothing came out. She started to chew again, but still, slow. She could see Arc about to lose his slim patience.

“My father of Christ, just. Slow ass.” Arc took the hand out of her mouth and severed it from the arm, using his teeth, and gave it back to her. “Need me to debone it too? Cut it into bite sized pieces and cook it well done?” He mocked.

“N-no.. Just lemme eat..” She whined, biting a chunk off.

..

“Ion’t got time for this.” Arc growled and left, leaving Say alone in the alley.

“..thank you.” Say proceeded to finish the hand, staring down at the body. She was still hungry.

She fell to the floor as soon as she got through the fence, looking sick. Pale, covered in blood.

Arc sniffed at the air, picking up the heavy scent of it. “Well, look who’s back. Do you only eat without me? A little shy, Say?” He teased, climbing down from the bed and grabbing a fistful of her hair. It was noticeably stale. “Ate until you got sick, huh? Knew you had it somewhere hidden deep within.” He gave a head pat, smiling.
“How much did you eat? The whole thing? Hmm?”

“…” Say did not respond, eyes almost shut, face more blank than a sheet of A4 paper.

Arc wrenched her head to look at him. “Tell me, how much did you eat?”

“…” She coughed, sweaty.

“Guess I’ll just have to check myself, then. Get a rest.” He said in a mock of tenderness, dragging Say onto her bed. He even draped a blanket over her before he left. “Middy midday!” He exclaimed, slamming the gate.

It was freezing. But he didn’t really feel pain, it didn’t matter. Nothing matted ever. 

He walked through a few alleys, getting to the bloody wreck of the one Say was in.

But the body was gone. He couldn’t smell the meat. Not even the marrow of bone.

Curious, Arc crouched and touched it, wiping his pointer finger against his tongue.

Blood. No flesh.

“Oh Say, what’d you do? Sneaky scallywag.” He giggled. “Oh! I know!” 

Arc rushed down to the dam, as fast as his skinny legs could handle without snapping in half. He took a large whiff, hands gripping the railing as he aimed down into the watery abyss.

“Hm.”

“I don’t smell it.”

“Oh well. Time to go home. My hands are moving weird again.” He said to himself. Someone may have heard him, but what did it matter. He always heard everything, conversations from miles away and never put thought into them.

mr crabs walking sound effect (i am a great writer very lazy)

“SAYYYYYY! WAKE UPPPPP! I GOT QUESTIONS TO ASK!!!” Arc screamed, walking calmly through the gate like he wasn’t screaming loud enough to startle everything in a fifty meter radius.

“..mm..” Say growled. “..what is it…” She asked plainly, rubbing the sand out of her eyes as she rose from the bed.

“What’d you do with our food?”

“None of yo beeswax.”

“I don’t care, you obliged to me in Contract Forty Four that I had every right to your beeswax.”

“What?”

“I made you sign a bunch of contracts in your sleep.” He lied.

“You can’t write. Go ahead and pry it from my teeth.”

“Ok.” Arc drew in a breath.

“SAY PRETTY PLEASE TELL ME WHAT YOU DID WITH OUR FOOD OR ELSE I WILL ANNOY YOU FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE AND EVER AND EVER AND EVER ANDEVERANDEVERANDEVERNEVERNEVERN-“ Arc gasped. “AND EVER AND EVER AND FOR THE REST OF ETERNITY!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

“Why do you care?”

“Because I liiiiiike you…” He batted his eyelashes behind the bandages.

“Ew.”

“Not like that- uhhhhhhh… urghhhhhh………”

“I ate his legs, some of his organs,  and put him in a dumpster. I don’t remember which one.”

“OH THANK YOU SAY!!!” He shouted, gracefully long jumping onto the bed and hiding under the covers.

“How do you do that.”

“flexibility.”

“…”

“Night.”

“Goodnight Say.”

He immediately fell asleep.

Say cuddled him reluctantly

before she also

fell asleep.

Chapter Text

im sorry
im done

im very sorry