First Night [Open to Multiple]

[heysoulsister]

Jodie Holmes, age six, sits in an unfamiliar bed in an unfamiliar room. One wall is lined with a mirror that is not really a mirror. There are cameras mounted in the corners, their power lights like unblinking red eyes in the dimness (not darkness; they left the light in the hall on for her). She surveys the sparsely furnished room with her back against the headboard and her chin atop her teddy bear. There is a flashlight on her bedside table, and she knows Cole is just outside. They should be safe here, and she tries to be brave - brave for Aiden, whose fear shivers the tether that binds them.

"Don't be scared, Aiden," she says, hugging her teddy closer. "We're gonna go to sleep, and nothing bad is gonna happen." The phrase has a practiced cadence to it, like a prayer, or a magic spell. But God hasn't stopped the monsters, and she doesn't know if she believes in the good kind of magic anymore.

She pushes her legs beneath the covers, but she doesn't lie down. Something is coming. She can feel it.

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[heysoulsister]

Jodie stares up at Johnny in tear-streaked astonishment. He just killed one of the monsters with his sword. He can protect her. A moment later, she's clawing at the carpet, scrambling on all fours to get to him, but another tentacle wraps itself around her arm, pulling her to the side and into a chair. "Johnny!" she screams, bare feet scrabbling uselessly against the floor.

Aiden tumbles after Jodie, one black cloud among many. His instinct is to shudder away from the monsters, but seeing Johnny vanquish one has changed things. A shapeless creature plants itself between Aiden and Jodie, its hinged jaw opening wide in a challenging shriek. Aiden hesitates until Jodie screams again, and then he darts forward to tangle with the monster, slamming against it with all the force that he can summon. And it works. The creature dissolves into a cloud of sparks and melts away with an echoing howl.

[johnny_truant]

Johnny grins, wild and manic with the adrenaline of having actually done something useful, not to mention the deep, almost alien satisfaction he feels when he sees Aiden do the same.

"Yeah!" he shouts, all but pumping his fist. "That's what I'm talking about!"

He take another vicious hack at the creature holding Jodie, but this one is more resilient, or his aim was off; it releases her, but instead of vanishing it turns on him. He stumbles back, startled, and before he can take another swing it seizes his arm.

"Shit!!" He feel it reaching right through his clothes and digging painfully into his skin. Is this what Jodie had to live through before Aiden learned to fight?

"Let go, asshole!" he snaps, attempting to hit it with his hand, like an IDIOT. Now it's got your other hand, Johnny. GOOD GOING.

[heysoulsister]

A few moments later, Johnny has another hanger-on in the form of Jodie, who has launched herself across the floor and latched onto his leg. Her skinny arms wrap around his calf in an iron grip that isn't shaken - even when another monster grabs her legs and tries to pull her away. "NO!" she screams as her body is hoisted off the ground and Johnny's leg is pulled out from beneath him, sending him crashing to the floor.

No. Aiden first targets the monster that has Jodie, blasting it into dust. She drops to the floor with a grunt, but doesn't release her death grip on Johnny's leg. Now, he turns to the creature that has Johnny in its grip and barrels into it, loosening its hold. The monster turns toward Aiden, and he strikes out at it until it vanishes.

[johnny_truant]

"OW-" Johnny manages barely not to drop another swear even as he hits the floor heavily -- thanks Jodie -- and struggles to regain control of his arms, when Aiden swoops in and finishes the job. Silence falls back over them, gradual and tentative.

He lies there breathing for several moments, watching Aiden overhead.

"See?" he says, panting. "I told you he could protect you."

He sits up and looks down at Jodie, then reaches out to give her a little pat on the head. "You okay?"

[heysoulsister]

Slowly, she releases her grip on Johnny's leg and pushes herself up, first onto all fours, then onto her knees. She loses steam, there, and plops her bottom back onto the carpet, glancing between Johnny and Aiden as if she doesn't know what to make of either of them. She can feel Aiden's savage pleasure at having beaten the monsters, and she thinks: it'll be different now. She'll be okay, even if Johnny isn't here.

"Yeah," she says, absently scrubbing at her cheeks with her sleeve. Then she drops her chin to level an accusing stare at Johnny. "You said a bad word," she informs him. "You said a bunch of them."

[johnny_truant]

"Uhhh..." Man, he really did.

"Yeah, I have a habit of doing that," he says, feeling ridiculous. "But it's okay, when you get older, I'm sure you'll--"



Then he wakes up.