Lunar's POV

The next couple of days were sensitive with Jax so I hung out with him the whole time, even spending the night at his place because I was worried he'd harm himself. It was actually a lot of fun; we spent the entire time goofing off and being idiots. I watched him dance around the campfire we made in the yard, laughing at him as he spun around, "I'd ask if you were fucking drunk, but I know you haven't drunk any liquor."

"Dance with me, damnit!" He laughed as he swayed and twirled, trying to take my hands and make me stand up, making me chortle even more as I stood up, "I'm lonely, I need a dance partner."

He was being a dork but also dancing in a way that was mesmerizing to watch. He knew how to move perfectly, it was seductive, enticing, and erotic in every way. He'd slow and be steady and then speed and be scenic. It was entrancing and made focus difficult.

"I should kick you into the fire pit," I teased as he pulled me tightly to him to slow dance, "You're going to turn this shit into an even gayer fest than my existence."

"You mean that one salsa dance with me wasn't the gayest shit?"

I cackled with a shake of my head and a roll of my eyes, "You still remember that?"

"Oh, I don't think I'll ever forget," Jax scoffed, spinning me around and tugging me back, "Your mother is a feisty little thing, she doesn't take shit from anybody. She's so small but she has a huge attitude when you try and fuck around with her."

"Remember what it was like when you tried to take over the kitchen and cook while she was sick? She scared you so bad you almost pissed yourself."

He started chuckling, "You were an asshole for laughing. Your mother is terrifying when she's mad and that's coming from me!"

We sat on the ground, still giggling as I replied, "You should see her mad while driving. You'll be more frightened. Why do you think my dad never lets her behind the wheel?"

"You know what we should do?" He perked up, grabbing my shoulders excitedly and shaking me as I lifted my drink, "We should go get Matty, Parker, and Clarissa and go hang out at the park. Play some fucking baseball or kickball! Oh, wait..not enough people. OOOH, I know! Have a bonfire and set off fireworks!"

I choked on my Pepsi as I scoffed, looking at him with a glare, "Last time we did that we had to run from the fucking cops. We kept everyone up until five in the morning and one of the fireworks almost killed me."

"Exactly!" He shook me as I coughed while laughing, "It was great!"

"I will be even more screwed with a certain two in the Cadillac, Jackass," I hacked into the ground, hitting my chest since my drink had gone down my windpipe, "They can hear us from their distance, Asshole."

"You're either coming with or being forever crowned a goody-two-shoes!" He stood up, backing up towards the door of his home, speaking like Arnold Schwarzenegger, "You're a choirboy compared to me! A choirboy!"

"I am a goody-two-shoes!" I mocked, slowly following after him so we wouldn't wake the neighbors with his yelling. I rolled my eyes at his End of Days movie reference.

"Fine, a pussy little bitch!" He moonwalked, pretending to rope me over to him, hollering when I still protested, "I WILL BUY YOU ALL THE DUMDUMS YOU WANT IF YOU DO THIS!"

I scrunched my face, defeated as I caved in to his shenanigans, "Do you even have any fireworks?"

"Nope, but I know a guy who's got 'em."

I narrowed my eyes at him, "Is this the same guy as last time?"

"Maybe," He grinned as he grabbed his stuff, going back outside and putting out the fire, doing a group call with Mathis, Parker, and Clarissa, "Meet us at the park. Bring the rain, Ya Cunts! We are going to have some fun!"

"If the cops come this time, I blame everything on you!" Mathis giggled, she sounded like she had already been outside. Clarissa didn't answer so I'm assuming they were hanging out or just got off work, "Last one to the park is cop meat."

"Well, it is my idea and you're on, Motherfucker!" Jax teased, doing a little happy dance. He could smooth talk his way through anything, especially when it came to stupid things that could get us in trouble. He was always happy when we agreed to be idiots with him.

"No, boards or cars! We are all walking or running!" Parker whined through the speaker, "I don't have either of those!"

Shaking my head, I started walking backward on the sidewalk as Jax hung up while laughing, following me, "This time don't push me into the fucking pond, either."

"Nah, I'll just slam dunk ya into the bonfire," He smirked, "or aim fireworks at you."

"I hope Mr. Lincoln whips you with a belt," I scrunched my nose at him, sticking out my tongue.

"Don't threaten me with a good time, Kiddo," He pulled my head into one arm and gave me a noogie. I watched him pull out his phone, dial his friend's number, and put them on speaker, "It be that time again."

"Ah, what a wonderful time to get arrested...again," Lance sighed contently, I could hear some game in the background.

"Hey, nobody told ya to stick around," Jax ridiculed, as we could see the park in the distance, "Now, hurry up... and don't bring your damn pot! We don't need the dogs on us this time."

"Who the fuck tattled on me about that bullshit?"

"Who in the fucking hell do you think," I retorted with a chuckle, "Madame Bouche still lives in those apartments, too! She's always the one to call the fuzz."

"Jokes on you if you think that'll stop me," Lance spat, "Meet ya there, and yes, I know. Last one there is cop meat."

Jax put his phone away, looking at me, "Plan for dogs?"

"Plan for dogs."

"Ya know the best escape path?" He chuckled, putting his hands in his pockets, and doing an Arthur Curry's Aquaman, "What's the plan?"

I kicked a rock, holding a slight grin, "You know me too damn well."

"Nah, I just know you've got the brains," He razzed, nodding toward my butt pocket, "and a damn map of the whole town in your back pocket. Ya never leave home without it."

"Jokes on you, it's the whole state."

"You have too much time on your hands, Nerd."

"I prefer the label 'Geek,'" I confirmed. He was correct; I have far too much time on my hands, but I mostly just don't like misinformation and knowing things. I made the map a long time ago when I was asked directions and I didn't like not having the answer. I happen to have maps about other places, too.

He gave me another noogie, tsking, "Just spill the escape routes."

I pulled out my map, unfolding it as we reached the park, sitting in the grass, "Well, I have a few routes. I'm not sure which one's work and which ones don't since we haven't tested them out, but here they are. This pink one leads to the tunnels at the train station. Blue is the sewers. Red is that tunnel over at the end of the park. Green is the wooded area. Orange is the long way through the city. And finally, the black one is the spooky part of town that's haunted."

"Six routes, six of us," Jax smirked, "I like those odds. Where should we all meet if we outrun them?"

I gibed with a roll of my eyes, pointing to where a tower was located, "We should meet here. The police don't know that following these paths leads directly to this tower because of all the turns you've got to go through so it's our best bet. Most of the paths take about thirty to forty-five minutes, the longest path is the haunted area. At most, it should take us all about two hours to get to the tower."

"Goddamn, is this shit going to be fun," Mathis chimed, making us both jump as she giggled, I was correct about her and Clarissa being together, "Just like old times. What were we called, again? Lost something."

I rolled my eyes, laughing, "Lost Creatures, the most 'original' thing we could fucking come up with."

Lost Creatures. It was a silly name we'd called ourselves as kids because we were all a group of misfits with no friends. When we tried to make friends, it was always, "You lost? No? Well, get lost."

Parker skid over to us, "Ha-ha-ha, looks like Lance is Cop meat."

"Jokes on you, Fuckers, I was the first one here," Lance leaped out of the tree above us, dismounting superhero style. Standing up, he jazz-handed over to a pile of fireworks, some of them were fucking massive, "Behold, Shitbags. The motherload of disaster."

"We are so fucked," Mathis and I looked at one another, synchronized in horror but amusement.

"Now, for the final touches," I whipped out a package of gum, "All the gum looks the same, alright? All of us will chew our piece and whatever color we get, that's our path."

"You just so happen to have that gum conveniently in your pocket with the colors of those paths?" Jax questioned, all of them raising an eyebrow at me as Jax crossed his arms, "You are Goody-two-shoes, huh?"

I shrugged, holding a grin as I handed everyone a piece of gum, "What can I say? I missed having some fuckery in the group. Being a dumbass is more fun."

"May the fastest runner get to the tower!" Mathis whooped, shoving her piece into her mouth.

"And not get busted," Lance grimaced as we followed along with her.

Clarissa got pink, Mathis got green, and Jax got red. The rest of the gum took a while to color change. Lance got orange. Parker and I looked at each other as he mumbled, "Bl-Black and Blue left."

My head dropped as he got blue, "F-Fuck."

"I'll trade you," Jax patted my back, pity in his voice, "I know how you are with that place."

"N-Nah, it's alright," I awkwardly smiled, "It'll just take me longer to get to the tower. I don't mind."

I didn't want to admit I was terrified. That path was fucked up. I also didn't want to be seen as a coward, especially when most of the stories about the Spooks were just rumors.

"Ya sure, Kiddo? I'd rather take your place if you're uncomfortable," He raised an eyebrow, the others nodding along with that they were willing to trade as well.

"I'll be alright. I'm betting the rumors are entirely fake," I laughed it off, shrugging and waving them away. I hope...

***

Lunar's POV

A couple of hours had passed and we were about halfway done with the fireworks while Lance was getting high under a couple of trees and making rings. We could hear the sirens approaching as we saw Madam Bouche in her window on the phone. We didn't hesitate to stroll to the beginning of our paths, getting ready as soon as we could hear the barking, Mathis singsonging as Effie Trinket from Hunger Games, "May the odds be ever in your favor!"

"How many pups are there?!" Lance shouted over to me since I had a better view.

"U-Uh," I started to back up into my path, my eyes wide and my face pale, "I-I'm going to say we got two or three...each."

I'm wondering if we weren't the only ones out tonight. Usually, they didn't have so many dogs, only doing such a roundup if the night was busy with violence and trouble.

"On your marks!" Parker hollered.

"Get set," Clarissa chimed like a cheerleader, shaking her arms as if she had pompoms. She seemed to be the only one thoroughly excited to run from hounds.

"Fucking go!" Jax blurted, getting us all to gun it as soon as the dogs started heading toward us, "AND NO VAMPIRE SPEED, LANCE!"

"FUCK!" He screeched. Lance was not good at running like a human, he was clumsy and awkward. He'd been born a vampire, never having the experience of a mortal. He'd only recently started living around us as well so he has a long learning process.

Lady Elysium, Mr. Lincoln, and Mr. Hayes...How are you letting me do this?

I leaped over a fallen tree branch and then a big rock, ducking under some brush and still running as I could hear the dogs behind me, "Glad I wore my running shoes."

And thank heavens for doing Track and Cross Country. Greatly agreed, Subconscious. Let's just hope I'm faster than these damn dogs.

I skid under another fallen tree, turning to the right and closer to the haunted area, rolling up my sleeves. My phone started to ring but I didn't slow down from running from the hounds behind me, pulling out my earpiece and putting it in my ear, "Yeah?"

"Lance is busted, they blocked the front of his path," Jax panted, I could hear him running as he laughed, "I guess a lot of people tried to escape through there. Be on the lookout in case they do the same to your route."

"Got it, thanks," I huffed back, "I'm close to losing the dogs so I think I'm all good. I'm almost to the Spooks. Let the others know that when they reach a stopping point with a tree hole or a rugged bush there should be a bag. In the bag are snacks and water bottles. Good Luck!"

"Alright, meet ya at the tower."

After a few minutes of not hearing the dogs, I dragged my feet against the dirt, coughing as I slowed to a walk and then stopped. Leaning against a tree, I hacked into the bushes. My throat was sore.

I haven't run that long in years, damn. Props to those dogs, Jesus Christ.

I found the bush with my water bottles and backpack, picking them up and heading towards the Spooks as I drank some of my water. Coming to a stop in front of the area, I looked up at the rubbage of buildings. This place looked like those cliché rundown, falling apart towns you see in horror movies. Even had that story where the town has no idea how the area became this way and just has thousands of rumors and all the people terrified of the place... me included.

"Here we go," Swallowing, I took a deep breath, pulling out a flashlight from the bag. I also pulled out a mask, tightening it around my face. The Spooks were known to be so dry and vacant that ash and dust blew easily and can burn your lungs so if you were to go into the area it was best to wear a mask or suffer the consequences.

Walking, I looked around, going pale at finding some actual skeletons...human and animal. Some looked like they'd been ripped apart, I wasn't about to stick around to find out what caused that. Nor was I staying to see why some of the skulls were smashed or missing.

Some buildings looked like there were actual people in them, but doing a second look there was nobody. Was it my paranoia and anxiety getting to me or were the figures real? I could have sworn I watched somebody stroll passed, they even waved at me.

...St-Starting to wish I switched paths with Jax.

My eyes widened when I heard sirens, ducking into one of the dark alleys and hiding as I waited for them to pass. They did but I never saw police lights. My fear was targeting the sirens, moving on from earlier because getting arrested was more important than hallucinations.

Carefully, I went back to walking, still looking around as I followed the trail. It was a struggle to just focus on the passage, though. It sounded like I was being followed ---like there was more than just my steps--- but when looking around me, I saw nothing. I knew better than to call out about it. I'd walk and the steps would follow, I'd stop and be struck with silence. My heart was pounding so loud I could hear it in my skull.

More sirens. This time I ducked into a building. Mainly because it sounded like people were looking around the Spooks and I wasn't going to be caught in the open. Sinking further into the structure, I looked around, trying to find another way out so I didn't risk getting caught through the door I originally came in through.

Gradually, my face became whiter than paper, my hands trembling. There were hospital beds all over the place. They were stained with blood, mold, black goo, feces, and a bunch of other things. Some were on their sides, others were fine, while the rest were looking like they'd been thrown around. A couple even had restraints on them while bloodstains were in an area of an arm or a leg. A handful had their wires ripped, torn, and bent. It looked like something was enraged or trying to get at something else, the floor in some areas cracked as something large fell.

Backing up, I flew into a wall, sliding out of the room and into a different one. It just seemed to have been worse than the last room. This one had blood, vomit, and feces all over the floor...even a few skeletons, there was not an inch of a clean foundation. I flashed my light around, whimpering as I ran into something.

Spinning, I held my retching onto the dirty tiles. What I had run into was a dangling corpse, held up by a sheet turned into a noose that was being held by the ceiling fan. The body was old but it still had rotting flesh on it, maggots and bugs crawling all around. I finally threw up when an actual rat came crawling out of one of the eyes, chewing on the brains it held.

I slipped while backing up towards another door, looking at my hands, wondering why they were slimy and wet. They were sticky and warm; I was confused because I had made sure to keep standing. They'd grown mucky from touching the door, my right hand pointing the light to my left as I peered at it. My throat nodded and my stomach flipped at the fresh blood, "Oh, fuck! It's fresh! Fuck, shit!"

From the lighting, the blood hadn't dried or blotted, and with the chill in the air and the fluid being warm it was a given that it was mint. This only had my muscles tense and my body stiff. If it was fresh that meant someone or something was around... Possibly still alive.

Fearfully, I rotated and searched. Taking deep hyperventilated breaths, I raised my flashlight and looked around. Every millimeter of my skin grew white as snow as my irises met bodies. Half of them were split and torn, their ribcages shredded and spilling their insides. One body had no head because it looked like something stomped it to mush.

My hands shook violently when I heard something drop from behind me, spinning around to come face-to-face with a figure leaning against the wall, their face stripped off the skull. When I'd first looked around that same body had been laying, the fact it'd moved and was still moving had me out of the fuckin' room before you could blink.

Slipping on the liquids around me, I made it to the next room. I lurched as I struggled to get back on my feet, darting around frantically, "Fuck, fuck, fuck!"

My feet froze in their tracks, my throat locking up as I stared in front of me. A woman was laying on a blood-soaked mattress, her arms restrained above her head with barbed wire. Her eyes lids were torn off, her pure black irises boring into my soul, filled with terror and madness. My pupils waved to the rest of her, moving passed her nose...only she didn't have one.

It looked like it'd been sliced off and sewn shut, removing it as if she never had one. She had slightly gaped lips and I spotted the missing tongue, blood seeping from the opening. Her throat was like something devoured into it, maggots gnawing and squirming around in their little dance. Her ribcage was torn open, her intestines spilling out like a spiderweb and a few rats and cockroaches traveling up them.

"...O-Oh, fuck," I gagged, almost dropping my flashlight. I couldn't look anymore, I wanted to get out of here. Each room kept getting worse than the last and I'm done. I don't want to see the next room.