If I had died

[shiro2hero]

Who: SHIRO & OPEN
What: Catchall for December Shenanigans, House Meeting, Event, Silent Hill Player Plot
When: All through the month.
Where: Mouse House, Around Trench

Content Warnings: Silent Hill type imagery/body horror, violence against snowmen, will update as needed


See the headers below for specifics!

• Mouse House Meet Up
• Silent Hill Player Plot
• Event Post

Comments

[shiro2hero]

He wants to thank her. Tell her that she's really strong for this. Capable - that the help is appreciated, deeply. He does want to - and it almost comes out. He almost gets the words to come out. But they die in his throat when his eyes come to rest on the monster once again. All he ends up doing is nodding.

It isn't the first time it's happened. That something like this has happened. And it won't be the last. It still hurts, all the same.

We should go

Another nod. And he falls into step with Sharon. It's easier that way. Just follow an order. Old habits moving his muscles without his brain having to check in with the rest of him.

[fogsong]

The nod is enough for her and she returns it with one of her own. She can take the lead here. It's the least she can do for him after all he's done for her.

She leads him down the worn, cracked street. The buildings that line the cobblestone are all crumbling, windows shattered and doors boarded. Even some of the walls have long since fallen inward and reveal the innards of each little home and shop like an old diorama but most of them are left in the shadows. Anything could be hidden inside of them.

Sharon keeps close to Shiro, never more than a few steps ahead, and her gun is always held at the ready. The fog makes it difficult to see further than a street ahead. But the walk is silent. Not even the soft crunch of their footsteps gives them away to whatever hides in the darkness. It's not long before they encounter their first impasse: the street just ends. The buildings on either side of the road have fallen away. The street continues a block or two ahead but there's no way for them to cross.

"Shit," she curses as she steps close to the edge, her voice quiet, "I guess we're not going this way."

[shiro2hero]

He falls into step with her. Easily. The way his brain is racing, it's easier to fall in line and march. Easier to take orders rather than give them. Keeping an eye on Sharon, trying not to look around, lest he catch sight of any more monsters wearing friends' faces.

"So much for the easy way."

It doesn't come out as lighthearted as he was trying for. Instead, it's flat, quiet. His eyes don't lift up off the ground and the broken pieces of asphalt. Like there's no way out. He knows he needs to snap out of this, needs to pull his head out of his ass and focus.

But the faces are dancing in his head. Allura's face. And he can remember her ghost with a similar expression, twisted in pain and fear, over and over again.

"Head toward the ocean," he suggests, numbly. "Good landmark. Maybe... Mariana won't let this stuff hit her domain."

[fogsong]

Sharon picks up on the flatness of his tone. It's as if Shiro was emptied of himself. A balloon without its helium. Her heart clinches up in her chest but she breathes through it; ignores it and swallows it. This was her fault and she would help him through this, no matter the cost on her part.

She nods at his suggestion. It's not a bad plan but some part of her prays Mariana isn't paying attention. The last thing she wants is a patron upset with her.

"Right. Yeah, that's... That's a good idea." She finds there's not a lot she can say in this situation. Too much chatter might attract a monster to them and... she doesn't feel like there's anything to say; nothing that would help ease him in this world. She opts for silence.

It's not long before they come across a chainlink fence blocking their path. It's not enough to stop her but, she looks to Shiro and asks him lightly, some tiny attempt to lighten the mood, "Ever hop a fence?"