Alright. So long story short the month of May has been some back and forth drama between me and my partner. We both are young professionals; I’m about a year away from being a CPA and she’s an engineer that graduated last year.
Anyways, I have been dealing with the effects of finishing my degree, my mom being diagnosed with blood cancer, and generally living on my own while she still lives with her parents.
We had a couple of arguments that just went back and forth for the sake of arguing and there were some hurtful things that were said but she is due to leave to Vegas and go to clubs like Tao beach club etc.
Tbh, I’m pretty pissed because she has had her own issues which have somewhat affected me working towards what I thought would be our future. She has kind of got into a rhythm of coming home and crashing with her sporadic work hours and an hour of travel each day. I would try everything like suggest going to the gym, went on a trip with her, invited her out with my family and friends (albeit if I don’t ask she won’t bring any of that up), told her and reminded her of her accomplishments, let her know I still loved and cared about her, called her all the time and talked to her about her problems. I am over at her house more often than my own, even when I have a cat at home
I guess I’m just kind of wondering if at the end of the day, should I just do what any respectable person would do and leave before this trip?
I’m confident I have been a good person although some of our arguments have turned sour. They come from me having moved out at 18 and having to manage a college schedule and adulthood. I feel like it’s not my responsibility, nor is it even possible to try and get her to understand how much effort I have put in if she wants to leave.
It sucks because I seen this person as a life partner but I feel like I have been prioritizing her over myself. Maybe this gave me happiness temporarily, but the joy of fulfillment comes from personal accomplishments and sometimes people who lack this try to make a relationship fill this void, which is not good and I see that now. The healthiest relationships stem from those where both are fulfilling their own goals and intertwining your lives together where needed, instead of using someone else as a place holder until they figure themselves out…. I feel like I am taking a placeholder and peeking in through a crack in a door while she goes and parties.
Should I just take this time to focus and go no contact? We have talked on some terms of a break but I’m pretty on the fence for obvious reasons.

Cat-Lon is a good guy.
Let me explain. 1. Felt bad about the whole humans getting wrecked in whatever happened with the 1st empire.

1. Created the most non-messed up era of Kenshi's history with the early parts of the second empire.
   
2. Was very concerned with keeping humans safe and fed and sacrificed many of his hydraulic knights in their defense.
   
3. Perhaps the whole genetic engineering thing was more on that creepy Bugmaster guy - he either is not actually human or has some crazy lost knowledge for him to be so long lived.
   
4. The degradation of his empire and morality can be blamed on the degradation of his mind as he hasn't reset his CPU due to his dedication to his cause of saving the world. Yes he did terrible things but ultimately was all in good spirit.
   

We love Goku, despite him doing objectively terrible things. Why? because we know he had good or light-hearted intentions.
We hate Griffith, despite him creating an objectively peaceful and prosperous kingdom. Why? because his intentions were selfish.
Cat-Lon is good guy. Cat-Lon is Goku. love crazy robot man plz<3

reverb machine by sphere cat, i was put any song
42 melody kernkraft 400 inside castle
visualizer picture
necohead.png 1/32x
songs
blue sparkles (ʘ ͟ʖ ʘ)
night of nights
#1 squ #2 8khz
the last is
remix of throwback by me + amen break sample was taken from adventurous song

Hello there stranger, I am Valerie, Val to my friends and lovers, and I am here to well… sell you on me as a potential friend/partne(video or board) gaming buddy/roommate/person you’d like to fuck. This is fundamentally, kind of an “open letter” ad, its going to be lengthy; get a drink and a snack. :)
I am, to be frank, very trans, and more than probably neurodivergent (ADHD). I am very happy to meet people responding to this ad; so please, say hi if the following you’re about to read interests you.
I recently moved out here to the Capital Area (I am over in Schenectady, hello!) and I am really looking for local people (I.e within an hour; or otherwise reachable by CDTA bus service in some capacity); the closer to Schenectady, the better. I grew up over in Texas, and lemme tell you, I am loving the weather here compared to Hell’s busted freezer (that was a quip).
Whoever you are; I want you to know a bunch about me so that you can get a sense of who I am; what I ask from you is a few things, if you’re looking for just general friends or gaming buddies, I don’t mind whoever you are, say hi, the door is open; if you’re looking to date/or something like sex; that’s gonna be subject to some requirements.
First off; no matter who replies; I expect you to specify what ad you are replying to (from which subreddit and for what you’re looking for), just so I know you bothered to at least read my expectations for responders. Secondly, if you’re looking to date seriously, I expect you be 24 or over and younger than 35. If you’re looking for something casual, I expect you be at least 21 years old; just a maturity thing.
Okay! So let’s begin; I am Val, I love to cook ( I am okay at it but I LOVE IT) and I like making handmade things like décor and sewn things (clothes, pillowcases, plushies etc). I am a high level strategy video gamer (500-1000+ hours in tons of different strategy games each, probably a combined 10k+ hours in all my strategy games I’ve ever played), and I just generally enjoy board gaming; doesn’t matter what, I have fun. ^{_^}
I really love “earth tones” and monochromes (browns, greens, whites, blacks); I feel like they look best on me; and personally I love greens and pastel pink in all occasions. If you asked me “Oh Val, how’d you get your name” I am sad to say, I don’t have a very interesting story; I am literally just Val, I picked it out of a hat practically and I’ve been loving it ever since.
On the travel side I really want to head out and explore whole bunch of the country; or I guess, at least the bits that are still safe for trans people to head out and explore; I also want to visit a bunch of Europe someday, especially the Netherlands and specifically Amsterdam, it seems like an utterly beautiful and forward thinking city and my little urban planning nerd brain can’t help but love the idea of seeing it in person.
Personally I’ve watched a ton of anime; there’s not a single isekai released between 2000 – 2021 I have not watched at least a bit of; I am utterly obsessed with the genre and love it to utter death. I also generally like mecha anime; my favorite one of those was “Gundum: Iron Blood Orphans”.
Currently I am working just a humble retail job but I am headed out back to college this coming Fall to start on the pathway to becoming an Engineering Technician. I want to work with mechanical stuff personally since it seems the most interesting me on a personal level; plus, I feel like learning more about it could let me get into more complex craft projects at home, which really appeals to me.
Someday I want to work on a “starship bridge” gaming rig I.e a setup where you convert a whole room into a “working” bridge of a space ship complete with lights, mechanical prop bits; sliding doors, and custom fixtures to bring the whole cohesive experience together into something that makes you feel like you’re on the set of a science fiction movie.
I love the Fall; I am literally so happy to finally live in a place where leaves actually, you know, fall. Its such a radical concept from living in a place where essentially the trees are some shade of green all year round; with winter being barely cold enough down in the part of Texas I lived (South Texas) to be worth a damn to change any leaves to any color other than greenish-yellow. Is it weird to be this excited about dead plants? I think so, but I am rolling with it!
I think I’ve mentioned I like making food? Okay listen to me closely: I love making soups, stews, stir fries and curries as far as “real food” goes; but I am a big candy maker. Lollipops, taffies, hard candies, chocolates just about anything you want; I’ll bring in. I live to feed other people (and my) sweet tooth. Oh, baking is also fun: ever had real chocolate ganache filled/frosted cupcakes? I can make them for ya.
Real talk moment: I… I am afraid honestly that we’ll meet up and I won’t really “fit” compared to in text. Lemme tell you something: I am a scatter brained ditz who couldn’t focus to save her life; I’ll forget important things, let stuff slip past me, have a hard time paying attention; all that classic “ADHD” flavor. Its not me not caring; my brain literally just won’t let me be normal; and I am really sorry but that’s not a “fixable” thing, I will probably get on medications for it in the future; but its a fundamental part of “me” and my brain all the same, its part of the package with me.
Anywho! I am very pet positive; love cats, love dogs; lizards are cuties; I am “okay” with creepies and the crawlies, just keep them away from me; and I absolutely am mesmerized by fish; feathery friends are welcomed, I am personally a fan of pet chickens but I know most people keep something “traditional” like a parrot or a parakeet, and that’s totally fine. I love animals, there was a point in my life where I thought perhaps that I would even like to make it a career, but nowadays I’ve matured and realized I get too attached to do that as a job.
Oh! Come into this prepared with the knowledge that I love the holidays; no not “those” holidays. ALL OF THEM. I am big in particular into Christmas, Thanksgiving, Valentine’s Day and Halloween but I get really into celebrations so you know, if you want that kind of energy in your life, well you know where to find it. I love to decorate; love to participate; love to just experience the joy of those special days of the year. And by the way, I count Birthdays; I will, if you ask, throw you a party even if its just the two of us.
So… dreams right? That’s a one we can get into: have you ever dreamt big dreams? I have two. I want to find a partner who I can be utterly spoiled by #1; and who I can spoil back with my loyalty, acts of service and just generally love for them. I want to start some of kind of business someday; even though I am getting into something technical, food is a life long obsession of mine; I am leaning towards some kind of hand made candy making company that does online orders to be honest; it seems like the most “unique” thing since customizing candies is a remarkably fun process’ that’s #2.
If you’re not okay with someone that gets off topic a lot; forgets things all the time; talks about; gets distracted and just generally isn’t “all there all the time”, you’re not gonna like me, period. I zone out often and a lot and you’re just kinda going to need to either be ready to deal with it, or anything we do isn’t going to work out; that’s the bag with me, sorry in advance for asking you to carry it; I promise I’ll make it worth your while though.
I am the kind of person that will do anything for those in their “sphere” if only I had the means; you earn my love, or trust, or care, or attention and I’ll do just about anything other than focus for more than a minute to repay it (that’s really hard). Just how I am.
In case you’re wondering: I am happiest with a partner that’s very emotionally open; who knows how to communicate well; and who truly enjoys the things I enjoy and I enjoy a lot of things so as long as there’s some decent behavioral overlap, we’ll get along just fine!
Okay, little lightning round to round this off: I wear glasses, I want to get into custom soda making, I love to garden, I write science fiction and fantasy stories, I have a dream car, I want to own an Rv to take regular vacations in, I want to name a dog “Sumo”, I want to get more into console gaming generally, I am ridiculously excited for Starfield, space exploration excites me to no end just in general.
So yeah, this is the Val experience; like, I am kinda all over the place in a ton of different ways, don’t come into this expecting “OMG you’re ADHD? So quirky” kinda tropes; I am very much kinda… missing a screw somewhere (but there’s nothing wrong with that, its just a part of who I am).
So yeah! Come on down and say hi; and remember to specify what you’re responding to and what you’re looking for with me, I am taking all responders.

Hello there stranger, I am Valerie, Val to my friends and lovers, and I am here to well… sell you on me as a potential friend/partne(video or board) gaming buddy/roommate/person you’d like to fuck. This is fundamentally, kind of an “open letter” ad, its going to be lengthy; get a drink and a snack. :)
I am, to be frank, very trans, and more than probably neurodivergent (ADHD). I am very happy to meet people responding to this ad; so please, say hi if the following you’re about to read interests you.
I recently moved out here to the Capital Area (I am over in Schenectady, hello!) and I am really looking for local people (I.e within an hour; or otherwise reachable by CDTA bus service in some capacity); the closer to Schenectady, the better. I grew up over in Texas, and lemme tell you, I am loving the weather here compared to Hell’s busted freezer (that was a quip).
Whoever you are; I want you to know a bunch about me so that you can get a sense of who I am; what I ask from you is a few things, if you’re looking for just general friends or gaming buddies, I don’t mind whoever you are, say hi, the door is open; if you’re looking to date/or something like sex; that’s gonna be subject to some requirements.
First off; no matter who replies; I expect you to specify what ad you are replying to (from which subreddit and for what you’re looking for), just so I know you bothered to at least read my expectations for responders. Secondly, if you’re looking to date seriously, I expect you be 24 or over and younger than 35. If you’re looking for something casual, I expect you be at least 21 years old; just a maturity thing.
Okay! So let’s begin; I am Val, I love to cook ( I am okay at it but I LOVE IT) and I like making handmade things like décor and sewn things (clothes, pillowcases, plushies etc). I am a high level strategy video gamer (500-1000+ hours in tons of different strategy games each, probably a combined 10k+ hours in all my strategy games I’ve ever played), and I just generally enjoy board gaming; doesn’t matter what, I have fun. ^{_^}
I really love “earth tones” and monochromes (browns, greens, whites, blacks); I feel like they look best on me; and personally I love greens and pastel pink in all occasions. If you asked me “Oh Val, how’d you get your name” I am sad to say, I don’t have a very interesting story; I am literally just Val, I picked it out of a hat practically and I’ve been loving it ever since.
On the travel side I really want to head out and explore whole bunch of the country; or I guess, at least the bits that are still safe for trans people to head out and explore; I also want to visit a bunch of Europe someday, especially the Netherlands and specifically Amsterdam, it seems like an utterly beautiful and forward thinking city and my little urban planning nerd brain can’t help but love the idea of seeing it in person.
Personally I’ve watched a ton of anime; there’s not a single isekai released between 2000 – 2021 I have not watched at least a bit of; I am utterly obsessed with the genre and love it to utter death. I also generally like mecha anime; my favorite one of those was “Gundum: Iron Blood Orphans”.
Currently I am working just a humble retail job but I am headed out back to college this coming Fall to start on the pathway to becoming an Engineering Technician. I want to work with mechanical stuff personally since it seems the most interesting me on a personal level; plus, I feel like learning more about it could let me get into more complex craft projects at home, which really appeals to me.
Someday I want to work on a “starship bridge” gaming rig I.e a setup where you convert a whole room into a “working” bridge of a space ship complete with lights, mechanical prop bits; sliding doors, and custom fixtures to bring the whole cohesive experience together into something that makes you feel like you’re on the set of a science fiction movie.
I love the Fall; I am literally so happy to finally live in a place where leaves actually, you know, fall. Its such a radical concept from living in a place where essentially the trees are some shade of green all year round; with winter being barely cold enough down in the part of Texas I lived (South Texas) to be worth a damn to change any leaves to any color other than greenish-yellow. Is it weird to be this excited about dead plants? I think so, but I am rolling with it!
I think I’ve mentioned I like making food? Okay listen to me closely: I love making soups, stews, stir fries and curries as far as “real food” goes; but I am a big candy maker. Lollipops, taffies, hard candies, chocolates just about anything you want; I’ll bring in. I live to feed other people (and my) sweet tooth. Oh, baking is also fun: ever had real chocolate ganache filled/frosted cupcakes? I can make them for ya.
Real talk moment: I… I am afraid honestly that we’ll meet up and I won’t really “fit” compared to in text. Lemme tell you something: I am a scatter brained ditz who couldn’t focus to save her life; I’ll forget important things, let stuff slip past me, have a hard time paying attention; all that classic “ADHD” flavor. Its not me not caring; my brain literally just won’t let me be normal; and I am really sorry but that’s not a “fixable” thing, I will probably get on medications for it in the future; but its a fundamental part of “me” and my brain all the same, its part of the package with me.
Anywho! I am very pet positive; love cats, love dogs; lizards are cuties; I am “okay” with creepies and the crawlies, just keep them away from me; and I absolutely am mesmerized by fish; feathery friends are welcomed, I am personally a fan of pet chickens but I know most people keep something “traditional” like a parrot or a parakeet, and that’s totally fine. I love animals, there was a point in my life where I thought perhaps that I would even like to make it a career, but nowadays I’ve matured and realized I get too attached to do that as a job.
Oh! Come into this prepared with the knowledge that I love the holidays; no not “those” holidays. ALL OF THEM. I am big in particular into Christmas, Thanksgiving, Valentine’s Day and Halloween but I get really into celebrations so you know, if you want that kind of energy in your life, well you know where to find it. I love to decorate; love to participate; love to just experience the joy of those special days of the year. And by the way, I count Birthdays; I will, if you ask, throw you a party even if its just the two of us.
So… dreams right? That’s a one we can get into: have you ever dreamt big dreams? I have two. I want to find a partner who I can be utterly spoiled by #1; and who I can spoil back with my loyalty, acts of service and just generally love for them. I want to start some of kind of business someday; even though I am getting into something technical, food is a life long obsession of mine; I am leaning towards some kind of hand made candy making company that does online orders to be honest; it seems like the most “unique” thing since customizing candies is a remarkably fun process’ that’s #2.
If you’re not okay with someone that gets off topic a lot; forgets things all the time; talks about; gets distracted and just generally isn’t “all there all the time”, you’re not gonna like me, period. I zone out often and a lot and you’re just kinda going to need to either be ready to deal with it, or anything we do isn’t going to work out; that’s the bag with me, sorry in advance for asking you to carry it; I promise I’ll make it worth your while though.
I am the kind of person that will do anything for those in their “sphere” if only I had the means; you earn my love, or trust, or care, or attention and I’ll do just about anything other than focus for more than a minute to repay it (that’s really hard). Just how I am.
In case you’re wondering: I am happiest with a partner that’s very emotionally open; who knows how to communicate well; and who truly enjoys the things I enjoy and I enjoy a lot of things so as long as there’s some decent behavioral overlap, we’ll get along just fine!
Okay, little lightning round to round this off: I wear glasses, I want to get into custom soda making, I love to garden, I write science fiction and fantasy stories, I have a dream car, I want to own an Rv to take regular vacations in, I want to name a dog “Sumo”, I want to get more into console gaming generally, I am ridiculously excited for Starfield, space exploration excites me to no end just in general.
So yeah, this is the Val experience; like, I am kinda all over the place in a ton of different ways, don’t come into this expecting “OMG you’re ADHD? So quirky” kinda tropes; I am very much kinda… missing a screw somewhere (but there’s nothing wrong with that, its just a part of who I am).
So yeah! Come on down and say hi; and remember to specify what you’re responding to and what you’re looking for with me, I am taking all responders.

Hello there stranger, I am Valerie, Val to my friends and lovers, and I am here to well… sell you on me as a potential friend/partne(video or board) gaming buddy/roommate/person you’d like to fuck. This is fundamentally, kind of an “open letter” ad, its going to be lengthy; get a drink and a snack. :)
I am, to be frank, very trans, and more than probably neurodivergent (ADHD). I am very happy to meet people responding to this ad; so please, say hi if the following you’re about to read interests you.
I recently moved out here to the Capital Area (I am over in Schenectady, hello!) and I am really looking for local people (I.e within an hour; or otherwise reachable by CDTA bus service in some capacity); the closer to Schenectady, the better. I grew up over in Texas, and lemme tell you, I am loving the weather here compared to Hell’s busted freezer (that was a quip).
Whoever you are; I want you to know a bunch about me so that you can get a sense of who I am; what I ask from you is a few things, if you’re looking for just general friends or gaming buddies, I don’t mind whoever you are, say hi, the door is open; if you’re looking to date/or something like sex; that’s gonna be subject to some requirements.
First off; no matter who replies; I expect you to specify what ad you are replying to (from which subreddit and for what you’re looking for), just so I know you bothered to at least read my expectations for responders. Secondly, if you’re looking to date seriously, I expect you be 24 or over and younger than 35. If you’re looking for something casual, I expect you be at least 21 years old; just a maturity thing.
Okay! So let’s begin; I am Val, I love to cook ( I am okay at it but I LOVE IT) and I like making handmade things like décor and sewn things (clothes, pillowcases, plushies etc). I am a high level strategy video gamer (500-1000+ hours in tons of different strategy games each, probably a combined 10k+ hours in all my strategy games I’ve ever played), and I just generally enjoy board gaming; doesn’t matter what, I have fun. ^{_^}
I really love “earth tones” and monochromes (browns, greens, whites, blacks); I feel like they look best on me; and personally I love greens and pastel pink in all occasions. If you asked me “Oh Val, how’d you get your name” I am sad to say, I don’t have a very interesting story; I am literally just Val, I picked it out of a hat practically and I’ve been loving it ever since.
On the travel side I really want to head out and explore whole bunch of the country; or I guess, at least the bits that are still safe for trans people to head out and explore; I also want to visit a bunch of Europe someday, especially the Netherlands and specifically Amsterdam, it seems like an utterly beautiful and forward thinking city and my little urban planning nerd brain can’t help but love the idea of seeing it in person.
Personally I’ve watched a ton of anime; there’s not a single isekai released between 2000 – 2021 I have not watched at least a bit of; I am utterly obsessed with the genre and love it to utter death. I also generally like mecha anime; my favorite one of those was “Gundum: Iron Blood Orphans”.
Currently I am working just a humble retail job but I am headed out back to college this coming Fall to start on the pathway to becoming an Engineering Technician. I want to work with mechanical stuff personally since it seems the most interesting me on a personal level; plus, I feel like learning more about it could let me get into more complex craft projects at home, which really appeals to me.
Someday I want to work on a “starship bridge” gaming rig I.e a setup where you convert a whole room into a “working” bridge of a space ship complete with lights, mechanical prop bits; sliding doors, and custom fixtures to bring the whole cohesive experience together into something that makes you feel like you’re on the set of a science fiction movie.
I love the Fall; I am literally so happy to finally live in a place where leaves actually, you know, fall. Its such a radical concept from living in a place where essentially the trees are some shade of green all year round; with winter being barely cold enough down in the part of Texas I lived (South Texas) to be worth a damn to change any leaves to any color other than greenish-yellow. Is it weird to be this excited about dead plants? I think so, but I am rolling with it!
I think I’ve mentioned I like making food? Okay listen to me closely: I love making soups, stews, stir fries and curries as far as “real food” goes; but I am a big candy maker. Lollipops, taffies, hard candies, chocolates just about anything you want; I’ll bring in. I live to feed other people (and my) sweet tooth. Oh, baking is also fun: ever had real chocolate ganache filled/frosted cupcakes? I can make them for ya.
Real talk moment: I… I am afraid honestly that we’ll meet up and I won’t really “fit” compared to in text. Lemme tell you something: I am a scatter brained ditz who couldn’t focus to save her life; I’ll forget important things, let stuff slip past me, have a hard time paying attention; all that classic “ADHD” flavor. Its not me not caring; my brain literally just won’t let me be normal; and I am really sorry but that’s not a “fixable” thing, I will probably get on medications for it in the future; but its a fundamental part of “me” and my brain all the same, its part of the package with me.
Anywho! I am very pet positive; love cats, love dogs; lizards are cuties; I am “okay” with creepies and the crawlies, just keep them away from me; and I absolutely am mesmerized by fish; feathery friends are welcomed, I am personally a fan of pet chickens but I know most people keep something “traditional” like a parrot or a parakeet, and that’s totally fine. I love animals, there was a point in my life where I thought perhaps that I would even like to make it a career, but nowadays I’ve matured and realized I get too attached to do that as a job.
Oh! Come into this prepared with the knowledge that I love the holidays; no not “those” holidays. ALL OF THEM. I am big in particular into Christmas, Thanksgiving, Valentine’s Day and Halloween but I get really into celebrations so you know, if you want that kind of energy in your life, well you know where to find it. I love to decorate; love to participate; love to just experience the joy of those special days of the year. And by the way, I count Birthdays; I will, if you ask, throw you a party even if its just the two of us.
So… dreams right? That’s a one we can get into: have you ever dreamt big dreams? I have two. I want to find a partner who I can be utterly spoiled by #1; and who I can spoil back with my loyalty, acts of service and just generally love for them. I want to start some of kind of business someday; even though I am getting into something technical, food is a life long obsession of mine; I am leaning towards some kind of hand made candy making company that does online orders to be honest; it seems like the most “unique” thing since customizing candies is a remarkably fun process’ that’s #2.
If you’re not okay with someone that gets off topic a lot; forgets things all the time; talks about; gets distracted and just generally isn’t “all there all the time”, you’re not gonna like me, period. I zone out often and a lot and you’re just kinda going to need to either be ready to deal with it, or anything we do isn’t going to work out; that’s the bag with me, sorry in advance for asking you to carry it; I promise I’ll make it worth your while though.
I am the kind of person that will do anything for those in their “sphere” if only I had the means; you earn my love, or trust, or care, or attention and I’ll do just about anything other than focus for more than a minute to repay it (that’s really hard). Just how I am.
In case you’re wondering: I am happiest with a partner that’s very emotionally open; who knows how to communicate well; and who truly enjoys the things I enjoy and I enjoy a lot of things so as long as there’s some decent behavioral overlap, we’ll get along just fine!
Okay, little lightning round to round this off: I wear glasses, I want to get into custom soda making, I love to garden, I write science fiction and fantasy stories, I have a dream car, I want to own an Rv to take regular vacations in, I want to name a dog “Sumo”, I want to get more into console gaming generally, I am ridiculously excited for Starfield, space exploration excites me to no end just in general.
So yeah, this is the Val experience; like, I am kinda all over the place in a ton of different ways, don’t come into this expecting “OMG you’re ADHD? So quirky” kinda tropes; I am very much kinda… missing a screw somewhere (but there’s nothing wrong with that, its just a part of who I am).
So yeah! Come on down and say hi; and remember to specify what you’re responding to and what you’re looking for with me, I am taking all responders.

My fingers drummed on the cold steel table in my specialized prison cell, my daily dose of blood having not been sent to me. A dry thirst burned in my throat, my ruby eyes dilating at the vampire in a cheap business suit plopping down across from me. Playing with my amethyst waves, he traced his slender finger along the nape of his neck. His ruby eyes glistened with excitement, his slicked back ivory hair reminded me of everything I hated about the government.
“Pretty hungry, Morticia Deathbite?” He taunted cruelly, hatred burning in my eyes. “I have a deal for you. The government will exonerate you of all your charges if you agree to become my wife for a mission. There is one catch, you have to let me bite you. Oh forgive my manners. I am Agent Stanton Lifewick, a member of Night Squad. The vampires in the program work to hunt down serial killers that the police can’t seem to get. Will you join me?” Growling through gritted teeth, my inky lips curled into a defiant snarl. Spitting in his face, wicked laughter rumbled in his throat.
“You can rot in hell. You guys put me in this jail cell for only drinking the blood of serial killers. Fuck you.” I retorted venomously, his hands wiping away the spit. “You can leave now, you rotten bastard!” Snatching the collar of my orange jumpsuit, he yanked me close to his face. The corner of his lips twitched with fury, a raw tension thickening between us. Shooting daggers into each other's eyes, my elbow slammed into his face. Crashing back, I sprinted out the door. Red light bathed the concrete halls, a shrill alarm blaring in my ears. Unlocking the other criminals on my way out, the distraction would be my way out. Security guards attempted to stop me, one punch smashing them into the wall. A Cheshire Cat grin spread cheek to cheek at the open gate, my bare feet smashing through. Feeling the pale moonlight on my skin pleased me, Stanton called for me to stop. Flipping him off, I leapt into the trees. Hopping from branch to branch, my heart stopped at him blocking my path. Straightening up, claws extended from my black fingernails. Cracking my neck, he pulled out a gun with holy water soaked wooden bullets.
“I can’t let you escape.” He snapped hotly, a bead of sweat dripping off of his brow. “Join me now or I’ll shoot you.” Putting my hands up in the air as a dare, maniacal laughter burst from my lips. Shrugging my shoulders, he watched me crack my fingers one by one. Leaning forward, something was stopping him. My face fell at the sound of guns clicking underneath me, the sheer amount of agents scaring me. Placing my hands behind my back, my claws receded back into their place.
“Just take me back so I can fucking die.” I grumbled under my breath, Stanton putting his gun away. Leaping closer to me, even my speed wouldn’t allow me to dodge all of their bullets. Standing behind me, his fangs grazed the nape of my neck. His hot breath bathed my neck, the agents’ fingers all ready to shoot me. Too many black suits, I thought irritably to myself. Freedom and blood was all I desired, the bastards stripping both from me.
“Just fucking say yes, you idiot!” He growled huskily in my ear, his hand sliding down the small of my waist. “You get freedom and all the blood you need from me.” His invisible strength threatened to break my back, my body trembling in his hold. Something about it dulled my hatred for him. Concern flashed in his eyes for a moment, tears welling up in my eyes. Peeking into his soul, a white aura surrounded him. Bowing my head in shame, my bangs hid my eyes. Live a life alone in prison or experience life again? Did the world hate me as much as I hated it?
“Fine.” I uttered in with defeat, a sickening dread bubbling in my gut. “You win but you better treat me like one of you. I refuse to be a slave and a prisoner.” Sinking his fangs into my neck, the disgusting sound of him drinking my blood drowned out the agents putting their guns back. Inky bats flew across my breasts, a solid black band forming on his finger. An indescribable bond formed between us, silent tears streaming down my cheeks. This contract reminded me of how my first master used me to kill innocent people for defying the church, his gentle touch scaring me out of my trance.
“Are you okay?” He whispered kindly in my ear, the sudden shift in his personality ringing the alarm bells. “I am going to get you to the car and we will sign a marriage contract to get our license. I don’t bite. Well, unless I have to. I am aware you have been alive since medieval times so the concept of living off your mate’s blood is new. It actually makes you ten times stronger. Imagine that power coursing through you.” Tossing me over his shoulder, he jumped off the branch.
“Operation Get Hitched is a success!” He announced with a warm smile, a tender blush rising to my cheeks. “Go home to your families.” Carrying me to the car, my waves bounced up and down with every step. Sitting me down in the passenger seat of a generic black armored SUV, my hair blew back as he slammed the door shut. Sliding into his seat, he pulled out a pile of papers from the center console. Passing me the pile, I knew the drill. Signing on the dotted lines, a knock stole his breath away. Rolling down the window, a fellow agent stamped the paper. Dropping two velvet boxes into my lap, the papers fluttered in the other agent’s hands. Closing his window, he held my hand up. Opening up the closest box to him, he slid on an onyx band of twisted branches. Grasping the remaining box, my jaw dropped at the matching band. Sliding on his finger shakily, surprise rounded his eyes. Thorns dug into my fingers, his face showing the same fate for him. Sniffing the ring, it reeked of an eternal curse. Fantastic, we were bound together forever.
“Can I ask you a question?” I choked out awkwardly, a warm gaze falling on me. “Why me? I am not the only vampire there. I can think of s-” Putting his finger up in the air, the ring glittered in the pale moonlight. Grabbing my shoulder, any cockiness he had was gone. It almost seemed to be a mask in front of the boys, his private personality seeming naturally sweet.
“I picked you because I saw your beautiful face in a pile of files. Also you are the oldest vampire alive, so that helped. I find you rather amazing. I don’t agree with you killing all those serial killers but you had to eat. Am I right?” He mused tenderly, is crooked grin stopped time as the urge to kiss him dominated my mind. “How about you drink something? I had them starve you for a couple of days. I am sorry about that.” Guiding my head to the nape of his neck, his vein throbbed violently. Biting him now would seal the deal from my side, the scent of a summer day wafted up my nose. Piercing his tender flesh, my pupils enlarged at the first sip, the sweet taste of lemonade coated my throat. Wrapping my arms around his neck, short gasps poured from his lips. Drinking my fill, a satisfied sigh flowed freely from me. He was right, your mate’s blood tasted like nothing else. Scarlet blood stained the corner of his lips, my hands cupping his face. Pressing my lips against his sensually, his arm slid down to the small of my waist. Refusing to let me go, his tongue danced in my mouth. Time stopped, our heartbeats were all I could hear. Releasing him from the spell, he sat back in a daze with a goofy grin. Scarlet burned his cheeks, my impulsive behavior having landed me in some hot water for sure.
“Sorry for that.” I apologized profusely, hoping that he wouldn’t hate me for acting on my inner thoughts. “I get a little impu-” Kissing me back with twice as much passion, my body arched towards him. The seat belt was the only thing that held me back, his heart beating faster than mine. Another knock interrupted him, a flustered Stanton rolled the window down.
“What!” He yelled sharply, the ivory haired female’s ruby eyes flitting between me and him. “Selena, you need to give your older brother privacy.” Her petite five two figure didn’t scream power but boy did her intense color changing aura. Sticking out her tongue, a deeper scarlet colored his cheeks. Blinking a couple of times, she leaned into the car.
“I am Selena Dogood, his baby sister. You must be the infamous Morticia he never stopped talking about. Honestly, he never shut up.” She teased lightly, her short leather dress fluttering in the breeze. “Would you like to h-” Covering her mouth with his hand, a stern gaze shut her offer down.
“I would but I need to get to the hell I am calling suburbia. You know the reason I married her in the first place. They suspect the serial killer is living in that godforsaken town.” He informed her briskly, cursing under his breath. “I might like her a bit. Do you have her clothes? People are going to stare if I bring her out in a prison jumpsuit.” Dropping a silky emerald dress into his lap, a horrendous flashback of the church dressing me in lingerie for special guests to view haunted me. Horrendous slurs had been carved into my skin, the people throwing rotten tomatoes at me. Clutching my chest, a tight embrace snapped me back to reality. Selena put her hands up into the air, walking back to her own SUV. Kissing the top of my head, the nature of our bond made this moment unbearably sweet. His slender six foot seven frame towered over me by a good foot, thus his embrace felt like Heaven. Shaking my head, I shoved him off. Undoing my seat belt, he turned his back as I peeled off the jumpsuit. Tossing it into the back, I tugged on the sweetheart neckline dress. The silk felt soft against my skin, the material a far better cry from the rough cotton of my previous outfit. The straps failed to cover the number the prison had branded me with, my fingers tracing the faint numbers. Not seeing what I did wrong, the people should have applauded me. Furthermore, I needed to eat.
“You look beautiful.” He commented pleasantly, his eyes falling on the numbers branded on my chest. “They didn’t tell me that they did that to the first vampires in prison. I promise to make your life better. Can you cook?” His question threw me off as the engine roared to life, the trees turning into a sea of houses. Rolling my eyes, most of them were close enough to pass a damn cup of sugar through the bathroom window. The ranches nauseated me further, my heart sinking at the car pulling up to a flamingo pink ranch. My face scrunched in disgust, my eyes falling on a red headed woman with piercing blue eyes. Her curls bounced around her shoulders, her ample cleavage hanging out of a tight tank top. Pouting in my direction, something seemed off about her. Perhaps it was because her aura was darker than the bottom of the ocean. Hopping out to the car, his hand ripped open the car door. Sliding on the shoes, a scowl planted itself on her lips.
“Who’s Shirley Temple across the street?” I inquired softly, his eyes rolling. “She seems to like you.” Rolling his eyes, a wicked grin spread cheek to cheek as he rose to his feet. Pinning me to the car, his lips kissed mine hungrily. Time stopped, the sound of the night fading to the background. Releasing me from his spell, her death glare sent chills up my spine. Lifting my finger, he purposely showed off our wedding rings. Glee glittered in his eyes at her obvious bewilderment, he flipped her off on the way into the house. The outside must have been deceptive because all sorts of taxidermy lined the Victorian style wallpaper, the dark wooden bookshelves were lined with first editions of books. Sitting me down on what was his original emerald velvet couch, my hands rubbing the carved bats on the armrest. Crossing my legs, my eyes fell on the coffin coffee table. Laying down, sweet slumber stole me away.
Snapping awake, a flurry of impatient knocks frightened the shit out of me. The bright sunshine blinded me, a fluke in my DNA allowing me not to burn in the sun. Rushing to the door, the redhead from the night before knocked once more. Opening the door, I leaned on the door frame. Horror rounded her eyes at my porcelain skin and black lips, her perfect ass shoving her way in. Following her into an all black kitchen, she called out Stanley. Cocking my brow in response, a messy haired Stanton wandered into the hall. Defiance glittered in his eyes, my eyes taking in the same emerald wallpaper from the living room now lining the hall.
“You are a cockadoody for your disrespectful behavior from last night.” She complained bitterly, her eyes snapping back to me. “Did you find her on an albino dating site? Why haven’t I seen her?” Rubbing his bare muscular chest, he examined her pristine white dress and black sun hat. My heart fluttered at the sight of him, part of me wishing he wouldn’t slick his hair back anymore. A matching branded set of numbers sat on his chest, curiosity twinkling in my eyes.
“Why don’t you leave, Susie?” He asked politely, popping a white tablet into his mouth. “I need you and your husband to leave me alone today.” Narrowing her eyes in his direction, he motioned towards the door. Something seemed off with her, her aura sickening me. Cupping my mouth, he noticed my reaction to her presence. Not only that, the scent of her blood reminded me of a corpse. Walking up next to her, I pushed Stanton out of the way.
“What is your name?” I demanded viciously, folding my arms across my chest. True love lit up in his eyes for the first time, the crack of her slap stunning me into a temporary silence. Her chest huffed up and down, my crazed grin infuriating her further. Pinning me to the wall, I stole the opportunity to peek into her soul. A shadow blocked me from seeing into it, my face falling.
“I am Susan Smith, the leader of the neighborhood watch. I am watching you. I am a black belt by the way.” She warned icily, my unimpressed expression peeving her off further. “What is so funny?” Knowing that she would charge me if I touched her, I cleared my throat.
“Hello to you then.” I chirped cheerfully, turning on my people-friendly smile. “I think you should go now. I work the night shift and you and your creepy neighborhood watch can go fuck yourself. You can keep your hungry eyes off my husband.” Raising her hand to strike me, I caught it mid slap. Lowering it to her side, my grip on her wrist refused to let her go.
“Whatever. My husband is hotter than yours and the mayor of the town. I wouldn’t touch him with a ten foot pole.” She returned haughtily, my fingers letting her go. “We don’t want you Gothic freaks in this perfect little slice of Heaven.” Cocking my brow at her words, it was obvious she liked my husband. A slightly overweight bald man in a pair of khakis and a blue button up shirt stepped out to search for his wife, his chocolate brown eyes falling on us. The name Richard stood out to me, a defiant glow coming over my face.
“He’s hot if slightly overweight and bald with a side of khaki’s is in fashion.” I taunted cruelly, watching her face grow red as the fire hydrant outside. Stomping off, she slammed the door behind her. Dusting off my dress, he pulled me in for a warm embrace. The foot difference made me feel pleasantly small, the feeling of his muscles against my face causing a tender blush to rise to my cheeks. This was an emotion that I haven’t felt in a while, the desire to give in to my nightly urges raged. Pushing him away, I folded my arms across my chest. Hurt dimmed his eyes, his hands running through his hair.
“We don’t have to do any of that until you are ready. We do have to get ready to go to the grocery. I just took my sunblock pill.” He explained happily, turning to walk back into his room. Hugging him from behind, my outcome was to alleviate his hurt. Freezing in his tracks, he spun on his heels. Hiding his wet eyes underneath his hair, he barely responded as I wiped away his tears. Pushing me away, a glass shattered on the worn wooden floor the moment I hit it. Shivering on the floor, I had tried too hard. Rushing into his room, I chased after him.
Fighting the tears, his years in prison had done a number on him. Sliding into the room in the nick of time, he shoved an onyx lace baby doll dress into my arms with a pair of chunky heeled boots. Stomping into the bathroom, he had his outfit hanging off of his arm. Changing quickly, he needed something to cheer him up. Crashing into the kitchen, the bottom of my dress fluttered with each step. Noting the dark roast coffee beans, coffee was the only thing vampires could taste beside blood. Humming to myself, I began the process of making him a latte. Smoothing out my bell sleeves, it was time to add the milk. Pouring the foaming milk into his coffee, he wandered in with a grumpy look on his face. My breath hitched at his black and white striped button up shirt over a pair of black shorts, his worn converses bringing him down to what age we looked like. A silver cross dangled from his left ear, his eyes falling on the apology coffee.
“I am sorry. It has been a long time since someone touched me. It is a tale I will tell you another time. Did you make that for me?” He queried with a tired smile, taking the clear cup in his trembling hands. “Did they teach you how to make this in jail?” Nodding silently, he took a sip. His eyes widened at how tasty it was, the cup was empty in a couple of minutes.
“Are we watching the people at the grocery store?” I questioned shakily, afraid to speak. “Won’t we stand out?” Shaking his head, he ruffled the top of my head. Kissing the top of my head, he offered me his elbow. Hooking mine around his, he guided me out to the car. Helping me in, we were soon heading to the local grocery store. The worn sign flickered against a faded tan facade, the housewives streamed in and out. An irritated Susan rushed past his car.
“We do but I have lived here for months, so they are used to it. If you wore pink it would be more alarming.” He whispered gruffly into my ears, those damn urges coming up again. “Trust me. We are the town freaks anyway with being “albinos”. The air quotes added a sense of humor to the moment, his soft chuckle telling me that he was fine. Helping me out, the wives all waved at him. Jealousy flashed in my eyes, his fingers intertwined with mine. While he received a bunch of smiles, I received death glare after death glare. Bright lights blinded me, the constant conversations caused my ears to pin back. The serial killer could be among these people, the very thought exhilarating.
“This can be a bit much for your first day out of jail. I would have left you at home but our bond won’t allow it.” He assured me sweetly, placing my hands on the cart. Holding me from behind, he rested his chin on my head. Talking for a minute to the butcher, a special symbol on his neck informed me that he was an ally. Susan rolled up next to me, one of her lackeys boxing me in. Leaning on the end of my cart, she cast insult after insult at me. Ignoring her words, a familiar face stole my attention. His wrinkles matched the father’s from back in the medieval times, a pair of sage eyes meeting mine. He smelled human, a Celtic symbol glowed on his neck. Susan waved her hands in front of me, a strained huh escaping my lips. His black priest’s uniform sickened me, clammy sweat soaking my skin.
“Did you hear me!” Susan demanded childishly, holding out an invitation. “This is something we call a book club.” Seconds from crumbling it up, Stanton snatched it from her fingers. Pecking me on the lips, she rolled her eyes in a huff. Father Rowell had disappeared into the crowd, my husband carrying on the conversation for me.
“I have to go to the bathroom!” I blurted out awkwardly, leaping over the carts. Crashing through the people, I skidded to a stop in front of Rowell. Reaching his hand out to me, a bolt of lightning zapped him the moment our skin touched. Clearing his throat, he pointed to the automatic doors.
“Shall we go outside?” He suggested with a sly grin, my ankle failing me at the wrong time. Crashing onto my ass, he snapped his finger. A rotting church towered over us, so many questions rested on the tip of my tongue. One pew remained, the wood groaning as we sat down on it. Why did this feel warmer than before?
“Are you the serial killer, you old man?” I interrogated intensely, his head shaking. Sliding me a Celtic spell book with the proper page open, the spell he was using only required the sacrifice of a lamb. Leaning back, he touched the glowing symbol on his neck. I guess it all added up.
“It’s not me. This damn thing prevents me from killing anyone. I turned it around, I swear. “ He attempted to assure me, my look of disbelief not pleasing him. “I am sorry for using you. You seemed so lost and I was lost by the propaganda they were spreading. The church today is much more honest. I can be a pair of ears for you. Will that help you out?” The church bell rang, the wood quaking underneath my boots, his eyes allowing me to peer into his soul. The white aura was enough to convince me, my hand touching his.
“Besides the killing, you did everything right.” I admitted sheepishly, allowing him to smile subtly. “You found me after one of my bloody massacres and still hid me from the church.” Snow drifted aimlessly, his palm catching a couple of snowflakes. Watching them melt in his palms, he turned to me.
“Do you remember when I found you? Ruby painted the snow but you looked at me with the biggest plea for help. You were but a ten year old child with fangs in my eyes.” He commented in a fatherly tone, both us leaning back to watch the snow fall. Resting our hands on our flat stomachs, he let out a soft chuckle
“I am surprised you helped me after finding out I was the daughter of the first vampire.” I laughed gently, his hand reaching for mine. “I got married yesterday. I am sorry that I went to prison. I must have disappointed you with that tidbit.” Taking my hand, he examined the ring. Snapping his fingers, we were back at the grocery store. Dropping a card into my palm, he shoved his hands into his pocket.
“I came to seek you out. The killer is among your little area I call Hell. Good luck with that marriage.” He called out as he walked to a waiting car, Stanton coming out with a bag of groceries. Peeking into the bag, it was two bags of coffee. Providing the perfect distraction, the contacts amusing me.
“It really looks like we eat.” I joked tenderly, nudging his shoulder. “Can we go home now?” Winking in my direction, his arm curled around my waist. Flipping me the invitation, his next words pissed me off.
“You are going to that book club tomorrow. Play nice and try not to stand out too much. The trick to winning Susie over is through the love of reading. As I recall, you had a cell full of the latest books.” He ordered sharply, rubbing his chin. “I know you read them all. Can you handle that tomorrow?” Whispering something in his ears, a devilish grin spread cheek to cheek.

I have a 1998 rav4. The problem i describe below was occuring even before my check engine light turned on for missing (stolen) cat. I'm currently & temporarily straight piped with engine light on with no other codes.
While idling, my RPMs will randomly go up and hold at about 2500 then drop down after few seconds.
Sometimes while idling, RPM drop to the point where the car is about to stall and then picks up again after few seconds.
Often times, the RPMs drop and my car stalls.
Rarely, after car stalls, it will crank but no start for few seconds. Once took about 1 minute of cranking to start.

Welcome to Camp Redwood!
Are you ready to fight to the death with age regressed forty year olds with the faces of adorable little kids?
How about coming to terms with your entire life, or at least five years of it, being one big fucking lie?
We are so excited to announce our 2018 group! Where you will undoubtedly FIND yourself here. Your true self.
The self you did not know existed.
SO, jump in that military bunker, grab that blunt object to fight against our little campers disembowelling our counselors, and get yourself down to CAMP REDWOOD. WHERE WE START EVERY DAY WITH A CAMP REDWOOD SMILE.
Apply now!
Application end date: 05/02/2018.
…
It’s been a tough few days.
So, I think I will be posting this update in two chunks so I can get everything down and clear my head. I am alone right now.
Yes. I am the last survivor of Camp Redwood 2023 (?). I’ve been unsure how to start this and end this because I really just want to get into the meat of what has been going on.
But… I must ask. I have to.
What year is it?
That doesn't matter right now. I'll continue where I left off.
Teddy did leave us alone in the end. But his screams were still haunting me hours after the thing with his voice had left. I don’t even think I could call it his voice.
It sounded like him but there were pieces of him missing. Like someone had reached into the boy’s mind and pulled out the skeleton of his consciousness, the bare bones of his being—and cruelly stuffed him into a metal shell.
That is what Teddy sounded like.
He sounded like a wounded animal, confused why he was alive. Terrified. I now know what he is the product of. Teddy is a victim of horrifying, unethical experiments our campers have been forcing on kidnapped counselors after taking over the camp. Have you ever heard of the sound of crying which isn’t human?
That is Teddy. He is the product of forcing life into the dead, and leaving it to suffer with its consciousness. Which, in my opinion, is a fate far worse than death.
You’re probably wondering where my two companions are.
Well, that is why I am writing this.
I want to tell you what happened so I can wrap my head around it myself, and choose between killing all of us and sending these psychopaths to hell, or coming to terms with our truth and fighting back. Well, it’s their truth. I wouldn’t say it’s mine. It took us three whole days to get the guts to risk leaving Allison’s secret bunker inside her cabin, and attempting to find a way out of this hell-hole. Harry and I were the ones to do it, leaving a still-not-completely-himself Rowan to guard our safehouse. I didn’t want to leave him alone for a multitude of reasons but due to Harry actually having a soul and a semblance of empathy, I was overruled.
Despite being heavily under the influence of age-regressing animal crackers which had mentally turned him into a toddler, Rowan was still himself to a degree. Which meant he was back to being our leader. I was sceptical at first, because no matter how many times he insisted he was in fact okay, I couldn’t seem to shake off the feeling that the childish parts of him, the warped parts of his mind which had turned him into a child, were still there.
Even if they were very subtle. I caught him doodling on his clipboard, and much later on, singing to himself with an odd smile on his face he had successfully gaslit Harry and I into believing it was just a coping mechanism. Say what you want about Rowan Atlas, he is damn good at swaying your opinion. Even when we were 100% sure Rowan was not his original self, the guy we had both met at the start of camp.
It was almost like him having two minds. The mind of a child, and the mind of a teenager.
For example, he still ordered us around and attempted to take back his role of leader— which had at least secured some normality back into our lives. But he also hated loud noises, and freaked out every time one of the littles tried to get in. There was also the incident we had agreed not to talk about, because talking about it meant facing the fact that our friend was no longer himself.
It was a hours after Teddy left us in peace. Harry was sleeping, and I was on the cusp of slumber, slipping through more files. Rowan had been oddly quiet. Which wasn’t a Rowan thing. Whether he was mentally a child or a teenager, he was still being loud and obnoxious. I sat up to find him cross-legged, playing with something.
I thought it was a worm at first, but no. It was exactly like what I found at the start of this, an eye attached to a nerve. But this time it was undoubtedly human, and now Rowan’s plaything. When I questioned him, he said he was “studying” it. Though there was definitely a difference between studying something and playing with it. The scary thing was, he saw no wrong in it, holding it in his hands and stripping off the metallic pieces cruelly attached to it.
In the end, I took it from him and stamped on it. Rowan didn’t have the reaction I was expecting. Because he was still hiding behind the façade that his mind hadn’t been warped by de-aging animal crackers.
If that wasn’t bad enough, Eleanor Summers had given me a 24 hour deadline to hand over the boys, and we were well over the limit so an ambush was likely imminent.
I still had so many questions. Why were Rowan, Harry and Carmel so important while the rest of us were seen as nothing but spare parts?
That is what the little bitch said. Now physically eleven years old with the mind of a deranged forty year old scientist, Eleanor told me I was nothing to them but spare parts. God, it’s so weird calling her what she is after looking after her kid self, her fake self, for weeks.
Little Eleanor with her golden pigtails and obsession with teddy bear picnics was in fact a complete fucking sociopath. That much of one in fact, that her and her equally psychotic colleagues who engaged in these experiments had been regressed into little kids inside a rehabilitation camp (Nicknamed: Project Spearhead) which was supposed to fix them and had failed spectacularly. Because they’ve taken over. And this time? We’re the fucking lab rats.
The counselors here at Redwood.
I had seen her adult self being interviewed by mysterious Agent Lemrac, a face behind Project Spearhead, the girl who was far too young to be an agent, and have that kind of authority. Also, someone with a soul—who had a clear biased opinion against the experiments.
Part of me wondered if Lemrac still existed. Maybe she was behind the odd phone calls we kept receiving on an old fashioned rotary phone. With Eleanor’s deadline in mind, the two of us made our journey quick. It wasn’t hard to leave the camp itself. There were guards in the form of Callen and Olive, brainwashed and turned into the kid’s muscle, but they were easy enough to get past as long as we distracted them with something shiny.
They were mentally six-years-old so literally anything grabbed their attention.
I quickly realized my mistake once we managed to escape the camp—Harry in front of me, with me lagging behind. We moved slowly, ducking behind trees and throwing ourselves into the dirt. Very cloak and dagger. It didn’t take us long to slip into the woods. Just past the lake were the exit gates to Redwood which led to a road.
Not exactly civilisation, but I would take it over having my body taken apart for “parts” in these so-called experiments.
When we got to the gate, however, I realized I had given the adults too much fucking credit.
Whoever was in charge of Spearhead clearly did not care about lingering survivors, as long as they were successfully cutting us out from the outside world. And that’s what the giant wall I found myself staring at was, an impossible foot monster towering over us and cementing my earlier thoughts. We were screwed. The woman on the phone had made it clear we were being abandoned, and yet some of me naively held onto them maybe still rescuing us.
“Fuck.” I didn’t know what to do, but kicking the damn thing felt like the right thing. I did, and then regretted it half a second later.
This thing was impenetrable. Impossible to climb unless we had a fucking death-wish.
Blinking at it through fraying sunlight blinding me, the thing almost resembled a mirage. It stood under the sun, a giant roadblock completely blocking us from any form of help.
The sun wasn’t helping, scorching through my shirt. I swiped at my sweaty forehead, unable to resist a frustrated scream I had to muffle-gag with my hand. I risked a look behind us. Thankfully, we were around ten minutes away from the main camp. The lake was nearby glittering under a late afternoon sun, and all I wanted to right then was to wade into the shallows and let the murky water swallow me up. The little shits couldn’t swim, maybe I’d be safe.
“Fuck!”
“This is bad.” Harry Carlisle broke the silence after my frustrated cry. With his eyes glued to the wall, he took off his hat and ran a hand through dark brown curls which were catching the light of the sun, setting strands alight across his forehead. None of us were in great shape after spending days hunkered down in a secret bunker. Harry was no exception.
His short sleeved camp Redwood shirt was still covered with vomit, discoloured with days’ worth of sweat stains and lack of showers.
He bent over, grasping hold of his knees. “What do we do?” I could tell by the tone of his voice he was freaking out, and I didn’t blame him. But Harry was still on my mind.
His signature was undoubtedly all over every Project Spearhead file, despite him repeatedly insisting he had nothing to do with it. At that moment, I could almost believe him. The boy looked exhausted and frustrated, pained.
He surprised me by slipping to his knees and burying his head in the dirt and screaming into rough soil. I was struck, then, by the sudden memory of flames. I had been sitting around campfires for weeks at Redwood, but this one didn’t feel like it took place at camp.
Instead, it felt more personal. I could almost see it, flickering orange sparking at the backs of my eyes and the sour taste of beer in my throat. Like the memory was trying to push itself to the surface. This moment felt nostalgic and yet close—as if it had happened yesterday. Like both the past and present had entangled in one.
If I concentrated I swore I could hear the murmur of voices, phantom laughter in my head and a cool night breeze grazing my cheeks.
“Earth to Josie?”
I snapped out of it quickly. “You’re asking me?” I kicked the dirt again. “I thought Rowan was our camp leader.”
Harry lifted his head after a moment, his eyes flicking to me. “You know he can’t make rash decisions right now.”
“Exactly.” I said. “We both know he’s not back to his normal self. He’s both right now. A little kid, and a teenager.” I shuddered. “I’m sorry, did I forget to mention our so-called head counsellor was playing with a human eye like a fucking cat?”
“Mm."
“Well, why aren’t you taking it seriously?”
Harry’s gaze skated the horizon, cotton candy colored clouds blurring into twilight. “Becauuuse the sun is going to your head.”
I could practically hear his eyes rolling. Harry took three strides towards the wall and pressed his face into rough brick. “So, this is it, right?” He muffled into rough cement. “We are really going to die at fucking summer camp.”
“I’m going to die,” I corrected him. “They want you two and Carmel because apparently you’re special.”
Harry made a scoffing noise into the wall. I was starting to think he was setting up camp there, planning to tell all of his grievances to the cement. “Oh yeah, because that’s a good thing? You’ve seen—no—heard what they’ve done to Teddy and the others, and you think them wanting us for something else is special?” his voice broke a little. “I’d rather have your fate.”
The boy’s words made me realize how little I was compared to the others. While they and Carmel were part of some grand, psychotic scheme, I was just needed for extra bulk. “Why don’t you talk to your friends?” I said, after letting the boy throw several punches into the soil. I wasn’t going to comment on his hits being surprisingly strong enough to shake the ground.
Harry didn’t look at me after calming down, resorting to tracing the earth with the toes of his shoe. “Who?”
"The CIA."
I was surprised by his retort, even if it was equally sarcastic. “Oh, you think I’m in the CIA?” He stepped closer to me, his breath in my face. “In case you haven’t noticed, this is bigger than the CIA. Whoever is in charge of this project is way higher up.”
“So, you’re admitting you’re a sleeper.”
“No, that’s not what I—”
“Then what?” I demanded, cutting him off. “Why are your fingerprints quite literally all over this?”
Harry folded his arms, his expression darkening. "You're still talking about this?" He groaned. “Josie.” He planted his hands on my shoulders. “I am not a spy, okay? Yes, my writing being on those documents was weird, but we’re also dealing with animal crackers which turn us into littles.” His lips curved into the slightest of smirks. “I’m pretty sure it would be easy for a group of scientists to use my writing as some kind of red herring. They’re trying to turn us against each other, obviously. And that’s not going to happen.” He squeezed my shoulders and I felt momentary comfort. I was so tired.
I hadn’t slept properly in days in fear of Eleanor coming to smoke us out—and the urge to just sink into the boy’s chest was suddenly overwhelming. Luckily, I had self-control. I took a step back, and he dropped his arms. “That's sobering, yes,” I said. “But I’m still going to try waking you up with those trigger phrases we found.”
When he tried to speak, I shook my head.
“Like it or not, you’re our only way out.”
I had made it clear several times to the two of them that I had no intention to use the trigger phrases we found taped to the back of the door in the bunker, when searching for more intel. But the more I was really thinking about it, if there were sleeper agents capable of taking down a group of forty-year-old tweens, I had no choice but to at least try. Because it was either that, or I gave the littles what they wanted. The boy’s. Whatever they needed, Rowan, Carmel, and Harry were the keys to their plan.
We needed a miracle, and those trigger phrases were our best shot.
Harry, of course, was against this idea.
He did that thing he always did when he scrunched up his nose and curled his lip. It reminded me of a toddler not getting their way. I saw it exclusively when the littles were taking advantage of his piggybacking service. “Josie, I’m not a fucking spy!”
"You could be." I said stiffly. "And until we figure out what is going on with you, I don't trust you. You said it yourself. Your writing was all over the kid's files, so at some point, regardless of you remembering or not, you have been part of this project.”
“So, why did you bring me out here?” He inclined his head. “You don’t trust me and yet you bring me on your little mission to find an exit.”
I shrugged. “I was partly hoping we would be attacked and your natural instincts would kick in.”
“So, I’m your lab-rat?”
“Partially.”
Harry did the scrunchy-nose thing again. “What the fuck, dude?!”
He looked like he was going to argue before deciding against it. Instead, he slipped on his raybans and gestured behind me with a sigh.
"We should probably get going before those little freaks come looking for us and realize we’ve left our safehouse.” I didn’t know how to explain and put into words that to survive we had to try everything—and if there was a slither of a chance that Harry really was some kind of sleeper agent, I was going to take advantage of that. I hadn’t forgotten about Carmel, Callan, and Olive. Rowan too, no matter how screwed up he was. I was counting on getting all of us out. I turned on my heel and started to head back to camp. I didn’t look at him because doing that would make me weak.
“Right. Let’s go.”
There was something going at the camp when we got back. I was startled by an intense blue light illuminating from the lunch cabin, and I had half a mind to turn and run. Then the screams started. Just like Teddy, they sounded both human and not, a horrifying mix of man and machine wailing for death. I found myself paralysed, crouched behind Cassie’s cabin, their phantom screams rattling my skull sending my thoughts into overdrive. “Josie.” I felt warm fingers wrap around my elbow and pull me back. Harry was thankfully there, dragging me away before I could expose us. It was enough to snap me out of it. Enough to drive me into fight or flight.
When we made it back to Allison’s cabin, Rowan was sleeping. He had conked out halfway through a pack of gummy worms. I spent the next few hours going through each trigger phrase written on the yellow sticky note we found taped to the door. I figured if we were going to try and wake Harry up, he would have to be restrained in case he was triggered to hurt us or even himself. “Is this really necessary?”
“Yes.” I said, squinting at the third trigger phrase. The two of us were sitting cross-legged in front of each other. Harry, breathing heavily, and me, trying to make myself calm. Harry pulled gingerly at the jump-rope restraints we had managed to loop around his wrists. I was expecting something out of him, but all I got were his wide eyes staring back at me.
The latest phrase was twisting my brain. It sounded like a kid’s book. I took a deep breath.
“Green Tigers Do Not Live Independently.”
Harry didn’t move, making a deal of blinking rapidly back at me. “No, I mean,” he gestured to his arms pinned behind his back. “Why did you have to make them so tight?"
“Because you’re a spy, dude.” Rowan had woken up, intrigued by my attempts to wake up a possible sleeper. He was pretending to go through the Eleanor Summers footage again, but the boy was clearly invested in what we were doing. Sitting slumped in the spinning chair, he leaned his fist on his chin. There were various things about Rowan I wanted to point out, but I was too scared to. The tips of his fingers were still stained red, and I had no idea if it was new or old. Rowan Atlas used to be the one guy at camp I used to think looked older than he was—and acted older than he was.
Instead of taking part in camp activities, he chose to sit on a branch and read pretentious classics. Yeah. He was one of THOSE guys. The slight stubble on his chin would definitely get him served alcohol, and his intelligence and quick-thinking would easily sway you if you were sceptical. Now he was the complete opposite. Maybe I was imagining things, but he had definitely gotten younger in the face, even if it was just a year or two.
I am not talking about his appearance, however. Rowan’s mentality was drastically different from the guy who held crisis meetings and ordered all of us around like we were his own children. This guy had a certain childish twinkle in his eye when I happened to catch it, a twitch in his lips which was constantly a wide smile like he was constantly seeing butterflies. Before being force-fed animal crackers, the guy had maintained his hair and hygiene no matter what happened. Now, he looked like he’d been dragged through a forest. Literally. There was still grass and leaves caught in his sandy hair, his camp Redwood shirt torn in odd places.
He yawned, curling up on the chair, apparently getting comfy. “No hard feelings, but we gotta keep you under investigation. Like Josie said, your name was all over those shady documents.”
Even his voice was different. I couldn’t call it a squeak, but it was close enough to one.
“I’m not a spy,” Harry grumbled, ducking his head. “I think I would know if I was—what, some kind of government agent?”
“That’s the whole point of them,” Rowan, still with lingering childish traits, winked at him. “They don’t know either.” He raised his hand and mimed the finger guns, protruding them into his temples and pretending to pull the trigger. Adapting a storytelling tone, he lowered his voice to a whisper. Like he was talking to the kids.
“They can live their whole lives without realizing.” I could tell from his tone he was getting excited with the idea of sleeper agents. Maybe it was a kid thing. Rowan sat up straight with wide eyes. “Cruelly brainwashed by a secret organisation at a young age and turned into super soldiers, these guys have no family. No friends.” His gaze flicked to Harry, his lips twitching into a teasing grin. “Only the insatiable urge to kill and follow orders. They don’t have brains to feel or emotions. And that?”
He did a dramatic spin on the chair. I could tell he was revelling in the look of horror on Harry’s face. “That is the most dangerous thing about them. The inability to have free will. Because what happens when they come face to face with people they used to love? People from their old life?”
With both of us enthralled in his speech, the boy smirked. “They kill them. Family members and friends. With one simple order? BAM.” Harry jumped, and I am ashamed to say I did too. Rowan blew his imaginary finger guns. “With one single and yet perfect headshot, it’s allll over. There’s blood EVERYWHERE. There’s brains!” He giggled. “Brains! And it’s like, sooo gross.”
With the way he kept adding to his story, getting progressively more excited and practically vibrating in the chair, the boy was reminding me more and more of my little sister. Which terrified me. Because if this was him back to himself, was this his new normal?
“Rowan, stop.” It took every ounce of my being not to yell at him. “You’re acting like a fucking child.” I was frowning at a sign on the wall warning us to ‘mind our head’. It wasn’t even a low ceiling, and yet that was the fourth time I had seen that sign.
Harry looked mildly horrified. Usually, he was the one who told the ghost stories. I could tell even he was questioning his own identity at that moment, and I paused interrogating him with phrases. “I’m sorry, but who out of us ate our weight in animal crackers?”
“Against my will.” Rowan yawned again, doing another spin on the chair. I had to turn around and shoot him a glare. “That’s the second time you’ve thrown me being turned into a kid in my face. Which is not fair. Did I ask to be stuffed full of poison?"
“Well, you didn’t exactly fight against Eleanor.”
“I was tied up, asshole—and I’m pretty you were in la-la land at that point.”
“I’m allergic to peanut butter, so no,” Harry rolled his eyes. “I snapped out of it when my body reminded me.”
“That sounds like a you problem, dude.”
Harry groaned, tipping his head back. “Holy shit, Rowan. You used to be cool and now you’re like an annoying little brother.”
“Touché.”
“Shut up. Both of you.” I found my voice, grabbing a pen and scribbling out the first line of trigger phrases which were a no-go.
“Rowan, annoyingly, is right.” I said, ignoring the guy’s noise of glee. If he kept spinning around on that chair, I was going to kill him.
The blur of movement at the corner of my eye was driving me mad. Focusing on Harry, I took a break from the trigger phrases for a moment, poking him in the cheek. It was supposed to be light-hearted, but the guy looked offended.
“For the third time, we can’t ignore that at some point you have signed off on all of those files, which means you were part of Spearhead.” I shrugged. “I’m not saying you are, but we have to be smart if we’re going to survive against a group of deranged scientists.”
Rowan chuckled. “What she saiiiiiid.”
"Why aren't we paying attention to the guy who clearly has allegiance to those freaks?” Harry stuck out his tongue at Rowan, which was surprising on multiple levels. Wasn’t he supposed to be the normal one? “Aren't you their favorite counselor?"
"I was literally mind controlled by preservatives, asshole," Rowan shot back. "And I'm not the only one. You and Carmel are on their radar too."
"Yeah, but we’re not the ones playing with eyes.”
"I'm too tired to argue with you." The boy responded in a yawn, cuddling into the chair armrest like a cat. “Also… you’re a noodlehead.”
“Ignore him.” I told Harry. “Just focus on me, alright? You have to look at me.”
“I am!”
“It’s time to make the donuts.” I articulated it perfectly.
Harry surprised me with a laugh. “That one can’t be real.”
“It is. Shush.” I cleared my throat. “The strawberry moon will rise in July.” When nothing happened, I frowned. “Maybe I’m not saying them right.” I peered at the next one, mentally speaking it and then muttering it to myself to get an idea of the tone.
“Or,” Harry shrugged, pulling at his restraints. “I’m just spit-balling here, but maybe I’m NOT a secret government sleeper agent after all?”
“Be mindful of the deep ravine.” This time I practically shouted it in his face, only to get his wide smile in return.
“Josie, this isn’t working.”
“It will.” I was growing increasingly more frustrated. “Just try and listen to them, okay? Don’t push them out.”
I tried one more time, leaning close and scrunching up the sticky note in my hand. Harry’s expression stayed stoic, though from the contortions in his forehead and the twitch in his lips he was trying so hard not to laugh. “It looks like it will rain tonight.”
I was surprised, then, when Rowan jolted in the chair suddenly. He lifted his head, his eyes wide. I was seeing him back to his usual self for the flicker of a second, his expression contorted with fright, lips curling into a scowl. “Do you guys smell that?”
“Smell what?” I sniffed the air, but there was nothing which was out of the ordinary. I had grown used to the combined stink of our body odour.
Rowan wrinkled his nose. He sat up straighter. “That.” He whispered. “It smells like… burning.”
I opened my mouth to ask what he meant before Harry went stiff suddenly. I sensed his entire body seem to brace itself. His eyes hardened. “Untie me.” He said in a croak.
When my shaking hands went to the boy’s restraints, his were balled into fists. I glimpsed muscles bulging through the back of his shirt and forearms. His demeanour reminded me of an animal growing territorial. “Something is… wrong,” he said in a sharp breath. Harry’s frightened eyes found mine. “Wrong.” He said again, blinking rapidly. “Something is...wr–wrong. ” When I pulled the last of the rope from his arms, Rowan shocked me with a piercing cry which sent him tumbling off of the chair, his trembling hands planted over his ears, lips carved into an O.
His eyes were wide with terror, with agony I couldn't understand. Childish terror. Which catapulted him back to his real age.
Before I could hesitate, I was crawling over to him, attempting to snap the boy out of it. But he was inconsolable, his eyes almost unseeing, his body contorting with every shriek. It took me a moment to realize Harry was the same. But instead of a piercing shriek of a scream, he was wailing into his knees, as if to escape something.
His body seemed to jolt left and right, like he was being electrocuted. When I saw glimpses of sharp red pooling between his fingers and down the back of his neck, something sickly crept up my throat. Rowan was somehow worse, his whole face contorting like it was it's own separate being, rivulets of intense red dripping from his nose and mouth, and staining his hands desperately pressed over his ears.
It was a synchronised cry, I realized, after concluding that no matter what I did, I couldn't save them.
It was a sound only they could hear, a high-pitched screech like a dog-whistle which was only affecting them. It was the kids, I thought. Surely. If they could disembowel counselors, I was sure they would have no problem engineering a sound which would only affect certain people.
Stumbling back, I had two choices. I could either try and help them, try and block out this phantom noise slowly killing them-- or I could leave them and find a safer place. With that choice in my mind, I barely noticed the phone begin to ring under Allison's desk.
That same old fashioned trilling rang in my head, and I managed to reach under and grab the receiver, my heart in my throat. "Please." I managed to squeak out, trying to ignore Harry, who was trying to rip out his hair, his eyes rolling into the back of his head. I saw the whites, blood vessels popping one by one.
When he crumpled to the ground, I thought he was dead. But his wails continued into the floor, and I wanted them to stop. I wanted him to die because I couldn’t stand hearing him screaming for help which wasn’t coming. I couldn't help them, and it was killing me. The kids were clearly trying to smoke us out, this time targeting the boy’s. Still though, I had my secret weapon. The Spearhead project.
"There are three of us left," I panted down the phone. "You have to help us. I am at Camp Redwood. You need to get us out of here. Do you hear me? You need to get us out–"
“Attempts to fix the current situation have been unsuccessful, Miss Greenfield," the woman with the British accent's voice came through in a rush of static, cutting me off. Her voice was monotone, and I wondered if she was in fact a programmed bot.
"All efforts for manual activation have failed from the disaster zone. The signal appears to have been sabotaged. I repeat. The E.485 frequency has been sabotaged. Designated models 0115, 0116, and 0118 are now officiated as being faulty and are no longer needed for protocol 9AXC5. Please stand by for standard protocol deactivation. Thank you for your service. Agent Salta. Agent Elsilrac. Agent Lemrac.”
My grip loosened on the phone, and I felt my legs started to give-way. "You're the one doing this to them?”
When Rowan dropped to his knees, blood dripping from his nose, my stomach jumped into my throat. There was no way. I figured it was an attack from the kids, but I was wrong. Instead, this sound, this frequency, was coming from the phone.
I thought back to the video footage. Agent Lemrac interviewing Eleanor Summers. Harry's signature on the paperwork. “Can you… say that again?” I heard myself say in a breath. But the dead ringing tone was already clanging in my skull, a robotic countdown laced within the static. I grabbed the pen I had been writing with, scribbling those names down, my hands shaking.
“Preparing emergency shutdown protocol. Thank you for your service, Agent Salta, Elsilrac, Lemrac.” The voice continued, which was just another stab in the gut. I heard Salta before. I heard Lemrac. But writing them down, I realized what they meant.
Salta.
Elsilrac.
Lemrac.
I was a fucking idiot. No wonder the littles wanted them and Carmel— why they were so important to their plan. Slowly, I could feel myself start to crumble. The phone slipped from my clammy hands, but I could still hear the woman beginning an emergency shut down.
I didn’t feel the impact when my knees hit the ground, but I did start to sense something twisted and sour tickling the back of my nose and throat. By the time I had noticed it, it was already choking the bunker. But somehow, I didn’t care about the stars in my eyes or my own blood being projected onto my hands with every wet sounding cough exploding from my lungs. I could still hear their names, and every time I said each of them, more and more of me shattered.
Atlas.
Carlisle.
Carmel.
“18…”
“17…”
“16…”
“15…”
Laying on my back while my head spun, I was partially aware the boy’s screaming had cut off.
Instead, they were just sitting there, eyes wide and unseeing, the blankest I had ever seen them. There was so much blood running down their faces, and I imagined something rooted inside of them tearing their minds apart from the inside. Letting out another strangled cough, which was definitely biological warfare courtesy of the kids (not enough to kill, but definitely a warning not to fuck with them) my gaze flicked across the bunker, taking everything in. The paperwork we had been going through. The chair Rowan had been spinning around on. The ropes Harry’s arms had been entangled in. I was frowning at the walls, and then the ceiling.
“Please mind your head when you step down the stairs.”
Drinking in the words slowly, my cotton candy thoughts imploding into one blurry mess.
But then I was a little more awake, this time turning my gaze to the wall where the same sign had been taped to the wall. Please mind your head when you step down the stairs. And… there it was again, taped to the desk, and underneath the laptop. Hidden in plain sight. It had been there all along, and yet I only realised when I wasn't thinking about it, when my mind was being suffocated. Something seemed to snap inside of me, and I sat up, driven by pure adrenaline. With one hand pressed over my mouth and nose, I forced myself into a sitting position and dragged myself to Harry, whose head was lolled at an unnatural angle, his eyes closed.
Part of me wanted to smash up the phone, knowing what these bastards had done to their sleeper agents now they were no longer usable. The boy almost resembled a doll. Was this the so-called sleeper which had been planted inside Redwood? Empty eyes, empty everything. He was like a shell with a human face. No better than Eleanor's experiments.
When I grabbed hold of his arms, I had to hold him steady, his body cut from these puppet strings which had held him. “Harry.” I could barely speak, my voice more of a croak. I knew he was awake and aware, but a singeing, almost burning smell was coming from directly inside his head as blood ran from his nostrils in shades of red and pink. Now I knew what the burning was when I pressed my face against his and sucked in a lungful of poisoned air. It was him. He was a defect being set alight from the inside. “You need to look at me, okay?”
When he didn’t, instead crumbling in my arms, I struggled to hold him upright. Twisting my head to Rowan, he seemed in a better state—kind of. At least he was still sitting straight.
My last words were barely audible. “Please mind your head when you step down the—” no sooner had the words left my mouth before the sounds of footsteps coming from above, the unmistakable murmur of giggling getting closer and closer. Harry dropped to the ground like he had been severed from his puppet strings.
I wasn’t aware when I slipped to the floor, whatever had filled my lungs finally taking its toll. Through flickering eyes, I could see our barricade being blown through, the ground rumbling beneath me, throwing me into something warm.
Rowan.
His body was curled up against the wall, haemorrhaging from the ears.
It was only when I was truly taking in the stink curling in the back of my nose and throat as Eleanor Summer’s mechanical grin popped out of nowhere, when I realized I had smelled it before. I had choked on it before. The circle of kids looming above me let out a shrill squeak of, “Found you!” while I found the dark, and beyond that, a memory I thought was a dream.
Firelight flickered in the backs of my eyelids. The blur of orange and shadowy smoke was mesmerising. I stared real hard at the fire like I was told to, at smouldering shades of yellow and orange colliding, thick black smoke billowing into the air while our faces illuminated the circle. I tightened my grip on my beer, swallowing another mouthful. It was cheap shit, but had just enough burn to get me tipsy. I felt good at that moment. Relaxed.
My head was starting to spin, but it was the good spinning, like I was going round and around on a carousel. I wasn't sure why I felt apprehension at the moment.
It was just a game, right? So, why did I want to jump up and go home? Why did I want to squeeze my eyes shut? Milo's words rattled in my skull as I squinted into the fire. "Come forth, those who are no longer with us." Ghosts weren't real, I thought dizzily. They couldn't be.
Not when science and logic existed. However, when the flames began to grow increasingly more erratic, I couldn't resist leaning forward, and... there. Something warm crept its way up my throat.
There was a shadow twisted in the smoke, a very human-like thing stepping directly from the trees, from the hollowed darkness I had been too scared to fully take in-- finding solace in flickering and illuminated sparks spitting from the fire. The others started to murmur to each other as the thing took a step out of the trees. Clea shuffled back with a cry, and Milo and JJ turned twin shades of sickly pale. It was a guy.
Older, by maybe a year. Shaggy reddish hair tied into a loose ponytail. His clothes were a simple leather jacket and jeans, but looking at his face, he was bruised, every part of him exhausted and battered. His eyes, when I caught them, were nothing but twin pools of oblivion glaring back at us.
"Holy fuck." Milo hissed out. “I didn't think that would actually work!" Downing his beer, he whooped. "Alright! Name, age, occupation, and..."
His lips quirked into a grin. "How you died, man!”
The guy inclined his head, his mouth curling into the start of an amused smile. "I'm not a ghost, Jackass."
His British accent was jarring.
"And?" Milo leaned back, crossing his legs. "Play along, bro. Or I call the cops and tell 'em a grown ass man is fucking with some minors."
"But he looks our age," Clea hummed. "And he's kinda cute."
"I don't give a fuck," Milo's eyes were hard. "State your truth, or I get my dad on the line."
The guy rolled his eyes, raising both arms like he was surrendering. "Samuel Joseph Wilder," he surprised me by responding. Now that I looked at him, this guy definitely was not dead. Unless dead people carried a gun latched to their belt, and a cheap iPhone sticking from their jeans pocket. "Nineteen years old." He shrugged. "I guess you could say I'm an ex-student."
He paused, and I caught emotion flicker across his face, his hands balling into fists. "I was killed– no, murdered, by my town."
Milo leaned back, cracking open another beer and taking a sip. Clea leaned closer to him, her eyes wide. “Playing along, huh? I like it. State your truth."
The guy nodded, lowering his arms. His dark eyes flicked to each of us, drinking all of us in. “I just escaped from a secret government facility doubling as a summer camp which has converted half of my town’s kids into mindless super soldiers.”
There was a pause, before Clea burst into nervous giggles. Milo cocked his head. “I said state your truth, not plagiarise The Hunger Games.”
Ignoring Milo, the guy turned his eyes to me. "Josie Greenfield?" He took a step forward before seemingly deciding against it. I didn't move or speak, my heart in my throat. I didn't have to reply. This strange boy continued, his lips curling. "You're going to die tonight, Josie."
At that moment, I realized why I had been feeling nauseous all night. Why my mind had been anticipating something all day, and why, no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't brush off his words. Maybe part of me was expecting this.
The stranger's tone was too cold to ignore, the state of him too real to brush off as a joke.
Suddenly, it was just me, him, and fate itself glaring down on us, my life as I knew it exploding into nothing in the charred remains of the dying fire.
His voice echoed in my head, collapsing into white noise, when I noticed how truly inhuman he looked. I fully took him in, illuminated in firelight. "If you don't get the fuck out of this town, you are going to have the same fate as me."
…
I’m going to go out on a whim and say it’s… not 2018 and I’ve been at Camp Redwood for way longer than I realized?

Domain name: Conflictus
Society Level: Renaissance (level 9)
Landscape: temperate forests, hills and mountains
Flora and Fauna: Flicky (bird), Ricky (chipmunk), Rocky (walrus), frog, pocky (rabbit), clucky (chicken) Krudzu (sentient mechanical plant that incorporates machinery)
Border: The Mists fill with electricity whenever you try to escape.
​
Dark Lord:
Name- DR. Ivo Robotnik aka "The Eggman"
Description- the obese mad scientist and ruler of the Eggman Empire, his narcissism is evident in how his own image is used extensively throughout his Empire from statues to the designs of buildings to some of his robots and even the insignia of his Empire. His Rotund physique however is a reuse as he has an inhuman strength and is surprisingly athletic. He has no regard to the various lives he's ruined in his attempted conquest.
Torment: whenever he is on the cusp of victory Eggman's pride becomes his downfall.
​
Inhabitants:
Mobians- an anthropomorphic race of varying sub-species with some displaying traits of animals, some have traits of fantasy creatures such as dragons and others have traits of unrecognizable origin. While most simply refer to themselves using epithets (Such as Sonic the Hedgehog or Bean the Dynamite Duck) they will sometimes use family names (such as Antoine D'coulette or Elias Acorn).
Overlanders- a race of mutant humans with four fingers instead of the usual five (with some exceptions) and they tend to be xenophobic towards the Mobians. Mobians unfortunately often can't tell the difference between Overlanders and ordinary humans which sometimes results in hostility.
Humans
​
Characters of interest:
Ixis Naugus- the current Ruler of New Mobotropolis and an evil Wizard who took over by gaining the publics favor he seems to have become comatose but is he really?
Geoffrey St. John- a Mobian Skunk and the Apprentice of the evil Sorcerer Ixis Naugus currently acts as temporary ruler of New Mobotropolis but in reality he is possessed by the spirit of his master. Nobody knows this and even the Secret Freedom Fighters only have vague suspicions as to what is actually going on.
Sonic the Hedgehog- the current de-facto Leader of the Freedom Fighters, Sonic tries not to succumb to despair at the loss of Sally and several others as he leads his remaining friends and allies against Eggman. He has become more vicious over time. His only hope of victory would be the Chaos Emeralds but they haven't been seen ever since the Mists appeared.
Harvey Who- the Leader of the Secret Freedom Fighters this Owl Mobian is a master of disguise and espionage who doesn't let anyone outside of the freedom fighters know anything about him except his last name.
Hershey St. John- a Cat Mobian and the Wife of Geoffrey St. John who is a secret reserve member of the Secret Freedom fighters who has hidden her existence so well that even her husband believes her to be dead only Harvey Who is aware of her existence.
Silver the Hedgehog- a telekinetic Time Traveler and member of the Secret Freedom Fighters he is concerned about the fact that the Mists prevent him from returning to the Future.
Nicole the Holo-lynx- a sentient AI that can project a solid hologram from her main body that consists of a PDA. She built New Mobotropolis using nanites. She has become distressed over the loss of her closest friend Sally Acorn.
E-123 Omega- an E-series robot whom rebelled against Eggman and wants to kill him. He tends to go to extremes at times.
Metal Sonic- a robot copy of Sonic the Hedgehog with sharp claws that can cut through flesh, bone, stone and steel with ease. He can move at similar speeds to Sonic using a jet turbine in his back and can create force fields that can be used both defensively and offensively. He acts as Eggmans enforcer along with Mecha Sally.
Mecha Sally- formerly known as Sally Acorn, princess of the former Kingdom of Acorn, she was the lover of Sonic the Hedgehog until in an act of sacrifice to save her people she became roboticized. Eggman then proceeded to weaponize her against Sonic and modifying her giving her similar abilities to Metal Sonic along with the addition of sword-like retractable wrist blades, boot thrusters instead of a jet turbine and a hidden laser inside her head. However this means that she can no longer be de-roboticized by normal means.
Bunny Rabbot- one of Sonic's friends that was lost, soon after she was cured of her partial roboticization she was captured, brainwashed and legionized. Eggman takes great glee in the ironic fate that befell her.
Shard- Formerly a previous model of Metal Sonic, he gained a conscience and became a member of the Secret Freedom fighters after being rebuilt. He has similar abilities to the normal Metal Sonic but with the edition of an arm cannon and the ability to fire energy blasts from the power gem embedded in his chest. His key weak point is the power gem embedded in his chest. He secretly has feelings for his fellow AI Nicole the Holo-lynx.
Fiona Fox- A traitor to the Freedom Fighters. She feels regret after the one whom she betrayed her comrades for left her for dead. She fears that the Freedom Fighters will never welcome her back due to the gruesome extent of her betrayal. So now she aids them from the shadows unable to face them out of shame.
Blaze the Cat- a pyrokinetic Princess of a far away empire. She has been anxious since she cannot tend to her kingdom with the mists preventing her return.
​
Major Settlements:
New Mobotropolis- A seemingly idealic city and safe haven ruled over by The Republic of Acorn (formerly The Kingdom of Acorn) and where magic and futuristic technology are used in equal measure, however under the surface there lies political corruption, hidden plots and worse. They are ruled by the Tyrant Ixis Naugus who acts by manipulating public opinion in his favor under the guise of a benevolent ruler. However recently Naugus seems to have entered a comatose state with his apprentice Geoffrey St. John taking his place however in reality something far more sinister is at play.
New Megaopolis- a mechanized dystopia patrolled by robots under the leadership of the Eggman and where most buildings are factories filled with the sounds of machinery. Any signs of life seem to have been scoured entirely and any organics spotted are captured and often condemned to a fate worse than death. At night the air is filled with a toxic blinding smog.
​
Factions:
The Freedom Fighters- a group led by Sonic the Hedgehog to fight against the Eggman Empire however many of it's original members have been lost over time with Sonic as one of the last founding members as they keep losing more and more members in their skirmishes.
The Secret Freedom Fighters- a secret team built to eliminate Ixis Naugus in secret under the command of Harvey Who. It also serves as a replacement for the Royal Secret Service that belonged to the former Kingdom of Acorn. They operate out of a Secret HQ, a hidden bunker built by the AI Nicole in an undisclosed location within New Mobotropolis. They are currently studying the Krudzu to find a way to return Sally Acorn to normal this plan may or may not backfire however.
The Dark Egg Legion- regional enforcers and soldiers of the Eggman's so-called Eggman Empire, they have all undergone a process known as "legionisation" where they are turned into cyborgs and a bomb is placed within one of the mechanical parts as a failsafe against treason. While many members have joined willingly or out of desperation there are some cases where unwilling captives are brainwashed and "legionised."
The Badnik Horde- the Robot Army of the Eggman Empire, the Badniks range from animal shaped machines (such as moto bugs, cater-killers, buzz bombers and bat brains) to bipedal androids (such as Shadowbots, Egg Pawns and Egg Swat) and even more bizarre forms (like Orbinauts and Gohlas) each Badnik often contains a captured animal within being used as an organic battery. There are far more advanced models as well known as the E-series (like the Egg Keeper, E-1000, E-2000 or E-123 Omega).
Roboticized creatures- a fate that has befallen many of the victims of the Eggman Empire, Roboticization is the process of converting an organic being into a robot. The victim is still conscious after being roboticized but they have no control over their body as they are forced to turn on their own allies and loved ones before dragging them away screaming to a similar fate. Roboticized Mobians are nicknamed Robians. Robiticized humanoids can be de-roboticized with a machine found in new Mobotropolis or their free will can be restored with the help of an engineer. However an individual cannot be de-roboticized if their bodies have been modified after roboticization.

I have a 1B/1B available in right on the edge of Cupertino border, near San Jose. I just moved in solo into a 2B/2B, and am looking for a roommate to fill the other bedroom.
The complex is City Gate Cupertino. Rent is $1750. Lease is 12 months. Room is a little under 130 sqft not including the closet. There's an in-unit washedryer and the complex has a heated pool and fitness center. Pets are okay with additional deposit + 75 monthly rent.
About me: I'm a 31M software engineer who works hybrid hours and I've been in the Bay Area for over 10 years. I enjoy the typical bay area software engineering hobbies like hiking, board games, video games, etc. I'm also a bit of a cine-phile and an okay musician (piano and drums). I'm more of a nite owl than an early bird, but otherwise I'm pretty lax about my activities and fairly amenable to changes. I also have an adorable and sweet Cardigan Welsh Corgi named Einstein who would love to play with you as soon as you meet with him. He also gets along well with other dogs, and has gotten along okay with cats in the same household in the past.
If you are interested, please DM me for more details.

I am aiming for CAT 2024 and my profile is as such, IIT Engineer male General, 95.2% in both 10th and 12th, 78.1% in my graduation and I will be having work experience of one year. I am completely new to this and would like help on which coaching in online mode should I choose and what should be my percentile target. I am comfortable with top 20 B-Schools

Hi, again:
Once again, last night's dinner went well, the food and conversation were great, and I was glad to see the two ladies again. The Japanese MD and the other local MD were both warm and friendly, and I really appreciated that. We talked about some previous activities, to a point, but not my leaving or epic letter. They're planning some other activities, and of course, I won't be attending. The MD lives nearby their house and is taking care of his mother alone, so he appreciated the evening.
Then I realized something: I miss some of the people. For all its awful attributes, there are also some great people in SGI, and I'm glad to know them.
The Japanese MD is now 74 years old, (he told me) and he is still driving and working--not retired, and not for a while. (He's an engineer.)
No--I won't be re-joining, of course, and I'm in touch with the ladies who live nearby. One gave me a couple of sewing repair jobs, and I *must* go back when I'm done with them, but I don't mind. :) Hopefully I can bring my honey over there to see their gorgeous house. They know him and like him, too, but they're just likeable people.
I'm overdue to meet another elderly lady for coffee, too. One of the ladies said she ran into Miss V the other day but they weren't able to chat much.
Also in touch with a few other members in New Orleans and elsewhere, but others, not really. The WD leader in another city I was talking to a couple of weeks ago sees me on Instagram, too.
By and large, I guess that is the worst part of all this is missing out on the connections that weren't just for the org. But I guess those filter through, right?
Well, onward. Enjoy the cats!

The Solid State Depot (local Boulder non-profit makerspace) has organized a pretty awesome line-up of summer classes. All are taught by volunteers and aimed at improving the skills of our community.

• June 13th Hand-Sewing / Mending Basics
• June 14th Intro to CAD with OnShape
• June 22nd Fundamentals of Engineering: Statics
• June 27th Tool Training: Laser Cutter
• June 28th Tool Training: 3D Printers
• June 29th Fundamentals of Engineering: Dynamics
• July 6th Fundamentals of Engineering: Work and Energy
• July 11th Woodworking Fundamentals
• July 13th Fundamentals of Engineering: Materials
• July 18th Woodworking: Making Cutting Boards
• July 20th Fundamentals of Engineering: Gears, Belts, and Chains
• July 25th Machine Learning: Hacking the Stock Market
• July 27th Fundamentals of Engineering: Machining
• August 3rd Fundamentals of Engineering: Mechatronics
• August 5th Tig Welding 101
• August 8th Hand-Sewing / Mending Basics
• August 9th Designing Your Own Object to 3D Print
• August 10th Fundamentals of Engineering: Design Process
• August 15th Tool Training: Cricut and Vinyl Cutters
• August 17th Tool Training: ShopBot Wood CNC
• August 22nd Machine Learning: Cat or Dog
• August 24th Tool Training: Tormach

I helped get this organized, and excited to teach our community how to make new things!