2. And It’s Just My Luck

Waking up to the sight of wooden beams was not something I was expecting. Not that wooden beams are bad or anything; I love wooden beams. They help support the roof and…yeah. It was the fact that it wasn't cracked concrete that I was looking at. That was what was confusing to me, until I examined the room and found Old Man Hewg rocking back and forth in his chair and the memories of last night came back, dissuading the slight panic that began to arise. 

It was only then that a tapping sensation began on my left arm. And guess what I found? Vy tapping away at my arm making some rhythm only she could understand. She smiled widely, "You're finally awake, Yuke."

I sat up, grasping at the soft fur of the rug. "Yeah, it's much softer than what we normally sleep on. I think I kind of prefer the hardness more though."

"Speak for yourself. I could lay on this forever. It's the best!"

I couldn't hold back the laugh that bubbled out from inside of me. She reminded me of a stray cat, taking possession of a particularly comfy blanket like it was theirs from the very beginning.

"You two are free to use this day as you please."

I did not flinch at Hewg's sudden input, "Thank you."

Vy jumped up and ran to Hewg, hugging him. 

He floundered in surprise, and I totally understood his pain. Vy gives some death grip hugs, but that did not stop me from laughing. This is my revenge, I'm still sore and tired from yesterday.

We quickly put on our shoes and left the Old Man alone.

The sun was shining brightly, and the skies were clear; it was going to be a good day. 

"Vy, how many times do I have to tell you? Your shirt is not the same color as the sky. It's much darker!"

"You're just colorblind Yuke." She whined. "I'm bored."

I knew what she was doing, trying to change the topic, it's her pet peeve that I don't agree that her shirt is the same color, and I will admit that I use it to annoy her. But I will let it go. This once. "What do you want to do then?"

"I don't know. Hey! When was the last time we checked out the ghost traps?"

I gasped. "I forgot about those!?"

Vy clapped her hands to her cheek, "What if we captured some poor lonely spirit and it's been sitting there all alone? We have to go, quick!"

We placed those traps weeks ago, all because Vy had heard somewhere that the glass building was haunted. I don't believe it is, but Vy is positive that we could capture a ghost. 

Old Man Hewg had forbidden us from going and he called the building 'Dusk' explaining it was because the Sun would disappear behind it. Despite how rundown and dirty it was, the building still felt… newer. I'm not sure if that's the best word for it, but it was all I could come up with. It was a vertical rectangular building with glass windows and concrete pillars. It stood taller than the rest of the structures around, yet despite this, it still seemed incomplete, like it was missing something. 

It was on the way home from Hewg's house, so we passed it nearly every day. It gives me the creeps though. Plenty of buildings like these litter the Outskirts, they are home to many of the poor and desperate with nowhere else to go. We live in one for example, but it doesn't emanate the same offness as Dusk. All the things within have remained untouched for who knows how long, while most of the other buildings have been stripped clean. Everyone avoids Dusk for some reason.

As we approached the cracked window pane we use as our entrance, suddenly a loud 'ping' echoed inside.

I froze and looked back at Vy, hoping she heard it too.

She had a devious grin and held up a rock, tossing it up and down, "You should've seen your face!"

"Come on Vy," I whined, "I thought you were supposed to be the one taking it seriously."

"You were being too serious and tense, loosen up Yuke. Just imagine, if we discover this ghost, we'll become rich and famous! Living in luxury among the Dolls of White."

"What happened to being a Herald?"

"That's just if this ghost thingy becomes a bust," she retorted with a snort.

So much for your lofty dream, I thought to myself. 

By now we had entered the building and began rummaging around.

"I can't believe you forgot where we placed the trap."

"I don't see you pointing out where we put it."

She gave a huff and left the room, deciding to check the hallways.

I continued to search, it was relatively dark, but if I focused on something for long enough I'd be able to make out what it was. There were papers littered everywhere and desks haphazardly standing or lying sideways and upside down. Chairs with wheels on the bottom were all gathered in a corner of the room as the building was at a slight slant. 

"Hey! I found it!" Vy's voice echoed from down the hallway. 

I raced to meet her and see the prize of our hunting expertise. It sounded like we caught something at least.

What I didn't expect was to round the corner and see Vy gingerly holding a brown bunny. 

"Look at this Yuke! We caught a little little bunny." She rubbed behind its ear, calming it down. 

"I see that. I was kinda hoping for something cooler."

"Oh hush, you're happy it's a bunny and not a ghost cuz you would've run away screaming."

"No, I wouldn't've!" I felt the need to defend myself, how low does she think of me?

She snickered, "Whatever you say."

The bunny began twitching and seemed on edge. Suddenly, it leaped from Vy's grasp and skittered away.

"What's his problem?" Vy pouted.

"Maybe you smell bad," I suggested.

I was punched for that remark.

Now was a good time to bring up something that was nagging me though, "Vy, what do you think this place was originally?"

She tilted her head, "What do you mean?"

"This is just one of a bunch of scattered buildings like this in the Outskirts. What do you think they were from? They don't look like anything that was built recently. I bet you even the buildings in Naminas don't look like this."

"Yeah, I don't know. Honestly, what if this was built in the Cataclysm?"

"Maybe."

We became lost in our thoughts. I absentmindedly realized Vy was still sitting on the floor. 

"How's the dust?"

"Oh ha ha," she snarked as she stood up and dusted herself off. 

I couldn't help but cough at all the dust that then rejoined the air. 

I was punched again for that joke, but seriously, there's way too much dust in this place. 

"Rave…"

"Yea?" I replied as I continued rubbing my shoulder from her haymakers. I didn't even realize she said my real name.

"Don't move."

"Oh, what? Do I have a spider on me?"

"No."

"Then what is it?" I asked as I looked up at her. She was looking past me, searching, it seemed like.

"We need to leave." 

"Um ok. Will you just tell me what you saw?" I looked behind me and didn't see anything in the shadows. 

"There's something else in here, something much bigger."

I shakily nodded and we both began running as fast as we could down the hallway, taking a left into the room with the broken window. I could hear it behind us. It was bigger than anything that should be in here. Its footsteps were much louder than ours as it crashed through the hallway. 

"Run! Run! Run!" I chanted as we booked it through the room and through the broken window out into the open clearing. 

We both turned and anxiously awaited whatever it was to appear. We wouldn't be able to outrun it, so facing it was our best bet. Vy was rambling on about how she saw certain features that marked it as feline-related or something. I wasn't thinking about that. I was cursing not having some sort of weapon on me. Panicking, I quickly found a rock that I could at least throw at the creature. 

Slowly from the darkness of the building, a paw appeared. Then the rest of the creature showed itself. It was low to the ground and ready to pounce.

"Teiphyr," Vy whimpered. 

The beast was lean, but its tightly coiled muscle could be seen from beneath the dark blue fur. Its claws and fangs radiated a light greenish blue. The creature began walking in a circle around us, it seemed to be searching for something. 

"It's looking for any weaknesses," Vy supplied.

Hey, at least those books she read are coming in handy. We can identify what will kill us. Yippee.

"Keep your eyes on it. The moment we look away, it'll pounce," Vy whispered.

"What do you think I'm doing?" I hissed. I'd most definitely prefer to delay our doom as long as possible. Maybe someone will see us and help..? Just gotta win a staring contest in the meantime. 

The Teiphyr now stood still, it had made its way back to being in front of the broken window. It was poised and growling lowly.

I looked back at Vy, "GO! Get Hew-"

"YOU IDIOT!"

Suddenly, I was knocked down roughly and all I could see was the sky. Then the Teiphyr engulfed my vision. It leaned down and a glob of saliva languidly oozed from its mouth and dripped onto my face. 

I vaguely heard Vy's screams, but the pressure on my chest was getting harder and I couldn't stop gagging at the disgustingness that was on my face. 

All at once though, the pressure disappeared. I hesitantly looked down and the paw that was previously digging into my chest was still there, but now severed from the limb.

The Teiphyr was violently forced off me. 

I inhaled as much air as I could. What the hell?! I almost died… Wait, who attacked the creature?

I blinked and Hewg entered my vision, he was carrying a great big two-sided ax. It looked awesome. Yes, even in a time like this, I can admire something freakin awesome.

In another blink, he was gone, but I could faintly hear sounds of struggle. 

Pushing the now lonely paw off me, I tried to reorient myself and stand up. 

By the time my world stopped shaking, Hewg was standing over the motionless Teiphyr. He was breathing heavily but stood relaxed. He rested the shaft of the ax on his shoulder and turned to Vy, who had sidled up next to me, "Explain."

"Explain what?" Vy questioned innocently. 

Hewg tensed and snarled, "NO-" He cut himself off, and took a deep breath, "No games right now. What the hell were you two thinking?"

"You really destroyed that oversized kitty," I pointed out. It was an obvious observation, but Vy and I needed to stall for time so Hewg wouldn't devise a new punishment just for this occasion.

"Answer me!" Hewg's tone broached no argument. I immediately decided there was no way we're getting out of this. 

Vy beat me to the punch though. She hesitantly approached Hewg, "We're sorry Old Man. We were just lookin' for ghosts, seriously." She kicked the ground lightly, "It won't happen again, we promise."

"You two do not understand! I say what I say for a reason. I tell you not to go into Dusk; then you don't go into Dusk! This day could've ended completely differently... You must learn that your actions have consequences." Hewg turned to me, "And you! You're goddamn lucky to be alive."

I nodded shakily. An aching pain was beginning to emanate from my chest, and I realized my shirt had several gashes in it from where the claws pierced and a little bit of blood was leaking through them. 

Hewg looked out toward the surrounding woods, "A Teiphyr… in a place like this?"

Vy took the time to place a salve on the gashes across my chest. If I felt droplets hit my arm, I paid no mind. 

"Y-you know you can let go of the rock, right?" Vy asked with a chuckle disguised sob.

"Oh." 

It hit the ground with a thud, just as I heard something whizz by my head. I looked up and saw Hewg deflect something with his ax. 

The contact echoed out in a metallic ringing.

He looked, wide-eyed, past us. Vy still hadn't noticed anything happened. 

Hewg bolted toward us and stood with his back to us, facing Dusk. 

"On the count of three, I want you two to run toward the tree line as fast as you can." 

We nodded.

"Ok?" Hewg reiterated. 

"We will," I answered as Vy began to realize something was happening. She resolutely grasped my hand. She understood we weren't safe yet.