Also, Azila's contest requirements included having an urban setting. Feel free to tell me if I pulled it off. I didn't have space to get too detailed, but I have a few basic sketches and allowed your minds to fill in the details--or so I hope. Anyway, I hope you enjoy.
///
TREV
Love took in the cemetery. The place had always had some sort of gloomy appeal to her--the fence with its spike-pointed ends, tombstones with familiar names, and the ancient hardwoods. Mistletoe clung to the boughs as did spiderwebs, some looking like white tornadoes.
It was beautiful here, if morbid. She stood there a second longer, looking. Something dark caught her eye. She blinked. Now there was nothing. She shrugged, decided to move on.
Soon, she was by the motel with its out of place blue doors and the gas station. She was walking fast, trying to ignore the horrible atmosphere, when she tripped over something.
She assumed the worst, mind rushing to a girl getting hit by a car nearby--even if that made no sense.
She took in the scrapes on her hands in stunned fascination and then looked lengthwise. A boy looking rough, darkest pair of eyes you ever seen on him. Trevor McMillan. He just stared with those black orbs, void as a stone angel in her grandmother’s garden.
“Hey, Trev,” she said, brushing herself off and standing. “You want a drink?”
#
They were both on the curb outside the gas station, knocking back Fantas. She had no idea why the kid liked them. However, she was glad she’d gone and bought them. Trev, still in high school, was a special case as it were. He was--petite. That didn’t get you places here. Then there was the fact he always seemed like an underage racehorse, all wide eyes and fear.
That scared her a little. Things happened here. She protected her younger siblings from the dark side of this place, but had anyone done that for Trev?
If asked, she’d say no.
He deserved a drink.
“So, what are you doing out here?” she asked.
Trev blinked, minutely snapping out of it. “Hunting.”
Love choked. “Hunting what? Rats?”
Trev grinned. “No. Monsters.”
“Really?”
“Yep,” he said, “there’s one in that alley.” He pointed. She followed his gaze and found herself staring in a shadowy abyss leading away from the gas station.
“Care to show me?”
He hummed, stood up. “Come on.”
He tugged at her arm. She followed, mind whirring. Monsters?
#
The alley was as dank as assumed. The place stank to high hell. Garbage bags lay slashed open, probably sliced up by stray dogs.
Her nose wrinkled. She turned to Trev. He looked at her, bright-eyed.
She cased the place once more. “Trev, are you feeling--?”
A shriek left her as a black mass came from above. She she barely had time to duck.
In turn, it hit Trev’s chest with a thud. She didn’t think. She just grabbed a copper pipe off the filthy street and swung it. It hit home and then--nothing. The place seemed brighter. She could see Trev on his back, lip bloodied.
She stepped back. “What--?”
“You’re like me, then.” Trev shut off himself once more at that.
Love couldn’t find a suitable response to the comment, or action.
///
Original Version:
Spoiler
Love had taken in the gated cemetery, tombstones with familiar names. The town and streets shared names with those dead. She’d grasped the bars and felt the cold of the metal seep into her joints then continued on. She’d kicked beer cans and the hems of her jeans brushed the cracked sidewalk.
When school was out, you had few options of pastimes in deep land-of-the-mosquitoes. If you lived here, you probably didn’t want to go home, either. So you walked.
High school was about finished for her. She’d be moving on soon, leaving this place behind.
But now, sitting in Moe’s with its killed game on the walls and unique sandwiches, she felt regretful. Of course, that had nothing to do with the cluttered place. It had more to do with the boy out the window, him across the road. He was by the gas station and motel on the curb.
Trevor had always been special. Not boyfriend material; he was practically jail bait now. Of course, she didn’t know how old he was. She just knew he went to the high school and was jittery and nervous as a new race horse. All wide eyes and fear.
That scared her. She was meant to protect people and she knew it. She’d protected people before. Yet, she never seemed to do Trevor any good.
She sighed, put down what remained of her sandwich, and slapped some money onto the table. She breezed past the owner of the shop, Al, without a word.
#
She’d bought Fantas. They rotted your teeth, but Trevor liked them. Standing in front of him, she knew she’d needed a peace offering. His eyes were vacant black pools.
“What’s up?” she asked, holding out a can for him.
He blinked. “I’m hunting.”
“Hunting?” she asked. There wasn’t much to hunt here, unless you counted rabbit-sized sewer rats.
He hummed. “Yeah, you want to see?”
He stood up, not taking the drink, and went down an alley. She shivered again and, remembering she had fricking bear spray like a smart individual, followed. Trev was small, anyway. Tiny for this world they both lived in; this town. What could he do?
#
She barely had a chance to move away the second she stepped into the dark to avoid the black mass.
A black mass that landed heavy on Trev.
She did something irrational then. She picked up a piece of pipe and swung. It hit home and then the thing was just gone.
She blinked.
The place seemed brighter--bright enough for her to see Trev and his bloodied lip flat on his back.
“W-what was that?”
Trev smiled. “You wanted to know what I was hunting. Now you know,” he said. “Monsters.”
She knew in that shudder-inflicting moment that getting out had suddenly become out of the question. She didn’t know how but she knew.
She felt along the copper pipe she still held and felt awe like she never had before.
“What did you do?” Trev asked.
She couldn’t find a suitable response to that.
When school was out, you had few options of pastimes in deep land-of-the-mosquitoes. If you lived here, you probably didn’t want to go home, either. So you walked.
High school was about finished for her. She’d be moving on soon, leaving this place behind.
But now, sitting in Moe’s with its killed game on the walls and unique sandwiches, she felt regretful. Of course, that had nothing to do with the cluttered place. It had more to do with the boy out the window, him across the road. He was by the gas station and motel on the curb.
Trevor had always been special. Not boyfriend material; he was practically jail bait now. Of course, she didn’t know how old he was. She just knew he went to the high school and was jittery and nervous as a new race horse. All wide eyes and fear.
That scared her. She was meant to protect people and she knew it. She’d protected people before. Yet, she never seemed to do Trevor any good.
She sighed, put down what remained of her sandwich, and slapped some money onto the table. She breezed past the owner of the shop, Al, without a word.
#
She’d bought Fantas. They rotted your teeth, but Trevor liked them. Standing in front of him, she knew she’d needed a peace offering. His eyes were vacant black pools.
“What’s up?” she asked, holding out a can for him.
He blinked. “I’m hunting.”
“Hunting?” she asked. There wasn’t much to hunt here, unless you counted rabbit-sized sewer rats.
He hummed. “Yeah, you want to see?”
He stood up, not taking the drink, and went down an alley. She shivered again and, remembering she had fricking bear spray like a smart individual, followed. Trev was small, anyway. Tiny for this world they both lived in; this town. What could he do?
#
She barely had a chance to move away the second she stepped into the dark to avoid the black mass.
A black mass that landed heavy on Trev.
She did something irrational then. She picked up a piece of pipe and swung. It hit home and then the thing was just gone.
She blinked.
The place seemed brighter--bright enough for her to see Trev and his bloodied lip flat on his back.
“W-what was that?”
Trev smiled. “You wanted to know what I was hunting. Now you know,” he said. “Monsters.”
She knew in that shudder-inflicting moment that getting out had suddenly become out of the question. She didn’t know how but she knew.
She felt along the copper pipe she still held and felt awe like she never had before.
“What did you do?” Trev asked.
She couldn’t find a suitable response to that.
///
So, thank you for reading and a big shout out to Lauren2010 (see below) who helped me fix this up quite a bit. As you can probably tell, if you read both versions.
Also, bonus points if you can tell me, peeps, if this "Trev shut off himself once more at that" sounds too awkward. Basically, it's "Trev retreated back into his head at that" but with fewer words. Yay, nay?
