Chapter Text
He sealed the bag with a single strip of tape, using his dwindling supply of medical wipes to clean the counter, not wanting to see his mother’s reaction to finding so much blood in his room. He slipped the knife into the sheaf one of the others had gifted him, dropping it in the small backpack before cleaning up the mess on the side of his head. The boy knew he could’ve just let the wounds heal naturally but that would mean dealing with the hunger, and that was something he couldn’t afford, not now. He heard his phone buzz and halted his preparations to check it.
>KK: Are we still on for tonight?
>IH: why wouldn’t we be?
>KK: Just making sure
>KK: The gangs have been more active lately.
>AK: wonder what’s got them so riled
>IH: does it really matter?
>KK: I guess not.
He pulled the mask over his head with a sigh, being careful not to disturb the wig as he tightened the straps, it only covered the lower half of his face but it did its job just fine. The boy double checked the lock on his door before grabbing the backpack and climbing out his window. He took a final glance to make sure he hadn’t been noticed then he was off.
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Their meeting spot wasn’t anything special; it couldn’t be, especially not now. As expected, he was the second one to arrive, dropping into the alleyway and nodding a silent greeting to the boy leaning against the wall. Frost, as the media had dubbed him – the alias stemming from his naturally white hair – was easily the most familiar with the streets; they hadn’t pried too much into his life but he hadn’t really tried to hide that he felt more comfortable with the mask than without it.
“Hope we didn’t keep you two waiting.” A cheery voice called softly from deeper in the alley, he felt a grin forming beneath his mask as an arm draped itself over his shoulders while the speaker latched onto Frost’s arm before directing a smile at him. Chameleon was the only girl in their group and the only one without a proper mask, instead opting to wrap bandages over her eyes – leaving enough of a gap to see through – and cover the rest of her face in paint, never using the same pattern twice.
“Usual spot?” The boy hanging off him asked, though none of them felt the need to answer. Devil, though not a ghoul himself was still a core part of their little group; largely because other ghouls knew to stay away when he was near.
They were silent as they walked, making sure to stick to the alleyways and less-busy streets, not daring to speak up until they’d long since replaced concrete pavements with the dense woodland framing a path up the mountain. There was a building up there, one he knew well, but none of them dared to go near it; as difficult as it was to imagine, there was no way to guarantee that the place would be completely empty even this late at night. They keep going until they reach the clearing just before a cliff, their place has only one noteworthy landmark and that’s the strange tree growing outward from the mountain side.
“Hey Snake, you got the stuff?” He rolled his eyes as he slipped the backpack from his shoulders, tossing the bag inside to Chameleon and Frost while pretending not to notice Devil swiping the knife. He didn’t watch them eat, partly because that was a creepy thing to do, and partly because he didn’t exactly want to see his friends eat body parts that used to be his. He felt something prod his cheek and mock-glared at the redhead currently holding out a bloody mess of meat.
“You need to eat too.” Pain laced the boy’s tone but he could still detect the sincerity, he sighed in defeat, unclasping his mask before accepting the chunk. He ignored the wet gurgle while he choked the meat down – eating human meat was still difficult, regardless of how necessary it was – only glancing at Devil again when he heard the familiar gasping that accompanied revival.
“So, what should we do?” Chameleon asked as she headed over to them, Frost wasn’t far behind, already pulling his full-face mask back down as he placed the empty bag in the backpack. He slipped it back over his shoulders, letting Chameleon readjust his wig before fastening the mask back over his face.
“How much time do we have?” Frost’s voice was muffled slightly by his mask but they heard him just fine, Devil hummed in thought as he glanced as his watch, red eyes squinting in the dark.
“A few hours, unless any of you have plans tomorrow.” They all exchanged brief glances at that, as long as he was home before daybreak he’d be fine and none of the others looked worried – well, Devil and Chameleon didn’t, it was hard to tell with Frost even when he wasn’t wearing the mask.
“I’m guessing we won’t be sparing today?” Snake merely shook his head, sure it’d probably be fine if they were careful, but they couldn’t risk causing too much of a mess tonight, not with the agencies being this active.
“That’s a shame.” Devil hummed, flopping back on the grass to stare at the sky. He shook his head in amusement, not needing to look to know the other two were doing the same. He took a seat next to the red head, letting out a sound akin to that of a surprised kitten when he felt himself being yanked against the boy’s chest. He glared at the other two who were trying, and failing – cough Chameleon cough – to muffle their laughter. Chameleon lay down on Devil’s other side, playfully kicking his leg before folding her arms behind her head. Frost sat down a little further from them, far enough to avoid accidentally touching one of them but near enough to not appear isolated.
Snake was just about to speak up when a bright flash of light had them scrambling to their feet. They all turned their attention to the sky and froze, a sense of foreboding flooding their minds.
What happened to the moon?