Thursday Evening (Fanfic)

[Galen]

This reminds me of a fan fiction by intrige and the long discussion on this forum that followed.
http://let-the-right-one-in.com/fancont ... oms-coming
viewtopic.php?f=12&t=3337

Oh yeah! So good, that one, the concept is really fun. Intrige has a ton of really creative, great stories up here.

I hadn’t read through the thread before, and I was so missing out on the excellent writing and ideas in there from Intrige and tjippiflax. I see those similarities, too.

My head has been out of the LTROI world for a couple of days now, and coming back to read other people’s writing again has pulled me right back in.

An interaction between Oskar's mother and Håkan... hm.
Into the Future Fanfic Idea Bank it goes!

Oh wow... yeah. Hm. Does it end up terrifying for Oskar’s mother? Or just plain pitiful and disgusting? Both?

Personally I like to assume that in a post-LTODD scenario, O&E would be strong enough together that they could get by without ever needing any helpers (it's more romantic that way!). [...] This is all assuming the line means what I think it means, anyway.

Definitely more romantic that way.

I've wondered about that because of the long rests. If I recall, there are some fanfics here that explore the “hibernation” in some more detail right? Apologies because I can’t recall which off the top of my head. I think there was also some discussion over whether they would hibernate at the same time, which might imply they could need help afterwards, or at separate times.

I always thought it may have been related to the summer in Sweden because of the really long daylight hours.

But what I had in mind when I wrote that line was:

• Being twelve poses a lot of problems trying to live on your own, at least in the US, so my understanding may be wrong here. Getting an apartment or a hotel without an adult to do it for you is nearly impossible I think, unless you find some really skeezy places, or someone taking pity on you. So not a helper, but just help, occasionally.

• Eli is just saying what he thinks Emma wants to hear -- something that makes sense to get her to stop asking questions. Not so successfully I think.

[Galen]

-----

“We can’t stay here, can we?” Oskar spoke only when he heard the door to the bedroom click shut.

He realized this when Emma simply wouldn’t leave them alone. The older couple seemed nice enough, but that was the problem. How many times had they suggested calling the police?

“No, probably not. Not even for the daytime tomorrow.” Eli confirmed it... no, it was worse, not even a whole day? He was still exhausted.

That’s right, the daytime -- they had to hide, all day, and sleep.

“Not unless,” Eli’s head tilted to one side, lips pressed forward in a frown.

“No.” Oskar instinctively refused, “No, definitely not.” No, he liked Emma, or so he'd decided just then. But he knew exactly what Eli meant, somehow those thoughts were already on his mind.

Eli nodded, and it looked like that was going to be that. Good. But then,

“Oskar... You’re not out of the woods yet.” Eli placed a hand on Oskar’s thigh.

“What?” He heard a warning in Eli’s voice.

“You said you weren’t hungry. You will be, and soon. Hungrier than you can possibly imagine.”

“Ok, I get it.” He didn’t, but Oskar wanted to. He wanted to be alright with it, to be able to handle it -- his new life. He did, he decided, he felt strong, so strong.

“I understand not wanting to...” Eli looked over a shoulder, toward the bedroom door, still shut, “Especially because they are nice. But,”

Oskar felt his stomach tremble a bit, it spread into his back. It wasn’t hunger -- it was nervousness.

“She reminds me of my mom.” She was probably about the same age, he figured. Oskar just missed his mother, already.

Mentioning his mother how Eli fed in the same conversation made him feel sick. He didn’t want to think about that, but now he couldn’t stop himself.

Eli merely stared at him. He’d seen this look before, on the jungle gym, telling him to strike back at... they were dead now, he was gone, it didn’t matter.

“If you don’t, it will make you.” Eli’s other hand went to Oskar’s chest, rubbing up and down. “In there. It will force you to, and you won’t be able to stop it, you won’t even know who you are, or what you are doing.”

Oskar looked down to Eli’s hand, then back up to those eyes. He could feel that spot in his chest, feel what was inside of him, growing, taking over even still. He swallowed, couldn’t get it all down, and felt his stomach pull up in fear.

“It will take you, make you its own. Maybe, maybe a hundred years ago you could live like that, but now.” Eli shook his head, “We wouldn’t last a week, it would get you killed.”

Of course.

Oskar had a realization. Modern society made being a vampire, no, being like Eli, difficult. They weren’t going to be vampires, as cool as that sounded to him. He shivered some more, his teeth chattering.

Hearing Eli speak as though a hundred years ago was a time so easily understood only served to make him more nervous; nervous of being so close to Eli -- he moved back a bit -- away. Eli felt so old to him all of a sudden.

“But worst of all, you wouldn’t be you. You wouldn’t be my Oskar.” Those last few words barely made their way out of Eli’s lips; they’d gotten caught in the throat. Eli’s eyes teared up, “And to you, I wouldn't be your Eli.”

Oskar took slow breath through his mouth, trying to calm himself and control that shivering. He leaned forward and wrapped his arms around Eli.

“I won’t let it take me -- I won’t let it break us apart.” He’d do what was necessary, he thought. One day.

“You can’t promise that, you’re not strong enough.” Eli rested his head against Oskar’s chest, who immediately pulled him close.

“I won’t let it.”

He felt Eli tremble in his arms, just as he was. Eli had been strong for him, now he had to be, just in a different way.

Oskar felt a rumble in his stomach. Was he starting to feel hungry already? Or was it just this conversation playing a trick on his mind?

“I will go out, in a bit.” Eli’s fingertips tapped on his chest, “If you feed it a lot, it will listen to you more. It will give you... trust. I can help you with this.”

Oskar had been quiet, unsure if he fully understood, if he even wanted to. Their embrace broke and Eli turned to the side, letting the covers fall off in order to retrieve some of the discarded clothing.

“What do you mean?”

“I’ll bring some food for you.” Eli had used familiar, disturbing words. The old guy -- the supposed father of the little girl Eli -- had gone out for food, he’d been told. Oskar didn’t want to know everything it would mean. It was probably better to think of their needs in a very normal way, both for his own conscience, and in case anyone happened to be eavesdropping.

“And then, we need to move. Before dawn.”

“Right.” Oskar mirrored Eli. “Should I come with you? I don’t want you to have to go alone.” He didn’t want to though, not really.

“No. No, not yet. Don’t worry about me. I’m strong right now. I’ve had a lot recently, and I’m good at this.”

Oskar watched as Eli pulled on some pants, his eyes on the pale skin of his closest friend. There, on his back, small bumps -- scars? He reached out and touched Eli with his fingertips in that area. Was that where that large wound was?

Eli twisted at the waist so fast it made Oskar jump, but then a smile made its way onto his lips, and Oskar grinned right back.

“Ok, I’ll just... wait here.”

Eli nodded and finished getting dressed.

Oskar bit his lips, nervous about being left. His whole life had been turned upside down. He didn’t know how to survive like this, not by himself. What if something happened to Eli and he was truly alone? It was more and more terrifying to think about by the second.

He was in an apartment of two adults he didn’t know. The twelve, almost thirteen year old in him was positive this was a horrible idea, and yet to Eli, it seemed entirely natural to be living in a stranger’s house. He’d done this before, a lot, probably. Then he realized these adults were the ones who had to be afraid, not the other way around.

“And I should probably hurry, before you...” Eli’s words snapped Oskar out of his inner thoughts, he looked up.

“Nevermind, just, stay here. Try to sleep a little, if you can. I promise to be back before... before long.” Eli looked unsure, apologetic.

“OK.” Oskar simply stared back at Eli, not liking that look.

Without warning, Eli leaned toward him and pressed their lips together, eyes closed while wrapping his arms around Oskar’s neck, hugging him close.

Oskar’s eyes opened wide at first, surprised, then settled into the feeling. Maybe one day it wouldn’t be such a startling thing to be kissed by Eli, but he hoped not.

In seconds, not minutes, the moment was over. Eli was fully dressed and out of the room, into the kitchen, on a mission. There was some clanking of pots, silverware and other random kitchenware before Eli appeared again. He began rummaging through the older couple’s things as though they simply belonged to him, and snatched a shoulder bag.

Oskar got a quick smile and a wave before Eli left out of view. The door to the apartment opened, and closed, and he was alone. He swallowed hard, it was so sudden.

He sighed. What to do?

It felt like the trunk was staring at him, so he looked over his shoulder at it. This was the entirety of his belongings now. It wasn’t really a big deal -- he didn’t have much before -- and he didn’t need anything now. Still, it was an odd feeling to not have a home to go to. Taking a bit of inspiration from Eli, he began looking through what was now both of their things with little regard to Eli’s privacy.

[metoo]

Personally I like to assume that in a post-LTODD scenario, O&E would be strong enough together that they could get by without ever needing any helpers (it's more romantic that way!). [...] This is all assuming the line means what I think it means, anyway.

Definitely more romantic that way.

I have also assumed that O&E would manage without helpers if they "work as a team", even at their weakest after a long rest period.
However, that might not work out every time, which would be an interesting subject for some fan fiction...

I've wondered about that because of the long rests. If I recall, there are some fanfics here that explore the “hibernation” in some more detail right? Apologies because I can’t recall which off the top of my head. I think there was also some discussion over whether they would hibernate at the same time, which might imply they could need help afterwards, or at separate times.

Well, to save O&E some trouble, I have come up with the idea that their resting periods would synchronise. This, I imagined, would be an effect of them staying physically very close all the time, similar to what has been said about period syncing among women that live together (which apparently isn't true).

I always thought it may have been related to the summer in Sweden because of the really long daylight hours.

I think JAL added the long rests to connect with some vampire lore where vampires sometimes lie as dead for very long times and then awakens again, while also adding some extra mystery and strangeness to Eli.

Notwithstanding, as fan fiction writers we need to address the long rests. Eli states that he rests for a few months and then is "alive" for some months. Eli doesn't specify the duration of these periods, but he says that he has been resting for about half his life, which implies that resting and living periods should add upp roughly equal in length. However, this doesn't say that each period is always the same - they could vary widely as long as they sum up equal in the long run. Furthermore, while it seems logical to assume that Eli would sleep during the summer, this is not necessarily so. The reason for the long rest periods isn't stated in the novel (nor in the film), so we don't know if it's summer light or something else. It is up to each fan fiction writer to invent a reson if they need one - or just leave it without any explanation.

But what I had in mind when I wrote that line was:

• Being twelve poses a lot of problems trying to live on your own, at least in the US, so my understanding may be wrong here. Getting an apartment or a hotel without an adult to do it for you is nearly impossible I think, unless you find some really skeezy places, or someone taking pity on you. So not a helper, but just help, occasionally.

• Eli is just saying what he thinks Emma wants to hear -- something that makes sense to get her to stop asking questions. Not so successfully I think.

I have said this before, but if Oskar is turned, O&E wouldn't need any apartments or hotels. They need a place to stay during the day, but the requirements upon that place are very simple: It needs to be protected from sunlight and it needs to be reasonably well hidden from people. Any modern city is full of such places that most people are unaware of. Just search YouTube for "underground exploration", and you'll see.

[Galen]

---
It had been maybe an hour or so since Eli left the apartment, Oskar lay on the couch, reading a book he’d found in the couple’s shelf that caught his eye. He’d taken a bit of Eli’s confidence and grabbed it without bothering them, assuming they wouldn’t mind He simply couldn’t resist having left everything of his behind. He held up Ray Russell’s Unholy Trinity overhead as he read one of the short stories, all while on his back, one foot rubbing against his leg. He could focus surprisingly well despite it getting later and later into the evening. He didn’t feel the slightest bit tired. The edges of the smoked fish on the plate of food Emma had given them had crusted over.

When he heard the sound of the couple’s bedroom door open Oskar froze in place, now completely unable to concentrate. He read over the same few words multiple times while he waited for something to happen; and then it did.

“Reading huh?”

It was Emma. The older man had completely given up complete control of the situation to his girlfriend. She didn’t seem the slightest bit concerned with the book, where it was from, or anything of the sort.

“Yeah...” Oskar slowly lowered the book and sat upright.

“Where did your friend go?”

Oskar swallowed hard. He wasn’t prepared to cover for Eli.

“Um...” He looked between the book and her.

“She...” Oskar paused right after saying she. He was surprised how easy it was to call Eli a ‘she’, but given how everyone else did it, it made sense, he figured. It still felt odd despite having thought of Eli as a girl for some time, himself.

“She had to get something.”

“What?" Oskar didn't respond quickly enough, "You don’t know what?” Emma had her hands on her hips.

“Is she coming back?” The woman’s tone of voice was not quite as pleasant as it had been earlier, one of her eyebrows was higher than the other. Oskar sensed she knew something was up.

“Of course, she always does.” It was the first thing that came to mind. Eli had always come back, especially when it mattered most.

“She does this a lot?” Emma still sounded unimpressed.

“No -- no, I mean.” What did he mean? Oskar set the book down beside him and clenched his hands into fists, he wasn’t good at this.

“Is it a drug problem?” The woman sighed, turning and sitting on the sofa beside Oskar, who only glanced to his side, not making eye contact.

“No.” Oskar responded with confidence, shaking his head, but quickly thought that perhaps this was a perfect excuse for Eli.

Why not just play up on the idea? It felt too late to do so now.

“She took something of ours, didn’t she?”

She must have heard Eli rummaging around.

“Just borrowing -- a bag -- to carry something.” Oskar had been surprised with Eli’s disregard for this nice couple’s things, not even thinking about asking to borrow something. It was incredibly rude, but mostly strange.

Emma’s eyes widened. “She did? She’d better not be bringing drugs back here.”

Now was Oskar’s chance to use that excuse, but he just couldn’t.

“No -- no, I promise. It’s -- she’s getting some special food for me.”

Emma reared her head back, extending a hand toward the table, “There’s food right there.”

“No, it’s... candy. One we really like, that we... we always share it together.” Yes, that was it. He liked candy, he could pretend that’s what they shared. Then he realized, now that he was like Eli, he’d just described blood as candy, and he felt sick.

The woman bit her lip, seemingly fighting off the urge to say something, likely chastising, Oskar imagined.

“It’s... like a tradition.” Oskar fought off the feeling in his stomach and did his best to invent a story, to play up this angle of runaway kids, “I introduced her to it when we met, and she liked it, and we always share it now. She’d never gotten to try it before I gave it to her, because of her father.” Yes, that was it -- blame it on the old guy, make it sound like reality that people could understand. Oskar could do this, he read plenty of books, and mix his experiences with those stories.

Emma suddenly looked a bit self conscious, depressed. Her face had softened considerably; maybe his story was working.

“Alright, but she should have asked.”

“Yes, sorry.” Oskar nodded.

“Just let me know. Now that she isn’t here, if you need me to call someone...”

Oskar looked up to see Emma trying to act all confidential with him. He realized quickly that she was implying that Eli was somehow the bad one -- kidnapping him, or stopping him from going home. It struck a nerve.

“Your mother, or a different friend?”

“No, I promise, she’s just going out for a bit to get this candy, and then she’ll come back, and then we’ll leave.” Oskar couldn’t help but sound and look annoyed; and sad. He didn’t want to look at Emma again.

“I’m sorry, you don’t have to leave, really.” Emma sounded like she felt guilty, and that made Oskar feel good. A subtle smirk came to his lips which he had to hide as he tried his best to manipulate this poor woman.

“Stay here, get some rest, stay warm. You can... just don’t worry about it.” The woman sighed and shook her head.

“Alright. Trust me, I’m fine -- we’re fine. I’m just... new to this.” Oskar found it easier to not exactly lie, but omit some key details of their lives while stretching the truth a bit. He looked up and put on his best smile for Emma, that worked last time.

The woman stood back up, looking down at him like something to be pitied. He hated it, and he felt his arms tense in anger.

“Me, too.” She chuckled nervously, “We just want to help you two.”

“You are.” Oskar kept his voice airy and happy.

That didn’t satisfy her.

“Why don’t you eat?”

“I’m not hungry.”

Oskar couldn’t stand the look she was giving him -- disappointment; he’d felt it before. He reached over to the book and pulled it back into his lap, opening it up once again.

“Alright, if you need anything, please let me know. When your friend comes back... tell her... just tell her it’s alright, and please don’t do it again. We can give you anything you need if you... just ask.”

“Alright.” Oskar did his best to put on a chipper tone of voice -- it was all fake. He wouldn’t look away from the words on the page, not reading a single one of them.

She was gone in a few seconds, after staring at him some more. The door to the bedroom clicked, and Oskar let out a breath. He looked at that book and tossed it on the floor, unable to read it now. He wanted Eli back, and soon.

---

[Galen]

Notwithstanding, as fan fiction writers we need to address the long rests. Eli states that he rests for a few months and then is "alive" for some months. Eli doesn't specify the duration of these periods, but he says that he has been resting for about half his life, which implies that resting and living periods should add upp roughly equal in length. However, this doesn't say that each period is always the same - they could vary widely as long as they sum up equal in the long run. Furthermore, while it seems logical to assume that Eli would sleep during the summer, this is not necessarily so. The reason for the long rest periods isn't stated in the novel (nor in the film), so we don't know if it's summer light or something else. It is up to each fan fiction writer to invent a reson if they need one - or just leave it without any explanation.

Yes, I think all of those possibilities would be really interesting to dive into in different fan fictions. I doubt I'll get to exploring it at all in this one, it's just too slow. I personally just really like the image of them just curled up together somewhere for their long rest periods, but that doesn't really address any of the logistics or utility around it.

I have said this before, but if Oskar is turned, O&E wouldn't need any apartments or hotels. They need a place to stay during the day, but the requirements upon that place are very simple: It needs to be protected from sunlight and it needs to be reasonably well hidden from people. Any modern city is full of such places that most people are unaware of. Just search YouTube for "underground exploration", and you'll see.

That's a good point for sure. Those underground areas are all really interesting -- especially the ones that are in a city. I remember watching one of some abandoned subway stations and lines in NYC. They could sleep in those areas, pop up into the city, "eat", and go back. Or just prey on unsuspecting explorers wandering into their area... much like Siggdalos' terrifying Awakening

Still, I wonder if they would prefer to get a flat together and live as close to "normally" as possible. After meeting Oskar, Eli wanted to start keeping clean again, and started getting a little more into pop culture. I'm curious what sorts of creature comforts Oskar would want in his life, too, despite perhaps not 'needing' them. In a really big city where people are out really late every night, they could conceivably live a mostly normal life... so to speak. Sounds a little silly and boring.

[metoo]

Still, I wonder if they would prefer to get a flat together and live as close to "normally" as possible. After meeting Oskar, Eli wanted to start keeping clean again, and started getting a little more into pop culture. I'm curious what sorts of creature comforts Oskar would want in his life, too, despite perhaps not 'needing' them. In a really big city where people are out really late every night, they could conceivably live a mostly normal life... so to speak. Sounds a little silly and boring.

Personally, I don't think O&E would try to live a "normal" life. An apartment wouldn't make their life normal anyway. They would still need to rest during the days and obtain fresh human blood from unwilling donors once a week or so. Neither do I think Oskar would crave any comforts he didn't have. I think he would just accept whatever life with Eli would have to be like.

But you touched on an interesting subject - would O&E be filthy or would they do their best to stay clean? I like to imagine the latter. However, you don't need an apartment or a hotel room to wash yourself and your clothes. Just some water and soap.

[Galen]

----
The freezing rain had stopped a while back, and all that was left was a cold, damp wind that blew through.

The music from a mostly unknown local band reverberated outside the shut doors of the bar where Niklas was having a cigarette break in the cold to clear his head. At least that's what he told himself. He was also being a good wingman, giving Mattias a little private time to chat up someone inside. Sara, or Sandra, whatever her name was, she wasn’t interested in Niklas, so he didn’t care to know her that well.

He had a better time talking with the old gang than trying to score with a woman anyways, and their mutual friend Julia was more interesting and attractive than any of the girls he ever met out... and she was part of the group. It was an excuse -- or maybe he really did have a thing for Julia that just never worked out. But she wasn’t here today, and neither was anyone else, save Mattias, even though it was Friday evening.

Ridiculous. The weather, they’d said, or just busy. Fine, Niklas was going to have a good time regardless, and not the lack of friends nor his drunken inappropriate behavior was going to get in the way of that.

He got pushy when he was drunk. Got into fights for the fun of it -- or was it because he couldn’t stop himself. Mattias was good at keeping him in check though, and he appreciated that more and more as of late. He’d had a few too many early on to forget how annoyed he was, and had to sober up after Mattias told him to. He still had a hard time believing he’d shoved a little girl over in the streets just for asking for a handout.

He took a drag -- the last one the cigarette would manage, and shook his head. He was going to be better than that. Maybe that would lend to some better results in the pub with the girls, too, he figured; he was clearly good enough in all other respects, or so he assured himself.

He dropped the butt on the ground and pressed it with his foot before heading the few steps over to enter the bar again. Hearing footsteps behind him, he opened the door wide and stood to the side, just to see if the person was about to come in as well. When he turned around, however, he saw nothing. Just a car’s headlights driving down the road with the sound of the wet pavement kicking up as he passed by.

Without a second thought on the matter, he headed inside to get back to his beer.

“Where’s Sara?”

“Bathroom. Susanne.”

Niklas mouthed the name ‘Susanne’ with wide eyes -- surprised. He was off by that much, was he?

Niklas chuckled as did his friend and he found his eyes drawn to the side where the local band was playing. The bar was about half as crowded as usual. Still energetic, enough, maybe a little cozier; he liked it.

“So. Where are you off to next week?” Niklas tapped his foot to the beat of the song.

“Ibiza.” Mattias grinned, looked over his shoulder, then back to Niklas, “With or without Susanne.”

“Nice.” It was a game Niklas and Mattias played since they were younger. Imagine a place they’d like to be next week, if they could go anywhere, do anything. The truth of the matter was, next week both of them would just be right here, in Karlstad.

“What about you?”

“Mm.” Niklas thought hard, not much coming to mind. He ended up saying the first thing that came to mind, “Phuket.”

There was no response, just an odd stare from his friend.

“Thailand. What? I hear it's beautiful there.” Niklas smirked, then saw the look on Mattias’s face was somewhere between confusion and fright. He could feel his friend staring passed him.

“No -- it’s not that. I thought I just saw something outside.”

Niklas turned over his shoulder only to see an empty street and a couple of street lights through the window.

“What was it?”

“A person.”

Niklas nodded slowly, giving his friend a side-eyed glance. “That does happen occasionally.”

“No, like a kid, It was just a reflection, but they looked in here, made eye contact with me, then they were gone.”

“A kid.”

“Yeah -- a girl.”

Niklas nodded, as he forced out his sarcastic response, “Those do exist.” He felt his stomach pull upwards into his chest. He had a feeling he knew who it was, why Mattias was acting like this.

“No, that kid -- the one you pushed.” Mattias wasn’t letting it go, as much as Niklas wanted to ignore it.

He looked behind him again. Still no one in the window.

“Well she’s not there now, what do you want me to do about it?” Niklas actually felt terrible about the whole ordeal, still. Despite having another beer since, he’d actually sobered up quite a bit.

“I don’t know, call someone.” Mattias spoke just as Susanne was returning to the table.

“Call who?” The blonde woman in her early thirties looked between the two young men.

Now that was exactly what Niklas didn’t want -- anyone else to know what happened. He was already embarrassed, and this would just make him feel worse. He stood up immediately, annoyed, but trying his best to hide it.

“I’ll take care of it.”

“You want some help?” Mattias seemed genuinely concerned for the kid, but he wasn’t the one doing anything. It was a false offer of help; Niklas hated that. He thought Mattias was just as mean and unhelpful to the girl, even if it wasn't him who got physical with her.

“What?” Susanne, on the other hand, wanted to know the details.

“I’ll take care of it.” Niklas just repeated himself firmly, hoping somehow that Mattias would get the idea to not talk about this to Susanne. “I’ll be right back.” He put on a very forced smile and turned and walked toward the door, leaving his half finished beer.

“You better, this is your round, remember?”

He heard Mattias’s joke as he got to the door thanks to a lull in the song. He just lifted a hand and waved as he stepped out into the cold night for the third time this evening.

The chill felt worse somehow. It was getting later, colder, he figured. Wet winter air was just the worst. Looking both ways down the sidewalk, he saw no one. Great. He walked back toward the alleyway he’d seen her next to earlier; he owed it to himself to at least try to follow through on this. He’d look better in Mattias’s eyes, and well, hopefully Susanne wouldn’t ever know. If she did, maybe Mattias would make him come out to sound like a good guy, and leave out the part where he was an asshole.

A few steps down the road and he shook his head. What did he care what this random woman thought of him?

There was still no sign of the kid, even as he approached the alleyway. How long was he going to spend looking for this girl that he pushed -- that Mattias probably just hallucinated? It was then he saw a shadow on the ground, then against the side of the building where the streetlight still hit. It startled him a bit, given it was night time, and he was focused on looking for someone. A moment later, he heard a cough come from the alleyway. A dry, repetitive cough. The tone of voice was high pitched -- like a child’s.

Niklas stared into the alleyway, unsure of what he was going to do; he hoped nothing at all. If this was her, maybe he’d just apologize, maybe toss her a few kronor, or help her with whatever it was she needed. Whatever. Fifteen, twenty minutes, tops, he figured.

He stood there for another fifteen seconds or so, unsure if he really had heard anything, then he heard the cough again, followed by a quiet, agonizing moan.
---

[Siggdalos]

Nice. Wasn't expecting those two to appear again.
Their gang sounds a lot like a younger and less shabby version of the Chinese restaurant gang. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that things turn out better for Niklas than they did for poor Jocke.

[Galen]

Nice. Wasn't expecting those two to appear again.
Their gang sounds a lot like a younger and less shabby version of the Chinese restaurant gang. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that things turn out better for Niklas than they did for poor Jocke.

It's far too often that crossing paths with Eli ends up not being a good thing.

[Galen]

----


“Hey.”

Oskar smiled the moment he saw Eli’s black hair, he couldn’t wait to feel it covering his face again. Eli wasn’t turning around, so he reached out to grab a shoulder, that familiar pink sweater, until he heard a voice he dreaded.

“Hey Piggy.”

Oskar felt his heart jump into his throat. He turned around to see Jonny; behind him were others, he could sense he knew who they were, even though he couldn’t see their faces clearly. The sun was in his eyes, and blinding.

He turned to Eli, looking for help, but no words came out. When Eli turned around, Oskar saw that beautiful face and skin pure black in color -- it was ash.

“No!”

“What’s wrong piggy? You don’t like cooking?” That voice was Tomas’. Oskar could see smoke rising from his body, but did not feel a thing. It was still terrifying.

“Let’s cool him off with some water!” And that voice was --

Before he knew it, Oskar was on his back, then partially upside down, his head and chest held underwater. He felt stone beneath his back, and water raining down -- he was in a fountain. He blew bubbles as he struggled in vain to get up, feeling like he was weak and moving in slow motion. He saw two shadowy figures above him, sunlight streaming through the water. Even though he was underwater, he could still breathe somehow.

Suddenly blood covered the water, and he remembered. He remembered what had happened, this wasn’t how things were anymore. This wasn’t real. The figures holding him -- he looked again -- they had no heads, but were still holding him anyway.

He closed his eyes and tried to shake himself out of this situation.

“Oskar!”

It was Eli’s voice. He opened his eyes again and saw a hand outstretched to him, he gasped the milky white hand -- Eli’s, and was pulled out of the fountain. Blood and body parts littered the ground, it was dark, nighttime. Wasn’t it just daylight?

“Come on!” Eli waved him on, to run, to where he didn’t know, but he did. They ran together, hand in hand, toward a hillside as the sun rose up over the horizon.

Eli left his side and took the lead, slowly rising up into the sky, flying, and turning around to call back to him.

“Oskar, come on!”

Oskar couldn’t leave the ground as hard as he tried. He’d jump, float a little, then sink back down to the ground and take another leap, unable to keep up with Eli. The sunlight hit Eli, and suddenly that milky white skin was ash black again.

“No, this isn’t real!” Oskar had become aware he was in a dream. He shook his head and wanted to wake up. The world spun around him rapidly, and he saw a vision of Eli’s face, burnt black, his heart raced.

“Oskar!”

He woke up with a sudden violent shake of his body and quickly looked around. That’s right, in this apartment, still, Emma’s apartment. He was here, in Karlstad, with Eli, and he was dreaming. The light in the room was off -- one of the couple must have seen him asleep and turned off the lamp at some point.

Oskar was sweating, and out of breath. The book he was reading was on the couch, he’d been under a blanket there, sleeping. One of Eli’s shirts was crumpled up and had been next to him, it was still warm from his breathing. He’d taken it from the trunk for some reason he couldn’t explain to himself at the time.

He glanced around the room again, remembering he’d heard his name called in his dream. On more than one occasion Eli’s voice calling his name had mixed into his dreams, but not this time. This time, Eli wasn’t there. He sighed, and picked up Eli’s shirt, brought it to his face and smelled it. A little bit musty, a little bit old, a little bit Eli.

He was still shook from what his mind had shown him, hopefully he wouldn’t have more dreams like that or else he was never going to get any rest. But, then again, he wasn’t tired, at all. It was still very much nighttime. He felt his mind beginning to race about everything and nothing, unable to focus, and his body antsy to move, to do something.


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