Novels2Search
A fiction of a writer's writing.
Chapter 74, Can't. (...)

Chapter 74, Can't. (...)

Because I can't keep up a consistent release schedule lol.

What I'm going to do/have done! (Section)

Woof, Grammarly went down for a while, so I ended up losing my rhythm again.

(Okay, slightly deeper explanation for those who are interested. When you write something with a schedule you get used to making it in a certain time frame. Which let's you not get too focused in on too much editing or length which in turn lets you be more consistent on posting. Which also helps motivate you by completing the task frequently. But when you break that loop you suddenly lose that pressure to post/get it done in a time-frame. So while I didn't work on it daily I did read it around a dozen or more times [Roughly] and edited it around as much. Which does mean it's of a higher quality to me...but it's also sort of diminishing returns after a certain point you know? Which is why I want to stick to a daily-ish routine. Anyway thanks for reading my section talk)

So not much to say here since I'm still out of the flow. But I have started drawing a bit and realized that a box is in fact 3 v's and 3 lines. Cool right?

(Also I accidentally posted and then needed to delete this from my other fiction. Annoying Mix-Up cuz now I personally see chapter 74 as the last chapter lol)

Things I wrote just for you (And the others here as well!...Section.)

ProfessionalStranger25: "...Okay. What if...I also help you do cool scenes on Friday and-"

Bad Girl: "No."

ProfessionalStranger25: "But whyyy!?"

The demon scoffed at me with her hand. Shooing me away with dramatic sighs. Multiple times. And each time she did a new hand would appear, shooing with perfect unison with the rest of the group.

To say the least, things had gotten out of hand.

ProfessionalStranger25: "Stop that!"

She rolled her eyes, then thumbs downed me with her 25 hands.

Bad Girl: "Why should I? A loser like you has no hope of understanding the grind-set mindset me and my father have."

My arms shot up in protestation, and a sillier part of my mind imagined a sign held by my hands that read 'Certifiably not a loser.'

Though, a less fun but often more correct section of my brain was pretty sure that I'd need to explain myself for the demon to understand. So I did. In the best way I could.

ProfessionalStranger25: "Why not?!"

The demon face-palmed, knocking herself onto the ground and groaning through the 25 hands still on her face. While she...uh...well for a lack of a better word let's just say she...magicked her hands away. Yeah! While she magicked her hands away I bent down and offered her a hand.

...

She growled at me like a dog, then got up with a now normal amount of appendages. She used one of her two said arms to point at me before saying

Bad Girl: "Cuz you're a wage slave."

ProfessionalStranger25: "What?"

Bad Girl: "You heard me! You're a soon-to-be wage slave with no ambition or life! That's why you can't understand my far greater ceo like mind."

I didn't even know what wage slave meant, but her demeanor had convinced me that I should've been embarrassed and ashamed about it.

ProfessionalStranger25: "i-I am not a wage slave!"

Bad Girl: "Oh yeah? Where's your world-conquering plan then?"

...

ProfessionalStranger25: "I...I don't have one."

Bad Girl: "Ha, I knew it! ♪ Wage-slave! Wage-Slave! Wage-Slave! That's you! Soon to be slaving away, 9 to 5, on that living paycheck to paycheck liife! Wage-Slave! Wave-Slave! Wage-sl- " ♪

I wanted to hide underneath my bed and never come out. Unfortunately, I was still at school, and Ms.Care had a strict no-sleeping-in-class policy. So I settled for trying to convince myself that I wasn't as lame as I knew I was.

♪ Bad Girl: "Day by day you slave away, money going down the drain. For distractions for a life, that's empty and full of strife. That's wh-" ♪

ProfessionalStranger25: "Enough! Just because I don't have big goals like you doesn't mean I'm throwing my life away! I...I have other goals. Smaller than yours, but still-"

Bad Girl: "Ha! That's what she said!"

...

ProfessionalStranger25: "...Who?"

Bad Girl: "What?"

ProfessionalStranger25: "You said someone said 'Smaller than yours, but still-', I'm just asking who she is. Is...is it you? Do you talk in 3rd person? Or like-"

Bad Girl: "d-Don't you dare play smart with me! Especially with a bit we've done BEFORE. "

ProfessionalStranger25: "We have?"

Bad Girl: "Well...uhm...Ugh!"

BAM!

The cracking sound of wood, the growls from the demon, the shaking of my classroom from a singular stomp. All of this would be immensely terrifying...if the demon hadn't been acting like a 6-year-old throwing a hissy fit.

Bad Girl: "Shut up! Just tell me your goals so I can see if they're worth a damn or not!"

ProfessionalStranger25: "Well...okay. One of my goals is to live for at least another year. Then I'll-"

Bad Girl: "Wait...just...one minute."

ProfessionalStranger25: "...Okay?"

The demon cleared her throat. Pressed her index finger onto my forehead. And leaned close enough that her mouth was only a few inches away from my own.

Bad Girl: "Alright...one two...one two. Okay...Go."

ProfessionalStranger25: "What...what the hell are you doi-"

Bad Girl: "HA HA HA! LOOOOOSSSEEEER!"

I wiped away the spittle from my face, then retorted with little to no consideration for my wording. As I figured my best was doing me no good.

ProfessionalStranger25: "Huh?"

Bad Girl: "Huh? Huh my ass! That goal is horrendous! A 4-year-old that wants a choo choo train has more drive!"

I continued to word myself poorly, as clearly it was an effective tactic in keeping myself alive.

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ProfessionalStranger25: "No it isn't!"

Bad Girl: "Yes it is! And you know what?"

The demon thumbed at her chest.

Bad Girl: "That's what she said!"

I remained silent for I knew any more talking would-

Bad Girl: "Woow! Look at you! All red and tongue-tied! That's so...pathetic."

...Damn it. Why am I so bad at this! Do I...do I have no talent for lying to myself?

...

I guess...that means Susan is a bit of a genius.

...I'm so jealous.

...

No. Maybe...maybe I'm not a genius! But I have my own strengths, I know I do! Cuz I have...stamina. Heart. And most of all-

ProfessionalStranger25: "I have a dream!"

Bad Girl: "What? No, you don't! You can't-"

ProfessionalStranger25: "Yes I do! And it is one even you can't shame!"

The demon shuddered as her malicious smile was struck down by my rogueish smirk that brimmed with a confidence that couldn't be torn by even the nastiest of words!

For-

ProfessionalStranger25: "My dream! My dream is to finish my porn!"

BadGirl: "...Huh?"

My smirk was light and easy. My eyes were shining with 2 dozen and 1 brilliant stars. My body felt 10 feet tall! For today, I was not a boy, but a man!

ProfessionalStranger25: "The porn I gained on my 13th birthday, I shall read it till its end! I shall finish it! I shall unleash all frustrations and becomes a beautiful butterfly of-"

Bad Girl: "HAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHHAAH-"

ProfessionalStranger25: "Of-"

Bad Girl: "HAHAHAHAHHAAHAHAHA-"

ProfessionalStranger25: "OF GREA-"

Bad girl: "pfffhAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHHA-"

...

The demon was now on her knees, drool slipping out of her mouth as she banged the floor with one hand and held her stomach with the other. It hurt, but I tried to ignore it.

...

...

...

...

...

...She was still laughing, and it still hurt.

ProfessionalStranger25: "h-huk...huhk-"

Bad Girl: "Haaa...haa...haa?"

ProfessionalStranger25: "hukmmumuuuuuUU-"

Bad Girl: "Are...are you crying?"

I covered my mouth and then looked away. But it was fruitless, as the demon had moved too close to not spot my tears.

Bad Girl: "Oh...I see. Me...me laughing at your dream, it really hurt you, didn't it?"

I stayed silent, but in the end, that silence was more blatant than any scream.

The demon placed a hand on my head, caressing it in a way Instakill never would have.

...I leaned into her palm and felt the gentle warmth of her mouth on my ear.

Bad Girl: "Good, that dream sucked ass. You suck ass. And that's why no one will ever love you."

ProfessionalStranger25: "Wow...I always wanted someone to...wait-"

I left the demon's embrace, looked at her face, and noticed her cruel grin. Finally, what she said properly clicked, making my cheeks burn red.

ProfessionalStranger25: "w-Whatever! I'm...that's all irrelevant! This... can't you see how this would help EVERYONE?"

Piece of shit: "Not when you're changing the subject as fast as it takes for you to ejaculate your measly-"

ProfessionalStranger25: "STOP!"

I tried to say more, but my voice had been so sharp that it felt like it had cut my own throat on the way out. So all I managed to do was hold my head with balled hands. Though that did little to stop the rest of the shaking.

ProfessionalStranger25: "Why... why are you doing this? You... you don't need to! You want a good story? Fame? Blood? Adoration? It...it doesn't matter what! You could work WITH humanity! It's all a game for you anyway, so why not just let us play along!? Why not let people act out these horrid scenes? Or just use your powers to let them be okay afterward. Or a million other things! And...and wouldn't it be better for you? You could avoid all the complications in trying to make the perfect moment! You could set up in advance what you want! You could figure SOMETHING out...anything other... other than this. So...so why not do that...and just...let me live, please. I-"

Jumbled pleas and cries were all that I could let out as my sobbing and shaking reached their peak, and then plummeted down until I was as quiet and still as a windless leaf. Of course, I still felt miserable, but I also felt like a fruit that had all its juices wrung out, leaving it with...nothing, nothing but a big emptiness in its stomach.

But even that wouldn't last. As soon my belly was filled with what felt like freezing water. And that wave of cold spread down to my feet, not stilling, but entrapping them. By then, I already knew what had happened. But it made it no easier to meet eye-to-eye with the demon who still had her tongue on my cheek.

demon: "Ugh, too salty. "

ProfessionalStranger25: "...M-my tears?"

The demon nodded, I shivered as its tongue slid down my skin.

demon: "Yes, all tears are a bit salty, but yours are far too much. It hurts my stomach."

...

ProfessionalStranger25: "t-Then...then stop! i-I don't want this! And a-and y-you...you don't want this! So if you just stop, we'll both be happier. And-"

Again, I felt it, that familiar yet burning feeling of iron pressing against my skull. Or, in other words,

The barrel pressed into my skin.

demon: "If you say another word, I'm going to pull the trigger."

I was scared, and it was as plain and simple as those 3 words. As though the demon had bullied me, threatened me, and done everything it could to be as cruel as possible. It had also done it with enormous feelings of rage or glee behind each action. But...

The demon wasn't smiling, or even scowling. In fact, if I had to give a description of it, it was more of a frown.

Yet it was slight, and still, and so muted that I wouldn't have spotted it if she wasn't so close to my face. Or to put it simply, it was a simple feeling. I...I don't know how to explain it. Maybe I don't even know what it is. But I do know what it isn't, so I'll say this much for you to understand.

It was not lesser than any complex feeling, it was not a singular emotion, and it was not more honest or less honest than any of the feelings I'd seen from the demon.

...But...maybe...maybe it isn't wrong to say, that it was a different type of honesty. One that the demon hadn't shown me before.

And it scared me. Because that honesty had a certainty to it. One that told me this wasn't a threat, provocation, or even a lie. It was but a declaration.

If I talk, I'll die. Clear as fire and rain, night and day, demon and man.

For obvious reasons, I did not move. But I did stare. At her eyes, her chin, her entire body that now mirrored Instakill's to a tee.

I know, it doesn't make sense. I know I'm not sounding very terrified. But...my thoughts...and much less my words can capture the fullness of what I felt. Of what I am feeling. All I can give is the shadow really.

So here's the final piece of the outline.

I was scared, but I was even more curious. Because for a flash, I felt something more repulsive than any death or torture.

For a moment, as I stared into her eyes and began to understand that simple feeling, I felt a feeling as well.

I felt pity.

...

I hate it. And I don't want it!

...Yet I feel it all the same.

...I think the demon was feeling something like that as well. As the silence had dragged on too long for it to be intentional.

Yet the silence did snap, and the breaking point was when our eyes met. Or at least I think it was, as when they did I felt naked and seen.

My gut tells me it was the same for the demon, and that's why her frown changed to a scowl.

Demon: "Quit it."

The demon laid her finger on the gun's trigger.

Demon: "Quit looking at me like I'm something you can crack open. Because you CAN'T! That's what I've been trying to tell you from the start! But you...you were too fucking hard-headed to get it!

The demon pushed the barrel so hard into my head that I swore I felt it touch the edges of my brain. Immediately, I stumbled back, bumping into a chair and desk that looked...different from the rest.

Darker

Deeper

...Alive.

I-

Clik!

My eyes shot back up to the demon, then to her gun.

The safety lock was off.

Demon: "Well, have it your way 25. Cuz our little game is over, and so is my patience."

The final section! (Section.)

This is the end...of inconsistent chapter releases...maybe...probably...ehh...unlikely.

But it is the end of the chapter, so like, yay?

(Have I done this joke before? I swear I did. Welp, it's still funny.)

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