Their respite concluded and their minds and bodies rested once more, the two of them had set back out across the city the day after starting Sterling and Lyla's training. Virgil was a little apprehensive at heading back out to his secondary school, but he held his anxieties at bay. He'd already been through half of the building, not to mention the fact he'd killed a monster in an old maths classroom, so surely he could manage a walk through the rest of the school.
Still, they'd taken a few more precautions this time. Virgil wasn't sure why he'd felt so uneasy in the hours before they'd left to go back here, but that could be blamed on his anxiety and left alone. He would have done just that, if it weren't for the fact that Cygnus had felt the same way. Neither of them could really explain why they felt such a curious sense of unease, but they'd made sure they would be travelling far lighter and more protected than normal.
Instead of the large backpacks they normally wore they instead only had a small pack clipped around their waists. The packs had contained little more than a light lunch, which had already been eaten, and ammunition for their weapons. Cygnus had elected to travel with the rifle this time, which had settled Virgil's nerves in one way and heightened them in another; his partner had the rifle, which meant the two of them had more firepower to bring to bear against an enemy, but it also meant he was expecting there to be an enemy. His boyfriend still had a pistol in the holster on his belt, but that was mostly for backup in case they needed to run and ditch the rifle for whatever reason. Virgil had actually taken two pistols with him, just in case. He wasn't going to try and be some stupid action hero, firing them akimbo or anything like that, he just wanted a spare one in case his primary firearm jammed or if he got into a tight spot and didn't have a spare few seconds to reload.
Oh, he'd also taken a lot more ammunition with him than normal as well. He wasn't going to try and spare his bullets this time.
Of course, none of that changed the fact that the two of them were acting like this over some strange gut feeling. Nothing concrete, no real facts or evidence that might have suggested today was going to be different, just a feeling that something was waiting for them.
The feeling had intensified as they'd walked through the front gates of the school once more, and Virgil couldn't help but look about nervously. He got anxious when he thought a monster might be nearby, because who wouldn't, but this felt different. This was something strangely primal and innate, some sort of internal alarm bell that had been sounding all day and had turned into a deafening din as he'd entered the school grounds.
"I know," his boyfriend had whispered, eyes scanning the perimeter like a hawk in search of a hare, "I feel it as well. I'd say we turn back now, only... well, we felt uneasy this morning as well, didn't we?"
Virgil nodded.
"Yeah, we did. What do we do?"
Cygnus sighed and finished looking around the perimeter. He must have been satisfied that there was no extant threat there, for he turned back to Virgil and tried for a smile. It looked forced but Cygnus was trying, and Virgil couldn't fault him for that.
"In my opinion we go in and carry on like we would have if we didn't feel this. Best case scenario nothing happens and we're just jumping at shadows, worst case scenario we find what's causing this feeling to be aroused in us."
Virgil huffed, but agreed nonetheless. Cygnus was right, in a way; the best way of finding an answer here one way or the other was to just carry one as they would have anyway.
"Alright. Which rooms are we headed to first?"
"The A-Level rooms, I think. We've both got some good memories from that area, and I think such memories might do us some good at this point. Do you remember the first time we first spoke to each other?"
"What, you mean the time we completed an entire three-hour project in silence by passing notes back and forwards with each other because I was too anxious to speak and you were too closed off to try and connect with a stranger?"
Cygnus nodded, smiling.
"Technically the first time we spoke was after that project, for as you mentioned it was conducted in silence. But yes, that is what I was referring to."
"When I dropped my pen and you fumbled picking it up so many times you felt the need to break the silence apologise I couldn't help but smile. I think that's the moment I realised you weren't as cold as people said you were, you just tried to appear that way to keep people away."
"Not that it worked with you, nor with Madison for that matter."
Virgil nodded, still smiling as they walked through the car park to the external doors of the A-Level's area of the school. He still felt that sense of unease, but talking about some of the nicer memories he'd had at this place always made him feel a little better.
"Yeah, I was always confused before that day that she seemed perfectly happy being around you. No offense to you now of course, because I now know I was way jumping to conclusions about you and letting my anxiety get the better of me, but before that day I was so confused that someone as kind as her could get on with someone so callous. Nowadays I know it's because you're just as kind as she is."
Cygnus smiled at him.
"Well, I'm flattered you think so. I have to confess, I'd spent most of that three-hour period trying to work out how to tell you I liked your hoodie, but I wasn't much good with words back then."
"Well, you're certainly doing fine now! You've come a long way, Cyg. We both have. If I didn't know better I'd say we're completely different people now than we were back then."
Cygnus hugged him with his free arm a little, gently squeezing Virgil's side before stepping back and carrying on into the building.
"Different? I would disagree, personally speaking anyway. I don't think any of us are all that different from who we were a few years ago, we're all just... we're around the right people now. We don't need to hide parts of who we are, nor do we need to pretend we're someone we're not to make others happy. We aren't any different in my opinion, we're just ourselves."
Virgil rolled his eyes and nudged Cygnus' side.
"Now you're getting mushy. You're probably right though. Hanging around with you guys definitely worked wonders on my self esteem. Hey, do you remember that time one of the art teachers managed to lock themselves into their own classroom?"
"I do indeed. It was certainly a rather strange series of events to watch unfold, I can attest to that much. Why do you bring it up?"
Virgil smiled a mischievous smile.
"The key was in eyeshot of me the whole time. I could have let him out, but I didn't."
"Why not? Just mischief, or something else?"
"It may or may not have been the same teacher that called Wesley's disorder an 'excuse to get away with laziness' and tried to give Lyla a detention for telling him to look at the school's profile of Wesley to see for himself. As far as I was concerned, Sterling as well 'cause he was coincidentally watching as well despite the fact he hadn't met me yet, that man could have stayed locked in there for the next week."
Cygnus' brows furrowed a bit.
"He called a medical disorder an 'excuse'? Christ, I think he's lucky Lyla only told him to look at the school's profile of her brother and didn't threaten to kill him on the spot. I thought teachers were supposed to be competent when it came to dealing with their students' needs, not apathetic and downright dismissive."
Virgil just shrugged.
"That's just teachers for you. You'll get a couple of good ones you look forwards to being taught by, a couple you actively avoid because they're all egotistical megalomaniacs on power-trips brought about by being put in charge of a room full of people, and the majority who are just there for the paycheque and don't really give a shit what's going on in their classroom. But yeah, he was in that classroom pretty much all day. Vile man really, I don't think anyone would have minded if he stayed there forever, but when his next class came by after lunch they had to open the door to get in, so the door got unlocked then. I was gone by this point obviously, since my free period was up and I had my own class to attend. I wasn't one for recieving detentions if I could help it."
Cygnus nodded.
"That makes sense. Still, I'm glad he got some form of retribution. Did anything happen regarding the incident he incited with the twins?"
He thought for a moment, then nodded himself.
"Yeah. In fairness to the school, and it's not often I'll say that, they did pretty well in regards to that incident. I guess they were worried the Alistair twins' parents would kick up a fuss in response to this situation and they wanted to save face, but even if that was the reason they still at least took action: Lyla never had to sit that detention, and in fact the two other's she'd been given that week were accidentally wiped from the record as well, and the teacher had to apologise to Wesley and received a 'formal rebuke', whatever that means. By my understanding he basically just got a rap on the knuckles and told not to do that again, which isn't much but still. At the very least nothing like that happened afterwards, not that the twins have mentioned at least."
His partner smiled in response as the two of them finally made it into the central hub of their secondary school's A-Level area. God, it felt weird to even think this, but it felt nice to be back here.
"Well, I'm glad to hear that. So, we're back then. I must say, I was rather surprised when I began my A-Levels at this school to find that the groups were mixed between the two years taking the program. I'm not complaining of course, for it meant that my second year was spent with you in your first, but I do not believe that either of the other schools I once attended did such a thing in their own A-Level programs. Strange, is it not?"
You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.
Virgil just grinned. Strange it might have been, but damn him if it hadn't been a blessing in disguise. He'd been bloody terrified at first, having to share a class with people that were about halfway through their A-Levels when he was just starting, but it had led to him meeting both Cygnus and Madison. He already knew Wesley and Lyla, but it was when he reached A-Levels that their small friend group really started to come together. That same year they'd all sort of collectively taken Sterling under their wing after watching him scrapping with a few kids a year or two older than him, and that was that. Their friend group was formed.
Yeah, it didn't really matter at the moment that the two of them felt uneasy for some unknown reason. They were both back here, and there were a lot of good memories in this place.
----------------------------------------
It was nice being back here, yes, but he couldn't shake the odd feeling that had come over him that day. If anything the longer he remained here the stronger such feelings became, almost as though...
As though he felt like he was being watched.
His back stiffened as the sudden realisation came over him, and almost instinctively his hand came to rest on the grip of the pistol in its holster. He couldn't see what was watching him, but he knew for a fact that something was. For that matter he'd found it odd that they hadn't come across a single piece of evidence that might have suggested a creature was anywhere near the area; at first he thought the absence of any and all creatures was a pleasant surprise, but now he was kicking himself for not questioning their absence sooner. Something was here with them.
"Cygnus," he whispered to his partner with an almost frantic tone, "I- I feel like I'm being watched."
His boyfriend perked up, focusing on their surroundings before nodding slowly.
"Yes. Yes, I feel it too. But I can't see anything. I can't hear or smell anything either. I feel as though I'm being watched, the same as you, but I don't know why."
Virgil looked around, worried.
"Come on Cyg, let's go. I know we're leaving early, but I don't want to be here anymore. I don't feel safe here."
His boyfriend was silent for a moment, but just as Virgil went to repeat himself Cygnus quietly voiced his agreement.
"I concur. I hesitate to leave a day unfinished, especially after taking two days rest so recently, but I don't want to stay here nor in the open either. Let's go home."
The two of them walked calmly out of the building, but Virgil couldn't miss the way that Cygnus' finger rested on the trigger guard of the rifle. He was tense, ready to fire at a moment's notice with no warning needed, and that could only mean he felt as uneasy as Virgil did about this whole situation.
"Virgil," his partner started as they walked back across the car park, "I don't know exactly how anxious you are right now, but if it's anything close to how tense I feel then our instincts should certainly be heeded. I think... I hesitate to say we should run, for with our anxieties as high as they are right now that might lead to us panicking, but I believe that as soon as we leave the school grounds we should quicken our pace at the very least."
Virgil just nodded. The prickling feeling on the back of his neck didn't fade as they left the school, nor did the sensation of eyes watching their movements abate. Virgil didn't like this at all.
"Cyg, whatever it is that's watching us isn't going away. Can't you feel it?"
Cygnus just nodded.
"I can. I think it may be weaker than before, but I can feel it. Not that I really know what 'it' is, other than a vague sense of unease and the feeling of being watched. I say we travel in a wide arc back to the flat, preferably getting as close as we can to the leviathan on Main Street. The smaller creatures never like being near their larger cousins, and Sterling's 'Angels' have little interest in any of us. It might not do anything to prevent whatever it is that's following us from coming near, but it's worth a shot."
Virgil looked around, still at unease.
"Yeah, whatever, let's just make sure we do it quick. I don't like this at all. I don't know why I feel scared, I just do. Fuck it, yeah, let's do it. Right, we're out the gates, I'm booking it!"
He waited for Cygnus response, signalling that he'd heard Virgil's words, and as soon as he got it the two of them tore down the street and began rounding corners to take them the long way back to their apartment.
At times it felt like the feeling had almost vanished, only for it to suddenly reappear seemingly at random a few minutes later. Was it the same thing watching them, following them and catching up as they ran? Was it actually several different creatures, and that's why it seemed to flare up at random? Could just be nothing and we're both starting to lose our minds after six months of fog and relative isolation, Virgil thought wryly. After all, we're all gonna snap sooner or later.
It took them somewhere around an hour to get to the end of Main Street, and Virgil felt an almost palpable feeling of relief as the moonlight-pale legs of the truly gargantuan creature came into closer view. True to what the two of them had expected the feeling of being watched faded, not quite completely but close enough as to make no real difference. Whatever it was that had been following them, that is if there indeed was something following them, then it had decided to cut its losses and move back to wherever it had come from for today.
"What," Cygnus puffed out as he tried to catch his breath, "what caused such a reaction in the both of us? It can't have been nothing, can it?"
Virgil shook his head, panting a little.
"No, I don't think so. I thought it might have just been us going mad, but that felt too real. There was something watching us. Good call on getting to this leviathan, by the way."
His boyfriend shot him an exhausted smile by way of thanks before speaking again.
"I don't like this, V. I don't like this at all. We've been chased by creatures before, yes, but never this. We've never just been observed by something that refuses to show its face. The implications here are..."
Virgil's boyfriend trailed off, so he pressed him to continue.
"The implications are?"
"The implications are that this... this thing, this creature, is intelligent. Smart. Not smart in terms of the animal cunning that we've come to expect from some of them, but actually smart. I don't think it had any intention of attacking us, not whilst we were in the school anyway. I think we may have erred in running, for indeed if there was a creature watching us it must surely know that we fear it now. Still, the feeling has passed, and whatever creature it was has likely returned to the school."
"What do we do now?"
"Right now?" Cygnus puffed out a breath of air, sighing heavily. "Right now we make our way back to the apartment. We keep this to ourselves at the moment. I don't want to scare the others, not now that the threat seems to have passed. We'll talk about it in the privacy of our room and try to work out what's going on and whether or not we need to take further action, but I don't want to worry the others by talking about this openly. Apart from that I suggest we don't go attempt to enter the school, or indeed the surrounding neighbourhood, for the next month or two. If there really is some sort of intelligent creature within those walls I don't want to let it learn any more about us than it surely already has."
Virgil nodded.
"Get home, don't mention it to the others, presumably just avoid the question when they ask why we're back so much earlier than normal, and don't head back to the school or the area around it for a while. Got it. What do we do if we feel that same sense of unease that we both did this morning?"
Cygnus grimaced a little, as though he hadn't thought about that.
"Then... then I suggest we stay inside and don't head out that day. Perhaps warn the others not to head out onto the roof as well, and to avoid going onto the garden without at least one of us to protect them. I can't think of anything else at the moment, but I don't want them to get hurt."
"Me either, Cyg. The others will understand, I know they will, even if we can't explain everything to them yet. We will tell them soon though, won't we?"
"Of course," his boyfriend replied, as though the thought of genuinely misleading his friends by keeping something from them horrified him, "I only mean we shouldn't mention it for a few days whilst we, in private, work out what we're going to do in regards to this situation. If we can have just the semblance of a plan then it'll help put them at ease. Lyla and Sterling will be joining us on expeditions soon enough, and I don't want them to be jumping at shadows when we're out there. It'll spoil their excitement at heading out."
Virgil couldn't help but roll his eyes and smile. Of course that was one of the most important reasons Cygnus had for wanting to have a plan for this first; he just didn't want his friends to be put off from doing something they seemed genuinely excited about, something they seemed proud to have been trusted to take part in. Cygnus just didn't want that to be taken from them, that was all. More than that he likely didn't want Madison and Wesley to worry any more than they already did, and indeed any more than they would, when Sterling and Lyla joined them out in the town.
"Alright. You ready to start walking again? We made good time since we ran basically this whole way, but given the route we took there's still probably another two hours until we're back home. You fine to start walking?"
Cygnus nodded at him and held out a hand, which Virgil gladly took. There was no shame in a little indulgence as they made their way back home, was there?
Regardless of the fact that the sensation of eyes burrowing into the back of his head was gone, Virgil couldn't help but stay on guard whilst they were out here. The events of today had really rattled him quite a bit, and he couldn't say he was in a hurry to head anywhere near his school again, but he just had to make it through a couple more hours of walking and he'd be home free.
After that it he just needed to help Sterling and Lyla continue their training today, then he'd probably eat his weight in Madison's baking then pass out as soon as his head hit the pillows of his bed.
That sounded like a nice plan.
"It's nice out, isn't it?"
Virgil blinked a few times and looked up at his taller boyfriend.
"Huh?"
"The city, I mean. This town. It was all concrete blocks and old brutalist architecture this time seven or eight months ago. It still is, but there's greenery here now. There's life outside of gulls, rats, and people. It may be mostly relegated to ivy and moss, but the endless greenery breaking up the monotonous greys of the city was something sorely needed in my eyes. A pity it couldn't have looked like this and kept humanity here as well."
Virgil smiled up at his boyfriend, who continued looking ahead with a peaceful and contemplative look in his eyes.
"Humanity ain't gone yet, dear. We're still here. For all we know there might be others like us in other cities and towns, not that I really care enough to risk heading out there to find out. But even if we're the only ones left, humanity is still here. Besides, I fucking hated most of the people I had to interact with anyway, and I despised seagulls. About the only things I've ever missed are the pigeons and the rats."
Cygnus snorted and pressed the back of his free hand to his mouth, trying to mask the laughter.
"A humorous observation, certainly. Lyla always did say you used to look like a racoon, what with the black clothes, pale skin, and black eyeshadow."
Now it was Virgil's turn to laugh.
"Used to? I still do, and she still calls me one! Besides, that was one of the first nicknames anyone ever gave me that I liked, so I'm fine with that. Sterling started calling me it as well, but only because I used to eat trash all the time. Not literally obviously, but like, really shit and unhealthy food."
Cygnus shook his head, grinning like a fool.
"I remember that period of time all too well. Pot noodle with an energy drink, was it?"
Virgil nodded, laughing a little more.
They'd get back to their apartment soon enough, and they'd have to make sure that their friends stayed safe and alert in the coming days, but for now he was content to just enjoy some time with his partner. The unease had passed, whatever had been following them had been scared off by the leviathan, and Virgil was confident that he wasn't being watched anymore.
Well, not by anyone except Cygnus at the very least, and Virgil was happy to let his partner stare at him all he wanted.