We finally made it back to the surface. The sun was rising on the west coast as we emerged from the tunnels. They were way nicer than the sewer system. I was still extremely dirty though. In addition to the sewer water, digging through the rubble had gotten my hands extremely messy.
Nasty.
Deen’s summon allowed us to easily regroup and dig carefully after the collapse. Since I and Myra were the strongest, we had to dig because the other three struggled. Additionally, SpookyErind helped us out.
“We can finally get signal!” Everett said. “I’m going to contact Obe and Johann to see if they’re okay.”
“Good quick thinking Erind,” Dario told me.
“Thanks,” I replied.
“We’ll have to celebrate later on,” he added.
I wasn’t a big fan of parties. It was an easy way to drain my batteries. I ended up mostly hiding in the corners, avoiding conversations. Or at least I tried to. Mom would always try to make me interact with others. Thankfully, since I went to college I was able to be more alone. Well, I guess less so now because of Deen.
“I’ve managed to contact Johann,” Everett explained. “They made it out okay.”
“Woo-hoo!” Myra cheered.
“I’ll get them to come pick us up,” he said.
Our team’s gray van rolled in from down the street. It stopped a few feet ahead of us. The backdoor opened, revealing Reo standing above a royal carpet. His clothes were in a lot better condition than ours. No holes, bloodstains, or dirt.
“Hey guys-oh Mother Core you all need to take a shower,” he said.
“Hey! I bet I take more showers each week than you!” Myra retorted.
“Thankfully, I shower every day,” he responded while crossing his arms.
“Yeah, right…” Myra muttered.
Johann focused on rolling up the carpet and began lowering the seats.
“So, how was all the action out there?” Johann asked.
“Could have used less of it,” Myra said.
“Yeah,” Deen agreed. “At least we all came out alive.”
“And we managed to destroy one of the 2M’s transports and their experiments, so that’s an added bonus,” I said.
While my teammates did not enjoy the action, I certainly did. It was pretty fun to use my powers. Wearing my Red Hood face was also amazing. It’s like I’ve never felt more alive than tonight.
“Yeah, we’ll definitely have to celebrate all that like Dario said,” Johann said. “What kind of cake do you all want?”
“Chocolate,” Reo said.
“Vanilla,” Myra countered.
“Something with a lot of cream,” I said. I needed more sweets in my life.
“Half-vanilla, half-chocolate, and lots of cream,” Johann noted. “Going to contact one of my baker friends. He’ll have it ready for us.”
Everyone cheered as we got in our seats. Dario took the front right, with Reo, Myra, and Everett in the middle. Me, Deen, and SpookyErind sat in the back.
“So, how was it dealing with a hot giant Adumbrae lady?” Reo asked. Myra playfully elbowed him.
“Wait, you saw her?” Everett asked.
“On the news,” Reo replied. “We left as soon as those attack helicopters came.”
“It was definitely a scary experience,” Myra said. “We’ve never had to deal with a titan Adumbrae like that though.”
“Yeah, imagining the 2M’s having that kind of power is scary,” Deen commented.
“We’ll have to train you two, Erind and Deen,” Dario commented.
I almost snorted. How the hell was training supposed to let us defeat Ms. Statue Lady? Maybe he just wanted us to feel more confident about fighting the 2Ms.
“There was definitely something going on at the docks,” Johann commented. “The Titan Adumbrae came chasing after two large other Adumbraes. They looked sort of like werewolves on the news.”
“Werewolves?” I innocently asked.
“Yeah,” Johann said. “I think some of the 2M’s experiments got loose. Apparently, they even managed to eat some of the gunships attacking you guys.”
“Those fuckers should really tone down their experiments,” Myra said. “Especially, if they can’t control them.”
“At least it’s not our problem,” Reo said.
“That Titan Adumbrae killed the two werewolf experiments right?” I asked. “I don’t think I encountered them.”
“It seems like it,” Johann said.
“Well,” SpookyErind started. “It’s a good thing that Titan Adumbrae killed those two werewolf experiments.”
I could feel SpookyErind holding back a giggle. I was too. It was so funny that none of them noticed that I was gone. To be fair, the group did split up. Still, it was fun to mislead everyone with my current face.
After we got back, I took a nice, long, and hot shower. I put on a cute purple shirt with a smiley face tacked in the middle. Thankfully, it wasn’t as baggy as the clothes Deen gave me. On Thursday, we managed to bring my stuff over to Deen’s house.
I also wore Dolfin shorts. It was pretty annoying to move in those long pajama pants. I had to roll up the sleeves so I wouldn’t slip.
Fortunately, I’d be able to crash here without dealing with too many other people. Johann’s baker friend would take a few days to make the cake. We most likely would have the celebration on a Tuesday.
I brought out my left hand and focused on summoning SpookyErind. While she definitely was annoying at times, she was fun to hang around most of the time. Golden liquid materialized out of thin air, coalescing into that embroidered mask. It floated off to the right and there was SpookyErind.
There were so many things I wanted to talk about before I went to bed.
But before I could do that, the door opened.
“Erind,” Deen said. “You have to see this.”
Huh? I followed Deen out to the living room.
“-attack on one of our homeland will not be treated lightly,” said President Goodwin on the TV. His black business suit contrasted with his gray hair. A news chyron read “President Goodwin Addresses Adumbrae Appearance on West California Coastal City.”
Why’d Deen bring me here for this? Sadly, it would be really rude of me to just go back to my room now, so I simply took a seat on the left side of the L-shaped couch that faced the TV. SpookyErind took a seat on the right. To her right was the other part of the L-shaped couch, jutting out towards the TV.
Stolen story; please report.
I was really surprised she didn’t sit next to me given how touchy-feely she was. But after what happened next, I wished she did. Deen sat in between us, and reached both of her arms to our sides, essentially giving both of us hugs. Furthermore, our legs were touching, so I felt her bare skin since she was also wearing Dolfin shorts. I should have worn those pajama pants.
Sadly, it would be very awkward to leave right now, otherwise, I would have done it. I would also miss out on whatever news Deen wanted to show me.
“Rest assured, the BID will bring order and security to the West Coast,” The President continued. “Agents from the Palmer Node have already been deployed to secure the area.”
“That can’t be good,” Deen commented.
“That’s still pretty far away from us, right?” I said. Who the hell cares what happens hours away from here? I certainly don’t.
“Yeah, but it’s not good that the BID is getting involved,” Deen said. “The 2Ms are supposed to stay low and not attract attention. Otherwise, the Corebrings might get involved. They might even be coming right now!”
“But, with the BID being active, it’ll be harder for the Corebrings to act,” I replied. “Even more so, the President is pretty nationalistic, so he’s not going to let the Corebrings waltz in.”
“I hope you’re right,” Deen said, looking solemnly.
“Mark my words,” President Goodwin continued. “We will find that Titan Adumbrae, and we will kill it. The innocent people hurt in its rampage will be avenged.”
On the one hand, it was really funny Ms. Statue Lady was being hunted down by the BID. Meanwhile, I got off completely Scott-free. But on the other hand, Ms. Statue Lady bothered me, so I really wanted to kill her myself. Hmmm. What would be the better outcome?
“Maybe we should attend a funeral for those who died,” Deen said. “That Titan Adumbrae caused a lot of collateral damage. While we couldn’t really stop her, we could comfort those that had lost loved ones.” Attend a funeral? I’ve already done that, way too many times. The ideal number of funerals I should be attending is 0. Also, there are way too many people that I need to keep my face up for.
“Wouldn’t that attract attention to us though?” I asked. “They’ll probably test people that were closest to our mission, and if we go, we’ll risk getting pulled into that.”
“You’re right,” Deen said disappointed.
“Don’t feel bad Deen,” SpookyErind said, trying to comfort her. “Even though some lives were lost here, many more were probably saved when we sabotaged the 2M’s.”
“Thanks, Erind,” she said as she turned off the TV. I was pretty sure that SpookyErind didn’t really care about saving lives just like me, but it was funny that Deen probably thought that.
“Well, you can thank me properly by not hugging me,” I said, removing her arm from behind my back. SpookyErind did the same.
“Awww,” Deen said. “I was just trying to comfort you while you watched the news.”
“Sadly, hugs don’t make me feel comfortable,” I told her as I and SpookyErind got up.
“Are you sure?” she asked, getting up. “Besides, we’re best friends so it’s totally-Ah!”
SpookyErind poked her in the sides. Thankfully, that shut her up about hugging me.
“Why’d you do that?” she pouted, turning around to SpookyErind.
“You were being too emotional,” SpookyErind said with a grin. “Just trying to lighten the mood.”
Deen tried poking SpookyErind’s sides, but SpookyErind easily dodged her.
“If you’re fine with touching me, then why aren’t you fine with hugs?” she asked.
“Because it’s just different,” I told her as she gave up trying to poke SpookyErind.
“I don’t understand,” she said.
“Well, at least we changed the topic to something more lighthearted,” I said.
“Yeah,” she chuckled. “Thanks for that.”
“Sure thing,” I told her. “Anyways, I’ve been awake for too long, so I’m gonna go to bed.”
“Good night,” Deen said. “Or I guess it’s good morning now?”
We both chuckled as we departed. It was going to be nice to actually have some alone time with myself.
As I and SpookyErind entered the room, I breathed a sigh of relief.
“So, you wanted to talk to me about something?” She asked.
“Yeah, I just want to say, it’s been a fun time hanging out with you,” I told her. Most of the time, I wasn’t being a sincere person given I had to keep up my face. But here, I was genuinely being honest. It felt very weird. Still, it was nice to get it off my chest.
Besides SpookyErind knew I wasn’t lying since she could read my thoughts.
SpookyErind focused on summoning her mask and putting it on. Now, she was back to having her glowing red eyes.
She wrapped her arms around me and gave me a peck on the lips. I rolled my eyes.
Thanks, she said, breaking from her kiss. I’ve had a fun week with you too.
“Well, you didn’t need to kiss or hug me,” I groaned.
That was probably the worst part about SpookyErind, other than her trying to take over my body. But, I don’t think there was much I could do about that. The 2Ms supposedly had the technology to keep themselves away from Adumbrae influence, but how likely was I going to get that? I’d probably have no idea how to operate it either. By the time I even get to it, SpookyErind may have taken full control over me. The best I could do was just make the most of this short life.
And at least SpookyErind made it fun.
I’m sure you’ll make it even more fun in the future, she replied.
“I plan on doing that,” I told her. “There’s also the unfinished business I have with Ms. Statue Lady.”
You want to eat her? she asked.
“Yeah, I just need to figure out a way to become strong enough to kill her,” I said. My Red Hood form could grow, so if I grew bigger than her, I could eat her. How would I even get it that strong though? That would require a lot of eating.
I want to eat her too, SpookyErind said. Perhaps you could eat other stuff to make us stronger.
Other stuff? What the fuck would I eat? Thinking about this, I only ate humans so far. Maybe she means the experiments and other Adumbrae?
SpookyErind gave me a grin. Why couldn’t she just tell me this directly? I didn’t like it when she was being cryptic.
Because you’re a smart girl right? she asked. You can figure things out.
“Fine,” I said.
You have more you want to talk about? SpookyErind asked.
“Oh yeah,” I said. “While these powers are certainly fun to use, manipulating everyone on my ‘team’ was also pretty cool. They all believe we have the same goals. But I’m going to punish half of them later. It was also funny to abandon them mid-battle. It’s a part of human nature to be extremely trusting, and I’m glad I can exploit that.”
Yeah! SpookyErind said. I like listening to your thoughts on these topics. Anything else?
I had one more thing, and I saved it for last. Make her feel better about herself, and then confront her.
“Could you stop messing with me?” I asked.
What do you mean? SpookyErind smiled innocently.
“You keep doing stuff that causes me to constantly readjust my face,” I said. “Like when you insinuated I could fully control you or when you agreed to stay at Deen’s house.”
I’m just keeping things fun, she replied. Besides, think of it as a challenge to overcome.
“I’d really prefer if you didn’t,” I said.
Instead of responding, SpookyErind leaned in a gave me another kiss.
Here, take this as a reward for beating those challenges, she said.
“That wasn’t a reward at all!” I complained.
But don’t you love yourself? she asked.
“Yes, but I don’t go every day kissing and hugging myself,” I said. “You should know that before I met you I didn’t do any of that crap.”
Language, SpookyErind said. Besides, it doesn’t feel bad, right?
“No, but I’d rather prefer if you didn’t do it,” I said. Suddenly, I got an idea.
I poked SpookyErind’s sides. I felt my touch tickle her, causing her to laugh.
Ah! What are you doing? She asked, while still hugging me.
“I thought if I poked you, you would let go of me,” I said. “Sadly, it didn’t work.”
I love you too much for that to happen, she said. I rolled my eyes.
“Anyways, I haven’t got to sleep in a while,” I said. “Could you please release me so we could go to sleep? And maybe you could turn yourself into a mask so I could sleep in peace and quiet?”
SpookyErind simply giggled, as if I asked the most outrageous thing in the world. It really wasn’t. Most people value personal space. How could I get her to value it?
I’ll let you go to sleep once you show me you love me, SpookyErind told me.
The fuck does that mean? I wasn’t going to change my opinion of her that fast. Not unless she took control of me or somehow.
Okay, give me a hug, she said.
“Is this good?” I asked as I wrapped my arms around her. “You’re already hugging me, so I don’t know why you need me to hug you.”
Doesn’t this feel good? She asked.
Not really, no. At least it doesn’t feel disgusting like when I hug Deen. But, if there was a special emotion I was supposed to feel, then I wasn’t feeling it.
“No, and can you let me go now?” I asked.
Not yet, she said. You still haven’t shown me you love yourself.
“And how am I supposed to do that?” I questioned. If she wasn’t going to accept hugs, I don’t know what she was going to accept.
Give me a kiss, she said, grinning at me.
“A kiss?” I asked. “You know I’m going to be insincere anyways, so what good would a kiss do?”
Well, I guess we’re going to be staying like this for a while then, she said with a giggle.
“Ugh, fine,” I said. I leaned in and gave SpookyErind the quickest kiss ever. “Was that good for you?”
It’s definitely better, she said as she released me. Finally!
It’s actually pretty weird. I’ve seen a few romance movies before, and they were all pretty bad. How did people find hugs and kisses good? Some people even blushed afterward. But here I was, not feeling anything. Maybe all those people were insane. And make sure to add SpookyErind to that list.
I yawned as I got into bed. Sadly, SpookyErind didn’t untransform herself. She got in bed with me. At least I got under the blankets this time. Although, she also had the blankets over her.
I had turned away from her, mainly because I didn’t want to be facing her when I slept. She wrapped her arms around me. At least I had some time to get used to it, and it wasn’t a weekday, so I could sleep in for a while. Was she going to sleep with me every night?
Rather than answering me, she wrapped her legs around me too. Seriously? Our bare skin rubbed against each other. At this point, I was convinced she was just doing this to mess with me than out of sincere love.
But I do love you, she said
Yeah, whatever. I closed my eyes. At least I had fun during this week, and I had fun plans for later as well. Even with SpookyErind being annoying, all the cool stuff that happened made it worth it.
My consciousness dozed off.
I woke up after my goodnight’s sleep. Or good morning’s sleep. But something was different. When I went to sleep, I felt SpookyErind’s bare skin rubbing against mine. Now, something different was rubbing against my skin. I peeked down and saw a black glove and a golden gauntlet holding me. Two legs covered in pants that ended in boots were entwined with my legs.
Welcome back, SpookyErind said.