Benji swallowed the building lump in his throat. Voices and words spilled out of the creature’s mouth, but there was no guarantee it understood much of what it was saying. After the spectacle that was it tearing the Lurkers apart, he couldn’t help but feel that he and Sunny were next.

“D-Did you p-protect us?” Benji asked as he clenched his hands into fists.

“G! Why did you do that?” the same feminine voice from before asked. It was wispy and cold, like being breathed on by a freezer. “G. I don’t understand. What is it you see in him?”

“Good. Good,” the beast replied.

The disembodied voice sighed. “I wish I could understand you better.”

“W-Who’s there?” Benji asked.

“... You can hear me?”

“Y-Yeah.” Benji looked down at Sunny. “You hear it too, right?”

“Mhm,” Sunny replied in a tone that was barely audible. “I hear her.”

“How strange,” the voice rasped. A transparent figure appeared in the form of a young girl. She wore a dark cloak that frayed at the bottom and looked several sizes too large. Her hair was emerald in color, bearing hints of pink at the roots. A black band of velvet covered her eyes. She pointed at Benji. “What is your name?”

“B-Benji. Are you going to let us go?” he asked, his teeth chattering.

“Of course. G simply wished to help you.”

“... Why?”

“Good,” the Denizen grunted. “Good.”

“G, please.” The girl put a transparent hand on the creature’s shoulder. “Allow me.” As the girl floated toward Benji, Sunny rose to her feet, her stare glued to their new friend. “Allow me to introduce myself, first.” She put a hand to her chest. “My name is Kiska.” She turned her head toward Sunny. “And you?”

Sunny narrowed her gaze and tipped the front of her cap down. “Sunny.”

“Wonderful names.” The girl smiled. “I am sorry if we caused you any undue stress. I… can only imagine how you feel after watching that.” When Sunny and Benji didn’t reply, Kiska continued. “It was due to G’s interest in you that we assisted.”

“Interest?” he asked.

Kiska nodded. “Yes. I do not know the reason for which he has chosen you.” Kiska looked at G. He continued to stare at Benji, his head tilting curiously on occasion. “There is something about you that he finds appealing.”

“I’m not sure I’m okay with that,” Benji admitted.

“Understandably. I wish he could express why, but he… struggles to speak in more than one or two words. He understands what’s happening, but how he expresses it can differ substantially.” Kiska paused to regard G. “I communed with him years ago. You have my promise that whatever his reason is, it is not a harmful one.”

“Y-You don’t even know why he likes Benji?” Sunny’s tears returned and she buried her face into her palms. “I just want to go home. I don’t understand anything anymore. This didn’t turn out right at all.”

Benji approached Sunny from behind and embraced her as he leaned his head against her shoulder. “Sunny…”

“I can see that you are traumatized,” the specter sighed, “but please try and relax. Despite G’s appearance or his inability to talk, he has a strong sense of justice. He could not simply watch.”

“So, what happens now?” Benji asked.

“I understand that I may be overstepping my boundaries, but I would prefer to continue watching over you,” the ghost continued. “G has been watching you for some time, and I wish to see how this interaction affects him. I understand if you are not comfortable with it, but rest assured, you won’t even know that we are there.”

“You’re going to stalk me?” Benji didn’t like the sound of that. He didn’t need some werewolf-looking creature following him around. Good intentions or not, it’d only be a matter of time until they were seen. And he didn’t know a thing about this duo. “I don’t know about that.”

“Please. I beg of you. G needs this.”

Benji blinked and looked at the creature. “And his name is just G? Like the letter?”

Kiska pointed to the collar around the creature’s throat. Burned into the leather was the letter G. “That’s all he had when I met him. He does not seem to recall his name.”

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G’s nose shot up, sniffing at the air. The werewolf looked over his shoulder, eyes narrowing on something back where the fight concluded.

“What’s wrong, G?” Kiska asked, her form disappearing.

“Bad. Bad,” he grunted. The tombstone on his back shifted side to side as he approached the remnants of battle on all fours, the stench of iron permeating the air. He continued to sniff the air as he walked, moving from corpse to corpse. Sunny and Benji followed at a distance, their bodies trembling. It took great effort to walk around the mess that G had created. The smell was enough to make them gag.

“Here,” G grunted. “Bad.” A single leftover Lurker’s corpse lay at the foot of a bush. He tilted his head curiously before quietly tugging open the gut of the creature.

Benji and Sunny neared while G reached into the Lurker’s body and plucked a sphere-shaped object from its stomach. G suddenly made a strange noise between a growl and a whine, and the object fell from his hand, landing in the grass. “No! No!” he cried, reeling until the tombstone on his back ran up against a tree.

Benji and Sunny walked over to where the object fell, each of them frowning. A single eyeball sat in a mess of dirt, grass, and blood. Worse yet, the eyeball looked like it belonged to a human. As Benji’s morbid curiosity got the best of him and he reached down to grab it, Sunny pulled him back.

“Don’t touch it!” she said. “You saw what it did to him!”

“R-Right. Sorry.” His face burned, and he felt stupid.

A black substance covered the object in streaks and splatters. As Benji observed it, he noticed an iridescence about it if he looked at it from certain angles. It resembled gasoline, but the distinct scent associated with it was missing.

The longer he stared at it, the more inviting it appeared. He had to take it with him, one way or another.

Benji drew a deep breath, guiding a finger down where his blue-green tears had fallen minutes ago. “I have an idea.”

“Benji, no! Don’t do it. We’re safe now,” Sunny hissed. “I’m sorry for even suggesting you could ever use your jitter.”

He paused and glanced at Sunny. “I’ll be okay. It’ll only be for a second.” A very painful second. But if it could crack open the mystery behind Sunny’s father, then it was worth it.

Benji widened his eye and tilted his head to one side, concentrating on the eyeball. The scent of pool chemicals filled the air—one of the side effects of his jitter—and the space surrounding them grew cold. The laughs, cries, and gentle words of his mother filled his ears. Visages of his mother flashed before his eyes, and his emotions overwhelmed him. He restrained the urge to reach out, to try and save her from herself.

But she was dead, and he needed to accept that.

A crackling noise followed, and moments later, the eyeball was encased in a solid block of ice. “T-There you go,” he said, sucking in his lips, his voice shaking. The sights and sounds disappeared, but their effect lingered. They always did.

“Are you all right?” Sunny asked as she put a consoling hand on his shoulder.

“Yeah,” he whispered, wiping away an errant line of blue-green fluid from underneath his eyepatch. “Really. I’m fine.”

“Incredible,” Kiska marveled.

G returned and reached down to pick up the block of ice. With a grunt, he extended the block of ice out to Benji. The faintest hint of a smile stretched the beast’s lips, and although Benji was still scared, he detected a hint of kindness in the creature’s movements.

“Thanks,” Benji said, taking the block and putting it into Sunny’s Backpack. He zipped the pocket shut and leveled his gaze on Kiska and G. “I need to get Sunny out of here. She’s hurt.”

“Very well.” Kiska said. “Try to remain calm. Her life is not at any risk.”

“F-F-Friend,” G growled. “Friend.”

Kiska looked at G briefly before addressing Benji. “We will be in touch.”

“Yeah.” With a motion that barely constituted a wave, Benji wrapped his arm around Sunny and began to lead her down the street.

The sooner they got away from this mess, the better.

---

Ten minutes had passed since they left the scene. While Sunny didn’t seem any worse for wear in terms of walking, the blood around her shoulder looked thick and sticky. The sight was rough for Benji, and part of him blamed himself for letting it get as bad as it did.

“It hurts,” Sunny whined through stifled sobs.

“Don’t worry,” Benji said with a shaky voice, “we’re going to get some help soon. You’re going to be fine.”

“Sunny!” a voice cried out. “Sunny!”

“Benji, where are you?” an accompanying voice screamed.

A panting Ren appeared beneath a lamp post down the street. He gaped when he caught Benji and Sunny staggering toward him. “Lyro! They’re this way!” he called down the road to his right. Ren barreled down the night’s sidewalk, stopping short of running into Sunny and Benji. “Fuck, do you know how long we’ve been looking? Do you realize what—” His voice caught. “Sunny? What’s wrong?” His eyes widened, and he pulled Sunny’s jacket down to reveal the blood smear. “What the fuck happened?”

“S-S-Sunny—” Benji started.

“God damn it! This is why you don’t take shit into your own hands!” Ren positioned Sunny behind him and lifted her onto his back so she sat piggyback.

“Benji!” A stern voice followed, and soon a man who resembled Benji and looked straight out of college appeared. “Where have you been?” He frowned, raising a hand to silence Benji before he could even speak. “What’s wrong with her?”

“How the hell am I supposed to know?” Ren balked, standing up. “All I know is that I gotta get her help.” Ren shot Benji a glare, clenching his teeth before running off, Sunny bouncing on his back.

The stern man crossed his arms, regarding Benji with a disapproving glare. “Care to explain to me what you’ve been up to, young man?” Despite his youthful appearance, Lyro possessed sharp features and perceptive eyes. His was the stare of a man who implied he knew more than he let on. He adjusted his glasses. “Well? I’m waiting.”

Benji couldn’t bear to get Sunny in more trouble than she was already in, so the solution was simple for him.

“I, uh, thought a camp-out would be fun,” he lied. Benji avoided Lyro’s stare—his father’s stare—and tucked his arms behind him.

Lyro shook his head. “More lies. Fine. We’ll discuss your punishment tomorrow morning. Are you hurt?”

“No. I’m fine.”

“Good. Come along now. It’s late.”

“Sure.”