<img src="https://pursuitpredation.neocities.org/geyser.png">
(text-colour:red)[ something's changed.]
(text-colour:cyan)[what?]
(text-colour:red)[i said something's changed. can't you feel it?]
(text-colour:cyan)[look, the steam's coming off of my skin like a lobster.]
(text-colour:red)[let me- oh, yeah, yeah, ow. ow.]
(text-colour:cyan)[you don't have to keep your hand in the water.]
(text-colour:red)[i can go longer.]
(text-colour:cyan)[please don't.]
(text-colour:red)[CoolGuy97] pulls his hand back from the mouth of the geyser. It sheds steam as it comes out, the wispy trails of water illuminated under the red sun. The sky waxes towards night. He really ought to be heading home soon, anyhow.
<img src="https://pursuitpredation.neocities.org/boy.png">
(text-colour:cyan)[what's changed?]
(text-colour:red)[i don't know. it's like i was born again, in this second. there's a new air and it's electric. everything just became more important.]
(text-colour:cyan)[i didn't feel anything.]
(text-colour:red)[you were busy. i don't think i would've noticed it either, if i'd been a little more distracted. but something has changed. something else has settled into the scene.]
(text-colour:cyan)[i don't see anything.]
(text-colour:red)[you don't get it.]
(text-colour:cyan)[i understand fine. but there's just two of us here and i was paying very careful attention so as not to be boiled. if something's changed, it's within yourself.]
(text-colour:red)[i guess i do feel different. but so does everything else.]
(text-colour:cyan)[only in the way you perceive it.
maybe this is the first time you've truly existed.]
(text-colour:red)[like i was fugue-ing before now? that sounds right.]
(text-colour:cyan)[you've heard of the last tuesday theory?]
(text-colour:red)[thursday. i don't like to think of it.]
(text-colour:cyan)[then you're not going to like the rest of this.]
(text-colour:red)[what?]
(text-colour:cyan)[nothing. just kidding.]
<img src="https://pursuitpredation.neocities.org/sunset.png">
The sky suddenly darkens, or it has been darkening all this time and they only just now notice it. It's time to get back to a place where there are street lights and people. (text-colour:cyan)[Your Best Friend] slides his equipment into a gym bag and straps it over his back. With the powerful and inherent magnetism of friendship, (text-colour:red)[CoolGuy97] follows as close and empty handed. (text-colour:cyan)[Your Best Friend] lights the way out. Bandaged hands fumble the flashlight's buttons. It's a feeble shine against the encroaching darkness, but it's all they've got.
<img src="https://pursuitpredation.neocities.org/flashlight.png">
(text-style:"outline")[[[->->02]]]
(text-colour:cyan)[are you alright, actually?]
(text-colour:red)[i feel weird.]
(text-colour:cyan)[are you going to sleepover?]
(text-colour:red)[yeah.]
<img src="https://pursuitpredation.neocities.org/head.png">
The first statue of many appears.
(text-colour:red)[goddamn, has that always been there?]
(text-colour:cyan)[yes, it just moved into your line of sight.]
(text-colour:red)[i wish it had not done that. ]
(text-colour:cyan)[light's ahead.]
Light is ahead, at the center of the Pantheon. It comes from a single gaslamp, burning brightly enough to cast shadows some 30 ft. Statues surround it by practically every degree. Their ivory faces are illuminated so that every crack and imperfection is as plain as day. Despite this, it takes them a second to notice the person among them.
(text-colour:red)[ah!]
<img src="https://pursuitpredation.neocities.org/madchen.png">
She turns on her heel to face the center, coming all the way out from behind the effigy. (text-colour:red)[CoolGuy97] pulls his fists to his body as if to protect himself, but the initial shock wears off and is replaced with recognition. It's (text-colour:magenta)[Mädchen], equally shocked to see them. She recovers quickly.
(text-colour:magenta)[i'm here every night, so don't ask.]
(text-colour:cyan)[didn't ask.]
(text-colour:magenta)[i'm here because there's no light pollution and it's a great place to use the telescope. i'll have a whole sky map soon.]
(text-colour:cyan)[don’t care didn’t ask]
(text-colour:magenta)[i wasn't talking to you.]
<img src="https://pursuitpredation.neocities.org/eyes.png">
Four eyes scan towards (text-colour:red)[CoolGuy97]. He's on the verge of tears, but it isn't immediately obvious, and their attention is more focused on the silence than the cause.
(text-colour:cyan)[he's freaking out. had a moment down by the geyser.]
(text-colour:magenta)[recently?]
(text-colour:cyan)[yeah.]
(text-colour:magenta)[i felt that too. the waking up sensation?]
(text-colour:red)[yes! what's the deal with that?]
(text-colour:magenta)[i don't know. it didn't...feel good. it was as if i'd been waterboarded, actually. dread dripping off me. but i'm sure there's a pretty mundane reason for it.]
(text-colour:red)[like what?]
(text-colour:magenta)[guess who just called.]
(text-colour:red)[um. i only know five people. so (text-colour:yellow)[sixpence], probably.]
(text-colour:magenta)[yeah it was] (text-colour:yellow)[sixpence]
(text-colour:cyan)[aw hell. well, i wasn't expecting more than two weeks of peace, so,]
(text-colour:magenta)[two weeks? you know they weren't inpatient, right? i think they were just on extended vacation.]
(text-colour:cyan)[fuck.]
(text-colour:magenta)[yeah. tread carefully, okay?]
<img src="https://pursuitpredation.neocities.org/moon.png">
(text-colour:red)[CoolGuy97] feels once again that the conversation has lead away from him and turns back inwards. He'd have no way of knowing about (text-colour:yellow)[Sixpence]'s return. It isn't an adequate explanation. But (text-colour:magenta)[Mädchen]'s dread may be onto something. The future is tipping its hand; there's going to be excitement, in any form. The night air is still alive with it and maybe that's what stirs him.
(text-colour:red)[so what why are you out here then]
(text-colour:red)[are you just being performatively aloof or]
(text-colour:magenta)[you think i would perform]
(text-colour:magenta)[for you]
(text-colour:red)[is that a no]
(text-colour:magenta)[performatively aloof. to this empty forest.]
(text-colour:red)[you don't need to be watched to be an exhibitionist. it's a mindset.]
(text-colour:magenta)[you would know right?]
(text-colour:red)[why.]
(text-colour:magenta)[woof.]
(text-colour:red)[goodnight. don't call me.]
(text-colour:magenta)[i blocked your number.]
(text-colour:red)[keep it like that.]
<img src="https://pursuitpredation.neocities.org/mad.png">
(text-style:"outline")[[[->->03]]]
They reach the main road and find (text-colour:red)[CoolGuy97]'s discarded bike. He plucks it out from beneath the fence and props it up so he can sit. (text-colour:cyan)[Your Best Friend] hops onto the pegs, readjusting his shoulder strap. Streetlight hits the asphalt and bathes them in warm orange as they ride.
<img src="https://pursuitpredation.neocities.org/street.png">
(text-colour:red)[i don't get why she's at my neck all the time.]
(text-colour:cyan)[she's weird]
(text-colour:red)[right! she's just looking for someone to take her anger out on.]
(text-colour:cyan)[well who isn't?]
(text-colour:red)[you don't.]
(text-colour:cyan)[not recently.]
.
.
.
.
.
(text-colour:cyan)[you don’t have to care about her.]
(text-colour:red)[she's not so bad.]
<img src="https://pursuitpredation.neocities.org/house.png">
(text-style:"outline")[[[->->04]]]
(text-colour:red)[ did that exchange feel particularly important to you?]
(text-colour:cyan)[ uh, what do you think?]
(text-colour:red)[ i think not. i mean, i haven't spoken to her in months. i think she's just upset about that. i don't know why girls are so passive aggressive about that kind of thing. i wish she would've hit me.]
(text-colour:cyan)[ that would've been cool.]
(text-colour:red)[ it would! important, too. but she isn't the revenge type. nothing will come from it.]
(text-colour:cyan)[ isn't it better that way?]
(text-colour:red)[ what do you mean?]
(text-colour:cyan)[ if nothing happens. having a boring day is better than having a bad one.]
(text-colour:red)[ no, it isn't. if that were true, we'd have no war.]
(text-colour:cyan)[ do you want to see the microbes?]
(text-colour:red)[ please.]
<img src="https://pursuitpredation.neocities.org/microbes.png">
(text-colour:cyan)[ i wanted to see if they can take radioactivity]
(text-colour:red)[ oh you kidnapped bugs to microwave them]
(text-colour:cyan)[ well they're microbes]
(text-colour:red)[ for them its just normal waves]
<img src="https://pursuitpredation.neocities.org/microbes 2.png">
(text-colour:cyan)[microwaving is pretty imprecise though i don't intend to harm them at all
i just understand that they happen to be pretty resiliant to radiation as it is and they'd actually be the most preferable vessel for their ward]
(text-colour:red)[their ward?]
(text-colour:cyan)[chemo]
(text-colour:cyan)[radiotherapy]
(text-colour:red)[doesnt that already exist]
(text-colour:cyan)[this is better, conceptually]
(text-colour:red)[why]
(text-colour:cyan)[because it's organic and allows for much more targeted results, that's why]
(text-colour:cyan)[the outgrowths can all be baited with food for the bugs to eat]
(text-colour:cyan)[and they'll latch onto it, teeth to tumor]
(text-colour:cyan)[theyre healing agents - its an intimate connection between host and guest]
(text-colour:cyan)[in a way it is also a spiritual experience]
There's a slow pitter against the garage door, as if rain has just started to fall. But the sky is clear and cloudless. It's not water at all. Pebbles hit the windows in rapid succession. Both of them turn to listen.
(text-style:"outline")[[[->->05]]]
(text-colour:yellow)[i know you're in there.]
(text-colour:cyan)[ah fuck.]
(text-colour:yellow)[i'm coming in!]
(text-colour:cyan)[do not come in!]
.
.
.
<img src="https://pursuitpredation.neocities.org/pics/sil.png">
(text-colour:yellow)[hiiiii]
(text-colour:cyan)[what do you want?]
(text-colour:yellow)[i want to talk! it’s what they told me to do, it was one of the first things on my list, i -]
(text-colour:cyan)[i don’t want you in my house.]
(text-colour:yellow)[this is a garage.]
(text-colour:cyan)[i don't want you in my garage that's worse somehow.]
(text-colour:yellow)[well, sorry. for that among other things.]
(text-colour:cyan)[ ok.]
(text-colour:yellow)[ do you forgive me?]
(text-colour:cyan)[idk]
(text-colour:yellow)[listen.]
<img src="https://pursuitpredation.neocities.org/supplication.png">
(text-colour:yellow)[if i have to live with this guilt any longer, i *will* kill myself.]
(text-colour:cyan)[please get up.]
(text-colour:yellow)[do you forgive me?]
(text-colour:cyan)[no!
no, look. there’s nothing to forgive. if we never talk to each other again, that would solve ev-]
<img src="https://pursuitpredation.neocities.org/phone.png">
(text-colour:yellow)[Sixpence]'s phone rings. they fumble it out of their pocket and stand up.
(text-colour:yellow)[hold that thought.]
(text-style:"outline")[[[Listen in ->l1]]]
(text-style:"outline")[[[Remain ->r]]]
(text-colour:yellow)[where were we?]
(text-colour:cyan)[who were you talking to?]
(text-colour:yellow)[does it matter?]
(text-colour:red)[it sounded interesting. you're a pretty eccentric dude, right?]
(text-colour:yellow)[that's one way to put it.]
(text-colour:red)[i mean, you're a disaster. but you always have stuff going on.]
(text-colour:yellow)[that wasn’t as charming as you meant it to be]
(text-colour:red)[i had this weird moment earlier today, where i felt like something important is going to happen. you ever experience that?]
<img src="https://pursuitpredation.neocities.org/pics/oilspill.gif">
(text-colour:yellow)[ugh.]
(text-colour:red)[...is something going on?]
(text-colour:yellow)[how about you mind your own fucking business.]
(text-colour:cyan)[woah!]
(text-colour:yellow)[sorry, sorry. i'm sorry. i'm really sorry, i guess. okay?]
(text-colour:cyan)[it's alright, man.]
(text-colour:yellow)["man"?
i want things to be alright between us. you, i mean.]
(text-colour:cyan)[okay. sure. yeah. i don't want to fight with you anymore.]
(text-colour:yellow)[would it help if i showed you, then?]
(text-colour:red)[yes!]
(text-colour:cyan)[we don't even know what it is!]
(text-colour:red)[it's something!]
(text-colour:yellow)[i’ll start the car. wear a jacket.]
(text-style:"outline")[[[->->07]]]<img src="https://pursuitpredation.neocities.org/pics/w.png">
(text-colour:yellow)[i appreciate how much trust you’re showing by letting me lead you miles into the wilderness.]
(text-colour:cyan)[…]
(text-colour:red)[hahahahaha.]
(text-colour:yellow)[can you be quiet please if anyone is around they can track us by sound.]
(text-colour:cyan)[sixpence come here real quick.]
(text-style:"superscript")[(text-colour:cyan)[he’s going to be a nightmare if he’s disappointed so it’s not too late to back out if you don’t want to deal with.]]
(text-colour:yellow)[he won’t be.]
(text-style:"outline")[[[->->aside]]]
(text-colour:red)[oh my god-]
(text-colour:cyan)[what the hell?!]
(text-colour:yellow)[it's okay. she's not used to strangers. or men, i'd imagine. it's okay.]
<img src="https://pursuitpredation.neocities.org/pics/hands.png">
The girl hushes all at once, burying her head in (text-colour:yellow)[Sixpence]'s chest. They kneel down to hold her, squeezing her tight until she calms down, as much as she can calm down.
(text-colour:cyan)[you need to explain.]
(text-colour:red)[who did this?]
(text-colour:yellow)[it all started about a month ago. after i stabbed you, before i'd left on vacation-]
(text-colour:red)[who did this? you said a man?]
(text-colour:yellow)[let me finish my story! so, a month ago, i was walking through these woods-]
(text-colour:cyan)[how long has she been here? hasn't she been eating?]
(text-colour:yellow)[i was walking through the woods-]
(text-colour:cyan)[she's shaking. here, give her my jacket.]
<img src="https://pursuitpredation.neocities.org/pics/jacket.png">
He strips it off himself and drapes it over her. (text-colour:yellow)[Sixpence] pulls it to cover as much of her as they can. She presses further into their neck.
(text-colour:yellow)[i found her here a month ago. i don't know how long she's been here, but she's extremely skittish. i've been paying the scouts to keep an eye on her while i was gone. she doesn't leave the box. she doesn't eat, as far as anyone can tell. she doesn't like to talk. that's the long and short of it.]
(text-colour:red)[hey, can you talk?]
(text-colour:cyan)[you've known she was here for over a month and you haven't called the cops?]
(text-colour:yellow)[cops? seriously?]
(text-colour:cyan)[well, you could have told someone.]
(text-colour:yellow)[i don't want to get mixed up in that. she's not ready to get mixed up in that. they'll try to throw her in foster care.]
(text-colour:cyan)[is that worse than whatever this is?]
(text-colour:yellow)[worse than what you’re doing? how is that my fault?]
(text-colour:red)[sixpence is right. we should deal with this ourselves.]
(text-colour:cyan)[i-]
(text-colour:cyan)[okay.]
(text-colour:red)[okay?]
(text-colour:cyan)[yeah. can we at least get her out of the woods?]
(text-colour:yellow)[and go where?]
(text-colour:cyan)[she can stay at my place.]
(text-colour:red)[good idea. i'm going to look for clues.]
(text-colour:yellow)[that's so funny.]
(text-colour:red)[can i see inside the box?]
(text-colour:yellow)[whatever. there's nothing inside.]
<img src="https://pursuitpredation.neocities.org/pics/d8.png">
There is nothing inside. (text-colour:red)[Coolguy97] runs his hands along the smooth and sleek surface. It's pure black and glassy, just the smallest bit reflective. There's nothing inside.
(text-colour:red)[it locks from the outside.]
(text-colour:yellow)[yeah. but it's been unlocked since i found it.]
(text-colour:red)[why hasn't she left?]
(text-colour:yellow)[i don't know. ]
(text-colour:purple)[The Girl in the Box] hasn't moved out of their arms. (text-colour:yellow)[Sixpence] loosens their hold and begins to stand. they keep her hand in their own and she rises too, unsteady and with awkward and fawn like gait. (text-colour:yellow)[Sixpence] whispers something to her and she presses into their side.
(text-colour:red)[she understands you?]
(text-colour:yellow)[human beings have a great capacity for language ^_^]
(text-colour:red)[i'm just trying to unpiece this, alright? so she couldn't have been in there all her life. ]
(text-colour:yellow)[obviously not.]
(text-colour:red)[why is that obvious?]
(text-colour:yellow)[well the dress fits her, doesn't it?]
(text-colour:red)[okay, sure, that doesn't mean anything. how is she alive? how has she been eating?]
(text-colour:yellow)[not everyone needs to eat]
(text-colour:red)[i mean she hasn't-]
(text-colour:yellow)[does it matter that much to you?]
(text-colour:red)[what?]
(text-colour:yellow)[do you have to know every detail about the situation? is it worth knowing? a girl has been living in a box for over a month. that's really the whole story.]
(text-colour:red)[don't you want to know more?]
(text-colour:yellow)[not really.]
(text-colour:red)[but it's important.]
(text-colour:yellow)[she's important. let's go.]
(text-colour:red)[are you serious?]
<img src="https://pursuitpredation.neocities.org/pics/walk.png">
<img src="https://pursuitpredation.neocities.org/pics/night.png">
(text-colour:cyan)[i'll help you look later, if you want.]
(text-colour:red)[why am i being dismissed constantly? it's a valid question, right?]
(text-colour:cyan)[of course.]
(text-colour:red)[…]
(text-colour:cyan)[they're our ride, so…]
(text-colour:red)[right. yeah.]
(text-style:"outline")[[[->->09]]]They urge (text-colour:purple)[The Girl In The Box] in towards the house, out of sight to keep from suspicion. (text-colour:red)[CoolGuy97]'s worry does not cease - his eyes scan the land for signs of a keeper and still find none. (text-colour:cyan)[Your Best Friend], for his part, has all his attention elsewhere. He escorts (text-colour:purple)[Boxxy] inside.
<img src="https://pursuitpredation.neocities.org/house.png">
(text-colour:cyan)[do you want to shower, or-]
(text-colour:yellow)[SHUT UP ALREADY]
(text-colour:cyan)[i'm just offering!]
(text-colour:yellow)[she obviously does not need to shower, are you stupid?]
(text-colour:yellow)[i'm sorry.]
It's true though. While anyone else in such a circumstance would be less than presentable, (text-colour:purple)[Boxxy] is clean and sweet-smelling - her dress is all in order and her hair is well kept. Her body neither shivers nor sweats. There's no indication of what's been done to her.
(text-colour:red)[maybe we should call someone - i don't know who, but -]
(text-colour:purple)[shut up already]
<img src="https://pursuitpredation.neocities.org/pics/mouth.png">
Everyone jumps. (text-colour:purple)[Boxxy]'s eyes light up and the hair falls away from her face to reveal them. (text-colour:yellow)[Sixpence] beams, erratic and excited. (text-colour:cyan)[Your Best Friend] softens, eases into this new reality where suddenly - there's another person in the room, a person and not a lost pet. (text-colour:red)[CoolGuy97] does no such thing. He rushes forward.
(text-colour:red)[you talk?]
(text-colour:purple)[...no.]
(text-colour:red)[what's your name? who did this to you?]
She doesn't talk again. Instead, she steps back in succession until she's back up against (text-colour:yellow)[Sixpence]. They wrap an arm around her shoulders, guide her onto the couch.
(text-colour:red)[you're not gonna answer?]
(text-colour:purple)[…]
(text-colour:red)[she's not gonna answer? and why does she trust you so much? how much do you even know her?]
(text-colour:yellow)[i have a likeable disposition.]
(text-colour:red)[fuck you. likeable isn't even a word.]
(text-colour:yellow)[dude shut up.]
(text-colour:purple)[shut up.]
(text-colour:red)[what!]
(text-colour:cyan)[can you help me clean up the lab real fast please.]
(text-colour:red)[CoolGuy97] is removed from the living room, quickly and indiscreetly. (text-colour:purple)[Boxxy] and (text-colour:yellow)[Sixpence] are left alone.
(text-colour:yellow)[…]
(text-colour:purple)[…]
(text-colour:yellow)[……]
(text-colour:purple)[……]
(text-colour:yellow)[………]
(text-colour:purple)[………]
(text-colour:yellow)[…………]
(text-colour:purple)[…………]
(text-colour:yellow)[if you aren't human, you have to tell me.]
(text-colour:purple)[Boxxy] is asleep against their shoulder, or is maybe just pretending to be.
(text-style:"outline")[[[->->10]]]Morning comes. (text-colour:red)[CoolGuy97] wakes up too late, past the point where things have happened but not yet beyond the aftermath. There's a fire in the kitchen.
<img src="https://pursuitpredation.neocities.org/pics/fire.png">
(text-colour:cyan)[…]
(text-colour:red)[hey! what!]
(text-colour:cyan)[oh, um, sixpence left before i woke up. boxxy is...still here.]
(text-colour:red)[the fire?]
(text-colour:cyan)[it'll tire itself out.]
(text-colour:red)[are we still having breakfast?]
(text-colour:cyan)[yeah. yeah. i do need you to drive though.]
(text-colour:red)[oh? road trip? where to?]
[[Police Station->PS1]]
[[Hospital->H1]](text-colour:cyan)[police station.]
(text-colour:red)[are you serious?]
(text-colour:cyan)[i know, look, i don’t like it any more than you do, but we have to get our ducks in a row. we don’t want to get charged with abduction.]
(text-colour:red)[i don’t like the idea at all actually. what if they hold her?]
(text-colour:cyan)[i don’t think they’re allowed to do that.]
(text-colour:red)[we both know that doesn’t mean anything.]
(text-colour:cyan)[they might know her parents.]
(text-colour:red)[you want to meet her parents?]
(text-colour:cyan)[don't you?]
(text-colour:red)[oh. OH.]
He showers quickly, because he does nothing slowly, but in the short lapse (text-colour:cyan)[Your Best Friend] peeks into the living room to stare at the girl. Her eyes look sunken, her skin sullen. (text-colour:cyan)[Your Best Friend] doesn’t like to look at her and begins to feel that it might be better if someone takes her. He realizes this is a very cruel line of thought and terminates it right there.
(text-colour:cyan)[do you uh. want breakfast?]
(text-colour:purple)[…]
(text-colour:cyan)[...]
(text-colour:purple)[…]
(text-colour:cyan)[...it’s a little burnt.]
[[->->PS2]]<img src="https://pursuitpredation.neocities.org/pics/hospital.png">
(text-colour:red)[uh, hellooooo nurse.]
(text-colour:cyan)[this is ridiculous.]
(text-colour:grey)[did you need something?]
(text-colour:red)[hellooo-]
(text-colour:cyan)[ma’am.]
(text-colour:red)[we’re here about our si-]
(text-colour:cyan)[friend. our friend](text-colour:purple)[boxxy]
(text-colour:purple)[…]
(text-colour:grey)[what’s the problem?]
(text-colour:cyan)[we think she has internal bleeding, or something.]
(text-colour:red)[broken bones?]
(text-colour:cyan)[and broken bones!]
(text-colour:grey)[alright, follow me. we’re not too busy right now.]
<img src="https://pursuitpredation.neocities.org/pics/hhw.png">
They trace through the fluorescent-green lit, baby blue hue of the empty hospital hallways. The nurse leads the way, downy feet falling onto the soft floor. (text-colour:red)[CoolGuy97] and (text-colour:cyan)[Your Best Friend] trail behind her with (text-colour:purple)[Boxxy] in between them. Both of them are made uneasy by the chill, but (text-colour:purple)[Boxxy] proceeds with no indication that anything’s wrong. They reach a large machine in a small, dark room. (text-colour:purple)[Boxxy] stops at the doorway.
<img src="https://pursuitpredation.neocities.org/pics/xraym.png">
(text-colour:cyan)[shit.]
(text-colour:red)[hey, it’s fine. it’s just for a second.]
(text-colour:cyan)[i’ll go in with her.]
(text-colour:grey)[you both have to stay behind the glass.]
(text-colour:cyan)[no it’s fine, i don’t mind radiation. i don’t have the money to sue.]
(text-colour:grey)[you have to-]
(text-colour:red)[CoolGuy97] slides her a $50, an amount even he knows is egregious for the request. She quiets. (text-colour:cyan)[Your Best Friend] and (text-colour:purple)[Boxxy] enter the room. The others move into the technician panel. Nothing perceivable happens, but the nurse gives a thumbs up. The minute she does, (text-colour:purple)[Boxxy] dashes from the room, curled up in the doorway. Slowly, the results roll in. They slide from a nearby printer with a sound like sludge. The nurse pads over and clicks her tongue secretarially. Her eyes widen.
<img src="https://pursuitpredation.neocities.org/pics/xrays.GIF">
(text-colour:grey)[there’s...nothing there.]
(text-colour:grey)[you can’t be here.]
(text-colour:red)[CoolGuy97] grabs the both of them and bolts.
[[->->11]](text-colour:cyan)[i don’t like it here.]
(text-colour:red)[it was your idea?]
(text-colour:cyan)[i changed my mind. i don’t know if i can handle an interrogation.]
(text-colour:red)[should we just…leave her here?]
(text-colour:cyan)[we are evil.]
(text-colour:red)[no.]
(text-colour:cyan)[evil, evil people.]
(text-colour:red)[that’s not-]
(text-colour:grey)[hey.]
<img src="https://pursuitpredation.neocities.org/pics/cop 1.png">
(text-colour:grey)[hey.]
(text-colour:red)[uh, hello officer.]
(text-colour:grey)[hey.]
(text-colour:red)[…]
(text-colour:grey)[you’ve got a young girl with you. ha. i know what that’s like.]
(text-colour:red)[oh.]
(text-colour:grey)[young girl, huh? ha.]
<img src="https://pursuitpredation.neocities.org/pics/cop2.png">
(text-colour:red)[um. there was-]
(text-colour:grey)[let me guess, a missing child? i know what that’s like.]
(text-colour:red)[i…]
(text-colour:grey)[lots of missing people these days. when i was younger, my body washed up on the river. missing child, huh?]
(text-colour:red)[who...are you?]
(text-colour:grey)[missing child?]
(text-colour:cyan)[we should leave.]
(text-colour:grey)[yeah. you should leave.]
(text-colour:red)[i don’t understand.]
(text-colour:grey)[yeah. you should leave. don’t come back.]
<img src="https://pursuitpredation.neocities.org/pics/cop3.png">
[[->->11]](text-colour:cyan)[well, that was a complete waste of time.]
(text-colour:red)[has that ever not been the case?]
(text-colour:cyan)[i don’t know.] (text-colour:purple)[boxxy](text-colour:cyan)[, what do you think we should do?]
(text-colour:purple)[…]
(text-colour:cyan)[yeah, me too.]
(text-colour:red)[i really, really wish i could nancy drew my way out of this one. i have to look at the box again. ]
(text-colour:cyan)[we’re not doing that.]
(text-colour:red)[what if we missed something?]
(text-colour:cyan)[you don't have to solve every mystery. you just have to solve the problems.]
(text-colour:red)[oh shut up.]
(text-colour:cyan)[whatever. there's no sense in trying to justify or explain away whatever you don't like. we just have to pick up the pieces.]
(text-colour:red)[shut up!!! shut up!!!!]
(text-colour:cyan)[why.]
(text-colour:red)[why are you so accepting of this like its a natural disaster!!! it was a human being. and i want to find out who. and i want him to pay.]
(text-colour:cyan)[quit yelling, you’re scaring her.]
(text-colour:purple)[Boxxy] sits there with the same indifferent expression that she’s had the whole time. She doesn’t seem to register when they are speaking to or about her. She’s decidedly unfamiliar with feminine pronouns.
(text-colour:red)[this is miserable. why did sixpence leave?]
(text-colour:cyan)[irons in the fire, i guess. the criminal underbelly of (text-style:"emboss","expand","upside-down","fidget")[literally nowhere] doesn’t stoke itself.]
(text-colour:red)[i think it does, actually?]
(text-colour:cyan)[well, regardless.]
(text-colour:red)[they were lying right?]
(text-colour:cyan)[as a general rule yeah]
(text-colour:red)[i’m going to go find them. this sucks.]
(text-colour:cyan)[yeah, okay, go do that. i’ll deal with the fire.]
(text-colour:red)[god how is that still burning.]
Daylight’s not burning. It’s a picture perfect summer afternoon and all the dark chill of the morning has melted off. Day’s still young. (text-colour:red)[CoolGuy97] knows the town like the back of his hand, all the tucked away corners and winding forest’s paths. It’s only a matter of where to hit up first.
(text-style:"outline")[[[->->Menu]]][[Old Arcade]]
[[Lakeside]]
[[Shop]]
(text-style:"outline")[[[->->12]]]<img src="https://pursuitpredation.neocities.org/pics/arcade1.png">
The old arcade has an entrance like a church and for some godforsaken reason there’s a steeple. It’s actually a really nice place, more than it has any right to be. There is a thick coating of dust on every surface and (text-colour:red)[CoolGuy97] can feel it the moment he rolls up. His red bike falls noisily to the dirt. He pauses to listen. Electronica is playing from inside. He pulls upon the heavy wooden doors.
<img src="https://pursuitpredation.neocities.org/pics/arcade.png">
It’s cavernous. It looks like a small building, but the inside has its own goddamn echo. Balloons are stuck in the rafters and mingling with the spiderwebs. The floor is carpeted with bright patterns that have all been slightly corrupted by mildew. In between, arcade cabinets and pinball machines line the walls. There’s some more massive machines as well, faux motorcycles and large car seats. The pool table is there, but it’s mostly just a normal table, now. A mall goth sits on it, eating Takis with chopsticks. Some of her friends sprawl about her, but she’s the only one (text-colour:red)[CoolGuy97] can recognize from school. He doesn’t know her name, but she quirks a studded eyebrow anyway.
<img src="https://pursuitpredation.neocities.org/pics/arcade2.png">
(text-colour:red)[uh, hey.]
(text-colour:orange)[what?]
(text-colour:red)[i said hey.]
(text-colour:orange)[hey. you go to West Bend, right?]
(text-colour:red)[yeah. oh, you-]
(text-colour:orange)[just graduated, yeah. name’s Wormwood.]
(text-colour:red)[you're the senior who let all those bees into the building. i thought you got expelled.]
(text-colour:orange)[no, i graduated.]
(text-colour:orange)[and they were hornets.]
(text-colour:red)[awesome.]
(text-colour:orange)[thanks! here - want a tarot reading?]
[[Yes.]]
[[No.]]<img src="https://pursuitpredation.neocities.org/pics/lake.png">
(text-colour:magenta)[oh my god it’s you again.]
(text-colour:red)[mädchen! oh my god. it’s been the craziest last twelve hours.]
(text-colour:magenta)[this is my me-time. my me-mädchen time. how did you even find me.]
(text-colour:red)[i promise, i wasn’t actually looking for you. i’m just...looking.]
(text-colour:magenta)[for?]
(text-colour:red)[you’re not gonna believe me.]
(text-colour:magenta)[i disregard most things you say. it’ll just be another drop in the bucket.]
(text-colour:red)[well uh. i found this girl.]
(text-colour:magenta)[you’re kidding.]
(text-colour:red)[no, like, a fourteen year old. me and your best friend found her in the woods. she’s like. weird.]
(text-colour:magenta)[you seem flustered.]
(text-colour:red)[come on. stop. i mean, we found her in this little glass box. and she doesn’t eat and she doesn’t talk and she doesn’t seem like she’s bothered by anything. it’s so weird.]
(text-colour:magenta)[so?]
(text-colour:red)[this is terrible. i wish we weren’t the ones to do it.]
(text-colour:magenta)[did somebody force you to? what makes you think you’re qualified to deal with a situation like this?]
(text-colour:red)[we aren’t. or i’m not. i think he's a better person than i am.]
(text-colour:magenta)[undoubtedly.]
(text-colour:red)[but it’s my situation, you know? i’m already deep into it. not like i can just throw her to the wolves.]
<img src="https://pursuitpredation.neocities.org/pics/mc.png">
She doesn't say anything. Her eyes are cloudy and disinterested, but set upon the water.
(text-colour:magenta)[want to go swimming?]
[[Sure.]]
[[Nah.]]<img src="https://pursuitpredation.neocities.org/pics/shop.png">
The shop is more of a glorified gas station than anything else - somewhere people stop by on roadtrips and at 3AM, nearly dead. But in the daylight, there’s a group of boys gathered around the back or the shop. One of them notices him.
(text-colour:lime)[ohhhh hey
chem guy]
(text-colour:red)[hey! whats up]
(text-colour:lime)[we’re fiending do you want to chip in]
(text-colour:red)[yeah if you’re cool with that]
(text-colour:lime)[cool cool cool]
<img src="https://pursuitpredation.neocities.org/pics/beer.png">
(text-colour:lime)[preciate it man
do you want to come to the woods w us]
(text-colour:red)[please]
(text-style:"outline")[[[->->s]]](text-colour:red)[CoolGuy97] bikes back home, feeling unwell.
(text-colour:cyan)[woah, man. you look like hell.]
(text-colour:red)[yeah. well.]
(text-colour:cyan)[did something happen?]
(text-colour:red)[i’m really glad you’re my friend. i don’t think i tell you that enough. i need someone in this town who isn’t a complete psychotic freak.]
(text-colour:cyan)[glad to help?]
(text-colour:red)[how do you]
(text-colour:red)[nevermind.]
(text-colour:cyan)[what?]
(text-colour:red)[how do you get rid of the feeling that it’s only going to get worse?]
(text-colour:cyan)[…]
(text-colour:red)[yeah, nevermind.]
(text-colour:red)[i kind of don’t want to see her.]
(text-colour:cyan)[you could always go h-]
(text-colour:red)[NO!]
(text-colour:cyan)[nevermind! nevermind. i didn’t mean it like that.]
(text-colour:red)[sorry. yeah, i’ll brave it. better her than. uh.]
(text-colour:cyan)[you don’t need to say it.]
(text-style:"outline")[[[->->13]]]<img src="https://pursuitpredation.neocities.org/pics/tarot.jpg">
(text-colour:red)[is that good]
(text-colour:orange)[no]
(text-colour:red)[okay]
(text-colour:orange)[death's not usually bad, but in conjunction...
and considering the circumstances]
(text-colour:red)[you noticed right? everything's wonky.]
(text-colour:orange)[um, maybe.
everything's wonky to me all the time i was being specific
we’ve had sightings. there’s a man out in the forest, and he’s always wearing a bird mask. people say he carries bodies back and forth. that he puts them in little plastic boxes and leaves them in the river. it's satanic.]
(text-colour:red)[...]
(text-colour:red)[bs]
(text-colour:orange)[take a look.]
<img src="https://pursuitpredation.neocities.org/pics/body.png">
(text-colour:red)[oh my god.]
(text-colour:orange)[right? it’s terrible.]
(text-colour:red)[are we sure it’s a body, though? the picture isn’t that clear.]
(text-colour:orange)[my friend who took it said it was a little girl, but he might be full of shit. who’s to say?]
(text-colour:red)[you have no idea
so what’s the plan?]
(text-colour:orange)[no plan. we just keep an eye out for anyone that matches the description. tall, white, blonde. gecian, you know?]
(text-colour:red)[uh, yeah, i’ll keep my eyes peeled. thanks.]
(text-colour:orange)[let us know if you see anything, right?]
(text-colour:red)[sure. speaking of seeing things - have you seen sixpence?]
(text-colour:orange)[oh, yeah. ddr machine.]
(text-colour:red)[thanks.]
(text-style:"outline")[[[->->OA1]]]
(text-colour:orange)[damn. why are you at an arcade if you don’t want a good time?]
(text-colour:red)[i just don't believe in occult things like that.]
(text-colour:orange)[you should start. haven't you kept an eye on the woods recently?]
(text-colour:red)[keep an eye on…? i don’t live in sight of them.]
(text-colour:orange)[good. someone’s out there.]
(text-colour:red)[yeah everyone i know is out there.]
(text-colour:orange)[we’ve had sightings. there’s a man out in the forest, and he’s always wearing a bird mask. people say he carries bodies back and forth. that he puts them in little plastic boxes and leaves them in the river. it's satanic.]
(text-colour:red)[...]
(text-colour:red)[bs]
(text-colour:orange)[take a look.]
<img src="https://pursuitpredation.neocities.org/pics/body.png">
(text-colour:red)[oh my god.]
(text-colour:orange)[right? it’s terrible.]
(text-colour:red)[are we sure it’s a body, though? the picture isn’t that clear.]
(text-colour:orange)[my friend who took it said it was a little girl, but he might be full of shit. who’s to say?]
(text-colour:red)[you have no idea
so what’s the plan?]
(text-colour:orange)[no plan. we just keep an eye out for anyone that matches the description. tall, white, blonde. gecian, you know?]
(text-colour:red)[uh, yeah, i’ll keep my eyes peeled. thanks.]
(text-colour:orange)[let us know if you see anything, right?]
(text-colour:red)[sure. speaking of seeing things - have you seen sixpence?]
(text-colour:orange)[oh, yeah. ddr machine.]
(text-colour:red)[thanks.]
(text-style:"outline")[[[->->OA1]]]The DDR Machine is blaring the aforementioned Electronica. (text-colour:yellow)[Sixpence] is working it like an old pro. When they turn to engage, their phrases are short, punctuated with each step.
<img src="https://pursuitpredation.neocities.org/pics/ddr.png">
(text-colour:red)[dude.]
(text-colour:yellow)[hello boy wonder. you’re far from home.]
(text-colour:red)[you dumped your weird grooming victim on us then disappeared without a trace.]
(text-colour:red)[what the fuck is your problem honestly you just got out of the psych ward and you’re already up to weird shit]
(text-colour:red)[and like whatever do that on your own time, you didn’t have to drag all of us and some fourteen year old girl into the mix.]
(text-colour:red)[it’s fucked up. you’re a fucked up person.]
(text-colour:yellow)[watch your mouth. i don’t want to hear it.]
(text-colour:red)[yeah, you’re not trying to hear shit! that’s like your whole problem.]
(text-colour:yellow)[alright. i’ll just stand here while you berate me, then. is that what getting better entails? i’m trying to get better.]
(text-colour:red)[i don’t believe that for one second. not one. and i don’t even want you around him. your whole apology thing was so stilted and self serving, you’re still treating everything like it’s some sick game.]
(text-colour:yellow)[you know. i’m glad you’re such. an authority on my life, maybe you can join my psych team.]
(text-colour:yellow)[you’re wrong, by the way. guilt isn’t a game to me. and it’s not funny.]
(text-colour:yellow)[you think i’m a sociopath, and yeah, whatever. but you only think that because of how. i affect your life. i’m just a little side character. wild card. crazy. thing. that you only think about when i’m inconveniencing you. you don’t give a damn about my life. : you don’t even care about his. do you know how close i came to killing him? how i thought about it every night. until i thought about it every day, every minute of every day, how badly i wanted it?]
(text-colour:red)[i’m fully aware of how fucking crazy you are.]
(text-colour:yellow)[and there it is! there is it. i am not crazy. you insensitive motherfucker. that’s what i’ve been saying. i don’t do anything randomly. i have reasons.]
(text-colour:red)[what’s the reason? why are you like this?]
(text-colour:yellow)[when i was two years old. my father beat me within an inch of my life and. dumped my unconscious body in the river.]
(text-colour:red)[i know that. literally everyone knows that, it was on the news.]
(text-colour:red)[that doesn’t make it okay.]
(text-colour:yellow)[i. know. that!]
(text-colour:yellow)[that’s why i’m trying to make it better! that’s why i feel enough guilt to make me sick every night. it isn’t a game! it’s not a fucking game to me! it’s my life!]
(text-colour:yellow)[i would have fucking killed somebody and i have to live with that every day!]
(text-colour:yellow)[i want. to be. better!]
(text-colour:yellow)[''but i can’t do that while you treat me like an animal!!!'']
They stomp down hard as the game ends, then spin around to face (text-colour:red)[CoolGuy97], who has started to back away. He stops when it becomes obvious that he’s doing that. (text-colour:yellow)[Sixpence] stares him down.
(text-colour:red)[…]
(text-colour:yellow)[i do want to be better. and i want to be forgiven. more than anything. but i’m not just going to stand there and let lord it over me. because you’re just as bad.]
(text-colour:red)[that’s fair.]
(text-colour:yellow)[i’m sorry, i didn’t mean to snap at you.]
(text-colour:red)[it’s fine. i get it.]
(text-colour:red)[the girl, though-]
(text-colour:yellow)[you want me to take her off your hands?]
(text-colour:yellow)[can’t. you know i can’t. where would i put her?]
(text-colour:red)[but you’ve known her the longest. and at least she talks to you.]
(text-colour:yellow)[she doesn’t have to talk. It’s not a personality defect.]
(text-colour:yellow)[do you want me to stop by tonight?]
(text-colour:red)[tonight? are you that busy right now?]
(text-colour:yellow)[clearly.]
(text-colour:red)[...alright.]
(text-colour:yellow)[toodles!]
(text-style:"outline")[[[->->Menu]]](text-colour:red)[sure.]
(text-colour:magenta)[really?]
(text-colour:red)[yeah. why not?]
<img src="https://pursuitpredation.neocities.org/pics/lakewater.png">
(text-colour:magenta)[Mädchen] wears a bathing suit beneath her clothes for this exact reason. She’s mean and clumsy on land, but the water flushes all the bitters from her. She submerges completely as (text-colour:red)[CoolGuy97] is still stripping down to his shorts. But eventually he enters the aquasphere as well. Beneath the water he cannot see a thing and he does not dare open his eyes for fear of parasites. (text-colour:magenta)[Mädchen] grabs his wrists and tugs him back up to the surface. Her long and curly hair forms a halo around her throat. Her eyes are dilated and elliptical. Like a cat, (text-colour:red)[CoolGuy97] thinks. No, like a frog. She sticks her tongue out before sinking back under.
<img src="https://pursuitpredation.neocities.org/pics/willow.png">
(text-colour:red)[CoolGuy97] backpedals, literally, not eager to play any games this time. He doesn’t want any swamp water in his mouth, either. Instead of following her beneath the lake, however deep it may go, he gets closer to a separate shore. When he ceases, it is in the shadow of a large willow. Its leaves swim the surface of the water and he passes through them, enclosed in the frolicsome space. For a small second, he forgets why he’s here, and the horrors that wait for him outside of the space. Something tugs at his ankle like a fisherman tugs at a bitten line.
(text-colour:red)[oh, haha, very funny,] (text-colour:magenta)[Mädchen](text-colour:red)[. i've seen The Lure too, you're not special.]
A hand parts the leaves of the willow tree as (text-colour:magenta)[Mädchen] swims inside, several feet away.
(text-colour:magenta)[hm?]
He is pulled under.
(text-style:"outline")[[[->->LS1]]](text-colour:red)[nah.]
(text-colour:magenta)[alright.]
(text-colour:red)[hm.]
(text-colour:magenta)[what?]
(text-colour:red)[isn’t this nice? to not be at each other’s throats all the time.]
(text-colour:magenta)[...]
(text-colour:magenta)[you have to do something about](text-colour:cyan)[your best friend]
(text-colour:magenta)[are you afraid that challenging him will drive him away?]
(text-colour:magenta)[he would do anything for you.]
(text-colour:red)[are you serious.]
(text-colour:red)[why are you doing this.]
(text-colour:red)[and why is it just me?]
(text-colour:red)[we’re not 13 anymore. there’s no time for vicious mind games.]
(text-colour:magenta)[that’s not what i’m doing.]
(text-colour:magenta)[is it?]
(text-colour:red)[isn’t it?]
(text-colour:magenta)[i don’t want to hurt you. i just want you to see.]
(text-colour:magenta)[don’t you know how hard it is for me? to constantly witness that little electrical dead zone that follows you wherever you go?]
(text-colour:magenta)[it scalds me.]
(text-colour:magenta)[i need you to open your eyes.]
[[Open your eyes]]
[video]
(text-colour:red)[ow, what the hell?]
(text-colour:magenta)[…]
(text-colour:red)[…]
(text-colour:magenta)[…]
(text-colour:red)[i’m....going to go home now.]
(text-colour:magenta)[stay safe.]
(text-colour:red)[um. yeah.]
(text-style:"outline")[[[->->Menu]]]The water is dark, then darker, then darker still. He thrashes and claws but the grip does not recede. It doesn’t even loosen. His eyes are stuck open, frantic and bumbling to find the attacker. He can’t see more than a foot in front of him and the empty water tells no tales. His breath doesn’t last; he barely got the chance to inhale. He feels certain, for a sprawling moment, that he will die. But certainty is not his strong suit.
The ground gives way to water and beneath the water, there are girls in their cages. He lands in a cave with jagged, wearied walls. Affixed to each wall are thick metal bars full of long black hair and blood-drained flesh. Millions of eyes poke out from within them. They light up the dark water. Each of the bodies look identical and familiar. The one gripping his ankle slips its clutch just a little bit, but that’s enough. He kicks away, upward towards daylight. Someone else grabs his collar and tugs him up.
(text-style:"outline")[[[->->ls2]]]<img src="https://pursuitpredation.neocities.org/pics/sunset.png">
(text-colour:magenta)[hello again, idiot.]
(text-colour:red)[oh you came!! that’s crazy i thought you would deny me for the rest of your life, over everything, for no real reason.]
(text-colour:magenta)[yeah, well, you piqued my interest. i’d like to meet her.]
(text-style:"superscript")[(text-colour:cyan)[i don’t like the way she said that.]]
(text-colour:magenta)[hey bestie]
(text-colour:cyan)[hellooooooo.]
(text-colour:magenta)[ha.]
(text-colour:cyan)[haha.]
(text-colour:red)[ok. i mean, she’s in the other room. she’s kind of weird though. and quiet. but maybe she’ll like you.]
(text-colour:cyan)[weird girls like mean people, right?]
(text-colour:red)[that’s what i heard yeah.]
(text-colour:magenta)[Mädchen] bends the knee to (text-colour:purple)[Boxxy], like someone would to a child or maybe a king. (text-colour:purple)[Boxxy]’s still curled up on the floor, the soft fabric of her dress coming down past her ankles.
(text-colour:magenta)[hey babez.]
(text-colour:purple)[…]
(text-colour:magenta)[right. yeah, you don’t have to say anything. i had an idea, though, you might like it.]
<img src="https://pursuitpredation.neocities.org/pics/book2.png">
She pulls a sketchbook from her bag and a split charcoal pencil. She offers them up to (text-colour:purple)[Boxxy], who raises an eyebrow. Still, she takes it. Briefly, her fingers brush up against (text-colour:magenta)[Mädchen]’s. It’s like touching a dead fish. (text-colour:magenta)[Mädchen] does not react to this. (text-colour:purple)[Boxxy] spins the pencil between her fingers with an impressive agility. She could probably tap a beat, if she wanted to. This surprises (text-colour:red)[CoolGuy97] and (text-colour:cyan)[Your Best Friend], who did not really believe she could hold a pencil. She stabs the pencil into the notepad, but not with enough force to snap it. Instead, she draws thick and deep grooves into the empty space. They give her privacy to do so.
(text-style:"outline")[[[->->15]]](text-colour:yellow)[why is your door locked? weird.]
(text-colour:cyan)[you are why.]
(text-colour:yellow)[just open it.]
(text-colour:yellow)[Sixpence] enters, carrying several bags of various materials and dimensions.
(text-colour:yellow)[mädchen?!]
(text-colour:magenta)[heyyy.]
(text-colour:yellow)[hi!!! long time no see.]
(text-colour:magenta)[right?! how are you???]
(text-colour:yellow)[oh! i would say that i got better in most regards but significantly worse at hiding things, in a way that any progress kind of cancels itself out to outside observers.]
(text-colour:magenta)[are you feeling better, though?]
(text-colour:yellow)[yeah :)]
(text-colour:magenta)[that’s all that matters, then :)]
(text-style:"superscript")[(text-colour:cyan)[can u believe this]
(text-colour:red)[loooooool]]
(text-colour:yellow)[boxxy. i have gifts.]
<img src="https://pursuitpredation.neocities.org/pics/bear.png">
She doesn’t look up from the paper, so (text-colour:yellow)[Sixpence] instead reveals the spoils to onlookers. New clothes - formless, thick, maculine - along with soft blankets and plush toys.
(text-colour:red)[sick haul.]
(text-colour:cyan)[where did you...get those?]
(text-colour:yellow)[does it matter?]
<img src="https://pursuitpredation.neocities.org/pics/sit.png">
They place the bag down right next to where (text-colour:purple)[Boxxy] is sitting.
(text-colour:yellow)[are you all armed?]
(text-colour:magenta)[yes.]
(text-colour:yellow)[well, i know you are. you two? and boxxy?]
They reach for the second bag on their arm.
(text-colour:red)[ wait, hold on. maybe don’t pull out a weapon right now.]
(text-colour:cyan)[seconded.]
(text-colour:yellow)[good idea. here, just take it.]
<img src="https://pursuitpredation.neocities.org/pics/bag.png">
They toss the bag to (text-colour:red)[CoolGuy97], who nearly buckles under the weight of it. He takes a peek inside, then immediately zips it back up.
(text-colour:red)[dude.]
(text-colour:yellow)[what?]
(text-colour:red)[ nevermind. ok, yeah. i’m sitting down. or taking a walk. i'm taking a walk.]
(text-colour:yellow)[i would not recommend taking a walk at night by yourself.]
(text-colour:magenta)[hey, i’m heading out anyway. i’ll go with you.]
(text-colour:cyan)[be careful!]
(text-colour:red)[yeah.]
(text-colour:magenta)[bye, guys. bye bye boxxy!]
(text-style:"outline")[[[->->16]]]<img src="https://pursuitpredation.neocities.org/pics/5.png">
(text-colour:red)[...who’s walking who?]
(text-colour:magenta)[i don’t know. buddy system is the best bet, though, right?]
(text-colour:red)[i guess. wait, i need to ask you something.]
(text-colour:magenta)[ugh.]
(text-colour:red)[do you mean what you say?]
(text-colour:magenta)[that’s stupid. do you? do you even think about it?]
(text-colour:red)[i don’t know. i try to.]
(text-colour:magenta)[if you heard yourself speak, you’d never want to open your mouth again. i know you don’t think about what you say, because you say stupid shit. constantly.]
(text-colour:red)[why do you hate me?]
(text-colour:magenta)[why should i like you? what do you even offer?]
(text-colour:red)[…]
(text-colour:magenta)[what do you do?]
(text-colour:red)[why were we friends, then? cause you’re just drowning in options.]
(text-colour:magenta)[fuck you.]
(text-colour:red)[you think that because you protect yourself with this misunderstood mean girl persona that you’re less pathetic than i am. you’re just less honest about it. you don’t mean what you say, ever. you just throw your voice somewhere else so that people won’t notice that you’re miserable.]
(text-colour:magenta)[i’m sure it gives you some sense of power to think you have me all figured out. but it means nothing coming from you. you couldn’t begin to understand the depths of other people; you’re too obsessed with yourself. even now, you’re thinking about how cool it makes you look to psychoanalyze an old friend. you think it’s some revelation. as if i haven’t told you all of that verbatim. yeah, you’re real cool for that.]
(text-colour:red)[but why do you hate me?]
Something’s coming.
(text-style:"outline")[[[->->ik]]]
<img src="https://pursuitpredation.neocities.org/pics/body.png">
(text-colour:red)[right. there’s a serial killer on the loose. i don’t know if you heard.]
(text-colour:magenta)[are you serious?]
(text-colour:red)[does it look like i’m kidding.]
(text-colour:magenta)[is he the one who put her in the box, then?]
(text-colour:red)[wait, yeah. that’s probably right. should we, um-]
(text-colour:magenta)[he only has a knife. you have a gun, don’t you?]
(text-colour:red)[oh no, i only brought the knife.]
(text-colour:magenta)[damn it.]
(text-colour:red)[sorry.]
(text-colour:magenta)[well, we still have two knives. i say we do it.]
(text-colour:red)[hold on a minute, i’m not exactly down to kill a man.]
(text-colour:magenta)[cover me.]
She stands up from behind the shrub and leaps over it, pulling her knife out from within her sleeve. The man jumps up at the sudden noise and the natural human fear of being approached. He’s taken off guard and cannot reach for his weapon in time. (text-colour:magenta)[Mädchen] runs him through with a six-inch blade.
(text-colour:magenta)[ha!]
He pulls her with him to the ground.
(text-colour:magenta)[ah!]
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/5loozgyhG4I" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
He isn’t dead, yet. Instead of blood, puss pours from him. It’s green and sticky and (text-colour:magenta)[Mädchen] tries to pull back. It’s unsuccessful. Suddenly, the viscera and other parts of his body harden and sharpen. He is as spiky as a sea urchin. It catches (text-colour:magenta)[Mädchen]. (text-colour:red)[CoolGuy97] takes off towards home.
(text-style:"outline")[[[->->17]]]
(text-colour:yellow)[…]
(text-colour:cyan)[so where were you, actually?]
(text-colour:yellow)[just out of town. in the hospital, very briefly, but they paid for an early discharge. i was travelling otherwise.]
(text-colour:cyan)[i would kill to get out of town right now.]
(text-colour:yellow)[it does have a pretty dark energy, yeah.]
<img src="https://pursuitpredation.neocities.org/pics/suburbs.png">
(text-colour:cyan)[i hate suburbia. ]
(text-colour:yellow)[it’s not that bad. i missed it, even.]
(text-colour: cyan)[…]
(text-colour:yellow)[…]
(text-colour: cyan)[…]
(text-colour:cyan)[they offered me counseling. after everything happened, they thought i might have ptsd or something.]
(text-colour:yellow)[i am sorry.]
(text-colour:cyan)[no, it’s fine. i didn’t go. i didn’t really think about it at all. that’s kind of the problem. ]
(text-colour:yellow)[yeah?]
(text-colour:cyan)[i’ve been able to avoid thinking about it for a really long time because you weren’t here. it was like a weird dream i had.]
(text-colour:yellow)[i’m sorry.]
(text-colour:cyan)[stop. like, that’s what i mean. i appreciate that you’re willing to take all the responsibility for it, but i don’t think that’s really accurate or even helpful.]
(text-colour:yellow)[i think i already crossed that boundary line. once it escalates like that, any nuanced discussion goes out the window.]
(text-colour:cyan)[but it shouldn’t. i don’t want to just be a victim. that’s not helpful.]
(text-colour:yellow)[i don’t know what you want from me.]
(text-colour:cyan)[nothing, i guess. i’m just saying. you don’t have to act like it was unprovoked.]
(text-colour:yellow)[…]
(text-colour:cyan)[do you think we could be friends?]
(text-colour:yellow)[neither of us are good at having friends.]
(text-colour:cyan)[yeah.]
(text-colour:cyan)[guess not.]
He turns to (text-colour:purple)[Boxxy]. She pauses from drawing to look back. The eye contact jolts (text-colour:cyan)[Your Best Friend]. Hers are large and watery; they seem as though they might pop out of their sockets. It reminds him too much of a fish. He tries not to look afraid.
(text-colour:yellow)[you done?]
(text-colour:yellow)[Sixpence] kneels down beside her. She smiles at them. It’s the first time anyone’s seen her smile. Two sharp teeth reveal themselves, but it looks quite natural on her, so much that nobody is even surprised by that. She allows (text-colour:yellow)[Sixpence] to hold onto the drawings. They tilt it up so that (text-colour:cyan)[Your Best Friend] can see.
<img src="https://pursuitpredation.neocities.org/pics/drawings.jpg">
(text-style:"outline")[[[->->18]]]
<img src="https://pursuitpredation.neocities.org/pics/sunrise.png">
(text-colour:cyan)[did you even sleep?]
(text-colour:red)[couldn’t. did we miss something?]
(text-colour:cyan)[there was nothing there. no bodies.]
(text-colour:red)[this is awful lol]
(text-colour:cyan)[should we just chill today?]
(text-colour:red)[that won’t work.]
(text-colour:cyan)[then what?]
[[Go Caving]]
[[Go Hunting]](text-colour:cyan)[hospital.]
(text-colour:red)[really? i thought you hated hospitals.]
(text-colour:cyan)[i do. but we can't keep dealing with this ourselves. she could be seriously injured and we wouldn't even know because she's so quiet.]
(text-colour:red)[you know she probably won't like the hospital either, right?]
(text-colour:cyan)[...]
(text-colour:red)[alright. give me a minute.]
He showers quickly, because he does nothing slowly, but in the short lapse (text-colour:cyan)[Your Best Friend] peeks into the living room to stare at the girl. Her eyes look sunken, her skin sullen. (text-colour:cyan)[Your Best Friend] doesn’t like to look at her and begins to feel that it might be better if someone takes her. He realizes this is a very cruel line of thought and terminates it right there.
(text-colour:cyan)[do you uh. want breakfast?]
(text-colour:purple)[…]
(text-colour:cyan)[...]
(text-colour:purple)[…]
(text-colour:cyan)[...it’s a little burnt.]
[[->->H2]](text-colour:red)[call sixpence. i have a hunch.]
(text-colour:cyan)[what is it?]
(text-colour:red)[i think we aren’t looking deep enough.]
(text-colour:cyan)[...okay. should i come with?]
(text-colour:red)[do you want to?]
(text-colour:cyan)[i want to get out of the house. boxxy does too, probably.]
(text-colour:red)[alright. just call them, i don’t have their number.]
(text-style:"outline")[[[->->GC1]]](text-colour:red)[i’m going to go talk to Mädchen]
(text-colour:cyan)[no wonder she likes you so much.]
(text-colour:red)[hm?]
(text-colour:cyan)[no matter what she does, you keep going back to her.]
(text-colour:red)[it’s not like that. and she doesn’t like me.]
(text-colour:cyan)[are you kidding? you’re her favorite person.]
(text-colour:red)[that's pathetic]
(text-colour:cyan)[yeah]
(text-colour:red)[well, i still want to go talk to her. i feel like i missed something.]
(text-colour:cyan)[i think that’s exactly what she wants you to believe.]
(text-colour:red)[i’ll find out or i’ll call her bluff. it doesn’t matter.]
(text-colour:cyan)[whatever. guess i’ll babysit Boxxy. some more.]
(text-colour:red)[take her to the park or something, i don’t know. i’ll be back before lunch.]
(text-colour:cyan)[disrespectful.]
(text-colour:red)[i’ll be right back!!!]
(text-style:"outline")[[[->->GH1]]]<img src="https://pursuitpredation.neocities.org/pics/cavez.png">
(text-colour:yellow)[hello! welcome :)]
(text-colour:red)[hold on.]
(text-colour:yellow)[you’re afraid of rocks? rocks???]
(text-colour:red)[i think. i am mildly claustrophobic.]
(text-colour:yellow)[this isn’t a small space. can you even see the ceiling?]
(text-colour:red)[i don’t have my glasses.]
(text-colour:yellow)[don’t bother. hey,](text-colour:purple)[boxxy].
(text-colour:purple)[Boxxy] slips her hand out of (text-colour:cyan)[Your Best Friend]’s grasp and moves towards (text-colour:yellow)[Sixpence], shadowing behind them. they smile affectionately at her before turning back to the boys.
(text-colour:yellow)[let me guess. you saw the maps.]
<img src="https://pursuitpredation.neocities.org/pics/map.png">
(text-colour:red)[what maps?]
(text-colour:yellow)[right.]
(text-colour:cyan)[your family does use the cave system, though, don’t they?]
(text-colour:yellow)[for trade. i mean, it’s not - do you suspect - um - ]
(text-colour:cyan)[if the caves are in frequent enough use, that defeats the whole purpose. there can’t be two covert operations happening at the same time, right?]
(text-colour:red)[why not? you believe me, right?]
(text-colour:yellow)[we’re here, aren’t we? ]
(text-colour:red)[yeah. okay. sorry. ]
(text-colour:yellow)[what do you want to see?]
(text-colour:red)[i don’t know. can you give a tour?]
<img src="https://pursuitpredation.neocities.org/pics/eyeroll.gif">
(text-colour:yellow)[as you wish.]
A smile creeps onto (text-colour:purple)[Boxxy]’s face as they take her hand and lead the party down the tracks.
(text-style:"outline")[[[->->GC2]]]
<img src="https://pursuitpredation.neocities.org/pics/cavez2.png">
(text-colour:yellow)[would you like to know some fun facts about caves?]
(text-colour:red)[no.]
(text-colour:yellow)[fun fact: caves are actually mouths!]
(text-colour:cyan)[i want to hear more cave facts.]
(text-colour:yellow)[i think what you will find most jarring about this place is that’s been used for pretty much everything. mind the petroglyphs.]
<img src="https://pursuitpredation.neocities.org/pics/petro.png">
(text-colour:yellow)[so, those have been around for several thousand years - which is actually pretty recent, in terms of cave paintings, but they’re easily the oldest addition.]
(text-colour:red)[yeah, obviously.]
(text-colour:yellow)[...]
(text-colour:yellow)[well, anyway, these were my favorites when i was growing up. you’ll notice they’re actually pretty religious. the most famous cave art features nature and is concentrated a lot in eurasia, but that’s not the case in north america. most everything here has some mythological significance. it’s kind of overpowering.]
(text-colour:yellow)[Sixpence] turn to (text-colour:purple)[Boxxy] to see if she is listening. She steps forward to place a small hand along one of the faults in the rock wall. Everyone watches to see if she will speak. She doesn’t.
(text-style:"outline")[[[->->GC3]]]<img src="https://pursuitpredation.neocities.org/pics/mine.png">
(text-colour:yellow)[so, the gods have watched over all the operations that have taken place since. some evidence suggests that there was mining pre-contact, but it really picked up in the 19th century. this town is so in the middle of nowhere that it remained untouched from most outside sources, but there were some internal prospectors. i never met them, but they did most of the groundwork for what would become the tunnel system.]
(text-colour:yellow)[i kind of wish this place would get more attention. i’ve seen the haunted quarry videos on youtube and i’m not impressed.]
(text-style:"outline")[[[->->GC4]]]<img src="https://pursuitpredation.neocities.org/pics/cave.gif">
(text-colour:yellow)[but you’re here for the tunnels, right?]
(text-colour:red)[i would love to see them.]
(text-colour:yellow)[alright.]
(text-colour:cyan)[hey, are we going to get in trouble for this? does your dad know you’re here, even?]
(text-colour:yellow)[get in trouble for what? where?]
(text-colour:cyan)[oh. okay, got it.]
(text-colour:yellow)[you’re armed, right?]
(text-colour:red)[i am.]
<img src="https://pursuitpredation.neocities.org/pics/tunnel.png">
(text-colour:yellow)[alright. i’m thinking about it, and i guess it’s technically possible for people to move around down here, but it wouldn’t make sense. it’s not a busy network, just one of the ports. and we’d be in for a lot of shit if anything was unaccounted for.]
(text-colour:red)[well, it’s not like you oversee it yourself.]
(text-colour:yellow)[hm?]
(text-colour:red)[your family monitors it. not you. if there were people down here-]
(text-colour:yellow)[what exactly are you implying?]
There is dead silence.
(text-colour:red)[nevermind.]
(text-colour:cyan)[sorry, he’s an idiot. can we still see the tunnels?]
(text-colour:yellow)[Sixpence] doesn’t take his eyes off of (text-colour:red)[Coolguy97], who is trying really hard not to notice.
(text-colour:yellow)[yeah. okay.]
(text-style:"outline")[[[->->GC5]]](text-colour:yellow)[w]
(text-colour:yellow)[well, here we are then. this is the first entrance. there’s more further along, but they all lead to the same place.]
<img src="https://pursuitpredation.neocities.org/pics/doors.png">
The first entrance is a set of double doors. They wouldn’t look out of place in a school building. The rock around them conforms like a severed tree branch heals, bunching up at their sides as if to swallow them. (text-colour:yellow)[Sixpence] hops over the uneven terrain to reach the handles. They pull the door open, revealing the hallway inside.
<img src="https://pursuitpredation.neocities.org/pics/hallway.png">
(text-colour:cyan)[it’s a lot cleaner than i expected.]
(text-colour:yellow)[of course. nobody wants blacklung.]
(text-colour:cyan)[i know that much. just wasn’t expecting what’s pretty much an actual hallway. it’s kind of disconcerting.]
(text-colour:yellow)[please lower your voice.]
(text-colour:red)[how far does it go?]
(text-colour:yellow)[as far as the earth is wide.]
(text-colour:red)[that can’t b]
Without warning, (text-colour:purple)[Boxxy] begins to sprint down the hallway.
(text-colour:cyan)[fuck!]
(text-colour:cyan)[Your Best Friend] takes off after her with no hesitation, but still cannot clear the gap. (text-colour:yellow)[Sixpence] follows, heavy hiking boots pounding down on the linoleum floor. (text-colour:red)[Coolguy97] stays frozen in place, hands still secured around the door, terrified that it will lock them in. He realizes, too, that he is terrified to be alone. He wedges a rock in between the door to keep it from clicking shut and begins to walk after them, unable to manage a full sprint into darkness.
(text-style:"outline")[[[->->d1]]]<img src="https://pursuitpredation.neocities.org/pics/d.png">
There is darkness.
(text-style:"outline")[[[->->d2]]]<img src="https://pursuitpredation.neocities.org/pics/d2.png">
More darkness.
(text-style:"outline")[[[->->d3]]]<img src="https://pursuitpredation.neocities.org/pics/d3.png">
More darkness.
(text-style:"outline")[[[->->d5]]]<img src="https://pursuitpredation.neocities.org/pics/d4.png">
...
(text-style:"outline")[[[->->d6]]]<img src="https://pursuitpredation.neocities.org/pics/d5.png">
...
(text-style:"outline")[[[->->d7]]]<img src="https://pursuitpredation.neocities.org/pics/d6.png">
...
(text-style:"outline")[[[->->d8]]]<img src="https://pursuitpredation.neocities.org/pics/d7.png">
(text-colour:cyan)[i’m right here. hey, it’s fine. it’s fine.]
(text-colour:red)[h]
(text-colour:cyan)[it’s okay. everything’s alright.]
(text-colour:red)[mm. sorry.]
(text-colour:cyan)[it’s okay! it’s okay.]
(text-colour:red)[i’m fine.]
(text-colour:cyan)[let’s go back, okay?]
[[Go Back]]
[[Stay]]
<img src="https://pursuitpredation.neocities.org/pics/d8.png">
(text-colour:red)[okay. sorry.]
(text-colour:cyan)[no problem. let’s go.]
[[19]] (text-colour:red)[i’m fine. what - where is she?]
(text-colour:cyan)[you sure you want to see?]
(text-colour:red)[yes!]
(text-colour:cyan)[ok, check it.]
<img src="https://pursuitpredation.neocities.org/pics/splunk.png">
The hallway still goes on forever, but there’s a give in the side of it - a small place where it’s been cracked open. The crevice is so slight that it makes (text-colour:red)[Coolguy97] downright claustrophobic, but (text-colour:cyan)[Your Best Friend] slips in with in problem, and he doesn’t want to be alone. They clamber out to the other side.
In a much larger opening, (text-colour:yellow)[Sixpence] is sitting on the floor with their head hidden in their arms. A lit cigarette hangs from their lips. Meanwhile, (text-colour:purple)[Boxxy] is crawling on the ceiling.
(text-colour:cyan)[ya good?]
(text-colour:yellow)[scared me half to death.]
(text-colour:cyan)[yeah.]
(text-colour:yellow)[she’s on her psychowave. evilcore.]
(text-colour:cyan)[okay so those aren’t words.]
(text-colour:red)[whaaaaaat the hell.]
(text-colour:yellow)[watch the wall.]
(text-colour:red)[oh. oh!]
<img src="https://pursuitpredation.neocities.org/pics/cave3.png">
<img src="https://pursuitpredation.neocities.org/pics/paint.png">
<img src="https://pursuitpredation.neocities.org/pics/cave4.png">
The mural is enormous and so detailed that it takes (text-colour:red)[Coolguy97] a second to narrow his focus down to one place.
(text-colour:purple)[Boxxy] moves around it with ease. She looks like a child at play - which she is. It’s only the eerie lighting of the cave, as well as the grim depictions that surround them, that make the whole scene feel like a deathtrap. Her left foot clefts a licking flame. Her right hand grips a pained and horned face. It’s like a demented game of twister.
(text-colour:red)[these paintings are drawn the same way.]
(text-colour:yellow)[it’s cause they’re recent. paint’s all staining her dress.]
(text-colour:red)[this is stupid. boxxy, come down.]
(text-colour:cyan)[you should be more sensitive, you know. i think she’s cracking up.]
(text-colour:yellow)[she’s fine. but uh, if you were looking for clues-]
(text-colour:red)[oh my god. i was so busy antagonizing you that i completely forgot what i was supposed to be doing.]
(text-colour:yellow)[you would be shocked at how often i get that.]
(text-colour:yellow)[sweetheart, come down.]
(text-colour:purple)[Boxxy] jumps off the wall from several feet and (text-colour:yellow)[Sixpence] stumbles to catch her. She weighs nothing, but the force of it makes them stumble. Red chalk smears off on both of them. They don’t set her down. They seem to forget that was even an option. She wraps her arms around their neck and hides her face in their shoulder, sighing softly.
(text-colour:cyan)[hey, you should snap some pictures of the wall. that way we don’t miss anything.]
(text-colour:red)[that’s smart.]
He fumbles for his phone, trying to push past the shakiness of his hands. (text-colour:yellow)[Sixpence] and (text-colour:purple)[Boxxy] are already halfway out by the time he gets the first picture. (text-colour:cyan)[Your Best Friend] lags behind as he takes the rest of them.
(text-style:"outline")[[[->->Stay 1]]]
<img src="https://pursuitpredation.neocities.org/pics/exit.png">
As soon as they’re out of the cave mouth, (text-colour:yellow)[Sixpence] collapses onto the grasp, Boxxy still in their lap.
(text-colour:cyan)[you good?]
(text-colour:yellow)[no]
(text-colour:cyan)[what’s wrong?]
They look back at the darkness of the cave in anticipation, waiting for something to come forth. When nothing does, they speak.
(text-colour:yellow)[it was supposed to be a rail track.]
(text-colour:cyan)[hm?]
(text-colour:yellow)[do i have to explain it? you saw it. that was a school hallway.]
(text-colour:cyan)[but you-]
(text-colour:yellow)[i didn’t want you to freak out. people were watching.]
(text-colour:red)[you’re such a liar.]
(text-colour:yellow)[look at me.]
He does. They’re shivering in a way that’s hard to fake. He has the same tremor in himself, whether for fear or rage he does not know.
(text-colour:red)[…]
(text-colour:yellow)[…]
(text-colour:cyan)[…]
(text-colour:purple)[…]
(text-colour:red)[stand up]
(text-colour:cyan)[no. no, we’re not going to do that. let’s leave. i want to go home.]
(text-colour:red)[if space isn’t behaving normally either, there is no point in “going” anywhere]
(text-colour:red)[Coolguy97]’s eyes narrow and turn on (text-colour:purple)[Boxxy], who stares blanky at him from (text-colour:yellow)[Sixpence]’s arms. He starts to open his mouth, but (text-colour:cyan)[Your Best Friend] places a hand on his arm. it’s a plea.
(text-colour:yellow)[i’ll watch her for a little bit, okay? call you later.]
They’re gone before anyone can argue.
(text-colour:red)[we need to get out of here.]
(text-colour:cyan)[can we go home first, please?]
(text-colour:red)[it’s not safe there either. we need to get out of here.]
(text-colour:cyan)[i’m tired. please.]
(text-colour:red)[i’m tired too.]
(text-style:"outline")[[[->->19]]](text-colour:red)[Coolguy97] has knocked on (text-colour:magenta)[Mädchen]’s door many times, but not once in the past year. He doesn’t intend to break that streak and so he opts for the tried and true method that all teens favor. He throws pebbles up at her window while standing in her backyard. It takes about 30 rocks before it finally slides open. she swats away the 31st - a sizable one - before it can hit her.
It’s too bright and early for her to shout, so she whispers.
(text-colour:magenta)[what do you want?]
She has a patch over her left eye. (text-colour:red)[Coolguy97] gapes, much like the massive wound in her eye.
(text-colour:magenta)[what do you want?]
She repeats herself, louder. He has the audacity to hush her before explaining.
(text-colour:red)[i’m scared of your mom. come down.]
(text-colour:magenta)[no!]
(text-colour:red)[Mädchen, i’m sorry. i got caught up in the moment.]
(text-colour:magenta)[you left me to die.]
(text-colour:red)[i was getting help!]
(text-colour:magenta)[i limped home by myself.]
(text-colour:red)[it took me a while to run! just come down so we can talk about it.]
(text-colour:red)[i’ll wait out here.]
(text-colour:magenta)[no you will not.]
(text-colour:magenta)[meet me at the spot. fifteen minutes.]
(text-colour:red)[which one?]
(text-colour:magenta)[i don’t know what it’s called.]
(text-colour:red)[oh, that one.]
(text-style:"outline")[[[->->GH2]]]
<img src="https://pursuitpredation.neocities.org/pics/eb.png">
(text-colour:red)[so, are you alright?]
(text-colour:magenta)[i’m down one eye.]
(text-colour:red)[what happened back there? did you get him?]
(text-colour:magenta)[no. i just got away.]
(text-colour:magenta)[did you see anything when you went back?]
(text-colour:red)[...]
(text-colour:magenta)[you didn’t go back, did you?]
(text-colour:red)[...]
(text-colour:magenta)[why did you want to see me?]
(text-colour:red)[...it’s stupid. i feel stupid now.]
(text-colour:magenta)[well]
(text-colour:red)[it’s just, back on the first day, i felt like we were all on the same page about this. we had both woken up at the same time, i guess. but now it’s like you’re in on it.]
(text-colour:magenta)[in on it?]
(text-colour:red)[the box. the waking up. the stars. why is everything all weird now? and you seem so well acquainted with it that i feel like i got left behind somewhere]
(text-colour:magenta)[0_0]
(text-colour:magenta)[i don’t really think it’s my place to tell you that.]
(text-colour:red)[then tell me how you learned]
(text-colour:magenta)[i can’t]
(text-colour:magenta)[for very mundane reasons]
(text-colour:magenta)[if possible it’s actually in your best interest not to know]
(text-colour:magenta)[forget the girl and get out of town while you still can]
(text-colour:red)[wait]
(text-colour:red)[are you leaving?]
(text-colour:magenta)[by hook or by crook]
(text-colour:red)[something really bad is about to happen isn’t it]
(text-colour:magenta)[you didn’t need me to tell you that]
(text-colour:red)[just give me a hint, then]
(text-colour:magenta)[alright]
(text-colour:magenta)[if you don’t leave, you’ll have to find an allegiance]
(text-style:"outline")[[[->->GH3]]]
(text-colour:magenta)[but it’s better to leave]
(text-colour:red)[ ouch]
(text-colour:magenta)[what’s wrong?]
(text-colour:red)[ headrush, i guess. i don’t remember walking over here.]
(text-colour:magenta)[well i’m missing an eyeball.]
(text-colour:red)[ it doesn’t have to be a competition]
(text-colour:orange)[ hey boy !]
(text-colour:red)[ !!! hello]
(text-colour:magenta)[you two know each other?]
(text-colour:red)[ YOU two know each other?]
(text-colour:orange)[ intima-]
(text-colour:magenta)[shhhhshshshshshsh
shhhh
we all went to the same school maybe its not that surprising
what’s important though is the project]
(text-colour:red)[ that? ]
(text-colour:magenta)[yes that obtrusive hunk of machinery]
(text-colour:orange)[ ;)]
(text-colour:magenta)[;|]
<img src="https://pursuitpredation.neocities.org/pics/rocket.png">
(text-colour:red)[ explain what im looking at please]
(text-colour:magenta)[it is a rocket, to keep things simple]
(text-colour:orange)[ i would call it a bunker]
(text-colour:magenta)[it can be both]
(text-colour:red)[ those are the most opposite things i can think of]
(text-colour:magenta)[it’s an escape hatch, dummy
all rockets need to be able to take a beating they’re a fortress in their own right]
(text-colour:red)[ can it fly?]
(text-colour:magenta)[it will have no choice really]
(text-colour:red)[ meaning?]
(text-colour:orange)[ it’ll fly. i’m navigating.]
(text-colour:red)[ wait, you can steer it? can i see inside?]
<img src="https://pursuitpredation.neocities.org/pics/ri.png">
(text-colour:red)[ no wheel]
(text-colour:orange)[ yeah, it’s a more complicated route than that. don’t worry your pretty little head about it]
(text-colour:red)[ alright]
(text-colour:orange)[ fine i’ll show you]
(text-colour:magenta)[wait, i really wouldn’t-]
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/cwm2Y13ij7U" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
(text-colour:orange)[boo lol]
(text-colour:magenta)[ now why would you do that]
(text-colour:magenta)[ he’s out cold]
(text-style:"outline")[[[->->19]]]<img src="https://pursuitpredation.neocities.org/pics/week.png">
<img src="https://pursuitpredation.neocities.org/pics/funeral.png">
It pours the day of the funeral. Figures draped in black mill about the gravesite, mud staining their hems. There are no chairs. Everyone wants this to be over. (text-colour:yellow)[Sixpence] stands at the podium. The water’s fizzled the mic out into uselessness; the harsh pounding of the rain completely drowns out their voice. This is probably a good thing.
(text-colour:yellow)[thank you all for coming to this celebration of my father’s life. i’m sure you can all feel the festive energy that he brought into this world with us this morning. what to say about my dad. he was the only dad i ever had. he was the best dad i’ve ever had. he raised me. taught me how to swim. taught me how to walk three miles through the woods with a broken leg. he made me into the person i am today and he will most certainly go to hell for that, if nothing else. my father was not a good man, but his vast criminal empire did fund most of the infrastructure of our small town. i don’t know what we’re going to do without him. maybe the real lesson we can take away from his life is that it is not important to be good. maybe it’s enough to be useful.]
(text-colour:yellow)[you should still try to be good, though, i think. that or avoid having friends and children.]
(text-colour:yellow)[well. that’s all i got.]
They hop down from the mic and away from the main crowd as the body is lowered into the earth. by the edge of the cemetery, beneath an old willow tree, (text-colour:magenta)[Mädchen] is sprawled out on the ground. A jacket is wrapped around her face, protecting her hair from the ground’s bugs and her face from the spitting rain. (text-colour:orange)[Wormwood] keeps watch beside her, knees tucked into her chest. She waves to (text-colour:yellow)[Sixpence] as they approach.
<img src="https://pursuitpredation.neocities.org/pics/girls.png">
(text-colour:orange)[that was a good speech.]
(text-colour:yellow)[thanks.]
(text-colour:magenta)[sucks about your dad, man.]
(text-colour:yellow)[what, that? like i care. i'm not upset]
(text-colour:magenta)[yeah, that’s what sucks.]
(text-colour:yellow)[i’m just going to go home.]
(text-colour:orange)[no, c’mon. we’re not letting you be lonely on the day of your father’s funeral. i’ll buy you dinner or something.]
(text-colour:yellow)[flattered. the lady seems indisposed.]
<img src="https://pursuitpredation.neocities.org/pics/dead.png">
(text-colour:magenta)[i could eat]
(text-style:"outline")[[[->->20]]]
<img src="https://pursuitpredation.neocities.org/pics/diner.png">
(text-colour:red)[what day is it?]
(text-style:"blur","blink")[(text-colour:cyan)[x/xx/xxx]]
(text-colour:red)[jesus]
(text-colour:cyan)[yeah we kind of burned the week.]
(text-colour:red)[i couldn’t stay awake at all.]
(text-colour:cyan)[you were up the whole time.]
(text-colour:red)[i was? doing what?]
(text-colour:cyan)[just sitting there, i guess. not doing much of anything.]
(text-colour:red)[mhm]
(text-colour:cyan)[i’m going to go write random numbers on the stalls of the mens bathroom for the next schizophrenic who enters]
(text-colour:red)[i’ll wait here.]
(text-colour:magenta)[goddamnit.]
(text-colour:cyan)[aha whoops.]
(text-colour:magenta)[he didn’t notice, there’s still time-]
(text-colour:cyan)[i’ll just-]
(text-colour:red)[hey!]
(text-colour:red)[Coolguy97] jumps up from the bar he was sitting at. his eyes are pink, the surrounding skin a flushed blue. sleepless.
(text-colour:red)[where’s boxxy?]
(text-colour:yellow)[i thought you had her.]
(text-colour:magenta)[oh my god. you lost her? how do you lose a girl?]
(text-colour:cyan)[you forget to cherish her.]
(text-colour:red)[okay it doesn’t matter how!]
(text-colour:yellow)[you lost her lmfao.]
(text-colour:red)[all that matters is that she’s gone and we need to track her down again. it’s too dangerous for her to be left alone.]
(text-colour:magenta)[dangerous for whom?]
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/_IRe6FZL688" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
(text-colour:yellow)[don’t be scared. there’s nothing worth protecting in this town.]
(text-colour:cyan)[what about the people?]
(text-colour:yellow)[fuck the people.]
(text-colour:magenta)[what about me?]
(text-colour:yellow)[fuck you!]
(text-colour:orange)[woahhhhh.]
(text-colour:yellow)[sorry.]
(text-colour:red)[you said that with your whole chest.]
(text-colour:yellow)[my dad is dead can you give me a break.]
(text-colour:red)[your dad’s dead?]
(text-colour:yellow)[yes.]
(text-colour:red)[that sucks.]
(text-colour:yellow)[i know.]
(text-colour:red)[boxxy is still missing.]
(text-colour:magenta)[we’ve established that.]
(text-colour:red)[well, we need to go find her!]
(text-colour:magenta)[i’m not stopping you.]
(text-colour:cyan)[we can’t cover enough ground by ourselves.]
(text-colour:orange)[what makes you think she even wants to be found.]
(text-colour:magenta)[she probably doesn’t.]
(text-colour:orange)[so……..]
(text-colour:red)[i don’t care.]
(text-colour:orange)[she’s 12?]
(text-colour:red)[yeah so what.]
(text-colour:orange)[…]
(text-colour:magenta)[i’m not doing anything tonight.]
(text-colour:orange)[???]
(text-colour:magenta)[oh besides that. but i’ll make time for both. as a favor.]
(text-colour:cyan)[a debt, you mean?]
(text-colour:magenta)[no. after tonight, you’re all free of that.]
(text-colour:red)[what.]
(text-colour:yellow)[she’s leaving. i’m also leaving.]
(text-colour:red)[what.]
(text-colour:orange)[it’s okay! we’ll help you out first. i love long nights.]
(text-colour:red)[you’re all leaving?!?! when was this decided?]
(text-colour:magenta)[you don’t remember?]
(text-colour:orange)[guess he wouldn’t, not after-]
(text-colour:magenta)[right, right.]
(text-colour:magenta)[well, the visions tell me that we’re approaching the event horizon. tonight may be our last chance.]
(text-colour:red)[event horizon?]
(text-colour:cyan)[where are you even going?]
(text-colour:magenta)[those questions are designed for a world that will not exist in 24 hours. any answer i give you within this timeframe will not make sense.]
(text-colour:red)[you never make sense.]
(text-colour:yellow)[i’m going to montreal.]
(text-colour:orange)[sixpence is going to montreal.]
(text-colour:cyan)[how? you don’t speak french.]
(text-colour:yellow)[ils parlent francais? à montréal? tu veux rire.]
(text-colour:cyan)[va au diable.]
(text-colour:yellow)[d'accord, chéri. tu n'as aucune idée.]
(text-colour:cyan)[non. je sais.]
(text-colour:red)[i’ll be honest, i feel kind of stupid right now. i didn’t know we were supposed to be sitting on escape plans.]
(text-colour:orange)[that’s my bad.]
(text-colour:red)[it is?]
(text-colour:orange)[yep. no worries though. see you tonight.]
(text-style:"outline")[[[->->21]]]
<img src="https://pursuitpredation.neocities.org/pics/ltn.png">
(text-colour:red)[thank you all for coming. i traced a map of the town so that we can decide which places to scope out. i’ve helpfully marked all the places that we’ve already investigated with a red ‘x’. meaning boxxy is not there.]
(text-colour:magenta)[but she could go there. she has legs.]
(text-colour:red)[you would think so, but listen. the places we’ve already visited are also the most populated. there’s basically no chance of her stopping by without being noticed, which would eventually make its way back to us. we know she hasn’t been there yet, because nobody has seen her. if she makes her way over, someone will tell us.]
(text-colour:magenta)[you asked around for her?]
(text-colour:red)[yes.]
(text-colour:magenta)[how? what did you say?]
(text-colour:red)[it doesn’t ma-]
(text-colour:cyan)[“have you seen any evil looking children?”]
(text-colour:cyan)[and they hadn’t, somehow.]
(text-colour:red)[so we’re going to check out this segment of the woods!]
(text-colour:orange)[northeast?]
(text-colour:red)[yeah.]
(text-colour:red)[why are you looking at me like that.]
(text-colour:orange)[it’s just funny when you yell. me and mädchen will take this quadrant, then. closest to her house.]
(text-colour:red)[ok. then, we can hit up all the remaining areas clockwise, while you two work counter-clockwise. i think that’d be the most efficient use of our time.]
(text-colour:red)[now, the plan for if we find her…]
<img src="https://pursuitpredation.neocities.org/pics/msg.PNG">
(text-colour:red)[...but that’s only if worse comes to worse. ideally, everyone keeps all their fingers and teeth.]
(text-colour:magenta)[sounds good. can we go now?]
(text-colour:red)[hey bestie are you ready?]
(text-colour:cyan)[...yeah. let’s go.]
(text-style:"outline")[[[->->22]]](text-colour:red)[here’s the geyser. you see any signs?]
(text-colour:cyan)[doubt she would leave tracks.]
(text-colour:red)[we have to try.]
(text-colour:cyan)[i just hope she’s alright. it’s too easy to get hurt out here.]
(text-colour:red)[we’d be lucky if she doesn’t hurt us.]
(text-colour:cyan)[she had plenty of opportunities to do that already. if anything, you should be worried about the possible ecological devastation caused by a feral child.]
<img src="https://pursuitpredation.neocities.org/pics/rk.png">
(text-colour:red)[that’s stupid. this is stupid. and i don’t see anything.]
(text-colour:cyan)[i know a spot.]
(text-colour:red)[what is it?]
(text-colour:cyan)[i don’t know that part.]
(text-colour:red)[ok cool.]
(text-colour:cyan)[this way!]
(text-style:"outline")[[[->->23]]]<img src="https://pursuitpredation.neocities.org/pics/flame.png">
The power’s been cut. (text-colour:yellow)[Sixpence] sits alone in the kitchen, the only place where there’s enough light to see. The fire from the stovetop glows haint blue. It makes the room look like the inside of an aquarium, but the glass windows are blotted out with no starlight. They don’t know what they’re waiting for until she walks in.
(text-colour:yellow)[hey, girl.]
(text-colour:purple)[you’re leaving?]
Her voice sounds like a rusty chain.
(text-colour:yellow)[i can’t move.]
This is true on multiple levels.
(text-colour:purple)[Boxxy] takes a seat on the chair beside them.
Her eyes change from a dark sky to a dark sea, growing shiny and watery.
(text-colour:purple)[we did this.]
(text-colour:yellow)[you couldn’t have done anything differently. besides, it’s too late for that now, isn’t it?]
(text-colour:purple)[too late for us.]
(text-colour:yellow)[stay here tonight. we’ll wait it out.]
The flames turn red without warning.
(text-style:"outline")[[[->->24]]]<img src="https://pursuitpredation.neocities.org/pics/head.png">
(text-colour:red)[...is he still…]
(text-colour:cyan)[alive?]
(text-colour:red)[yeah.]
(text-colour:cyan)[can’t be. or if he is, he won’t be for long.]
(text-colour:red)[is it alive?]
(text-colour:cyan)[...it’s moving.]
It’s true. the cream-colored tendrils thrum with each gulp. The whole mass throbs like a heartbeat. As they trace their eyes down to where the parasite meets skin, they find it very difficult to discern the division. It’s slipped right beneath the outer membrane; the flesh is raised where it enters the body. It still suckles at the neck.
(text-colour:red)[it’s him. he’s been living out here.]
It’s a small den, a wooden shed. Fresh dirt speckles the surrounding woods. The walls here are lined with rusting metal tools, cruor crusting onto the steel. There are photographs lining the wall too. Both of them look away.
(text-colour:red)[he fought mädchen. i’m so stupid. why did i let him anywhere near her?]
(text-colour:cyan)[well, it doesn’t matter now. not like he’s getting up.]
(text-colour:red)[what is that?]
(text-colour:cyan)[it’s beautiful. in its way.]
(text-colour:red)[what?]
(text-colour:cyan)[Your Best Friend] doesn’t respond. As smooth and naturally as someone opening a door, he stretches a hand towards the mass.
(text-colour:red)[Coolguy97] shoves him back, hard.
(text-colour:red)[don’t touch it!]
(text-colour:cyan)[why not?]
There’s a forcefulness there that (text-colour:red)[Coolguy97] wasn’t expecting. He jumps back as if he’s found a landmine. Struck dumb.
(text-colour:cyan)[why not?]
And he does not relent.
(text-colour:cyan)[why not?]
The phone rings.
(text-style:"outline")[[[->->25]]](text-colour:red)[hello?]
(text-colour:magenta)[i can’t find her.]
(text-colour:red)[that’s okay. look, you don’t have to st-]
(text-colour:magenta)[i meant wormwood. she left.]
(text-colour:red)[...what? what do you mean, “she left”?]
The radio’s static crackles loudly
(text-colour:magenta)[Receive . . . is gone . . . living within…]
(text-colour:red)[i can’t really hear you.]
(text-colour:magenta)[Come unto the Incorruptible...In glory with pure angels]
(text-colour:red)[you’re freaking me out.]
(text-colour:magenta)[come. one lost is one gained. come.]
(text-colour:red)[i…]
(text-colour:cyan)[you’re going to chase after her?]
(text-colour:cyan)[there’s really no helping you, is there?]
(text-colour:red)[what???]
The static grows louder, but the radio’s turned off.
[[Go find Mädchen]]
[[Stay with Your Best Friend]]
(text-style:"rumble")[(text-colour:magenta)[aaaaaaaaaaaijidhuawhuheufhwuehauhwd8120hwenufdh8012hnqwu80ashdnb0feadhuahw-f9ujeaa8w0hinfushse-w8anfeu0he8w0jieu0fhznzeh-f9sjdehf0aijenbuebauf0eah08badbuawe2ujqinfw8iqnqwmfneb8oqruwejjd092jqwnbufanijw9uriejjadoqwkpdor3jhnakdioioqwhjuhfenuihaidhaipj92u9uhubw9qhw-]]
(text-colour:red)[h]
(text-colour:magenta)[goldenrod!!!!]
(text-colour:red)[mädchen].
(text-colour:magenta)[oh, you’re here. tag.]
She digs a claw through his shoulder and drags him down to earth. Her eyes are closed tight.
(text-colour:red)[what the f-]
(text-colour:magenta)[we’re playing! like we did when we were younger.]
(text-colour:red)[we met in high school.]
(text-colour:magenta)[shh!]
(text-colour:magenta)[she left me. i can’t believe it. she just left me here.]
(text-colour:red)[where did she go? i don’t get it.]
(text-colour:magenta)[she’s just gone. and i couldn’t follow her or even watch where she going because of the-]
<img src="https://pursuitpredation.neocities.org/pics/mb.gif">
(text-colour:magenta)[do not look at it.]
He looks at it.
<img src="https://pursuitpredation.neocities.org/pics/goldenrod.gif">
(text-colour:magenta)[stop it!!!!!]
(text-colour:red)[what the fuck is that.]
He severs the hundred stares. The figure stands before him patiently, unmoving.
(text-colour:magenta)[it didn’t hurt you. of course it didn’t.]
(text-colour:magenta)[you might get to heaven but i won’t i won’t i won’t i won’t i w]
It is only then he notices the pound of flesh carved out of her arm, painting the goldenrods red.
(text-colour:red)[y-]
(text-colour:magenta)[pick it all up. the flowers. it’s a game. here, play for me. get me out of here.]
She slides her backpack off of her shoulders, pushing it against his chest. He unbuttons it - the bag is stuffed to the brim with the golden flowers.
(text-colour:magenta)[fifty so far. i can’t get any more. it keeps getting right in front of me, right in my face. it wants to kill me.]
(text-colour:red)[i’ll play, then. here -]
He takes her hand, standing up slowly. The figure regards him warmly; it is on fire. (text-colour:magenta)[Mädchen] turns her face from the heat; its impressions of light shine through the thinness of her skin. (text-colour:red)[Coolguy97] walks her to the edge of the treeline, keeping a careful eye on the nurseryman. (text-colour:magenta)[Mädchen] faces the woods, in the other direction. She speaks without looking.
(text-colour:magenta)[i’m going to find wormwood. if the sky is red and i’m still not back, don’t wait up for me. go east instead]
(text-colour:red)[...alright.]
(text-colour:red)[i’m not actually getting out of here, though, am i?]
(text-colour:magenta)[no. probably not.]
(text-colour:magenta)[goodbye, angel.]
She takes off into the woods.
…
(text-colour:red)[um...hi.]
(text-colour:red)[well, i have fifty.]
(text-colour:red)[what about you?]
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/HlTgMv7WbZA" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
(text-style:"outline")[[[->->demons1]]](text-colour:red)[no. fuck that.]
(text-colour:cyan)[she’s no good. she never has been.]
(text-colour:cyan)[do you know what kind of person stays around others just waiting for the chance to tear them apart?]
(text-colour:cyan)[a predator, that’s who.]
(text-colour:cyan)[justice should be swift and righteous.]
(text-colour:cyan)[it is no good to sit and stalk.]
(text-colour:red)[i know.]
(text-colour:cyan)[and you let her.]
(text-colour:red)[i know.]
(text-colour:red)[so are we going to stand in this shed psychoanalyzing me for the rest of the story or are we going to do what we promised.]
(text-colour:cyan)[no.]
(text-colour:red)[no what?]
(text-style:"outline")[[[->->angels1]]](text-colour:cyan)[Your Best Friend] leads (text-colour:red)[Coolguy97] into a part of the forest that neither of them have seen before. which is strange, considering they take the least trodden paths they can find on virtually every visit (to the point where some of them can no longer be considered less traveled). The earth here is old. It springs up like old dust when they step onto it. And around them are stones. And out of stones are made angels.
(text-colour:red)[why would there be a graveyard out here? it’s not like there’s a road.]
(text-colour:cyan)[death’s older than roads.]
(text-colour:red)[are you...mad at me?]
(text-colour:cyan)[is that a foreign concept?]
(text-colour:red)[yeah, actually. you can talk about mädchen waiting to strike, but this all seems a little… unprovoked.]
(text-colour:red)[not completely undeserved, i guess. just unprovoked.]
(text-colour:cyan)[i’m never mad at you.]
(text-colour:red)[not even now?]
(text-colour:cyan)[of course not.]
(text-colour:red)[...so do you think boxxy is around here?]
(text-style:"sway")[(text-colour:cyan)[oh, angel.]]
(text-colour:red)[huh?]
(text-style:"sway")[(text-colour:cyan)[thanks for coming with me. i’d be a little scared to do this all by myself.]]
(text-colour:red)[i’m scared too.]
(text-style:"sway")[(text-colour:cyan)[just breathe for this next part, okay?]]
(text-style:"sway")[(text-style:"outline")[[[->->angels2]]]](text-style:"sway")[
The feather parts its bristling weight. It is like listening through waters. It is sound through stone. Babe grows wild and free and thirteen again, forever. Chain-smoking fairies rest heavy on the thrashing branches. There is water on the ground. There is water in his body. He is himself again, finally. Here is that awful burning thing, it’s fire a shade like murk, not at all like spring. Here is the darkness where the pines grow thick, here is the part where they grow dark as sky. The goddess. Ignore it. Kitty cat paws pound soft earth in a motion not unlike kneading. The earth is tamped down beneath the grass and on top of that is marshmallow fluff fur. This lioness is white and sparkling. It’s the color of a childhood spent in the emergency room. She licks her paw, lick, purr, mrurr. The blank space widens into nothingness, that which is colorless, shapeless, but with expanse. It widens and it smells like an air conditioner with all the warmth of dusty sun rays on a hardwood floor. All this on a summer’s day. There are woods and whatnot. There are trees whose names are not known, for each is its own. The pantheon of forest holds the gooey human child so that it does not slip through their million hands. The gods are good at holding water. The tide runs through everything, down into styx, up into the sky.
I cannot contain myself.
I will never write again.
But it’s not me, so forget it. This is not a story of the forest gods. It is the truth. And it’s his.
Their feathers part like the sea and with that awful crags are seen, enough to smash a thousand sailors into bits. They make it look easy, as mechanical and thoughtless as an automaton. But their skin is a tarp, smelling of rose oil and iron. These gods have no blood. inside of them there is light. Each of their hands come bearing flames. Their fingers suggest hunger. They do not have mouths. They do not have eyes. I was wrong. They do not have a body. They are light, traveling in all the necessary directions, quicksilver, miles high. Godliness enters through his stomach and curls up within his ribs. He thrashes like a fish on a hook.
He looks back at me for only a second. Long enough for me to tell.
The angel swallows him whole.
[[->->26]]
]
(text-colour:purple)[we should go.]
(text-colour:yellow)[get real. there’s no exit.]
(text-colour:purple)[if you’re still in the house when the angels get here, they’ll kill you.]
(text-colour:purple)[if you come with me, you’ll live through it.]
(text-colour:purple)[all your choice.]
(text-colour:yellow)[does smiting hurt?]
(text-colour:purple)[are you scared of pain?]
(text-colour:yellow)[not really.]
(text-colour:purple)[are you scared of hell?]
(text-colour:yellow)[yes.]
(text-colour:purple)[stay, then. thanks for trying.]
She stands up from the table, pushing the chair in. The room reddens and she walks into the shadow. The chair squeaks as (text-colour:yellow)[Sixpence] stands up.
(text-colour:yellow)[just kidding.]
(text-colour:purple)[yeah, that’s what i thought.]
(text-style:"outline")[[[->->27]]]<img src="https://pursuitpredation.neocities.org/pics/woods.png">
(text-colour:magenta)[wormwood???
wormwood???????
i hate it here.]
(text-style:"outline")[[[->->side1]]]
(text-colour:orange)[you came.]
(text-colour:magenta)[why did you run away?]
(text-colour:orange)[i had to reach the well. i didn’t come this far to be beaten by a lowercase-a archangel.]
(text-colour:magenta)[but you left me.]
(text-colour:orange)[you would’ve been saved, anyway. hell’s chosen.]
(text-colour:magenta)[i never would have left you.]
(text-colour:orange)[come into the water.]
(text-colour:orange)[it’s nice, right?]
(text-colour:magenta)[it’s boiling.]
(text-colour:orange)[but it doesn’t hurt.]
(text-colour:magenta)[no. it feels nice.]
(text-colour:orange)[see? it’ll be easy. you’ll be safe.]
The sky turns (text-colour:red)[red].
(text-style:"outline")[[[->->26]]]<img src="https://pursuitpredation.neocities.org/pics/box.png">
(text-colour:purple)[Boxxy] opens the door of the monolith and kneels down to it’s floor. She slides the bottom panel out of the way, revealing a large hole beneath it. It’s the entrance to a tunnel. She stays on her knees, preparing to crawl inside.
(text-colour:purple)[we’ll be safe from the brimstone below ground.]
Thunder punctuates her sentence. Lightning crackles in the sky. She enters before (text-colour:yellow)[Sixpence] can protest. They suck in a breath of electric air and follow her in.
…
(text-colour:yellow)[oh, so it’s like the củ chi tunnels.]
(text-colour:yellow)[that explains a lot, actually.]
(text-colour:purple)[don’t panic.]
(text-colour:yellow)[i’m really trying.]
(text-colour:purple)[shut your eyes. shut your mouth. you’re wasting oxygen.]
(text-colour:purple)[just follow me down and i’ll protect you.]
(text-colour:yellow)[mhm.]
(text-colour:purple)[this is it.]
(text-style:"subscript")[(text-colour:yellow)[cool]]
(text-colour:purple)[land on your feet, okay? we’re back in the main chamber.]
She drops from the dirt ceiling onto the smooth stone. The air smells like sulfur, but there’s more of it. Not only that, but there are people too. Girls her age, her size, with her hair. Their chains are gone. If they notice her, they don’t seem to care. (text-colour:yellow)[Sixpence] lands beside her, immediately falling to their knees.
(text-colour:purple)[did we miss it?]
(text-colour:purple)[did it...happen already?]
(text-style:"outline")[[[->->28]]](text-colour:black)[.
.
.
.
.]
(text-style:"rumble")[i’m in the ship. okay. don’t know how i got here. okay. it’s hot. like, burning up. are we moving? i mean, am i? what was all that? where are we going, again? it’s hot. are we moving? am i still on earth? am i in space? why space? why not canada or something? where else is safe?]
(text-colour:black)[.
.
.
.
.]
(text-style:"rumble")[nowhere, i guess. i don’t think i’ve left at all.]
(text-colour:black)[.
.
.
.
.]
(text-style:"rumble")[this is a coffin, essentially.]
(text-colour:black)[.
.
.
.
.]
(text-style:"rumble")[i don’t like being alone.]
(text-colour:black)[.
.
.
.
.]
(text-style:"rumble")[oh, the door’s opening. okay.]
(text-colour:black)[.
.
.
.
.]
(text-style:"outline")[[[->->29]]]
<img src="https://pursuitpredation.neocities.org/pics/lim.jpg">
are you joking
(text-style:"outline")[[[->->30]]](text-colour:yellow)[this had better be important.]
(text-colour:yellow)[i'm at a friend's house! and trying to make amends. delicate processes such as these should not be interrupted!]
(text-colour:yellow)[no, the damage is done. explain yourself.]
(text-colour:yellow)[ok, that’s not great.]
(text-colour:yellow)[no, don't speak to her. she'll get scared.]
(text-colour:yellow)[i'll be over soon, alright? just make sure she doesn't hurt herself until then. ]
(text-colour:yellow)[have you seen her eat yet?]
(text-colour:yellow)[do you think i should bring her something? she's awfully skinny. i'm kind of worried.]
(text-colour:yellow)[it's not that, i would worry with anyone. i don't like to see them starve.]
(text-colour:yellow)[that's true.]
(text-colour:yellow)[again, though, the damage is done. ]
(text-colour:yellow)[how would i go about that? ]
(text-colour:yellow)[i don't want the cops to get involved just yet. or anytime, really.]
(text-colour:yellow)[nobody needs a hospital. i could find her a street medic.]
(text-colour:yellow)[sure. and i'm sorry, i didn't mean to snap at you earlier. ]
(text-colour:yellow)[you should go home. your mother will worry.]
<img src="https://pursuitpredation.neocities.org/pics/box.png">
(text-style:"outline")[[[->->06]]]
(text-colour:red)[i'll kick them out, if you want.]
(text-colour:cyan)[ no. thank you. but i don't want any more bad blood between us. i’m not even upset anymore. what’s a little stabbing between friends? right?]
(text-colour:red)[i don't know. your call.]
(text-colour:cyan)[hm.]
(text-colour:red)[well. i think if someone did that to me i would not forgive them.]
(text-colour:cyan)[i provoked them.]
(text-colour:red)[are you trying to bait me or something.]
(text-colour:cyan)[no, i'm just being realistic. i'd been harassing them for months and nobody intervened. i’m sure anyone would snap under that kind of pressure.]
(text-colour:red)[harass is a strong word. you were defending people. and they were harassing you too!]
(text-colour:cyan)[yeah, in the beginning. but then it just… became a routine. i got used to bullying them, long after they'd stopped bullying other people.]
(text-colour:red)[that doesn't mean they should have pulled a knife on you.]
(text-colour:cyan)[i would have.]
(text-style:"outline")[[[->->06]]]They take the first step into a clearing where no trees grow. There's no greenery on the ground, only dirt spread out in a large circle. In the center, there is a box. It's six feet on each side and completely black. There are no visible signs of entry or exit. (text-colour:yellow)[Sixpence] proceeds towards it as if it's the most normal thing in the world.
<img src="https://pursuitpredation.neocities.org/pics/box.png">
(text-style:"outline")[[[->->aside2]]]
They press their fingers to the left edge of the front face and push it sideways. It grinds open to uncloth a rich darkness.
<img src="https://pursuitpredation.neocities.org/pics/box 2.png">
It opens further to reveal a girl inside.
<img src="https://pursuitpredation.neocities.org/pics/boxxy.png">
(text-style:"outline")[[[->->aside3]]]Her hair's grown out long and wild, down to her knees. She wears only a tattered dress over bare bones. Her eyes are wide and wild with an animal fear. Her fingers twitch.
<img src="https://pursuitpredation.neocities.org/pics/boxxy 2.png">
For a moment, nobody says a word.
Then, she screams.
(text-style:"outline")[[[->->08]]]The two of them sit gasping for air on the banks. (text-colour:red)[CoolGuy97] hacks up water on the bright grass. (text-colour:magenta)[Mädchen] doesn’t move from her spot, limbs aching with the pleasant kind of pain. Her head is tilted away from him.
<img src="https://pursuitpredation.neocities.org/pics/leech.png">
(text-colour:red)[ugh. parasites.]
(text-colour:magenta)[nobody could find a home in you.]
(text-colour:red)[did you see that?]
(text-colour:magenta)[see what?]
(text-colour:red)[did you think i just sank into a dark cave for five minutes voluntarily?]
(text-colour:magenta)[i don’t know. man, what the fuck. why does this kind of thing always happen?]
(text-colour:red)[you saw the girls. there’s. can you just come by the house sometime? i think you need to be a part of this.]
(text-colour:magenta)[that wasn’t fun for me.]
(text-colour:red)[you’re lying.]
<img src="https://pursuitpredation.neocities.org/pics/lamprey.png">
Her head is still tilted away. (text-colour:red)[CoolGuy97] wipes the last of the water from his mouth and clambers up to his feet, towards his bike.
(text-colour:red)[well, thanks.]
(text-colour:magenta)[anytime.]
(text-style:"outline")[[[->->Menu]]]<img src="https://pursuitpredation.neocities.org/pics/forest.png">
<img src="https://pursuitpredation.neocities.org/pics/drunk.png">
They’re all talking at once and it’s nearly unbearable. CG feels like his heart’s about to beat right out of his chest. He can’t bring himself to look at them at all.
(text-colour:lime)[whoa
lightweight?]
(text-colour:red)[im fine]
(text-colour:lime)[you’re upside down on the floor]
(text-style:"outline")[[[->->s2]]]
<img src="https://pursuitpredation.neocities.org/pics/goldenrod.png">
(text-style:"mirror")[(text-style:"upside-down")[
(text-style:"outline")[[[->->Menu]]]
(text-colour:red)[sorry]
(text-colour:lime)[nothing to be sorry about
are you having a panic attack]
(text-colour:red)[yeah a little bit sorry]
(text-colour:lime)[it’s cool
honestly i don’t like the vibes of this place much either]
(text-colour:red)[why not]
(text-colour:lime)[just feels off
...my sister went missing somewhere around here]
(text-colour:red)[how old was she]
(text-colour:lime)[uh, nineteen or so.]
(text-colour:red)[oh nevermind]
(text-colour:lime)[nevermind?]
(text-colour:red)[god]
(text-colour:red)[sorry. go on, if you want.]
(text-colour:lime)[she was just going to pick some flowers at night, for a project or something. i didn’t even wait up for her. it’s weird, right? such a small town, you’d think there’d be nothing to worry about. i didn’t think to worry about it at all. feel kind of dumb now.]
(text-colour:red)[why haven’t you told anybody]
(text-colour:lime)[i have.
you don’t really talk to people much do you?]
(text-colour:red)[i have friends]
(text-colour:lime)[i know, i wasn’t being snide
sometimes i can’t stand these people either]
(text-colour:red)[maybe your sister isn’t missing. maybe she’s still around here.]
(text-colour:lime)[yeah?]
(text-colour:red)[what if she’s a ghost now]
(text-colour:lime)[...]
(text-colour:red)[spooooooky]
(text-colour:lime)[go home]]]<img src="https://pursuitpredation.neocities.org/pics/woods.png">
(text-colour:magenta)[wonder what’s over here.
oh gee whiz more trees.
how did i see that coming?
blessed by clairvoyance yet again.]
(text-style:"outline")[[[->->side2]]]
<img src="https://pursuitpredation.neocities.org/pics/woods.png">
(text-colour:magenta)[wormwood.
where did you go.
please come back.]
(text-style:"outline")[[[->->side3]]]
<img src="https://pursuitpredation.neocities.org/pics/lake.jpg">
(text-colour:orange)[Wormwood] rises from out of the lake.
(text-style:"outline")[[[->->demons2]]]<img src="https://pursuitpredation.neocities.org/pics2/hell3.png">
(text-style:"outline")[[[->->31]]]<iframe width="1120" height="630" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/zGv4a09_dJY" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
(text-style:"outline")[[[->->2]]]<iframe width="1120" height="630"
src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Zlc0GI1iB8Y" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
(text-style:"outline")[[[->->3]]]<iframe width="1120" height="630" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/8khBjj1zKvg" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
(text-style:"outline")[[[->->4]]]<iframe width="1120" height="630" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/6wEaQ_JuUDw" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
(text-style:"outline")[[[->->5]]]<iframe width="1120" height="630" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/5n7L9aNzQoc" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
(text-style:"outline")[[[->->end]]]<img src="https://pursuitpredation.neocities.org/pics2/hell2.png">
(text-style:"outline")[[[->->32]]]<img src="https://pursuitpredation.neocities.org/pics2/hell4.png">
(text-style:"outline")[[[->->1]]]<img src="https://pursuitpredation.neocities.org/pics2/heaven1.png">
(text-style:"outline")[[[->->34]]]<img src="https://pursuitpredation.neocities.org/pics2/heaven2.png">
(text-style:"outline")[[[->->35]]]<img src="https://pursuitpredation.neocities.org/pics2/heaven5.png">
(text-style:"outline")[[[->->36]]]<img src="https://pursuitpredation.neocities.org/pics2/heaven4.png">
(text-style:"outline")[[[->->37]]]<img src="https://pursuitpredation.neocities.org/pics2/heaven3.png">
(text-style:"outline")[[[->->6]]]<iframe width="1120" height="630" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/hlKjlcAB8Kw" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
(text-style:"outline")[[[->->33]]]<img src="https://pursuitpredation.neocities.org/pics2/theend.jpg">
THE END