Rv park in big spring tx

r/Camping

2008.07.18 07:38 r/Camping

A subreddit for campers concerned more about the act of camping and less concerned about hiking long distances or light gear. Primarily for tent/hammock camping. No RV camping here.
[link]


2008.12.31 00:29 Camping and Hiking

For Backpackers who Hike with Camping Gear in their Backpack. Tips, trip reports, back-country gear reviews, safety and news.
[link]


2012.07.21 07:42 chris_cobra Fossil Hunting

/FossilHunting is a community for all of my fellow Fossil Hunters out there who are willing to share pictures/information about their latest fossil hunts, discussing the hobby, and to helping all of those fossil hunting newbies along.
[link]


2023.05.29 17:29 SilkyCurlyProblems Struggles with baby's hair

Hi, please let me know if my post violates the rules: I read through the FAQ specifically about this issue, and I'm still feeling a bit hopeless haha.
My son is almost 2, and he has a mixture of wavy/curly hair. Loose waves in the front and baby-doll curls at the back that have plenty of spring to them (I boing them all the time -- it's so cute). Based on the bit of Googling I've done, I think my son has 2C in the front and between 3B and 3C in the back.
My problem is that while he has my husband's beautiful curls (my husband is white Jewish with TONS of gorgeous loose curls -- I think 3A), he has my hair texture, which is incredibly fine and silky, but I have stick-straight hair, so no hands-on experience (I think 1A?).
I know you're not meant to brush curls if you can avoid it, but I end up having to brush his hair multiple times a day because it just gets SO tangled.
The big part of the problem seems to be that the products recommended to avoid tangling in the first place aren't age appropriate. Does anyone have any suggestions on what to do to help babies with very, very tangly-but-curly hair? Google has not been easy to get relevant results with, so I apologise if this all seems very ignorant. I'm really doing my best :/ (also, my husband can't really help as he didn't even know how to care for his curls when we first met, and I had to do a good deal of research to help him moisturise, get the right type of brush, and navigate hair creams haha).
If anyone has any advice or a good product that's baby safe (and for sensitive skin), I would be so, so grateful.
submitted by SilkyCurlyProblems to CurlyHairCare [link] [comments]


2023.05.29 17:27 Osensnolf Solve Clues for Planned Activity

Our family of 30 will be at Disney World later this week and there is an activity that is planned. We do not know what it is, but we have been given a few hints.
#1 - It involves a Boat.
#2 - There will be activities for ALL ages.
#3 - Horses MAY be involved.
We stay at Saratoga Springs.
We must be out the door by 1:30PM and will finish around 5:30PM. (Wednesday)
The activity is on a non-park day (so it's not at a park).
We were told that we could wear the same clothes that we would wear to date night later in the evening.
It must be inside because someone suggested that it is "sometimes cold".
Thoughts?
submitted by Osensnolf to DisneyWorld [link] [comments]


2023.05.29 17:24 Safe_Ad_6111 AITA for not giving my sister in law and her family a luxury vacation.

I travel a lot for work so I have so many hotel and airline points it is crazy.
This summer I am taking my family to Disney World. We are going to stay at one of the resorts on the property.
My sister in law and her family had a hard time during the pandemic so I decided to do something nice and invite them along. My treat.
I said I would pay for their flights, hotel, and park tickets.
Everyone was excited until she started talking to my wife. Now she is upset that we are staying at one of the resorts and they have to stay in Disney Springs.
Apparently I'm being cheap by using points for their hotel instead of just paying for them to stay at the same resort as us.
My wife told her sister and brother-in-law to STFU and accept the gift but they didn't. They told my in-laws that I was making their kids jealous by not letting them enjoy the same stuff as us.
To be clear the hotel I booked for them is very nice. It's just not The Grand Floridian.
So I finally talked to them and gave the the choice of accepting my gift or not coming since I could still cancel their reservations.
They started yelling at me for being an asshole and taking something away from their children. I had talked to them like adults but when they started screaming their kids heard them and found out that they might not be going. Now their kids are pissed at their parents for possibly fucking up their vacation. And I'm the bigger asshole for making them look bad in front of their kids.
AITA?
submitted by Safe_Ad_6111 to AmItheAsshole [link] [comments]


2023.05.29 17:22 origutamos Ontario city might outlaw panhandling

There have been so many police calls and overdoses in the dining room that the McDonald’s in downtown Barrie walled it off from the public. There is no bathroom, but you can get your breakfast or Big Mac to go. There are no families in there enjoying Happy Meals. It’s too dangerous for that.
The downtown streets are filled with vagrants wandering aimlessly. In parks, people hang out, drink, do drugs and sleep. In green spaces, some on private property and some on city lands, tent cities have popped up in which dozens are living — all serviced by food banks and harm-reduction agencies.
Barrie council has decided to fight back. They passed a motion to go on the offensive to curtail narcotics and vagrancy.
Some of these measures include: “prohibit the use or distribution of tents or tarps in public parks or on public lands without a permit, prohibit the distribution of food and grocery products in public spaces without the use of a permit, reduce the time required to address camping in parks and storage of goods in parks or public spaces.”
They are looking at “methods to prohibit the payment to panhandlers on city streets, intersections and highway ramps” and “the placement of signs on city off-ramps to discourage panhandling … and encouraging donations to local social service agencies.”
https://torontosun.com/news/local-news/warmington-desperate-times-in-barrie-call-for-desperate-solutions-on-drug-crisis
submitted by origutamos to Canada_sub [link] [comments]


2023.05.29 17:21 origutamos Ontario city might outlaw panhandling

There have been so many police calls and overdoses in the dining room that the McDonald’s in downtown Barrie walled it off from the public. There is no bathroom, but you can get your breakfast or Big Mac to go. There are no families in there enjoying Happy Meals. It’s too dangerous for that.
The downtown streets are filled with vagrants wandering aimlessly. In parks, people hang out, drink, do drugs and sleep. In green spaces, some on private property and some on city lands, tent cities have popped up in which dozens are living — all serviced by food banks and harm-reduction agencies.
Barrie council has decided to fight back. They passed a motion to go on the offensive to curtail narcotics and vagrancy.
Some of these measures include: “prohibit the use or distribution of tents or tarps in public parks or on public lands without a permit, prohibit the distribution of food and grocery products in public spaces without the use of a permit, reduce the time required to address camping in parks and storage of goods in parks or public spaces.”
They are looking at “methods to prohibit the payment to panhandlers on city streets, intersections and highway ramps” and “the placement of signs on city off-ramps to discourage panhandling … and encouraging donations to local social service agencies.”
https://torontosun.com/news/local-news/warmington-desperate-times-in-barrie-call-for-desperate-solutions-on-drug-crisis
submitted by origutamos to OntarioTheProvince [link] [comments]


2023.05.29 17:20 MWALFRED302 How to grow healthy hydrangeas

The top mistakes new hydrangea custodians make (in my experience) is: 1 Planting too close to house; 2.Improper placement as to sun or shade; 3. Pruning macrophyllas and oakleafs; 4. Not pruning smooth or panicle hydrangeas and 5. Using rocks and gravel as mulch
submitted by MWALFRED302 to hydrangeas [link] [comments]


2023.05.29 17:20 MixxxedBag Suspension upgrade kits

Don’t really know much about suspension. I have specialized epic evo comp, Rockshox trailhead website suggests these upgrades for the front and rear suspension on the bike based on the serial numbers.
Front: Damper Upgrade Kit - CHARGER Race Day 35mm Crown. Air Spring Upgrade Kit - DebonAir Sealhead - SID 35mm.
Rear: Air Can Upgrade Kit - MegNeg 185/210X47.5-55mm. Air Can Upgrade Kit - MegNeg 185/210X47.5-65mm. Air Can Upgrade Kit - MegNeg 185/210X47.5-75mm.
What do they do and what difference would they make? Ignoring cost, are any worthwhile?
I am c94kg (210lb) if that makes a difference and ride mostly hilly bridleways if that makes a difference and occasionally visit the bike park.
Thanks in advance!
submitted by MixxxedBag to bikewrench [link] [comments]


2023.05.29 17:15 hornetkisses Glossier Nashville?

I haven’t heard any chatter about this, but IMO I feel like Nashville would be a perfect next stop for a shop or popup for Glossier. It’s a big tourism hub, and the aesthetics line up — clean beauty is big here and I’m surprised they haven’t capitalized on the popularity of the Nashville cowboy aesthetic yet. Atlanta isn’t really THAT close to Nashville, and again, the tourism ensures people from all over the region (and world) would stop by the shop.
Other locations I think would be cool (but never happen in a million years):
I know that putting products in Sephora probably means we won’t get shops in far out locations anytime soon, but the shopping experience in a Sephora is soooo terrible compared to an actual G shop. Mine is always wrecked, and I end up hovering over to the Ilia display. If they ever bring back a Play-esque line of products I feel like Nashville would be an excellent place to launch — imagine a campaign of glitter eyes, bright bold colors and all the other soft standbys in honky tonks and at a park picnic.
Am I crazy? I don’t know… It could work IMO!
submitted by hornetkisses to glossier [link] [comments]


2023.05.29 17:07 BrainMindMedia GoPro 11 - Epic Time-lapse of Sunset above the Clouds on the Pacific Coast in 4k - Garapata State Park area, Big Sur, California, USA

GoPro 11 - Epic Time-lapse of Sunset above the Clouds on the Pacific Coast in 4k - Garapata State Park area, Big Sur, California, USA submitted by BrainMindMedia to gopro [link] [comments]


2023.05.29 17:05 sauna_apartment Carless: Escarpment Trail, the Catskills NY

I've been meaning to do this for awhile as I've found the info regarding backpacking without a car in the NYC area lacking, half-baked, or in practice, untrue. The thread in the sidebar is excellent, but AT focused. I'll see a post that say take this bus service to a certain town and taxi to the trailhead, but what it may not say is that there is no service to call a taxi on arrival or that line only runs on weekdays that direction. Not to say I won't be repeating common knowledge as I definitely will, but hopefully you'll find something in my logistics useful for planning your own ventures sans car.
A little bit about me: I am a lightweight backpacker (slowly working on dropping my last few ounces) living in Queens, NY. I generally love the public (and private) transit in NYC metro area, although it always could be improved and there are aspects that are deeply frustrating, large and small. In addition to not having a car, I also work a 9-5 job; this and future trail reports will reflect that I often only have a weekend to enact my plans.
The Escarpment Trail
Buy a ticket on the Trailways bus line from Port Authority to Windham, NY. On Saturdays, there is a bus that departs at 8am. That is the one you want. The Trailways' stations are in the bottom of Port Authority, terminals 28-34. Double check your bus is correct with the attendant as the what is on the directory and what terminal they're actually leaving from may be at odds. When boarding, tell the driver that you want the Escarpment Trailhead Parking lot, which is slightly before Windham; in between Windham, East Windham, and Hensonville; after Cairo; on route 23. If you pass Smitty's Nursery & Landscape on the left you've gone too far. I didn't know you could ask the driver to drop you off at a non-designated stop, but he said it was okay as long as its on route. I'm assuming this is a driver by driver thing, but as long as you're not an ass about it, I bet they'll say yes. However, I did not know this perk until a woman request to be let off before Windham, and I got off with her and proceeded to backtrack to the trailhead on route 23. If you have to walk the shoulder, maybe you can hitch a ride, but you'd be luckier than me.
Make sure you have water. At the trailhead there is a stream. There is no water after that until 0.4 miles past Dutcher Notch, which is ~12 miles away.
Starting from the first sign off 23, the trail is very well marked (until North South Campground), simply follow the blue markers. A commenter on Alltrails writes:
If you can get Wyndham and BlackHead out of the way on the first day the second day is pretty smooth after the initial climb out of the notch. Amazing view after amazing view.
Views translate to ascents. Climbing Blackhead was confirmed steep and arduous after already hiking 9 miles. But this is the hardest climb during the trip, so once summited, it's all smooth sailing. Day 1 clocked about 11 miles (excluding walk to the trailhead).
I camped somewhere on the backside of Arizona Mountain overlooking the valley. It was gorgeous, but unexpectedly buggy for no water nearby and a slight breeze. If you're hiking this in two days one night as I was, you need to get to around the Notch. In the notch, there is an intersection between the Escarpment trail (straight), the Colgate Lake Trail (right), and the Dutcher Notch Trail (left). A short ways down the Dutcher Notch Trail there is a spring (a pipe in the rock) where you can filter water. This is the last place to filter water before North Lake.
Not much to report for the first half of the day; the Catskills are beautiful. There is a very cool plane wreckage. The Escarpment trail gives views to the NorthEast, and often times you can see the Green Mountains, the Whites, and the Berkshires, depending on the clarity. Eventually you'll reach North Point on North Mountain. Here, you'll start to encounter day hikers staying at NorthSouth Campground. I was fairly alone for most of the path; some families at the start, a few day hikers going to Windham High Peak, but very few backpackers. Which imo is preferable; I like the solitude. The frequency of day hikers increased the closer you get to the campground, but most of them were heading out as I was heading in, and only one had a bluetooth speaker.
Reaching North Lake, you are a jungle person breaching civilization. People are grilling and getting stuff out of their SUVs, while you smell and swim in your skivvies. Or at least, that's what I did. After a nice dip, find the blue markers at the back of the campground. There is no more markings for the Escarpment Trail although you're still on it. The signs will say to Catskill Mountain House Site and to Boulder Rock. Stay on the blue markers.
Eventually you'll come to Kaaterskill Falls. I only went to the lookout not the base, as I was unsure how much more walking I'd have to do and I was anxious about the time (around 2pm, the bus back was 5:55pm.) Also Kaaterskill Falls was overrun by tourists, which are different than day hikers. I can't complain as Kaaterskill Falls has been a tourist attraction since the mid 1800s, but after two days in the peaceful woods, I wasn't keen about been around all the activity.
Instead of finishing the Escarpment Trail at Schutt Rd. Parking Lot, take the Kaaterskill Rail Trail to the Haines Falls Train Station. Its about a 1.5 miles of pathway that brings you back to route 23A. At 23A, take a right and walk along the shoulder for about 2 miles into the town of Tannersville, NY. On 23A, stop at the Twilight General Store for an optional ice cream, however the key stop is Bear & Fox Provisions in Tannersville. Great selection of beer and cider, one of which the proprietor brews from apple trees from the side of the road.
Catch the 5:55pm Trailways bus from outside the pharmacy (5980 Main St.), which after a brief stop in Kingston, returns to Port Authority. I would recommend buying both ticket ahead of time as I had varying degrees of mediocre service the whole trip. Day 2 clocked about ~14 miles (including walking to Tannersville)
The Escarpment is great trail for the experiences hiker. Like other Catskill hikes, it's as beautiful as difficult. It's very possible to do it in a weekend, but a slower paced individual or group may want to do it in three days, two nights which may affect bus times and accessibility. Enjoy a carless excursion and remember to bring an eye mask and ear plugs for the bus ride.
imgs
submitted by sauna_apartment to NYCultralight [link] [comments]


2023.05.29 17:02 hinduhammer_ Why would you do this and how would you react to the consequences ?

I had a female narc ex, covert with probably comorbid BPD, we dated for 6 intense months from fall - spring 2022. love bombing and hot sex turned into devaluation, turned into physical, emotional, psychological abuse such as hitting me in private and public, throwing food and drinks in my face, breaking my hand with a lifelong injury now while trying to defend my face, scars, and a serious traumatic brain injury. In addition there were threats to ruin my career if I told anyone, blackmail threats to steal my property. And of course she would routinely come back.
After the head injury and she said she would clean up the mess she made throwing food all over my walls etc and she did not, threatening my career as a licensed professional, tell the police I abused her, I finally began to see the light. I was still hungry for her breadcrumbs of love but stronger than before and eventually went No Contact in summer.
From late summer through mid fall, she attempted to contact me several times through text first from different numbers saying it was her then from fake numbers pretending to be different women. I also learned she was getting evicted from her building next to mine.
I filed a restraining order though I hadn’t seen her in 4 months and made police reports about her abuse. Since she had just been evicted, it took forever to get her served with the summons. Finally we had our first court appearance in Jan 23, she requested continuances and showed up two more times in court. She contacted my lawyer to try and settle but then stopped replying. Finally our trial was in April and she didn’t show. I was granted the full Order of Protection for 2 years.
So that was a month ago. Now a few days ago I’m coming back from work and I see the Nex sitting on my building patio having wine with a dude. This dude looks like humpty dumpty, and the first time she became aware of him - she and I were working out in my building gym together and he was ogling her, and she called him a disgusting creep. Now humpty dumpty heard we’d broken up I guess and shot his shot, and as a narc she was using him for attention and supply.
But why on earth would you be so stupid to sit outside my patio in my condo building knowing that you have a restraining order? Is it to tell me that she doesn’t care about what I think and will not let me “control” her? Is it to subtly try and hoover me? (When I was in the relationship she would break up w me and I would come crawling back, when I left she started to hoover me harder and harder. Even lots of messages and phone calls from unknown numbers right around the court dates). Is it really simply because she had no empathy or decency or consideration to not come by my place after knowing how much she hurt me??
So I start recording on my phone and confront her telling her she is violating the protection order. She starts talking back nonsense about how she’s visiting humpty dumpty and I don’t own the entire building, and I tell her about my broken bones and near fatal brain injury, current fear, her threats and blackmail - and she basically smirks or doesn’t respond.
I walk back to my parking lot while humpty dumpty tries to de escalate, I tell him to screw off and call 911. They come, examine the order, and arrest her. She’s been in jail over the long weekend and will likely face a misdemeanor charge.
So my questions are why would she make this stupid blunder, and what do you think is going through her head now? What would be going through yours? TIA
submitted by hinduhammer_ to AskNPD [link] [comments]


2023.05.29 17:00 _call-me-al_ [Mon, May 29 2023] TL;DR — This is what you missed in the last 24 hours on Reddit

If you want to receive this as a daily email in your inbox, you can now join at this link

worldnews

Belarus official: West left us no choice but to deploy nuclear arms
Comments Link
Wagner boss attacks Russia's defense minister, says his daughter and son-in-law live in luxury while thousands are sent to die in Ukraine
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French medical bodies on Sunday called on authorities to punish researcher Didier Raoult for "the largest 'unauthorized' clinical trial ever seen" into the use of hydroxychloroquine to treat Covid-19
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news

Illinois to Become First State to Ban Book Bans
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Man dies after going days in Duval County jail without medication, family says
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Cleveland 19 News receives bomb threat against 5 Targets as stores face LGBTQ+ controversy
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science

Stem cells from the human stomach can be converted into cells that secrete insulin in response to rising blood sugar levels, offering a promising approach to treating diabetes, according to a preclinical study
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For the first time, astronomers have detected a cyclone on the north pole of Uranus.
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The brain’s protein-destruction machine learns new tricks at synapses, revealing a potential target for treating neurological disorders
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space

I discovered this planetary nebula using a $500 camera lens, now it carries my name
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Milky Way framed by Delicate Arch in Arches National Park in Utah
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Almost 11 years ago precisely, my crewmates and I captured and docked the very first SpaceX Dragon capsule. Here are some photos I took during the approach. More details in comments.
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Futurology

Nvidia CEO Says Those Without AI Expertise Will Be Left Behind
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Study: GPT-4 didn't really score 90th percentile on the bar exam. Implications for the future of the legal profession and AI are discussed.
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NVIDIA creates a Minecraft AI that codes and self-improves (using ChatGPT)
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AskReddit

What simple mistake has ended lives?
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What is something that young people love that you don’t understand?
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You can permanently change the price of one item to $1. What is it?
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todayilearned

TIL of the Jim twins, separated at birth and reunited at 39: both had married and divorced someone named Linda, were currently married to a Betty, had sons named James Allan, had dogs named Toy, drove the same car, had jobs in security, and regularly vacationed at the same beach in Florida
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TIL that in 67 C.E, Emperor Nero found a Boy named Sporus Who looked Like his deceased Wife, so he had him Castrated, Put in female attire, and made his entire Court play along with the act
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TIL Stanford engineers made a folding origami microscope that costs less than $1 to make. 50,000 microscopes were shipped to 130 countries in 2014 to see what people will do with it
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dataisbeautiful

Indy 500 Advertisements vs Racing [OC]
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[OC] Premier League 22/23 table by matchday.
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[OC] Some of the top revenue sources for big tech firms
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Cooking

Is cooking your Love Language?
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Rant: I always mess up the food when I’m cooking for larger groups.
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What accidental purchase have you made that in now a regular purchase?
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food

[homemade] Esquites sweet corn salad (Elote derivative)
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[homemade] Lasagna
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[I ate] Canadian Poutine
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movies

A rare 1914 silent film called "The Oath of the Sword" was considered lost forever. A professor rescued it from a vault.
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Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross Scoring 'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem’
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What’s a movie that you absolutely love but know will never ever get a sequel or reboot?
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Art

How May I Help You?, Jon Silent, Ink and Acrylic, 2023
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Eat your water, Alai Ganuza, oil painting, 2023
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Vineyard, Olga Rodina, Oils, 2023
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television

Phil Hartman: 25 years after the actor's tragic death, his work still resonates
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George Maharis Dies: ‘Route 66’ & ‘Fantasy Island’ Actor Was 94
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A bittersweet goodbye to ‘Barry’: The cast on the dramatic turns of the hit man comedy
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pics

Somebody went full math at a casino stairwell
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Sandra Bullock wore “the dress” before JLo did.
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Just some finishing touches before we close in the void
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gifs

Good kid spots neighbor's dropped wallet in driveway, returns it.
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King Cobra vs. Mongoose
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Ship Is Destroyed By Huge Wave During Coastguard Rescue
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educationalgifs

Geological evolution of North America in the last 550 millon years
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mildlyinteresting

The core of this rope is made of diapers
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This green stop sign
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This vehicle had an extra set of wheels that weren’t touching the ground
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interestingasfuck

A full 360 swing
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*Fruit and Vegetable Decomposition Timelapse *
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Dry Squirrel Asks Human for a Drink of Water.
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funny

Well that mall doesn’t have to mop. The floor is getting done.
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An old Cricket Wireless was turned into a chicken restaurant in possibly the most lazy/ingenious way possible…
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Jesus Christ!
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aww

What’s this?
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Family of racoons in my yard.
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I forgot to lock my dorm room and this cat casually opened the door, climbed into my bed and made herself at home
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Get this as a daily email!
submitted by _call-me-al_ to RedditTLDR [link] [comments]


2023.05.29 16:59 Gabrlknght7 The Sesh - Episode 001 - 05.29.2023

The Sesh - Episode 001 - 05.29.2023
Sevendaysin - The Sesh ( Episode 1 ) - 05.29.2023
https://soundcloud.com/djsevendc/the-sesh-001 <- stream & download all you want; it's yours now.
Introducing "The Sesh," a new project from myself, aka Sevendaysin.
As I sheepishly admit in my intro, I'm not sure. what this will ultimately become, but I do aim to use this as a means to putting out more music and mixes this year...
Anyways, this next hour is full of recent bangers in the drum n' bass scene and I think this is some of my best work yet - I hope you enjoy!
SESH001 Tracklist 05.29.2023
01 Ed:it ● Springs ● CIA Records 02 Break Feat. MC Fats ● Natural Way ● Symmetry Recordings 03 Joy Orbison ● Hyph Mngo (Friction Rmx) ● Bootleg 04 Hugh Hardie x Stay-C ● Impala ● Hospital Records 05 Cesco & En:vy ● Esoteric ● 1985 Music 06 Flava D ● Red Pill ● Hospital Records 07 Gyrofield ● 24rd ● Critical Music 08 London Elektricity ● Billion Dollar Gravy feat. Liane Carroll (Watch The Ride Rmx) ● Hospital Records 09 Particle ● That Hz ● Critical Music 10 London Elektricity ● To Be Me (Conrad Subs Rmx) ● Hospital Records 11 R4NS0M ● At Odds With Everything ● Four Corners Music 12 Hyroglifics ● Albany Road ● Critical Music 13 DLR ● Roll With It ● Sofa Sound 14 IYRE feat. T-Man ● Want No Drama ● Hospital Records 15 Alibi ● Flawless ● Innerground Records 16 Break & Fox ● Code Red ● Symmetry Recordings 17 DSP ● Sunset ● CIA Records 18 En:vy ● You ● Critical Music 19 Koffee ● Toast (Clipz Rmx) ● Bootleg 20 Ed:it ● Lock Blues ● CIA Records 21 Waeys ● Cast A Path ● Critical Music 22 Fluidity ● Feelings ● Innerground Records 23 Noisia ● Leopard Slug (Halogenix Rmx) ● Vision Recordings 24 Paige Julia ● Ease Your Mind ● 1985 Music 25 Fade Black ● Barbed ● Critical Music 26 T>I feat. Madrush MC ● Sketchy ● CIA Records 27 Stray ● Ginseng Smash ● Critical Music 28 Submotive & DLR ● Accidental Funker ● Sofa Sound 29 Enei ● Woodrunner ● Critical Music 30 Marcus Intalex & ST Files ● Moonwalk ● Renegade Hardware 31 Monty ● Stylz ● 1985 Music 32 John Rolodex ● Tentacle ● Metalheadz 33 Q Project ● Everytime ● CIA Records 34 DLR ● Staying Up Late Making Music ● Sofa Sound
For Promo Use Only. Support the music you love and big up to all of the artists that absolutely made this mix and the vibes within.
All tracks are © their respective holders and publishers. Mix is CC-licensed for your non-profit-oriented listening pleasure.
submitted by Gabrlknght7 to DnB [link] [comments]


2023.05.29 16:57 Temporary-Emotion-96 Salvaging a bad second impression?

I(35f) met this guy(28m) through mutual friends, a married couple. The four of us met up for drinks last Wednesday. The couple retired early and we stuck around and got to know each other better. He ended up sleeping over at mine. I hadn't been laid in three months so it was much needed, lol. He texted me after we parted ways, and thanked me for a lovely evening, etc. We continued chatting for the next couple of days. I had a birthday thing to go to on Saturday and said he could come along, and he eventually joined us and met a few of my friends. The thing is, I was pretty drunk by the time he arrived and I don't remember if I was jolly/fun drunk or obnoxious/bratty drunk. We separated from the group at some point, had a drink at another bar, and then he was walking me home. I think I was expecting him to come over and he said he'll go back to his, to which I responded something along the lines of: that's clearly an inferior choice. He just moved from Europe to my city in North America, and is staying on his cousin's couch while he gets settled. The cousin's long distance boyfriend is visiting so I argued that wouldn't he rather sleep at mine and give them some privacy? He said that even though we slept together the first night, he'd rather not again anytime soon and that he wants to take it slow. I don't remember how I responded to that. Right now, I actually really love that he wants a steady pace, and that this will be good for both of us. But what did drunk-me do? I vaguely remember agreeing that that's a good idea, though not immediately perhaps. I think it was a does-not-compute moment for me. I also shared with him that I'm on anti-anxiety meds, which isn't a big deal but still private and if I could go back in time I'd keep it to myself for a few more weeks/months.
Anyway, this was our conversation the next morning
Me: Hey good morning Me: Thank you for walking me home Him: Hellooo it’s normal I’d never let you go there alone ahaha. Even if it’s X-city(we live in a safe city). Me: 😊 The world could use more gentlemen like you [he hearted this message]. Me: Did you get home okay? Was I very drunk 🙈 Him: Yes you were but it was your Saturday night Me: Haha yes. How's your day going, what do you all have planned? Him: Everything’s on track like foreseen. I’m not gonna lie it’s quite difficult since I’m still half asleep ahahaha Him: You ? Me: My friend and her husband are hosting a picnic/bbq in the park with their new baby, I might go over and say Hi
And that was it. It's been almost 24 hours and we haven't been talking, so I'm gonna take that as a hint that he's not interested anymore. On the one hand, I can choose not to care. On the other, I do see potential in us, and do we give up on things too easily these days? Dating is so hard and it's so difficult for me to like someone. Should I send a text in a few days if I don't hear from him? Either, "Could you remind me what we talked about that night?" or "Apologies if I was being annoying that night, I'm not usually like that. I'd like to get to know you better as you said, at a pace that's comfortable for the both of us. I'd love it if we gave us a chance but wish you best if you feel otherwise. Thanks for everything."
Please I request you not to lecture me on my drinking, I already know and am working on it. I'm usually good at handling it well. I think it was a combination of that one specific evening and my upcoming period that can tend to make me like that a bit. I wasn't even sure he was coming, it was kind of a last-minute show-up from his end. We'd been talking about it earlier in the day and when he said he'll be in touch with me after eh's done hanging out with the cousin and her bf. When it's a play-it-by-ear situation, I usually (rightfully-so) assume that it's not gonna happen so him showing up was a pleasant surprise, in a way.
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2023.05.29 16:56 bimbo_wannabe_ [I Accidentally Joined The Mafia In South Brooklyn] Chapter 6: On The Organizational Habits of Unrested Spirits and The Taste of Demon's Blood, Part 1.

[I Accidentally Joined The Mafia In South Brooklyn] Chapter 6: On The Organizational Habits of Unrested Spirits and The Taste of Demon's Blood, Part 1.
Previous Part: https://www.reddit.com/redditserials/comments/13trg6g/i_accidentally_joined_the_mafia_in_south_brooklyn/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android_app&utm_name=androidcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button
Becca invited me to her apartment when we made it back, sent me through the alley behind the building to keep the prying eyes at the minimum. That was fine with me as I was a lot more noticeable than I liked to be, at the moment. I had already lit a cigarette by the time she opened the back door of the stairwell to let me in. It was the last in the pack, and I'd only opened it this morning. The temperature on my phone screen had finally hit zero.
"You're gonna have to give me a second, B, I don't wanna smoke around you in your condition but I really need one."
She gave me another watery grin.
"Little too much blood in the nicotine system, huh?"
"Exactly, my young friend, exactly that."
She propped the door open and sat herself down on the ground. I could tell the high heels were starting to hurt her because she kicked them off and set them neatly to the side, though I knew the concrete had to be freezing her feet off. She tucked her skirt between her legs and sat with her back against the wall, her elbow propped on her bent knee, the other leg stretched out straight before her. It was exactly how what was left of Antoni had been sitting beside me less than two hours ago.
I was getting a little tired of all the patterns appearing in my life these days.
I flipped to my news app, as was my habit. There was an article at the top of page about the preparations the SDNY were making to get ready for the coming storm, but frankly I didn't really give a fuck so I just kept scrolling.
"Your old neighborhood is in the news, B."
"You ain't had enough bad news?" Beccs asked with a rueful laugh.
"Eh, I like to stay abreast of current events. I mean, you got me pegged, B. I'm a nosy fuck. But, uh, fifteen years on the inside, you learn that it pays to pay attention to the shit other people don't notice, cause you never know when the information you pick up is going to end up being the information you need."
She gave me a look that said she had to yield to my point.
"So what's the news from Koreatown?".
"Somebody shot a wedding up, apparently. Says seven were killed, including the bride and groom and the bride's father, as they was leaving the reception. You know, most of these names are Rhees. Ain't nobody you know, is it? Kinda feel like you've had enough death for the day, kid."
There was another look on her face, one I couldn't quite read even with all my people-watching prowess.
"Lemme take a wild stab at it. Two of those names are Rhee Seong-Min and Rhee Bong-Cha."
"Yeah," I nodded. "You do know 'em. I'm sorry, B."
She gave a low, almost rumbling, chuckle. It gave me a little shiver, not from the cold, and not one of enjoyment, either. She flashed a sign, one I'd seen her flash before, but it wasn't from any gang I knew personally, and lacking any official affiliation of my own, I'd dealt with my fair share of different gang members in the Upstate Correctional Facility. Double E's, one backwards, one forwards, three quick shakes of each hand.
"God bless old K-town. But you ain't got to worry about it. I'll not shed a tear over any of them. They's family, but they ain't exactly family, you know. I might tell you about it one day."
The last sentence had a note of finality to it, so I didn't ask any further questions in that regard, but I was still as curious as always.
"If all your family has Korean names, how the hell did you end up as Rebecca and your Dad as Sam?"
"My Dad's name is Park Kyung-Sam. Just Sam was easier to tell people and he, uh, he wanted me to have the same benefit of blending in in American society, and he liked the name Rebecca. So, Rhee Rebecca Hyo-Jin. My Mom's name was Rhee Chung-Cha, but everybody just called her ChaCha, like from Grease."
"So your Mom was the Rhee?"
She made an affirmative noise and nodded.
"She didn't exactly wanna give up her family name, and… my Dad didn't exactly give a fuck cause he was in love with her crazy ass. You know, that's where I get this from. Except my Moms, if she was still around she'd make me look like I grew up to be a calm, quiet girl."
I'd hate to see what was worse than Beccs.
"You done?" Becca asked. I nodded, tossed my cigarette into the sand-filled bucket we kept here for just that purpose. I followed B inside and we climbed the stairs to the third floor. I leaned against the wall as she pulled a ring of keys from her coat pocket and waited while she unlocked the knob and the three deadbolts on her door.
"Pretty serious about your home security, B?"
She shot me a look but didn't say anything as she opened the door. A steady beeping greeted us, and Becca stopped just inside and punched in a code on a security panel. As I stepped around her and entered the apartment, I understood why.
Do you know that part in Coming To America where Akeem comes home to his dilapidated Queens apartment and realizes Semmi has filled it with expensive furniture? Well, it was exactly like that. Becca locked the door back behind her, threw her stilettos onto the shoe rack, and hung her coat on the brass tree beside it. I did the same, removed my boots to place them on the rack as well.
"Jesus Christ, B, this place looks amazing."
There was a gray suede sectional in the center of the living room, a 152 inch Panasonic plasma bolted to the wall. The coffee table, the wool Oriental rug beneath it, and the end tables looked antique, as well as the green velvet chaise set near one window. There were three ornately-carved bookcases set against the far wall between the two windows facing the street, one filled with DVDs, and on the other two almost all the books were old and leather bound. The kitchen was open to the room, separated by a butcher block bar from the living room, all matching stainless steel appliances and black marble countertops. All along the walls were family pictures dotted between massive paintings held in golden Baroque style frames.
They were… stunning was the only word I could think to describe them. Most of them were portraits done in a slightly impressionist style, impasto if my memory served me, seemingly random strokes of thick paint that somehow managed to form the perfect images of faces and a few nudes.
"Jesus Christ, these paintings must have cost a fortune alone."
Becca stepped beside me, her arms crossed over her chest as she surveyed the painting I was looking at. It was done in mostly black and red, the image of a sleeping nude man, one arm tucked behind his head, his other draped across his stomach, his hips and legs covered with a sheet. If I touched it, I could have felt the wrinkles in the bunched fabric. There was something oddly familiar about it.
"They didn't cost shit," she answered.
That made me look away from the painting and back to Beccs.
"What the hell? Did you rob a gallery?"
"No, you mook, I painted them. They didn't cost anything but the price of the canvas and the paint, which, you know, I stole most of that from school."
"You painted them," I repeated, looking back.
As I looked closer at the canvas, I realized why it was familiar. The sleeping man was our dear friend Antoni Zabrowska. I had mistaken his tattoos for shadows, though I had to admit I had never seen him look quite so relaxed. As I glanced around the room, I realized I recognized many of the paintings. I was able to pick out her father's face, Rossi's, and I realized the model for the two female nudes was none other than Nia Bianchi. There was one of a woman in white with bloody skeletal wings that bore a strong resemblance to Becca and I imagined that was the infamous ChaCha.
"That's what I go to Columbia for. Visual Arts."
"You're a goddamn genius, B."
She scoffed.
"No, I'm fucking serious, kid. My sister collects art, and she refuses to go for the big names. Shit like this, she pays 10 to 20 grand for a painting half this size, more if it's one of the artists she likes."
Now she snorted.
"What? Your sister got a money tree?"
"No, my older sister Aurie's a writer. She wrote her first book when she was ten. She's published 20 so far, but she's got 30 or 40 more in backlog that she's still tweaking. She's kind of a perfectionist when it comes to writing, but I guess it pays off. Her books sell like fucking hotcakes everytime she puts one out, two of her series got picked up by Netflix, and Lion's Gate turned her seventh book into a movie. She even got to be involved in the productions.
"She's got a penthouse on the Upper East Side that she bought about six years ago. That's where I lived when I got out of the Upstate. Aurora, she's a fucking Saint, you know. I mean, I had a shitty PO that was up my ass every five minutes but Aurie never said a word about it. She just… always told me she was glad I was home, which, you know, was nice to hear considering that according to my grandparents I died 19 years ago. She was the one that helped me get this place down here, paid in full for a two year lease."
Becca raised an eyebrow at me.
"No offense, Tony, I can tell you're crazy about her, but she couldn't have picked a better place for you than this hell hole?"
I laughed as softly as I could, to save the muscles in my stomach.
"I picked this place myself, B. Cheapest apartment I could find in any of the boroughs, and it even had three bedrooms. I was thinking about having space for a library and a home gym."
Becca snorted.
"Yeah, it's cheap cause the fucking place is about 90 years old. Nobody's been able to get a hold of the slumlord who owns it for repairs in 8 months, but I bet you the motherfucker still collects the rent checks we deposit in his fucking bank account every month."
"Yeah, I figured that out just about as soon as I moved in, but beggars can't be choosers. Besides, Antoni always used to help me out whenever something broke."
Becca gave a small smile.
"They did that for everybody. I used to call them the apartment elves, cause instead of making shoes they were skittering around fixing fucking toilets and sinks, and rewiring burned up outlets and bringing in new refrigerators and stoves when shit broke in everybody else's places. And they bought it all with their own money. Everybody tried to pay them, but they never took a dime for any of it. Ironically enough, Pops used to talk about Antoni all the time because of all the money he'd spend over there every week. Said he had a good heart, just no good sense when it came to what was his responsibility and wasn't. You know, I had my own opinions about Antoni's heart, but I kept them to myself."
"I really wish I had paid more attention when Antoni was working on the boiler, though. Instead of just passing him tools and running my mouth."
"Yeah, you're good at that," she replied with a smirk.
"And fuck you, too, Miss Rebecca. You might be the strong type, but you're not exactly silent yourself."
She laughed.
"Make yourself comfortable. I'll be right back."
I nodded and obeyed as she exited into what I saw was the bathroom as she opened the door and closed it behind her.
The sectional was goddamned heaven, and she'd said make myself comfortable so I kicked out the recliner and leaned back. I closed my eyes for a moment and sighed, and when I opened them I nearly jumped out of my skin. I barely managed to stop myself from letting out a yell as I jerked back up to sitting.
Antoni's corpse was standing by the picture wall, looking intently at a photo of a child Becca wearing a ruffled, cream colored dress with a ribbon in her long black hair. It was the picture of her first Communion.
"Goddamn, you can't give somebody a warning before you do that?"
He neither answered me nor turned to look at me because he was using the stumps of his wrists to adjust several of the frames back straight again.
"Fucking neat freak," I laughed. "She wasn't lying."
He finally turned toward me.
You ever seen a corpse try to look annoyed when he's missing about a quarter of his face? I mean, what am I saying, you probably haven't, but suffice to say, it's pretty fucking funny. He raised his left wrist, and if he had hands, he'dve been shooting the bird.
Almost hysterical laughter burst out of me as Becca exited the bathroom.
"Least the pipes ain't frozen yet," she muttered.
She gave me a strange look.
"Who are you talking to out here? And what's so funny?"
I glanced back to Antoni, but he was gone again.
"Don't mind me, B, I'm pretty sure I got a concussion. I'm pretty much seeing pink elephants at this point." Or, you know, the mutilated corpse of my best friend, but it's probably best I leave it at elephants.
"Yeah," she answered, and crossed the room to hand me something. "Speaking of."
It was a mouth guard.
"What is this for?"
She didn't answer me, but headed to the kitchen and opened a cabinet, withdrawing a cut crystal scotch glass and then opening the refrigerator and withdrawing… two bags of blood. Nia's blood, to be exact. She unscrewed the cap at the bottom of one, punctured the seal with a fresh insulin needle, and to my supreme discomfort squeezed some into the glass. The mouth guard suddenly made sense. It was so I wouldn't break my teeth or bite my tongue off when the convulsions started and my jaw locked down from consuming demon blood.
"Oh no, B, I don't want that."
"Yeah. That's why I didn't tell you why I wanted you over here, cause I knew you was gonna be a pussy about it."
I tried one more last-ditch effort.
"You need that more than me, B."
"I can just take my next dose early, but you, you can't go down and see Ma looking like that. She's gonna ask too many questions."
That one stopped me.
"I've had enough of interrogations for one day, B."
"There ain't no interrogation when it comes to Ma. She just puts it in your head that you ain't got no choice but to tell her the truth, and you do. She's made state witnesses get up on the stand and confess their own crimes, pleading the fifth be damned."
She screwed the cap back onto the bag and carried them and the glass over to the coffee table and set them down. She walked over and opened a closet door, pulling out an IV pole with a little box attached to it, and grabbed a small cardboard box from off a shelf and what looked like a tackle box. She set it on the coffee table after she pulled the pole over to the sectional and plugged it into the wall, opened the cardboard box and removed a cassette from inside and inserted it into the box on the pole.
"What's that?"
"It's a blood warmer for rapid transfusions, so I don't go into hypothermia or hemolysis. Little bastard cost 137 thousand, but at least you can buy them online. You put a fresh cassette in every time, the blood runs through it, by the time it gets to my arm it's body temp."
She opened the tackle box and removed two fresh lines, attaching one to the bottom of the warmer and one to the top, hanging the bags of blood but not connecting the first of them yet. The top had a drip chamber with a filter, and the bottom held the flow regulator and the hypodermic needle with the cannula inside.
"You know, it's not fucking fair, B, you shouldn't have dealt with half the shit in your life that you have."
She snorted and her lips pursed with anger as she sat down beside me.
"You sound like Rossi with that shit. That's why he wouldn't let me die, said it wasn't fair. I was ready to go into hospice, fuck it, I was ready to see my Mom again. But I'll tell you the same thing I told his stupid old ass. Life ain't fair. Cause if it was I'd have my mother and my baby's father and Jimmy's ass would be the one laying in the morgue. You think it's fair you almost lost a finger because of what he ordered?"
I laughed.
"No, I actually think that's pretty fair. That's karma, B. I was usually the one doing the beating. How do you think I ended up in prison?"
She looked hard at me for a moment.
"I mean, you never told me. You were pretty open about having gone to prison, but you never said why."
"Well, I learned to be open about it. Some people get real upset when they find out they're dealing with someone who's been through the system, so I didn't really wanna go through that again. So now I just tell people up front, let them decide for themselves if they wanna deal with me or not. That way they can't throw it back in my face, say I lied to them."
Becca let out a bitter chuckle.
"So what's your story?"
"Well, we still ain't finished your story, yet, but we'll take a detour. The whole thing started my Senior year of high school. First game of the year, I blew my knee out, big as a bitch, tore everything there was to tear, shit was basically hanging on by the skin alone. Orthopedics said I had two choices, keep playing football or, retain the ability to walk on that leg, so… there went all my big dreams of college ball and making it onto the Giants."
"Linebacker?"
I nodded. "Middle linebacker. I was good at it. 6'7, 265 pounds but light on my feet, all muscle. Back then I was running 7 percent body fat, and wasn't even trying. Shit just… all came natural to me. It all blew up in my face. Shitloads of surgery and physical therapy, and then one day the pain pills stopped but the pain didn't. Everyday, every night, I was still hurting."
She nodded.
"I know about bone pain. I could always tell when I needed to up the dose when my bones started hurting. When I started out all it took was an insulin needle. Now I take so much, I'm not even sure I qualify as human. But I guess I won't be much longer. That's always been the plan. Just keep me alive till 30 and Ma's gonna make me like her. That's the preferred age for the Entrance, something to do with the Trinity."
I nodded.
"I started asking around school if anyone knew where to get some Percs but pain management keeps that shit so tight I could only get a few at a time. Not only was they expensive, it wasn't enough. I got hooked up with this kid named Alessandro, he told me if I really wanted to control the pain, he could get me something better and cheaper. He took me to meet his uncle, Colombian guy named Marco. First shot is free and it was… it was beautiful. Everybody always gets sick the first time, but I didn't. And then after that, all my free money from my after school job started going to horse, and uh, I got my last six months off school. I already had all the credits I needed from AP classes, started working full time. They didn't piss test. But, my tolerance was rising faster than my income was."
I took a deep breath.
"I'd been buying enough that Marco was offering me fronts but I never took it. So next time I went, I asked him for my usual and I asked how much it would be for two O's on the front, cause I knew a lot of other users and I was thinking of starting to sell myself. So, he told me he'd give me a pound, and we could settle up at the end of the month."
"Jesus Christ, if you were selling a pound a month you must have been making bank."
I shook my head.
"I wasn't in it for the money. I was in it to keep myself supplied. If I kept my prices right, I could use for free, and I had enough left over to pay my portion of the rent and help pay for the groceries. I got good at it, I'd take a shot, and nod out for a few minutes, then get up and start walking the streets."
Becca snorted.
"You wasn't standing on a street corner?"
"Fuck no. Too visible. I did all my business by phone. I had a burner and gave everyone the number, and when they needed some they'd give me a call and I'd meet them or they'd meet me. I had ethics. I used to have people offering me fucking blowjobs for a bag, but I always said no, shit felt wrong. All they had to do was pay me by the end of the month but, sometimes…"
She gave a grin.
"But sometimes, 'Bitch, where's my money?'"
"Yeah, sometimes people would try to skip out, so I had to apply a little pressure to persuade them to pay. I never killed nobody, it's hard as hell to get money out of a dead man. But, black a few eyes and break a few bones and suddenly they had money they didn't before. Being my size, there wasn't many of them that could fight back. But, I fucked up the wrong lowlife.
"There was this prick, he'd been dodging me for weeks. He owed me like two grand, I'd given him that much because I knew he had money, so when I finally caught up to him, I was pretty mad and, the bitch, he told me he wasn't going to pay me. Thought he was better than me, thought he could fuck me and get away with it. So I beat the mortal hell out of him, took his wallet. He had five grand in there but I figured, 3K surcharge for wasting my time."
I shook my head.
"But I should have done some better research on who I was going after. Turned out the little prick had a socialite for a mother and his Daddy was a hedge fund manager and… I'd hurt him pretty bad. First three months, not only was I dealing with DTs, I was waiting to see if they were going to add Murder to my charges. He was in a coma for that long, and when he woke up, he had to learn to walk again, how to feed himself. I beat him so bad I gave him brain damage."
"Goddamn, Tony."
"Apparently his parents knew their son's habits and knew exactly who I was, cause they went straight to the police, and two days later SWAT showed up, turned the house upside down. I smashed my phone into pieces, flushed it so they couldn't get my contacts, but I didn't think about the fact I still had the wallet with his driver's license in it. My grandparents disowned me, right then and there. I had just reupped so they caught me with 14 ounces, all it takes is 8 for Class A felony possession. I spent 13 months in Rikers, but my sister got me a good lawyer, he knew the judge and the prosecutor personally, golfed with them, so he got me a plea deal. I was looking at life in prison, but he argued that I was a good student that had made a bad mistake because of a chronic pain issue, and they were both first offenses, so if I pled guilty, agreed to go through a substance abuse program and anger management, then they'd give me the minimum sentence.
"15 years, Class A Felony Drug Possession, 3 years, Class B felony First Degree Assault, intentionally causing grievous bodily harm while in the commission of another felony. But, at my sentencing, the judge said I was a big guy, with a big anger problem. I hadn't killed anyone, but it wasn't for lack of trying. Said I was a danger to society, so when I got to the UCF, they put me in dark red."
"Supermax?"
I nodded.
"23 hours a day in a box by myself, no visitors, barely saw the guards. But, I stayed quiet, made no problems. Prison was overcrowded so I ended up with a cellmate, and I was glad to see him. It could have been Hannibal Lecter and I would have gave him a hug. He might have been a murderer but he was actually a decent guy. Him and his crew had knocked over some jewelry stores in Manhattan, last job went bad. He'd killed three cops, so he wasn't never getting out. Neither was his wife. Life in Bedford Hills."
"That's where they was gonna send me if Ma hadn't got the jury to give me a Not Guilty verdict."
I knew Becca had a tendency to get in trouble because beside the cheerleading pictures in the bodega, there was also a mugshot.
"What did you do?"
She gave a bitter chuckle again.
"Unlike you, I killed someone. 2021, this fucking crackhead tried to rob the store. He shot the customer that was in there, old guy named Mickey, killed him. He used to live in your apartment. Tried to shoot me, too, but the gun jammed and I had the aluminum baseball bat under the counter. I just started swinging. He went down, but I jumped the counter, and hit him again. Blood lust is a real thing. Once I saw he was bleeding, I wanted to see more. I beat his brains out, literally, he was dead long before the cops ever got there. Bat looked like a toothpick when I was done.
"They arrested me, and the DA himself showed up at my arraignment. Said self defense didn't apply, sent me straight up to Murder 2, requested I be denied bail because I had a passport and plenty of money so I was a flight risk. But we all knew the truth. He was still pissed that he hadn't been able to send Rossi away for longer, and I was the next best thing. Ma had to pull a lot of strings to make sure I still got my transfusions when I was in lockup. I was in Rikers for four months, had my eighteenth birthday sitting in the Singer Unit."
"Goddamned patterns," I muttered, then raised my voice again. "You, me, and Antoni all got that in common, except he wasn't like us. He was already in prison. That's what the rose meant, turned eighteen in prison. Life sentence, triple murder."
"He told you that?" She looked betrayed, so I was quick to answer.
"No, the tattoos told me that. Google is my best friend, B. That's what the skull and crossbones, and the coffins on his arm meant."
She swallowed, and nodded again.
"But, I moved down," I continued. "Went to orange when they moved me to Gen Pop, and I had friends waiting for me. Marco was very appreciative of me keeping quiet about my source at trial, so outside Abuela Bogota's was where I hung out the most. But I had friends all over. My sister was smart. She always put way more in my account than I could spend, so whenever I heard that somebody needed something, I'd go to the canteen and buy it myself and pass it to 'em. Nobody had to owe me shit. All I wanted was to be left alone, so I had people watching my back from all sides. I ended up in blue, got moved to the dormitory, started working in the kitchen, ended up running it, cause I was a 'model prisoner.'"
"You ever fool around with any of your cellmates?" Becca asked with a grin. "Cause I did."
I gave an uncomfortable laugh.
"I mean, yeah. 15 years is a long time to be alone. I don't consider myself bisexual even, but if somebody offers, you know…" I shrugged.
"I think the word you're looking for is heteroflexible. That's how Antoni referred to himself. He had a thing for you, you know."
That stopped me dead.
"You're fucking with me, B."
"Nope. He asked me once if I'd mind if he ever got the chance to hook up with you, and I told him no, as long as he didn't mind I still hooked up with my old girlfriends from high school. But he never asked you, said he loved you too much, was afraid of ruining your friendship."
"Jesus Christ," I shook my head, finally decided I needed time to process that, and moved on. "But, my last year there, Covid hit, and, I volunteered to work in the infirmary, but pretty soon the infirmary was filled, they started keeping people in the hallway, and finally they just ended up leaving them in their beds, I was all over the place. People dropping like flies. Everytime someone coughed or sneezed, everbody'd get nervous. I been smoking since I was 16, so I cough my lungs out every morning.
"People was looking at me like I was Death Incarnate. But I never caught it, not even once. And I was all around the sick, I was taking the bodies out to the truck outside the gate. Could've run but I didn't. Only had a few years left. It worked in my favor. They cut the last three years off my sentence, put me on supervised release and now, here I am, 36 years old, and just starting my adult life."
"Rossi got let out of lockup right before lockdown, poor bastard. Me, him, and my Dad all quarantined at Ma's, but of course, you know, me and Dad was essential workers so at least I got to get out of the house everyday. I graduated early, at 16, been working seven days a week since."
I glanced at the glass on the table.
"So let's get back to your story."
She shook her head, lips pursed again.
"Uh-uh, you're not wasting anymore time. Take the blood, but first," she reached out, quicker than I could even register, and used her thumbs to set my broken nose back straight.
I let out a yell, momentarily unable to see as my eyes filled with tears.
"Jesus wept, Becca, fucking hell, goddamn."
"Sorry. It would've hurt more if you'd known it was coming. Besides, you're a good looking guy, Tony, you don't wanna ruin your face."
"Thanks, B," I muttered as I pressed the toilet paper back to my freshly bleeding nose, tears streaming down my cheeks. "Need a haircut though."
"Nah, you oughta keep it. It's very The Dark Knight Joker, just black, not blonde and green."
I laughed quietly.
"Not sure that's the best association, B. A little too psychotic and violent."
She raised an eyebrow at me.
"Alright, alright. It's probably an accurate association, just a little less arson and murder." I sighed and looked at the scotch glass. "So how do I do this, B?"
"Think about it like a tequila shot. Take the shot and then slip the guard in quick. Then sit back, try to relax."
I nodded and grabbed the glass before I lost my nerve. I raised it in her direction.
"Saluti."
"Geonbae." She responded.
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2023.05.29 16:56 girl_from_the_crypt Stuck on earth and looking for a job: There's something in the caves

I spent the remainder of the evening after the "hike" sorting out my thoughts. Trying to, at any rate. Writing it all down helped, but I was still exhausted and confused.
I woke up in Frankie Preston's bed the following morning. I instantly knew it wasn't mine due to the lack of Dorito crumbs in the sheets. Even so, it took me a while to come to. Once I'd rubbed my eyes and untangled myself from the blanket, I found the man himself sitting upright beside me, fully dressed with his shoes on, presently reading a book. "Morning, Sunshine," he muttered, not looking up. "There's water on the nightstand for you. A muffin, too. I wasn't sure what to get."
I let out an incoherent murmur to which he huffed a laugh and rested his hand on the side of my face. "You were still as a rock, you know."
"I'm sorry for messing up last night," I said, my voice cracked and dry from sleep. "I shouldn't have gone looking for trouble. I should've stayed low and just watched those two."
"What's with that tone? I'm not about to lecture you. I get wanting to take revenge. You did fine as far as I'm concerned. And I think Markov is okay with everything, too. After all, any proceedings against the Collective are highly legitimate now or whatever. Plus, she got that lady cultist in custody now, and she's looking forward to the interrogation. She called and explained it to me on the phone earlier, but I wasn't paying attention." He shrugged to himself and I reached up to tug aside his book's cover. "It's Wuthering Heights," he told me, gently removing my hand. I tried to grab it again, but he pulled it out of my reach. "Oh!" He sounded amused as he finally set the book aside to hug me. "You could have just said something."
"Don't you have to work today?"
"I called in sick. Of course, my six moms know I don't actually get sick so they'll suspect something's up. They're probably gonna be all over me."
"You never get sick?" I inquired.
"No. It's one of the nicer aspects of inhuman nature."
"I'm still not getting any answers on that?"
"Don't worry, you will. Sooner or later."
We went out and took a walk in the park, which was equally weird and nice. It seemed such a normal thing to do. It was a bright, nearly windless day, and the sun shining down on us provided a gentle warmth. The previous days' rain had left the trees heavily laden with drops of water. Occasionally, some would dislodge from the leaves and branches they occupied and plop down on our heads.
I asked Frankie whether he would be alright with checking in on Nettie Peterson together. He chuckled, joking that she would probably just love to see him, but ultimately agreed. Once my best friend was due to be off work, we went around to her house.
Strangely enough, the most drastic changes in other people seem to happen without me really being there to witness them. Kit Sutton had somehow turned into a somewhat responsible roommate without me even noticing. Before I knew it, we had become friends. When my savior human opened the door for us, I felt distinctly reminded of that other development. Nettie, not unlike a butterfly emerging from whatever they call that odd little sleeping bag caterpillars make for themselves, had apparently come out of her dark state of mind all by herself. Her eyes lit up when she saw me and she wheedled us inside with much the same enthusiasm I was used to. She had us sit down in the garden while she tended to her flowers.
I watched her closely. Her skin had regained much of its healthy glow, her hair was washed and shiny, the clothes she wore clean—a flowing blouse, mom jeans and sneakers. She had clearly picked them out with care, like she normally did. It was good to see her restored to her old self, but I couldn't help but feel like something was wrong.
"Are you sure you're okay?" I asked.
"I have to be, don't I?" she replied, her cheerful tone coming out more forced than she'd likely intended. She was cutting away crushed and wilted leaves from one of her small bushes, shaping it in the process. "It's over. Life goes on."
"Does it?" I tilted my head at her.
"Can we talk about anything else? Literally anything?" The snapping movements of her garden shears came faster; more forceful. Frankie Preston and I exchanged uncomfortable looks. Figuring it would make for an interesting topic, I proceeded to tell Nettie about our exploits the night before. Halfway through my story, she had ceased her plant styling activities, blankly staring at me from where she sat on the ground. By the time I was done, she had taken off her rubber gloves and was slowly massaging her temples.
"One of these days, Eva. One of these days, you're gonna give me a heart attack. I don't even want to ask about what you get up to anymore, I think. I'm afraid of the answer." She threw Fran a grateful glance. "Thank you for getting her out of there safely."
The waiter smiled placidly. "Sure." Turning to me, he added in a whisper, "So we're not going to mention that you saved me from the FunFlair guys twice before this?"
I grinned mildly and shook my head before assuming a more serious tone. "Nettie, it's great that you're all better, but you were really down before. If this is just an act, I'd prefer you didn't put it on."
"It's not an act," she said sternly, raising her hands to her hips. "I've resigned myself. That's all. There's nothing to be done, I've accepted it and I've moved on."
"That can't be healthy," Frankie remarked. "You know what would help? Punishing the world in some way. You could take it out on your kindergarteners. Tell them a scary story so their parents have to stay up all night with them. Incite a dirt throwing fight and send them home all muddy. Set up a boxing ring and have them go at each other like in a dog fight. Wouldn't that be far more rewarding than sucking it up?"
Nettie Peterson looked unimpressed. Her dark eyes roamed the young man like she was trying to gauge whether or not he was serious. "You're some kind of sociopath, aren't you?"
That she shouldn't have said. Frankie's serene expression morphed into his customer service smile. I don't know when I started deciphering this being's voice and countenance, but there I was, picking up on the spiteful undertone in what he said next.
"I'm just saying, if the woman I fancied disappeared in such a way, I'd find outlets for my grief." His eyes darted over to Nettie as if to ensure she'd heard him correctly before settling on me, observing my reaction. All I could do however was stare at my best friend.
Her glossy lips had parted. She met my gaze, her thick, expressive brows rising a good deal. "I…" she began, faltering and starting to fumble for words. "That's to say, Kit was… we, um…"
"Oh, Eva didn't know?" Frankie asked, perfectly flat and monotonous. "I had no idea it was a secret. I'm sorry, it wasn't my place to say. I wouldn't have mentioned it, really."
Something about that sent a chill down my spine. I shot him a glare, to which he drew himself up and turned away. Meanwhile, Nettie finally broke from her stupor and blurted out, "We were together, okay?"
For a moment, I sat quietly. “Frank, please go home,” I said at length, not quite looking at him. “We’ll talk later. We will.
He looked like he wanted to say something, but quickly thought better of it, rising to his feet and storming off. Ignoring the queasy feeling in my stomach, I walked over to Nettie and plopped down on the ground beside her. “So that’s what this was about,” I began.
My savior human nodded meekly. “We… we didn’t want to tell you. Not for the time being, at least. We hadn’t defined the relationship yet, i-it was all so new and weird, I felt weird, but it was good, you know? I just wasn’t ready to think about it that way yet. And you’ve only ever seen me date guys, I didn’t know what you’d think…”
“I wouldn’t have thought anything,” I replied. “How long has this been going on?”
“Not long. She called me up before she came back to you a couple weeks ago. That’s kind of when we started seeing each other in… in that way.”
“Romantically?”
“Yes.”
I hesitantly extended a hand to caress her upper arm, locking eyes with her. There was a profound sadness in her expression, a watery gleam. She took a deep breath. “Before that, we used to text back and forth occasionally. I always felt kind of weird about her. Somehow, she got under my skin everytime she was goofing off, what with her little jokes and all. We kept talking, though. I was always so irritated when she was around, and that’s so unlike me, I just ended up wondering… And then when she showed up here, it all kind of came together. W-we did. She stuck around and we spoke and everything simply made sense all of a sudden. I didn't know she liked me, too.” She swallowed audibly, her voice brittle and husky as she went on. “Kit isn't like anyone else I’ve ever had feelings for.”
“Not like anyone else, as in… a woman?” I prompted, raising a brow.
Nettie grunted. “Oh, shush! Don't make me feel guilty for being hesitant at first. I know it’s not a big deal to you, but try going through life believing you’re straight and suddenly running into some cute ditzy punk girl and realizing you’re not. It’s all sorts of confusing, believe me. I was scared it was gonna be weird because it was my first time with a woman but Kit somehow made it easy. It was a bit of a whirlwind, sure, but it felt natural and… just good.”
“Did you tell Eli?”
“No. But I think he suspected. That man knows me like the back of his hand. We’re basically siblings, remember? He was always tactful, never really pressured me into admitting anything, but he made a couple puns here and there, so… I do believe he knew.” She fumbled with her limp gloves, fixing me with a wavering smile. “So?”
“So what?”
“What do you say?”
“Is there something you want me to say?” I shrugged. “I’m only glad I understand now. I wish you’d told me sooner, but that’s your business. Also, I didn’t tell you that I’ve been running around with our waiter, so I guess we’re essentially even. By the way, I’m sorry he put you on the spot like that. You didn’t deserve that. How did he know about you two anyways?”
Nettie pursed her lips. “He might have seen us around the diner or something. I’m not sure. I’m, uh, not gonna comment on whatever you two got going on. You know what you’re doing. Hopefully.”
“Ah, thanks. Then I won’t be giving my opinion on whether or not I consider that deadbeat dork Kit to be worthy of you.”
My savior human snorted. “Much appreciated. Though I guess it’s not really an issue anymore either way.”
I shook my head. “Don’t think like that. We can’t let her go. I certainly won’t, not after this.”
“What do you mean?”
I rose to my feet. “I’m going to drag her blue ass back out of the ocean and have her make an honorable woman of you.”
I don’t believe she thought I was serious. The realization had set in by the time I’d dragged her down to the beach with me, though. We had taken Wammawink for the drive. Wammawink is the name of Nettie’s pastel pink motor scooter. It has a sidecar, which she straps me into with great care whenever we ride. It took her about twenty minutes to get us down to the shore. The more I talked about possibly retrieving my roommate, the brighter and realer the shine in her eyes became. Hope was not yet dead, that much was for certain. I led her down the cliffside and past the rocky expanse to where the concert had been held. It seemed ages ago. Some wistful part of me thought I could hear the faint sound of Kits singing above the gentle murmur of the waves.
The beach was golden in the afternoon sunlight. The sleepy tide sent water steadily dribbling into the sand beneath our feet, the drier patches giving way ever so slightly as we walked along. The faint outline of a plan had taken shape in my mind. We headed for the grotto.
"It makes sense now," I thought aloud. "The creature we fought at the concert was targeting you. The deep ones must have known that you two had a bond."
"I guess so," she replied uncertainly, eyeing the maw that opened up in the natural stone wall before us. "Going spelunking will help us how, exactly…?"
"I figure it tried to take you in there for a reason. This place has to be special. If you want, you can always wait here, but I'd prefer to have you with me. I only want to look around a bit. Maybe there's a clue of sorts on how we can contact Kit."
She sighed. "Now I know why you wanted me to bring my flashlight." She produced the object in question and handed it over before linking arms with me. "Of course I'll stick with you."
The inside of the cave was far too quiet for comfort. The eerie silence was only broken by the occasional plinking of water dripping from the walls and ceiling. We made an effort to step around the puddles glittering on the bumpy ground as we proceeded into the dimness. The sunlight threading through the grotto's mouth didn't reach very far, so we were glad for the bright beam of our torch. I let it travel the hollowed rock, the light crinkling oddly as it reflected off the pools of water that seemed to grow larger the further we got. Nettie Peterson was hanging onto my arm, her grip growing a little tighter with every passing minute. Her face was a set mask of grim determination, belied by the nervous twitch of her eyelid and the occasional quiver of her lower lip.
My own discomfort was undeniable as well. My heart was thundering in my chest and clammy beads of perspiration were running down my face. Every step we took caused a dull thud, the echo of which bounced off the rough stone walls to be funneled by the length of the cave. There were several smaller passages leading off into all directions, but Nettie and I agreed on always picking the largest entrance. This way, the path we took was far easier to memorize and there was little possibility of getting lost. After the third or fourth time we ducked through one of the doorframe-like archs, we were met with an imposing sight. A large room with high ceilings opened up before us. There was natural light seeping through several small cracks overhead. Stringy, pale plant life hung down or clung to the walls. A round lake filled up its entire bottom half.
Both Nettie and I stopped in our tracks. There was no solid ground to walk on anymore. On top of that, the beauty of this subterranean body of water had literally stunned us. Ripples were rolling off the center of its surface, casting a faint shimmer onto the ceiling. The stone-filtered light from outside set the lake aglow, bright speckled dancing across it like sprightly wisps. All I could do was taken in a soft, reverent breath while the very thoughts running through my head escaped Nettie's trembling lips.
"Have you ever seen something so beautiful?"
I would have told her yes, but I truly could not remember when. Unfortunately, the lake also appeared to form something of a dead end. I considered turning and checking out another passage, only for my savior human to point out a ledge running along the side of the room. It was narrow, but no doubt wide enough for the two of us to walk it single-file. We clambered up the shelf-like protrusion and, hand in hand, began to move along. It was bumpy and wet, and I almost regretted continuing this way. I couldn't seem to properly place my feet, my soles slipping a few inches with every step. Glancing over my shoulder, I could tell from Nettie's grim expression that she was experiencing similar difficulties. My pulse was racing, my lower lip caught between my teeth as I attempted to focus on safely making it across.
The cold sweat that leaves my palms was actively working against me at this point, and before I could react, the flashlight had slipped through my shaking fingers. It bounced off a bump in the shelf, then rolled off the edge entirely to disappear in the dark water with a thick, loud plop. I cursed, turning to Nettie with an apologetic expression.
"It's fine," she assured me, squeezing my hand. "It's bright enough here as it is and we'll still have our phones for light later."
I smiled gratefully, about to take my next step when a deep, guttural gurgle came rumbling up from the depths of the lake. The sound hovered in the damp, salty air for a moment or two. My best friend and I froze in place, her grip on my hand turning into an iron vice. For a split second, I believe even my own heartbeat stilled.
"What was that?" Nettie Peterson whispered, her voice barely audible over the sudden charged hum of the water below. Her question would not remain unanswered for long. The droning noise of vast water masses shifting began to fill the air as from deep, deep beneath, something made its way up. My savior human and I helplessly pressed our backs up against the wall, trying to keep steady against the force of the vibration shuddering through the rock. The ledge we were standing on was quaking as though the cave itself had come alive and was trying to throw us into this growling, cold abyss.
Within seconds, the thing broke the surface, causing enormous splashes and sending countless drops of water raining down on us. I blinked them out of my eyes just in time to see it unfurl.
It was not a living being in its entirety, merely part of one. That however only made the sight before us all the more terrifying. Simply put, it was a human arm. Just not of any human I had ever encountered. It was enormous; every webbed finger of the hand it ended in was about my size. There were six of them, each bending in far too many places—I thought I could count as many as eight joints on the longest one. Its nails were more like claws, long and sharp with what looked like barnacles growing underneath them. The thin, nearly translucent skin between its fingers was stony gray, just like the rest of it. The hand slowly began to grope around, searching the walls of the cave. I knew right then and there that I couldn't possibly fight it. If it came to it, I'd try to hold it off with everything I had, but something this huge couldn't possibly be defeated. We had to flee, as long as we still could.
"Oh God," Nettie breathed. "Oh God, oh God, oh God…" Her hand was trembling in mine.
"Quick," I hissed. "Turn around, we gotta get out of here!"
She nodded helplessly, her eyes blown wide in terror. When she began her retreat from the ledge, she nearly took up running. I pulled her close just in time to prevent her from slipping. "Watch out!" I uttered, unable to suppress the fear in my tone. "Don't slip, we're dead if we fall in."
My savior human let out a whine, then took a deep breath and bit her lip. Slowly but steadily, she placed each foot in front of the other, leading us off the ledge. My ears were ringing. I couldn't tear my gaze away from the gigantic arm as it blindly felt along the walls, its nails coaxing a grating sound as they scratched upon the rocks. It was getting closer and closer, the side of its thumb nearly brushing the top of my head for a split second before I could withdraw. I had to press my eyes shut for a moment as my chest tightened painfully. Finally, we had reached the end of the shelf and wasted no time in jumping off.
We didn't even bother with any cell phone flashlights. As soon as we were on solid ground again, we darted through the entrance of the room, back through all of our carefully chosen passages before finally staggering out the mouth of the cave into the sunlight. We were panting like dogs; Nettie was forced to crouch down and sit still for a while to catch her breath. Meanwhile, I was seeing stars. Colorful dots and sparks of lightning seemed to dance before my inner eye as I blinked furiously into the afternoon sun.
"What the fuck was that?" my best friend, having regained her ability to speak, rasped out.
I turned to face her, my knees wobbling like jello. "I have no idea."
"You think it… you think that fish person from the concert was trying to take me there? Dump me into that lake?" She lowered her voice. "It would have fed me to that giant thing, wouldn't it."
I held her gaze, my mind racing. "I don't know. Maybe the giant's different."
"What do you mean?"
"I think we might have just seen Kit's father."
X
1
2: deadbeat roommate
3: creepy crush
4: relocation
5: beach concert
6: First date
7: Temp work
8: roommate talk
9: a dismal worldview
10: warehouse
11: staircase
12: explanation
13: hurt
14: hospital
15: ocean
16: diner
17: government work
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2023.05.29 16:48 Routine-Coast-6128 Subleasing at Vistas with discount! Units selling fast

Subleasing at Vistas with discount! Units selling fast
3 beds 2 bath - Apartment
401 N Fredericksburg St Apt 1547 San Marcos, TX 78666-5502 United States
Subleasing my Standard bedroom in a 3 bedroom apartment at Vistas San Marcos from August 1st to July 31st 2024 $834/month
-own bedroom -own closet - fully furnished -shared bathroom - shared kitchen and livingroom
Spacious and fully furnished apartment with a pool view balcony. Only a 5 minute walk from campus Washer and dryer in unit Parking Garage in complex
Ps: The original price was $859/ month but with a $75 discount included it is now $834/ month.
submitted by Routine-Coast-6128 to txstate [link] [comments]


2023.05.29 16:35 YogurtclosetNo3506 Goose Island state park visit in a tent.

Planning on a couple of days stay at Goose island park. In a tent next to the water (Rv site). Would the winds or mosquitoes cause major issues? We have never been but I know wind next to the water can be strong and I also read that mosquitoes are bad there. Trip would be late June.
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2023.05.29 16:33 Grand-Dependent9348 Waves Tesco car wash scratched the hell out of my car, what can I do?

I took my car to get it washed at one of the Waves car washes based in the Tesco car parks as there was a lot of bird poop on the paint above the nearside rear window and I just wanted a general clean. The main guy told me it would take 30-40 minutes which was ok as I planned to do a fairly big shop.
50 minutes later when I was done with my shopping I went back to my car and they had barely started and only finished around 70 minutes later, however after they finished I noticed massive deep scratches where the bird poop used to be which was blatantly caused by the cleaners.
What's the best plan of action now if I want to claim compensation for me to get it fixed by a detailer or whoever?
Oh and they also insisted I pay with cash (which I obliged), which I thought was dodgy.
Pics of scratches: https://ibb.co/album/wJ9gwH
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2023.05.29 16:31 SleeplessFromSundown The Séance Club - The End of Windhaven Manor [Final]

This post is the final part of this story. Sorry it has taken so long to get through. And I'm not sure I even understand all of it yet. If you're new, this all started here. The previous part (Part 7) is here. Thank you to everyone who followed along.
-----
“Do you see her?” I asked in a meek voice.
“You mean that girl in black?” Harvey answered.
It was her, in the flesh. Her lips parted and formed a malevolent smile. Her dark eyes fixed on mine. My legs turned to solid lead. My feet refused to move. The anxiousness to reach Parker and Juliet and Beth in the cellar crumbled like the wood turning to ash behind us. She demanded my attention.
A hand rocked my shoulder. Harvey. I pushed him away.
“You have to go. Help them. I’ll take care of her.”
“What about you?”
“I’ll be right behind you.”
A mirage of Harvey flitted past Ally and disappeared into the kitchen. Everything blurred, everything but her.
She tilted her head to one side and bridged the gap between us with four slow and deliberate steps. She pushed her right hand out from a long sleeve and ran the black painted nail of her index finger across my cheek, the smooth lacquer cold against my skin. I shuddered as the chill spread like ice creeping up a window.
“It is such a shame to be losing you so soon. We’ve only just met, and yet I feel like we’ve known each other our whole lives. Do you feel it too?”
I shook my head. “Let me go.”
“We’re past that now Sam. I considered if we could coexist, you and I. It gave me a thrill knowing there is another one out there like me. But you insist on meddling with my work.”
“You mean locking all those girls in that filthy dungeon where they met their end? And Jane here.”
“The work is sometimes unpleasant.”
“But the pay is good?”
“This isn’t about money Sam. You and I are the same. The pain you felt from not fitting in. The lonely nights lying awake, wishing you could be like everyone else. The stares and the whispers. The rejection from those who are supposed to love us the most. I too know. But where you hid, I searched out a path where my talents were appreciated and rewarded. You don’t hate me Sam. You hate yourself for not thriving like I have.”
“Thriving? Is that what you call it?”
“By all measures yes. I am good at what I do. The best. The only. Or so I thought. And then there is you. A naïve, sheltered little boy who can barely put on his own pants in the morning. It is such a shame. And these so-called friends of yours, that was always doomed to failure. Oh and if you harbour any thoughts of them escaping, know that we blocked the little secret entrance the stable boy showed you. There’s no escape except through the fire. When they pick through the ashes of this building they will find their bones, and yours. Is this how you imagined it turning out?”
I flexed the muscles in my legs, but they refused to move. Ally smiled.
“It’s useless now Sam.”
I heard the faint whisper of Juliet’s voice in my head. She pleaded with me. Come on Sam, you can do this. I remembered the last encounter with Ally, outside the wall separating Windhaven Manor from the world. Ally had put me in the white room. I had broken free. I had overcome her power once. I had to do it again.
I took a deep breath in through my nose and cried out and willed my feet to move. Electricity coursed through my body and I directed it down to the floor. My left heel separated from the floor and that set the whole thing in motion. The dam burst. I lurched forwards and overbalanced and sprawled to the floor.
Ally crouched beside me and chuckled. “Some would call it a tragedy for a child to die so soon after learning to walk.”
I looked back towards the front of the house. The fire burned hot. Thick black smoke circled up the huge open space of the gallery. Portraits hanging on the wall bubbled and curled as flames consumed them.
A figure appeared at the foot of the staircase. The spectre of Crown. The goons had dragged his lifeless corpse out of the house, but stood before me was the spirit with unfinished business. The ugliness of his actions showed through now in death. His skin was sallow and wrinkled. His head too big for his body and his teeth yellowed. A grotesque monster made worse by his mortal demise.
Ally whispered in my ear. “He knows it was your meddling that brought about his end. I’ll leave you two alone.”
She brushed my cheek with the back of her hand and stood. As she walked away leather straps materialised out of thin air and pinned my body to the floor.
The spectre of Crown grew before me, swelling in size until he had to crouch to stay below the chandelier. He clenched his fists and with burning red eyes let out a guttural growl that skipped my ears and penetrated directly into my skull.
I tried to pull my hands to my ears but they would not come. It made no difference. The roar coming from Crown stabbed the inside of my head like a thousand daggers. I lifted my head and the growl grew to a scream that ricocheted around the inside of my skull. I couldn’t take much more. It felt as though my head would explode.
Guilt bubbled up and mingled with the fear and I shrank into the floor and wished for it to swallow me. They were down there, the only friends I had known, banging against a locked door denying their escape. I sobbed. I sobbed like I had the night my parents turned from me.
In the pit of my stomach something else grew. A seed of frustration born of a lifetime existing in a world that didn’t make sense. A world where I had no idea who I was and what I could or should do. A world in which I hid. I couldn’t do that now.
Juliet’s voice as clear as day, cutting through the racket of Crown’s scream. Do it Sam. I gritted my teeth and electricity buzzed somewhere deep inside, at first dull and imperceptible, and then amplified and resonating until it peaked into a deafening roar.
Above Crown the bulbs in the chandelier glowed white. He swivelled his head and watched them dumbly.
I concentrated, felt the energy forming an extra limb. Like the arms and legs of a newborn it flailed spasmodically. I fought to control it, to turn it to my will. I focussed on the straps pinning me to the floor. The electricity fed into the straps and turned them hot. For a moment I feared they would scold my skin, and then in a moment of release they split and flung upwards.
I picked myself up off the floor and faced the spectre of Crown. Like a spent boxer throwing one final punch I threw out my hands and screamed, willing Crown to be quiet and be still. Demanding he be so.
The floor shook. The dozens of bulbs in the chandelier shattered. The giant spectre of Crown diminished and the screaming inside my head softened until it was no more. Crown’s eyes opened wide as his mouth stitched together and his arms wrenched behind his back. I flicked my hand like I was swatting a fly and Crown flew into the corner of the room and slumped to the floor.
I bent over and rested my hands on my knees. My muscles ached, like I had run a marathon. Shadows played on the floor. I sucked in air and smoke and spluttered and coughed.
In the hallway the silhouette of Ally. She turned and shook her head. The heat of the fire intensified and crackled at my skin. If we were to make our escape, she could not be here to block us. I straightened and strode towards her.
I cycled furiously through the events of the last few days, searching for something to defeat Ally. I had to do to her what she had done to me. The time for running and breaking her spells was through.
I closed my eyes and concentrated. I stripped away everything except for the two of us. The crackle of the fire replaced with silence. The smell of the smoke disappeared. The heat washed away. One by one I shut down all my senses. When I opened my eyes a monotone room of white. Sterile calm had replaced the burning insides of Windhaven Manor.
Her eyes scanned the room and she giggled. “Cheap tricks won’t get you far,” she said. “And you learned this one from me.”
The white rippled as if the walls were made of water. She was fighting it. I concentrated, focussing all my energy, all my will. The ripples slowed and then stopped.
“You’re a fast learner,” she said. “But I have been doing this for more than a weekend.”
Strips of colour permeated the white. A rectangle of tile appeared on the floor. And then some blue from the curtain. Enough of a smouldering wall to let in some smoke. The acrid smell reached my nose and I spluttered. As each wedge of colour appeared, I filled it back in white. But it was a sinking ship and the pail I held to bail out the water would not be enough.
Ally grunted under her breath. A grunt of frustration. The white room shook and made a sound like a train bearing down.
I had to bind her. I raised my palm and coils of rope rose from the ground and oscillated like snakes around her. She swatted them away and wrenched them from the ground and flung them at my feet, limp and unmoving.
“It won’t be that easy,” she sneered.
My arms jerked behind my back. She bound my wrists and then my ankles. She pursed her lips and blew as if extinguishing a single candle on a birthday cake, and it was enough to send me to the floor. I couldn’t do this on my own. I needed help.
I shut my eyes and concentrated my energy not on my bindings, but on the woods at the back of Windhaven Manor. On the girls who escaped the dungeon and now roamed the forest, watching the house burn from behind the barrier Ally constructed.
I fed the energy coursing through my body into the giant snowdome structure until it burned hot and then like the globes in the chandelier, it cracked and exploded into the night sky. The spirits of the girls watched the shards disappear and then strode towards the Manor.
I turned my attention to the tiny room beside the pantry, where Jane Laughlin lay bound to the bed. I stood beside her and lay my hand on the shackles binding her to the bed. She shuddered as the mask came free from her mouth and then stood as the shackles broke.
I opened my eyes and the white of the room flickered off and then back on again like bad reception on a television. I had to keep the white walls up long enough for them to draw near. For them to be ready when the façade fell. Ally strode towards me, exuding confidence.
“You can’t beat me Sam.”
Ally squeezed her hands into fists and screamed. In a burst of energy she wiped the white room clear and we were back in the burning house. The air was thick with smoke. Behind me a timber beam tumbled from the ceiling and crashed to the floor. The heat and smoke sucked the moisture from my insides and I heaved out a series of coughs.
Ally opened her eyes and smiled. She had bested me. But then they came. The girls from the dungeon and Jane Laughlin surrounded her. The sum total off all the pain and hurt inflicted in this place. Everything Ally had worked to keep hidden from the world.
They lurched at Ally. She raised her hands and pushed them back one by one as they went for her. She spun on the spot, trying to keep them at bay. She could not hold them all back. The sheer weight of numbers overwhelmed. They leaned in and pushed their heads into hers and showed her what those men had done. Made her feel it. The fear and despair and anger of each individual stacked together and Ally crumpled to the floor holding her head.
“Make it stop,” she said.
They kept at her.
Jane Laughlin sidled over to the base of the stairs where Crown sat, bound and with his mouth stitched. She considered him, restrained and helpless on the floor as she had been. He fought with his restraints, and then whimpered, as she had. As I ran for the pantry and the wine cellar, the corridor filled with the muffled sound of his screams.
The door to the cellar stood open and I made the descent of the stairs in three leaps. The enclosed space already full with smoke. At the end of the long corridor leading outside, Parker and Harvey shouldered the door. Juliet and Beth screamed encouragement. The door would not budge.
“We can’t go that way,” I yelled.
They raced back up the long corridor. A sudden rush of emotion bubbled up to the surface. I was so happy to see them all still alive. My lower jaw rattled and my hands shook. I fought to hide it.
Beth reached me first. “Sam, you’re ok.”
I blubbered a response and took in a lung full of smoke. We had to get out.
The fire raged outside the kitchen door. A wave of flame climbed up and spread across the ceiling. A subtle cracking sound from above intensified and a chunk of the upstairs floor came crashing down through the ceiling, blocking the rear door. We couldn’t get out the back. The only way now was back through the house. A ball of flame whooshed through the doorway and I put my arm up too late, my eyebrows wilting in the heat.
We crouched together in the middle of the kitchen, lowering our heads to get the last of the remaining oxygen. Malicious red flames and choking black smoke surrounded us on all sides.
“Where do we go now?” Parker’s words came out between coughs. Tears streaked down his cheeks. Soot covered his brow. I wished I had an answer.
Then he was there, standing over Parker’s shoulder. Leon. With the protective bubble gone, he too was free to come in the Manor.
“The fire has not yet consumed the dining room. But you don’t have long.”
I looked vaguely in the direction of the kitchen door and blinked back the stinging from the smoke. “I don’t think we can find it in this.”
“Follow me.”
I pulled my shirt up over my head. “We have to go. The dining room, we can make it. All together on three.”
I shouted out the numbers, the sound drowned out by the roar of the fire. I grabbed Beth’s hand and yanked her into action. Leon led the way and I kept my eyes on his heels. Together we were a flurry of arms and legs bounding for the dining room. I gritted my teeth against the heat. We burst through the doorway and everything turned orange.
From below the sweater pulled tight down over my hair, I shot a glance over to the floor of the grand gallery where I had left Ally writhing on the floor. She was not there now. Nor were the spectres of the girls.
I followed Leon’s heels into the dining room. The great wooden table smouldered in the centre of the room. Brilliant orange flames consumed the thick curtains. Parker spotted his camera still atop the tripod and set to pulling the camera free before Harvey grabbed his arm and yelled something that sounded like ‘leave it’.
Harvey grabbed one of the heavy chairs with their high backs and velvet cushions and heaved it at the window in the back corner of the room. The chair disappeared into the darkness of the night and Harvey kicked at the glass shards left behind. Parker joined. We piled out the opening.
I drank in the fresh cool air of night, staggering over the narrow path beside the house and to the small strip of grass beyond. Parker collapsed beside me and pulled the laptop out from under his shirt. He tapped at the casing and for a moment a brief smile flashed across his face, but it did not last long. He wiped soot and sweat from his face with shaking hands.
Harvey checked us all in turn, like a parent fussing over their children. We had scrapes and bruises and our skin was red and raw, but we were alright. We had survived. He ran to the front of the house and came back with palms held out by his sides. The man in the black suit, the goons Ponytail and Beanie, and Ally were all gone, along with the black van and the BMW.
Huddled together, we watched the fire consume Windhaven Manor, bright reds and oranges lighting up the windows and thick black smoke tumbling into the purple haze of sky. It was almost morning, the horizon signalling the coming of the sun.
Leon stood apart on the grass. I went to him.
“Thank you for coming back for us.”
He shrugged. “It’s something. It isn’t enough to make up for the rest.”
“You saved our lives. And those girls, they had their chance to meet their tormentors. That’s something too.”
He nodded. “What happens now?”
I turned my head sideways. “I’m still learning how all this works.”
The red of the fire reflected in his eyes. “Me too. I might go for a walk in the woods. I always liked it out there.”
He glided across the lawn and entered the trees and was gone.
The sound of sirens fought with the crackle of the fire. The fire brigade and the police. I got to my feet and shuffled to the front of the Manor. The burnt out carcasses of our cars stood by the low height wall. Black soot smudged the stone façade above the windows and the doors.
By the oak tree on the ocean side of the house stood Jane Laughlin. She peered down into a hole dug at the base of the tree. A pale and withered hand poked up out of the dirt. Her hand. They had meant to remove the body, but had aborted the task and fled.
A fire truck appeared at the head of the driveway and then another. They sped down the gravel and came to a sliding stop. A lone police car followed. Harvey sidled over.
Jane looked to the horizon. Out on the cliff edge stood a figure in a red dress. She recognised her sister Kylie immediately and ran down the slope. The two sisters embraced in the first light of the sun. I turned to the whoosh of water through a hose from the fire trucks and when I turned back, the Laughlin sisters were gone.
The members of The Séance Club, which I now consider myself a part, sat together on the low-height stone wall as the firefighters extinguished the flames consuming Windhaven Manor. The house was quiet now. The nausea and vibration I had felt that first night replaced with calm.
The police stripped the compound clean for the best part of a week. They identified Kyle the sketch artist and Hugo from the teeth that survived the fire of the hovel built over the dungeon. Hugo’s wife lay on the back lawn where Beanie and Ponytail had left her. But as to specific evidence of the crimes that occurred, they could not find enough to put a case together.
The two fires and the disappearance of Crown made some headlines, but there wasn’t enough to hang anyone else. The police claimed publicly that there was no link between the fire at Windhaven Manor and the fire at the squalid residence over the back fence. At Harvey’s behest they searched the area with cadaver dogs for the remains of the girls, but they found nothing.
Parker turned his laptop over to the police. They identified the two goons, Ponytail and Beanie, low level thugs who had disappeared from the streets years earlier. Those in the know presumed them dead. It made tracing them almost impossible. Tracing their vehicles lead to a dead end.
The man in black the suit on the other hand might as well be a ghost. On him they found nothing. They have a face, but nothing else.
As for Ally, the girl somehow managed to always turn her face away from the cameras, as if she knew where they were.
I sat in a small room at the police station for three days with Harvey putting the pieces together. He showed me a photograph of an old and gaunt man with a bent back, the last owner of Windhaven Manor before it was sold after his death. He had to be the man with the bent back from the ceremony in the dungeon, but I could not be certain. I never saw his face. Of the faces I did see, we knew Crown and Kyle and Hugo, but the others were harder to pinpoint.
At the end of it all Harvey sighed. There was nothing more we could do. But we could rest on the knowledge that the key players in the ceremony were all now dead.
Questions nagged at me. Where was Ally and what was she doing? Would she try to find me? Who was she working for?
That was the biggest question of all. Who was at the top and pulling the strings? Harvey wasn’t giving up. He was a dog with a bone at the best of times, and now he had a taste of blood. He refused to go back to the police even after Crown’s departure, which he described as the removal of a cancerous limb.
Harvey called me after the dust settled on everything. I told him that the trail had gone cold and I had no idea where Ally was. For all I knew she had evaporated into thin air. Harvey thought it unlikely, and I agreed. He told me it was time for some old-fashioned detective work. The names of the goons would be a start.
And there was something else Harvey mentioned, something that I had almost forgotten. He had always believed that his investigation into the disappearance of the girls was the reason one of his colleagues was murdered. Crown confirmed as much in the bedroom right before he was shot. Harvey thinks there is something to it. Another thread to pull, and he has a hunch. For now he’s keeping his cards close to his chest until he has some proof. I almost pressed him on the issue but decided I’d rather put it all behind me.
The story made headlines in the local press for a while, but ultimately it fizzled into a non-story, quickly forgotten by a public with a short attention spans. We all waited for a reckoning from within the police ranks, but it never came. Harvey predicted that’s the way it would go, and he was proven right.
The one item they did recover was a gold necklace with a heart pendant. The necklace Jane Laughlin wore the night of her death. The police found it where the black van had parked. After a few days in the possession of the police, Harvey arranged to have the necklace released to the family of its former owner.
The following day Mr. and Mrs. Laughlin appeared on the local news, thanking the efforts of those who recovered the remains of their daughter. It was closure, though not the kind they had hoped for. Both their girls were dead.
A week later The Séance Club convened in Beth’s apartment. Parker and Juliet were already there when I arrived. It was cathartic to talk about the events at Windhaven Manor, to compare stories and scars. I guess that’s why they have the saying about a problem shared.
After a brief silence, Beth asked, “Are you going to talk to the parents of Jane and Kylie?”
I shook my head. “What will I tell them?”
“That their daughters found each other out by the cliff edge.”
“And what about the agony of their deaths? Should I tell them that too? Besides, it doesn’t feel right. None of this feels right to me yet. And what weight do my words hold over those of some Priest talking about how he knows their souls are at rest.”
“Because you really do know.”
I shrugged. “I can’t prove any of it.”
Truth was I had no idea how to integrate the things I could see and do into my life. From childhood all I had wanted was to be like everyone else. For people not to stare or whisper as I walked by. To find acceptance. Sitting with my three new friends at Beth’s tiny kitchen table, with our shared experience behind us, I finally had it. This could be the start of something.
Parker was already planning the next Séance Club trip. An abandoned farm up north with mysterious sightings going back centuries. Juliet was already on board. I told them to wait. I couldn’t jump back in right away.
I was the last to leave, Beth and I sipping mug after mug of coffee and sharing comfortable silence. When I sighed and told her I should go, she grabbed my arm.
“I’ve never had a real family, and then I found Juliet and Parker. The Séance Club became my family. Whatever happens we are there for each other. And we mean it when we say we want you to join.”
I thought about that all night, unable to sleep.
The next morning I called Parker.
An abandoned farm up north you say?
* * * *
I navigated to the narrow alley and checked the time. The Exchange should be open. It looked out of context in the Saturday morning light. No bright light spilling from the window. No surge of Friday night after work traffic.
I slipped in the front door. A lone man lifted upturned stools down from the bar. He had his back to me and I crept across the hardwood floor in the direction of the stairs down and the bathrooms.
The vibration swelled in my chest, but I did not fear it. A dull pain rose in the base of my skull, but I gritted my teeth. A man wearing a pair of rough leather shoes came from the other end of the corridor and stopped before me.
“Are you here to help?”
I nodded.
X
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2023.05.29 16:29 cultfilmz what does karma mean?

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2023.05.29 16:24 RobertSKeene [The Primeval Apocalypse] - Chapter Seventy-One (collaboration with u/hydrael)

[The Primeval Apocalypse] - Chapter Seventy-One (collaboration with u/hydrael)

The Primeval Apocalypse by Alex Raizman and Robert Keene
Start here (Prologue) Previous
***
Author's note:
Some days I just sit here and stare at the Author's Note section, unsure of what to write. I've already been editing for the past few hours, and so my brain is shot. Caffeine, please work harder.
***
It had only been a handful of days since Noaich and I had hit the Mandrill town, but a surprising amount of the damage done had been repaired. Most of the buildings towards the edges of town had been fixed up or rebuilt.
There were still a few damaged or flattened buildings farther in, though many had been crudely patched with cloth curtains. My senses easily detected which ones had been abandoned during repairs, and which ones were still intact enough to house their occupants, even if the damage was still present from some monster blasting through the walls.
This late into the afternoon, many of the Mandrills were in their homes, but there was a group still working in the middle of town. Of all the damage I’d done, no building had been so obliterated as the stable. And with everyone’s living arrangements sorted, it was the most important building to get back up and secure. The pen outside of it would only contain what few drug-addled mounts and livestock they had left for so long. About eight or nine Mandrills were working feverishly to get the building back up before nightfall.
I tried not to freak out when I saw the alpha near at hand, ferrying cut lumber from the crafters to the work site. Despite the above-it-all behavior he’d shown last time, he wasn’t so proud as to neglect helping, even if the task that was needed was just a strong back to haul materials. It was almost respectable behavior for a leader, if it wasn’t terrifying to think that he was going to be at the center of this fight once it began.
I conveyed all that to Rachel from our final staging spot just outside the ring of farms around the town. She looked at the others and pointed at two members in particular.
“Peter, Yara,” she said, pointing to the mage and the woman with the iron-banded club, “get ready.”
The two split off, Peter moving with the scout Emma to the left side of the group—where her stealth aura could still cover the raid crew, but where the pair of them could duck away quickly when combat broke out. Yara moved to the back, giving Liz a protective pat on the back to try and calm the anxious archer.
At the same time, Rachel moved to the front. The rest of the group formed around her the same way they had when we were making our approach on the cerebtyrannus.
“In position,” Rachel said.
With a firm gesture, the group headed straight for the town.
The cover of Emma’s cloak couldn’t hold forever. But like my Hide In Plain Sight ability, it got us pretty far. We swarmed past the front line of guards stationed around the town by approaching in a blind spot, and got halfway to the stable before encountering a guard patrol. There were only three Mandrills, and so when one of them managed to check against someone’s stealth and win, they didn’t try and fight.
Instead, they howled in alarm, their voices shrill and panicked.
“Now!” Rachel snapped. “Move!”
Peter and Emma broke off from the group. The mage was a bit clumsy, but Emma caught his first stumble and turned it into a springing sprint, getting the pair of them clear of us before putting her cloak back up over the pair of them. Everyone else charged forward as one, though Yara and Liz fell back, trailing behind even Big Sam who still covered the rear.
We burst out into the clearing around the stable. The workers were already scrambling to get away. I could sense every guard in town converging on the stables now, moving in response to the increasingly noisy hoots of alarm. The only fighting force ready and waiting to oppose us were a half-dozen anxious guards, with the Alpha approaching from behind their shaky line.
“We can take him,” Rachel said quietly. I could tell that she was hungry for the win. She might never have another chance to engage with the alpha as cleanly as she could right now. And even now he wasn’t such an imposing figure. Clearly the oldest Mandrill in the camp, with a slight limp to his gait, and unarmed, too.
“It’s not part of the plan,” I said quickly. “We have to stick together.”
“If we get spread out, it’s all for nothing,” she said, pressing her lips together in a tight line, remembering my warning back in town. “And getting baited to run forward is spreading us out.”
“Until we see The Big One, the plan is everything,” I confirmed.
“Together, then,” Rachel ordered, and the group advanced at a more measured pace than the breakneck charge she no doubt wanted.
The Mandrill line seemed about to break before our numbers, but the alpha stepped up beside them. His presence visibly bolstered their resolve. And as the remaining guards grew closer, they seemed more willing to fight. I could even sense this town’s queen approaching from the west, leading a large enough group of guards to be a threat to us.
Rachel adjusted her position to meet the alpha head-on. Right before the fight began she let loose with her two shout buffs, and then added a third yipping war cry that instead applied a debuff to the Mandrills, slightly shaking their confidence. I wasn’t sure what the effect was, but there wasn’t time to stop and ask.
The frontline of Rachel’s fighters smashed into the Mandrills. As soon as they did, I instructed Noaich to Howl, spreading the buff to the whole party.
I wanted to pop Enrage as well, but I held myself back. If this fight was going to drag on, we were going to need to stagger our buffs. One overwhelming blow wasn’t going to be what won this battle.
Not yet, anyway.
With the stacked buffs, our frontline put the Mandrill line on the back foot immediately. The two shield-bearing tanks at the front were near-indomitable, their boosted dodge, block, and parry skills keeping them ahead of the Mandrill’s attacks. The attacks from those behind them were fast and furious as well, defeating their defenses thanks to Rachel’s shout, and dishing out tremendous damage thanks to Noaich’s Howl. The Mandrill line almost crumbled.
But it held.
Because the alpha held.
Rachel’s giant cleaver swept in with tremendous speed, the increased skill making the weapon blur even to my heightened senses. For a brief instant, it looked like she was going to cleave the alpha in half at the waist before he even knew he was in a fight.
But his bare hands came up with speed that was outright blinding. One moment his hands were at his sides, and the next, one palm was planted on the side of Rachel’s blade, guiding it up and around his body. The other hand reached out and smashed into the center of her chest, the impact loudly rattling her armor and sending her staggering back.
As the alpha held his position, he snarled and I could see the wounds on the other Mandrills closing as fast as our fighters could open them. The pain of being struck again and again was a blow to their morale, but physically, they stayed upright. They held, stopping our advance.
I stepped up into the breach when Rachel fell back. I felt a magical force bolster me as one of the mages in our backline focused his efforts on me, giving me a buff to my DEX and AGI stats. Combined with Rachel’s buffs, it let me send my weapons flying in a fearsome web of blades.
The unarmed alpha’s hands moved just as fast as mine. He swatted away my blades as fast as I could swing them, but unlike Rachel, I had two blades, and it occupied both of his hands. He couldn’t just swat me away with a spare moment, not unless he wanted to take a deep cut in exchange. He had to hold the line.
“Come on,” I said, grinning in his face. “You’ve gotta be able to do better than this, can’t you?”
The alpha was shocked at my ability to communicate.
That momentary hesitation was all the opening I needed to cut across his forearm with the blade of my new axe, leaving a deep and bloody cut. My foe recovered quickly, slapping my next attack away, but that one strike was all I needed. My attack speed was increased by the blow, and so my next attack was much faster.
I left a smaller cut across his palm when he tried to block me again. And then another cut on his shoulder.
“You send a team to hit us when you’re not prepared for a team to hit you?” I admonished, grinning all the wider. “Seems irresponsible. A failure of leadership, I’d say.”
I gained a step of ground. The elder Mandrill took a step back under the fury of my assault and the insults I flung at his face, and when he fell back, the line beside him started to panic. Even as he was healing their wounds, his own were weakening him. If things didn’t change I was going to take him out with a thousand cuts.
The alpha took a desperate gamble to try and turn the fight, planting one foot firmly and rearing back to kick me away without dropping his guard.
He didn’t even realize the opening he was handing me.
Noaich surged forward, slipping under my wide stance to clamp his jaws down on the alpha’s planted back leg.
“Have a nice trip,” I remarked, offering a mock salute.
I jumped back to let Noaich hurl himself into a roll. Against every Mandrill we’d come against so far, the attack was a guaranteed kill. I assumed it would take my companion out of the fight for a while to be busy blending the alpha until liquefied, but I had no reason to expect what happened next.
The alpha did get slammed into the ground on his face with bone-crushing force. But as he flipped, rotating around Noaich’s center of gravity, his hands and free leg caught himself on the next spin. His muscles tensed, and in a brief show of force, he turned Noaich’s momentum against himself, kicking up and over himself.
My companion lost his grip on the alpha’s leg and was sent flying through the air, slamming noisily through the wooden wall of a nearby building.
As the alpha returned to his feet, his earlier limp was a little more pronounced. And along with all the damage I’d added to him, he was looking a little rough. Even though he’d shaken off Noaich’s attack, there was still an opening and I surged forward. As long as I had my attack speed boost from my new axe I could—
Rachel grabbed my shoulder and yanked, pulling me off-balance. I couldn’t catch myself and slammed into her. I was about to protest when the purpose of her interruption became crystal clear.
A huge lump of fur, muscle, and claw slammed into the ground between me and the alpha like a meteor. If not for Rachel’s interference, I would have been flattened.
There was a deep growl of rage at being denied its target.
The Big One.
The beast raised its head and glared at me with its strangely human-like eyes, baring its big square teeth at me in a mad rictus. It was an uncomfortable reminder of what had happened to me the last time I’d been unable to keep those teeth from chomping down on me.
I didn’t have time to think. I had to move.
The monster lunged, mouth open and slavering for another bite of me.
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