51 | habit; soft skinned smiles

[ding! message from lukiyo]

The message is up top today~ because why not? Letting you guys know that this chapter and the next will focus on our little group left behind (so updates on Lucas, Wren & Rome's situation will wait until next Saturday.)

It'll likely keep bouncing back and forth, because both groups are equally important to develop! Although I will miss Lucas... my poor, sad dude....

However, absence makes love grow fonder (surely)! I also have a surprise planned, which I'll announce on my profile sometime... if I remember.... but perhaps a gift approaching 2023, towards the last week of this year...? Something fun, and new?

ANYWAY, I HOPE YOU'RE ALL DOING ABSOLUTELY DIVINE, WE SHALL NOW PROCEED!

——— xxx ———

"Tell me, can you remember what loneliness feels like?"

After pondering about it and still receiving no answer, Nora smiled with a slight blush of embarrassment at intruding in their business. "Perhaps love isn't the right term. But you can feel comfortable with him, right?"

Elias stared deeply at the sleeping figure on the bed, piecing together his emotions. That was right, love was the wrong word.

The right word was 'habit'.

Lucas, being by his side in his indifferent glory, had become so natural that Elias wasn't sure he could be used to not having him anymore. But maybe that 'habit' could develop further.

The idea of that didn't sound terrible. That alone told Elias all he needed to know.

"Thank you for the pleasant conversation, Nora." said Elias, relaxed as he walked over to the window to stand beside her. There were no mocking tones in his voice.

Nora's eyes curved gently. "Of course."

Elias stared out at the empty streets that Nora had been gazing at earlier. He closed his eyes momentarily, seeing a flash of chaos behind his vision.

When he opened them again, he realized the birds that had been hovering around the front of the hospital had all flown away suddenly. The weather hadn't changed, and there were no signs of people nearby.

An empty scene captured within the glass.

The man skimmed the area before abruptly turning around. Kane pushed open the door, carrying Rome while Elliot continued to praise himself behind.

"They're inside."

Kane's sharp eyes widened before he regained his calm, placing the little boy in his arms beside his brother. Kane's gaze lingered for a second before he turned around.

"They've likely entered the main entrance. From there, the nearest staircase leads to the other end of this floor, down a few corridors. It will take them approximately 10 minutes to reach us, or longer if they investigate."

Nora pursed her lips, pulling out the guns at her belt. "Have you gathered the other children?"

"They're separate in the two rooms beside this, and I've locked the doors. That's why it took me longer to reach here."

Elliot yanked out two butterfly knives from his jacket, grinning. "What you're saying is that it's time to shed some blood, yeah?"

"No, it's best to detain them and interrogate their intentions."

Elliot frowned, looking as if he wanted to complain before the words died in his throat with Kane's impassive gaze. It was like talking to a mountain made of solid concrete. How could he dare? It would be his own mouth shattering at the attempt.

Elias pushed his hands into his pockets, not a hint of worry in his expression. "How do they steal faces?"

Kane stopped, thinking. "The information hasn't been confirmed, but I heard the requirement is for them to touch your face. They peel off your skin, stripping your face to wear it like a mask."

"That sounds disgusting." commented Elias sincerely, with a faint smile. "I wonder if they'd like to experience it themselves instead of the other way around?"

"...please attempt to detain them first. I don't know their numbers, but from the recent issues in the area, it seems that there will be at least three."

"Do you know their objective? What's their aim?"

Kane's expression turned ugly as he furrowed his eyebrows in evident disdain. "There shouldn't be one. I believe the group does it out of pleasure, as a game to pass time in the apocalypse."

Nora gasped in horror, covering her mouth as Elias' lips twisted into a sardonic smile. "It looks like people never change. How wonderfully repulsive."

The woman glanced at him, pressing her lips together. "Elias..."

"We'll capture them alive, but do not hesitate to kill them. It's your life or theirs, that's as simple as it gets." said Elias cruelly, speaking as if it weren't humans attacking, but another monster or creature. Perhaps they were the same thing now. "Understood?"

Kane disliked the thought of killing so easily, living his life to cure patients and helping others better their life. "Aim to detain."

"No," Elias shook his head, straightening his back as he gazed at the group coldly, like a still blue lake. "Aim to survive."

It wasn't wrong to keep your morals in these times instead of losing it to the senseless death that came and went, becoming a daily norm. That was necessary to retain one's sanity during such times.

Therefore, Kane, who insisted on killing as a last resource, was right.

But Elias had already thrown away such morals a long time ago.

And in a moment where you could live or die with a single mistake, hoping to save yourself and your opponent was a mindset that could serve dire consequences.

Well, perhaps Lucas would've also hoped for the option with less death. A wavering resolve to keep his morals, that bordered on seeking options that would save lives, but choosing the best, even if it meant hundreds had to fall.

Elias laughed to himself inwardly, smiling. Unfortunately, he had no intentions of even considering an option to protect other people.

Survival was his only thought.

He rubbed the side of his neck, casually skimming over from person to person. Elliot could be used as a sacrifice if necessary, and Nora, while being a person Elias rather liked, wasn't a priority.

'Hmm...'

Lucas' limp body, and his foolish older brother. That was all Elias had to worry about, since the latter's death would likely destroy the former.

As for the rest of the children in the hospital, and Lucas' other companions... they could be replaced if necessary. To Elias, they were meaningless lives stacked up in one location.

He couldn't protect all of them, nor would he try to.

Not to mention, Elias could help Lucas find some new companions if these perished. Julian, the cowardly boy, despite his silliness, could provide good company. Sylvia, who'd manipulated the Prison Story, also had her use.

While he mused over what to do, Kane's observant gaze latched onto the slight changes of expression on the man's relaxed features.

How could he not notice... that Elias was a person who couldn't be relied upon?

Somebody that dangerous, with a lack of care for most living things, could not be allowed to stay around his little brother. Kane could ascertain that Elias did not possess sympathy or interest in their lives.

Elias lifted his chin, indifferent to the whirlwind of thoughts in Kane's head. "Then shall we stop lazing around?"

A door slammed in the distance, in the faraway end where the other staircase connected. Elias pulled open the handle, twirling a scalpel he'd snatched from one of the rooms previously.

He lifted his hand flat in the air, and fine strings slipped from his fingertips before rushing down the hall. Elias closed his eyes, before a bored smile curled on his lips and he snapped his fist closed.

"Found you."

Kane glanced at the near invisible strands floating like a tangle of webs, luring its prey into its sticky trap. Elias didn't look like a man hunting humans. No, the deadness in his gaze told a different tale.

He was an animal hunting his prey.

A shiver ran along Kane's back, body tensing with caution. This was likely a side Lucas was unaware of, buried deep within.

He'd reveal that side of this man to his little brother.

Elias smiled, lifting his chin. "Are you enamored by my appearance, dear big brother?"

Kane seethed. "If you step out of line, I'll have your head."

"I don't doubt it."

Considering that the prickly doctor was a character designed to reach the top of the apocalypse, and in his bloods ran the same blood as that fool... Elias was sure he'd be in for something exciting.

"But, for now, make your presence silent." Elias raised a finger to his lips teasingly, indifferent. "They'll be in eyesight soon."

"....."

They spread out down the hallway, Nora leaning against a closed door with her hands wrapped around a gun, heart palpitating in both fear and thrill. She closed her eyes, trying to calm her breath.

She refused to hold them back, even if she was lacking the most of the four.

For the sake of protecting Lucas.

For the sake of protecting her younger brother's ghost.

Elliot perched low, out in the open behind a tall cabinet, insisting on hiding in plain sight. Acting as a diversion wasn't a problem for him—causing some havoc was a particular pastime of his.

Then, he heard a calm and stern voice pierce through his mind. 'They're here. Do not move until my command.'

'Ah, this is so exciting!'

Elliot nodded before realizing he wasn't sure if that proud doctor could even see him laughing to himself. He was brimming with energy and excitement, gazing with wide eyes.

Tap, tap, tap.

Something thumped into his view, and he narrowed his eyes, resisting the impulse to reach out and grab it. It was saggy, like wet cloth slapping on the pristine ground.

He made out two hollow sockets evenly beside each other, then a larger, wrinkled hole that gaped wide, scrunching his nose. A rancid odor quickly filled his nose, and he couldn't help but gag.

'Shit.'

He understood immediately after what that strange object was. It was a skinned face, peeled right off the bone.

A shadow passed over his head from high above the cabinet.

Elliot swallowed, laughing wryly before slowly raising his head. A paper white face stared back at him.

No, it couldn't be called a face, with only two bloody and round eyes screwed into the center, with no other features. There was a mouth, or whatever resembled one, had been crudely stitched shut and the redness of lips had faded into a skin-like texture.

"Fuck! Can't you attack me like a gentleman?" yelped Elliot, jumping back in fright. Even if he could've predicted that the enemy was above, he didn't know they'd look so hideous!

Also, popping up from above and staring down below, that was straight out of a horror story, wasn't it?

He rushed to snatch his butterfly blades as the body above slid off limply, crawling towards him at a rapid speed. Throwing off his jacket, he smashed it over the face and swung his blade down, wincing as the body bent backwards, slamming its legs towards him.

"Ew! That is not okay!"

As he struggled to restrain the wriggling body, he noticed another rushing at him from the corner of his eye.

"This is beyond my scope—help, please?!" He yelled as a nail pried through his favourite jacket, making his expression turn depressed.

Nora burst through the door, throwing up her arms and firing. The shots smashed into one of the glass cabinets, shattering shards flying through the air.

Her face twisted in horror after she saw a speeding figure approach her, slamming into her body. The woman was thrown against the wall, pain blooming in her body as she gasped out.

Kane rushed out, gaze skimming over Nora's fallen figure, and Elliot's shout of pain as he was stabbed with one of the nails.

"No extreme injuries... we can proceed with the fight." muttered the man to himself. Then, his voice echoed in the two's heads, bringing clarity back to their state of panic. "Keep attacking."

Nora pressed her lips together, clutching her side before raising her arm again and firing another shot. This time, it pierced through the strange flesh of the faceless as they reached a hand out to grab her.

Its body jerked away, and she rolled in the opposite direction, hurrying to stand back up. Kane swung a table through the air as it sailed across, crashing into the disfigured faceless.

The white coat fluttered as he rolled his wrist once and dashed ahead.

Elliot had managed to wrap his jacket over the faceless he was fighting, stabbing down a butterfly blade as he scrambled to his feet, circling around. He didn't hesitate to slam into the back of the cabinet, using his full weight to send it falling down.

The faceless broke free at that second, twisting its neck 180 degrees as its protruding eyes reflecting the falling furniture.

The glass shattered everywhere, crushing the body as it wriggled and squirmed, pressed against the ground in a hideous mess. Blood splattered, and its limbs twisted inhumanely.

Elliot ran along the cabinet, jumping with all his strength at the end, crushing the faceless' skull with a sickening crunch.

He perched on the edge, scrunching his nose in disgust at the sight below him.

Then, the youth lifted his head with a gazed glint in his eyes. Calculating his probability of survival, he spread his teeth into a wide smile. "Now, who's next?"

His gaze trailed across the rest of his companions before a voice echoed in his head.

'Help Nora.'

"Hm~ but don't you look to be in the biggest trouble right now?" mouthed Elliot at the man on the ground, his white coats blanketed around his figure as long, freaky fingers wrapped around his throat.

Kane glanced over calmly, tilting his head as his disheveled hair brushed against the ground. Staring at the arrogant youth who'd taken down one target, he calmly mouthed a single word.

"Watch."

The doctor kicked his long legs out, swinging the faceless around and smashing them onto their back with a loud thud, One hand restrained his target, while the other pulled out a scalpel from his pocket, spinning it and stabbing at the fingers around his neck.

The hand withered, shaking in pain before Kane rolled to the side, shaking his hair out of his vision, holding the blood-stained blade in his hand.

Then, in the middle of it all, he pulled out a clean handkerchief from his pocket and wiped the edge, inspecting it before folding up the cloth and placing both items back into his pocket.

Elliot whistled with a loud laugh. "Not bad, Doctor."

Since he determined the man could handle himself, he leaped off the cabinet with surprising agility, turning and running in the direction Nora had been dragged in.

Nora backed up against a wall, with the clear glass window above her. The faceless walked with lumbered steps, their neck bent in half as blood dripped from wide eyes.

She wasn't sure how many shots she had left.

They had dragged her by the hair, throwing her violently into the room as she hit the corner of the bed, skidding onto the ground. Her entire body protested in pain, thoughts rebounding with ideas of running away and escape.

"Are you... even human?" wondered Nora through unsteady breaths, clutching her body.

"Human..." the voice was muffled through the sewn skin. "Yes... but... man-made dolls... no control..."

Nora's expression changed. "Man-made...? Does your group have a leader? Are they the ones controlling you, the ones who made you appear in this way?"

"...yes..."

Sudden the faceless' body jerked violently, letting out a wretched screech before clawing at their skin, sharp nails digging into the smooth flesh to rip off strips of skin. Nora looked on with horror, raising her arm at the suffering person.

She swallowed. "I apologize."

Bang! Bang!

The first bullet hit the abdomen of the faceless, making their body slowly crumple, before the second accurately pierced their heart.

"Die... I don't want to die... don't want to die, don't want to die...die, die, die, die...."

A bony and long hand stretched out towards her as she made a move to run away, only to feel a burst of pain keeping her grounded to the floor.

Was she going to die? She would have many regrets, but she'd never wasted a single moment...

Tears naturally welled up in her eyes. But she hardly had the time to think as a shadow materialized in the doorway, almost illuminated by the sunlight from outside that was much brighter after a day of rain.

A tall man with a detached gaze looked down on her, but that wasn't her focus. No, it was the white-haired boy with a sleepy expression, carried in the man's arm as he raised a lazy arm up.

The familiar pout from annoyance, the droopy eyes she could still recall so vividly.

Sickening dread bloomed in her stomach; a warning that only made her stare, utterly dazed, at the performance before her eyes.

Shen parted his delicate lips and muttered a single word.

"...boom."

Boils spread across the faceless' skin, surfacing to the top and increasing at a rapid speed before the body erupted in front of her vision, fireworks of blood splattering everywhere.

A chunk of flesh landed by Nora's feet.

Nora shuddered, staring at the boy—both familiar and unfamiliar—who stared back, a soft smile spreading over his lips.