𝐌𝐨𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐃𝐞𝐰

Run

Mountain jerked awake when Phantom woke up screaming, he opened his eyes when Phantom's grip on his shirt tightened and he started whimpering in his sleep, he awoke when Phantom started talking in his sleep — crying and begging to someone not to leave him. He was awake the whole time Phantom wasn't breathing, coaxing the air back into his lungs.

He didn't wake up when Phantom left.

He woke up hours after the fact, bed next to him empty and cold, the only remnant of the quintessence ghoul being a small puddle of dried blood on the sheets he'd curled up under and a note taped to the door.

In three quick strides, Mountain was at the door and tearing the note off the wood, nearly ripping it in half with the strength of his grip.

Mountain,
I'm sorry, I didn't want to have to do this to you, but I don't want to put anyone else in danger. I've dealt with Void before, I know what I'm walking into. And I know what I might not be walking out of. Please, just don't let Swiss and Rain hate me forever. I don't want to be a bitter memory for them.

Mountain stormed out of his room and into the common area, where the rest of the ghouls were lounging. Swiss and Aurora were cuddled on the couch while Rain, who'd arrived late last night, bitterly grabbing a bite to eat and ignoring the rest of them, and Cirrus were playing video games on the TV. The other girls were nowhere to be found.

"Phantom wasn't in bed this morning," somehow Mountain was breathless, even though he'd barely walked a few steps. His heart was racing and the room spinner around him, distorting the ghouls' faces and voices.

"So?" Rain said, still engrossed in what he was doing.

In an instant Rain was on his back on the ground, controller sliding under the couch. "You take that back right fucking now," Cirrus and Swiss moved to calm Mountain down but with a wave of his hand they were held in place with thorny vines.

"If he wants to get himself killed that's his decision. He chose to go with Void, he chose to go after Dew again. It's his choice, Mount." He seemed disconnected from reality, his eyes were glazed over and his hands were twitching.

"He didn't choose, none of this was his choice. He was tortured and almost fucking killed, and now Void still has Dew. And may I remind you that none of us have made an effort to go after them." Mountain crowded Rain against the rough carpet, his teeth inches from the soft skin of the water ghoul's face.

"I tried talking to him, Mountain," he sounded broken, lost. "We don't care. We never have. We'd never accepted him — he was always just Aether's replacement to us. And he knows that."

Mountain slowly let off of him, sitting back on his heels. "I didn't—"

"We've never given him the time of day, we've never invited him to group time or dinner, we've never even made an effort to learn anything about him."

"He's in trouble."

"He's a quintessence ghoul, Mount. He's the most powerful out of all of us. If anyone could take out Void, it's him."

"You didn't see him last night, Rain. He was terrified."

"I did."

"You what?"

"I don't know what it was, but something snapped in my head sometime last night. I went on a. . . a killing spree, and I ran into Phantom. He pushed me away. . . told me I didn't care. That none of us cared."

"But—"

"The look in his eyes, Mountain," Rain clenched his fists, slowly sitting up to face the others. They were all slack-jawed and wide-eyed. They knew he'd arrived late last night but only Swiss knew what actually happened. He also knew that when Rain got like this he'd much rather the rest of them not know.