Ross blinked, not entirely sure how he'd gotten in his room, but shrugging it off. That had been happening every now and then, lately, a blank period. He yawned, then caught himself, shushing the noise. He didn't want to think about what it could, someday, mean.
He got to his feet. As he walked through the living room, his mother greeted him with a smile. He smiled back, deciding to go to the motel to check on Max, and see if he was feeling any better. He would understand if he didn't, though. The protector was a lot to take in, when you had never heard of him before.
"Ross, sweetheart," his mother called him back as he reached the door. "The mayor wanted me to tell you, that stranger, Max, ran away after the last mass. So you don't have to watch him anymore." She gave him another sickly sweet smile, and he nodded again, disappointment churning in his stomach. Still, he went outside, determined to find something to do.
He wandered around town, not really with any destination in mind. As he did, he noticed something strange. A little girl, who stared at him, fearfully, tugging on her friend's sleeve, only for the little boy to react the same way. They crossed the street, so they were on the other sidewalk, away from him.
Ross frowned, confused. He'd never seen someone do that before, not to a member of the town. At least, not that he could remember. He decided to shove it to the back of his mind, where he could think about it later.
When he walked by the motel, he paused. There was still several hours until the next mass, so no one would notice if he went for a walk in the woods. Hopefully, a walk in the woods that would lead him to some sort of clue as to where Max had gone.
When he approached the woods, he noticed right away that there were several broken twigs on the trees and bushes, a clear path that someone in a hurry had taken. He followed it, giving the ground his rapt attention, until he came across something else.
A familiar bag, dropped on the ground. Max's bag, the one that Ross had seen him carry on the way to the motel. There were a few dark drops that stained it. They were a rusty red, looking sickeningly like dried blood.
Ross thought he might throw up, but forced it down, worried it would hide any other evidence. He glanced around, trying to find something, anything, that would tell him more about what happened. His eyes landed on a scrap of fabric hanging off of a particularly sharp branch.
He grabbed it, hands trembling, and stared at it. It was a light grey, and made of a soft, yet durable material. Now panicking, Ross ripped off his hoodie, searching it for any sign of damage.
On the back, there was a tear that Ross knew hadn't been there at the last mass. He stumbled backwards, a horrified scream ripping from his throat, burning up all the air in his lungs.
"No, no, get out of me, get out!" Ross shrieked, scratching at his own face, at his eyes. "GET OUT OF ME! I DON'T GIVE YOU PERMISSION TO USE MY BODY AS A VESSEL!"
There was a foul roar, one that also came from his throat, and Ross dropped to his knees, still screaming, as light poured out of every hole in his face; his eyes, his nose, his mouth, and his ears. The light was red, like the blood that stained Max's bag, the blood that had stained the grass in the park when Ross was seven. The light of the Red Sun.
Ross was left, panting, curled in the fetal position in the grass, clutching Max's bag, tears pouring down his face, unable to move.
He didn't even move as the townspeople surrounded him, having heard his screams, and dragged him away.
YOU ARE READING
The Redstone Demon
Fanfiction"You're not Ross." Max choked out, as his hands scrabbled uselessly at the fingers locked around his neck. "Who-what are you?" He wheezed, as his vision started to dim around the edges. The thing wearing Ross' face grinned sinisterly, red eyes glint...
