Stygian means very dark. Thats how Ryia Stewart had always described herself. Others had used the words 'weird', or 'different'. But that's not fair.
She's always felt that way. That is until she met her best - only- friend, and everything became a...
(Trigger Warning, blood 'n stuff. If you've seen the show you'll know)
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"Ryia, please wake up..." Elicia cried, rocking in the chair she was tied to and trying to awake her unconscious best friend.
Ryia always hated dark places, ever since she was little and her step sister told her that big foot was hiding out there awaiting silently for her to step out of bed so it could eat her. Little did she know as a four year old, big foot was a mostly friendly fictional creature and monsters aren't real. Even now, as a sixteen year old, Ryia sleeps with a flashlight.
When she awoke in a dark room, bloodied and tied down, it was was worse than any nightmare she'd ever had. Elicia was beside Ryia, also bloodied, screaming at the top of her lungs in agony.
"Elicia, calm down. You'll lose your voice." Ryia shushed, actively repressing a panic attack and watching the blood drain from her arm. The molasses liquid ran down her left appendage steadily, splashing onto the concrete ground of their enclosure. Ryia didn't notice what the lacerations spelled.
"We're going to die here." Elicia whispered, hanging her head. "We're going to bleed out and no one is ever going to find our bodies."
"You're being too morbid. Rowan and Hailey will find us." Ryia said.
"Your being too hopeful. Don't be hopeful, it gets you nowhere." Elicia said back, angrily trying to rip the tape that was holding her down.
Screams echoed from outside the girl's dark prison, making them begin to shout again. "Help us! Please!"
The door opened letting the light of the outside shine in on the two girls. Three figures entered, scared out of their minds and horrified by what was in front of them. One of them bent down and started to hurriedly cut away at the duct tape around Elicia's wrists.
Rowan and Hailey bent down, fear evident in their eyes. "Are you okay?"
The girls didn't reply, just waited until Ash was done cutting tape from their wrists. Once they were free Ash picked Elicia up in his arms and Rowan wrapped her arm around Ryia's torso.
Feet hurriedly hit the ground as the five teenagers rushed out of the abandoned insane asylum. They arrived at the car, throwing themselves in and trying to get out of the god awful place as fast as possible.
༼༽
Bandages covered Ryia's, the white of them having been sullied by dark red blood seeping though.
"Did M0nk3yM4nnn say anything to you?" Hailey asked, starting on Elicia's left arm.
"He never said a word." Elicia replied, lying. Ryia nodded in agreement, although she didn't know why Elicia had said that.
Elicia had been told to say those things to the camera, and she had heard what M0nk3yM4nnn had said to Ryia.
"We must know him." Rowan stated. "All of us. Is that even possible?"
Rowan's phone radiated out a noise, alarming all the girls in the process. "What is it?" Hailey asked.
Rowan picked up her phone and smiled, opening the message from the man she was dating. Ryia, who was sitting behind her saw this and assumed that it was not the Jake that she knew. She assumed that he definitely wouldn't do something like that.
"It's nothing." Rowan dismissed, smiling at the text that was riddled with spelling errors. Seriously, he's much older than she is and still writes like an eight year old.
"Is that okay?" Hailey questioned Elicia about the bandaging. Elicia nodded, and Hailey reaching into her pouch to pull out some pills. She handed some to each of the injured girls.
"What are these?" Elicia and Ryia asked simultaneously. They looked over at each other, knowing that if it were any other time than this that would've yelled 'jinx!'.
"They're pain pills. From my mom." Hailey asked, thanking her lying skills silently.
"You know they're dangerous." Elicia said.
"Yeah, if you take one too many you could die." Ryia explained, looking at Hailey worriedly.
"Well they're not mine." Hailey replied towards the girls, shaking her head and hoping they don't pry any more. "They're my moms."
"Yeah well I didn't think anything bad would happen to us, either." Elicia said, taking the pills out of Ryia's hand and giving them all back to Hailey.
A moment after Ash walked in, holding a bowl of soup and knocking on the doorframe.
Ryia had never liked Ash. She always thought that even if money was hard, you could always find a way, and didn't have to resort to drug laundering or prostitution. Although Ryia never said anything because she knew how much Elicia liked him.
"How do you know the girl from the video?" Rowan questioned as he walked in.
"I've seen her at the grotto a few times but, like, mostly partying at South U." Ash answered, giving the soup to Elicia. And though Ryia never said anything to him, Ash had never liked Ryia either. And he was open about that. Hence, one soup bowl. "They call her Raven."
"Where does she go to school?" Hailey asked. Ryia helped Elicia the bowl in her lap and glared at Ash.
"I don't think she does. I think she's homeless, she's always begging for change." Ash replied, brushing off the brunette's glare.
"Is the video real?" Rowan asked, knowing in the back of her mind that if Ash knew for sure he would've told them already.
"I'll ask around." Ash replied.
"No one can know about this." Hailey pleaded, and Ryia looked at him in disbelief.
"Does he have some dirt on you girls or what?" Ash asked, this time looking suspicious instead of concerned.
"Please don't tell anyone." Elicia begged.
Ash nodded, getting a text from some stupid person who needs drugs. "I'll be in the neighborhood. I'm not going anywhere."
Ash touched Elicia's shoulder, only to have his hand shrugged off. Ryia shot him another glare in defiance as he left the premises. One which he gladly returned.
