Chapter Text
MISSING PERSONS
name: Mae Kennedy
age: 23
Height: 5’10in
last seen: surrounding XXXXX national park
distinct features: purple hair, eyepatch covering right eye.
IF FOUND, CONTACT 911 OR XX XXXXXXXXX
‘A well loved recent graduate of psychology, a friend to all and a bright spark for the future of health. We’ll miss you, Mae.’ - the people who unknowingly contributed to her death.
She never expected to see that in the woods that night. With no one else to turn to, she confided in her sole friend, Eddie. They began to walk to the police station together, but only one of them made it there that day.
Mae didn’t know how to feel about her aggressors death. They had caused so many years of suffering, and yet her brain could not comprehend a justification for the mutilation that had happened to him. Surely someone who had also suffered at the hands of him could help her know how to feel. Her best friend who had been through it all and worse with her. It never crossed her mind that Eddie was the one to break and attack him.
Even then, she never would have thought he’d hurt her. But as the knife ran through her chest, an icy chill ran down her spine, and her eyes flickered into darkness.
Against all odds, she awoke. Being licked by a…dog? It was a pleasant welcome back at least- though not long lasting as it scampered into darkness the second it noticed her eyes open. The damp pavement stuck to her clothes as she tried to peel herself off it. Of itself, the city was rather depressing. It seemed as lacklustre and mundane as the town she and Eddie grew up in. There had to be something different about it. Mae couldn’t just bounce back after dismemberment… though she felt frail as if she had just been glued back together with a single ingredient: revenge.
She didn’t… loathe him, as such. She just felt like an object to him now. A fallacy in his perfect crime that he had to squash. That’s all Mae was. Not the girl who bandaged his arm when he cut or the girl who put ointment on his face when he was hit, a girl who pushed on, letting her own injuries sting for longer, to help a man who would eventually be her demise.
Soo… no more charity work.
The buildings slowly thin out in places, whether they want to or not. Some places are just totally blocked out by the void, others have been weathered past repair. After what felt like years looking around for a lamppost (even if she didn’t have only one eye, this place was far too foggy for even someone with 20/20 vision) she discovered herself to be on the north end of Lindsey st, with a large white tarp behind her…no side roads either. Ahead it is onto Nathan avenue.
Nathan ave felt like a bit of an afterthought compared to Lindsey st, awkwardly thrown in to connect a derelict, old fashioned town to the highways of the present. Even then, this town doesn’t look like it’s been at the forefront of someone’s mind for a while now. The water glistens like a mirrorball begging for someone to care again, though it moves oddly fast for a place with such a stagnant air. Like it’s desperate to keep pushing down whatever secrets it’s hiding. A horribly nondescript area, Although it had one redeeming quality: rosewater park. It drew Mae’s attention immediately. Is this where she was to wait for Eddie? Attack him? Manipulate him? She wasn’t sure. This undead shit didn’t come with a handbook.
She slipped through the gate. It was heavy for such corroded metal, so much so she was concerned her leg would slide off as she pulled herself through. However, the view was worth it. Vines had grown wild and flowers became free to blossom and rot away from the prying eyes of humans. Statues crumbled to reveal new meanings never intended by artists long gone. Gravestones made like their owners and returned to the earth. And at the end? A beautiful wooden pier, stepping out into a circular seating area made for you and whoever to listen to the whispers of the river.
Mae would’ve appreciated some alone time with the water to mull over what’s occurring in her body and mind, but a single woman waited at the end of the pier, With a tight pink miniskirt and short blonde hair that shined even in the absence of light. Maybe some assistance was better. A maiden to give her guidance to ruin lives.
She could ruin my life.
The thought was quickly squashed out her head as she ran up to her without hesitation.
She turned around like a robot, speaking before her face fell.
“Do I look like your g- oh… who are you?” She sputtered.
“Lookladyireallydontknowwhatsgoingonherebutlastthingiknowisiwasbeingstabbedandnowimheresoyoutellme!!!!”
The woman flinched at Mae’s rather shouty response. “I- that doesn’t change your name…”
“Shit, sorry. I guess I’m a bit stressed. The names Mae Kennedy. It’s nice to meet you.”
“I’m…Maria. So, repeat that first sentence for me?”
“I’m lost… last thing I know was I was getting stabbed… and I’m here now?”
Maria smirked.
“So… you’re like me then.”
“Wha- what? What’s my job here? I was pretty happy just resting you know!”
“You have to keep him here.”
“Who? Eddie?”
“Well, I don’t know you well enough to say. But you better start working. It’s a very long eternity once they’re gone.” She paused shortly before taking a gun out of her pocket. “And take this. Just because you have the same objectives as those monsters doesn’t mean they like you.”
…what monsters?
“Thanks…? So, where should I be headed?”
“Hm. There’s a lot of places he could be, but where’s something special for you two?”
“Ehhh… we love music… that’s what we talked about the most at least”
“There’s a record store down Neely street-“ the conversation was interrupted by a heavier set of footsteps. Maria brushed Mae’s shoulder “he’s coming. Hide. I can’t break the loop.”
Mae vaulted over the railings and hit the water hard. It was an ice chill that could neutralise the hottest flames, but she’d never be warm again anyways. She crawled onto the sand embankment under the pier and ran off to find Neely st.