When does wegmans sub shop close

I'd like to ask a genuine question.... Why are female led relationships so rare?
I hardly find anyone talking about them, and it's even more rare to find one in person. There is a strong taboo surrounding it, and I can't understand why.
I think it's highly misunderstood, and unfairly put into the same box as the stern, cold, hard, whip wielding dominatrix. But it is fundamentally different from that.
A FLR at it's core, works with the sexual charge of each person. Lets contrast the different of that, with a conventional relationship.
A conventional relationship makes each partner become dependent upon the other, to sexually charge them up, it makes the other person responsible for their pleasure and happiness, and when they can't meet that expectation for whatever reason, chemistry, attraction, and passion for each other drops, resulting in less communication, and a high risk of cheating later on.
A FLR on the other hand, does the exact opposite. It goes to the core of who each person is, and it works with what they can offer the other person, rather than what they can take from the other person. A submissive, wants to submit, and dominant wants to dominate. It's a perfect match. This power exchange grows between them, and the chemistry, attraction, and passion for each other, increases over time, as they allow the other to explore more fully, the core of who they are, and it draws out the deepest aspects of their personalities. What is more freeing than that?
I think there are many people, either in stagnant relationships, or never been in a relationship that has allowed them to fully explore their sexuality. Many people don't know whether or not they're dominant or submissive even! It usually takes some exploration, to unlock and discover what they are at their core.
A FLR could actually benefit a host of issues many conventional relationships have. Communication issues, trust issues, vulnerability issues, sexual issues... The list is really endless. There's so much benefit from exploring it, yet so few seem to give it a second thought.
However, for those that do explore a FLR, they often discover that it's as close to heaven as you can get and they'd never go back to any other way. So why does it have to be such a taboo subject? It's a relationship in which women are heard, understood, and have their sexual needs met by an eager and attentive male, who is focused on making sure she is happy... it's a dream come true! For him, he feels a sense of purpose, and accomplishment, he feels valued, she feels desired, it's a win win. On top of that, both are sexually fulfilled beyond anything they thought possible.
For the life of me I cannot figure out why so few people explore how practical a FLR can truly be. It's not a kink or a fetish, it's a lifestyle like any other relationship. It doesn't have to include hardcore kink or pain. It can be all about love, romance, intimacy, passion, and empowering each other to be their best selves.
It's a win win, yet somehow, it's taboo, strange, weird, and we don't talk about it.

There was a group of kids including my daughter and her bf playing D&D in the basement. He was all cuddles and jokes. When the group left beside the one teen. The one teen came upstairs and he said when he went downstairs he saw (the flake ) over my daughter. She seen other teen and started crying. I asked her bf when he was leaving “what the hell is going on “ . He smirked and said “she knows “ . My son who 9 was trying get into the middle. Her EX bf walked out the door. I said “really after all I done for you, you can't tell me “ . Him “she knows ask her in a bit “and then he walked off. Literally, no one knows. All the kids are close to me except for her bf. His mom is a drug addict and we suspected he was doing them prior. All the other kids of the X bf's mom she hasn't raised. All meth addicts, could died OD, babies born addicted. Even X dad OD. We were hoping it wasn't drugs. There is nothing else we can think of. I'm staying out of it till she comes to me. She has a friend stay over. Does she go to prom alone? Everyone has dates by now. I just don't know what to tell her .

Hello guys who more else is on this journey? literally couldn't buy the game before, and now when trying my CC's were acting up conspiracing to not let me add funds to my Nintendo acc, lol, what a mess! but finally I could add funds.
I'm new to the series, I have never ever touched a FE game in almost 30 years of gaming, do you think I'll make it before the eShop closes?
Wish me luck!
PS: Then I have to play that Rusty Badge game to lower the minigame prices, that's a very cool little game!

Clarifying info** I work in a specific department in a grocery store chain, we are having a competition with all the other same departments of the other grocery stores. The competition is to sell the “most” of a certain product that is on sale right now, but I feel like my store is getting hoed out of winning the prize due to how the company is scoring the competition.
The rules of the competition** We are keeping track of how many 1 packs and 3 packs of this product we are selling, but just that number does not determine the winner. The actual competition numbers we are comparing is: the percentage of money made from these products in a day in ratio to our entire departments sales of that day. *The products cost $3.99 for singles and $11.97 for triple packs. For example if we sold 80 singles and 40 triples we made $798, and if our department as a whole sold $15,000 of product, we sold %5.32 of the competition product
**My problem with the competition We have some stores in some small locations, so if they sell let’s say $500 of competition product, but only rack in $5,500 of department sales, they’re at %11 compared to our %5.32 so they would win the competition. I do understand that if those small stores don’t have as many customers as the big ones then this is a way to give them a fighting chance, but there’s 2 more factors to consider: the smaller stores don’t have as many product options in the department at any given time compared to the bigger ones. For example I have twice the available product options to choose from at my store compared to a smaller one, so getting people to buy the competition product is in a way somewhat harder. The second factor is instacart. Instacart is when people shop for other people and they have certain list of items to buy, it’s a service so people only get exactly what their customer wants them to buy, I don’t have the option to convince those customers to buy our competition product. The big stores have a lot of these insta cart shoppers.
So I’m basically wondering if you guys think this is the fairest way for this competition to work or is there some algorithm or something including total department product options, total department $ sales, total competition products sold, and total competition product $ sales that might make it more fair? We can’t track department specific instacart sales but the store as a whole might be able to track instacart sales and there might be a way to average that with our departments average or something. I can find out if we track instacart sales as a whole if anyone thinks that data is necessary.
To anyone willing to take the time to do some maths thanks a ton

Hey, went out to Silverado today. Been having a rough couple of days. This morning got into it with pops. It was building up. He called me something the other night that he used to call me when I was a kid. It’s been a while so I can hit a nerve. And this morning he said something to me and I just got really upset. So I took off the Silverado. I was there for a few hours. The creek was pretty high. It was flowing pretty good. I got to doing some thinking that I remember something you had wrote here. Something about how many time to go to remind me that you want nothing to do with me. How many time do you have to remind me not to contact you. And a few other things you said that I rather not repeat.

You’re right. You’ve proven to me plenty of times that you could care less. Done things do close to me, that a person who does that,does it for a reason. And this past year. You want it this way. You’re perfectly okay with me not in your life. And the things you’ve said a few years back. About how you felt about me and how you saw me. You’ve made it clear so times that you do not like me at all. And you want no part of me in your life. My apologies for reaching out. I needed to try one last time. Just to kill any hope. Stupid..I know. You’ve given me plenty of notice on how you felt about me. I remember about a year or so ago, you and him on snap. Back then you guys just regular on snap. He said something about me, clowning. He said it real fast. You were sitting right next to him, and you started laughing to. You’ve given me plenty of “messages“ on how you would chose anyone over me. You won’t have to worry about me reaching out ever again. I promise. Theirs no hope left within me. Theirs not left within me. So keep on keepin on. I see it all as you wanted me to. Message received. Understood. 

The 1 U Never wanted.

I (18F) was recently diagnosed with both ADHD and anxiety but it honestly just seems like something is missing. I keep trying to do the things my therapist recommends and take my medication but I keep getting so anxious I can’t function and cry and cant effectively communicate anymore. It’s really hard to navigate my relationship with my boyfriend and I have only ever maintained one friendship my whole life. These are the things I keep struggling with, and I was wondering if any diagnosed autistic individuals could help provide some clarity for me…
• I have not maintained a single friendship except for one with my best friend since we were around 8. Ironically her sister is most likely on the spectrum and my best friend says she is used to dealing with some of the things I deal with because of her sister. It truly makes her a really helpful person to turn to for support and understanding.
•I get told I’m “too stubborn” or “too blunt” or “too honest” or “too mean” so. Freaking. Much. I don’t mean to be but sometimes people are just stupid. One very annoying girl who I had tried to be friends with, but I stopped because she was two faced, asked why I was upset with her. I clearly and concisely told her exactly what my issues were. I probably could have been nicer but I certainly wasn’t like cursing at her, but she said I “verbally attacked her”. Just an example.
•If I hear that I need to be more diplomatic one more time I will scream. If I knew how to be diplomatic I would be! Going into social situations where I don’t like someone is so uncomfortable for me I want to peel off my skin. But other people like my parents and boyfriend tell me I can still hang out with the rest of the friend group even if I don’t like one person in the group. I know, I guess, I just don’t want to until enough time (at least a few weeks maybe) has passed and I can just avoid that person comfortably.
•Since being in an abusive relationship a couple of years ago, I have tried to develop rules to keep from being abused again. Its not doing any good in my current relationship when I get upset because he does something that goes against my rules and I have to rework my rules to understand people arent so black and white. For example, my current boyfriend grew up in a family where saying slurs was okay and that they would joke about a lot of things. My boyfriend can have a very “dark” sense of humor. However, I thought that if someone made certain inappropriate jokes, they were automatically racist/sexist/homophobic/not socially aware. However, my boyfriend is super supportive of my being bisexual and not liking typical gender stereotypes. He also is a very kind and loving person and 100% support’s equal rights for POC, the LGBTQ+ community, and women. But sometimes his dark sense of humor made me think he really didnt. But he is always careful of who he jokes around so not to hurt or offend anyone, and only does so with his really close friends that know him. I had to relearn and better understand that just because he has a dark sense of humor doesnt mean that he doesnt support LGBTQ+, women, and POC. My friends with autism also have a dark sense of humor but it’s so much easier for me to tell when they’re joking in a similar way. For some reason I can understand that they 100% support what I believe, too, but its harder for me to navigate the nuances with my boyfriend.
•I can laugh at jokes most of the time but sometimes they fly over my head and my boyfriend has to explain he was completely joking before I enter into a meltdown. I often take things way to seriously and literally.
•I can’t tell what my boyfriend needs and sometimes I feel like I am going insane. If his mood changes and I dont know why, my entire mood is ruined until his is fixed. Not knowing what to do or why he suddenly seems mentally checked out drives me nuts. Sometimes its as simple as he just didnt sleep well, and I get a little better if I know that, but the change bothers me so much. If our relationship differs from what I thought or was used to I lose my marbles.
•I have complete meltdowns before we go on breaks at college. The change makes me want to die. I love plans and schedules and set times but I also hate routines because I get bored. However I hate the big change of packing up and leaving and especially not seeing my boyfriend for even just 9 days makes me meltdown.
•Sunscreen makes me so distressed. Dried sweat and saltwater do, too. I will cry and/or be unable to function and super anxious until the feeling goes away.
•I love role playing games like Stardew Valley and Minecraft, theres so many Wiki pages to memorize.
•I have a stack of 7 books all relating to women’s social issues and feminism that I recently got and am in the process of reading. I wont shut up about women’s rights and get super offended when people even ask questions just trying to understand.
I know its a lot… but ideas would be helpful. Thank you in advance.

So I’ve expressed interest in double majoring and how it would work for me as a transfer student with an advisor through email. When I go to my application status on MyUNT, it has my academic plan (linguistics) and says I can accept or decline. Does my second major need to be in the system before accepting this or is that all a conversation for orientation?..
Hope all of this made sense
Edit: Should the second major be under “sub academic plan”?

i don't live in europe but there's a news in my country that they're putting bugs in our food (my country imports alot of food from europe) and that we should carefully read the products labels before buying it, eu trying to make eating mealworm and crickets the 'new norm' because it have alot of protein and it's eco-friendly....
i dont understand that ... i thought "eating bugs is disgusting" is universal thing and the problem is not about it's disgusting, eating bugs is dangerous and it will gives diseases and parasites that will grow inside human body and brain and eat it and im suprised most people are fine with it (at least in reddit), at first i was planning to escape my shitty country to uk but after hearing this i thought maybe US is better place to live(that if US didn't adopted this bs too) , i am overthinking and feel gross as if my life wasn't shitty enough and now eco-nutters tell me that i ***should*** eat cockroaches to save my planet if this will be how the world work then i'll happily leave this dumb world , and what about people who suffer from entomophobia and shelfish allergy? they do not matter? i already seen people make arguments like "but some cultures eat bugs"...."but lobsters are sea cockroaches"...."but it have proteins more than cattle"..."but it will save planet"...."but it does not taste bad, i ate them before"....."but meat industry is destroying the world"....."but animals are suffering in farms"...."but chicken eat bugs and that means you eat bugs when eat chicken so what's the difference?"
but but but i dont want to eat bugs it's simple as that , dont force me to eat bugs just because you're fine with it that does not mean i'm fine with it too at least lobster don't carry parasites/diseases, dont make my life shitty in the name of "morals" or "climate change", and people are crying and tell me i am evil because i ate cow? well i dont care and i only care about myself and nothing wrong with that.
(sorry if my rant does not belong here but this sub is safest sub i could find to rant about something like that, also this sub is awesome and full of awesome people :] )

I am trying to figure out if the guy I have a crush on likes me back. Backstory first: met him in the fall and formed a small friend group with him and a few others in the fall. Realized I liked him around OctobeNovember. Since then, I've had a crush on him.
Now we spend so much time together, whether in the group setting (going on hikes, dinners, fun activities around town), or alone. Here lately I have been getting more bold with him and in return I have been getting different vibes from him.
Some stuff for context below:

• Generally, we spend several hours a week walking around town just the 2 of us, just wandering around and getting miles in seems to be a common thing
• About a month ago, I was at his apartment while he was fixing my computer (he offered) and as I was leaving, he asked me to go to a nice theatre event the next day, since he had 2 tickets and nobody to go with. I said "just the 2 of us??" and he said "yes". So I agreed. The next day, we went to a group event earlier in the day, and there was a larger second group event planned after that. One mutual friend who was there made a comment saying "Oh I don't think he can come to [second event], he has a date later! He was in earshot of this comment and didn't deny but I also didn't say anything since I knew she was referring to the "date" with me later. I never questioned him on this though. So that night we go to the event and grab dinner at a fairly nice restaurant downtown and he picks up the entire $125 bill. During the show and dinner, I wouldn't say that I got romantic vibes but after consulting a friend (not in the group so she doesn't know him), she told me "girl that was definitely a date". After we got back to his place (where I met so we could carpool into the city), I went home and that was that. There was a slight moment in his car when we parked but no hugs or anything, but I texted later that night saying we should do more 1x1 stuff and he agreed
• More recently this week, I spent several hours walking around with him and another friend, and once we broke off from the other guy, we went back to his place where I had parked (closer to the downtown area than my house). We came up on his apartment and I could tell it seemed like he didn't want to stop talking so he invited me in for something to drink. This was around 11:30 PM. I ended up staying until 2 am. We talked for ages about randomness, he tried to feed me some soup, (I was full so said no thank you -- but he did use the phrase "next time" regarding me trying the soup(aka coming over again)) and I played some songs on his piano and he played me some back. He also showed me the entirety of his apartment including his bedroom and another room that was previously shut the other time that I visited. This is relevant, because to me, he seems really private and closed off and in showing me those parts of his home, I feel like I've made progress with him. In terms of physicality and body language, it was mixed. When sitting on his couch talking, he was close by but not necessarily touching, but he also didn't shy away if I sat super close to him. Then he was showing me some fidget trinkets on a shelf and I tried to figure one out and he did the thing where the guy grabs the girl's hands and guides her using his hands. Then at the same time, we would stand up and talk to each other but we'd stand anywhere from 3-6 feet apart?? But I did feel a "vibe" in the air if that makes sense. When I got ready to leave and he didn't go in for a hug (but neither did I since I was so nervous to death, and didn't want to spoil if it was just friend vibes).
• there are also a ton of other little details:
  • lots of eye contact
  • I got new glasses and have received several compliments from him, semi-solicited (me mentioning the glasses and getting used to them and him saying "they fit you perfectly" and other things)
  • inside jokes with each other
  • his thoughtfulness about details I've mentioned in the past: I don't like X food so he'll order some thing with X removed/on the side so I can enjoy it too (if it's for the table)
  • lending me books
  • just generally remembering details about me that I've just mentioned in passing/seem inconsequential
  • he does photography as a hobby and on group outings has offered to take pics of me (and the others) but he seems to enjoy doing this and then he'll send them to me after editing
  • he also asked me to a fancy sushi meal with another guy friend of his that I've met a few times (potentially a double date?? I know this guy has been trying to date around), but that is yet to be scheduled

From a guy's point of view, does this sound like he's into me at all or just a caring friend? It seemed like caring friend for the most part but the apartment until 2 am has me thinking otherwise. The vibes were definitely different there, but at the same I also don't think I take "hints" or vibes very well. It's like a form of self sabotage. I don't trust my own intuition. My first date with my ex I didn't realize was a date until he had to basically tell me. Also I am really sorry for the verboseness of this and the text wall!! ETA : another detail

Species: Dog, Chihuahua
Age: 16
Sex: Female, neuter
Breed: Chihuahua
Body weight: 5lbs
History: Collapsing trachea and heart murmur treated since youth, seizures treated with gabapentin since last April
Clinical signs: Melena/pooping blood, constipation, general discomfort when going to the bathroom
Location: NYC
Hi! My dog, an elder little lady, went in to the vet on Feb 26 for melena (she pooped dark bloody stool so we rushed her in). This vet's office sort of has a rotating door of vets which does not help.
The vet that day told us "oh she prob ate something she didn't agree with" which seemed really unrealistic given the tarry stool coming out of nowhere but we trusted him, because he's the vet. We left that day with some antibiotics (Flagyl) and some probiotics. I asked if it could be an ulcer or some sort of stomach cancer and could get something to coat her stomach but was assured the antibiotics would do. Important to note that my dog is blind and has a touch of dementia so we try not to put her through too much. We fed her rice and chicken soft blended and gave her the things and she started pooping normally without blood again, if a bit strained (she was used to more fiber in her diet).
A few days ago, she stopped pooping and seemed frail. It seemed weird to not go for over 36 hours so we took her back to the vet, a different one waiting again. We took her to the vet where they gave her an enema and some fluid under the skin. Her results came back with super high bun and creat (something that had not really ever happened before with previous blood, just like regular kidney stuff for her age). She also was severely anemic. All this pointed to a likely ulcer or something in her GI tract causing her to bleed into stool, perhaps caused by kidney disease. Ideally, this would have been found a month prior but this other vet didn't even do this bloodwork. The new vet recommended euthanasia without even trying anything which I found strange considering she couldn't even give me a cause for the anemia and she had said she was fine for most of the exam until there was some blood in the stool.
I am ready to be kind to my dog when the time comes but it made no sense when 2 days ago she was fine and eating tons to give up on her without an effort at all. After some annoyance, this vet prescribed more antibiotics, something that didn't make sense considering it seemed to be a bleeding situation in the GI and there was no infection on the chart.
We finally saw our normal vet for a brief moment who finally prescribed us some sucralfate to coat the stomach, cerenia for nausea/antacid, and liqui-tinnic for anemia/iron but my dog is frail. We also give sub-cutaneous liquids now at home.
Is there something I'm missing? I'm finding it hard to trust the vet's opinions with so many different ones but all the nearby hospitals would probably want to hospitalize her (apparently its super common at the 2 nearby to just take animals in even before diagnosis) and I don't want her to be hospitalized and scared for nothing. She has started taking the sulcralfate but still seems to be passing some blood, though its getting brighter red (its only been 2 doses). Not sure what to do.
I've included the test results below. Please help! I'm begging.
Test Result Reference Range
ALB = 3.0 g/dL 2.2 - 3.9
ALKP = 111 u/L 23 - 212
ALT = 33 u/L 10 - 125
AMYL = 777 u/L 500 - 1500
BUN/UREA = 100 mg/dL H 7 - 27
Ca = 7.9 mg/dL 7.9 - 12.0
CHOL = 147 mg/dL 110 - 320
CREA = 2.7 mg/dL H 0.5 - 1.8
GGT = 0 u/L 0 - 11
GLU = 151 mg/dL H 70 - 143
LIPA = 905 u/L 200 - 1800
PHOS = 5.5 mg/dL 2.5 - 6.8
TBIL = 0.2 mg/dL 0.0 - 0.9
TP = 5.9 g/dL 5.2 - 8.2
GLOB = 2.8 g/dL 2.5 - 4.5
ALB/GLOB = 1.1
BUN/CREA = 38
3/23/2023 L LD Hematology results from IDEXX VetLab In-clinic
Test Result Reference Range
HCT = 16.2 % L 37.3 - 61.7
BASO = 0.03 K/uL 0.00 - 0.10
EOS = 0.30 K/uL 0.06 - 1.23
HGB = 5.5 g/dL L 13.1 - 20.5
LYMPHS = 1.73 K/uL 1.05 - 5.10
MCH = 20.8 pg L 21.2 - 25.9
MCHC = 34.0 g/dL 32.0 - 37.9
MCV = 61.1 fL L 61.6 - 73.5
MONOS = 2.33 K/uL H 0.16 - 1.12
MPV = 14.3 fL H 8.7 - 13.2
RBC = 2.66 M/uL L 5.65 - 8.87
WBC = 12.05 K/uL 5.05 - 16.76
%LYMPHS = 14.4 %
%MONOS = 19.4 %
NEUT = 7.65 K/uL 2.95 - 11.64
%NEUT = 63.5 %
%EOS = 2.5 %
%BASO = 0.3 %
PLT = 797 K/uL H 148 - 484
Retics = 152.0 K/uL H 10.0 - 110.0
%Retics = 5.7 %
RDW = 12.1 % L 13.6 - 21.7
PDW = 15.1 fL 9.1 - 19.4
PCT = 1.14 % H* 0.14 - 0.46
Anemia with reticulocytosis - Likely regenerative
anemia. Monocytosis - Consider inflammation (if lymphopenia, consider glucocorticoid
response).
3/23/2023 L LD Urinalysis results from IDEXX VetLab In-clinic
Test Result Reference Range
WBC = <1 /HPF
RBC = 4 /HPF
Bact Cocci * * Suspected
Bact Rods * * Suspected
sqEPI = None detected
nsEPI = <1 /HPF
Hya Cast = None detected
NoHya Cast = None detected
CaOxDi = None detected
Struvite = None detected
Biurat = None detected
Bilirubin = None detected
UnClass = None detected
Confirm bacteria with one of the following: Image
review SediVue Bacteria Confirmation Kit
Air-dried, stained cytological preparation ('dry prep')
Urine culture
Increased occult blood:
Consider hemoglobinuria or myoglobinuria.

Hi everyone, I am a MacBook Pro (2020) ESO player which I play using my trackpad with no external attachments. In the past year I suddenly came across a weird glitch/issue that I am unable to find a solution for. I’ve also contacted technical support a couple of times regarding this matter to no avail. One day I suddenly was unable to “turn pages” in game. Any letters, lore books, designs etc. that require you to turn the page and read the material completely stopped working for me. I tried uninstalling the game a few times as well as repairing it but nothing has worked so far. Technical support also has no answer for it which is why I’m reaching out on this sub. I did not have this issue when I first downloaded the game, I was able to use the “turn page” function by clicking the trackpad without any issues. Has anyone experienced this issue and does anyone know how to fix this? Is this a key binding issue?
https://imgur.com/a/ognUOx9

So I spend hours editing down this video, saved it many times to ensure I didn’t lose it. Go to export and accidentally close hitfilm is instead of google, now when I try to reopen that same file I just edited and was just exporting I get “the contents of the file cannot be read” Does anybody know how I can get this file to open so I can finish the export. Unfortunately the file is still a HFP as it did not compete it’s export process, I’ve tried handbrake to convert it outside of hitfilm but only 3 seconds d plays. Super frustrating, any advice?

Don’t get me wrong my mom has been a good mom in the aspect of taking care of me and giving me a good life but there is something really wrong with her when it comes to admitting her wrongs and being a person I can tell all to and confine in whilst being emotionally mature.(Very Narcissistic) I come from a very cultural family so they can be very closed minded to things, they try hard to live their lives through us(their children) and brag about who does the best in school, who has all the degrees and more.Granted I have not been the best of son in that avenue considering that I have failed in the nursing field.My family thinks school is easy and as long as you turn in homework and show up you pass and other people have passed so why haven’t I.
This leads to what I have said in the title, all my failures, problems, If i’m dating, sex life, health, all gets told to people who she calls friends and family severely depressing me because I have no one to go to or talk to in the family because others do the same.I’ve went through being unhoused for some time which I am very sensitive to and don’t want others knowing because thats my personal business but guess what she does?…..tells people about it.Very quick to antagonize me whenever I’m happy and when I work on my body and gain muscle she does not like it, it puts something into my head that they/she/Family don’t want me to self improve unless it’s through a way they want.I am a creative person and want a career in which I can display my creativity(not going to say to protect identity) she to me to give up on my dream talk and go further in my studies.
(The part where I say “would it make me a bad guy for exposing my moms affair”
I have another parent who my mom is married to, won’t say he/she’s the best husband/wife and has his/her own wrongs and problems, she does a lot for him/her and helps him/her with so much.I have a family member who is not related to me at all but lived with us for almost my whole life.They have helped my mom with so much and sacrificed a lot of their money, time and credit to help he.My mom takes advantage of those who help her and they have had a crush on my mom for a while which i’m sure their was an affair for a while before I caught them.
2nd part
So one day I had work and I was gone since 6am in 2022.They mistimed my schedule I enter the house at about 2pm.I see their car here and my moms parked.I’m in the house and im calling her name I pull the door knob open and catch them and her naked on top of each other.I want to tell my other parent so bad because it has been affecting my sleep and has me severely depressed, it affects my thinking, past studies and all.A lot of times I will cry in my room and she seems to not have any care to ask me how im doing mentally.My other parent has been good to me and way more understanding than my own biological mother and family.The “family member” has been an asshole but also done good things for me, he is also married and I know they only done good for me because they secretly want to be with my mom.
This leads me to say, not trying to sound revengeful but it is and also gets so much off of my chest.I bring this forward to family and it can shame her name badly.I only spared her out of love for her but maybe this can teach her a lesson on to better herself as an individual.This can affect my housing if I go this route but so be it but yet Im still conflicted.I just want to get something heavy off me considering this decision.
Thank you to those who have read.

Press J to jump to the feed. Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcutsJump to contentCreate PostSearch within massachusetts📷massachusetts11Calm_Local_552721 karmaUser account menu📷Create a crosspost📷By participating, you acknowledge that you have read and understood the rules and that you agree with all the stated rules and policies. https://www.reddit.com/massachusetts/about/rules**296/300**[**massachusetts**](https://www.reddit.com/massachusetts/)•Posted byu/Calm_Local_55277 minutes agoRichie Neal Slides Pedophile Protecting Catholic Church $2mil Fed Grant Ed Ryan Seeks to Divert Fed. Cash to Spfd MA Brothers in Rifle St. Hood Now Broken by Poverty. Ryan Begs AOC on Metaphoric Bended Knee To Call Out Neal as a 'Stinking Lying Corporate Fu#K' who Buggers Schwarzman for Nickels.NEWS📷
see; YouTube Ed Ryan Reform [email protected]
Richie Neal Corruption Now in District in Real Time.
Ed Ryan for Mayor of Springfield to end Richie Neal and Friends from Robbing and Impoverishing Springfield like a Greed Sick Crew of White Supremist Racist. Springfield City Hall has been under the Control of Richie Neal Corruption for too long. Mayor Sarno lies to the people adulating Neal as Sarno Presides over Massachusetts Poorest City , a place where over 50,00 people now Languish in poverty. Ed Ryan Promises to appoint a Co-Mayor, A Vibrant Young Leader from Springfield's Ignored and Impoverished Hispanics Community and Eds Ryan Donate Half His Mayoral Salary to Pay him as Ed Ryan is all about Establishing Real Racial, Economic and Social Justice that will Stimulate prosperity as Ed Ryan's project to Build a World Class Sister UMASS Campus in the Heart of Springfield will bring prosperity and Make Springfield an Academic and Art destination. This I promised do my best to Attain and I have little Doubt Springfield will be denied as the truth comes out that the UMASS President ( Marty Meehan the ex-congressman and extremely close friend of Richie Neal most likely knew about and assisted with the RICO Criminal Conspiracy in the Alex Morse UMASS Hate Smear, a dirty hate crime that violated Federal Election and Civil Rights laws while destroying the people’s faith in Democracy, goes uninvestigated by an FBI that is a secret police organization wrongly emmeshed in American political system protecting Corporate Democrats from any Prosecution for the often racist and hate Corruption and Corporate Pay for play that enriches and empowers Congressman like Richie Neal to now go forth at Ways and Means and write tax law after tax law that allows the Millionaires who have bought our congress, to continued not paying taxes as in the 2021 Richie Neal refusal of Bidens request to eliminate the 'step up' capital gains tax loophole used to pass down too heirs untaxed wealth at death. This Tax loophole still being used thanks to Richie Neal being bought off and denying Bidens request, and cities like Springfield, festering in poverty, are being denied by Richie Neal corruption the money needed to begin to cure this unholy, diabolically constructed mess, that is destroying the lives of so many good people. My friends, Teflon Richie Neal Corruption needs to go to jail, full stop period. Things are ugly as thousands of people, mostly of color, are thrusted into horrible lives of poverty ,thanks to Richie Neal and Friend’s Corruption in the form of these criminals literally Pillaging Springfield, and the entire district, over 30 plus year span. This Crime onto Humanity needs to end. Hopefully, things will get better soon as Ed Ryan, runs for, and is elected to Mayor of Springfield. In the spirit of always trying to do the right thing, Ed Ryan now promises to use half his mayoral salary to pay the salary of a co-mayor that Ryan will appoint from Springfield’s forgotten Hispanic community.
Yes, the story is sickening, our Hispanic brothers and sisters, and so many others in Springfield, have been buried under a slash pile of corruption that Richie Neal and friend's, like Springfield Mayor Dominic Sarno, Atty Jim Roosevelt and UMASS President, Marty Meehan (the guy who sees fit to pay a Football Coach over $850'000 per season rather than investing a dime in the great City of Springfield),and Springfield Power Law Firm Buckley Richardson's Atty Melinda Phelps, who acts as a racist administering housing grants in Springfield issued by Rich Neal to be used to stop low class minority encroachment into middle class neighborhoods. This are high end well educated people in powerful positions pretending their doing right, when, in reality their bunch of greed sick bigoted racist who need to learn what the inside of a jail cell looks like when door clangs behind you. Yes, my friends, no wonder their is so much apathy, as people trust their leaders less and less. And to top it off, the FBI now protects the Corporate Democrats so they can get a cut a cut of the corporate cash flowing like the champaign fountain at a Donald Trump wedding. And you will learn more of the sordid details as you read in the Sludge account below. But know this, it still goes on today in real time as Congressman Richie Neal recently issued a series of 2023 grant letters to a bunch of cohorts across district. Besides supplying grant money payola in the form of funding at least 10 non-essential projects across the district at a time when the cities die in poverty, Richie Neal now ‘gets down’ with his Catholic Church masters issuing a 2 million dollar grant to the Elms College to paint the yellowed walls of Catholic Church Property. Yes, in a certain scheme to allow Richie Neal and his bag men, along with the Bishop, with crews of tight lipped white collared priest, to loot the 2 million dollar slush fund with a papal kick-back designed by Vatican. If I am wrong, then ‘my bad’ but my gut is churning, and it is rarely wrong. So give me a break Richie Neal, you now enrich the same crew of sickos who allowed at least two bishops and an multiple of priest to damage untold number of boys with their twisted pedophile predilection. And now we see a Cardinal or Bishop in NYC paying lobbyist 2 million dollars to loosen up the child sexual assault laws so that priests and bishops, and others, can continue their sick ways fearless of being prosecuted. That's a fact Jack. Catholic Priest pedophile sexual abuse of boys is still going on today, and you ,Richie Neal ,and your Buddies at the Springfield Law Firm of Egan and Flanagan, the church lawyers, profit off it, as you do your best to help sweep this sick reality under the rug. In doing so the Church will continue to whisper support of you to the loyal flock members , and fund dark money PACS to destroy your opponents with Alex More Like Hate Smears. And All this warped corruption allows you to continue con folks with Irish Catholic phony piety. You sir are a dangerous corrupt bigot, says Ed Ryan. Yes, Ed Ryan was addicted, in the gutter years ago, but now, healed by adhering to Existentialist principles of not believing any Bible based superstition sold by the church because falsehood as truth corrupts logical intellectual abilities. So I am a godless atheist who is now, fully transparent, and serious as a heart attack about always doing the right. Thus I now adhere to the most important existentialist tenant, that being to defeat evil as best I can when I met up with it, and I have met it in learning about you along with the jam packed ongoing crew along for the ride ion the criminal concern you that you king pin. So I will l now singlehandedly, make sure that the Elms College does not see dime of that 2 million dollars on the table, even if have to sue in Federal court on the principle of separation of Church and state, or call the Pope and telling him what’s up. But, I’m sure he already knows as 2million is a worthy, holy chunk of change, even for a pointed hatted pope, sore in the elbows from waving at the hordes of brainwashed victims of church religiosity, That’s my promise mister, and know this, you are in a Donnybrook, and I am going to Donnybrook your corrupt butt, out of Congress. This I promise. ed ryan
see; YouTube Ed Ryan Reform [email protected]
Richard Neal’s Inner Circle of Corporate Lobbyists and Real Estate Developers, from Sludge Friends, family, and staff of Rep. Richard Neal have all benefited from the revolving door linking Springfield and K Street, at great cost to Massachusetts residents Neal, in his 16th term, finds himself in a single-digit race against progressive Holyoke mayor Alex Morse, according to two recent polls. On August 19, Rep. Richard Neal’s powerful D.C. lawyer Brian Svoboda sent a cease and desist letter to local news station WWLP-22, in Massachusetts’s First Congressional District. An outside ad had been hammering the incumbent over his record of taking more money from corporations than any other member of Congress. Writing on behalf of Neal, Svoboda claimed that the ad, from Justice Democrats, conflates taking “money from corporations”—a felony under federal law—with taking money from corporate PACs. The legal counsel for Justice Democrats described the letter as “not valid from a legal perspective.” ADVERTISING The letter comes as Neal, in his 16th term, finds himself in a single-digit race against progressive Holyoke mayor Alex Morse, according to two recent polls. The primary is on Tuesday. Semantics aside—and he is in fact the single largest recipient of corporate (PAC) dollars in all of Congress—Neal has used his powerful position as chair of the Ways and Means Committee to grease a revolving door that shepherds friends, family, and staffers between his office and the lobbyist firms that advocate on behalf of his biggest donors. Before threatening a local news provider with legal action, Neal made no small effort to conceal his fealty to the powerful special interest groups funding his campaign, corporate interests that have a dramatic impact on the lives of his constituents. More from Daniel Bogus law For example, Neal’s former legislative director Melissa Mueller has taken to lobbying for organizations that have donated considerable sums to the Neal campaign this year. At Capitol Tax Partners, Mueller took in $460,000 from Verizon, insurance companies like Northwestern Mutual Life, and big energy firms like NextEra and Terra-Gen Power. In 2020 alone, corporations compensating Mueller for her lobbying efforts donated over $290,000 to Neal’s campaign. After twenty years in Rep. Neal’s office, former chief of staff Ann Jabulon also began working as a lobbyist at Capital Counsel, a bipartisan D.C. lobbying firm, in 2016. Public lobbying disclosures show that in 2020, Jabulon’s firm received over one million dollars in income from the same hospital, pharmaceutical, and doctors’ associations that have donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to Neal’s campaign this cycle. Notable among them is the American Medical Group Association, which opposed legislation that would have curbed surprise billing that Neal ultimately killed and Jabulon lobbied against. The surprise-billing fiasco has damaged lives across the country, including those in Massachusetts. The surprise-billing fiasco has damaged lives across the country, including those in Massachusetts. A review of over 330 pages of complaints to the Massachusetts Attorney General’s office, obtained by the group Fight Corporate Monopolies, reveals the way numerous patients have been victimized by unexpected medical bills in the state. Time and again, Massachusetts patients check and double-check that they would not be hit with an out-of-network change for anesthesiologists, radiologists, or emergency room doctors, are told everything will be fine, and still end up owing thousands of dollars. One patient treated at Sturdy Memorial Hospital in Attleboro, Massachusetts, got a bill from “Rhode Island Imaging,” for having their radiologist read X-rays. When the patient questioned “why someone at Sturdy would be billing separately by a Rhode Island company, I was told ‘That’s just the way it is.’” Another patient went for a colonoscopy at Cooley Dickinson Hospital in Northampton because that was listed “in network” on her insurance company Cigna’s app. The bill from Cigna then stated “that Cooley Dickinson was out of network … I owed $1,730.06.” The same thing happened to a patient in Salem, who was assured before getting a mammogram that the services would be in network but found out later that the radiologist was not. A fourth patient from Waltham received a $4,321 bill for an out-of-network anesthesiologist. A fifth from Somerville had to pay $5,557.78 for an out-of-network doctor. A sixth from Newton racked up over $10,000 in charges from out-of-network healthcare providers, after confirming that the doctor was in-network. Trade groups representing hospitals, radiologists, and anesthesiologists have devoted over $600,000 to Neal’s effort, both through direct funding to the Neal campaign and third-party spending. WHILE NEAL’S FORMER EMPLOYEES have turned to lobbying, former lobbyists have in turn joined Neal’s staff. Picking up where Mueller left off, Neal’s deputy chief of staff on the House Ways and Means Committee, Elizabeth O’Hara, previously spent six years lobbying for O’Hara Federal Strategies, where her father now serves as principal. One of O’Hara Federal Strategies’ chief clients is Norfolk Southern, which has donated more than $25,000 to Neal over the last four election cycles. In between her former role as Neal’s legislative director and her current role as Senior Counsel to the Ways and Means Committee, Peg McGlinchey lobbied on behalf of Deloitte, Baxter Healthcare, PhRMA, Baxalta, and AmerisourceBergen. Combined, these companies have donated some $52,000 to Neal since 2014. Beyond friends and staffers, a member of Neal’s nuclear family has also come to benefit from the tremendous power that flows from the gavel of the Ways and Means Committee. Neal has also supported the endeavors of friends in addition to congressional staff. Melinda Phelps, head of the government strategies group at the powerful Springfield law firm Bulley Richardson, is also a former member of Neal’s mayoral campaign and a close friend of Neal’s. Phelps sits on multiple boards that have received donations from Neal. Data compiled by the Center For Responsive Politics for the Prospect shows that one of the boards that Phelps sits on, The Spirit of Springfield, has received $15,355 from Neal’s Congressional committee. While Spirit of Springfield is a civic pride organization, Develop Springfield, a privately funded development non-profit where Phelps serves as vice chair, has also received help from Neal. The congressman has written multiple times to the Springfield Community Preservation Committee advocating for public subsidies for private developments supported by the group. Neal has appeared at Develop Springfield events, and touts his record securing federal matching for their projects. None of the projects listed on Develop Springfield’s website mention low-income housing or community-based development, despite their requests for taxpayer dollars intended for projects that “preserve the character of the community.” This falls in line with Phelps’ statements describing community development projects as “encroachments” on middle-class neighborhoods. Phelps’s law firm Bulley Richardson has received $1,800 for “fundraising,” per Center For Responsive Politics records, and hosted a pre-gala VIP reception with Neal last year. Phelps also attended a Spirit of Springfield fundraiser co-chaired by Neal and MassMutual CEO Roger Crandall, although photo galleries on MassLive covering both events disappeared from their site, displaying an “internal server error” message, after the Prospect began contacting sources as part of its investigation into Phelps last week. The removal of the photos comes on the heels of The Intercept’s reporting on the tilted local media coverage of the MA-01 race. As of Sunday, the galleries seem to have been restored. Beyond friends and staffers, a member of Neal’s nuclear family has also come to benefit from the tremendous power that flows from the gavel of the Ways and Means Committee. As The Intercept reported earlier this month, Neal’s son Brendan was able to secure a lucrative lobbying job with Trestle Energy, a California-based biofuel company, after Neal helped the biofuel industry win a $3 billion dollar tax credit. As Lee Fang wrote, “The legislative gift followed a series of PAC donations from the largest ethanol and biofuel companies in America to Neal’s campaign, a tradition that enriches the campaign war chests of most legislators on the tax-writing committee.” Total biofuel industry donations to Neal this cycle are over $20,000. In addition to taking biofuel money, Neal has also advanced legislation that would give massive tax incentives to biomass energy providers like the embattled Palmer Renewable Energy, which has fought a prolonged battle with activist groups and city councilors to build a wood-burning biomass plant in East Springfield. Already suffering from the highest rates of asthma in the country, Springfield residents have raised the alarm over the plant’s potential to worsen public health, a sentiment that activists and local politicians have echoed. In 2010 Palmer Paving, whose owners the Callahans are also investors in the east Springfield plant, donated $5,500 to Neal. Between 2012 and 2020 members of the Callahan family donated an additional $2,500.
see; YouTube Ed Ryan Reform [email protected]
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Basically title.
Firstly, they don't care that much about people not putting cart away. No one does. Therefore, the reason they are doing this is to piss people off to get content, and maybe for their own fun. This makes them, in my opinion, far bigger assholes than the people who don't put their carts away. Not to mention the whole putting magnets and flags on people cars, and blocking their exit on occasion.
It's also really dangerous for both of them. I'm waiting for the day i see a Cart-Nark dead or hospitalized from someone who really was willing to hurt them. That may seem unlikely, but trust me, I personally know (and try to avoid) people who just might be willing to actually hurt/kill one on a bad day.
It can also be dangerous for the people they harass. Notice the people they infuriate aren't exactly athletes, I could easily imagine one having a bloody heart attack while in a rage. And what if someone is in chronic constant pain and that's why they didn't return the cart/ any not visible disability?
At 50 my dad had arthritis in both of his knees and was in constant chronic pain and was prone to tantrums. We didn't have insurance and were broke, so no medical care for him. Imagine having to run errands, and not being able to find a parking spot close to the door, remember no handicap tag, and maybe not even one close to a stall to return a cart. You walk around at a painfully slow pace for the entirety of your trip, attempting to not wince when you move to fast. You finally get back to your car after what was probably hours of agony, and you decide "fuck it, im leaving my cart right here". Then... one of these assholes show up. Que: content.

To be honnest the choice of quality take away that isn't maccas/KFC etc is pretty average...... Alot of the chicken and chip shops have been sold off with the typical results....
I think chickos is massively overrated for the price, but when just about every other chicken & chip shop is Chinese owned or closed on a Sunday where do you go.....?
Looking for recomendtions for somewhere that has reasonable chicken and chips, near a park or picnic area I can take family to for an easy dinner on a Sunday night.

Basically title.
Firstly, they don't care that much about people not putting cart away. No one does. Therefore, the reason they are doing this is to piss people off to get content, and maybe for their own fun. This makes them, in my opinion, far bigger assholes than the people who don't put their carts away. Not to mention the whole putting magnets and flags on people cars, and blocking their exit on occasion.
It's also really dangerous for both of them. I'm waiting for the day i see a Cart-Nark dead or hospitalized from someone who really was willing to hurt them. That may seem unlikely, but trust me, I personally know (and try to avoid) people who just might be willing to actually hurt/kill one on a bad day.
It can also be dangerous for the people they harass. Notice the people they infuriate aren't exactly athletes, I could easily imagine one having a bloody heart attack while in a rage. And what if someone is in chronic constant pain and that's why they didn't return the cart/ any not visible disability?
At 50 my dad had arthritis in both of his knees and was in constant chronic pain and was prone to tantrums. We didn't have insurance and were broke, so no medical care for him. Imagine having to run errands, and not being able to find a parking spot close to the door, remember no handicap tag, and maybe not even one close to a stall to return a cart. You walk around at a painfully slow pace for the entirety of your trip, attempting to not wince when you move to fast. You finally get back to your car after what was probably hours of agony, and you decide "fuck it, im leaving my cart right here". Then... one of these assholes show up. Que: content.
​
Edit: I used "k" instead of "c" for the work "narc" in the post and title many times

TL;DR: I mutilated the standard gas regulator for my new AUG and I need to know which Steyr department (support/service/sales/etc.) to reach out to for repair or replacement.
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Recently purchased an AUG and field stripped it to clean it. New pews are usually shipped with corrosion inhibitors, so I thought I'd wipe everything down with a CLP. Never been fired, at least by me.
I didn't follow the user guide closely enough, I'm afraid. I used the tip of a round to push in the button pictured below:
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Gas Regulator Assembly
I mistakenly thought this was necessary to adjust the gas or to remove the regulator for field stripping.
On the backside of the regulator, this pin ( circled in red) began to protrude. When I tried to put the cleaned regulator back on, the tab ( circled in green) wouldn't retract enough for the regulator to go back on. It was preventing the regulator from fitting through the notch (circled in blue.) (THESE ARE JUST STOCK PHOTOS FOR ILLUSTRATION.)
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https://preview.redd.it/utund13yn0qa1.png?width=514&format=png&auto=webp&s=0469340b0e5395e30e35d111150b9d4468026a1a
I watched Brownell's video for fieldstripping the AUG and their regulator turned right back into place. Between this and the instructions in the owner's manual making it seem easy, I kind of panicked and tried tapping the pin back into place using a hex key (allen wrench) and a soft face hammer. (Dumb, I know.)
Now the backside of that pin (highlighted in red) is slightly mushroomed and I'm afraid that it's expanded like a rivet and ruined my gas regulator.
Which department of Steyr (support/service/sales/etc.) should I contact to get this fixed? Do you think this will require me to send the regulator to Steyr or will I have to buy a new standard regulator from them? How long does a service item like this usually take?
Responses from users who have experience with Steyr's customer service are greatly appreciated.

I got into the BSD fandom a few years back and, with every new anime I finish, I check out the fandom's fanfictions. I remember adoring this one BSD fanfic I found on wattpad and would reread it every so often. Soon after, I started using AO3 instead and don't really go on wattpad anymore.
With BSD's return with a new season, I recently got back into the fandom and remembered that particular fanfic. I want to go back, check if the author updated, and reread it again since it's been a while. However, I'm not the most organized person. My reading lists are a mess with a bunch of fanfics from different fandoms shoved into one. The majority of them are populated with hundreds of stories I found interesting enough to save to read later but never quite got around to it. My current reads feed is always filled with stories I've never read.
Long story short, I've been spoiled by AO3's convenient system of filtering my bookmarks by fandom, I can't find the fanfic, and it's killing me. So I'm talking this to reddit to seeing if anyone else recognizes this fanfic and finally resolve me of my plight.
*Spoilers for part of the anime and for the plot of this unknown fanfic ahead.*
I think the fanfic was either a female OC or a female identifying reader insert fanfic and that there might have been some romantic scenes with Akutagawa and some with Dazai. The OC (I'll just say OC since it's shorter than reader but I THINK [Name] was used in the story) is a member of Port Mafia who was originally working abroad, but had come back to Yokohama to help stabilize Port Mafia after Dazai's defection. Mori had assigned her as Akutagawa's partner, similarly to how he had assigned Dazai and Chuuya as partners in an effort to create a new Double Black where the OC would be the strategist and Akutagawa would be the brawn. She became a new executive to fill in Dazai's empty place and had received his office at Port Mafia as well (or at least I think so; That part might've been a different fanfic). In the OC's backstory, she had worked in Yokohama Port Mafia's Intelligence Division under Sakaguchi Ango, who was the head of Port Mafia's intelligence in this fanfic, prior to her work abroad. With Ango's status as a traitor to Port Mafia, she became the head of intelligence.
The story started out with tension between Akutagawa and the OC as Akutagawa chaffed at the idea of having a partner, but the OC was less of the hotheaded type and more of the calm, analytical, and does-whatever-is-necessary type and tried her best to work with him civilly. As they completed more jobs and operations together, they become infamous and Akutagawa started to respect her and her skills more.
With the OC becoming more active in Yokohama, the ADA started hearing more about Akutagawa's new partner and tries to figure out the OC's identity. The ADA's investigation eventually led to a rooftop chase between the ADA and Port Mafia duo. The ADA had been walking back to their apartments after a long day's work of trying and failing to find anything on Akutagawa's partner when Atsushi had caught sight of Akutagawa with an unknown person. They started to tail them, but the duo had noticed. The OC somehow convinces Akutagawa to run instead of fight in order to preserve her anonymity for a little longer. The chase ended after the OC manages to injure the detectives enough to prevent them from giving chase (I don't quite remember how, she might've thrown a bomb).
During the chase, the detectives weren't able to get a close look at the OC's face while running and, with her purposefully androgynous clothes and long hair tucked under her coat (jacket? shirt?), the ADA mistook her for a boy. They investigate accordingly and, in an attempt to gather more information about an unknown variable, Dazai sought out Ango in hopes that the Special Abilities Division or the government might have some intel. They meet up at a restaurant where they talk about what Ango knows over plates of shared food (I'm pretty sure there were dumplings). When Dazai referred to the OC as boy, Ango laughs and says that if that's the case, he has nothing to say to Dazai, implying that the one he is asking about is not male. Ango proceeds to tell Dazai about what he knows about the OC and their stint in Port Mafia's Intelligence together.
This is where most of the details elude me. At some point, the OC and Dazai end up chatting face-to-face. I think the OC might have come across Dazai eating in a restaurant that pays Port Mafia for protection / is in Port Mafia territory. They ending up recognize each other and the OC joins Dazai's table for an impromptu meal together. The OC orders a bottle of fancy wine she gets for free since she's a high ranking member of Port Mafia. The meal ends, and the OC insists Dazai take the remaining wine with him.
The story ends, incomplete, with a scene where Chuuya, Akutagawa, and the OC are together in a car (the three of them are somewhat close as it's mentioned that the duo has dealt with a drunk Chuuya griping about Dazai on several occasions). Chuuya disparages Dazai for his treatment of Akutagawa and for his betrayal (he may have been drunk, I don't quite remember). Chuuya shows he cares for Akutagawa like a mentor and it's mentioned that he felt guilty about how Dazai treated Akutagawa. He saw himself and Dazai in Akutagawa and the OC and tells the OC that he hopes the two of them turn out better than how the original Double Black did.
For anyone who reads BSD fanfiction and knows of one that somewhat fits this description, please comment the title or link it. This might finally stop plaguing me.
For those who don't read BSD fanfiction and read my wall of text for whatever reason, thanks for suffering with me. Hope you don't step on any legos.

(I know I’m posting it in multiple subs, I just want someone to give me some advice. Everyone I know is confused on the matter and none of them wanna tell me that I’m probably gonna get killed) So I (18m) have a cousin (19f) and she’s friends with Randy (19m) well in 2019 Randy convinced this 6ft2 18 year old named Joe that I needed to die, so Joe finds me and I came very very close to dying, Joe took off because he thought I was dead and they were all online posting about it making jokes and then they all got really pissed when they found out I survived. And last year my cousins boyfriend cheated on her so I helped her break into his apartment to get her stuff back, then move it all to a storage unit, then to her parents house and didn’t even accept gas money, and I even caught her cheating ex in a gas station and he took off before I could even get a word in so I’ve been nothing but good to my family especially that cousin. (This has no relevance, just shows my loyalty to family)
So my cousin is still hanging out with Randy which I didn’t say anything about but made it clear he can’t come to my house because last summer he was here and told a couple people he was gonna call Joe and that Joe was ready to kill me until my uncle on the other side of the family heard and lost his shit. But my cousin, my best friend, my other cousin (this cousin is dating my best friend) were all hanging out and according to my best friend Randy was bragging about his involvement with me almost dying, saying I deserve to die and admitting that he’s still gonna get me killed and my cousin said nothing and acted like it was normal, my friend couldn’t say anything because he didn’t want to cause issues with my other cousin (his girlfriend) but I’m mad now
I told my parents and they don’t seem to know what to say anymore, my dad just told me if anyone shows up trying to do anything to me he’ll handle it
I don’t know what to do or say though, I haven’t brought it up to my cousin because my best friend told me not to, but at this point I’m at a loss for words, I don’t wanna die and as of recently I’ve been sticking to myself but these guys can’t handle that they just want me dead

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Journal of Camille Lambert - April 14th
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When the fires finally died, there was almost nothing left of Puriysk. Just about every building was scorched and blackened. Most of the tents had been destroyed too, with only a tattered handful remaining on the far side of town.
​
Driving through the ruins felt almost like driving through a corpse. Everything was so dead… and yet despite the recent fire, I could already see new life growing on the ashes. Small flowers with petals that seemed to shimmer like distant stars. They were both beautiful and unsettling at the same time, although I noticed Dr. Di Cesare… or Gretchen, I suppose… looking down at them with quiet apprehension as we passed.
​
“We should visit what remains of my lab first,” She said. “I had some equipment that should offer suitable protection against any airborne toxins. Atmospheric saturation should currently be low, but best practices recommend not to take any unnecessary risks!”
“Sister, we’re way past best practices right now,” Nina replied sardonically. “Exactly how often were you dealing with this shit if you’ve got ‘suitable protection’ just on hand?”
“Often enough,” Gretchen replied. “Not in some years though… decades, really. I keep it now as a precaution. When studying pocket realities, one can never be too prepared. The Rosen Prince exists in far more than you could possibly imagine.”
​
“And now you’ve gone and brought it here,” Nina replied.
“While I understand you disapprove of my course of action, I stand by that the choice I made last night was the one with the highest probability of a favorable outcome.”
“‘Favorable outcome.’” Nina repeated, before giving a sigh of exasperation. “Whatever you say. I figure that one way or the other, this is gonna end with one of us saying ‘I Told You So’ and I hope to God it’s you.”
“As do I…” Gretchen admitted.
​
We pulled up on what was left of Gretchen’s RV. The roof had been completely peeled off and the entire front end was smashed, but it seemed like the lab portion was still somewhat intact… somewhat.
​
Gretchen got out of the car, pausing to survey the state of her lab. For a moment I thought that she almost looked upset, but if she felt anything at all she buried it quickly and pushed ahead.
“We’ll be out here,” Nina said. “Don’t take too long.”
“I’ll help you look,” I said, getting out of the car as well and following Gretchen into the ruined RV. She was already going through some of the drawers when I joined her inside.
​
Despite everything, the lab part of the RV was almost in good condition. Almost. Papers had been strewn all over the floor and scattered everywhere among shards of broken glass. I heard something crack under my shoe and looked down to see a framed photograph on the floor. I reached down to pick it up. The photograph depicted a group of women, around 14 of them, I think. I recognized one in the corner as Gretchen. I wondered if this was her family.
​
I looked up at her, to see her pausing at one particular drawer, before taking out a series of respirator masks.
“Elastomeric respirators. Good for keeping out paint, dust, and spores. Small particles that can harm the lungs. I’ve found they reduce spore exposure by over 90%. Not foolproof, but helpful.”
She counted four out of the selection she had, before putting one on and handing the rest off to me. I set the photo down to take them and put one of the masks on myself. As I did, Gretchen took a bone handled knife out of her coat.
​
“I do have one further precaution that I use… where would you like to be scarred?”
“I’m sorry, what?” I asked, taking a step back. Gretchen tilted her head to the side slightly, before realizing that I didn’t understand whatever the hell she was talking about.
​
“As a precaution, I think it would be wise to mark a rune into your flesh. It won’t necessarily protect you against the Rosen Prince, but it will guarantee you die before it takes control of you… here, let me show you…”
She slid off her coat and gingerly hung it over a chair. I could see the revolver resting in a shoulder holster she wore underneath. She rolled up the sleeve of her shirt. Above the Aquarius tattoo on her wrist, I could see several runes scarred into her arm.
​
“Scarification is a deep form of magic. Not for the faint of heart, but deeply effective. This one here…” She pointed at one about halfway up her forearm. “It’s a curse. Were I ever to be infected by the Rosen Prince, it would drain my life away, killing me before I could be fully claimed by it. Personally, I think it’s the merciful alternative. Assimilation into the hive mind technically does not kill you, but it is not a fate I would wish on most. Everything you were, everything you are lost within an ocean of voices so that you no longer remain because you and It are now one and the same.”
​
“Are you going to do that to Nina and Dom too?” I asked warily.
“I already did Nina this morning. And I’ll offer it to Dominic before we depart. I can not force you to accept this… the spell does not work unless you do it yourself. However I do recommend it.”
I stared at the knife for a moment, before grimacing and rolling up my sleeve.
“Just show me what to do…” I said.
​
Gretchen nodded and beckoned me over to the chair. She knelt by my side and helped me guide the knife.
“It only needs to be a shallow wound. Enough to draw blood and leave a lasting mark,” She said. As the knife pierced my arm, I winced in pain.
“Very good! Now, let me guide you…” She placed a hand over mine. “Look at my rune. We’ll copy it exactly.”
​
I nodded before trying to do just that, gritting my teeth in pain and trying not to scream. Gretchen guided my hand, but I held the knife and I was the one who pushed it into my skin… it wasn’t the worst pain I’d ever felt. But it came very close and I didn’t last long before I had to stop, sucking in air as if that might numb the pain as I felt tears filling my eyes.
“How the hell do you do this to yourself?” I gasped.
“The rewards are worth the pain,” Gretchen replied. “See this?” She pointed to another rune on her arm, “It’s an elemental brand. It’s how I was able to control the fire, last night. And this…” She pointed to another one, “This one allows for limited spatial manipulation. It took me three tries to get it right. Each time I had to carve away the old skin and heal it to begin anew.”
​
I flinched at the thought of it and she cracked a small smile that I think was meant to be reassuring.
“Oh, I assure you that’s nothing,” She said brushing past her long stringy hair and leaning forward so I could see the back of her neck, exposing a far more complicated rune.
​
“This here? That’s an attribution spell. It’s one of the hardest to get right, but once you’ve done it, it keeps you safe.”
“Yeah… howso?” I asked.
“If someone were to pull a gun and shoot me now, I would feel no pain. The wound would manifest on their body instead. Given the fact that he was able to obtain the heart of an Old Fae, it’s possible that Calhoun bears a similar mark. Most powerful witches do. My sisters, for example. Long ago, we each learned this rune and one by one, we carved it into the backs of our necks as a means to ensure our survival. It’s useful… although not foolproof. Stab me, and I feel no pain. Throw me on to a knife and… well… ” She shrugged. “Of course, my little spell would do nothing to protect me from this…”
​
She took the revolver out of her holster and showed it to me.
“There’s no magic in existence that would save you from Malvian Ice. I modified this gun to amplify it’s properties. To ensure every shot was lethal. But the bullets?” She opened the cylinder and took one out. It looked almost like a regular bullet, although the tip seemed crystalline and had a pinkish shine to it.
“They don’t need the gun to be effective. Put this in the heart of Calhoun… and there is no magic, no God, nothing in existence that could offer him salvation. This bullet… this is Death herself. Absolute, inescapable, and final.”
​
She reached over and gently pressed the bullet into my hand.
“You should carry it. The other three bullets may be needed elsewhere. It would be wise to save one.”
“You’re the one with the gun, why don’t you take it?” I asked.
“At heart, I am a scientist not a fighter.” Gretchen said. “I can use this weapon, but as of right now I only carry it for safekeeping. I suspect Valentine may get more use out of it than I will. She would certainly be the better shot… although given her demeanor and what lies ahead of us, I do not want to risk the possibility that she might use all four of our remaining bullets before we reached Calhoun. Therefore… I entrust you with this.”
​
I looked down at the bullet in my hand, before giving a half nod,
“I’ll keep it close,” I promised.
“Excellent! Now… you’re halfway done. Shall we finish the rest?”
I looked down at the bleeding rune on my arm and nodded slowly. Gretchen showed me her rune again, and I pressed the knife back into my skin.
​
The cut was already throbbing with pain… and maybe that was why finishing the rune was easier than starting it was.
“Excellent work,” Gretchen said. “You may have a future as a witch someday… perhaps.” She stared down at the blood on my arm thoughtfully, before tearing her attention away.
​
“You’re a vampire, right?” I asked. “When’s the last time you…”
“Three hours prior to yesterdays incident,” She replied, standing up again. “Strictly speaking I only need to feed once every few days, once per week at minimum. Biting you will not be necessary… although I will admit, your blood does smell…nice. I personally prefer an older male specimen, maintained in reasonable health however just because one likes merlot doesn’t mean they can’t enjoy a good rosé. But I digress. You need your strength and I have other provisions to ensure I make do.”
​
She walked over to the far side of the lab and opened a cabinet, rifling around in it for a few minutes before taking out what looked like a wine bottle.
“A little side project some of my sisters entertain. Hardly a full meal… but the wine masks the taste of stale blood. I was saving it for a special occasion. But, it will suffice for now.” She pulled the cork and took a drink from the bottle, before going through the cabinet again and coming back with a white first aid kid.
“Let me wrap that wound for you, at least until the bleeding stops,” She said. I gingerly held out my arm and let her work. It didn’t take long.
​
Outside, I could hear the car horn honking impatiently. Gretchen ignored it, gently cleaning my wound.
“There we go…” She said gently, “All set. Bring the masks outside, I’ll join you momentarily.”
​
I nodded and got up to leave. Looking back, I noticed her standing over the photograph I’d picked up earlier. She stared down at it, before taking the picture out of the broken frame and slipping it into her pocket before finally taking her wine bottle and following me out.
​
***
​
The tents on the far side of town were still mostly intact, although seeing them abandoned still felt a little surreal. The shimmering flowers grew along the ground, and among them I could see creeping red weeds sprawling across the ground. Those weeds had even started to grow over some of the tents.
​
Nina regarded them with unease, before checking to ensure her mask was on right and going in to investigate. She held her rifle at the ready the whole while.
“Fuck… how the hell do you do this to yourself?” I heard Dom seethe from behind me and looked back to see Gretchen helping him scar himself.
“In time, you learn to accept the pain,” She said. “Now breathe. We’re nearly done.”
​
Dom looked up at me as Gretchen guided his hand. I went over to put a hand on his shoulder and stay with him through the pain.
“There… there… now we’re done,” Gretchen crooned. “Let me wrap that for you. You did well.”
“Christ…” Dom panted, “All this over some fucking flowers?”
“Those flowers have ended Universes and brought entire civilizations to their knees,” Gretchen warned. “There is no caution you cannot take with them.”
​
Dom looked over toward some of the glowing flowers. I noticed Nina was giving them a wide berth.
“If they’re that dangerous, why even summon them?” He asked.
“I had four bullets, and more than four approaching targets. Even the more offensive spells at my disposal would not have offered sufficient protection. We were in a dire situation. I needed something that would serve as both a formidable distraction and that could reverse our fortunes. I made a judgment call. The Pocket Reality I opened has been claimed by the Rosen Prince for some time. I’ve done some research there before and I imagine he’s been waiting for my return ever since. I suspected that the moment I gave him a door, he would come scampering… and he did not disappoint. His infection will spread rapidly, but so long as we use the correct precautions, we should be fine. I can not say the same for Calhoun’s local militia and his Nightwalkers, on the other hand. I doubt they are equipped to deal with him.”
​
“No shit, they aren’t…” Dom murmured, “I gotta ask, what exactly happens if this thing reaches Calhoun before we do?”
Gretchen frowned.
“Hard to say,” She admitted as she finished bandaging Dom’s scar. “I don’t have enough data to be certain. But…”
​
“But?” I asked.
“Last night, McClellan said something I found… interesting. He mentioned that there were other towns ‘ripe for the picking’ out there and then said something about Calhoun getting the rest of the 5000 souls he needed. I’ve been trying to figure out what he meant by that.”
“Did you come up with anything?” Dom asked.
“Unfortunately, I did,” She admitted. “I don’t suppose Nina has told you two where your Nightwalkers come from, did she?”
“Something about another pocket. She called it The Midnight Grove,” I said. Gretchen nodded.
​
“Correct. Now… the entity that controls the Midnight Grove, The Lugal. It is known for making deals. Offer it souls and it can be bargained with. And with 5000 souls… well, in theory, the rewards would be great.”
“In theory?” Dom asked.
“There’s a very good reason the wise don’t deal with the Lugal. Whatever he offers you shall inevitably corrupt you, until you are little more than just another of the shambling, mindless beasts who wander his domain. Personally, I’ve found that you can get a better deal elsewhere. But that’s neither here nor there. The future state of Calhoun’s soul is really not important to us. If he completes his deal, then killing him becomes significantly harder… and I have little doubt that he has the means to complete his deal.”
​
“How?” I asked.
“When Mr. Durand first reached out to me about joining this operation, there was some discussion on how Ben Calhoun was able to enter and leave this pocket reality. At the time, I’d theorized that he had established a permanent means of doing so. It would not be that difficult… the correct runes on certain doors would likely suffice and would permit him to come and go as he pleased. We theorized that he had set up such doors in other towns he may have been interested in. I had hoped we may be able to find one such door. I even went so far as to look for small towns in the United States that had similarities with the ones we already knew existed in this pocket, that just so happened to have a resident there by the name of Ben Calhoun.”
​
“And what did you find?” I asked.
“Hundreds in the United States alone,” She said. “Enough so that exploring my theory further was not an option… however considering what McClellan said about ‘other towns ripe for the picking’ however I can not help but wonder if my theory is correct. McClellan said that Calhoun needed 5000 souls. To that end, I’ve put together a rough estimate of how many more he might need based on the estimated body count from his… actions… in the other towns.”
​
I felt my stomach sink a little bit.
“Between Rankin Mills, Bakersfield, and Thompson Falls, I estimate casualties of 1500, 2000, and 500 respectively for a sum of 4000 give or take. Puriysk had approximately a thousand people living in it… had we not intervened, Calhoun would have had his 5000 souls. And if I’m right about him having doorways to other towns, then I think I know how he might try and make up the deficit.”
“So he’s going to try and bring another town into the pocket…” I said quietly, before the rest of the realization hit me. “And if the Rosen Prince takes Calhoun, it could use any of those doors to get out of here!”
​
Gretchen nodded.
“It may not even need to take Calhoun,” She said. “All it would need to do is make it to Parsons and fine a door. Those outside would have no means of identifying where it would show up, delaying their ability to form an effective response and at minimum, resulting in further loss of life.”
“Jesus Christ…” Dom said under his breath, “You knew this and you still let that thing out?”
​
“As I said, I made a judgment call,” Gretchen said. “If we get to Parsons first, we can eliminate Calhoun and render all of this null and void. Kill Calhoun, and there is no pocket reality. No pocket reality means no Rosen Prince and if I am correct about those doorways…”
“That’s how we get out,” I said. Again, she nodded.
​
“You can be upset with me for what I did last night… I agree, it was a reckless move and not one that I made lightly. But I traded certain death for a ticking clock and an effective distraction. I stand by that decision, whatever the consequences.”
Dom just sighed and shook his head.
“Well… like Nina said, I guess. This is gonna end with somebody saying ‘I told you so’ and we better fucking hope that it’s you.”
With that, he went off to follow Nina toward the tents.
​
We spent the better part of an hour going through what was left from the FRB’s supplies and even some of the things we did find weren’t exactly useable. One tent which had been used as something of a mess hall was completely overgrown with those glowing flowers, leaving any food in there practically inedible. Most of what we found that we could use was guns and ammo.
​
“Trust me, we’re gonna need this shit,” Nina said as she opened the combination padlocks to the gun lockers. She tossed them aside and pulled the locker open, sorting through the contents before finding something and handing it to me. It had the body of a pistol, but with a stock and a sight.
“Kel-Tec CP33. Should be good for you,” She said before reaching for something else. She admired it for a moment, before setting her current rifle aside.
“Holy shit… I knew they were bringing in some heavy shit, but God Damn!”
​
“What is it?” Dom asked, watching as she took out something that looked like a bigger, smoother version of the rifle she already had
“It’s an AA-12… I’ve never actually gotten to fire one of these before. Should be fun! Hey Dom, you want one too? They’ve got a few in here!”
“What’s it do?” He asked.
“It’s a full auto shotgun with 20 shell drum mag. Basically - it turns anyone you don’t like into ground beef. Should be useful against the Rosen Prince…” She got down, checking a lower shelf and taking out boxes of ammo.
​
“Let’s see… I heard Milo mention something about Dragons Breath rounds. He thought they’d be effective against the Nightwalkers. Lemme just… oh fuck yes!”
She held up a box of shotgun shells, grinning from ear to ear.
​
“Thank you, Milo! Gretchen, think you can help us curse these?”
“I should be able to,” She said, going over to take the box from Nina. She sorted through a few other boxes of bullets on the lower shelf, before sliding one over to me.
​
“Try these out,” She said. “Lemme know if you want something different. We’ve still got a lot out here.”
I nodded before picking up the box. I set it down on a table, took the magazine out of the gun Nina had given me, and loaded it up just the way she’d shown me before. Then I went outside to give it a test run.
​
As I stepped out, I looked over toward the ruins of Puriysk. I could see one charred building that had once been an apartment, now overgrown with red vines and glowing flowers that made the ruins twinkle in the most surreal way. In a sense, the building almost looked infected. The vines seemed more like cancerous growths than real plant life. Looking at it, I was reminded of the state that Bakersfield had been in… and I was reminded of the corpse of my mother, her eyes half open in death. The memory made my stomach turn.
​
I raised the gun up toward the distant building, knowing that if I shot at it I couldn’t kill what was ahead of me, but hoping it might make me feel better. I pulled the trigger, firing into the void.
​
“Hello?” A distant voice called, making me pause. “Hello, is someone there?”
“Hello?” I called back, lowering the gun and trying to follow the voice.
“Hello?!”
Up ahead, I could see a man stumbling past a few of the tents. Judging by his uniform, he’d been part of the FRB.
​
“Oh thank God…” He said, “Thank God I thought I was the only one left!”
“So did we!” I said. I noticed that the name on his uniform read - ‘Gideon’. I looked back toward the tent that Nina and the others were in.
“Are you hurt?” I asked, “We’ve got Dr. Di Cesare with us, I think I saw some spare masks in her lab too. We can get you one!”
“Masks?” Gideon asked, “Why? What’s going on here?”
“I’ll let Dr. Di Cesare explain, come on.”
​
I gestured for him to follow me into the tent. As I turned to go in, I saw Nina coming out.
“I’m hearing voices out here…” She said, before noticing Gideon. Gretchen came out behind her, eyes narrowing slightly.
“We’ve got another survivor,” I said and Nina looked over at Gideon with a raised eyebrow.
“Shit, really?” She asked, although didn’t sound particularly enthusiastic about it. She glanced over at Gretchen who was on top of Gideon almost immediately.
​
“Fascinating, how did you survive the night?” She asked, already poking and prodding at him. From the corner of my eye, I could see Dom coming out of the tent, holding the shotgun Nina had given him.
“I… I just stayed out of the fire!” Gideon said, “I let the monsters fight each other! I didn’t know what to do, I couldn’t get to the trucks before they left and then the radio went silent… what are you doing?”
​
Gretchen held him by the chin and leaned in to sniff at his neck.
“Did you know a vampire's sense of smell is over ten thousand times more accurate than a regular human's?” She asked, her voice as calm as ever. “It enables us to detect imperfections in the blood and avoid drinking anything that might be adverse to our health… and right now, I can smell the spores in yours.”
​
Gideon locked eyes with her, looking panicked for a moment before his lips slowly began to curl into a knowing rictus grin.
“You were always so astute, Gretchen…”
​
I saw his skull split apart suddenly, revealing rows upon rows of teeth inside. He tried to bite down on her head, but Gretchen seemed to be expecting that. I saw the ground beneath her shift, pulling her back a few feet.
​
Nina raised her shotgun and fired at Gideon before he could make another move. A column of sparks flashed out of her gun, setting Gideon’s body alight. He howled in pain and as he did I saw his body changing. The skin and flesh on his hands peeled back turning his fingers into claws. An inhuman screech escaped him as he lunged for Nina, only to be blown back by another flaming blast from her shotgun and sent crashing to the ground in a twitching, screaming pile of burning flesh.
Nina let out a shuddering, almost orgasmic sigh.
“I love you,” She said to the gun.
​
Almost as soon as the words left her mouth, a chorus of inhuman screams echoed through the air around us, seeming to come from everywhere at once.
“That doesn't sound good…” Dom said.
“Oh, it’s not. He makes that sound when he’s hungry,” Gretchen ‘assured’ us. “We should leave.”
​
She motioned with her hand, beckoning some of the fire off the burning remains of ‘Gideon’ and allowing them to form into a ball in her hand.
“But we’ve got supplies here!” Nina said, “We’re not getting through Parsons without them!”
“And he’s got the bodies from last night.”
​
Almost on cue, several shapes rounded one of the tents a few feet away. Gretchen casually let loose the ball of fire she’d taken, sending it flying toward one of the creatures racing toward us.
“Then we’ll just bring the car here, load up and leave!” Nina said. “Dom, keep them out of the tent, Cam, grab everything you can carry!”
“I have to state for the record that this is an ill advised-”
“Just shut up and help me get to the goddamn car!” Nina snapped, cutting Gretchen off before raising her gun to unleash hell upon the creatures that came for us.
​
I wasted no time running straight for the tent. Nina had opened a few of the lockers and had been going through the contents. She’d set aside the dragon's breath rounds, and I figured those were probably the ones she was looking to bring. She’d opened up a metal ammo box and had already been setting the shells inside. I didn’t really have the time to set them up in order the way she’d been doing, but I did have time to carelessly dump them in there like an idiot.
​
I could see the flashes from outside as Dom fired at some of the Rosen and judging by the sounds he made, I couldn’t tell if he was having fun, terrified for his life, or both.
​
I grabbed a second ammo box, hastily dumping the remaining shells in there. I didn’t count them and hoped to God that it would be enough, then I grabbed another box of the .22 ammo that my gun used, stuffed that in my pocket, and closed up the boxes. I figured it was as good enough.
“Let’s go!” I yelled to Dom, grabbing both boxes by the handles. They were heavier than they looked, but I did what I could to tough it out.
​
He fired a few more rounds at some of the passing Rosen, bathing them in sparks that caught their bodies alight and sent the ones near them scurrying away. From what I could see, no two were exactly the same. Some of the smaller ones, who looked as if they’d once been human either wore tattered FRB uniforms or the loose ensemble of the Sheriff’s Boys. Although most had discarded their clothes entirely, embracing the monster that now puppeteered them. Their heads opened like flowers, and some even had the same shimmering petals as the glowing flowers that dotted the ruins. Many had those same flowers blooming on their skin, only in their center were sickly yellow eyes. They loped about on all fours like wild dogs, howling and shrieking all the while, trying to escape the flames that bathed them but never quite giving up their single minded pursuit.
​
A few of them ran for me, although Dom dealt with those quickly, washing them in columns of fire with every pull of his trigger. Together we retreated back toward the car. In the chaos, it was hard to keep track of events. There were just so many… too many to count. I left the shooting to Dominic, my only focus was on staying out of his way and reaching the car.
​
I could see flames rising up into the sky a few feet away and knew that Gretchen and Nina were still fighting. We were getting closer to them. A fresh column of fire tore through one of the nearby tents, burning it away almost completely along with the Rosen who were unlucky enough to be caught in its path.
​
As we rounded that tent, I saw Nina hastily backing toward the SUV, unloading her last few rounds into the advancing crowd of Rosen and buying herself enough time to get inside.
​
Gretchen was doing the same, pulling the fire from the burning corpses and forming burning walls between her and the living. Behind the horde, I could see one twisted figure standing atop one of the tents, watching her with a single yellow eye.
​
“A RIPE NEW WORLD TO USHER IN TO SPRING EVERLASTING!” A voice howled through the chaos. I think it came from the thing that watched Gretchen. “How kind of you, Gretchen Di Cesare… an apology for your many insults? Or a failure. The newest of many?”
​
She didn’t humor the Rosen Prince with a response, or at least not a verbal one. A tendril of flames shot out of the wall she’d summoned, to engulf the thing that had spoken to her. Killing it, did nothing to stop the voice, which seemed to come from everywhere at once now.
​
“Shall you outrun me again, Child? Or do I at last claim you as my own?”
Gretchen just turned, and pulled open the car door, getting in as Nina keyed the engine. The wall of flames pivoted, cutting violently across the path before the car and burning anything there before quickly parting. Nina hit the gas and sped toward us, while Gretchen’s trail of fire followed.
​
I saw the Rosen shrink back as the car and the fire drew near. We took the opportunity while it was there. Dom pulled one of the doors open for me and I hefted the ammo boxes inside, looking back to watch him dive in behind me. We didn’t even get a chance to close the door before Nina was driving again. Gretchen rolled down the window and pulled the fires from behind us forward, launching them in front of the car to burn away the Rosen in our path. As she did, I could hear the demonic laughter of the Rosen Prince in the distance.
“RUN IF YOU MUST, DEAR CHILD! FOR I ALREADY AWAIT YOU!”
​
I looked out the back window to see that the Rosen had already given up chasing us. I wasn’t sure if that was a good sign or not. Judging by the look on Gretchen’s face, it wasn’t.
“We need to move, quickly,” She said. “Dominic, you can get us to Parsons, correct?”
“I think I should,” He said. “I’m sorry, did that thing just say it was already waiting for us, did it already get to Parsons?”
​
“I suppose we’ll find out shortly…” Gretchen admitted. “If so… we should still have time. The Rosen Prince shouldn’t have the biomass to launch a particularly large assault right now. He’ll need more bodies… but I still suggest we move, the clock is ticking.”
​
Nina pulled the car onto the road leading out of Puriysk, watching the rearview mirror anxiously as she did. The mists of the forest swallowed us up as we left Puriysk behind. All that remained now was ahead of us, at the end of the road.

First Entry
Second Entry
Third Entry
Fourth Entry ​
Fifth Entry
Sixth Entry
Seventh Entry
Eighth Entry
​
Journal of Camille Lambert - April 14th
​
When the fires finally died, there was almost nothing left of Puriysk. Just about every building was scorched and blackened. Most of the tents had been destroyed too, with only a tattered handful remaining on the far side of town.
​
Driving through the ruins felt almost like driving through a corpse. Everything was so dead… and yet despite the recent fire, I could already see new life growing on the ashes. Small flowers with petals that seemed to shimmer like distant stars. They were both beautiful and unsettling at the same time, although I noticed Dr. Di Cesare… or Gretchen, I suppose… looking down at them with quiet apprehension as we passed.
​
“We should visit what remains of my lab first,” She said. “I had some equipment that should offer suitable protection against any airborne toxins. Atmospheric saturation should currently be low, but best practices recommend not to take any unnecessary risks!”
“Sister, we’re way past best practices right now,” Nina replied sardonically. “Exactly how often were you dealing with this shit if you’ve got ‘suitable protection’ just on hand?”
“Often enough,” Gretchen replied. “Not in some years though… decades, really. I keep it now as a precaution. When studying pocket realities, one can never be too prepared. The Rosen Prince exists in far more than you could possibly imagine.”
​
“And now you’ve gone and brought it here,” Nina replied.
“While I understand you disapprove of my course of action, I stand by that the choice I made last night was the one with the highest probability of a favorable outcome.”
“‘Favorable outcome.’” Nina repeated, before giving a sigh of exasperation. “Whatever you say. I figure that one way or the other, this is gonna end with one of us saying ‘I Told You So’ and I hope to God it’s you.”
“As do I…” Gretchen admitted.
​
We pulled up on what was left of Gretchen’s RV. The roof had been completely peeled off and the entire front end was smashed, but it seemed like the lab portion was still somewhat intact… somewhat.
​
Gretchen got out of the car, pausing to survey the state of her lab. For a moment I thought that she almost looked upset, but if she felt anything at all she buried it quickly and pushed ahead.
“We’ll be out here,” Nina said. “Don’t take too long.”
“I’ll help you look,” I said, getting out of the car as well and following Gretchen into the ruined RV. She was already going through some of the drawers when I joined her inside.
​
Despite everything, the lab part of the RV was almost in good condition. Almost. Papers had been strewn all over the floor and scattered everywhere among shards of broken glass. I heard something crack under my shoe and looked down to see a framed photograph on the floor. I reached down to pick it up. The photograph depicted a group of women, around 14 of them, I think. I recognized one in the corner as Gretchen. I wondered if this was her family.
​
I looked up at her, to see her pausing at one particular drawer, before taking out a series of respirator masks.
“Elastomeric respirators. Good for keeping out paint, dust, and spores. Small particles that can harm the lungs. I’ve found they reduce spore exposure by over 90%. Not foolproof, but helpful.”
She counted four out of the selection she had, before putting one on and handing the rest off to me. I set the photo down to take them and put one of the masks on myself. As I did, Gretchen took a bone handled knife out of her coat.
​
“I do have one further precaution that I use… where would you like to be scarred?”
“I’m sorry, what?” I asked, taking a step back. Gretchen tilted her head to the side slightly, before realizing that I didn’t understand whatever the hell she was talking about.
​
“As a precaution, I think it would be wise to mark a rune into your flesh. It won’t necessarily protect you against the Rosen Prince, but it will guarantee you die before it takes control of you… here, let me show you…”
She slid off her coat and gingerly hung it over a chair. I could see the revolver resting in a shoulder holster she wore underneath. She rolled up the sleeve of her shirt. Above the Aquarius tattoo on her wrist, I could see several runes scarred into her arm.
​
“Scarification is a deep form of magic. Not for the faint of heart, but deeply effective. This one here…” She pointed at one about halfway up her forearm. “It’s a curse. Were I ever to be infected by the Rosen Prince, it would drain my life away, killing me before I could be fully claimed by it. Personally, I think it’s the merciful alternative. Assimilation into the hive mind technically does not kill you, but it is not a fate I would wish on most. Everything you were, everything you are lost within an ocean of voices so that you no longer remain because you and It are now one and the same.”
​
“Are you going to do that to Nina and Dom too?” I asked warily.
“I already did Nina this morning. And I’ll offer it to Dominic before we depart. I can not force you to accept this… the spell does not work unless you do it yourself. However I do recommend it.”
I stared at the knife for a moment, before grimacing and rolling up my sleeve.
“Just show me what to do…” I said.
​
Gretchen nodded and beckoned me over to the chair. She knelt by my side and helped me guide the knife.
“It only needs to be a shallow wound. Enough to draw blood and leave a lasting mark,” She said. As the knife pierced my arm, I winced in pain.
“Very good! Now, let me guide you…” She placed a hand over mine. “Look at my rune. We’ll copy it exactly.”
​
I nodded before trying to do just that, gritting my teeth in pain and trying not to scream. Gretchen guided my hand, but I held the knife and I was the one who pushed it into my skin… it wasn’t the worst pain I’d ever felt. But it came very close and I didn’t last long before I had to stop, sucking in air as if that might numb the pain as I felt tears filling my eyes.
“How the hell do you do this to yourself?” I gasped.
“The rewards are worth the pain,” Gretchen replied. “See this?” She pointed to another rune on her arm, “It’s an elemental brand. It’s how I was able to control the fire, last night. And this…” She pointed to another one, “This one allows for limited spatial manipulation. It took me three tries to get it right. Each time I had to carve away the old skin and heal it to begin anew.”
​
I flinched at the thought of it and she cracked a small smile that I think was meant to be reassuring.
“Oh, I assure you that’s nothing,” She said brushing past her long stringy hair and leaning forward so I could see the back of her neck, exposing a far more complicated rune.
​
“This here? That’s an attribution spell. It’s one of the hardest to get right, but once you’ve done it, it keeps you safe.”
“Yeah… howso?” I asked.
“If someone were to pull a gun and shoot me now, I would feel no pain. The wound would manifest on their body instead. Given the fact that he was able to obtain the heart of an Old Fae, it’s possible that Calhoun bears a similar mark. Most powerful witches do. My sisters, for example. Long ago, we each learned this rune and one by one, we carved it into the backs of our necks as a means to ensure our survival. It’s useful… although not foolproof. Stab me, and I feel no pain. Throw me on to a knife and… well… ” She shrugged. “Of course, my little spell would do nothing to protect me from this…”
​
She took the revolver out of her holster and showed it to me.
“There’s no magic in existence that would save you from Malvian Ice. I modified this gun to amplify it’s properties. To ensure every shot was lethal. But the bullets?” She opened the cylinder and took one out. It looked almost like a regular bullet, although the tip seemed crystalline and had a pinkish shine to it.
“They don’t need the gun to be effective. Put this in the heart of Calhoun… and there is no magic, no God, nothing in existence that could offer him salvation. This bullet… this is Death herself. Absolute, inescapable, and final.”
​
She reached over and gently pressed the bullet into my hand.
“You should carry it. The other three bullets may be needed elsewhere. It would be wise to save one.”
“You’re the one with the gun, why don’t you take it?” I asked.
“At heart, I am a scientist not a fighter.” Gretchen said. “I can use this weapon, but as of right now I only carry it for safekeeping. I suspect Valentine may get more use out of it than I will. She would certainly be the better shot… although given her demeanor and what lies ahead of us, I do not want to risk the possibility that she might use all four of our remaining bullets before we reached Calhoun. Therefore… I entrust you with this.”
​
I looked down at the bullet in my hand, before giving a half nod,
“I’ll keep it close,” I promised.
“Excellent! Now… you’re halfway done. Shall we finish the rest?”
I looked down at the bleeding rune on my arm and nodded slowly. Gretchen showed me her rune again, and I pressed the knife back into my skin.
​
The cut was already throbbing with pain… and maybe that was why finishing the rune was easier than starting it was.
“Excellent work,” Gretchen said. “You may have a future as a witch someday… perhaps.” She stared down at the blood on my arm thoughtfully, before tearing her attention away.
​
“You’re a vampire, right?” I asked. “When’s the last time you…”
“Three hours prior to yesterdays incident,” She replied, standing up again. “Strictly speaking I only need to feed once every few days, once per week at minimum. Biting you will not be necessary… although I will admit, your blood does smell…nice. I personally prefer an older male specimen, maintained in reasonable health however just because one likes merlot doesn’t mean they can’t enjoy a good rosé. But I digress. You need your strength and I have other provisions to ensure I make do.”
​
She walked over to the far side of the lab and opened a cabinet, rifling around in it for a few minutes before taking out what looked like a wine bottle.
“A little side project some of my sisters entertain. Hardly a full meal… but the wine masks the taste of stale blood. I was saving it for a special occasion. But, it will suffice for now.” She pulled the cork and took a drink from the bottle, before going through the cabinet again and coming back with a white first aid kid.
“Let me wrap that wound for you, at least until the bleeding stops,” She said. I gingerly held out my arm and let her work. It didn’t take long.
​
Outside, I could hear the car horn honking impatiently. Gretchen ignored it, gently cleaning my wound.
“There we go…” She said gently, “All set. Bring the masks outside, I’ll join you momentarily.”
​
I nodded and got up to leave. Looking back, I noticed her standing over the photograph I’d picked up earlier. She stared down at it, before taking the picture out of the broken frame and slipping it into her pocket before finally taking her wine bottle and following me out.
​
***
​
The tents on the far side of town were still mostly intact, although seeing them abandoned still felt a little surreal. The shimmering flowers grew along the ground, and among them I could see creeping red weeds sprawling across the ground. Those weeds had even started to grow over some of the tents.
​
Nina regarded them with unease, before checking to ensure her mask was on right and going in to investigate. She held her rifle at the ready the whole while.
“Fuck… how the hell do you do this to yourself?” I heard Dom seethe from behind me and looked back to see Gretchen helping him scar himself.
“In time, you learn to accept the pain,” She said. “Now breathe. We’re nearly done.”
​
Dom looked up at me as Gretchen guided his hand. I went over to put a hand on his shoulder and stay with him through the pain.
“There… there… now we’re done,” Gretchen crooned. “Let me wrap that for you. You did well.”
“Christ…” Dom panted, “All this over some fucking flowers?”
“Those flowers have ended Universes and brought entire civilizations to their knees,” Gretchen warned. “There is no caution you cannot take with them.”
​
Dom looked over toward some of the glowing flowers. I noticed Nina was giving them a wide berth.
“If they’re that dangerous, why even summon them?” He asked.
“I had four bullets, and more than four approaching targets. Even the more offensive spells at my disposal would not have offered sufficient protection. We were in a dire situation. I needed something that would serve as both a formidable distraction and that could reverse our fortunes. I made a judgment call. The Pocket Reality I opened has been claimed by the Rosen Prince for some time. I’ve done some research there before and I imagine he’s been waiting for my return ever since. I suspected that the moment I gave him a door, he would come scampering… and he did not disappoint. His infection will spread rapidly, but so long as we use the correct precautions, we should be fine. I can not say the same for Calhoun’s local militia and his Nightwalkers, on the other hand. I doubt they are equipped to deal with him.”
​
“No shit, they aren’t…” Dom murmured, “I gotta ask, what exactly happens if this thing reaches Calhoun before we do?”
Gretchen frowned.
“Hard to say,” She admitted as she finished bandaging Dom’s scar. “I don’t have enough data to be certain. But…”
​
“But?” I asked.
“Last night, McClellan said something I found… interesting. He mentioned that there were other towns ‘ripe for the picking’ out there and then said something about Calhoun getting the rest of the 5000 souls he needed. I’ve been trying to figure out what he meant by that.”
“Did you come up with anything?” Dom asked.
“Unfortunately, I did,” She admitted. “I don’t suppose Nina has told you two where your Nightwalkers come from, did she?”
“Something about another pocket. She called it The Midnight Grove,” I said. Gretchen nodded.
​
“Correct. Now… the entity that controls the Midnight Grove, The Lugal. It is known for making deals. Offer it souls and it can be bargained with. And with 5000 souls… well, in theory, the rewards would be great.”
“In theory?” Dom asked.
“There’s a very good reason the wise don’t deal with the Lugal. Whatever he offers you shall inevitably corrupt you, until you are little more than just another of the shambling, mindless beasts who wander his domain. Personally, I’ve found that you can get a better deal elsewhere. But that’s neither here nor there. The future state of Calhoun’s soul is really not important to us. If he completes his deal, then killing him becomes significantly harder… and I have little doubt that he has the means to complete his deal.”
​
“How?” I asked.
“When Mr. Durand first reached out to me about joining this operation, there was some discussion on how Ben Calhoun was able to enter and leave this pocket reality. At the time, I’d theorized that he had established a permanent means of doing so. It would not be that difficult… the correct runes on certain doors would likely suffice and would permit him to come and go as he pleased. We theorized that he had set up such doors in other towns he may have been interested in. I had hoped we may be able to find one such door. I even went so far as to look for small towns in the United States that had similarities with the ones we already knew existed in this pocket, that just so happened to have a resident there by the name of Ben Calhoun.”
​
“And what did you find?” I asked.
“Hundreds in the United States alone,” She said. “Enough so that exploring my theory further was not an option… however considering what McClellan said about ‘other towns ripe for the picking’ however I can not help but wonder if my theory is correct. McClellan said that Calhoun needed 5000 souls. To that end, I’ve put together a rough estimate of how many more he might need based on the estimated body count from his… actions… in the other towns.”
​
I felt my stomach sink a little bit.
“Between Rankin Mills, Bakersfield, and Thompson Falls, I estimate casualties of 1500, 2000, and 500 respectively for a sum of 4000 give or take. Puriysk had approximately a thousand people living in it… had we not intervened, Calhoun would have had his 5000 souls. And if I’m right about him having doorways to other towns, then I think I know how he might try and make up the deficit.”
“So he’s going to try and bring another town into the pocket…” I said quietly, before the rest of the realization hit me. “And if the Rosen Prince takes Calhoun, it could use any of those doors to get out of here!”
​
Gretchen nodded.
“It may not even need to take Calhoun,” She said. “All it would need to do is make it to Parsons and fine a door. Those outside would have no means of identifying where it would show up, delaying their ability to form an effective response and at minimum, resulting in further loss of life.”
“Jesus Christ…” Dom said under his breath, “You knew this and you still let that thing out?”
​
“As I said, I made a judgment call,” Gretchen said. “If we get to Parsons first, we can eliminate Calhoun and render all of this null and void. Kill Calhoun, and there is no pocket reality. No pocket reality means no Rosen Prince and if I am correct about those doorways…”
“That’s how we get out,” I said. Again, she nodded.
​
“You can be upset with me for what I did last night… I agree, it was a reckless move and not one that I made lightly. But I traded certain death for a ticking clock and an effective distraction. I stand by that decision, whatever the consequences.”
Dom just sighed and shook his head.
“Well… like Nina said, I guess. This is gonna end with somebody saying ‘I told you so’ and we better fucking hope that it’s you.”
With that, he went off to follow Nina toward the tents.
​
We spent the better part of an hour going through what was left from the FRB’s supplies and even some of the things we did find weren’t exactly useable. One tent which had been used as something of a mess hall was completely overgrown with those glowing flowers, leaving any food in there practically inedible. Most of what we found that we could use was guns and ammo.
​
“Trust me, we’re gonna need this shit,” Nina said as she opened the combination padlocks to the gun lockers. She tossed them aside and pulled the locker open, sorting through the contents before finding something and handing it to me. It had the body of a pistol, but with a stock and a sight.
“Kel-Tec CP33. Should be good for you,” She said before reaching for something else. She admired it for a moment, before setting her current rifle aside.
“Holy shit… I knew they were bringing in some heavy shit, but God Damn!”
​
“What is it?” Dom asked, watching as she took out something that looked like a bigger, smoother version of the rifle she already had
“It’s an AA-12… I’ve never actually gotten to fire one of these before. Should be fun! Hey Dom, you want one too? They’ve got a few in here!”
“What’s it do?” He asked.
“It’s a full auto shotgun with 20 shell drum mag. Basically - it turns anyone you don’t like into ground beef. Should be useful against the Rosen Prince…” She got down, checking a lower shelf and taking out boxes of ammo.
​
“Let’s see… I heard Milo mention something about Dragons Breath rounds. He thought they’d be effective against the Nightwalkers. Lemme just… oh fuck yes!”
She held up a box of shotgun shells, grinning from ear to ear.
​
“Thank you, Milo! Gretchen, think you can help us curse these?”
“I should be able to,” She said, going over to take the box from Nina. She sorted through a few other boxes of bullets on the lower shelf, before sliding one over to me.
​
“Try these out,” She said. “Lemme know if you want something different. We’ve still got a lot out here.”
I nodded before picking up the box. I set it down on a table, took the magazine out of the gun Nina had given me, and loaded it up just the way she’d shown me before. Then I went outside to give it a test run.
​
As I stepped out, I looked over toward the ruins of Puriysk. I could see one charred building that had once been an apartment, now overgrown with red vines and glowing flowers that made the ruins twinkle in the most surreal way. In a sense, the building almost looked infected. The vines seemed more like cancerous growths than real plant life. Looking at it, I was reminded of the state that Bakersfield had been in… and I was reminded of the corpse of my mother, her eyes half open in death. The memory made my stomach turn.
​
I raised the gun up toward the distant building, knowing that if I shot at it I couldn’t kill what was ahead of me, but hoping it might make me feel better. I pulled the trigger, firing into the void.
​
“Hello?” A distant voice called, making me pause. “Hello, is someone there?”
“Hello?” I called back, lowering the gun and trying to follow the voice.
“Hello?!”
Up ahead, I could see a man stumbling past a few of the tents. Judging by his uniform, he’d been part of the FRB.
​
“Oh thank God…” He said, “Thank God I thought I was the only one left!”
“So did we!” I said. I noticed that the name on his uniform read - ‘Gideon’. I looked back toward the tent that Nina and the others were in.
“Are you hurt?” I asked, “We’ve got Dr. Di Cesare with us, I think I saw some spare masks in her lab too. We can get you one!”
“Masks?” Gideon asked, “Why? What’s going on here?”
“I’ll let Dr. Di Cesare explain, come on.”
​
I gestured for him to follow me into the tent. As I turned to go in, I saw Nina coming out.
“I’m hearing voices out here…” She said, before noticing Gideon. Gretchen came out behind her, eyes narrowing slightly.
“We’ve got another survivor,” I said and Nina looked over at Gideon with a raised eyebrow.
“Shit, really?” She asked, although didn’t sound particularly enthusiastic about it. She glanced over at Gretchen who was on top of Gideon almost immediately.
​
“Fascinating, how did you survive the night?” She asked, already poking and prodding at him. From the corner of my eye, I could see Dom coming out of the tent, holding the shotgun Nina had given him.
“I… I just stayed out of the fire!” Gideon said, “I let the monsters fight each other! I didn’t know what to do, I couldn’t get to the trucks before they left and then the radio went silent… what are you doing?”
​
Gretchen held him by the chin and leaned in to sniff at his neck.
“Did you know a vampire's sense of smell is over ten thousand times more accurate than a regular human's?” She asked, her voice as calm as ever. “It enables us to detect imperfections in the blood and avoid drinking anything that might be adverse to our health… and right now, I can smell the spores in yours.”
​
Gideon locked eyes with her, looking panicked for a moment before his lips slowly began to curl into a knowing rictus grin.
“You were always so astute, Gretchen…”
​
I saw his skull split apart suddenly, revealing rows upon rows of teeth inside. He tried to bite down on her head, but Gretchen seemed to be expecting that. I saw the ground beneath her shift, pulling her back a few feet.
​
Nina raised her shotgun and fired at Gideon before he could make another move. A column of sparks flashed out of her gun, setting Gideon’s body alight. He howled in pain and as he did I saw his body changing. The skin and flesh on his hands peeled back turning his fingers into claws. An inhuman screech escaped him as he lunged for Nina, only to be blown back by another flaming blast from her shotgun and sent crashing to the ground in a twitching, screaming pile of burning flesh.
Nina let out a shuddering, almost orgasmic sigh.
“I love you,” She said to the gun.
​
Almost as soon as the words left her mouth, a chorus of inhuman screams echoed through the air around us, seeming to come from everywhere at once.
“That doesn't sound good…” Dom said.
“Oh, it’s not. He makes that sound when he’s hungry,” Gretchen ‘assured’ us. “We should leave.”
​
She motioned with her hand, beckoning some of the fire off the burning remains of ‘Gideon’ and allowing them to form into a ball in her hand.
“But we’ve got supplies here!” Nina said, “We’re not getting through Parsons without them!”
“And he’s got the bodies from last night.”
​
Almost on cue, several shapes rounded one of the tents a few feet away. Gretchen casually let loose the ball of fire she’d taken, sending it flying toward one of the creatures racing toward us.
“Then we’ll just bring the car here, load up and leave!” Nina said. “Dom, keep them out of the tent, Cam, grab everything you can carry!”
“I have to state for the record that this is an ill advised-”
“Just shut up and help me get to the goddamn car!” Nina snapped, cutting Gretchen off before raising her gun to unleash hell upon the creatures that came for us.
​
I wasted no time running straight for the tent. Nina had opened a few of the lockers and had been going through the contents. She’d set aside the dragon's breath rounds, and I figured those were probably the ones she was looking to bring. She’d opened up a metal ammo box and had already been setting the shells inside. I didn’t really have the time to set them up in order the way she’d been doing, but I did have time to carelessly dump them in there like an idiot.
​
I could see the flashes from outside as Dom fired at some of the Rosen and judging by the sounds he made, I couldn’t tell if he was having fun, terrified for his life, or both.
​
I grabbed a second ammo box, hastily dumping the remaining shells in there. I didn’t count them and hoped to God that it would be enough, then I grabbed another box of the .22 ammo that my gun used, stuffed that in my pocket, and closed up the boxes. I figured it was as good enough.
“Let’s go!” I yelled to Dom, grabbing both boxes by the handles. They were heavier than they looked, but I did what I could to tough it out.
​
He fired a few more rounds at some of the passing Rosen, bathing them in sparks that caught their bodies alight and sent the ones near them scurrying away. From what I could see, no two were exactly the same. Some of the smaller ones, who looked as if they’d once been human either wore tattered FRB uniforms or the loose ensemble of the Sheriff’s Boys. Although most had discarded their clothes entirely, embracing the monster that now puppeteered them. Their heads opened like flowers, and some even had the same shimmering petals as the glowing flowers that dotted the ruins. Many had those same flowers blooming on their skin, only in their center were sickly yellow eyes. They loped about on all fours like wild dogs, howling and shrieking all the while, trying to escape the flames that bathed them but never quite giving up their single minded pursuit.
​
A few of them ran for me, although Dom dealt with those quickly, washing them in columns of fire with every pull of his trigger. Together we retreated back toward the car. In the chaos, it was hard to keep track of events. There were just so many… too many to count. I left the shooting to Dominic, my only focus was on staying out of his way and reaching the car.
​
I could see flames rising up into the sky a few feet away and knew that Gretchen and Nina were still fighting. We were getting closer to them. A fresh column of fire tore through one of the nearby tents, burning it away almost completely along with the Rosen who were unlucky enough to be caught in its path.
​
As we rounded that tent, I saw Nina hastily backing toward the SUV, unloading her last few rounds into the advancing crowd of Rosen and buying herself enough time to get inside.
​
Gretchen was doing the same, pulling the fire from the burning corpses and forming burning walls between her and the living. Behind the horde, I could see one twisted figure standing atop one of the tents, watching her with a single yellow eye.
​
“A RIPE NEW WORLD TO USHER IN TO SPRING EVERLASTING!” A voice howled through the chaos. I think it came from the thing that watched Gretchen. “How kind of you, Gretchen Di Cesare… an apology for your many insults? Or a failure. The newest of many?”
​
She didn’t humor the Rosen Prince with a response, or at least not a verbal one. A tendril of flames shot out of the wall she’d summoned, to engulf the thing that had spoken to her. Killing it, did nothing to stop the voice, which seemed to come from everywhere at once now.
​
“Shall you outrun me again, Child? Or do I at last claim you as my own?”
Gretchen just turned, and pulled open the car door, getting in as Nina keyed the engine. The wall of flames pivoted, cutting violently across the path before the car and burning anything there before quickly parting. Nina hit the gas and sped toward us, while Gretchen’s trail of fire followed.
​
I saw the Rosen shrink back as the car and the fire drew near. We took the opportunity while it was there. Dom pulled one of the doors open for me and I hefted the ammo boxes inside, looking back to watch him dive in behind me. We didn’t even get a chance to close the door before Nina was driving again. Gretchen rolled down the window and pulled the fires from behind us forward, launching them in front of the car to burn away the Rosen in our path. As she did, I could hear the demonic laughter of the Rosen Prince in the distance.
“RUN IF YOU MUST, DEAR CHILD! FOR I ALREADY AWAIT YOU!”
​
I looked out the back window to see that the Rosen had already given up chasing us. I wasn’t sure if that was a good sign or not. Judging by the look on Gretchen’s face, it wasn’t.
“We need to move, quickly,” She said. “Dominic, you can get us to Parsons, correct?”
“I think I should,” He said. “I’m sorry, did that thing just say it was already waiting for us, did it already get to Parsons?”
​
“I suppose we’ll find out shortly…” Gretchen admitted. “If so… we should still have time. The Rosen Prince shouldn’t have the biomass to launch a particularly large assault right now. He’ll need more bodies… but I still suggest we move, the clock is ticking.”
​
Nina pulled the car onto the road leading out of Puriysk, watching the rearview mirror anxiously as she did. The mists of the forest swallowed us up as we left Puriysk behind. All that remained now was ahead of us, at the end of the road.