Sirens and Pyschos

General Summary

Another one bites the dust!
Lissa’s body lay in front of me, completely limp. Her once beautiful ginger hair had been reduced to disparate patches and whiskers in just a few days. Patterned freckles across her cheeks were now covered in the toxic green sludge she had just viciously downed. My closest follower, my friend, was now a hollow shell of her former self.
How can you still have sympathy for that bitch, Pete? She just stabbed you for that green slime!
I looked down at my torso to see the wound Lissa had inflicted. Blood flowed ceaselessly in a long, but containable line out of my chest. The least of my concerns. I tore off part of my sleeve, tying it around my stomach as a temporary measure.
I turned my gaze towards the noxious, river raging next to us. Why didn’t my purification work?
It’s been days since you last drank from the source. Don’t expect any miracles from me.
And when I couldn’t heal Jupiter back in town? Was that your fault too?
I’ve told you before, I’m here to help you. Just look at this pitiful girl; no source for a few days and she goes psycho!
I winced as I knelt down next to Lissa, resting my fingers on her jugular. A faint pulse; just barely alive.
You trusted her and she betrayed you, just like everyone else. You can’t forgive her.
The river continued to rage, voraciously swallowing mossy boulders and leaping fish alike.
You wouldn’t.
Why not? Her mind was gone at that point and she was clearly unstable. This was for her own good, right? As I rolled her closer to the edge, I strained to think of other possibilities: of dragging her back to the others alive, of abandoning her there by the river, of waiting for her to wake in the hopes she was still the same Lissa I knew.
But I couldn’t think anymore. It was too painful. I felt absolutely nothing kicking her body into the river, watching her be swallowed by the crashing waves.
YES!! This! This is the Pete I’ve been trying to coax out of that maze of a head you’ve got.
Quiet. I’ve had enough.
It took every ounce of strength I had putting one foot in front of the other to walk back to town to greet the others with my failure.

---

Pete’s brain switched to autopilot as he trudged his way back to the rest of his group. The devil in his mind relentlessly applauded Pete for finding his “true self.” Pete was used to refuting the devil’s aggravations and schemes, arguing that he could always think of a better way to save the ones he loved. Yet, days had passed without access to the source’s purifying water, and the devil was determined to wreak havoc. What was once an angel of justice that unified with Pete’s soul to create a harmonizing voice, had become this malevolent abomination that preyed on his emotions and twisted his every thought. Pete’s mind had finally broken, and the devil was excited to play with his new toy.
What awaited Pete on the dirt road normally would have alarmed him, but not anymore. Jupiter lay in a pool of crimson, choking on his own blood. Shephard loomed over him with a frantic look in her eyes, searching for anything to stop the bleeding. Several knife wounds decorated Jupiter’s chest with the most grievous of injuries located around his throat.
Look, it’s the guy who sliced Sam’s head off. You let him go and he repays you by dying like this?
“There you are, Pete. Where’s that water?” Shephard asks as she clamps her hands on Jupiter’s spirting neck. “It didn’t work. I couldn’t purify it. Sorry,” Pete dejectedly replied. “What? Again? Shit we’ve gotta do something!” Shephard reached for the bandana wrapped around her face and reapplied it to Jupiter’s wound, followed by Jupiter’s hoarse coughing.
What a disappointment. Not worth our time. We’re finding that scum Jagd next.
Almost autonomously, Pete began walking away from the pitiful scene. “Pete, where the hell are you going!? He’s gonna die!” Pete turned his head back towards Shephard, then down to the heaving Jupiter.
“Is he even worth saving?”
Without waiting for a response, Pete turned back towards the road to continue his march.

---

There’s that fucking rat who abandoned you during the shootout.
Jagd’s slim body leaned against a broken lamppost down the road. He lit a cigarette and deeply inhaled it’s calming fumes, shaking his head and smirking as Pete approached.
“The hell do you want?” Jagd coldly asked as he stared off into space.
I don’t like his tone. “What happened back there?” Pete inquired. “You ditched us.”
“Sounds about right.”
Listen you little pri- “You got a problem?” Pete demanded. “We nearly got our asses handed to us by those mercs back there, and you decided to pussy out!”
Jagd scoffed as he dropped his cigarette and stamped it out on the floor. “Shame. But if I remember correctly, this all started because you lost our weapons to those mercs in the first place.” Jagd began pacing back and forth, gesturing his hands with increasing aggravation. “And then, to get em’ back, you tell me I gotta bend over and suck that freak’s DICK!” That was pretty funny.
Jagd’s irritation was unable to phase Pete. Hollow eyes stared back at Jagd as Pete remained silent. “You know, the only reason I joined up with your gang was ‘cause it was a safe place, away from all the bullshit of this wasteland. I thought when we were driven from the source that you had a plan to get us home.”
See? He was just using you. He was never your friend. Pete opened his mouth as the invisible strings danced in the air. “How about you do as you're told next time. Following my orders, that's the plan.” Jagd chuckled to himself before answering. “Guess I was wrong about you, Pete. You’re just another psycho. Fuck off.”
Aaaand FUCK you too, buddy! Off to the rest of those sorry saps!

---

When Pete returned to the spot of Jupiter’s supposed demise, he found only Shephard. Covered in blood from head to toe, she looked around dazed and confused. The nearby homes all had their doors closed and windows boarded up. The pool of Jupiter’s crusting blood, along with a few bullet casings and discarded magazines, was the only indicator of the previous chaos. As far as Pete could tell, the two were all alone.
“Shep? What happened?” She turned to meet Pete’s stare. He hadn’t noticed until now, but this was the first time he had seen her face underneath the bandana. Pale, olive skin served as the backdrop for the painting that was her face. Scars from old knife and bullet wounds adorned her lips and cheeks. Her hazel eyes rolled and her soft eyebrows raised as she answered Pete. “I-I honestly have no clue. The kid showed up a-and he said he could heal Jupiter and then he grabbed his arm and then t-they were just-“ Shephard opened and closed her palms, making a “poof” sound.
“Um… are you OK, Pete?” Pete’s eyes once again drifted to Shephard’s. He couldn’t understand it, but there was something soothing about her voice. It was as though a siren were calling to him through a thick fog on the sea. He had resigned himself to allowing the devilish second-mate to gleefully steer the ship into whatever hazard he could find on the waves as Pete slogged around in a drunken stupor. Now, the voice of an angel he had thought long lost called to him.
“No, I’m not.” Pete inched closer to Shephard. Her eyes widened a bit at his pure honesty. “Really? I noticed you haven’t been yourself lately,” she queried further.
Tossing away the bottle, he staggered his way to the helm. Hey! That’s not what I told you to say!
“You noticed, huh? Course you did,” Pete answered in a slightly higher pitch. One foot after the other, Shephard followed suit as she sauntered towards Pete with worry in her eyes. Of everyone Pete had the “pleasure” of meeting in his travels, he had never met anyone as concerned for the wellbeing of others as he was until now. Shephard was usually reserved in her opinions and rarely ever spoke up during group discussions, but Pete saw how she cared for everyone: how she kept the kid out of trouble, how she tried saving Jupiter when Pete refused to, how she was reaching out to save him in that very moment.
“And how you treated Jagd back there, and Jupiter too. You don’t really think that. You would never hurt us, would you?” Shephard asked softly.
“Never,” Pete proclaimed.
Finally reaching the helm, his sight returned to him at last. Get back down there! This is MY ship now! Pete gripped the steering wheel. A light roared to life in his eyes as his met the second mate’s. Neither one would relinquish as they battled for control. Pete commanded every ounce of his strength to heave the wheel towards the siren’s call, the fog receding to reveal light.
Shephard’s body connected with Pete’s at last as the two embraced each other. She let out a giggle as she surveyed the scene of blood, guts, and bullets around them.
“Ya, course you wouldn’t,” she whispered as the two became one.

Character(s) interacted with

Shepherd Jupiter Shadowdance Hey

Report Date

21 Mar 2019

Primary Location

Pitts, North