Chapter Text
Don’t fear the dark, for light always shines through. Ignore the shadows your eyes meet, for they’ll be gone with the first daylight. Pay no mind to dark voices, for the light in your heart is stronger. Say a little prayer before bed, only to be in light’s grace, and pray you wake up in the morning.
In peace I will both lie down and sleep; For You alone, Lord, have me dwell in safety.
May the Light ever be in your favor.
~^~
“NO, NO, NO, NO, NO! WAIT! COME BACK!” Jay screamed, but to no avail. He watched as the bus of the day drove off, leaving behind but a cloud of smoke and dust. “Dammit!” Jay kicked a nearby can, sending it into the empty road.
“I told you we should have left sooner.” Zane said between pants of air.
Every Thursday, Cole, Jay, and Zane went to the arcade. Cole and Jay played anything they could compete with each other on, while Zane usually sat alone in a booth, studying. Sometimes he would join them in a game, or go off to play on his own. They always left at ten, with plenty of time to spare till the last bus.
Today, however, they stayed way later. The clock showed midnight, and the last bus had just left their stop. Cole and Zane could walk, sure, but Jay lived way too far. That was a problem.
“What now?” Cole asked, sitting on the pavement. Zane would start the argument of ‘Sit on the goddamned bench, Cole!’, but he had no energy left in him. Staying up late, plus running to catch the bus, drained him.
“You could stay at my place, as I live the closest.” He said. Jay perked up. Zane had always had the coolest house of the three. It was big, since Zane had a huge family, and was always neat, or had cool trinkets his dad was working on laying around. For Jay, it was heaven on earth.
“Is your dad okay with that?” Cole asked, raising an eyebrow.
“He will be working late tonight. Jug is in charge.” Zane shrugged. Cole nodded, before standing up and stretching his arms. He let a yawn escape.
“Bear mode, activated!” Jay said in his deepest voice. Zane chuckled, while Cole flipped him off. Zane stood up from the bench as well, dusting himself off.
“Shall we?”
“Oh! Let me text Lex first!” Jay said, taking his phone out.
“Not your parents?” Cole raised an eyebrow.
“I’m supposed to be staying with her tonight.” Jay said, sticking his tongue out. He often did that, especially when he was focusing on something.
“Oh god, Lex is gonna receive a whole essay…” Cole said, eyes wide. Zane sighed. Jay had a bad habit of over-explaining things when he knew something he did would upset the person he spoke to.
“Done!” Jay put his phone back in his pocket. “Cole, shouldn’t you text your parents?” Cole shrugged.
“Dad’s out. Gleck won’t care.” Jay frowned. “Hey, don’t you dare pity me!” Jay lifted his arms in mock surrender.
He then smirked. Zane frowned, knowing that Jay probably was up to something. “Jay, what-“ The shorter boy slapped Cole’s arm.
“Tag, you’re it!” He shouted, before he started running down the road to Zane’s house.
“Hey!” Cole ran after him. Zane groaned, before begrudgingly running after his friends.
To get to Zane’s house, the three usually took a shortcut. A left turn through an alleyway, which led them right to the road Zane lived on. Jay, in his half-tired and half-running away from Cole state, took a right turn. Cole followed, and Zane, who was too focused on his friends to realize, did as well.
Jay stopped for a second when the alley split, deciding to go left. His choice, sadly, ended in a dead-end. Jay made the mistake of looking back, not realizing there was a wall in front of him. He ended up slamming into it and breaking his nose. “Ha! Gotcha!” Cole managed to stop in time, avoiding slamming into the wall as well. Zane, on the other hand, bumped right into Cole, knocking the bigger man down. Jay laughed at them, before wincing as he snorted. He leaned forward, holding his nose. “Ow…”
Zane got off of Cole. “Jay, your nose!”
“Gee, really? I didn’t notice.” Jay pinched his nose, with his free hand, shaking the blood off from the other. Zane took a wet wipe from his bag, helping him clean the rest. “Nya’s gonna kill me…”
“Did you wear her jacket again?” Jay nodded. Cole snorted.
A growl ripped through the night. “Dude, we just ate!” Jay said, looking at Cole.
“It wasn’t me!” Cole shot up.
“Oh, really?” Jay raised an eyebrow.
“Hey, that’s rude!” Another growl was heard, this time louder. Jay’s eyes went wide as a dark, clawed hand clutched the corner of the wall. A head made of shadow appeared, watching the two. It growled. Cole backtracked, putting as much distance between himself and the monster. The other two did the same, only stopping once their backs hit the wall. The monster approached them.
“Oh god, this is it. I’m gonna die by a monster!” Jay whined.
“If I don’t make it, someone tell my siblings I love them.” Zane gulped.
The monster raised a clawed hand. The three closed their eyes, holding each other. The hand came down.
“Hey! Ugly!” Nothing came. Cole risked opening an eye, only to see the claws mere inches away. He let out a relieved breath, opening both eyes. The monster was looking at someone over them. Cole looked up, seeing a person in a gray and red armor, face covered. The person jumped, producing a sword out of seemingly thin air, and slashed through the monster as they landed. The monster evaporated with a scream. “Ha! Twenty-four! Lime’s gonna freak!” The person said. They glanced to the guys, seeing that they were -mostly- okay, before giving Cole a mock salute and walking off, sword disappearing from his hand.
“Are we dead yet?” Jay asked, opening an eye.
“Who was that?” Zane asked. Cole looked at him.
“I… don’t know.”