Day 11:
Disgusting
By the end of dinner, the headache was excruciating. He must have looked bad because as the table was getting cleared and chatter of what the group was going to do next started up, Cole placed a heavy hand on his shoulder. "Do you need anything before I send you back to bed?”
He shook his head, ignoring the flare of pain it caused as best he could. “No. Thank you though.”
Cole nodded. “We’ll keep it as quiet as we can manage.”
Dlmor pressed against his leg as he started for the stairs. Every step sent a jolt of pain through his head and down his spine. The stairs looked daunting. He felt Dlmor leave his side only for the creature’s hands to wrap around his torso. The pain pulsed in time with his heartbeat but he would take that over it increasing with every step too.
The bed held no comfort when Dlmor laid him down. He curled in on himself, willing the pain to lessen. It wasn’t till Dlmor was pushing itself into the middle of his curled position that he realized it had turned off the lights. It was hard to tell if there was an increase of pain as he felt Dlmor’s comfort wrap around him. He pulled the creature close, curling around its head as its arms wrapped tightly around him. The warmth from Dlmor didn’t help the pain in his head but it eased some of the fear in his chest.
He wasn’t sure how long it was till he registered the noise he was hearing. It was like a static at the edge of his hearing and he let Dlmor go in order to cover his ears and block out the static sound. It wasn’t coming from an outside source. Or, at least, not all of it. He focused on the static he could hear with his hands over his ears and did so for as long as he could hold the position. It took a good while before his hands slipped from his ears, arms burning from the act of keeping other sounds out.
The sounds of the cabin were clearer. He could hear the edges of words from the first floor but he could make out the different voices with ease.
There was still static.
He frowned, sitting up. Dlmor didn’t move on its own and ended up on his lap with its arms still wrapped around him. He ran a hand over its back, looking around with a frown. There was something about the static that was important but the headache was making it hard to discern what was so important about it.
Scattered tones drifted through the static before he realized they were music notes.
Disbelief shot through him at the same time Dlmor growled.
Headache be damned, Artemis leapt off the bed. The grainy classical music was quiet on the static but very discernible now. Dlmor moved ahead of him down the stairs and into the silent living room, blinking out of sight before getting in anyone’s line of sight. Everyone was there, though all the blinds were now closed. Cole, Lora, and Beckett glanced in his direction while Orlean, Dean, and Sam kept their eyes on the door.
“To the master bedroom but keep the lights off,” Cole spoke out, his voice barely a whisper yet it carried well. “Be careful not to cast shadows on any of the windows along the way.”
“There’s no way it’s-” Sam started but she seemed unable to finish her sentence as the static filled classical music got clear enough to hear every note despite it being muffled by the building.
“Come on,” Orlean directed, reaching towards her and Dean. Dean was the one to grab his hand. The trio moved, quickly tailed by Beckett. Artemis moved to follow them towards the room Lora and Cole slept in but a hand closed around his shoulder. He looked back bewildered to find it had been Lora who had stopped him.
She wasn’t looking at him. “Go, Cole. Artemis and I will be right behind you guys.”
Cole frowned at her and he could make out concern, fear, and confusion on the other man’s face. “Are you sure?”
Her grip tightened on his shoulder. “Close the door and barricade it. You two will know when it’s us at the door.”
‘You two’? Who else was she talking about? For that matter, why were they not following the others. But Cole just nodded, accepting her words and seemingly trusting them for what they were. “Be careful you two.”
“We’ll do our best.”
Cole disappeared down the hallway leaving him alone with Lora.
He looked back at her bewildered, only to scramble out of her grasp and backpedal away from her. Dlmor pressed into his back and legs, stopping his retreat.
A hulking form made of shadow or ink was looming over Lora, its form very distinct and very imposing. He felt more than he heard Dlmor’s growl. The creature behind Lora didn’t respond but Lora did. She turned her gaze onto Dlmor and he felt the creature bristle more behind him. “I am not your enemy. Your enemy is outside taunting us.”
He flinched from the burst of pain in his head, digging the heel of a hand into his eye till it subsided. When it returned to the painful level it had been at, he blinked his vision clear only to find Lora’s gaze on him again. She was frowning and he didn’t like the combination of concern and dread barely masked by the determination on her face. “Artemis,” she spoke quietly, “did you hear any words?”
He got the impression that if there was any time to be blatantly honest, now was the time. “No. Dlmor has never been able to speak with me as I am with you now. There had been a hostile one in the camper. It had tried to attack me and Dlmor had moved to protect me. I’m not sure how but the scream one of them emitted left me with a raging headache. Dlmor’s been able to communicate with me some through some sort of memory transferring thing.” He shrugged. “I’m not sure what else to call it.”
“That’s rather accurate, actually.”
“But it’s not a painless endeavor. I…” He frowned, not sure how to explain this one. “Dlmor showed me a memory that I ended up living, if that makes sense.”
She glared at Dlmor. “You may have caused permanent damage,” she snapped, the thing behind her shifting in her rage and letting out a deep, low rumble of a growl.
He placed himself in the line of sight, cutting the glare off and getting her attention on him. “I had asked, Lora. Not intentionally but I barely understand what’s going on and all Dlmor did was show me my mom tying it to me.”
Lora let out a sharp breath. “Still. The one with you is plenty old enough to know the risk of doing that to you when you haven’t received attention for the damage you had sustained in the camper.”
This time the spike of pain was tolerable - very unpleasant and messed with his vision but it wasn’t like a stabbing pain right through his brain. That or the headache had simply gotten that much worse while they had been talking.
Lora was frowning at Dlmor when he was able to focus on her again. Her gaze drifted to him. “Have you given the one with you a name yet?”
“Dlmor’s not its name?” he asked, bewildered.
Lora smiled gently. “When they are tied to a new being, they get new names.” She reached up and the creature behind her bent over enough to press its chin into her waiting palm. “This big one was called-” the name didn’t stick- “when I was first introduced to them. I now call them Belvren in honor of the one my mother had with her.”
He looked down at Dlmor. “Is Dlmor what my mom named you?” Dlmor shook its head, pressing into his hand. He barely noticed the flare of pain as he understood that his mom had asked Dlmor for a name to be called by. He looked to Lora. “Do I have to rename it?”
Lora frowned. “I-”
There was a pound on the door that made them both jump. Dlmor and Belvren let out growls, both looking at the door. The old radio playing classical music sounded like it was right against the door.
“I’m not sure for your case, Artemis,” Lora explained. “You’re not like any Walker I’ve been taught about or have met.”
“Walker?”
“That’s what you and I are; we walk between the First and Second Planes with Shadows as companions or guides, depending on our roles.” Confusion edged her expression. “At least, I am a Walker. I don’t actually know if you classify as one.” He caught Dlmor shaking its head no out of the corner of his eye. Lora turned her attention to the creature. “Do you know what he is called, then?”
Dlmor’s head lowered, shaking no again. He buried his fingers into Dlmor’s fur at the back of its neck. “What about Beckett and Cole?”
There was the sound of several sharp somethings being dragged down the front of the door. He moved to look back but gained a burst of pain as Dlmor vehemently told him to not look back.
“They are Sensitives as far as I can tell. Neither have a Shadow and neither of them can actually see anything of the Second Plane.”
There was a series of heavy pounding on the front door.
He wanted to asked what that meant, what being a Sensitive or a Walker meant, what any of this meant about him, but it had to wait. “Do you know what we’re up against, then?”
“Something Bound or we wouldn’t be talking.” Lora’s gaze moved from the door to him. “Something that doesn’t have company quite yet.”
“Then what do we do?”
Lora looked up at Belvren. “Have you done much fighting with your Shadow?”
“Outside Dlmor launching off my shoulders at whatever was attacking me? No.”
She glanced at the door before looking at him. “Then run interference towards the bedroom door.”
“You think it’s going to get in.”
There was the sound of splintering wood behind him.
“Oh, I know it will. Mostly because I know how large of a target you are, especially now that you’re starting to see.”
“Wait, you’ve known?”
She nodded. “I was raised to see the Second Plane and all its creatures. I knew your Shadow was following you but I hadn’t realized you were a Walker. You never acknowledged Belvren nor yours in any way that I could recognize so I just assumed you were Tied.”
“Why is this starting to sound like a lot of terms that have significance that I’m missing?”
She laughed softly at that, an equally soft smile on her face. “Because there is significance to a number of these terms. I can’t use their actual labels. You won’t be able to understand them.”
There was a louder sound of splintering wood. He flinched forward from it, going with Dlmor pressing against his back getting him to huddle close to the floor. Biting wind slipped around Dlmor and clawed at him. Something large moved over his head and he glanced up to see Belvren had left Lora’s presence. Dlmor pressed several paws into his back and the contact points had him feeling the growl that the creature let out.
Watching Lora without being able to see what was going on behind him was intense. She didn’t move but some sort of remnant of Belvren had stayed behind. It formed into a bow in the air before her and she grasped it. As she drew the string back, an arrow formed already nocked.
Pain flared in his head but he suffered through it, desperate for whatever Dlmor was sharing with him. The plan was simple. He could follow it easily enough.
The instant she let the arrow go and it flew over his head, Dlmor moved off his back. He was up on his feet moving as soon as the creature’s weight was off his back. It was hard not to look at whatever was in the doorway till he was standing just ahead of the hallway entrance.
“Disgusting,” cut through the room on a voice he didn’t recognize.
Belvren hit the ground hard and the Shadow lost its shape. He wasn’t even sure he knew how to describe how Belvren lost its shape. It was like watching a shadow mimic thick ink splattering while not actually splattering and even that seemed inadequate. What counted as Belvren now gathered into a small shape before returning to Lora, slowly reshaping.
Dlmor’s shape shifted, growing larger than he had ever seen it. It took on a shape that walked on all fours and had a long, powerful looking tail. Nasty looking claws dug into the floor as it let out a low growl.
“You can try and intimidate me all you want,” the new voice drawled. “It will not work.”
He shook his head, ignoring the flare of pain it caused as best he could. “No. Thank you though.”
Cole nodded. “We’ll keep it as quiet as we can manage.”
Dlmor pressed against his leg as he started for the stairs. Every step sent a jolt of pain through his head and down his spine. The stairs looked daunting. He felt Dlmor leave his side only for the creature’s hands to wrap around his torso. The pain pulsed in time with his heartbeat but he would take that over it increasing with every step too.
The bed held no comfort when Dlmor laid him down. He curled in on himself, willing the pain to lessen. It wasn’t till Dlmor was pushing itself into the middle of his curled position that he realized it had turned off the lights. It was hard to tell if there was an increase of pain as he felt Dlmor’s comfort wrap around him. He pulled the creature close, curling around its head as its arms wrapped tightly around him. The warmth from Dlmor didn’t help the pain in his head but it eased some of the fear in his chest.
He wasn’t sure how long it was till he registered the noise he was hearing. It was like a static at the edge of his hearing and he let Dlmor go in order to cover his ears and block out the static sound. It wasn’t coming from an outside source. Or, at least, not all of it. He focused on the static he could hear with his hands over his ears and did so for as long as he could hold the position. It took a good while before his hands slipped from his ears, arms burning from the act of keeping other sounds out.
The sounds of the cabin were clearer. He could hear the edges of words from the first floor but he could make out the different voices with ease.
There was still static.
He frowned, sitting up. Dlmor didn’t move on its own and ended up on his lap with its arms still wrapped around him. He ran a hand over its back, looking around with a frown. There was something about the static that was important but the headache was making it hard to discern what was so important about it.
Scattered tones drifted through the static before he realized they were music notes.
Disbelief shot through him at the same time Dlmor growled.
Headache be damned, Artemis leapt off the bed. The grainy classical music was quiet on the static but very discernible now. Dlmor moved ahead of him down the stairs and into the silent living room, blinking out of sight before getting in anyone’s line of sight. Everyone was there, though all the blinds were now closed. Cole, Lora, and Beckett glanced in his direction while Orlean, Dean, and Sam kept their eyes on the door.
“To the master bedroom but keep the lights off,” Cole spoke out, his voice barely a whisper yet it carried well. “Be careful not to cast shadows on any of the windows along the way.”
“There’s no way it’s-” Sam started but she seemed unable to finish her sentence as the static filled classical music got clear enough to hear every note despite it being muffled by the building.
“Come on,” Orlean directed, reaching towards her and Dean. Dean was the one to grab his hand. The trio moved, quickly tailed by Beckett. Artemis moved to follow them towards the room Lora and Cole slept in but a hand closed around his shoulder. He looked back bewildered to find it had been Lora who had stopped him.
She wasn’t looking at him. “Go, Cole. Artemis and I will be right behind you guys.”
Cole frowned at her and he could make out concern, fear, and confusion on the other man’s face. “Are you sure?”
Her grip tightened on his shoulder. “Close the door and barricade it. You two will know when it’s us at the door.”
‘You two’? Who else was she talking about? For that matter, why were they not following the others. But Cole just nodded, accepting her words and seemingly trusting them for what they were. “Be careful you two.”
“We’ll do our best.”
Cole disappeared down the hallway leaving him alone with Lora.
He looked back at her bewildered, only to scramble out of her grasp and backpedal away from her. Dlmor pressed into his back and legs, stopping his retreat.
A hulking form made of shadow or ink was looming over Lora, its form very distinct and very imposing. He felt more than he heard Dlmor’s growl. The creature behind Lora didn’t respond but Lora did. She turned her gaze onto Dlmor and he felt the creature bristle more behind him. “I am not your enemy. Your enemy is outside taunting us.”
He flinched from the burst of pain in his head, digging the heel of a hand into his eye till it subsided. When it returned to the painful level it had been at, he blinked his vision clear only to find Lora’s gaze on him again. She was frowning and he didn’t like the combination of concern and dread barely masked by the determination on her face. “Artemis,” she spoke quietly, “did you hear any words?”
He got the impression that if there was any time to be blatantly honest, now was the time. “No. Dlmor has never been able to speak with me as I am with you now. There had been a hostile one in the camper. It had tried to attack me and Dlmor had moved to protect me. I’m not sure how but the scream one of them emitted left me with a raging headache. Dlmor’s been able to communicate with me some through some sort of memory transferring thing.” He shrugged. “I’m not sure what else to call it.”
“That’s rather accurate, actually.”
“But it’s not a painless endeavor. I…” He frowned, not sure how to explain this one. “Dlmor showed me a memory that I ended up living, if that makes sense.”
She glared at Dlmor. “You may have caused permanent damage,” she snapped, the thing behind her shifting in her rage and letting out a deep, low rumble of a growl.
He placed himself in the line of sight, cutting the glare off and getting her attention on him. “I had asked, Lora. Not intentionally but I barely understand what’s going on and all Dlmor did was show me my mom tying it to me.”
Lora let out a sharp breath. “Still. The one with you is plenty old enough to know the risk of doing that to you when you haven’t received attention for the damage you had sustained in the camper.”
This time the spike of pain was tolerable - very unpleasant and messed with his vision but it wasn’t like a stabbing pain right through his brain. That or the headache had simply gotten that much worse while they had been talking.
Lora was frowning at Dlmor when he was able to focus on her again. Her gaze drifted to him. “Have you given the one with you a name yet?”
“Dlmor’s not its name?” he asked, bewildered.
Lora smiled gently. “When they are tied to a new being, they get new names.” She reached up and the creature behind her bent over enough to press its chin into her waiting palm. “This big one was called-” the name didn’t stick- “when I was first introduced to them. I now call them Belvren in honor of the one my mother had with her.”
He looked down at Dlmor. “Is Dlmor what my mom named you?” Dlmor shook its head, pressing into his hand. He barely noticed the flare of pain as he understood that his mom had asked Dlmor for a name to be called by. He looked to Lora. “Do I have to rename it?”
Lora frowned. “I-”
There was a pound on the door that made them both jump. Dlmor and Belvren let out growls, both looking at the door. The old radio playing classical music sounded like it was right against the door.
“I’m not sure for your case, Artemis,” Lora explained. “You’re not like any Walker I’ve been taught about or have met.”
“Walker?”
“That’s what you and I are; we walk between the First and Second Planes with Shadows as companions or guides, depending on our roles.” Confusion edged her expression. “At least, I am a Walker. I don’t actually know if you classify as one.” He caught Dlmor shaking its head no out of the corner of his eye. Lora turned her attention to the creature. “Do you know what he is called, then?”
Dlmor’s head lowered, shaking no again. He buried his fingers into Dlmor’s fur at the back of its neck. “What about Beckett and Cole?”
There was the sound of several sharp somethings being dragged down the front of the door. He moved to look back but gained a burst of pain as Dlmor vehemently told him to not look back.
“They are Sensitives as far as I can tell. Neither have a Shadow and neither of them can actually see anything of the Second Plane.”
There was a series of heavy pounding on the front door.
He wanted to asked what that meant, what being a Sensitive or a Walker meant, what any of this meant about him, but it had to wait. “Do you know what we’re up against, then?”
“Something Bound or we wouldn’t be talking.” Lora’s gaze moved from the door to him. “Something that doesn’t have company quite yet.”
“Then what do we do?”
Lora looked up at Belvren. “Have you done much fighting with your Shadow?”
“Outside Dlmor launching off my shoulders at whatever was attacking me? No.”
She glanced at the door before looking at him. “Then run interference towards the bedroom door.”
“You think it’s going to get in.”
There was the sound of splintering wood behind him.
“Oh, I know it will. Mostly because I know how large of a target you are, especially now that you’re starting to see.”
“Wait, you’ve known?”
She nodded. “I was raised to see the Second Plane and all its creatures. I knew your Shadow was following you but I hadn’t realized you were a Walker. You never acknowledged Belvren nor yours in any way that I could recognize so I just assumed you were Tied.”
“Why is this starting to sound like a lot of terms that have significance that I’m missing?”
She laughed softly at that, an equally soft smile on her face. “Because there is significance to a number of these terms. I can’t use their actual labels. You won’t be able to understand them.”
There was a louder sound of splintering wood. He flinched forward from it, going with Dlmor pressing against his back getting him to huddle close to the floor. Biting wind slipped around Dlmor and clawed at him. Something large moved over his head and he glanced up to see Belvren had left Lora’s presence. Dlmor pressed several paws into his back and the contact points had him feeling the growl that the creature let out.
Watching Lora without being able to see what was going on behind him was intense. She didn’t move but some sort of remnant of Belvren had stayed behind. It formed into a bow in the air before her and she grasped it. As she drew the string back, an arrow formed already nocked.
Pain flared in his head but he suffered through it, desperate for whatever Dlmor was sharing with him. The plan was simple. He could follow it easily enough.
The instant she let the arrow go and it flew over his head, Dlmor moved off his back. He was up on his feet moving as soon as the creature’s weight was off his back. It was hard not to look at whatever was in the doorway till he was standing just ahead of the hallway entrance.
“Disgusting,” cut through the room on a voice he didn’t recognize.
Belvren hit the ground hard and the Shadow lost its shape. He wasn’t even sure he knew how to describe how Belvren lost its shape. It was like watching a shadow mimic thick ink splattering while not actually splattering and even that seemed inadequate. What counted as Belvren now gathered into a small shape before returning to Lora, slowly reshaping.
Dlmor’s shape shifted, growing larger than he had ever seen it. It took on a shape that walked on all fours and had a long, powerful looking tail. Nasty looking claws dug into the floor as it let out a low growl.
“You can try and intimidate me all you want,” the new voice drawled. “It will not work.”