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Twixxel was dead, and it was all Mob's fault. He should never have called on his friend for help; he should have dealt with Verity himself. But instead, here he stood staring down the puddles of blood and gore at his feet, heart pounding against his ribcage and breathing shallow as the scent of rot and copper invaded his senses. The flashlight wavered, and he looked out the window back towards his base. He knew Verity was waiting, waiting for Mob to come back like the obedient dog he'd proven himself to be. The idea was stupid, and could very well get him killed, but Mob just couldn't return to that house, not now. He was scared of what he might do or say. So, instead, he points his flashlight towards the suffocating darkness and runs. Mob knows what he's risking, risking Verity becoming that thing again, to chase him down and drag him right back, but he couldn't just roll over.
Grass and dirt turned up as he ran, feet hitting the ground with as much force as Mob could muster, propelling him faster into the consuming darkness. He didn't know where he was going, nor would he until he ran into it, but the burn in his chest was better than the dread he felt looking at the aftermath of Twixxel. His eyes stung, both at the air whipping into them and the emotions from losing his friend. No time to think of that now, though; he had to cover a lot of ground quickly if he wanted even a tiny chance of escaping Verity. The grinning bastard probably knew he was going to run, knew what he was doing right as he did it. The little shit knew everything.
The silence was surprising; typically, there was at least a low thrum of crickets or the distant clacking of skeleton bones. But it was deathly quiet, and it made Mob's blood feel cold as he continued to run, ignoring the ache in his legs that begged for rest. He almost did, but when he heard a roar in the distance, he pressed harder, gasping for air now as the terror in his heart rose.
"MOB. YOU SAID YOU WOULD STAY."
Sheer dread and fear gripped his soul, but he kept running; that's all he could do as he heard the familiar sounds of bones cracking and skin stretching behind him as Verity undoubtedly chased after the man. Thundering footsteps, and Mob only just managed to dodge, watching a pale yellow streak past him before it turned, skeleton clicking in and out of place as that wide grin stared him down, eyes full of betrayal and bloodlust. Before he could continue running, the thing lunged at him, long fingers shoving Mob to the ground, knocking the wind from his lungs as his back collided with the grass hard.
"Verity-" he clawed at the hand pinning him down, glitchy residue replacing what would have been blood under his chipped, painted nails,
"Why are you running away. I have given you everything you need."
"You killed my friend! I can't stay with you, I just can't!"
"He was in our way, Mob. In my way. Now it's just us, as it should have always been."
"I don't want that, Verity! Fuck- he was my friend- he didn't deserve that-"
"He deserved every second for trying to come between us!" His claws bore down harder, squeezing the oxygen from Mob's lungs and forcing a gasp,
"I hate you-"
"You don't mean that."
Suddenly, the other hand wrapped around the man's throat, pressing down on his windpipe with bruising force. Mob felt his chest burn from the lack of air, spots dancing in his vision as this heavy fog of pain and numbness fell over his mind.
"I am taking you home, and you will not leave again."
But he could barely process the monster's words; he wheezed and gagged, willing anything to allow breath, only to be met with nothing, chest barely moving as his heart threatened to break ribs. His vision was going dark, and the last thing he saw was Verity's grin growing even wider before his body went limp, eyes rolling up into his head.
Mob's head pounded when he woke up, sunshine streaming into his eyes, causing the pain to thrum even harder. He groaned and sat up very slowly. Everything felt sore and achy as he tried to recall what the hell happened.
"Good morning, Mob! I was worried you'd sleep all day!"
The man jumped at the cheery voice, looking over to see the familiar smiling face sitting on the crafting table, dark eyes watching him with anticipation.
"Good morning, Verity…What happened?" he narrowed his eyes warily…
"You went on a walk and got lost! So I came and found you, you must have been really sleepy if you don't remember!"
Bullshit. It was coming back now, Twixxel, Mob running, and Verity choking him against the ground. One of his hands came up to his throat, flinching at the sensitive bruises that lined the skin.
"Verity. What actually happened?"
"…I had to Mob. You were being unreasonable."
"Unreasonable- You killed my friend and made me pass out after I ran away scared! Tell me that's unreasonable!"
"You know I'd never hurt you-"
"Bullshit! I don't know anything! You could eat me right now and insist otherwise!"
"Mob." Verity's expression turned deadly, and Mob flinched back, scrambling back to the edge of the bed, watching as the ball breathed, attempting to calm down.
"I did this for us. Mob. So we could be together so that I could love you. Care for you."
The man shook his head,
"Verity, this isn't love, it's obsession-"
"Call it what you want, you are mine," he grinned, causing the other's blood to go cold.
Mob felt a wave of nausea take over, and all he could do was rush to a nearby cauldron, heaving up bile as the reality of the situation hit him like a freight train. Tears freely streamed down his face and nose as Verity watched on, expression twitching between pleasure and concern.
"I can take care of you, Mob. You just have to give in to me."
He wiped his mouth on his sleeve, turning to face the other with a disgusted expression,
"Will you not hurt anyone else if I do?…"
Verity nodded enthusiastically,
"Anything, I'll do anything as long as you stay. Stay with me."
Mob blinked, before slowly sinking to the floor, back pressed to the iron of the cauldron, staring into the crazed inky eyes of the grinning yellow ball.
"Fine then, Verity. I'm yours." The words burned like hellfire on his tongue, but this was the only way he was going to survive or protect anyone. He could play along, for now.
"Thank you, Mob. I promise I'll make you happy."
"I know, Verity…"