The streets of Halgrave were quieter than usual. The constant grey clouds continued to stretch on into the distance, the sun approaching the horizon as usual, and everything was… Seemingly normal.
He could almost pretend it was a normal day, in a normal city somewhere in the rotting world… If there weren't this many bodies in the street.
There happened to be a riot yesterday night. That would explain the constant explosions he heard when he was trying to sleep. Even the monster, who usually watched him sleep with unblinking eyes every night, seemed tired this morning.
The world seemed to be doing its thing, continuing to run, even without them. It's quite depressing to think of.
As Thaniel kicked another police officer corpse away from the sidewalk, one with a very familiar yet annoying mustache, as he waddled his way back home…
He waddled a lot. At first, it was to make his life a little more interesting, and maybe fight off the gloom. Now it's just become a habit. He probably looked like a clown, but he didn't care.
It was quiet. He liked it. It's almost like it's a weekend, and everybody was resting at home, taking their breaks seriously…
Weekend… Right. Today was a saturday.
Saturday. The word hit him like an off-key tune as thought dashed through Thaniel's brain. A hazy memory… A laugh. Comfort. The smell of something salty yet familiar, something that he couldn't name… Like it was so close, yet he was just out of reach.
A pause. A memory on the edge of recall.
He paused, staring at the sky, trying to remember… Before sighing. He had better things to do than have a psychotic session.
He shook it off. Kicked the body and started to slowly walk home. After a few detours to avoid the army of government officers storming the streets, cleaning up the bodies, he finally saw his complex.
Took the stairs two at a time. The apartment door clicked open.
The lights were still on.
But something seemed off.
…Slowly, Thaniel began to realize what was wrong, as the air suddenly froze.
It was silent. Too silent.
His eyes scanned the living room, the kitchen, and the hallway that lead to the depressed toilet.
Nothing.
His girlfriend was gone.
Thaniel opened his mouth to call her name… But he blinked. He had nothing to call her. He could call her his dead girlfriend's name, but she wasn't her. Whatever took her skin didn't tell him its name, either.
Thaniel froze. No muffled breathing. No awkward scraping sounds. No humming that sounded vaguely like a threat. No blood in the kitchen. Just stillness.
"…Hey," he called, quieter than he meant to. "You here?"
No answer.
He dropped the bag on the table, panic beginning to bubble up behind his ribs. He checked the bathroom. The couch. The hallway closet, even though it barely fit a mop.
Nothing.
His heart pounded as he scanned every corner of the rooms, dread crawling up his spine like a lethal snake, his footsteps growing heavier for every step he took.
The feeling was slowly coming back. The helplessness. The familiar weight of his heart being crushed. Everything was coming back to him.
…Did she leave him again?
And something twisted in his chest at the thought.
Then—thunk.
A muffled bang from the kitchen.
He turned. Slowly approached the fridge. The sound came again, low and hollow, like something shifting behind a wall.
He yanked the freezer open, his eyes setting upon the irregular shape…
And stared.
There she was. Crumpled and folded like origami with too many limbs. Her knees tucked under her chin, arms wrapped tight around her torso, elbows poking between shelves of frozen peas and expired bio-meat, somehow managing to fit in the freezer compartment meant for items a tenth of her size. Her hair was frosted at the tips. Her breath fogged against the inside of the freezer door.
A finger sticking out of the contorted pile that was his cute girlfriend waved at him.
He let out a breath he didn't remember holding, as his tensed muscles relaxed… His worry turned into anger, as his eyes twitched.
She blinked up at him, utterly unbothered. "You're late."
Thaniel sighed. "You're in the freezer."
"It was getting warm. I wanted to cool off… But then I couldn't get out."
He stared. Blinked. Then slowly reached out and helped pull her out, one joint at a time, like unfolding a haunted marionette.
"I'm not even gonna ask how you fit in there."
"Practice."
She flopped onto the floor with a thud, frost crackling off her skin. He handed her a blanket from the nearby couch without thinking. She wrapped it around her shoulders like a vampire pretending to be cozy.
Thaniel sat down, the couch's leather creasing underneath him. Rubbed his temples. "It's Saturday."
She tilted her head. "...Is that bad?"
"No. Just... used to be something." He frowned. "...I think."
He didn't know why the next words came out. It just bubbled out from him, almost as if he said it a thousand times before at this exact moment.
"Wanna watch a movie?"
She blinked, pausing from the ice removal. "What's that?"
He smiled sadly. "...You'll see. Come on. I'll teach you how to make hot cocoa."
____________________________________________________________________________
She sat on the couch like she was trying to figure out whether it was a trap. Legs folded under her, blanket still wrapped around her shoulders. Thaniel shuffled in with two chipped mugs of something warm, brown, and questionably drinkable.
"Is this blood?" she asked, sniffing it.
"Cocoa," he replied, setting it in her hands. "Drink it. Or… at least hold it. It's hot."
She held it. Like someone clutching a holy relic. Her fingers twitched around the mug, steaming mist curling around her knuckles.
"Why does it smell like sadness?" she asked.
"It's expired."
"Oh."
Silence.
Even though he knew it went bad… He somehow didn't care. Something inside of him told him he needed it.
He moved the old projector out of the closet, kicked it a few times, and set it down on the table as his cute girlfriend watched.
After fiddling with the remote, it clicked and buzzed to life. The projection on the dark wall flashed static, then flickered into something ancient and pixelated.
"Good. It's still alive."
He dug through a pile of dusty data-drives until he found the one—half-labeled, worn to the point of illegibility.
"You like explosions or heartbreak?" he asked absently.
She blinked. "I like screams."
He squinted at her. "...So. Drama."
They settled in. The data-driver disappeared into the projector as the lights turned on, illuminating the table in small shades of green and yellow.
The light around them dimmed, as the streetlights outside flickered to life.
The couch creaked under both their weight. Thaniel leaned back.
His girlfriend sat very straight, staring at the screen like she was watching a new species blink for the first time. The cocoa steamed in her hands. She didn't drink it. Just breathed it in, eyes flicking toward Thaniel every few minutes like she was trying to catch him off guard.
The movie was old. Something pre-fall, back when people still believed in happy endings. It opened with a sweeping shot of a field. A family. A dog. Music played, soft and synthetic.
She tilted her head. "Is this propaganda?"
"Probably."
Midway through the second act, something shifted.
The characters onscreen were crying. The soundtrack swelled. A child clutched a necklace. Someone was saying goodbye at a train station. All the normal human tragedy stuff.
But Thaniel… wasn't watching the screen anymore.
His fingers clenched slightly on the couch cushion. The soft light of the screen played over his face, and something inside him cracked. Something too deep for words. His breath hitched.
And suddenly—he remembered.
Every Saturday.
It came back in a rush.
That same couch. That same blanket. A different body beside him. A laugh that sounded like hope. The smell of burnt popcorn and discount shampoo. The way she used to lean against him when the sad parts came.
He remembered her voice. Clear. Soft.
"You always cry at this part, you sap."
The movie tuned out, as a single tear slowly moved down his face.
He covered his eyes with his hand, trying to pretend he wasn't shaking.
She noticed.
She'd been watching him more than the movie.
Wordless, she inched closer. Her cocoa was still untouched. Her claws twitched against the ceramic. Then slowly, she set it down and crawled toward him across the couch—awkwardly, like she wasn't sure how people moved in close.
He flinched when she touched him. She paused.
But he didn't pull away.
Thaniel turned, and without warning, pulled her into a hug.
It wasn't graceful. It wasn't even really a hug. More like a desperate tangle of arms and heat and grief. She froze, eyes open wide, body stiff against his, unsure what was happening.
But she didn't pull away.
Thaniel buried his face into her shoulder, breath ragged, voice cracking.
"I'm sorry," he whispered. "I'm sorry I couldn't save you."
A beat passed. Her fingers hovered behind his back, unsure whether to claw or comfort.
"…You didn't kill me," she said softly.
He didn't answer. Didn't move. But something behind his eyes dimmed. Like a shutter falling slowly over a memory too awful to speak aloud. His jaw clenched, the muscle twitching once.
He didn't move away, even if it felt like he was being encased in ice.
She was silent after that. The glow of the movie flickered against the far wall. Someone onscreen cried. Someone else forgave them.
Then, slowly and carefully, she placed a hand on the back of his head.
She didn't know what forgiveness was. But this felt close enough.
Thaniel didn't move. Didn't speak. Just stayed there, his whole body trembling against hers, like he was holding onto something too fragile to name.
Yet he whispered a single name.
'Kagami'.
The monster flinched, her eyes widening slightly, as she remembered something from a past memory… But didn't move.
When the movie finally ended, the room felt quieter than it had in months.
He sat back. Eyes red. Not ashamed. Just tired.
"…Good film," he said hoarsely.
She nodded. "Too many humans. Not enough blood."
He gave her a soft look. Then stood to stretch.
She shifted, about to slink off the couch. Back to her usual perch by the window or maybe the ceiling. But as she moved, his hand caught her wrist.
"Stay."
She froze. Her expression went blank for half a second—then frowned.
"I don't like being touched without permission," she said flatly.
"I know," he said. "But… please."
Something in his voice hit her differently this time. She studied his hand. His face. Then her lips curled into a sharp pout.
"…Fine. But I'm choosing the next movie."
She sank back into the cushions with a thud. He pulled the blanket over both of them. Her shoulder brushed his. He didn't move. Neither did she.
Just quiet breathing. A shared warmth that shouldn't have existed.
And then…
Knock.
They both froze.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
The door.
Not a neighbor. No one knocked in Halgrave unless they wanted something they didn't deserve.
Thaniel's eyes flicked toward the door. She had already stood. Her claws flexed. Her pupils narrowed.
"Don't answer that," he whispered.
But the knocking didn't stop.
Three slow, deliberate knocks. And then silence.
The cocoa on the table still steamed. The static of the credits buzzed softly. And both of them stood, breath caught between memory and warning.
Something had come home.