We Are Bulletproof

The guy said
He can't help me

@Ryland Ren

Susu, I'm at the hospital
Can you come and stay with me for a little bit? I'm not hurt! It's
Rae. He got into a bad fight last night.

Josh was here earlier but i'm not sure he's completely gone, so... if you're not busy...

@Shimizu Susumu

THANK YOU so much for calling me down here! Rae's so different now. I think he's actually changed...

Are you okay though? You looked tense earlier. Is it because of all the trouble Rae caused? I'm sorry :(

Or is it Aldon?

@anyone (he texted the wrong person!)

Susu
I'm at the park but
I don't know how I got here

and
...
there's a lot of blood
I
I didn't
I swear I didn't attack anyone

He has a reason.

It's not what you think.

There's an explanation for it.

Alva paused at the corner of 4th avenue to rest his arms, sliding his chair as close to the brick wall of a building as possible so that he wouldn't be in the way of any pedestrians. Not that the sidewalk was crowded by any stretch of the imagination. In fact, there was no one around; this was the shady part of town.

He sighed as he gently massaged his shoulder, working his way down the arm. It was still tiring to go long distances in his chair, despite so many years in it. Alva used to be better, livelier, but lately he was worn down and tired and generally not his old, energetic self. He felt that something had changed in him. Something was wrong.

Ever since the messy break-up, Alva kept to himself. He needed time away from everyone clamoring to offer solutions to his problems; he wanted to be left alone to work out his feelings. How did he feel towards Rae? How did he feel about Susumu? Who was he without Rae, and with Susumu?

Alva thought that he was mostly sure about where he stood on the both of them—before his memories were wiped. After that he wasn't necessarily happier, but life seemed less complicated. There was a lot of work to do; he helped Susumu as best as he could, throwing himself into his work to avoid thinking about that nagging feeling of something wrong in the back of his mind.

Then, discovering that a spell had been cast on him to make him forget put him right back at square one. He kept the video he recorded on his own phone and he watched it whenever he felt himself beginning to forget again. It helped. Even now he felt the spell creeping back, but he was able to keep it at bay. Maybe he couldn't remember the finer details but he remembered Ryland, Yoojin, Rae.

He had to find Susumu fast, though. This was a horrible breach of trust, no matter what the reasons were for the spell. Susumu would never hurt him, Alva knew this—he had to have a good reason. He was doing it to protect Alva, only Alva didn't need it. He was stronger than people thought; being in a wheelchair didn't make him helpless.

Sighing, Alva started back out into the street. He passed by a few buildings and shook his head at the graffiti on the walls. As he turned the corner, he sighted the back of a building—one known to be a supernatural brothel, no less. Sometimes Alva came here to drop off care packages; even sex workers needed basic necessities. He even got to know some of them, learned about their stories and what landed them here.

Just as he passed the back door, he heard a series of pop pop pop coming from inside. Alva paled; those were gunshots, coming from within the brothel! He put out a hand and his fingertips just barely touched the handle when the door flew open. A man stood there, backed by darkness. His eyes met Alva's; he smiled reassuringly and reached out a hand to grasp Alva's wrist, pulling him inside with superhuman strength.

It was like the darkness from within was alive. It covered him, coated him from head to toe. Alva didn't even struggle; this ancient magic felt somehow familiar. He closed his eyes and let the darkness in and when he opened his eyes again, he was... different. His form was long and sleek and mobile. He was in the shadows but he was... he was the shadows. It was him, it belonged to him.

Alva slunk around the corners of the room, unseen and unheard. A man, tall and blond, wary and cautious, appeared at the doorway. Alva slid around him as he spoke, his voice as wary as his stance.

"Sir. Sir, please get up."

There was a funny lilt to his voice that Alva idly recognized as Irish. It didn't mean anything, though. He waited, lurking, watching, until his master stood and gave the command to attack. Alva lunged and sank his teeth, long and sharp like daggers, into the man's shoulder.

Kill him. Kill the hunter.

Hi, I don't know who this is but can you please stop blowing up my phone?

If you don't stop, I'll be forced to call the cops and I really don't want to do that okay?

@Ryland Ren

Hello! My name is Alva, and I'm the community outreach coordinator for Sanctuary!

Um... I've looked at your records and it says here that you're a witch. Do you have time for a few questions?

@Caesura

Susu it's Alva

Something weird's happening and I think a witch might be responsible
Where are you??

@Trash Bat

Crazy. Everybody was crazy—and Alva felt crazy as he sat in his living room, watching Yoojin through the window watching him through her windshield. It was like something out of a terrible comedy but rather than laughing, Alva felt like crying. He was just so... frustrated. So worried and anxious and angry and concerned and frightened, all for Rae. That was a lot of different emotions to feel for one person, while under the influence of eight bottles of beer. Alva wasn't drunk but he was well on the way to Tipsy Town, at that stage where all the bad decisions seemed like good decisions, and the voice of reason that normally resided in his head was drowned out by the alcohol singing in his veins.

Another car pulled up and Alva almost did cry with relief. It was Susumu, at last! He clutched the shirt that belonged to Rae tightly between his fingers—so tightly that his nails were digging trenches into his palms. There were sure to be hairs on the shirt. Just one would do, right? Susumu didn't specify how many hairs he needed but Alva had lots of Rae's things in his room. (He tried not to think about that, though, because it was going to send him spiralling down the path to a mental breakdown. Again.)

Keenly, he watched Susumu's car easing into the driveway. It was wide enough to accommodate two cars, but only just. Yoojin glanced over at the car, bent her head to look at something in her lap, then looked up again. Alva was shocked at her transformation but with everything happening all at once, he barely had time—or the mental wherewithal—to process it. It felt like the universe and fate just didn't want him to catch a break! Everything had to happen all at once. The curse, the fight, Rae cheating, Alva shamelessly grabbing a date not even an hour after the break-up... Ryland. With his logic. And his dastardly kidnapping plot.

God, when did Alva slip into a badly written B-movie??

I think she knows it's you, he texted Susumu, just in case. Then he carefully wheeled himself over to the door, peeking through the peephole to see what Susumu would do to Yoojin. Hopefully not curse her. Maybe just... karate chop her in the neck or something, enough to buy them time to get away from the crazies.

Susu help!

Rae's gone after hunters and he's going to get himself killed!
Please tell me where the hunters are hiding

I have to find him and stop him!

Rae
Where are you? Are you okay?

Beer bottles littered the low-slung coffee table in front of Alva, all lined up in a neat row with the shiny half-bent caps beside them. Alva counted them absently as he sat on the couch with a throw over his shoulders, feeling small and alone and broken. He sat listed to one side, leaned against the backrest of the couch; his head lolled against his shoulder and something wet and slippery fell out of the corner of one eye, sliding down the side of his nose. He reached up and wiped it away and then let his hand drop heavily into his lap.

One bottle...

Two bottles...

Five bottles...

Seven bottles...

His phone laid beside him on the couch, its face black and empty. The television was off but Alva still stared mindlessly at it. It was hardest to be alone. Harder still to be physically bound this way, unable to run, unable to hide from the demons that now haunted him. Alva still wished that he didn't have to be here--not only here in his own house but here in his own skin. He didn't want to be here at all.

Rae and Josh.

Every time he thought about it he felt the need for a drink. All the beer in the house was laid out before him, though. Seven empty bottles. One half-full. He grabbed it and drank long and deep without pausing for breath. The fizz of the beer choked him. Sputtering, he coughed most of it out and hurriedly grabbed on to the edge of the throw to cover his mouth as he convulsed violently. Alva doubled over, squeezing his eyes tightly shut.

Rae and Josh.

And he lied. He cheated and he lied. He lied. Point-blank to Alva's face. Lied and cheated. Cheated and lied.

So then why was Alva the one who felt bad? Why was he the one with the leaden weight of guilt sitting on his chest? It was heavier before he talked to Susumu, though. So heavy that he couldn't breathe. He physically couldn't breathe. It wasn't just the betrayal. It was the loss that hit Alva the hardest, the realization that he had lost Rae. And he didn't know how to get him back. That was the worst part of it all: he didn't know what he or even Rae could do to fix this.

He found it ironic that Rae, who helped shape so much of who he was today, was contributing again to the changes in Alva. Now Alva felt bitter. Angry. Guilty yet resentful. He felt horrible from the inside-out and there was nothing he or anyone could do to ease the pain. Break-ups happened every day and they happened to people from all walks of life, Alva knew this. He wasn't unique in what he experienced or felt.

Look at Susumu--he was cheated on multiple times, and he found a way to get past all of that. And Ry? How must he have felt, every time he found out about Aldon with someone else? It was just...

Hard.

It was difficult to think about all the other people who had gone through the same type of pain he was experiencing when it blinded him so badly. He was literally blindsided tonight, smacked upside the head out of nowhere with the revelation. If there had been signs beforehand... If Rae had started to lose interest in him, or if he had become noticeably closer to Josh... It wouldn't be any less painful but it might have been easier to swallow. Maybe they weren't having the easiest time in their relationship but from lovers to this in the space of a single day just seemed nonsensical.

Then again, when did he and Rae ever make sense in the first place? Everyone saw through them, right to their problems. Everyone saw how wrong they were for each other. It was only the two of them, blinded by love, who insisted to all their critics that they were right. They wanted to be right more than they wanted to see the flaws and the cracks that had begun to form in their relationship and this was where their pride had led them.

Alva lifted himself up slowly, brows creasing into a frown at the stained throw. He removed it and folded it over and tossed it onto the floor, over the broken remnants of what used to be a small glass vial, as his phone went off again.

Hi Susumu

I don't think I'll be needing the potion anymore

Thank you for all your help. I'm sorry for all the trouble I put you through.

@Shimizu Susumu

Rae

Why?

ry can you come over

@Ryland Ren

...Rae? Where are you? It's... five am...

@Reagan Ryang

9:30 pm

Alva looked up at the round clock mounted on the wall above the tv, twisting the hem of the blanket laid across his lap. A cooking show was on that he wasn't really watching. Butter. Everything with butter in it seemed to look good. Butter was the key to flavor.

10 pm

He swiped a thumb over a smudge on the blank, dark face of his phone.

11:20 pm

Should he call again? Leave another message? Maybe Rae didn't get the first one...

Did he want to be that kind of boyfriend who blew up the other person's phone with a million calls and messages? He called five times earlier... and that was already four times too many.

If Rae didn't pick up the first time, he wasn't likely to pick up the sixth time.

11:45 pm

Alva rearranged the blanket. Looked at the clock again, sighed, transferred his glance back to the tv as his fingertips drummed against the cold surface of his phone. He picked it up and swiped a finger across the screen. One more call. Rae's number was first on the list; his fingertip hovered over the call icon, trembled...

No.

Where was he? What was he doing? Why didn't he pick up? Why didn't he call back? Was he with somebody?

...Rae wouldn't...

And shame on him for even letting his mind go there. Rae wouldn't. Just like Alva wouldn't.

Because they were committed to each other.

Because he meant something to Rae, who could have anybody he wanted, but chose Alva. He chose Alva.

1 am

The tv was still on downstairs in the living room. Alva's parents were out of town and probably good thing, too, with all the fog laying seige to Hazleton. He sat alone, blank eyes on the tv. Butter. Alva wished he had some; it might help that ball of nervous dread sitting in the back of his throat slide down into his churning stomach.

Outside, a vague shadow passed by the curtained window. It paused, then moved along. Alva didn't see it, with his eyes on the tv, but he felt a cold shiver travel up his spine and pulled the blanket up higher to cover his shoulders. There wasn't room in his crowded thoughts to analyze the source of the shiver, or the way that the hairs at the back of his neck stood on end.

Where was he?

1:05 am

Was time slowing down or was it just him? They always said that anticipation was a killer but Alva was already half-dead. He looked down at the mark on his arm, which had gotten darker again. Where was the cream that Susumu gave him? There, on the table beside him. Alva reached for it. Missed. Bemused, as his vision doubled momentarily, he closed his eyes hard. When he opened them again there was only one vial on the table, which he grabbed and hurriedly uncapped. He rubbed some more of the thick potion onto the mark to relieve the itch and the burn, but the real itch and the real burn was deep down inside.

Where was he?

2:30 am

Why didn't he call back?

Hi Rae, it's Alva. I tried calling a few times but I guess you're not by your phone right now so I'll leave this message for you...

Or you're still mad and you're ignoring my calls.

Rae, I just wanted to say I'm sorry. I shouldn't have jumped down your throat today on the bus. I know you were worried and looking out for me and... I should've told you about the curse. I was just...

I only told Ry because I was panicking but after that, I didn't tell anybody, not even my parents. I guess I didn't want people to know. I didn't want it to be a big deal and I didn't want to keep talking about it and thinking about it every time somebody brought it up. I...

*long pause*

I was really scared to say anything to anybody. Susumu said I touched the-the death curse and the mark on my arm getting darker meant that it was getting stronger. I didn't want you to know. I didn't want you to worry about me with everything else going on too and I thought I could handle it on my own. Didn't do a very good job of that, though, did I?

It's not that I don't trust you, Rae, but you know sometimes you can go overboard. But I still should've told you. I messed up... You shouldn't have to find out from somebody else. I was hoping that Susumu would have a cure before you found out...

He sort of does! The potion he gave me today made the mark lighter and I feel a lot better already! I even wanted to go to the harvest festival with you tonight but I guess it's already too late huh? It must be over by now.

*softly* Well, you never liked these things anyway.

*another pause*

Listen, Rae... about Susumu. I was... It's true that I was... that I'm... attracted to him. He's... he's a very handsome man and I was flattered that he was paying attention to me. God, that sounds so pathetic. I'm not--you know I'm not the kind of person who goes out of his way to get attention from other people, but I can't deny that... I liked it.

I did go to see him, to get the potion, and we went for a coffee afterwards, but nothing happened, Rae. The whole time I was with him, I was thinking about you and about our fight. I kept worrying about you and what you might be doing. I wanted to go find you half-way through but I didn't know where you'd gone and my chair's not as fast as your truck... It's only arm-powered, not horse-powered... *weak laugh*

You know I'd never do anything to jeopardize what we have, right Rae? I like Susumu but I don't love him. I don't love anyone except you. We've been together for so long that sometimes I guess I start taking you for granted but after today, I realized that I really...

I don't want anyone but you. I can't see myself with anybody else, Rae, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you.

You didn't mean it though, did you, about not coming back? I know you were upset and hurt today but you wouldn't just... *shuddery indrawn breath* Of course you didn't mean it.

Um...

Can we talk? I'll be home all evening, so whenever you have time, maybe you can stop by? Or if you can't tonight... Tomorrow? Please don't be mad, Rae. I know I screwed up and I'm so sorry I kept this from you. Please come see me.

I'll be waiting... I love you. ...bye.

RAT

YOU DIRTY STINKING RAT YOU TOLD ALD

I will never tell you another secret ever again you

You

Benedict Arnold!! You rat!

Rubbing the sides of his arms briskly to chase off the cold, Alva waited at the bus stop for the downtown bus that would take him to the public library. He craned his neck forward to see if the bus was coming; it wasn't. Cars passed by in a rapid stream of lights and rumbling engines, but the bus had yet to turn the corner. Having taken this bus countless times, Alva wasn't worried about taking it, but he was anxious.

There was just something strange in the air that he didn't like. Alva couldn't name it or put his finger on it exactly, but he sensed it... and he didn't like it. He looked down at his arm and then pulled up the sleeve of his jacket. The mark on his forearm was darker than it was the night before and that was more cause for worry than the weird fog.

Seemingly overnight, the town became blanketed in fog so thick that sometimes it was hard to see two feet in front of him. The other day, he opened the door and could barely see past the doorstop.

The fog also came and went, leaving the air damp, clammy and cold. Alva shivered, pulling his jacket closer around his body, and blew on his hands to warm them. Today it wasn't so foggy but he could tell that everyone was on edge. Cars were driving slower than usual because of the reduced visibility; there weren't as many people out on the streets. Just the other day he watched the news and cocked an eyebrow at the warning that the mayor was sending everyone, to stay in their homes and to not approach the edge of town. Why? Alva couldn't leave anyway but... what was the big deal about leaving town all of a sudden?

But then he remembered the approaching full moon and thought that maybe it had something to do with that. Also, there were more hunters in town. Like a whole group of them, gathered near Eagle Ridge. Alva was surprised that they would aggregate so close to town but then again, some of the maulings and killings were getting out of hand. It seemed impossible to turn on the news and not be inundated by this tourist disappearing or that tourist being found in the woods. Everything was "under investigation" but Alva knew what that meant--it meant that supernatural beings were responsible.

Experimentally, he puffed out a breath of air and watched it drifting before him in a cotton cloud. The weather had become unseasonably cold. Alva found himself wishing that he had brought a warmer jacket but it was too late now. If he went home, got the jacket and came outside again, the bus would have come and gone. He shivered as he looked up at the gray skies; the sun was a tiny pinprick of light, high up. He could barely make out the aureole of light around it and it was definitely looking more like sunset than the middle of the day.

Was the bus here yet? It was taking an awfully long time to get to his house, and usually it was barely half-full. Alva glanced fretfully down the street again, seeing nothing but cars. He pulled out his phone to check for messages, biting down on his lower lip as he passed Rae's name. Alva had given him a bit of a brush-off when he tried to talk about what happened. In fact, he didn't give Rae a chance to talk about it at all--he sort of used 'not feeling well' as an excuse to get Rae out of the house. Rae just didn't need to know about the curse, or the mark, or the whole death potion thing. Why worry him?

A part of Alva knew, though, that his reluctance to broach the subject went beyond the simple desire to keep Rae from worrying. It was guilt and a little bit of selfishness. Or... a lot of selfishness. He didn't want Rae to know too much about Susumu. He sort of wanted that excuse to talk to him, especially after finding out about Susumu's job. Alva really admired him for that; he wasn't being facetious when he said that Susumu was a hero. Alva really meant it, and he thought very warmly of the man who was looking out for all of them, who hunted the hunters and protected those who couldn't fend for themselves.

Rae wouldn't understand any of that, though. All he would see was Alva talking to a handsome stranger and he would probably fly off the handle. He already did, after somebody ratted Alva out and told him about the hand-holding thing. (Aldon was really the biggest blabbermouth in the history of snitches!) Alva worried his lower lip slightly as he put the phone away, just as the bus hovered into view.

He could get this taken care of on his own. No need to drag anyone else into it.

Furthermore, he was no longer trusting Ryland Ren with any of his new secrets because--look who Ryland told!