Chapter Thirty （Survival）

CHAPTER THIRTY (SURVIVAL)

HAZEL

Fucked didn't fully encapsulate Verfallen at the moment. From bad to worst was the understatement of the century after a week of an eldritch monster on the loose.

Zero had started with the staff. He terrorized them, and from the laughter heard echoing through the staticy speakers, he really enjoyed it. If one was brave enough to peer outside their room last week, they'd have seen the orderlies and nurses screaming at things only they could see. It wasn't long before they gouged their eyes out.

Now, if one peeked out of their room, they'd see the staff meandering around, eyeless and in a stupor. He wasn't eating them quickly. He was drawing out their torture and deaths, perhaps because he felt they deserved it after keeping him captive.

Lately, some inmates went exploring in the halls alone, but never came back. It was obvious he was eating them now, too—mercifully quick compared to what the staff was still going through.

I was currently in the hydrotherapy room, looking around at cracked skulls. It appeared Zero had found my corpse collective and had wrenched open their heads like clams, searching out the wet, gushy oyster inside.

I walked over to the bathtub that Elvis was in.

Zero had torn open and slurped up the buffet of brains in this room. All except for Elvis. I sighed, sitting criss-crossed on the floor and dropping my face in my hands.

"There's no way he got full and left you for later."

Nope , I imagined Elvis said.

"He left you alone on purpose." I pressed my fingertips to my forehead and rubbed circles against my skin. Zero was still in my head, and he knew Elvis was my special corpse friend. Flowers? Nah, get yourself an Eldritch horror that lets your favorite corpse keep its brain juice.

I groaned. Sometimes, I woke in the night, hearing him calling me. Hazel. Hazel. Hazel. The voice slithered through the dark halls, begging me closer. I was terrified. This wasn't the man I knew, it was a monster.

What about Gonzo? I imagined Elvis asking.

With a sigh, I got up off the floor. Elvis was right; it was time to check on Gonzo. I cracked the hydrotherapy room open. I could sense Zero wasn't close, thanks to being mentally connected. The halls were currently abandoned. That didn't mean they were safe; people were cruel and desperate at the moment. At least everyone had the good sense to not fuck with me.

Still, I moved quietly through the halls, worried about Zero.

Hazel… I heard him whisper to me in my head and sucked in a breath. I froze in place, staring down the dark hallway, deeper into the depths of Verfallen.

Hazel…

I took off running and didn't stop until I was outside the large office that Rabids had taken over. I hated dealing with the pack, but there was no way around it. Someone opened the door before I got a chance to knock.

"I can always smell when you've been hanging out with corpses," a male werewolf grunted in distaste. I rolled my eyes and walked in. They slammed the door shut quickly behind me, then barricaded it.

The room was filled to the brim with every werewolf left in this place. Notably absent was Mad Dog Mick, who Gonzo had eaten. Since he killed their Alpha, he was now the new Alpha. Something I'm not even sure he was aware of because he never shifted back from a giant fox and stopped talking. Mostly, he slept.

The giant fox was pressed into the corner, surrounded by a group who watched me walk closer.

"Move out of my way," I sighed when they kept sitting there. They made a show of taking their sweet time. They knew I was his mate but I still wasn't one of them. Plus, they didn't like me telling them to fuck off and leave him alone every time I visited. He didn't want to be their Alpha.

"Gonzo," I said, pressing my hand against tawny fur. There was no sign he even sensed I was there. There never was. He'd rage-eaten Mad Dog, then shoved himself into a corner. He only woke briefly, and it was never very hopeful. I gripped his fur in my fist and twisted.

His eyes popped open, and he growled.

"Gonzo," I said, petting the place I'd just tugged. "Please talk to me. I know you can." He kept growling, his eyes bloodshot and swirling with madness. It didn't appear he even understood me. At least he knew who I was. I could tell because he never let anyone else touch him.

I leaned my back against his massive body and sighed. His fur cushioned me, and his warmth radiated out—far too hot.

Tight tension in my chest loosened, the mate bond sighing in relief as we touched. It was hard seeing Gonzo like this, but the bond called to me, and no doubt, it called to him, too. So I kept coming to relieve us even if I left more depressed each time.

"Zero's still alive…" I told him. I wasn't even sure it was the truth. Was the thing calling to me really Zero? Gonzo growled, and I patted his fur. Slowly, he closed his eyes and fell back into his slumber. I stayed a while longer, talking to him about the hydrotherapy room and Elvis. I shifted closer to his ear and whispered to him about Zero calling to me. I knew the wolves would still hear me, but I liked to pretend we had some privacy.

After getting him up to date, I left. What the fuck was going to happen? I didn't know. I dragged my feet down the hall morosely, eyeing doorways. I was hoping someone would jump out and try to attack me. I'd revel in a little bloodshed.

"Oh no, I'm all alone," I drawled out. No one showed up. I sighed and flopped down on the hall floor. Loneliness had never felt this deep before I met them. Was I ever going to have Gonzo and Zero again? My eyes stung, and I buried my face in my knees.

"You're pathetic, you know that?"

"Yes, I know," I sighed. I lifted my head and saw Bree roll her eyes.

"Stop moping here in the hallway. It makes Baz grumpy."

"Please," I scoffed. "He could care less about me." My lip wobbled, and I felt more tears trying to choke me. Bree sighed and then flopped down beside me on the floor.

"I've had to deal with his mood swings since you arrived. He's a mess." I shot her a look. "Oh, I know he puts on a good game face. That's him for you. Acts like he doesn't have a care in the world when actually he cares a lot."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yes. I'll let you in on a secret," she said, shifting closer. "He's sensitive under all those clothes."

"Gross," I snapped.

" Emotionally . Jesus, you two have issues." She sighed whimsically and looked off in the distance. "We all do, huh? Look, Baz is scared of killing you. He wants you as far away as possible so that he doesn't do to you…"

"What he did to our parents," I finished. Bree eyed me.

"Why do you want to kill him?" She asked.

"I don't," I admitted aloud for the first time. Bree raised a carefully plucked eyebrow.

"Why were you trying then?"

"All my life, I was told I needed to."

"Hmm," she hummed. I looked at her manicured nails and wondered if I'd be into that. Long nails weren't allowed. I was exhausted with all the ways Uncle Vernon had controlled me.

"Also, I was angry with him for rejecting me. He was supposed to be everything," I said.

"Do you still want him to be everything ?"

"No. I want Gonzo and Zero back."

"That's good. Won't have to use this then," she said, showing me a vile of venom and flashing me a fangy smile. I hissed and shuffled backwards. Bree laughed at my reaction.

"Sorry, but I'm possessive, and if I have to perform a little family murder to keep threats away? Meh," she said, shrugging. "No big deal." I sighed and sat back down.

"You need to fix your men," she said.

"How am I supposed to do that?" I snapped.

"Look, I'm bad at this clearly. I'm not asking; I'm demanding. We're trapped, and even I have to admit shit is bleak. I want out, and I don't ever want to see this fucking place again."

"I thought you were the Queen. That you stayed here because you loved hunting the patients."

"There's more to it than there seems," she sighed.

"Is there?" I asked. She frowned.

"When I came here, I wasn't like this. I was a half-vampire. I was practically human. I actually begged your brother to protect me because I couldn't do it myself."

"Why on earth would he do that?" I asked. She gave me a leary smile. "Never mind, don't want to know."

"Your Eldritch horror boyfriend made me stronger. Turned me into something great," she said with a smile. "But I'm starving. I need to eat so much more than Orson. Here, it's easy. Plus, Baz doesn't want to leave. He never wants to leave."

"Why not?" I asked.

"Ah, Hazel, I forget you don't actually know him at all. He doesn't like killing people."

"That's absurd," I said with a snort. "What a weirdo."

"I know. Also, you're stalling," she said. I grimaced.

"I have no idea how to fix them."

"Use the healing power of pussy," Bree suggested. I blinked at her.

"I think I misheard you."

"You did not. You should try fucking them, and hey, if they rip you to shreds instead, you won't actually die." She gave me a big thumbs up.

"It would still hurt."

"Sex?"

"Dying!" I yelled. She threw up her hands like I was being overdramatic.

"Look, I'm going to trust you, okay? I don't do that easily."

"Trust me with what?" I snapped, getting tired of this conversation and her insistence I do something.

"With Baz," she said. I whipped my head around. She was staring at me hard. "I think you care about him, and I want you to talk to him."

"Why?" I asked.

"Because he's not immortal," she said with big, pleading eyes. I swallowed thickly.

"Neither are you," I said.

"I'm close. Same with Orson and Nemo, but Baz?" She shook her head and looked away. "He's going to die one day. It's inevitable." Then she got up and left. I wasn't sure how long she was gone while I stared off into space with that information. I didn't even realize I wasn't paying attention to my surroundings until big black boots were in front of me.

"Hey, sis."

"Ugh," I groaned. He dropped to the floor on the other side of the hall, right across from me. Baz looked down the hall both ways, then fiddled with the edge of his mask before pulling it off. I sighed as I looked at him. He looked like Dad. If it weren't for that green eye and hair he'd have been an almost carbon copy. The way they carried themselves was entirely different, though. Dad had been stern and stiff. Cold. Baz was relaxed. However, without the mask, his normal confidence was diminished. He fiddled with the mask, his eyes darting up to me now and again.

"I missed your letters when I came here," he said.

"What?" Did I mishear him? He pulled something from his pocket. It was a pink envelope with my childish writing spelling out his name.

"I thought you left them all at home."

"This one was my favorite."

"Which one?" I asked.

"You called me an asshole for killing the dog. I want to add that I just wanted to pet it."

"I did not call you an asshole." I rolled my eyes.

"You really did."

"I adored you. I would have never said that," I said. He barked out a laugh and flicked the envelope across the floor. I looked at it tentatively.

"There's no venom on it."

"I know that," I snapped, snatching it up. I unfolded the letter and saw where I did indeed call him a little four-year-old asshole. Huh . I kept reading. I then told him it was fine and even though I loved animals, we didn't need any at home when we lived together. I folded it back up quickly and shoved it in the envelope, afraid of what else I wrote. I flicked it back.

"Uncle Vernon came to talk to me once," he said, picking the letter back up and slipping it in his pocket. I blanched.

"Apparently, you had locked yourself in your room and refused to eat," he said.

"Yeah, he didn't like that." I blew out a breath. I had no idea he'd ever talked to Baz.

"He told me why you were so upset," he said, and my face burned. It's because Vernon told me Baz was mortal and would die.

"It's very disturbing to find out the person you care most about is just as mortal as a normal human."

"Hmm. Well, he also told me about how we were supposed to be partners before I came out a basilisk. He also said the only reason I was alive was because of you."

"I guess," I mumbled.

"You don't still want to fuck, right?"

"Don't be ridiculous. I never wanted that. They said we'd be partners in life, and I didn't know what it all meant."

"Good, Bree would be pretty upset if I slept with someone else," he said. I nodded.

"That's not why you shouldn't fuck your sister," I heard a gruff voice say from the room beside Baz.

"Stop listening to me! Plus, you're my brother, and I fuck you," he said with a grin. My eyes bugged.

"I'm not your brother," he grumbled. I saw a dark shape shifting in the room.

"I'm sorry, what ?" I asked.

"My stepbro, Nemo!" Baz smiled wide. "And a little birdy told me you're fucking our stepdad."

"He's not our stepdad," Nemo growled.

"He is. You saw the paperwork!"

"Don't remind me," Nemo groaned.

"Guess that makes you my stepmom sister," Baz said. I frowned.

"I think we might also be cousins. Second cousins? It gets confusing," I said, waving my hands in dismissal.

"Jesus Christ," I heard Nemo sigh.

"Don't mind him. He doesn't know how family works."

"That is not how families work," Nemo growled.

"See? He doesn't know anything," Baz sighed. I rolled my eyes and got off the floor.

"Where are you going?" He asked, slipping his mask back on.

"To save you again, I guess." I brushed off my skirt.

"Aww, just like we've always been. I'm an asshole, and you save my ass." Nemo came from the room he had been hiding in and looked at me.

"Nemo showed me the hydrotherapy room," Baz said, picking himself off the ground.

"Oh?"

"How attached are you to Elvis?" He asked. My eyes bugged.

"Don't you fucking dare try to take him away from me," I hissed.

"Whoops," he said, turning and running away.

"Little shit. Ugh, time to go fuck some sanity into a few monsters." Someone in hiding cheered. I swallowed thickly and shook out my hands. Then I looked at my arm in confusion. When was the last time it hurt? I grabbed the end of my sleeve and ripped it up. The dark veins were still there. I opened and closed my fist without any stiffness.

The last time it hurt was before Zero, and I had sex. Before he was in my head.

Hazel… he called. I looked down the hall and started walking towards his voice.