RAT!

Afyre told Pegasus everything from the beginning except the fact that she has a girlfriend, though Pegasus already knew.

Pegasus's POV:

In the end, After reliving her trauma Afyre agreed to help, said as I quote, " It would be thrilling to catch those bastards, at their weakest point.", she told her story with detailed graphics that I wouldn't be able ever to imagine.

"You have to promise not to tell anyone! I don't know what they would do to me if they found out!" Afyre blurted out at such a speed that she almost became incomprehensible, but this time she trembled physically.

Her hands were shaking, so I took them in mine. I was rubbing my thumb against the back of her hands and gazing profoundly into her eyes.

"I won't," I spoke, reassuring her.

She was leaning in, and I was slightly confused, saved by the bell; we were startled by a loud crash coming from downstairs and the sound of glass hitting the ground. We exchanged eyes and speeded below, looking for the source, greeted with a broken window at the front door, a confused and worried expression plastered on Afyre's face.

Right at that moment, a full-blown drunk woman with crazed hair came waddling in, reeking rum and a Bourbon to her hand. She immediately started ranting to Afyre about how their "trailer" is too dirty for her to be in and that she deserved better. Afyre, clearly frustrated, rubbed her temple and tried her best to sedate the woman.

Unable to walk in a straight line, the woman began leaning on the kitchen counter, throwing things on the floor while all the more commanding Afyre to clean the house. Anyone would get discouraged at this point. Now I understand why the house is in such a mess.

"You Heard mE! I said ....," She slurred, " I dOn'T Wwant ... AnY Messss ... You Don'T listen... You ... You'Re JusT Llike your UNGRATEFUL FATHERR!" Now looking like she wants to puke, she laid on the floor, her head facing down and mopping the ground with her body making a snow angel in all the filth. The Bourbon still in her hand, now spilling on the floor.

I stared at her, tilted my head to the side, putting my hand up to my mouth, trying to hold in my laugh. Laying on the floor motionless for a while, she finally barfed on the floor; the pungent scent pounds my nose. The woman looks up at Afyre, staring profoundly at her for what seems like 5 minutes with barf dripping from her chin.

The woman then attempted to lick her puke, questioning the taste itself. I was genuinely disgusted.

Afyre quickly stops her by pulling on her hair, then placing her hands under the woman's arms to help her up.

Once she rose to her feet, she violently pushed Afyre back, claiming that she can help herself out.

"Mom, you are drunk again," Afyre huffed, walking towards the kitchen to grab some water.

"I ... KnoW dRunK ... and THIS is NoT it," She states, pointing in every direction.

"Where's your dad?" She asks, suddenly sober.

"Mom, you know that he doesn't come around anymore,"

"Here, drink this," she handed her the clean glass of water.

Her mother pelts the glass out of her hand and onto the floor; she's back on her wild horse.

"I'm Not... Taking AnYthIng From YoU ... YoU Are trying TO POISON ME!" Taking another sip of the bottle in her hand. She then proceeded to run around the house shouting "HomeRun!" over and over.

She then collapses on the couch, fast asleep. It's genuinely a good thing that she won't remember any of this when she wakes up with a banging headache.

Afyre then turns to me, clearly relieved, and sighed,

"Can you leave? I will deal with this," She points at her mom and the surrounding mess.

I did as she wished; when I arrived home, I rubbed my temple in exhaustion; there's a lot of that going around.

I laid flat on my bed, relieving my legs and looking at my ceiling, rocking my head side to side with my hands folded on my stomach; this is my thinking position. I have decided to ask Mom about that mysterious box that I found in my room the other day. For how long was it placed there? And how did I not notice it there?

She wasn't home at the moment. After about 30 minutes, I heard the rocks shift under her tires as she pulled into the driveway. I waited for the sound of the front door opening and was about to sprint downstairs but stopped in my tracks when I heard her on the phone. She doesn't tolerate being interrupted when she's on the phone. I was walking back to my room when I overheard her saying:

"What do you want from me?" Then suddenly, I heard her slam something on the table and roared, "Shit!" She seemed angry, but the world doesn't stop spinning.

I came running downstairs, then took a seat at the Kitchen Bar and asked with curiosity,

"Mom, What's wrong? Who was that?" I ask, looking over at her phone placed on the table face down under her palm.

"Oh! That was the Boss. He needed some extra paperwork to do. When did you come home? I thought that you would still be out with those girls." She says, rubbing the back of her neck.

"No, not today. Maybe some other time."

"So, what did you need?"

"Oh yeah. Umm, Mom, I found a strange box in my room the other night ..."

Yet again, interrupted by the vibration of my phone and the ringing of my moms'. We both went our separate ways and answered our phones.

*PICKS UP*

AFYRE- You need to come back to my place right this instant and bring Eliizabeth.

Her voice sounded a bit shaky, and with no questions asked, I hung up the phone and called Eliizabeth.

*RINGS* straight to voicemail.

*RINGS* straight to voicemail.

*RINGS*

*PICKS UP*

ELIIZABETH- What does it mean when someone doesn't pick up!

PEGASUS- *NO ANSWER*

ELIIZABETH- It means either they are busy or they simply do not want to talk to said person.

PEGASUS- Are you trying to be funny? If it weren't necessary, I wouldn't be trying to reach you! Cause trust me, I would like to be doing anything else than to be on a call and let alone face to face with you! Now shut your face and meet me at Afyres' house.

*PEGASUS ENDS THE CALL*

Before leaving, I was about to tell Mom that I would be out for a while, but she seemed deeply wrapped up in one of her conversations over the phone. So I just left a note.

I took a bus over to her house as I now knew the route. It was now 6:15 PM; it was a 10-minute drive to her house. When I arrived, I opened the door; Eliizabeth was already inside, giving me a stinking look. The house was now spotless.

"What is this about?" I asked

"She wouldn't say until everyone was here," Spectacle's said.

Afyre came toward us holding something in her hands,

" I found this when I was cleaning, just laying there on the kitchen floor," She said, handing it to me. It was a black envelope with golden cursive handwriting that read: Suprise ☻

"I want you to open it," Afyre stated. I took it from her and asked.

"How did it get here."

" I think that it's when we heard the window break; it turns out that my mom wasn't the culprit. Look," She says, kicking a rock. " He attached it to this rock."

When I looked down at the envelope, it gave me the chills, frightened to the thought of what it could contain. I turned the envelope around to have a glimpse of the back, and as I expected, there was more writing, which I read Aloud.

"We gave a RAT one mission, and IT fails, 1 PATH and IT chose otherwise. An INFECTED RAT must be put to rest or locked up with the other failures." I looked up at the crew for confirmation before opening it.

When I opened it, the horrors revealed themselves to me.

[TO BE CONTINUED]