(click to enlarge)
Helga trudged along the sidewalk, her arms aching as heavy grocery bags cut into her fingers. Beside her, Happy the Dino Dog darted between her legs, his bio-construct claws clicking sharply against the pavement.
"Watch where you're going, you little menace," she scolded him playfully, juggling the plastic handles.
Ten days ago, she’d found Happy beside the wreck of Lisa Liemawr’s car, guarding the missing Hexa Herald reporter’s halophone. Lisa’s last broadcast had been looping on its screen, insisting the Forbidden Zone wasn’t radioactive at all, that it was full of monsters. Helga had only meant to do the right thing. She’d pressed Share.
Instead, she'd turned her life into a waking nightmare.
Happy's tail wagged furiously, his scaled snout lifting to sniff the evening air.
Her halophone chimed. Helga groaned, trying to balance two overstuffed grocery bags on one knee while fishing the device out of her coat pocket. Her inbox had exploded with toxic stupidity. Cruel memes. Insults. Badly photoshopped creatures holding political signs featuring her face, as though she were their preferred candidate for president.
She had blocked accounts. Reported them. Ignored them. Nothing worked.
Then a message from Mira appeared.
Mira, founder of the Romaniacs, had arranged that surprise meeting with DJ Romance, the celebrity impersonator. She'd been strangely quiet ever since.
GET OUT OF THE CITY. NOW.
Her thumb hovered over Delete.
A prank. It had to be a prank. But it wasn't like sweet Mira to make fun of her.
Happy stopped weaving around her ankles. His leathery ears twitched. He turned toward the end of the block, letting out a low, vibrating growl.
An icy breeze made her shiver and she tightened her coat. "Come on, Happy," she whispered, quickening her pace.
When they reached her apartment building, Helga's stomach turned. Splashed across her front door in wet red paint were the words MONSTER LOVER.
Happy shoved against her leg, growling at the door.
For the past ten days, he'd appointed himself her personal bodyguard. He slept outside her bedroom and followed her everywhere, even to the bathroom. She'd never had the heart to tell him his vigilance was unnecessary. She wasn't Lisa Liemawr, forever stirring up trouble and making enemies of the rich and powerful. Helga had always lived a quiet life, far from that kind of danger.
Until now.
For a moment, she couldn't move. Happy pressed close, his growl rumbling through her leg. For the first time, she was grateful for his overprotectiveness.
She dropped the grocery bags onto the grass and fumbled for the paper towels. The thick, wet paint smeared beneath her frantic scrubbing.
Lisa Liemawr had gone missing trying to expose the truth about the Forbidden Zone. Helga had only shared the broadcast. She hadn't done anything to deserve this.
Behind her, Happy began to bark again and again.
Her halophone vibrated. Ringing. Ringing.
She snatched it up, ready to turn it off, but stopped dead.
Glowing across the screen was Caller ID: DJ ROMANCE.
She stared at his perfect idol picture and touched her lips, which had never quite stopped tingling since his kiss.
How did he have her number? Mira must have given it to him.
Her thumb hovered over the answer icon. If she didn't answer, she'd spend the rest of the night wondering whether it was really him.
She accepted the call. “Um… hello?”
"Helga."
His voice. That deep gravitas. Her heart skipped a beat. It really was him.
"DJ Romance?" she whispered. "Are you... are you mocking me too?"
The screen flickered wildly with static. Romance's panicked voice crackled through the speaker.
"Helga, listen to me. Please. Get out of the city. Go now!"
She swallowed hard. "You sound just like Mira."
Static swallowed Romance's reply. "If you can't..." His voice broke into a glitching distortion.
Then silence.
Helga's battery icon plunged to zero.
The screen went black.
"Hello? Romance?"
She tapped the screen, then held down the power button. Nothing.
A deep pulse reverberated through her jaw. She felt it in her teeth, a low-frequency hum rising through the pavement beneath her feet.
Helga looked around, trying to locate the sound. Several blocks away, a billboard flickered. Its brilliant advertisements stuttered through bands of static before the entire display went dark. Then, the streetlamps died in a long, dark cascade toward her.
Happy stopped in his tracks. His scaled head snapped upward.
Helga followed his gaze, her breath hitching.
The blood-red sky stretched outward like an open wound over Neu Seoul.
A cold wind swept through her hair.
The smell hit her a moment later. Damp earth. Stagnant water. And beneath it all, something sweet and rotten.
Happy's collar frills sprang fully open. He planted his feet and faced the street, snarling so fiercely that the sound rattled in his chest.
Helga gasped. She fumbled for her door key fob, aiming it at the door. Click. Click. Click.
Nothing.
The power LEDs on both the key fob and the door lock had gone dark.
She slammed her fists against the door. "Damn it!"
Behind her, Happy erupted into furious barking. He didn't look at the building, but at the street, his teeth bared, scales bristling along his tail.
She spun around. Whatever had frightened him was out there, somewhere beyond the darkening street. She couldn't see anything, but the hum was growing louder.
She ran to the neighboring building and beat on the door.
"Help! Please, let me in! Something's wrong out here!"
For a moment, there was only the sound of her own breathing and Happy's desperate barking.
Then she heard a soft movement on the other side of the door.
Someone was home.
"Please!" she cried, pounding again.
Whoever it was, they were as scared as she was. She couldn’t even blame them.
A heavy, wet dragging sound echoed through the unnatural quiet of the blacked-out street.
Helga backed against the front door, petrified. “Oh, God...”
Out of the shadows shambled a horrifying figure in a torn, blood-stained dress. Its head lolled at a nauseating angle, a filth-caked burlap sack tied tightly over it. Dark fluid seeped through the fabric. No signs of breathing. Its joints clicked like dry twigs with every jerky step.
Happy charged.
"Happy, NO!"
The Dino Dog launched himself at the creature, claws scraping against the pavement. The thing lurched forward with a sudden, sickening burst of speed, its malformed arms reaching for him.
Helga couldn't see what happened next. She heard the crash of bodies, the scrape of claws, and a horrible series of wet impacts in the darkness.
"HAPPY!"
Something struck the pavement with a heavy thud.
Helga's stomach lurched. She stumbled toward the sounds, one hand reaching blindly into the darkness.
A furious bark answered her. Angry. Defiant.
Thank God.
She barely had time to feel relief before another sound punched the air inward.
A violent WHUMP slammed through the street. Windows rattled in their frames. Loose paper towels and spilled groceries blew across the pavement as vibrant pink smoke erupted between Helga and the creature.
A second monster had appeared.
The smoke churned, swallowing the darkness around it. A vast silhouette rose through the pink haze, giant black bat wings unfurling against the blood-red sky, violet light pulsing through the membranes. Beneath a gat hat, magenta hair framed a face crowned with horns thrusting straight forward.
A gleaming scythe caught what little light remained.
Helga couldn't move. Couldn't breathe.
The demon straightened, wings spread wide, its clawed hands tightening around the weapon.
It lunged toward the creature. A sharp, sickening whoosh cut through the darkness, followed by two heavy thumps against the pavement.
For a heartbeat, everything went still. A thin, luminous stream rose from the darkness, twisting up from the fallen body toward its destroyer. The demon inhaled, almost imperceptibly. The blue light vanished within its fanged jaws.
Helga touched her lips. That glow. She suddenly felt afraid. Very afraid
Happy's head snapped toward Helga. He sniffed, then turned toward the demon, lips curling back from his teeth as darkness swallowed them once more.
A scream erupted from the darkness.
It was impossibly loud, impossibly high, a glass-shattering screech that climbed and wavered in a sustained vibrato. The note went on without a single breath, a virtuoso performance of pure, unfiltered agony that seemed to force everyone within earshot to share its pain.
Helga clapped her hands over her ears.
Then something about the voice began to sound familiar.
The vibrato. The effortless control. That impossible high note.
Since childhood, she had adored that voice, playing all his songs over and over until she knew them by heart.
Helga slowly lowered her hands. She didn't need to see the demon to know.
No impersonator could ever hit a note like that.
“WHY ARE YOU BITING ME, YOU STUPID MUTT?” Romance howled. “LET GO! I'M TRYING TO PROTECT HER TOO!”
A violent WHUMP slammed through the street. Windows rattled in their frames. Loose paper towels and spilled groceries blew across the pavement as vibrant pink smoke erupted between Helga and the creature.
A second monster had appeared.
The smoke churned, swallowing the darkness around it. A vast silhouette rose through the pink haze, giant black bat wings unfurling against the blood-red sky, violet light pulsing through the membranes. Beneath a gat hat, magenta hair framed a face crowned with horns thrusting straight forward.
A gleaming scythe caught what little light remained.
Helga couldn't move. Couldn't breathe.
The demon straightened, wings spread wide, its clawed hands tightening around the weapon.
It lunged toward the creature. A sharp, sickening whoosh cut through the darkness, followed by two heavy thumps against the pavement.
For a heartbeat, everything went still. A thin, luminous stream rose from the darkness, twisting up from the fallen body toward its destroyer. The demon inhaled, almost imperceptibly. The blue light vanished within its fanged jaws.
Helga touched her lips. That glow. She suddenly felt afraid. Very afraid
Happy's head snapped toward Helga. He sniffed, then turned toward the demon, lips curling back from his teeth as darkness swallowed them once more.
A scream erupted from the darkness.
It was impossibly loud, impossibly high, a glass-shattering screech that climbed and wavered in a sustained vibrato. The note went on without a single breath, a virtuoso performance of pure, unfiltered agony that seemed to force everyone within earshot to share its pain.
Helga clapped her hands over her ears.
Then something about the voice began to sound familiar.
The vibrato. The effortless control. That impossible high note.
Since childhood, she had adored that voice, playing all his songs over and over until she knew them by heart.
Helga slowly lowered her hands. She didn't need to see the demon to know.
No impersonator could ever hit a note like that.
“WHY ARE YOU BITING ME, YOU STUPID MUTT?” Romance howled. “LET GO! I'M TRYING TO PROTECT HER TOO!”
Happy Halloween everyone! For you Halloween needs, hop over to Camp Syndicate to see all the delightfully spooky things. Don't miss gifts, cool sim ambience, and the live DJ parties too!
On Him, DJ Romance:
Teeth, mouth, tongue: Seydr - Cryptid Maw [mesh](Camp Syndicate)(449L)
Lips: Misteria - Smoke [HD Applier](Camp Syndicate)(250L)
Straps: YUEBIN - BOUND Body Straps - [Legacy Athl] - black [mesh](350L)
Top: YUEBIN - RAZE Top - [Legacy (m)+Athl] Fatpack [mesh](1290L)
Pants: YUEBIN - Rift Pants - [Legacy (m)+Athl] Fatpack [mesh](1290L)
Eye, jaw: Cubic Cherry - Terror Jawbone, EYE FATPACK [mesh]
Horns: Hollow - Nyx Horns [mesh]
Tail: Hollow - Nyx Tail [Bento] [mesh]
Weapon: ORPHIC - Kurohana Scythe - Shoulder L [mesh]
Hair: Raven Bell - Azriel Braids [mesh]
Bracers: Aii - Riftwind Mercenary - Legacy M Bracers [mesh]
Boots: CULT - Darkness - Legacy M [mesh]
Thong: Noche - James Thong Metallic Black [B0] - Athletic [mesh]
Hair: Dura - U129 -LIGHT -Men [mesh]
Hair: Dura - U135-Light(rigged)-Male [mesh]
Necklace: UKIYO - lisa necklace [unrigged + resizer] [mesh]
Heart: RAWR - Diamond Heart Septum [mesh]
Wings: Aii - Nefarious Wings M Bento (b.o.m.1) [mesh]
Claws, rings: NI.JU - Acantha Rings/Nails Set - legacy m [mesh](250L)
Hat: Dope+Mercy - Saja Gat, Sheer [mesh](Gift)
Earring: RavenBell - Starlit Earrings [Moonlit] [mesh](350L)
Tattoos: HISS - PATTERNS FACE ROMANCE [BOM](250L)
Eyes: Gloom - Savage Fantasy Collection - Sclera 03 - Yellow M [BOM]
Head: LeLUTKA - KANE [mesh](3990L)
Body: TheShops - [BODY] Athletic Meshbody (Legacy)(m) (1.7.1) [mesh](5000L)
Pose: DevinVaughn - created in Firestorm
Setting:
Skyline: Strange Merchant - Light City 1 [mesh]
Seoul Tower: Korea City
BONUS IMAGES: inworld raw shots, midday sky, default camera:
.jpeg)