Chapter Text
Everyone in their town remembered when the story first started circulating. It would have been almost twenty years ago now. A troubled teen boy disappearing from town, his mother running through the streets, screaming about how something took her son. Not someone, something. Two remembers sitting outside the ice cream shop with his little sister, watching the cops drag the screaming woman away. Two had turned his sister away from it, ignoring how the mother next him turned back to her cone, muttering something about drugs and insanity.
That family didn’t have the best reputation then, and even now, they still don’t.
From that day on, he’d heard the rumors about the missing boy – found dead in some weirdo’s basement, a feral child living with the foxes in the woods on the outskirts of town, in jail serving out a life sentence for murder. Two had heard it all, he thought, until a few years ago.
Rumors of a local monster – the townsfolk called it Birdman, how creative of them – stalking the woods near Two’s home made its rounds through their town, and from there, the rumors of the fate of that poor boy started up again, claiming that the boy had become this creature – this cryptid.
Two called bullshit. Ghosts weren’t real, demons weren’t real, and monsters, sure as hell, weren’t real. Two had lived near those woods his entire life, and he had never once seen anything monstrous, or out of the ordinary. Honestly, Two hoped it would stay that way.
Two was jostled out of his thoughts by a sharp elbow to the side. He looked up at his coworker, scowling at him. Arcadia was quiet today – they’d had some appointments early in the morning for string changes, but that was the extent of their projects today.
“Can’t a guy zone out on a slow day without getting punctured by an elbow?” Two grumbled, running a hand down his face. His coworker simply grinned.
“Not when Ivy isn’t here, I get bored too easily.”
Two rolled his eyes. “Tell your boyfriend that the next time he leaves an open box of picks in an aisle, I’m no longer buying you guys coffee on my way in. I’ve tripped over them three times this week.”
“You tripped over a box on the floor? Wow, I figured you would have seen it, you know…considering its eye level–”
Two sent a harsh punch into the man’s shoulder, pulling an indignant, whiney “ow” from him. “You’re a fuckin’ asshole, Three.”
Three rubbed his arm, a pout now on his lips. “And you punch way too hard. Fuck, that hurt.”
“Good, you deserved it.” Two huffed, turning his nose up and crossing his arms. He glanced at the clock, letting out a sigh. “Just an hour left, and we can go home.”
Three groaned, loud and exaggerated. “So close, yet so far. Ivy’s picking me up after work, wanna come to dinner with us? My treat.”
Two gave Three a grateful smile, but shook his head. “I have some chores to do around the house, not tonight. Maybe next week?”
Three nodded. “Sounds good, we’ll plan a day, and just have a nice dinner. Maybe we can swing by a pub too.”
Two hummed. “Now you’re speaking my language.”
Two pulled into his driveway as the sun began to set. He turned the engine off, and sat there for a moment, simply staring out at the woods beyond his house. He dragged a hand down his face, and took a deep breath, before stepping out of the car. Two opened the trunk, hefting his grocery bags into his arms. As he did, the hair on the back of his neck raised, and he paused, glancing around. Two felt like he was being watched.
He jumped as a flock of birds startled, taking off out of one of the trees closest to him. Two grabbed the rest of his bags as quickly as he could before rushing into his house. His heart was racing in his chest – thirty years in this house, and he’d never felt anything like that before. Two locked the door, and deadbolted it behind him. He moved to his kitchen, distracting himself by putting his groceries away.
After they were all put away, Two got started on making dinner. He busied himself with whatever he could to distract himself from the sinking feeling in his gut. He kept instinctively glancing toward his windows, like he’d catch something leering in at him, but he never found anything on the other side of the glass. Two washed his dishes as fast as he could before practically sprinting to his bedroom. Two closed that door behind him, locking it as well. He took a few deep breaths, changing into his night clothes before slipping into bed. He let himself relax into the blankets, scrolling lazily on his phone.
It didn’t take long for his eyes to start feeling heavy, his thumb slowing its pace on his screen. Two turned onto his side, facing the wall with his bedroom window. As he turned, his eyes caught a glint through the glass. He froze almost instantly.
No lights were on inside, and there was no light pollution in his part of town. His eyes gradually lifted to the window, and his gaze locked with something else’s eyes as it stared at him through the window. The eye contact lasted for only a few seconds before the eyes darted away in a flash.
Two laid there frozen for a moment before shooting out of bed and rushing to the window. From there, he could just make out a shadow darting back into the woods. Did it—
Did it have wings?
Two stared wide-eyed, mouth parted in shock. He drew his curtains shut, and turned back to his bed, pulling the blankets tight around himself. What the actual hell?
Two felt his breath begin to pick up as his heart raced. It was just a bird. That was it. That had to be it. It was a stupid story that just happened to be on his mind — it wasn’t real.
Monsters weren’t real.
But what if they were?
Two’s brows furrowed, his fear quickly consumed by intrigue and determination. That thing was far too large to be a bird — just a bird. His mind wandered to the boy.
The boy who used to be in the same classes as Two before he disappeared. The boy who would sit at the window with his headphones on, staring off into nothing like he’d rather be anywhere else. The boy who, one day, caught Two’s gaze and gave him the softest smile Two had ever seen. The boy who looked more tired every day he came to class. The boy who stopped coming to class. The boy who…
The boy who might be a fucking bird creature.
Two was going to find whatever was lurking outside. He was sure of it.
Two woke up the next morning feeling a bit worse for wear. He hadn’t slept much, nearly hadn’t at all. He reluctantly got out of bed, his alarm blaring in the background. Two turned it off, rubbing his eyes as he moved to the bathroom. He looked at his reflection in the mirror, wincing as noticed the dark circles under his eyes.
He mussed his hair, fluffing it up to make it look presentable, and brushed his teeth before getting dressed and finally leaving the house. The feeling of being watched seemed to lessen significantly — there was still something in the air that Two couldn’t ignore completely, but he could at least try.
He went through his usual morning routine — corner store for an energy drink, coffee shop for Three and Ivy, then Arcadia. As he pulled into their small lot, he spotted Ivy’s car already parked. Through the windshield, he could see Three and Ivy locked in what looked like too heavy of a kiss for nine in the morning. Two turned off his car and grabbed the drinks, sneaking up on Ivy’s car.
He knocked loudly on the driver side window, and smirked to himself as Three and Ivy jumped apart like they’d been burned. Ivy looked over at Two with what could only be described as puppy eyes while Three simply flipped him the bird. Two flipped it right back, gesturing to the drinks in his hand. That seemed to give them some incentive, and they quickly got out of the car.
Ivy grinned at Two, reaching for his drink. “You are genuinely an angel. A god given blessing.”
Three took his drink. “Yeah, I guess you’re okay.”
Two resisted the urge to punch him again, and turned to Ivy with a smile. “And this is why you’re my favorite.”
Three let out an offended squawk, and Two just simply chuckled, walking to the front door of the shop. He unlocked it, letting them in first before closing it behind him.
“You doing okay?” Ivy muttered quietly. “You look like you haven’t slept.”
Two shrugged. “I’m alright. Something…weird happened last night, and I just couldn’t really relax.”
Ivy tilted his head in curiosity. “Weird, how?”
Two sighed, he was going to sound insane if he told them, so he just shook his head. “Don’t worry about it, really. I’ll just take a nap when I get home and everything will be fine.”
Ivy frowned, but he seemed to understand Two’s hesitance. “Okay, I won’t push. If you need to leave early, just tell us. Three and I can hold down the fort.”
Two smiled softly. “Thanks, Ives.”
“Anytime.”
Despite Ivy’s offer, Two stayed his entire shift. He pulled into his driveway around the same time as the night before, and as soon as the engine shut off, the telltale prickle on the back of his neck returned. Two steeled himself, stepping out of his car. He kept his eyes firmly on his door as he walked to it, but he swore he could see eyes just beyond the tree line, watching his every move. He went through the motions of his evenings — cook dinner, eat, wash dishes, tidy up, and finally go to bed.
Once again, he laid in his bed, on his side the entire time, waiting for the eyes to show up again. When they did, this time Two watched it happen. He watched as beady eyes peeked up over his windowsill, saw them inspect every inch of his room before finally landing on him. Two narrowed his eyes, trying to make it seem like he was asleep. He didn’t want this creature to run off like it had the night before.
As its eyes landed on him, it made no other move. It sat there, it watched. Two watched it tilt its head, in curiosity or something else, Two wasn’t sure. Then, a clawed hand came into view, but it didn't reach out, it didn't try to open the window. It looks like…it’s resting its chin on its hand.
Two slowly opened his eyes, hoping that he wouldn't scare it away, but of course, the moment their eyes met, the creature tensed, and in a blink, it was gone. Two got up faster this time, yet somehow still only caught its shadow as it darted back into the woods. Now, though, Two can see that maybe the rumors weren’t all that wrong. Yes, it did have wings, but its legs and torso…those were human.
This routine continued through the next two days — work, home, chores, bed, stare out the window until this creature made itself known again, make eye contact with the creature and watch it run away. On day four, Two decided he was going to change up his tactic. As far as he could tell, whatever this creature was, it didn’t want to hurt him. It was just…curious.
Two cut up an apple, and a pear, arranging the slices on a plate. It was just after sunset when he stepped out onto his back porch. He placed the plate near the steps that lead down to his yard, and he took a seat in his porch chair. He waited, and he waited, but saw nothing as he sat out under the stars. As he sat there, he could feel eyes on him. Two stared into the trees, trying to catch the creature’s eyes once more.
He had to hand it to the thing, it was good at hiding, too good. It was shy too, something he never would have expected. It was almost familiar, the way it acted – like it knew him, like they’d met before.
It never approached the porch for as long as he sat there. Two sighed, of course it wouldn’t be this easy. He stood up from his chair, and he made his way back inside.
He was far too tired to stay awake tonight, the lack of sleep from the last few nights finally catching up to him — he was out like a light as soon as his head hit the pillow. In the morning, he checked the plate, only to see it empty, all the slices eaten. That made Two smile, at least the creature liked the snack.
He repeated that process again the next night, placing the plate by his stairs, and sitting back in his porch chair to watch. This time, Two was just able to make out eyes beyond the trees, illuminated by the light of the moon. He smiled to himself – it was getting more curious, getting closer. It didn’t move any closer for the rest of the time Two sat there.
In the morning, the plate was empty once more, and that night, Two sat on his porch again, hoping for anything other than distant eye contact. It never happened. The creature kept eating the fruit, and Two continued catching glimpses of its silhouette as it escaped back into the woods.
Ivy leveled Two with a look, the next morning, one that spoke volumes of just how well the other man knew him. “Two, come on. Something’s bothering you, and you’re going to tell us. We can see you going crazy in that head of yours.”
Two sighed. “You’re gonna think I’m crazy, Ives.”
Three barked a laugh, “We think you’re crazy on a normal day, what exactly is the difference here?”
“Asshole.” Two muttered. Ivy turned to throw a glare at his boyfriend. Three shrunk under Ivy’s gaze.
“What Three means to say, is that nothing you say could ever make us think differently about you, so spill.”
Two stared at them both for a moment. He could tell them, maybe they could help him figure out how to deal with this – or they could laugh at him and stop talking to him forever. Two took a deep breath and slumped against the counter.
“Do you guys remember the boy who disappeared a while back?” Two asked. Three and Ivy glanced at each other before they both nodded.
“Yeah, he was in your class right? Vessel? Weird name…” Three mused.
“None of us have any room to talk about weird names, you dick. Yes, he was in my class,” Two started. “When he disappeared, it really…messed with me.”
Ivy hummed. “I thought you two weren’t close.”
“We weren’t, but…he was so kind, and he was so gentle in nature. After he disappeared, the way everything was handled just– it really sucked. I took it hard, seeing his existence be treated like nothing but a true crime story.” Two blinked rapidly, fighting back tears. When had those formed?
Ivy frowned, resting a hand on Two’s back, right between his shoulder blades. “That’s horrible, Two. I can’t imagine…”
Two shook his head. “It’s okay. As you said, we weren’t close, we weren’t even acquaintances, just classmates. Anyway, that’s not the point here.”
“Okay?” Three drawled, extending the end of the word.
“Have you guys heard the stories about…something lurking in the woods near my place?” Ivy and Three nodded. “I’ve been seeing something.”
His friends’ eyes widened. “What do you mean you’ve been seeing something?”
Two ran a hand through his hair. “It started as a feeling, like something was watching me. I tried to ignore it, I did, but then…then I saw something staring at me through my bedroom window.”
Three glanced between Ivy and Two, like he was trying to make sense of Two’s story. “Two–”
“Just…let me finish.” Two practically begged. Three shut his mouth, nodding. “I thought I was going insane, but then it happened again. It wasn’t watching me to hurt me, it was…just watching. It was curious.”
“Well, that’s…good, I guess.” Ivy murmured.
Two narrowed his eyes at Ivy. “Anyway, it happened a few more times, and I couldn’t take it anymore. I wanted to know what it was. I cut up some fruit and left the plate for it, and I sat on my porch and waited. It was too scared to get the food with me there, though. The last two nights, I’ve left out the fruit and waited, and every morning the fruit is gone.”
“So you’ve been feeding some feral creature living in your woods?” Three raised an eyebrow.
“In a way, yeah, I guess. It just…it feels familiar. Like it knew me before it started showing up, like it knew not to be scared of me, like–”
“Like maybe the rumors might not be completely untrue?” Ivy finished the thought, and Two nodded solemnly.
“Would it really be the craziest thing?”
“You don’t believe in the supernatural.” Ivy stated.
“I know.” Two responded confidently. Something flashed in Ivy’s eyes.
“Then trust your instincts. Don’t even think about how crazy it sounds, just trust them.” Three voiced calmly, and Ivy nodded along with him.
Two had taken Three’s words to heart, he’d grown tired of this cat and mouse game. He’d called off of work that morning, claiming he wasn’t feeling well. Of course, Ivy hadn’t even batted an eye. Two spent the entire day planning, mapping out all of the possible ways he could finally catch a real glimpse of the creature. If he tried hard enough, he could probably capture it, right? Oh, who was he kidding, the creature was way too fast for him to even imagine being able to catch up to it.
Two huffed a frustrated breath, leaning heavily against the backrest of his sofa. His eyes drifted up, landing on the photographs that lined his wall. There were so many, from different points in his life – him as a baby in his mother’s arms, him and his sister on Christmas, home with his first drumset.
Then there was his class photo from year eleven. Two stood up, making his way closer to the wall. He took in every detail of the photo, and he could remember every classmate vividly, some he even still saw in his day-to-day life. In the back row stood a boy a few months younger than him – he was tall and lanky, and his eyes always held so much depth, so many emotions. Yet, Two never could figure out what that boy was feeling. He wore his heart on his sleeve, but was somehow still so secretive of everything going on in his own head.
Two remembered how green the boy’s eyes were, how he rarely ever laughed, but when he did he could light up the entire room. Two regretted never getting closer to him, he regretted not taking the chance to be his friend. The day he’d finally worked up the courage to speak to him, the boy stopped coming to class, and a week later…
A week later, he went missing.
Two remembered the aftermath, after the boy’s mother came screaming down the street, yelling about a monster taking her son. Alongside the rumors his classmates had stirred, the police investigation brought up no answers. The mother was the main suspect, after they’d found the father dead in their home. She was later released from custody, due to lack of evidence, and claiming insanity.
He remembered feeling sad – more sad than he had ever felt before. His sister sat with him the night the news officially broke.
Vessel was gone.
There was never any closure – real closure. The police ended their investigation a few months in, stating simply that the boy was suicidal, that he most likely had taken his own life. Two remembered feeling sick. He was disgusted that they could stop looking so fast, and feel no remorse for it. He was disgusted with the Vessel’s mother, after the details of their home came to light alongside the case. Most of all, he was disgusted with the fact that there was no funeral, there wasn’t even a memorial for him. No funeral, no memorial, no closure, no fucking headstone in a graveyard – just the rumors that Vessel had been murdered, had become a murderer, had become a monster,
Two had to know.
He had to find out if this creature that was stalking him, was the boy from twenty years ago.
This time, when he watched the creature’s shadow disappear into the trees, he quickly slipped on his shoes and a hoodie, and grabbed his flashlight, running into the woods without a second thought. As soon as he was past the tree line, Two slowed his pace — he needed to be calm, quiet. He didn’t want to scare it again.
Two searched the ground, up in the branches, behind him, even. He did this for what felt like hours. Two was tired, his feet aching beneath him. Two had almost given up, had almost called it quits and turned around to go home, when he remembered the manor.
Vessel’s family home, not too far from Two’s own. It had been abandoned for years, ever since Vessel’s mother had been admitted to a hospital. Maybe, just maybe, if Two was right…
Two could see the peak of the roof through the trees and internally celebrated. He couldn’t believe he remembered the correct path. As he approached, he felt his heart sink. Despite the uneasy air around the family, the manor had always been beautiful. Now, it looked like it would crumble at the slightest breeze.
The wood was rotting away, water damage from heavy rain eating at the foundation, making it begin to tilt to the side. The vines that entangled it seemed like the only things holding the house up. The windows were in various states of destruction. The only window still intact was the attic, all the others ranged between cracked, and completely kicked out. There was graffiti on the wall – murderer, monster, demon.
Two felt his heart clench at the bright red words, like the paint had lunged forward and stabbed him itself. That sweet boy from school could never be a monster, they hadn’t seen him like Two had.
The sound of rustling from around a bush snapped Two out of his reverie.
Two hesitantly stepped forward as quietly as he could, and as he rounded the bush, the beam of his flashlight landed on a figure huddled on the ground, in front of an old, cracking fountain. Two figured this used to be a garden.
As Two tried to move closer, he stepped on a stick, making it snap in half. The creature’s head whipped upward, and Two immediately froze. Fear consumed him, constricting around his heart, and pressing down on his lungs. The creature wasn’t at all what he expected. It was…more human than creature, really.
Its body was huge, Two would have to guess over six feet tall, and its muscles were pronounced enough to assume that it hadn’t exactly been starving out here, nor had it been sitting and wasting away until it came time to eat. Two could make out the glint of two beady eyes staring at him from behind a red and white mask, and he could see the talons on its hands — sharp, deadly. What really made Two’s breath stop, though, was the pair of wings on its back.
They were tattered, and broken, and they could hardly even be called wings, but Two could tell…they’d been magnificent once. The sheer size of the bones protruding from the creature’s back told him that much, and he could see the slightest bit of white down feathers still clinging to what they could. It made Two wonder if this thing was just a cryptid, or something heavenly.
The creature’s eyes didn’t leave Two as it stood up from the ground. At its full height, Two’s heart seized in his chest — definitely over six feet tall.
As it stared Two down and began to stalk forward, Two accepted his fate.
This thing was going to kill him.