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When I see the devil's eyes A current travels down my spine He found me
˚ˋঌ˖ did not plan to come back to this level any time soon. He didn’t plan to come back to this level ever again. He just… he already had success here, so why would he be back at level 154, when he can find another unsuspecting human to hunt somewhere else.
Which is why he is unsure what he is doing here.
The place is largely the same, because why wouldn't it be. ˚ˋঌ˖ looks around in search for… ৡ or the very least the corner store, because he would not refuse a piece of wood right about now. What he does not expect, is to see the human.
“What the fuck”, ˚ˋঌ˖ crackles, and that's enough to attract the human’s attention. He turns around from what he was doing, looks at ˚ˋঌ˖ with those dangerous water-blue eyes of his and smiles, and…
No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no.
The human says something in that weird language of his, bright and excited, and ˚ˋঌ˖ wants to yell ‘Why are you not dead?!’ at him.
The human moves closer, and ˚ˋঌ˖ steps away. Confusion riddles the pale face, and something about the way the human’s face tenses reminds ˚ˋঌ˖ the agony it displayed when he hugged him.
There are more words in the unfamiliar language, the human looks apologetic and stretches his hand out to show ˚ˋঌ˖ that weird thing he had with a mini-flame inside (which is not a glowfolk, ˚ˋঌ˖ knows now). And something about it cracks ˚ˋঌ˖’s resolve.
He steps towards the human, unsurely, then takes another step, more confident, and finally he is running to him.
The human really has no time to react, before ˚ˋঌ˖ is embracing him again, and there are screams, and ˚ˋঌ˖ feels good, he thinks, and the human dies, and…
I dug my heels into the gravel As evidence for you to unravel
He is on the platform again. ˚ˋঌ˖ did not want to be here again, and yet, he is standing on the level 154, expecting something he doesn't know. When did he get here? He didn't want to be here. Never.
The fluorescent light is blinking rapidly, fake fire imitating his real flames, and he is in the store, and he watching the tunnel, waiting for… yeah, for ৡ to appear. And then he remembers to look to the side of him, and the human is sitting here, no care in the world, close and trusting and so goddamn naive.
“Why? Why are you staying?” ˚ˋঌ˖ asks him, desperate and angry, because the human needs to run, needs to know that he is going to kill him. Does he have no survival instincts?
The human, of course, doesn't answer him in any way ˚ˋঌ˖ can understand. He frowns in worry, but ˚ˋঌ˖ is almost terrified to realise that this worry doesn't come from being scared.
No, no, he needs to die. They can't wait for ৡ. ˚ˋঌ˖ must do it now.
He leans in, closer to where the human sits, and the other doesn't even try to move. Or maybe he doesn't understand what's going on, because Colin hugs him far too fast, and the smell of burning flesh should be comforting.
Seems as though I've lost again A story told ad nauseam
He tries to run, tries to no-clip, tries screaming, and he is still on this platform, walls cold even under his touch, and he screams some more, and the human look scared, scared not of him, but for him, and ˚ˋঌ˖ hugs him in search for the familiar comfort, and he finds none, none, none, none, none, none, no-
A drag path etched in the surface As evidence I left there on purpose
“Why are you here?” ˚ˋঌ˖ yells at the human as soon as their gazes meet. “Why? I have killed so many humans by now, I am stronger than I have ever been, I… I am doing great, and you are still here! You know that they all tried to run? All, every single one of them, tried to run. Why are you not trying? Why are you still here? Why, why did you hug me and made me… made me…”
The human smiles at him softly, and reaches his hand towards ˚ˋঌ˖ like he wants to touch him, to sooth him, and ˚ˋঌ˖ takes this absence of comfort by hugging him and killing him and there's no high anymore, no pleasure.
Would you (Would you, ooh)
He is on the platform.
Please, please hurry
The human is here too.
Would you (Would you, ooh)
˚ˋঌ˖ hugs him and ignores the supposedly lovely screams of him dying.
Please, please hurry
And then he does it again.
Can you, can you, can you, can you?
“Hi, I am Miles”, the words sound really familiar, and ˚ˋঌ˖ thinks he’s been told that every iteration the human, Miles, even had the chance to speak, but it's the first time ˚ˋঌ˖ thinks that human sounds sound in any way distinguishable. He doesn't know why.
Why is he here, again?
He never wanted to come to Level 154 again. He didn't want to. He has nothing to do here.
Why does Miles smile at him and is not running away?
˚ˋঌ˖ hesitates. Just like the first time. He hesitates, and Miles smiles at him, and ˚ˋঌ˖ can't not do it, because Miles needs to be dead, he is dead.
He hugs him.
Can you find me? (Can you find me?)
“Hi, I am Miles”, the familiar (dangerous) water-blue eyes crinkle happily, as they meet again, and ˚ˋঌ˖ doesn't remember how he got here, he didn't want to come back to the Level 154 ever again and he definitely didn't want to see Miles. “What's your name?”
What difference does it make? That's what ˚ˋঌ˖ wants to ask, but instead he just crackles:
“˚ˋঌ˖”.
Miles frowns a bit, processing, before smiling at him, seemingly guilty, which is ridiculous, because it's ˚ˋঌ˖ should feel guilty.
“Sorry, I assume you told me your name, but I can't really make this sound. Can I… Would it be okay if I called you, let's say, Colin? You can also give me a name in your language!”
˚ˋঌ˖ huffs. He didn't understand most of the words said, but he got the part about Miles wanting a glowfolk name. Like he ever would. Miles is too human to ever be anything like a glowfolk. Not to say he has no strength in him, for some reason ˚ˋঌ˖ feels like Miles is hiding power he can't understand, but it's more of a mighty ocean than destructive flame. A mighty ocean that will cover him whole if ˚ˋঌ˖ doesn't do it first.
Which is why he hugs him and drowns, drowns, drowns, drowns.
Can you find me? (Can you find me?)
Colin never wanted to go back to Level 154. There is nothing for him here. Definitely not Miles and his ocean-blue eyes and soft smile and inability to run away from danger.
“Minecraft!” Miles exclaims suddenly, looking at one of the posters, and Colin snaps his head, recognising this word from what a couple of new humans on Level 499 were talking about. Weren’t he on Level 499, by the way? How did he get here?
Miles is looking at one of the posters, which has some sort of a cubic scenery depicted on it. Colin’s core drops. Miles can't touch that poster, it will teleport him to another place, and he will never see him again, and he needs to capture him and have him here, and he will never see him again.
Miles can't run away, but he sure doesn't know where to stop exploring, so he reaches to touch the poster, and Colin catches his arm, stopping him and burning him. Miles screams, and still doesn't run away. Even when Colin tugs him into a reluctant hug.
Can you find me? (Can you find me?)
“I don't know, do you like, eat oil? That would make sense as a literal fire, so if you want, you can have the rest of this”, Miles puts the oil lamp on the floor between them, where a small, not alive, flame is still dancing behind the glass.
“No”, Colin finds himself saying, and Miles looks taken aback by hearing him speak English.
“Oh, okay! That's good to know. What do you eat then? If you eat at all, of course, I am not sure if you need to, despite the fact that we learn in a biology class at school that it's one of the attributes of living organisms – the need to eat. But also this place is different, so, who knows?”
What Colin learned about Miles recently, is that he rambles a lot. He supposes, he always kind of known, just never really processed because he couldn't understand the words. But now that he is better at English, Colin struggles to put all the familiar words Miles says into sentences. He needs to ask Ruby for help, because she is better than him at it, but also where is she? Wasn't he on Level 499 just a minute ago? Why is he on Level 154, he didn't want to be back, even if he wanted to see Miles.
What did Miles ask?
About food?
“Wood”, the sounds do not come out easy, but he is trying. “Humans”.
“Oh”.
Miles looks at him, fear in his ocean-blue eyes, and it's wrong, he is never scared of Colin.
He doesn't run away though. Just stands there and lets Colin move closer, just like the first time.
“I am sorry”.
Colin hugs him.
Can you find me? (Can you find me?)
“I don't have a choice. You are dead already”.
“I am standing here, am I not?”
“This is not real. I never wanted to be back on this level. I never came back here. This is not real”.
“And yet I am right in front of you. Will you kill me?”
“I have to. You are my first human. The proof that I am not weak”.
“Oh, Colin. You’ve never been weak. Don't you get it?”
“That's what I am supposed to do”.
“But do you want to?”
No.
Colin leans in and hugs Miles, and if he could cry, he would.
Then the sun begins to rise We made it through the darkest night You found me
He is on Level 154, and Colin almost wanted to be here, because he can see Miles again, and it's some sort of a drug worse than burning a human alive is supposed to be.
“Hi, I am Miles. What's your name?”
“Colin”.
“Wait, that's a lovely name! You actually do look like a Colin to me, which is crazy, because, obviously, you do not look like any Colin that I’ve ever known. They were human, and you, of course, are a flame. Which is cool, by the way! Like genuinely epic. I have so many questions for you, I wish I could ask”.
Colin listens to Miles rumbling with a fond smile. His lovely ocean-blue eyes are sparking with excitement, and everything in Colin’s core churrs. He is not supposed to be here. Miles should be dead, and Colin killed him, and he doesn't want to anymore.
“You need to run”, he tells him softly.
“Huh? Why?”
“You have to do it, Miles. This time. Run away”.
“But why? I don't understand”.
Colin shakes his head. Fuck, Miles has no self-preservation instincts whatsoever.
“Because I am supposed to kill you, and I am not going to do it. So run. You need to stay alive, do you get it?” he is practically begging by the end of it.
Miles looks at him with huge eyes, like he is searching for something else on Colin’s face, and Colin is terrified from how painfully happy he is that there is no fear there.
And then Miles smiles.
“You know, you are really cute when you are trying to save me, Colin”, he laughs and steps closer. “But you know already, I never run away”.
Colin curses in his own language and shakes his head only harder.
“But you have to. I am not going to kill you. So you need to run and be alive”.
“You and I both know that I am dead”, Miles shrugs, taking another step closer. “At least for now”.
“What… what do you mean?”
It's hard to push the words out, his whole body frozen with the anticipation of something he doesn't understand.
Miles looks to the side, contemplative.
“This place is weird”, Miles shakes his head. “Well, of course you know it. But I mean, weirder than any of us can ever imagine. I am dead, and this is not real, and you are not on Level 154 right now. You never came back. But yet”, he turns and looks right into Colin’s eyes again, “I am right in front of you, am I not? And you will not kill me”.
“I did already. Many times. Once”.
“And I will not remember it”, Miles promises. And he takes another step, getting so close, that he for sure is supposed to be uncomfortable already from the heat Colin is radiating. “When I am back, I will not remember anything. Backrooms are weird like that”.
“You will be back?” Colin asks, desperately wishing for it to be true.
“Soon”, Miles reaches out and places a hand on his cheek, and he doesn't burn. “Don't worry, I think I’ll like you. I liked you the last time”.
Colin leans into the touch and closes his eyes.
When I see the devil's eyes I'll look away and smile wide You found me
“Oh, here’s Colin. Hi, Colin!” Ruby greets him loudly, as Colin comes closer to his group of friends, carrying the tray with everyone’s orders. Which is mainly wood. Her pink flames dance, excitedly. “Look, we have a new friend!”
She points to the side, and there’s a human watching someone in the bumper cars area.
A human with a very familiar mop of black curls.
Colin drops the tray on the ground, and Miles turns around to look at him with his lovely beautiful ocean-blue eyes.
“Oh, hi! Hello! I am Miles! And you must be Colin”.
Miles smiles brightly at him.
And Colin can't believe this is real.