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Realistic or Modern Phoenix Forgotten

hery

the fool





chapter 1

6pm


mood

anticipationnn


location

the bus


interaction

mogy mogy (Edward)






The bus had arrived at the stop in time to collect a meager two passengers, both weary-eyed boys in their late teens. It shuddered, letting out a rattling hiss upon its departure down the road covered by a liberal dusting of powdery, white snow. Rhys Celestin, most commonly known as Rio or "the boy on the right", exhibited a neutral, thoughtlessly indifferent expression. A beige winter coat wrapped around his rich, dark skin, hanging off his tall, fairly sturdy frame. The average onlooker may be fooled into a false sense of security by the way the teen boy's baggy coat swung back and forth, but the trained eye, i.e., Rhys' father, could easily tell that a coat a size too big did not make up for its rather thin makeup.

However, the cold was far off the two boys' radar this gray, snowy evening. Rhys slumped his body down on a seat in the middle of the bus, once again electing to be "the boy on the right" for the sake of a more riveting window view. He'd lived in this sleepy town nestled in the south sector of Norway for over ten years, but never had he taken such a bus route before. It was a shock that the line was still somehow running, seeing as virtually nobody with any practical sense would take a day (or, rather, night) trip to the long-neglected Hofstad Industrial Park.

Still, by some mystery of un-nature, the little bus shambled its way out of the dimly-lit corner every night, hobbling up the road and past where anybody who had anything to do would go. Nobody had any logical reason as to why the line's last stop was there, but regardless it went without much question. That's simply the way odd little towns are. Why fix what isn't broken? If public transit wanted to pay a lone bus driver to shuttle mere air to and from Hofstad, then so be it.

And thank god for that, because the last thing Rio wanted to do on the first night of his winter break was to run several 5k's in the snow to track a bunch of beeps and radio chatter. Such daunting tasks didn't usually stop the pensive boy from pursuing his goals, but the convenience was nice. That had at least saved him some time to pack a bare-bones bag of water bottles and a flashlight, because what if he got thirsty more than once? For all they knew, transients were peeing in the snow at the abandoned industrial site, tainting the frozen water source.

He stuffed a hand into the bag, fishing for his main water bottle. After struggling a little, he stuffed the drawstring bag between his legs until he finally retrieved the hard plastic container. He took a generous swig, then wiped his mouth with his sleeve. He cast the other boy a sideways glance, then back out the window. It felt so normal to be entrenched in silence that he didn't really have the mind to talk to the friend he'd committed to this adventure with.

Counting the street lights, then big rocks, then eventually trees just felt so serene. He could almost predict every bump in the road, which in turn caused a dull sloshing sound to be emitted from the water bottles inside his bag. The thought suddenly dawned upon him that a tumbling, cramped bag was a precariously unfit vessel for both a flashlight and cheap water bottles, but it wasn't too hard to ignore it. Much like the cold, it paled in comparison to the thoughts on Rhys' mind. He peered at his friend once more, taking comfort in the fact that they likely shared the same feelings of intrigue and morbid curiosity for the legend they sought out.

Well, natural phenomenon was a more apt description, but that didn't detract much from the dubiousness of it all, at least for Rhys. The story gave him chills every time he read it, but perhaps that was merely thanks to his increased superstition. After all, if ghosts and aliens weren't the ones sending out mysterious, garbled radio signals, then what were? And why was it specific to Jørstad, their town full of nobodies in the middle of nowhere?

Dammit... my head hertz.

Actually, that was pretty clever...

"Hey, Eddie, I thought of..." His voice trailed off, partially out of shame. He stuck his head into the aisle to get a look at the bus driver, who was clearly too tired and engrossed in his driving to care what in the hell the boys were doing or saying. It always seemed to be a question of guessing strangers' English comprehension when talking to his best friend in public. People were too nosy in Jørstad. Perhaps it was a blessing after all that the other boy's Norwegian was comparatively abysmal. "You know, if Google's right, the building we're after's gonna be huge. I hope we know what it is we're looking for."

They were definitely going to die there. Even so, the allure of the mystery frequency was too strong to ignore. The first time he heard it, it was almost as though he'd been waiting his whole life for an opportunity to delve into an investigation like this. Rhys was never exactly one with a wealth of accomplishments, but in partnering with his friend, he somehow knew it would be worth trying his intellect at. He'd practically been up all night last night with the frequency's screech in his head, working mental overtime trying to decode it himself.

Holy shit. What if they were barging in on a government conspiracy? Hofstad was practically a trove of potential evidence, being long-cited as the frequency's hotspot, rumored to originate somewhere within its dilapidated, decrepit walls. And this juvenile pair of investigators was going to be the one to make history with this revelation. Jørstad was lacking in real, local excitement anyway.

"Doesn't the Hofstad Frequency kind of freak you out too? Like, the sound doesn't sound like anything, but—" Wait. Pause. "Oh. That's probably what makes it eerie." He blushed, feeling a little stupid, even in front of Edward of all people.

His face hardened, and he put on a persona of seriousness as he paged through the crinkled notes they'd taken together. "I never thought I'd find myself actually boarding the bus to Hofstad Industrial. They always say there are plans to rework the bus routes, but it never happens." He sighed the same sigh his best friend had already heard a million times over. "I need to get out of this place..."



coded by weldherwings.

 





chapter 1

6pm


---​

mood

what am i feeling?


location

Hofstad Industrial


interaction

hery hery (Rhys)






A spectrum of green had formed in front of Eddie's eyes as he gave up trying to focus on every one singular tree that passed next to him half a second after another. The everlasting emerald of pine overpowered the few naked trees which hid in plain sight, and brown was nowhere to be seen in this painting of the mind. The maze of white, dense, intimate mist surrounding the bus did not help make this blurry canvas any clearer, yet the blonde boy, with his head shaking along with the constantly rocking bus, had not cared much about it: at this time, he was a prisoner of his own head.

Where had everything gone wrong, he wondered, melancholy unwillingly faulting anything caught in his boyish gaze.

Appearance was rarely true to the flora and fauna of what lied beneath, and where blonde hair shaking ever-so-slightly persuaded nothing was wrong, behind the blue eyes hid the truth.

Sometimes letting things go by; paying them no mind had been the right way to go about the scraps that formed the feeble thing we know as life. But that which we can see could be much more easily ignored than the things which had already penetrated our skin and lived inside of our veins. Bad thoughts were like drugs for Eddie, more and more so with each passing day, with each passing tree. At times, all he wanted was for everything to stop, for his life to go back to normal even if nothing had really been unusual; even if nothing had really been wrong, to begin with.

Everything seemed to bother him lately, more than it did the typical teenage boy; there was no reason for so to happen; even the kind words of those around him had been nothing but a disturbance in the grand scheme of things. All he could manage to do in order to respond to his friend's statements and questions was a mere nod of the head, which didn't really mean anything but tell Rio that Eddie had been in no mood to talk.

Apart from his friend's occasional lonesome banter, nothing truly bothered Eddie, yet, everything was wrong—from the bumps on the road to the darkness outside the brightly lit interior of the vehicle.

Something was missing, or maybe something was simply out of place? Was something too much, or was the world suddenly on the spectrum of gray? The blonde boy couldn't quite figure it out, and while it wasn't exactly bothersome, it was like a wooden splinter stuck in one's finger—annoying. Contrasting what the pale boy felt on the inside, the world could see nothing but a neutral, dull face, and so could he had his eyes focused on the mirage formed in the hazy window next to him and his friend.

But as the bus came to an expected stop, his thoughts did too.

"Siste stopp, gutter!" The bus driver yelled to the two sitting in the middle of the bus, more annoyed that he had to be driving the bus in the first place than excited that he was done with the last round of the day. Eddie had already been on his feet, like a scarecrow waiting for his friend to get up and get going in front of him. Rio was always the one who walked first, as Eddie had not shared the excitement of today's journey or any other journey that his friend seemed to just broadcast.

As they made their way out, Eddie behind Rio, the bus shook, releasing air, and just like that, they were alone with the night's sky and whatever it was out there releasing the frequency they were exploring.

Reddit had theories, but a lack of evidence for each one had been outstandingly mysterious and it filled Eddie's bones with familiar eerieness. If they died there, would anybody find their bodies? Would anybody have cared that they died? Would they care that they died?

His phone found itself in his hands and going to check Google Maps proved to be a foul idea—there was no cell service anywhere near, not even on the bus stop where the two boys boarded the bus. The two didn't bring a map, which was rather typical for two dumbasses like them, but as Rio said, the building they were looking for had been spottable from miles away. In the network of confusing buildings, warehouses, and factories, every building looked similarly identical in its own way, in the dark each one telling a story of thrill and death.

There was a reason why the entire area had been shut down for many years. Hofstad used to be bustling with people; everyone in town used to have jobs there and would spend more than half their time up north. Even impromptu cafes had been opened up to treat the workers and make them more eager to work. But that was until the winter of 99' when the lithium accidents happened and since then the number of people being in the area had been dropping until it amounted to just two teenagers looking for a mystery. Or at least that's what Reddit says.

"Somebody's been here," Eddie commented, pointing to almost covered footprints in the snow. It was just enough to see that there had been somebody walking here in the last few days, but not too much to cover the tracks completely.

"Maybe they still are." He joked, pretending to be a ghost and turning to face his friend, a giggle the only thing heard in the area.

What even was wrong, he'd concluded, scoffing to himself, if no one else in particular, and started walking into the area, following the footsteps.



coded by weldherwings.

 





chapter 1

6pm


mood

da adventure begins


location

hofstad - exterior


interaction

mogy mogy (Edward)






Rio's passive, near-invisible smirk shifted to a dejected frown as his attempt at conversation was met with silence. He was never the type of guy who needed to talk to not feel awkward, nor did he think much of Eddie's sullen, aloof demeanor, however half the fun in pursuing this adventure was doing it together with his only real friend. Maybe it was irresponsible to describe something meant to be at least partially serious as fun, but not much else the two boys did could qualify as such. They had weird hobbies, even by some weird kids' standards.

Not that Rio minded it all that much—if he really did care to be a typical teenager with a surplus of friends, he'd have gone out with Lena and continued in soccer or something. But what was the point in that? Perhaps a result of his affinity for wounded souls, the typically-quiet boy vastly preferred Eddie's company over the allure of the normal social life touted as fulfilling by most.

"Siste stopp, gutter!"

Rio's hung head perked up at the grating sound of their surly bus driver, delaying any movement to give his friend a dubious stare. Eddie had stood up early, the usual sign of eagerness to get going, yet his feet remained rooted in place. Sure, it had become tradition for Rio to take the lead in all of their local travels, but the logical side of him couldn't help but question the purpose in nonverbally insisting upon it every time.

With a knowing smile and a shake of the head, Rio stood up and led the way out of the bus. The white, untouched ground crunched under his shoes, reminding him to stick his hands in his pockets due to the sheer cold of the dark winter night. He stood still for a few brief moments, his deep, brown eyes scrutinizing the area that lay ahead of them. Maybe more lonely and sad in the day, Hofstad Industrial took on a far more curious, foreboding appearance in the night, not unlike a haunted house.

He peered at Eddie from the side with an almost expectant look, counting on his pale friend to cough up a few words. It's moments like these where the difference between leader and the person in front must be distinguished; Rio had done his due diligence with his research, formed his own theories, and pondered on the mystery of the frequency, however that didn't give him a hint of a clue on where to start. Yeah, the building inside Hofstad Industrial, but...

What next?

"Somebody's been here," Eddie stated into the noiseless, chilly air, extending his index finger toward a disjointed trail of semi-fresh footprints. Well, that's a good start. "Maybe they still are."

"Fuck, you think?" he responded immediately, only to force a smile as though his ignorance was feigned. People could say what they wanted, but Rhys believed in the paranormal. Ghosts and demons were definitely not off the table.

He hesitated, then got inline beside Eddie as he set off on the trail. His eyes remained glued to the ground while inspecting the footsteps, and he came to realize that he almost couldn't tear them away. A pensive scowl formed on his face as the gears in his head turned, taking note of the shape and depth of every snowy indentation they passed. Every time he reached the edge of an epiphany, his mind was dragged elsewhere. How could he dwell on footsteps when all he could think about was the eerie radio sound they were after?

"Look over there," he murmured, then reached a hand to tug on Eddie's shoulder, pointing several feet ahead of them, "These footsteps don't make any sense. They're all over each other, dude. And some are more covered than others." He stopped in his tracks and bent down, tracing one of them with a finger. "How'd they get so spread apart?"

He stood up and jerked his head back toward Eddie, a new sense of panic glazing over his eyes. "It's like they were floating half the time." The Shaggy inside him was ready to exclaim "G-g-g-g-g-ghosts!" but he had to reel it in, already predicting some degree of disbelief from Eddie. It would make sense, though; spirits can screw with radios, right?

Rio felt a firm sense of impending doom thanks to their trespassing, not in the legal sense, but more in a "How dare you step forth into my realm, foolish mortal!?" kind of way. As the two teens cut through the parking lot, he couldn't stop himself from looking over his shoulder and all around at every other moment.

Once they were far enough away from the bus stop, Rio pulled a flashlight out of his bag, readying it for use inside. The light from the bus stop's street lamps could only go so far, and it wouldn't be much help if the entire complex had its power cut as he expected.

Of course, he could only use the flashlight if they actually made it to the right building. "We're totally walking into a death trap," he mused gleefully, "This is going to be insane." He cracked his knuckles to expel some of the energy overflowing from his body. "Are you with me, Ed? We're making history here."

Which way were they walking again? Hopefully Eddie brought the map.



coded by weldherwings.

 

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