Eldritch May Cry

"Speech"

'Thoughts'

["Speech Through Technology"]

||

…

After getting home, I began telling Malo the way our dual fighting would go.

You see, Malo can only interact with me. Not only that, but she also has nigh-infinite strength when it comes to interacting with me.

Through the earlier testing I did when I first met her, I was able to find out Malo could instantly change positions upon me blinking if she wanted to.

Because she's "in my head," her reaction time is based on my reaction time, if not a smidge bit faster.

While in the middle of a fight, I would rapidly blink, and Malo would adjust my body to dodge any attack by forcibly moving me. Due to her being an immovable object when it comes to me, I would be moldable like the softest clay in her hand.

I also came up with signs of where she should appear upon me blinking. As I said before, Malo is an immovable object. That means I can stand on her. To others, it looks like I'm floating or carried by nothing.

And because of my blinks, Malo can appear mid-air. She also isn't truly affected by the rules of gravity during the appearing process. She can stay in mid-air as long as she doesn't move.

I made signals for where she should appear so I could use her like a springboard. She was weirdly happy about being used as a springboard.

Upon snapping with my left or right hand, Malo will appear on my left or right side, respectively. Depending on where my hand is during the time of the snap will be where she will appear.

If it's behind me, she'll appear behind me. If it's to the side of me, she'll appear to the side of me. I turned a clap into a signal for her to be in front of me upon blinking and made coughing the signal to be behind me.

I decided that she would appear five feet away at a default, and unless I said a number out loud, she wouldn't change the distance.

"Alright, let's get started on my movement! Malo," I received a nod from the tall wolf girl. "Remember to try and not snap any of my bones from being too forceful."

Through slow and steady applications of Malo forcibly moving my body, we found out my limits before I would, quite literally, snap.

It would have been funny if I died because of a broken spine due to being pushed out of danger. However, I didn't plan on going out that way.

I did have to get used to the sudden forces applied to my body. After a few hours and feeling a clicking sensation, I felt the effects of the sudden shifts in speed feel less aggravating.

I made sure not to skip out on training in Renewal Taekwondo. I didn't make much progress, but that was to be expected for the time frame and what I was focusing on.

I could feel the frown on my face growing. The feeling of constantly having to work on ways to survive was draining me.

Placing my hand on my face, I barely stopped a sigh from escaping my lips. Was this how it felt for wild animals? The constant worry of being eaten alive?

I felt a sudden tap on my shoulder. Turning my body slightly along with my head, I was greeted with a slightly crouched-down Malo.

She pointed at me and made a thumbs-up and then down gesture with one hand. It took me by surprise, but I guessed it meant she was worried about me.

"Ah, I'm fine. Don't worry." I said as I put my hand on the side of my neck. "I was just thinking about sleeping."

But before sleeping, I had to put my game face on. I've let a few things slide for far too long, and because of my lax nature about this house, I've put too much time into thinking I'm safe.

Starting from my room, I made sure every window in the house was closed and locked, besides a select few. The high window inside the bathroom, the window in the kitchen, and the window inside my room were to be the only ones open.

I would be closing them whenever I go to sleep or go to work. The windows would be the first sign of a break-in besides the doors.

Now, all that was left was… the basement. Calmly breathing in and out through my mouth, I opened the basement door.

With Malo over my shoulder, we both looked down the steps. What greeted us was pitch-black darkness.

Both Malo and I looked at each other before returning our gaze back to the darkness in the basement. Normally, I would have said, "fuck it," and left the basement alone.

That was normal. You see, there's a window in the basement. I'm not fluent in many of the creatures that inhabit this world, but I knew if the window in the basement was broken, this house would be compromised.

"Anyways," I said as I flicked the switch on the right wall, which just so happened to be at the top step.

The basement grew bright immediately. Walking down the steps, I peeked my head over the side of the staircase.

This basement was different from the one that I was familiar with. The biggest change was the fact that there was nothing down here. It was just an empty basement, and the window was seemingly untouched and still locked. With my goal checked off, I made my return up the steps.

However, when I was at the top step, I suddenly felt the need to turn off the light. It felt like gravity was pulling me.

Turning off the light, I looked down the steps. Darkness was the only thing that could be seen. Quickly, I turned on the light.

Something felt weird with this—not an off feeling but a wrongness. Turning off the light once more, I stared into the abyss.

Once more, I flicked the light on. Over and over, I turned the light on and off. One last time, turning the light off, I felt that I should reach a hand into the darkness.

My hand slowly but surely began pushing toward the darkness. Before I could reach in, I felt two separate forces grab my hand.

My eyes widened as both Malo and myself had grabbed my left hand. We both shared a glance before looking back at the basement.

I quickly closed and locked the basement door. I wasn't going to acknowledge anything that happened there.

As I began to walk back upstairs, I thought of ways to make makeshift alarms for the windows and doors. Of course, I didn't have many things that I did in my original house, and because of that, I'll have to buy things when I get paid.

Leaving it at that, I decided to take a shower to wipe off the sweat of being not only forcibly moved around like a doll but also the sweat of trying to engrave martial arts into myself.

Once done, I was in the classic white t-shirt and grey shorts combo. The most neck-straining time of—day? Night? Sometime.

I made sure to prepare the knife underneath the pillow CAREFULLY, as Malo had gestured over and over.

I took a seat on the pillow. Many questions appeared in my mind. 'Am I truly living?' 'Am I just living in fear?' 'Is anything I do even changing my fate at all?'

All of those questions melted away as I turned my head to see Malo lying on my bed and trying to tap the top of the covers just for her hand to phase through it and not make a sound.

It was quite funny, but I kept the smirk off my face. "I'm not getting in that bed."

Malo only gave me a tilt of the head in response. I knew that meant she was confused about why.

"I've seen one too many horror movies to know the second I fall asleep in that bed is the second I get besieged by a dream demon." Malo's head only tilted further at my response. Though she seemed to get the message, when I blinked, she was sitting beside me.

Slowly losing focus, I allowed myself to think of nothing as I sat there. I was in that middle ground where I was tired but not tired enough to start sleeping.

I widened my eyes slightly as I saw Malo's hand not too far away. Refocusing, Malo's hand was making a "talk" gesture.

Turning my head slightly toward her, I exhaled a bit harder instead of scoffing.

"What do you want me to talk about?" Malo shrugged her shoulders at my question. "Do you want me to tell a story?"

I received a nod from that and felt her tail hitting my side softly as it wagged back and forth.

"Alright, Alright. Hmmm..." I needed a good story to tell. One that was appropriate for Malo but also was fun to listen to.

"I've got just the story." Malo's tail started wagging harder in her excitement. "It's a story about two people, a search for love, the notion that a bird can't fly without two wings, and a kiss of death."

With those words leaving my lips, I felt a warmth spread through my chest as a smile grew on my face.

The story of pink and blue hues was perfect for Malo. It was a satisfying yet depressing story that could be amazing to listen to.

I don't know the exact time I fell asleep, but I only got to the part where they first got into the mecha together before falling asleep.

...

(A/N: Got some college work to do so that's it for now. Only a double upload but maybe I'll have something bigger in the future. I'll try not disappearing for a month again.)