"look at this!" Rebecca shouted as she flipped the pages of her sketchbook, shoving it into seed's face. "See!? Do you see it too?" She asked.
Seed stared at the page that was being shown to him, a sketch of multiples tiny ants sprayed across a marble floor. All seemingly looking like an army of black dots.
"Uhh, yeah. It—It looks pretty cool, Rebecca" seed replied, unsure of what she wanted him to see.
Rebecca got annoyed that seed wasn't seeing the exact thing she wanted to show him, so she set the sketch book down on the ground and sat crossed legged in a meditation position.
"Just focus on the page, I'll show you something really interesting now.", Rebecca said, staring at the book so intently.
"Come on. come on. Come on!!!!" She yelled louder and louder.
Seed felt something weird. It felt like his Death Energy but different, It came from the sketch book on the ground and From her. His Perception at thirty one points made it clear that it wasn't just the alcohol making him hallucinate things.
He leaned closer. "What the—?"
Then it started. The ants on the page moved. Seed blinked. No way. The black dots shifted. They crawled off the paper. One by one, they spilled out. Tiny legs clicked on the floor. Dozens turned to hundreds. They looked wet, like fresh ink. They spread across the carpet. Some climbed the coffee table. Others headed for his shoes.
Seed hated ants. Always had. The way they crawled. The endless shuffling. It made his skin crawl.
"Holy shit!" he yelled. He jumped back and leaped onto the couch. He pulled his knees up like a kid scared of bugs. His heart pounded. Rebecca laughed hard. She fell over a bit. She waved her hand like she was ending a trick. The ants stopped. Then they melted. They turned to dark puddles. The puddles soaked into the carpet. They left wet ink spots on the ground. Like spilled soda. Nothing left but stains.
"Did you see that?" she said, still giggling. She wiped her eyes. Her cheeks were red from laughing. And from the beer. "That's my big reveal, Seed. I bring my drawings to life. As ink creatures. It started a couple months ago. After a bad dream. That's why I moved to Ashwick. Small town. No one notices a quiet artist drawing bugs."
Seed stayed on the couch. "You... you make bugs from a drawing," he said. His voice shook a little. "Damn, Rebecca. That's not fun. That's scary and frankly, kind of disgustin." But he kind of liked it. She turned fear into something real. Like he chased clues for Lila.
Her energy ess fading now, He saw the cost on her face. Pale skin. Tired breathing.
Before he could say more, her eyes rolled back. She slumped forward Onto the ground. "Rebecca?" Seed jumped down. He caught her. The beer and her power had hit her hard. "Hey—wake up." He laid her on the couch and Propped her head on a pillow.
Seed ran to his bedroom. He grabbed a duvet from the closet and He spread it over Rebecca. Tucked it around her shoulders. She looked small under it. Peaceful. Her black hair fanned out like spilled ink. Freckles stood out on her pale skin.
He sat back. Stared at the wet spots on the carpet. Dark smudges. Ants just seconds ago. "Who the hell is going to clean this now?" he muttered. He hadn't even fixed the burn mark on the ground from the fight with the Crazy Female Ghost. His place was a complete mess now. One weird spot after another.
As she slept, Seed thought about her. Her power. Ink to life? It fit her dark art. He thought about he headless guy. The blood-cry woman. The empty-chest smile. All coming alive? Scary as hell.
Cassie's card sat in his pocket. 10 a.m. tomorrow. Could he bring her too? Drag her into agents and monsters? She might fit. Another freak like him. But what if it got her hurt? Like Lila? No. couod he risk it? Didn't he really have the right to drag her into all of this? He could just play it off as a magic trick and never talk to Rebecca again. The tattoo on his wrist warmed.
He knew better though, she had already opened up to him about something like this. So wether he liked it or not, he's already involved with her and she with him. But for now, Seed just watched her sleep. The ink stains on his ground drying. Tomorrow would come soon enough.