When the Sky Bleeds Patches

When the Sky Bleeds Patches

Gavin

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The white light faded, leaving me in a Louisiana swamp, mud squelching under my boots. My head throbbed, a familiar echo of the screams and blood from the last game. The System' s voice, tinny and cold, declared my status: "Active. Choice: Continue or Perish." Another round, another nightmare. Our objective? Find "coverings" for Mother Hemlock, a decrepit phantom haunting a sprawling, dilapidated manor. A biker, Jax, tried to defy her. In an instant, she ripped his clothes right off him, leaving him exposed, screaming, before absorbing him and casting him from a high window to become a "patch" for her. Panic set in as we scrambled for scraps, but Mother Hemlock's demands escalated. Others offered the wrong things – metal, useless trinkets – and simply vanished, their screams replaced by the rustle of her growing, tattered robes. Our dwindling supplies meant our turn was coming, and we'd seen what happened when you had nothing left to give. What was this impossible "covering" she truly craved? Through an old telescope, I stared at the horrifying truth: the moon itself wasn' t real. It was a giant, grotesque quilt of stitched material, and her macabre collection was adding to the actual sky. But a haunting Creole lullaby whispered a cryptic clue: "patchwork moon... in the water deep." With resources gone and Mother Hemlock' s final collection imminent, I clung to that chilling song. The sky was high, yes, but what about its reflection? Racing against time, I plunged into the murky bayou, praying the distorted "moon" shimmering on the water's surface held the real answer, the last hope to escape this horrifying, stitched fate.

Introduction

The white light faded, leaving me in a Louisiana swamp, mud squelching under my boots.

My head throbbed, a familiar echo of the screams and blood from the last game.

The System' s voice, tinny and cold, declared my status: "Active. Choice: Continue or Perish."

Another round, another nightmare.

Our objective? Find "coverings" for Mother Hemlock, a decrepit phantom haunting a sprawling, dilapidated manor.

A biker, Jax, tried to defy her. In an instant, she ripped his clothes right off him, leaving him exposed, screaming, before absorbing him and casting him from a high window to become a "patch" for her.

Panic set in as we scrambled for scraps, but Mother Hemlock's demands escalated.

Others offered the wrong things – metal, useless trinkets – and simply vanished, their screams replaced by the rustle of her growing, tattered robes.

Our dwindling supplies meant our turn was coming, and we'd seen what happened when you had nothing left to give.

What was this impossible "covering" she truly craved? Through an old telescope, I stared at the horrifying truth: the moon itself wasn' t real.

It was a giant, grotesque quilt of stitched material, and her macabre collection was adding to the actual sky.

But a haunting Creole lullaby whispered a cryptic clue: "patchwork moon... in the water deep."

With resources gone and Mother Hemlock' s final collection imminent, I clung to that chilling song.

The sky was high, yes, but what about its reflection?

Racing against time, I plunged into the murky bayou, praying the distorted "moon" shimmering on the water's surface held the real answer, the last hope to escape this horrifying, stitched fate.

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My world revolved around Jax Harding, my older brother's captivating rockstar friend. From sixteen, I adored him; at eighteen, I clung to his casual promise: "When you're 22, maybe I'll settle down." That offhand comment became my life's beacon, guiding every choice, meticulously planning my twenty-second birthday as our destiny. But on that pivotal day in a Lower East Side bar, clutching my gift, my dream exploded. I overheard Jax' s cold voice: "Can't believe Savvy's showing up. She' s still hung up on that stupid thing I said." Then the crushing plot: "We' re gonna tell Savvy I' m engaged to Chloe, maybe even hint she' s pregnant. That should scare her off." My gift, my future, slipped from my numb fingers. I fled into the cold New York rain, devastated by betrayal. Later, Jax introduced Chloe as his "fiancée" while his bandmates mocked my "adorable crush"-he did nothing. As an art installation fell, he saved Chloe, abandoning me to severe injury. In the hospital, he came for "damage control," then shockingly shoved me into a fountain, leaving me to bleed, calling me a "jealous psycho." How could the man I loved, who once saved me, become this cruel and publicly humiliate me? Why was my devotion seen as an annoyance to be brutally extinguished with lies and assault? Was I just a problem, my loyalty met with hatred? I would not be his victim. Injured and betrayed, I made an unshakeable vow: I was done. I blocked his number and everyone connected to him, severing ties. This was not an escape; this was my rebirth. Florence awaited, a new life on my terms, unburdened by broken promises.

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