{"sf1_id":1480382,"sf2_id":"B1Qb447e","title":"The Leaves of Fall Act 1: Co-Conspirators (Part 3)","author":"Oliver_Hart","words":2655,"posted_at":"2019-08-22T22:59:43.000Z","tags":["Adventure","Alternate Reality","Anon","Boy","Brother","Bunny","Classroom","Couple","Emo","Fight","Girl","Green text","Greentext","HMOFA","Halloween","Heterosexual","High School","Hmofa/","Human","Kissing","Plot Development","Rabbit","Siblings","Slow burn","Young Romance","anthro/human"],"url":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/1480382-the-leaves-of-fall-act-1-co-conspirators-part-3","original_url":"https://sofurry.com/s/B1Qb447e","image_url":"https://cdn.sofurryfiles.com/submissions/thumbnails/b0/53/b0531229-b1dc-4849-b5b5-6917876313ca","description":"You've never really 'fit in' with the heavily divided Ranchview High School crowd. Jock, Goth, Prep, Cheerleader, Nerd... you were never any of these. But as Halloween approaches, strange things start happening, and a dark ritual begins with the finding of a curious red book. It's a race against time for you and your friends to stop a group of students from ushering in an age of darkness, and to also figure out just what the hell is wrong with that rabbit.  \n~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  \n  \nAbout this version: originally, The Leaves of Fall was split into two pastebins to compensate for the length of the story. Given that pastebin has chosen to censor this story for ambiguous reasons, it will forever be stored here and on AO3. This new version contains spelling, grammar and content fixes. Please understand that the content is all the same as the earlier versions minus some sentences being changed and fixed up. I cannot stress this enough: no new content has been added. It's my hope that this is a cleaner, easier-to-read version of the story.  \n  \nCover: [https://imgur.com/a/vZS4Q](https://imgur.com/a/vZS4Q)  \nSam (drawn by Akella of /hmofa/) [https://imgur.com/a/nk3t1wT](https://imgur.com/a/nk3t1wT)  \nFan art collection: [https://imgur.com/a/SCCSIQv](https://imgur.com/a/SCCSIQv)  \nAccompanying playlist (WIP): [https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL9aXlzDRA49QKxgYsOV2JuDd410\\_nI-0J](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL9aXlzDRA49QKxgYsOV2JuDd410_nI-0J)  \nAlternative link: [https://www.sofurry.com/view/1479078](https://www.sofurry.com/view/1479078)  \nTotal word count: 147,552 words","content":"\\\u003eA tremendous, unearthly roar forces your eyes back open  \n\\\u003eThe air almost instantly becomes bone dry and cold, and a strange, fiery light spills into the long corridor  \n\\\u003eThe four of you suck in huge gasps of air like you'd just been held under water for too long  \n\\\u003eBefore anyone can speak, Sam lets out a girlish yelp, undoing all the air he'd just taken in  \n\\\u003eHe inexplicably slides forward, as if tugged down the hall by his backpack  \n\\\u003e\"H-H-Hey!\" he squeals, falling flat on his face  \n\\\u003eHe's jerked further down the hall, his fingers clawing into the raw concrete for something to hold on to  \n\\\u003eYou instinctively lunge out towards him and wrap your fingers around his thin wrists  \n\\\u003eHe slides further down the hall, tugging you along with him  \n\\\u003eThe loudest sound you've ever heard practically deafens you  \n\\\u003eAlex grabs at your ankles, trying to keep you and Sam from being pulled away  \n\\\u003eHe goes down with the two of you, and Mike doesn't have much luck either  \n\\\u003eYou hang on to Sam as tight as you can as you and your friends effortlessly strung along like dumb fish who took the bait  \n\\\u003eYou all get pulled into a somewhat spacious room, but it's clear that whatever's happening has something to do with Sam, who gets tugged into the air  \n\\\u003eYou heroically let go of your grasp on him lest you get pulled up into the air as well  \n\\\u003eThe rabbit is suspended over a concrete basin in the middle of the room   \n\\\u003e\"H-H-Help!!\" He yells, flailing in the air, desperately reaching towards the ground  \n\\\u003eYou can only lay there on the floor, paralyzed with shock  \n\\\u003eIs this a dream? This is anime shit, not real life  \n\\\u003eSam's backpack rips at the top, and the small red book comes flying out  \n\\\u003eThe rabbit comes crashing down into a stone basin at the center of the room, landing face first   \n\\\u003eThe book hovers in the center of the room, its pages flipping and glowing with a pale, phantasmal aura  \n\\\u003eThe room explodes with a blinding, fiery light, and when you can see again, you look around   \n\\\u003eThe walls are COVERED in strange writings, symbols, poems  \n\\\u003eIt looks like the bedroom of a madman  \n\\\u003eYou can recognize a few symbols  \n\\\u003ePentagrams, symbols for planets, for men, for women, various species of anthros…?  \n\\\u003eAnd then at the center of the room, two numbers appear on the wall, scribbled in fire  \n\\\u003e31  \n\\\u003eA titanous rumbling in the earth beneath you shakes you out onto your back  \n\\\u003eWhat follows is a deep, throaty roar that shakes the whole building and forces all of you to clap your hands over your ears  \n\\\u003eIt echoes for some time, and you try yelling, but your screams are swallowed by the monstrous howl  \n  \n\\\u003eAfter a few seconds the roaring flitters out into stunned silence  \n\\\u003eYou cautiously crack an eyelid and look around the room  \n\\\u003eThe red book, which was floating in the air, drops harmlessly onto Sam's head  \n\\\u003eDeciding that they feel safe, Alex and Mike start slowly moving, and then scanning the walls  \n\\\u003eBathed in the dim, warm light that seems like it has no source, nobody says a word, just stares slack jawed at each other and the fiery writings on the wall  \n\\\u003eSam is heaving silently, his ears pulled tightly over his face in fear  \n\\\u003eYou think he might be crying, which would be understandable. You'd probably cry too if you weren't in shock  \n\\\u003eSlowly you pull yourself up onto your feet, though your legs tremble and shake  \n\\\u003eHoly fuck  \n\\\u003eYou stumble over and lean against a wall, but you quickly pull away, not knowing if you should touch anything here  \n\\\u003eThe walls are schizophrenically covered in strange writings and symbols, a massive “31\" burns against the largest wall, traced in a flame  \n\\\u003eYou study your surroundings as you try to steady your breathing  \n\\\u003eThe closer you look, the more things start to make sense – at least a little bit  \n\\\u003eIt looks a little bit like what's written in that book Sam showed you today  \n\\\u003eThere are words here. Words like “Drain\" and “Desire,\" burn as clear as red flame  \n\\\u003eOther words like “Rage,\" “Rape,\" “Raise\" also appear  \n\\\u003eYou read a little farther down the wall, trying to commit to memory what you're seeing  \n\\\u003eThe name written beneath the great 31 makes you pause  \n\\\u003e'Doermuth'  \n  \n\\\u003e\"Anon?\" The sound of Alex's voice makes you jump  \n\\\u003eMike and Alex are both on their feet, though they're hanging on to one another trying to keep upright  \n\\\u003eSam is leaning against the basin, knees pulled tight against his chest. He's got the book in his hands – shut   \n\\\u003e\"What the hell is all this stuff?\" Mike asks, glancing around  \n\u0026nbsp;“I have no fucking clue. None at all.\"  \n\\\u003eYou're not superstitious or anything, but this defies the natural order  \n\\\u003eYou saw Sam get pulled into the air, you heard that awful noise. You can see the writing that is literally on the wall  \n\\\u003eYou take out your phone and try to snap a picture, but they all come out dark despite the strange light filling the room  \n\\\u003eNobody is going to believe this. You can't believe it. You try pinching yourself to see if you're dreaming but you can't wake up (wake me up inside)  \n\\\u003eYou all marvel and whisper, except for Sam, who is still trying to regain some nerves   \n\\\u003eMike opens his mouth to speak  \n\\\u003e\"We…We all saw that happen, right? Like, every one of us saw Sam get tossed around? Heard that noise?\"  \n\\\u003eSpeaking of…  \n\\\u003eYou ask Sam if he's okay, but he doesn't answer immediately, he just stares straight ahead, trembling with the fear of supernatural death hanging over him  \n\\\u003eThe poor kid must be so scared right now   \n\\\u003eYou extend a hand in front of him, offering to help him up  \n\\\u003eHis eyes focus on your hand, and he hesitantly accepts your offer  \n\\\u003eHe must have been weak in the knees, because when you pull him up, you pull a little too hard, and all 104lbs of him stumble into you  \n\\\u003eYou wrap your arms around him to try and stabilize yourself to keep from being knocked over  \n\\\u003eGod damn this kid is bony as hell. He must have an eating disorder  \n\\\u003eBut you also feel a tenderness to him, something you wouldn't expect from an Auschwitz-tier kid like him  \n\\\u003eThis is so gay  \n\\\u003eWhen you realize what you're doing, and how close he is, you break the unintentional hug and give him a sharp push, which sends him stumbling towards the basin  \n\\\u003eYou awkwardly dig your fingers into the skin on the back of your neck  \n\\\u003eThis is some fujoshi's wet dream, and you'll not be a part of it  \n“Y-You okay Sam?\"  \n\\\u003eHe nods his head and quickly averts his gaze to the floor  \n\\\u003e\"Y-Y-Yeah, t-t-thanks.\"  \n“Good…Good…\"  \n\\\u003eSilence, except for your strained breathing  \n\\\u003eYou raise an eyebrow as you see a trail of blood winding down from Sam's nose  \n\\\u003eHow did you not notice that before?  \n\\\u003eHe notices you looking and runs a finger under his nose  \n\\\u003eIt comes back covered in warm blood, which causes a brief look of panic to cross his timid face before it collapses into something that looks like guilt  \n\\\u003eHe must have hit his nose when he fell into the basin, which now has a substantial blood stain on it  \n\\\u003eIt doesn't seem to be bleeding anymore, so the small fluttering of worry in your heart subsides  \n\\\u003eN-Not that you'd tell him of course  \n\\\u003eThe light of the room slowly begins fading, however, cutting your investigation short  \n“I'm ready to go home now and forget this all happened.\" You say, which earns tired nods from your friends, and Sam just shuffles behind you  \n  \n\\\u003eThe other end of the room opens up into a similar hallway, with pipes emerging from the concrete like branches out of an old tree  \n\\\u003eThe lights is quickly dwindling down to embers, so you all follow the shiny copper pipes, around corners, down long corridors and cramped hallways, silently hoping they will deliver you into the school's interior  \n\\\u003eYou're relieved when you locate a set of stairs, which means you're at least heading in the right direction  \n\\\u003eOr to the basement, and God knows you don't want to find out what fucked up shit is down there  \n\\\u003eAfter a few more minutes of near darkness, you finally push open a clean, heavy door, and burst into the sterile light of the school  \n\\\u003e\"Where the fuck is this?\" Alex asks  \n\\\u003eYou notice that the walls are stacked with shelves of sporting equipment, football pads and old event signs  \n\\\u003eThe Spooktober Fest sign is pulled into the center of the room, ready for use next Friday  \n“I think this is the equipment room, the one attached to the gym…\"   \n\\\u003eIt looks clean enough for Sam to have been in here recently  \n\\\u003eKid probably just forgot to turn out the lights  \n\\\u003eNobody wants to stay in the school any longer than they have to, especially not Mike, who cites his drunkenness and nausea  \n  \n\\\u003eThe crisp autumn night feels good against your feverish skin when you finally exit from the gym's doors  \n\\\u003eYou hope no shit heads had come around while you were in there and fucked with your car or Alex's bike  \n\\\u003eLuckily they're all still where you left them  \n\\\u003eAlex props his bike up, but doesn't get on it. He stares expectantly at you, waiting to move  \n\\\u003e\"So…What now?\"  \n\\\u003eA chill wind blows, and you can feel exhaustion starting to weigh on your eyelids  \n\u0026nbsp;“We all go home and sleep. Try to figure out what we just saw.\"  \n\\\u003eHe nods in agreement and jumps on his bike  \n\\\u003eYou make Alex promise to text you when he gets home, and he agrees, sailing off across the cold pavement of the parking lot, beneath a moon that looks much closer than it should be  \n\\\u003eMike produces a joint from his pocket, half smashed, sparks up, and begins puffing on it, not looking at any of you, just letting the pathetic little thing hang out of his mouth as he peers down the hill at the city  \n\\\u003eYou frown, and as you get closer to Mike you can see him shivering – either from the cold or from something else  \n“Mike?\" You lightly tap his shoulder, but he doesn't respond  \n“Mike, we're going home, okay?\"  \n\\\u003eSilent as a stone  \n\\\u003e\"C'mon dude, don't give me the silent treatment right now. You gonna even offer me a hit off that?\"  \n\\\u003eAt last Mike turns around – and you wish he hadn't  \n\\\u003eHe's scowling, eyes bloodshot red, face twisted up with something beyond malice  \n\\\u003e\"Just- give me a second, okay? Fucking Christ, you're so needy.\"  \n\\\u003eOuch  \n\\\u003eYou can feel that warm blood rush hitting you as well  \n\\\u003eHeart racing, you open your mouth  \n\\\u003eWhat crawled up his ass?  \n\\\u003eAnd despite that sudden and impulsive need to defend yourself, you swallow down your anger, shut your mouth, and nod  \n\\\u003eWhere the fuck is that retarded little rabbit? You need someone to take this out on  \n  \n\\\u003eFound him  \n\\\u003eHe's sitting down on the curb at the edge of the lot, head down, hands working on something, his backpack beside him  \n\\\u003eYou approach and try to make your presence known with a cough – you've already had enough of people turning their backs on you  \n\\\u003eAll this accomplishes is startling him, causing a scrap of paper to fly from his hand into the wind's pull  \n\\\u003e\"N-NO!\" He throws down his notebook and pen, digging into a full-on sprint, vanishing into the darkness that the streetlamps could never penetrate  \n\\\u003eSuddenly, you're worried  \n\\\u003eSeveral seconds pass  \n\\\u003eDid the darkness swallow him? Is there something out there?  \n\\\u003eYou jump to the edge of the curb, too afraid to venture into the dark yourself  \n“Sam?\" You call, not yet brave enough to yell  \n\\\u003eNo response  \n\\\u003eYour fists clench, white-knuckled with panic  \n\\\u003eYou just need somewhere to put your anxiety. You can't deal with this right now – this entire night has fried your nerves  \n\\\u003eJust before you cut a path down the hill into the darkness, see a brown rabbit emerge out of the dark, head down, a balled-up piece of paper in in his right hand,  \n“SAM WHAT THE HELL!?\" You shout  \n\\\u003eThe shout makes him wince, and he looks up to you all suddenly hurt  \n\\\u003eHe apologizes to you in a voice just beneath the wind's own, and you can see that he's still trembling, either from the sudden cold or the adrenaline  \n\\\u003eCould be both  \n\\\u003eYou unclench your fists and snap the balled-up paper from his hand  \n“This better be important enough for you to go off into the night for,\" you sneer  \n\\\u003eYou retreat from that threshold back under the light artificial fire of the parking lot's light  \n\\\u003eYou undo the damage that his tiny, anxious hands did to the paper  \n\\\u003eIt's a loose outline of a sketch, some basic shape of a human, and maybe a cape flowing behind him? There's a big circle drawn on the chest – the start of something, possibly a logo?  \n“What is this, Sam?\" You say, still trying to make out the beginnings of the features he sketched under the fragile light  \n\\\u003e\"I'm sorry!\" He squeaks, quickly appearing at your side, and for the first time (that you've seen), you think he might be crying  \n“Why are you apologizing? You don't have to apologize. I just… did you just draw this? Like, in those five minutes I was talking to Mike?\"  \n\\\u003eThe wind cuts into you again. This wind shouldn't be here  \n\\\u003eHe doesn't answer, instead he wipes his eyes with his sleeve  \n\\\u003eYou try not to think about how crusty that sleeve probably gets  \n\\\u003eYou don't know what to feel right now – anger, fear, anxiety, pity – so you just mumble something about being sorry you asked  \n\\\u003eYou ball the drawing up and shove it into your pocket – he doesn't seem to care  \n\\\u003eAlright, now it's your turn to go and sulk for a bit  \n\\\u003eYou need to cool off. Everyone needs to cool off  \n\u0026nbsp;  \n\\\u003eMike is already in the backseat of your car, head against the window  \n\\\u003eSilent, except for some grumbles  \n\\\u003eSam stands on the curb, his ripped backpack slung loosely over his shoulders, not knowing what to do or say  \n\\\u003eDoes he walk to and from school every day?  \n\\\u003eDamnit, you really just want to go home  \n\\\u003eYou sigh and ask if he wants a ride  \n\\\u003e\"W-W-Well y-you don't need to, I sometimes get c-c-car sick an-“  \n\\\u003eMike cracks open a window and pokes his head out at Sam, annoyed, drunk, high, but much more mellow than before. The weed seems to have done its job  \n\\\u003e\"Get in Thumper, we're going home.\"  \n\\\u003eNormally you'd cringe at him using a slur against rabbits like that, but you're too tired to care right now  \n\\\u003eSam stutters an apology and scrambles into the passenger seat  \n  \n\\\u003eThe whole ride is silent, you figure everyone is processing what just happened  \n\\\u003eYou put on some music, some boring acoustic stuff, just to keep it from getting more awkward and confusing  \n  \n\\\u003eYou drop Mike off as he mumbles a 'thanks'   \n\\\u003eYou pull away into the dark neighborhoods  \n\\\u003eYou're still a little salty about him snapping at you, but it'll pass  \n\\\u003eYou look over and think Sam might be asleep next to you, so you shake him by the shoulder  \n\\\u003eThere's no way you're doing this alone  \n\\\u003eStartled, he jumps a bit in his seat  \n\\\u003e\"S-S-Sorry! I was l-looking at the h-h-houses…\" he trails off into a whisper. “They're all so nice out here.\"  \n“Speaking of houses, mind telling me how to get to yours?\"  \n\\\u003eHe sits up straight in his seat and nods his head  \n\\\u003eYou go slow through the neighborhoods, your car passing quietly underneath the orange street lamps","series":{"name":"The Leaves of Fall","previous":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/1479217-the-leaves-of-fall-act-1-co-conspirators-part-2.json","next":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/1481569-the-leaves-of-fall-act-1-co-conspirators-part-1.json"}}