{"sf1_id":1666396,"sf2_id":"yndPx7Nn","title":"The Leaves of Fall Act 2: Fear the Nobodies (Part 20)","author":"Oliver_Hart","words":3220,"posted_at":"2020-12-28T02:01:06.000Z","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/1666396-the-leaves-of-fall-act-2-fear-the-nobodies-part-20","original_url":"https://sofurry.com/s/yndPx7Nn","image_url":"https://cdn.sofurryfiles.com/submissions/thumbnails/15/db/15dbfca1-0ce3-4339-80ff-3a1038bdb13c","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":"\\\u003eYou wander around the neighborhoods to sulk, and you don’t see a single person the entire time, except one  \n\\\u003eA very sickly and greasy looking brown rabbit pulls up next to you in a beaten, rusted old car that looks like it was salvaged from a scrapyard   \n\\\u003eThe window rolls down slowly with a painfully loud squeal  \n\\\u003eThe rabbit glares at you, as if studying you  \n\\\u003eYou study him back  \n\\\u003eDamn, either you’re speciest as fuck, or this rabbit looks insanely familiar  \n\\\u003eA tiny bit like Sam? Maybe it’s just the species and the fur color  \n\\\u003eLike that’s all the same, but the face is only lightly similar, without the button nose and trembling whiskers and androgynous cheeks/jawline  \n\\\u003eUnsatisfied, he scowls and peels off down the road, out the neighborhood  \n\\\u003eHe looked like he was hunting for something  \n\\\u003eYou shrugged  \n\\\u003eProbably a weirdo  \n  \n\\\u003eYou wandered the town  \n\\\u003eSaw some little shops you’ve seen for the trillionth time  \n\\\u003eThe costume store which you don’t care about (Halloween can fuck off right now)  \n\\\u003eA dentist’s office where you got your cavities filled three years ago  \n\\\u003eThe liquor store — surprisingly you’re not in the mood to drink  \n\\\u003eA few fast food chains  \n\\\u003eA boutique and coffee shop combo  \n\\\u003eYou contemplate going in to steal something but decide against it  \n\\\u003eYou’ve already stolen from enough small businesses  \n\\\u003eYou park yourself on a bench in front of the store  \n\\\u003eMaybe it’s time to knock over a bigger store? You’re hungry, and not for blood  \n\\\u003eThough you could go for some type A right now  \n\\\u003eThe Shop N’ Save is just a short walk away  \n\\\u003ePlus Alex has always encouraged you and Anon to take a ‘proletariat’s discount’ whenever you’re there  \n\\\u003eYou stand up from the bench, stretching out your stocky body  \n\\\u003eDespite your new super nature you still get sore  \n\\\u003eThe door to the coffee shop opens to the sound of a cheery bell, drawing your focus  \n\\\u003eLydia Penferth, purple hair and jingling with piercings galore, steps out, five cheerleaders flanking her  \n\\\u003eLydia is sucking down on a large black coffee, while the cheerleaders are double-fisting frozen, syrupy coffee beverages  \n\\\u003e”Just like I was saying, getting your nipples pierced doesn’t actually hurt that bad. At first it’s painful, and then it’s over,” Lydia says, though her language is obscured by the sheer volume of piercings in her full-lips  \n\\\u003eHer voice sounds like she’s trying to talk with a swollen tongue  \n\\\u003e”We’re so hungry…” one of the cheerleaders whines   \n\\\u003eShe’s a human, tan skin and shimmering blue eyes, her russet hair tied back in a ponytail  \n\\\u003e”You don’t want blood… What do you want? More coffee? Shoulda known you vapid hoes would want the frappuccinos.”   \n\\\u003e”Cock, souls, ANYTHING!” Another — a horse — cries at her master  \n\\\u003e”You’ll have your fill once Friday rolls around, bitch. You airheads remember we’re on a mission to-”  \n\\\u003eLydia turns her head forward  \n\\\u003eDirectly at you, eyes bulging forward  \n“-Find Mike Sapone.” She smirks at last  \n\\\u003eYou don’t return the gesture  \n\\\u003eYour muscles tense up to fight  \n\\\u003eLydia spreads her arms as if to hold her horde of succubus/vampire cheerleaders back from bum rushing you  \n\\\u003e”Don’t run just yet, Mike. Not that you could get away this time.”  \n“You don’t think so? Wanna take a bet?” You say  \n\\\u003e”No. I can see what my girls have already done to you. Your gift — it’s beautiful, isn’t it?”  \n\\\u003eYou hold up your pale arms to them  \n“You have a weird definition of beauty if you think this is beautiful.”  \n\\\u003e”In time you’ll learn to find beauty in negative spaces. Like the hole in your chest where you heart should be.”  \n\\\u003eYou can’t help but laugh  \n“Real fucking poetic, Simba. I always thought you weren’t paying attention in our English class.” You start clapping. “Bravo. Well, now that you’ve effectively ruined my life, why don’t you come at me by yourself — no help from your little gang — so I can show you the extent of just how far I’m willing to go.”  \n\\\u003e”That’s exactly what I wanted to talk to you about, actually. Girls, stand down.”   \n\\\u003eShe lowers her arms, and the hissing group of cheerleaders drop to a coordinated knee  \n\\\u003e”You look good, Mike. Full of anger and hate — and rightfully so. You’re not happy in this little shit hole, are you?”  \n\\\u003eYou can’t help but nod  \n\\\u003e”Nobody is. You think these fucking people like living here? It’s like living inside a boring sitcom. All we’re missing is the canned laughter.”  \n\\\u003eShe takes a small step forward  \n\\\u003eYou don’t move out of spite  \n\\\u003e”There’s no going back to your old and shitty life. Not that you’d even want to, right? I can smell the fresh blood on you. I can see it burning behind your eyes. There’s no way out.”   \n\\\u003eThe excitement in her tone is palpable  \n\\\u003eLydia does actually have a point. Anon’s cure didn’t work. And though you’re still working through it, your dream of leaving this town behind is pretty much dead  \n\\\u003e”Join us,” she says.  \n\\\u003eYou cross your arms across your chest, coldly turning her offer over in your mind  \n\\\u003e“You don’t have a place without us, can’t you see that? And once Friday rolls around you’re going to want to be on the winning side. If only you knew what was going to happen you wouldn’t hesitate.”  \n“So why not just tell me now?”  \n\\\u003eLydia straightens her spine and nods affirmatively  \n\\\u003e”I owe you at least that.”  \n\\\u003eShe summons a deep breath, letting a smirk shine through her face of gleaming silver hooks  \n\\\u003e”Once the Behemoth is at full strength, and the night of Hallow’s Eve rolls around, we’ll turn this world upon its head. Think about it: a world of hedonism, vampirism, lycanthropy, debauchery — It’ll be like a constant rager in a college town. Drinking, sex, partying and general anarchy.”  \n\\\u003eSounds… not bad  \n\\\u003eYou guess if the world has to end with them in control, wouldn’t you want to be on their side?  \n\\\u003eShit is hopeless now anyway  \n\\\u003e”At the end of all things, don’t you want something to hold on to? What do you say? Join us?”  \n  \n“Wait, ‘Samantha Garlen?’ Isn’t that Sam’s last name?” You grasp onto the altar for support, legs trembling but you can’t place why  \n\\\u003eOh, maybe that’s why  \n\\\u003eVanessa looks PISSED  \n\\\u003eIt looks like she’s got lightning in her eyes  \n\\\u003eShe completely ignores you and spins through the pages of The Book of Wrath, malcontent seared into her expression  \n“Does Sam have a sister or something?” You ask weakly  \n\\\u003e”That BITCH!” Vanessa shrieks, your question hardly even a blip on her radar. “She’s the one who fucked with our ritual, and you know what? I bet she has The Book of Rite with her at this very moment!”  \n\\\u003eThe doe carefully scrapes the last of Sam’s blood off the rim of the stone basin and sprinkles it onto the Book of Wrath’s pages  \n\\\u003e”Well we’re going to find out exactly where this cunt is. And then…” She looks at you, a wildness in her eyes. “Finish what she started.”  \n\\\u003eYou clear your throat awkwardly, because you’re not sure what to say  \n\\\u003eYou’re almost never sure what to say  \n\\\u003eEspecially to maintain a ruse as elaborate as this  \n\\\u003e”Samantha. Garlen.” She commands, turning her attention back towards her vengeance  \n\\\u003eA cloud of ethereal smoke plumes up from the altar, as if there was a fog machine hidden inside  \n\\\u003eHeh, that’d be pretty cheesy  \n\\\u003eInside the smoke an image forms out of light and sound, and when it becomes clear through the haze, your heart stops  \n\\\u003eYou see Sam, outside the gym. He’s on his hands and knees, bending over a sheet of paper   \n\\\u003eHe looks so enamored he doesn’t even notice the crowds of people waltzing past him  \n\\\u003eSomeone throws a wad of paper at him  \n\\\u003eIt bounces harmlessly off his head  \n\\\u003eSam pays it no mind, the little autist is too absorbed in his drawings  \n\\\u003e”That can’t be right,” Vanessa steps back, shock plain on her face as the dark eyeliner “Isn’t that Sam Garlen?”  \n\\\u003eHer eyes flick over to the wall where ‘Samantha Garlen’ is still burning with orange flame  \n\\\u003e”I don’t understand…” She gawks  \n\\\u003eNeither do you tbh  \n\\\u003e”Something has to be wrong with the book,” the human goth, Reese, says. “Because I have science class with him. That’s a boy.”  \n\\\u003e”Pffft, hardly,” the rat goth says. “We’re in the same cooking class and I swear he makes even the guys there blush. Maybe there’s something wrong with the book?”  \n\\\u003eYou start inching towards the entrance  \n\\\u003eThis might be your only chance  \n\\\u003e”SHUT UP! THERE CAN’T BE ANYTHING WRONG WITH THIS BOOK!” Vanessa booms, her face a bright scarlet, lit up with agitation. She brushes her hair out of her eyes. “We need his blood /and/ the book now to finish things.”  \n\\\u003e”And to stop them,” Reese says calmly  \n\\\u003eGood to note, as you sneak level: 100 out of here  \n\\\u003eBut you can only make it so far before Vanessa notices you out of the corner of her eyes  \n\\\u003e”Don’t think I don’t see you over there, Anon,” she says coldly  \n\\\u003eYou freeze in place, as if you’d suddenly been thrust into a lone spotlight on a very dark stage  \n\\\u003eA sadistic smile replaces Vanessa’s enraged face  \n\\\u003eFucc  \n\\\u003e”You spend a lot of time around that rabbit, don’t you?”  \n\\\u003eYou groan inwardly because you know what’s next  \n“I already brought you Gloria. I’ve done what you asked. What more do you want from me?”  \n\\\u003eVanessa’s smile only brightens  \n\\\u003e”Isn’t it obvious? We want Sam — he’s the one who has a part of our little puzzle: the book we’ve been hunting for. You’ve been a good boy for us, you’re right, and for that we’ll juice you up to make it easy.”   \n\\\u003e”Yeah,” the rat snivels. “You’re the one who should… you know… bring him to us like you brought the goat. Just lure him in with some carrots or something.”  \n\\\u003e”There’s not a question of whether or not he will,” Vanessa snaps, silencing the rat. She turns all roses and sunshine in a split second, testament to her manipulative personality “He’s going to do it. Right ‘Nonny’?”  \n\\\u003eThe next words come out of your mouth heavy as stones  \n\\\u003eYou instantly wish you could pluck them out of the air and stuff them back in your mouth  \n\\\u003eFuck, you’re full of bad ideas today  \n“No.”  \n\\\u003eThe doe freezes  \n\\\u003e”What do you mean ‘no’? HE HAS THE FUCKING BOOK WE NEED.”   \n“N-No, he doesn’t…” you stammer weakly hoping to buy some time and divert attention away from the fact that the book is L I T E R A L L Y in your pocket right now  \n“That faggot hangs around me all day, every day. D-Don’t you think I would have known if he had your- I mean, our book?”  \n\\\u003eThe doe stares venomously at you  \n\\\u003e”Just do as I say and bring me that fucking rabbit,” she seethes  \n\\\u003eOh, so that’s how you wanna play it, princess?  \n\\\u003eCan’t manipulate people so you’re going to act all pissy?   \n\\\u003eWell you can be pissy too  \n“I said ‘no.’”  \n\\\u003eYou compress all of your fear into tiny little balls that you squeeze into your fists  \n\\\u003eAre you a bad enough dude to take on three of them at once?  \n\\\u003eThe Book of Wrath flips open, and your fists unclench with inborn weakness  \n\\\u003eGuess not  \n\\\u003e”Now I see… Now I see… You’re trying to protect him, aren’t you?”  \n\\\u003eYes, you are. God damnit, you are. You’re not going to play this game anymore  \n\\\u003eYou’re not going to be manipulated by this cunt  \n“I told you, he doesn’t have it. And there’s no way Sam’s smart enough to know what to do with it if he did have it. He’s not anything special.”   \n\\\u003eVanessa grinds her teeth  \n\\\u003eYou swear you could see dust and smoke coming out of her mouth, like an angry truck sputtering oily black fumes  \n\\\u003e”You’re not listening to me. You’re going to bring me that rabbit. Or we’re going to bring him here.”  \n“What do you even need him for? You’ve got the goat — I don’t get it,” you say, pretending not to notice the way the goth’s eyes are lighting up with an other worldly glow  \n\\\u003eThe doe sighs deeply, a vein bulging through the short shag of her fur  \n\\\u003e”I’ll level with you, because I like you, and I think you’ll see reason. What Sam did, somehow, was complete a vital step of the ritual we were initially trying to complete: he unleashed the Behemoth. The ritual is going to happen whether or not we’re in control of it on Friday, meaning every one of us is in fucked… unless….” She stresses the last syllables. “Unless we have the book and Sam. We can’t control the Behemoth — or the ritual.”  \n\\\u003eWew that was a word salad  \n\\\u003eVanessa sounds like she’s barely restraining her anger  \n\\\u003eAre they saying EVERYONE is now fucked because of Sam? Unless they complete the ritual?   \n\\\u003eSo basically, unless they’re in control of it, they’re going to be drawn into endless madness and debauchery?  \n\\\u003eDo they… actually have a good point?  \n\\\u003eThey ARE the only ones who can stop anything from happening  \n\\\u003eYou already fucked Mike over with the cleansing rite, how can you expect to know how to stop a world-ending ritual built upon ceaseless madness and a weird dog… thing…?  \n\\\u003eChrist  \n\\\u003eYour hand flies to your chest — to the book, that covers your heart  \n\\\u003eVanessa’s eyes seem to light up  \n\\\u003e”Got something there?” She says inquisitively   \n\\\u003eWhat do you do?  \n\\\u003eDo you join them?  \n\\\u003eIt’s all so fucking hopeless  \n\\\u003eYou remember the way you didn’t roll over and die when that werewolf was about to gore you?  \n\\\u003eYeah, that was some bullshit. You only felt that way because these freaks juiced you up good  \n\\\u003eYou’re back to being a coward  \n\\\u003eAnd then, of course, Mike ran over the werewolf (with your car, you might add)  \n\\\u003eWhat would Mike do right now?  \n\\\u003eGod you wish he were here  \n\\\u003eMike would fight for you  \n\\\u003eYou… you need to fight  \n\\\u003e”Grab him.” Vanessa commands  \n\\\u003eThe goths make a move towards you  \n\\\u003eThe red book flies out of your pocket  \n\\\u003eYou open it and clutch a handful of pages, threatening to rip them out of the binding  \n\\\u003eYou… You’ll tear ‘em up, you fucking swear, and ruin everything for everyone  \n\\\u003eYou’ll trap everyone in eternal limbo  \n“BACK UP!” You cry  \n\\\u003eYou feel like crying in terror right now  \n\\\u003eThe goths halt in place, brought to a standstill by the fact that you might actually do it  \n\\\u003eThis was your plan?  \n\\\u003eAs if reading your mind, Vanessa spins to a certain page in The Book of Wrath. She uses her fangs to tear into her thumb  \n\\\u003eHot blood drips from her furry fingers onto the page  \n\\\u003eShe looks at you with an evil smile. ”I should have known you had it with you. You’re smart, Anonymous.”  \n\\\u003eActually, you’re a huge idiot. All you did was forget it was in your pocket  \n\\\u003e”But, I guess this is where our friendship — and you — end.”  \n\\\u003eThe Book of Wrath glows  \n\\\u003eYou feet an intense heat in the center of your chest  \n\\\u003eOH FUCK  \n\\\u003eYou start pulling at the pages of the book in a mad attempt to destroy it-  \n\\\u003eYou go flying backwards, back into the darkness of the hall, out of the room  \n\\\u003eYou sail through the darkness for a good distance before colliding painfully with the concrete floors  \n\\\u003eThe daze hits you hard  \n\\\u003eIf you could see right now in the darkness, you’re sure you’d be seeing stars  \n\\\u003eWell, you’re not dead… somehow  \n\\\u003eYou stagger to your feet  \n\\\u003e”God DAMNIT!” The doe shrieks, her voice hoarse and clipped from the effort. “I should have known I couldn’t kill him while he has the book…”  \n\\\u003eYour ears, even with their dull human capacities, can hear two pairs of footsteps coming  \n\\\u003eOne: The sound of heavy black boots — human  \n\\\u003eAnd the other: the sound of small claws skittering across concrete — a rat  \n\\\u003eYou take off with the red book in the opposite direction, diving into the darkness of the tunnels  \n\\\u003eVanessa’s obscenities ring off the walls with decreasing clarity as you delve further into the steaming darkness  \n  \n\\\u003eGod you wish you had night vision right now  \n\\\u003eIt’s not fair that anthros get night vision and enhanced hearing and smelling and all this other bullshit  \n\\\u003eWhile all you seem to have is sheer luck and a knack for pussying out at the right times  \n\\\u003eThe tunnels twist and turn and dive, and rusty pipes hang over you the entire time like heavy copper clouds  \n\\\u003eChrist, you can’t believe that these maintenance tunnels are completely devoid of light  \n\\\u003eGOD THE SMELL  \n\\\u003eIt’s like rotting corpse gas invading your sense  \n\\\u003eAnd how does anyone see up here?  \n\\\u003eYou get a bright idea  \n\\\u003eEmphasis on the bright (heh)  \n\\\u003eYou draw the Book of Rite from your pocket, swab some blood from the inside of your mouth which still hasn’t healed up, and draw it on the page  \n\\\u003eGod you hope this works  \n\\\u003eThe book lights up with an otherworldly, pale light, throwing your shadow on the low walls of the tunnels  \n\\\u003eHoly shit! All you did was flip it to a random page  \n\\\u003eYou press your nose to the book and try to read the thin scrawl  \n“And be a light in the darkness, volumes thin.”  \n\\\u003eYou fold this page over  \n\\\u003eWho knows, maybe you’ll get to use it again somehow  \n\\\u003eNow all that’s left is a long, steamy journey through the tunnels  \n  \n\\\u003eWhen you at least descend the stairs into the gym’s equipment room, you’re close to heatstroke  \n\\\u003eYou pause a moment among the old football helmets and half-deflated dogeballs, breathing hard  \n\\\u003eYour head spins and you jerk on your collar, releasing the hot air that had accumulated under your clothes  \n\\\u003eHopefully the goths are still lost up there  \n\\\u003eYou felt guided by a certain… sense, while in those passages  \n\\\u003eYou turn the red book over in your hands  \n\\\u003eIt has long since stopped glowing  \n\\\u003eMaybe it was the book guiding you out somehow?  \n\\\u003eYour eyes adjust to the darkness  \n\\\u003eYou can see all the Spooktober stuff right where it was when you first came up here  \n\\\u003eNo, wait, there’s more  \n\\\u003eFake skeletons, fake cobwebs, plastic pumpkins, strobe lights, industrial fog machines… signs and streamers and a punch bowl that is most definitely going to have a lot of alcohol in it by the end of the night  \n\\\u003eAn image of Sam creeping around the Spooktober fest springs to mind  \n\\\u003eGod, he wanted to go so bad  \n\\\u003eAnd now that you know why, you feel immensely guilty for passively turning him down the first time  \n\\\u003eYour heart aches  \n\\\u003eSam  \n\\\u003eOh God  \n\\\u003eYou hope he’s still waiting outside the gym like you told him to  \n\\\u003eYou press the supply room doors outward and sprint across the gym for the first time in your life  \n\\\u003eHe’s still there, you reason with yourself  \n\\\u003eThere’d be no reason for him to leave  \n\\\u003eNONE AT ALL  \n\\\u003eUnless he was captured  \n\\\u003eYou quicken your pace despite the exhaustion   \n\\\u003eYou WILL protect that dumb fucking bun","series":{"name":"The Leaves of Fall","previous":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/1666392-the-leaves-of-fall-act-2-fear-the-nobodies-part-19.json","next":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/1666397-the-leaves-of-fall-act-2-fear-the-nobodies-part-21.json"}}