Chapter Text
She was found. Again.
Well, nearly found. It was too close to comfort for her liking, knowing that she was in the same city as them. She needed to get out before someone pointed them in the right direction. It was cruel and torturous.
Shiloh ran two miles after swiftly packing her belongings that fit in two bags to reach her destination. She impatiently waited. She was bitter, angry, and afraid; a weird and overwhelming mixture of emotions. She shifted her weight frequently, her grip on her duffel bag’s strap tightened as her jaw clenched. She hated that her friend uprooted her life, even though they had good intentions. She felt betrayed. They weren’t the first “friend” to contact him, but it led to a lonely life of being on the run. The twenty-three-year-old anxiously looked over her shoulder as she waited at the bus stop for the Greyhound bus that was due to arrive soon.
The light pollution blocked out the blanket of stars over Las Vegas, Nevada, the night air cooling the city from the July heat. Shiloh tensed as more people arrived for the bus; she wondered if they were as anxious as her about going to a new place. Maybe they were just visiting, looking for adventure. Maybe they were visiting family. She envied those options. She never got that luxury.
The roar of a large engine caught Shiloh’s attention, but she didn’t let the tension leave her body just yet; she still wasn’t safe, not until she was out of state. The large charter bus was in sight, the silhouette bringing hope as it moved through the night, occasionally being lit up by the streetlamps. Shiloh’s anxiety spiked with adrenaline as she cautiously scanned her surroundings for him. The hiss of the airbrakes was music to her ears as she readied her bus ticket for the driver. When the doors opened, she rushed to be one of the first ones on, her heart pounding in her chest.
When Shiloh stepped into the bus, goosebumps broke across her sweaty skin as the air conditioning flowed throughout the cabin. The driver checked her ticket before Shiloh moved to the two seats she bought in her row. She chose the third row from the front on the right so she was far away from the restroom and close to the door. She finally took her brown hair out of the ponytail, the medium length hair reaching her shoulders. Her hazel eyes sharply darted between the people handing their tickets to the driver and out the window; almost everyone was on board and seated. Her leg bounced as she waited for everyone to get seated.
The brunette let out a breath she was holding when the bus finally departed, the engine roaring as it pulled out from the bust stop. Shiloh sank in her seat as the sea of black passed by the window; she was almost safe. The young woman sighed as she pulled out her phone and charger, plugging it in since it was almost dead. She needed it charged for when she changed buses to continue to her new destination. Wiping her eyes of the stray tears, she silently mourned the city she grew to love over the last four years. Sure, Vegas had numerous issues (it wasn’t called Sin City for nothing), but it was her sanctuary for a time. It was now tainted, as many other previous sanctuaries were. Four years was a record, and she only hoped her next sanctuary would last longer. It wasn’t fair.
Opening her email app, she clicked on the one for an apartment application she applied to the second she found out her friend contacted him. She was approved quickly by the complex, which told her that they were either struggling or the admins were on top of it. Regardless, the housing situation would do for the time being. She hoped at least. Her stoic mask carefully slipped back into place as she let the familiar numbness fill her being. She needed to disappear and not draw attention to herself; the last thing she wanted was small talk with any surrounding individuals.
Pulling out a pencil and her sketchbook, Shiloh allowed her hand to move across the page, emotions guiding the utensil. She rarely drew distinct shapes, focusing on the jarring and harsh edges of indistinguishable blobs and decisive shading. Figures could sometimes be seen in the shadows of her sketches, but it was abstract. It wasn’t perfect, but it served as her way to vent. Letting out her frustrations. Therapeutic. Besides, she never let anyone glance at her work, and she was determined to keep it that way. The young woman didn’t know when they crossed the state line, but she eventually allowed sleep to claim her for the night knowing she was finally safe.
It was the fourth day of travel and Shiloh was anxious to reach her destination. It was another restless night, 5:30am glaring brightly at her from her phone. Insomnia was something that she always struggled with and it made for a very boring trip because she was limited on what she could do. The passing scenery was nice enough, but it didn’t distract her mind from racing through thousands of “what if” scenarios. What if she was found again? What if she got caught? What if someone else does what he did? What if –? She needed to stop worrying about what had yet to happen. She needed to focus on now. Staring at the email once again, she finally felt herself nod off.
A rough bump jostled Shiloh awake from her short nap. Blearily looking around, she saw the familiar interior of the Greyhound Bus she had boarded a few days ago. The stale air carried with it the scent of body odor from the other passengers. She cracked her window to allow fresh air to waft in her nose; the scent of rain temporarily drowning out the musk. Yawning, her back arched as she stretched, hands moving behind her head as her arms flexed, her thick chorded bracelet on her left wrist catching her sleeve. She didn’t bother checking her phone since she knew she didn’t have any messages; instead, her attention went to the newspaper she bought at one of the stops on day three.. “Tensions Rise as Protests Continue,” the title read.
“Tensions rise as protests continue in Ebott City. Protesters have gathered in a large group in front of New Home where monsters reside. Police have been monitoring the situation as some people are making threats towards the monsters,” Shiloh read.
She sighed; she didn’t want to keep reading the story. It wasn’t that she didn’t care about the social issue, she just didn’t have the mental capacity to deal with that anger at the moment. Shiloh fought for the rights of others as often as she could, attending protests to combat misogynistic, bigoted, and racist people. It was the latter that were causing the issues in Ebott. The xenophobia of human nature meant that progression would once again be pushed to a standstill.
Monsters emerged from Mount Ebott two years ago, meaning that bills and laws were still being written and debated. Not everyone welcomed them despite the monsters being friendly, the fact they could use magic didn’t help ease tensions. After a year of being quarantined, the monsters were then granted citizenship, which opened doors for employment. Not every monster ended up working, however. They brought a shit ton of gold with them, and the exchange crashed the gold market, pissing off a lot of rich corporate blowholes and people needing to pawn gold for some quick cash. Needless to say, the money ended up benefitting the monsters to help lobby for bills to give them equal rights (though with restrictions to magic use and unfortunately segregation limits). Xenophobes marched the streets in protest as monsters continued to push for the removal of segregation, but law makers haven’t come to an agreement regarding such laws.
It was typical of law makers. They didn’t truly care unless it lined their pockets somehow. Shiloh’s nose wrinkled as she continued to read the article that was clearly trying to instill fear before turning to the ads; she was hoping to see any potential job postings there so she could scope out employment options, but there was nothing aside from jobs that were out of her depth. A chemical plant, oceanic researcher, 911 Dispatcher… None of them would work for her. Shiloh sighed, sinking back in her seat, fidgeting with her dark purple sleeves of her mock turtleneck shirt as her eyes flicked towards the towering trees of the mountainside. She would be in Ebott before long given that the signs said the city was fifty miles away. The bus driver shortly confirmed, announcing approximately an hour until the next stop. Her stop.
Ebott was the final choice due to the natural landscape. Forests, mountains, streams, and remote areas that were not easily accessible unless you were on foot. The Pacific Northwest provided variety that her previous locations lacked. She could disappear. She could be alone again. She wouldn’t have to worry about people possibly hurting her.
Anxiety twisted in her gut. Sure, this was a major life change, but that wasn’t why she was anxious. Not entirely. She worried she didn’t choose a far enough destination. Would she be found? What if someone tried to “help” again? Turned her in? Shiloh shook her head to rid her mind of those thoughts. It had to be far enough. She chose this place at random. There was no way anyone would be able to follow her let alone find her.
To distract herself, she closed up her half-empty bag of Doritos, trail mix, and Twizzlers and loaded them into her backpack, leaving out her almost empty reusable water bottle. After she finished packing, she opened her small foldable wallet while still rummaging in her backpack and glanced at what cash she had left. She chewed her lip, worrying over possible finances. She wouldn’t count her cash in public in case someone was watching; she didn’t need people to target her. Shiloh was so caught up in her thoughts that she jumped at the sound of the bus driver announcing twenty minutes until arrival. She looked out the window and blinked; they were on a long bridge heading into Ebott city.
Skyscrapers towered over the bustling streets; Red Alder trees separated the sidewalks from the roadways. Shiloh never saw anything like it. She noted numerous bars on Main Street along with cafés and coffee shops. She placed a hand over her chest as a weird buzzing sensation temporarily snagged her attention, but it left as quickly as it started as the vehicle continued to move to the drop-off. Before long, the bus pulled to the bus stop; they had arrived.
The morning sun beat down as Shiloh stepped off the Greyhound, backpack and duffel bag in tow; her hazel eyes tiredly scanned the area before pulling a map of Ebott out of her back pocket. She had already been approved for New Home Apartments, so all she needed was to find it on Bellamy Road, the monster district. She didn’t focus on sightseeing at the moment, wanting to see where her apartment was before scoping things out. She remembers walking past Second and Third Street, businesses a blur as she focused on her end goal. One day on a boat and three days on the Greyhound left her exhausted, eyes barely focusing on the map.
Shiloh rubbed her sore eyes as she focused on the rhythm of her worn shoes on the pavement; she’d need to invest in a new pair of sneakers since these ones lost their support a week ago. Thankfully her expenses didn’t amount too much when it came to moving from place to place aside from buying new bedding; she never brought unnecessary items when she moved to new locations.
She turned left onto Jefferson Street; she knew she was close to her destination when she saw a sign stating, “Monster District.” She frowned at the protesters that lined the sidewalk holding various anti-monster or xenophobic statements. Rage sparked in her soul, but she didn’t have the energy to properly deal with the dumb fucks; what she did do was flip them off while shooting a nasty glare. She knew that even that basic action would cause some type of response, but she didn’t expect one of the protesters to get physical with her.
She hit the ground with a grunt after being shoved by one of the people, a white woman with dark brown hair; her duffel bag hit the ground with a thud. “Monster fucker!” she spat; her advances telling Shiloh that she wasn’t done.
“Hey!” a growly voice barked from nearby.
The brunette scowled before heading back to the other protesters; Shiloh’s eyes never left the woman until she was back with the group. Letting out a breath she was holding, she stood up and dusted off her loose-fitting jeans. “You okay?” the same female voice from earlier asked.
Shiloh turned towards the stranger and blinked. The person was a humanoid blue monster resembling a fish, fire red hair tied up in a ponytail. She looked concerned as she studied the brunette before her. “Yeah,” Shiloh replied, picking up her bag. “I flipped off the protesters and the Karen took issue with it.”
The monster barked out a laugh as she looked over at the group. “They’ve been there for the last few days, not worth the energy,” she mused. “Name’s Undyne.”
“Shiloh.”
“Nice to meet ya. Where ya heading?”
Shiloh fidgeted as she debated about sharing any information but gave in; she heard of monsters’ friendliness and in that moment she couldn’t bring herself to lie about her intentions. “New Home Apartments,” she finally said; she didn’t want to add any more details.
Thankfully, Undyne didn’t pry for any information. “That’s not too far from my place!” she grinned. “C’mon, I’ll show you the way!”
“I-I don’t want to impose—”
“Don’t worry about it, punk!” she said, grabbing the purple duffle bag from the brunette.
Shiloh followed Undyne, anxiety pulsing through her at the monster’s actions. The fear of her livelihood being stolen shook her, but she shoved those fears aside; monsters were known for their kindness, so Undyne wouldn’t steal from her, would she?
“You from here?” the monster asked, snapping Shiloh from her thoughts.
“No, just moved here,” she answered quietly.
“What brings you here? Wanting to start a new life?”
“Something like that.”
“Well, as a member of Ebott P.D., let me officially welcome you!”
Shiloh tensed up, wearily eyeing her new acquaintance. “…Thanks,” she murmured, unsure how to proceed.
The red head looked at her, raising an eyebrow; the atmosphere between the two shifting as tension rose. “Don’t like cops?” she pressed.
Shiloh swallowed, not liking that Undyne pinpointed the reason so easily. “…No,” she answered hesitantly.
“Got a criminal record or something?”
“No, nothing like that…”
Undyne looked over her shoulder, curiosity evident in her eyes, but she didn’t press much to the relief of the brunette. The two walked in relative silence, only exchanging small talk. Shiloh avoided anything too personal but shyly gave surface-level information. The tension was slowly starting to drift away, but never fully left. Shiloh wondered if her exhaustion was making it obvious that she was being allusive, but she didn’t say anything.
Fifteen minutes seemed like an hour by the time they stopped in front of the apartment building. The complex had fourteen buildings, each with two stories. The navy exterior helped the white window trims pop against the graying sky. Thunder rolled in the distance, Shiloh hesitating to approach the office building, staring at the bushes and surrounding greenery. Undyne didn’t stop until she looked over her shoulder and saw the brunette lost in thought. “You good, punk?” she asked.
Hazel eyes flicked to the monster. There was a strained silence as Shiloh chewed her lip. “Yeah, just nervous,” she finally answered as she followed once again.
Undyne watched her human companion before they made their way to the front office. “I have a friend that lives here, so I’ll see you around,” Undyne grinned, handing over the duffel bag to Shiloh. “Want to exchange numbers for when the rest of your things arrive?”
The brunette forced a smile, “I don’t have anything else coming, but I appreciate it.”
The fish monster’s grin fell, making Shiloh self-conscious. “I travel light, it’s no big deal,” she said, walking up to the desk to talk with the building manager.
Shiloh spent the next thirty minutes filling out the paperwork of the apartment and receiving the keys. She was on the second floor of building five, room 610. When she turned to leave, she stopped, confused as to why Undyne was still there. “Looks like I’m set,” Shiloh said awkwardly.
“What’s your number? I’d like to hang out some time,” the red head stated suddenly, pulling out her phone.
The brunette stared in shock; this wasn’t something she was expecting. The silence got awkward, but Undyne patiently waited. Shiloh eventually gave her phone number to her acquaintance, unsure of the motives of the monster. Undyne’s fingers fly over her smartphone’s keyboard before grinning at her. “I shot you a message so you have my number,” she stated.
“Oh, um, my phone is dead, so I’ll get back to you later,” Shiloh lied as she headed to the front door. “Thank you again for showing me to the apartment.”
“No worries! Just let me know if you need help finding anything.”
Shiloh nodded before waving goodbye and heading east towards building five, which was one of the ones in the back. Her feet moved tiredly along the pavement until she reached her destination. Stealing her resolve, she unlocked the door to her apartment and stepped in. The walls were off-white, which were a stark contrast to the navy-blue carpet. A couch, coffee table, and television were in the furnished living room; she made sure that the apartment was fully furnished. After closing her front door and locking it, she quietly made her way to the bedroom on the left towards the back of the apartment (the spare bedroom would likely never be used). The door on the right of the highway was the bathroom, which she would check out later once she placed her belongings in the room. The doors were open, allowing her to walk right in and carelessly throw her bags on the bed.
She let out a heavy sigh, digging through her backpack for her smartphone, charger, and wallet and heading back to the living room and plopping down on the couch. There was an outlet near the seat she chose, so she plugged it in and laid down; sleep quickly claiming her.
It was the late afternoon when she finally woke up, groggily sitting up and stretched. She picked up her wallet and checked the contents, quickly counting what she had left. She could afford putting off getting a job, but she only had seven thousand left, which meant she would need to get a job soon. This was her emergency funds stash so she couldn’t let it get too low. Yawning, she stood up to use the restroom before deciding to go to the grocery store since she new the fridge in the kitchen was empty.
Grabbing her phone off the charger, Shiloh moved to the door, put her shoes on, and left, opening her Maps app; she would need a map initially to get used to the area. Once she established herself and explored the area, then she would no longer need to rely on her phone. Choosing a destination, she put her phone and wallet into her pocket and went back out to the streets. The sounds of the bustling streets and car horns filled her ears as she paid attention to the street names. She chose not to leave the monster district to buy her groceries so she didn’t have to let her emotions run rampant at the sight of the protesters. Glancing around, she fished her phone out of her pocket to check the map before once again paying attention to her surroundings. The tension in her shoulders threatened to leave as monsters and humans went about their daily lives without troubles, but she didn’t risk letting that edge leave. She couldn’t risk getting comfortable.
It didn’t take long until she found herself entering New Home Grocery (she smiled a bit at the poor naming; monsters really were not creative with names). The marketplace wasn’t large and had plenty to select from, including a monster food section. She was taking her time browsing her selection, looking at the variety of fresh fruits and vegetables, when her chest gave her that weird buzzing sensation once again, like a broken tune trying to sing to some unknown melody. The panic returned as her eyebrows furrowed, so rather than continuing her slow shopping pace, she quickly gathered minimal items to last her for a few days until she could go see a doctor. She grabbed a carton of milk, eggs, bread, peanut butter, jelly, and cereal before quickly heading to the checkout.
The sun was setting by the time Shiloh exited the store and began making her way to the apartment, the feeling in her chest subsiding with every step she took away from the grocery store. Her mind was reeling. The bus didn’t drive by the monster district, so she doubted that there was something weird with the store that caused whatever the buzzing was; this was something she needed to be concerned about and would need to find a local doctor’s office as soon as possible. She let out a shaky breath, her anxiety settling as the complex came into view.
When she finally got to her number, she quickly unlocked the door and closed it behind her. She tried to focus on putting away groceries rather than the thoughts that threatened to overwhelm her; she couldn’t allow her anxiety-filled thoughts to rule her mind. This was to be her new sanctuary.
Shiloh rewarded herself with a peanut butter and jelly sandwich before settling on the couch; she successfully survived the first day in her new home, however temporary. She frowned when she felt her emotions threatening to breach, and so she did what she always did when trying to drown out her feelings: turned on the television and allow whatever brainrot she could find to distract her. In this case it was the Twilight series since it just so happened to be on. It was her guilty pleasure because of the dry script and performances. Hazel eyes flicked over to her phone as she chewed slowly; she was debating if she should shoot Undyne a message, but she was hesitating. Maybe she would tomorrow? She shrugged off the idea as she went back to focusing on the movie. Well, she was focused on it until the buzzing sensation returned once more, stronger than it was in the store.
Shiloh froze as she silently panicked, unsure what was going on. Was she having a heart attack? There wasn’t any pain so she didn’t think that was the culprit, but it was still concerning. Grabbing her phone quickly, she wasted no time looking for a nearby doctor; she saw one that was both human and monster friendly nearby the monster district, and she quickly booked an online appointment. She wanted to cry and thank whatever deity allowed there to be an opening tomorrow. She knew she’d need to fill out an intake form when she got there, but this was important. A knock on the door caused the brunette to still, turning off the television, ears straining against the silence to determine who was at her door. She never got up to answer. The knock happened again, but she continued to ignore whoever was on the other side. What if she was followed? Did he somehow see her? She didn’t know and she didn’t want to find out.
The knocking ceased. Thirty minutes later, Shiloh shakily turned the television back on before going in her room to grab a blanket and pillow; she doubted she’d be able to get some sleep now, so she would stay on the couch and hope to nod off to get some sleep before tomorrow.