Razor sat back against the tree, cracking his back as he waited for the rest of his group. They always dawdled behind him, but that didn't really bother him. They'd never chosen an exact time to be here, just late in the night, right at this spot.
For him, it was easy. He'd just gotten out of work, turning the vibrant neon lights off in the shop's window, locking up. He was the only other key holder at Dave's Vintage Vinyl, aside from Dave himself, and working nights like this left him with plenty of spare time. There wasn't a lot of people out there looking for classic rock memorabilia, not in this town, so he spent most of his night flipping through alternative titty magazines, contemplating his next tattoo or self-made piercing.
In the record store though, he left the radio on the news station, and there he heard some of the outlandish happenings from around the town, like something out of the twilight zone. He kept a composition notebook on him, sometimes to doodle his own versions of pinup girls, but more often than not, it was to write what he heard.
He fancied himself the story collector of the group, the one who took it upon himself to write each tale down and commit it to memory, in case they ever gained another Rat.
"You're here already, again? And I even left before the ten o'clock news!" Wire's voice sounded like an echo behind her respirator, her bright purple eyes wide and wild, always making her look too-friendly, or maybe sugar-high.
They called her Wire because of the colourful tubes that decorated her pigtails, cords that made her look like some kind of industrial raver who was in the graveyard for a good time. Yet again she was here, dressed like she'd forgotten this wasn't a runway for the 2000's.
Her oddity was part of her charm though, and her bright colours only made Razor smile wider.
"I'm on a schedule. There's your hint for this week." Hint. The hint at his identity was what he meant, though it wasn't very clear for anyone but the two of them. They had a game running, who could learn the others true identity first.
It was against the rules they'd set as a group, but maybe that was what made it so fun for them. It wouldn't be difficult to figure out that he was at work. To figure out how long it would take to get from point a to point b, if a store closed at a certain time, to narrow it down.
He was surprised she hadn't come into his record shop, but then again, he didn't really know her outside of these moments, perhaps she wouldn't like that kind of thing.
Or maybe there was some outside force keeping them all apart and drawing them here and only here.
"On a schedule, just like the rest of the world, aren't you?" Spine always seemed to apparate out of nowhere, fixing his glasses as he took a seat at one of the white-now-grey stone chairs made ornately to fit in with the marble graves and etched statues.
Razor just snorted, rolling his eyes a little.
"Don't think I don't know what you two are talking about. Your little game is easy to win for someone like me... so don't make me play along, too." Spine's voice had a warning edge and they both stiffened up, looking like two kids who had gotten caught doing what they weren't supposed to.. Which, to be fair, was pretty much the case.
"I can't have you telling anyone else my stories, now can I?" It was a threat, and they both knew it. Something was off about Spine, more so than the rest of them, and if anyone wished to conceal their identity, it was him...
"Spine."
A soft voice and shuffling. All eyes turned to see Maggot, clamouring out of the shrubbery where they had snuck in, pulling twigs out of their messy hair.
"You know your threats will only fuel them to try harder." Maggot rarely spoke, but a small smile pulled on their lips. They knew the people in front of them well enough. Wire and Razor loved to make games to get closer to each other...
Neither Maggot nor Spine would ever really stop them.
Spine just sighed, an equally as small smile on his own lips.
"You're right, how thoughtless of me. I suppose as long as the game they play is between them and they leave us out of it, I can't be too mad..." He rested his hand on Maggot's head, looking at Razor again with a glare that warned the little punk he was serious.
Razor just put his hands up.
"Alright alright..." He laughed under his breath, looking over The Grave Rats.
"Well, the gangs all here. I don't have anything to address before the stories begin... so I guess the only pressing business is... whose first?"
Razor looked around the group, waiting for anyone to speak up. He knew it wouldn't be Maggot, they were always too quiet, maybe thinking too hard about what to tell the group. Usually, if no one piped up, he'd take first round, but he always like to give the group a chance--
"I WILL! I WANT TO! Oh, I've got an absolutely marvelous one this week!" Wire's hands flew up and all eyes went to her.
"Well then. Let's get started, shall we?" Razor bowed to her a little dramatically before plopping right down on his ass, full attention to Wire.
She pulled the respirator off of her face, her cheeks flushed from the excitement as fresh air hit her face.
"Alright... I'm ready."
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