My friend downloaded a knockoff dating app onto my phone

     So before I tell this story; keep in mind I was going through a rough patch in my life at the time. So to see my friend who ghosted me for quite a while and come back into my life only for him to get a dating app onto my phone isn't the strangest thing to me. When I met him again; the look in his eyes were different, wearing a smile but his eyes hadn't matched his face. He wasn't the most convincing salesmen on anything he'd try to get me to do but this time around it's like he suddenly got enough charm to sway a crowd, it felt off putting, strange, wrong. The body language not matching him with how he moved on his feet.

    His arm wrapped around me, my phone in his hand as he says, "James; buddy look at me with beautiful girlfriend, if I could get her, then I can help you on this app as well!" My mind started to fog in a daze, feeling like he had a counter response to everything I had to say for not wanting too before I spoke, "I know you been lonely, you can't just keep trying to dwell on your failures with trying to date!" His girlfriend moved in closer, smelling like apple wood. He sighs, "I'm sorry for being gone for so long James but I promise I'll make it up to you, Jerry's bar; drinks on me."

    I'm taken aback with confusion in my voice, "why are you doing this and what are you up too?" He gives me a soft punch on my arm.

    He casually mentions, "because I'm tired of seeing you being a sad sap like I was; come on. Just give it a try." His words, seem genuine but his body language just felt off, not wrong but not like him. It's genuinely hard to explain but his aura, how he stood up, the muscles, everything; imagine seeing someone go from a depressed boney guy to a warm smiling confident wingman with a beautiful girlfriend. Even how he smells is off, gone from a sweaty strong body odor smell to something inoffensive, sweeter even. A natural scent, not a product applied. 

    Besides these factors making me nervous, I had the feeling of the loneliness take it's toll on me after all these years. Even seeing him with a girlfriend before me, is making me jealous. He noticed the look on my face in an instant and changed his body language with relaxing his posture. Again, not something my friend Thomas would do.

    Thomas with concern in his voice, "what's the matter buddy; it looks like you seen a ghost."

    I shrug it off, "I just find this all hard to believe is all; it's quite a sudden 180 with you is all. Forgive my gawking."

    Thomas laughs it off, "oh don't sweat it James. I just had my ugly duckling moment is all. Now come on, join me for some drinks." I do just that; join him for drinks, as I drink I'm getting through my profile, setting things up and the more I drink the more I feel like my friend is changing his posture, how he sits and even his body language but it could just be the booze I think to myself. I'm setting up my profile but notice my friend helping me select my photos, I don't fight back against him. At some point I blackout.

    During my blackout I have a dream of a creature eating my insides, feeding on my guts and tearing me a part from the inside out by a bronze—skin tone demon.

    By the next morning my head hurts with me getting a notification on my phone, to notice a instant match. The woman of my dreams, bronze—skin tone with a strong jaw and somewhat muscular, a woman that looks very Greek. It should've been a red flag in my mind that the longer I'd look at the woman the more attractive and the more she looks like my type, the slight changes at first that aren't noticeable with the cheek bones but every time I check my phone I swear it's like a new feature, a new detail popped in I hadn't noticed before. 

    This only making my nerves worse. Thomas in the kitchen with his girlfriend making and bacon along with hash browns; this has me shocked even further with remembering how many meals he'd just microwave. My thoughts going, "he's changed so much for the better and yet why does this scare me? Am I just scared of change or am I scared of him? Am I afraid of losing my friend?" As my thoughts run through my head he turns to me and gives a warm smile.

    His pearly white grin that wasn't there before as he spoke, "oh rise and shine sleepy head. You want some breakfast?" I shake my head.

    I assure Thomas, "I really should get going." That was until the smell of French toast hits my nose, I swear that smell wasn't there before. Trying to will my body away I couldn't help but sit down at the table as I say, "maybe I'll stay for some food." As I sit down with him he notices the ping of messages I'm getting for the notification on my phone. He opens up my phone, I would go and protest but some part of my mind is resisting against it. Him pushing the match I got to me. I fumble with my knife and fork as I try to eat the French toast.

    Thomas gleefully says, "you should ask her out! Come on dude she is totally your type! Even anything goes wrong; just call me." I relent and do so. As I'm about to send my first message he snags the phone from my hands.

    He goes, "woah! Woah! You're going to send, "hey you're pretty" she likely gets a thousand compliments a day! You got to do a cheesy pickup line!" He hands the phone back to me. A roll of my eyes I change it, he looks over it and gives me the thumbs up. I wrote, "hey baby are you a cake but you look so sweet." 

    She replied, "oh you find me sweet? I might be a bit too sweet for you cutie." In that moment my heart skipped a beat. I was quick to answer. I don't get what made the woman of my dreams want to be with me. I left Thomas's place with me talking to her on the app until I finally got the guts to ask her out on a date. She was quick to agree and we exchanged phone numbers. I called Thomas to share the success of getting a date.

    I could hear his smile through the phone, "see, I told you it'd work!"

    I softly concede, "yeah you were right. I'm meeting her March 13th." That night I had one of the worse dreams, I was in a dark house with the soft iron smell filling the air. This place I've seen in my nightmares, of all the times for this to come to me, not something I dreaded with it being so long from before. The only light source was at the end of a hallway into a bedroom with rose pedals scattered across the floor leading towards the bedroom. I call out, "hello, anyone here?" For a moment no one called out.

    A voice responds back which had me almost had me jumping out of my skin, a sweet feminine voice calls out from the bedroom, "come here my darling." The heavy chains of fear snapped from my body as I make my way towards the bedroom with that same sweet smell from before hitting me, growing stronger as I step closer. A part of me was dreading this wanting to flee as I see the figure coming out of the bedroom. She looked more beautiful in person than she did on the dating app. She was dressed in lingerie, proudly displaying her figure. She took me by the hand to the bedroom. My heart beating like a drum the closer I get to the bedroom. As soon as we step inside I notice a flicker of a change to her face with the alarm clock blaring me awake. A disappoint of it being a dream and yet somehow feeling more real than I realize; the smell of roses staining my body with a tinge of iron.

    Looking back on it; ignoring the warning signs before me of a vision should've told me what I was getting myself into, instead of only thinking of it as a dream. After that night, for the next following six nights the same dream but slightly different. Each time I got closer to her bedroom, I felt something pull me away and the further in the bedroom she was with me taking couple more steps further into the bedroom. This always left me with a dreading feeling when I woke up. This was until night number six where I felt the clawing, sharp pain of my body with waking up sweating and a cut on my arm with me looking at my other hand to notice I scratched myself while sleeping. I brushed this off as, "just nerves" how foolish I was.

    I sent my friend a text, "I'll be gone at 8 PM, wish me luck." I sprayed deodorant on my body and tried to calm my nerves, a part of my body not wanting to step outside that door and head there like my body knew something that I did not. This next part spooked me for a moment until I remembered, "oh yeah I shared my location with him." Keep in mind it's just so if I ever got myself in trouble, he could find me.

    He texted me back, "get your ass moving; you know pretty women don't like to be kept waiting." That isn't what got me moving, the next part did. He texted, "you don't want this to end up like Sally, do you?" An old high school crush of mine. Sure enough he was right and I relented with me heading on out. What was I scared for anyways? What some silly dreams that was trying to get me to stay alone for the rest of my life. I've never been with a woman and I'm just scared is all. As the time passes by with me stuck in traffic at 8 PM she shoots me a text with her wearing something skimpy, I gulp as it's the same outfit as my nightmare, both turn on and scared. 

    I arrive late, 9 PM; under my breath I curse out the traffic. A knock on the door only to be sent a text, "my door is open, come in." I do as she said. At the time I didn't think of it as strange she didn't greet me at the door. As I step inside my heart sinks into my chest with me realizing, this is the same house from before in my nightmares, well not entirely but pretty close to the same. Somehow worse than my nightmare. I mumble under my breath, "the place I can never escape."

    I shout, "I- I'm hear!" I notice the bedroom light at the end of the hallway.

    She shouts, "I'm in here baby!" The smell of roses draw me, as I make my way down the hallway that same rose scent grows stronger but another underlying smell I can't make out, the blanketed smell comes through. As confusion sets in I try my best to shrug it off as I warily make my way through the hallway draped in rose pedals. She was on the bed, more beautiful than the photos online but her body portions being larger than I remember online. Her nails a bit sharper, the eyes a bit more determined. However I was distracted by her beautiful black hair. Her muscular frame was flawless. Her beautiful blue eyes stunned me. She got up from the bed, entering the door frame and I could feel her rough hands pulling me in, her grip a bit too tight for my liking. She got on top of the bed, stretching in provocative positions and softly ask, "care to join me?" I throw off my shoes, then my shirt and finally my pants but as I do so I go face planting onto the ground.

    She calls out, "are you okay sweet heart?"

    I quickly respond confidently, "yeah I'm fine." Until I notice iron smell, hidden underneath the rose scent; look up to see the decayed bodies and one fresh one underneath the bed. Two bodies I notice, one being my friend and other his girlfriend. The painful dread shoots through me, I froze in place as I can only think what to do next. The only thing I could do as she approached me, gun for the door, grab my pants and shirt then full on sprint out of the room, on my way out I trip in the hallway.

    She sweetly shouts, "wait sweet heart what's wrong? Come back!" At the last couple words sounded like the voice of the woman was cracking, picking myself up again I try to unlock the door to find it not opening, throwing my body out the window and adrenaline keeping me going as I try to get dressed, call the cops and only for them to find no one but the bodies and rose pedals. From outside I peaked inside to see the house changed on the inside, decayed and worn down. I show them the dating app, the messages, the phone number and everything but sure enough they couldn't trace them back to anyone. I was interrogated until they found nothing on me that'd pin the crime to me. Sure enough, most of the victims had been using the app like me which made them put me in the clear. I'd try to contact my friend only to find no response on the other end. I drive to his place only to find him gone and the same with his girlfriend. I go to the next door neighbor and ask, "hey do you know Thomas by chance? If you see him could you please give him a message for me."

    The neighbor looks confused to ask, "who is Thomas?" They point at the house to say, "the Millers live there though but they've been out of town for quite a while now. I figured they were having you look over the house while they were gone." A cold chill runs down my spine. Over the following days I get multiple messages from multiple different phone numbers day by day and after each day I'm blocking one number after another, each one calling to me like a siren and so for my dreams? I see Thomas in them, along with his girl friend, they two trying to convince me to go back, and the Millers? Still missing today.

    One day I finally snap and answer the phone shouting, "leave me alone! I don't want anything to do with you anymore!" The voice on the other side sounding like my friend.

    Thomas asks in a worried tone, "James where are you? You never showed back up at my place once you got back."

    I ask them, "your place? Don't you mean the Millers?" Thomas goes silent for a moment but chuckles. I press him further, "what did you do with Thomas?"

    Thomas gleefully answers, "oh you know what I did with him. For what it's worth; he didn't die a virgin." I stop getting calls after that but I could swear, I can see her from the corner of my eye when I'm out in public though, always lingering somewhere nearby. My nightmares have stopped, finally stopped going back into that same old place.

Soul Guardian beginning trails

 Chapter 0

    A young short messy pink girl with tanned skin and blue eyes chopping away at blue logs, as she does so she looks outwards beyond the pink rose barrier that surrounds the outer boundaries of the town. As she does so a drunken stumbling crow is watching her closely, the other two crows watch the third wobble. A forth crow, "cawk!" A green aura flashes around the crow and it turns itself and the other three invisible. A thought crosses her mind, "dad didn't have anyone spying on me today?" The survey on the further part outside she can see men in armor each casually caring a bear-like beast covered in black and red veins. Near the men and the slain monster is near a tree with a scar that's three times the size and shape of a bear claw mark. She let's her mind start to drift as she thinks of fighting beast with black pulsing flesh and large red pulsing veins with boney beastly mask upon their face. As the beast roars and tries to strike her; she moves out of the way with the second slash of the claws hitting her with a swing of her blade coming down chopping the beast in half with her battle ax. She imagine a taller slender blue haired girl having a glowing aura around her hands as the wound closes up, making the skin a new. She takes the head of the beast to a cheering town, "Rose! Rose! Rose!" She wakes up from her day dreaming to hearing her name.

    A short man shouts, "Rose!" She jumps to her feet. The short muscular man and a taller more lean build of a man by his side next to each other, both with weathered wheelbarrows. She helps them load up their wheelbarrows. The two head off until the shorter guy turns to face Rose.

    Rose asks, "Johnny, what's up?"

    Johnny asks, "can you please watch my sis again?" He says, "my parents are going to be busy again and I have some flowers to replant around the flower wall." Rose happily nods.

    Rose gleefully says, "of course!" 

    Johnny makes small talk, "so I heard your dad has been training other people on the side for some grail, is this true?" 

    Rose slowly nods as she groans, "I offered to pay the price of his services to be trained but nope! He refuses to do so! It's like my sister leaves and he can't even just trust me to be trained! Like come on, you train all these other people but not me! I have been nothing but loyal, then you chose the one person with the least amount of loyalty to you be train! All because she developed her ability first!" Johnny is listening with Rose huffing and puffing.

    Johnny assures her, "I'm sure he's just needing time; I'm sure in due time he'll train you."

    Rose does a deep huff, "I'm sorry for ranting to you just... it's been tough." Johnny hugging her.

    Johnny let's her know, "don't be sorry; I promise it's fine. If you need someone to rant to, I am here for it. Besides the fact I need to get to work but outside of my gardening I mean." 

    The coworker informs him, "Johnny; I waited until now to tell you but some cultist were messing with the flowers again." Johnny gasp as the two book it. After she is done with work for the day she takes a wheelbarrow full of wood, heading through town, waving to the local townsfolk with giving everyone a warm smile as she approaches deeper into town to the senior's house to see a frail aged man. Rose drops off the wood, places some fire in the large deep fire pit and strikes two rocks together lighting the fire.

    The man grins, "thank you dear." The elderly man gets a tea kettle set up. He looks puzzled for a moment, turning to Rose and asks, "I know you've already done so much but if it's not too much to ask could you please fetch me some water from the well?" Rose happily nods with a minor sigh on the inside but does so in a hear beat. Now with his hands shaking as the kettle is set up, water put in and readying the tea leaves.

    Rose remarks, "it's getting late and my father must be worried about me so I must take my leave sadly." She departs.

    The old man shouts, "thank you for your help my dear, come back anytime you like!" Then promptly and easily sets a fish that's bigger than a full grown man over the fire. She returns the wheelbarrow, starts to head towards the library and think to herself, "I wonder if Lyn is off work yet?" The thought escapes her for a second as a man carrying a big beaten brown bag around his waist as he rides a skeleton horse and in a lapis blue uniform.

    Rose happily approaches the man, "did my sister... " her words trail off as the man shakes his head; she responds with a dejected look on her face. The mailman carries on with his skeleton horse not leaving a hoof print on the road. She passes by shop with a big bottle for a sign and thinks to herself, "dad might be out of red wine again; I should probably stop by here." She steps inside, the shopkeeper at the ready with a bottle of red wine with Rose imagining a black haired man passed out on the couch with a wine bottle in hand and a crow on his knee.

    The shopkeeper asks, "so, are the rumors true?" Rose looks puzzled for a second. He continues, "about him teaching crows to use magic and soul guardian training?"

    She has a sigh of relief, "yes he taught his murder some magic and some soul guardian training to them." At the, "soul guardian" part of the sentence her right eye twitches a little. Rose changes subjects, "anyways how much do I owe you?"

    The shopkeeper casually says, "Rose, it's still free."

    Rose inquires, "Jordan, why do you gift him a bottle of red wine everyday?"

    The shopkeeper sharply answers, "I owe him a great debt; more than I could pay in a life time."

   She nods to the response and takes her leave. She slips on by people, trying to ignore the smell of the pies from the bakery with reaching a building with a book symbol outside labeled in bronze letters, "Maya's library" with people coming and going with books. That outside the book some wounded men in armor getting a golden white glowing light reinvigorating the men. The tall blue hair girl looking tired out healing solider after solider.

    Rose has a shocked confused look on her face, asks, "what happen to you?"

    The guard responds, "well Rose, a corruption cultist is what happen to us."

    Rose looks surprised to asks, "what are corruption cultist doing around here?" Another guard shrugs.

    The guard sighs, "your dad would be the one to know."

    Rose giggles, "if the cultist encountered dad they'd be running for the hills."

    Another guard speaks up, "oh yeah Rose, thank your dad for us for teaching us Soul Guardian training! If I hadn't learn that defensive style transmutation; I would've died back there." At that part Rose has her right eye twitch. While her eye twitches he puts his hand to his chest plate and has the metal morph and form back into place.

    Rose smiles choking down her anger, "I'll let him know of your gratitude." In the back of her mind yelling, "are you kidding me! He taught them before me! I mean hell of course he did! He taught the crows before me!"

    Lyn asks, "are you still coming over?" The shocked look to remember, "oh yeah... crud."

    Rose relents, "I promised Johnny I would watch his sister."

    Lyn perks up, "that's fine; we can both watch her then." A sigh of relief washes over Rose. She looks around as Lyn is healing up some more people. Lyn tells her, "I'll be over at your place in a bit; I just want to heal some more people first." Lyn's face starts to go pale.

    Rose shakes her, "are you insane!"

    Lyn scoffs, "yeah funny coming from miss, let me dive bomb on a broom." She brushes off her concern, "relax; my mom isn't off work yet, she's enchanting more gear for her client-" The despair on her face to see a tall woman with blue hair until she notices the face with relief washing over her. Rose can't help but laugh at this. Lyn explains, "that and these gentlemen won't say a word to my mother, right?"

    The three guards nod. The first guard firmly assures, "not a word to miss Mira nor your father Markus."

    Lyn shrugs, "oh dad already knows; no need to hide it from him."

    Rose comments, "not what I meant; your face is going pale."

    Lyn reminds her, "I know my limit; trust me." Rose gives up, putting her hands up. Lyn hugs her before the two part ways. Rose heads to the outskirt of the town with a small house sitting near the rose garden that hugs near the dirt roads. Johnny nearby working on the rosarium. Meanwhile you have crows eating roadkill while ignoring the blacken and red roadkill with the taller gardener engulfing the blacken and red corpse in flames. The black and red vein goop spreading it's infection through the plant life only to be eaten and slain by the pink roses. 

    The red roses driving the black and red glob away, from Johnny's perspective the red roses leave an red aura like a wall. Meanwhile the pink roses are more akin to a swirling sweet honey vortex that draws your soul in like a siren call, the touch to the soul leaving one hungry. Any infected flora nearby sprayed with smoke from burning blue logs. Rose heads inside to see a man with messy black hair drinking on the couch with a crow on his knee with the two sharing a bottle of wine, as she steps into the door the drunken crow merges into his body. The bottle is places on his stomach.

    Jack perks up the couch, "did she send anything?" He reads the room as he sees her look away and towards the ground. Jack sighs.

    Rose says, "I'll be looking after Lilly today, so try not to get too drunk, again." That from the couch giving a thumbs up. Rose brings up, "one of your guards mention you training your guys soul guardian training?"

    Jack takes a long drink from the bottle before replying, "yup; defensive transmutation, his soul mark is based around metal so I figured I'd teach him and the others some basic stuff."

    Rose asks, "so I was wondering-"

    Jack cuts her off, "no; the answer is no still. You're too young, give it three more years."

    Rose groans, "you say and do this every year! I'm sixteen dad!"

    Rose's dad sighs, "just please wait two more years; you're not ready yet." She storms off to the garage getting the bench press set up for two hundred pounds on the incline. After some working out she heads towards the shower, thinking about how today went so far and everything stirring her into a frenzy. Once she is out of the shower getting dressed in black shorts and a pink tank top. She goes into her room lazily tossing her dirty clothes into the tall woven laundry basket and looks at the empty clean bed across from her messy dirty bed. A heavy sigh falls from her. A knock from the front door with a pep in her step to zip towards the door and see Lyn who looks as if she is on the verge of passing out. The looks exchanged between the two is enough to tell you they've been through this before. Lyn basically being carried inside and brought to Rose's room being put on the clean bed. Rose's dad in the doorway with a short round bottle with a dark blue liquid inside. Jack knocks on the door with her spinning on her heels to face him. Rose hugs him.

    Lyn says in between breaths, "th- thanks, Jack."

    Jack calls back, "no problem. Now what did we learn today?"

    Lyn answers, "not to cast too many spells." Jack nods. Meanwhile Rose gets Lyn to open her mouth as the liquid is poured down her mouth. Some time later Lyn is back on her feet. A knock to the door as Rose and Lyn answer it to see a young little girl in a pink dress. The little girl jumps into Rose's arms.

    The little girl screams in joy, "Rose!"

    Rose giggles a little, "how's my little Lilly doing?"

    Lilly joyfully says, "school was good."

    Lyn taken a back, "you're well spoken for someone of your age."

    Lilly huffs, "when I'm at  home, Johnny makes me read or he'll be reading to me. He never wants to play prince and princess with me."

    Rose picks her up and excitedly says, "guess what were doing today?" They spend the day playing princess with them having tea time, Jack cutting back on his drinking as he joins in the fun, having his own prince uniform. Rose looks outside to turn to her dad.

    Rose asks, "dad, don't you have work?"

    Jack shrugs, "what are they going to do, fire me? I'm their only soul guardian, as the captain of the guards I can arrive late. If they need me, they'll shout for me." Rose stops pressing on him as they're partaking in the fun. Even with them baking cookies, as night time rolls around a hard knock is heard at the door, Jack slinks from the couch to the door, opening up to see Johnny. He notices Johnny has a mark on his arm with a shape of a green leaf like a tattoo but not, from Rose's perspective nothing is there. Jack request, "can we talk outside for a second?" Johnny looking confused until he looks at the leaf tattoo. Jack and John step out.

    Jack remarks, "I notice you got a soul tattoo."

    Johnny assures him, "this thing? Oh it's just a tattoo."

    Jack laughs, "Johnny, I'm not stupid; I can feel the literal energy coming off your aura."

    Johnny sighs, "yes I got a soul tattoo but please don't tell my parents."

    Jack has a weary tone to the question, "why?"

    Johnny says, "I wish not to go become a soul guardian; I just wanna garden."

    Jack asks, "when did this appear?"

    Johnny replies, "please don't think any less of me after I tell you how; I was noticing a large section of plants dying as if someone stomped on them, broke them; I couldn't bare to see my newly planted babies die and my arm started to burn as I wept over my flowers... my arm started to burn and Burt thought I was going crazy with him not seeing the tattoo form. Then my flowers started to come to life again."

    Jack hugs him and says, "I don't think any less of you." He reels him in, "listen; I may not be able to train you like a soul gardener but I could train your soul to shape this newfound part of yourself." Johnny rolls his eyes. Jack mentions, "in doing so; you'll be able to grow healthier, stronger and more beautiful flowers." Johnny stops rolling his eyes.

    Johnny questions, "how much will it cost me?" He answers, "oh wait; I remember the others you trained mentioning the prices, I can't exactly afford to pay five gold grail a session."

    Jack ruminates until he answers, "five copper grail. The lowest I'll go." Johnny looks shocked.

    Johnny probing him, "why so cheap?"

    Jack shrugs, "maybe because your family, maybe because I want to see someone with your kind of potential blossom but not for free."

    Johnny in a hushed tone commands, "just don't tell Rose; I know you refuse to train her and this would break her heart to hear you training me." Jack nods. The two pop back inside acting as if nothing happened.

    Rose investigating, "what did you two talk about?" Johnny is about to answer until Jack steps in.

    Jack slides in with, "oh he was talking about the flowers being crushed."

    Lilly chimes in, "oh yeah, cultist crushing his flowers again. He said a lot of words I can't repeat or mother will be mad at me."

    Johnny scoffs a little, "come on, you know I never tell." Lilly looking unsure doesn't budge after he said that.

    Lyn comments, "man you really did have her read a lot of books, this is perhaps the most words I've seen a first grader use." 

    Johnny proudly nods, "her first grade teacher chewed me out for doing so because quote, "Lilly gets bored and doesn't engage with any of the simpler books" which hey, not my fault you suck at your job. That being said, her second and third grade teachers were happy with my results." Lilly happily nods. Johnny and Lily take their leave. Lyn and Rose enjoy the rest of the night until morning time with Lyn having her arms wrapped around Rose. Rose notices this and slips out of bed to her feet as she heads into the kitchen. The smell of bacon, eggs and hash browns hit her nose. The smell of coffee has Lyn stumbling out of bed next, rubbing her eyes as she sits down. A large blue mug put before Lyn, she puts a scoop of cream and two sugars into her coffee before downing it. Meanwhile Rose sipping on a glass of chocolate milk.