Inspired by the indie game "Night in the Woods".

"I get it. This won't stop until I die. But when I die, I want it to hurt. When my friends leave, when I have to let go, when this entire town is wiped off the map, I want it to hurt. Bad. I want to lose. I want to get beaten up. I want to hold on until I'm thrown off and everything ends. And you know what? Until that happens, I want to hope again. And I want it to hurt. Because that means it meant something. I means I am something, at least...pretty amazing to be something, at least..."

-Mae Borowski, Night in the Woods Part 4, "The End of Everything: The Hole in the Center of Everything"

Nikki stepped off the bus and entered the bus station. She'd been the only one to get off the bus and the station was completely empty.

"Well, this is disappointing," she muttered, running a hand through her messy green hair. "I mean, it's not like I expected a party or anything, but I at least expected somebody to be here." She sighed. "Welcome home, Nikki."

She glanced around and took notice of the new mural. It was of a train and idyllic surroundings, reading 'Welcome to Sleepy Peak!'

"Wow, when did they put this up? Sleepy Peak has never looked more… falsely advertised."

Nikki noted that the payphone had been ripped off and that the TV was on. There was also a janitor fiddling with the door. He had a long gray mustache and was wearing a plaid jacket over a pair of blue jeans. One of his hands was the drill he was using to fiddle with said door.

"Hey, where is everybody?" she asked.

"It's 10:45. It's closed," he grunted. "Not many folks getting off the last bus to Sleepy Peak these days. Just you."

"Why are the lights on? Why is the TV on?"

"I get spooked when I'm here by my lonesome." He didn't move to let her through.

"Can I… squeeze past you?"

"Nope. Just broke the damn thing."

"How long will it take to fix?"

"Until you grab me a Fiascola from the machine over there."

"…am I paying for this?"

"I always rig it when I'm here after hours."

"Nice. Free as in… free?"

"Free as in no one's here to say otherwise."

He went back to messing with the door. Nikki headed over to the soda machine and glanced at the buttons.

"They have Lime Fiasco and he wants a Fiascola? That's just a waste." She shook her head in disappointment. In one quick movement, she jabbed the button for Fiascola and grabbed the can from the machine. She then headed back over to the old man.

"You got my drink?"

"Yeah. Here. One Free-Ass-Cola." She handed him the can and he drilled a hole in the bottom, drinking it that way.

"Yummers." He didn't move.

"So when do you think that door's going to be fixed?"

"…now. Goodbye." He walked out the door and the lights and TV immediately shut off. Nikki was alone in the dark and empty bus station, and she realized just how spooky it was. She hurried outside, the door locking shut behind her.

"Here I am, at the bus station, Mom and Dad nowhere to be found. Guess I'm walking. Alone."

She began walking towards the woods, listening to the sound of the distant train. She'd missed it at school, remembering how it had lulled her to sleep in the winter when the leaves were down. It was familiar, comforting. The bus station was the newest thing in town, since Sleepy Peak had gotten state funding or something, and it made a nice first or last impression when arriving in or leaving Sleepy Peak. If it weren't for the abandoned glass factory in the background they wouldn't be getting rid of anytime soon.

"The woods," she mumbled. "Through the woods is home. My bed. And my negligent parents."

Nikki began to climb down into the ravine that led up to Sawmill Park. There wasn't much there, just some dank nature and garbage. She could see where the old logging road had been, since it was evident they'd lost a log load at some point. Taking a deep breath, she began to climb the rickety logs that blocked her path before they dislodged, sending her flying backwards as they slipped further into the ravine and made an actually decent path to climb.

"Oh my God!" she gasped. "That was dangerous. I could've died. That was amazing!" Nikki was silent for a moment. "I am not going to die in this hole."

Carefully, she climbed the convenient path that had been made by the fallen logs and made her way into Sawmill Park. She could remember playing there as a kid, back when things had been much different and it had just been her and her mom. The 'boat castle', as she'd called it, had fallen into disrepair. Nobody had been up there in a while, it seemed, and it was just a thing for animals to eat and have babies in.

Her magenta gaze landed on the towering fence that blocked her from getting into town. Fortunately, she was good at climbing and managed to get a good grip on the chain-link. She got to the top and began to climb down, but the fence swayed from her weight and she released her grip. As a result, she tumbled to the ground, where a flashlight shone in her face.

"Hello, Nikki. Been a while."

She looked up to see her aunt Molly—Aunt Mall Cop, as Nikki affectionately called her. Molly was a solidly-built woman with pale green hair that she kept in a tight bun on the back of her head. She was also wearing her police uniform, her gun visible on one hip. Her police cruiser was parked a few feet behind her, the engine still idling.

"Hey. What are you doing out here?"

"I was doing my rounds when I saw you in the very off-limits playground."

"Oh."

"Get in the car, Nikki."

"No."

"You wanna spend your first night back in jail, Nikki?"

"…no."

Nikki got into the back of Molly's cruiser and her aunt drove her to the house she'd grown up in. The lights in the living room were on, signaling that somebody was still up. The former college student got out of the car and used her key to open the door. Her dad, William, was sitting on the living room couch, watching some talk show.

"Hi. Remember me?" Nikki asked, startling her father.

"AGH! Nikki, you gave me a heart attack!" he yelped.

"Good!" She spread her arms in frustration.

"What are you doing—oh. Oops. Nikki, we thought you were coming home tomorrow night."

"Well, you thought wrong."

"How did you get here?"

"I walked until I got arrested by Aunt Mall Cop, who drove me here."

"Did you say hi to Molly for me?"

"No. I say hi for no one. I'm going up to bed. Is my bed still here, or are we waiting for tomorrow night for that, too?"

"Ah, Nikki. So good to hear that voice again. Again, I'm sorry we messed up."

"Good night."

"Night."

Sunlight streamed through the window of Nikki's attic bedroom. She yawned and stretched before getting dressed and heading downstairs, where she found her mother in the kitchen.

"Hey, Mom," she greeted Candy.

"Hiya, sugar. Welcome home."

"Thanks for not changing the locks."

"Look, honey, I'm sorry we mixed up the night you were coming back. It was just such short notice."

"It's fine. I'm home now."

"…honey, did something happen?"

"Nothing happened. I just… needed to come home."

"Well, I think you can understand my concern. That's not just something a college sophomore up and does."

"I know… hey, have you seen Max around?"

"He works down at the Snack Falcon in Towne Centre."

"We have a Snack Falcon now?"

"Oh, yeah. It's so handy! Ever since the Food Donkey went out."

"The Food Donkey's gone?!" Nikki felt a sense of shock.

"Going on almost a year now."

"Where does everyone shop?"

"They all go out to the Ham Panther out by the highway, but I see your little friend Max when I go into town."

"Wow… so much has changed."

"It's a whole new world, sweetie!"

"In that case, I'm going to explore. See you, Mom!"

"See you, Nicolette!"

Nikki headed out into the neighborhood. Fall was definitely in the air; leaves were falling and neighbors were raking them up. She slid past Mr. Twigmeyer, who questioned why she wasn't still at school, and up towards Main Street. Nerris Buchanan waved hello from her porch and Nikki saw David Greene (Max's adoptive father) standing on his.

"Nikki?!" he gasped, leaping down the steps.

"Hey, David," she greeted him before he grabbed her in one of his typical bone-crushing hugs.

"Oh, you're home! How long are you going to be back?"

"I'm home for good. College… just wasn't for me."

"I'm sure Max will be excited to see you. He's working full-time now, down at the Snack Falcon."

"I heard. I'm actually heading over there to see him."

"Be sure to come by my roof later this week. I bought a new telescope."

"I will. Bye, David!"

She ran down the street and spotted the Snack Falcon. There wasn't anybody inside but a familiar curly-haired Indian boy with bright green eyes. He had a bored expression, from what she could see, and he couldn't see her from where he was. Nikki entered through the automatic doors, and he looked up at the sound of the little bell.

"Holy shit—Nikki?!" He sat up straight.

"Hey, Max."

"What the fuck? I thought you left!"

"I did, but now I'm back."

"Back as in today?"

"Back as in back."

"Too bad you didn't die at college." She smirked.

"Too bad you didn't catch a flesh-eating disease."

"Too bad you didn't join a murder-cult."

"Too bad you didn't lose all your limbs in a freak soda machine accident."

"God, it's good to see you. Hold on a sec." He slid off the stool and over to the CD player.

"What are you doing?"

"Changing the music!" A jazzy-sounding song began to play throughout the store and Max came out from behind the counter.

"So…?"

"So, what the hell are you doing here?!"

"I live here!"

"Since when?"

"Since last night, eleven or so?"

"Oh, it's so great that you're back. I've been losing my fucking mind without you around."

"It's great to be back. So much has changed…"

"Come to band practice."

"Oh my God, the band is still a thing?"

"Yep. Neil and I have kept it going."

"When's practice?"

"Now."

"When do you get off work?"

"Now!" He dashed back behind the counter and grabbed a time-card, punching out for the night before running out the door. Nikki ran after him, all the way to the former Party Barn. There, she could see Neil setting up his microphone.

"Neil!" she greeted her.

"Oh my God! You're actually back!" he gasped, standing up.

"She's back for good!" Max stated, punching his nerdier friend in the arm before turning back to Nikki. "I have your old drum kit. Most of it's set up, but I need to grab the cymbals and sticks from the back. You have to play with us."

"Oh, dude, I don't even think I remember…" she murmured as he ran into the back. The door opened and a girl Nikki hadn't spoken to in a very long time walked through.

"Nikki, you know Erin, right?" Neil asked her.

"Oh, yeah. Hi."

"Hi," Erin greeted her curtly.

"You here for band practice?"

"I play bass."

"That's not bass. That's computer."

"It's fine," Nerris told her. "He also does your drum parts."

"Well, I understood them as the drum parts, but I can turn them off."

" 'Turn them off', on your computer." Max set the suspended cymbal and sticks on the kit.

"We're gonna play a song. You have to play drums," he told her.

"This is so weird…"

She got up behind her drums and tapped them experimentally. Max had evidently kept her kit in pristine condition, tuning and all. It was as if she'd just played them the day before, rather than two years ago.

Two years since I last lived here…

"Pizza!"

Neil laughed as Nikki threw her arms in the air. The waitress brought them the pizza their party of four had ordered, divided into eight slices. Each of them took a slice, feeling a flurry of emotions at Nikki's homecoming.

"You miss pizza, Nik?"

"Max, they have pizza at school!"

"Yeah, but not diner pizza."

"Diner pizza's horrible," Neil snorted. "It's no Pastabilities."

"Neil, according to the pizza scale, there is no such thing as horrible pizza," Nikki told him sternly.

"I told you, that's not a thing."

"Everything above the worst pizza is pretty damn good. There's no such thing as horrible pizza unless it's burnt. Nobody wants to eat that shit. But screw it—pizza good."

"The diner has charm," Erin pointed out.

"Anyway, when are we going to play out?"

"We don't 'play out', Nikki. We have jobs."

"All of you?"

"I work at the book-and-video store," Neil informed her, nodding.

"I'm at the Snack Falcon," Max added.

"And I'm working at the Ol' Pickaxe," Erin finished.

"Isn't that your dad's store?"

"Yeah. What about it?"

"Uh… nothing." She cleared her throat, something suddenly occurring to her. "Where's Ered"

"Oh, you wouldn't know, would you?" Neil inquired. "Ered's… gone."

"Gone? Gone where?"

"Hopped a train, I bet," Max sighed.

"Oh, wow. She always talked about doing that."

"Yeah, one day she was just… gone. Made a clean break; hasn't emailed or anything."

"Her dads put up missing posters, but everyone knew what happened," Neil finished.

"Well, we'd better be getting home," Neil broke in. The others nodded and stood up, Max picking up the check. All four of the twenty-somethings exited the diner onto the sidewalk, the crisp fall air hitting their faces.

"It's great to be home," Nikki chirped once they were outside.

"We can hang out again, just like we used to," Max agreed. "It's boring without you."

"Oh my God!" Neil gasped.

"Holy crap!" Erin whispered sharply

"What's wrong?" Nikki asked, worried.

"Is… is that an arm?"

"That's an arm," Neil agreed.

"Nobody move," Max instructed, holding up his arms. "Let's poke it with a stick."

"I call first!" Nikki grabbed a stick out of the bushes and crouched by the dismembered limb.

"Nikki, I'm pretty sure this is tampering with evidence," Erin stated.

"Shush. I wanna watch this," Max told her.

"You don't need your ears to watch."

"SHUSH!"

Nikki poked at the arm, moving the sleeve of the army jacket to reveal… a tattoo?

"Is… is that some kind of mark?" she asked her three friends.

"I think it's a tattoo," Neil replied.

"Definitely a tattoo," Max confirmed.

"Now, what's going on here?"

"Uh-oh!"

They all looked to see Molly standing there, arms crossed.

"Hi, Aunt Mall Cop!" Nikki greeted her aunt. "We found an arm!"

"I can see that. Now, I don't want any of you walking home alone tonight. Something bad's going on."

"I can drive Nikki home, officer," offered Erin.

"Thank you, Erin."

"Neil lives with me and David, so we'll just walk," Max informed the officer.

"Good." Molly began speaking into her walkie-talkie.

Riding in the car with Erin was awkward as hell. Nikki shifted uncomfortably in the seat and glanced at the blue-haired girl.

"So, working at the Ol' Pickaxe, huh?" she asked.

"Yeah."

"Are they training you to take over the family business?"

"Who?"

"Your parents?" Erin stopped the car.

"We're here."

"Um, actually, my house isn't for a few more blocks."

"Get out."

"Okay."

Nikki got out of the car and watched Erin speed off. She sighed and began walking towards the house, where her dad was watching that same talk show from the night before on the couch.

"Have a good day, Nickname?" he asked her.

"I hung out with Max and Neil and Erin for a little bit. Then we found an arm on the sidewalk."

"An arm?!"

"Aunt Mall Cop showed up and everything. I poked it with a stick."

"Okay, Nikki, please don't go poking dismembered limbs with sticks. I never thought I'd have to tell you that, but here I am." He cleared his throat. "How were your friends?"

"Apparently, Neil's living with Max and David now, and both of them have jobs? And they're hanging out with Erin. Max hated Erin in high school."

"Well, people change, sweetheart. And it's not always a bad thing. If it helps you make a few new friends, then welcome the change."

"I'll keep that in mind."

"Didn't you used to be friends with Erin first?"

"That was before Max came. And Erin started hanging out with those mean girls… it was a mess." She shook her head. "I'm going up to bed. Goodnight."

"Goodnight, Nickname."

Nikki headed up to her room and pulled off her boots, settling into bed for the night. Tomorrow would be better.