When I woke up, I was momentarily confused. I was in a dark room, squished against a wall and something warm. Then I remembered I was in this distorted game. I sat up, rubbing my eyes, and I looked around. The lantern on the floor was still burning, and I wondered if it would ever go out. The other three guys were still sleeping peacefully, Pewds next to me and Steven and Toby squashed in that sleeping bag. I carefully stood up and walked up the stairs, trying not to disturb anyone. As I closed the trapdoor, I saw Ella staring at me.
"Morning," she whispered.
"Are you sure it's morning?" I whispered back.
"Whenever I wake up, I consider it morning."
"I see," I replied. "How are you doing?" Ella unwrapped her bandage and I gaped. The wound on her neck just looked like a bruise. It already had a fine layer of skin over it, and the scars on her body had almost disappeared completely.
"How... you... wha-?" I stammered, my mouth open in shock.
She shrugged and smiled at me. "I guess I'm a fast healer."
"Wow," I said, still amazed at how good her wounds looked compared to what they were like yesterday. That was really fast. ABNORMALLY fast. My gaping was interrupted when my stomach gave a loud and rather crude moan, making Ella giggle.
"Come on, let's go find some food," she said, standing up and walking over to the dresser. She pulled out another lantern.
"Are you sure you're okay to go?" I asked. "You were in terrible condition a few hours ago. And what about the others?"
"I'm okay, really," she assured me. "And we don't have time to wait for the others to wake up. Soon we'll be too weak to move, so we need to go while we still have energy."
"I guess you're right," I surrendered rather quickly, moving in front of her to pull the dresser out of her way. She gave me a smile and walked out the door as I followed her. She then turned the lock from the inside and shut it, checking it was locked so our friends would stay safe while they were sleeping.
"So, where do we go to get food?" I asked. "You know this place better than me." She pointed at door III.
"What?!" I exclaimed in a hushed tone. "Yesterday you told us to stay out of there! That's the demon's lair!"
"I know," she grimaced, "but that's where he keeps the food, and we need that to survive." She stepped in front of me and opened the door, gesturing for me to go inside first. I hesitated, but went inside, darkness engulfing me before Ella came in with the light. She closed the door behind us. What I saw was a small room, about 5 feet square. The walls were cement, but, like the hallways, there was blood splattered on a lot of them. I turned to ask Ella where the food was since this room was so small, but instead I saw her barricading the door with a plank of wood.
"Uh, what are you doing?" I asked. Ella set the lantern down and took a step closer to me.
"I have to be honest, Cry, I didn't bring you in here to get food."
"Huh?! Then, what are-" I was cut off as Ella pressed her lips to mine, pushing me backwards against the wall. Whaaat? I was so confused. I mean, I liked Ella a little, but I met her yesterday, and this was just weird. Why would she come here just to make out with me?
I opened my mouth and started to question, "Ella, why?" Big mistake. She slipped her tongue into my mouth and I tried to pull back, but I couldn't move. I struggled and managed to pull my head away from her, but what I laid eyes upon wasn't any more pleasant. Her arms had turned to four tendrils, each one grasping one of my limbs. I struggled, but her grip only tightened.
"What... what are you doing to me?" I whimpered. She had a death grip on my arms and legs, and it felt like she was trying to dislocate my limbs. It hurt. A lot.
"I have no need for this body anymore," said Ella, and her body sort of morphed, like she was shedding a skin. The body of a girl dropped to the floor.
"Ella, wh-" I started.
"DON'T CALL ME THAT!" she- it screamed. I cringed as I observed this thing. It was black, with lots of arms and shining white eyes.
"Who... are you?" I moaned. My body felt like it was being pulled apart.
"I OWN THIS HOUSE. I AM THE DEMON," it said, continuing to torture me.
"What... wh... what are you going to do to me?!" came the mangled cry out of my mouth. It didn't even sound like my voice anymore.
"Oh, I'm not going to occupy you like I did this poor girl," it snarled. "I'm just going to release the evil in you. You've always been a bit different, haven't you, Cryaotic? A bit darker than everyone else. Well, now I'm going to let those sides take over, and everyone will see what kind of person you truly are. And I'll be in here, watching EVERYTHING." And with that, the pull on my limbs got the worst.
"NO!" I yelled, sweat and tears dripping down my face from the pain. "HELP ME!" And then I was ripped in half.
I jolted awake, immediately noticing the cold. Cry was gone, and it was cold in this cellar. I thought I had heard screams.
"NO!" I heard, very faintly. I ran up the stairs, slamming open the trapdoor, and I pressed my ear to the door leading out into the hall.
"HELP ME!" Yes, I definitely heard it. That was Cry's voice. Something was happening to him. I ran back to the trapdoor to see Toby and Steven coming up it groggily.
"Guys, something's happened to Cry! I heard him shouting!" I yelled in a panic. Toby's eyes snapped open completely.
"Ella's gone too! Where did they go to without telling us?" he exclaimed.
Steven made a gesture with his hands, and Toby said, "Steven might be right. They might've gone to get food."
"Well, we have to do something!" I cried, running towards the door and unlocking it.
"Pewdie, wait!" Toby shouted. "You can't just go looking for them! If something got them, it'll get you too. "
My face morphed into concern. I needed to help my friend, but Toby was right. We couldn't help Cry and Ella if we were captured or killed. I started to think of ways we could go try to save them when I heard a door slam outside. I glanced at Toby, who looked very pale and was staring at the door.
"Here, Toby, I need your help. I'm going to open the door to see what that was, but if it's a monster, throw this at him." As Toby approached, I handed him a book that was on the vanity. "Then I'll slam the door, and you push the dresser in front of it, okay?" Toby nodded, and prepped himself to throw the book if necessary.
I slowly turned the door handle and opened it a couple inches, peeping my head out. I couldn't see very far, but it didn't look like there were any monsters out here. I looked at the other doors. Somebody had just slammed one of them. But they all looked normal. The only thing I noticed was a sound. It was a very soft sobbing, interrupted by little sniffles. I opened the door all the way and stepped into the hall. I looked around for the source of the noise, not seeing anything immediately. Then I looked in the corner of the wall where door III and IV intersected. On the floor, squeezing itself against the wall, was a little sobbing creature. I gasped, knowing what it was, and I scooped it up in my hands. It was about the size of my palm. It cringed when I touched it, and I hurried back into the room as Toby locked the door behind me.
"What did you find?" he asked. What I found was a little white creature with big black eyes, no arms, and a curl of hair.
"This is Cry," I said. At the mention of his name, Cry began to sob even harder, his face distorted with pain. I saw what was ailing him. Where his heart would be, there was a big bloody circle, and there was another bloody circle just underneath that one.
"Buddy, what happened?" I asked, my face full of concern. Cry shook his head and continued to sob.
"Steven, can you get the first aid from downstairs?" I asked, grabbing a pillow from the top of the bed and trying to make Cry comfortable. Steven nodded and rushed off to get the kit.
"You're going to be okay, Cry..." I said, attempting to console my friend. Toby bent down next to me to observe him.
"You said he was screaming?" Toby asked.
"I heard him scream 'No,' and then he screamed for help," I said, face full of concern.
"So... why is he like this now?" Toby asked, obviously confused. Steven ran back up and practically threw the first aid kit next to Cry on the bed. He looked really worried, too.
"Thanks, Steven," I said, as I started to put some cream on Cry's wounds. He was trying to hold it together but was whimpering a lot.
"Well, something happened to him," I continued as I doctored Cry up. "This is only a part of him, I guess. But if some monster got a hold of him, anything could have happened, really."
"How did he get circular shaped wounds, though?" Toby asked. "Do you think that's some sort of torture device shaped like a circle?"
I sighed as I stuck the bandage so it circled Cry's small body a couple times. I didn't have any more answers. I was clueless. I tucked the blankets around Cry and stood up. Cry proceeded to fall asleep almost immediately.
"I have no idea what could have happened," I admitted. "Unfortunately, some of us have to go back out there."
Steven's face changed into a look of slight shock, and I could tell he was asking why.
"We're going to starve within the course of a couple hours," I said. I already felt famished, and soon I was going to start feeling weak. "Ella said she scrounged for food, and we have to make sure we have enough in us so we don't pass out. We have an extra responsibility now, too. Cry needs enough nutrition, otherwise he might... he..." I couldn't finish my sentence. The reality of the situation just seemed to hit me. In the course of 20 minutes, I found out something happened to my best friend that left him in a fatal position, and I felt like I couldn't help him. Besides that, I was stuck in some goddamn video game, perhaps never to see my family again... or Marzia, for that matter, and we were probably going to die in here. From starvation. My throat formed a knot, and I sat down on the edge of the bed with my head in my hands, trying to get a grip on my emotions.
Toby walked over and put a hand on my shoulder. "Hey, you stay here, okay? We can't leave Cry by himself in this condition. Steven and I can go look for food. That way, you can secure this room. Make sure no monsters come in here by the time we get back. Right, Steven?" Steven looked petrified from fear, but he nodded and attempted his best smile for the current situation.
"Are you sure?" I confirmed. I thought Toby's idea was actually good in theory- that way, no one would be by themselves, and measures could be taken for safety in this room and if someone goes missing.
"Positive," he said. "We'll leave right now, if that's okay." Toby took the lantern from downstairs, and he partially dragged Steven out the door.
"We'll try to be back within two hours. If we're not back by then, we're either lost, or..." Toby grimaced as he shut the door behind him. I moved the dresser behind the door, walked over to the bed, and broke down.
Gosh, I hate it when chapters end themselves. See, I told you it's getting interesting. I am genuinely enjoying writing this now. I'ma try to type some of this on a google document so hopefully that results in longer chapters...
I'm going to start a fanfic with my friend Macey from school. I don't know what that means affecting update times for this story but when we've got it uploaded check it out because I'm sure it'll be awesome.
Y'all can add me on Pheed. (I don't say y'all in real life, y'all.) I'm Crynaotic. And I seriously need more Phriends.
Feel free to leave a review. Stay awesome, bros. I love you.