White Noise

Souji landed harshly on his back before his legs flipped over and he found himself on his stomach, coughing in shock at the pain he was barely aware of the melted hands flying off of his body at the harsh drop. He gasped and gagged, heaving at the burning sensations marked all over his body, at the pain surging through his spine. He cried as the chime resounded in his head once more, Souji covering his ears as he watched the strange entities before him bubble and fizz as they moved close. When a hand suddenly crashed and burned his wrist, he screamed and ripped his hand back, yelling in even more agony as he further irritated his shoulder.

Scrambling to his feet, he fought away the nausea and erupting pain in his system as he made a mad dash. He wasn't sure where he was going, but he could hear the things bubbling and gurgling as they made chase, and that kept his legs going, even when they felt like lead and his chest burned. He dug his hand into his pocket for his phone, only to curse when it wasn't there. It must have fallen out.

"SOMEONE HELP ME!" he screamed as he continued his mad sprint, throat raw and sore. He couldn't see anything around him—there was too much fog. But somebody had to be here. Even in his worst nightmares, he was never alone.

"SOMEBODY! PLEASE!" he cried out, coughing as his lungs struck on fire. He yelped in a panic as he crossed what looked like a bridge, heart pounding furiously as he watched the oozing hands clamber over the sides. He couldn't feel his legs—they were pulsing, but they were gone to his senses. Souji felt himself flying across the bridge and he could hear the mutations pick up speed, their gurgling even more hectic than before.

Dark and light spots danced around his vision, and he was finding it hard to stay upright. He started to keel over, his back and shoulder spreading pain and stabbing torment in every movement that he made, his lungs spiking fire into his stomach. Souji was about to give in, hot tears desperately falling down his face as his body was fighting a losing battle. Souji was about to give in until a hand grabbed his wrist and pulled him aside, throwing him to the ground from where he heard an audible slam.

He gasped and heaved on the floor where he lay sprawled out, muttering out words of gratitude to his saviour as he slowly collected himself. The teen turned to look over his shoulder, only to find nobody there. He quickly sat up and pushed himself against a wall as his body shook and the world spun around him. Nobody was there. Beads of sweat trickled down his brow as he glanced to a nearby door, the handle shaking violently, banging on the walls following soon after. Souji looked around the room quickly, scanning the environment before he realized he knew this place.

He was home.

"MOM!" he called, sliding up the wall in discomfort as his legs wobbled. "DAD!"

There was no answer, other than the doorknob vibrating even worse, the banging more frequent. Souji watched in horror as the windows started to blot out; the bubbling monsters combining and merging as they towered together. He could see tiny fingers clawing at the windows, the glass creaking as small cracks emerged. His breaths came out short and he stood there, eyes darting from the door to the windows as the sounds grew louder, the handle shaking so violently it sounded as though it was going to snap off on the other side.

"MOM!" he cried again, resting his head against the wall as he wailed openly. He wanted to run, to dash upstairs and barricade himself in his room as he hid under his blankets and hoped it would all go away, but he couldn't.

"DAD!" his voice cracked as he fell back to the floor, choking and coughing at how hard he was crying.

He continued to cry, even when his tears stopped. His entire being hurt, back pulsing, shoulder cracking, chest burning, legs trembling, head feeling as if it were going to split open and heart pumping so much he wouldn't be surprised if it exploded. Souji suddenly felt like he was six again, separated from his parents in the mall and losing them in a crowd. He was so lost and confused and felt terribly alone. Even when they found him and went back home, he couldn't stop crying.

The loudest slam resonated along the walls, the house shaking under the extremity. Souji screeched and drew his legs to his chest, hiding his head in his knees, heaving and gasping and choking on his depleting breaths. Muffled voices filtered through the raging headache, and he thought he saw blue past his closed eyelids.

"Worthless."

The clouded sounds in his head suddenly dispersed at the strong voice that cut through the air like a hot knife. He lifted his head, coughing and sniffling as he wiped his eyes on his sleeve. He noted the trembling of the house had stopped—the shaking handle quiet, the banging ceased. The monsters on the windows still clung to them, but their fingers had stopped clawing at the glass. Souji looked around for the source of the voice, pausing when he caught sight of someone on the couch. How did they get there?

He didn't move as the figure turned to him, and his breath caught in his throat as he let out a strangled gasp. The person who had talked, who was sitting on the couch, it was... him? The figure hopped off the furniture with a heavy step, stalking towards him with hunched shoulders and a scowl. The teen eyed him up and down, jumbled and raspy noises the only things out of his mouth as he realized he was looking at himself.

The only difference was his copy having haunting amber eyes.

"Worthless," his double snarled, staring down at Souji with nothing but hostility and malice. "Always crying for Mommy and Daddy whenever something goes wrong, always crying and hesitating waiting for somebody else to help you through your problems—like when that girl in green interrupted Morooka while you stood there like a gaping jackass."

The double eyed him, Souji speechless and unable to think as he scoured his brain for some kind of explanation—some kind reasoning—anything! He came up empty; the double scoffing in frustration as if he'd been expecting a response. They kneeled down and Souji tried to curve away, only to be blocked by the wall behind him, the copy too close for comfort as he leaned in.

"What was her name again? The girl in green," he snorted, not giving Souji a chance to reply before a smirk graced his features. "That's right—I don't remember, and why don't I remember?"

Souji responded with silence, still trying to wrap his head around what was happening. A nightmare—it had to be, had to be, had to be! He watched as his face fell into a scowl, watched as he grumbled profanities to himself, and squeaked in terror as he was pinned to the wall, the double holding his head up as his arm pushed against his throat.

"Answer me! Why don't I remember?!" he spat, Souji's heart drumming furiously as he stammered and stuttered. He found himself shoved to the floor, screaming in agony as the double dug the heel of his shoe into his shoulder.

"I SAID ANSWER ME!"

Souji wept as the double lifted his foot and slammed it down on his shoulder, an audible snap resonating in his ears as the pain shot like a bullet through his body. He heaved and gasped, trying to roll when the other suddenly pinned him to the floor, grabbing him by the collar of his shirt and shaking him like a rag doll. He continued to holler at him, yelling for him to answer but giving Souji no time or reason to respond, the double hurling fists and slamming his face into the ground repeatedly until he saw nothing but stars.

The copy turned Souji's head to the side, and he could feel his lips hovering close to his ear before the copy screamed, "BECAUSE I'M WORTHLESS!"

"CAN'T EVEN ANSWER A STUPID FUCKING QUESTION!" the double hollered as he lifted himself off of the teen, stomping around the room in a tantrum. "FUCKING LEFT BEHIND AT EVERY TURN! UNABLE TO DO A GODDAMN THING FOR MYSELF! CAN'T STAND UP FOR MYSELF, CAN'T TAKE CARE OF MYSELF—HAVE TO GET A GODDAMN SIX YEAR OLD TO TAKE CARE OF ME, AND WHY IS THAT?!"

Souji watched the double's feet stop in front of him—could feel the amber eyes boring into his head from where he glared down. He gave no response except for his raspy breaths. Silence fell in the one-sided conversation, the door handle starting to shake again, the windows starting to creak as the monsters clawed, the house trembling as the walls were slammed against. The intensity from the monsters outside grew and the tremors escalated—Souji hearing something crash and break from upstairs, shortly followed by the door busting down and the windows shattering from the pressure.

He watched blankly as his double fell to the floor, crying—completely reversed from what he was acting like seconds ago.

Souji didn't move as he felt the creatures latch onto his ankles, crawling up his legs, focusing on his amber-eyed self who continued to sob and wipe away the tears on his sleeves.

"Why don't my parents love me?" it choked out, and Souji's heart fell to the pit of his stomach as he felt himself crying one last time.

"Because I'm worthless," he whispered, the monsters clambering up his torso and choking the surrounding air around him. They bubbled and burned past his clothes, his flesh crawling and tainted as their aberrant forms dug into and seeped into his pores. He watched blankly as his double's tears stopped, frown turning into a wicked grin.

The monsters stopped dead in their tracks when the double snapped his fingers, cementing over on Souji's body and pinning him to the ground. The double chuckled lightly as he crept upon Souji, leaning over him and tilting his head so he was looking up at him. The double took a deep breath, cupping Souji's face in his hands as he brushed their foreheads together. His wicked grin turned placid, lightning eyes closing as he took another calming breath.

"That's right," the copy's voice was hauntingly calm—soothing—like a spoken lullaby, completely contrasting the unadulterated rage and grieved questions spoken merely moments before.

Souji whimpered softly as the doppleganger's hands started to move from his face down to his neck, squeezing ever so softly only to put more pressure on as time passed. He had no energy to fight back—no means to fight back—he could only feel the calm breaths of his mirror image bounce off of his tingling skin. He watched the other's amber eyes open, looking at him through a half-lidded stare. They were crystal clear even as his vision spotted over, gasping and gagging uselessly as more pressure was pushed onto his throat, the monsters on his body starting to stir again, his senses a cacophony of fire.

"We're worthless."