Hey everyone! Thank you all so so much for the reviews. Each review means so much to me! And thanks for all the critiques; details have always been a problem in my writing, it isn't just my writing style or done on purpose. I'll try to be more descriptive in the future uwu
"Uwaaaaargh!"
"Heyyy! I got you! Stop cheating!"
"No you didn't! I dodged you at the last second!"
"Nuh-uhhhh! I FELT your shirt!"
"Oh yeah? Try to catch me again!"
"HEY!"
"Nana-nana-na-naaa-aaaa!"
"Stooooop! Hey! You cheater!"
"You're just saying that 'cause you caaaan't caaaaaatch meeeeeee!"
"You're such a butt!"
"Hahahahahahaha…"
Molly felt consciousness force its way into her mind. She tried to fight it off, struggling to keep hold of the happy mood of her dream, but it refused to budge. Slowly, she opened her eyes, blinking off sleep as she stared at the ceiling.
She yawned and got up. She swayed on her feet and stumbled, almost falling. She grabbed hold of the bed post to steady herself.
I feel dizzy.
Molly waited a minute for it to pass, but it didn't. Come on. Just accept that it isn't going to be a good day.
With a sigh of defeat, Molly threw open the door. Even though it was very early in the morning, humidity and heat blasted Molly in the face. She grimaced.
Good thing Liam built that café a while back…I need a coffee.
She yawned as she lazily walked to the café. A cool breeze blew, giving relief from the heat every few seconds. The trees swayed ever so slightly in the wind. Molly found the café and opened the door. Not a soul was inside except Brewster, the barista. He was quietly cleaning a cup and the small building was so silent that Molly zoned out for a second.
"…There's a free seat at the bar…"
His voice jerked her back to reality.
"Oh, yeah. Uh, thanks."
WIth that undignified comment, she scrambled for a seat. The room smelled faintly of (duh) coffee and wood.
"…What would you like?" Brewster murmured, finally looking up for a second. Molly paused.
"I dunno…just a blue mountain, I guess." Urgh! I sound like such an idiot.
"…Any sugar or milk preference…?"
"I like it with a ton of milk and sugar in it."
"Coo…coming right up…"
He silently began grabbing the ingredients, while Molly focused on the music. It was slow and calm. She felt her eyes droop. Suddenly a quiet clink made her jump. She leaned towards the coffee and blew on it, then waited a second.
"…You must drink it while it's hot. Coo."
"Well, yeah, but I mean…it must be really really hot right now, so-"
Suddenly his calm demeanor vanished and he stood up, staring her in the eye. His glasses flashed ever so slightly, appearing to be adopting a hostile stance. Molly leaned back into her seat.
"…so, uh, yeah." Molly quickly grabbed the cup and drained it. The burning liquid felt like it burned her innards raw, but she tried to ignore it.
"Thank you," she stammered, focusing more on trying to put out the fire inside her mouth. She paid the 200 Bells and with another 'thanks' left the building.
Molly continued her bored walk around Solaris until she found herself at Main Street. A wave of dizziness flew over her and she gasped.
I need to sit down… Molly thought. She managed to make it to the bench at the far end of the road, then collapsed into it gratefully. She stared at the clouds, feeling the peaceful breeze blow. She tightened up when she remembered doing the same thing a couple of weeks ago, only to be taken by alligators blinded by their orders to Operate.
These rather unpleasant memories were going through Molly's head when she heard a scream and fell off the bench.
I used to think screams of pain were voluntary. I thought they were the person's choice, whether they shouted out or not, whether they decided to attract attention.
And, Molly was learning the hard way; that was not true.
Whats happening? She thought in panic as pain exploded through her brain and shook every bone in her body. Nausea came in waves, and she felt like the ground had been turned into a blanket that was being repeatedly fluffed.
"H..e..l..p…me…" she barely managed to cough, tremors going through her feathers.
And then she started to forget.
Bits and pieces of the memories she had accumulated flaked off and vanished. Everything became muddy. Time felt slow as everything slowly emptied itself out of her brain. She felt an alien presence in her mind.
There, there…no need to fight. Just let it happen, okay?
Molly relaxed and let whatever was happening take over. As painful and terrifying as it was, it felt like…this thing was trying to protect her. Like trying to ride a bike, but falling repeatedly. Or playing a violin, only to make a million mistakes. Each mistake was a part of learning.
The violin…
Suddenly, like a flame, Molly jerked awake with a gasp. No, no, no, no, no! You aren't taking over, you dang medicine! I will beat the heck out of you if you try to take my brain!
Molly forced her eyes open and pushed herself up, gasping with effort. Her body trembled as it fought against the medicine. She coughed and heaved, then collapsed again.
It's not what you think. Don't worry, I'll make it stop hurting. Just relax. I promise it will all get better.
No! No! Stop…you're just trying to…to…
And then her consciousness fled.
The last thing she remembered was that that scream I heard…was me.
Molly awoke in a pure white room. She squinted at its brightness and tried to move, but it felt like she was strapped to a chair. She looked down and saw that there was nothing restraining her.
Then something emerged. It was impossible to describe, its figure ever-changing, flashing with images and pictures, a million frames a second.
"Hello, Molly."
It didn't have a mouth or a body, but its smooth, calm voice was clear.
"Who are you?" Molly rasped.
"I am your friend, Molly. There's no need to fear me or fight me."
"No," she hissed. "You're the medicine, aren't you? You've finally come to fight back. But I wont forget! You can't make me!"
"Thats nonsense, Molly," it said gently. Its voice was so soft that she calmed down for a millisecond. "I am no medicine. I'm simply trying to help you. I'm sorry that it hurt. I tried my best to make it painless."
"You liar," Molly grumbled.
"Here, let me help," it said. It moved towards her gracefully. It had no legs, it just floated over to her. An arm, looking like it was made of smoke, emerged from the entity and touched her forehead. Its touch was cool.
"I will make you happy, Molly. I will make you forget all the bad things that happened to you. You will be normal once more. It is okay, please calm down."
Molly's posture slackened. Whats the point of fighting now…? I can't…remember…
"Thats it. Just lie still. Soon you will be bathed in the glory of oblivion. Relax."
Molly took a deep breath, then jerked forward. She felt her limbs move, though they felt a million pounds. She screamed with frustration and swung her wing at the creature. It stumbled back.
"How?" It gasped. Its soothing tone had vanished, replaced with a voice of fury and shock. "How can you fight me?! I am the ultimate! I was designed to defeat you!"
It lunged forward and grabbed Molly's throat.
"You cannot fight me! Why would you bother?! Why do you want to be a human again, you worthless piece of junk?!"
"Because…I made…a promise," Molly breathed, oxygen becoming hard to find. She struggled to pry its fingers off her neck, but her feathers went through its arm. "I said I wouldn't give up."
It wasn't just that. This desperate battle made Molly realize how desperately she wanted this, how badly she wanted to be human again. She didn't have an explanation, she just needed it.
"A promise? To that boy? Why does he matter? I will destroy him too. I am the medicine, Molly, and you cannot fight me." Its voice was colder than ice.
"Go shoot a duck!" Molly said, then shut her eyes and allowed every single memory to flow through. Before, she had held them back in fear that they would knock her out, but that didn't matter now. There was a shriek of frustration from the Medicine.
"No! Stop! How can you beat me? You are nothing special! How do you have this willpower?! How can you have the burning desire to live so strong that you can just toss me aside, you worthless fool?!"
Molly opened her eyes, and to her amazement saw the Medicine start flaking away.
"Stop! Stop remembering right now! You can't break the wall…you can't! I was made to be strong! Stop, stop, stop stop stop stop!" With a final, primal shriek of terror and fury, the medicine vanished.
"Molly! Molly, are you alright?!"
Oh god the memories they hurt so much there are too many stop stop stop
"Molly! Wake up!"
There's nothing there to stop them the medicine is dead I'm on my own there's too many of them go away go away please please please go away
"Come on, come on! Get up, please…"
Molly twitched, the agony overwhelming her. Her brain felt strangely…empty.
"Li…am…" she barely managed to cough, before she coughed up her breakfast and coffee.
"Are you okay? What the hell happened?" his voice had that angry-slash-terrified tone.
"The medicine, Liam…it's…gone…I beat it," Molly murmured, before she slipped back into unconsciousness again.
o_O Dun dun dun...
Okay, I know it sounds crazy and a little random, but can we make it to 100 reviews before the story ends? Lets do this. ;w;