WOAHG NEW CHAPTER WAHT
So this chapter is a bit short… It was originally going to be a part of next chapter, but I felt like this needed to be its own thing, even if it's only 2k words.
My family's having a garage sale this week, so I'm probs going to be a bit busy. Next chapter will be out as soon as possible, but for now, you'll just have to settle with this.
As you can tell, last chapter was another flashback (yeah, I'm still doing those lol). They might be a bit more common… Idk. This chapter is back with Nick and Judy tho.
I didn't want to keep you guys waiting for too long… So yeah, here ya go.
The room was filled with a haunting darkness.
I laid on the mattress for over ten minutes, unable to slip into the unconsciousness of sleep. My disoriented mind wandered through my head like a rolling ball. My thoughts wouldn't settle, and my senses couldn't rest. The room felt empty; lifeless. The activity outside seemed to vanish into silence. All that existed was me and my thoughts. I needed to get up. I needed to get out.
I rolled off of my bed and staggered onto my feet. I peered through the darkness, slowly taking in my surroundings. The cluttered workspace with the map was positioned to my left. To my right, the small, neatly made bed sat up against the wall; void of any occupants.
I began to walk forward. I was unsure of the exact time, but I could only assume that it was still night out. The windowless rooms made it difficult to be certain. I stumbled through the darkness. My surroundings seemed to shift and distort as I made my way towards the doorway. My clouded vision attempted to deceive me at every possible moment.
I waddled to the staircase and marched up. The narrow hallway seemed to twist and turn as I pressed on. The doorway was now in sight. I struggled to keep upright. I extended my paws out to either wall, keeping my body straight and balanced.
My exit was now in reach. I pushed forward, leaning myself up against the small, wooden door. I lifted my paw up and grasped the metal doorknob.
The door wouldn't budge.
The handle was locked into position. I pushed and pulled, desperately trying to breach out. My attempts were all in vain; the door was locked from the outside.
I tried yelling.
"Hello!?"
My voice faded off. The resonance was soaked into a discomforting silence. The house was dead. The energy had been sucked out, and all that was left was a ghostly absence.
"Anybody!? Hello!?"
Still, nothing. The house felt empty. I could sense it. Everybody was gone. Something was wrong. I pounded my fist against the door.
"HELLO!?"
...
*ring *ring
I went silent. My senses snapped into focus. My ears shot up. I quietly waited for another sound.
…
*ring *ring
A telephone. A telephone was ringing in the bedroom. I turned around and stumbled down the staircase. I got to the bottom and whipped my head around the corner. A single telephone hung against the back wall.
*ring *ring
I hesitated, unsure of whether or not I should pick it up. It felt odd. Everything about this felt odd. A phone call at this hour…
…
*ring *ring
I couldn't resist the urge. I staggered forward, making a beeline towards the awaiting telephone. The disorientation diminished for the most part. My senses were in tune, and my mind was clear. I got to back wall next to the bathroom door.
I picked up the phone.
"... Hello? …"
…
…
…
Nothing.
...
"... Is— … is anybody there…?"
Static. A muffled, drowned out static was all I could hear. It seemed to fluctuate in pitch and volume, as if someone was trying to speak through to me.
"... Who is this— … I can't… —I can't hear you…"
…
…
…
"... –.— … - … nick…"
My heart stopped. My stomach shot up to my throat. My breath was cut short. I nearly dropped the phone. I couldn't believe it. The voice was muffled and distorted, but I knew who it was. I knew exactly who it was. It almost hurt to believe it…
…
…
…
It was Honey.
"Honey? What the fuck— how did you… oh my god, Honey, I'm so… I'm so sor—"
...
"Nick."
Her voice sounded distant and separated. I stumbled over my words. The wind was knocked out of me. I couldn't control my emotions.
"Honey… Please, I— … I didn't want any of this to happen— … where are you? Oh my god, Honey I can't believe that you're—"
...
"They're listening…"
I froze. I was completely unsure of how to react. My mind screeched to a halt. The emotions were frozen into place. I felt cold. I struggled to speak.
"What… What are you talking about? Where are you?! —Honey? … Can you hear me?!"
...
"They're coming…"
Fear; it shot through me like a bullet. It struck my head, filling it with unyielding terror. My breathes sputtered out in short, buffering bursts. The telephone shook in my paws.
"What's happening? … Honey, what the fuck is happening? —Where the fuck are you—"
*Boom *Boom *Boom
…
"You need to run…"
Thunder — The door rattled with thunderous booms. The house was alive. It was filled with the sounds of deafening footsteps. Boots pounded against the floorboards like hail. Distorted and incomprehensible yells screamed out from above. I turned around towards the staircase. The bombastic rapping continued.
"Honey! Please! ... I don't— I don't know what to do!"
*Boom *Boom *Boom
"Please! — ...I don't know where to go! What the fuck can I do!?"
*Boom *Boom *Boom
The walls were closing in. I was trapped. They were going to get me. My legs were weak. I felt like puking. I started to cry. They were going to get me. Panic filled my body; panic consumed me.
"WHERE ARE YOU? PLEASE… THEY CAN'T TAKE ME!"
*BOOM *BOOM *BOOM
"NOT LIKE THIS! … — HONEY PLEASE! DO SOMETHING! — ... FUCK!"
*BOOM *BOOM *BOOM
"HONEY, I CAN'T DO THIS! — ... I CAN'T GO! I DON'T WANT TO GO!"
*BOOM *BOOM *SNAP
The noises flooded in. The screams. The stomps. The gunshots. It dug into my skin. It drove into my head. The world was consumed by darkness. The room around me disappeared into the unknown. The planet slipped away as the universe was swallowed whole. I was falling. I was drowning. I could hear her voice. I listened to her final words.
…
…
…
"Goodbye, Nick."
…
…
…
"Hey!"
…
…
…
"Wake up!"
…
…
…
"Nick!"
I shot up with a sudden outburst of energy. My body flailed backwards against the wall I was cuffed to. Words spilled out of my mouth at inaudible rates. I gasped hoarsely for air. My face was wet with tears.
"Hey! Nick! Snap out of it! It was only a dream!"
I looked up frantically. My eyes darted around, eventually falling upon the rabbit sitting across from me. She was kneeling down on the other end of the mattress, still wearing her purple pajamas. Her expression was that of confusion and anger.
I forced myself to take deep breaths, inhaling and exhaling at a slow pace. I leaned back against the wall and glanced around.
Reality started to slowly sink in. The room was illuminated by the single light of the bunny's bedside lamp. The oddly-shaped walls were soaked with soft, warmth-filled colors. The muffled sounds of tapping and creaking filtered in from the outside. The house was alive and quiet as hundreds of bunnies slept peacefully in their bedrooms.
The bunny leaned back and sighed in sleep-induced annoyance.
"Gosh, you probably woke the whole house up!"
My mind was intruded by the fresh memories of my disturbing nightmare. Everything seemed so real, so painfully detailed. The comfort seemed to vanish as I recounted the haunting events. The ringing of the phone, the thunder of soldier's footsteps, the hollowness of Honey's voice. It all came back to me. My throat heated up, and my eyes began to water. I didn't fight it. I didn't push it out. I was too tired, both physically and mentally.
I faced the wall and began to sob quietly.
Exhaustion was the best way to describe it. I was exhausted. My mind had gone through enough. My spirit was too tired to finish this seemingly unending race of paranoia. It felt repetitive. I was sick and tired of it. I realized that I wasn't crying because I was sad, I was crying because the sadness wouldn't go away.
Thoughts floated in my head like an anchored canoe. Memories bobbed and bumped against my skull. My mind was clouded. Fog filled up my brain as I searched desperately for release.
I wanted to go somewhere, a place in my mind where I could feel comfort. Not temporary bliss; permanent, reliable security. I needed to sit down and rest. I needed someone to rely on. I didn't need a new lease on life, I just wanted a place to call home.
Such a feeling hasn't been experienced since my childhood…
I thought I found it again with Honey, but I was horribly mistaken.
My mind ventured back to that tiny apartment in the city. I went back to that storm drain behind the back alley. I went back to the sleepovers and the birthday parties. I went back to the warm embrace of my mother and father. I tried to soak up every memory, but eventually, the nostalgia grew cold, and the distant memories slipped away.
They always did.
Experience was both a virtue and a curse. What I've learned from the past twenty-three years of my existence has been the same, painful message. There have been good times, and there have been bad times, but in the end, the punishing reality of life always came through, and its mundane morality has since embedded itself within my being. It was the undeniable truth:
Everything that is good — is everything that can be taken away.
I laid back down on the mattress, staring numbly at the ceiling. The rabbit had disappeared. She was no longer in the room. I sighed with relief; emotions were one of many things I liked to keep to myself. I wiped my face with my blanket and attempted to close my eyes. Sleeping didn't seem remotely possible, however, I needed to stop my mind from spinning.
I laid on my mattress for over ten minutes, unable to slip into the unconscious of sleep.
Suddenly, the distant door handle began to shake. The jingling of keys began to dance its way into the unseen stairwell. I put my arm over my eyes, concealing my face from the rabbit's eventual line of sight. I heard the soft pitter patter of footsteps descend down the stairs and into the room. The scratching of wood sounded as the rabbit dragged something through the carpet. The noises grew louder and louder, and eventually, they stopped right next to me. I peeked out from under my arm, confused by what I saw.
The rabbit had returned with a bowl and a small stand-up tray. She unfolded the legs and set the miniature table down next to the mattress. Then, she gently placed the glass dish onto the tray's surface along with a spoon and napkin.
She was giving me soup.
I felt conflicted, particularly baffled by the bunny's strange act of kindness. Without a word, she turned around and made her way back toward her bed. I sat up, clearing my scratchy throat.
"... Wh— … What— is this?"
The bunny hopped into her bed. She started to throw the covers over her body. Her response was brief and to the point.
"Somnum Soup…"
Her voice trailed off as she tucked herself in. The rabbit was clearly angry with what she had done.
"... It'll help you sleep…"
She reached over to shut her lamp off. The darkness returned, and again, I couldn't see her.
I looked over into the soup bowl. It smelled… good. I was still in befuddlement. The rabbit had shown mercy to me before, but this was different. She only did things because she thought it was necessary.
She let me sleep in her room, only because she didn't want her younger siblings around me. She let me shower, only because she hated the way I smelled. No. This was different. The soup; it wasn't necessary. She didn't have to do that. The bunny actually did something out of…
...out of kindness.
I took a spoonful of the soup. The warm, creamy liquid swooshed around my mouth and down into my throat. It tasted good. No. It tasted delicious. I've had very little food in the past couple of days. The soup was absolutely delicious…
I felt guilty. I was putting her out of her comfort zone. No. She was putting herself out of her comfort zone. I felt guilty. I wasn't grateful. I couldn't have been; Not to prey at least. Still, as I began to dine on more soup, the nagging feeling of gratitude ate at me. It bugged me. Then, it annoyed me. Then, it was all I could think about. I couldn't eat my soup.
I had to say it.
…
…
…
"... Thank you."
I wasn't sure if the bunny was even awake still, but that didn't matter. The weight had lifted off my chest, and I began to eat more soup
I had joined her.
We were both breaking the unwritten rules of society. There was kindness where kindness shouldn't be. Compassion when compassion shouldn't exist. They were brief and broken, yet the feelings existed nonetheless. It enraged her and confused me, but still, the invisible barrier was starting to crumble between us.
I continued to eat the rest of my soup in the darkness. After a while, the bowl was empty, and the enchanting effects of the food began to take effect on me. I laid back, slowly slipping into the realm of peace slumber. I listened to the sounds of the rabbit shifting in her sleep.
Although she never responded, I was almost certain that Judy had heard me.
Eyyyyyyyyyy, character development. Nice. (Sorry this was so short lol. Next chapter will be long! Promise!)
Leave a review and stuff… BYE!
:D