Listening to a child sniffling on the other side of the wall was not the lullaby Amina expected to be falling asleep to that night. It would be expected for the universe to pull and uno reverse card on her so she was the sobbing mess instead of Elijah. But rather she kept repeating the events that had transpired throughout the day in her head. And the mess that had happened at Susie's mansion.
After Susie had jumped the gate and ran off into the woods, Elijah began crying uncontrollably, muttering something to himself about how he didn't think that the "prank" would be that intense. It was "just a prank, bro" to quote him word per word through handfuls of tears.
Once Hellyn had ran out along with Allie (er- Polly) and saw her pristine roof turning to ash, she went ape-shit, rightfully so. Susie must've done terrible things like that in the past because she started cursing her name immediately, not even questioning the lot of them. Polly tried to calm her down while she called the police. Everything else happened rather quickly. Firemen (firemonsters?) showed up to put the flames out and the roof luckily had minimal damage. "Minimal" meaning the house was still livable. They questioned Watson, Elijah, and herself about the events. Of course there stories all matched up, blaming Susie and telling the lovely tale about how she yeeted the fuck out of there after the firework hit the roof. But shockingly, Elijah admitted to taking part in the crime. Apparently he agreed with Susie beforehand to help her pull a prank, though he didn't specify why, but she never said they would set the roof on fire. The police didn't question him further, most likely because he was a mess of a monster on the ground. They dumbed it down to kids being easily manipulated and therefore he wasn't charged.
But he didn't escape Polly's wrath, hence the crying Amina had been listening to for the past few hours. She flipped on him so hard that both her and Watson had felt the impact. The gator monster did intimidate Amina, but she now knew that she was indeed one to be feared if pushed to a certain point. Her yell was absolutely terrifying and didn't make Amina feel any better about the situation she was in; being surrounded by "Polly's kind".
Polly had taken all of his electronics and swore to the angel above that he was grounded for the rest of summer. The rest was history.
The family had gotten in the car, Polly promising Hellyn that she would visit tomorrow and the police had begun to head out in different directions to search for Susie as they pulled out of the driveway to head home.
Tracing the stitched designs on her bed cover, Amina wondered what Susie's motivation behind setting her house on fire could be. It was pretty obvious Susie had some underlying issues now, but Amina knew she couldn't dig her nose any deeper. It wasn't any of her business. And it wasn't like she would find out anyway. She was going to get the hell out of this dimension as soon as possible.
One thing was for certain, however. Hellyn was a snobby nightmare. That probably had to do something with Susie's behavior. But seeing such a beautiful home be trashed hurt. It was like being loaded meant nothing to that dinosaur-monster-teen-thing. Being in a monster family would be a bit more bearable if they had a coffee table fish tank.
Amina grabbed the pillow below her head and put it over her face to drown out Elijah's cries (and hopefully her own thoughts). She couldn't stop thinking but she was so so tired and just wanted a break, if only for an hour. Being sucked into a dream of nothingness sounded rather intriguing. And a part of her hoped she would wake up back home with her memories and showing this whole thing to be a dream, proving one of her theories to be correct.
A few minutes had past, Elijah's crying had not died down but Amina finally felt her body begin to relax, her thoughts slowing down. But something in her chest began to feel heavier and heavier.
*12 hours prior*
Bushes suck. Specifically Azalea evergreen bushes. Most people don't know how prickly they are because why would they? Most people don't go hopping around in them. But Kris did, and he knew how badly they hurt. When he was younger he had come home bleeding all the time after the prickly edges basically impaled him. Especially when he would hide in them after school to scare Noelle.
Now he was in those exact same bushes for different reasons.
Across the street stood that suspicious bunny man. The one who had asked about Susie at the diner.
Spying was not on Kris' "to do" list that day; he had planned on drawing at the librarby for a few hours since Asriel was out hanging with his old friends, much to his dismay. He would've opted to come if it wasn't for the fact Catty was going to be there. After the incident where she had kissed Asriel… Kris ended up not really liking her. He didn't like to think of it much.
But on the way to the librarby to sulk and draw edgy dragons, Kris had spotted good old body guard bunny-man speaking to some Loox nearby Noelle's home.
He was bent over, leaning into the black BMW window where the Loox sat in the driver's seat.
Kris knew it was impossible to hear a word they were whispering to one another from where he was, but the back of his mind wouldn't allow him to ignore the monster completely. The guy had a weird demeanor about him as soon as he spoke to Asriel and him in the diner. The fact that he had mentioned the town of Seameet and Susie only made him more… intimidating? That wasn't the word Kris was looking for, but he couldn't think of anything else at the moment.
Maybe if he just sat there and observed the bunny guy long enough he could figure out what he was up to? Kris knew it was a stupid plan, but Susie was his only friend and the thought that she could be in danger horrified him, even if jumping to that conclusion so fast was a bit out there.
"K-Kris?" A feminine voice asked. "What are you doing in my bushes…?"
Kris turned to see Noelle staring at him with a confused (and somewhat scared) expression. Oh, angel above. She probably thought he was trying to pull one of his pranks on her again.
Noelle was carrying a single paper grocery bag. She probably was coming back from that new grocery store in town. What was it called? Sans'?
Kris couldn't remember. But he did remember that he hated that skeleton comedian.
"Oh, um," Kris spoke quietly under his breath. Noelle was nice, but still much of a stranger to him like everyone else in town. "I… don't know."
"You don't know?"
"No."
She looked across the street where Kris had nervously glanced at during the awkward exchange. "Oh. Are you curious about the new monsters in town? They're just visitors. My mom told me they're politicians from a few towns over. I think it's for a business meeting if I'm remembering correctly."
"What sort of business meeting?" Kris asked, ashamed that he was acting a bit flustered. The fact that Noelle had found him in her bushes would be embarrassing to think about for a while.
She scratched her antler. "I'm not sure. But their business suits look really professional and cool, don't they?"
"I guess so."
"Ha ha, you're funny, Kris."
The two of them jumped at the car revving as it sped off down the street. The bunny must've gotten in the car with the Loox during their short conversation. Kris couldn't help but be a bit upset that he didn't get to see the entire trade, even if he wouldn't have heard anything anyway. What if they left because they saw Noelle and himself?
"Ummm… so Susie left for the summer, right?"
"Yeah. She leaves every summer."
"Oh." She clutched the paper bag tighter while she looked down at her feet. "Do you want to hang out?"
Okay this was weird. Kris knew Noelle practically his whole life and not once had she invited him over casually. The only time he had been to her home was when Rudy had invited his family over for dinner or when Noelle offered to help him with homework out of the goodness in her heart.
"Why?"
Noelle began to blink a lot. Something Kris knew she did when she was very nervous. Usually during powerpoint presentations.
"Why? Oh- um- I mean…"
Kris decided it was a good time to step out of the bushes as Noelle continued to stumble over her words. Perhaps she was so nervous because he was creepily crouching in the bushes like a gremlin up until that point. However, he had a hunch that Noelle was still afraid of him as she was all humans. That was just a gander that nipped at the back of his mind. Kris never took the time to process whether or not that offended him. Probably not. Humans in history seemed like assholes to him.
Noelle found her words. "I… wanted to hang out with someone other than Berdly this summer."
That was fair but there was more to it than that. "Why me?"
"Because, um," Her voice lowered. "I figured you must be super cool if you managed to get on Susie's good side. Notthatyouwerentcoolbeforehaha."
"Okay."
"Okay?"
Kris shrugged before muttering a "We can hang out."
"R-really?"
It was a bad motive, but Kris' main reason for accepting Noelle's offer was because there was a chance he could find out more about those "politicians", even if he would more or less have to discreetly interrogate her for information she probably didn't have. Noelle had motives of her over after all.
"Yeah."
From a few blocks down, the Loox observed the two of them through a pair of binoculars, or rather, just a single binocular.
"Why'd you want to meet up with me in plain sight, Rys? Now the human's onto us. Idiot."
The large bunny monster turned to him, giving a sharp glare. "That's the point. The more paranoid he is, the more vulnerable he will be. Why else would I approach him in that low class diner?"
Suspicion spread across the Loox, similarly to a wave of shock. He scowled, shuffling around as he zoomed in on the human through the binocular. Why did the kid always hide his eyes? It was creepy. "Why make him paranoid? It's not like he was a threat to begin with. I swear, you don't think before you act."
"Perhaps. But you've seen what he is capable of. The more paranoid someone is, the more their defenses weaken unintentionally."
"You're full of shit."
"I've been doing this longer than you have, Ennis. I made this job all the more easier for you."
Sighing, Ennis lowered the binocular when the human and his deer friend turned the corner to go wherever teens go nowadays. A bowling alley or something? "You're taking on two tonight and you didn't have the time to make them "paranoid", asshole. What's your game with them?"
"Amina's already paranoid, Susie not so much. But everyone annoying her to such an extent works better than meer paranoia when it comes to that beast."
The car doors unlocked. "Nice chat, but I got a job to do and so do you. Why don't you get? Seameet is a ways from here, Rys."
"I'll get there in the AM's. Perfect timing."
The loox gestured for Rys to get out of the vehicle.
"Why don't you drive me to the train station first. Then I'll get off your skin."
The saying "an elephant sitting on your chest" is used when someone experiences sudden chest pain, but what Amina felt was much more than that. A sudden discomfort caused Amina to bolt upright in bed. It wasn't her heart, but something else throbbed inside of her, more so than when she drifted off to sleep not too long ago.
She grasped her chest, having trouble thinking straight.
Panic soon overpowered everything. What was going on with her? Was she dying?
Elijah's sobbing had ceased so there was nothing to cover up the sudden pained cry that left her.
5:00 AM, the clock read. Much too early for her to want to deal with the strange world she was in, or this torment she was experiencing.
She crumpled the cloth by her chest, the dress she hadn't changed out of after falling asleep, trying her best to stand. Her body, though hunched over, allowed her to take ragged steps toward the door. Amina didn't want to, but going to Allie was the only option right now. From what Watson had told her, some monsters had healing magic so the best she could for was Allie did. If healing magic worked for unknown pain that is.
Her ragged breaths became heavier, louder, as she closed in on the door. Voices were heard in the distance, sounding like they were downstairs.
A sudden pierce shot through her, like she was stabbed through the chest as soon as she touched the door handle. She flinched and let go, the pain decreasing to what it was prior.
It was time to test the waters.
Touching the golden handle again, the pain increased immediately and she stumbled backwards, letting out another cry She couldn't go through that door. It made no sense, but she wasn't strong enough to push through it. What was she supposed to do now? She could yell out in hopes that Polly could hear her from downstairs.
"M- mom…" Her voice had come out uneven, quiet and crisp. It felt as if her throat was beginning to cave in suddenly from forming a single word. Perhaps her throat was caving in when that thought flashed quickly in her mind. Her heart pounded faster as she coughed, wrapping her hands around her throat. Oh man, she didn't want to die like this. She had so much going for her. Kind of.
The rug was risen slightly and Amina tripped over the fold as she backed up, gasping. Her body took a fall, learching away from the door and smacking the hardwood. Air immediately filled her lungs again as soon as her body began to ache from the impact. But the fall gave Amina important information. As soon as she was away from the door, the pain lessened and she could breathe again. It was the door, wasn't it? This universe made less and less sense every moment. Her mood quickly became bitter. What could she have possibly done to deserve any of this? Memory wiped was bad enough. But pain caused from a door? Complete bullshit.
"Amina?" A voice called up the stairs. Sounded like Polly. "Are you alright, dear?"
No. No no. Amina had no desire for her help anymore now that she knew the cause of the pain. It felt like something of a nature unknown was telling her to leave the house. Why didn't matter because questioning things were starting to get tiring. She needed to get out and Polly wouldn't allow that to happen.
The wind outside caused a tree branch to tap the window. Amina looked behind her at it. Oh man. That was the only option.
Her hand helped get her back on her feet as her other still pushed on her chest. She groaned stumbling to the window. Thankfully it wasn't locked at the tree looked sturdy enough. It was a bit gusty out, but not enough to become an issue.
The window creaked loudly as she pushed it up. Must've not been open for awhile.
It was still hard to move but hopefully the further away she got the more it would subside. That's how it seemed to work.
The tree bark dug into her hand uncomfortable as she grasped it firmly. It was hard to pull her other hand away from her chest before she made it join the other. Grip firm, she wiggled her torso out and lifted her left leg onto the ledge of the window.
"Amina, what are you doing?!"
"Get back here!" Another voice shouter after Polly. Amina glanced back to see a horrifying monster. One with a scar across his face and a terrifying business suit. Funny a business suit could be classified as terrifying.
The surprise didn't help Amina's balance and she slipped out, falling face first into the ground below her.
Creak
Creak
Creak
Creak
The swing set was clearly worn out and past it's time. Rust covered most of the metal and it left an ugly color on Susie's hands when she held onto the chains. But she liked the abandoned playground. She had found it a few years ago when her mom really pissed her off. Now it was a habit to come here whenever she was uncomfortable or upset.
And after that night, she surely was.
Yeah. It was a stupid ass move to set her mom's roof on fire. Susie sometimes wondered if she was psychopathic. She didn't know the definition of that but that's what violent and crazy people were called.
She was probably going to end up that way (more so than she already was) if her behavior was escalating so badly.
Heh. She had tricked herself into thinking she was getting better when she was around Kris over the school year. Nah. She was the same.
Setting the roof on fire wasn't the original plan. The original plan was to cause so much noise her mom would throw a fit. But once pulling the firework out, something overtook her. Sure, she was living in that home, but seeing the look and horror on her mom's face when she saw her precious house being ruined would be worth it. And then she could be sent home for the summer.
But once she actually did it on impulse, fear came on with impulse too. The look on the other kids' faces made her think the consequences would be a lot worse than first thought and would definitely not be in her favor.
She pulled out her last cigarette from the pack she had stolen from the gas station back in Hometown a few days ago. Susie was saving it for such an occasion.
Damn. She probably wasn't going to get those letters from Kris and Noelle back now either. This whole situation was fucked up and stupid.
The lighter flickered as she held it up to her cig, about to light it. But movement in her peripheral vision caught her attention. Oh shit, the cops?
She dropped the cigarette, ready to bolt before realizing it wasn't a group of people, but a single person. Probably just a bum.
"Yo, fuck off. Playground's taken."
Now she was really peeved off. Her cigarette now had dirt all over it. Ugh. She would have it anyway but it was inconvenient as hell.
"...Can I join you?"
Susie glanced over to the bum.
Nope. Not a bum. It was that damn human. Annie or something. Either way, Susie was surprised by the state she was in. The girl looked like shit. Mud was on most of her dress and was wiped crudely off of her face. Her hair was disheveled and blood was leaking out of her nose, among other scratches on her face. Gross.
Susie raised a brow. She might've looked like shit but she probably was out of her mind too if she was asking to "join her" when she was terrified of her all night at dinner and nearly passed out when Susie set the roof on fire. "The hell happened to you?"
She stood there for a second before walking over to the swing, avoiding eye contact for the most part. "Stuff."
"Woooooow. How specific." Susie rolled her eyes, bringing the swing she was on to a halt. The creaking was getting a bit annoying. "Dog boy beat you up because you stole his textbook or something?"
Annie, or whatever her name was, sat on the swing beside Susie. "Sure. Let's go with that." Her tone had a bit of a bite.
"Oh? You shit your pants every time you're around me and now you have an attitude?" Susie shrugged when Annie didn't respond, and lit her cig. The smoke filling her was so good. She blew it back out into the chilled morning air. "Seriously though. You're all goody two shoes. You can't show up here looking like that and act all ominous and crap."
She wiped some of the blood off her face with her hand, leaving it smeared. "I fell out a window."
"And then came here instead of crying to your mommy?" Susie mockingly asked.
"I was thinking, when I was running here, that… there's an assassin after me."
"...what?"
"I woke up, feeling a sudden pain in my chest. And it got worse when I went closer to the bedroom door. So I figured I just needed to leave, you know? But as I was doing so, some guy entered the room with Polly, my apparent mother, to try to stop me." She paused to wipe more blood that was leaking from her nose. "The look in his eyes told me he knows more than he should. I slipped out and then just… ran."
Susie stared at her for a second to take all of that in. It was silent for another few seconds and as soon as Annie looked over to her, Susie burst out into a fit of laughter. "Oh my god. You totally lost it! Did the firework incident give you PTSD?"
Annie went back to staring forward. It started to become noticeable that her eyes were red and puffy. It looked like she was going to begin sobbing again or something.
"Don't you start crying. I don't want to deal with that shit right now."
"No one fucking believes me!"
Susie stopped laughing. If goody two shoes was screaming and swearing she definitely was losing it. Maybe she should go smoke somewhere else.
"Watson says he does, but there's no way he means it. He's just being pity-nice. And now you think I've gone insane too. I fucking hate everything." She started giggling. "And now I'm actually turning to you like you can do anything."
Susie did something that surprised herself. She put out her unfinished smoke. "Yo, chill dude."
The sun was starting to rise and it was beginning to warm up a bit. Susie would've really like to soak up the sun if it wasn't for the crazy kid next to her.
"Let's say you aren't crazy. What makes you think an assassin would be after you? You do some sort of crime? Steal some gummy bears?"
She shook her head. "No. He knows I don't belong here."
"Of course you don't belong here. You're the only human in a town full of monsters. Doesn't mean there's a guy coming after you."
"That's not what I mean."
"Ugh," Susie ate the cigarette she had just put out. Annie didn't notice, and if she did, she didn't say anything. "I'm not going to help you with whatever cryptic nonsense you're going on about. So you can continue to sit here and cry like a baby or leave."
"I want to leave, because you're an asshole, but I'm too afraid to."
Damn. Susie thought she had the human figured out but she was all over the place now. She figured she was some kind of quiet outcast like Kris, but a tad more annoying, but now she was all… more unlikeable.
Susie began to swing very slightly again, feet still on the ground. "I'm not going to be your bodyguard."
"I don't expect you to. I just don't want to be alone right now."
A question was eating at the back of Susie's mind. She didn't want to act like she cared, because she didn't, but she was curious nonetheless. Cryptic people pissed her off. "What do you mean you don't belong here. Y'know, other than being the only human. Don't like your adoptive family or something?"
Annie began to swing slightly as well and changed the subject immediately. "Why'd you set the roof on fire?"
"Because I hate my mom like you obviously hate your adoptive family. Duh."
"I don't hate my family. They just make me uncomfortable."
Susie scoffed. "Tomato tomato."
A while had passed after that comment. Susie wasn't good with time, but she guessed it was almost 7 AM. At least a good 40 minutes sitting in silence with an insane weirdo. And Susie thought she was losing it.
She decided it was time to go chill somewhere else and stood up with no warning, shoving her hands in her jacket pockets. Before she turned to leave, Annie spoke up again.
"Before you go, I have a quick question."
Susie turned back to her with an annoyed face.
"This is going to sound weird, but do you believe in other dimensions?"
That struck something. She immediately started thinking of the dark world. Did the weirdo know something too? No. That'd be too weird, even for Annie.
Susie decided to be honest with her at a bad attempt at pity. "Yeah."
The human's eyes lit up and she turned her gaze to Susie with a confused expression. "You do?"
"Yeah. There's gotta be more out there." She turned around. "And with that, I'm peacing out. Bye, loser."
Annie shot up and grabbed Susie's shoulder. Susie immediately jumped away, taking all of her willpower to not beat up this bitch here and now. "What the FUCK do you think you're doing."
Turning her gaze to the forest surrounding the playground. Her voice hushed. "Did you hear that?"
"Hear what?"
A foreign voice spoke distantly in the forest. "Where ya at, kid?"
