Chapter 3: Met From Strife

"...4 lacerations on the back of his head, one across his temple, about 4 centimeters in diameter…."

?

"...You can also see a fracture in his right hand…

G o d . . . . . .

. . . ?

?

I . . . N o . . .

"...Doctor, he's coming back to consciousness."

' s . . . . . . !

I . . . c a n ' . . . !

"...Oh, baby! Oh god, my baby!"

W h y . . . . . . ? !

"Oh god, Kinn! Are you okay?!" "Sir, please don't touch him, he's in a fragile state right now!"

. . . ' t . . . N O . . . N O, G O D, ! ! !

N O ! ! ! ! !

(Queue 'Oh Love That Will Not Let Me Go' by The Westminster Chorus)

I slowly awoke.

My consciousness came back to me steadily.

The first thing I felt was the terrible aches all over. It felt like I had been run over by a semi-truck. I looked up to see my parents, sobbing over me, their eyes filled with worry. It gave me a calming sense of security to see familiar faces.

No, I will not do that.

I noticed an older man with a bald head peek out from behind the two, and identified him to be the doctor.

"Mr. McCarthy, I see you're awake."

Who? Who is this?

The doctor looked down at his list, seeming to read something. I looked around to see a nurse beside me.

| You've chosen your fate now. |

What? The fuck?!

"Mr. McCarthy?"

Groggily, I directed my attention back to the doctor, who furrowed his eyebrows when we made eye contact.

"Um, as I was saying...you're going to be in bed for the next few weeks. You've fractured your right wrist, and your right ankle has been dislocated."

| The only way to reach the Screaming Void… |

What? What are you talking about?!

"You also have multiple lacerations and contusions on your temple and the back of your head. We have yet to do an MRI scan, but we did a CT scan on you, and it's revealed some damage to your frontal lobe. In complete honesty, we're surprised-"

| …Is to be sent there as divine punishment. |

Why do I feel so aggressive?!

"-You didn't become mentally...compromised because of this. We're worried, however, that you could possibly display signs of sociopathy or psychopathy due to this brain trauma, so it is suggested that you-"

| It's time to earn your place in HELL. |

CRACK!

…

In that moment, I felt my eyes clear up-

"Wh… WHA-!"

I sputtered in horror and shock, looking at my shaking hand as it held an iron bowl, the end of it bloodied; My eyes glanced towards the floor, seeing the doctor that had been diagnosing me- A large gash was in his head, his body convulsing as blood poured from his temple.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

I heard my mother screaming, my father gawking at me with a look of horror and agonizing confusion in his eyes.

"N-No…!" I muttered, completely horrified with what I had done. What… What the HELL?! My… My hand had moved completely on its own…! Was this some kind of sick, twisted nightmare?! But, it felt real!

Oh, GOD!

"K-Kinn, take a breath!" My father shouted, walking towards me with his hands raised in a peaceful gesture. "I-I think you may have some brain damage, so just try and-"

I felt a horrifying dread overcome me in the next second; I was no longer in control of my body-

CRACK!

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO, STOOOOPPPPPP!" I screamed at myself, as my hand brought the iron bowl towards my father's face, cracking him across the face. He fell to the ground, but before he could get up-

CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!

"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH! AAAAAAUUUUHHHHHHHHHH!"

I could no longer tell if it were my screams or my mother's as I… bashed in my father's head.

Over. And over. And over. Until there was nothing left-

"AHK!" I cried out, as I felt my mother tackle me, her eyes filled with unspeakable rage and grief.

"WWHHHHHHYYYYYY?!" She screamed at me, trying to hold me down; I could hardly see her face as tears of agonizing guilt and horror clouded my eyes. "WHHHYYYYYYY?!"

| PROVE YOUR LOVE. |

I felt my hand move of its own sickly accord; It grasped for a weapon nearby, finding a scalpel and-

SHICK!

I blinked several times- then began screaming uncontrollably. I watched as my mother's throat opened, blood pouring from her esophagus; Her eyes reflected misery and shame beyond anything I could describe.

I could only stare in horror as she collapsed to the side, clutching her throat desperately as she bled out. Moments later,

She was dead.

"Aaaaaaahhhhh….." I mumbled, utterly catatonic from what I had just…

I looked down at my hands- bloodied, with my own parents' blood.

M...y…. Mi….nd…. br...ok...ee….

(Queue 'Little Nightmares' by Brand X Music)

"AAAAAAAAUUUUHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

I awoke, screaming bloody murder; and frightening the hell out of Monika, who'd been clinging to me as I slept.

"H-Hey! Hey, are you okay?" She said in a worrisome tone-

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!"

I was entrenched in horror; Every part of my body shook in violent rejection of what I had just seen. I could hardly feel my nerves as I screamed to the heavens.

This lasted for minutes; I couldn't stop screaming, so much so that my throat bled. I couldn't imagine that reality-

I couldn't imagine myself doing any of that!

…

Yes. That's what it was. A trick of the imagination. Monika did say that sleeping here would provoke horrific nightmares.

Realizing this, I began to slowly calm down, my screaming turning into hyperventilating; Monika rubbed my back, whispering in my ear sweet comforts that served to push away my immediate panic.

Eventually… I began to breathe normally. My throat was entirely fucked up. And my mental state was all but normal.

"I told you that sleeping here is a curse." Monika said.

And she was right. I'd spent so much time earlier trying to clear more of the void away, but I ended up getting so exhausted that I fell asleep for a quick nap. I was refreshed, but also mentally scarred almost beyond repair.

No more sleeping. Not until I found a way out of this literal hellhole.

(Queue 'Exhale' by Elephant Music)

"...I'm sorry. This probably isn't the best time to ask but… what's your name?"

…

Holy shit, I hadn't told her my name yet! I reflected on how completely stupid I was for not even going through introductions.

However, my throat was still messed up; I tried to give a decent answer, though it was somewhat hoarse and raspy.

"I… am Kinn…" I rasped, a bit annoyed that my introduction to her was in this state. "...Kinn McCarthy…"

"Kinn… That's a very unique name. I like it." Monika said, which made me feel a bit better. I looked over at her, and then I realized something.

"Wait, did you sleep too?"

Monika's eyes fell into melancholy.

"Yes… I've gotten used to the nightmares by now."

"That's fucking horrible- ACK! *COUGH* *COUGH*! Alright, no more sleeping- *COUGH COUGH COUGH* until we get the hell out of here!"

Monika was surprised by my sudden charisma; Her mouth was slightly agape as she looked at me- almost as if studying me. I turned to her, feeling a grim determination rise in my chest.

"When we finally leave this place, I'm going to make sure you experience a dream when you sleep. I'll put on some lullaby music or some shit, maybe some LED lights for decoration- Though I'm not sure what that has to do with sleeping, actually…"

Monika smiled- The first time I'd seen her do so. It was beyond pretty- She was beyond pretty.

Absolutely beautiful.

"Okay then, Kinn." She said softly. "I'll hold you to your word."

I nodded, feeling a strong pang of infatuation in my chest as she smiled at me.

"Alright, well, I need to get my mind off of that awful nightmare. Let's go look around some more."

We spent the next few hours going through the rest of the school, as I cleared out the void with my hands. Monika was fascinated by what I was doing, and although I tried to best explain how I did it, she didn't seem to fully understand it.

With enough time, I managed to clear the hallways; But every other door in the school only showed the Void beyond, same as the windows in the piano room. While I was curious to clear that space out, I was also afraid- What if there was a difference between the void in the school and the one outside?

There were a few pieces of evidence to support my assertion; Firstly, while the 'void' stuff in the school was mostly like darkness, it had none of the extra stuff that the outside void had. There were no swirling shapes, no harshly-bright lights or 'breathing' figures, and certainly no screaming, faceless voices.

If I tried to touch the void outside… I wasn't sure what would happen. And so, I decided to leave it alone for now; I didn't even bother trying to open any of the exit doors, for fear that the void shit might flood in… or something. I don't fucking know, I haven't experienced any of this before! How can I possibly describe it in a decent way?

Feeling somewhat-defeated, I went back to the piano room; Monika had her arms wrapped around me from behind the entire time, which led to an awkward walk-step type of travel as I had gone around clearing away the void.

"Um, you know you don't have to hold onto me the entire time." I said to her, "I'm not going anywhere."

"I don't know that for certain." She said, her voice quivering with fear. "Please. I don't even want to think about losing you. You're real. You're here."

I sighed softly, hoping that this wouldn't continue as time went on.

And so, with nothing else to do at the moment, I sat down at the piano bench, looking at the keys. Monika was-

"Damn it, Monika!" I said in frustration, as she continued to hold me tightly from behind; I felt like a baby being carried by his mother. "I am telling you that I'm not going anywhere-

"Please, Kinn. Please, please, please, PLEASE don't resist. I don't want to let go." She whispered softly in my ear; I could hear the sheer desperation in her voice, which made me all the more melancholy. I hated that she had been hurt so badly, to have reached this point.

"Tell you what… how about we just… hold hands instead? That way, I can move around more easily, and you won't have to let go at all."

I turned my head to look at her-

Woah. Her face was mere inches from mine; She stared right into my eyes with those ethereal, shifting emeralds of hers. I couldn't get that word out of my head. Her eyes were so… detailed. So defined and clear.

I felt my heartbeat quicken- I was this close to planting a kiss on her lips. But…

It wasn't my place to do that. Not right now. Not here. Even if she was fine with it, I refused to have my first kiss be in this shithole.

I would take her to the real world somehow, and then… I would take her on a date (obviously). Probably pay for her dinner, because that's what gentlemen do. Maybe a park afterwards, or someplace…

"Okay." She said suddenly, breaking my train of thought.

"W-What? Sorry, what were we talking about?" I said shamefully, having forgotten what I had asked her earlier.

"You said to hold hands, right? Well… I still want to cling to you, but I suppose that's okay, too."

And so, she slowly, slowly, slowly… moved her hands up my chest (not gonna lie, kinda turned me on- just a lil bit- I SAID JUST A LITTLE BIT!), then to my arms, and finally my hands. She clasped them, but as she was standing behind it, now it felt like she was trying to pull my arms backwards.

"Um, Monika," I said, straining. "How about just one hand? And… can you maybe sit on the bench with me so I'm not having my arms dislocated?"

She laughed- it was pure and hearty, and it filled me with a fulfilling joy. God, I wanted to marry her.

"Okay, Kinn." She said with a smile, unclasping one hand slowly and rotating around to sit on the bench with me. I was a bit intimidated as I could clearly see her gazing at me constantly, squeezing my hand as if terrified that she might let go.

"Well… this is a bit awkward." I spoke aloud; It had to be said.

"What's awkward?" She said smoothly, still smiling and staring at me.

"Um… nevermind."

Looking to clear the silent, weird atmosphere, I hovered my free hand over the piano; Thinking of something to play.

"You know how to play piano?" She asked, seemingly delighted.

"Uh- yeah, yeah I do. I'm not the, uh, greatest player, but I know, like, the basic chords and all that sh- stuff." I said, withholding the curse word. Although she didn't seem to mind it, I no longer felt comfortable cussing in front of her.

I don't know. It just didn't feel right to do it in front of her.

"Here, I'll play a little tune." I said, and started on a piano song I'd written just recently, which I hadn't given a name yet.

Though I only had my left hand, I tried my best to make the song sound endearing. Monika listened intently, her eyes widened in sheer amazement. As I finished up the song, I felt her suddenly hug me.

"I've never heard anyone besides myself play the piano." She said, her voice dripping with affection. "I can't believe I haven't said this yet-"

She gazed at me once more.

"I love you, Kinn."

Another pang in my heart- I had a deep urge to say it back; But something held me for a moment.

"Monika, before anything else, I have to get this out of the way."

I cleared my throat.

"I know about your past, and… all that. I know about your predicament (I mean, I'm here, aren't I?), and obviously I can completely understand how you feel right now. But…"

I gulped.

"I don't actually… know you all that well. You get what I mean? And of course, I want to say that 'I love you'... but… I think we should wait a bit on that- NOT that I'm saying I won't say it in the future, because I will!"

To be honest, I had no damn clue what I was yapping on about, but I badly wanted to get my point across.

"Um… so what I'm saying is-"

"I understand you, Kinn." Monika said with a smile. I sighed in relief.

"Okay, good. I'm glad. I think."

I looked back at the piano, sighing. While this was still a horrifying situation, and I had already realized that this was, in fact, not a dream… Monika's mere presence calmed me immensely, almost unnaturally.

I would protect her. And we would get the hell out of here.