Alright, alright. So many people wanted another chapter, I had to give in. And yes, the rest of this story will most likely be a fluff-monster. For those who don't like the fluffy stuff, just pretend the story ended at Chapter 6
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Cindy didn't understand where she had gone. She was standing at the threshold of a beautiful white castle, decorated in the lavish manner associated with the antebellum estates of the south. The path that she was standing on was of smooth asphalt, lined on either side with apple orchards. In the distance, beautiful gardens shimmered in the noontime heat. The bubbling fountains daintily flowed on either side of the grand staircase that led into the palace. As she drew closer, Cindy noticed the tiny exotic fish swimming in the water, the fountains standing much larger than they had appeared from the distance. Without anywhere else to go, she began to climb the stairs...
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... and rang the doorbell when she reached the door. She was worried; she didn't understand why Cindy had been talking that way. Quite frankly, it scared her.
"Cindy, girl, open up!" After waiting a few more seconds Libby pushed on the door. It was open, so she let herself in.
The first thing Libby noticed was the putrid smell. Mr. Vortex had left, but the room reeked of alcohol and urine. Disgusted, she made her way to the stairs that led to the second floor.
"Cindy?" She called out again. With no response, she started to ascend the steps...
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...and ended in front of a huge set of double doors. They were nearly ten feet tall and made of solid oak. Cindy didn't even think of knocking, and pushed the surprising light doors open. She entered into an enormous hall, fully furnished to match the exterior.
The plush couches were so irresistible; Cindy could not deny herself the rest her fatigued body demanded. But as soon as she touched it, it disappeared, as if it had never been.
Confused, Cindy glanced around her, and noticed the absence of all the furniture. There wasn't the slightest trace, no dusty squares on the floor, no indentations on the carpet from the legs. "This isn't...
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...right." Libby glanced around Cindy's room. It was strewn with paper and clothes, and the appearance clearly showed the two months of neglect. The happy pink of the walls had faded to a dreary lull, and the entire atmosphere of the room seemed to have aged. She noticed Cindy in the corner, breathing slowly, and figured she was sleeping. "Cindy? You awake? ...Wow...has it always been like this? Have I just never noticed?"
Libby bent over to look at one of the pieces of paper. It appeared to be a print out about the stages of pregnancy. Next to the seventh week, there were a few scribbles describing some symptoms. "What the...? She's not... she can't be..."
Libby dropped the sheet and walked over to where Cindy was lying. She shook her shoulder. "Wake up girl. I need to talk to you!!!"
Her skin was cold. She looked pale, and her lips were blue. Her breath was not the slow, meditative rhythm of sleep, but a struggling wheeze. Libby's eyes grew wide with understanding. She needed medical attention, fast, and Libby did the first thing that came to mind.
"JIMMMMMMY!!!!!!!"
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With nothing in the room but herself, Cindy was overwhelmed by the great expanse. The air became oppressive and heavy; it seemed to push her to the walls with a strong-willed force. Noticing two doors in opposite corners as her only escape, she headed in their direction.
Innocently, she entered the room on the left, only hoping for an escape from the thick, stifling air. She groaned. This room was even larger than the first, and it was blindingly yellow. The only other color she saw in the room was a shimmer of white in the distance, so faint she thought her mind was playing tricks on her again. Despite her doubts, she seemed to be drawn to the growing light.
As she grew nearer and nearer, Libby's face emerged from the milky haze. She stood, shrouded in pure white, with a sad expression on her face. Her intangible presence only made her appear as more of the angel she resembled.
"Libby?" Her voice was shaky. It didn't seem as if she were talking to her best friend. The other-worldly presence made her appear untouchable, and Cindy wasn't really expecting a reply.
"There is no need for cowardice." Cindy was stunned. What was the meaning of the words? The voice did not belong to the Libby she had known, but before she could question the figure, it disappeared, and the room faded to darkness.
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"JAMES ISAAC NEUTRON!!" Libby screamed out the window. She watched anxiously as Jimmy lazily opened his window from across the street.
"What?" He was rubbing his eyes from just waking up.
"GET OVER HERE RIGHT NOW!!!!"
"Uh... I just woke up... I have to take a shower..." He seemed to be stalling.
"There's no time!!!" Libby's voice cracked, which only further confused him.
"Um..."
"HURRY UP!" Libby slammed the window and went back to Cindy. "Don't worry girl. Just... just... hang on..."
"What did you want that was so important that there was "no time" for a shower? Or to change?" Jimmy asked from the doorway, still in his pajamas.
"Cindy's sick. I think..." Libby turned to her worried face to him. Her lip quivered, and she seemed to be holding back tears.
"Hmm..." Jimmy walked over to the bed, and took Cindy's pulse. His expression went from one of annoyance to one of concern. He picked her up, and nodded to Libby to follow them. "Come on. Let's go to the lab."
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Cindy was standing in the same room she had begun in. She looked around, in a confusion of how she had gotten back. Looking up, she noticed no door to the yellow room. Despite the oddities of the dream world, she felt warm, and taken care of. The oppressive air had gone, but the furniture had not returned.
Just out of nostalgia, she entered the room on the right. In the darkness, she could feel around her feet many small objects, seemingly round with some sort of rigid tail. They seemed to be rats, but they did not move. In the obscurity, she could hear the slight breath of another in the room.
The lights flashed on without warning. At her feet, Cindy found an endless sea of roses, flowers that covered every hue of the rainbow. They flowed from every corner of the floor, up the walls to a ceiling too high to be visible. In the center, she found Jimmy, sitting in the same intangible yet angelic presence that she had found Libby. Her eyes became fixed on his solemn expression as she walked to him. She knelt beside him, in the soft carpeting of roses.
"You're everything to me," he said, returning her gaze. But instead of the look being filled with confusion and misunderstanding as hers was, his was full of tragedy. She had never seen him quite like that, and she was sure it was another peculiarity of the strange world. Just to make sure, she leaned over to touch his hand, needing the reassurance of the texture of human skin. The contact was brief. After a fleeting moment, his icy skin turned to ash, as did the rest of his body.
Cindy gaped, speechless. In front of her stood the heap of dust that had once been Jimmy, and she was horrified.
"It's only a dream. It's only a dream. It's only a dream!" She tried to convince herself as she ran towards the door, the roses crumbling at her touch. Her clothes became dusty, she coughed heavily. She pushed through the door with all her might, and tumbled into the main room.
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Jimmy laid Cindy down on one of the desks. "I'm not quite sure what happened. Most likely swallowed something she shouldn't have."
"...there was... there was a bottle." Libby told him, the tears now flowing freely.
"Of what?" Jimmy tried to remain calm as he mixed together a solution that would upset her stomach into vomiting.
"Advil..."
"Dammit! I don't have all the ingredients." He scribbled a short list on a piece of paper and signed his name on the bottom. He handed it to Libby. "Take this to the pharmacy and hand them the list. You don't have to say anything. They'll understand. Hurry. And... how many did she take?"
"I'm not sure. There were only five or six left... but she could have taken some a different time, ya know?" Jimmy nodded and ushered her out the door.
He was helpless as he waited for Libby to return. He hooked Cindy to a heart monitor and just watched the beeps, hoping the monotony would never cease. After a few minutes, he was satisfied, and let his glance wander. It rested on Cindy's face, and Jimmy sighed. "You're everything to me......... Where's Libby and those damned supplies?"
The door slammed shut. "I'm back!"
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Cindy coughed out the rest of the ash that had settled in her lungs. When she looked up, the door vanished as the first room's had. Her clothes returned to their normal state, her breathing regulated. It was if nothing had happened.
"Okay. I don't like this place anymore..." Cindy knelt on the floor, and nearly doubled over from the pain that had suddenly shot like a bullet through her stomach. She groaned.
But the pain did not cease; it only grew. Several times, she had opened her mouth as if to vomit, but had only felt a warm breath of air, as thick as syrup, escape from her mouth. After twelve times, the pain subsided, and Cindy collapsed on the floor from exhaustion.
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So there you all have it. Another chapter, especially for the following who requested/mentioned one in their review: fanjimmy, Eclipsed Soul, Majestic Twelve, Bnice's Beanie, Dragon Blade5, Gabsterz ahhelga, sum1strange. Also thanks to the following for their reviews: Just-An-Echo, CuriousGeorge33, enema-of-the-state182, samgirl1.
I tried to make the dream as symbolic as I could. The yellow room represents a heightened awareness of a particular situation- when Libby discovers Cindy. The white clothes they wore symbolizes a success in current undertakings- saving Cindy. Their angelic presences could be interpreted as Libby and Jimmy being her guardian angels, as they were the ones who had saved her. The ash-filled air resembles enormous changes going on- the life or the death of Cindy would have been a big change. And a variety of colors in roses really does stand for "You're everything to me."