"Sora…"
so much to do
"Sora!" A more masculine voice.
so little time
"…Wake up you lazy bum." Forced laughter. Female.
take your time
"Come on…" Male, again.
Sora slowly let one eye open, and then the other. His entire body felt drained, like something had mauled him in his sleep. Upon realizing that he wasn't in his own bedroom, he shot bolt upright, his pulse booming loudly in his ears. Riku's reflexes acted quickly, as he was the first to flinch
don't be afraid
backwards at the sudden movement. After Sora's breathing slowed and the brunette realized where he was, Riku visibly relaxed. Kairi sighed with relief. Sora was alright, he was awake, albeit utterly disoriented. Everything was alright for the moment.
"Riku… Kairi…" breathed Sora, his gaze switching to either of his friends. Kairi's lip was swollen and was the beginnings of a nasty scab. Riku just looked incredibly tired. How long had Sora slept for? Better yet, how did he get to sleeping? "What happened?"
"Well, as soon as you walked inside, you just… fell down. It was really weird," mumbled Riku, crossing his arms. He really didn't know what had caused Sora to blank out on the floor, but a part of him didn't want to find out. Riku was just happy to know that Sora was still alive.
"Yeah," Kairi included. "It was so… strange. You had stopped breathing. For… 6 whole hours. You just started shaking a few minutes ago. We thought you died." The last comment was said with such a sobriety, Sora was almost surprised. Kairi was rarely ever that serious, and even if she was, it didn't show.
iwouldmisshimsomuch ohmygod oh my GOD don't let himdie don'tplease please
Sora groaned as monotone words started to swirl inside of his head. It happened occasionally, but only as whispers and splinters of sentences. But for some reason, the last jumble had come in as a scream, ricocheting around in his head like an echo that wouldn't be forgotten.
Riku stiffened yet again as Sora held his head, his fingers curling into his hair, trying to silence the shrieks inside of his brain. "Sora?" said Riku, bending over, slightly, trying to make eye contact with Sora. Kairi held her breath behind him, praying that nothing had changed.
After moments of silence for Kairi and Riku, Sora finally released his chestnut spikes and looked back up. Riku looked sincerely frightened, for the first time in a long time. "Uh, I'm okay," said Sora, providing the two with a lackluster smile. Riku quickly masked his fear with anger.
"Christ, Sora. Don't try to scare me with your stupid pranks. It doesn't work," said the platinum haired boy, backing off and disappearing down a hallway. Kairi watched Riku leave, before turning her light smile to Sora.
"Don't mind him. Riku's just happy you're all right. He's just not very good at showing it, as we both know," said Kairi. Sora idly noticed that the redhead had changed clothing, a periwinkle blue tank-top and flared navy jeans. Well, it made sense that she had changed out of her wet clothing, but how was the clothing the right size? It fit her perfectly. How unusual.
Kairi brushed back a piece of loose hair, tucking it behind her ear. She slowly let herself down to sit on the couch. Sora pulled himself up, so that she would have room. It was then that Sora realized he was on a navy blue and slightly uncomfortable couch, in the middle of a pale-blue living room.
"Kairi, where are we?"
The redhead's smile faltered. Her eyes moved to the wide window that had taken up much of the space on the wall to the left. Raw sunlight peeled over her face, glimmering off of long, mahogany eyelashes. Kairi always looked better in the sun. Even with a bruised lip, and tired eyes.
"We're in the apartment. Room one." Sora's legs were numb and cold, and he could barely move them at all. He realized that he was still in the same clothes he had arrived in. Well, it made sense as well. What frightened teenagers would take the chance to change a supposedly dead boy out of his soaked clothes?
"Well… why didn't you guys leave? I mean, it's day time. It looks like it's cleared up outside."
"That's just it. We can't leave."
A feeling of claustrophobia suddenly made itself apparent.
entering…
the Room.
"What do you mean?" Sora questioned, very carefully. What if they were trapped by a psycho killer? What if they were really in just some dream world that Sora had conjured up? What if Sora was in a coma and he couldn't leave? A million 'what ifs' turned in Sora's head as he waited for Kairi to answer.
"The door is
still
shut." Kairi let the feeling of silence cloud the room yet again. "We've been locked in. From the outside. Both Riku and I tried the door. We're trapped."
An irritating buzzing noise suddenly rang out of nowhere. Both Kairi and Sora's gaze traveled to the small, old television set on the wooden stand across from the couch. Eerie static pulsated on the set, occasional snippets of sentences fizzled in and out. 'another star' 'out' 'gone'
Kairi's gaze was fixated on the television set, and Sora lethargically pulled himself up. His legs felt like gelatin. It would take some time to get the blood going in his legs again.
The wall with the wide window was rather empty. There was a bookshelf to the right and an end table to the left. A few papers were strewn about the end table, but Sora paid no mind to them. Kairi remained in her spot on the couch, eyes unblinking. Daisies on a scratched wood coffee table were the only means of killing the odd image that Kairi and the television portrayed. Something was really odd about Kairi when she was in this place.
From where Sora was standing, he could see a kitchenette. It looked a little old-fashioned, with rust (at least he hoped it was rust) stained cupboards and a brown, linoleum floor that was rolling up at the edges. There appeared to be a functioning refrigerator nestled in a comfortable spot between countertop and a dividing wall, a rust-caked sink and an oven. The wallpaper was rather ugly, splotchy green-blue in colour with faded orange flowers. There was an island that divided the linoleum and the green-blue carpet of the living room. The dark-brown countertop on said island didn't match the pale blue countertop of the rest of the kitchen. All in all, it was a decent kitchen with a horrible decorator.
Beyond that, there was a door. With only a wall separating it from the kitchen, it didn't look very imposing at all. Sora slowly paced his way towards the door, taking a glance back at the immobile Kairi. The brunette stopped about two paces before the door.
now, step forward
can you do it?
Sora obeyed the suggestions in his head, taking one large step and reaching for the doorknob. Nothing unusual happened. He tried opening the door. It didn't work. Utterly confused and a little bit frustrated, Sora left Kairi and the door on their own. He would go find Riku.
Away from the door, there was a closet, and three doors at the end of a small hallway. Sora opened the door on the left, and it revealed a small bathroom, with only a shower stall, a toilet and a sink. It was a jade green colour in its entirety, and looked better than the living room and the kitchen put together. The middle door wouldn't open, so Sora just ignored it.
Sora opened the door on the right next, and found Riku with his back to the door, looking out a window on the far wall. Sora tiptoed in, cautiously closing the door behind him. The bedroom was utterly white, with white bed sheets on a queen-sized bed, a white lamp, a white telephone, a white dresser, white end-tables, white floors and white walls. Riku was the only colour difference, clothed in a simple charcoal t-shirt and form-fitting black pants. In other words, it was a little unnerving.
"H-hey," choked Sora, before swallowing and getting his voice back into its regular pitch. "Can I talk to you?" Riku didn't turn around, so Sora just eased his way in between Riku and the wall. Riku didn't say a word as he eased backwards, so that the shorter boy could see out the window. The sun was shining for once on what appeared to still be Seattle. There were people getting ready outside of the Room, and the glowing numbers on the phone/clock read 8:32 AM.
"So, what did you want to say?" demanded Riku, his tone snappy and still evident with anger. Sora sighed. He was used to Riku acting like this. It was funny, because Riku only truly got angry when Sora got beaten up or for some reason injured. Sora could practically feel Riku's breath against the side of his face. Riku sure hadn't moved back too far.
"I wanted to say I'm sorry," muttered Sora, not knowing exactly what he should feel sorry for. "I didn't mean to make you sc-"
It was then that Sora felt warm arms wrapping around him, and he realized that he was being embraced in one of Riku's rare hugs. Sora just quieted as he let Riku practically crush him. Riku has his face rested on Sora's shoulder, hiding every expression that might have been there. Sora just watched his friend from the reflection on the window. It was unusual to see collected, cocky and too-cool-for-real-emotions Riku show anything other than skepticism.
"I really thought you were dead." Riku's voice came out muffled and low and Sora could barely determine what Riku was saying. The taller of the two didn't release the brunette, so, Sora just stayed put thought of what to say to his friend.
"I don't even know what happened. I just remember walking inside. And then… nothing." Sora's face was screwed up in confusion, as he tried to remember something else that might explain the lack of breathing and the sudden rebirth.
All he could remember was a warm island breeze and three children searching for adventure. But none of the children had names, and there was no island to accompany the warm air.
you'd better not leave me alone anymore or i'llhave tofollowyou
A whisper reverberated in Sora's skull, and it sounded eerily like Riku's voice. Sora ignored it, but an image
riku bleeding on the floor eyes wide hurt hurt hurthimself for you
invaded his head that sent shivers to his core.
Sora turned in Riku's still embrace, and glued himself to Riku in a mutual hug with Riku's arms around his shoulders, and his own around Riku's waist. Riku was a little bit startled at the sudden mutuality of the embrace, but then again, Sora was always a touchy-feely person. Riku relaxed, and the two just stood there, happy to be in each others company.
"Oh, sorry. Am I interrupting something?" said Kairi, entering the bedroom with nervous giggling. Riku immediately pulled away, leaving Sora missing the warmth a little. "Are you guys not telling me something? Something a little… dare I say, taboo?"
Now, Kairi was back to her usual playful self, and Sora found himself feeling a little bit lost. Riku and Kairi were now spitting insults back and forth, Kairi's about Riku being secretly gay and Riku's about Kairi being a peeping tom.
After a few minutes of watching them playfully banter, Sora broke out in laughter, forgetting for a moment that they were trapped in a mysterious apartment. It felt good to see them act like themselves again.
Kairi smiled. "Oh yeah, Riku? You're so far in the closet, you're finding Fiddy Cent and BOTH of your Christmas presents!" Riku pretended to get filled with shock and outrage, before losing himself on a half-formed comeback.
"Oh yeah? Uh... You win," Riku announced, giving Kairi a bit of a glare but looking more amused than anything else. Kairi stuck out her tongue at the older boy. Riku rolled his eyes. "Alright, rub it in. But I'll get you next time, Princess Retard."
"Well at least I'm not the QUEEN, RIKU," retorted Kairi, before Riku gave her a playful punch. Kairi took off running, bouncing down the halls, laughing with Riku tearing after her. Sora was left all on his lonesome, wondering when the two would finally confess their love for each other and get over it.
Yes, truth be told, Sora knew that Kairi liked Riku and Riku liked Kairi, but neither of them acted on it. Ever. Perhaps it was because they didn't want to hurt Sora's feelings, or they were just too damn shy. It irked Sora to no end for some reason, but left him feeling relieved at the same time. If Kairi and Riku were to end up together, that would leave Sora out in the cold. He didn't really like any other girls, but he wasn't even sure if he liked Kairi that way. He had always considered Kairi more of a sibling than a potential girlfriend. He had always been closer to Riku, though. It would probably make Riku jealous if Kairi and Sora went out, so there was yet another friendship buster. So, all three of them were pretty much stuck.
Sora sighed. The white walls seemed to have a calming effect, at this point. With everything else so grotesquely coloured, white seemed to be somewhat of a safe haven. Turning on his heel, the brunette took a second look at the rest of the bedroom. It was time to do a little bit more exploring. The closest thing was the dresser, so Sora took the time to open each of the drawers. Clothing filled all three drawers. Clothing that looked like it would fit Riku filled the top drawer. Girl's clothing, most presumably that was for Kairi filled the middle drawer. The bottom drawer had other male clothing. Sora pulled out a shirt. It looked to be his exact size.
Sora quickly changed into some of the clothes in said drawer. It was eerie, because the dark red, long-sleeved shirt and the a-little-snugger-than-he-liked-them jeans fit him perfectly. Someone had to have been stalking them. Nobody would know their exact clothing sizes.
He decided to just leave his wet clothes on the floor, due to no where else to put them, and go back to find Riku and Kairi.
Back into the hallway the brunette went, hearing words coming from the living room. He slowly made his way out there, in his usual walking speed. This entire place was starting to scare him a little bit, and there were still occasional words crawling into his ears from some sort of mumbling ghost. The words made no sense, only utters of 'passion' 'simple' 'clean' and 'light' made their way in. Occasionally, there were other words, but they were jumbled and didn't make any sense; 'har' and 'tuless' which were gibberish on their own.
"Hey, Sora?" said Riku over his shoulder, as the brown-haired boy entered the room. As his jade green eyes looked over, Riku did a bit of a double take. Sora wasn't usually one to wear long-sleeves or tight fitting clothes. It was a nice change, nonetheless. Most of the time the stick-thin Sora got lost in his sea of baggy cargos and hooded sweaters. Upon the unusual looks from Riku, Sora raised an eyebrow.
"So, Riku? How were those Christmas presents from Fiddy?" chirped Kairi. Riku scowled and smacked her lightly on the head.
"Enough with the gay jokes, you," he hissed, only half-serious. Riku turned back to Sora; "Come have a look at this."
"Oh yeah, Sora! Riku wants you to come!"
Riku ignored Kairi's comment as Sora giggled lightly, making his way over to the end table where his two friends were gathered. "So, what are we looking at?" said Sora, squeezing in between Kairi and Riku. Kairi was about to open her mouth and blurt out another perverted comment, but Riku tactfully interrupted.
"This stuff. Something about it… is off," said Riku, looking rather perplexed. Sora followed Riku's eyes to the small table. An old, rusted camera was thrown dejectedly near the edge, there was a pistol that looked like it was a few thousand years old and a splintered, wooden baseball bat was leaned against the wall where the table met it.
"This stuff wasn't here before," mumbled Sora, knowing that before there were just a few pieces of paper when he looked. "I mean, what's so special about it?" As soon as Sora reached for the camera, words invaded his poor brain, screaming in his ears coupled with pretty whispers.
the power of the mystic
inner strength
a camera of wonder and ruin
Next to follow the words was an image of Kairi, panting and dirty, but camera in hands. As the words faded, Sora slowly looked at Kairi, who was expressing an image of concern. "Sora… are you okay? Maybe you should go lie down."
"This is yours," said Sora, pushing the camera into Kairi's hands, a little bit happy to be freed of the words that were hissing inside of him. As soon as the little machine left his fingertips, the words were gone. Riku raised an eyebrow.
"Why is the camera for Kairi. I mean, she of all people could probably use the gun the best, you know? Like, self defense? What's she going to do with a fucking relic of a camera?" questioned Riku, trying to view the sanity in all of this. Sora stood blank eyed for a moment before he reached for the baseball bat.
"No, the camera's for Kairi, trust me," mumbled Sora. He didn't feel like telling Riku exactly how he knew that the camera was intended for Kairi's use. Sora had previously attempted to explain the voices that he perpetually heard to his silver haired friend, and the older of the two had laughingly suggested that Sora visit an asylum.
And so, instead of questioning any further, Riku kept his mouth close, but a grimace was worn on his face. Sora's fingers only brushed lightly against the bat, but words flooded in like a dam had broken.
the power of the warrior
invincible courage
a weapon of terrible destruction
Coupled with the words was the violent image of Riku, with blood streaming out of his mouth and torn clothing, smashing someone's (or something's) head in. Sora visibly shuddered, and Riku looked alert yet again. Kairi wearily noticed Riku's suspense as she idly thumbed her camera. Sora turned, baseball bat in hand, and handed it to Riku. "For you."
Riku was even more tense as he worded his own hypothesis, "That means the gun is for you. Sora, I don't think that's righ-"
"Riku, be quiet. They're right," he mumbled. Riku carefully analyzed the boy, noting that Sora's eyes were a little bit glazed and he appeared to be in some sort of a trance. He had only ever seen Sora like this one other time, and that was quite a long time ago.
Sora's fingers next went for the gun.
the power of the guardian
kindness to friends
a reflection to repel all
As Sora picked it up and tested its weight in his hands, his eyes seemed to return to normal. Riku growled lightly, wordlessly demanding an explanation. Sora didn't pay any attention, but briefly wondered what the words had meant. What did a gun have to do with being a guardian? And what was all that talk about a reflection? To interrupt his wonderings, they answered him.
power sleeps within you
if you give it form
it will give you strength
Sora suddenly felt like something was watching him.
"But, seriously, why do we need this shit anyways? I mean, we're trapped in an apartment. What am I going to do with a baseball bat?" grumbled Riku, obviously not pleased with Sora's selection. "And it's wood. What's the point?"
Kairi's eyes had grown wide. She felt it too.
"What can you do with a splintered wood baseball bat? This is ridiculous."
It wasn't ridiculous when a rotting hand appeared in Riku's line of vision.
Immediately, the silver haired boy pressed himself against the wall, utterly in shock as something lurched towards the table. It was dead, and yet it was moving. He didn't even take four seconds to wonder what the hell a dead man was doing hobbling around in a locked apartment room, before Riku had shot forward and pushed Sora and Kairi out of the way. Kairi stumbled and fell against the wall, but shrieked upon seeing the twisted face of the dead man. It was merely a skull with decaying pieces of flesh hanging off of the lips. An eye bulged out of one of the half-formed sockets. The jaw was completely ruined, teeth missing and hanging obscurely to its neck.
It made no noise except for the clicking of its rickety bones, but Sora could hear it screaming in his head. He dropped the gun on the floor, hands shooting up to cover his ears. He didn't want to hear it screaming in pain.
Riku came out of his frozen state, realizing that he had to do something, anything. The thing was apparently blind, and just stood and wavered for a second, before redirecting itself.
Right towards Sora.
Riku was suddenly filled with rage, lifting the bat far above his head and bringing it down to crash on the thing's skull. The bones shattered with a sickening crunch, and the creature slumped to the side. It staggered back up, skull hanging to the side, pinkish-grey matter spilling out the large gash on its skull. Riku realized that the grey matter was probably the thing's brains.
As the zombie man extended its left arm to swipe at Sora, Riku acted faster and brought the bat down with another crack, forcing the thing off of its balance. Riku shattered its chest, as bones ripped out of the zombie's leathery torso.
The thing collapsed on the floor, and tried a new approach. Crawling.
It went for Sora's ankles, first, and while Sora himself was chosen as the guardian, Riku felt more like the savior. He brought his foot down on the zombie's exposed neck, feeling the bones crush below him with a satisfying sound.
The screaming stopped, and Sora slowly released his head from its death grip. Kairi gaped for a moment, before falling down onto the floor, crying. Riku was trying to calm his breathing. He looked a little bit freakish on his own, with the creature's brains splattered over his face, and eyes wild with fear.
"R-Riku," stammered Sora, attempting to step forward.
"FUCK OFF, SORA," was Riku's immediate reply. While he sounded angry, Riku just feared for his friend's safety. The thing might get up again. Sora just stayed frozen, listening to Kairi sob from her spot on the floor.
The thing didn't move again, and instead, faded into nothingness.
Riku stared at the now blank floor with a sort of detachment. What the hell was going on?
you've gained the power to fight
use this power to protect yourself and others
keep your light burning strong
"Riku," Sora uttered, very softly. "Riku, it's gone." The brunette cautiously stepped over to his older friend, shakily bringing his fingers out to touch the other boy's face; brushing away some of the disgusting grey matter the thing had left behind. "Riku, it's okay…" Riku didn't say anything, but closed his eyes and leaned into Sora's touch. His hand was still a death grip on the bat, if anything else was to appear.
Kairi continued to sob, and Sora looked back at her. It took much effort to pull herself up, but she managed to get over to Sora and Riku and collapse onto Sora's shoulder. After what seemed like years of just standing together, with only Kairi's soft sobs as a background noise, she finally said what everyone had been thinking.
"There is something wrong with this room."
Riku's fear quickly slipped away, and his eyes went hard. Sora pulled his hand away from Riku's face, slowly. "What are you thinking?" said the brunette, scrutinizing his friend, searching for an answer. Riku was impossible to read.
the closer you get to the light
"We have to get out," decided the silver-haired boy. He decided to keep his bat with him, in case any other creeping obscenities decided to attack them. Sora took the opportunity to pickup his gun, and Kairi was still gripping her camera. She used her free hand to wipe away her tears.
the greater your shadow becomes
"There's the window in the bedroom. We should try that," muttered Kairi. While Sora was asleep, both Riku and Kairi had analyzed the outside. The wide window in the living room wasn't of any use at all. There was just a death drop below it, and the buildings surrounding it were far away. And, besides, they were high up. There was no way they could get out.
but don't be afraid
Riku was the first to go down the hallway, and the place that had once felt a little bit cut off was now an open gate for violent, morbid zombie-men. When Riku abruptly stopped, both Kairi and Sora fanned out on either side of him.
and don't forget
"The door has opened," whispered Riku. Indeed, the doorway on the far end of the hall was open. Kairi looked down at the floor. "Now, we can go to other places. Get out of this fucking room."
"Riku, I don't know if this is such a good idea…" put in Sora. Riku rolled his eyes, pulling both Kairi and Sora forward. He pushed Kairi into the doorway first, and with a frightened expression, she was immediately engulfed by darkness. Sora couldn't see her any more.
but don't be afraid
"Riku, where did Kairi go?" Sora wondered, frantically.
you hold the mightiest weapon of all
so don't forget
"She's coming with us!" growled Riku, going through the doorway himself, before reaching back out, and pulling Sora with him.
you are the one
who will open the door
Loading…
the Orphanage
'When Sora woke up, he was cold.'