Here is chapter 14 on the 14th of September. Neat, huh?
I hope you enjoy.
This is once again heartbreaking.
Molly played with her crayons in her room, drawing a happy picture for Nny. She decided to draw him smiling.
Maybe it would make him feel better.
Life was perfect again because she and Nny were still the best of friends, despite their near fallout the other day, and he'd promised he would stop hurting people just for her.
Molly would make Nny a good person again. That way the men in white won't come for him and lock him away forever.
If he stopped hurting people, then he could stay and continue to be friends with Molly! They had so many more games to play after all.
Just as Molly was adding the finishing touches to Nny's smile, there came the sound of a gasp out in the hall.
Molly glanced up at the door, holding her crayon in her hand.
That sounded like Mommy...
"W-what? He's... in the hospital?!"
Goose bumps prickled Molly's skin as she listened to her Mommy speaking. She sounded like she was on the phone.
"Oh, God!"
The sound Molly heard next ripped right through her stomach, scooping her insides out like a spoon. It crept up her sides, prickling beneath her arms as she struggled to breathe.
Mommy was crying...
Had something bad happened?
"A-Al..."
Wait... Daddy?
A small wail escaped her as she dropped her crayon. It snapped in half when it hit the floor, but Molly only had eyes for the wall.
Blackness eased its way through her small body, cracking her small, fragile heart until it shattered into a million pieces.
Daddy... Daddy was hurt...
Molly rolled up into a ball, hoping to disappear from this cruel, grey world.
It... wasn't fair. She never even got to say goodbye...
Her Mommy soon hung up the phone, sobbing outside in the hall for a while. Molly curled up under her drawing desk, hoping and praying that when she opened her eyes, the nightmare would disappear.
D-Daddy...
Before long, her bedroom door creaked, and there her Mommy stood, tears streaking down her beautiful face. Molly knew from the moment she saw the sadness in her eyes...
Daddy was gone.
...
Nny passed by the old bookstore.
He hadn't come to this part of town for a few years now. What would be the point? The woman who worked behind the counter had long since gone. To where? Nny couldn't say.
Devi had been one of the only few who'd actually thwarted him, and every day Nny was grateful. If he'd succeeded that night, the young woman would have died like the rest.
They'd all been beautiful, but none so much as her...
Becoming friends with Molly had brought back his long-lost feelings for an old, certain flame. He'd promised Devi once that he would obliterate his feelings for her so that they could both move on.
God, love sucked. At least with Molly, it was just pure, platonic love, with no extra strings. It was simple rather than complicated, but with Devi...?
Thoughts of her dragged up more than just feelings of regret and shame. They brought the sensations of arousal too, and Nny could sense it: that irksome organ between his legs stirring again.
He told Reverend Meat once that he would cut off his balls if he ever got aroused again.
As if Nny could ever stomach the idea of touching another body. Well, a living, breathing body, writhing hot, wet, and naked beneath him as he gazed into her green eyes, plunging deep into her...
FUCK!
He reached a shaking hand up to his forehead, gasping for breath. No, no, no. No sex thoughts! Anything but sex thoughts...
Nny despised sex. It made people do the most unspeakable things. It was a primitive, animal desire that Nny didn't need in his perfect system.
His inner chimpanzee was just coming out to play again, that's all. Stupid, stupid chimp.
Also, the act of sex created more of the one thing Nny despised most in the world.
Humans...
The world had enough humans, thank you.
If all those humans were like Molly, then sure, Nny could live with that, but they weren't.
They really, really weren't.
The street was crowded with people and Nny cringed. This was why he preferred to come out at night when there were fewer people around. The noises they made were disgusting. They sounded like barnyard animals.
There were bleats, moos, oinks, and even several monkey sounds.
It was like being at the zoo.
Still, he kept his eyes on the window of the bookstore across the street, spying that purple-haired woman.
She was standing outside the shop, staring into the window.
Who was she?
When she turned around, Nny's stomach dropped to the ground beside his steel-toed boots, making an icky squishing sound. His world spun in circles as he held on to a streetlamp.
It can't be... Devi?
When he glanced up again, spying those bright, green eyes, he knew it with certainty now.
It was her...
Shit.
Nny had to leave before she noticed him. He couldn't bear to see the contempt in her eyes.
Their last conversation was pretty embarrassing. Who the hell leaves a recorded message? It was Nny's version of "It's not you, it's me..."
Except it had been Nny in that case. It had all been Nny. He was the one who ruined what could have been a good thing, all just because he bought into Mr. Eff's bullshit.
Mr. Eff was dead now, and Psycho Doughboy.
Go figure.
The moment he thought about those old Styrofoam figures, Devi glanced his way.
Time froze to a standstill when her piercing, green eyes bore straight through him, the only sound a wet, beating heart. Was it Nny's heart? Only gods knew...
Fuck.
She was looking right at him.
Nny had to get away; he couldn't bear to see the hateful gleam in her emerald eyes. Also, he was worried she may alert someone to his presence.
He did try to kill her after all...
Yet she didn't alert anyone. She just... stared. She even cocked her head slightly, a manic gleam flaming inside those too bright, too green eyes.
Holy crap.
Nny backed away, bumping into several people in the crowd.
"Hey, watch it!"
"S-sorry..." Nny mumbled, apologizing to the people of the city of all things, but he only had one goal on his mind.
Home.
Hopefully, she wouldn't call the police. Not that Nny had any reason to worry about the police before, but the wall monster was gone now.
Nny was no longer protected by supernatural forces.
Something about her eyes, though, told him that she wouldn't be calling anyone. She hardly looked scared, or even hateful.
In fact, she looked bored, devoid of emotion, if not... curious.
Still. Nny would not be coming to this part of town for a while. In fact, he should probably leave it altogether.
Lest the ghosts of his past came back to haunt him.
...
Her Daddy would be at the hospital for a while. Mommy explained that he'd been in a crash and would be asleep for a while.
Since Mommy and Daddy were still married, the hospital had called her. Mommy was his "Next of kin..."
Her Daddy would be okay, though. When he finally wakes, he will smile at her and pull her into a hug, and then he will come back home and live with her and Mommy again.
Molly saw it after all; her Mommy still loved her Daddy. She'd cried for him, so it gave Molly hope.
She had to hold onto some hope, or that awful black cloud would come back and make her feel cold again. It was scary, and she didn't like being scared.
First, she had to see Nny. Molly would be going up to the hospital with her Mommy later, and she was frightened of how her Daddy would appear to her eyes. But she knew Nny would make her feel better.
He always did.
Although he was a little crazy and said weird things at times, she loved him. Even though he hurt people, she still wanted to be his friend.
Nothing would come between them.
Instead of going out the front door, or sneaking out the window, Molly decided to use the tunnel that connected her basement to his house.
She was terrified to go back down into his scary basement again, but Nny promised he would let all the people he had down there go.
He confessed he had a lot of people down there, and Molly told him off as if she were his mother. She didn't like it either when the kids at school said nasty things to her, but that didn't mean it was okay to lock them up in her basement and hurt them.
People deserved a chance after all. Maybe that mean person was just having a bad day.
It was scary down in her house's basement. The boiler made creepy sounds, but Molly wanted to be brave.
If she couldn't face her demons in the basement, then she wouldn't be strong enough to see Daddy. Molly had to be strong, for Mommy and for Daddy...
She soon found the tunnel to Nny's house, gulping when a lonely wind drifted out the narrow passage. A putrid scent hit her nose.
It smelled awful.
But Molly would do it. For Mommy and for Daddy. Even for Grandma Aoife.
Sucking in a deep breath, she passed through the opening, and soon she found herself looking down a long tunnel.
With her heart in her mouth, she wrapped her arms around her blue dress and started down the tunnel. It was dark. Apart from a few flickering lights, Molly couldn't see. She kept hearing things, like a distant scream or a creepy laugh.
She closed her eyes, telling herself it was only her imagination.
The tunnel wouldn't hurt her.
Soon, she would be under Nny's house, and then she would be safe.
Nny would protect her from the monsters.
There came the sound of footsteps up ahead next, and Molly stopped, her heart pounding.
Someone was approaching her from the other end of the tunnel.
Hopefully, it was only Nny, coming to meet her.
A shadow loomed towards her at the other end of the tunnel, and Molly panicked. She couldn't see who they were since they were too far away, yet she stayed put, deciding to wait.
The shadow hovered closer and closer, and with it came the sound of panting breath.
Was Nny running?
Trepidation gripped tight hold of her. For some reason, she knew it wasn't Nny coming her way.
It was somebody else.
Who was it?
The shadow materialised at last, and now a man in a long white coat and glasses took its place.
He stopped several feet away, leaning down to grip his knees as he gasped for air. Molly kept her distance, wondering if he was safe.
She wasn't supposed to talk to strangers after all.
When the man stood back up, his gaze landed on her, and then his eyes nearly popped from their sockets.
"How... Where did you come from?"
Molly stepped back, stammering. "I... came from my house. I live just at the end of this tunnel."
The man's eyes sparked. "So, there's a way out of here? Thank goodness! I've been trapped underground for several months now. I'm not sure what I did to offend Johnny. I was only trying to help after all..."
Molly's heart whacked against her chest. Trying to help him? How?
The man chuckled. "But I'm okay now. You're here, after all, my little guardian angel... You're certainly a sight for weary eyes. It's been some time since I saw such a cute face! Now, don't get me wrong. Johnny has a certain quality that one could grow to love after some time, but he has nothing on you..."
Molly's lip shook. "How... how do you know Johnny?"
The man laughed. "Why, I'm his counsellor, of course! He used to visit my office back at the hospital."
Molly's eyes widened. "H-hospital? Wait... are you a doctor?"
The man beamed. "I sure am! Did the coat give it away?"
"Yeah, I guess... Why... why did NNY lock you down here?"
The doctor raised an eyebrow at that question, placing his hand on his chin. He was rather young for a doctor, maybe not much older than Nny. He had curly blond hair and bright, cheerful eyes, and hardly looked dangerous.
"Let me think. Well, when we used to have our talks at the hospital, he was always so quiet, reserved, which is pretty much the norm. Many of my patients are a little afraid to open up at first. But then when he started to get comfortable enough, he would start telling me all of his problems. I'd never met a sorrier creature, with thoughts of suicide, murder, and loneliness running rampant through his mind. I wanted so much to help, and I tried so, so hard. It appeared we were getting somewhere, but... then he confessed a very particularly gruesome tale. You may be a little too young to remember all those horrible stories in the news a few years back. There was the incident at Taco Smell, Café le Prick, and then that poor woman they found behind the mall. So tragic."
The doctor shook his head, making a tutting sound.
Molly staggered back, her heart-shattering. "Did... did NNY hurt all those people?"
The man fixed his glasses again as they captured the light. "Well, I never got a direct confession, but I gathered as much because the next thing I knew, he knocked me unconscious, and then I woke up inside this wonderful, underground facility. Neat, huh?"
Molly's heart broke bit by bit the more she heard. She knew Nny had hurt people in the past, but to such extremes? The lady behind the mall... There had been a similar story a few weeks back on the news. The newsman had said she'd been 'raped'. Not that Molly knew what that word meant.
Had Nny raped her?
"Now, now, there's no need to be scared, little one. We can escape together! Johnny can't hurt either of us anymore."
Molly bristled, angered by his accusation. "NNY would never hurt me!"
Her shout rebounded off the walls, and she gasped, covering her mouth. She just shouted at a grownup and a doctor of all people. Molly had never felt so ashamed.
"I'm... s-so sorry..." she cried, tears spilling from her eyes. "I'm sorry that NNY locked you down here, but he's changed now. He won't hurt people anymore. So please don't send him back to the hospital..."
The doctor sighed, placing a hand on her head. "No need to worry. I understand you're frightened and only sticking up for your friend. Now, come on, lead the way to your house. Freedom awaits us!"
Molly wiped her cheeks. "O-okay... we... we will have to be quiet. My Mommy doesn't know about this tunnel or NNY. So she can't see you."
The doctor laughed, ruffling her hair again. "No problem. Let's go. By the way, you can call me Dick. My colleagues call me Dr. Cummings..."
Molly smiled shyly. "I'm... I'm Molly."
"Well, lovely to meet you, Molly."
He leaned forward and offered his hand. Molly was a little unsure at first, but then shook his hand, smiling to herself.
Well, so long as she could help him escape. He was a doctor and a good person, so he shouldn't be down here.
Molly would help him escape.
...
Nny decided to prowl the streets of the city until sundown. Now that he had promised Molly he would no longer 'hurt' people, he had nothing else to do.
Suppose if someone bumped into him rather rudely, but no... Nny had promised.
He would not break that little girl's heart.
So cold turkey it was. He could ignore the shakes and the palpitations of his heart...
When a group of teenagers on skateboards rolled past him next, laughing and pointing at the way he looked, he turned away. When a bunch of beautiful-looking women in bikini tops giggled at his silly hair, he kept his fingers inside his pockets and counted to ten.
Must resist. Mustn't kill...
Then, when a homeless man with a "Feed Me, I'm Insane!" sign begged him for change, Nny kept his eyes ahead. Unfortunately, the bum was one of his fans, so he picked up the pace, pushing an old woman aside to get away.
Fuck.
"Hey, everyone, it's Johnny C. The creator of Happy Noodle Boy!"
Nny growled when people peered his way. The homeless man was drawing too much attention, and Nny was not in the mood to have a spotlight cast upon him.
"Hey, wait! I love your work! Don't go! Sign my card!"
"Leave me alone!"
He crossed the street, almost getting knocked over by a Ferrari in the process, but it was worth it to get away from that homeless insane.
That's it. Enough sightseeing. Time for Nny to head home.
By the time he arrived on his street, dusk had fallen. Stars twinkled in the sky and Nny sighed.
Another beautiful night.
But he wouldn't kill himself.
His days of suicidal thoughts were over. Ever since Molly came into his life.
She gave him a purpose again. She was his anchor to this cold, cruel world. No point flying over the stars when he had a reason to remain.
When he turned the bend of his street, he stopped dead in his tracks.
Police cars were parked all around his house, the blue flash of their sirens reflecting off his neighbour's windows, and his throat constricted.
Shit...
Were they finally here for him? Perhaps Devi did alert the authorities after all.
It was more than he deserved, especially after what he tried to do to her, but still. The ultimate betrayal.
After he obliterated his feelings for her, too.
However, when he got a second look, he noticed there were no vans or men in white ready to strap him up in a straightjacket.
No. Instead of his house, they surrounded Molly's, and his throat closed up for a very different reason now. Dread tingled up his spine as he hovered closer.
He spotted Molly's mother crying by the front door, talking to a police offer. The officer in question held a clipboard and pen, scribbling down notes.
"She's about three foot eight, blonde, blue eyes, and was wearing a bright blue dress and her hair in pigtails..."
Nny's entire world shattered, and then he fell deep into a chasm. The void swallowed him whole, threatening to drag him down into its evil, black mouth, but then something sparked inside him, bringing him back to life, and when he came to, he knew exactly what he had to do.
Find Molly. Bring her back home
Turning away from the police officer, he climbed into his car, revved the engine, then drove all night.
Nny would be the one to find her. He could search until morning. Hell, he could search until the end of time...
He wouldn't sleep until she was safe back home.
No rest for the wicked, they say, after all.
A bit of a scary, angsty chapter. Let's hope Nny can find Molly...
Dick Cummings though. What a name. If you've figured it out, he is a douche and will get what is coming to him. He's kinda based off the doctor Danny Dickens from the anime Angels of Death, which is based on the game originally. If you have seen that anime, you know the doctor is trouble...