Chapter 10: Nightmares On Fire

Socks jolted awake from her sleep as she heard an ear piercing squeal of terror coming from Bluey's house.

"Muffin...?" She breathed, getting out of her sitting position and ran from her little hiding spot. Without thought, her feet immediately stopped when her eyes made contact with the house.

"No." She whispered as her eyes widened with shock. Bluey's house, Socks and her family's new sanctuary, the only thing the family knew as their only home... was on fire. How can it be possible?

"No. No! No, no, no, no, NO!" She screamed out, still standing in place. Her frightened mind flashed back to the moment where she and Muffin ran inside the burning house, the falling debris nearly killing her big sister. She couldn't let that happen again.

Her feet activated and she zoomed towards the burning house, hoping that her family was alive. She tried opening the door, but the knob wouldn't turn. It was locked.

"NO, NO, NO! THIS CANNOT BE HAPPENING!" She shouted, trying to open the door once more. She grunted heavily as she kicked and punched at the door, trying any sort of way to get it to budge.

Her hands and feet were covered in blood as cuts and splinters made their way into Socks' flesh. With a deep breath, Socks took a step back and ran into the torn up door, shoving her whole body into the unseen splinters with every ounce of strength she had left. She hit the floor hard as the door finally swung open, allowing Socks to enter and save her family.

"Bluey?! Bingo?! Muffin?! Where is everybody?!" She said as she got on her feet and paced around the house, trying to find someone, anyone who could still be alive. The house felt like an oven and Socks thought she felt her flesh cooking as she walked through the burning house. She came to a halt when she saw a small gray figure laying on the floor, not moving, nor breathing.

"MUFFIN!!" She screamed and ran towards her fallen sister. "OH, MUFFIN, PLEASE WAKE UP! PLEASE!!" Her brain replayed the moment where that one piece of falling debris had knocked her sister out cold, nearly killing her. Socks shook her head, trying to snap herself out of those thoughts and return to what she thought was reality.

"Muffin, y-you're g-gonna be okay, j-just hang tight-"

Why...?

Socks' ears perked up immediately when she heard that whisper.

Why, why, why?!

Socks looked around frantically, trying to find the source of the whispers.

Why couldn't you save me, just... why?!

"Muffin..." She gasped as she realized it now. She was hearing the whispers of Muffin Cupcake Heeler.

Why, Socks? WHY?!

"S-Stop saying that!" She shouted as she stuttered. "I-I did save you! D-Didn't I?!"

Not here...

"H-Here...?"

You have to be brave. You have to be strong. If you don't, your nightmare will become your reality.

"What? W-What do you mean?" Was Socks really hearing the whispers of Muffin? Is that really Muffin, her sister?

If you can't let go of the past, then your thoughts and actions will end up burning Bluey's house down as well.

Socks was bewildered, but she kinda knew what Muffin meant. Let go of the past. That is what she wanted to do from the start, but couldn't.

She was too scared to. Worrying about her cousin's house burning down was a thought that she already had to deal with, but now she has to deal with her own frenzied thoughts. The question was, how could her own crazed subconscious mind possibly lead to Bluey's house burning down? It just didn't make any sense.

You have to snap out of it. You have to wake up.

"W-Wake up? But aren't I-?"

Wake up, Socks. Wake up.

"But I-"

Socks, please, wake up.

Wake up, Socks. Wake up...

"Wake up, Socks! Wake up!"

Socks' eyes shot open as she took in a big gasp, choking on her own saliva in the process and ended up coughing violently.

"Take it easy, Socks. I'm here now," A gentle, child-like voice said, patting her choking sister on her back. "You need a drink of water, a hug, anything?" Immediately, Socks jolted her body onto her sister's warm fur and she hugged her tightly, "M-M-Muffin..." She softly said, grasping onto her sister for dear life as she sobbed openly.

Muffin Heeler didn't even bother fighting off the hug, she just sat there, smiling softly and hugged her back.

"There, there, Socks. I'm here. Everything's gonna be okay." Muffin whispered softly, rocking her sister back and forth slowly. Even Though Muffin Heeler was the feisty one out of the Heeler girls, she too can sometimes be a softie when it comes to one of her cousins being unhappy, angry, or depressed.

Muffin positioned herself and sat right next to Socks, nuzzling her muzzle up and down her cheek.

"Ya know, sometimes when mum would be sad, dad would always sit right next to her and nuzzle her cheek to comfort her. That's what I'm doing, though, they smoochy-kissed each other afterwards and I don't wanna do that, 'cause, ya know, we're sisters."

"W-Well, o-obviously," Socks stammered happily as she rested her head on Muffin's soft body.

"I guess we'll sit here for a little bit. But after we're done, we need to go back into the house, I heard that Chilli is very worried about-" Muffin stopped mid-sentence when she noticed that her sister had slumped onto her legs, falling into a deep sleep. Muffin smiled and rested her head onto Socks' body.

She too closed her eyes while rubbing the tiny Heelers' back. She yawned, but tried her best to stay awake as long as possible. But in the process of doing so, her body had slumped onto the green grass, allowing her eyes and her mind to shut down and fall into a deep sleep.