"I have to keep going... Maine is not that far... have to keep going."
Dboy's mantras echoed in his mind as the group continued to travel. Even as camp was set up, Dboy isolated himself from the fire, sitting with his knees tucked under his chin and arms wrapped around himself. He had been toyed with for too long, clinging to the hope that his end was near, only to be denied again and again. The Voice of Misery was going insane, and with every passing moment, he wished that whatever was in Maine would finally be his end.
"Just have to play the game a little longer..."
The other four members of the group sat around the fire, talking with Shmee. By now, it was clear that there were more questions than answers.
Eff rubbed the sides of his head, "Reverend. This shit still isn't clear to me, while dboy and I were unconscious how did nny boy acquire you, meat man? Devi? What girl have you been talking about?"
"No, it wasn't Devi," Reverend responded, sounding agitated as he tossed pinecones into the fire. To be honest, the memory sometimes gets dim. I don't like how this was all extended by my existence alone. Shmee has stated already his theories aren't certain. When Nny became conscious again after a time of being alone I was born."
Shmee rested his head on the ground, the campfire illuminating the pages of the book he had taken from Cassie's desk. Smiling, he spoke aloud, "Funny you haven't figured it out yet. An even exchange of energy woke him up. Nny had sex with someone, it brought his baseline mentality back and with it, Reverend was born. Pretty amazing love child you are, Haw!"
Sickness rolled her eyes at Shmee. "I guess, but he ended up murdering her anyway. Sounds a little too easy."
"Ding ding ding! That's exactly what he needed—an awakening through horror! However, I wonder how things would have played out if it had been Devi. The emotions, the deeper connection he had with her... that would've been powerful," Shmee mused, turning another page in his book.
Sickness brow furrowed, staring into the fire. "She was stronger than him. Stronger than me." Her voice laced with bitterness as she remembered the pain of Devi plucking her eyes out. miraculously the screws to her eyes were still next to her when Sickness came back alive again.
Shmee poked at Sickness's shoulder playfully, earning a hiss of annoyance in return. "It's okay, amor," Shmee teased, "You're powerful enough, and that's coming from me."
"Patronizing prick!" Sickness growled, standing up and storming off into the forest.
Shmee shrugged. "I'm over the questions now—no more fun. This book has my attention."
Eff chuckled, glancing at the cover of the book, which depicted a man and woman embracing in a field. "A romance novel has your attention? Please. I love delusions as much as the next being, but that garbage?"
Laughing, Shmee looked up at Eff and Reverend. "It's fascinating to see what goes through the human imagination. Very never-ending. Listen to this!" He turned to the next page and began reading aloud.
"Conversations between Blue and Flora only led to trouble. Flora was weak against his charming advances and always seemed to know what to say to her. It was like he could read her mind and flutter her heart and stomach with butterflies.
"Flora" he whispered in a voice that dripped like honey, "Is it alright if I kiss you?"
She nodded in response unable to resist him any longer. Her muscles relaxed as soon as her lips melted into his. Her palms sweated as her jaw slacked and moved while her tongue caressed his. It was a powerful feeling unlike any other. Flora and Blue were ready to give in to each other their very all.
He started to kiss her down softly from her lips to her chin, jawline, and the sides of her neck she tilted back to Blue as he reached for the buttons of her blouse. Exposing her round and soft breast as her skin reacted in goosebumps and a shiver went down her spine.
His mouth and tongue went to work. Swishing her perky round nipple side to side with his lips. Sucking lightly while twirling his tongue all around. She moaned as her brain exploded in ecstasy. Drool spilled down Blue's chin as his mouth then traveled down below her navel. His lips made their way to the beauty between her legs. Probing his tongue in her warm and wet slit, wagging it up, down, and in circles keeping it in rhythm with how well Flora would respond. Going back and forth sucking lightly on her pearl to her delicious cavern of pleasure had her begging for more and more."
Just when Dboy thought sitting far away from the group would spare him an additional headache, Shmee continued with his sick torture.
"Stop reading that filth out loud, this forest is quiet enough," Dboy groaned, getting up to walk even further from the camp.
Shmee smirked at Dboy's constant irritation. He found it amusing how easy it was to get a rise out of the Voice of Misery, and understood why Eff had enjoyed doing so for so long.
"This is quite a short book! I'm just getting to the middle!" Shmee grinned as Reverend and Eff laughed.
Sickness sat perched on a cliff, gazing out over the wooded ravine and distant mountains. She could sense the life of the world breathing more clearly than ever before. Sickness realized that the noise from the others had always drowned it out. Since materializing and after Reverend found her, she had never truly been alone. This silence was foreign to her, the little voice of chaos. Oddly, it made her feel almost ill.
"Oh, it's you."
Startled by Dboy's quiet approach, Sickness whipped her head around. "Make yourself known next time! You're quieter than the rest of them!"
"Whatever," Dboy replied, standing beside her. Every time he interacted with Sickness, memories of Johnny's happiness with Devi that night long ago surfaced in his mind. There was always this strange association, this bitter reminder. Sickness, in some twisted way, had given Johnny—no, Eff—hope. Hope that life was somehow still worth living. Dboy knew Sickness wasn't directly to blame, but she was a constant symbol of things he couldn't control. After learning from Shmee how much Sickness and Reverend had influenced everything, Dboy's desire to end them both burned inside him.
Hey, why haven't I tried that already?
Dboy sat next to Sickness, suddenly grabbing her by the shoulders and forcing her to face him.
"What the hell?!" Sickness yelled, trying to push Dboy away. But Dboy was stronger.
"Look at me, bitch," Dboy commanded telepathically, locking eyes with the struggling Sickness. The air between them crackled with raw fury as both beings stared into each other's glinting eyes, radiating rage. Dboy was on the verge of destroying Sickness when suddenly, time froze.
The moon hung brightly above them, its light casting an eerie glow on Sickness's glassy eyes, doll-like lips, and round face. Dboy felt himself lock up, paralyzed, as the familiar sensation of a tremor seized him. It was the same feeling he had when he faced off against Shmee—no control, no escape.
"You're not going to do that. Not to her."
The mysterious voice echoed. In a flash, the image of the woman Dboy had met at the riverbed appeared in his mind, followed by a sudden vision of Devi sitting across from him on the couch. Before he could make sense of it, Dboy's true form began to unravel involuntarily, as if pulled apart by forces beyond his control.
