smiling critters

chapter 43 - cemetery

Neil stared at him in awe. He'd never once held his dad not coming back against him, he'd just sort of accepted that he was probably never going to see him again, but even then he'd done the one thing not even godfrey could find it in his heart to do. Apologize. All this time, all he'd ever wanted from godfrey was the confirmation that he truly regretted what he'd done, not just to neil, but all his siblings over the years. Neil didn't know why, but he started crying. He started crying as he apologized for doing so, at least until dad pulled him close. They sat there as neil tried to get himself to calm down while dad gently petted him on the head. After a little while, he started to relax enough to fall asleep.

brief Anders POV

Once anders realized that neil had fallen asleep, he carefully lifted him into his lap and talked to grace a bit before standing up with neil and started heading back to donna and malachi's house to put him in his bed. He wrapped his tail around neil's and pulled it behind himself so he wouldn't accidentally step on it. After a bit of walking, he got to donna's house and PJ let him in, allowing him to go up to neil's room and tuck in into bed. He rubbed a bit of his scent on him before leaving.

Neil POV

Neil was in godfrey's room while he was sitting at his desk smoking.

"Godfrey, can i spend the night at dylan's house?" he asked hesitantly.

"Why?" godfrey demanded.

"Because it's windy..."

"Not a valid reason."

"Please, my friends are really scared of wind! Didn't i tell you that?"

"You did, i jut don't think that's a good excuse to leave, especially when you haven't done your chores."

"I can do them in the morning, godfrey! Just please let me go!"

"Neil, you know The Original punishes disobedience."

"Yea but-"

"Then i don't want to hear it."

"Godfrey, please! I never ask for much, and i can do my chores twice- no, three times as goo in the morning!"

"Godfrey sighed angrily. "Fine, but you need to pray before you leave. Now."

Neil nodded and turned around to leave when godfrey stopped him.

"No. right here. In front of me."

"But it's kinda weird to-"

"Or you don't get to go."

"Ok," neil spat out before kneeling and starting to pray in his head.

"Out loud. So i can hear you," godfrey snarled before taking a drag of his cigarette. Neil restarted his prayer, aloud this time. Once he was done, godfrey let him leave. He thanked his beloved brother and opened his door, only for him to find himself in dylan's living room as the canine he held so dear smiled sadistically at him while the others had the same expression before cheering his name.

"Please! Help us go to sleep neil!"

"We need it, neil!"

"Please help us!"

"Sleep! Sleep! Sleep!"

Suddenly, neil tasted blood and smelled the all too familiar sickly sweet smell of dirt, rotting produce and rotting meat. It was pouring out of his mouth as his friends started to get hysterical. Suddenly, neil was sitting on dylan's couch as someone straddled his hips. He looked down to see dylan's disembodied legs wrapped around him. He groaned and pushed them away as he saw the rest of his friends horrifically mutilated. Bobby's arms had been violently ripped off and her chest was pried open and her heart was pulled out and ripped in half. Bryson's brain was ripped out and reduced to a bloody pool on the floor. Camila's eyes had been pulled out and there was a giant hole drilled into her head, almost as if there was supposed to be something there. Penny's mouth had been super glued shut and her digestive system had been ripped out. Kai had been skinned and partially burnt. Hollie's limbs had been torn off and her ears were bleeding. Neil, practically paralyzed in horror, slowly looked to his right and saw dylan legless on the couch with a belt tightened onto his beautiful and perfect waist, keeping his intestines inside his body as a little stuffed animal was shoved into his left eye. It was a cat with dusty lavender fur. He looked at the clock. It was 1 AM; georgia should be home and sleeping by now. He shot up and frantically ran to her room, hoping she was ok. That hope was quickly snuffed out  when he saw elliot over her while a knife was forced through her throat. He turned to face neil.

"I'm so proud of you," he smiled and walked up to him before caressing his shoulders. Neil's chest tightened.

"Why?" he asked, wanting to shove him away.

"For punishing heresy like The Original wanted! You did so well~" elliot held neil like dylan would, but unlike dylan, the contact made him sick to his stomach. Now he was at a cliff leaning on a railing beside a sign for the suicide prevention hotline.

"Do it," godfrey snarled from behind him.

"What?"

"You know you want to. Murderer."

"Godfrey, i don't know what you mean."

"Don't lie to me."

He looked down at the ocean, realizing what godfrey meant.

"I don't want to! I have something to live for now! I-i'm getting better!"

"Are you? You know you'll go back to your old habits, then guess who you'll come crawling back to once he gets out of prison?"

Neil began to cry. "B-but-"

(little break from the tension, but can someone tell me what demonic force lady gaga dabbled with to make telephone such a masterpiece?)

"Do it. Pussy."

Godfrey started to repeat 'do it' as more voices joined him. His surrogate family, then his friends, then elliot and georgia. He gripped the guardrail and put his left hind paw on the ledge. He did it.

1804 words

I managed to finish this in one day, so actually super proud of myself, gonna try to do that today since I tend to not get a lot done during school, ok mwah mwah have a great day!