Balloons (Wattys2017)

Chapter 9

This game was as good as won, if only Nomed hadn't saved her. Because of his carelessness and Sparrow's deal, the game was not won, but instead it was prolonged.

"Cheater! Cheater!! Cheater!!!" The Daemon yelled out. Sparrow and Nomed both jumped before they began to run, finding their way back out of the forest to the manor. Along the way, Nomed and Sparrow had gotten separated, and Sparrow had no clue where Nomed was.

"Nomed? Nomed?! Nomed!!" Sparrow called out, hoping for an answer. When she got none, she frantically began to look for her friend.

"Oh God, this is all my fault!" Sparrow told herself. Frantically, Sparrow searched for Nomed. Another giggle was heard coming from around Sparrow.

"You fool. You brought this upon yourself. He broke the rule, it was supposed to be just us, remember." The Daemon reminded. Sparrow's eyes widened before she gritted her teeth.

"He had nothing to do with anything! Let him go!!" Sparrow yelled to nothing. The Daemon giggled again, her body appearing now.

"You're really stubborn." They said with a giggly voice. "Annoying, but stubborn." The Daemon stated.

"What's it going to take to give Nomed back to me?" Sparrow asked, her hands balled into fists.

"Hmm, let's see...the souls." The Daemon said. Each balloon flashed their specific color.

"No." Sparrow stated coldly.

"Then I guess your little friend will have to die, now isn't that sad?" The Daemon said in a sing song voice.

"There has to be a different way!" Sparrow yelled angrily.

"Maybe, maybe not. We could do another finding game, but it doesn't seem fair to play with a cheater." The Daemon said as she tapped her chin.

"I didn't cheat. I didn't even know he was here." Sparrow lied.

"Liar. These woods are ours, we saw and heard everything." The Daemon explained.

"Ours?" Sparrow questioned.

"Mommy and me! Now, do we have a deal, the souls for your friend?" The Daemon responded. Sparrow furrowed her brows.

"My soul, for my friend." She spoke. The Daemon gasped slightly before quickly responding.

"Deal." The Daemon replied, extending her hand. Sparrow retracted her own hand.

"Ah ah ah, another hint." Sparrow said before the Daemon could begin the game. She growled angrily.

"Gah! Fine! Underneath the truth he lies, with the lense it would've been easy to find." The Daemon said, gripping Sparrow's hand tightly and disappearing. Sparrow hissed slight before thinking over the hint.

“He must be hidden underground, but where?” Sparrow asked herself. Without the mirror she would blindly begin to dig up wherever she assumed he would be.

Sparrow thought back to every place she's been and thought about any crack in the ground or any hole around the area. Her mind went to the library, as well as the large hole she was nearly dragged to by the flowers while she looked for the souls. A small bell's chime made Sparrow turn her head to the balloons tied to her wrist.

"Be clever, Sparrow, underground is in the house." Christa’s voice hinted. Sparrow nodded her head, running to the house.

"Nomed?!" Sparrow called out, looking for any sign or response. When she got nothing, she began to explore. The floor boards felt like they would give way at any moment, causing Sparrow to worry about her every step. This gave Sparrow an idea, she ran to the guest room she stayed in and stomp on the ground several times. When the floorboards split open, Sparrow stepped to the side and looked down.

“Nomed?!” She yelled, her voice echoing from within the large cavern she had just made. Sparrow jumped down into the hole, seeing nothing but darkness laid out before her.

“Guys, a little help please.” She said to the balloons, each one lit up their balloon’s color. First pink, then purple, and then lastly blue. The light was dim, but it was enough to see where she was going. She was walking through a long, narrow corridor just under the entire house, drops of water made shivers go up and down her spine. Sparrow had then misstepped and dropped down deeper into another corridor just underneath.

“Ow! Damn, where am I now?” Sparrow said, sitting up and looking around. There at least was lighting now, the balloons stopped glowing, which let Sparrow get up without worrying the light disappearing. The entire area was lit up by an eerie green light.

“N-Nomed?” Sparrow gulped as she began walking, there she saw Nomed, on the ground with a red balloon half inflated in his hand. Sparrow’s eyes widened as she saw the state he was in. His body somehow became thinner and his body looked frailer.

"Nomed!!!!" Sparrow yelled running towards him. Nomed turned his head weakly, looking at Sparrow.

"I-i-it's ok....I-I w-w-wanted t-to....d-do t-this...." Nomed spoke, a weak smile forming.

"Nomed no, please don't!" Sparrow yelled, tears streaming down her cheeks.

"W-when you g-go home, t-tell your m-mom I-I said h-h-hi..." Nomed said, cupping Sparrow’s cheek, kissing her hand softly, and blowing up the rest of the red balloon. Nomed’s hand fell limp to the ground as the balloon tied itself shut and floated upward. A faint moan was heard from the balloon before it glowed. Sparrow’s eyes filled with tears.

"No!!!!!! God no!!! Why?!?!" Sparrow screamed, a river of tears falling from her cheeks to the ground. She gripped his hand tightly in her own, crying over his now empty husk of a body. The Daemon appeared from the corner of the room, laughing with glee and delight at Sparrow’s misery.

"Hahahaha! He was almost as pathetic as you!" The Daemon spoke through her laughs, the balloon floating to her hands. She tied the string around the neck of the balloon. “Such a shame, it wasn’t his favorite color.” The Daemon added. Sparrow bit her bottom lip, balling her free hand into a fist.

"Bite me." Sparrow hissed.

"Gladly." Out of the shadows, the Daemon hissed and grabbed Sparrow from behind. Sparrow gasped and yelled as she struggled to push the Daemon off. Just as she bared teeth, Sparrow kicked the Daemon off of herself. She reached into her bag and gripped the sheet in her hand, turning it over and reading the fading print on the back.

Daemon, stop this at once now!
Your company is no longer needed and this is how!

"No! Stop it!!" The Daemon screeched, falling to their knees, gripping their temples.

The friendship you promised failed to last!
All of your lies and your tricks were from the past!

"Enough!!" The Daemon yelled, trying to stop Sparrow from finishing. She lunges towards Sparrow, which made Sparrow briefly pause to dodge and quickly continue where she left off to keep the banishment working.

Now I command you to leave me alone!
Back to the forest, the only home your soul has ever known!

"Gah!!!” The Daemon screamed out as vines and tree roots began to reach up and attach themselves to her limbs and body. They dragged her body down to lay it still along the ground, and with her final scream, The tree roots engulfed her, closing her off permanently inside of a tree.

Sparrow dropped the paper and panted heavily, her heart racing. She grabbed the red balloon, gently hugging it.

“I’m so sorry Nomed, this is all my fault.” Sparrow said quietly to the balloon. A similar chime to the one before made her look at the red balloon.

“D-don't apologize. Y-you did i-it. J-just go b-back to t-the real w-world and p-pop us. W-we can t-then be f-free to g-go.” Nomed’s soft voice spoke out from the balloon. Sparrow nodded and tied the string to her wrist as well.

“O-ok...I will for you all, I swear to you all I will."