Rainy Days

Chapter Forty-Five: Cats Are Cool, But Monkeys Are Magnificent (@ Pogo)

"I am sorry," Pogo said. "I never meant to trigger that alarm."

Five still didn't speak. With a long sigh, Pogo placed a peanut butter and marshmallow sandwich in the floor, a glass of water accompanying it, and left.

The door closed and locked, the click sounding like a guillotine. After a moment, Five crawled towards the food. He ate it slow, savoring it.

Once the food was gone, Five neatly placed the dishes near the door. Then, he moved to the farthest corner and sat quietly, staring at his hands. The sandwich and Pogo's brief appearance had soothed the voices in his head, but now they where back and louder than ever.

Five leaned his head against the wall and closed his eyes, wishing he could die. It'd be a gift. The silence, the sweet deliverance from his monsters.

Five pressed his palms against his eyes, driving away the tears. He couldn't cry anymore. He couldn't. You cried plenty during those fifty years in the apocalypse, a voice shouted. Killed plenty of people afterwards too!

The screams of a girl Five had to leave in the woods so her father could become a detective. A college frat boy who would've invented the cure for cancer too early. A young guitarist from 1921 who would have invented the electric guitar to early. All of them and more seemed to float up to the surface, their cries and gasps of pain echoing through his brain.

A choked sob wrenched its way from Five, coming from a place between his broiling stomach and his pounding heart. "I'm sorry!" He screamed to no one. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!"

No one answered. Five was all alone, just like he deserved.

Five let out another sob.

It was ten-fifteen, Thursday morning.

~{}~

Jordan watched the floor, listening to the deafening quiet around him. No one seemed to be there, or approaching. Carefully, he took a step forwards. Another. Another.

He sprinted across the lobby as quick as he could, his shoes making soft, barely noticeable thumps.

Panting—he needed to exercise more—he paused to catch his breath. Still, the house was quiet. Goosebumps crawled up Jordan's arms. He wondered how anyone could survive this.

With his breath caught, Jordan started towards the door Grace had shown him on the blueprints. He reached out and pulled it open.

An elegant elevator rested there. He checked the watch—ten-nineteen. He'd managed to do it in record time. He stepped in, a soft smile on his face, and pressed the only button there. The doors creaked shut and with a jolt, he descended.

~

Grace watched Pogo, her eyes innocent. She was mainly focused on dusting, yes, but she was also waiting for Pogo to go. Every day, at ten-twenty, he took a shower. She had to wait.

Pogo let out a long, heavy sigh and got to his feet. He carefully walked off. Grace paused and waited, listening.

After sixty-three seconds, Grace bolted for the desk.

As quickly and quietly as she could, Grace dug through all the stacks of things; Pogo was remarkably messy with his things. Muttering words under her breath, she scrambled for the key ring.

It was sitting under a stack of paper, and she grasped it tightly. She unhooked it from the ring and slipped it into her apron pocket. Looking around inconspicuously, Grace picked up the duster and moved to the elevator.

She went to the door hiding the elevator and opened it. She placed the key on the ground and then pressed the button, stepping out deftly and closing the door as the elevator creaked and started falling gently.

It was ten-twenty four.

A/N:
guess who's back (back again)
it's me!!!!!
i hope you've all had a lovely past week or so! i know i had loads of fun at my camp, and i improved my bassoon skills quite a lot (i have learned a chromatic scale after years of playing instruments lmao i hate technical things)!!
anyways, for August i'm going to continue the Monday, Wednesday, & Friday updating schedule, although i'd expect it to go back to the two-times a week during the school year.
anywho, i'm glad to be back home & with my story! i hope you enjoyed this chapter (it's not very good, sorry) and that you have a lovely day!