Tales of Hunter, Polly, and Others

The Move

"-OP IT!!" Nixie's eyes opened. She was in her bed. The room was dark. Nixie still felt a pair of arms squeezing her. She began to squirm around. "No... Stop! Stop! Let go of me you evil monster! Why are you...?" Nixie turned around and quickly learned the source of the squeezing. In his sleep, Bob held Nixie tightly in his arms. It was as if he didn't want to let go. Nixie sighed to herself. "Bobby..." It took everything she had to escape Bob's grasp. Her heart pounded from the struggle. Not wanting to go back to sleep, Nixie just sat at the edge of the bed.

Bob's arms were still extended. As soon as he couldn't feel Nixie anymore, he began to reach around for her. Still dreaming, he thought Nixie had vanished. 'No... No!! Come back!!! Please.... Please....!' Bob desperately reached around for her. "Nix... N...Nix..."

Nixie heard Bob talk in his sleep and looked back at him. It was clear that he was upset. In fact, it looked like he was on the verge of tears. Nixie shook her husband awake. "Hey! Hey! Everything is alright. Wake up!"

Bob jumped awake. "Don't touch me ya little....!" It took a moment for him to realize what was going on. "...Nix?" Nixie nodded. Bob jumped up and squeezed Nixie in his arms. "Nix! I... I thought ya were a goner..."
Nixie hugged him back. "Bobby... I had the strangest dream..."
Bob's eyes widened a little. Normally he didn't care much about other people's dreams, but this time was different. "Y-yeah? What was it?"
Nixie sighed. She really didn't want to remember it. "I... I dreamed that you and I were in Watersong."
"Dat's what Watersong looks like? No wonder ya miss the place."
"What? You... were the Bobby in the dream?"
"I guess so... Did I turn to... HIM?"
Nixie nodded. "This is so strange... I doubt sharing dreams is a normal phenomenon."
"I dunno what dat means, but I'm just glad it ain't real."
Nixie smiled. "Me too." The two Raposa let go of each other. Nixie sighed. "It's so dark, isn't it?"
"Yeah. ...Ya wanna go back to sleep?"
She shook her head. "No, I'm not tired. ...Especially after that."
Bob chuckled. "Same here." He got up from the bed and began to prepare coffee for himself. "Coffee?"
Nixie nodded. "Sure. That sounds nice." She joined Bobbery in the kitchen for a cup of coffee. "I wonder what time it is..."
Bob took a sip of his coffee. "Don't ya got a pocket watch, Nix?"
"No, I don't think I do."
"Ya sure? I remember ya havin one."
Nixie shook her head. "I believe I gave one to you years ago. Perhaps that's what you're thinking of?"
"Ah yeah! Forgotten 'bout it. Must be sittin round somewhere broken."
"Do you think the village clock still works?"
"Dunno. It's been a long time since... Ya know. ...You're not thinkin of checkin it, are ya?"
Nixie nodded. "I'm growing curious to be honest..." She walked to the door. "Besides, it isn't that far from here."
Bob followed her. "Nix, don't. Might not be far, but it's still a long walk. Specially with dat stuff out there."
"Bobby, we haven't left this house in days! I'm tired of being paranoid! Please, let me take one step out of my own house."
"Nix, course I don't wanna be stuck here. But dat dream... It can't mean anythin good, Nix! Please wait it out a bit more!"
Nixie sighed. "Bobby, I'm not going far. I just want a breath of fresh air. Is that too much?" She opened the door and stepped outside. After a few seconds, she looked up and saw the reason why it was so dark. The darkness was the closest it has ever been to the house. It wasn't surrounded, but if they didn't leave soon, the family would become trapped. Nixie screamed at the top of her lungs and immediately ran back into the house.

Bob hugged her. "Wha? You okay? What is it?! What happened?!"
Nixie could barely get the words out of her mouth. "I... It.... So... Sorry... I-It's... It's..."
"It's... what?"
"It's... It's here! It's here! It's here!!!" She began to sob into Bob's shoulder. "I... I... I'm so scared..."
Bob's eyes widened. "It's here?! The d...darkness!?!" He peeked out the door. Dark clouds loomed around the house. "We gotta go... Now."

Polly, who woke up to the sound of Nixie screaming, rushed up to her parents. "Mom! Dad! What happened!? Is everything okay?"
Bob's heart was pounding. He tried to force a smile for his daughter. "It's okay, everything's okay! I... Uh... Your mother got startled, dats all!"
Polly looked at Nixie, who was still crying. She squeezed Bongo in her arms. 'He's lying... Something's wrong.' She looked at the door. It was wide open. Polly was about to walk up to it, when her dad stopped her.
"Whoa whoa whoa! Where ya think you're goin missy?"
"Something's out there."
"What?! N-no, no there ain't! Ya stay right where you are. I ain't losin ya again."
"But Dad! I wanna see what happened!"
"No buts! It's... It's nothing. Everything's okay." His eyes began to water a little. "R-right Nix?"
Nixie sniffled. It felt like her heart was shattered. "...No. No, it's not okay."
Polly was startled. "Mom?"
Bob was also startled. He didn't think she would say that. ...Actually, he had no idea what she would say at all. "...Nix?"
Nixie let go of her husband and faced Polly. Her eyes were watery. "...It's terrible. Everything has been awful, and nobody is going to fix it. Polly, the darkness is really bad right now."
"I know mom."
"No Polly! No you don't! We're almost surrounded!" Tears fell from her eyes. "...Polly, you know what this means, don't you?"
Polly's eyes widened. "No... We can't leave!! I won't!!"
"Alright then, stay here. If you don't wake up tomorrow, that is your problem!"
Polly's lips quivered. "Mom..." She couldn't stop herself from crying. She sat on the floor and buried her face in Bongo.
Bob glared at Nixie. "What the Rapo Nix!?!?! Are ya TRYING to scare her?!"
"N-no... I just..."
"Well it sure looked like it!" He glanced at Polly. "...Poor kid. She shouldn't have to deal with dis..."
"I... I didn't mean to... Polly..." Nixie walked up to her. "I'm sorry, I just..." She knelt down and gave her a hug. "I don't want this either...
Polly sniffled. "I... I don't wanna be left here..."
"Polly, I swear that I would never even consider doing that to you. ...We are going to get through this together."
"You... You mean it?"
Nixie nodded. "Of course I do. Now come on, we need to hurry." Nixie helped Polly off of the floor.
"Hurry? With what?"
"...We need to pack. And fast."
"Now!?"
"Yes, Polly! Now! Go and pack your things, we're leaving today!"
Polly rushed to take everything she could. "I'm taking the house with us!!"
"No! We don't have time! Just take what you need!" Nixie looked at Bob. "...We should hurry."
Bob nodded. "Alright. I'll get clothes, you get food." Bob rushed to gather an extra set of clothing for everyone. Nixie found a large basket and filled it to the brim with the food she could find.