I feel my head still pounding from whatever I had fallen unconscious from. My (e/c) eyes flutter open and I glance at my surroundings. I find myself in a bright, colorful town with carnival-like decor around it. I pick myself up and begin to walk through the new town I had been placed in. My copper-colored boots click as I walk along the worn brick-lined streets. I read the messily painted wooden sign in front of me.
Rules
1. Music
2. Monsters
3. Survive
That seems..familiar.
...
Shit.
I got shipped to Bayon's, didn't I?
Well, at least I get to die in the same place as they all did. That might help me be with them again in the afterlife. Probably not.
The sirens begin to blare obnoxious tunes you would hear in a music box. I run to find a weapon and a hiding place. Back at Grand Valley, I studied the map here, so I know its layout like the back of my hand. I burst through the house's door and search for a gun I can use. Under the bed, I find a few small handguns and extra ammunition. I take what I need and start to find a place to hide. I have to make it out of this place alive and save the other children.
I race further into the town, darting through between the houses quickly. A blood-curdling scream pierces the air. I try to ignore it and continue running for what feels like hours. I hear a door creak open in one of the houses near me and run away from it. The sounds only seem to be following me. I run into an empty building. I take out the gun and aim it at the place it's coming from. It goes quiet and nothing is heard from it.
"You've been following me this whole time. Why are you suddenly scared?" I ask in a harsh voice.
"...Y/n..you're alive.." The voice says shakily as if they were on the verge of tears. The person comes into the light where I could see them. His white hair was slightly messy from running after me, the red streak still sticking out clearly. Tears form in his crimson eyes as he looks at me in disbelief.
It's just another hallucination. Or the demons are playing tricks on me.
He couldn't have survived.
He can't be here.
He's gone. Right?
All of my doubts about his reality go away once he tackles me in a bone-crushing hug. Our tears spill onto each other. We both stay like that until the music begins to play again, announcing the ending of today's hunt.
"Y-you're here, right? I'm not losing it, am I?" He asks me, his voice cracking, holding my tear-stained face in his trembling hands.
"Yeah, I am...How are you alive though? I thought that the demons would have killed all of you by now. You also had no warning about any of this like I did..." I ask him, mumbling the last part.
"Come on, I can show you," He says, grabbing my hand. He leads me to the town center that I had woken up near. I look around in the crowd of children to see quite a few familiar faces. Many children were getting medical care, food, or just trying to comprehend what they had just gone through. It was too crowded to make out who anyone was. Guess I can try to find out if some of the younger kids like Violet or possibly Jake or Monika are here later.
"I don't understand...How..how did you survive here?" I ask him.
"This way," He leads me off to a large windmill. He knocks on the door in a certain code. The door opens to reveal a large boy who stood taller than the door. He just keeps repeating "22194".
Wait...Isn't that Norman's farm identifier?! Why does this kid know it? He has no record at Grace Field...
Norman...I hope he's still alive at Lambda or something. Emma and Ray would be heartbroken if he isn't. I didn't see any signs of the usual Gupna rituals that take place, so the odds are that he, fortunately, stayed alive.
Oliver leads me into the main room of the windmill. It contained a large wooden table with crates surrounding it. Some of them contain weapons or medical supplies.
"Is this where you've been living?" I ask the boy.
"Sorta. He taught us everything we know. Although, I need to warn you about something. He cannot be spoken of outside of here. He needs to remain a secret.." Oliver explains. I nod in response as he leads me to another door and knocks in a certain pattern. The door opens to reveal a tall man wearing a brown cloak draped over his shoulders. He has maroon hair and golden eyes. He's supported by a wooden cane he holds beneath his cloak.
"Hello, I'm Lucas. You're Y/n, right? It's nice to finally meet you," The man says.
"It's nice to meet you as well. Wait- what do you mean by "finally meet you"?" I ask.
"All of the kids talk about you all the time. They've all missed you this whole time," He responds. I feel my face grow warmer as I notice Oliver's face slowly turning red in embarrassment. All I can do is nod.
"Um, we should get going. I still need to surprise the others with her," Oliver says, obviously embarrassed by Lucas' statement. He takes my hand and leads me upstairs.
"Stay up here until you hear all the others come in. I'll announce that I have a surprise, then you can make your grand entrance," He explains.
"Alright."
I wait for a few moments before the door downstairs creaks open, followed by several sets of footsteps. Oliver discusses the day and the things they needed to do to prepare for the escape.
"Also one last thing, we have a new member for the resistance. You can come out now!" He calls out, cueing my entrance. I walk down the stairs to find them all sitting around the table.
"Hey. It's been a while since I've seen all of you," I say. None of them verbally respond. Before I can even make it over to them, all of them are piled on top of me. Tears form in my (e/c) eyes as they all hug me tightly.
"Y/n! I'm so glad you're alive! I thought you were dead!" Gillian cries out, her tears spilling onto me.
"Nope. They sent me to Grace Field for a while to train me to become a mom. I started helping the children escape, so they shipped me out," I explain.
"I found your note after you left...Please tell all of us next time if you find out something that big," Nigel says.
"I couldn't."
"What do you mean?"
"I made a deal with Mom when I was 8. I found out the secret from seeing what had happened to Sage. To keep me quiet, she gave me most of what I wanted. I got information on the outside world, she got information if any of you discovered the truth. The only reason I agreed to it was to keep you all safe," I explain briefly. They all get off of me one by one and I sit back down at the table with them. We all converse casually as we used to when we were back at Grand Valley. So far, it seems like no one really changed when it comes to personality.
All of us eventually disperse off to do whatever we wanted for the night. I walk out of the windmill and find a large tree in the forest to sit beneath, the moonlight shining softly through the dense leaves. I grab my sketchbook out of my bag and begin to draw. As I was working on adding details to the sketch, I feel a presence near me. I look up to see Oliver standing above me. He sits next to me, seemingly closer than he usually would in the past. He rests his head on my shoulder.
"I've missed you a lot all these years, I hope you know that.." He trails off. He looks as though he's completely lost in his thoughts.
"You alright? You seem to be thinking really hard about something," I ask concerned.
"Y-yeah, it's nothing. Don't worry, I'm fine," He says, seeming to be flustered by something.
What would he be embarrassed over? I know it's been probably about 5 or 6 years since we last talked, but I didn't think it would be this awkward between us. Maybe it just feels a bit different because of how much we've both changed. Although, one thing that hasn't changed is my feelings for him...Hopefully, I don't fuck this up with him.
"So, what are you thinking about? You aren't much better than I am when it comes to this," He says, interrupting my thoughts.
Shit. I can't tell him the truth. Quick, make an excuse, you dumbass!
"Uh..T-the sky is pretty!" I say, stumbling over my words while panicking.
"..We can barely see the sky..? Y/n, I understand that you've probably been through a lot these past years and may not want to talk about it...But.." He says, grabbing my hand gently. "Please promise you'll tell me if something's wrong this time. I can tell something is bothering you, but I won't force you to talk about it if you don't feel comfortable with it. Just know that I care about you and I'm here for you.."
He leans over and kisses me on the forehead. He then gets up and goes back to the windmill. And with that, I'm left with my thoughts again. My face starts to heat up as my brain overanalyzes the situation more than it should.
He wouldn't like me in that way, right? He wouldn't just start liking me after nearly 6 years of being apart and us thinking the other was dead. He probably only did that to comfort me. Or just because he's a nice person.
Fuck.
I can't believe I've fallen for this bitch again. I can't do this shit all over again. We're most likely all going to die soon, especially with how reckless most of them are... Why couldn't we just have a normal life?
Wait...
Oh shit.
{ Flashback }
Mom calls him down and we leave together. When we arrive at the dining hall, all of our other siblings are standing there ready to say their goodbyes to him. A lot of them cry and beg him to stay, while I try to keep composure and wait until later to break down. Oliver then walks up to me and hugs me one last time.
"I'm sorry we have to be apart for a while...Just know that I love you," He says quietly, seemingly nervous to tell me this.
"I love you too.." I respond.
"Oliver, time to go!" Mom calls to him, cutting our time short.
"Good luck out there.." I say. He smiles and turns away to leave with Mom.
{ End }
I just realized it. That's why he was acting strange around me. Does he still like me like that? I completely forgot we even confessed in the first place. Does he still remember? It's been years though. He wouldn't like me after about 6 years of thinking I'd died, right?
My mind begins to go so fast that I can't even keep up with what exactly my thoughts are. I begin to pace back and forth, slightly becoming stressed from my brain overthinking my current situation. After a few minutes, I give up on thinking and just press my back against the tree, sliding down to the ground. I pull my knees to my chest and bury my burning face into them. The blood begins to rush to it once more as I can't stop myself from making up unrealistic scenarios in my head.