I laid against the cold concrete ground and hugged myself tightly, curled up in a ball. Wherever I was, it was freezing, and my tank top and shorts were the worst possible clothes to be wearing. Shivering, I pushed myself to my feet, wobbling around when my balance was slightly thrown off.
Where the hell was I? There were no walls, no people, no light, just a dark void. The concrete floor extended outward into the darkness, but I could only see a few feet around me. Another cold shiver ran down my spine before I took a couple steps forward.
A high-pitched ringing erupted in my left ear before I heard faint, eerie whispers. Most of them were indecipherable, but I could make out some phrases. “You’ve lost." “They’re all gone.” “You’re next.” Footsteps grew louder behind me before someone slashed my thigh. I cried out in pain and clutched my leg, hot blood painting my fingers and palm dark red. The person disappeared into the darkness before another ran past and slammed into my shoulder, knocking me to the ground. Grunting, I hurried back to my feet and tried to take off running, collapsing from my injured leg. A dull pain immediately spread across the cut.
My chest heaved as I started to hyperventilate. From behind me, I could hear even more footsteps, this time from multiple people. “Stop,” I tried to scream, but my lungs were so shrunken from hyperventilating that I could barely get anything out.
Someone stepped into view before staring at me blankly. Even though their left arm had been torn off and replaced with a mechanical one, and their clothes were ripped to shreds, I knew the boy's face all too well. George. The whites of his eyes were gone, now glowing orange, and his left pupil was none other than the eye of the one who tormented me the most.
Everyone I traveled with, lived with, or had grown close to during the span of the infection stepped into view, trapping me in a circle. They looked just as awful as George: mangled, rebuilt, mindless, and under his control. Doggy stood in between Zizzy’s sisters, growling. No, I thought. We stopped him…
“Did you really?” I jumped and swung my head around. Standing before me was the one who caused all this madness. TIO slapped his hand against the ground next to me, making me kick myself further towards the others.
“You.” My voice shook. The ink monster cackled, towering over me.
“It’s time,” he whispered. “It’s time for you to join us.” I yelped when a sharp pain erupted from the cut on my leg, like someone twisted a knife in it. Glancing down, I noticed green blood veins spreading around the skin. I froze before my lungs started to feel like they were being crushed. A strangled scream escaped my throat as I fought against the tingly feeling that spread through my body.
My air was cut off, almost in a span of seconds. It felt like someone had reached out and grabbed down my throat before crushing my windpipe. I clawed at my neck and tried to scream again, sinking against the ground when a similar gurgling sound filled the space instead. My entire body started to experience the dull pain that started at my leg before progressively sharpening.
Everyone that stood around me started to circle in, giving me less and less space to struggle. I slammed my fist into the ground as a small puddle of tears formed a few inches from my thumb. As the infection slowly stripped me from the control over my body, everyone began to chant my name, seemingly louder each time. Jade, Jade, Jade…
“JADE!” I shot up from the bed and clawed at my throat in a panic. “Jade, stop!” Doggy grabbed my wrists, way harder than I think he intended to, and stared into my eyes. I continued to choke and struggle for air before he cupped my face with his hands. “Look at me. I need you to look at me.”
I choked out a half-cry, half-scream noise before Zizzy and Pony came rushing into the room. Zizzy sat against the corner of the bed but kept her distance. Her eyes were wide open and her lips were parted. Pony, on the other hand, leaned against the wall and grabbed his upper arms.
Doggy held my head straight with his hands, turning me back to face him whenever my eyes wandered around the room. I still could hardly breathe, but the imaginary hand that had its grip around my windpipe loosened it just enough that I wasn't suffocating anymore.
I dropped my head, the second Doggy removed his hands from my face. He moved incredibly slow every time he reached out to touch me, and even swatted Pony’s hand away when he tried doing the same. He slowly rubbed my shoulder as my chest heaved. I wanted nothing more than to break into a violent sob and bury my face against his shoulder, but doing so would have woken up the entire Safe Place.
A hand slid through my hair before resting against my cheek. “What… happened?” My breathing was still unbelievably heavy, and being slouched over didn't really help. Doggy repeatedly swept his thumb across my cheek in an attempt to help me calm down.
I couldn't speak, it was nearly impossible. Zizzy slowly scooted closer to me and grabbed my hand before I collapsed into Doggy's chest. He tightly hugged me, gently rocking back and forth as I sobbed into his chest. With my hand slapped over my mouth, I screamed out until the throbbing in my head was too painful for me to continue..
“Get her some water.” Zizzy motioned out the door before Pony scurried down the hallway. She sat cross-legged on my bed and quietly watched as I started to calm down. My throat was as dry as a desert by the time I was out of tears, and it made me feel sick. “Jade…” Doggy held his hand up to shush her.
“TIO,” I whispered. The two froze.
“TIO? What do you mean?” She tilted her head to the side. “What did you see?”
I told them everything. How he'd won and how he turned them into monsters. How I turned into a monster. “You were all gone,” I croaked, grabbing my upper arms. “And there was nothing I could do.”
The two glanced at each other before turning back to me. “Jade, we all saw what happened that day. He's gone for good.” Doggy pulled me into a much looser hug. “Everything is okay. None of it was real.” I nodded before resting my head again. Zizzy scooted even closer and slid her arms around my torso so both of them had me wrapped in a hug.
Pony crept back into the room and set a few bottles of water down on my nightstand before returning to lean against the wall. I wouldn’t have minded if he sat and tried to comfort me, but I could tell he didn’t want me to feel overwhelmed. He awkwardly held his upper arms again before glancing down the hallway.
“I got it from here, you two can go back to bed.” Doggy nodded to the others. Zizzy gave me one final hug before reaching for Pony’s hand. They disappeared down the hallway, leaving just the two of us. “Anything else I can do to help you feel better?” He twisted the cap off one of the water bottles and handed the open bottle to me.
I shrugged, practically inhaling the water. “Unless you know how to keep these nightmares from happening, I don’t know what else to do.” He brushed my bangs from my face and sighed. “I don’t even remember the last time I slept through the night… it’s been weeks, D.”
“Believe me, I wish I could. I hate seeing you this way.” He paused. “But I know you’ll be able to get past it. The Jade I know has never given up, even when everything seemed hopeless.” The attempt to bring up my self esteem wasn’t working. I rested my head against my pillow.
“I don’t feel like that person anymore.” I turned to face the wall. It felt like the first time I’d actually turned away from his assurance.
After a few seconds of silence, Doggy grabbed me by the waist and pulled me against his chest again. It caught me off guard, but I didn’t push away. “You don’t need to feel like that person. Because I know that you’re that person.” My ears perked up slightly. “Jade, you don’t have to always act tough. It’s okay to feel scared. It’s okay to cry. But what’s important is that you never give up.
“That day in the castle, you told me that you didn’t know how you were supposed to fix everything. That you needed me. But look now: you cured the city, and you did it without me.” He repeatedly traced a circle on my cheek with his thumb. “You’re stronger than you think. Everyone here can see it.” I nodded stiffly, staying silent.
Doggy quietly hummed as I laid against him, gently rubbing my back. I yawned, before hearing him giggle, but he tried to continue humming. The failed attempt caused me to break out into laughter, too. He pulled me into a tighter hug and gently kissed the top of my head.
“Get some sleep. I’m not going anywhere, okay?” I mumbled a response before closing my eyes. The heaviness of my eyelids returned way quicker than I thought, sending me back to sleep without any trouble.
Heyo!
I didn't expect to release this one so early. Once the writers block passes, I'm on fire apparently
By the way... if one of you ever has ideas for a.skit, send them my way! I'd be happy to whip something up (giving you credit for the ideas, of course)!
Buh byeee
~GreenBean