{Philza's POV}
"Shhhiit!" Philza breathed out as soon as he heard the slam of a car door outside from up in his room. The room was dimly lit from the sun shining through the windows, causing a nice feel and warmth of a freshly brewed coffee. Golden rays bounced around the surfaces, turning the white bedsheets yellow and the light brown walls glowing.
He tripped over his soft carpet as he rushed to the cool window, peering down and seeing an unfamiliar small and silver car there, and a man and women stepping out of it with fancy-looking clothes. They wore black suits and they didn't look too happy, even from his spot at the window. He felt a rush of fear race from his stomach to his head, causing a feeling of nausea to overcome him. Green filled him and he wanted to curl up at the wall and just wait for it all to be over. He bit his tongue and a metallic taste oozed over his tastebuds. Philza tried to ignored it as he spun around and raced away from the window. He slammed into his door as he quickly bounded over, but the pain was dulled by his racing emotions. Everything was a blur from how quickly he moved and sprinted, and he didn't take a moment to slow down as he flew down the stairs. He felt his own feet try to betray him with missteps along the way, but his fear of being too slow to warn the others allowed him to stay upright and quick.
"They're here!" Philza hissed in panic as he rounded the corner into the living room, only to see Oreos scattered on the table and the latest episode of Manhunt on. Techno was sitting by the edge, looking as anxious as can be with a tapping foot and constant glances around him, and Wilbur seemed more relaxed and fixated on whatever stunt the main character was doing in the show. However, the moment those words escaped his mouth, Techno was jumping up and grabbing Wilbur's hand. Wilbur seemed confused and an Oreo flew from his grasp, but the alerted grip and tug of Techno seemed to transfer into Wilbur, as he began to understand the situation at hand.
Philza watched them, feeling as if his feet were rooted to the ground, his mind torn in two. He wanted to go with them, to protect them and make sure they were safety hidden away. To make sure everything would be okay... but the hard knock at the front door told him otherwise. He just watched helplessly as they opened the sliding glass backdoor and they hopped through it into the portal of outside. For a split second, he swore Wilbur looked back with a heartbreaking look of hope and yet fear. Questioning Philza if this was the right way about this, but trusting him all the same.
Everything will be okay, He silently promised himself and his racing heartbeat before snapping out of his fear and shock. Philza spun around with his heart pounding in his throat now, his pulse in his arms shaking with each beat. His arms were trembling and his throat felt dry and rough. The image of some diseased creature catching Techno and Wilbur before Philza managed to go to save them flashed inside of his mind's eye, and he silently cursed himself for thinking that. He hated thinking like that. They were strong! They went over this plan many times! Nothing could go wrong as long as they stick to the plan.
As he walked towards the door, more impatient knocking was starting to rise up. On his way to the front door, Philza passed the opening to the kitchen. He glanced back into it, spotting the block of knives on the counter, neatly tucked away. He curled his fingers into a fist, imagining himself holding one of the sharp knifes when he opened the door. He would allow the social workers to walk inside and he lock the door behind them. That's when he would hold the knife up and strike them both down until the warmth in their hands bled out and stained his carpet red... The souls leaving the life in their eyes... Then he could run back and bring Wilbur and Techno back and they would all be safe and-
Philza! He quickly shouted at his own imagination, That's the worst idea you could come up with! He forced his legs forward, away from the potential option of murder. As the kitchen grew farther away from him, the front door grew closer until he was standing right outside of it. His hands felt cold and he could hear his own blood rushing, the pulse on the side of his head seeming to pound into his skull, begging him to do something or to run. Slowly, he lifted a hand up turned the shiny lock to unlock the door, his hands still shaking. He inhaled and put on a fake smile of greetings, getting himself ready. It was now or never.
"Hello! Sorry for the delay- I didn't hear my door at first!" Philza quickly explained as he opened the door to the two people he really would rather not see. The women looked impatient with crossed arms and a tapping foot, while the man just looked pissed with his bushy eyebrows drawn together and a scowl on his face. They looked like the very definition of Karens, thinking they were the most powerful and that they could do anything as long as they whined at it.
"Took you long enough." The women growled as she stepped past Philza and into his warmed house. He could hear her footsteps on the carpet, and the thought of tripping her passed through his mind. Meanwhile, the man stepped in and pushed Philza aside so he could follow the women. Philza bit back a shout at him as he closed the door behind them, making sure he didn't lock it. He turned and followed them into the hallways, chewing on the side of his cheek. He swore his heart was beating loud enough for them to hear, yet they didn't make any indication that they could.
"Where are they?" Demanded the man in a deep voice, who turned to shoot glares at Philza as if he killed his family's pet dog that morning and used it as a Christmas tree topper. It sent chills down his back, but Philza just straightened up as to not show it. After all, if this man did attack him, then Philza can just sue him and buy Wilbur and Techno a shiny new toy. However, he quickly remembered that he had to put on an act so he looked away, his smile fading. He let out a sigh of worry and shame, refusing to look at the social workers.
"They... I have no idea. They were just here yesterday. They must have overheard our call and ended up running off sometime last night and-" Philza began, lying as smoothly as possible. There was slight tremble in his words as his voice betrayed the fear he was feeling. The struggle to stay in character and to not mess up. Sweat began to collect on the back of his neck and he felt his thump pick at one of his nails.
"You mean to tell me... THEY JUST LEFT!?" The women shouted at Philza, stepping forward to snarl at him and to cut off his lie. There was a look of fire in her brown eyes, and she seemed ready to tackle Philza right then and there. She reminded Philza of a snake, furious that someone dared to step on it's tail. The man also took a step forward, and Philza couldn't tell if it was to hold his partner back or to attack Philza as well. Either way, he tensed up and glanced around for anything he could use to defend himself in the hallway. ...The knives in the kitchen were still an option.
"You knew we were coming for them, so why didn't you keep an eye on them?" pushed the man, to which Philza could see his face growing red and purple from the rage cycling through him. Philza gulped and just tried to give them an innocent smile. After all, how could he have stopped them if he had been asleep? Surely they would understand that. He got ready to give another reply- a lie- but before he could even open his mouth, he was interrupted.
"If they aren't here, then you wouldn't mind us taking a look around then!" Snapped the women as she spun around and began to climb the stairs two steps at a time. She hadn't even waited for Philza's response before she was already up the stairs, probably already sniffing around Philza's bedroom. The man- being the chad he is- followed her and started to climb up the stairs three steps at a time. Philza listened as their footsteps began to creak the floorboards upstairs, moving around and making noise.
He let out a frustrated sigh and he glanced up the stairs, just to make sure they were truly gone. A strong and cold gush of wind blowing on him alerted him to the back door that was still painfully opened. Philza, being as quiet as possible, rushed over to the glass door and he slid it shut. As he was shutting it, the image of the Oreos spread across the table in the living room flashed into his head and he sucked in a sharp breath through his teeth.
"Damn those Oreos-" He sighed under his breath, feeling a sharp spike of panic in his chest. He didn't breath as he turned his feet back into the hallway. He nearly jogged, his feet light on the flooring, back into the Livingroom to hide the evidence that they were just there.
The TV was still showing the same episode of Manhunt from before, with the main character jumping down into a bit of lava with a golden apple on hand. He used his arm to sweep the Oreos off the table and onto the carpeted floor. He could already feel the struggle he would have picking it up later, but that was something for future Philza to deal with. Using his foot, Philza then kicked and pushed the cookies underneath his couch to hide them even more. As he did so, he could hear the footsteps pounding on the stairs as the two unwelcomed guests made their way back down. Philza wanted to take a quick look around his house first to make sure all of the evidence was gone, but he knew there was no chance of doing that now without too much suspicion being raised.
Their bodies turned the corner into the living room, and their eyes instantly traveled over to the TV, taking a few moments to watch it. Philza could almost smell their suspicion deepening at the fact he was watching a show that many adults would rather avoid. They seemed rather angry that they hadn't found anything upstairs in Philza's room as well, and Philza wasn't looking forward to whatever mess they made up there.
"Why would you be watching this?" The man finally spoke up, turning his gaze onto Philza. Philza just rocked from his toes to his heels and back again and he picked a stray sting off of his sleeve.
"I just find the show... neat," He explained, daring to turn his head to meet the man's eyes. Surely they wouldn't tell him off for watching a show, would they? Their gazes locked, and the man seemed to be trying to break Philza's string of lies. Almost as if Philza was the string loose on his sleeve and he was trying to pull it off to get rid of it's annoyance. Philza, however, wouldn't budge one bit.
"Whatever," Scoffed the women, who turned away. She seemed to notice the backdoor and she hummed quietly. "You said they ran off sometime last night, right? We can do a quick search of the area to see if they are still hanging around."
There was a quick jump in Philza's heart rate and his feet were moving faster than his mind. He quickly stepped to follow them as they made their way to the glass door. He tried to ramble out about how they would be long gone by now and how they wouldn't go for the forest. But his efforts were useless as the social workers stepped through the door and into the woods, and Philza was left to just wait.
He just stepped backwards, feeling a useless power at his fingertips. He backed up into a dinning room chair and he just slowly sat down. His knees felt weak and he didn't want to breath. He knew he could run outside and try to stop them from getting to Wilbur and Techno but... Part of him wanted to take a chance and hope that they wouldn't find them. They couldn't find them... Surely the universe wouldn't be that cruel?
But why does it matter to me if they are found or not found? Came the thought that Philza had been holding onto for the past few days, Why should I care that much? They aren't my family and I know nothing about them!
So why am I so scared that they will be found or hurt?
His eyes dropped to the floor as the questions and reasonings drifted inside of his head. He frowned and he tried to focus more on his breathing than his doubts. He had told himself that he cared for them because he didn't want them to be trapped in a bad and abusive family so he would take them in. But why?
Before he could answer that question, the feeling of blood filling his mouth caused him to gag. He shook his head and he suddenly remembered that he had been chewing on the inside of his cheek for the past few minutes. He silently cursed and folded his arms across his chest. He tilted his head back as he waited for the taste to go away. He found a clock on the wall and he stared at it, wishing it would tick faster for everyone else's sake. It's white glow seemed almost mocking, and it's blank hands just glided around as today was the most normal day ever.
...I wish I had an Oreo.
As that thought and wish cycled through his mind, he was brought back to reality when the sliding door opened again. He shot up from his chair as the social workers returned... and they were alone! They didn't find Techno or Wilbur! He had won!
"Did you find them?" Philza asked, a little bit too much joy following his words. He held a hopeful breath as the two just crossed their arms and as they walked through his house once more.
"What does it look like!?" The women snapped as she lead the way back to the front door. Overcome with joy that they have given up, Philza jumped in front of her and he quickly went to grab the door for her and the man. He swung open the door wide and he held it open, his smile bright and mocking.
"Oh well! I wish you luck on finding them!" Philza chirped, holding back a laugh. His planned had worked! They could easily pick up on his joy and relief, but as they have no proof, they couldn't do anything about it. The women just grumbled as she passed through the front door and the man made sure to step on Philza's foot as he passed. The moment they passed through the door, Philza slammed it shut and he locked it. He leaned back against it and he let out a breath. The worst bit was over.
After a few heartbeats, he quickly turned to the nearest window to watch them leave. The car was already backing away and turning to leave. The tires crunched on the gravel below, standing out against the forest background. Philza held his breath as they finally managed to turned their car and speed away down the dirt road, hopefully to never return ever.
"Finally!" He gasped out, not wasting a moment as he turned and sprinted from the window and to his back door once again. He slipped on the nearest shoes he found, which ended up being a pair of outside-slippers, old and gray, and he dashed out the door with them on.
Outside, he could feel a small bit of drizzle fall from the sky. Along with that, the sun seemed to be already setting as the shadows of the trees stretched farther and farther on the ground, like claws. He turned his head in the direction of the path where the hiding place was, and he sprinted down it. His feet were hitting the earth hard and sending dirt flying behind him and he seemed to be moving the fastest he ever has through the woods.
There was a moment where he noticed the silence in the birds tweets up in the branches. Where there usually was a calling and song, there was nothing besides the drum of light raindrops growing larger and more hard against the leaves above. A few moments later came the distant haunting sound of an isolated howl that seemed to rise above the rain. It lasted a few moments, but that was enough for Philza to be stricken with a fear for Wilbur and Techno which sent him almost flying down the path.
Finally, he spotted the old shed, dark brown and wet with the collecting rain and mold growing in the wood. He tried to stop his momentum, which only caused his feet to skid on the wet grass and dirt and he nearly fell over. He quickly regained his balance by remembering where his own feet were, before bounding over to the shed. He wanted to get them out of that hole as quickly as possible so they could go home and forget about this whole incident.
"I'm here..!" He tried to get out through his heaving lungs. Sprinting had taken all of his breath from him and he was struggling to catch it once more. But even as he was gasping for breaths, he quickly made his way over with heavy steps to the trapdoor. He saw it was shut, and he could only wonder how they managed to shut the trapdoor after they jumped in.. They were down there, weren't they? What if they weren't or what if they had gotten down wrong and landed on their heads?
Schrödinger's cat. Came a haunting thought, comparing the two situations of the bunker below and the cat from that one experiment. Philza prayed that they were still there, but he wouldn't know until he opened it up.
Philza crouched down and gripped the handle to the trapdoor tightly in his hands. He tugged once and then twice, but the tug seemed to do little to nothing. He was beginning to suspect that they hadn't even gotten in there by how tightly it was shut, and instead was hiding somewhere else.
"Wilbur? Techno? Are you guys down there?" He called down when he pressed his face near the door, his voice filled with worry and fear. He listened as his own voice echoed around the trees before being drowned out by the now-steady rain falling down. His hair was starting to collect droplets as well, and dark spots where growing on his sleeves.
No answer or even sound followed his question besides from the rain tapping on the leaves. Philza began to tug again, harder this time. He felt his back start to ache and his arms protest, but he ignored it as he continued pulling. The rusted handle began to dig into his palms and he had to shut his eyes as he started seeing spots of pain and struggle. But finally after struggling for a while, the trapdoor was flung open with a terrified screech. Philza was thrown back and he landed on the damp ground back first. He felt a flash of pain, but his worry for the boys was greater. He scrambled back up and he crawled to the opening of the trapdoor, sticking his head down.
He was finally able to relax as he spotted Wilbur and Techno slowly creep into the light. However, Philza bit back a gasp at what he saw: Both Wilbur and Techno were bleeding and had bodies of rats scattered all around them. It looked like hell had taken place and water was collecting at their feet. Yet, Wilbur seemed to smile and Techno seemed to relax just that little bit more.
"What the hell-- What-- Are you guys alright!?" Philza called down, stumbling over his words a little bit as his mind tried to figure out what happened. He was so baffled that they were both still standing with the amount of blood on them. A slow pang of guilt began to set in as well. He hadn't checked the day before to see if anything actually lived down there, and part of his fears had come true. They were hurt and damaged and Philza knew he was responsible for it.
"Yeah! Are they bad people gone?" Wilbur called up, a smile glowing on his face now that Philza was there. He seemed to have tears in his pants and blood staining his ankles. Along with that, there was a deep crimson splatter on his shoulder and drops of blood scattered all around him.
"They... they're gone," Philza replied, looking over to Techno- who seemed to be the worst damaged of the two. His face was covered in blood and his pink hair seemed to have red streaks in it. Along with that, his shirt was half torn and blood was covering nearly all of it. He held a tired look in his eyes, and he just stared up at Philza silently. From where he was, Philza could see he was saying on his feet.
Philza rolled onto his heels and stood up. Quickly, he darted to the back of the shed, walking through some old spiderwebs as he did so. He brought a hand up to the wall and he slid it along the growing vines until he bumped into some metal. He grabbed it and pulled out from the growth, a ladder. He began to drag it back until it was all freed. Turning, Philza carried the ladder back to the trapdoor opening. The metal was cold and slippery, but not too bad that they wouldn't be able to climb up. He slowly lowered it down to the boys. It reached most of the way, but the top bit was cut off so Philza would need to help them up.
Techno seemed to take a step back as he waited for Wilbur to go first. He gave a light nudge to the younger boy, and Wilbur quickly began to climb up. Philza could see that he was tired, but despite this he quickly began to jabber away as if he just came home from school.
"We fought these huge monsters!" Wilbur began, "There were a million and Techno and I killed them all!" His voice was shaking slightly, but he seemed very happy to see Philza. However, Philza was starting to grow worried at Wilbur said they fought monsters.
"Oh really..?" Philza replied, glancing down to the rat bodies below. He guessed that Wilbur was talking about the rats, and he couldn't imagine that it was easy to fight them off. Especially with the blood on their clothes and their skin. A small part of him wondered what a big rat fight in the dark could do to a child's mental health.
"Yeah! And there was this Rat King who spoke and tried to get us, but then Techno stomped on it!" Wilbur continued on, despite the clear worry growing inside of Philza. Wilbur managed to get as far up the ladder as it reached, and Philza reached down and grabbed a hold of his arms. He hauled him the rest of the way up, setting him down on the ground. The warm blood seemed to rub off on one of Philza's hands from the shoulder wound on Wilbur.
"Okay Techno, you're next!" Philza called down as Wilbur continued on chatting about their battle, which apparently consisted of a civilization of rats wielding throwing spears and the power of rocks. Techno slowly began to decent up the ladder, silent and without chipping in to their battle. Apparently, the fight had caused the pink-eared boy to grow too tired to even speak.
Finally, Techno reached the top of the ladder and waited for Philza to help him the rest of the way up. As Philza reached down and grabbed a hold of Techno, he could feel the other trembling, his eyes tired and even... scared. When he hauled Techno up, Philza could almost feel how weak he was at the moment, almost like he was struggling to stand still and to stay awake.
Philza stood up as he got both of the boys out from the bunker, Wilbur who seemed to be bouncing- possibly from the cold- and Techno who just had his arms crossed and his face pointed down. The rain was lightening up once more to a light drizzle, and the sun was starting to stretch it's rays around the sky as it set, hugging onto the world.
"Can we go home?" Wilbur asked, grabbing a hold of Philza's sleeve. This caused a sudden strike in Philza's melting heart. He smiled down at him. He never expected them to refer to their house as "home." Did that mean they are truly like a family now?
"Of course," he replied, finding it almost... right for Wilbur to call it home. It felt permanent and safe. Like they all had somewhere to go.
Wilbur grinned before dashing off in the direction of the house, shouting behind him about a race and something about Manhunt. Philza had no clue what any of that meant, but he was just baffled that the boy could still run after what he just went through.
Together, Techno and Philza began to follow from behind a little slower than Wilbur. In the distance, Philza could hear a bird singing sweetly finally, comforting their future. Philza glanced down to Techno and he gave him a smile. Techno quickly looked away and refused to smile, which just made Philza smile even more.
"Here- You're tired," Philza crouched down to Techno, turning so that he had his back to the boy. Techno seemed to hesitate before he climbed on, wrapping his arms around Philza's shoulders and holding on to him. Philza then stood up, holding onto Techno's legs so he wouldn't fall off- giving him a piggyback ride. There seemed to be a new sense of trust in the way Techno relaxed, his head slowly falling to rest on Philza's shoulders.
"Hurry up!" Wilbur called from the distance, almost taunting them. He seemed... very happy. Philza nearly laughed as he remembered how Wilbur had been reluctant to even speak the first time they had met.
Suddenly, Techno straightened up and tightened his grip. Philza could almost sense the challenge coming after Wilbur's words.
"After him!" Techno ordered, a clear smile in his voice. Philza let out a light laugh before he dashed after Wilbur, holding Techno on his back as he ran. Their shadows stretched out behind them and their steps were slowing growing more silent as they reached closer to the house. Wilbur was cheering and letting out light shouts, and Techno was ordering Philza to go faster. All was well as their voices mushed into one before vanishing as they grew too far away.
As the three of them ran off, the birds tweeting in the trees began to drop out of the chorus as the shadows grew darker. The sky was painted in yellows and oranges, rays reaching into the dark purple and blue abyss of night. One side of the trees were glowing in yellow and gold, and the other side seemed to be hiding with a shadow. The sounds of the trees whispering to one another began to grow as well, and even a few branches buckled as a squirrel leapt between them, chasing the sunset.
However, a low growl caused any other sound to suddenly stop, silence being held in the forest like a cloak. The branches stopped swaying and the trees stopped sharing their secrets. The birds flew off into hiding and even the grass shrunk back in fear. From behind the shadows of a tree came a figure, with sharp ears and evil eyes. It's fangs were drooling and the forest seemed to tremble all around it. It was glaring down the path that the small family had taken before vanishing from the forest, almost as if it was stalking after prey. Suddenly, the figure threw back it's head and let out an head-splitting howl that jumped out for miles. It was a howl of pure darkness and a promise of a not-so-golden future.
As the howl faded and the figure vanished behind the hidden kingdom of the tree shadows, the slow lullaby of the birds returned into the branches and leaves of the trees. The sun's hands began to shrink into the golden glow of the sun and the dark blues chased away the light. The trees began to sway and gossip, and the air grew just that little b t lighter. The forest began to smile again, but the promise of darkness still seemed to echo through the trunks. The beast was still lurking.
A/N: AAAAAAAAAAAAA this took me way too long to finally write. Half way through writing this I had about three existential episodes and a war between myself and my want to look at the many remixes and memes from "Your New Boyfriend". Along with that I searched for food for about six days straight and then forgot I existed. But then a tik tok called me the "prettiest MCYT supporter" and so I finished it all. I am very sorry for it's delay... But I do have good news!
The next chapters should start to pick up speed and even some funny bits! I apologize if this chapter isn't well written and is boring/slow/just bad,, buT I would rather get something out rather than have another breakdown while writing. Anyways my hands are cold so bYE