章 7: Chapter VII - A New Friend.
Yaaawn~
"Oww, my eyes.. so bright."
Shh
I slide out of bed and sit on its edge, blinking a few times while getting used to the morning brightness.
Grumble
So hungryyy, when are they bringing breakfast..?
My eyes adjust to the light, and I look around.
"Huh?"
Something seems off, but nothing about my room is different... At least I don't think so.
I stand up and walk around my room, checking if anything has changed.
"It's all the same."
That is, except for a few things I must have bumped into and not noticed yesterday and that knife the maids must've taken.
Confused, I look over to my bed and see something tiny shining.
"What's that?"
I walk over and pick it up. It's a small clump of hair.
Sigh...
"Guess it's cleaning time."
I look higher up on the bed and am shocked by what I see.
"Why are there so many!?!"
Clatter
Crash!
Lying all across my bed is a mountain of hair, covering it in dark black.
"Yaagh!"
I poke my head out the door and see a maid lying on the ground with a pile of items next to her.
"Oops."
I probably scared her with that.. Sorry, I hope you weren't carrying anything important!
"But seriously, where did all of this come from? The last time I checked, my hair wasn't that long. And I'm definitely not balding either. At least I hope not. God, balding at two years old is not on my bucket list."
Wait, would it still be my bucket list if I've already died? Then would it be my second bucket—whoa... Anyways, back on topic.
The memories of yesterday hit me like a trainwreck. Me and her talking for hours, escaping the basement, hiding from maids. All this, but I just can't remember what happened when we returned to my room.
"Oh, shit."
My eyes dart around the room, searching for any other clue to where she could be.
Nothing, nothing, nothing...
"Where is she..?"
Unless I'm also blinding, she's definitely not in here, and I don't see anything that can tell me where she is. I wouldn't have brought her outside the room, I'm sure about that. So, that only leaves one possibility. She must have left the room at some point after I fell asleep.
Step, step
Creak
"Y-You're!"
Crackle, crackle.
"L.. nd Gentl... Tod.."
Crackle..
"We mourn the loss of Harue-"
Crackle, click!
Shown through the screen of an old TV covered in static is a building with a dark atmosphere. One that anyone could tell, with just a look, is related to a funeral.
"A dear friend to us all and, to his sister, a loving, caring, and kind brother. Today, we pay tribute to a man and his sibling who have lived lives that, although challenging, were filled with laughter and happiness at every moment."
Sniff
Although the room is full of people of various ages, only one of them is expressing sadness, a young woman who appears to still be in high school. She is uncontrollably sobbing, unaware of, or just too distracted to notice the careless environment around her. The rest occupy themselves with various things to pass the time. Some are on their phones, scrolling through social media, their emotionless faces lit by the light from their screen. Others are watching the time tick by on their watch, seemingly having no care for the funeral. A couple is eating at the snack bar to pass the time.
"And to Shizue, a gentle but protecting older sister, who, even in death, stays by her brother's side. The bond between these two was not merely familial. It was as if they were truly fated to stand by the other's side."
Cough.
Eventually, the priest's voice fades into the background, and the static on the Television is getting larger and louder every second that passes by.
Crackle
The screen starts to fade to black, but as it does, a different voice is barely audible through the static.
"...Cause of death.. Lodged inside the stomach, as well as.. -ere blunt force trauma on th-"
Quickly, the static catches up, leaving only seconds before it completely overtakes the man's voice.
"Instant death."
Whizz, click!
The TV shuts off and disappears without a trace, leaving only the empty, black room.
"So he had a sister, huh?"
Shiff
As the TV turns off, a man who was previously sitting in the dark stands up. He is the same man dressed in black, with his face covered by a dark fog. However, there is one difference. The large clock isn't here. In its place is a mansion of similar size to the clock, with two giants standing next to it. Due to the massive proportions of the estate, the giants standing guard appear to be the same height as an average man. He turns towards the mansion, raises his arm, and looks at his watch, which is the same design as the massive clock. On it, the time is at 11:49.
"Perfect."
Tap, tap
As the man walks, a transparent clock of the same design as the other two reaches out, originating from his back.
Tick.
He takes a few steps before the time on the clock changes from 11:49 to 11:50. The moment it does, he disappears, and in the distance, the giants kneel as if they were greeting their master.
...
Silence fills the air as one of the giants reaches over and opens the door. Moments later, the giant shuts the door and returns to his previous position. The exact second the door closes, all the lights inside the estate turn on. As this happens, hundreds of clocks appear on and around the mansion, each with varying sizes and designs. Some show the time as 11:50, others show the time and date, and some even display the exact second or millisecond.
Tick, tock.
The times on all the clocks are connected, so every second, a resounding sound comes from each of them.
Tick, tock, tick, tock, tick, tock, tick tock, tick tock...
- Last night -
"Right, let's get you hidden."
I say that, but I don't really know where to put her. I've searched this room hundreds of times. I'd like to call myself a cautious person, but even after looking for that long, I haven't found a good hiding spot or even anything hidden in this room at all. It's like they just threw me here with no care in the world... they wouldn't be that stupid, would they?
"Mmm."
She shuffles around in her sleep, getting into a better position.
Actually, everything that they have done so far has pointed to them not being the smartest people, so I shouldn't expect very much from them.
Yawn~
Shiff
Hey, wait, there's a ton of space here!
I get down on the ground and look under the bed. I see a clear open space, which could easily fit her, with some space left over.
"Perfect!"
"Hup!"
I reach over, pick her up together with the blanket covering her, and set her on the floor.
"Mmph."
Tap
She does a half-yawn and stretches her arm out. She puts her left arm back under the covers but leaves her right stuck out.
"Deep sleeper, huh?"
Slide~
I slide her under the bed, and once she's fully under, I check that she won't hit her head on the top in her sleep.
"There we go, goodnight."
I brush my hand through her rough hair and pull the blanket over her neck.
Okay, time for me to get my long-awaited sleep.
I stand back up and use the second, longer sheet to cover the sides of the bottom of the bed where she is exposed.
"Haa."
I sit on the corner of the bed, listening to her soft breathing.
And after all of that, I'm left here to lay in the cold until I fall asleep... Is this what it's like having to take care of someone?
Whump
I fall back and land on the bed, my head just a few inches away from where she is sleeping under me.
"I don't really mind it though. I mean, it's nice to have someone depending on me."
I lay still for a few moments before noticing the chilling cold all across my body.
Brrr! So cold, is the window open or something?!
Woosh~!
I look to my right and see the wind flailing the open window around like a cloth.
"Are you kidding me."
I get up, force myself to walk the few steps toward the window, and look outside.
Huh, I've lived such a sheltered life so far I haven't even seen what the night sky looks like from the outside.
"Whoa~!"
I had always thought that nighttime was the most beautiful time of the day, but the sight before my eyes was beyond anything that I could ever imagine. The sky that I see every single night is completely different. For one, the constellations are entirely different. The ones I remember learning about when I was a child are missing, and new ones have taken their place. The most notable ones are a large group of stars forming a dragon, clock, spear, and a... gun? These four form a horizontal line. From left to right, it is the clock, the dragon, the spear, and finally, the gun. Other than that, there appears to be a streak across the sky, forming something that looks like the northern lights but has a different shape and colour.
No words can explain this other than just... beautiful.
Roarrr!
In the close distance, I hear a loud, terrifying roar and instantly duck beneath the window, hoping whatever it came from didn't see me or was too far away to care.
Gasp, gasp.
Fearing for my life, I immediately break out in a cold sweat and begin to hyperventilate.
Oh god, what was that? Where is it? Will it attack?
I try to shuffle away from the window, but none of my muscles move, I'm frozen in place.
I need to get out of here. What happens if that thing comes here?
As I try to force myself up, I notice something that brings me back to my senses, it is her arm which is now sticking out from under the bed. Although it's only her arm, remembering she is here with me helps me calm myself ever so slightly.
Grow up, goddamn it! Stop being such a coward and trying to run!
I use the rest of my depleted strength and reach my shaky arm up to the window, barely managing to grip it.
"Now, just-"
Slam!
Click!
I manage to slam the window shut and latch it back, cutting off the sound of the restless wind.
Huff, huff.
A few moments after shutting the window, the terror subsides.
"Hah, I'm too tired for this shit."
Tap, tap.
I force myself up, stagger towards my bed, and fall onto it.
Whump
I would be scared about hurting her if this bed wasn't so bi-
Almost instantly after laying down, I fall asleep, part of my body still hanging off the bed.
The Night Sky
The night sky is, like Earth's, full of stars and planets. But there are only four major constellations. Each constellation represents its god or goddess. The four gods for each constellation are the gods who are involved in creating and maintaining balance on the planet. Meaning that they are the only gods permitted to directly involve themselves with the planet's inhabitants' problems such as wars. The four constellations and their gods are the clock, representing the god of time. The dragon, representing the god of dragons. The spear, representing the god of war. And finally, the gun, representing the god of magic. Contrary to popular opinion, the gods actually had nothing to do with the formation of the planet itself, only its inhabitants.
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