It was uncanny, this feeling of coldness piercing through his frail body, one that he grew to endure in silence. Because the option to do otherwise was lacking. So the only thing left to do was to follow a script, one where he was not even human. Where his life couldn't matter less, just a number that would never be mentioned, a pawn that could only be used by others. Comparable to the rats that were hunted, except that he couldn't be eaten… at least by the majority of people. Those who crossed that line tend to never get the chance to stay alive long enough. But still, he had already seen humans remain in dark places.
From a man that got killed and thrown away like garbage, or a wounded child that hid herself only to be forgotten as her body began to rot. Her eye sockets were empty; insects were crawling from her little dangling jaw full of crooked milk teeth. Still, somehow, this place was like that. He couldn't ignore it; some cried while dreaming of something better. But not him.
Because Sunless had to be punished like every other night, right? He had been a terrible kid, after all.
His legs weighed a ton; still, he was running in this human-made maze. Between trash and feces, it was his world. The countless screams behind him seemed to refuse his will to escape. After all, he deserved it. Isn't that why he had those chains around his ankles? To make sure that he wouldn't leave?
-"SSSSSUUUUUNNNNLLLLEEEEESSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
Her distorted voice rang, crushing all the others that joined behind this veiled figure. It was holding a handmade projector without a name as a source of light. One that shined on him, his skin had already started to burn.
Never been seen.
Never be heard.
Never in the light.
His arms were raised, acting as an umbrella. A bad one. A useless one. Because it kept burning. Blisters began to appear, only to be exploded. Then after that, it was his flesh that started to melt with what was left of his skin. His eyelids weren't protecting anything anymore since he didn't have any, his eyes being forced to witness the light as his final judgment.
And yet, it didn't end.
It couldn't end.
Because even if the pain was still there, his wounds were already gone. Lost once again in his dark place, it was about to start again. He had to run…
BLING CLING
The sound of the chains, this loud clattering of metal. She was coming for him.
So he ran, as the little lightness in there was only usable to show him all those who had failed to stand back up. The battered mother had fallen to the drugs in hope of giving food to her children, only to never return to them. The old man was too weak to keep his ration from being stolen, only to be left with nothing on him. No food, no clothes, no dignity.
So he ran once again, because it was his role in there. To run.
The harsh metallic clang was coming closer, and so he pushed, in hope of ending this. Weirdly enough, there was that door that he had to reach, but each time he had tried to grab its handle, it wouldn't let him. The doorknob, the veiled being, this maze—all of it. This time he had finally found it, visible even in the darkness. As if it were overlapping it, like a pencil dropped on a drawing.
For once, it...she was far away; he had run fast enough to reach it.
For once, the handle was usable.
And for once… he opened it.
It was dark behind it, and from the darkness, an arm reached out. Grabbing him by the throat and pressing him against the closest wall. His back was broken, as the pain couldn't truly reach his mind. The entity finally walked out of the door, revealing itself without his blinding light. The veil of putrid and moldy fumes was emanating from its bestial mouth. The reach of its arms was far too long; everything on it was too long. The legs, the fingers, the nails, and the black hair. One he had once adored more than anything. Her face was distorted as if her spirit had been disturbed during her sleep. Forced to be back in this vile and revolting form to punish her offspring.
-"you broke it...you broke it….you broke it… WHERE IS SHE?! YOU ABANDONED HER! YOU PROMISED ME! YOU—"
His body was finally removed from the wall, only to be embedded in it even more. Forced to be driven into it again and again as the sound of the impact echoed like a gruesome concert when death will never be the reward nor the end. A baby was crying but nowhere to be seen, yearning for her mother's love.
-"YOU!"
BANG
-"PROMISED!"
BANG
-"ME!!!!"
BANG
-"WHERE IS RAIN? I ASKED YOU TO PROTECT HER! WHERE IS SHE? YOU HAVE FAILED ME! YOU SHOULD DIE SUNLESS! I SHOULD HAVE ABANDONED YOU INSTEAD OF GIVING MY FOOD TO YOU! I DIED BECAUSE OF YOU! YOU DIDN'T LOVE ME!"
The clinking of the chains against the floor was all the noise left in there because his cries were silent. The beautiful face of his mother was coming back from the dead only to haunt him, to curse him. But he didn't cry for this.
No, his sadness was coming from something else.
And it was finally shared in a sobbing whisper.
-"but...i loved you mom...i love you… I tried to help her….i'm sorry...i'm…-"
BANG
BANG
BANG
BANG
BANG
-"LIAR! LIAR! LIAR! LIAR! LIAR! YOU KILLED ME! AND NOW RAIN IS ALONE! ALL BECAUSE OF YOU!"
The hand around his neck was pressing ever more after each impact. As air became precious in his lungs, the feeling of her nails piercing his throat was making it extremely hard for him not to scream. But, she was not done with him, as she simply threw him against the floor. Her foot now pressing against his torso, squashing his ribs as cracks resonated like an empty cry for help.
Her onyx eyes began to turn red as her face started to melt.
The chains around his ankles then dragged him into her shadow, one that was made of the souls of those he had wronged in his life. In there, he was nothing more than pain. His only destiny was to be destroyed by hand. Punches and kicks came to him like an infinite flow. Just like before, he tried to run only to be caught and beaten to death by the door. His cry turned into a scream. The memory began to repeat itself, this exact one. The pain, the panic, the fear… It was overwhelming. He was about to die, for real this time. It was too much...it was —!
-"Sunless. Wake up. Nightmare."
He woke up from his sleep with a start. His breathing was erratic as his eyes started to analyze the room at full speed. Where was he?! Where was his mom!? This is the place...it was not the sewer nor the Outskirts. Turning on himself, he was on his guard. He was in danger. He shouldn't be seen! They will come after him! His ration… He needs to find his ration.
The voice rang once more, but he didn't hear it; he couldn't find it. His ration. He needed it. He had no time to waste on it now; he would eat a rat if necessary, but he had to run. His body was trying to tell him something. No time for that. And so he tried to run away but couldn't even move his leg.
Why?!
The chains—he was already in chains! She was near! His breathing grew faster as the paranoia came to crush him.
-"Sunless. Y-"
-"DON'T TOUCH ME!"
The figure watching him with a candle—it was her! Her hand tried to reach for him, but he simply pushed it away in a desperate attempt. He wanted it to stop; his legs were already chained, and he couldn't feel them. The tears came like a torrent as he hid himself under the blanket. The cries that were silent didn't stay like that for long. In just a matter of seconds, the sobbing was mixed with the hyperventilation. He had to hide, to hide himself…
'to hide tohide tohidetohidetohidetohidetohidetohide-'
-"i'm sorry...i'm sorry mom...i'll find her...i'm sorry...i'm sorry…"
Now, a pain began to reappear, one that came at that time too. His heart… surrounded by barbed wire. Pressing it, crushing it with each breath taken. A grasp that tightens again and again, trying its best to wreck it as if it were nothing more than a balloon filled with blood. He was on fire, and his skin felt as if he was under the winter's cold outside. The hairs stood on end; she was about to catch him. He could sense it without having to look at it.
The hand was about to take him, right where he belonged. Surrounded by death at each step, because it wouldn't matter if he was dead. It was his home… The screams, the cries, the pain, the blood, the wounds.
The hand tried to reach for him once more, moving under the blanket. She was going to take him. Not again…
'NOT AGAIN!'
A survival instinct, a wish to survive. His head had turned to face the threat, and he had attacked it. With all his strength, his mouth was now biting the hand that had taken care of him since his birth. He had turned against her...betraying her even more.
This thought was all he needed to gasp while releasing her. She didn't even budge; he was already crying once again.
- "I'm sorry, Mom, I didn't mean to… I wouldn't... I…"
Wait, the hand moved toward him, slowly...patting his shoulder and then reaching for his neck. He tucked his head between his shoulder… He didn't want to feel pain again...he didn't want to be hurt again…
The hand kept moving, passing over his throat, only to reach for his head.
Her finger passed through his hair, a gentle caress as her thumb came to wash over the tears that kept falling until now. Sunny was petrified, waiting for the pain to come after. But it...didn't come for him. She simply kept her gentle demeanor. So, without talking and with hesitation, he tried to grab her hand in his. Pulling it into an embrace against his chest as the grasp around his heart came loose. His mind began to move again as normal… He stayed like this for a moment, without moving, letting the hand feel every breath taken, every tremor, every shiver.
It was not his mom… But for this instant, he kept acting as if it was her. Letting her know how he felt without saying a word. Because that's what mothers do. It was only now that he realized that the imitator was seated on his bed, waiting for him to calm down…
Still, he was...not happy but satisfied with this situation. He didn't have to confront anything, and this illusion was reassuring. Sadly, he knew that he didn't have the choice nor the possibility to be greedy. After all, she…
Without saying a word, he released the hand from his embrace. And after a moment, he moved his head outside the blanket. Even now, a part of him was afraid to find the monster waiting for him.
But now, instead of that, he simply saw the golden-haired woman watching as her hand was now moving back to her chest. The candle was now resting on the nightstand near the golden bell; it was now half consumed. The melted wax began to creat a new form as it started to solidify once again. Jeanne was silent for a moment, as if she was waiting for him to talk or to move back under the blanket.
-"I'm sorry... I didn't mean to bite you…"
-"It's okay. No wound. See?"
Using the little light given by the flickering flame, she showed him her long and delicate hand. On it, not even a mark was left. She even turned her hand to show that it was the same on the other side. Trying to reassure him, and sincerely, even he didn't know if it really worked or not. He didn't say anything else for a moment, and so, she simply took over the conversation.
-"After crying. Need water. Want to eat? Sweets?"
…
…
- "…i can?"
She gave him a simple smile, a little one that was illuminated by the candle.
-"Of course. Come. Need air. Right?"
Jeanne then stood up in one swift movement to take the wheelchair from under the bed. Sunny was hesitating, as much from the embarrassment as from the emotional and physical exhaustion, so she kept moving. Reaching for the closet to take a blanket. Compared to the one that he was in currently, it was thinner and far smaller. And since he didn't say anything, she simply didn't stop. In an instant, his blanket was moved, and he was already wrapped in the smaller one. Then she slowed down, showing her will to carry him from the bed to the wheelchair.
He didn't stop her; it wasn't really a contact...and she was trying her best...
Once seated, she simply asked him a single question.
-"Waffle. Like it?"
-"What is a Waffle…?"
-"You'll see."
With that, she simply took him. It was only his first night since his interaction with Ashe and Nephis...the month might be harsher to endure than expected.