He knew it himself. At first, he didn't bother looking towards where that sound, that buzzing noise of someone laughing that seemingly made him feel like his heart was getting raked, that feeling of something slipping through his fingers, that feeling of being denied of something that he deserved, came from but in the end, he couldn't stop his eyes to wander. So, without even moving a muscle from his neck, his pupils started to jolt from corner to corner, from place to place, even to the point of it becoming unsynchronized in silence as though it were friends separating themselves upon meeting a forked road.
"Don't," he muttered, starting to feel like the words that he knew before were starting to fade from his mind one after another. There he remained, smiling with his tongue crushed in between his yellowish teeth with his right eye staring at his dad's friends in their yard and with her left peering at his mom inside their house. "Look… look at me. Don't laugh… don't… just look… at me…"
"Jason, stop," Mary declared, getting up from her seat to distance herself from him.
Jason pushed himself up with his face still frozen and staggered forth with his arms swaying and looking so weightless as if it was just hanging from his shoulders. Still, like he was caught in a daze, he ignored Mary's constant calls, with his pair of eyeballs moving from side to side as if there was a bug in there trying its best to escape. His journey continued until he reached their front door with the few of his slowest of steps and there, he turned to his mother tending to her visitors from afar with his twisted smile, making him bare his teeth even more, now with this thick saliva coming spilling from his mouth and dripping at the bottom of his chin.
"Mo—"
He stopped, finding no words to add to the syllable he just enunciated because to him, at that moment, it seemed as if his home finally regained its bright color. The sofa that he used to sit on while talking with his family presented this rough orange texture that made him just want to dive in there and sleep, the gray plastic table where they shared their meals… and the supposed white walls that could pass to be considered as beige due to how old it was. It made him raise his arm slowly as if he wanted to grasp it but then, this heartwarming sight of his went dark once more.
That moment of brightness that almost made his tears drop went out and what he caught next was the same sight of what he grew up with, now devoid of warmth that only created an uncomfortable sense of distance from the things and his family that he could simply grab before.
"Hey, stop," Mary raised her voice but it seemed like it failed to reach him.
He clenched his throat and growled, not realizing that he had lost some of his words and instead gathered his fingers to make a fist. Then, he moved his mouth slowly, widening his lips, parting his teeth and stretching his cheeks with utmost care until he was able to enunciate, "Mooore… More… mooooore… More… Moore…"
By then, the lights from the candles that gave light to his coffin flickered even though his visitors felt no wind. There came a howling sound or a growl that caught their attention, followed by the plastic bottles and glasses falling down and pointing to where he was.
"More…" He breathed.
The people around his body stood up from shock while some fell silent, gritting their teeth in fear with their eyes wide, feeling this horror from a place that to them seemed unknown. Soon, the others began to shriek until his mother took the stage by welcoming his presence with a warm smile that turned his grin even wider.
"More," he continued.
Jason then raised his right arm after a moment of silence. He made a fist and clenched it harder as if he was trying to strangle the air but then...
"I told you to stop."
He felt Mary's hand tap her shoulder and by the next second, his vision turned to black with his body crashing into the ground as if the weight of their entire house was brought upon him.
Groaning, he sank his fingertips into the floor and tried to push himself out, but that didn't work. What followed was a mouthful of liquid gushing through his mouth and this rediscovered intelligent thought of him realizing that he felt like someone was pushing him down.
"Plea—"
He tried to move his throat after even forcing his mouth to open to get some air. The feeling of his lungs getting flattened along with his guts and brain sent him to panic so after a moment, with his voice sounding drained, he murmured, "Please… stop."
Mary let out a satisfied sigh. "You, you feelin' awake now?"
He heard a voice coming above him and so, he did his best to nod, even if it meant straining his back until he felt a crack and rubbing his cheeks across the cold concrete floor.
"Good."
Just then, he heard a pained cough along with a gentle tap that erased the heavy feeling that covered his body like a blanket. He was able to open his eyes next and as he expected, he found himself hugging the ground, with his feet broken and legs feeling sore as he sandwiched a pool of white liquid that looked as if it was the one that broke his seemingly long fall.
"What… what happened? Did I do something weird? Some special powers maybe?" Jason asked along with a chuckle.
"Yes," Mary replied, staggering back as she brushed the red liquid dripping from the bottom of her mask using her forearm.
Jason let out a nervous and hurried laugh, attempting to move his arms but ended up just being able to move his stiffened fingers. The crushing weight he had been carrying went away as fast as it came, but it seemed like his body told him that it didn't want to move. "Wait what… which one of those did you answer?! Also… would you mind… can I have some help here please?"
"Nah," Mary replied as she retreated back to her seat. "I'll keep you there in the meantime since you've already shown the signs of a level three. Be a good boy and be a carpet for me just for a little more while, will you?"
"I'm sorry, what?! Where am I? What happened?!"