Monday 12:00 pm
Maddox had been looking for Sage only for a few minutes but he could already feel himself losing focus. His feet seemed to be more in charge than his brain.
His brain got messy and his vision seemed to blur as his feet walked at random.
Each time his mind swam away from him he was able to pull himself back and walk away. Then he heard it. The humming.
It was no longer trapped in his mind and was no longer the high-pitched, ear-splitting beast that he had gotten used to. Now it hung in the, following him, floating right above his head and leading far away from the town he had grown up in.
He fought as hard as he could yet the voiceless song begging him to follow it. It drove him crazy, not just because he had been hearing it nonstop for the past two days but because the name of it was right on the tip of his tongue.
With every musical sound that made its way into Maddox's ears his resolve became weaker.
Maddox panted as he fought to keep his own feet from moving. As he fought the sound got louder and louder. His teeth clenched due to the pain in his head, the pitch getting too high. His hands come up to cup his ears in hope to keep the sound out but it was no use; it was locked inside his brain again.
His feet itch to move forward to find where the humming led but his mind told him it was better to stay put.
Resist the tempts. He told himself. Resist the tempts and you'll be just fine.
Louder and louder the humming grew along with the pitch until it didn't seem like it could get any louder or higher.
He fought the sound for as long as he could but it was like something flipped a switch.
It was like he was suddenly pushed underwater. The humming was now faint and distant. His vision was blurred, only allowing him to see colors and a few shapes.
His limbs felt like a thousand pounds as he was forced to walk towards the sound of distant, low humming.
Though he couldn't exactly see where he was going, his heart rate raised.
Maddox had lived in this town since the day he was born. He knew every short cut, pathway, street, sidewalk, and alleyway in this town. He could probably walk around this town blind and still get where he was going unharmed.
So now that he was being pulling around blindly with only colors and shapes to go on he had a pretty good idea where he was going.
After only a few turns he knew his suspicions were only confirmed when he was led passed Miss Ether's bright sea blue house that stood out brightly against the other dark or light brown.
He remembered when he was little how he would always sneak behind Miss Ether's house to go play in the woods even though he knew his mother would have gotten onto him if she knew where he went.
Miss Ether had caught him a hand full of times but would only smile and give him a quick wink, telling him to hurry up or she would tell his mother.
He hadn't been back in those woods ever since he had saw a creepy looking man in a black trench coat and a shovel lurking around his favorite tree. He decided that day his mom was probably right about how he should stay out of the woods.
Even though that encounter had been years ago and nothing truly terrifying happened, Maddox's heart began beating out of his chest.
He could only imagine what would happen this time around.
As he got closer he could see the green color of the leaves that filled the area in front of him.
Closer and closer he walked until he stood right in front of the tree line that would allow him to enter the all too familiar woods.
His breath got stuck in his chest as his right foot lifted off the ground and moved forward. The second his foot came in contact with the soft grass of the forest floor, the switch turned off again.
He could see everything clear as day, his ears rang now that the loud humming was gone, and his arms were considerably lighter.
With all of that, you would have thought he felt brand new, yet he didn't.
Anxiety built up in his chest and loomed over his heart.
While his mind was fresh and he was in control he turned around, ready to sprint back to Lily's house in hopes Sage had come back so they could finish the game in peace.
Sadly, before he was even turned around completely, the humming started up yet again. His limbs were heavy. The world went black.