TW: Multiple mentions of death
[25th December]
"I told them." Johnny grinned brightly.
"Finally! What did they say?" he scooted closer to me on the bed.
"I only told the twins and Ethan since they were the only ones there at that time...they were really shocked?" I chuckled. It was a novel-like concept for them.
Johnny tilted his head. "So, the others don't know?" he asked.
"Yeah. And I don't think I'll ever tell them. I'm still a little cynical."
"Even with Jay?" he immediately asked.
"I figured he'd be heartbroken to know he's with someone who wasn't...spiritually you, you know?" he hummed understandingly.
"That makes sense-so what was Ethan's reaction?" he was rather excited to know.
"He cried." Johnny burst into laughter.
"By the way, Merry Christmas."
I updated him on today's events. We chatted for about an hour until my eyes wandered to the door.
"Johnny, have you ever thought of what was behind that door?" he glanced over to where I was pointing before shaking his head.
"Not really. It would probably be my house."
"Yeah, it was your house...but there was something obscure about it," I muttered, still staring at the dull door in contemplation.
"Huh? You went out before?" Johnny furrowed his brows.
"Yesterday when you disappeared,"
"Oh, the lady gave me a timeout. Said you needed rest, but it looked as though you didn't sleep at all last night." he clicked his tongue in exasperation.
"Didn't I tell you to keep my face pretty? What was behind the door that got you so worked up anyway?" I turned to him.
"Do you want to find out?"
-
"I'm getting pretty creeped out," Johnny muttered, clutching his cardigan as he shivered in the cold weather.
"It is pretty eerie," we arrived at Dylan and Ethel's neighborhood and Johnny halted.
"...why are we here?" he asked, his expression tense.
"This is where the weird thing happened. Didn't you want to find out?" my face was blank as I secured my eyes on him. I was curious about his reaction.
He was HIS bully, after all.
Johnny cleared his throat and continued walking. His breath was unsteady as he glanced around the dull houses. "We're here," I announced as I paused right at their front yard. The grass looked like it hadn't been trimmed for a long time.
He froze in his step when he regarded the white flower bouquet. "What...what is that?" he audibly gulped. I turned to him.
"Take a guess."
Bewildered, he peered at me before glancing at the flowers again. He hesitantly stepped closer. The door suddenly creaked open and Johnny's breath hitched. I furrowed my brows.
Were we stuck in a time loop?
"Oh goodness! Why are there the two of you?" Johnny glimpsed at me then at the woman.
"Uh..it's a long story." that wasn't her concern at all, though. Just like last night, the lady approached and hugged us.
"Whatever it is, I'm truly glad the both of you are safe!"
"What happened? Who died?" Johnny hastily asked. she stared at Johnny, stunned like last night.
"Johnny...do you not remember?" I watched as he shook his head. The woman cleared her throat. I already knew what her next line would be...
or so I thought.
"Your boyfriend, Ethel died. Don't you remember?"
Johnny's mouth opened and closed, dumbfounded. I was equally as shocked too. "What?" was all Johnny could muster. No way...
in this dimension, Johnny and Ethel dated!?
"Johnny, we should go." I gently placed a hand on his shoulders to which he roughly shrugged off.
"What the hell do you mean!?" he screeched at the lady and she seemed perplexed. Johnny did not understand it. How could a bully date his victim!?
"Johnny, we have to go!" I strenuously dragged him by his arm and he let me. The woman stared at us until we completely disappeared from her sight. It was undeniably disturbing.
Johnny's breath was shaky when we arrived at his doorstep. I urged him in before closing the door shut, unsettled by earlier events. "How is that even possible..." Johnny scoffed in incredulity.
"She was kidding, right?" he shifted to me with a constrained smile on his face. I didn't know how to respond either.
"Johnny, this is believably just a dream-"
"And who's dream is it!? We're both conscious here!" he roughly ruffled his hair with his hands. My mouth opened and closed; I was speechless.
"We're probably in another dimension. Let's go back to the room and see how we can get out of here." Johnny let his hands drop to his side as he scuffled to his room in quietness.
As we trudged up the stairs, I pondered on how I could return to the 'original' world. Sleeping didn't help, I tackled it last night. I didn't even know how I left; I just abruptly woke up right after the woman had told me Ethel passed away. Thus, I questioned...why didn't I wake up today when the woman repeated what she said? It was getting bothersome.
I shut the door behind us and neared the bed where Johnny sat glumly. "So...how do we get out?" he immediately asked.
"I tried sleeping yesterday, but it didn't work."
"How did you wake up, then?"
"I don't know... after the woman told me Ethel died, I just woke up," I responded. Johnny let out a shaky sigh.
"God, this is bad..." he glanced around the room for something.
"Can you try sleeping again?" I nodded before going to lay down. It was five minutes later when I poked an eye open.
"Wait, if I wake up then where do you go?"
"I'd probably get out of here too. That would be the case every time. Hopefully, it would work this time too." I shut my eyes again with a heavy sigh.
I couldn't go to sleep, even after I've counted the three hundredth sheep. I was moving on to the four hundredth when Johnny interrupted me. "...are you still awake?" he inquired softly.
"Unfortunately." he groaned frustratingly when I hoisted myself from the pillows.
"So, it didn't work," I grumbled.
"Maybe we should try a new approach." I raised a brow.
"Like what?" Johnny thought about it.
"You said you woke up right after the woman informed you about Ethel's death. Perhaps, you'll get out of here if something was revolting enough," I nodded along to his words.
"What if you didn't wake up earlier because it didn't startle you as much? Because you knew it would've happened?" my eyes widened slightly. It did make sense, but it was still astounding to discover that Ethel and Johnny were in a relationship here, though.
"So, you're saying I should leap in front of a truck? What if I die?" Johnny smirked. I forgot he was a risk-taker.
"Well, you wouldn't know if you don't try!"
And that was how we ended up standing on the crossroad in the snow, eager to jump any vehicle that passes the lane. So far, there was none and I was getting impatient.
This dimension was very, very odd. There were little to no passersby on the sidewalk or in our view. Plus, we were in the most popular street in the country!
I huffed, my nose getting red from the cold. "How much longer do we have to wait?" Johnny clicked his tongue. He was getting restless too.
"I don't know! It's like everyone's suddenly supporting sustainable living and preferred to walk! Scratch that, there's barely anybody present here," he grumbled, and so did my stomach. He stared at me in amazement. I grew flustered.
"I had a big dinner, though," I uttered.
"Either you're starving or you need to take a dump. Whatever it is, now is not the time for it." I glared at him for his bold and clever manner. Oh right, I was standing next to a three-times-in-a-row first ranker in one of the most prestigious high schools in the continent. Four if he ended up obtaining the throne again this term, but that would've been my effort.
"There are so many vacant stores..." upon Johnny's statement, I peered around. It was true, the streets were so monotonous and empty with so many closed shops. Only a few run-down restaurants were open around us.
"This is ghastly...wasn't this place supposed to be famous and the hot topic of local magazines?" Johnny hummed in agreement.
"Maybe it isn't for this dimension."
"This is uncanny." I sighed. Suddenly, an idea came into my mind.
"Can we go somewhere? I need to check it out really quick." Johnny raised a brow.
"Err, sure. Lead the way,"
My memory was a tad bit hazy, but we managed to find our way to the park after a couple of twists and turns. "Huh?" there were 'Do Not Cross' strips around the entrance. Tentatively, we stepped closer to the collapsed gates and peered inside. The benches were starting to grow moldy. How long has it been closed off and why?
"Wasn't there supposed to be a carnival going on here?" Johnny coughed at the dust on the plaster walls.
"Right..." I was tempted to go in as I mildly grasped the lines.
"Ethan, what are you trying to do?" Johnny glanced around wearily.
"I want to find out why it's abandoned," I answered. He promptly tugged me away.
"What!? No! It might be dangerous." I could tell he was intrigued too. Wasn't he a risk-taker, though?
"Why don't we ask someone about this?" that sounded like a great idea. We nodded before going to search around for people nearby. After a few strolls around the expanse, we detected an old man seated at the bench as he stroked a pigeon. It was a rather unusual sight.
"Hello," I greeted him before asking if we could take a seat. He fluttered the pigeon off before nodding at us.
We exchanged glances after we sat down. "Uhm...do you possibly know what happened to the park right there?" Johnny spoke as he pointed to the park across us. I realized we were at the back of it. We observed wordlessly as the old man gave us slow nods.
"...I do," he replied. We waited for him to continue.
"Some kid was found dead in the park, rough ropes around his neck. Apparently hung himself on the carousel." my breath caught in my throat.
Why was this so familiar?
"After that, the police began investigating him and found out there were many others before him...died the same way." the old man resumed.
"Did it have to do with why Cane Street was so empty?" Johnny suddenly asked, referring to the place we were previously at. The old man nodded at that too.
"The people believed that the poor victims were murdered and were deadly afraid there was a killer on the loose...so, they fled the town and was presumed to never return..." his voice was slurred as he explained. Johnny and I exchanged glances.
"Do you...maybe know the name of the last kid who died here?" we held our breaths as we watched him ponder.
"If I had remembered precisely...
his name was Ethel..."