Angstober Day 7

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Day 7: Gravity The world around him was dark and empty as he endlessly fell. The inky black closed around him. His cat ears twitched, and his tail flicked back and forth underneath him. He was bored. Not panicked, not tired, just… bored. How long had he been falling now? A month? Two? He breathed out an annoyed sigh through his nose. And still, there he was. Falling until someone woke him up. I'd seen him several times now. Every time I slept for the past month or so, I came here in my dreams. It wasn't the animal features, the endless void, or even the general avoidance of looking at me that bothered me. It was the way he looked exactly like me. The same forever-messy hair (although mine was a bit longer), the same dark brown eyes, the same skin, everything. Had he been human, we’d be near-exact look-alikes. “You’ll be done with this soon, Abolish, surely.” His voice echoed on nothing, and I flinched back. ‘He knows my name?’ I thought nervously. “I know everything,” He quipped, causing me to panic further. Who was this? “It’s hard to forget your own name, y’know.” “W-...” The noise I made wasn’t loud, and yet it echoed. “What do you mean?” “You know exactly what I mean.” – I had a confusing and nerve-wracking feeling that was correct – “Just try not to die until you get me up, okay? ‘Preciate it.” “No, don’t just say that.” My voice bordered on angry as he tried to wrap up the conversation. I’d been seeing him for so long, and the one time he decides to get chatty, he just tries to insinuate something world-shattering. “What do you-?” I shot up with a hiss of pain, wincing. My hand was over my ear, which hurt like Hades. I pulled my hand into view, and was shocked to see both my fingers and my cross-shaped earring covered in blood. As I realized my earring was out, a wave of anxiety and existential dread crashed over me. I hurried to take out the red stud earring in my left ear and replace it with the cross. Almost immediately, the terrible feeling washed away. I sighed in relief before placing my hand back over my right ear. I checked it again. Yep. Blood. Unsure what to do, I grabbed one of my white gloves and placed it over the bleeding ear. ‘I really hope this washes out…’ I found myself thinking as I dragged myself out of bed. Like most nights, I’d slept terribly, but at least I’d slept until morning this time. I made my way next door, where the only doctor in town lived, and knocked. “Legundo?” I called. In just a few seconds, Legundo was there. He swung open the door and hardly looked for two seconds before seeing the stained glove. “Whoa, what in Apollo happened to you?” He exclaimed, inviting me in. “I have no idea.” I shook my head as I entered his home. He had me sit on a low table in the kitchen, and I moved the glove to my lap. I pulled my jet-black hair to the side and tilted my head up, giving him the room to inspect it. I stayed quiet, too tired to ask questions. “Hm…” Legundo’s eyes drifted to my left ear, resting on the bloodied cross. “Where do you usually wear that cross?” I pointed to the damaged ear, and Legundo nodded. “From the mark on your ear, it looks like you ripped it out in your sleep. Nothing serious, it should heal on its own. Just don’t wear any earrings on your right ear for a few weeks.” Legundo glanced back at the cross. “Although I’d recommend not wearing any hanging earrings to sleep. There’s a high risk of damaging your ear if you do.” I felt the wave crash down on me again, and I desperately shook my head. “No. No, it protects me.” “There’s no proof Vampires are actually repelled by crucifixes.” Legundo gave me a look. “And the vampires are not monsters to be repelled. Just patients to be helped.” “No, that’s not-” I started to object, but cut off.”Never mind.” I shook my head and slid off the table. “Thanks for the help, doc. If you could just get me some bandages for my ear, I can take care of myself from here.” The doctor nodded, raided a cabinet for a few moments, and tossed me a roll of bandages. “Don’t mention it. Oh, and Abolish?” I paused in front of the door. “Try getting out of town today. With a *group*,” He quickly clarified as my shoulders tightened. They didn’t loosen. “But just try. You’ve been locked in your house for a few days. It’s healthy to keep up social interaction.” I couldn’t force a verbal response, so I just nodded. I thanked him again and quickly returned to my home. I agreed that I shouldn’t stay in my house all day again, but… I *really* didn’t like the idea of going out into the dangerous forest with a bunch of people who didn’t exactly care about my safety. ‘I just wanted to come here to pay respects to my parents…’ I thought, glancing down at the now crimson glove in my hand. ‘Why does it feel like the world wants me to do anything *but* that?’