"What happened back there? You look, uh, shaken up." "I don't wanna talk about it." "Oh- Okay- Cool-" Sammy flipped the last switch next to the haunted house. The large doors opened slowly and a cartoony monster laugh echoed through the abandoned warehouse. "Ooo, spooky!" "Whatever. Can you make it over there on your own?" "I don't think so-" "Try. You're gonna have to be able to walk on your own at the very least." I nodded and slowly stood up, struggling to not put too much weight on my left leg. "Ugh- Why couldn't I break an arm-" "Pff. That would've been preferable." "Actually, believe it or not, breaking nothing would've been preferable." He shrugged and casually walked over to the haunted house. "Man, isn't walking so fun?" "Ugh. You really suck." I angrily limped over to him and lightly punched him on the shoulder. "Ow. How painful. I think you broke my arm." "I will slap you--" "You wouldn't do that. Not to me, at least." "Pff. Don't flatter yourself, Lawrence." "Now you're gonna stoop to that level." "Oh shut up-" "No, I don't think I will." Alice's voice started over a crackly intercom. "You two really are adorable." "ALICE, HOLY F--" my voice echoed through the haunted house, prompting Sammy to glare at me. "Hmhmhm. Come on, dears, take a little ride. Buddy is eager to see you at the end.~" We stepped inside a ride car. As much as I hated to admit it, it was fun. I hadn't been on something like this since I was a kid, and the childish jumpscares were adorable. I looked over at Sammy to see if he was enjoying it as much as I was, but he was very bored. Of course he was. I rolled my eyes and continued to look around, until Alice started reading an essay. "All good things come to an end. That's something I've come to learn. And to think... All this suffering could've easily been avoided... if it weren't for Mister Drew. We all could've ended up in heaven, we could've. But we were doomed to stay here, in this inky abyss. Haven't you ever wondered what heaven is like? I like to dream it's quite beautiful, a soft valley of green grass, blanketed by a warm sun." She paused to sigh. "I don't think any of us will be able to see it. But all of that can change, can't it? A single soul with purpose could change everything. A single soul who descends to save us all from this hellish madness and bring us back up... Aubrey, is it possible you're the chosen one?" "What-" Alice chuckled and sighed again. "Of course not. I'm messing with you. You? A chosen one? To save us from this hell? Never in a million years, darling." Sammy laughed. "Yeah. They're too incompetent for that, honestly. But I stopped believing someone would set us free a while ago." I turned to look at him. "What? You, the almighty pessimist, once believed that?" "Pff." Alice cleared her throat. "I'm afraid we're out of time for chit-chat. Thanks for hearing me out." "Where's Buddy?" "Hmhm." She clicked off the speaker and opened a door ahead of us that lead to a large room full of crates, chairs, and other obstacles. "This looks like a boss fight arena." "A what?" "Oh my god, you're such a boomer." "I'm such a huh?" "Pff." "COME ON, I'VE BEEN STUCK IN THIS PLACE FOR THE LAST, WHAT? 30 YEARS? I DON'T GET THE THINGS YOU TALK ABOUT SOMETIMES BECAUSE I KIND OF DIDN'T EXIST WHEN THOSE THINGS WERE RELEVA--" "Sheesh, calm down, old man." "HUH?" "I SAID YOU'RE O L D ." "I AM NOT OLD-" "YES YOU ARE-" "NO-" "YOU'RE LIKE, 100 SOMETHING YEARS OLD IF I HAD TO GUESS?? YOU ARE ANCIENT???" "THAT JUST MEANS I'M IMMORTAL, NOT OL-" "YOU'RE REALLY TRYING TO DEFEND YOURSELF RIGHT NOW?" A/N: This is totally not based off a conversation I had like yesterday- If you know you know lmao Our argument regarding Sammy's age was cut short by another door opening, and a growl coming from inside. "Uh what the hell was that-" I got out of the cart and limped towards the door, the curiosity outweighing my fear. I didn't see anything inside. I looked over at Sammy. "You heard it too, right?" He nodded and motioned for me to step away from the door. "I don't know what you're so worried about, there's nothing in there." He shook his head and didn't say a word. "What's your problem dude?" "I'M TRYING TO HELP YOU IDIOT, NOW GET AWAY FROM THE DOOR-" Suddenly I heard the growl again, from right behind me. I tried to get away, but a huge gloved hand grabbed me before I could escape. I struggled to get free and turned around, seeing a deformed version of Buddy. He looked like some sort of Frankenstein's monster. "HOLY-- BUDDY- OH MY GOD, WHAT DID SHE DO TO YOU?-" He let out a roar and shook his head, like he was trying to be himself but couldn't. "Get them, Boris! No one gets to heaven before me!"
Buddy's claws started digging into my flesh as he clenched his fist around me. In a state of panic, I could barely feel the pain, and I struggled to get out of his death grip to no avail. "SAMMY- A LITTLE HELP HERE? I THINK HE'S UH, TRYING TO KILL ME, SO MAYBE HURRY IT UP??" "I'M ON IT, JUST HOLD ON- Ugh- if you'd just listened to me and gotten away from the door-" "JUST HOLD ON HE SAYS, AS THE MONSTER DIGS IT'S CLAWS INTO MY VITAL ORGANS, OF COURSE- JUST HOLD ON! DAMN IT SAMMY-" "Calm down- I know some people who can help-" "OF COURSE. JUST CALM DOWN-" The pain started to catch up to me. I winced and started feeling lightheaded. "Just- Hurry-" Everything turned black... ... Am I dead? Is this what death is like? Just an abyss with only my thoughts? Sounds pretty boring, to me. And here I thought I had a good chance at surviving. Oh, well. Better luck next time, I suppose. Better luck next time.
