"Where am I?"
Devin's voice faded to barely a whisper. He looked ahead, his deep crimson eyes glistening with a mix of fear and resignation. Nothing stood but absolute darkness through the boundless infinity.
His ash white hair drifted upwards as his pale nude body lay bare, the cold seeping into his bones.
He shivered, feeling the weightlessness of his form. Looking like a pale white speck slowly drifting in the endless black, his heart pounding in his chest.
"Darcey…" Gloss coalesced at the corner of his eye. "I-" He hiccupped, whimpered, then chuckled weakly. "I did it again." A single tear ran down his cheek, warm against his cold skin. "I failed you." He sighed, the tear dropping from his chin, and disappearing into the endless abyss below.
"Dev…" A soft whisper resounded in the void.
Devin perked up, the soft yet familiar voice tugging at his heartstrings. His heart raced, pounding in his ears. He swung his head wildly, shouting, "Darcey!? Where are you!?"
The sound of his own voice echoed back, swallowed by the surrounding darkness.
"Dev." It whispered again.
Crack!
Devin abruptly heard the sharp, jarring sound of glass crack. His heart leapt into his throat, a surge of panic flooding his senses. A violet tear stretched before him, shimmering in dim light. When it reached about two meters, Devin couldn't react before a violent pull sucked him in. The force overwhelming, like being yanked by an invisible hand. Gripped with fear, his mind raced with confusion…
"Dev…"
"Dev…"
Snap!
"Dev!" Devin's dark brown eyes opened wide. Accompanied by the sweet, all-too-familiar voice calling to him were the sounds of traffic, the rumbling engine of the bus as it drove through the street, and the endless chatter all around him. His heart skipped a beat. 'Is it, really?'
"Earth to Devin." The girl seated beside him shook the all-too-dazed teenager. Devin turned to meet those bright blue eyes, reflecting his stunned face. 'It is!' Devin shuddered silently. The girl looked worried, waving her hand before him. "Anybody home?"
"Dev-" Devin wrapped the girl in his warm embrace, his arms tightening around her, afraid to lose her again. "Darcey," he whispered, his voice trembling slightly.
"Hey! You're smothering me." Darcey struggled half-heartedly, her hands pushing gently against his chest. Devin chuckled, feeling the warmth of her touch. "I'm your brother, I'm supposed to smother you."
"Ugh, since when did you get so mushy with me?" Darcey sighed, relenting in her brother's warmth. She rested her head against his shoulder, her breath tickling his neck.
"Since you figured out how to talk back to me. Ugh, they grow up so fast." Devin sighed dramatically, his hand gently ruffling her soft grey hair.
"Keep talking like that and I'll send you to a nursing home." She retorted, a playful glint in her eyes as she nudged him with her elbow.
"I'm not even eighteen yet, let alone eighty." Devin chuckled, letting Darcey go after some time. She curiously blinked at him before asking, "Something wrong? You zoned out on me for a sec."
Looking back at her, he smiled gently, his hand lingering on her shoulder. "It's nothing."
The bus arrived at their stop, and they set off. Devin waved Darcey off as she entered Silverwood Primary. His smile gradually wore off as her figure receded into the building.
The morning air was crisp, carrying the faint scent of autumn and distant car exhaust.
He stood there somewhat dazed, the sounds of children laughing and buses idly fading into the background.
"What's going on here?" he uttered, raising his pale, shivering hands to his face. The cold air bit at his skin, making his fingers tingle. These hands, bloodied from— Snap!
"What the fuck!?" Devin opened his eyes to Silverwood High's track field. Looking around in dismay, he couldn't help but wonder. "How did I even get here?" His breathing frantic, Devin's heart pounded in his ears.
"Darcey died…" He raised his shivering hands to his face. "I died…" He clutched at his face, trying to make sense of all of this. "N-Now I'm here, Darcey was next to me and, and-"
"Devin?" Caught in his disarray thoughts, Devin didn't notice a shadow loom over him. Hearing her voice, he looked up.
"Emily, when did you get here?" He smiled, masking his inner turmoil. 'Did she hear any of that?' He hoped not.
"Just now, you alright?" She looked at him through her honey due like eyes, nestled in the frame of her glasses.
"Yeah I'm good, I'm good." Devin stood up hurriedly and hugged her, wrapping his arms around her waist. She wrapped her arms around his neck with her pixie cut brunette hair tickling his right ear. They stood in the warm embrace for quite some time, before Devin's eyes felt warm and he let go.
Emily then tucked her skirt in, before sitting down on the burgundy floor. She patted the hard ground next to her, and smiled through her pretty pink lips. "Talk to me."
Devin stood still for a moment, before he sighed. "Was I that obvious?"
"Not really…" Emily thought back. "But when Bale and his lackey pick on you-"
"Ahem, you mean beat me up." Devin cleared his throat, slowly sitting beside her with his left knee propped up and his right leg laying on the hard ground.
"Pick on you…" Emily gave a Devin a look. "You never really flinched or reacted to it." He looked away from her as Emily traced her eyes over him.
Looking down, she noticed him nervously fidgeting with his hands. "But now you are agitated for some reason, Devin?" Devin sighed before looking into her eyes again.
Emily saw the pain masked by his nonchalant gaze.
"Tell me what's wrong."
Her voice reverberated through his mind. He leaned back on the white stone wall behind them, looking up. The sky was cloudy with patches of blue peeking through. The sun shone brightly, casting a warm glow over the two.
'Maybe it was all just some fucked up nightmare.' Devin hoped, before turning to Emily. "You wouldn't even believe me." He sighed.
"Try me." Emily smiled.
'You too good for me.' Devin sighed. In the month or so that his known her, she's been a gentle warmth in the dark tunnel that was his life.
He sighed once more. "All of this is so discombobulating, Darcey-" Snap!
Devin's eyes snapped open, looking up at the white ceiling.
"Fluffy fluff marshmallows! Oh I love these!" He heard Darcey squeal in excitement. In a daze, he slowly turned to her.
She sat opposite from him on the low table. With exuberant glee, she pulled the packet open, popping two marshmallows into her mouth.
His breath escalating with every bout, Devin hyperventilated while his brain tried to process everything.
'W-What the hell is going on here!?'
End of Chapter 2