A Duck's Luck

Delilah's Dread

Before Delilah opened her eyes again , she waited for a moment , just to prepare herself in case there was something she didn't want to see on the other side . At last she stopped holding her breath and opened her eyes to find herself ,,,, outside the mansion . " What ,,? " she whispered to herself , dumbfounded by how she somehow manages to make it all the way back home . Had the whole adventure just been a dream ? she thought . No , it was far too real for it to just be a dream . Was she going insane ?
If that was just a dream , she thought , then maybe my dad is okay ! At that , Delilah ran all the way back to the houseboat , the sun shining down on her hair as she did . She swung open the door and ran down the stairs , calling out for her dad . When she got to the living room , she saw Daisy . " Mom ! " Delilah called out , running up to her and hugging her from behind . There was no response . " Mom ? Are you okay ? " Delilah asked , now a little worried . " Delilah , " she heard Daisy say . " Why did you leave ? "
" Why did I ,, what ? " Delilah mumbled softly . Something about Daisy's voice seemed off , it sounded like her but at the same time ,,, it didn't . Almost like someone was speaking for her , but she wasn't sure who . " WHY DID YOU LEAVE ? " Daisy commanded , turning around and revealing her angry , rage-filled eyes . Delilah gasped a little in shock and fear , gulping and trying to think of what to say . Before she could reply , Daisy continued on . " June told me what you did , you left . Why ? Why did you do it ? "
" I wanted to find dad - " She sputtered out , slowly backing up until she felt her back hit something . When she turned , she saw May and June with the same fury-stricken eyes staring at her . " You left us , are we not good enough for you ? " June's frustrated voice asked . " I knew you'd abandon us , you just can't seem to let things go , " May hissed . " Please , mom , I'm sorry ,, " Delilah pleaded as the three began to surround her . " You're a terrible daughter , Delilah , " Daisy grumbled , looking towards the floor . At that very moment , it felt like Delilah's heart had shattered into a million pieces . Her own mother had just called her ,,, terrible . While she processed this , she saw Daisy walk away , ashamed of what her daughter had done . " I never want to see you again , for the rest of my life , " June sobbed , May following after her and glaring at Delilah from behind .
Speechless as to what happened , she ran out of the houseboat as fast as she could . Her little legs carried her all the way to the mansion , hoping that maybe she could talk to someone about what just happened . Delilah opened the mansion's large doors , looking around desperately for at least someone . She sprinted through the halls and large rooms , looking in places where people may be . When she passed Huey , Dewey , and Louie's room , she heard two figures talking . She broke through the doors to find Huey and Louie together . " Huey ! Louie ! I'm so glad to see you guys ! Listen , I think something might be - " Delilah spiraled until something cut her off .
" Oh , look who it is , Ms. ' I can't do anything by myself so I'll always have someone else do the hard work for me , " Huey said sarcastically .
" What ? What are you talking about ?? " Delilah asked , her eyes starting to tear up .
" Yeah , go ahead and start crying , that's all you ever do , " Louie rolled his eyes and crossed his arms . " What do you want me to do for you this time , huh Delilah ? You want me to read you a bedtime story because you get scared of the dark even at 10 years old ? " Huey added .
" No ,, why are you guys being so mean ? " Delilah wiped her face to hide her tears , but even more came down .
" We're just telling you the truth , " Huey remarked , tilting his head a little . " You were never meant to fit in with this family , "
" When we talked about it with Uncle Donald he even admitted to being ashamed of you , " Louie groaned . " That's why he had Aunt Daisy take you far away from him , "
" What !? No ! That's not true ! My mom said she took me away to protect me ! " Delilah choked , more and more tears streaming down her face as she backed away . As she cried , Louie let out a sickening laugh . " She only said that to make you feel good about yourself ! I'm pretty sure even she was a little ashamed of you too . "
As she listened to her closest cousins laugh and make fun of her , Delilah shook her head and ran out of the room , their laughs running through her mind on repeat . Her face was wet from the tears and as she fell to her knees in the hall , she remembered . Deepest , darkest fears . All of this , everything that was said and done , was all just ,,, one , big , elaborate illusion . It made her feel a little better , but still ,,, it was so real . So , so real . Delilah wiped her face and got up off the ground . She needed to find a way to get out of here , but how ? She ran down the corridor , but didn't get very far as she ran into her Uncle Scrooge .
Oh no , not again , Delilah thought to herself . " Delilah , " She heard Scrooge say . Before he could say anything else , she covered her ears and turned away . " No ! This isn't real ! " She yelled as loud as she could to muffle out the belittling voices . " Oh lass , this is very much real , " Even though her ears were covered , she could hear Scrooge's voice crystal clear - as if he was inside her mind . She turned back around and opened her eyes , the old duck walking towards her almost methodically . " You left , even when I told you we'd do it tomorrow , didn't you ? " He asked her , his voice calm yet so furious at the same time . As he talked to her , the walls all around them began to fade to black until eventually , there was nothing but the two of them . " Not only that , but you also put Dewey and Webby in danger , is that right ? "
Delilah pressed her palms up against her ears tighter and started to sob silently . Every word he said , every sound that was made seemed to echo 10x louder than it should've . Even though there were no walls , it still felt like everything around her was shaking . With every word Scrooge said she could hear everyone else's voices too , like a terrible echo of everyone she's ever loved and cared about tearing her heart to shreds . Delilah , not being able to take it anymore , dropped to her knees , her hands covering her face as she cried . Sobbing in the middle of this circle , surrounded by everyone she's ever known , forced to see their angry faces in her head until her final days .
" No more , please , I'm so sorry ,, " She sobbed , choking on her own words like they were forcefully crawling out of her throat . No matter how hard she pleaded , the voices only got louder and louder , crawling under her skin and making themselves one with her . Her chest hurt so bad and her eyes hurt from crying , but the pain didn't stop her . Nothing she did would help herself , this was the end for her . This is where she would remain forever . She would never be able to see her dad , never be able to save him from whatever was happening to him . Either that or maybe this was all real , maybe if she turned around she'd see him making fun of her too .
" Hey ! Get away from her ! "
" Delilah , are you okay !? "
Almost instantly , Delilah looked up . Unlike the other voices , these ones were nice to her . Suddenly , Dewey and Webby popped out of the crowd , Dewey with his sword and Webby in her fighting stance . " Dewey , Webby !! Is that really you ?! " Delilah cried out in relief . Before they could say anything , she jumped in their arms and sobbed harder . " How did you guys find me ? " She asked .
" Well , we may or may not have followed you anyway ,, " Webby replied , rubbing the back of her head a little .
" Can we talk about this later ?! Angry family members are after us ! " Dewey exclaimed , swinging his sword around to fight the mob off . " I don't know where to go ! How do we get out of here !? " Delilah asked as she and the others began to run off . Now the world was back to normal - no more darkness . The sky was back , so was the mansion . Just like it did when she first arrived . " Well , this is all an illusion ! So we just have to find something that doesn't fit in , " Webby claimed assertively .
" How are we gonna tell what doesn't fit ? for all we know a doorframe could be placed 2 inches to the left and we wouldn't know because ,, who pays that much attention to doorframes !? " Dewey argued .
" Where are we even gonna look ?? It looks just like normal ! " Delilah added .
Webby was silent for a moment , all the while the three kids hid continuously around corners and walls to hide from the angry illusions of their family . Finally , she spoke . " Wait a minute ! This is Delilah's nightmare , not ours ! All we have to do is go and find Delilah's room ! Maybe there's something there , "
"Alright , but let's hurry up ! My arms are getting tired , " Dewey called . Almost as soon as they started to head for the houseboat , the floor began to fall apart . Large pillars of the ground rose up and down , causing the kids to split apart . " Is everyone okay !? " Webby called out from above .
" I'm alright - if you could even call it that , " Delilah heard Dewey say from a ways behind her .
" and I'm okay too ! " Delilah responded .
Webby peaked over the small platform she was on , crawling over to the edge and being careful not to fall off each time it swayed . " Delilah ! You're the closest - you have to get to the houseboat ! " She called out below .
" WHAT !? Are you crazy !!? " Delilah yelled back .
" Come ON Delilah ! You NEED to get there ! If you want to save Donald , if you want to get OUT of here , you'll have to get there , for all of us ! "
As Delilah listened , she closed her eyes . She wasn't really surprised , she knew she'd have to do something eventually , but now was her chance . If she wanted to prove to Webby and Dewey , the greatest kid adventurers in her family , then she'd have to do this on her own - even if she was scared beyond her mind .
" But , I don't want to leave you guys here ! " She cried a lot louder than she meant . Her throat began to swell as she felt more tears form in her eyes , but she wiped them before they could even fall .
" JUST DO IT !! " Webby pleaded her and at that , all the adrenaline in Delilah's body finally exploded out of her . She stood up on her moving platform , keeping her arms out for balance , and jumped on the one in front of her . She cut her skirt and legs up as she climbed onto the rocky pillar , but eventually she made it on top .
Taking in her surroundings , Delilah looked around . Out in front of her was the houseboat , balancing on its own pillar of ground . Now that she knew where it was , she continued - leaping from platform to platform like a determined frog . " You can do it Delilah ! " she could hear Dewey say , along with Webby's cheers and hollers from behind . Their encouraging cries only made her more determined , her love for them fueling her motivation even harder . Soon , she didn't even struggle while climbing . Delilah successfully climbed each swaying spike with such grace that she didn't get hurt anymore .
At last , Delilah reached the last platform below the houseboat , rocks and debris tumbling off the sides and bottom with each swish . Shakily , Delilah stood on the lower platform and , with all the strength she could manage , jumped up to the houseboat above . Her hands flew , then touched ground and once they did she sunk her nails into the wooden edges of the boat . She swung gently from side to side and lifts one leg over the edge and pulled the rest of her body into the boat , falling on her side in the process . The boat was swaying a lot more than the other platforms , making it hard to stand up . When Delilah finally got to her legs , she ran up to the front of the boat , only for it to lean back down and send her falling . Her stomach hit the very end of the boat and she grabbed the edges to stay on , gasping for breath as the wind got knocked out of her . She could no longer hear Dewey or Webby , just the sounds of the rickety old boat swaying from side to side like a seesaw .
When she finally caught her breath , Delilah held onto her bag tight and ran inside the house boat , tripping down the stairs and scraping her knees on the way . She went down into the base of the boat where her room was , only to find it ,,, missing .
" What !? No , no please ! " She called desperately as she looked down into the gaping hole of her room . Her whole room had been replaced with nothing . Nothing but a deep , gaping hole of abyss . Just as she was about to lose all hope , she remembered what Webby had said . " Look for the thing that doesn't belong . " Well , if anything the hole in her room didn't belong . Then her face lit up . This was it ! She had found it after all ! All she needed to do now was ,,,
She took a deep breath and closed her eyes for a long time . The worst that could happen ? she'd jump in and fall forever . The best ? She's break through the illusion and find her dad . There was a 50/50 % chance she'd make it or wouldn't , and at this point she decided to take that chance . She had come so far , there certainly was no turning back now . So , she stood up on the edge of the hatch in the floor of the houseboat and closed her eyes . She held the strap on her bag even tighter than before , spacing her legs out to secure herself each time the boat would sway . Then , she plugged her nose and jumped in the hole , like she did when she dove into the pool or ocean , her favorite places in the world to be .
Delilah fell and fell , but closed her eyes tighter and held her knees up to her chest , her closed eyes watering from how fast she was falling . Then suddenly , there was a loud *crash* , and Delilah hit the floor .