The walk backwards wasn’t long until they got to what Omori wanted. There was a fuzz trapped in a tube they ran by and Omori somehow knew about it.
“Gee, another one? How many are there?” Kel asked no one in particular.
“Four thousand, five hundred fifty-eight. This is the number...whatever.” Aubrey chuckled to herself.
“Darn, that’s a lot of fuzzies.” Kel laughed before turning his attention back to Omori who easily kicked the glass and broke it. He grabbed the fuzz and nodded to them, letting them know it was a good one.
There was a hole left behind, however. Everyone visibly paled at the sight of it, terrified of what might be inside.
“Take your bets now! I call a scary face for five hundred!” Kel tried to lighten the mood that immediately darkened when Omori jumped into the hole.
The trio followed him one by one until they reached rock bottom.
Aubrey opened her eyes to find black and white trees surrounding them, the sound of wind rushing by filled her ears but the air was still. The sound of a tree being cut could be heard ahead.
It echoed louder than the wind did.
Omori just stared forward unmoving causing the trio to grow concerned.
“Hey, Omori. Are you okay?” Hero asked nervously, gaining the boy’s attention.
“...” He stayed silent before motioning for them to follow, making them more concerned as the chopping sound became louder.
It only took a few steps for Aubrey to find out what exactly was being cut.
A tree with a single noose.
Her face paled and it felt like her heart stopped at the sight.
There was a shadowy figure standing in front of the tree. One she could recognize any day of the week.
It was Sunny’s father.
A man she knew quite well for awful dad jokes and one that would sometimes bring them snacks from his job. They weren’t as good as Hero and Mari’s cooking but they were good.
He was good.
He didn’t look good now.
He was holding an axe and chopping a- no, the tree down. Dealing hard blows that were clearly fueled by anger and making it halfway through the tree before he turned around and glared at all of them.
No, not at all of them.
Just Omori.
Just Sunny.
“ Stay away...you are not my son.”
Aubrey felt like the god of winter touched her spine as his father’s voice rang in her head. His voice was laced with venom and hatred as if it was Sunny’s fault Mari committed suicide. Her hands immediately closed into fists as she felt Hero grab her shoulder tightly. She turned towards him and saw rage on his face as well. Hell, even Kel looked pissed off.
Sunny’s father went back to cutting the tree with the axe. His chops were angrier than before just because he saw Omo- Sunny.
He spoke again but this time his voice sounded more desperate as if he was pleading.
“Why...Why won’t you fall!?”
Aubrey gritted her teeth as Hero and Kel’s faces filled with more rage as well.
How dare he treat Sunny like that! Like it was his fault for what happened! No wonder why Sunny locked himself away for four fucking years! He was meant to be his father! Someone, he could look up to! Someone to comfort him during terrible times! It reminded her of…
It reminded her of her own cowardly father who left her with her mother. Her own father who was meant to care for her as well but didn’t because he was a coward.
...If she had one similarity with Sunny, it was that their fathers were shitty people despite their good deeds.
Aubrey was glad for Hero’s stronghold on her shoulder, otherwise, she would have gone ham on him by now. Beating him to a bloody pulp sounded ideal. Though, now that she’s thinking about it, he is a shadow figure. Her punches would probably pass through him.
A damn shame for sure.
Omori grabbed her hand suddenly and began pulling her away from the scene. Kel and Hero followed behind as Aubrey took one last look at the man she promises would not get away for saying that. Just like how her father won’t get away with what he did as well.
They walked through some trees and the next thing they were back near where the hole was inside Humphrey. She was still pissed off though, rage coursing through her veins and the urge to destroy something was definitely there. She looked at Omori who was still wearing a blank face but she could tell there was something on his mind as well. She couldn’t tell what though.
“Try to calm down. Focus on your breathing.” A familiar voice echoes in her ears.
She takes a few breaths, trying to calm down. It worked a bit, but that doesn’t mean her anger faded completely. In fact, it made her sadder for now her brain can only think about how Sunny felt.
…
She walked over to Omori and gave him a hug, which seemed to surprise him since he jumped a bit. Kel and Hero walked over and hugged him as well, though he remained expressionless throughout the whole thing.
Somehow though, she can tell he appreciated it.
Well, at least she can now focus on the tasks ahead of her. Hopefully, there isn’t much left.
Omori grabbed her hand again and continued dragging them along until they were back at the door where the creature cornered them. He opened it slowly and they entered, noticing Sweetheart with another squid-like monster, which if she remembered the name from the receptionist right, is Marina. This one had pink hair and tentacle arms.
...She was beginning to see a theme here. What was with all the squid monsters?
“Ugh, this place is disgusting. What is it exactly that you do here?” Sweetheart complained about the messy room as if being in a whale’s stomach wasn’t disgusting enough.
“That’s not your business, lady. Just sit back and relax!” Marina sighed as she worked on something on the bed in front of her.
“Urf, I feel nauseous…” Sweetheart continued to complain, though Aubrey had to agree that the room did stink.
A random bolt of lightning came down and struck the bed causing Kel, Hero, and Aubrey to jump in fear. They were lucky no one noticed them.
“Err, uh, oops…” Marina nervously chuckled before muttering to herself, “...Well, that will do I guess.”
“Alright, it’s done. Here you go lady, one perfect suitor coming right up,” Marina turned the table around to reveal a goopy version of Sweetheart with a happy face, “Say hello to your new soulmate!”
“H...Henno?” The goopy version of Sweetheart did a mini-wave.
...Okay that was cute, but not cute enough to put Aubrey in a better mood.
“Is-Is this some kinda joke!? What do you take me for? I am ten times, no, a hundred times more beautiful than this thing!” Sweetheart yelled, not satisfied with the creation, “You’ve disappointed me greatly! I am storming off!”
You know, Aubrey would roast her by saying zero times anything was still zero but that would be mean to the goop who was clearly a 10 out of 10.
“HEY!? WHAT THE HECK!? YOU CAN’T JUST STORM OFF LADY! WHERE’S MY MONEY!?”
Marina angrily grumbled before turning back to her work desk, “I’ll show her...I will get my money…” she promised herself.
“I think we should go…” Hero whispered.
Aubrey nodded in agreement and they opened the trapdoor on the wall, crawling through and ending up back at the beginning.
Just one more way to go to find that damn keycard.
YOU ARE READING
Stuck In Paradise
FanfictionHero, Kel, Aubrey, and Basil know that the dream world they are in is not their own. Who is Omori? Why does he look like Sunny? And why is Mari there.
