The End Credits

Witness

     My footsteps echoed throughout the white facility as I walked into a room with nothing but a bed and a syringe filled with a strange liquid. A female voice reverberated. "Hello, deranged maniac, sir. You are the lucky participant in our Happy Dream experiment here at Happy Dream Inc.! We can only test this specific drug on people on death row for a chance at a new start by causing them to feel guilt for their actions so that they can be rehabilitated into society. If you're successful, you'll be pardoned! Isn't that wonderful?" Static ended the message.
     The needle pricked my skin, the medicine draining. As my eyes grew heavy, I slid onto the bed and drifted away to sleep. Unfortunately, it wasn't a permanent one. I kind of wished it was.
     I woke up in a white room with my trusty journal on the nightstand beside me. Wait, wasn't that where the syringe was? I looked through my diary, but it was empty. Nothing stared at me from the depths of the pages. I shook my head and opened the door.
     Sunlight pierced the darkness, the grass was green, butterflies were dancing, and the vegetables were sentient. I walked around until I saw a woman wearing a cowboy hat. "Hello there."
      "Hey. Aren't ya the new kid? Russell, right?"
      "Yeah."
      "Welcome to town. My name's Yumi, and I'm the town's sheriff. If anything's wrong at all, feel free to contact me." I nodded my head as I headed to the mayor's house. An older man with a red cravat and a woman with pink hair bowed to me. My eyes wandered as I took in the opulence of his residence.
     "It's a wonderful place, no?" The old man spoke. "We've been expecting you, Russell Seager. I hope you have a great time in our village. Oh, and my name is Saxon, and this is my maid, Mireille. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance." How did this old fog know my name? Oh well, who cares. This is a dream world, so it's not like that'll be answered.
     "It's nice to meet you too, I guess." I excused myself and continued exploring.
      On the other side of town was a pharmacy. I entered, and it was filled with pots, vases, and other treasures from a foreign land. A man with dragon wings and horns smiled at me, his gray hair reflecting the sunlight streaming through the windows. "Hello there. I heard about you from the others. You're Russell, correct?" I nodded. "My name is Kantera, and as you can see, I sell useful medicines. Perhaps you'll like to see some of my wares?"
      I showed off my empty pockets. "I don't have any money."
     He laughed. "It's all right, my friend." He bowed to me, and I took that opportunity to leave.
      My feet guided me to the church, where pews lined the area, and up by the altar were two people. One of them wore black and red robes, and the other had a green turtleneck. A statue of a mermaid stood behind them. The girl waved to me and ran up to greet me. "Hi, my name's Cody, and that sourpuss is my brother, Dogma. Who are you?"
      "I'm Russell." Dogma approached us, and I swallowed a little. His eyes made me self-conscious, like a teacher's gaze.
      "Hello, Russell. My name is Dogma. I pray that you'll have a fantastic time here." He gave me a bottle of holy water and sent me on my way. God, these people are weird, but they feel... familiar. Are they... No, that's not possible. The carrots and radishes in the gardens had eyes, and they followed me as I walked by. I went to the restaurant nearby.
     It was rather homey, with a blue-and-white tiled floor. A girl with a yellow dress held onto a frying pan as eggs sizzled. "Oh, hey, you're the new kid. Welcome! My name's Gardenia! If you ever need food, you know where to find me." An unfamiliar warmth filled my chest, and my muscles relaxed. I waved to her, left her place, and entered the last house.
       Cages littered the wall, their inhabitants dripped in shadow. Growls echoed. A gun leaned against the wall, and a man with long hair and a green hood lounged in a chair facing the cages. He swiveled towards me. "Hey. My name's Tabasa. I take care of the animals here. If you need me, I'm here for you. Well, except if you're plannin' on exploring a haunted mansion, haha." I chuckled and turned to leave. He got up, scratching his head. "Hey. If you don't mind, Gardenia asked me to find a hair pin that she lost in the forest and asked me to retrieve it. Would you be willin' to help?"
"Well, there's been sightings of a monster nearby." He swallowed, and sweat dripped down his face. "I just wanted to have some company, just in case." I nodded. "Thanks, man. Now, let's go." He picked up his gun and led me to the edge of the village.
We walked through the forest, the trees providing shade and the birds filling silence with music. The trees led us to the end of the road, which was a clearing before the cliff. Water sloshed below us on the sides of the cliff, and the clouds filled the sky. I picked up her accessory and heard something behind me. "Watch out!" Tabasa aimed his gun. I scrambled away. A tower of green eyes bored into my soul. My head pulsed as gunshots rang out around me. I punched the monster in the eye closest to me, and it cried in pain as blood shot out of several bullet wounds. The creature morphed into a giant blue monkey, towering over both of us. My head felt like it would split in half, like a watermelon. A specific memory flooded my senses, and the sounds of battle faded into nothingness.
      I was about six or seven. I stole money from Mom's purse in order to go to the zoo since my father was yelling. As I entered, the zookeeper was feeding the monkeys. They were screeching, reminding me of my awful dad. He should just die. I talked with the zookeeper, and he was very kind, letting me into his room. I felt like this was what having a big brother would be like. Sadness and envy flooded me, and I hit the back of the zookeeper's head. Why wouldn't he be my big brother? I left the back, dragging my feet as the animals screamed at me. Annoying monkeys. Shut up. Annoying monkeys. What are you looking at? What are you looking at?
     I shook my head as the chaos of battle ensued in my ears. "Hey, Russell. Are you okay?"
    "Yeah. I'm good now." Sweat poured down my face as a lump of guilt formed in my throat, the words "We saw, we saw what you did to him" echoed in my mind. I swallowed and ran towards the monster, my fists meeting its fur. It fell back, blood flowing out as it shrieked one last time.
      Tabasa high-fived me. "Good job. Now let's go before anything else attacks us." I nodded. We traveled back to the village and Tabasa left me to give Gardenia her extravagant hair pin.
         I knocked on the door and she greeted me with a yawn. Her eyes lit up when she spotted the misplaced adornment in my hand. "Oh, you found it! Thank you so much!" She held it close to her chest and warmth filled mine as I waved bye and left. Humming, I returned to my house. A bloodstain tainted the pure white floor and my diary penned the entry I wrote on that trip to the zoo. My body was so battered that I instantly closed my eyes.
      Blinking, the harsh light humming above me, I woke up. The syringe was filled up while I was in the dreamworld, it seemed. A woman appeared on the other side of the glass and a familiar voice rang out. "Good morning, deranged maniac!! I hope your dream was good, for our success depends on you." She disappeared. After a meager breakfast of cereal and a cookie, I went back to the dream world. At least people are nice to me in here.