The Monsters Inside and Out (Scott Howl x Depressed Reader)

151. Between Life and Death

When you wake up, you're in a hospital bed. Your breathing is heavy after having woken up, and you take a minute to process this dream you had. The dream where you finally opened that old door that has haunted you for so long. The dream where you caught another glimpse of what life was like before your father killed your brother. The dream where you remembered... That it wasn't your father... It was... Her. The thoughts and feelings come flooding back, and the beeping of your heart monitor starts to increase. Faster and faster. Your breathing has once again started becoming rapid and frantic, and you start to sob hysterically. Not long after, some nurses come running in. The world around you starts to shake as the nurses try to calm you down. They say, "Breathe! Breathe. Calm down. Everything is okay..." Despite their efforts, you haven't calmed down. They desperately ask you what they can do to help you calm down. Between your sobs, you're able to muster out his name, "S-S-S-Scott..." The nurses rush out and one of them says, "Are one of you Scott? You? Your friend needs you."

A second later, Scott turns the corner and shuts the door. He's still in his prom outfit. "Baby, a-are you okay? Wh-What's happening?" You reach out for him as if you're trying to grab him. He quickly steps forward, wrapping his arms around you in a tight embrace. You bury your face in the crook of his neck, crying as you've never cried before. You feel like someone is repeatedly punching your gut, trying to make you puke up everything in your stomach. He places his hand on your head as you sob, rubbing it softly to help soothe you.

After a few minutes of crying in his arms, you finally start to calm down. Calm down enough to make coherent sentences at least. After Scott notices you're quieter, he asks again, "What happened?" You take a deep, shaky breath and reply. "I had one of those dreams... One of those dreams where I see the past... And... I..." You squeeze him tighter. He asks, "You what?" "I... I saw my mother... Kill my brother." Scott noticeably tenses up. He says, "But I thought your dad did it." "Well... I guess not..." You both sit in silence for a minute. Luckily, the heart monitor's beeping and the air conditioning in the room make it so it's not dead silent. Scott finally says, "What do you want to do now?" You think for a minute and answer, "I want to sleep. I want to cuddle. I want to eat. I want to have a fun time with my friends, share a slow dance with you, and eat cereal at one in the morning as we watch TV, I want to enjoy my life as a normal person who doesn't have to deal with family drama so bad that people are literally dead because of it! But most importantly, I never want to see her again."

Scott continues holding you close to him. You still feel a bit unstable, so you try to talk more to distract yourself. "The nurse asked... If 'one of you' is Scott. Are there other people here?" "Oh, yeah! There's Polly, Vicky, Zoe, Oz, Amira, Vera-" Scott is cut off when you hear a commotion at the door. A familiar voice is screaming at the people outside of the room. She says, "Let me in that room now! My child could be dying! I don't want the last thing they see to be a disgusting fleabag!" Your breathing starts becoming rapid again as you hear her. Scott clutches onto you for a moment before getting up and going over to the door. Before he makes it though, she bursts in. She completely ignores Scott, as if she can't see him. "Oh honey, thank heavens you're safe!" She starts walking over to you with open arms, which you do not appreciate. Before she gets too close, you start screaming. "GET OUT! GET OUT OF HERE! I NEVER WANT TO SEE YOU AGAIN! YOU FUCKING MURDERER!" She stops dead in her tracks, "Honey, what do you-" "I SAW YOU! YOU KILLED HIM! YOU KILLED MY BROTHER! YOU... YOU..." Your body moves on its own. You swing your legs over the side of the bed, and the IV in your arm gets pulled out. Your mother looks at you with fear and disbelief. The nurses have come inside, one trying to detain your mother while the other tries to stop you. As soon as the one touches you, she's immediately flown back against the wall. Your other friends look in from the hallway, with looks of fear on their faces as well. You can feel liquid dripping from your nose and arms, and the smell of blood is present in your nose. Your friends stand and watch, unsure of what to do. Your heart rate continues to grow faster and faster until you're eventually met with nothingness once again. The world has turned black.

Instead of floating around in the nothingness this time, you're standing. You can feel what seems to be a floor underneath you, but you can't see it. In every direction you turn, there is still nothing. Until you see another small shimmer of light. Some sort of voice tells you to go to the light. You take a step forward, the light is so tempting. You can feel a comfortable warmth coming from it. You take another step forward. It feels so right. You take more steps. You're not even thinking about it anymore. You just keep walking forward, letting the light grow bigger and bigger until you're surrounded by it. The light is comforting, but also blinding. Once your eyes finally adjust, you see that you're standing in a hallway. You walk down it, passing columns and windows that only show more white outside. You eventually make it to a grand set of doors. You put your hands on the handle and open them. Inside, there is a large room comprised of many tables. There are handfuls of people sitting at the tables. Some are humans, some are monsters, and some are a mixture of both. As you wonder where you are and why you're here, you hear a voice you know all too well. "(Y/N), honey? Is that you, dear?" You look to the left, where the voice came from. Sitting there is a dainty, old, werewolf woman, sipping on a cup of tea. She smiles at you patiently. "Why don't you come over here and have a chat with Mawmaw?"