Welcome Home

It's Alive

I woke up to the sound of mumbling. I slowly opened my eyes and noticed Wally's bed was empty. I looked to the door and noticed it was cracked open. I slowly got out of bed and made my way out to the living room.

I noticed Wally was sitting in his chair, flipping through letters and mumbling to himself. His pupils looked dilated.

Just like the eyes I saw the other night..

"Wally?" I slowly approached him. His head snapped up, his eyes practically staring into my soul. 

I jumped back. Wally's eyes went back to normal, and he quickly stood up, tossing the letters to the side.

"______________? Oh dear, I'm awfully sorry. I didn't mean to frighten you." He took a step closer to me, but stopped short. I looked down at the letters, then back to him.

"What were you doing?" He looked down at the letters, then back to me. His face was a bit flushed.

"Ah, I was just reminiscing. I just got lost in my thoughts. Again, I'm sorry to have frightened you." He stepped forward again, gently taking both my hands in his. I looked at him with sympathy.

"Wally, this isn't healthy." He looked down, tears welding in the corners of his eyes.

"I know. I'm losing my mind." I pulled him into a hug, and he quickly hugged me back.

"I'm here for you, Wally." He rested his head on my shoulder.

"I really appreciate you." He nuzzled into my neck.

We stood there and just embraced each other. I felt Wally begin to shake, so I hugged him tighter. 

"Are you okay?" I asked, hugging him.

"I can't really say... I feel like something's come over me... My own friends are afraid of me."

I pulled back, looking him in the eyes. He was crying.

"What makes you think your friends are scared of you?" He rubbed some of his tears away.

"I see the looks on their faces. I've picked up on how cautious they act around me. Ever since we lost the show my mind has been racing... I feel like I'm spiraling."

The house began to creek loudly, which made me jump.

"What the hell was that?" Wally tilted his head.

"Home. I'm sorry, I think I've said too much." I looked around.

His home is really alive? I thought that was just part of the show.

I looked at Wally concerned. He quickly wiped his tears and smiled.

"I'm okay. I'll be okay. It's just a rough night. Let's get back to bed." He grabbed my hand gently and led me back into the bedroom.

He brought me over to my bed. I got under the covers and cuddled into bed. He leaned down and hugged me.

"Goodnight, _______________. Sleep well." I hugged him back.

"You too, Wally." He made his way over to his bed and climbed in. He rolled over facing the door.

I watched him for a bit. He barely moved. He either was falling asleep or pretending to.

I felt myself begin to drift off to sleep.

I guess I'll check on him in the morning.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I woke up to the sunlight in my face once again. I looked over and noticed Wally wasn't in bed. I got up and made my way to the living room. 

I noticed Wally putting a bowl in the sink. I came up behind him.

"Good morning, Wally. How are you feeling?" He turned to me, a smile on his face but bags under his eyes.

"Ah, good morning, ____________. I'm feeling better. How are you feeling?" I looked at him concerned.

"You seem tired." He sighed. 

"I am. I barely got any sleep. I'm sorry for not cooking this morning, but there is cereal if you're interested. If not I can cook you something." I shook my head.

"Cereal is fine, but thank you anyways. Why don't you take a nap?" He shook his head.

"I don't take naps. Too much to do." I gave him a sympathetic look.

"I really think you should try, even for an hour." He thought for a moment.

"Well, maybe an hour..." The house creaked loudly again. Wally seemed to jump back.

"Ah, never mind. Too much to do." He quickly made his way to the door.

"I have some errands to run, but I should be home shortly. Take care!" He quickly ran out the door, closing the door behind him. I looked to the windows and noticed two large black pupils.

This house really is alive.

The house seemed to be looking right at me. It gave me the creeps, so I made my way back to the bedroom.

Maybe the house is what's making Wally act the way he does. After all it does seem to make a lot of noise when he tries to talk or do something out of the ordinary. Maybe I should go ask someone.

I made my way out of the room and over to the front door. I tried to open it, but it wouldn't budge. 

Locked. Did Wally lock it? There's no way, I would've heard it.

I looked to the windows and noticed the eyes had moved, but they were still looking right at me. I spoke up.

"Okay... House... Let me out." I tried the door again, but to no avail. 

"I'm gonna tell Wally you locked me in here." Suddenly I heard a click. I tried the door again and it was unlocked.

I quickly made my way out the door and headed down the street.

Maybe Barnaby would know something about this.