Out of Desperation (My Friendly Neighborhood and Child!Reader)

Chapter Seven

So dark.

I have to squint to see Norman and Leonard, both hiding behind some playground equipment.

Norman is shivering like his fabric is falling right off him.

(Is that flesh?)

Leonard keeps his hands on a pole keeping the playground together. He doesn't look frightened, just cold.

I still walk over to see them. It's been about an hour or two since I've seen them. They've probably been looking for me!

"I'm sorry," I say, now a little scared myself. My grandma and my dad used to get very angry when I lie or disappear like that-at least that's what they told me. I don't even remember half the stuff they put their hands on me for.

"You're a problem, child."

"Everything was perfectly fine until you came."

"It's okay, bud, just please don't scare us like that again, please," Norman says.

"What're you doing out here?" Leonard asks.

"I was following Lillianna. She wanted to see Junebug and Ray."

They both look at each other, shocked.

"But they're usually in the basement, bud, what're you doing in the playground?"

"Lillianna couldn't find Junebug, so she came here to look for her and told me to stay here," I say. 

Leonard looks up past me, squinting. Why?

"Norman, I think we gotta go," Leonard says.

I turn my head. Nobody's there. Why do we need to leave without Lillianna? 

Norman takes my hand, and I follow him back to the Neighborhood. Leonard and Norman keep looking at each other. Are they afraid?

Unhappy?

I look back at the playground again. Only darkness. It's weird. Haunting? Scary. 

The streetlight, a silhouette from here, looks like a tall monster peeking out from the bushes that act as fences. Are there fences in the bushes? Is it the monster?

Norman opens the door to the Neighborhood, and we walk in. I forgot why we came back here. Maybe they forgot something? I don't want to ask. Norman and Leonard don't need their business poked into all the time.

"It's alright, bud, Pearl just wants to see you."

I look back at Norman, my hand grasping his a bit tighter, and we walk straight to the neighborhood. George is right next to a large bird. The bird, by the looks of it, is blind. Or her eyes are on her glasses. I can't tell. She reminds me of a librarian in the TV show Grandma always wanted me to watch with her.

"Fix your attitude."

I stay still, holding one hand up for her. She leans down and touches my hand with her beak. She squeaks and clicks, her eyes fixed on me. Pearl, who admittedly looks a bit matted, is pretty soft.

Leonard turns to George and signals him to follow him and Norman. I don't ask where they're going, I just stay right there, in front of Pearl. She seems to like me, although she does look like she's asking where the rest are going.

"It's all right, we'll be right back," Norman says. He sounds off. "Please keep bud busy."

I watch the three walk out of the room. Pearl squeaks and crows, maybe concerned?

"Psst..."

Pearl is gone. When did she leave? I look around the room, looking for the pink and yellow bird. Where could she go?

"Pssssssttt..."

I turn my head towards the sound. Norman is poking his head out of a corridor. His eyes look different. He's keeping his mouth closed but can somehow talk. He sounds just the same.

"Follow me."

I step closer, and Norman slips behind the corridor. Why is he laughing? Is he playing a game? 

I poke my head out, staring out into the darkness that Norman hid in. I see some yellow fabric, and maybe some purple, but they're not moving. Those aren't alive. And where are their eyes? 

Maybe they're some extras that don't move. 

Maybe I'm just being a bit paranoid. 

I spot a jacket on a table. It kind of looks like Norman's, but it's black instead of red. Where did that come from? 

I look down the hall again. Is the fabric breathing?

I take a step back, still squinting. Where are their eyes?

Why are they smiling at me? Or are they looking at the jacket? Can they even see?

Why is it so cold?

"Take it."

I look up at the fabrics again. The yellow is closer. The face is in the light.

No eyes. Teeth. Human? Maybe.

Maybe inhuman.

I back away.

"You're not Norman," I whisper.

It stares at me, stepping closer.

And I pass into the darkness. I see it.

Why does it look like my friend?

What is that?

It corners me, and it just stands there. Then it holds its hand out. It cocks its head to the side.

I take a moment. Maybe I've been a bit too quick to react. He didn't do anything wrong. Maybe he might help me out.

"Follow me," he whispers.

I take his hands and follow him. But why don't I feel it?

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Word Count: 845