Crowded (18+)

Leave me alone

(tw: arachnophobia and gore)

"Hello, sweetie? I- can you hear me?......
I- Iknow you're probably mad at me and I understand why, but please honey.. please come home.. we miss you... I miss you..
please honey.. please come home.. I promise I'll be better. I'll do better. I'll quit drinking and- and I'll even let you go out with that boy!
I won't judge.. I promise.. I'll do anything., please just come home to us.."
The dial echoed the quiet space as the call ended.

———————————————————————-

Grass patches stretched out in the courtyard as three figures walked down the overgrown path, Nolah humming to himself, Leo clutching her books as she rambled on about how the teacher was incorrect when he recounted the second world war and Eli, stuck in his own thoughts, suppressing a yawn.
"Do you think we'll get the same teacher this year?" Leo chirped, bringing Eli out of his thoughts. He shrugged.
"You mean, Mr.Perfect?" Nolah jokingly mocked as he shifted the backpack on his shoulder. Eli chuckled to himself. William Oldwood wasn't perfect, by all means but he brought interesting concepts to history.
"Oh shut it. I gave him one complement and suddenly I'm in love with him.." Leo gestured with her free hand as she replied, annoyed.
"I just hope I can pass this year.." Eli said with a yawn. Leo's gaze softened as she leaned forward to look at him. Her worried eyes always made his stomach feel like an empty cold pit.
"With how much Mr Perfect rambles on about how Picasso wasn't actually a good painter, I'd fall asleep in his classes too.." Nolah rolled his eyes and sighed. They'd heard enough about Picasso from the 29th time it'd been brought up. For some reason?
"Yeah" Eli chuckled softly.
"At least Penelope doesn't mind that I sleep in art class anymore.." Eli mumbled as he looked around. The courtyard was half empty, with the exception of a few students studying for their classes before the bell rang.
"Do you still get B+ in that class?" Leo asked. Eli nodded. He shifted his backpack off his shoulder and fished for his IPAD. Leo stopped in her tracks, waiting. He nibbled on his lip as he searched for the art project. THERE. He opened it to full screen and leaned the ipad to the side so she'd see it.
"It looks... abstract..." Leo said slowly, nodding thoughtfully, her eyebrows furrowed as she tried to force a less confused look. She didn't understand how art worked. To her, it was just colours, nothing to get from it. No meaning or emotions. He looked down at the Ipad. It was a realistic painting of a bird on a plate with wires around its scrawny body. Its neck was tilted out of place and blood coloured the plastic plate.
"I'm sure she found appreciation I can't" Leo said in an attempt to comfort him. He nodded softly and put away the ipad, almost losing his grip as his eyes processed what was in front of him. Leo tilted her head as she looked at him. Did she feel the shadow-like arms on her shoulder, or feel the breath of the person behind her? It smiled, its creepy red mouth widening in a grin. "wonk t'ndid ouy... Ile?" Her voice sounded distant, crackling like an old tv. The shadow hands softly moved up, closing their scrawny fingers around her neck. It pressed it's disgusting fingers into her skin. Eli looked at Nolah, praying for help quietly. But what he saw, wasn't Nolah. Or was, kind of? His neck was tilted awkwardly to the side, with a bone sticking out of the skin and shadow like hands covered his soft eyes. The hands were see-through, deepening it's ebony black around his eyes. See no evil. Something slithered from his cheeks, to his mouth. It tangled it's boney fingers around his mouth, pressing into it. Speak no evil. Eli was stuck in place, frozen, entranced by the view before him, his heart beating harshly. Pounding in his ears.
"Eli?" Nolah muttered, concern lacing his voice. Eli coughed and blinked, nodding slowly as he shakily pulled the backpack onto his shoulders.
"Yeah yeah I'm- Yeah I'm fine" Eli muttered; His gaze was shifted onto the grass. If he didn't look at it, it wasn't happening, right? Something dripped onto the grass, something red, coloring the grass. It left a small circle where the fresh, lively grass once was. It morphed, gathering into a small, thin pipe-like form with two black spots at the end. It blinked. A sound reminiscent of animal skin being stretched echoed throughout his ears as something fell to the grass. Two things actually, stretched out limbs occupied his vision. Its skin was pale, with familiar pink marks on the knuckles and middle of hand. He felt his throat seer like he was about to throw up. It laid on the green grass without coloring it, yet the grass blades leaned to the side. It couldn't be real, right? Yet, he didn't dare to check who the limbs belonged to. His gaze was stuck on the image. Small, creepy crawlies crawled onto the soft skin and sunk it's teeth into the fresh blood. Thousands of them, all hairy, black spiders, with elongated limbs. Tiny. He watched them tear his arms apart, their little pitter pattern filling his mind. Soft crunching noises as they tear into the skin with their sharp canines. He could almost feel their hunger radiate of their tiny body, as they slowly devoured the flesh, leaving stains of blood on the grass. Bone was exposed beneath the flesh, shifting at unnatural angles.
Meow. He blinked and took in the scenery before him. A couple of grey eyes looked back at him. It purred as it rubbed it's fluffy black coat against his cheek. It kind of tickled. He chuckled, his eyes tearing up as he ran his hand through the coat as the cat purred happily. It meowed and jumped off the bed as Eli looked around. The room and floor was white, with a small prop-up table by his side. He sat slowly, though his body shook like he hadn't eaten in days. Meow. He looked down and saw the cat sat by the bed, staring at him with those empty beady eyes. "Hey little buddy" He said, his voice hoarse. It tilted its head and meowed in response.
"I guess you're the one who woke me up, huh?" He continued and lifted his arm up to cough. His throat felt dry. The back of his throat was itchy and dry. The cat meowed louder and trotted to the other side of the bed, to sit down by the prop-up table. A small paper cup sat atop it, filled with a see-through liquid.
"I'm sorry but I don't trust anything that has been cracked open before" Eli replied and shuffled out of bed. He stood up, to feel his legs shake and fell back onto the bed. The black cat titled it's head and lifted it's paw up to lick it slowly. Weird little thing. How did it even get into the room? He doubted any hospital staff would let a stray in. Unless. He grabbed the soft mattress and lowered himself to the cold tile-ground. The cat didn't move. It sat there, staring at him as he slowly stretched his hesitant hand out. He floated his hand over it's fur for a second, unsure as he stared into its empty eyes, then it cracked it's back to meet his hand, rubbing against his touch as it chirped. The fur was soft, softer than he'd remembered. Like a carpet. It felt calming, familiar in a comforting way, to pet a little thing like it. A little creature with no worry in it's head. He blinked and took in the scenery before him. A couple of grey eyes looked back at him. It purred as it rubbed its fluffy black coat against his cheek. It kind of tickled. He chuckled, his eyes tearing up as he ran his hand through the coat as the cat purred happily. It meowed and jumped off the bed as Eli looked around. The room and floor was white, with a small prop-up table by his side. He sat slowly, though his body shook like he hadn't eaten in days. Meow. He looked down and saw the cat sitting by the bed, staring at him with those empty beady eyes.
"Hey little buddy" He said, his voice hoarse. It tilted its head and meowed in response.
"I guess you're the one who woke me up, huh?" He continued and lifted his arm up to cough. His throat felt dry. The back of his throat was itchy and dry. The cat meowed louder and trotted to the other side of the bed, to sit down by the prop-up table. A small paper cup sat atop it, filled with a see-through liquid.
"I'm sorry but I don't trust anything that-" He stopped himself. Blinking as he stared into the black beady eyes. It looked back and tilted it's head. A cold shudder ran down his spine as his mind begun to spin. He'd been here before. The nauseating familiarity hit him like a truck. The room was softly lit, white walls and the prop-up table like nothing had changed. Or happened. It softly meowed and jumped up onto the bed and leaned into his hand. The fur was soft and warm. He smiled softly and ran his hand through it's fur.
"It's okay, little guy. At least I'm not alone.." He muttered to himself. You don't realize how crazy you sound till you're talking to a cat. He chuckled to himself at the thought.
"Meow.. are you waiting for something to happen?" Eli blinked. Did it just..? No, cats don't speak. He shook his head free of the lingering fear and shuffled off the hospital bed, ignoring the huffs of the cat as it jumped off his lap onto the ground. The pitter patter of the small footsteps brought him out of his thoughts as he watched the cat pace the floor before the door.
"You want to leave?" He asked softly. It stopped and titled it's head, slowly blinking at him. He'd heard from Leo that cats who slowly blinked were showing love. But why to him? he'd done nothing to deserve that gesture. It meowed impatiently.
"Alright.." He muttered and stood up. Slowly pacing to the front door and unlocked it. What greeted him was cold wind and the pure scent of alcohol. He glanced around. Arrays of doors lined the long hallway, with silver numbers printed on their respective doors. It was empty, cold with no sign of life, or death. It was eerily quiet. Like every patient and doctor had vanished into thin air in seconds. Leaving no trace of human civilization. It was straight out of a old horror movie. Pitter patter brought him out of his trance as the cat walked down the hallway.
"Goodbye little friend" He muttered and waved a hand. However, it didn't seem like the cat wanted that. It stopped, sat down and looked back at him, like it was waiting for something?. It meowed, the sound echoing the empty floor. Did it.. want me to follow it? He slowly walked along the tiled floor, glancing at each door as he did. 661, 662, 663.. The cat hissed and he stumbled back. He must've gotten lost in his own mind again.
"Sorry" He muttered and glanced at the door they'd stopped in front. 666. He looked down at the cat. It sat on the floor, it's gaze flickering between him and the door knob. Eli looked around. The hallway was empty, spite the blaring sun shining in the distance. Where were the staff? The nurses or the doctors?
"Are you gonna open the door?" He looked down. It blinked back at him. He blinked back. What the fuck? He'd seen spiders eat his limbs, puked birds, been stabbed or stabbed, but he's never seen an animal talk. Did animals talk? Could humans just not understand what they were saying and Eli had somehow passed that barrier and unlocked a new ability? No, what was he thinking. Out of everything he'd seen, a animal speaking was the least concerning. And it hadn't grown wings or tried to dig it's sharp claws into his chest or arms. He clamped his sweaty hand around the knob and rolled it to the side. The door slowly creaked open.
"Hello" On the bed, a boy sat, his hair cut unequally on either side, coloured blond which complimented his blue sparkly eyes and pale, rosy skin. His eyes had bags for miles, blue and grey.