Pest//phan au

Twelve

(Back to Dan's POV)
The walls around me were yellow. The floor was yellow. Everything was yellow. Even my skin.

It smelled like a warm cologne, like vanilla or coconut. I breathed in, and the smell filled my nose even more. I closed my eyes, taking it in. I've smelled it before; what is it?

I opened my eyes and the walls had expanded into a long hallway. Everything was still yellow, except for a black dot standing at the end of the hall.

I squinted, trying to get a better look, but failed. I took a few steps toward the black figure, and it became slightly clearer. It was the shape of a man.

I stumbled forward, trying to discover who it was. As I approached, I saw his hand raise. He waved it, then dropped it. I started to jog toward him, wanting to know who he was. I saw his hand raise again, waving more fervently.

I heard a set of footsteps behind me, startling me. I turned around quickly, jumping out of the way of the incoming footsteps.

To my dismay, I saw a boy who looked weirdly like me, but with softer features. Like he'd never frowned a day in his life.

He walked past me as if he didn't even notice I was there. He raised his hand to wave at the figure down the hall. So that's who he was waving to.

I followed the copy of me down the corridor, watching him and the man who was becoming clearer with each step. I was only ten steps away when I recognized the other man: it was Phil.

Phil opened his arms, and the clone of me fell into them happily, pulling Phil into a tight embrace. I watched as they sat like that for a moment. They broke apart, but they still held onto each other.

Phil leaned in and placed a soft kiss on my clone's nose, and he-I- giggled softly. I smiled at the cute scene in front of me, wishing for it to be a reality.

All of the sudden, everything went black. The walls, the floor, the two men in front of me all disappeared and I was falling, falling, falling.

I tried to scream, but it wouldn't come out. My throat felt dry and clogged.

I found the ground, but everything around me was still dark. I looked around wildly, trying to find something to look at that wasn't black.

A bright light flashed in front of me, illuminating two figures. One was the same Phil from earlier, the other was Cat.

Both had a particularly harsh scowl on their face. They stared down at me, and they both started laughing maniacally.

"Get up, drama queen," Cat yelled, and I felt my body rise into standing position. "Do you really think you can be so dramatic all the time? Grow up."

"You're pathetic." Phil sneered. "How do you expect to have normal relationships if you can't even touch people?"

"Even your own mother, Dan," Cat added, and I saw my mom walk up. She was in tears, and as soon as she walked into the light, she collapsed onto the floor.

I tried to run forward to help her, but my feet were glued to the floor.

" All I want is to give my baby a hug," she whined, sobs filling the spaces between her words. A toddler wobbles up to her, his arms outstretched like he wants to be picked up. My mom reached her hands out to pick up the child, but as soon as she touches it, he dissolves into a pile of ashes in front of her. She starts sobbing again, holding her face.