Clockers Limited Life

Chapter 4- Two lives

"I love Scar and he loves me..."

"I love Mom, yes-sir-ee."

"No, silly, you're supposed to say Bdubs."

Bdubs was sulking in the corner of the room. What was with this, still doing stupid family sing-a-longs like they were babies? Okay, maybe Scar wasn't quite in big kid territory, but there was no way Bdubs was going to participate.

"-are a happy family!" Sure they were happy, and sure they were a family... or part of one. Bdubs rubbed his arm as he thought this. It wasn't okay to pretend everything was the same.

He stood up. "Can I go to TIES?"

Cleo tried to look like she wasn't frowning. "If you're home for dinner."

"Why d'you wanna go to TIES all the time?" said Scar from Cleo's lap.

Bdubs scowled at him. What a stupid question. "To see Dad!"

As he walked out the door, he heard Scar asking, "Why does he wanna see Dad?" Typical. Scar probably hadn't seen Etho once in the two years since the divorce. But Bdubs didn't like to think about... that. He was doing a pretty good job of focusing on the positives. He had his happy life with the dad he loved, and his happy life with the mom and brother her loved. Even if he didn't like to sing about it.

He reached the TIES base, knocked on the door, and was let in by Impulse. Impulse was somebody's kid, he was pretty sure, a little bit older than Bdubs, but he stayed at TIES full time. They were pretty good friends, and sometimes they would build cities or play redstone or play horses. 

"Hi! Come in! We're building a farm in the back."

"Cool," said Bdubs. He put his hands in the pockets of his hoodie to show that he too was cool.

"It's great that you're here," said Impulse, grabbing his hand and pulling him through the front room. "Everyone always likes to see you." Bdubs grinned.

In reality, Impulse and Etho had the most excited reactions to his arrival, though Tango and Skizz politely waved. "Hi Dad!" To which Etho replied:

"You're just in time to get in the zombie spawner!"

"Um- oh. Of course."

"Yeah, just set your spawn," said Skizz, pointing toward the corner of the room where there was a cot with rumpled blankets.

"Right," Bdubs said casually. Just the possibility of death, that was all. No big deal. He laid on the bed until he felt the catch of breath that meant his soul had attuned to it, then stood up. "Ready!" His fingers had left indentations where they were pressed into the mattress.

"Alright! Come on, son."

Son. Wasn't it incredible that one word could hold so much power?

Two hours. He could always make it a few hours, in each life, before he began to long for the other one. He knocked down blocks that were holding up torches, and missed Cleo's tight, familiar hugs. He herded zombies towards a hole, and missed the sound of sappy singing. As Tango emptied a bucket of water that flushed everyone into the corner, Bdubs wondered what Cleo was making for dinner. He wondered how Scar was doing. These days it seemed like every hour they were apart Scar had grown another inch. And he was getting smart too, he could almost count to one hundred.

I miss my family. Every swish of his sword whispered the same thought. I miss my home. I miss my mom. But it wasn't dinner yet, and...

He looked at Etho, who was muttering, "Oh snappers," as an attack knocked him back. Why did going home need to mean leaving Dad?

With his eyes blurred by tears, he misjudged the position of an approaching zombie, and when he tried to hit it its arms knocked his sword out of his hand. The zombie smacked his chest while he was grappling to get the weapon back. Its fingers clawed at his face, and he leaned away from its rancid breath and fell onto his back. Three hearts. He looked to the side for TIES, who were either struggling against the current or hadn't yet noticed his plight. "I'm in troub-"

Blackness.

Death hurt. The pain lingered. It dwindled, but far too slowly. He breathed in and his chest barely inflated. His arms were unbearably sore. He couldn't lift himself more than a centimeter off the bed without pain searing through his joints.

"Oh no, Bdubs," he heard through the stone wall. "You coming back?" Come back. He managed to stand up before Etho came into the room. "All good?"

The chat was buzzing. Cleo and Scar were frantically asking why he hadn't respawned in his bed. "I should head home."

Etho nodded. Just as Bdubs reached the door, he spoke. "You always have a home here."

Bdubs turned around, and thought, You're my home. Then he went back to the clock tower.

"Oh thank goodness," Cleo said while ushering her son through the door. "The table's set, come have dinner."

"Tell us about the zombies you fought!" said Scar. Bdubs grinned and detailed his bravery. He was glad to be back.

And in two hours he was missing Etho.

Many years passed.

Hello, it's me, the writer! I feel like I could have done a lot better with this chapter, but at least it's finished. The next chapter will be a pretty short one, and then we'll get into actual limited life events. Hope you're enjoying. Also please let me know if you have any suggestions for a better title lol