Somnolent

CHAPTER 1

Static gnawed at the back of the Daycare Attendant's head as he hoisted Gregory up by his arm.  Moon was in true agony as he attempted to fight the virus. His thoughts were swarming and yet a voice repeated its earlier words in his mind.

     " Kill him, kill him now."

     Moon felt himself lose more and more control as Gregory tried in vain to escape his tight grasp.

     "Why was this happening? He had been fine just moments ago, sure he'd been glitching, but never this bad."

      Gregory's throat tightened, and it became harder to breathe, but Moon couldn't stop himself from grinning at his precious Starlight's torment with that godforsaken grin. 

     " Naughty boy.." the attendant mocked, tilting its head from side to side while making eye contact. Normally Gregory would find comfort in the eye contact Moon made with him. It was how they communicated, but whatever took over Moon turned it into something negative.

    ".. Must..Be.." Moon's words began to garble and glitch like they had earlier. Gregory shut his eyes. He was tired, really tired. Everything had gone horribly wrong and now the one good thing he had was going to kill him.

     Moon screeched and growled, releasing Gregory from his hold as he desperately fought the virus. The moment Gregory felt the grip on his arm loosen, he pulled away and, without a second thought, crouched down behind a trash bin and pretended to sleep. Moon roared in pain as he struggled against his very being.

     " Sleep..Sleep" He croaked out painfully, causing Gregory to rest his head on the trashcan and with skill slow his breathing. The boy shut his eyes and rested his face to make himself appear sleeping. Gregory waited quietly, doing his best not to burst into tears.

      Moon went quiet for a long while, which worried the young boy, but he couldn't move. That'd be too risky. Suddenly, he felt two metal hands lift him. Was Moon back to normal?  Gregory opened his eyes before letting out a sigh of relief. His eyes were back to their normal dark blue color and his touch was gentle.

     "Oh, Starlight.." Moon's voice was trembling, as he quickly ran a scan on Gregory.

RUNNING QUICK SCAN

.

.

.

Results:

Sprained right arm, untreated cuts on the left ankle, and bloodied lip.

      Worrisome but not as bad as earlier. Good. Out of instinct, the daycare attendant found himself picking up the boy. He laid Gregory on his chest and called for his mechanical wire. Once securely attached, Moon lifted himself gracefully into the air. As they continued their journey through the Pizzaplex, Moon felt the guilt and shame build in his mechanical body as he began to reminisce on what was.

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     Sun gathered the children of the daycare around the colorful ball pit. It was time for their afternoon nap, but before that, Sun got to put on his favorite act. One that both he and Moon could do, but first he ran a quick attendance scan over the children under his care.

All children accounted for, proceed.

     The gleeful attendant smiled as the last of the children sat by the ball pit, it was showtime. The attendant began his act with fluid strutting motions that mimicked that of a ballerina and followed them with twirls and small hops. The children cheered for their beloved caregiver like it'd been the first time they'd ever seen the performance. While for some it was, for many, this was a regular occurrence during nap time. Sun extended his hand to the children.