Abominations for Solutions

Glitch

Sleep never came easily to Gradient, but tonight, he just was not having it. But that didn't keep him from trying to grasp it.

Gradient gazed up at the black void standing in as the ceiling of his bedroom, the loudness of pure silence allowing his horrible thoughts to gain dominance. Nothing else could stop them from forming. He clenched his eyes shut, but he knew all too well that sleep was something you couldn't control, it was something that was gifted, if you were lucky.

And Gradient has never been lucky.

To fill the void, Gradient mumbled to himself, quietly throwing out all of those thoughts and feelings that twisted his insides. All of those things that made him feel like nothing. That's what those phrases deserved... to be thrown out into the nothingness of darkness. He was an abomination... a glitch... should be dead...

But the moment those little phrases were thrown about the darkness, they just reentered Gradient's mind with a nasty force, hurting like never before. A sudden gasp escaped Gradient's chest, forcing him to curl into himself and delve into another sobbing fit. Everything hurt so much... it ached so much.

"Please come back," Gradient sobbed into his bunched up blankets.

"I need you."

But he wasn't coming back, was he? No. Ink wasn't coming back. And now PJ hated him, apparently.

No one was there. It was only blackness and darkness. Darkness and blackness.

The least he could do was try to calm himself down. He couldn't help being such a baby, but he was afraid of what kind of mess he would be if he suppressed everything instead.

Shoving off his weighty blankets, Gradient allowed the cool atmosphere to make contact with his tears, encasing his face in a strange envelope of coldness that calmed his senses enough to invite sleep.

But Gradient couldn't shake the horrible feeling that someone was watching him. He swore that someone was there , at the foot of his bed.

Thrusting his eyes open for a brief second, Gradient's mouth opened in silent fear as the image of Error, with a terrifying blank expression, emerged from the darkness. But then he was gone, just like that. Gradient breathed rapidly, trying to tame his heartbeat as he reassured himself that he was ok. He couldn't get in here, right? He doesn't even know where my room is...

But there he was again! With that same blank, soul piercing expression staring at Gradient as his eyes involuntarily drifted open. His mind reeling back, Gradient fumbled with his blankets and sloppily thrust them over his head. He was crazy, he was crazy! Error wasn't there. But Gradient wasn't one to take chances.

Sweat rolled down Gradient's face and collected in between his fingers while he struggled to inhale air, air that had probably been used at least three times before while under the covers. He persisted, he really did, until he just couldn't take it anymore.

If Error really was out there, he had to go fast. Gradient grasped at his fluffy green blanket and took in a few shaky half-breaths.

One...two...three...

Gradient thrust up his covers and bolted from his bed, nearly tripping on the long red scarf tied around his waist, catching the slightest glimpse of "Error" just beyond his reach. The small skeleton let out a shriek as his mind went into a blank fearful frenzy.

He didn't dare look behind him. He didn't dare focus on anything. He just allowed his instincts to take over, fumbling madly about the blank and cold expanse of the Antivoid, until he felt the air shift. The smell of paint infiltrated his nose socket, and he eventually found himself standing before Paperjam's bed. A few glowing splotches of PJ's body shimmered against the darkness, leaving just a barely visible image of PJ sprawled out across his covers.