Away From the Void

A New Home

Eyes was falling, and fast. She had been relentlessly declining into an endless void, and there was nothing to be done. She tried to call out for help, to her parents, her siblings, anyone. There was no answer. It was only her and the pitch-black sea of naught that she couldn't escape. This is her hell; she'd thought to herself. She'd be left to rot in the same void she'd known her whole 17-year existence. As her eyes had begun to close, the void found itself to change around her. There was a burst of colors, everything looked static-y. Like what you'd see when the TV was broken. It was like some sort of...glitch.

The teen rose from her pillow, her panting heavy enough to alert all in the house. Her breaths calmed as she looked around her bedroom, which was just the same as it always had been. As it was when she'd gone to bed. It was all just a dream she sighed with pure relief. She got out of bed to take a look out the window, and like expected everything was normal. Black sky, rain, garden. She was safe and sound, right at home. In the real void.

Eyes is the eldest child of the only family that lived in that void. It's said that their father, Seek, and their aunt were the first to materialize in the hotel in which they lived. Nobody was sure how, or why. They just showed up in that hotel, no purpose, or other people to keep them company. Their aunt fled the hotel, leaving Seek and those who came after them to see her only on rare occasion. Seek got lonely, and this brought him to create their papa, Figure, out of raw material he could find in their home. They fell in love and started a family. It's surprising how easily babies could be created simply by burying black goo in the garden and waiting a few months.

Wide awake, Eyes checks the clock on her wall. It's just about 10 A.M, which was a good thing considering she had become known to be a late sleeper. 10 is right in the middle of early and late, right?

So that means it's time to get ready for the day.

She goes ahead and does everything that she needs to, like hair, skin, and of course eye care. All she needed was to get dressed. Eyes made her way to her closet, and upon opening the door...

"Eek!"

She shrieked and moved out of the way as something leaped out of her closet and right at her. Once she moved, she heard a loud thump on the ground next to her. Her fear left her body when she looked to the source and realized it was her little brother.

"Jack! You jerk!" She yelled at him with rage. Jack, her 15-year-old brother, got up from the ground while cackling. Eyes didn't know what was more annoying, his laugh, or that stupid toothy smile. "I got you good!" Jack exclaimed to her, still laughing. She would never be able to understand what made him like this. "How long have you been in there?" Jack's laughter dies down as he puts his hands in his pockets, but that smile never goes away. "Oh, I slept in there." All for the bit, apparently. "Oh my god, you are so weird!" Quickly, Eyes grabs Jack by the wrist and pulls him out of her room with force. She did not have the energy to deal with any more antics that early in the morning.

"Wait! But-" Jack is cut off by Eyes slamming the door in his face. She didn't have any desire to know what he wanted to say. She loves her brother, but he's even more of a handful than the 5-year-old. He's the middle child.

Once she could finally finish her morning routine, Eyes joins the others in the family room. Everyone was already in there, so unfortunately, she did not break her late streak. But she was definitely earlier than normal.

"Nice of you to join us," Her father remarked, not looking up from the book he had been reading. Her papa seemed to be playing dollies with the twins by the fireplace. "Right, sorry..." She muttered, "But I'm at least earlier than normal. That's got to count for something, right?" Seek gave her a glance, "Hm."

"I think it does," Halt shot, walking over to her. While she'd never really say it, Halt is Eyes' favorite brother. He's easy to get along with, and the closest in age to her. Eyes crossed her arms with an interior smile, "Well I knew you'd be standing up for me."

The day went on, as days usually do. The three eldest hung out and bickered, the younger ones played together and dragged their parents into it, Eyes and Halt tended to the garden, Jack sprayed them with the hose as they did it, this was an average day. Every single day was an average day, and there was no changing it. Their lives in the void weren't bad, just unfulfilling, really. Eyes wished there was more out there, more that they could all experience. She wanted to have something to look forward to.

But that something didn't exist. And she could live with that.

And so, the day ended, and it was off to bed with everyone. Eyes said goodnight to Halt and Jack, the only of her siblings who were still up. And of course, she said goodnight to her parents. She changed into her silky nightgown and put her hair into a braid to keep it from tangling and hopped right into bed. There was nothing but the sound of never-ending rain coming from outside, and the pitter-pattering of it hitting the window. One day I'll find something new she thought, before she started falling...

And falling...

And falling.

It was the dream she'd had the night before. It was all the same, the falling, the static, the glitching...

And she woke up again. But something was different. What was usually a permanently dark room only ever lit up by electricity was overwhelmingly bright. It was awful. Her eyes took a minute to be able to adjust to just how luminated it was in there. It was odd. It wasn't normal.

Looking out the window, she froze. The dark void she was used to had changed to the extreme. The sky was a light blue, and the ground was full of grass much greener than what they'd had in the garden. There was no way this was the void. And right on cue, her door burst open. It was her father.

"Eyes, there is something very wrong with-" She cut him off, "I know. I just saw." Seek sighs and looks to the ground, "We all need to go outside. Now."

When the two made their way outside, everyone else was already out there. They were all frozen, like nobody had any idea what was going on, and that was probably the case. She found Jack and Halt and rushed over to them. "Does anyone know where we are?" She asked them with a shaky tone. It was then that she noted how hot it was out there, it was almost unbearable. Halt shakes his head, "Not a clue. It's like...the void completely changed overnight." "Or our house was taken by aliens," Jack adds. Eyes sighs, looking off into the distance, "I doubt it was...aliens. I think..." She pauses, "this might not be the void anymore."

The family explored the area. The hotel was on a large plot of land, and in the distance, they could see other buildings, and even other entities. It was exciting as it was terrifying. Could this new world really be that bad? Sure, it's uncomfortable and new and strange, but it's something new. It's what she'd been waiting for.

They find themselves in the busy part of town after quite a bit of walking around. Everyone there looked so different. Not only that, but they were all getting absolutely stared down. For the first time ever, Eyes was feeling self-conscious. Her purple aura gleamed brighter as she looked down, which caused all who looked at her to look away in pain. They all had special little quirks about them, and this was Eyes'. Jack seemed to be looking at everyone who passed them with jealousy. "Do you guys see how cool their clothes are? Why can't we get clothes like that?" He huffed. Figure sighs and pats his back, "We aren't really thinking about that right now, bud. We've got a lot going on."

Fast forward, he gave in. They all walked back to the hotel with bags of new clothes in hand. When asked to pay for them, Seek had just placed a block of gold on the counter, which apparently covered it all. They were actually enjoying their new home so far. During their day out, they discovered it wasn't too different, aside from the atmosphere and the large amount of other creatures roaming around. They spent the rest of the night like they normally would, acting as if nothing was different. But to Eyes it felt oh so different. She felt hope, like something was listening to her the whole time and giving her exactly what she wanted.

All they needed to do was adjust, and it would all be okay.