What if... (hfjONE-shots)

...Airy Returned to Earth (Pt.12)

Hiya Edgelings!

Dying Sanity AU (Pt.14)

Goshdangit I still didn't get to Aaron's actual workday in this chapter... I need to just stop setting expectations and just go along with whatever happens... That being said, the next chapter may or may not be entirely focused on Parker and Goetz... I need to get their story caught up to the present before continuing the rest...

Oh, and the last part of this chapter completely destroyed me...

Enjoy...

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Aaron stepped out of the apartment, his feet packing down the worn, dusty hallway carpet even further. The wallpaper, unlike the carpet, was fairly new, and if he concentrated hard enough he could still smell the glue. It was light gray with dark gray streaks and gold flecks, definitely a more modern style, which contrasted not only with the old carpet, but also with the beige, textured ceiling. He supposed the complex only had the budget to renovate one aspect at a time...

It was rather odd, because the inside of the apartment seemed very new and 'up to date' in style, but stepping into the hallways felt like stepping back in time a decade, other than the new wallpaper...

The bronze lantern tramped down the quiet, empty hall. Most objects had already gone to work for the day, so the entire complex had a stillness about it. Aaron was glad, he didn't feel ready to interact with any other objects yet, not even the simple act of passing one in the hall.

He paused when he reached the elevator at the end of the hall, staring into the reflective stainless steel panel. His reflection stared back at him with an intensity that made him greatly uncomfortable, feeling as though the building around him was condemning him. Pointing and laughing at his miserable failure and stupid ignorance.

He quickly turned and began speed walking to the other end of the hall. He would rather take the stairs.

His eyes darted around in paranoia, as though he expected something to jump out from one of the many doors lining the hallway. That signature flash of green appeared in the corner of his vision. Aaron gasped in terror and picked up the pace, hopelessly hoping that he could outrun his own mind.

The hall seemed to stretch endlessly before, no matter how fast he walked he never got any closer to the stairway entrance. Suddenly his vision began to warp and swim, the abstract pattern on the walls beginning to squirm like snakes and the walls themselves started to lean towards him. The space between him and the ceiling began to shrink as the walls compressed inward, seeming intent on crushing the fickle lantern.

Aaron's breathing came choking out in short gasps as he began to sprint, tears pricking the corners of his eyes as he remembered the hours of torment spent lying crushed and suffocated underneath a giant wooden beam, begging for the pressure to kill him and end the misery. His strides were long and his legs a blur as he ran faster than he ever had in his life, the walls clawing toward him like starving monsters, writhing with snake-like patterns.

Laughter rang loudly in his ears as the carpet below him morphed into artificial green grass, ruts of churned up dirt scrawled all across it. Suddenly Aaron's legs began to burn, each jarring step sending jolts of fresh pain shocking through them, almost as though they were broken once again. His terror fueled him as he desperately tried to ignore the pain and continue running, he could feel the walls beginning to press on his hood, the pressure rapidly multiplying.