Ink Demonth 2024 Short Stories - Bendy : The Untrusted AU

Day 29 : Queer

Bill Chambers had been feeling extremely off the start of today. He kept repeating the actions he had done since he woke up this morning.

He went to a meeting.

He went to lunch.

He met up with his friends.

They went out to the beach.

....

"Dear, dear! How queer everything is to-day! And yesterday things went on just as usual."

He had been hearing this phrase repeat over and over again, a gentle voice whispering it into his ears.

Bill knew it well. It was one of the lines spoken by Alice from Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. It was his favorite book, a book he knew like the back of his hand.

At first he thought it was an earworm, a random thought he had that kept going on, but the more he scrutinized, he realized the voice was not coming from his head.

It was an external sound, a sound that came from a source he couldn't see.

The phrase was extremely accurate, yet telling a joke in on itself. Indeed, everything was absolutely normal, from today to yesterday, but why? Why was everything queer today? Bill felt like Alice and wanted to ask that question.

He shook his head again, looking up at Brant and Constance sitting opposite him at the small, white-clothed dinner table.

"Dear, dear! How queer everything is to-day! And yesterday things went on just as usual."

His fingers gripped his utensils tighter as his expression contorted slightly.

"Food's not to your taste?" Brant jokingly asked, stuffing a dinner roll into his mouth. "I mean-"

"I know." Bill saved Brant from embarrassment again. "I'm just not feeling too hungry right now."

"Huh? Wasn't it you who whined and whined that we should eat before we head to the pier?" Constance nonchalantly asked, swirling some apple juice in her glass like it's some high-end wine.

"Well.." Bill chuckled dryly.

"Dear, dear! How queer everything is to-day! And yesterday things went on just as usual."

Bill felt the veins on his head instantly bulge.

The more he heard it, somehow he was convincing himself that something was indeed wrong, and it wasn't because of the voice.

He glanced at his friends, happily chatting amongst each other, telling jokes and reminiscing.

Reminiscing...

Why does it feel like this happiness is an illusion?

No. No.

Bill took a deep breath. He should just ignore it.

There is nothing wrong.

Everything was fine.

...

Everything was fine.

Bill kept repeating those words to himself as he shuffled along the crowds of people on the pier, the trip heading towards their favorite ice cream place. On such a hot summer night, ice cream was always welcome.

"One vanilla cone, one.."

As Constance relayed their orders to the worker, Bill felt an ominous presence sneak up behind him.

There is nothing wrong.

Everything was fine.

......

"Dear, dear! How queer everything is to-day! And yesterday things went on just as usual."

The gentle, soft voice spoke again.

No matter how much Bill tried to ignore it, his avid love for Alice in Wonderland caused him to always notice it. Its persistence began to irritate the man.

"Dear, dear-"

Bill suddenly reached into his suit, pulling out a pistol that he never put there. He turned the gun towards the source of the noise, cocking it.

His eyes turned glossy as his actions seemed to become not his. Bill aimed the pistol with fierce determination, threatening to put a hole in the perpetrator's chest.

After a few moments of silence, he heard Constance's voice

"Bill?"

He jerked his head back, as if snapping out of a trance.

"Huh-?"

Her soft hand landed on his shoulder, patting him. "Are you alright?" She asked.

"I'm fine, why are you asking?" Bill replied casually. The pistol in his hand had disappeared. His demeanor had returned to normal.

Everything was completely fine. Nothing was wrong.

...........

A group of people, ranging from a young man in a dapper work suit and a woman in her late forties with graying hair stood behind the trio, watching them silently. They collectively looked at each other with a disappointed, perplexed and stressed expression.

Beneath their feet, a seam in 'reality' like a paper's tear began to repair itself.

"Wrong.. everything is wrong.."

Bendy : The Untrusted AU - Final Reminiscence (Part 5/5)