Reality is a Fleeting Moment

Chapter Nineteen

Izzy POV

The next morning was very interesting. I had been trying to recall what Yzzi had looked like, but she looked different every time I tried to recall her appearance. It was like she didn't want me to be fully aware of her; like she wanted to be a subtle force behind the scenes.

While I was still lying in bed, Leila came into the room and put the first CD on my desk. "Nice CD. I liked it."

Her words were a blur in my ear...

"Izzy?" Leila waved her hand in front of my face. "Are you okay?" Leila snapped her fingers right above my eyes, bringing me back to reality.

"Yeah, I'm fine." I sat up and faced Leila. "I'm glad you liked the CD. Did you watch the whole thing, or just some of it?"

Leila smiled her bright, cheery smile. "I watched the whole thing. You said you worked super hard on it, so I wanted to see all of your hard work."

"Do you think I had a good representation of parents in Lights On?"

"Izzy... all there was was a black screen with 'idk how parents work, parents are 4 nerds' in white text, and then png stock images whenever it talked about parents.... So, yeah. I thought it was a good representation."

"Great..." I looked down and fiddled with my fingers. "Are you still upset with me from last night?"

Leila stared at me blankly for a moment. "Upset? I wasn't upset with you, I just didn't want to be an accomplice in case you got caught."

I matched her blank stare. "Oh. I thought you were upset with me... I'm glad you're not." I shook my head and blinked a couple of times to get the emotion back in my countenance. "Anyway, are you and the animatronics good pals now?"

Leila chuckled. "I wouldn't quite say good pals. Maybe friendly acquaintances, though."

"Good. If you were anything more than friendly acquaintances, I'd eat them. I'd gut 'em and maim 'em and devour 'em."

"Hold up, Iz. That may be a bit much..."

"I am a bit much. You shouldn't be surprised, ya know..." I stood up from my bed and stretched. "Anyway, I need to get dressed for the day, so... it would be mighty kind of you to leave the room... please."

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Today, I decided to try something... different. Instead of a black trench coat, I decided to wear my pink and green Seabrook letterman jacket, baggy black ripped jeans, combat boots, a black turtleneck(obvi), and of course, my sunglasses. "I've never looked so normal in my whole life..." As I slid down my ladder, I noticed the forest was quieter than usual... I hate unfamiliarity. I put on my headphones and played some music to try and relieve the tension, but I still felt super uneasy.

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After walking for a few moments through the ghost town, I couldn't take it anymore; I felt like a 6-year-old girl trapped in the Chamber again. I sat down, back pressed against a tree. I turned off my music, struggling to keep my emotions in check. I'm fairly certain I was just hallucinating, but it seemed to me like Yzzi was sitting right across from me, watching me lose a mental war.

"Freeze your brain.

Swim in the ice, get lost in the pain.

Shut your eyes tight till you vanish from sight.

Let nothing remain.

Freeze your brain.

Shatter your skull, fight pain with more pain

Forget who you are, unburden your load.

Forget the cruel fact:

'There's nowhere for you to go.'

When the voice in your head says you're better off dead,

Don't open a vein, just freeze your brain.

Freeze your brain.

Go on and freeze your brain..."

I shook my head, trying to clear my thoughts. "No, no. I can't keep thinking like this. I refuse to be weak." I stood up, brushed off my clothes, and started looking around for Leila or Willa or Wynter, just anyone, really.

As I was walking around the forest, I found myself on the path towards the orphanage ruins. But... there were people there? No, only two people. The rest were the animatronic furries.

Sneaking through the hidden entrance into the Chamber(I only discovered it after I got adopted), I grabbed two guns and some knives, then snuck back out. The animatronic closest to leaving the ruins, Foxy, had his back to me, meaning I'd be able to press a gun to his head... which I did.

"I'm giving you all one chance to explain what you're doing here. And if your explanation is unsatisfactory, the fox gets a bullet or five through his head. Are we clear?" I glanced at Leila for a moment. "Don't worry, Leila. I'm cool with you being here..." I looked back at the rest of the animatronics. "Just not them."

The bear – Freddy, I'm fairly certain(jk obviously. ofc i knew it was Freddy) – looked worried. "Hold on, there's no need–"

I scoffed, pressing the gun harder against the back of Foxy's head. "Yes, there is a need. Why are you here?"

Leila put her hand on my shoulder. "Izzy, calm down. I was just showing them around Seabrook, and we ended up here."

I froze, before turning my head slowly to face her. "You let them come over here? Let them follow the path? Let them taint the reputation of the orphanage? This place may have been the ninth circle of hell, but it's still my home. And most of all, it still has no place in its cruel heart for outsiders."

I glared at the robots again. "Anyway, what about this place did you affect while you trampled on the graves of innocent children?"

Leila pushed me away. "Izzy, no." She tried to get all up in my face, a difficult feat since I was taller than her. "I'm done letting you run rampant and hurt the people I want to make connections with. Our friendship is done. I've put up with your crap for too long."

I pointed the second gun at her, my psyciopathic thoughts getting the better of me. "That wouldn't be a good idea." I paused for a moment to let myself get back to normal. Horrified with myself, I dropped the guns. "Oh, my gosh... I'm so sorry... I– I didn't mean to do that... G– Give me a moment while I go to hell..."

And with that, I ran away,

Letting the tears overflow.