Lonely Wonders

02

Cam

Cam's eyelids heaved open, but still, he saw nothing but darkness. His body sensed as if he was floating, and also somehow managed to feel heavy. "Hello. . ." he murmured, nothing yet coming into vision, and his mind the completest bit hazy.

"What do we do with him?" he heard someone hiss—a raspy, male voice. The next phrase uttered wasn't audible, due to Cam falling in and out of consciousness.

He suddenly felt his legs being forcefully yanked, but he still, despite open eyes, he couldn't see. "No—" he grunted, "Please, stop stop stop—" but was cut off by an invisible, and most likely in his imagination cloud, causing him to choke on his own words. It was the worst feeling Cam had ever imagined, and while withering, he felt completely helpless.

He screamed inside; a horrid, insane scream; a possible fantasy putting pressure onto him. There was nothing left to do, after a while, and Cam slowed his heart rate voluntarily.

He closed his eyes, and soon there was no care in. . . the. . . world. . .

His mind became aware of to a quite average scene before him. First came the sound of rushing buses, which caused a gust of wind left behind to blow through his dark brown hair. Soon were car horns honking, and various conversations in the background—yet Cam hesitated to open his eyes because of the feeling of bright light against his eyelids. He grasped at the ground, and while his fingertips grazed a solid and slightly rigid surface, he furrowed his brows at his surroundings. Hadn't he just been in a car accident, and then (what he assumed to be) dead?

Cam cracked open his eyes, and was somewhat surprised at where he was—not that he hadn't figured it out, but because of the unlikeliness of it.

He lay in a typical city alleyway, beside a dumpster which led into a main street. Crinkling his dark eyebrows, Cam uneasily stood shakily, clutching the side of the trash can for balance. The city was recognizable, and as he peered out into the streets, he was relieved to see that he was in fact in downtown Westchester.

The whole thing was completely confusing to him, especially because Cam could've sworn he had been in a car crash. He paused for a moment, and mind racing, finally came up with a conclusion; he had drunken one too many vodkas, had a particular odd—yet realistic—hallucination, and passed out in an alleyway. Somewhat more content, the brunette boy staggered onto the sidewalk, his eyes squinted, and began to scrutinize his surroundings in an attempt to determine exactly where he was.

A Panera café sat across the road beside a crowded Urban Outfitters, showing that he was left in the cozy part of town. However, out of place and to his right, a homeless person was crumpled on the pavement. His dark beard was tangled, dressed in murky, ragged, and faint umber tinted clothes, and holding a sign with "HOMELESS, JOBLESS, LOVEDLESS: ANYTHING HELPS. THANK YOU," scribbled in slovenly handwriting.

Cam felt a pang of sympathy, and he patted his jean pocket in search of money, finally yanking out a crisp ten dollar bill and handing it to the man,

"It's not much, but I hope it's something."

"God bless you," the man murmured genuinely, meeting Cam's multicolored eyes with his black ones and grinning faintly. Cam returned the smile but, always being a bit nervous around the homeless, continued walking in search of a recognizable house.

Derrick

Derrick lightly snorted in his slumber, moaning, a dribble of saliva skimming its way from the corners of his lips, and turning his head slightly to the left with his eyes finally snapping open.

He sat in a rusted bathroom stall.

Scrambling to a stand, he gazed at the tiny space he was standing in with an alert manner. The bathroom was entirely white—a public one, most likely—except for a rectangular, silver box clinging to the side of a wall. Curiously, he peeked in but slammed it shut immediately after, due to various wrinkled and red-stained tampons (which he only knew the name of from Sammi). The toilet especially low for that of a male, Derrick came to his senses and peeked through the crack of the stall, only to see an fluorescent pink 'female' bathroom sign and two girls standing in front of the mirror, mascara wands in hand.