Ego One shots- Oct-Dec 2017

Too Quiet

Chase felt completely overwhelmed. He plopped down on the couch and groaned in frustration. He looked at the blank TV screen, contemplating turning it on and just binge watching whatever was on. Or maybe he could finally read one of those books the doc had been suggesting. He couldn't go to bed.

Physically he felt exhausted. He could close his eyes and be drifted away in seconds, but emotionally, he wouldn't let himself. Too much going on in his mind to sleep.

Chase turned and looked at the separate doors for the egos. Marvin and Jackie had both decorated them all for the holidays, even Anti's. The glitch had tried tearing it down but Marvin cast a spell keeping it in place until the end of December. Though the sight was precious, Chase couldn't bring himself to smile. In fact, he felt tears well in his eyes. He wasn't sure why.

The ego shook his head, and stood up. He had to fill the silence some ways but worried the TV might be too loud, so he grabbed his coat and left the cabin. After closing the door and locking it behind him, Chase began walking down a thin path into the woods. The moon was so shining bright, even through the trees. There had been a little snow fall earlier. Not enough for children to play in, but enough to make each steps crunch under his feet.

Eventually he made it to a small clearing in the trees. In it, there was a small fire pit in the middle with logs circled around it. Chase brushed the snow off one and sat on it, gazing up at the moon. He looked around at the surrounding trees and just smiled. It had been far too long since he'd been here. In fact, it had been far too long for any of them.

The smile began to fade. Memories from before began to flood in. Chase and Jackie throwing a frisbee back and forth. Marvin nearly burning off his and Henrik's eyebrows in an attempt to start the fire. Anti sitting under a tree whittling a stick into a pointier stick, pretending to not be interested in anything going on around him. They'd even brought Sean and Signe a few times for a camp out. Their way of saying "Thanks for putting up with our existence."

They shouldn't exist. That was just the thing. None of them should be there in the first place, and it haunted Chase. He ran his hands through his hair, his hat falling off into the snow. Tear were dripping down his cheeks now.

They were corporeal, all of them. And somehow he found himself being the responsible one. The only reason he was awake was because Anti decided to go on another one of his late night drinking sessions and Chase was making sure he didn't pass out in the streets. He didn't want to admit that he felt responsible for what might happen to him, to any of them. The mere thought of any of them getting hurt, even Anti, made his stomach turn.

Chase stood up and paced around the pit. "I shouldn't care. We should all be responsible for ourselves! It's not my fault if any of them get hurt," Even as he spoke to no one, he felt his breathing catch in his throat. He felt so frustrated, the silence out here was worse than in the cabin. He felt like even as he talked, there was nothing. No answers, no reason. Just a maddening emptiness.

Chase was hyperventilating now, painfully pulling at his green locks. He felt so much confusion and frustration just building up, he had to let it out someway. In the dark of night, alone with no one to hear, he did the only thing that felt right. He screamed. At the top of his lungs, he just let out an angered yell. As he grew silent, Chase stumbled to get his footing. He huddled back onto the log, picking up his hat, but not putting it back on as he just stared into the sky.

"Feeling better?"

Chase nearly jumped out of his skin. He looked back and saw Dr. Schneeplestein standing at the end of the path in his long, navy blue winter coat. "I thought I might find you out here," He walked over and sat next to Chase on the log. Chase wanted to ask why Schneep was out here, but for some reason he felt completely exhausted.

"Why," was all he could mumble.

Schneep just chuckled. "The others are much heavier sleepers than me. I could feel your frustration," He leaned back on his hands and looked up at the moon.

There was more silence now, but somehow, it wasn't as torturous anymore. Since the doc had asked, Chase actually did feel better. More tired too.

Schneep stretched his arms out and stood back up. "Come, you'll get frostbite, und I don't vant to have to deal with that because you fell asleep in the snow," Chase chuckled and stood up, following him back down the path. As they walked, there was a new sensation inside Chase. Maybe things weren't as bad as they seemed?