CREEPY-CRAWLIES ; yugbam

the voices

-

ping pong; trente

-

"stop!"

bambam sat straight up in his bed, drops of sweat rolling down his spine. he gasped for air, shoving his face in his hands and pulling at his hair. it happened every night now—he had the same nightmare where cybele led him through that misty wood and then he woke up and the voices began whispering at him again. they came from the floor; they always did.

his head had ached so bad for so long that he forgot what it felt like to have a clear mind.

his eyes burned. he tried not to let the tears fall but they did, wetting his blankets and cheeks. he sobbed harshly; he just wanted them to stop. he just wanted to sleep.

it was dark outside. he'd since fallen off the other's sleep schedule and he hoped they hadn't heard him scream as they were awake downstairs. he tried to quiet himself by holding a hand over his mouth but he just wouldn't stop crying.

he pushed his covers off and ran to the bathroom, slamming the door behind him and running to the toilet. his entire body heaved and the soup he'd eaten earlier that day left him. this only caused him more tears as he fell back against the opposite wall and clutched at his head. the voices weren't whispering anymore—they were screaming.

magicae

                     magicae

magicae

                               magicae

                        magicae

    magicae

                                                  magicae

  magicae

"bambam!"

the sound of his name being called broke through the whispered screams. bambam tore at his hair, loud sobs escaping his body as he did. he heard a loud pounding and his name being called over, and over, and over again. as if learning a new word, the voices started picking it up to. magicae, bambam, magicae, bambam, magicae, bambam-

a loud final bang cut the screaming off, but bambam's mind was too overwhelmed to recognize it. he could hear whispered assurances, but he couldn't understand it. something in his brain had been switched off and his thoughts were all in latin, rushing over each other like running water until they were impossible to understand.

bambam could only feel in that moment, and what he felt was a strong pair of arms pulling him into a familiar warm chest.

he didn't know when yugyeom picked him up, but he did, and he carried the witch into his room and set him down in his bed. bambam was crying, his eyelids glued shut, and his entire body shook. he gripped yugyeom's arm tightly, with fingers like jaws. he kept whispering the same thing over and over.

"non me derelinquas."

don't leave me.

so yugyeom shooed the rest of the worried boys away and shut the door, climbing under the covers next to bambam. he pulled the witch close, letting his tears fall on his shirt. a couple minutes later, bambam's grip relaxed and yugyeom knew he'd fallen asleep. but yet, he did not leave.

he would never leave bambam.

-

bambam woke up when the first bits of sunshine started to shine through the white sheet hung over his window. he stared at the dancing lights, breathing softly and slowly. it was the first time he'd woken up without the voices screaming at him.

he was surprised to see yugyeom in bed next to him, but he didn't move away. instead, he pulled himself closer to the zombie, burying his face in the crook of his neck and breathing in deeply. he smelled of fresh bread and pine cones.

bambam's entire body felt weak, like he couldn't even sit up. his head felt woozy, but for the first time in a while he didn't have a headache. he couldn't even remember having a nightmare.

he moved back a bit when he felt yugyeom start to shift. he watched as the boy yawned and then gazed out at bambam with tired eyes. he smiled lazily and bambam managed a small smile back.

"good morning", he whispered, voice a bit husky. bambam smiled and pressed his face into yugyeom's collar again.

"morning."

"i haven't said that in a while", yugyeom mumbled. he glanced behind him at the window almost worriedly.

"will you be okay?", bambam asked, also looking at the few strips of light that made it into his room. yugyeom nodded.

"as long as i stay out of direct light, i'm fine."

bambam nodded. yugyeom's expression changed and he pushed back a bit to look into the witch's bright silver eyes. "bambam, what's going on?"

"what do you mean?", bambam asked casually, trying to play it off. his voice broke when he said the words though, and he knew there would be no more hiding his pains from yugyeom.

"you know what i mean", yugyeom replied. his gaze was piercing. "what's wrong? what's happening to you?"

bambam stared at the bit of exposed skin under yugyeom's shirt collar, trying to think how he would word the truth. he took a deep breath before answering. "ever since i went into...into the corner room, i've been hearing these voices. they're almost constant, whispering at me from the floors. the only time they go away is when i sleep, but then i started having these nightmares..."

"what kind of nightmares?", yugyeom asked. bambam was silent for several moments.

"i...i'm walking through this wood. there's fog everywhere and i can barely see. then, my patron goddess, cybele, appears and leads me through the fog with a lantern. we walk for a long time, and then we stop and she points. my legs move even when i don't want them to. i walk forward and then the fog breaks and...and i see my mom, lying on the ground covered in blood and with a plague mask on."

yugyeom was silent and a few tears slid down bambam's face. before he could wipe them away, yugyeom did with a touch as soft as petals.

"is that all?"

"yeah", bambam whispered. he stared at yugyeom's pale hand.

"do you know what it means?", yugyeom asked. that's the part bambam hated, because he did know and he wished that he didn't.

"yes", he replied with a whisper as broken as shattered glass. "i have to go back in the room."

-
but is that all it means? (1049 words)