Time limits (a Wilford Warfstash x Reader)

Chapter 3: The second death

My friends often understood my weariness of playing pirates. Others did not and just didn't talk to me anymore.

I guess looking back it was a childish way to see who were my real friends. My real friends stopped playing pirates for my benefit.

It was not until I started having a new set of dreams that we started a new game.

They were centered around the Circus in the early 1800's. My dad thought my new obsession was because the Circus was coming into town in a few weeks and it would pass after it left. But it didn't.

I didn't tell him about the dreams... He wouldn't ask. But if he found me screaming and terrified in the middle of the night he would make us some hot chocolate and set us up at the coffee bar. We wouldn't say anything, but calmly sip on our hot drinks until I would be able to sleep again.

At school, when the new game started, the entire playground wanted to play. Even the people who were mad at me for not wanting to play pirates.

We did have a vote of who would be ringleader and I didn't really want the spot light but everyone, except a select few, wanted me as the ring leader. Me, not wanting to anger more people then was necessary, I agreed.

Everyone dressed up as their part that they picked, with the help of me of course. From clowns to people who controlled animals, we set up the circus bit by bit.

The dreams where smooth sailing, thankfully. Both the pink mustache man and the red eyed man came back. Even in my dreams I was wary of the mustache man and seemed to trust the red eyed man more.

The mustache man had a stripped red and white suit with a top hat to match and in certain days he would also have a cane.

The red eyed man was a stark contrast. He wore a black suit and possibly some red highlights to it. And despite his dark demeanor he was very kind to me and tried his best to help me at every possible moment.

In my dreams I was apparently deaf. They would hold up signs or do sign language to talk to me. But since the real me, out of the dreams, couldn't understand sign language I just had to watch half the conversation and ponder on what they said. But with one of the interactions with the mustache man and myself he was holding up signs, and I found out that his name was Will. I also found out that Will was the owner and ringleader of the circus.

I guessed because I couldn't hear the time calls that the red eyed man would shout out from the Top of the tent I had a pocket watch. In some of my dreams I would be either tinkering on the small clock or mending my hat. My hat in the dream had a small purple stone that I had recognized from the first dream. On those nights I tried my best not to remember the feeling of drowning.

Most of the drama that happened in my dreams I would help conduct happen on the playground. Everyone enjoyed it immensely when I helped with the story arc.

We played this game up to the beginning of my 5th grade year. Unfortunately that was when the second death happened.

It was just Will, the red eyed man, and I at the beginning of it. We were making sure everything was settled for the night and checking up on the rare few that stayed to watch the animals every night. We had watered and fed the animals earlier and in general we were ready to leave.

The red eyed man and I stood at the entrance and I had checked my watch for the 13th thousand time before we finally saw Will coming out of the large tent. His face lit up when he saw me and he seemed to laugh when I made several angry gestures. He held his hands up in surrender and then held out his arm to walk me when I had sighed and forgiven him for making us wait. The red eyed man lightly shoved him away before taking my arm himself. Will's shoulders shook with laughter before he bent down and kissed my cheek. I had then swatted him away laughing as well.

From my point of view, the interaction between the three of us was friendly and not hostile at all. Just a group of friends walking home. I was telling them about my worry for one of the animals when it happened.

I didn't hear anything, I just felt a pain in my chest. I was falling. It had happened so fast that everything was in slow motion. The shocked and terrified faces of my friends were a stark contrast to the calmness of the starry night sky. I struggled to breathe as the red eyed man's face contorted from shocked and terrified to angry and violent. Before he could run off, Will had grabbed his arm and gestured to me and the hole in my chest.

They bent down, Will was shouting. Either at me or to the empty streets he was talking so quickly that I couldn't tell what he was saying. They red eyed man was putting pressure on the wound but then would bring his hands up in shock from how much blood was covering them.

Like before, I was oddly calm. I had reached one hand up to grab my hat, and the other one slipped out of Will's hands and into my pocket to were my watch was. I pushed both into his hands. I looked over slowly at the red eyed man. His head was bent down as his shoulders shook with sons and he tried desperately to stop the bleeding. I placed a hand a top his head before I had looked over at Will. His eyes were filled with tears as he shook his head and mouthed the word no. I placed another hand on his cheek and smiled, trying to comfort them.

I had laughed at the irony of the situation, but then coughed up what I presumed to be blood. The first dream he was trying to kill me, now he was trying to save me. Then I said in my scratchy and broken voice.

"I will see you again... In another life..." I didn't hear anything I just felt my mouth move into those words.

Will then let the tears come and he started shouting and shaking me. My hand fell from his cheek as everything slowly faded to black.

I woke up gasping for breath and my hands shot to my chest where the wound was. Tears came to my eyes as I finally started to cry. I kept apologizing to the darkness of my room as if Will and the red eyed man could hear me. A part of me wished they did, another part was angry and sad that it all had to end like that.

The next day on the playground I mimicked the death without Will and the red eyed man. I guess everyone took it as a hint that I didn't want to play anymore and the game stopped.

I visited the circus one more time after that. But walking home scared me too much. I was so scared that I would get shot. So I didn't go again. I guess all good things come to an end. I just only wish it didn't end like that.