Onision Self Insert (Reaper's Creek)

Chapter 5: Face Down Children

Sitting at the breakfast table in shock. Why am I doing this now? what could have possibly happened? Another nightmare. I wasn't visited by the stick fingered creature, I wasn't dropped into a world that threaten me.

I looked outside my windows, the river running by. I stared, completely losing myself to the effortless flow of water that would take countless men to move so quickly and smoothly without machinery. Maybe this observation is pointless or maybe we all regularly fail to embrace the true nature of nature. Reality of our reality. We're all impossibly fragile, ready to be taken at any moment, just like they are taken in the... "Morning brat!" my sister belted, interrupting my thoughts.

"Hi Joanna! How are you?" I said back sarcastically. "I'm fine, thanks dweeb." she replied with skepticism. "I hope you have a lovely day!" I yelped using an even more sarcastic tone, she replied "Why are you being nice? Did you..." the door slammed, I was already on my way to school and didn't have the energy to teach my sister about how to pick up on obvious social cues.

Phillip was right back in class that day. He wasn't suspended, he didn't even get detention. I was surprised because, simply put, I never in my life seen someone cause so much trouble without getting punished. I think they were leaving him alone because the had already suspended him and made no progress with his behavior. Moving classes clearly did not help either. Maybe at some point people just accept the there is no fixing someone, so they tolerate them till they have a real excuse to be done with them for good.

I didn't want to go out to recess that day, being around Phillip on the playground, especially considering his parents had to pick him directly up from the office the day prior, I only imagine how they responded when they were at home, away from the teachers were more ready to call CPS on the parents than their own families just to check up and say hi. We want to be heroes, and me want to see others fail to make ourselves feel better. But I had nothing but pity for Philip, he's a kid like me, his parents, even his DNA, the results or something less reliable than a coin toss or a roll of dice.

I heard whispering in the back of the room. Seemed while I was lost in thought a boy had slipped through the door. I asked "What's the matter?" the boy responded "The kids outside want to beat me up, they're looking for me." I replied "Why are they wanting to beat you up?" Immediately my hero complex was gaining momentum. They boy sniffed for a few seconds and said "They think I'm weak, I'm smaller than them, and they just want to be mad at someone." I looked at him silently, I felt lucky I wasn't below average in height, in fact I was above. My mom also taught me how to fight, so I wouldn't be in this guy's position, but it is as I said, a roll of the dice, he couldn't control him winding up in the situation, but I can.

"Come on" I said to the boy. He looked up confused. I looked at the baseball I got from the resuspend that I head in my hand and asked "Do you think those guys can play catch?" He looked back at me almost excited by the idea of having the upper hand. "What's your name?" I asked, the boy had glasses, slicked back hair & was a little heavy set, he clearly could stick up for himself if he wanted to, but even the smallest people can take on the biggest if they have the right fight in them, and this kid had near none."My name is Aaron." he said. I grabbed his shirt saying "Let's go" and dragged him out the door. I headed to the massive field just outside the class to confront the now growing crowd of children taunting the air with degrading references to my new friend Aaron.

I approached the group, thinking Aaron was by my side. "Do you have a problem with Aaron?!" I screamed. The group turn toward me. Philip stepped out front and said "Yeah! Did you see that punk?" I realized the hard way Aaron had hid behind the fence electrical boxes just as we left the class. Shaking my disappointment off I replied "Yes, and I'm here to let you know that I'm going to kick your teeth in if you mess with him anymore!" Just then I heard I scream of "Yeah!" behind the electrical box. Phillip perked up and screamed "He's over there!" pointing and Aaron's direction.I screamed even louder while lifting up my hand cocked and ready to throw the baseball "Make a move! Go ahead! Take one step toward Aaron!" None of these people knew what a terrible throw I was.There was about a one-in-three chance I would actually be able to hit one of them if I tried, but are human sense of survival regularly demands most of us live in a fashion consumed by fear, regardless of the odds.

Not even three seconds of Silence passed before the bell rang. Immediately everyone begin walking in the classroom wall Philip remained. Phillip didn't care he would get in trouble for ignoring the bell, his eyes were locked on me and I could see he wanted to hurt me.

I dropped the baseball to my side and began walking in. I expected Phillip to yell something threatening or offensive after me, but he was silent. I didn't want to look back as I walked into class, I felt a heat on the back of my head as if his eyes were burning into my hair.

In class Phillip was completely quiet for the whole second half of the day. I had never seen him like this before. Maybe I made a difference, maybe the bullying would end, or maybe I was being completely gullible and worse things were in store.

David was on the bus waiting for me before we headed home, which was strange because his stop wasn't on my bus route. I sat down next to him and asked "So?" and he replied "I invited myself over, I hope that's ok." I replied "Are you spending the night again?" He replied saying he was just coming to my house because no one was home at his house. Someone would pick him up later in the day.

at home we did the typical boy things, he would hit on my sister, I would dry heave & we would play video games. After we got bored with games I saw my bow and arrow sitting in the corner of my room. "Hey David, want to go shoot stuff?" I asked, his face lit up and so we began scanning the outdoors for things to shoot. "How about that bird in that tree?" he asked with a grin. I replied "I don't want to shoot living stuff, that's psycho. David giggled and said "Whatever" I walked off, Down a little Hill to the creek by our house. There were random dead fish that had swam up stream to lay their eggs, then, die. I'm not sure why some fish work this way, but they do. By the time they're babies are born, their parents are already long dead. Almost like their bodies were symbols, like gravestones, only marking a birth too soon happen, not just death.

Immediately I began punching arrows into the random dead fish in the creek. David screamed with laughter as he came down the hill to see what I was doing. "Oh my god! Shoot more!" he hollered as he snorted.

I had gotten about seven arrows in the fish before I saw David's mom's SUV driving over our tiny creek bridge. I could see she was rightfully startled by the sight of arrows sticking straight up out of the large dead fish.

David ran up the hill screaming "Mom! Did you see that! Ha ha ha!" As his mom came to a stop in our drive way. I was now alone by the water with a smile on my face. David ran back to me to say goodbye "Hey Daniel see..." I turned to see nothing but horror in his eyes.

The fish was not alone.