wanderlust » smplive au

chapter xii - sober delusions

time is... time is just a parallel. no time-
to- to-
worry.
worry. you must.

-

The static cuts. The brown haze fades, as his eyes open- it's so dark.
Schlatt gapes widely at the man, perplexed. Sweeping aside his chestnut hair, he checks his pulse.
Slow. Below average.

"Wilbur! Fucking wake up!" He lowers down into his seat, and crosses his hands anxiously. "Please..." A tear tugs at the man's eye. He places his head forward onto the bed, still listening for his friend's pulse.

The moment had escalated so quickly, from the man calling said boy to check up after his flight to ensure his safety to his best friend becoming stuck in a coma.
"Wilbur please, this is not what you wanted to live for,"

As the man weeps silently on the bedsheets, the man continues to hallucinate, unmoving in the white light of the room and the shine of the stars from outside the window.

—

well done. you've found the third parallel.

It was like he was looking into a mirror. The voice was his own, yet so twisted-sounding. A tone of thick sarcasm could be heard within it, which doesn't match his own personality.

the mirror. it reflects- colours. it shows what you're really like, wilbur. you've found your true colours.

Pivoting to face the voice, he mentally slapped himself; it was external yet internal, it was his mind.

you're showing your true colours. an insane, self-destructive, curious man.

"No... I'm better than this. I think I am."

you have to know. to believe. and that's what you fail at.

The Britishman's face softened, a hint of exhaustion in his puzzled expression.

"Please... Just let me go." He began to tear up. "I just want this to be over. this constant searching. The hunt for happiness, comfort."

find your place on the planet. that's what you have to do, but you fail.

"Stop mocking me!"

see? you don't realise this is your own brain. this is not anyone, this is you.

He collapsed abruptly, face up and hands at his sides, kneeling.

wilbur you're so naive, just like every other being on this planet. you simply do not understand the parallels.

"Please! Just let me go!"

you chose this yourself. you didn't choose the comfort, you chose to go against your intuition; a life of safety, not comfort.
choose wisely.

Suddenly, the ground opened up beneath him, exposing him to a glass panel. A vertigo overwhelmed him, as soon as he comprehended what he was looking at. A block world, his seemingly familiar kindred spirits around to his left. To the right, a position of man sobbing above... what seemed like a corpse.

now you see what you've done.

The voice faded.

—

[ irl switch ]

Ted was the first to notice.
"G-guys... I don't want to alarm you..." His teeth chattered and he shuddered.
"W-what...?" Charlie gave him an alarmed look.

Joko spotted it too.
"OH MY GOD. LOOK UP." He shrieked, clutching his pet closer.

Simultaneously, they all spun around and raised their heads up, a mix of complicated and assertive glares.

"What is... That-?" Schlatt, distressed, whined.