Bundle of Bodes

Chapter 3

As they ventured further into the aquarium, the path started sloping downwards again, leading Kinsey and Bode even deeper into Bode's head. The aquarium was becoming darker and darker, until it came to a point where no light was coming from within the tanks anymore. It would have been completely pitch black if it weren't for the bioluminescence of the sea creatures in this portion of the aquarium.

They were strange, nightmarish creatures from another world. Ghoulish squids with three eyes, writhing tentacles, and snapping beaks. Long, slimy eels with dead, white eyes and spikes along their backs. Monstrous fish with thousands of needle-like teeth protruding from their mouths and tongues with smaller mouths of their own at the end. They all glowed surreal colors, like hot pink, or lime green, or electric blue. One of the eels produced an intensely bright light that continuously turned on and off, creating a strobe light effect in the area.

"I can barely see anything here. What is this place?" Kinsey said.

"This is where all my fearful thoughts are stored," Bode said nervously, clinging onto Kinsey's arm.

"It's okay, Bode. Nothing's gonna happen to us here. We're in your head; these are only thoughts. Thoughts can't hurt you."

Of course, Kinsey knew this was false. The first time she and Tyler went into her head, her Fear attacked Tyler, and he still had those scratches on his abdomen, even after they left her head. But she wasn't going to tell that to Bode, especially not at a time like this.

Through the brief flashes of light, they started to see a figure off in the distance. It looked to be around Bode's height.

"Do you think that's your Mischief?" Kinsey asked.

"I don't know."

With every flash of light, the figure appeared closer and closer.

"That's not my Mischief," Bode said.

"What is it, then?"

From what little of it Kinsey could see, it looked like a thin, feral version of Bode with sunken-in eyes, disheveled hair, and razor-sharp teeth. It reminded her of her Fear, but in Bode form. The creature leapt onto Bode and started biting his left arm. Bode screamed as he fell to the floor.

"Get off of him!" Kinsey screamed as she kicked Bode's Fear. "Get off! Get off!" Her own fear wasn't there to paralyze her anymore. She didn't hold back. She kicked Bode's Fear in the head with all the strength and rage her body could muster. If she didn't know that feelings couldn't be killed, she might've even felt concerned for it.

His Fear eventually let go and scrambled away into the darkness. Kinsey pulled up Bode from the ground and started running with him in hand. She had no idea where she was going, but she knew they had to get away from that thing.

They weren't in the aquarium anymore. They were in a nebulous, cloudy, blue space.

"I think we lost him," Kinsey said. "You alright, Bode?"

"No." Bode looked down at his arm, noticing all the bleeding bite marks. He started to cry.

Kinsey hugged him. "It's okay. It's okay, buddy, we made it. You're safe now."

"How do you know? He could come back at any moment."

"If he does, I'll be here to protect you, like I did just now."

"Okay." Bode wiped his tears away. "Thanks, Kins."

"Of course, Bode. You know I would do anything to protect you." Kinsey looked around the blue void. Thousands of glowing, blue orbs floated around in wavering paths. "So, where are we, exactly?"

"This is where all my dreams are. As you can see, they're not as clearly defined as my actual memories. These are a bit fuzzier."

Bode grabbed one of the orbs and looked into it.

They were taken to a dream where Bode was sitting in a classroom. The teacher said, "Bode, would you please come up to the front of the class to give your oral presentation?"

Bode—the Bode in the dream—got up from his desk and walked to the front.

One of the kids in the class started laughing and said, "Look, Bode's not wearing any pants!"

Bode looked down and saw that he wasn't wearing any pants. Only his underwear. The entire class started laughing at him. Even the teacher.

"Nice underwear, dork!" one of the other students said.

Bode pulled his shirt down over his underwear and walked back to his desk in shame.

Kinsey and Bode came out of the dream.

"Wow, that was an embarrassing dream," Kinsey said.

"Yeah, not one of the best dreams I've had as of late."

"So... where do we go from here?"

"Well, I think this is the very deepest part of my mind. It's sort of a dead end. So, nowhere to go but up!"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Look behind you."

Kinsey turned around and saw a roller coaster car on a track. Above the car was a sign lined with flashing lightbulbs that read, "Back to Top." None of that was there a second ago.

"How did you do that?"

"Do what?"

"Created that roller coaster."

Bode shrugged. "I dunno. I just thought about it, and it appeared."

"Whatever, I'm not even going to question it at this point." Kinsey climbed into the front row of the roller coaster car. Bode climbed into the seat next to her.

"At this point, I don't even care about finding Mischief anymore. I just wanna get out," Bode said.

"Same here."

They pulled their individual harnesses down over their chests, then the coaster jolted to a quick start.

The car clattered up a long chain lift, going up and up and up. It seemed to take forever, but the car finally reached the top of the hill and plummeted down its first drop. Kinsey and Bode cheered, raising their hands up and feeling the wind in their face. It went up again, it went down again, it took sharp bank turns, it went through loop-de-loops and corkscrews and helixes. The roller coaster even traveled through tunnels made to look like the mouths of worm-like creatures. It was the most exciting roller coaster Bode and Kinsey had ever been on.

Finally, the car came to a stop, but it wasn't at the same loading station they entered through. This loading station dropped them off right at a carnival.

The harnesses released, and Bode and Kinsey both got out of the car. "This is still inside your head?" Kinsey asked.

"Of course. Where else would we be?"

"I just didn't realize your head was so big."

"Well, I guess appearances can be deceiving."