Chapter 5- Her Warm Smile

"Momma!" The boy screamed, jolting up in his bed. The boy breathed in a panic, holding his chest. "Mommy!" He cried out again, hoping she'd finally come to his aid. He looked down at his pants, stained with…"Eww." He runs over to his dresser, grabbing a fresh pair of pajama bottoms, throwing the old ones into the linen basket. Again, his mother hadn't come to him. Flicking on his rooms light switch, he cracks open his bedroom door, peaking out into the hall. "Mom?" No response. He takes a step into the hall. The atmosphere changes almost instantly, a wave of dread washing over him, and his whole body tenses up. "No...everything's okay. Okay? Okay." He takes a deep breath before moving on. He flicks on the light switch, bathing the hall in a hopeful light. He feels his shoulders relax under this bright light as he walks over to his mother's bedroom. "Knock, knock, knock!" he knocked on the door, waiting for a response. "Mmm…!" He opens the door without asking permission. Inside the room was pretty much untouched. The bed was still made from that morning, and even the folder she'd dropped during the scuffle that morning. He feels tears starting to form in his eyes. He walks over to the dresser, where stood the house phone, sitting on a charger. Grabbing it, he types in his mother's number, and brings the phone to his ear.

"Ring! Ring! Ring!" He heard a loud ringing coming from the floor below him. He looked to the stairs, hitting the ignore button on the phone. At the bottom of the staircase was his mothers cell. He rushes down the stairs, grabbing the phone and hitting the power button. The screen lights up, showing him a missed call notification and a text message. "Hey." The boy looks up from the phone. A man was standing in the kitchen doorway, wearing a black clock that covered his entire body. His hood did well to cover his face. "Have you...seen my mom?" The man turned to his right, staring in that direction for a long time, before turning to the boy. The man walks toward the boy, stopping right in front of him. "Do you want to see something beautiful?" The boy felt like he was supposed to be scared, but, he wasn't. The man gave off a feeling of familiarity. The man took his hands out from under his cloak. The hands...were nothing but pure white bone. The boy looked at them with intrigue rather than horror. The man put his hands together, shook them, and held out his right hand. Inside the hand was a beautiful, shiny white flower. "Do you want to hold it?" The boy nodded, reaching out to the item. He picked it up gently. The small petals were extremely soft, like a blanket, but thick enough that even when he gripped it tightly he couldn't pull the petals apart. "What do you think this is?" He looked at the man. "A flower?" the man chuckled, pulling back his hood, revealing his plain, clean skull. He looked at the boy, two small blue lights deep inside his dark holes where his eyes would be. "This is the body that supports life itself." The boy looked at the flower once again. "All life?" The skull nodded. "Yes. It is what keeps all life afloat. And, sometimes, It can be the reason some people are taken from this world, but it does more than enough to make up for that. Something, I believe, is beyond human capabilities." The boy watches the flower disappear from his hands.

"I am the grim reaper, boy, and I suggest you hear my words." The atmosphere changes to a threatening chill. "You will be the reason that all those around you die slow, painful deaths, and if you are not strong, you will perish in your efforts to prevent this." The weak boy expected this statement would bring him to tears, but to his own surprise, he was able to compose himself. "Are you strong?" The boy stepped back. "Hmm…" the man gets up, and under his breath, he states, "Worthless," and in a blink of an eye, the man disappears. The boy walks forward, stopping in the kitchen. He turned to his right, and the image of what he saw was burned deep into his mind. "Mommy?"

P.P.F Re

Chapter 5:

Her Warm Smile

February 15th, 2012

Crunch, crunch, crunch."

The teens walk through the snowy forest, Ralph leading them along. "...maybe he just needs to be there…can't make up my mind...Ralph, buddy!" Chris slaps a hand on Ralph's back. "How ya doin!?" "Erh, fine?" Chris nods his head. "Good, good. Hey, we almost there yet?" Ralph groans. "Yeah, nearly there." Chris nods his head. "You feeling alright?" Ralph shrugs. "Ready to admit this is all stupid?" The boy chuckles. "I don't give up. Don't be stupid." Ralph gives a half grin. "Alright then, whatever you want." The two continue walking. "Do you do anything besides this occult stuff?" Chris ponders the question. "Not really." He refused to meet the other boy's eyes. "Well, now you have my attention." "Really, my whole life is ghosts and demons and stuff…" Chris peaks at Ralph, who was staring at him with a judging smile. "Screw you." The two share a laugh as they reach their destination. "You sure this is the place?" Talia mutters, giving the place a disapproving look. "Of course. How many abandoned shacks in the middle of the woods do you think there are?" Talia points a few feet away. "Oh." There was another shack close by. "Well...it could be THAT one." Chris slaps Ralph upside the head, walking up the shack.

"Rattle rattle!"

Chris attempts to turn the door knob, realizing it's locked. "Oh, my turn!" Chloe slams her foot into the door, sending it flying open. "Sweet. Moving on." Chris walks inside, immediately beginning to look around. Ralph makes his way to the door frame. "Ralph?" The boy gulps.

He could still see the scene from all those years ago, of his best friend slumped lifelessly in a chair, a bullet through her skull. He hadn't even questioned what he'd do when he actually got there.

"Ralph."

He stepped Inside. Immediately, a powerful dread overtook him, and he fell to his knees. "Wh-what the hell?" Chris had come to his side with a quickness, telling him he'd be alright. "I'm fine, just a little light headed." Chris nods his head, helping the boy up. The group begin exploring. The setting sun shines through the many cracks and holes in the walls, making it easy to see. There wasn't much to search. Just a bookshelf and a couple books filled with random toys, books, and candy wrappers. "Why's this stuff here? Isn't this place supposed to be abandoned?" Chris nods. "Yeah." Chris taps his foot. "Hmm."

"Bash! Bash! Crash!"

The whole group jumps at the sudden appearance of a dark hole in the middle of the floor. "Chris?!" Ralph stares down the hole. "Chris!" Chloe yells. No response. The group look at each other. "I'm going." Chloe proclaims, preparing to jump down. "No, wait!" Ralph looks down the hole. "I'm going." Talia grunts. "God awful idea. You'll probably see a spider and die of a heart attack. We need somebody useful." He clenches his teeth. "This is the one thing I can do, okay? It's my fault we're even out here, so at least let me do this. Just get me some rope and I'll be good" Talia tries to think of another rebuttal, when, "Kay." One of the twin's shoves him over the edge. They here a scream and then silence. "Idiot! How could that have possibly been a good idea?!" The twin shrugs his shoulders. "He needs to find out eventually, right?" Talia tries to think of a rebuttal, but can't, and turns back to the hole.

"Ahhhhhh! Oh god, ow!" Ralph yells in pain, his arm cracking beneath him. "Oh god...why?!" He looks up at the bright light above him. "Hey, douchebags, tell me you have some rope!" No response. "Guys?!" He yelled. "Shh!" A hand covers his mouth, and Ralph freezes. "Just a moment. Wait just a moment." Ralph recognizes the voice, and relaxes his shoulders. After a moment, the hand moves away, allowing Ralph to move back a bit. "Shh!" The figure behind him turns on a flashlight, lighting up the area. "Better?" Ralph nods. The boy was Chris, looking surprisingly dirty for how long he'd been down there. "What happened?" Chris shakes his head. "Come with me." He whispers, walking over to an open door. "Wait, why? You want to be down in some dusty old...bedroom?" Upon further inspection, he notices the bed sitting to his right, with a desk and chest to his left. "Yeah, this is weird. Let's go before we get bitten to hell by some spider mutant or something." Chris groans. "Worthless. Fine. Have fun trying to get up there with nothing." Ralph looks up at the hole high above him. The distance clearly was an impossible jump. "Oh, almost forgot. There's something down here, and I would pay anything to be with someone who knew how to avoid it...well, see ya." Ralph's face goes pale. "W-wait!"

…

The woman stood over the countertop, mesmerized by the twirling coffee in her cup. The man in front of her was drinking his own cup. While she was still in her t-shirt and sweatpants, he was dressed in a black suit, his hair a short, beautiful white, his yellow eyes pondering her with purpose, and a black cape hanging off his neck going down to his knees. "Ah, yes, your daughter." The man mumbled, putting down the cup. She got a small smirk on her face as she brushed some of her luscious blonde hair out of her eye. "What else?" The man chuckled. "Fear not, she is in good hands...not that her own hands aren't good enough." The woman let out a relieved sigh, finally sipping from her mug. "I don't understand…" "What isn't there to understand?" The woman tapped her chin. "Why someone would want to protect me. I've never met a gas mask wearing weirdo in my life." The man clicked his tongue. "He has a lot of reasons, but none I can tell you, I'm afraid. Speculation is the brain's meat and potatoes, after all." She responded, "God, you sound like my son." he sipped from his coffee with a playful glare. "How much do you know about him?" She shook her head. "No idea. I don't remember Origin very well. No one does but you." He nodded his head. "Me, and her. I think she doesn't like that very much. She misses her friend." The woman groaned. "That sounds so sad. How long till she finally gets her friend back?" He shook his head. "No clue. Everything is pretty wishy washy." the woman raises an eyebrow. "Maybe soon. I hope." He put down the mug. "A pleasure, Jessica." In the blink of an eye, the man disappeared. "Don't let her die, and we're cool."

…

The two had been tip toeing through the halls for a good ten minutes now, checking every door to see if it was locked or not. "Did you know this was here?" Chris shakes his head. "No...not at all." Ralph ignores the hesitance in the other boy's voice, figuring it would be ridiculous. The two continued down the hall, the end seeming so far out of reach. The bright light guiding them began to flicker. "Ah, damn you." Chris whispers, smacking the object. "Gee, you'd expect to find ladders and rope in abandoned catacombs. This is just disappointing. 4/10." Chris slaps Ralph's shoulder. "Don't pretend you're funny." Ralph slaps him back. "Don't be a-"

"Scratch scratch scratch!"

Chris throws Ralph against the wall, holding him there, watching in front of them with the flashlight pointed down. Ralph feels his throat close up and his legs tighten. The sounds we're coming from just down the hall.

"Scratch scratch...rip!"

Chris takes a deep breath, bringing up the light.

Ralph feels his mind stop for a moment. He couldn't process what was happening before him. A beast, covered in long fur was eating a fox. The beast was almost the size of both boys combined. It's eyes were two glowing red orbs, fixated on the life it had taken. Even Chris who, throughout the whole trip, had been relatively chill, looked like he was about to vomit. The beast stopped, it's eyes moving...across it's head to look at them. Chris pushed Ralph harder Into the concrete to keep him from moving. The thing stared for a good, long while, it's stare starting to bore through the boy's minds. Ralph felt as though it was ripping his brain apart. Eventually, the beast turned its attention back to the meal in front of it, grabbing the Fox's lifeless tail and dragging it off. The two stood there for what felt like years, their mind's entering a sort of fever dream phase. "Chris...what was that?" Chris didn't answer. "What the hell was that?" Ralph repeated, poorly hiding his panic. "J-just calm down, okay? You're gonna be fine. Do you understand? Ralph, shake your head if you understand." Ralph shook in his boots, nodding his head. Chris looked around. "Okay, come on, let's try this door." Chris released Ralph, walking over to a door just next to them. With a single turn, the door opens up. Inside is a room just like the one they'd fallen into before, with a bed, desk, and chest placed in the exact same positions. There was one thing different about it though. "Chris!" Ralph points to something at the far wall. "Awesome. We're out of here."can Ralph covers his own mouth, hushing his sounds of excitement. Chris walks up to the ladder. It was wooden, and looked rickety. "I'll go first." Ralph nods, leaning against the wall. Chris begins climbing, and soon, the sounds of his climbing subside, leaving Ralph to his own thoughts. Ralph gets back to thinking about before. "What was that thing?" He whispers. "Those eyes." A low, deep voice begins to echoing in his head.

"Where is your mother, boy?"

Ralph looks at the outside of the door. He saw a shadow in the door window. "Ch-Chris!"

"Is she somewhere inside this head of yours? Oh my, she is."

"Hey, stop! Get out of my head!" The voice laughs at him.

"Oh my, what a way to go. At least she was honest! You didn't have to spend your life worrying about the why and what you could of done."

"Shut up! CHRIS!" He hears the ladder start to shake

"Does it hurt?"

"...please stop." her hanging body comes to the forefront of his mind

"It does, doesn't it?! Tell me! TELL ME!"

"STOP!"

"OH YES. OH YES OH YES OH YES! OPEN UP BOY! LET ME INTO YOUR MIND!"

He slams his fists into his head.

"ARE YOU SCARED?! OH, SUCH A GOOD BOY!"

"Shut up before I claw you out of me!"

"Bang!"

Ralph jumps. Something was banging on the door.

"Ralph...are you REALLY a bad boy?"

"Go away! GO AWAY!"

"BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANGBANGBANGBANGBANG!"

"AHHHH!"

And then...silence. "Ralph, it's safe! Get up here! Ralph?"

"...honey?"

Ralph stopped shaking. He looked up at the wooden door. Tears started flowing from his eyes. "Mo-mom?"

"Don't you wanna say sorry? Sorry for what you've done?" He screams, falling to the the ground. "Ralph, get up here!" Ralph didn't hear Chris over the banging. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry I was so bad! I'm sorry I made you leave! Please forgive me mommy!"

"BANGBANGBANGBANGBANG!"

"Mommy!" He yelled at the top of his lungs. Snot and tears were mixing together as the door slammed to the floor. A low breathing mixed with the cowering, disgusting mess on the floor.

"Don't you want your punishment, honey…"

Ralph's mouth morphed into a pitiable smile as he looked up to the figure calling itself his mother. But, it wasn't her. His smile fades. It's disgusting teeth revealed themselves to him, dripping drool onto him. "You...you aren't my mom...where is she? What did you do to my mom?!" "Ahhhhhh!" Chris lunged onto the beast, bashing at it with his flashlight. "What are you doing?!" Ralph yelled, picking himself up.

"Damnit, Ralph!" The thing rammed it's head into the wall. "Ralph, please! I need you to think of Sarah!" Ralph's eyes widened. "Ralph, please! I can't hold this thing off much longer!" The beast launched the boy Into the wall, Chris making a strange sound as he collided with the concrete.

"S-Sarah…"

He closed his eyes

Her kind eyes…

Her warm smile…

"Ralph!"

"My mom is so weird sometimes…"

Her soft voice.

Her caring tendencies.

"Ralph...please…"

"I'll be your Valentine."

Her...her…

"Do you feel it boy? The courage welling up inside of you?" he heard the voice of death once more. The boy clenched his teeth. "Do you know what you're fighting for? Are they worth fighting for?" his voice was pleading with him. Begging him.

"Hey." The beast turned to look at him. "Don't...lay another one of your disgusting feet on him!" The beast turned to look at him, opening it's mouth, revealing it's teeth again. "Are you willing to die for them?" The  guilt built inside him. Of everyone who died because of him, and with this false courage, he yelled out, "Come on...COME ON!" the beast charged at him, biting into his arm. His body felt a powerful shock, and he fell to the floor as the beast devoured his right arm. He wasn't even able to scream. Before he can even defend himself, it bites down onto his head. His consciousness fades. And then...

"Ralph?" He opened his eyes to a beautiful sun, gleaning down on him. He couldn't move. He felt a terrible pain in his abdomen, but he didn't wince. He felt tears falling from his eyes. And her soothing voice.

"Do you see what you've made?"

He feels himself start to smile, ignoring the nagging feeling that something was wrong.

"It's...Spring."

He gives into the warm feeling, and falls into a blissful sleep.

Chris watches in horror as the thing still sucks on the new kid's face. "Ha...ah." guilt was slowly filling him up. "No...no." and then...Ralph's hand rose up, gripping this beast's face. It grips down, ripping out a price of it's hairy body.

"Raaaaahhhh!" The beast jumps back, screeching in pain. The boy started getting up. The boy was breathing fast and deep, almost animalistic. The boy held his face, giving a loud, inhuman yell. Chris watched as Ralph hid his face while a dark aura started flowing around him, forming a long dark cloak, hiding his entire body. This form was quivering, mumbling under a soft voice, while the beast watched with rage.

"Raaaaawr!" It lunges forward, and then…the hood fell, revealing a bleached white skull. The jaw falls slightly, letting out a soft breath. It takes out one of it's skeletal hands, and the same aura from before was forming around it's hand. The lunging beast turned to the side and skidded out the room's door, running somewhere deep into the catacombs. The aura formed into a long, sharp scythe. "Ralph?" Chris calls out his name. The skull turned to look at him. Deep in those empty eye sockets...were two dim, blue lights.

…

"Ahh!" Ralph jolts awake, grabbing his left arm.  His whole body shook as he felt all around his body. "Was that a dream?" he laughed at the top of his lungs, falling onto whatever he was laying on before, laughing and laughing and laughing. "Sorry, bud. Not a dream." Ralph stops, staring at the foot of his bed. There stands a man, wearing a black suit and black  cape. "Um, who are you?" The man grins.

"I am god!" The man strikes a post, laughing with undeniable joy. "Damn, well, I'm gonna wake up now." Ralph tries to pinch his cheek, but a strange wet feeling was all he felt. He looked at his fingers, horrified to find they were all long, living worms. "Ah! Turn them back, turn them back, turn them BACK!" The man chuckles, snapping his fingers, and just like that, Ralph's fingers were fingers once more. "Ready to believe in my greatness now?" Ralph looked at the man with a horrified look. "Was...none of that a dream?" The man shook his head. "How...am I not dead?" God grinned. "Because...your soul has been merged with death."