The Death Clock: chapter 5

 

5

I woke up right after Cat. She had rolled off the bed because she moved in her sleep and hit our heads together. Me and her were both dazed and wondering what happened. We opened our eyes at the same time. I can’t know what Cat was thinking, but I was wondering why her face was so close and why it was hard to breathe. I blinked and jumped. Well, moved slightly. Why was Cat lying on top of me? And why was she wearing her nightgown? I wanted to move her off me before she fully woke up but my arms were crushed under my back. I couldn’t do anything, for it was pointless to talk to her unless she was completely awake.

I looked at her as she blinked sleepily. Eyes still half closed, she stretched her arms and yawned, right in my face. She jumped when she saw how close we were, hurting my chest, arms, and just about everything else.

"Can you, please, get off me? Perhaps put some clothes on?" I said to Cat.

"Why are you in my room?"Cat said, completely unaware that she only had on her nightgown.

"You told me to sleep in here last night. Remember?"

"Oh, ya. Can I ask you another question?" I nodded my head instead of speaking. She may have been light but she was making it hard to breathe. She blinked slowly, "Why am I lying on you, wearing just a nightgown?"

She asked that instead of getting off. God, she was slow in the morning. "You rolled off the bed and fell on me. Would you mind getting off and putting something on?"

"Oh," she said slowly. For a brief instant, I thought I saw disappointment in her eyes. Must have been a trick of the light. Slowly, holding her head that was just now starting to hurt, Cat sat up. She put one hand on the bed to get up and walked over, wobbling slightly, to the closet. She started to go through clothes and grabbed the bottom of her nightgown and I saw her elbows bend before she could actually pull off the gown.

"Wait till I’m out, would you?" I said as I bolted for the door. Cat grumbled something about us not being children.

Once I was back inside my room, I closed my door gently. I could see the blood-streak from where it hit me. I groaned. Then I had the sudden urge to go use the bathroom. My room had no bathroom and the only two I knew of were the one in Cat’s room and the one near the kitchen. To get to either I had to go either in or by Cat’s room. Cat still didn’t realize she should now shut her door when she got changed. I opened the door a crack and chanced a look.

Cat was in her nightgown, lying on the bed, holding her stomach and rolling with laughter. I softly closed the door without a sound. I walked to my bed and walked back. I counted to three, opened the door, and strode into Cat’s room. My jaw nearly hit the floor. Cat’s nightgown was in a heap near her feet and she had one hand on her hip, as if she just pulled her panties up. She saw the look on my face and fell down laughing.

"I- ow, owie. I saw you. Not the way you wanted this to turn out was it," she continued to laugh and roll on the ground.

"You dressed in you underclothes, just for a joke? That’s kind of sad," I said with my eyes completely closed. I heard nothing for a little while. Then I felt her breathe reach my face.

"You need to loosen up," I heard her giggle and then she jumped up and wrapped her arms around my neck. My eyes snapped open. She laughed harder. She was wearing the nightgown over her other clothes.
"What do you take me for? It’s April 1st, Isaac. It’s nothing but good humor. Unfortunately it’s all wasted on you."

"You don’t get half naked for a joke, Cat!"

"Well, then the jokes wouldn’t be very good or fun." I gave up and just went downstairs to the kitchen. I ate leftovers for breakfast. Nothing tastes better than cold rice over fish.

I set about exploring the house. The house was big yet the rooms were so small. It was as if the walls had to be ultra-thick. I was leaning against one of the walls in an attempt to figure out which way I already went. Suddenly, when I slid to the right, the wall moved. It was a sliding door. I opened it and walked into the space beyond. I had to face the wall and walk sideways to move at all. The sliding door slid close behind me. I tried to open it but it wouldn’t budge from this side.
That meant that there must have been another, perhaps many other, doors. I waited for my eyes to adjust. I slowly moved to the left, one hand on each wall, pushing and pulling. About twenty paces from where I came in was a set of stairs. I climbed up them still checking for doors.

I stopped a few steps up. I could go two ways. I could continue up the stairs or, I could slide into a passage that was set into the wall were I need to slide on my stomach. Why would you make a passage that hard to go into? Curiosity got the better of me and I went into the wall passage. I put one hand on the ceiling and another on the floor to move me along. I don’t know how far I had gone but something gave.

I put my hand to the ceiling again. It wobbled just enough. I gave it a shove and it slid on top of the piece next to it. I climbed out and something soft brushed against my head. When my eyes adjusted to the dim light, I saw clothes hanging above me. They were pushed together so tightly I couldn’t make out what a single garment was. I had spun around so much in the darkness down there that I couldn’t think what room this belonged. I placed the tile back and slid the closet door slightly. From in here all I could see was the floor straight ahead, which was a bed. I couldn’t tell whose it was, Cat and mine’s where the same model. I risked it and crawled slightly out. I was definitely in Cat’s room. I went over to her bathroom to get the dust and other stuff off my hands. Cat said I could use her bathroom whenever I needed it.

I washed my hands but for some reason, only the hot water worked and it was sizzling hot. My OCD had me wash my hands in the near boiling water. I tried to stop but I couldn’t. I cried out for Cat. I screamed until my throat felt like dust. Then between moans of agony and over the sound of running water, I screamed. I was incoherent at first, pain slurring and mixing up my words. I thought of something that I could easily shout.

I put all my will and strength into one massive yell. I took as deep a breathe I could while my skin bubbled and sloughed off my fingers. Then I let it out with every ounce of strength.

"CAAAAAAAAAT!" my vision blurred and began to go black. Before everything went dark, I saw two things. I saw a man, a big man with a bristly face, and an angel. The angel was pretty. It had big white wings and a pale pink halo. I couldn’t see the angels face clearly, but it looked like it was crying. I didn’t want the angel to cry. I tried to smile to cheer the angel up, but it cried harder.
The man looked like he was saying something, like begging forgiveness for some sin. The angel turned and began to hit the big man with its small fists. The big man spoke and the angel nodded. They both moved towards me. The man picked me up and nearly everything was black. I uttered one more thing before the darkness swallowed me.

"Angel? Tell Cat goodbye, please." I said hoarsely. The angel cried. My vision blacked out, and I thought I would finally be in heaven, or more likely, somewhere a lot hotter.