"You just picked me because you wanted to be a saviour, and I looked the most damaged." Fabian yelled back through the locked door.
"No," their mom replied, "we picked you because we wanted you to be part of our family." She gently placed her hand against the door, "We picked you because you shone the brightest."
"Shut up! Shut up, shut up!" Fabian burst through the door, racing down the stairs. They pushed past their second mom, who was standing at the bottom, and rushed to the front door. They flung it wide open, running down the street until they were far out of sight.
Their first mom tried to run after them, following them until she lost sight of them. "Fabian, come home! Please..."
Fabian slowly opened their eyes, staring at nothing in particular. They let out a sigh, their breath forming a white puff in front of them. I was a horrible son, huh.
It didn't take long for them to realise the cold feeling creeping across their body. Or how the inside of the hollow tree trunk was different, somehow.
The smell had changed, going from a humid burning to a fresh chill.
The light followed a similar pattern, a warm yellow was now a cool, pale blue.
They crawled out of the now-smaller hole, squinting through the white light that reflected off the snow.
"What the hell?" Fabian touched the frozen ground, it melting slightly. Their fingers turned bright red as they caught up with the temperature of the new climate.
There's no way I hallucinated an entire desert. They put a hand to their head. What about the crabs, and the bag, and the hammer?
They ducked down, peering back into the hollow trunk. There, propped up against the inner wall, was the hammer they had dug up. Next to it sat the bag they'd fought so hard for, filled with the coins of their victory.
They slung the bag across their chest, the black fabric blending with that of their t-shirt, and pulled the hammer out.
Whether they'd hallucinated it or not, they decided to keep the hammer, just in case.
They breathed a deep breath, taking a few steps forward, their eyes scanning their environment.
Giant pine trees, spaced a fair distance apart, covered as far as the eye could see. They caught large amounts of heavy snow, leaving the gaps to be blanketed with the leftovers. There was no other foliage in sight, as it had been covered by the snow, no doubt.
The ground was a frozen tundra, and the snow had made it difficult to determine whether or not it was safe to walk on. The only truly safe ground was that below the trees, which had been left untouched by the freezing weather.
Instead of making them worried, the sudden change of place had left Fabian incredibly angry.
They gritted their teeth tightly, scowling at the world. "I could've dealt with the stupid desert, but no. I had to somehow be put here. In this cold- Ugh."
"Stupid snow." They violently tried to kick the snow out of their path, the random direction they'd picked, but it barely moved.
It wasn't long before they started to shiver. Their arms wrapped around their chest, and their hands were tucked into their armpits, as they desperately tried to stay warm.
They screamed loudly, shouting obscenities at the trees, snow, and anything in sight. Their rage was probably the only reason they hadn't completely frozen.
But, they trudged on, the bottom of their jeans soaked with partially melted snow. Their shoes in a similar state, soggy all the way through, water slowly absorbing into their socks.
Fabian quickly reached a clearing where the snow was slightly thinner, in comparison to the previous masses.
Tiny shrubs had pushed their way through, fueled by the miserable amount of sun. They added colour to the bland biome, in the form of yellows, teals, and pinks.
In the middle of the clearing, laid on top of the shrubbery, was a black insulated jacket, lined with fleece.
There was no one in sight, no one who could've left it, and it seemed like the only chance Fabian had of surviving.
They walked over, trying not to use up their, already lacking, energy. They weaved through the shrubs, the sharp branches scratching at the fabric of their jeans, threatening to rip them if Fabian wasn't careful.
As they reached out to pick the jacket up, their reddened fingers burning from the frigid air, a sudden noise stopped them in their tracks.
Crack.
Fabian quietly looked down, using their shoe to gently brush some of the snow out of the way.
Below them was a vast shelf of foggy ice, underneath which was a body of deep blue water. Darker shadows flitted around in the water, tracing the lines in the splitting layer of ice.
"I am not doing this again." Fabian scrunched their face into an angry glare, deciding what exactly to do. But, that said, they weren't really one for thinking about their actions.
From what they could see, the shrubs were growing in the ice, like it was substrate, each having a single root that extended into the water.
If they could clear the shrubland, they would clear the ice, and aboid being pulled into the depths by whatever abomination inhabited them.
One hand carefully grabbed the jacket, the other held the hammer tightly.
They didn't plan on sticking around, or moving slowly. So, the only good option was to run. Fast.
Running to the left seemed like the best way, as it was a shorter distance, but the brush was much thicker, meaning it would be difficult to get through quickly.
The right was further away, but thinner; the better route of the two, since they couldn't go back, and they definitely wouldn't make it if they tried to go forwards.
Crack, the ice splintered even louder than before, echoing through the open air.
Fabian took a deep breath, taking a single moment to prepare, before running like he never had before.
Fabian got over halfway to the other side, before throwing their hammer and coat safely onto the snowy bank.
The ice cracked further underneath their feet, splintering into assorted sizes, starting to push itself apart. Some shards started sinking into the water, others pushed their way onto the banks, crashing and scraping across the frozen ground.
They almost made it.
Almost.
Fabian's foot slipped, plunging into the freezing water. The momentum carried the rest of their body in, pulling their head under. The shifting ice slid over, making it impossible to resurface.
They desperately struggled, their numb hands trying to slide the ice out of the way, even if just long enough for them to take another gasp of air. Their legs kicked wildly, despite the coldwater shock, hoping it'd be enough to keep them afloat, just until they could escape.
With all the strength they could muster, they punched at the ice, splitting it just enough to push apart. They reappeared from the water, taking a deep breath, their body shivering as it clashed with the cold air. "Aha."
But, their celebration was far too premature. The little tracing shadows rose up, wrapping around their legs, extending up their torso, and pulling them back down, under the now crashing waves.
Fabian tried to pull them off, to swim back to the surface, to do anything to escape, but the shadows wrapped further around their body, up their arms, continuing to pull them down.
Quickly, it became obvious that the little shadows were tentacles, attached to a much larger squid-like beast. And they were pulling Fabian towards the mouth - a giant, piercing beak, hidden in the midst of the extremities.
A giant eye domed outwardly, clashing with the murky green skin of the creature. It had a soulless pupil, thinned like a goat's, a hunger glowing in them, like nothing they'd seen before.
The tentacles constricted suffocatingly tighter around Fabian's torso as they were pulled closer, ensuring they wouldn't escape before they were able to be devoured.
Out of seemingly nowhere, a gigantic whale snatched the squid from the bottom of the depths, kicking up bunches of sand and flora.
The panicked squid released Fabian, its only goal now was to escape the jaws of the enormous whale. It clung tightly around the whale's skull, constricting as much as its weakening muscles could manage. But, eventually, its body gave out, and was swallowed down by the whale, as it disappeared into the deeper water.
The waves, from the battle of the beasts, knocked Fabian further into the deep, smacking their head on the mass of rocks that were splayed across the ground.
They tried to swim back up, a trail of blood seeping from their forehead, but they were too weak. The unconsciousness took them faster than they'd expected, and everything faded to black as their body drifted through the water.
"F-" Their last remaining breath left their lips as they began floating downwards, straight back to the place they'd tried so hard to escape, leaving the world guessing at what could've been their last word.
...
Beep. Beep. Beep.
"What on Earth is going on?" One of Fabian's moms called out as she made her way into the kitchen, shortly followed by their other mom. Smoke was floating through the air, setting off the fire alarms, which had woken both of them up.
When they got to the dining table, it was covered in plates filled with pancakes, cups of orange juice, a badly made jug of coffee, and burnt toast. Syrup was dripped across the tablecloth, and some of the butter, too. There were even some garden weeds that had been picked and tucked into a vase, placed in, roughly, the middle of the table.
The two shocked mothers stood in surprise for a minute, before Fabian appeared from around the corner, holding a little pot of strawberry jam.
Fabian stood for a moment, just looking at them, gauging their reactions. Their little face was covered with food smears, including a patch of flour across their forehead. "I-I wanted to say sorry. For running away."
They walked over to the table, tiptoeing to put the jam next to one of the plates. "Also, thank you."
Their first mom leaned down, pulling them into a tight hug. Their second mom, after turning the stove off, joined the hug.
"Thank you so much, Fabian." Their mom smiled widely. "This looks delicious."
Their other mom nodded along, "Shall we eat, then tidy up together?"
Fabian grinned proudly, climbing into one of the chairs between them both. "Yeah!"
...
Fabian launched up into a sitting position, patting their chest and gasping away, as the feeling of drowning hadn't quite yet subsided. "I'm alive? I'm alive!"
Their clothes were completely dry, apart from where they were sitting in the snow, and their skin prickled, like it had only just started to chill. It was almost like they'd just been placed there, to relive the sensations.
They patted their face, checking their hands, when they noticed a black, oval marking. It started to fade across the top, stopping when it reached a third of the way. "What the hell?!"
But, they were quickly distracted by more urgent matters.
A glance around revealed that Fabian was still in the frozen forest, next to the icy lake. A few steps away was their hammer and the jacket they'd thrown, prior to their journey to the depths.
They stood up, rushing over to their gear, and suddenly realised that the bag was missing; it wasn't across their chest or piled with the jacket.
A quiet splash drew their attention as the bag resurfaced in the water, floating close to the shore line.
Fabian hastily fished it out with the hammer, pulling it close enough to grab, as they dared not to enter the water again.
Whether it was a dream or not, I'm definitely not chancing it.
A glint in the water caught Fabian's eye, causing them both to widen with shock as they realised what they were looking at.
Their body, deep in the water, faded away, like it had never been there to start with, leaving them with more questions than answers. But, it left them with one certainty.
"I really
died."
)
