The music he was listening to cut out; intense laughter echoed through his ears. There was no reaction, for this happened multiple times after he turned off the television. Rather, he viewed it as an ambient melody stuck on loop.
Delving deeper into his mind, he ran through a forest which time lagged within. His footsteps never touched the ground, for the next frame showed him further down the path. Through trees he traveled, arriving at an expansive field with nothing but a well.
A voice could be heard, calling out to him. "DELTA! I'M SORRY DELTA!" The voice of Winter, trapped at the bottom of the well. He couldn't see the bottom, but resting in the bucket, swinging in sync with his heartbeat, was a lantern.
"I'll save you, Winter! I'll get you out of there!"
He climbed in the bucket, watching as a shadowed figure cranked the handle. "I'M SORRY, DELTA!"
"What are you sorry for?"
"FOR NEVER LOVING YOU."
"W-What are you saying, Winter? This is so sudden."
"I WON'T SAY IT AGAIN... NOT UNTIL YOU SAVE ME. I THINK I SAW ERI DOWN HERE DELTA!"
This was her, this had to be the real Winter. The bucket touched the bottom, bouncing against the stone surface. With a lantern in hand, he wandered in the only direction he could go. "Where are you Winter, I don't see you?"
"I'M FURTHER DOWN! YOU'RE NOT SCARED, ARE YOU? IF YOU ARE, GO GET NERA, SHE IS BRAVE ENOUGH."
"No! I want to save you, Winter!"
"GOOD. I WILL REWARD YOU FOR YOUR BRAVERY."
He swallowed hard, now controlled by an insatiable emotion. "I can't wait!"
Through the cracks he peeked; a cavern filled with crystals of many colors, and in the center, a small hut where Winter waved for him. He raced towards it, and emerged from the finish line. "Winter!" he shouted. She chuckled softly and raced inside the hut.
"I thought she was in danger?" he muttered to himself, as he crossed a decorated bridge. "I guess this was just her way of testing me."
Now entering the hut, petals of forgotten flowers created a breadcrumb trail. "How romantic." he joked. The trail stopped at a bedroom door, eagerly pulling open the door, he found nothing.
An empty bedroom, with no other room connected to it.
Before he could leave, a solid object swung into his skull. He fell to the floor, blood pouring from the newly opened gash. He saw her for merely a second before being struck again and again.
He tried crawling away, but most of his head was already pulverized.
"YOU IDIOT! WHY THE HELL WOULD I EVER LOVE YOU?"
He could hear the other children behind her, laughing at his misfortune and suffering. "DIE! DIE! DIE ALREADY!" He finally gave up, accepting the ongoing abuse until his life faded completely.
"Aaah!!!"
Winter walked towards him as he flailed around on the floor. "Delta? Are you-"
"Get away from me! I'll kill you!"
The other children rushed out of Nera's room. He picked up a vase, launching it towards her face. It missed only by a few centimeters, shattering against the wall. Realizing his situation, he fled in a panic. He raced out the door and into the woods.
"We should go after him!" Nera suggested.
"Yeah, I don't want to watch him die out there... especially alone." Winter commented. "He said he was going to die today. I tried to keep my eye on him, but I'm just too stupid!"
"This isn't your fault, Winter." Nester reassured. "We're all stressed out, but he must've been taking it the worst."
With flashlights in their hand, all the children headed into the forest...except for one. "I'll stay here, in case he returns."
"Are you sure, Winter? Don't you want to look for him?"
"It's just a slight feeling, but he might realize something and come back."
"Well... wish us luck then."
Nera and the others disappeared into the foggy night. "Nera, will we really find him?" Dud asked. "I don't want to be alone here. I don't want to watch everyone disappear without me."
"I won't leave you, Dud. That's a promise. You always were my little brother."
He wasn't so confident, but still walked on with her and the others. Each of them followed a blur of the other, uncertain about who was who.
─━━━━━━⊱✿⊰━━━━━━─
His movements were silent, and realizing the end was drawing near, his perfect plan was in motion. Delta crept back out of the woods, searching for a secret way into the orphanage. His target was finally alone.
"Winter." Her name played like a broken record inside his head. Irritated and unsatisfied, he shattered a nearby window, crawling through with ease. He was now inside Eri's bedroom.
Footsteps were approaching, and so he took the few seconds he had to hide, squeezing himself within the closet. "What in the..." Winter realized this was no longer a game; another one of her friends, almost family, was going to disappear from this world.
She feared the day when all would become extinct. "Where are you, Delta? I know you're in this orphanage!" She left the room, her entire mind focusing on surviving the twisted horror game.
Delta snickered, again and again, until he descended into pure mania. He was no longer in control of this disgusted sense of humor. An ego... no, a long repressed monster that lived inside him, now was no longer sleeping to the chaotic music he hoped to hear once more.
Winter grabbed a knife from the kitchen. She was afraid of becoming a monster herself, after what she planned to do. A thunderous roar flashed against the window, casting light on the lone silhouette. Spinning the chamber of the gun playfully, he casually walked towards the main entrance.
"Winter!" he shouted violently. "It's time for some fun!"
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