GUILT (OMORI AU) BLOOD/EMETOPHOBIA WARNING

Chapter 17: Where to go

Sunny slowly opened his eyes. He had forgotten he slept over at Basil's. He sat up, and unsurprisingly, he was the last person awake. Everyone else must already be doing whatever. His friends knew that he was a heavy sleeper... So it was fine. He stretched his arms, when something caught his eye. Beside his air mattress was a maple leaf with two blueberries on it, and a note with messy handwriting written with a green marker.

I was out hunting last night, and you were right. There were a lot of mice. On my way back I found a pretty leaf and a blueberry bush in someone's garden. I couldn't get much since I was carrying a few mice but I hope you like it.

-Scarlet

PS: If you're wondering how I wrote this, just a reminder that I can manipulate my body. The way I opened the door? Same way how I held the marker. It's pretty cool, huh?

Sunny smiled to himself. He curiously popped a blueberry in his mouth. It was sweet, and it wasn't too bad. He had forgotten what blueberries tasted like. He ate the other blueberry as he got up from the bed. He took the leaf and note, leaving it under his pillow. He surprisingly still had his bag of clothes. Since all he was wearing was a grey tank top and boxers, he thought he'd have to put on an actual outfit. He dug through his bag and pulled out a black sweater and dark blue jeans. Once he was dressed he headed for the bathroom to do his daily routine. He looked in the mirror. For the first time in a few days, he looked mostly normal. Aside from a scar on the top of his nose and a small chunk taken out of his ear (how did that happen?) he was simply looking at himself. He still had to wonder though. Despite still having a scar, how did he get his eye back? Then he realized that the injuries he got from yesterday had already healed as if they happened months ago. What if that allowed him to get his eye back? The strange thing was that the eye was red, unlike his other eye. For some reason it stayed that way. It was interesting. He then took care of himself, and brushed his hair. Jeez. His hair was getting close to his shoulders. He saw a rubber band by the sink that had a small plastic flower adorned on it. It was Basil's. He was sure he wouldn't mind letting him borrow it until he got a haircut. He hadn't been allowed to be around sharp objects for a long time after he left the hospital. He still didn't fully trust himself. He might mess it up anyway.

Sunny walked out of the bathroom, hearing a commotion from the living room. He curiously poked his head into the room to see what was going on. Kel, Hero, Basil, and Aubrey were playing a card game. It looked like Uno. He had a feeling the yelling had been coming from Kel and Aubrey, as they were both competitive in any game they played. Basil had one card left and was sweating nervously as Kel and Aubrey bickered back and forth. Hero finally saw Sunny, waving and ushering him to join them. Sunny slowly walked over.

"Oh, good morning Sunny." Aubrey said, as if she wasn't screaming at Kel previously.

"Actually its 1PM. So, good afternoon." Kel glared at Aubrey.

"Why does it matter? He's awake that's all that we should care about." Aubrey looked at him.

They began to bicker again, and the game was going nowhere. Hero had a hand on his face, while Basil just sat their, hunched over, in silence. The poor boy was so nervous that he was basically sinking to the floor. He didn't like it when people argued, especially in games. And since he had one card left, he was the main target. Sunny sat on the couch, as the others were sitting on the floor in front of Basil's TV. He yawned as he watched the chaos unfold.

"Bro its about to be lunch like, its not the morning anymore."

"DUDE I SAID IT DOESN'T MATTER WHAT TIME IT IS RIGHT NOW."

"Okay. Well. I saw your cards."

"No you didn't dont lie to me."

"You have two re-" Aubrey put a hand over Kel's mouth, glaring at him. Kel then bit down on her hand and she moved it back.

"Shit! That fucking hurt. You really are a mutt." Aubrey rubbed her hand. Thankfully no blood was drawn.

"U-Uhm can we just s-stop playing now?" Basil squeaked.

"Yeah... Let's do something relaxing. Please." Hero sighed, putting his cards in the middle of the carpet. The others did the same and Basil returned the cards to their box, putting it on the TV stand.

"What now?" Kel asked.

"What if we try to have a proper picnic?" Basil's eyes lit up with excitement.

"Although I wouldn't normally mind that, remember that half of the town square was destroyed. That includes areas of the park. I don't think its exactly safe to go there right now..." Hero frowned.

"What... even happened yesterday?" Sunny asked softly.

Basil laughed nervously, holding one hand on his forehead. "Ahaha um, a lot."

"Yeah, Basil I literally dont know what happened yesterday until I heard a bunch of noises down the street and realized that you and that thing were having a whole monster fight." Aubrey narrowed her eyes. "What actually happened yesterday?"

"Technically... I don't know all the details. I don't know how or why the beast took control of Sunny right then and there."

Sunny then remembered the events that happened beforehand. He remembered the tape.

"Kel found an old tape from five years ago... I started to feel guilty about what happened to Mari, and I just remember being unable to move. Then I just, passed out I guess." Sunny's voice was hushed, more than usual. But they all could still hear him.

"I'm sorry if I triggered you man.." Kel frowned.

"No, its okay Kel.."

"If you want to know what really happened.. I know the bulk of it." Basil said, sighing. He began to explain the fight, and the situation with Kel and Hero's house. He hesitated as he mentioned that he had to bring Kel back to life, immediately causing a reaction from his brother.

"HE WHAT??!" Hero gasped. "IS HE OKAY??"

"Dude, chill. I'm right here."

"HE'S A DOG NOW!! THAT'S WHAT I MEAN!!" Hero threw his arms in the air.

Basil sighed. "There was literally no way I could have saved him without doing what I did. He was already dead when I found him. If he was still alive then he would be perfectly normal. But like I said, he wasn't alive.... Kel, you did a really good job protecting Sally.. She barely got hurt."

"Really? How come she didn't, y'know, die too?"

"You must have been holding her when the rubble fell over you. She wasn't in the way of it, so she was fine, aside from having a few cuts from debris. You... had an arm wrapped around her."

Kel rubbed the back of his head nervously. "Jeez.. If you weren't there we both probably would have been dead.."

"You shouldn't have even gone into the house in the first place, Kel." Hero glared.

"I couldn't just let her suffer like that! And.. I wanted to prove that I could do something great for once."

"What do you mean?"

"You know how mom and dad almost never trust me with anything and expect the worst, yet you're their special child? I wanted to prove to them that I'm worthy of that title too. Yet they still haven't checked on me since last night.." Kel huffed. "You guys seem more concerned about me being a weird dog monster than the fact I died trying to save my own sister."

Sunny was surprised at the maturity Kel had in that moment. He knew that Kel wasn't truly dumb. He was a bit airheaded, and sometimes had his head too far in the clouds, but he wasn't stupid. He wanted to do good things for himself. He felt that he didn't matter enough. So he risked his life just so his sibling could live. He couldn't help but feel bad, looking down at his lap.

"Kel.. I'm sorry I-" Hero sighed. "I understand how it can feel. I've never liked how mom and dad treat you, but whenever I brought it up they claimed that they loved us equally. But when I first came back from college to visit a few months ago, before Sunny moved, they seemed to pay more attention to Sally than you. And once I was there, they wouldn't leave me alone."

Aubrey frowned. She felt bad for yelling at him earlier. She didn't realize his reasons for risking his life. He put his life on the line. So people would love him more. She strangely felt similarly. She could never prove to her mother that she was more than a burden. An accident. She didn't truly hate Kel. Most of the time their arguments were playful and lighthearted, but sometimes they just didn't get along. And that was fine. She just felt bad for pushing him in that moment, without realizing how he was feeling.

Sunny stood up, the others looking at him. "I have an idea of where we should go."

"Are you sure? We shouldn't get close to the town square.." Basil chewed on one of his fingernails.

"I'm sure. It's fine." Sunny smiled gently. "It'll help bring us together."

"So where is it?" Aubrey questioned, cracking her knuckles. Basil winced at the noises made when she did so.

"I'll just lead you all there. We've... been there plenty of times in the past."

The others looked at him in confusion. But this was Sunny. They had to trust him. And he only had a limited amount of time in Faraway. Most of that time had already been spent overcoming trauma and literally turning into a giant beast. He wanted to wind down. So did the others.

"Let's go." Sunny headed for the door.



AUTHOR'S NOTE:

I'm really enjoying writing this. But I think it would make sense to end it soon, since the main problem is over with. Of course I can have an alternative ending like a bunch of other fanfictions do, but for now, i'll let the story slowly close in the next few chapters. Thank you for reading.