GUILT (OMORI AU) BLOOD/EMETOPHOBIA WARNING

Chapter 18: Home

Sunny and his friends began to walk down the street, seeing the destruction in the distance. Sunny had a pit in his stomach as they came closer to it. He then heard Aubrey snort.

"I still cant get over you petting that thing, Basil."

"Well.... it is a giant cat. And maybe it does want another chance."

Sunny remained quiet. He wasn't sure if his friends knew about Scarlet yet. But he kept it to himself as he walked closer to Hero and Kel's house. The group stopped to stare at the mess. Hero had a bitter look on his face, and Kel tried to look away, but kept his eyes glued to it. He slowly stepped foreword.

"Hey wait Kel- It could be dangerous." Aubrey warned.

"I just want to find something I forgot about last night..."

Kel climbed up the rubble, returning to the place Basil had found him and his sister. He jumped down, stomping on the floor beneath him as he did so. He then began to look around. What was he looking for again? Right, one of Sally's toys.

"Kel um, Sunny wanted to take us somewhere.. Maybe we should go?"

"Hold on!" Kel finally found what he was looking for. But he paused as he stared at it.

There was a stuffed dog, that Sally commonly cuddled with. But in the crevice that it laid in, was a strange substance. Kel inched closer, moving a rock and gasping, quickly moving back. His eyes were wide. He couldn't speak, or move. He had never felt this scared before.

"Are you okay...? Kel..?" Sunny asked with a worried tone.

Kel didn't respond. Instead, he lifted the rock again. The stuffed dog had a cheerful smile on its face, and had yellow fur and brown eyes. But despite it's friendly appearance, a reddish-brown stain was across half of it's body that had been covered by the rock, and one of its arms had been ripped off, stuffing laying beside it. The stuffing had a similar tinge of red to it. The stuffed dog rested over a dark red substance, which had a mix of brown hair, and bugs that landed over it, buzzing and dipping their heads into it. Kel was focused on one thing, however. Beside where the bulk of the hair laid was a small, off-white object with a sharp end, which had broken into a few pieces. It too had a coat of red. This is where Kel was when Basil found him. Kel had been crushed by the rubble and inner parts of the house, but his head took the most trauma. He knew that his skull cracked but.. he didn't know it was that bad... He was staring at parts of him. His hair. His blood. His bone. It made him sick. He couldn't bring the dog back to Sally like this... and he didn't want to pick it up at all, considering the aging blood and the insects that had landed on it. He stepped back, the rock covering the area once more.

"I couldn't find it, haha." Kel climbed the rubble and leapt over to the other side. He had a small smile on his face. Nobody else questioned it, but Sunny knew something was wrong.

"What were you even looking for?" Basil asked.

"One of Sally's toys. I guess it just got lost." Kel shrugged. "Now lead the way Sunny!!"

Sunny nodded hesitantly, beginning to walk again. But that's when the others realized... He was walking back to his old house.

"Bro what are you doing?" said Aubrey as she picked at her cuticles. One of her fingers started to bleed.

Sunny ignored her. The house was still vacant despite having a for sale sign. He wasn't sure what happened to the new owners, or if they even had come here at all, but he knew that the door was unlocked. So he turned the doorknob, and looked into his old home. The room was dark, and bare. The stained carpet had been thrown away. The fireplace had been gutted of wood and ash. Photos that once hung on the wall had been taken down, small cracks placed where there once were nails and hooks. The wallpaper was paler behind where some of the photos once were.

"Isn't this like, breaking and entering?? Sunny, why are we here?" Hero said, refusing to go inside. The others stayed behind him, Sunny already in the doorway.

"The owners aren't here yet. If we leave quickly.. its fine." Sunny mumbled, walking to the kitchen. Aubrey, Kel and Hero stayed outside while Basil nervously followed him.

"S-Sunny you cant just do this? What if we're caught?"

"We wont be."

"You don't know that!"

Sunny glared at Basil, and he flinched. He had never seen Sunny so irritated before. Why was he acting like this all of the sudden. Sunny turned away and opened the fridge that had been left. The light didn't turn on as the door opened. He looked inside, seeing nothing. Unsurprisingly. He then went to the sink, trying to see if the water would turn on. It also didn't work.

"Sunny um.. I don't think any appliances are going to work-"

"I know." Sunny butted in, walking out of the kitchen and into the hallway.

He stared at the room intently. The stairs were right in front of him. He slowly began to walk upstairs. Basil stayed at the bottom... nervously playing with his hair. Sunny looked out the window at the top of the steps, seeing the backyard below. The tree stump was still there. The pinwheel placed in the middle was also still there, but the color had faded and it was slightly bent. He turned around, looking down the stairs to look at Basil.

"Sunny.. What are you doing?"

Sunny stayed quiet, putting a hand on one of the banisters of the steps. He stared at the wood intently. Why... was he doing this? What was he doing? He just wanted to go to the treehouse with his friends, that was the real surprise, but why did he return to his old house? Basil started to walk up the steps, his eyes seemingly glowing in the dark.

"We should go.. It's not a good idea to be here.."

"I don't care."

"What's gotten into you? P-Please, lets just leave." Basil reached for Sunny's hand as he continued to walk, but Sunny harshly slapped his arm.

Basil was taken aback by this, losing his balance and nearly falling down the stairs. But he was able to hold onto the banisters with both hands, staring at Sunny in fear. Sunny then realized what he had done. He almost... pushed Basil down the stairs too. He blinked. Why was he acting like this? What was going on? Basil went down the steps and to the front door. Sunny stayed at the top of the steps, sighing. What had gotten into him... He ran a hand through his hair, but flinched as he did so. He lowered his hand, noticing that it had become a claw. In that moment, he realized that he truly hadn't gotten over Mari's death. He hadn't truly forgiven himself. That's why he was acting like this. He was thinking about being in this house, the four years he spent isolating and dreaming as his mind and body wasted away. He had Mari in his dreams to go to. She hugged him. She had picnics with him. She loved him. Just like the real Mari had. He didn't get it. Why wasn't he over it? He was angry at himself, clenching his fists.


Hey.. Calm down a bit will ya?