A Shipwreck ~ A Aphmau Ship-Based book!

Chapter 4

Kawaii~Chan's POV (She's going to think in 1st person for the most part)

There was darkness, and then there wasn't.

Kawaii~Chan couldn't tell where she was. She wasn't in the main dreamland she had been moments ago—that was where she had been, right?—but instead somewhere new. Somewhere dark and hazy and hard to focus in. He knew this place. It must have been the back of Jess's mind. But why was he...?

  "Nana..."

KC stiffened at the voice. "Zane?" She called. "Where are you?"

  "Nana...! Let me out!"

Everything felt cold, like Kawaii~Chan had suddenly been dipped in ice. Let him out? Was he...? But she hadn't put him back in there. Had one of the others? Why would they have—?!

  "Kawaii~Chan please!" Zane screamed. KC ran forward, towards where she thought the voice was coming from. It only took her a moment to find the wall.

  "Zane~Kun?" Kawaii~Chan called, pressing her hands against the wall. It was hard to see her wall, as it was hard to see anything in the back of the mind. It was a symbolic wall more than anything, anyway. She had one, Aaron had one, and Aphmau had one. Three walls, keeping him inside. But Zane wasn't supposed to be in there. "Zane~Kun, are you there?"

A sob was his reply. Kawaii~Chan felt like she'd just been stabbed. She hadn't heard Zane cry since they were children, in a situation just like this. How did he get back in there? Surely Aaron or Aphmau hadn't been so cruel? They had been getting better, all of them. They were getting along. Why would they...

  "Nana," Zane whispered. It was hard to hear behind the wall, and Nana had to press her ear against it to hear. "I don't like this."

His voice was so small, it broken her heart. "Zane, I'm so sorry. Who put you in here?"

  "You did."

Kawaii~Chan frowned. "What? No, I didn't."

  "Yes, you did. Did you already forget?" The tremor in Zane's voice made KC shiver. "Did twenty years already make you forget?"

No. No, of course it hadn't. KC could still remember, clear as day. She hadn't thought about it in years, tried to think about it as little as possible, but every detail was still in place. It made her stomach twist into knots.

  "I don't like it in here," Zane said, pulling Kawaii~Chan back out of her thoughts. "It's dark and lonely. Why did you put me here?"

Kawaii~Chan shook her head rapidly. "Kawaii~Chan is going to get you out of there, Zane~Kun."

  "No, you're going to leave me here, just like before."

  "I swear to you I'm not. I wouldn't leave you here."

For a long moment there was no reply, and Kawaii~Chan worried that something happened to Zane. Did he leave? Did he get caught? Kawaii~Chan wasn't sure what exactly went on behind the walls, and she didn't know what could have happened to Zane, if anything happened at all. Finally, there was a quiet reply, though, as Zane said, "...Really?"

Kawaii~Chan smiled despite herself. Even after all this time, did Zane really need reassurance that she was telling the truth? "Yes, really. Kawaii~Chan is going to let down the wall now, so be ready to come out, okay?"

Kawaii~Chan took a slow breath and then lifted the wall. She saw someone scramble out and she quickly dropped the wall back into place. She turned to see Zane on the ground, breathing heavily and shaking. It broke Kawaii~Chan's heart. She didn't want Zane to have to go in there again. She didn't even know what happened to put him there.

  "Zane~Kun," Kawaii~Chan said softly as she approached. "It's okay. Zane~Kun's out now. He's safe."

  "I didn't want to be in there," Zane whispered. He didn't look up, nor did he stop shaking. Kawaii~Chan hadn't seen Zane in such a state in a long time.

  "I know, Zane~Kun. I'm so sorry. How did you even get in there?"

Zane didn't answer her question, instead saying, "It was so dark in there. I thought you would leave me there forever... I thought I would die there."

Kawaii~Chan's emotions swelled and she moved forward to wrap Zane up in a tight hug. She knew that Zane liked his personal space, and wasn't one for hugging, but she couldn't help it. She hated seeing Zane so upset and shaken.

Zane stiffened, uneasy for a moment, before he slowly hugged Kawaii~Chanback. Kawaii~Chan could have cried with joy. She hated the circumstances, and she was still confused about everything, but Zane had returned her hug. It left her feeling emotional. She ran her hand through Zane's hair and hugged him tightly. Zane responded in part by hugging tightly as well. He shook in Kawaii~Chan's arms and buried his face in the crook of Kawaii~Chan's neck. It was nice, for a brief moment.

Kawaii~Chan didn't notice Zane's form fade away, replaced by a different shadowy figure with long black nails and darkness dripping off of his body. "I'm so glad that you're okay," Kawaii~Chan whispered.

The figure's nails dug into Kawaii~Chan's back. "Liar," he growled.

Kawaii~Chan 's heart seized and she tried to push away, but her wrists were caught before she could scramble to her feet, and instead she was pulled closer again. Kawaii~Chan's heart pounded as she stared into those black eyes and felt icy hands squeeze around her wrists.

  "Thank you for opening your wall," the figure said. "I needed all three down to get out."

  "What happened to you?" Kawaii~Chan whispered, tears sprouting in her eyes.

  "Loneliness happened to me," he replied. His voice was dark like the shadows clinging to his body, and he stared without blinking. Kawaii~Chan felt cold, and she felt icy water beneath her as it filled the floor, like someone left a faucet running. It took her a moment to realize that the water was pouring from the person in front of him. "Twenty agonizing years. Introspection can go a long way." Kawaii~Chan's jaw trembled and more tears sprouted in the corners of her eyes. She was afraid, and her captor noticed. "Come now Kawaii~Chan. It's time to get what you deserve."

  "Please..." Kawaii~Chan swallowed and tried to speak again without her voice cracking. "Please, don't do this. We...We didn't..."

He tilted his head. Those eyes weren't blinking and Kawaii~Chan couldn't look away. "What? You didn't want to do it? You didn't mean to hurt me? What other excuse are you going to give me, Kawaii~Chan? Because you did hurt me." He squeezed Kawaii~Chan's wrists tighter, his nails pressing sharply against Kawaii~Chan's skin. "And you never even came back. Unless it was for him."

A sob shook Kawaii~Chan's shoulders. "Please...!"

"No." The water was higher now, up to Kawaii~Chan's chest. Her captor didn't even look wet. "You don't get to cry your way out of this."

The water surged, pulling Kawaii~Chan under. The hands slipped from her wrists and Kawaii~Chan sunk into the darkness.