Be Your Own Hero

What Does Loneliness Look Like?

It was some hours later reaching on the peak of night and everyone was asleep except for the insomniac hero.

Jackie still wasn't sure Sean had done the right thing. And really he wasn't sure if he had done any good either. Anti was right after all. Dark had always been manipulative and had always had it out for Mark. Anti could have been telling the truth this time and really didn't know what he was getting into.

Then again Anti had done some messed up shit in the past . . .

He sighed to himself sitting propped up on his bed in deep thought.

'What's the void like anyways?' He thought, 'Is it really as scary as Anti looked before he was sent there?'

If so, the hero started to feel worse by the second. The more he was left to his thoughts, the more he was slowly convinced Anti was tricked.

'Maybe . . . . ' closing his eyes for a moment with a deep sigh, Jackie forced himself out of bed.

Not bothering with his mask, he slipped on a shirt and sweatpants and left his room.

'Maybe it wouldn't hurt to just check up on him?' he went to Marvin's door and knocked a few times, waiting for the dramatic magician to open the door and scold him.

Just as predicted, Marvin whipped the door open, "Do you have any idea what time it is?"

Jackie smirked, "Two in the morning. Not important. I was just wondering . .  ."

"About Anti?"

". . .Yeah."

He sighed, "Don't worry about him, Jackie. If anything, Anti's annoyed he can't watch TV there. I'm sure he's fine."

"How do you know for sure?"

"Hm?"

"I mean" Jackie bit his lip, "Have you been there yourself? What if Anti really was telling the truth this time?"

Marvin took a moment before take a deep breathe, "I've seen it but I've never been in it before. And so what if Anti was innocent this time? He needs to learn-"

"But is this really fair?" the hero interjected, "He looked so scared right before. What if .  .  . what if we really hurt him by sending him there without his abilities?"

"I mean I guess. . . . " Marvin scratched at his light scruff, "Come on in, " he sighed, "We can check up on him if you're really curious, I guess"

Jackie perked up and walked in the room with him.

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Anti didn't know how long it had been. Had it been hours? Days? Weeks? There was no way to tell! He was losing whatever little sanity he had left!

'Tick tok' he felt those words lightly sing in his head, 'Tick tok, tick tok' the words repeated.

Time slowly ticked by but did it really? Everything was so still. So quiet and dark like pitch black tar. He almost felt as if he were drowning or being swallowed whole by something of greater power. He had no control.

Tears stained his cheek but he could no longer feel it. He thought he was laying on the ground but then again it was hard to tell. Where was the floor? Anti shook and tried crying out again but his throat was so sore and raw. 

He had screamed and shouted for too long, he could barely make a sound. The only thing he could feel was himself shaking.

The only thing he could hear was his own thoughts if barely at all.