The Pain Inside

Chapter 9

When Kat came to herself, she was sitting on a bench. The area just in front of her was empty, but she recognized it. The last time she'd seen it, there'd been a statue there, or at least something that had looked a great deal like a statue at first. Now neither the statue nor the cloaked figure it had turned into were anywhere in sight, and neither was the younger version of Matt.

It was the first world that Kat had been to a second time, but at least it confirmed for her that his mind would eventually shift back to the worlds she'd already seen. She might not have been able to help him the first time, and she wasn't sure whether or not she'd be able to help him this time... But whether it was the second visit, or the third, or the fourth, or the hundredth, she wasn't going to give up. She'd follow his mind back and forth between these places forever if that's what it took until she figured out a way to save him.

She couldn't just wander around blind anymore though, she needed to think. She needed to come up with some kind of plan of action. And the first part of that was figuring out what this particular world was supposed to represent, what issue she had to help him deal with. The disfigurement of all the people she'd seen here before, the way Matt had been sitting alone with the statue, the things he'd said... This place had to represent his isolation, his loneliness, his difficulty connecting with people. He'd said he felt like a freak, that he hated the people here for being normal when he couldn't. So... Maybe she just had to show him that not being like everyone else wasn't necessarily a bad thing. That one of the things she'd loved most about him was that he wasn't like every other guy she'd known. That his uniqueness was part of what made him so amazing. So what if he didn't fit in with most people? Even if he didn't have a ton of friends... Those he did have appreciated how incredible a person he was. She appreciated how incredible he was, even if not everyone else automatically saw it on meeting him. If he felt lonely... She'd be glad to take him with her more often whenever she went to hang out with her other friends, in the future. Or to take him out to more parties, and make it her mission to single-handedly ensure he met a lot more people, even if it meant she'd have to fend off more girls once they started realizing what a catch he was. She'd do whatever she could, once she had him back in the real world and this place was just a memory. For now she just had to figure out a way to convince him that... So long as they could be together again, so long as she could see him open his eyes and hold him in her arms once more, he'd never have to feel lonely again. Because she'd be right there, by his side, for the rest of her life. He'd always have her, no matter what.

The statue, the cloaked figure, would be her biggest problem here. It had to be some kind of extension of Matt, designed to protect him. The last time she'd been here, it had only acted when she'd moved to touch him. It was also probably what was causing the disappearances people had talked about, she just wasn't quite sure why. She also wasn't quite sure how to stop it. She was certain even if she could find a weapon in this place, it probably wouldn't work against it.

For now though, she just had to try to find Matt, try to get through to him. At least now she had some idea of what she needed to say to him. It was only then, as she rose to her feet, that she noticed just how quiet the town was. It wasn't like it had been bustling with activity before, but now the place seemed half-dead. No sounds drifted to her from any direction, there were no scents on the breeze. If it weren't for that breeze, the feel of cool air blowing over her skin, she might be convinced that time was stopped, and she was the only thing living and moving in the world.

Picking out the street that had first led her here, Kat set off down it, heading for the playground. During her first time in this world, that had been the place with the most people; she remembered seeing somewhere around ten to twelve kids there. If she hoped to find someone, that was the best place for her to look. It didn't take her long to travel the couple blocks to reach it though, and when she did her footsteps faltered to a halt. The playground was empty, and not just empty but some of the equipment looked in serious disrepair, as if it had been years since it'd last been used.