Derailing Into the Nightmare Called Reality

The little burgundy-haired boy continued to weep, tears streaming down his flushed cheeks and staining his white pillow. He tried to suppress his sobs, a curled fist rubbing his eyes and the other squeezing a teddy bear.

Across from his bed was another one like his but pink. A young girl stared at his quivering back, her crimson eyes watching him in concern. She frowned and slid off her bed, carrying her own teddy bear.

“Charlie, it’s not your fault,” whispered the girl. “You didn’t know that dogs can’t eat chocolate.”

The boy sniffled. “I’m so stupid,” he croaked. “I’m so stupid—That’s why we lost Daisy.”

She knitted her brows, her own eyes welling up. “You just wanted her to celebrate our birthday with us. You just wanted to share our birthday cake. You—we didn’t know any better. It’s... it’s not your—”

“It is my fault, Cherry!” he squeaked. “Our only friend is gone!”

He bawled and hiccupped through his words. “I know Daisy was just a dog, but she was our only friend who stayed with us the longest!”

Cherry squeezed her teddy bear, its fluffy head catching her tears. “If... if only Mom stops moving houses... if only Mom lets us stay in one place, then we wouldn’t lose so many friends,” she muttered.

“Why does Mom keep moving houses anyway?” he mumbled. “We’re not that poor, are we?”

“Mom says it’s to protect our identities."

He sat up and wiped his tears. “Is that why we can’t have friends?” he asked. “Is it because we’re vampires? Is it because we’re the bad guys? Is that why?”

She lowered her head, and he did the same. The siblings continued to mourn, their guilt flooding their moonlit bedroom.

Not only did they have to grieve for their loss, but the fact they had lost another friend served as a reminder—a reminder that they belonged to a species that spread death.

It was awful. It was heart-wrenching. The loneliness was suffocating. Why couldn’t they at least be born hybrids that didn’t need blood all the time? That way, the burden of carrying such secrets wouldn’t hinder their social lives so much.

Fate was cruel, and the young twins began to acknowledge and despise that fact.

Cherry wiped her tears and steadied her breaths. She gazed around their bedroom and spotted their box of toys. She approached it and pulled out a snow globe. She pressed on a switch, and a musical chime began to play, the snowflakes inside glowing blue.

Cherry eased her shoulders, and Charlie steadied his breaths as the twins' ears picked up a melodic tune that always soothed their troubled hearts.

She placed the snow globe on top of a drawer and crawled into his bed. She slid under his bedsheets and wrapped her arms around him, squeezing the teddy bears between them.

“From now on, let’s stick together,” she whispered. “If everyone keeps leaving us, if we can’t make friends, then we’re just left with each other.”

Charlie paused, slowly returning the hug as he started another round of tears. “We’re already growing up together though.”

“I meant never separating even if we’ve grown up—That kind of together.” Cherry smiled and broke off their hug. “We’re twins. Only we can look out for each other, so let’s stay together our whole lives.”

Charlie wiped his tears. “Do you mean that?” he asked. “You won’t leave me?”

She raised a pinky finger. “I mean it. We’ll be together forever. Just the two of us. Pinky promise.”

Charlie softened his gaze, his eyes gleaming with hope. He raised his pinky finger and entwined it with hers.

✦☆✦

Cherry’s lifeless eyes continued to stare at the fake stars in the Galactic Stage.

As for Charlie, he couldn't stop screaming.

His dry, raspy throat scorched out the remaining air in his lungs. His raw, guttural screams gradually deflated into pathetic squeaks as he squeezed his sister’s body.

His thoughts, his questions, his rationale—everything in his mind got shredded out of existence. It was as if his very sanity had died along with Cherry.

His sister died. The one who promised to stay by his side died.

Gone. Right before his eyes. Hell, he couldn’t even properly see her through his watery gaze.

Right, this felt like hell…

Something blazed inside of him. As he hyperventilated, as his chest throbbed, and as he shed hot tears, something ignited, boiling his veins and coursing through his limbs like a spark trailing a detonating cord.

He could feel it—his heart wanted to scream too.

So be it. Burn. Burn it all.

Curse them. Curse the stars and the gods above! He would burn them all down! Burn! Burn them all down!

With one last cry, Charlie hugged his sister tightly as shadowy, scarlet flames burst from his body.

It’s alright, Cherry. I’ll be right by your side in a moment.

✦☆✦

Eloi snapped out of their daze once Charlie combusted on stage with black and red flames. Explosions rang across the walls as waves of fire consumed the chairs and curtains.

“Oi! What the hell?!” they hollered. “What’s happening?! Hey, Charlie! What did you do?! Say something, damn it!”

Even while calling out his name, only the roaring crackles responded.

Eloi cursed under their breath and turned to Theodore, who remained motionless as if his soul had also died on the spot. They stomped over toward him, snatched him up by the collar, and slapped him repeatedly. “Oi! Snap the hell out of—”

Without warning, a hand struck the nape of their neck, and Eoi collapsed on the spot.

With blank eyes, Theodore slowly turned to the new arrival. Standing before Penelope’s body was a brown-haired young lady with a pair of sunflowers pinned on each side of her head, her face entirely concealed by an expressionless, pure white mask, the eye holes flashing brilliant crimson.

Steadily stepping out of the shadows next was the fourth sibling, his gaze locked onto the stage and at Horace. He turned to Theodore next and curved a frown of concern.

“You alright there?” Clover asked.

Theodore didn’t bother to twitch a muscle. His forlorn eyes displayed it all: a weight of guilt, regret, and despair so incredibly heavy that it numbed his senses. Like thick chains binding him in place, the culprit remained on his knees as if he was trying to repent, wishing to undo his actions, wishing to turn back time. It was as if his crushing heart sapped away his ability to think and breathe.

Ah, Clover knew that feeling all too well, being forever tainted after merely one, split-second blunder that can never be reverted no matter how much one could pray for. He sighed and raised an arm, radiating red wisps at his fingertips. “I get you,” he murmured. “It’s alright, Brother. I’ll get rid of your pain as well. Let’s all go to our new home together.”

Dorothy’s mask sparked, and with a twitch, she turned to Theodore and swiftly dashed behind his back. With one, clean smack on the back of his neck, he collapsed with a weak grunt and went limp. While she raised him and hung an arm over her shoulders, Clover approached Penelope’s body and carried her up.

He turned to the remaining bystander, who continued to spectate the flames burning the stage and the twins. Horace slowly looked over his shoulders, and with a bone-chilling gaze cold enough to extinguish all the flames, he simply said, “Go.”

Clover nodded and rushed toward the nearest exit followed by Dorothy.

Horace took one last glance toward the stage and at the twins’ unmoving silhouettes, and with a slow inhale of the scorching, suffocatingly sorrowful air, he raised his crimson pocket watch and snapped it shut.