Where Fluffy Bodies Lie
By @Za
Chapter Four:
Abdication
You are Smarty Strong Branch.
But did you deserve to be?
You walked along a small path, one you knew well. It led out to the edge of the woods, far beyond anything you knew. At least, that’s what your daddeh told you.
You hadn’t been out this way in several forevers. You used to go this way with your daddeh when you were little, and you’d talk. But now you were alone. You had no one to talk to, only your own thinkies. And the thinkies were bad.
Why were you a smarty? You couldn’t lead, not like your daddeh could. Your daddeh was the smartest, bravest fluffy you ever knew. Smarty No-See always knew what to say or do, despite his old age. Even Fast Hoofsie - no, Seether - usually meant well in his own roundabout way. Or you used to think so. Now you weren’t so certain. It didn’t matter anyway, they were forever sleepies.
Trees passed you by as you trudged onward. More than you could ever hope to count. Until one stood out. A smaller, thinner tree than the rest. You weren’t sure why, but you stopped. Maybe you’d just take a short rest and continue on.
You sat, nestling into the grass. And suddenly you felt less alone. It was comforting… in a way. Until you shifted around, getting comfortable, and felt a poke in the tummy.
“Owies!” you yelped, hopping back to your feet. You saw what had poked you: a small, shiny, pointy… something. With curious eyes, you searched around the grass and found several more similar pieces. They all appeared to be stained with boo-boo juice.
What were these?
A distant roaring interrupted your thoughts. It was a kind of growling you’d never heard before. It seemed to go on forever and ever, getting louder until eventually it pierced your ears. You jumped away, scurrying into a bush. You craned your neck towards the noise but didn’t see anything other than a blinding light. Then, the lights were gone and three figures stood in the middle of the path ahead.
Three humans you didn’t recognize in the darkies.
“You sure we went the right direction?” a voice whispered from the distance. It was a voice you felt close to, but couldn’t place.
“What’re ya whispering for?” another voice asked more loudly. “They’d have heard the truck before they heard us. And yeah I’m sure, I recognize that tree. Look at all them nails.” The figure gestured to the pile of… nails, as he called them, beside of you.
“That was Shaw’s crucifying tree.”
You turned slightly to examine the pile of…
Nails.
You felt yourself flash back to another time, in what felt like another life. In this exact spot, in this exact road. The sickening tearing of flesh filled your ears among a cacophony of crumbling bones.
“Uh… upsies… bad upsies…”
"Nailed to a tree… this is definitely Shaw’s handiwork.”
“Jack, Neil, where y’all at? Ya find that kid yet?"
"We got the little shit. Were the nails necessary?”
“I ain’t picking up another rotting corpse.”
The world fell to black all around you as those memories flooded back.
This was where you watched your brother go forever sleepies.
Just out of reach, so calmly, not even worried. He faced the end more bravely than any fluffy you’d ever met, and he was only a babbeh.
You began to cry.
And the humans turned to face the bush you were hiding in.
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