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I hadn’t been getting a lot of sleep lately. Which wasn’t a new fact. My thoughts kept going between trying to make my apartment ready for Sunny, and thinking about a certain offer. A massive creature I was scared to death of offered to sleep with me. I absolutely did not want to take her up on that. Aside from not being sure of what her appearance may be, I wasn’t keen on handing myself over to a creature. I doubted I would come out of that encounter the same person I went into it. And yet, for some reason that monster had a hold on my mind.
I found myself yawning at work wanting some sort of job to distract me. I arrive first, which sometimes happens. I spoke with the receptionist who just listened to my small talk. I hadn’t met this one before. She was very shy, or at least seemed like it. I ran out of things to say so we just waited in the empty room a bit awkwardly until Max showed up.
My mood got better seeing him but also because of who he brought along. Sunny walked in holding Max’s hand. They got along pretty well and Sunny really brightened up. I have no idea what kind of life he led before we met. Or what life she led. To be honest, I wasn’t entirely certain of Sunny’s gender. That day my new roommate came in wearing a super cute sundress with the jacket I lent. A few days ago, I learned a little bit about Sunny’s species. They were able to change their genders if needed. But Sunny looked the same as when we met. A flat chest but with long hair. Gender is a tricky thing.
“Toby! We got permission for Sunny to go with us today!” Max said cheerfully.
He loved making new friends and I was glad we were doing a safe enough job to bring someone as delicate as Sunny.
“It sounds like fun. Oh, would you like your jacket back?” Came a soft voice that made me do a double take.
Sunny spoke. It only took Rufus a little over a week to teach an entire language to someone. I felt pretty impressed.
“You can hold onto it. I know Max says this job is going to be fun but you never. Know. But uh, can I ask something that might come off as rude?” I said to them.
The pair looked at each other. Sunny was made up of a clear somewhat solid substance. I could almost see the thoughts going around in that transparent head.
“Are you a guy or a girl? Sorry it’s just… I don’t really know much about creatures like you. I’ll call you whatever you like.” I said wondering if that was too insulting.
Sunny let out a small laugh not upset at the question. This might be something that came up pretty often when it came to their species. They could switch what gender they are, and pretty much look the same either way so it was hard to tell.
“I think you saw me as a guy to start with so I’ll stick with that. I don’t really care what you call me though. I never really understood the concept of it all. I’m just glad I’m in a position to wear whatever I like and don’t need to change my body depending on my partner’s preference.”
I couldn’t help but frown at the mention of what could have been. Sunny’s species had been artificially made. There was a theory that the person who first made that kind of slime creature wanted to produce a disposable army. But it ever turned out like that. Since they are so weak, they tended to be used for pretty terrible reasons. Sunny was a rare case where he actually acted like a person and not an empty doll that just did whatever their owner told them to. If he wasn’t bought by the ones who found him first, I really hated to think about what could have happened.
“You three better get a move on. And please make sure my bother doesn’t linger. He’s been wasting too much time on jobs lately.” The receptionist spoke for the first time.
I was shocked at how clear her voice sounded compared to her sisters. Maybe she didn’t smoke. She was right. Max tended to drag me around after a job instead of checking back in for more work.
Max gathered up the packages we needed to deliver and nodded his head towards the door. We needed to get a move on. I helped with some finding the boxes fairly heavy. Sunny helped out picking up the remaining boxes. He might be weak by creature standards, but much stronger than a human. We said goodbye to his sister hoping this job would be as easy as he claimed to be.
A scented breeze welcomed us. My vision blocked by the boxes at first. I followed Max’s excited voice along a well-worn path along a green hillside. We walked through a wooden gate and up to a cute cabin. This place looked to be out of some sort of fairy tale. Max set the boxes down by the front steps, calling out for the owner that we arrived. We followed his actions piling our boxes next to his.
I finally got a good look around. The view taking my breath away. We were on a farm set on the side of a tall hill surrounded by a deep forest. The hill started to roll downwards at the back of the cabin exposing a view of green mountain sides. The one who lived here heard Max. He made his way over to us with a friendly smile.
He stood about as tall as Rufus. His face covered with a beard and a set of curled horns came out of the side of his head. He walked on hoove feet making me think he was some sort of goat hybrid creature. Max ran over to give him a hug overjoyed to see the man again.
“This is Joe! We deliver all his farming supplies for him. Can I go see the sheep?” Max said, voice loud and bright.
“They’re already on their way to see you. Go on.” The man said and directed Max to a gathering crowd.
I walked over to the man to introduce ourselves as Max ran off. I didn’t have the paper Joe needed to sign to say we delivered the boxes but I told him I could help carry them to where ever they needed to go. He waved off the offer saying he could move them around later and then invited us for lunch. I started to get a bit stressed. I wanted to stay but thought about the warning about letting Max play around too much.
I looked up just in time to see my partner in a full sprint towards a very round sheep. For some reason it looked like the sheep was wearing a black wig. To my horror, he pulled back his leg to kick the sheep as hard as he could. The thing never stood a chance. It flew in a perfect arc in the air and I couldn’t help but let out a gasp over what I just saw. Max wasn’t the sheep kicking sort of person. Why on Earth would he hurt a poor animal like that? Joe saw my expression causing him to laugh.
“It’s alright. They like getting kicked.” Sunny quickly explained in a soft voice.
I saw the first sheep hit the ground and bounce a few times. It rolled over perfectly fine, then started to run back for another ride through the air. Max set his sights on the others that swarmed him. It didn’t really put me at ease knowing they weren’t hurt by such a thing.
“Their wool makes up part of the jackets. It’s one of the reasons why they’re so strong.” Sunny explained further.
I felt something touch my hand. Looking down, I saw a sheep that walked up to me to place a head in my palm. I started petting it, finding the weird hairstyle to not be a wig at all. It looked like a long bowl cut. Straight and even at the ends. It really looked stupid. When the sheep looked up, I couldn’t help but pull my hand away seeing the face.
The eyes were hidden but instead of a sheep’s face, a human smiled back at me. They all looked like that. A sheep body with the weird hair and a person face.
I hated it. I cannot find the words to stay how much I hated it. Animals with people faces are now on the top of my list of unsettling things I’ve seen on this job.
“Uh… Do they have a special name?” I asked trying to keep my voice even.
“Human Faced Sheep.” Sunny said with a smile.
That was a pretty straightforward name. I wish someone warned me before we showed up here. I might have stayed behind.
“How about you kids have some lunch?” Joe offered taking my mind off the sheep trauma.
I should not have accepted the offer, but I kind of wanted Sunny to have a nice time. A table was set up at the back of the cabin so we could look out at the mountain side watching the clouds go by. Sometimes a breeze blew some smells of flowers with some golden pedals from the other hills. We called Max over who gladly helped set food on the table. Joe put out a bunch of fresh buns and ingredients so we could call make our own sandwiches.
For a stranger he made us feel at home. He also set out some fresh fruit and berries as a small snack afterwards. I’ve never tried figs before. Sunny suggested I have one with a certain kind of fancy cheese with honey. I’ve never tasted anything better in my life. I watched Sunny eat for a few minutes trying to figure it out. Since he was transparent, I could see the food in his mouth for a few seconds. He made chewing motions but the food just melted away. Apparently, his species produced acid that digested anything inside their body within seconds. He also could get energy from just sitting in the sun. But since Sunny could taste things, he preferred eating.
In such a short amount of time, Sunny learned a great deal. I think he was far smarter than myself. Him and Joe talked about topics I didn’t have a clue about mostly relating to farming. After our lunch I started to help clean the table. A sheep got in my path causing me to stop and stare at it. I didn’t like these things in the slightest
“Fossilized remains.”
The sheep spoke. I took a step back now freaked out from the child like voice coming from the creature. I bumped into Sunny nearly knocking some dishes from his hands. He laughed at my expression and how much I disliked the sheep near me.
“They can talk but only say nonsense words. Don’t worry about it.” He assured me.
I gave the sheep a side eye while finishing up my chore. We really needed to get going. I wanted to find Joe and Max to get the paper signed to leave. Max stood in the field clapping along with the song I taught Rufus on my first day. While he sang, all the sheep started to walk in his direction. Every one of them swayed their heads side to side in a line in unison. After they arrived in front of Max, they just stayed still besides their heads moving.
I hated the sight. It made my skin crawl. I shook my head trying to accept that at least Max was having fun. I wanted to get away from the herd of creepy sheep so I set my eyes on finding where Sunny went off too. I found him near the table folding the cloth we used to cover it with some issues with the breeze. The sunlight caught his clear hair in the right way causing the light to distort behind him. The orange spot in the middle of his head shining brightly. The sight made me stop walking; my chest heavy for some reason.
I just spent a nice lunch in a beautiful place I never could dream of with two great friends. Max cheerfully sang and hand fun on our little trip and Sunny spent a good time being around people who would never dare hurt him. A year ago, I never would have even hoped this could have happened. I had friends who cared about me and I found myself suddenly realizing just how much I loved the ones around me. Monsters or not, they were important to me. Sunny noticed me hovering around, his face turning to worry.
“Are you alright?” He asked concerned.
I didn’t notice until then but my eyes started to tear up. I quickly rubbed them dry saying the wind just blew something into them. I would have made my new friend uncomfortable if I told him the real reason why I suddenly got overwhelmed. Joe finally came out and Max came back ready to let him sign the delivery form.
“Joe, where did Hubert go off to? I didn’t see her today.” Max asked, paper in hand.
Joe paused not signing the paper just yet. He looked over his sheep silently counting them face slowly falling.
“Her?” I asked wondering about the name.
“Most of the sheep are born as males. I named them before I knew I had a female. But Max is right. Hubert isn’t here. That isn’t a good sign. Can I bother you kids to say a little longer? I would like to check to see if there are any holes in the fence.” Joe said.
We call nodded. He did just feed us after all. We would die for him if he asked. We worked in teams of two to walk along the fence. Joe with me, and Max with Sunny. The fence didn’t look like it could keep the sheep in very well. Joe explained it was magic. As long as the boards were in place, nothing could cross it. But he did need to recharge the spell keeping it together pretty often. We were almost done our side when I heard Max shouting at us. We hurried over to see what they found.
A wooden board sat in the ground apparently torn off from the rest of the fence. Some marks in the soft wood made it clear Hubert was the one who used her teeth to rip the board off. I stared at the forest beyond the small farm seeing a trail of broken twigs left behind the odd-looking sheep.
“I’ll have to call someone in to deal with this.” Joe said mostly to himself.
The trees were densely packed together with wisps of mist between the low branches. I caught Max’s eyes and frowned with him. He was worried about how long it might take to get some helpers to find the lone sheep in the woods. I knew where this was heading so I spoke up.
“We can look for her.” I offered.
Joe started to shake his head before I even finished speaking. Max quickly walked over to me, his face bright and confident in our abilities.
“We’ll be fine! Toby went through The Maze without a handbook on his first day and made it alive! He’s done a lot of impressive things like dealing with a ghost. We can take a look and if we don’t find anything we’ll just come back the way we came.” Max explained.
I’d totally forgotten about the whole handbook thing. Now that I had Sunny, I doubted I really needed one. He seemed to know pretty much everything. But Max was right. We’d gotten out of tighter spots before. So far, I’ve only lost an arm but Joe didn’t need to know that.
“Look for ten minutes then you boys come back, alright?” Joe relented.
Max agreed and took my hand. We left Sunny behind knowing this would be too dangerous for him. He watched us leave a bit scared no matter how much he wanted to hide it. I promised that we would come back no matter what. With that, I followed my partner deeper into the woods following a pretty obvious trail.
As we walked, I asked Max why Joe didn’t come with us. I mostly wanted to keep my fear at bay by talking. The woods were creepy as hell. The air still as a grave. Nothing moved and I found it hard to breathe. Max said that Joe wasn’t a full creature but a half breed. That meant Max was stronger than the man even though it didn’t look like it. And he knew who to call so him staying behind was a good idea.
I thought I heard a twig snap and my hand went to hold onto Max. He didn’t look to mind at all. My eyes were drawn away for him for a few seconds. I felt him slip out of my grasp, my gaze still fixed on where I swore I heard the sound of something else in the trees.
“Hey Max is there…” I started to ask, my voice trailing off.
I only had my eyes off of him for less than a few seconds. When I looked back, he was gone. Not a single trace left behind of where he might have walked off to. I shouldn’t have gotten as frantic as I did. I started calling out his name hoping he heard. I took a few steps forwards wondering if I should stay in one spot or not. I pulled out my phone seeing a black screen that refused to turn on. I cursed at how useless the thing was most of the time. My foot came down, meeting nothing but air. My body pitched forwards down a long rough slope that hadn’t been there a second ago.
I raised my arms over my face saving it from scratches or smacks against rocks on the way down. I finally came to a rolling stop pretty hard against a tree. I let myself sit trying to recover from the pain. I felt the hits even through my work uniform. I’ve heard rumors that the uniforms weren’t as powerful in certain places but doubted I ever would be in those places.
With my body screaming in pain, I sat up trying to figure out where I ended up. The fog made it hard to see past a certain point. I tested my legs to make sure I didn’t twist my ankle. When I knew nothing broke on the way down, I got up to start looking for a path back up the slope. The hill far too steep for me to climb back up. I started shout Max’s name again hoping his big ears picked up my voice.
I moved along the path enclosed on both sides by a wall of dirt. This much have been a thin but deep stream at some point. Through the fog I noticed a shape on the ground a few feet in font. My foot landed in a puddle casing me to jolt away from the cold seeping through to my socks. I jumped again seeing the color of what I stepped in. A puddle of blood sat in my path leading to a trail towards a shape on the ground. My heart sank down to the ground. Unable to help myself I ran forwards, my fear carrying my body.
I saw the thing I dreaded the most. Max was face down on the dirt, the back of his jacket torn open. I wasted no time getting down next to him to roll him over trying to see the damage. I didn’t even hear another creature in these woods, what the hell happened to him? Any thoughts in my mind disappeared at the sight of his face.
A scream started in my throat. One so large I couldn’t let it out all at once. My best friend stared up at the sky with blank blind eyes. His throat torn out, the wound appearing pale from him bleeding out. I hitched up my lunch, my body rejecting the sight. This wasn’t possible. No matter how much I refused to believe what I was seeing, my mind still reeled from the sight.
A sound behind me made me scream again. I quickly turned expecting to see the monster that did this to Max. Instead, my eyes landed on something that shouldn’t be possible. Rufus stumbled out of the fog, his body also torn and bloody. He attempted to speak, his voice nothing but a rasp of air.
“Your… fault…”
He collapsed and I swooped in trying to keep him on his feet. His body too heavy to support. He shook him, crying begging for him to stay awake. In the back of my mind, I wanted to believe I was just seeing things. After all, why was Rufus even there? And if Max got hurt on a job because of me, he would never put the blame on the weak human for what happened.
I kept shaking my head while trying to make his limp body to move. The next few minutes made me nearly spiral into a madness there would be no going back from. I didn’t just see Rufus and Max dead in the small pathway. I saw everyone I cared about. All of my co-workers from the mailing company bloody and torn apart, blaming me for their deaths. The sight that almost broke me was seeing a person I’d nearly forgotten.
My mother stood on the pathway. Her face clouded by the mist. She wore the dress I last saw her in. A red flowing one she hated but my father loved. I never really knew what happened to her. She just left us when I was younger. Despite that, I still loved her. A scream came from her, one that ripped through the fog and into my long-buried memories. I knew I’d heard her scream like that before? But what caused her to make such a sound? I nearly brought up the answer when something smacked me very, very hard in the face.
I toppled over, a soft whiteness suffocating me. I frantically pulled the thing off to gasp in air. I held the thing in my arms to recover. Looking around I found myself in the middle of the forest path where I first lost Max. There was no fog, no slope and no dead bodies of my loved ones around me. And I had a small sheep in my arms.
“Hubert…?” I asked slowly.
The sheep looked up at me, the eyes hidden behind the dark hair. It nodded confirming my suspicions.
“I just… I saw….” I sputtered trying to make sense of it.
“Fears. You saw fears.” The sheep answered back.
I didn’t think these creatures could hold a conversation. Then again, Hubert may be special. I slowly got back to my feet feeling relived that what I saw wasn’t real. But that didn’t make me feel a hundred percent better. I would still have the memories if what I saw in my head. And this forest could show me those images again at any time.
“I need to find Max and get out of here. Do you know where he is?” I asked desperate to leave.
Hubert made a nod forwards. She jumped from my arms to led the way. At least she didn’t go too far ahead of me. She knew these woods better than I did so I trusted the little sheep to lead the way. Then again, was she real? Or was this another trick the forest was showing me? I would just need to deal with her not being real if that happened.
As we walked, I kept feeling as if I’ve forgotten something. Like I was on the verge of remembering a very important fact. A dark secret that I wouldn’t be able to handle. Hubert noticed my distress. She paused walking to look up at me. Her hair parted enough for me to see one of her eyes. Countless stars glittered in her eye, staring up at me and through my entire self.
“Do not look for things that are lost.” She warned in a cryptic tone.
A chill ran through my body. She quickly turned away leaving not time to question what she meant. I went back to following her trying to figure out the meaning of the warning. Hubert led us to an opening in the path. It was another sudden drop off but at least I didn’t fall down this one. My breath once again got taken away by the view. Some fog covered parts of the mountains. I’ve never seen such a vast rolling forest before. The sunlight breaking through the mist to reflect off of the countless different shades of green leaves moving in the breeze. This place must be in a different world than my own because there wasn’t a place on Earth as beautiful.
I can never have something nice. The moment of awe became ruined when I saw a shape moving in the mist. It flicked in such an unnatural way it drew my attention towards it. I really wish I hadn’t. With a loud booming sound, the thing fully forced itself into the world. The round shape came down from the sky, blowing away all the fog and nearly knocked me off my feet. When I recovered from the powerful wind, I started in fear at what I saw.
A floating orb made up of wings and eyes slowly moved through the air between the hills. This thing was massive. A feeling of strangling air coming off of it. My body became paralyzed when I realized those eyes slowly started to move in my direction. I was so small compared to this thing. I never would have thought it would even noticed someone like me. It was as if I started to sink into a sea of fear as that massive thing started to drift in my direction. I didn’t know what would happen if it reached me. I could only assume my fate would be something no human could ever understand.
Hubert saved my ass once again. While I became transfixed by the monster in the sky, she found a branch to pull back on. When she let go, the branch snapped her small body forwards making me turn just in time to catch her. I lost my footing making me fall a second time that day. I wrapped around her thinking I was going to die. We fell for so damn long it made me sick. I nearly passed out from the rushing air. Instead of dying when I landed, we were gently caught as if we only fell a few feet.
“Oh, you found her!”
I snapped open my eyes to see Max alive and well. He easily held us in his arms. I wasted no time letting Hubert down to the ground to give Max a very long hug. I really thought he died in these woods. He had no idea why I got so upset but was glad for the hug either way.
“Let’s get the hell out of here.” I said trying to hide the fact I nearly burst into tears.
Hubert started down the trail and to my great relief, we were out of the woods in the matter of minutes. Joe and Sunny rushed over to us happy to see that we all made it out safely. Sunny gave me a hug which I found pretty nice after everything we went through. His body didn’t feel very solid. Like a very pleasant stress ball. I pulled away feeling awkward from the attention. He didn’t appear to be offended.
“Did you boys see anything bad in there? The forest likes to mess with your head if you let it. You are wearing your uniforms, but that won’t save you if your head thinks you got beat up.” Joe explained to us.
That made sense why I hurt so much after my tumble down the hill. I actually didn’t get hurt but my brain didn’t know that. I considered telling them what I saw but found my words getting stuck. Max shook his head at first. Soon it became clear he did see something horrible in those woods. Considering how he’d lost a great deal of family members; I couldn’t imagine what he went through.
“I saw that all the coffee places closed and I couldn’t get any more puppuccino’s.” He said with a thick voice.
Sunny patted his back trying to cheer him up. I don’t know why I expected anything else from him. At least it wasn’t overly traumatizing.
“Hubert pretty much explained that to me after I found her so I’m not that upset over what I saw.” I somewhat lied.
I would not be sleeping that night; I already knew that for certain. Joe did a double take between myself and his trouble maker of a sheep. The look on his face made me worried.
“She spoke to you? That’s pretty rare. She can in a way tell fortunes. If she said anything else, it’s best to keep it to yourself.” He said and got us started walking back to the cabin.
“It’s pretty lucky for her to talk to you! I’m a little jealous.” Max said already over what happened to him inside the misty woods.
“There was something else. A big monster thing in the sky. What was that about?” I asked feeling cold just thinking about that creature.
All of them stopped in their tracks. If Sunny could get paler, he would have. The air grew still as if someone died instead of me asking a question. Then they all moved fast but stiff, none looking back at the woods. I found Joe with his hand on my back pushing me forwards and Max dragging my arm along.
“I think we over stayed. We should really get going. It was a fun trip and all.” Max said quickly very stressed out.
We arrived to the front gate, Joe signing the delivery paper he should have when we first arrived. He also produced three wrapped sandwiches for us to take back. With some very awkward and quick goodbyes, we all arrived back into the Zero room. I was very confused on their actions and decided it was in my best interest to not question it.
“You guys are late. Did you enjoy your lunch?” The receptionist asked after we all walked inside the room.
On cue, we all hid our sandwiches behind our backs ashamed of playing around on company time.
“We didn’t have lunch. We just uh… Took something to go. Here you can have mine.” Max offered up his sandwich trying not to get written up.
“You have mustard on your jacket.” She pointed out.
We all looked at the yellow spot on his uniform jacket. Max made an attempt to destroy the evidence. At least the sandwich turned out to be enough of a bribe to not get us in trouble. Soon, Rufus came to pick up Sunny so Max and I could carry on with work for the rest of the day. I wasn’t able to focus on my job due to the horrors I saw that day and because today Sunny should be moved into my place later that night.
He only stayed with Rufus enough to learn how to speak and a few other things. He wasn’t able to live with him long term. I hadn’t had a roommate in such a long time. The whole idea of it made me nervous.
I got home late that day. I gave Rufus a key so Sunny was already unpacked by the time I walked in the door. I really should have moved after the whole ghost thing but couldn’t afford it. To my surprise Sunny cooked. Just a simple pasta dish but I wasn’t expected that. He didn’t own much. Just some clothes and books. Since he saw how tired I looked he agreed to do the dishes. I swore to him I wouldn’t leave all the chores to my new roomie. Only that night I wanted to be lazy and go to bed.
But no matter how tired I felt, I just couldn’t fall asleep that night. I curled up, letting the scenes from the day play through my mind. Which was a very bad idea. I simply couldn’t stop thinking about not only that day, but everything else that happened recently. I didn’t know I’d been crying until a soft knock came at my door. I quickly rubbed my eyes ashamed of how weak I looked.
I muttered to Sunny I was sorry if I woke him up. He peeked through the door giving his head a small shake. He held a pillow and to my surprise he came over to sit on the side of the bed. He flopped on his side, holding the pillow in front of him. He wore a very long nightgown that smelled like a thrift store. I doubted you could buy new outfits like that anymore.
“If you want…” He said in a very small voice, his eyes downwards and not able to meet my own.
My stomach twisted thinking of what those words could mean. I rolled over shaking my head wanting nothing more for Sunny to forget what his species was bought and sold for. He wasn’t some object. I didn’t offer him to stay with me for those kinds of reasons. But I didn’t want to cut off any kind of physical contact either. I reached over to take his hand and nothing else. He stiffened expecting a different kind of request.
“This is fine. I told you no one was ever going to touch you if you didn’t want them to. Offering yourself up because you think that’s all your worth counts.” I cursed myself for sounding so terrible because I just been crying.
Even if I said those words in a hoarse voice, Sunny still accepted them. He nodded relived that I told the truth back then. He expected that I made false promises in front of others to look good. I hated the idea he worried about living with a second person fearing he was just going to be used. I promised him again that wasn’t going to happen.
I ended up falling asleep being so exhausted from the day. Holding Sunny’s hand help keep the nightmares away. Although, I woke up to a very frightening sigh in the morning. His body melted a little into a puddle of goop that sort of resembled human features. I freaked out thinking he somehow died during the night or the sun melted him. He snapped back into shape trying to calm me down. It seems like when his species fall asleep, they can’t really keep their shape. I wished someone told me that beforehand.
Having a supernatural creature as a roommate was going to be an adjustment, but we were doing pretty good so far.