Post by Eva Liu on Oct 22, 2011 2:20:16 GMT -5
((Dirge's rule: FIRST PERSON ONLY))
12 hours earlier: 8 A.M.
You’d think that having three alarm clocks set at different times and dispersed throughout the room would be enough to get me up on time. As usual, this morning I just rolled over and pulled my blanket over my head as each one beeped frantically in succession. Oh yeah, even the heavy duty one with strobe lights and an alarm almost as loud as a car’s. Guess my neighbors really hated my guts for that one. Oops.
I didn’t even think about kicking off the blankets and getting dressed until I heard my partner Rune banging on my door and calling my name. How sweet of him to try the impossible. Being the younger sibling is nice for a change, even though, you know, we're not actually related and all that. Just for that, I turned my head to look at the wall clock. “Shit,” I screamed as I immediately launched myself off of the bed. “Shit shit shit, I’m screwed!” Brush my teeth, get dressed, brush my hair, and get my backpack ready in two minutes? Challenge accepted. As long I wasn't more than ten minutes late, my tardy would hopefully be forgiven.
Thank god for swim club teaching me how to dress and undress quickly. Haha, it’s not as if it’s ever come in handy in situations other than this though. I left my pajamas on the floor in front of my closet, and shimmied into the first robe I grabbed from it. As I walked to the door to let Rune in, I tried to pull on my cloth shoes. Hey, if he’s there, he might as well make himself useful and help me get ready.
“Get all my stuff in the backpack, now,” I demanded. “Oh yeah, and good morning.” So what if I sounded like a spoiled little princess? Partners were supposed to have each other’s backs and I was already in seriously deep shit. I’ll make it up to him later.
What else did I need to do? What else? I looked around the room quickly to remind myself, and saw my meister conspicuously not preparing my backpack for class. “Shorty, don’t you think you need to be able to sleep without a nightlight before you’re ready to fight Kishin eggs?” he asked as he pulled it out of its wall socket.
If he was surprised by the way I flew through the air and clawed at his hand to get my nightlight back, then so was I. Coaches in team sports had always told me that I was too afraid to get aggressive, but now I was attacking Rune like a rabid squirrel. “Give it back, I really can’t sleep without it. Rune! Seriously!” As soon as his grip loosened on it, I backed away, clutching the nightlight to my chest and hyperventilating. It was at that point that he decided I needed an intervention.
Present time: 8 P.M. - Musical shift
“Stupid Rune, stupid dare, stupid cemetery,” I muttered. It didn’t matter that he was walking next to me. I even hoped that he heard. He went through first, leaving it to me to close the gates. That cruel sonuva- As if I wouldn't understand the implication of me being the one to do so. I pulled the ancient gate as gingerly as I could, but just as luck would have it, the metal hinges screeched loudly in protest. I recoiled in pain at the unbelievably loud sound. If someone was walking around near here, there was no way they could have not heard it. Not entirely keen to try again, I abandoned my efforts and left the gates slightly ajar, just enough for others to slip through and myself to slip out, if I wanted to forfeit the dare. At least now I knew why it was left open in the first place.
I turned the camera to myself, holding it close to my face. “I hope you get motion sickness and barf all over yourself if you watch this,” I said before turning the camera back. I silently promised myself to shake the camera as much as possible on the off chance that Rune ever does decide to watch this footage just for kicks.
The dare? Stay in Hook Cemetery, awake, from nightfall to sunrise, and carry a camera around to record the proceedings as proof that we actually followed through with something this stupid. I wish I had never revealed my irrational abject fear of the darkness. This was Rune’s idea of the best way to face my fears, to toughen me up. That, or this was just some convoluted punishment for me drawing blood with my nails.
At this point, I was attempting to distract myself with anger. Hopefully it would work the same way you can’t feel a mosquito bite itch if you slap it hard enough, right? Never mind that nerves are wired so that pain actually does inhibit the sensation of itchiness, the principle still stood. The more attention I devoted to being pissy, the less attention could be spared to feeling terrified, I feebly reasoned with myself.
“You don’t have to look so amused, you know,” I said irately, directing my comment now to the deranged moon above. I would be more thankful for its presence, which partly provided some light, if the fog wasn’t so obscuring. Just a few minutes in and I already almost tripped over or walked right into three gravestones in the overcrowded cemetery. I don't even want to think about how many generations of dead were interred here, and Rune had better not make a comment about any of these being old Shibusen students killed in action. Was that a fresh bouquet and a teddy bear that I just passed by? Wait, I don't want to know. I really just don't want to think about that. I'll just will myself to not see any mementos and pictures that mourning families may have left behind.
I shuddered, partly out of the night chill and partly out of the overwhelmingly eerie atmosphere. It really did feel at least twenty degrees colder in here. I resigned myself to keeping one hand in the pocket of my coat while the other held the camera, and alternating hands once one got too numb. For this occasional I had traded in my usual thin robes for a more substantial pea coat, wool sweater, and thick wool tights under my jeans, not that anyone was here to dress up for.
Ten minutes after entering the cemetery, I just couldn’t keep up the silent treatment I was giving to Rune. Desperate for some conversation to cut through the creepy atmosphere, I tried to make small talk. “So why do you think there’s hooks hanging on the trees?” I asked. Maybe pointing out one of the more unsettling aspects of the cemetery was not too smart a thing to do, but what else was I going to do? Ask why the trees are all bent to the side? Actually, that was going to be the follow-up question.
12 hours earlier: 8 A.M.
You’d think that having three alarm clocks set at different times and dispersed throughout the room would be enough to get me up on time. As usual, this morning I just rolled over and pulled my blanket over my head as each one beeped frantically in succession. Oh yeah, even the heavy duty one with strobe lights and an alarm almost as loud as a car’s. Guess my neighbors really hated my guts for that one. Oops.
I didn’t even think about kicking off the blankets and getting dressed until I heard my partner Rune banging on my door and calling my name. How sweet of him to try the impossible. Being the younger sibling is nice for a change, even though, you know, we're not actually related and all that. Just for that, I turned my head to look at the wall clock. “Shit,” I screamed as I immediately launched myself off of the bed. “Shit shit shit, I’m screwed!” Brush my teeth, get dressed, brush my hair, and get my backpack ready in two minutes? Challenge accepted. As long I wasn't more than ten minutes late, my tardy would hopefully be forgiven.
Thank god for swim club teaching me how to dress and undress quickly. Haha, it’s not as if it’s ever come in handy in situations other than this though. I left my pajamas on the floor in front of my closet, and shimmied into the first robe I grabbed from it. As I walked to the door to let Rune in, I tried to pull on my cloth shoes. Hey, if he’s there, he might as well make himself useful and help me get ready.
“Get all my stuff in the backpack, now,” I demanded. “Oh yeah, and good morning.” So what if I sounded like a spoiled little princess? Partners were supposed to have each other’s backs and I was already in seriously deep shit. I’ll make it up to him later.
What else did I need to do? What else? I looked around the room quickly to remind myself, and saw my meister conspicuously not preparing my backpack for class. “Shorty, don’t you think you need to be able to sleep without a nightlight before you’re ready to fight Kishin eggs?” he asked as he pulled it out of its wall socket.
If he was surprised by the way I flew through the air and clawed at his hand to get my nightlight back, then so was I. Coaches in team sports had always told me that I was too afraid to get aggressive, but now I was attacking Rune like a rabid squirrel. “Give it back, I really can’t sleep without it. Rune! Seriously!” As soon as his grip loosened on it, I backed away, clutching the nightlight to my chest and hyperventilating. It was at that point that he decided I needed an intervention.
Present time: 8 P.M. - Musical shift
“Stupid Rune, stupid dare, stupid cemetery,” I muttered. It didn’t matter that he was walking next to me. I even hoped that he heard. He went through first, leaving it to me to close the gates. That cruel sonuva- As if I wouldn't understand the implication of me being the one to do so. I pulled the ancient gate as gingerly as I could, but just as luck would have it, the metal hinges screeched loudly in protest. I recoiled in pain at the unbelievably loud sound. If someone was walking around near here, there was no way they could have not heard it. Not entirely keen to try again, I abandoned my efforts and left the gates slightly ajar, just enough for others to slip through and myself to slip out, if I wanted to forfeit the dare. At least now I knew why it was left open in the first place.
I turned the camera to myself, holding it close to my face. “I hope you get motion sickness and barf all over yourself if you watch this,” I said before turning the camera back. I silently promised myself to shake the camera as much as possible on the off chance that Rune ever does decide to watch this footage just for kicks.
The dare? Stay in Hook Cemetery, awake, from nightfall to sunrise, and carry a camera around to record the proceedings as proof that we actually followed through with something this stupid. I wish I had never revealed my irrational abject fear of the darkness. This was Rune’s idea of the best way to face my fears, to toughen me up. That, or this was just some convoluted punishment for me drawing blood with my nails.
At this point, I was attempting to distract myself with anger. Hopefully it would work the same way you can’t feel a mosquito bite itch if you slap it hard enough, right? Never mind that nerves are wired so that pain actually does inhibit the sensation of itchiness, the principle still stood. The more attention I devoted to being pissy, the less attention could be spared to feeling terrified, I feebly reasoned with myself.
“You don’t have to look so amused, you know,” I said irately, directing my comment now to the deranged moon above. I would be more thankful for its presence, which partly provided some light, if the fog wasn’t so obscuring. Just a few minutes in and I already almost tripped over or walked right into three gravestones in the overcrowded cemetery. I don't even want to think about how many generations of dead were interred here, and Rune had better not make a comment about any of these being old Shibusen students killed in action. Was that a fresh bouquet and a teddy bear that I just passed by? Wait, I don't want to know. I really just don't want to think about that. I'll just will myself to not see any mementos and pictures that mourning families may have left behind.
I shuddered, partly out of the night chill and partly out of the overwhelmingly eerie atmosphere. It really did feel at least twenty degrees colder in here. I resigned myself to keeping one hand in the pocket of my coat while the other held the camera, and alternating hands once one got too numb. For this occasional I had traded in my usual thin robes for a more substantial pea coat, wool sweater, and thick wool tights under my jeans, not that anyone was here to dress up for.
Ten minutes after entering the cemetery, I just couldn’t keep up the silent treatment I was giving to Rune. Desperate for some conversation to cut through the creepy atmosphere, I tried to make small talk. “So why do you think there’s hooks hanging on the trees?” I asked. Maybe pointing out one of the more unsettling aspects of the cemetery was not too smart a thing to do, but what else was I going to do? Ask why the trees are all bent to the side? Actually, that was going to be the follow-up question.