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echoinghowls · 6 years

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Never Again

Day 2 on @ghosstkid ‘s Horror-A-Day challenge: Candy!

I didn’t originally post this because I wasn’t very proud of it. However, my sister insisted I post it so here we are!

Hope you enjoy!

(2,680 words)

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Tall grey buildings towered over a black landscape, white lights illuminating pale gray faces and darker gray cars. A white moon slept in a black sky with faint gray stars glittering her bed. The greyscale city glowed silver, self-driving cars filling the skies as men drove from their hologram-sorting jobs back to identical houses. All their wives greeted them at the door as sons and daughters ran up to hug their father. All was the same. There were no discrepancies in the colorless world.

Except for the slums. The run-down, rat-filled, muddy trenches that the rest of society chose to ignore was the only place not run by AI. The only place not served by robots. The ghettos were where people worked the jobs civilization said only a computer should run. That's how they got the name Uncustomaries.

The Uncustomaries were what remained of the old humanity: drugs and alcohol, tattoos and piercings. Tattered jeans, baggy shirts, and dyed hair. However, they were still locked in the grey world. Living a life without color and a life without emotion.

Unless you could pay for it.

Figures walked the cracked sidewalks, ancient cars that have been fixed up hundreds of times trudging the crumbling streets. One man walked with his fedora low, his trenchcoat nearly dragging behind him. A vape was held carefully between his fingers, the smoke without flavor, smell, or color as he released the plume to the air. He hated the vacancy. He hated the void-like numbness that came with everyday life.

Taking another drag on his vape, the man paused outside a small bar. The white neon lights read, "Wishes". Looking over his shoulder, the man entered the building.

Inside was nearly empty, only a bartender and a few figures hunkered over in the far corners of the seating area. At first glance, the figures looked almost real. The man walked toward the bartender, leaning against the counter. "What can I get you?" The bartender asked, his gaze sidelong as he scrolled through his phone. The man read the nametag of the one behind the counter, then said, "Hey Brian, I think I'm feeling a glass of milk." Brian paused on his phone, then sighed and pressed a button under the counter. One of the paintings that were peeling from its canvas clicked before slowly rolling open, revealing an elevator. The man tipped his hat to Brian before entering the elevator behind the painting, the secret door sliding shut behind him.

As soon as the door shut, the elevator descended, the buttons for the floors rubbed away to blankness. Even before the door opened he could hear the pounding of music. As the door slid open, flashing white lights filled the man’s vision, and hundreds of people dancing to the bass-heavy dubstep made the ground feel like it was vibrating to the beat of the song. He forgot how loud the speakeasies were compared to the musicless outside. Every person had grayed-out sunglasses on, including the people behind the counter. The man quickly made his way to the bar, the bartender glancing at him with a wide smile. "Evan! Nice to see you again. Like our new location?" Evan grinned, sitting down at one of the few open barstools. "Anthony, have I ever been disappointed?" “If you have been you never told me,” Anthony said with a joyous laugh. A bowl of yellow candies sat behind him. Evan let out an empty chuckle with him, then asked, “So, you still have those color-glasses?” Anthony scoffed, pulling out a pair of black glasses with distorted gray lenses. “These will never leave, the people love them too much.” Evan nodded, then reached for the glasses. However, Anthony stopped him. “Psh! You don’t want these,” He said, throwing the pair behind him. “Smitty has been hard at work and got these prototypes in.” Anthony said, leaning closer to Evan. He ducked under the counter and pulled out a small gray box, sliding it toward the man in the fedora and trenchcoat. “Two words: color contacts.” Anthony said with a smirk as Evan picked up the box. Evan lifted an eyebrow. “How do they work?” The bartender shrugged. “Like normal contacts. But this means you can wear them outside and nobody would know!” The bigger man giggled, and Evan’s smile grew. “Alright. I’m definitely trying these out.” Evan promised. “But first, you still got my room?” Anthony smirked, fishing a key from his pocket. “Like I wouldn’t make sure my best customer kept his VIP room.” He handed the key to Evan, then pointed toward a sign that said “VIP” above a hallway. A man in all black stood beside the entryway, guarding the hallway against non-VIPs. “Just head down there. You know Tyler.” Evan nodded, unable to see Tyler’s bright eyes behind the color glasses. “Room service?” Evan asked, glancing back at Anthony. “Only the best.” Anthony winked, Evan nodded, heading toward the VIP hall. When he managed to get to the curtained hallway without getting crushed by the excited crowd, he gave Tyler a friendly jab. Tyler scoffed, giving him a nod before opening the curtain. Evan slipped through, following the hall as other private rooms branched off.

His door was at the end, decorated in what he could only assume was gold. He pushed the key into the lock and turned it, the door clicking open. The lights flickered on as he entered, the speakers beginning to play the melody of the latest song he had written. Evan smiled, then glanced at the bathroom to his right. He tossed the key on the counter and opened the contact case, seeing two black contacts sitting in a crystal white solution.

Let’s hope these prototypes work. He thought to himself, picking up the first one. He pressed it to his right eye, then blinked several times. When the contact settled, he heard a quiet whirring as colors started filtering into his right eye.

“Smitty, you damn genius!” He said with a wide grin. He quickly pressed the left contact in, then took in his reflection. His trench coat was a dark maroon color, his fedora black. He stepped out of his bathroom, seeing the crimson walls of his room and the black leather couches with glittering gold pillows. The floor was black tile, a dark contrast to the pristine white bathroom.

Man, Anthony knows how to decorate. Evan thought, hanging his coat and hat on the coat hanger before collapsing onto the couches in front of a tv. Usually he’d have a group of friends to lounge about with, but for today he was taking it slow. He wanted to feel out the new location since the old one got found out and burned to the ground.

He turned to see a tablet resting on the table in front of the couches, a menu beside it. “Don’t mind if I do,” Evan cooed, picking up the menu.

There was the usual: weed, vodka, tattoos, piercings, everything they weren’t supposed to have that the government had stopped caring about years ago. Then, there was the special side. The side of the menu nobody outside of the Uncustomaries knew about.

Scent plugs, taste spray, and Evan’s favorite, emotion candies. The government may believe they have taken their humanity, but the Uncustomaries, with the help of Smitty and Kryoz, had been able to find a way to turn a few senses back on, if only for a limited time. However, they were also very pricey. For good reason in Evan’s opinion.

Evan picked up the tablet, the device scanning his face before unlocking. “Welcome, Evan. What would you like today?” The device asked, the same menu appearing on the screen. He quickly selected the Secret Menu and everything on it, making sure to get the longest duration for all of his senses. With his emotion candies, he chose Mixed Feelings, wanting to go for a variety bowl that he could blindly pick from.

When he hit order he put the tablet down, standing up and wandering the room as he waited for his things to arrive. It didn’t take long for there to be a knock on the door.

Evan opened the door to see Ohm, the man’s color glasses emitting a soft orange glow. “Nice to see you back here Evan,” He said as he pushed the cart of sensory foods into the room. “It’s nice to be back. I missed feeling alive.” Evan said, reaching for the mixed bowl of different colored candies. He pulled out a yellow candy, reading the word “Happy” on it. He popped the candy in his mouth, letting it dissolve as warmth and energy began flowing through his body.

“Aw, yes!” He said with a giggle. “Thank you, Ohm!” He called, humming a new tune as Ohm left with a chuckle.

Evan smirked as he strummed his blue and white guitar, the notes being recorded onto an ancient PC. The Motivation candy he had taken was beginning to wear off, so he paused the recording software and sat the guitar back in its stand.

He took a deep breath, inhaling the strong vanilla scent that billowed from the candle that burned on the table. He picked up a piece of chocolate, letting it melt on his tongue like the candies. However, instead of an emotion, the sweet cocoa seemed to flood his mind. After relishing in the taste of his chocolate, Evan reached for the bowl of emotions. He picked up a black candy, not caring enough to read the emotion before dropping it on his tongue. The candies didn’t hold a taste, but the rush was enough to make Evan feel addicted. The candy melted, and Evan could feel his heart begin to pound faster, and thoughts grow quicker. Scrunching his eyebrows, he looked back at the bowl. He dug through the small candies until he found another black one, reading the name. "Anxiety.”

“Shit,” Evan spat. The last time he had eaten an Anxiety had been with Jonathan, and his friend had needed to practically hold Evan down.

I should tell Anthony.

He told himself. However, as he picked up his phone he froze. But what if he takes away my candies? Evan frowned, then slowly lowered his phone. He’d be fine. He could ride this one out, it would only last 15 minutes. But what if it lasts longer? Evan bit his bottom lip. Maybe I should call Anthony? No, he won’t believe me.

Evan groaned, pulling at his hair as he collapsed onto the couch. “This is fine,” He told himself, closing his eyes and taking deep breaths. “I’ll be fine.” Evan pressed his palms to his temples, staring at the tile underfoot. “Oh my god, how long has it been?” He glanced at his wrist, flicking himself when he remembered he didn’t have a watch. “I’m not going to know when, but it will wear off. It always does.” Evan said out loud. The more stimulus he could get the better it would be. Maybe.

Evan rocked back and forth on the couch. His hair was frazzled and his eyes darted back and forth across the room. The golden pillows had been thrown to the ground and all the lights were on. A song played on the speakers, but Evan wasn’t listening to it. He had tried starting up a game on the tv but quickly decided against it.

He checked his phone, seeing the time at the top of the screen. He wasn’t sure how long it had taken him to find the small clock, but it had been 4 minutes since he had found it. He sighed, resting his head on his knees. He was fine. He was fine. He was....not. He was not fine. He was not fine. He was not fine not fine not fine not fine.

“AGH!” Evan screamed, trying to crush his skull. He couldn’t do it. Everything was too much. “Just stop it!” He yelled. “Stop it stop it stop it!” He stood and grabbed a pillow off the ground to scream into. He was shaking. He paused a moment to hold his hand in front of him, watching each finger tremble like a dying leaf. He felt like he was dying. Evan heaved and emptied a stomach full of drained emotions and chocolates. This was it. This was his end. He whimpered, tears now falling down his cheeks. He just wanted it to stop. Just. Stop. He slapped the couch as hard as he could, then began punching and kicking the furniture. “WHY WON’T IT END?” He screeched to the ceiling. He ran into a wall, his body feeling temporary pain before being engulfed in the panic again. He checked his phone. It had been 2 minutes since he last checked it. He let out another blood-curdling scream, then tried to stumble toward the bathroom as his stomach flipped. However, he tripped over his own shoes and slammed his head against the corner of the table. He whimpered, sitting up and putting a hand to the wound. When he pulled his hand away, scarlet dripped down his fingers.

“Oh god...” He wheezed, using the other hand to wipe at the deep cut. He wobbly stood up and used the couches to shakily walk to the bathroom.

As he gripped the counter, he looked at his reflection. A dark crimson gash stretched from above his right eye to above his right ear. Blood was smeared across his face, and more dripped down like demonic tears.

I’m going to die. He realized, touching the wound where it stretched across his temple.

I’m going to die. He stumbled backward, nearly tripping over the tub. He caught himself, his hands shaking again at the thought of falling.

Never again. He managed to waddle back toward the main room, staring at the bowl of emotions. Never again. He took slow steps toward the glass bowl, the multicolor candies shining tantalizingly in the neon white light. Never again. He picked up the bowl, then threw it as hard as he could onto the floor. Thousands of emotions littered the floor. Never again. He could feel his anxiety wearing off. It was over. Never again.

Evan grabbed his tailcoat and fedora off the coat hanger, wincing as the pain of his wound began settling in. Never again. Evan took a step toward the door before his feet were forced out from under him, and he landed hard on his back.

Sharp pricks of pain covered his arms and legs. He slowly sat up, then lifted his arm. Several shards of glass from the bowl stuck out of his arm, blood welling up and dripping down his arm. The slimmest shard went through his wrist.

“Fuck,” He whispered. He slowly used the armrest of a couch to pull himself to his feet, a large shard sticking out of his calf. Evan grimaced, then trudged toward the door. Never again. He avoided the candies. Never again. He pulled out a few shards from his arm, scarlet soaking his tailcoat. He was getting dizzy. Never again. He opened the door, the music from the dance floor hammering its way into his skull. Never again. He took faster steps out of the hallway. Never again. The music grew faster, preparing for a drop. Never again. Evan pushed through the curtain, a pause before Tyler called out, “Evan? What happened?” Evan glared at him. Never again. He turned away, forcing his way through the crowd. Nobody seemed to notice the pricks of glass as they got ready to jump and scream. The music grew faster. Never again. There were screams as the world spun. Never again. The music grew faster. “Evan? Evan, can you hear me?” Evan was on the ground. How long had he been there? Never... The beat dropped.

#Echofics #really long #sorry #hope it was good #this was actually my sisters favorite of all of them so far #so...#oh well

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