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ReGect awoke in a haze, his blacked out vision slowly coming to an end. He didn’t remember falling asleep, but he woke up dazed and confused. His surroundings were unreal, but familiar in an odd way. As if he’d seen them before. Because he has. Ever since he disappeared, the world had lost its original charm. The once bright blue sky seemed just a little bit greyer, the once calm clouds wept more often than once, a cold reminder of the longing for an old friend ReGect tried so hard to sink deep into his chest. It didn’t matter how much he tried, that feeling would never leave him.
The entity looked around, trying to grasp his surroundings, and there it was. That familiar wooden house he knew so well. Built so poorly that even a pigeon building its nest would laugh, but that didn’t matter. To ReGect, it was perfect. A wonderful work of art that nobody other than Micha could replicate. Not even ReGect himself could build it the same way Micha did. He tried, but he just couldn’t ever bring himself to finish it because it wasn’t the same. It wasn’t built by Micha.
He breathed in, but didn’t dare to breathe out. Something in the back of his mind told him none of this was real, it was all just some sort of dream that he should relish in, to cherish. He took a tentative step towards the house, hesitant but not unwilling, and entered. It was just how he remembered it. The lack of furniture, the smell of oak logs wafting in the air, the splinters all over the walls and floors that the kid had cut himself on once or twice in the past. It had been years since he last saw this place. Sure, he could visit anytime, but it felt wrong to do it without Micha.
Just as he was admiring the familiar sight, a small voice came from behind him. “ReGect?” The familiar voice called out. ReGect jumped. Not because he was startled or anything, but because he could recognize that voice from a mile away. It was Micha. He snapped his head around, a jolt of both excitement and sadness pulling him out of his trance. And there he was in all his glory. The kid he once knew, Micha.
ReGect’s non-existent bottom lip quivered at the sight as he shakily released the breath he was holding. He didn’t know how to react to the sight, or even what to think. He wanted to reach out, but something held him back. “...Em? Is that you?” He asked.
In response, he only got a small giggle before the kid ran off. ReGect wasn’t about to lose the opportunity to play with him again, so he ran after him. “Wait! Come back, please!” He shouted from behind Micha, but his words fell on deaf years and once again, he only got laughter in response. The two of them ran and ran, running through green forestry, dodging many obstacles that obstructed their path. ReGect ran as fast as he could, desperate to catch up, but no matter how fast he ran, he couldn’t seem to keep up.
After what felt like hours of running, Micha ran into a cave. It was the same cave ReGect had decided against scaring the young boy. ReGect stopped at the entrance, hunched over with his hands resting on his knees, panting. He didn’t understand. Why would Micha run?
After catching his breath, ReGect decided to follow into the cave. He stopped running by this point, saving his energy just in case he needed it. He knew the cave layout well enough, he figured it should be easy to find the kid with a little bit of searching.
The cave was quiet, too quiet. It seemed much more eerie than he could last remember. The dripping of water echoed through the stone walls, providing ambience that only put ReGect even more on edge. There were only few torches, not enough to allow any warmth to reside in the cave. ReGect could only shiver the deeper he went, hoping the biting cold wouldn’t get to him before he could find Micha.
He searched and searched, looking in every crevice the kid’s tiny body could fit through, every direction he thought he might’ve gone, but there was nothing. It was just the same old thing, The sound of water dripping, the freezing cold, the darkness. In a way, it kind of reminded him of how he felt after Micha left. Cold, empty, and alone. He almost gave up, until he saw a faint light coming from afar.
He recognized the room the light was coming from almost immediately. It was the room where Micha found the book, where he backed out on scaring him last second. ReGect clenched his jaw, swallowing his spit as he stepped into the room. It was dimly lit and in the same shape it was left in, with the exception of a few withered away stones here and there.
He didn’t take long to take in the surroundings, considering he had built the place himself. But one thing did catch his eye. The chest. It was still there, barely touched and basically begging to be opened. He was hesitant, knowing he could be spending his time doing something useful such as searching for Micha, but something in his gut urged him on. He didn’t know what it was that made him so curious, probably the fact that he couldn’t tell if any of this was real or fake anymore.
The room around him seemed to get bigger with each step he took towards the chest, and he didn’t feel like himself anymore. Something shifted, and he was now looking at the world in Micha’s perspective. Memories that weren’t his came flooding in, both from this world and not. Before he could reach the chest, he was now in a hospital bed surrounded by doctors. Panicked voices were drowned out by the sound of a flatline, his vision was blurry but clear enough to see doctors doing something. ReGect wasn’t the most familiar with hospitals and doctors, he couldn’t exactly tell what was going on, but he did know one thing. Pain. It was raging all throughout his body like a flame only death could put out. He wanted to scream, kick, or cry, but he was paralyzed.
And then he was back in the room in the cave, standing in front of the chest. The change in scenery was sudden, forcing him to stumble forward and fall. He caught himself on the chest, using it to support his weight and pull himself back up. Everything was normal again, other than the confusion mixed with fear that now consumed his core. The room was the same size he’d normally view it as, but he felt small. He no longer had any control of anything.
The urge to open the chest was stronger than before and at this point, he couldn’t stop himself from opening it. He opened it, fully expecting it to be empty, but to his surprise there was a book. It looked like the exact book he had left Micha, but a little more damaged and worn down. He thought it might just have the same old words written years ago, but he would be wrong.
Opening the book, he was met with two words. Only two. “Wake up.” They read. ReGect stared at the words in confusion, trying to figure out what the book meant. Maybe this really was just a dream. A sudden whisper dragged him away from his thoughts. He turned around to see Micha, but he was different. The once bright kid who’d only laugh in response to every question was now glaring at him, his face stone cold and pale as if he had been touched by death itself. He was no longer wearing his Minecraft skin, but instead a deformed and ghostly version of the real him. He wore a ragged hospital gown that seemed too big on his tiny body.
Before ReGect could even say anything, Micha spoke. “Stop waiting for me. I’ll never come back.” ReGect wanted to respond, but just as he opened his mouth to speak, he jolted awake in a cold sweat. It was all just a dream. A really, really bad dream.
He looked around in confusion and panic, making sure everything was in place as if he were still in a bad dream. Everything seemed normal. It was nighttime, he was on his side of the bed, Ze was sleeping next to him and snoring soundly. Everything was normal.
ReGect let out a breath of relief, his tense shoulders relaxing slightly, but he still wasn’t okay. He didn’t have nightmares as often as he used to now that he had Ze and Moe in his life, but they were just as ruthless as they used to be, maybe even worse. He didn’t even realize he was crying until a tear ran off his face and dripped onto his thigh.
He sighed, wiping his tears. The nightmares would never go away, would they? Even if he had found happiness once again, the thought of Micha was still stored deep inside his memory collecting dust, old but not forgotten. A part of him still held on to hope that the kid was doing fine and probably just forgot about him, but deep down, he knew the truth. Micha was dead.
He sighed again as he laid back down, covering himself with the shared blanket and cuddling close to Ze, making sure not to wake him. The soft snores coming from the other man gave him a sense of calm. No, Micha wasn’t coming back, but he couldn’t think about that now. Now, he has Moe and Ze, and to him, they’re his world.