My name is on the pave walk.

I look up. It’s there on the buildings, too. Each window glazed over with red text, over and over. I look too long, and start hearing it, too. I’m being tortured by my own name. I can practically feel the word get driven deeper and deeper into my skull, until no matter what I try to think about, the word is still there in the shadows of my mind.



I fall into the grass, my name still echoing in my head, hollowing it out, carving its place into my mind even deeper.

It’s not just my name, I realise. The buildings are talking to me, normal human conversation. No one here SPEAKS. I’m used to that by this point, but the talking buildings? That’s something else, even for me. My eyes are deceiving me. My ears are deceiving me. They’re simulating human interaction to keep me sane. No one has looked at me, smiled at me, let alone spoken to me in the past 2 years. I just have to live with everyone’s hollow, dead eyes penetrating my soul constantly. I stand up, shaking my head. I would get my eyes and ears tested, but the doctors don’t talk too much. They sorta just sit there and listen. I’m not sure if they’re listening, really. Did I mention the skeletons move sometimes? Yeah, every hour they move. Just, teleport to another location. I’ve actually learned their schedules. Jessie was my best friend before all this happened. She lies on her bed a lot. Just lies. She never did that while I was still in the normal world. While her family moves every hour, she doesn’t. She and her hurt bony wrist just sit there. At 6:00 her family come in and sit next to her. Just 5 skeletons sat still for an hour. What freaks me out the most is that I’m not a skeleton. I’m normal. The same Maverick. But everything else is different. I’m not… really sure whether I’m real or if the world is real. Things change while I sit at a standstill. I haven’t aged from 15 to 17. I’m still 15 year old Mav. My little sister has grown. She’s a big skeleton now. The world is moving on without me.

I grab my bag. I dropped it when I fell over. The ringing in my ears is gone now, but my thoughts still echo throughout my head. Me and my thoughts. Thoughts is a nice guy. He doesn’t talk out loud much, but I’m sure you’d like him. I head to my campsite near the lake. Sure enough, billy the fisherman is doing his thing. It’s 10:00, which is when he normally catches his fish. Sometimes he doesn’t, and pulls out some sugar to cheer him up. He likes the sugar. I sit down next to him. He can’t see me. He can’t touch me, or offer me the fishing rod. Oh, I’d love to fish. But the fish don’t bite the hook for me, ever. They just swim past the bait like it was never there. Billy is talented, though. I’m sure the next time he moves he’ll have something in his hands. Maybe a bass, or cod. No, not cod. Carp. That’s the one. I look up at billy. He’s wearing a green checked shirt with dirty jeans. I admire his focus as he stares at the hook. He knows what he’s doing, where he is, what his goals are. The contrast between us two is monumental. His hollow eyes penetrate the clear water. Dead.
“He’s not dead.”
He’s dead. They’re all dead.
“No they’re not. They move.”
Do they really move? Do they consciously move using their empty skulls? Does Jessie move?
“They definitely move.”
Too bad. They’re skeletons.
"But they LIVE. They go along with their lives whilst I sit here alone, talking to thoughts.”

…Fair enough.
"They’re not dead.”
They’re not dead.



I am.









Ty for reading! this was for 100 subs. I figured if I was gonna upload anything this year, it would be this. I've kept it in my vault all year now, and I never introduced who my profile picture was meant to be. I'll keep on writing and adding to the story if ppl want. maybe I'll release the full version on wattpad :P
anyway, thanks for 100 guys :D