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Flames consumed the area. Red and blue lights flashed. The ground was covered with barely recognizable people. In the center of it all was none other than C00lkidd, 007n7’s son. He was smiling, oblivious to the suffering surrounding him.
It still burned. He could still feel it. The fire melting his skin as he fought to escape the fiery hell that he was trapped in. The smoke was everywhere. He couldn’t breathe. It hurt so bad. Everything hurt. Crawling out from the rubble, he saw the ruins of what was once a home.
Elliot burst awake, immediately looking down at his arms. The burn scars were still there, accompanied by newer wounds from the endless games they were all forced to play. Thankfully, there was no fire.
He shared a room with Two Time. No one else was willing to room with them. Perhaps, they were a bit…eccentric. Their side of the room was darker, and it felt sadder. Elliot didn’t know why. He put on his visor and stood up.
Might as well make food if he couldn’t sleep. It was no use sitting in bed while crying, it wasted time. Elliot didn’t have time anymore. He felt far too much anyway, that eventually it faded to background noise.
Elliot grabbed the dough that he’d prepared earlier. He kneaded it some more, hoping to warm it up before it was baked. Grabbing a rolling pin, he rolled and cut the dough. Elliot spread the sauce and the cheese onto the pizza. He slid it into the oven.
Perfect. That was done. Eventually, the oven dinged and the pizza was done. Elliot cut nine slices. Enough for almost everyone. Soon, the other survivors trudged into the kitchen. Elliot passed out plates, greeting everyone.
“Hey, Noob! Have a slice!”
“Two Time! You slept okay? Try to get more rest.”
“Hello, Taph! You want more cheese? Sure!”
“Builderman and Shedletsky! Here’s your usual.”
“Dusekkar, you have a good morning? Great!”
“Chance, make sure to stop blowing up your gun!”
“Guest! Hey, man! How’s life?”
“Hey, 007n7. Here.”
Elliot finally finished passing out all the slices. He cleaned up the kitchen like usual. No one would notice and if they did, they wouldn’t mention it. The survivors all conversed until Elliot heard something that made his blood boil. Chance had started the question.
“So, 007n7…how are you feeling?
“I’m alright. I mean, this pizza kinda makes me feel nostalgic. It reminds me of C00lkidd and the good days.”
Good days…GOOD DAYS?! 007n7 harassed the employees and C00lkidd burnt the whole restaurant down. People died. Elliot remembered every single customers face. He remembered talking to the medics about the corpses and their families. His arms still burned sometimes. Elliot slammed one of the dishes against the counter.
The room went silent.
Elliot could hear his own breathing. It was so loud. His arms burned. It hurt. Everything hurt. His stomach hurt, because he refused to force anyone else to starve and he was too tired to make any more pizza. His head hurt, because he couldn’t sleep without seeing what he considered to be home blow up in flames. His heart hurt, it ached. Something angry. Something sad.
How could everyone just forgive him so easily? Elliot felt awful for not being able to move on. Everyone thought he was being a jerk. He could still feel it. Still smell the smoke and hear the screams. His eyes felt like they were on fire.
He was so tired. He was so hungry. The burning wouldn’t stop. It was too much. Elliot was too much. Felt too much. Loved too much. Hated too much. Everything was always too much. He wanted to be a kid again. Elliot wanted his dad to help him cook pizzas, to help him read the hard words, to help him know what to do when things were too much.
It was gone. It was all gone. Elliot felt like a part of him had died in that fire too. He’d never get it back. Shapes filled his vision. Pretty colors that he wanted to touch and hold. Maybe they’d be soft, maybe they’d hug back. Elliot let the darkness take him. The world tilted and he was unconscious before he hit the floor.
Chance and 007n7 yelled. Noob got scared and was freaking out. Builderman and Shedletsky were both trying to figure out what the heck just happened. Dusekkar was trying to calm down Noob. Taph was scrambling to find medical supplies. Two Time looked worried too.
Elliot woke up to someone gently shaking him. He was back in his room. Did he sleep in? No, Two Time wouldn’t have woken him up. Elliot opened his eyes to see 007n7. Elliot closed his eyes again. 007n7 sighed heavily. He knew Elliot was going to be difficult.
“Come on. I know you’re mad at me, but you have to get up. It’s been days since anyone’s seen you eat anything…”
Elliot forced himself to sit up, he looked down at the food presented to him. Soup. Impressive. Who else could cook? 007n7 seemed to see the question in his eyes.
“Taph made it. Apparently, they can cook.”
That wasn’t a surprise. Elliot had always suspected that Taph had many talents other than making bombs and trip wires. He took a spoonful of soup and ate it. It was good. Elliot finished it and went to stand up. 007n7 was quick.
“Absolutely not. You’re staying here. Everyone’s been worried, you know. Look…I’m sorry if something I said earlier offended you. I never meant anything like that. But please, talk to someone.”
Elliot felt his heart twinge at that. 007n7 was right. He knew that. Scratching at the burn scars, Elliot nodded. He wasn’t feeling very talkative. 007n7 gave him a look that Elliot couldn’t quite place.
“Do you want a hug…?”
007n7 asked quietly. Elliot wasn’t acting like himself. He couldn’t exactly place what was wrong, but he wanted to help. Elliot clung to him, not saying a word. 007n7 smiled lightly, still feeling guilty. Perhaps this wasn’t so bad.
They stayed like that for a while, until Elliot fell back asleep. 007n7 pulled the blanket up over Elliot and flicked the light. He’d be okay, 007n7 knew it. Elliot didn’t dream of the fire that night, he slept. It was a rare occurrence, but he was grateful for it.