maybe all things aren't meant to stay

Maybe all things aren’t meant to stay. 

A short story by Bastiaan Wheat. 

I woke up as the sun rose. The sun shined with golden light, piercing through my dark house. A gentle knock came from the door. I answered it, a boy with a cyan scarf, a floppy, brown hat, and a gentle smile stood at the door. 

“Hey, I am Buddy, but you can call me Bud, or anything you like,” he said, lifting a bag. “I just come by to deliver food for you!” Buddy said, handing me a bag. I opened my mouth to speak but nothing came out, so instead I just grabbed the bag from him. 

He waved me a goodbye and waddled back to his red delivery truck. I opened up the bag. A tray of cookies and a couple of juice bottles sat in the bag with a note. The note read, “From Buddy, your new best friend ;>". 

I closed the bag and walked to my bed. I rested my head on the soft pillow as my body warmed up with the red blanket I had. My eyes began to feel heavy, and my body began to numb. My eyes closed and I felt as if I was leaving this world. 

I woke up at midday the next day, loud knocking came from the door. I answered it, Buddy stood at the door with a look of worry. “Are you okay? I mean, you woke up way past waking protocol, and you didn’t even turn on a single light!” Buddy explained, his hand squeezing the bag he was holding. 

“I know this is against my coding, but do you need me to stay with you?” Buddy asked. A faint smile appeared on my face. Buddy walked in and immediately flicked on the light switch, finally bringing light to my house. 

He placed the bag he was carrying on the table next to the other bag. “Jeez, you haven’t even set up any of the canvases we send,” Buddy claimed, “But I’ll help you set them up!”. He began digging in the box I had set off to the side. 

A while later, after he has set up every canvas, we sat on the couch, watching Tv. “Man! I love this channel!” Buddy said, staring at the guy dancing on screen. I opened my mouth to talk but nothing came out again. 

Suddenly, a ring came from Buddy’s pocket. “Oh! Sorry, I must leave!” Buddy said, rushing to the door. He rushed out the door and to his truck. I walked out a little while later. The sun was setting, and I looked out at the empty grass fields. 

I was alone; all there was for miles was grass fields and the road that Buddy drives on. I slammed my fist against the invisible barrier that kept me confined to my house. CRACK! A massive crack appeared on nothing. 

A faint glow came from the crack. A purple gas began leaking from the crack. I breathed in the gas and felt sleepy; my knees suddenly buckled. A man in a black army vest and a black mask appeared. “Crack secured, resetting Player”. 

I woke up the next morning; the faint smell of spaghetti came from outside the door. KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK! I stumbled over to the door. I answered it, Buddy stood outside, but he was holding something behind his back. 

I pointed behind him, requesting to see what he was holding. “Oh!” he said, pulling a telescope from behind his back, “This is for later!”. He handed me the daily food bag. “Eat up!” He beamed, walking inside. 

I stared out the door; the crack had disappeared. I closed the door and walked to the dining table to eat what was in the bag. I took a grape soda from the bag and chugged it. “Wow, it must be nice having a house,” Buddy spoke, rubbing his hand on the wall. 

He walked over to the couch and laid down. “Jeez, I feel *yawn* tired...” Buddy said as he passed out. I finished the last bite of spaghetti. I glanced out the window; his truck sat outside. I walked outside; the invisible barrier had disappeared. 

I walked to his truck. I opened the door and twisted the keys to turn it on. I pulled into first gear and slammed my foot on the gas pedal. The truck rushed forward. I drove for a few minutes but worry about Buddy washed over me. 

Suddenly, the truck stopped like the wheels had disappeared. I looked down, a black substance was consuming the bottom of the car. “Resetting Player since they are out of bounds” a voice said. 

I woke up outside my house, and it appeared that zero time had passed. Buddy’s truck sat behind me. I walked inside; Buddy was still sleeping on the couch. He opened his eyes and immediately looked towards me. 

“Gee willykers! I passed out; I didn’t even know that was in my code!” Buddy stated, standing up and stretching. Buddy looked out the window; the sun was setting. Buddy grabbed the telescope and ran outside. 

I followed him; he was setting up the telescope. The sun set, and the stars came out. Buddy oohed and aahed as he looked in the telescope. “Wow! You have to see this!” Buddy asked, waving for me to come closer. 

I walked over to see into the telescope, but a black substance appeared from the ground and consumed it. “My... MY TELESCOPE!!!” Buddy yelped. A portal appeared behind me, and multiple people in masks appeared, each holding a gun. 

“Player don’t move or else we’ll shoot!” one of them commanded. “Wha-” Buddy said before passing out. “B.U.D has been shut off” one of them called into their radio. They moved towards me. 

I ran to Buddy’s truck. I got in and drove. BANG, POP! They shot out one of the tires. The truck began to flip over. CRASH! I hung in my seatbelt as gravity tried pulling me to the ground. The truck began to heat up from all the fire around it. 

BANG, BANG, BANG! It sounded like someone was getting shot. I reached for the door, barely managing to breathe. I pulled myself on top of the car; Buddy was standing there with a gun in his hands. The people were on the ground, a red substance leaking from them. 

Buddy stood still, his hands shaking from what he did. “00111011 00111110” he glitched. His body spasming. “It hurts, player...” he said, “But you have to get out of here”. “01101000 01100101 01101100 01110000” he glitched again, tears appearing in his eyes. 

I got down from the truck and rushed towards the portal. “Wait! Please don-” Buddy said, an Error mark appearing on his forehead. “Code: 101101001” he said, his body twitching. “Protocol 361 activated”. He walked towards me, holding the gun up. He shot the gun but missed by a foot. 

“Don’t resist...” Buddy said, firing a bullet into the house, hitting the Tv. I waved my hands at him to signal for him to snap out of it, but there was no response. BANG! He shot again, but it had completely missed me. 

His hands shook as he aimed the gun again. He shot again, shattering a window. The glass covered the ground. I slipped on a piece of glass, falling to the ground.I immediately got up before he shot at me again. “Stop resisting” he said, aiming the gun towards my leg. I rolled out of the way as he fired without hesitation. 

I backed up towards the portal, but he shot again, this time closer. He aimed at my head. His finger slowly pushing on the trigger. Suddenly, he turned the gun to himself. BANG! Buddy fell to his knees. “I... Should’ve been... better-”. 

His floppy hat blew in the wind as I stepped towards the portal. I tried not to look back but I couldn’t help myself. A faint smile was on his face. His cyan scarf was stained, and his soul I could feel floating away. 

The end 

Reviews

[lauren]

Hi!
I just read your story, and I’m obsessed! Your writing is incredible, and I kept imagining how cool it would be as a comic.
I’m a professional commissioned artist, and I’d love to work with you to turn it into one, if you’re into the idea, of course! I think it would look absolutely stunning.
Feel free to message me on Discord (laurendoesitall) or Instagram (lizziedoesitall) if you’re interested. Can’t wait to hear from you!

Best,
Lauren

[Elsa 123]

Hey!
I just came across your story and really liked it, your writing makes the scenes super easy to picture, which I love as an artist.
I do commission work like book covers, character art, and I think your story could look amazing visually. If you’d ever be interested in custom art for it, I’d be happy to help!
You can reach me on Instagram (elsaa.uwu) or on Discord (elsaa_uwu) anytime