Eternal Darkness

Gradually, Austin's eyelids began to flutter open and soon… his vision returned? He was not sure if what he was seeing was reality. He strained his eyes in every direction - left, right, up, down - but all that greeted him was pitch-black eternal darkness. 

'His brows furrowed' in confusion.

Austin attempted to scream, yet no sound escaped his lips. He struggled to move, yet not even a finger of his could be lifted. As if he were in a catatonic state, his body remained frozen, unresponsive even to the owner. 

Many thoughts raced through his head. 

Was he standing upright? 

Was he lying on the floor? 

Was there even a floor in this world of darkness? 

Even though Austin had 'opened his eyelids' earlier, they now seemed obstinate to close - or perhaps they had remained closed from the beginning? Austin couldn't discern which was true anymore. 

Panic began to settle in as he began to question his sanity: 'Am I dreaming?'

His natural response was to believe it was all a dream. While he was lost in thought, a sudden wave of pain assaulted him, starting from his chest and extending out to his head and four limbs. 

As the searing pain washed over Austin's body, dread seized him as realization dawned upon him: he was dead. 

The memory of the kitchen knife as it plunged into his chest, the agony of his last moments, all felt hauntingly real. 

Abruptly, the pain from his chest vanished as if it were a mere figment of his imagination, only there to remind him of how he ended up in this predicament. 

Austin sighed in relief. The pain, though it was not as bad as when he was first stabbed, still hurt like hell. However, now that the only sensation that kept him initially preoccupied and therefore sane in this dark world was gone, he was forced to come to terms with his death. 

Momentarily, he was saddened by his early departure from the world of the living. 

'Well, even if I didn't get stabbed, I would have died soon anyway.' 

Austin chuckled at his poor attempt to lift his spirits. All in all, what happened was not all that bad, saving Jacob's life at the cost of his own. He did not regret his choice, even if time travel existed and miraculously he was sent back in time, he would choose the same outcome without hesitation. Not because of his predestined short life; however, because of everything that Jacob as well as his adopted parents Susie and John had done for him. 

Austin had come to terms with his short life while he still lived. His eventual death was not scary… though when he first heard about his incurable disease, he did shed a tear… or two… or maybe an ocean of tears. 

'Damn! What kind of sick and twisted doctor tells a four-year-old he has only 16 years to live? Fuck you, Dr. WhateveryournamewasthatIwishedIremebered,butcouldn'tbebotheredatthetime!' 

*Cough* (Internally) 

But that was beside the point, death was not scary… though eternal darkness was different. Who knew eternal darkness was what awaited a good soul like him? Shouldn't he be in Heaven with the other good samaritans? He hadn't done anything worth such a punishment - a few curses toward God here or there didn't hurt anybody right… RIGHT!? 

*Sigh*

He internally sighed

'This sucks… I shouldn't have cursed God. Tsk! To think he would be so petty.'' 

If Austin still had the ability to move his arms and fingers, instead of begging for forgiveness like a typical human who found themselves in this god awful situation, he would have definitely given a big fat defiant middle finger toward the sky - or darkness? 

*Sigh* 

Austin internally sighed again. 

'What should I do?' 

—------------------ 

'I spy with my little eye, which I still don't know if it's open or not, something beginning with d.' 

'Pffft - 'd' - hehehe.' 

'Stop! Stop! You dirty-minded individual, it's darkness!' Austin reprimanded. 'How come your mind is so dirty?'

'Oi! Don't tell me you didn't think of that too!?' 

'...' Austin wisely decided to remain silent. If he had the ability, he would have turned his face to the side and whistled. 

—---------------- 

'A, B, C, D, E, F, G~' 

'H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O, P~' 

'Q, R, S~' 

'T, U, V~' 

'W, X~' 

'Y, and Z~' 

'Now I know my ABC's~. Next time won't you sing with me~?' 

—----------------- 

'Dun Dun Dun Dun Dun~' 

'Pststs Dun Dun Pststs~' 

'Cruuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu~' 

{Author's Note: If you know, you know!} 

—------------------ 

'Day 1,678.' Austin muttered to himself, mimicking the classic prisoner TV trope routine of a prisoner tallying the passing days. Unlike those lucky prisoners confined within colorful physical walls, he was enveloped in eternal darkness, left to etch his marks on the intangible canvas of his now-crazed mind. Truth be told, he had lost track of time in this abyss of nothingness, much like the inmates in television dramas, yet he persisted in counting the days of his existence in this place. 

After what felt like an eternity in this hellhole, Austin realized his body, if he even had one, no longer functioned as it once did. 

Gone were his days of living with a grumbling stomach as he waited for a bite of nourishment for his decrepit sickly body. 

Gone were his days of being verbally mocked and bullied, the judgmental eyes that constantly peered at his body with disgust. 

Gone were the days when he had to endure for days, weeks, or even sometimes months of putrid stench of body odor from his own body, the orphans, and the caretakers from lack of proper hygiene. A stench so bad that it had caused them all to go nose blind… thankfully. 

Gone were his days of drinking that brown gloopy sludge for water, if that's what you could call it. 

Austin had questioned many times whether that could even be called water or the 'creation' of the residents of the orphanage. As gross as it may be; however, Austin truly did believe it at one point, if not for his trust in the caretakers who too drank the water with them. 

*Sigh* 

Sigh… at the very least, the orphans and the caretakers no longer had to worry about starvation, dehydration, and the weather-worn building they once lived in. A single word from his adoptive parents changed the entire structure of the orphanage forever. 

Money was too powerful.

'Jacob… m-mom and d-dad I'm sorry I was a terrible s-son.' 

Austin's voice trembled as imaginary tears ran down his cheeks. He wished he were given a second chance at life. Although Austin did not regret his choice at sacrificing his life for his brothers. However, Austin regretted he hadn't spent quality time with his adoptive parents - cherishing every moment with them. Instead, Austin squandered the 28 days he had with them -browsing the internet, playing video games, and shoving every food and drink he could get his hands on into his mouth.