#hyptonist caretaker'

[whump-in-the-closet]

Hear me out, I’m pretty sure we all heard of hypnotist whumper, but hypnotist caretaker? Yeah, thats it.

TYPE SHIT

Whumpee begged. For the first time in weeks, they begged. They were home, they were safe, they-- alarm bells went off in their head-- they were not safe.

"Please, Caretaker!" They forced themselves under the table, the carpet scratching at their knees and the confined space suddenly constricting. Their pleading was a whisper, low and caught in their throat, "Please, please--"

Caretaker's shoes stopped at the table. He sighed. In a soft voice, as if talking to a cornered animal, he said, "You need to take your medication, Whumpee. You're...you're not well."

"No."

"Let me help, Whumpee."

Whumpee remained where they were. "I thought I could trust you--" their words were broken off by a coughing fit, leaving their head ringing and everything swimming swimming swimming...

Caretaker crouched down.

Through the blurring, Whumpee could make out his dark eyes, pitted with exhaustion and faintly annoyed. In Caretaker's calloused hand was a bright orange bottle. Whumpee's name was on the label.

Whumpee shrank back.

Caretaker sighed again. "Whumpee, look at me."

Whumpee didn't notice him drawing a small pocket watch out of his faded jeans.

Their vision flailed outwards, fracturing, like a piece of starfish broken off.

Tick, tock

Caretaker started to swing their pocket watch back and forth, the clock hands steady inside the white case.

Tick, tock, tick--

Time slowed into a strange, honey-like state. Everything blurred away, except the pocket watch and the ticking hands.

Whumpee's panic faded, worked into the batter of time and starry vision. Whumpee didn't really feel anything--

just faintly quiet

tick

A city night quiet, with neon laughter and buzzing lights

"That's it, look at the watch,"

tock

A country road quiet, with Whumpee in the trunk of the car and the duct tape suffocating.

"Here are your meds. Take them."

tick

tock

A basement quiet, with concrete walls and deafening grey all around...the pressure building into silence.

"I'm sorry."