Call of Duty || Coraline AU || Part 4
Running away to start a new chapter and escape the troubles of your past, you find yourself in a darker predicament than you had hoped for.
Coraline with a twist. And COD men. Obviously.
PT.1 / PT.2 / PT.3 / PT.5
You pinched the skin of your arm. Still, the warped version of your mother stood before you. You pinched again, harder, so hard you could feel the slight swell of blood vessels rush to the surface. And yet she wouldn’t disappear.
This wasn’t a dream, nor was it even a nightmare. It was reality hanging in front of you, dangling on a string, swaying, taunting. Everything inside of your stomach turned, and the only thing keeping you grounded was Si perched steady between your feet.
“I was wondering when you’d show up, dear,” your mother – other mother – chirped. “Oh! And you brought a friend.”
The last word seemed almost spiteful, a slight dose of venom leaking through. You nearly missed it, the way it dripped off of her tongue, but you noticed it. Too stunned to let it sink in, you opted to simply stare while Si seemed to have similar ideas.
“Don’t just stand there! I’m making your favorite – chocolate chip cookies. Always a simple girl, aren’t you?”
She knew your favorite cookies. She was standing in the warmly lit kitchen, smiling and whisking away at a mix of ingredients in a bowl. Even the kitchen was strange to see – clean, not a single speck of dust in sight. The colors seemed much more vibrant than the dull ones of your home beyond the door in the wall, but it didn’t help with the unease. If anything, the new lens being placed in front of your eyes to peer through felt like a trick.
“How did you know that?” you asked carefully, eyes flickering between her thin fingers wrapped around the handle of the whisk, to her perfectly straightened hair, not a single strand out of place. Her skin was a ghostly white, much like your real mother’s but her smile wasn’t crooked like hers always was. Her teeth were too straight and bright to be your real mother’s, too.
“I’m your mother, of course I know that! Silly girl.” She threw another radiant smile your way, and for a moment, it caused your chest to tighten. Despite the button eyes and perfectly straight lips, she looked just like your real mother. She was giving you a glimpse into a world of what life might’ve been like, had your mother been a loving and doting woman.
“You’re not my mother,” you corrected with a frown of disapproval.
“Right. I’m your better mother. After all, I’d never hit you.”
The statement was a slap in the face.
“Go on, sit down. I’ll pop these in the oven and we’ll talk! Oh, I really have been waiting for you!”
Your eyes glanced over at the dining room table. Chairs perfectly arranged, a fancy tablecloth lining the top of the table, intricate details sewed in to create a beautiful piece of fabric. It looked as if she had made it herself.
It felt as if you had no choice but to sit down, so you complied. Taking a cautious seat, remaining on the edge in case you had reason to bolt out of there and back in the security of your real home, you watched as she hummed to herself, placing a baking tray full of cookie dough into the oven.
Observing the kitchen a bit more, you noticed that there was no tickling of fur itching at your ankles. Peering down, Si was nowhere to be found, and the slightest bit of panic welled inside of your chest. It was as if somebody had grabbed hold of your heart and squeezed it, harder and harder until breathing proved to be a task.
Your dread was interrupted by the sound of a chair being pulled beside you, and when you looked up, you were greeted with a smiling face. It sent shivers down your spine, the way it seemed so… emotionless. The button eyes were unsettling to look at. It was like looking into a black hole, peering into nothingness.
Realistically, it was nothingness. It was empty and desolate, despite the way she smiled, how her cheeks puffed up from the curl of her lips, how her chest rose and fell as if she were breathing. You wondered what she was. You hadn’t a clue, and Si certainly couldn’t tell you. God, it was silly to even wish for a cat to be able to talk.
“I’m so happy you’re here, sweetheart. I’ve been preparing for a long time, and now that you’re here, we can finally catch up on lost time.”
Red alarms went off inside your mind, yet for a reason unknown to you, you found no purpose in wanting to run yet. You hated your mother, truly, but seeing her in a form that was caring and attentive had your inner child reeling for that affection. She never spoke to you this way. Her voice was never so smooth and soft, like a string of melodious chords playing in perfect symphonies.
“Catch up…” you repeated, eyebrows furrowing in deep thought. “What are we catching up on? I don’t understand. I don’t understand any of this.”
“Oh, dear, don’t worry about understanding. There’s no need. Just know that you’re safe here, and that I’m so pleased to have you. Everything will be okay here,” she assured, but it didn’t feel all that comforting.
Something nagged in your chest, desperate to tell you how wrong this was. All of the warning signs were right in front of you, yet your shattered heart only wanted the pieces to be glued back together with this act of unadulterated love.
How long had it been since somebody had spoken to you like this? You couldn’t even recall a single time, when you really thought about it. Your real mother was always so cruel. She was a broken woman, so destroyed over her own life that she had taken you down with it.
“Well…” You swallowed the lump in your throat. “What would you like to know?”
You lost track of the time spent with your other mother. Over the course of your conversation, you had felt a weight lifted off of your shoulders for the first time in your forlorn excuse of a life. She listened and cared for what you had to say, button eyes staring into your own with that toothy smile gracing her thin lips. Everything about her felt safe in your heart, despite your mind telling you otherwise.
You told her about your real mother, about your escape, about how lonely you had been until that point. She told you everything you ever wanted to hear, feeding you bits of security. She soothed over the open wounds with a bandaid of love you had never received, and you fell into that pool of comfort like a warm blanket, waiting to engulf you whole.
The shadows of your mind overpowered the logical side, all too eager to step into a realm where for once, you could be a person again. Your other mother was the key in stitching up the holes in your heart, mending them with nimble hands and stuffing them with light so blinding, you dove right into it.
By the time you returned home, making your way through that lovely, little tunnel and back into the sorrows of your own dreadful sight of a home, the sun had risen just barely from the pane of your windows. The living room was quiet when you stepped into it, and you felt a hint of bitterness fill your mouth at the remembrance.
You were alone, in a world that was much too cruel to you. Your scars were still open and bleeding out, urgently needing to be tended and cared for. Lucky you, you had a newfound mother figure who wanted to give you just that.
“Good morning, Caroline,” John greeted you as you stepped out of your door hours later. “Heard quite a ruckus in your place last night. I do hope that you were alright.”
You took in the sight of John, whose kind smile looked more like a grimace the more you stared at it. Gaz was standing behind him, but offered no smile like John had. Instead, his eyes were hardened as they looked at you, shifting up and down your body like you had just said something to offend his entire family.
Confusion bubbled inside of you. Had you done something to offend them? Surely, you couldn’t have been so loud last night that they had heard you from their apartment down beneath your home.
“I’m alright, thank you. I apologize for any noise. I was doing some spontaneous cleaning around the house,” you lied with a forced smile, shrinking under Gaz’s gaze as his nose flared in what appeared to be annoyance.
“That so?” John hummed, eyes boring into yours for a moment too long. It felt like he knew you were lying, but how would he have known?
It felt like all three neighbors had eyes on you at all times, yet you couldn’t figure out how.
“That’s right,” you confirmed with a nod, attempting to appear more confident in your answer so as not to raise suspicion.
John said nothing and instead stared at you for a beat longer, before musking up another one of his bright smiles that was near hidden behind his facial hair.
“Alright then. Let us know if you need anything, yes, Caroline? Anything at all.”
Weird.
“Actually,” you spoke up before they could walk away. John raised his eyebrows at you, and Gaz glanced over at John then back to you. “I was wondering… you mentioned there might be something wrong with this house. We didn’t get to talk about it before, but I’m quite the curious person, you see.”
“…I see.”
“Right.” His stare was anything but amused. “Well, I found a door in the wall. It’s all bricked up, but I was a bit nervous about it.”
From behind him, Gaz tensed, shoulders tightening up. If it were even possible, his glare seemed to become more cold.
“Mm. And why’s that, if it’s all bricked up?”
Fuck, you had to come up with a lie. All you wanted was answers, but you knew John wouldn’t give them to you if you told him what you saw. He might’ve even thought you were a mad woman.
“You don’t think, um, rats or anything can get through it, do you?” you opted to ask. You could see his eyes glimpse over to Gaz so quickly, you nearly missed it.
He went silent for a moment, before letting out a thoughtful grunt.
“Don’t think anything can get in and out of that thing. It’d be best to keep the door locked. Don’t go meddling around in it if you don’t want unwanted guests, hm?” he asked. His tone was a bit off, that much you could tell, and it was clear that his words held a certain firmness that showed he definitely knew more than he let on.
You gave him another firm nod, flashing him a smile in hopes of easing the tension, though it crumbled a bit when Gaz sniffed and looked away from you, hands shoved into the jacket of his hoodie.
You bid your farewells to them, even when Gaz made no effort to look at you anymore, and once they were out of sight, you began your trek around the side of the house.
You hadn’t seen Si since he disappeared on you last night, but when you began passing by the stairs that lead upstairs to Soap’s apartment, you felt a pair of familiar eyes piercing into you. Halting in your steps, you bent your neck up to see Si sitting along the railings that Soap was leaning against during your last encounter. He was peering down at you, and just as always, studying you.
“Hello, Si,” you greeted politely. He blinked at you, eyes slightly narrowed into judgmental little slits.
Before you could continue your journey around the house, the door of the apartment flew open and out came the obnoxiously loud Scotsman. His grin was even wider than it was when you had first met him, and he joined Si in staring down at you from where you stood on the ground.
“Miss Caroline!” he exclaimed joyfully. “Lovely to see you made it out this morning!”
The smile you offered him dropped and was replaced with an uncomfortable frown. Si’s tail flicked lazily behind him, like always, and he didn’t tear his gaze away from you once.
“Why wouldn’t I?” you questioned, tilting your head at him.
“It seems somebody didn’t keep their promise. Ain’t that right, Miss Caroline?”
How did he–
“Si tells me everything, sweetheart. He’s a talkative, little thing, y’know.” Soap lifted a hand to affectionately swipe a large hand over Si’s head, causing him to purr. His fuzzy, little head nudged further into Soap’s hand, egging him on, to which Soap granted him scratches behind the pointed ears.
“Cats don’t talk,” you deadpanned, wondering if Soap was crazy or maybe hallucinating.
No. Definitely crazy.
“Si does,” he corrected with that signature grin. “Ratted you out like a little minx. Ain’t that right, SI?”
Si meowed in response, and you stared in bewilderment at how Si was so at ease in Soap’s presence.
“Is he yours?” you asked.
“He’s nobody’s.”
“That doesn’t make sense. He has a collar with his name on it. Surely, he’s your cat.”
“Wrong, love. He’s his own person.”
What the hell did that mean? This dude was definitely insane.
“Right.” You let out a sigh through your nose, shoulders deflating in defeat. Clearly, you weren’t going to get an answer on how Soap knew you broke your promise and went through the little door he warned you about. He would simply tell you that the cat talked.
“Suppose since you broke your promise, I’ll break mine. I’m going to blast my music a bit louder now,” he teased, a mischievous glint in his eyes as he peered at you.
You glanced back up at him with a frown. Si shifted his gaze to look at you, and there it was again – that look of disapproval.
“Why do you play that silly music anyway? You have a secret circus in that place of yours?”
Your question caused him to roar with laughter. It was a heart laugh, one that came right from his gut, and it filled the dreariness in the air with a bit of light. Regardless of how infectious it was, you didn’t know what was so funny.
“No, lass, not at all. Si wouldn’t like it if I had a little circus army of rats in my place,” he mused once the laughter settled. You thought he said Si wasn’t his cat. “She doesn’t like it.”
This stumped you. “Who doesn’t like it?”
Soap’s hand trailed from Si’s head and down his back, causing the cat to arch into the touch. He offered you a knowing smile, but for what you still weren’t sure. These neighbors of yours sure loved to play a game of mystery, entangling you in webs of confusion and offering you no resolution in the end.
“You’ll learn to like it, lass,” he stated instead, picking Si up and cradling him to his chest. “Believe me.”
With that said, he turned his back to you and stepped back into his apartment, shutting the door and successfully cutting off any hopes of you getting answers.
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