After enduring such a vivid dream turned nightmare, his eyes flashed open to reveal himself in being back to the same place he slept on: a cold, hard floor with the sunlight shining through the windows, casting beams of light across the room.
Danny blinked, rubbing the blurry vision from his eyes, still feeling the terrifying feelings lingering within the depths of his psyche. The entire experience, while terrifying, had also somehow left him feeling strangely more at peace than when he first drifted off to sleep.
Although none of that matters now when he has clearly forgotten everything about it, "hmm?" As his blurry vision slowly clears away, he notices that he has been staring at the ceiling above for nearly a couple of minutes after having woken up.
A flash of memories from yesterday then appeared in his mind, replaying them as if they were some cinematic theater being presented to a crowd of onlookers. "Unity, are you awake?" Yawning widely, he stretched his arms up before suddenly feeling the immediacy of back pain spreading through his entire body.
At first, it was unbearable, as if every muscle in his spine was screaming in agony at the mere act of moving, yet after a long period of breathing in and out, the pain managed to subside enough so that Danny could tolerate it to some extent. However, trying to get up is nearly impossible.
"Christ!" A jolt of sudden pain shot up his back with the attempt to sit up from the floor. The sharp, stabbing sensation running down his spine was unlike anything he had ever experienced before, almost to the point of wanting to pass out yet unwilling to give in.
Not only was the back an extremely unpleasant sensation, but also his head and limbs altogether. Showing just how ruthless and merciless the night's activities were against his physical body.
"I should have not fallen asleep."
Grimacing from losing his fatigue, he sighed in defeat at the fact he couldn't do anything else before his body shut down itself before allowing him to find a soft mattress to sleep on. It is unfair to demand his body withstand pain it hasn't seen in years from what he has gone through.
Yet he was still here, alive, and lying down on the floor with a look of frustration displayed on his entire face. He had wished to return to sleeping, but his body refused to listen to his mind's commands.
Dry laughter left his lips as he flopped his arms on the side, staring blankly at the ceiling. "This sucks," was the was the true statement spoken out loud by the young man, who regretted being controlled by his exhaustion rather than using all his determination to stay awake as long as he could before laying down on a comfortable bed.
How he wished he could ignore the intense discomfort and anguish from his own body crying desperately for any sort of mercy.
He wanted to pretend that he was still strong and capable of pushing through, but his physical limitations have clearly been reached, and he has no choice but to accept this defeat and settle with simply lying down and waiting for the pain to slowly subside.
Or better yet, Danny could just pass out from sheer exhaustion alone, hoping he could take another round of rest in hopes these terrible sensations would go away.
Then he remembered something important: "I have to wake her up." Danny hasn't forgotten about her, but what surprised him the most is how much of a heavy sleeper she is. It's ridiclious how long it took her to wake up. Alas, the girl is likely asleep again, waiting for him.
Very much like he was doing right now except he didn't sleep in that long, "Unity?" Calling her name one more time, he thought she was on his bed again. "Unity!" A louder voice rang throughout the bedroom after a failed attempt to call her quietly.
Feeling his strength rapidly regaining, Danny forced himself to stand upright, swaying from the intense back pain. He nearly collapsed to the floor if not for his determination in checking her well-being.
"Get up; it's already morning. You know how—" The moment he stood and turned to face where he thought she would be, his face turned into pure terror at the sight of an empty bed.
"You got to be kidding me," he said, sweating profusely. Many troubling thoughts spewed out of his mind as he panicked, thinking about all the horrible scenarios that could have happened to her.
Panic resonated within his chest, pounding fiercely in his ears, making it hard to think clearly as he searched the room frantically, his breath coming out in ragged gasps.
"This... again?!" Clenching his fists firmly, anger poured in as he roamed around the room in a blind frenzy, checking everywhere as if he expected to see her hiding or something similar. "UNITY!" Cursing her name in a feat of rage, he slamming his hand on the wall, pain coursing through him from his mere strike, only serving as a reminder to calm himself down.
But no matter how much he tried to calm down, he feels extremely frustrated about having to take care of a retarded person all day and night, like there is no tomorrow. Danny could feel his inner turmoil waiting to burst out.
Not only is he physically feeling pain from his entire back, but the adrenaline rush from worrying over Unity's safety did nothing good either. His growing exhaustion at the thought of babysitting this woman in his entire life, shitty situation overall.
While he wants to leave her to be someone else's problem. it is still his duty to care for her just for the hope of revealing who she is.
His fiery temper is beginning to take control over his rational thoughts. "What are you going to do when I'm fucking gone?" Complaining to himself about how annoying and difficult the girl is, "every single goddamn time!" His rant continued further.
"I swear, sometimes I wonder how you even survived without me." Danny is beginning to regret ever bonding with her in the first place—how much he wanted to go back into the past and avoid that scream for help. He was too stupid to follow it.
"Calm down, Danny. Calm down." His body and mind feel like exploding at this point; he highly doubts that he could even move a finger anymore. The emotions, the pain, everything is nearly unbearable.
"It's just another day," he mutters under his breath, hoping to ease himself from this stressful moment. "Nothing new, nothing exciting, just the same old shit." Standing in the middle of the room, he stared blankly above with his head facing upwards. Danny feels like he is reaching a breaking point.
Danny is never the type to use offensive language; however, he is extremely emotional or angry at times like this. He begins to speak in mannerisms and words he never even uses.
"That's it, isn't it?" Raising volume as he speaks, "Just keep acting like a dumb little baby, relying on me to wipe your ass and feed you," visible disgust dripping from his voice.
"I swear, sometimes I wonder how you even survived without me," glaring upwards towards the ceiling, Danny's jaw clenched tight, fighting to maintain his composure, "fuck, fuck, FUCK!"
Without second thought, a surge of unyielding rage swept throughout the bedroom as he slammed his fist into the nearby closet door, causing it to violently swing open and scrape loudly against the wall, echoing the sound of his wrath.
Then after that, he started to scream and hit anything close to him until his knuckles turned bloody and swollen. From the walls to the windows, everything around him became the target of his angrier feelings, as he couldn't bear the thought of continuing like this again.
The entire room shook with each powerful blow, paint chipped off the walls, and glass shattered into pieces on the floor. A painful, guttural cry tore from his throat, his screams echoing off the walls, a cacophony of anguish, frustration, and despair.
He continued onward with his onslaught, destroying not just the walls themselves but also the windows and furniture around him, all the while kicking or punching brutally against the nearest thing before letting out a high-pitched yell erupting from his own lips.
"AAAAAHHHHH!!!!"
Suddenly, the gentle knocks from his door snapped him out of his violent rampage, shocking him back to reality as he was taken aback by the sound. His wide, panicked eyes were moving all around, blood still dripping from his battered knuckles as horror dawned on him.
"Holy crap, I..." Danny was lost for words at the sight around him: destroyed furniture and broken glass scattered everywhere, the closet door hanging off its hinges, and blood staining his hands as the full extent of his destructive rage sank in. "Oh God," gulping audibly, he looks around the chaotic mess he made, feeling a mixture of guilt and shame wash over him.
He had completely lost his temper, whether the pain on his face or last night events were the sole causes or simply because of how infuriating it is to constantly watch over Unity, his rationality just fled the scene, leaving him with nothing but raw, unfiltered anger behind.
Realizing this flaw, uncertainty crept in his heart, fearing someone may hear him and come to investigate only to find this terrifying scene, adding more stress to an already overwhelming situation. "What have I done?"
"Danny, are you awake, partner?" Hansel's voice surprised him and halted his racing thoughts. The doctor was standing right outside the door, patiently waiting for his friend to open it and confront him. "I heard a lot of commotion coming from your room; is everything alright in there?"
Worry pressed in his tone, "you're making quite the racket." In truth, he had no idea what was going on inside other than hearing some loud screams coming from it. While he is the type of person to not look the other way when there is a scene of concern,
The head doctor respects the privacy of other people, and for him to break someone's door regardless of reason doesn't feel right to him.
Unless he knows that someone is in critical danger, he won't step in to interfere with or split their privacy, choosing instead to politely wait for them to open the door and talk to them directly about any problems they might be having. Violence is never the answer in his eyes; he believes peaceful solutions are the key to success, as one would put it.
"I'm fine!" Danny quickly responded, trying to play it cool despite the look of panic still plastered across his face: "Just, uh, just working out some stress," attempting to brush it off like nothing was wrong, hoping the doctor would buy into his explanation without further investigation.
As much as he wants to talk with him about his problems, it feels difficult to do so as it requires sacrificing his own dignity and opening himself up to scrutiny, something that makes him feel uncomfortable, especially knowing the extreme level of destruction he caused to someone's property.
It is no one's fault but his; he brought this on himself, and he should've known better to cause such a ruckus.
Despite all of it, his only human in the end, bound by emotions and flaws like anyone else. He's not used to expressing his feelings freely, and he naturally cringes at the thought of revealing his insecurities to the man standing outside his door, regardless of how kind they are.
Allowing others to witness his vulnerability always makes him uneasy. "Is there anything else you need from me?" Wanting to end this conversation sooner than ever, he prayed to God that the doctor isn't the type of person who puts their nose into people's business all the time.
"Is that so?" The head doctor tilted his head curiously; a slight frown spawned on his face. "Well, if you are sure, then I'm going to leave you to it." Hansel decided to give his friend some space after all, sensing the underlying unease beneath the young man's words.
"But if things get worse or you change your mind, don't hesitate to come to the cafeteria." His voice softened, taking on a caring tone, "Remember, we're all in this together, aren't we?" Finishing his speech, he turned to walk away, only to be stopped by Danny's voice.
"Wait, is that where everyone is at the moment?" He inquired cautiously, feeling both hesitant and desperate to shift the topic away from himself. "I haven't seen Unity in my room; I was hoping you know where she is," mentioning her name as an attempt to steer the conversation in a safer direction.
Not wanting to discuss anything related to his personal issues further, Danny opted to bring up a subject he's more familiar with: the whereabouts of the girl who brought him into this mess.
Smile played in his lips from the mention of Unity. "Yes," Hansel answered, "they're all in the cafeteria," mentioning it once more, "if you are curious where it is, just take the stairway down to the first floor, turn left, and you'll find it at the end of the hall," providing clear instructions for the young man, "is there anything else you need from me?" The doctor inquired, genuinely interested in helping his troubled friend if he needed it, despite not fully understanding the depths of his distress.
"No, I'm good doctor. Thank you."
