The warmth of the rising sun passes through the small window in the cabin and gently falls onto Kyle. He gradually flops over from where he had been sleeping the night prior and lays on his aching back for a moment. The uncomfortable wings are simultaneously spread out and squished under him, making his morning just. Unpleasant. Blinking his groggy eyes, he realises something isn’t quite right. He tries getting up, but he tumbles off the wooden desk and helplessly drops onto the floor.
“woAh- ack- fucking- ughh, what?-” He rubs his eyes, but something is still wrong. Kyle can’t see anything. Or, more accurately, he can see, but it’s all these strange blobs of colours. Looking down at his hands, he can see that they’ve changed to completely different colours, more vibrant than the floor and desk. He is baffled. Has he somehow gone blind in the middle of the night? But he can still see, so perhaps he’s gone colourblind? No, he doesn’t know much about colour blindness, but it definitely doesn’t look like this. He pushes himself off the ground and continues to look around. The vague appearances of the wardrobe and the chair can be seen with a dimmer hue, though the top of the desk looks to be more vibrant. At the same time, the rays of sunlight can be seen landing onto its surface. It clicks in his mind. He’s somehow seeing temperature.
Ah, but how does he go back to normal vision? Kyle rubs his eyes hard. Nothing changes. He tries again, desperation rising. Maybe he needs to wash his eyes? He guides himself to the washroom and turns on the faucet. He listens as a slow drop of water makes its way down and lands in the sink. Right, right, there’s no running water here. He’ll have to go to the stream outside. The blurry unnatural colours he sees as he walks give him motion sickness, akin to closing one’s eyes on a swing set. Stumbling out of the cabin, the outside looks even stranger. The grass and trees are a collage of hues and the sky is a shifting mass of vibrance. He closes his eyes and wonders if this is what mantis shrimp see, like being on LSD. He can hear the soft sounds of rushing water coming from the stream. Considering that his vision was unreliable at the moment, he’d have to make his way down with only the sound to direct him. He hesitates, but carefully steps forward. What other options does he have anyway?
Manoeuvring around the trees with his arms out, he feels their rough bark scratch his hands. The sounds of the flowing stream start to get clearer and clearer, along with the strange colours-that-aren’t-colours looking slightly sharper. The pounding dizziness in his head seems to lessen from getting used to the sight, but he’d much rather go back to normal. The trees get sparser around the edges of the stream, and he notices the ground beneath him is dirt and rock. He’s pretty close to the water now, just a few more steps and… nearly walks off the edge into the rolling water. He quickly takes one step back and takes a mental note to be more careful. He kneels down and scoops a handful of water down from the river. Just as he’s about to splash his face with water, someone pushes him in.
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The icy cold water meets his face first, his nose and mouth submerged in a split second. It rushes through his mouth and into his chest, sending him into a choking, coughing fit. He thrashes around to get a hold of something, anything, to get him out of the water. He kicks off the stones at the bottom and grabs onto the dirt above. Just as quickly as he got in, he emerges from the stream and spews water everywhere, gasping for breath. His eyes burn from the unexpected exposure to the flowing water, and he squints in pain. He drags his soaking body out of the water and collapses on the ground, still heaving. Who the hell just did that?! He looks around but the person is nowhere to be seen anymore. Wait. He rubs his eyes again to make sure he isn't mistaken. He- he can see clearly again! But… why?? What changed? Was it something he did? Maybe it was because of the water? That person? There are too many variables to understand what exactly brought his vision back, but at least it was back. Oh man, he’s absolutely soaked. How’s he going to go meet up with the paranormal investigators like this?
April, Tim, and Julia are waiting at the cafe once again. Chatting over some baked goods Bailey made this morning.
“Is he always going to be late to everything?” Julia asks, watching the time tick away on her watch.
“I hope not, but if he is, I hope he’s at least got an interesting story to tell!” Tim responds.
“I bet he’s going to come in a few seconds from now.” April chimes in.
“Well, I bet against you.” Julia crosses her arms.
The three of them wait a few seconds in silence. Julia smirks.
“Well, it’s been a few seconds, I think I win-”
“SORRY FOR BEING LATE AGAIN-” Kyle rushes in once again. Julia freezes in surprised shock. April mimics the smirk and holds out her hand.
“I think I win this time, actually,” Julia grumbles and hands over a bill to April. She quickly pockets the money.
“Dude. WHY are you drenched.” Tim questions.
“Uhhh, sink malfunction?” Kyle says helplessly. Technically it’s the truth, the sink does not function.
“Damn, you seriously need some dry clothes.” Tim teases between fits of giggles. “Uh, do you want some of mine?”
“Oh! Uh, YEAH, that would be amazing. You sure you're okay with– ?”
“Yeah, I mean, just try not to get them soaked or sooty.” Tim's eyes flick up and down Kyle. “Might be a little bit hard for you,” Tim says sarcastically. Kyle awkwardly laughs.
“S-sure, I promise it won’t happen,” Kyle responds.
“Alright, you can go change, but after that, I’ve got something special planned today.” Julia interrupts.
“And what’s that?” April says curiously.
“We’re exploring a haunted house.”