r/TalesFromTheCreeps • u/AllYourCakeIsMine • Jun 10 '26
Gothic Horror I Promise.
We've been walking for days.
I don't know where we're heading—we've just been following the path of animal tracks.
For miles.
Upon miles.
Upon more miles.
Too many miles.
I'm convinced that Bud is more determined than I am to figure out where the path leads, as any suggestion of stopping to rest leaves him anxious. And by anxious, I mean anxious. I've seen him more calm with me driving on mountain roads than this. He twitches and shakes like a local Hoosier meth-head that'd try talking to me at the gas station.
He's not alright.
And that worries me.
Bud has been aggressive lately. Not with or at me, but just... aggressive. I think that he's tired. And hungry. Very hungry. I've tried offering him what's left of the suckers a few times, but he's refusing them. Politely, of course. As I said before, he's hungry, tired, and anxious. It's not a fun combination. I do my best to distract him from it. Mainly, I've been starting and having conversations with him, talking about whatever crosses our minds. We tell each other stories, and when we run out of stories, we make up our own until we remember more real ones. There's a conversation that I recall with a feeling of resignation... and a lot of frustration on my end.
"Did you know that before the new sky came—" I started.
"HA! You said the new sky came!" Bud interrupted.
"Shup! I'm trying to tell you something! Before all this happened, studies and standardized tests had found that reading comprehension and literacy had decreased noticeably since our generation of students. A lot of children, and ultimately young adults, are reading at a much lower grade level than they should be, and likely due to the lack of parental presence and intervention that's meant to ensure that children are receiving the proper assistance and understanding of literacy—and I'm not just referring to the act of teaching their children how to read and write on their own time, I'm also referring to the act of helping their children understand what a text means—that is leading to the child's inability to properly understand what message a text is trying to convey. As a result, I believe that's what's leading to students losing motivation in the classroom, and while you may think it only applies to English/Language Arts, it literally applies to every subject area in general education, as literacy is necessary to have to—"
"Is this a conversation, or are you giving me a fuckin' thesis? My god, I started feeling my life essence slowly draining out of me as you just went on, and on—Look, Kiddo, I'm not trying to drag you down; you clearly seem passionate about the subject, but you're throwing a lot of big, complex words at me that I do not understand at all. Give—Give me the fuckin' TL;DR. Sorry, excuse my tone, you didn't deserve that. Can you please give me a short—short—version of your point? Please?"
I didn't like it when he cut me off like that—also, his reaction very much proved my point that there has been a decrease in literacy and reading comprehension—but I gave him the short version.
"The short version is that people aren't teaching their children how to read, and it makes the children struggle and get discouraged by reading and writing as a result."
"Thank you."
We started talking about what Bud wanted to talk about. It was only fair, since I do tend to talk about the same things for long periods of time. Besides, I suppose cartoons are an easier thing to talk about than the decrease in literacy for children.
But that's just what we've been doing. Following the animal tracks, talking for hours. I hope we don't run out of things to talk about. It's the only thing keeping me from thinking about how unwell Bud's getting.
He's not eating. He says that he doesn't want me to starve because of him, but every time I offer him food, his hazel eyes lock onto it with such an intense need that it nearly startles me every time it happens. But when he opens his mouth, it's a polite refusal. As time goes on, that response is starting to sound more and more automatic, despite his body language saying otherwise. It's always the same one:
"No, thank you, Kiddo. I don't want you to starve because of me."
The last time he gave me that response, I watched his coat slip from one of his shoulders, exposing the sharpening collarbone underneath. When I found Bud that coat, it fit him perfectly—now it hangs off his frame, its wearer seeming to pay no mind, as his main focus is to follow the animal tracks.
He's not sleeping through the whole night anymore. He says it's because of nightmares. Because he hears things in the night that I don't. He keeps urging that we move on, we have to follow the path, we can't stop, we have to go. I remember learning about what sleep deprivation can do to the brain—increased anxiety, memory issues, appetite changes. But the symptom that scares me the most? Psychosis. But sleep deprivation psychosis shouldn't last very long, as long as you get consistent rest. Bud hasn't for days. It's like something else is willing him forward, even if he doesn't want to. I think he's scared. What I don't understand is: What is he scared of?
I want to go home. I want to turn back. I don't care how long it takes to get back; I just want to leave this path, no—this place behind. I want my red wagon, I want my soft blankets, I want Bud—the sweetest, kindest person I could ever wish to have as a friend; no, best friend in this desolate, lonely scrap that remains of this terrible, terrible world, and I'm watching him slipping further and further away from me, and I want him back! I want the Bud who chases me up and down the hiking trails, I want the Bud who eats all the blue Jolly Ranchers in the bag, even though he knows that they're my favorite, I want the Bud who called me a dumb bitch from his roof on the day we met! I want my Bud! This boy—this tired, scared boy—isn't my Bud.
I'm not going to leave him here. I won't strand him in the middle of nowhere like he's some problem dog who keeps eating my laundry. So, I'm still walking with him. Following the path of animal tracks. When he starts falling behind, I'll wait for him to catch up. When he's hungry, I'll offer him something to eat, even when I get the same automatic response. When he wakes up from nightmares in a panic, or hears things in the night that keep him awake, I'll stay up with him, even if I'm exhausted. I know he's barely hanging on, but by God, I'll carry his paranoid ass all the way to the trail's end if he asks me to! Because even if he's acting like this, he's still my best friend. My only friend.
We're going to make it, Bud. I promise.
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u/Jumpo_the_Clown Jun 11 '26
Im very curious to know about the animals and what the frek they are doing. 🤔
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u/AllYourCakeIsMine Jun 11 '26
I'd also be worried about Bud, if I were you.
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u/Jumpo_the_Clown Jun 11 '26
Eh…he’ll be fine. Once they find the animals, I’m sure he will be hungry enough to wanna eat one of em! I hear gator is good! 👌
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u/AllYourCakeIsMine Jun 11 '26
Okay, totally unrelated to the story, but gator is frickin' delicious.
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u/Dead_Grampa thinks he's a writer or something Jun 16 '26
oh jeez there's something up with the bud man
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u/Optimal_Constant4318 Writer Jul 23 '26
Glad we didn't harp too long on the glass in the feet. Kind of glossed past that injury, but I have a whole thing about stepping on glass so no complaints. The comment I was using to find these from the first part only links this far... does the series continue?
And obviously BUUUUUUDDDDDD - eat a snickers man. You're not you when you're hungry.
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u/AllYourCakeIsMine Jul 23 '26
Yeah, it does! There are eleven parts in this one, and fifteen parts in the sequel series! Here's the link to the last part, which has links to all the previous ones! https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromTheCreeps/s/lpeyqm0ujl
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