Another Lovely Day in the Neighbourhood

“What is this place?” Flash sniffled, rubbing snot away with a sleeve.

“Not really sure. Moondancer probably knows though,” Timber answered.

Flash regarded the rubble of his rampage. Most of it was slowly dissolving into sludge and disappearing into the void.

“So, we just live in an empty void now?” Flash asked.

“Nah. This is just your section,” Timber said. “Besides, the hands will fix it eventually.”

“The what?”

“Hands.” Timber pointed into the distance.

Looking in the indicated direction, Flash watched as white wooden hands dropped set pieces into the void. Scenic vistas of rolling hills and blue skies painted with white fluffy clouds forming what would become the horizon of the town. It was bizarre and off putting.

“Should I be more bothered by this?” Flash asked. “I really feel like I should be freaking out right now.”

Silence.

“Timber?”

“...Let’s leave Cardboard Town then. We can’t stay here for long anyways with the hands doing repairs.”

“Cardboard Town? What’s that?”

“Your part of the Neighbourhood.”

“...The Neighbourhood?”

“Later. It’ll make sense… eventually. For now, we need to leave. Follow Me.”

Timber walked off. Flash scrambled to catch up with him.

“What’s the rush? Didn’t you say the hands are fixing everything?”

“Yeah, including you.”

“Me? Why would they try to fix me?” Flash paused. “Okay, besides the obvious.”

“There’s nothing wrong with you, Flash… but the hands don’t like us being aware of things. Try not to pass out.”

“Wha—”

Timber grabbed Flash’s hand and pulled him roughly forward.

One blink and he was surrounded by a multitude of colour. A tower in the distance. Eight spheres of varied locales surrounded it. They floated between. Moving away from a wrecked cardboard town to a forest of clay.

A second blink and they were in the woods. Sort of.

Trees towered over them heavily laden with leaves and silent birds. Strands of sunlight came from above and embedded in the ground. All of it was made up of the same material.

Flash pressed a hand into a tree. It gave, imprinting his handprint into the ‘bark’.

“Camp Clay was literal?” Flash asked.

“Yeah.” Timber hummed to himself, a finger underneath his chin and face scrunched up in thought. It looked cute. “How much do you know right now?”

In lieu of a proper response, Flash kissed Timber on the lips. He went deep and hard, leaning into the contact. Flash felt Timber melt into him. Too soon, Flash pulled back. Timber was flushed.

“We’re together,” Flash stated.

“Yeah and—!”

“That’s all I got.”

“You—” Timber paused. “Wait, you just kissed me when you barely remember anything. Even if it’s you, how can you be so nonchalant about this?!”

Flash shrugged.

“You are—!” Timber sighed “Okay, I don’t know what I was expecting. Is that all you got?”

“We’re together. Something happened that has to do with… something. I know who the other six trapped in here with us are. And of course, I know about—” Flash looked askance “—My relationship with $%^!#&*(%^?!.” Flash scowled. “$%^!#&*(%^?!. What? Why can’t I say her name?”

“$%^!#&*(%^?!.” Flash stomped his foot down. “$%^!#&*(%^?!.” He growled. “$%^!#&*(%^?!!”

“Unfortunately, several key people have been censored. Your exe $%^!#&*(%^?! as well as UXJMJHU and !!!!.” Timber shrugged. “I don’t know why the thing that put us here did that.”

“Right, speaking of, we should talk about that. What exactly is the thing?”

“I don’t know a lot about it. Too many resets, but I know some things.” Timber sat down on a nearby log. “Take a seat.” He patted the spot next to him. “This is gonna take a while.”

Flash sat in the indicated spot.

“So.” Timber leaned back with a sigh, gazing up at the plasticine sky. “It started at the homecoming party a few years after high school graduation.”