//------------------------------// // Inundate // Story: Binding of Isaac: Beyond // by IAmNotSmartest //------------------------------// *“Isaac,” he heard someone call softly. Cadence. “Wake up.” Isaac, in truth, had been awake since before dawn. Whatever he’d dreamed about, it left him unable to even think about sleeping. It had rattled him to the core… and yet no matter how hard he tried, he could not remember what it was. He tried to push the dream out of his mind. The world demanded his attention. He sat up, and immediately jerked away, smacking his head into the bed’s backboard. Cadence had been very close to him. Well, a good two feet away, but he hadn’t expected it. She recoiled, wincing at the impact. Reached out instinctively, then retracted her foreleg. “Are you okay?” Isaac, cringing at the developing bruise, nodded. He shifted over and slipped off the bed, rubbing his eyes, then his head. He’d honestly had worse. He could hear rain in the distance. Soft, but there. He didn’t look out the window though, instead looking over at his apparent guardian. Cadence gave him a patient smile, which Isaac returned halfheartedly, unsure of it’s meaning. “So did you try on the clothes yesterday?” she asked him. “Yes,” he replied quietly. Shining Armor asked me that before, yesterday night. Why didn’t she ask him? “They’re fine.” In actuality, he was pretty surprised by how uncannily similar to his old ones, minus the nonexistent shoes. A sky-blue shirt and olive-green shorts, devoid of decoration. The pants had pockets, though they were angled strangely, straining his wrists to get his hands inside. It was all stiff, all starchy, as if they’d been a solid mass prior. It felt more like wearing thick paper than cotton. Still, he appreciated the thought, and the modesty they provided. He threw on the grey cloak as well, planning to return it to Shining if and when he saw him. Cadence turned away while he dressed, at his request. Even though she already saw me…  he pushed the thought away. Once he finished dressing, she turned and asked, “Are you still not hungry?” Isaac shook his head. She gave the same concerned look as before, but did not question it. “Then you’re ready to go to school?” No. “Yes.” Smiling again, she started to guide Isaac through the halls. Isaac caught a brief glimpse of the sky outside before looking away. There was a large cluster of stormclouds looming menacingly on the horizon. Even with the tremendous height of the window, Isaac couldn’t see their top. “It’s… it’s going to rain in the city today?” he asked Cadence. “Hm? Oh, yes. The weather ponies were scheduled for a storm today, it helps to clean off the buildings.” She informed him. “It’s pretty rare for them to use such heavy stormclouds though.” Isaac nodded, though he didn’t quite understand how anyone was controlling the weather. He did like the rain though. God’s Tears, his mother had called it. Notably less painful than his own. Regardless, the rain sounded nice, monotonous. White noise. Eventually the two of them reached the  exit at the bottom of the tower. The Crystal Heart still beat with his own, but not so strongly as before. He focused on the other ponies so he could avoid looking at the city itself. Shining armor was waiting for them, giving his wife a quick embrace. Isaac noticed two other guards with him, standing sentinel behind him. One was holding a small satchel, brown, with a brass buckle holding it shut. Before he could ask, Cadence started to speak. “Okay, Isaac,” the alicorn explained to him. “Shining’s going to take you to school on his way to the southern barracks. It’s not too far from here.” Isaac wished she’d told him beforehand, but nodded comprehensively. There wouldn’t be much I could change about it anyway. Shining gestured for Isaac to follow. As the child fell in line with the captain, he began to unclasp the cloak. He held it up to Shining meekly, mumbling “This is yours…” Shining held up a hoof and shook his head (while still walking, raising questions to Isaac’s mind). “You can keep that. I’ve got another, and you’ll need it for the rain today.” But it’s not… it’s yours, not mine. But the boy did not argue, trying to focus on something other than his surroundings. Isaac felt a drop of water hit his head. He refused to look up at the sky. Another. He held out his hand as more began to fall, and the rain developed into an unnatural deluge. Isaac pulled the hood up, slightly obscuring his vision. He didn’t mind that. “Speaking of which,” Shining gave a short laugh. A sort of glowing, cyan dome appeared over him, as well as the guards, shielding them from the rain. He extended it over Isaac as well. The rain fell harder. I’m fine, stop helping me. You already gave me the hood. I don’t need this much. I don’t want it. But he said “Thank you” anyway. “Are you excited Isaac? To meet your new friends?” Shining asked him. Isaac could hear him attempting to suppress the excitement in his voice. Isaac was not. He was anxious. Terrified. He was being dropped in the deepend, expected to swim without knowing how. It was certainly not helped by Shining Armor’s obvious expectation to adapt instantly, nor the incomprehensive worry of his wife. I don’t get it. Why would they think I’d be fine? Why did I? I’m not like them, and they’re not like me. This is scary, but they’re more worried about what happened and what I don’t want or need… they don’t ask me how I feel. They ask me how they think I feel. His expression drooped from the neutral one he was forcing. Isaac spoke after a moment. “No.” Shining, perturbed, asked, “Why? Is something wrong?” Isaac could feel his heart beat harder, but steadily. “No. I’m not excited to meet them.” he said softly. Shining asked again. “Can’t… can’t you figure it out?” Isaac said unevenly. He was silent choking back sobs as his eyes watered beneath the hood. The unicorn was silent a moment. “You’re nervous, aren’t you?” Isaac swallowed the lump in his throat without it returning. Momentarily, he began to hope that Shining actually understood. Did… did he- “Hah, don’t be!” Shining Armor said cheerfully. “It’ll be fine.” Splash. The water from the rain had risen up out of the gutters, onto the roads. “Look, we’re here.” Shining looked down under Isaac’s hood. The child had already wiped away his tears. Isaac held what he thought was an excited countenance. “I’ll take you inside, then I’ll see you at the end of the day, okay?” Isaac wanted to say no. But he said yes anyway. Shining opened the door, which let a surprisingly large amount of water in, and quickly ushered Isaac inside, closing it behind them. A half-a-dozen or so staring faces greeted them, all but one pair of eyes on the boy. All the students had stopped what they were doing, and the teacher walked over to Shining. Isaac felt like his heart was falling out of his chest. The silence was only broken when the teacher started talking to Shining. The child was deaf to it. All he could see was the looks on their faces. Confusion, fear, interest, curiosity… disgust. They know too. I’m not like them. The rain was roaring, wind howling. Some students started to look out the window. An enormous crushing sound seemed to almost shatter the air, though none could mistake it for thunder. The children screamed. The teacher yelped, and set about calming the children. Shining, now wary, charged a spell. Isaac looked at the floor. There were deep cracks in it, and water was rushing in rapidly from the door behind him. The floor fell out from beneath them as they plummeted into abyss.