Neverending Loops

Chapter 11.

Not long after Joey's, <i>episode</i>, as Henry was starting to affectionately call them, the pair decided to go ahead and find Alice. There wasn't any point in avoiding the inevitable, plus Joey still thought he hadn't imagined the figure that had soundlessly snuck in. He wanted answers, truthful answers; not sweet lies like the ones that Bendy had been spewing, even if he was being spurred on by the Machine.

So here they were, leaving the safehouse that now felt very <I>unsafe</i> in Joey's opinion. He debated bringing up the Demon, positive that if Henry knew some of the things it was saying he'd somehow claw it out and kill it himself, despite if the Machine was gone or not.

For such a relatively gentle person, Henry had a good bit of spite in him, a good thing to have in this version of the Studio. Even if it ran out and left him to break down sometimes, it would come back with a vengeance. Joey wished he had something like that, not tinted with demonic wants. Sure he was good at putting up a facade, but inside? He was a god damn horror show, held together with worry and desperation.

In an attempt to get some information about where they were going, Joey spoke up. It helped drown the demon and Machines whispers out slightly.

"How do we get to Alice? You mentioned an elevator earlier." While describing how he'd gotten crushed under it before, but that was beside the point right now.

"I honestly don't know now. Everything's so different, so we might as well just walk around." Henry shrugged, a neutral expression settled on his face. It made Joey anxious, not being able to read the other clearly.

"Used to be I had to go through the toy workshop, up and down levels, and never got to truly meet her face to face till she tried to murder me." If he saw Joey glance at him in worry, he didn't mention it. "After a couple loops she stopped doing that though. Some of Susie started showing through."

"Hope its still there." The unreadable expression on Henry's face turned to one of pain, and Joey changed the subject. "Are you okay?"

"I think it's getting worse. My hand." Before they left, he rooted through every drawer and crate, looking for anything that could help them out. There had been a surprisingly ink free roll of bandages in the bathroom; when Joey had gone in to see if he'd found anything, Henry had been standing in front of the cracked and damaged mirror, just staring.

Just as he was doing now, carefully unwrapping the bandages from where they had been secured. Joey pulled in a breath at the sight, a nearly open wound that should have at least scabbed over a while ago. The veins surrounding it were dark, as if the ink had seeped in to mix with the red. The dark reddish black color was nearly halfway up his wrist now, looking almost like a strange glove. In other words, not great.

"I didn't want you to worry. Didn't want <i>it</i> telling you anything either." The emotion was back in his features, and Joey realized that's why he'd tried to not to show any. It would just add to the list of horrible things his actions had caused.

"You don't have to suffer so I won't worry bout you. If anything that's worse." Joey ran a hand down his face before looking away. "Wrap it back up for now, it would be even worse if something else got in it."

"Do you still have that knife?" It wasn't a light question, and it caught Joey off guard.

"What?" He knew they should wait, find a safe place with medical supplies, but he wasn't about to lie through his teeth again.

"The knife, that you got from Sammy? Let me see it." Henry's hands were shaking now, whether from the spreading ink infection or nerves, he couldn't tell. But this was better than loosing a hand or worse right? He'd been through worse, but the ink had never done this before. It made him feel helpless, a small insignificant part in a bigger plan he couldn't control.