Red String

The Prisoner

TW: Blood
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Yancy stepped out of the cab, the fresh cool sun hitting his skin as a gust of wind blew by. The prisoner began to look around and took in the summer season before his eyes fell on the manor before him. Once he closed the door, he took a couple of steps closer, hearing the cab as it drove away in a hurry. Something was amiss.

The prisoner remembered the pictures his penpal Dark sent him, and they were of a beautiful manor at a marvelous view. This manor wasn't like the ones in the pictures; The windows were cracked, the outer walls had vines and plants growing on it, the grass was overgrown and full of weeds, and the door was flapping with the wind as it hung on its final hinge. He didn't expect this place; Yancy had expected the pictures given to him, not this.

However, before he could ask anything, a man with a red suit jacket walked over, his mannerism and grace greatly contrasting from the manor he saw before his eyes. Yancy's eyes followed the man as he approached the prisoner. "I take it youses Dark? If so, I have a few que-" Yancy began to start before the man before him interrupted.

"My name is Actor Mark actually, but I prefer Actor. This "Dark" you speak of isn't here.... Yet," Actor added quickly to end, a smile appearing on his face. Though, for a second, Yancy saw it twitch at calling him Dark. Must have been his eyes playing tricks on him; This man seemed nice, but something was off, much like the manor, so Yancy had to be careful. "Anyway, enough about me and.... Dark, you must be Yancy, correct? I've heard so much about you."

The prisoner nodded despite Actor seeming off. "Yes, I am, but if youses could, can youse answer my questions? This place doesn't look like the pictures Dark se-" He started but stopped when he noticed something behind the red-themed ego. Yancy quickly noticed that the manor had changed. The windows were fixed, the walls had no plants of any sort, the grass mowed evenly, and the door was fixed; All too much like the pictures unlike how it was seconds ago.

"Yes, Yancy? What was your question?" Actor's voice drew Yancy away from the changed manor as he looked the other in the eyes. His eyes were full of kindness, but much like his smile, something was wrong with them, and as much as he wanted to leave, the cab left, and he had nowhere else to go.

Yancy shook his head. "Nothing, let's just head inside." He tried to perk up after what he just saw, but it was an ultimate failure of an attempt. How could he be happy in a situation like this? Of course, the prisoner didn't say anything as he followed Actor through the path and up the sets. He, remembering his manners, opened the door for the red-suited ego and let him enter first before following.

Only after entry did Yancy realize he made a mistake. The inside of the manor showed that what he just saw had to be an illusion of some sort. There were holes in the floor where you could fall in, vines grew inside of the house, the smashed windows were back, and there were loads of broken or plant-overgrown furniture.

The prisoner gulped at the sight. He knew then that he needed to get out. This place was not safe, especially since Dark said there were others waiting to meet him at the door; This wasn't like the place Dark mentioned at all actually. "I change my mind, I think I prefer youses and I to be-" Yancy was cut off by the door slipping out of his hands and shutting.

"Now, now, Yancy, don't be rude. You were invited to live here, remember?" Actor's voice was calm yet held a bit of anger inside it, and Yancy could feel the anger coming off of him as the red-suited ego turned around. He cracked his neck, the sound being a disturbing crunch as the manor began to fix itself. "Well, you were invited to live at Dark's manor, but after making a few calls, I managed to get my cab there first to get you, and no one knows this place still exists outside of you and me."

Yancy immediately backed up, attempting to open the door only for it to not open. "That door will not open unless I let it, Yancy, so I suggest you just stop before you earn yourself a warning," Actor's voice warned the prisoner. Yancy didn't listen as he continued to try and open the door despite knowing it wouldn't.

Within seconds, Yancy's body suddenly didn't obey him. He stopped trying to get free before he suddenly turned around. All fingers pointed to this being Actor's work as the prisoner couldn't even speak back. Though, once he did, he screamed out, "What's youses doing? How is youses doing this?" His head forcibly looked at his wrist to see a piece of red string wrapped around it, and one of the ends traveled down to the ground and into Actor's hand.

"I have an ability thanks to a friend of mine, and with it, I can make you do anything.... I can also make you feel intense pain, did you know that?" Actor immediately smirked, a rotten idea seeming to form and fester in his brain. "It's been on you this entire time, and you haven't noticed. That's why you saw the manor look like Dark's pictures."

The prisoner knew this was a bad idea. This "Actor" guy was just bad news, and he should've ran off when he noticed the differences. "Fuck youse," He screamed at Actor, feeling only hatred for the red-themed ego. Yancy didn't care if he was going to die just for saying that; This man honestly was evil.

Actor merely rolled his eyes and snapped his fingers, causing Yancy to start spitting blood. Other than that, he was physically fine, but he wasn't; It felt like he was being stabbed over and over again. "I can play this game forever, Yancy. I can hurt you, heal you, and repeat. It's fun for a little while, but before long, it becomes rather boring to watch, and I'll just walk away as it continues to happen." He snapped his fingers again.

The feeling of being stabbed was replaced with feeling something happened to his left eye. Once Actor let him, he held it as he started to scream, blood still around his mouth as he couldn't wash it out yet. He felt blood seep onto his hand as he cried out in pain. It felt like someone was scooping it out but it stayed in place. "Stop it, please! I'll- I won't run, just stop please!"

The pain stopped, but the blood remained as a reminder. "Oh thank you, really. Now head upstairs, there's another soon to be roommate coming soon," Actor ordered in a gentle tone despite making Yancy hurt and bleed out just seconds prior. "Oh and your room is the first on the left, don't forget it, or we might have to do this again, got it?"

Yancy merely nodded as he gained control again of his body. Quickly, he ran off upstairs, still holding his eye. The prisoner didn't think he was allowed to wash off the blood, so he didn't dare go somewhere where he could. Yancy regretted signing up for parole now; This sucked, and he couldn't do much.

If he knew this would happen, he would have declined leaving at the last second. If he knew this would happen, he would have done something to prevent himself from leaving. If he knew this would happen, he would have ignored Dark's letters.

|~*~|

"Hey, Dark? When did you say they were coming again? Magnum is already here, and so are most of the newest egos, but I don't see Yancy nor Illinois," Google informed Dark as he stepped out onto the porch, looking at the darker ego. The android couldn't help but feel like the ego may have failed at getting the "Heist egos", as they call them, once more.

The 3D ego turned to look at Google, their eyes holding something like concern. "They should have been here by now, and I've called both the airport and the prison. I haven't gotten any back yet," Dark answered the android as he waited for egos that he doesn't know won't come. "If they don't show up, I'll ask Host to look for them with his visions."

Google nodded despite feeling like something was off. The android knew that Dark wouldn't lie, so it couldn't be that. Maybe it was a feeling of doubt, like they were on their way here, but something happened and it interrupted their trip here. He made a mental note to look into it if they didn't arrive today. "Let's just hope they arrive soon," He stated calmly.

Dark simply just nodded. It was like they didn't even listen to him, and all they had were their own thoughts. "Go back inside, Google. I'll be out here, waiting for them," They calmly ordered. The 3D ego being calmed towards this situation was not a good thing. It means only the worst will come from them, like they'll blow up at any moment.

"Alright, Dark. I wish you luck with them coming soon, alright?" With that, Google walked back inside, doing exactly what he was told to. Dark needed time alone, and the android wasn't going to be there if so. Besides, he'll soon help in his own way if the egos don't arrive.

All he had to do was wait.