Drowning

New Friend

Sammi woke up on the Ink Demon's throne, which startled her. The ink was draped around her arms and trailed down her head. She shivered, feeling both confused and scared. What the heck is going on now? She sat up, with some difficulty since the ink was kinda gooey. It stuck to her jumpsuit, her hair, and her very skin. Once you're in it, it's nearly impossible to get out. Just one of the many things wrong with this place. Sammi stood, pulling herself out of the chair.

The ink tried to pull her back, but she broke free somewhat. The ink settled into her hair, jumpsuit, and skin. Sammi gazed towards the exit, feeling wary. She was the Ink Demon's liar, after all. She cautiously peeked out of the throne room, seeing nothing but the familiar entranceway, lined with tubes where the ink creatures that lived here were created. Sammi didn't understand the specifics of how this machine worked, but he knew it created living ink creatures, usually humanoid blobs of ink she called Searchers or the more human-like forms of the Lost Ones.

It bothered Sammi but taught her to stay numb to it all. Focus on the exit. Er, the loop. Sammi made her way through the hall, purposely not looking at the tubes around her. The machine thrummed under Sammi's feet, and she realized the machine must be working. She could hear the ink gurgling around her, but she kept her eyes fixed on the exit. Then she heard it. A muffled scream. Sammi closed her eyes. There was someone in the tubes.

Something rammed against her, and Sammi realized that whoever, whatever it was, they were trying to get her attention. Sammi glanced over, only to find herself staring into one of the tubes. Thick ink was pouring down, and the tube was already partly full. And- There was a hand, pressed against the glass. Pounding desperately. Sammi froze. The figure inside was already covered in ink, they were trying desperately to get out. Sammi glanced around wildly. She didn't know if it was a good idea, but she couldn't just stand by and let them suffer.

She ran back to the throne room, looking around wildly. Then she saw it. A loose pipe, halfway hidden between the wall and one of the projectors. She rushed forward, grabbed the pipe, and pulled it from the wall. Then she ran back, smashing the glass. Ink spluttered out, and the figure fell onto the floor, coughing up ink. They sounded human, but Sammi stayed on guard. The figure looked up, their eyes looked bloodshot, only without the color. Their eyes were human, dark gray. They coughed again, then croaked; "S-Sammi?"

Sammi froze. She knew that voice. She rushed over, kneeling beside the man. He coughed again. "Norman?" Sammi whispered, feeling shocked. The old projectionist blinked at Sammi, his expression disbelieving. "What're you-" Sammi grabbed his arm. "We have to get out of here." She hissed in a low tone. "Stay quiet." Norman stared at Sammi, eyes wide, then nodded. Sammi put one arm under him, helping him stand. Then they both made their way toward the exit. Norman froze, his eyes wide as he gazed at the lake of ink, the huge cavern that hosted the Ink Machine. "What the heck." He muttered, looking around.

Sammi started to step into the ink. "Sammi, stop!" Norman yelled. Sammi looked back at him, knee-deep in ink. "It's not that deep," Sammi reported, blinking at Norman. Norman shook. "Get back here." He hissed. Sammi was alarmed and waded back, pulling her legs out of the ink. "What is it?" She asked, then paused. "Can you not touch the ink?" She asked. Norman swallowed. Sammi could see the skin around his eyes now, it looked normal. He seemed to still be human, maybe Sammi had stopped the process in time? She wished she knew more about how the Ink Machine worked.

Norman blinked at Sammi. "That's how it captured me." He whispered finally. Sammi blinked in understanding. She'd remembered how the Ink Demon had appeared in a puddle of ink, back in the music department. Sammi wadded back into the ink. "Sammi!" Norman pleaded. Sammi held up her hand. "Hang on." She muttered, looking around. She spotted an old crate and wadded it, pushing it over towards where Norman stood, in the entrance of the Ink Demon's lair. Sammi swallowed. "Jump in the crate," Sammi called. "I'll push you across." Norman gave Sammi a disbelieving look. "You? Really?" Sammi scowled. "Yeah. Got a problem with it?" Norman frowned at Sammi. "Are you sure? You're not exactly-" Sammi glared at Norman. She knew what the projection was about to say. "Get on the crate, Polk. Or I will leave you here for the demon."

Norman jumped into the crate, crouching to keep his balance. Sammi rammed her shoulder into the crate, pushing Norman and the crate across the lake. Norman yelped. " I didn't think you'd be able to move me," Norman muttered. "Shut it Norman," Sammi grunted, ramming her shoulder into the crate again. Before long, Sammi had pushed the crate close enough to where Norman could jump through again. Norman jumped and landed easily on the other side. Sammi waded around the crate, heading to join Norman in the hall.

Then she felt it. A stabbing pain flared in her foot, making her screech out loud in pain. "Sammi!" Norman yelled, panic in his voice. Sammi stumbled, falling into the ink. She surfaced, coughing, wiping the ink out of her eyes. A hand swam before her vision, and she grabbed it, pulling herself out of the ink. The ink gripped her, then let go with a spalt. Sammi coughed, blinking at Norman, who was kneeling beside Sammi. "Oh my gosh, that scared the living daylights out of me." He muttered, looking at Sammi. "Are you okay?" He asked

Sammi nodded, coughing. "Yes, I'm fine." She said, blinking at Norman. "Thanks." She added, making Norman grin. "Yeah, sure." He mumbled. "No problem. You did save me." Sammi shrugged. She moved her foot closer to study it. Scarlet blood mixed in with black ink, making her wince. There must have been a glass shard in the ink or something. It didn't look like an attack from an Ink Creature. Sammi had been attacked so many times, she knew if it was. Norman knelt next to her, eyes wide. "Was it..." Sammi shook her head. "Glass shard, I think." She said, reassuring Norman.

"I'm not that badly hurt. Been through way worse at this point."