Chapter 25

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--Previously--
"You mentioned someone other than yourself earlier, who exactly were you referring to?"
This question made me quite nervous. I knew I would have to answer it honestly, despite the fact that he may not believe it himself. He already had a lot on his mind, so to answer this question it would be a burden. Still, I couldn't keep him from the truth.

"Well, to put it plainly - you."
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He denied this quickly, shaking his head at a rapid movement.
"We've only just met." He replied sharply, rather insulted by my answer. Immediately, he thought I was making a whole joke of the thing - that none of the answers I had previously given him were true. It wasn't irrational of him not to believe me, after all, I was a mere stranger to him as it seemed. Despite feeling a little discomfort to the fact that he had lost most (if not all) of his past memories, hearing this answer from him was far from strange. I was quick to back up this answer though,
"You recognise me, yes?"
He sat pensively, reflecting on his abnormal sense of deja vu whenever it came to looking or thinking about me. Even though thinking about this question was uncomfortable for him, at the same time it was rather comforting. He knew me; he didn't - it was hard to tell. Sammy stared at me, as if he were trying to get some sort of recall to the past. After all, the mention of Susie was enough to regain some of his memories back. It worked a little bit for him - he was able to get one short memory back, which caused a smile to grace his ink-covered features.
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It was me, Sammy and Jack who sat in the music room - chuckling lightheartedly at Jacks coughing fit he had due to his cold. He'd originally came in to hand Sammy the lyrics to a new song for the next episode but instead of leaving it there, one cough erupted from his throat upon explaining what the song was about; after that, he couldn't stop! By now, he had managed to topple over onto the floor, rolling around on the creaky floorboards.
"Jack, you look like my mother when she's had too much to drink-" I interrupted his dying fits of sneezes and coughs to make my statements. Sammy chuckled, further expanding my point.
"You look like me when I've had too much to drink or even smoke for that matter." He said.
A group of people were heard  from a distance, all of them rushing into the room to see what all the noise was about. Susie and Norman both looked at each other before laughing intensively at the scene before them. Susie, slightly more concerned for how long the man was coughing, immediately rushed to his aid, dragging him to the infirmary. Thank god Joey never left his office to see this madness! Norman followed Susie from behind, itching to know what was actually happening which left only me and Sammy in the room.
We both gazed at each other before laughing again, a shade of red dusting his cheeks to which I failed to notice. Who would've thought that one of the fondest memories in Joey Drew Studios would be Jack having his daily coughing fit?
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"I don't know... maybe." He lied, trying to deny what he knew so well was the truth.
"Well, if you do then there's your explanation." I finished my introduction with a breathy, unbothered response; my hand gently stroking my hurt arm, feeling the new, soft fabric that protected the wound. The air flew flat once more.

"If you knew me so well, then what was I like?" Sammy wondered, looking at my clammy hands which picked at the bandages wrapped around my arm. Seeing that I was being distracted by this, he pulled my hands away from the protected arm and held them in his. 
"Oh... well, you were quite similar to how you are now - very stubborn, a big grump and you preferred time to yourself. You hated nearly everyone and you often had very snarky comebacks especially towards Wally. I admit it, I found it very funny. Oh! Me and you would hang around, mainly when Joey would send me over to you for a few favours of his. And-"
"What were we like?" Sammy cut me off, asking an odd question. Struggling to hide the redness that glowed on my cheeks, I replied.
"Really good friends. I still don't understand why, but you trusted me a lot more than the others. I knew you trusted Jack a little as you'd known him for much longer, you also shared something special with Susie but with me it was still very different. Even now, just talking to you again without any feeling of uneasiness feels so weird. You've forgotten almost everything yet you still trust me enough to tell you this. You're my friend, Sammy, so I'll do my best to help you regain as many memories back as you possibly can." 

About to open his mouth, Sammy paused at the sudden change in atmosphere. From what we felt was a calm, relaxing environment at the time being shifted into something much darker and elaborate. The already dim lights in the infirmary room grew dimmer by each passing second as a thick, black substance made it's way to cover each wall in different patterns; big and small squiggles of ink racing down from the ceiling and to the ground. Worry and dread replaced this calmness I had once felt, the both of us knowing who'd just announced their presence. Creeping up the stairs from the level below us was the ink demon - that sinister smile that had been continuing to haunt me for the past few days prior. Sammy didn't notice how close he was, but I did. His lanky frame towered above Sammy, casting a unique shadow on the wall behind me. Now knowing that the ink demon stood right behind him, Sammy's eyes grew wide, having barely any reaction time before the ink demon was about to strike. 
However, as soon as I saw the ink demon raise his bare hand - his claws ever so sharp that it would likely pierce right through Sammy - I grabbed an old, dirty pillow that rested beside me and threw it right at the demons face, blinding him in the process. As a reaction to this, he screeched, his legs moving backwards until he finally toppled over onto the floor. Now distracted, this gave me a short moment to pull Sammy back onto his feet with my free arm and dart upstairs back into the music department. My grip on his hand was extremely tight, which could've hurt him but I could care less about that at the moment. Despite the sharp pain Sammy felt in his hand, he was much too focused on the fact that we were now being hunted by the ink demon to protest. 

"Shit! I forgot he does that when you stay in a certain place for too long..." Sammy panicked, trying to steady his breaths. It was only his adrenaline rush that kept him going at this point.
"-In most places." I added, not wanting to utter another word and tire myself even more. We ran down the hall and all the way to Sammy's office where the hall closet could be found. There were plenty of other spaces to hide but hiding in the closet would've proven to be the better option. In a rush, I let go of Sammy, twisted the knob and tried prying the door open, but to no avail.
"Dang it, Wally Franks!" I cursed, knowing fully well that there wasn't much hope in finding the keys that Wally had most likely dumped anywhere around the department. From afar, the ink demon could be heard growling, most likely angry at me for chucking that pillow at his face. I looked at Sammy, my eyes beginning to water slightly which contributed to the amount of fear I felt. However, Sammy did not look so glum. In fact, he was the one to lift me off of my feet and help me climb over to the other end of the wall which was his office. Of course, the entrance was locked so luckily his office had an unglazed window that we could climb through. He followed me after I had landed in his office. The ink demon was seen at the other end of the hallway, not noticing 2 pairs of eyes that were set on him. 

Without warning, an inky hand was set over my mouth (luckily, none of it was inhaled by me) and Sammy pulled me down to the ground. This caused my injured arm to bump into the wall behind me and I could only flinch in response. My breaths had gotten heavier as I noticed the ink travelling over to the walls surrounding us so I closed my eyes. Sammy let go of my mouth and wrapped an arm around my waist,  pulling me closer towards him in an effort to create a secure feeling for me. His other hand travelled to my shoulder, rubbing it gently; a warm smile spread across my face while tears continued to roll down my cheek. My smile soon fell once I opened my eyes to see a familiar shadow of the ink demon appear on the wall. All Sammy could do at this point was to cover my eyes for me. He lifted his mask up to try and get a better view and tilted his head upwards. The only thing Sammy could make out was one of the ink demons horns peaking into his view as the ink demon kept looking around the room. Fortunately for us, he began to walk away which made Sammy smile a little. His smile was quick to fall once he noticed how terrified I was, so he put his mask back on. In an effort to calm me, he took his hand away from my eyes and started rubbing my arm once again.
"Shh... he's gone... you're safe..." He shushed me, continuing this pattern until I was fully calm. Once I felt content, I wiped my remaining tears away. Upon letting go, a sudden memory came back to Sammy; one of me calming him down when he had a panic attack. It made him proud to return the favour, although both of us still craved for this moment to last forever.
"Thanks, Sammy..." 
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Word count: 1758 words

Amberzoeheart~

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