Tainted Friendship

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My vision was fading in and out. I felt my body being shaken around, and the only thing I could see was Frank, it felt like he was carrying me. His pace was swift, making his way up to the front door of the cabin. Everything looked blurry and faded as he moved. I reached my hand up to his chest feeling shaky.

"Frank..?", the words barely audible. He looked down at me for a second, then back to looking ahead. I felt confused like my brain was rocking around in my head along with my body. A door slammed open and shut in a blink before I was gently set down on Frank's bed. I barely remembered how we got to his room. He started to slip my hurt shoulder out of my hoodie, covering my torso with the soft sheet. He kneeled to slide a large box of medical supplies from underneath the bed. I seemed to become more conscious every minute or so. 

"Hey, I'm okay-", I tried to say, my throat hoarse. 

"No, you're not... no you're not," he gritted through his teeth while hastily cleaning my wounds. I winced from the disinfectant seeping into my injuries and squeezed my eyes shut. "I'm making sure you're okay, then I'm going to kill that fucker."

"I-I'm sorry I left without you. I wanted to practice, I wanted to be able to use my power on my own-" I stammered feeling embarrassed and stupid. For a moment, he stopped what he was doing and held my face in his hands.

"I'm proud of you," he whispered. It caught me by surprise. Frank had never gotten mad at me before, but I was surprised he wasn't now more than ever. I looked into his eyes with a puzzled look on my face. "You single-handedly got through one of the hardest situations since you have been here. It'll teach those assholes you aren't to be messed with." He then looked away back to my wounds, I felt the atmosphere of the entire room change in an instant. "...and I'm about to make him learn some mistakes are fatal." He seemed to almost freeze in time, playing the upcoming scenarios in his head. He snapped back to the present as he finished tending to my injuries. He took a brief moment to lift his mask to kiss me on the forehead before turning around to the wardrobe. Frank rummaged through the contents before revealing a much larger blade than his usual weapon. Effortlessly, he slipped it into a holder on his belt loop. He traded his usual leather for a black hooded militaristic jacket. He removed his mask from his face before slipping on a pure black mask with his usual smile painted in red. He walked to my side laying my knife down next to me on the side table.

"Where was my knife, Frank?.." I asked knowing fully where it was. 

"I found it on the tree line where we practiced,  blood spattered across a tree and the ground.." his voice grew darker. He turned to face me, "What did he do to your neck?.." It sounded as if he had hit his limit. I slowly raised my hands to my neck, not realizing the large dark purple marks of being strangled. "And where were you, where did he take you to?" my memory still felt faint but I remembered the cellar doors. 

"I-I was in a dark room with concrete floors. When I escaped, I found large cellar doors above my head, in the forest near the campfire. I stumbled trying to recall. He turned towards the door. "Frank..", he turned his head to face me. "Can I come?" I felt like I already knew the answer to this question. "I don't want you to leave." I pleaded with him. 

"You are in no condition to stand let alone deal with this problem." His stern voice rang out. I felt silenced, but I couldn't just let him leave. Against his wishes, I sat up in bed, trying not to show the pain on my face. He took a step towards me before hesitating. I slowly walked to the wardrobe pulling out a black tank top. I stepped through it like a dress to avoid lifting my shoulder as much as possible. 

"Frank, you have my mask, don't you?" Reluctantly, he motioned to a small table on the side wall. My mask lay next to his usual one on the wooden table. I slid my knife from the nightstand to its holder before I held my mask in my hands, looking down seemingly lost in thought. Something didn't feel right. I couldn't let Frank kill him. It made no sense, he hurt me, he tortured me, but it couldn't happen. "I need to talk to him."

"What is there to talk about? This is over," he said trying not to raise his voice. 

"Frank, I need to do this. I need to know why-" I felt like I was rambling, coming up with nothing. 

"I'm supposed to protect you, I can't afford to let this happen again, I should've finished it the first time," he said flinging open the door. I followed behind him, trying to hold his arm to force him to walk slower with me. He in no time managed to come across the grimy metal doors disguised among the forest floor. They were flung open with ease as he descended the concrete stairs. As I went to take a step after him, they slammed shut in my face sending me backward to the ground. Joey standing above me on top of the cellar doors holding a long crowbar. He swiftly jammed the bar in between the exterior handles. Almost immediately Frank began to beat loudly against the door swearing. 

"Hey darling, long time no see?" Joey said as condescendingly as possible. I immediately drew my knife, ready to fight no matter the condition my body was in. I felt the blood pumping through my veins in anger. "You know, I never thought I would encounter a problem like you in this realm." he sneered. I slightly cocked my head to the side, confused. "I go to trial like I always have and what do I find? Some little survivor Frank took a liking to." he sighed mockingly. "I enjoyed every second of chasing you, every second of slicing you open as you tried to get away." he was almost laughing to himself. The memories burned as they came back to my head. "And then Frank beat the shit out of me. Now how do you think that makes me feel about you? You harmless innocent little girl leading to one of the most painful things I've ever experienced." He gripped his fist so hard it began to shake. "Frank always felt like the boss, it never mattered what I thought- but you... oh, you really caused a stir."

"Then come get me," I said tired of his story. 

"Oh, no, I'm gonna let you find out if you're meant for this". He rushed forward, knocking my knife out of my hand before I could realize it. Grabbing my arm, he dragged me to the trial gates. He grunted as he tossed my body onto the path behind the gate, throwing my knife on the ground behind me. I looked back at him, stunned. "Let's see if you're really a killer." He slightly lifted his mask, giving me an unsettling smile. The world began to fade to white as I was being transported to trial. My emotions went into overdrive as the realization set in. I couldn't get to Frank, I couldn't go anywhere... until I completed my first trial, alone. 

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