War Never Ends

Chapter 6

(Dipper pov)

I smile kick the grenade away, shoving Marcy away. The explosion sends me flying painfully on my back, world hurting for me to look at. I close my eyes tightly, it hurting too much to even move the slightest. Gun shots go off around me, feeling two people grab me from under my arms and dragging me back. I open my eyes, everything from my right eye being completely red as I feel something warm dripping down my face.

I get laid down once in a building, whoever dragged me in running right back out shooting. Who is shooting at us? Who are they shooting at? I don't remember this. Hearing something to my left I see a boy. I recognize him but can't think of his name. He was one of the ones who played with Marcy. He can't be older than 9. But in his hand he holds a large combat knife.

"No no no..."  I mutter. This can't be happening, I can't do this. I weakly try to force myself to painfully crawl away as he runs at me.

.....................................

"No no no!"

"Pinetree! Pinetree wake up!"

I wake up, looking up confused and breathing heavily. The room is dark, but in the darkness I see Bill on top of me pinning me down to the bed. What? How did that happen? Glancing to my left I see the air mattress on the floor. Right, he asked if he could spend the night just like old times. I hesitated before saying he could. Fuck, I knew something like this would happen.

"Pinetree." I look up at him again, unable to discern his expression in the darkness.

"I'm awake.....you can get off me now...."

He gets off of me as I sit up. He turns the lamp on, glancing on the door hearing a knock on it.

"Is everything okay in there?" I hear Mabel ask on the other side.

"We're fine." He says before I can think of a lie.

"I heard yelling."

"We were watching jump scare videos and it got out of hand. Go back to bed."

There is a beat of silence before I hear her footsteps leave my door. I turn my attention back to Bill.

"Why the hell were you on top of me?"

"Because you were thrashing around screaming bloody murder and trying to claw at your eye injuries." I look down at my hands, noticing blood on my fingernails. The injuries are starting to hurt more than usual now.

"Fuck.....I knew I shouldn't have let you stay to see this...."

"That's it? That is all you have to say?"

"What do you want me to say?"

"I don't know, maybe a thanks for saving you from fucking up your eye even worse."

"It can't be-"

"Or maybe a fucking damn explanation on what the hell that was."

"Bill-"

"Don't. Do not try to give me some bullshit about how you are fine. You were obviously not fine." He takes a seat on the bed, looking at me with worry and concern. "Please fucking talk to me. Let me help."

"You can't help with this."

"Then just let me listen. Vent to me like your in an emo phase and hate the world. Just fucking talk to me."

".....I don't remember anything from after the explosion, aside from seeing red and the shots being fired."

"You told me you woke up in the hospital soon after."

"Yeah, with no memory of who gave a little girl a grenade, who we were shooting at or who was shooting at us. And when I first got back, I didn't sleep. And the little sleep I got, there was nothing. But then a few weeks ago I started dreaming about it. And the more I dream about it, the more that I'm starting to remember."

"Isn't that a good thing?"

"I....I don't know. I don't know if I want to remember these things."

"What is it that you remembered just now?"

"I was dragged into a building. Didn't even register who dragged me to safety. They both ran out to join the shooting. I heard something to my left and it was a kid from the village. I couldn't remember his name, still can't. But he had a knife. Like a big one, almost like the one the army gave me when I started. I have a bad feeling seeing him holding that knife. I'm in so much pain but I try to move, try to get away. But I'm not fast enough and everything just hurts too much. I can't get away as he runs at me, knife in hand."

"Did he attack you?"

"I don't know. No one mentioned anything like that happening. And all my wounds were from the explosion."

He taps a mark on my hand that was slowly healing into a scar. "That doesn't look like an explosion burn?"

"The doctors said they thought that the explosion had caused rock to fly everywhere. The only explanation they could thing for it was that some rock flew in my direction and cut my hand."

"That seems highly unlikely."

"It probably is. But it's the best they could come up with the information I could give them."

"I can tell that something else about this memory is bothering you."

"A kid ran at me with a knife. And I can't remember what happened to him afterwards."

"Pinetree...."

"W-What if I killed him?"

"You aren't capable of that."

"You don't know that. Just yesterday when Mabel jumped on me I threw her off and was ready to stab her. I didn't even acknowlege it was her at first. All I knew was that I was being attacked and had to elimanate the threat. That was all that went through my head and that was about my own fucking sister. For all we fucking know, I didn't even think any of that when a kid who's name I can't even fucking remember ran at me with a knife after I just nearly died."

"Pinetree." He holds my face in his hands making me look at him. "You are not a murderer. You would never hurt a kid. You would never hurt your sister. Repeat it."

"Bill-"

"No. Shut up and just repeat it.

"I'm not a murderer....I would never hurt a kid....I would never hurt my sister."

"Good." He lets go of me lightly flicking my forehead. "You better not forget it again."

"Jerkwad." I rub the spot where he flicked.

"Yeah, and you love me for it."

I scoff slightly as I push his shoulder away. "You wish."