FOUND: A Hannigram Devil AU REWRITTEN

Chapter Twenty-Two

Will phased in and out of consciousness through the rest of the journey home. As they walked back to the car, his body grew heavier and heavier, and he fell limp with the sudden weight. His shoulders pulsed in dull pain, and he thought he felt blood trickling down his back.

His father laid him down in the backseat, and the two of them drove to an unknown location. Will spent most of the time with his eyes closed, silent tears falling as his perception returned at a snail's pace. His father was a shadow in the front seat, never turning to look at him. Will couldn't find him in the rear view mirror.

"Where are we going, Dad?"

His father didn't turn around. "I'm stopping somewhere for a moment, and then we're going home." His voice was flatter, different somehow.

"What happened? Where's my shirt?" He was bare-chested, only in jeans and shoes.

"What do you remember, Will? Think long and hard about it."

"It hurt really bad."

"I know. But I need you to think some more, alright? Take some deep breaths and try to remember what happened to you."

Will obeyed. He trusted his father knew what he was doing. He pulled his knees up to his chest and dug into the recesses of his mind, trying to conjure up what happened before all of the pain, but he kept drawing blanks.

The car soon came to a stop, and his father got out of the car. His figure was still shrouded in shadow, and his comforting smell left the front seat along with him. Now devoid of his presence, Will closed his eyes and began reconnecting with his body.

He was forgetting someone else. Someone much more important than his father, as impossible as that seemed.

Moments later, the back door opened. His father scooped him out of the car with ease, holding Will to his chest. His clothes smelled like gun smoke, but the shape of him was off. He wasn't as wide, wasn't as tall. His father was a giant man, so hairy and muscular that as a child, Will had called him Bigfoot. This wasn't the same man.

"You're not my dad," Will said.

"I'm afraid not. Do you know who I am, Will?"

Water rushed somewhere nearby. "I don't know right now."

The figure leaned down and whispered an unintelligible word in his ear, and Will gasped.

"Hannibal."

In a mere second, their surroundings changed. They went from standing outside on the snowy road to standing inside a lush, beautiful kitchen. His father's smell was replaced with spices and char. His father changed into someone else, and this time Will knew his face. The transition had woken him up, snapped him out of his foggy illusion.

"We're home now," Hannibal said. "It's alright."

Will's heart pounded. His shoulders ached. "You lied to me."

"I'm sorry, Will. I didn't know how else to make you feel better."

Will turned his head to the side, clinging to Hannibal's firm abdomen. He grit his teeth, wet cheeks pressed against Hannibal's shirt.

"You said I would know the truth, and I still know nothing," he said. "You lied to me. After everything, you're still lying to me."

Without a word, Hannibal carried him out of the kitchen and down the hall. He recognized the layout of the house, and he was glad to be somewhere familiar.

They went into the master bathroom. Hannibal set him down on the edge of the massive tub and took his hands.

"I know you're afraid," he said, "and I can't say I blame you. But I promise you, I have not lied to you. Your pain is over. Your truth has been revealed. Most importantly, you are safe."