A Spirit Between Us (bxb)

Chapter 36 - Finale.

Warning: This chapter is loooong. I could've split it into two but I didn't want to drag it out any longer haha! happy reading ⭐️

"Finn! You have to fight it!" Archie pleaded, his eyes fixed on Finn's lifeless expression.

The Mimic's head tilted, a cocky smile spreading across Finn's face. "Oh... not this again," it drawled sarcastically, its voice a distorted mockery of Finn's usual tone. "'Finn, you're stronger than this! Finn, I know you're in there!'" It laughed, the sound grating and unnatural. "Well, he's not. Give up."

Archie's jaw clenched, but he refused to back down. He reached into his bag and pulled out Finn's journal, the worn leather cover a stark reminder of the person he was fighting for. Holding it tightly, he stepped forward and placed it on the ground in front of the creature. The Mimic's smile faltered for a moment, but the malice in its eyes remained.

Turning to his mother, Archie gave her a sharp nod. Katherine stepped forward, clutching the ritual book in her hands. The ancient text gleamed faintly under the moonlight, the symbols etched into the pages almost seeming to shimmer. Without hesitation, she began to chant, her voice steady and deliberate as she recited the old-timey words that made no sense to anyone else.

The Mimic let out a low, guttural laugh, its smoke twisting and expanding as if feeding off their efforts. "I broke free before," it hissed, its voice reverberating with a sinister edge. "What makes you think you can seal me away again?"

Archie's fists clenched, his eyes blazing with anger. "You disgust me," he spat, his voice shaking with barely-contained rage. "You took my dad away. I'm not letting you take him too."

The Mimic's smirk widened, its eyes gleaming with sadistic delight. "Aww," it cooed mockingly, its tone dripping with condescension. "It's a shame Daddy Dearest isn't here to see this. I wonder where he's gone..."

Archie froze, his breath catching in his throat. His fists unclenched as confusion and unease took over. "What are you talking about?" he demanded, though he knew he shouldn't engage. He couldn't help himself.

The Mimic's expression shifted into something cruel and knowing. It leaned forward as far as its restraints would allow, its smile twisting into something sinister. The smoke around it rippled like water, distorting Finn's face into an uncanny valley version of itself.

"You haven't figured it out yet?" it purred.

The tension in the air was suffocating, every breath Archie took felt heavy. Lyla whispered a reminder, "Arch, we need to get Finn to the surface." He nodded faintly, his gaze locked on the Mimic's cold, empty eyes. Somewhere, deep inside that husk, was Finn. Archie had to believe that.

He stared harder, searching for any flicker of life, anything that could remind him of Finn. Nothing. His eyes fell to the journal on the floor, the edges of the worn leather cover rough . "Read it, and I'll kill you." Finn's voice replayed in his mind, a faint trace of his usual teasing tone.

The journal held everything. Finn's raw truths, his fears, his memories. If anything could pull him out, it was this. Archie took a steadying breath and dropped to his knees, opening the journal to its first few pages. The faint scent of paper and ink wafted up, grounding him for a moment. His voice broke the tense silence.

The entry was from two years ago. "May 19th. Football practice was so long and boring. Honestly, I feel like I'm losing the passion for it. But Dad took me and Jake out afterward. We went to a burger place, so that made up for it."

The Mimic's head tilted, its expression twisting into something resembling confusion. The rest of the group exchanged bewildered glances, unsure of what Archie was doing. Katherine's voice, steady and unwavering, continued the chant, her words layering over Archie's like a symphony of hope and defiance.