UnWanted Reunion (UnWilling Roommates book 2)

Chapter 13: Inside the Bubble

Meanwhile, back at the Blueberry...

(Will's POV)

I was hiding behind Bill, wondering what was going on, when suddenly there was a blinding flash of light. When my vision cleared, I wasn't in the tent anymore.

I was lying on my back in a dark room. My arms and legs were shackled to the corners of the table I was on, the metal freezing against my skin. It was so cold I could see my breath.  Where had my sweater gone?  Where was I?  Most importantly, where was Bill?

"B-bill?" I tried.  My voice came out as a squeak.  I tried again, louder.  "Bill?  Where are you?"  My voice echoed slightly, but there was no answer.

I gave up on shouting quickly and tried to determine if I could escape.  Craning my head until I could just barely see my arm, I tried rotating my wrist to see if I could slip out.  The metal cuff didn't budge; it was tight enough that I couldn't even turn my wrist all the way.  Wincing in discomfort, I gave up on that as well.

I gritted my teeth, trying not to cry.  Bill promised he would protect me.  He said he needed me.  I just have to wait for him to get here... I found myself hoping Bill would find me before someone else did.

I waited in the dark for what felt like an eternity.  I normally had an accurate sense of time, but reality seemed unnaturally flexible in this room.  Too uncomfortable to fall asleep, too frightened to distract myself, I waited in silence until the door finally opened.  My heart leaped, then plummeted.

"Well, hello there, Will," Mabel giggled.

My throat tightened, too filled with awful dread to even squeak.  This can't be happening! I thought in panic.  Bill promised he would protect me from Mabel!  I trusted him!  Where is he?

I watched as she crossed the room, circling the table until she was standing right above my head.  Tears filled my eye as Mabel trailed her fingers down my arm and across my collarbone, brushing against my bare chest before moving to my face.  I flinched as she tugged at the eye patch that had once been Bill's, pulling it off and exposing my glowing eye.

Still too terrified to speak, I could only watch as she unfastened the metal star from around her neck, the symbol of the Tent of Telepathy.  My breath came in tiny gasps, wisps of vapor forming from the cold, as she twirled the star around her fingers.

(Trigger warning: why are you reading this?  Why am I writing this?!)

I froze in horror as her amulet activated.  The metal star floated over my face and paused an inch above my chest, then suddenly glowed red-hot.  I realized what would happen an instant before it did.  The burning metal pressed itself into the skin between my collarbones.  For a tiny second, the pain didn't register, and then I was screaming.

Mabel's laughter filled my ears as she lifted the metal away from my skin, then pressed it down again an inch lower on my chest. The burning agony doubled, and I was screaming even louder.  The sound tore at my throat but I couldn't stop as she burned me with the star again and again, until I finally passed out from the pain.

I woke up slowly, unwillingly, several hours later.  Or it could have been several years for all I knew.  My entire torso felt like it was on fire, the pain of the burns radiating through my entire body.  The cold of the room combined with the burning pain created a distressing disconnect that twisted my stomach.

My wrists and ankles were rubbed raw where I had thrashed in agony, trying in vain to get away from Mabel.  The cuffs dug into me unpleasantly, and I could still feel the blood leaking onto the table.  My throat was painfully dry, but I tried to keep from jarring my chest by coughing.

I felt fresh tears spring up where my eyes were already crusted from crying.  They rolled down the sides of my head and I was unable to wipe them away.  Every time my breath hitched, a new spasm of pain would shoot through my burned chest.

Bill promised he would protect me, I thought dully.  He said he wouldn't let this happen... he told me to trust him...  The thought made me cry harder, which made my chest hurt more, so I lay still and tried to think of nothing at all.  My breathing slowed incrementally as I focused on the clouds of vapor with every exhalation.  After all, pain was nothing I wasn't used to.  I tried to ignore the smell of my own burned flesh as the time ticked slowly past.

After another timeless eternity, the door creaked open again.  I shrank back as much as I could, willing myself to disappear as I squeezed my eyes shut.  No!  Not again!  I can't take this anymore!

I heard quick footsteps in the room, stopping right next to me.  I couldn't hold back a whimper of fear as I waited for whatever pain was about to happen.

After a tense moment of silence, I cracked one eye open.  Relief flooded me as I realized I was staring up at Bill's frowning face.

"Bill!" I gasped.  "You f-found me..." I trailed off as a sob jarred my injured chest again.

"What happened to you, crybaby?" he asked, eyeing the burns.

"M-mabel..." I whimpered.

"Makes sense," he muttered.

"I'm so glad you're h-here, Bill.  Please g-get me out of here," I croaked.

He stood  in silence for a moment.  I watched him, wondering what he was waiting for.

"Well, I could do that, crybaby," he said.  I stared at him in confusion, wondering why he had suddenly changed his tone.

"Or... I could stand here filing my nails instead."

I froze in shock, recognizing his catchphrase.  "W-what?  Bill... what do you mean?"

He smirked at me, suddenly not seeming so worried.  "Well, Will, I realized a while ago that I don't need you to rescue Y/N after all.  In fact, I already rescued her by myself."

The door creaked open again.  I looked to it, completely uncomprehending, as Y/N walked into the room.  Bill moved to her and took her hand.  I watched, still stunned, as they kissed.

Bill walked back towards me as he kept talking.  "I also realized that with you out of the way, I can take her all for myself.  Remember how we got into this mess in the first place?  By fighting over her?  If I leave you down here, all my problems are solved.  This works out best for everyone, really."

"Except you," Y/N added with a snicker. 

"That's true," Bill said, "but then, nobody really cares about you, do they?"

Y/N laughed.  "You don't know how hard it was to keep a straight face whenever you came whining to me, all traumatized and weak.  I never really liked you at all.  You were nothing but a burden to me."

I couldn't even cry at her words.  My mind tried to reject what she was saying, telling myself that this wasn't real, this couldn't possibly be real, but it was contradicted by the deeper part of my mind that had been telling me these same words all along.

"It's funny how dumb you are!" Bill cackled.  "It was hilarious how you thought anyone could ever actually care about you, crybaby!"

They stood and laughed for a while.  I had turned my head away, trying to force myself not to listen.

Finally Y/N sighed, wiping away a tear of laughter.  "Well, Bill, this has been entertaining, but we should get going.  After all, we don't want to hang out down here with this loser forever, do we?"

Bill chuckled.  "You're right, of course.  However, do you want to have some fun with him before we leave?"

Y/N's face lit up.  "That sounds like a wonderful idea."  She held up a claw hammer that had been hidden somewhere in her fancy black dress.  "Do you want to start?"

Bill gestured to me grandly.  "Ladies first."

I could only shut my eyes and hold my breath as Y/N raised the hammer.