Rebel: A Monstercat Fanfic

071 - Failure

Song of the Chapter: Aura - Soulero (Electro)

(Tristam's POV)

"I think it's been more than a few minutes," Monstercat says timidly beside me. He sounds small and afraid.

"It's going to be okay. I'm sure he'll come back soon," I answer. I'm just as terrified as he is. I don't know what to do know. I got us in alright, but Monstercat was right. We only got caught, and that's not going to save Braken.

"Soon as in a few minutes?" my alien friend asks. "It's been almost four hours. I think ... we're going to be stuck here for a long time."

"We'll be okay," I insist, but I'm starting to doubt myself. What have I done? I might've just killed us. Four hours is a long time to think. I've been thinking, thinking about how stupid I am. I let my fear and my so-called courage blind my common sense. Monstercat was the only one who saw that, really. Instead of listening to him, I dragged him along with me.

We stopped trying to free ourselves a while ago. It was pointless and we were just hurting each other. I shift again, bringing a stab of pain to my shoulders and elbows. I wish Jensen had just tied my wrists together, because then I wouldn't hurt as much. Instead, he was smart. He had them tape my forearms together - my wrists to my elbows. It wasn't too bad at first, but laying helpless on the floor, unable to move, makes them hurt pretty bad. It doesn't help that the office is uncomfortably hot, and my clothes and hair are damp with sweat. The sweat on my arms starts to rub them raw.

I hear Monstercat shift, too, and grunt in pain. "I'm going to try and sit up, okay?" he says.

"Alright. Is there a wall behind us?"

"Yeah, right here."

I hear a thud and a muffled "ow".

"I'm going to try, too," I say.

The collar around my neck suddenly pulls painfully and I yelp. Monstercat lands back down with a thump and a muttered apology. "We'll have to do it together. On three. One, two, three - "

I throw myself forward, trying to use my legs to propel me, but the tape pulls at the hair on the back of my neck and I swear loudly in pain, falling backward again. Monstercat joins me back on the floor and I wonder how much the tape is pulling his fur. I feel my face get hot as I realize that I probably freaked out over nothing compared to his pain.

"Again?" he asks.

I grit my teeth and brace myself. "Again."

"One, two, three - "

We try again, and I manage to stay upright. My collar pulls a little, but then Monstercat sighs in relief.

"I made it. You up?" he asks.

"Yeah."

"Okay, the wall's back here, just scoot over."

Together, we manage to inch across the floor until my back is resting against the wall. We both sigh softly and relax a little.

Then Monstercat says, "Hey, Leo? What was Braken like before ... before this mess?"

I pause and think for a moment. I don't know what to say, and I don't know if he'd even want me to tell. "He was always quiet, until he was comfortable enough with you and you got on a topic he knew about. Then he'd talk and talk and he wouldn't shut up. He came to live with us when he was about sixteen, and for the first couple weeks, he was traumatized. He broke a glass cup the second day and started crying because he thought he'd be punished, like he would have been back with his father."