1000 Ways To Die When You're A Teleporter

Chapter 27: Electric Chair

"Fletcher! No!" Valkyrie screamed, tears pouring down her face as she watched Fletcher be dragged away, fighting against the two huge men restraining her.

"Let-go-of-me!" Yelled Fletcher, kicking and fighting will all his might.

"Don't you dare hurt him!" Valkyrie shouted, with much more confidence than she felt she actually had.

She watched through a web of tears as Fletcher was pulled roughly into another room; the door slammed behind him. She was now separated from him by a wall of glass. The guard holding her released her and she banged hard on the glass at once, but they laughed and told her it was no use. It was sound and pullet proof.

Fletcher knew what was coming the moment the door was closed behind him. He struggled harder then ever, but then one of the huge, strong guards holding him grabbed his head, and Fletcher stopped; he knew how easy it would be for the man to snap his neck just from the strength of his fingers.
He was shoved into a chair in the middle of the room. Wires led off it and there was a metal headcase, which was rammed onto his head the moment he was sat in the chair. His hands and feet were buckled in and wires were clipped onto all sides of the chair. Fletcher's heart was hammering in his throat.

"Please, no," he thought, knowing what was coming.

He saw one of the guards cross the room to a large power switch and grasp the handle firmly.

"No... Nonononononono--" Fletcher whispered. He had never been more terrified in his life. Tears leaked down his face. "Please... Please... No..."

With an almighty pull, the guard lifted the power switch, slamming it down to 'on'.

Fletcher screamed.

Electricity radiated through his entire body- he felt like he was on fire. The pain was unbareable.

His limbs and extremities began to twitch and jerk uncontrollably and he started foaming at the mouth.

He could feel his brain shutting down.

And he wanted it to end.

He wanted this pain to be over.

He wanted to die...

Bang!

Valkyrie looked up from sobbing into her hands. So did the guards. Fletcher was jerking violently in the electric chair, and the door behind her was wide open.

Skulduggery had just kicked it open. He pointed his gun at the glass.

"Too bad, Skelly!" One of the guards laughed. "This stuff's bulletproof."

"Good job I'm not using bullets, then," said Skulduggery, and he shot lazers at the glass, which exploded at once.

Then Valkyrie heard him mutter,

"The sparrow flies south for the winter."

Then he aimed his gun and swiftly shot all of the guards. He sprinted to the power switch and turned it off. Fletcher stopped moving.

"Skulduggery!" Valkyrie cried, running into the room and wiping her eyes hastily. "You came!"

"Course I came, old Renn needed me," Skulduggery returned, striding over to the chair. "Hmmm," he said. "Looks like I got here just in time."

"He's not d... dead?" Valkyrie stammered.

"Not yet," Skulduggery said, ripping the shackles and wires off Fletcher's limp arms and legs. He gently lifted the metal head case off him and put his skeletal hands under Fletcher's arms, lifting him out of the electric chair. "But he's on the way out."

Valkyrie gasped.

"What are we going to-"

"Out of the way," Skulduggery said swiftly, carrying Fletcher bridal style. She followed him of the room, down the long corridors of the lab.

"Take my gun," Skulduggery murmured. "It's faster and scarier than magic. It'll hold the others off easier if you show you're armed."

He spoke urgently, so Valkyrie reached into his pocket and took out the pistol. She cocked and loaded it, holding it close to her chest. Then they sprinted through the twisting hallways, members of the lab running up to them and instantly backing away as Valkyrie waved the gun at them. They reached the exit and the guy guarding it went to stop them. Skulduggery chucked a fireball in his face and exploded the doors. They flew out and slid into the waiting Bently, ever reliable.

"Seatbelt," said Skulduggery as he put the car in gear. Valkyrie got in the back and held Fletcher lying down across her legs. She clicked herself in and gripped the unconscious Fletcher tightly. He was still shaking and only the whites of his eyes were showing.

They swerved away and raced towards the Sanctuary.

"Is he going to be okay?" Valkyrie asked anxiously, feeling Fletcher's pulse as they rocketed along the motorway. It was feeble and irregular. "His pulse is all juttery."

"I'll answer that question when Doctor Synecdoche has seen him," Skulduggery muttered distractedly.

"Well, you won't be answering that question then, will you? Doctor Synecdoche will," said Valkyrie irritably.

"Valkyrie, can you just-" he snapped, stopping himself mid sentence with anger and fear bubbling over, making his voice crack. Valkyrie was shocked. Skulduggery was really, really worried- maybe even scared. That's why he was being snippy, she knew. And if he was worried, so was she... Skulduggery was always so sure and confident: if he didn't know what was going to happen to Fletcher, then she was even more terrified.

She grasped Fletcher's trembling hand and whispered,

"Pleasebeokaypleasebeokay," over and over until it became one long word.

They finally arrived. Skulduggery carried Fletcher. People stood back at once when they saw he was injured, looking shocked and concerned.

"Oh, my, what's happened?"

"Val, is he okay?"

"Out of the way!" Valkyrie barked, running ahead and banging the doors to Doctor Synecdoche's rooms open. She looked up, irritated.

"Valkyrie! I'm with a patient!" She said, reproachful.

"This is urgent!" She yelled. "It's Fletcher!"

"Fletcher Renn?" The doctor said. "What has he done this time? He's not stabbed again, has he? Tazered?"

"Nope, close though," said Skulduggery, coming in with the now completely motionless Fletcher in his long, boney arms. "Electric chair."

"Electric-- you've got to be joking!" Doctor Synecdoche gasped, rushing over to Fletcher as Skulduggery layed him on a bed.

"Will he be okay?" Valkyrie asked at once, as the doctor looked over Fletcher with a deep, worried frown.

"I'll tell you when I know," she said. "Now, get out! I need space to work!"

-

It was three days before Valkyrie saw Fletcher again. Doctor Synecdoche gave him the all clear and he walked shakily out of her room, leaning heavily on a pair of crutches and smiling weakly, into Valkyrie's arms. She hugged him tightly then held him at arms length and looked him over.

"How do you feel?" She asked. He was pale and unsteady on his feet. He hadn't showered or properly eaten for three days and his hair was tousled. The lack of its usual gravity defying impressiveness made Fletcher seem smaller and more vulnerable.

"Erm," said Fletcher. "I don't feel great, but at least I'm alive."

"That's the spirit," Valkyrie said cheerfully, linking arms with him and leading him to the canteen for a well earned spot of lunch.

***

"We are gathered here today to celebrate the fact that Fletcher Renn did not die. He's pretty valuable to us so... Good job, Fletch!"