Error 404: YouTuber Not Found | BlankGameplays Fanfic

Chapter 29 - Showdown

Ethan watched his own feet stride across the living room. He felt dazed, exhausted. The YouTuber was lying like a corpse on the broken couch, battling back nausea and a migraine. Ethan had noticed that Blank had a bad habit of starting fights when he was bored. And with only one person around to fight with....

"I was just checking our social media," Blank said, approaching the couch. He tapped Ethan on the head with one knuckle, sending ripples of pain through his skull that made him grimace. "Everyone is worried about us. It's been quite a while without word."

Ethan didn't have a response to that. He'd been worried about his channel, too. It gnawed at him despite everything, a reminder of a better time now draining away.

"And there are plenty of YouTubers trying to contact us, as well," Blank added. "I've been fielding calls for days now."

"Wh- what have you been telling them?" Ethan asked, surprised at how weak his voice sounded. 

"You're sick," he said simply, shrugging. "But you should be back again within a few days."

Ethan was taken aback. Something deep in his tired eyes flashed. "I'm going to be back again within a few days?" he repeated incredulously.

Blank pressed his lips together, not answering. "Two of your friends have been rather silent about your absence, however. Can you guess who?"

"Silent about my..." Ethan slowly pushed himself up to a sitting position. He searched Blank's dead, cold eyes for an answer. "What do you mean by that?"

"Oh, nevermind," Blank turned away, his voice bored. 

"Y-you're up to something!" Ethan said suddenly. 

"Up to something? How astute of you to notice," Blank threw a glance back over his shoulder at the boy, raising his eyebrows sarcastically. With a twitch of the neck, Ethan was unconscious again, lying prone across the couch.

Just in time. There was a visitor at the door. 

 Behind her back, Jesse had the taser tucked into a holster beneath her jacket, and her right hand held the flashdrive tightly. Her eyes were stone cold as she watched the door, calculating her next move. There would be no use trying to sneak in- the apartment was too small. Blank wouldn't fall for another romance trick again, and she knew she wouldn't be able to talk her way out of a fight. But Blank had always enjoyed a little drama- she had to bank on the fact that he'd monologue a bit, lower his guard just enough for her to strike. 

So, holding her hands behind her, Jesse kicked the door loudly to announce her presence. 

"Hello, Ethan!" she called sarcastically, eyes glittering with determination. 

Ethan awoke with a jolt of panic, though a thick sleepiness surrounded his head. There was nothing he could do to resist as he pushed himself up from the couch. It felt as if he was walking through syrup as he traipsed toward the front door. Blank pulled at his limbs like a skilled marionette, giving no room for dissonance. Ethan felt the energy drain from his face as he placed his hand on the knob and turned it slowly. 

There was Jesse, looking like a spitfire. Ethan tried to scream at her to run, but his jaw stayed locked like a servo motor. He felt his fingers wrap around a knife's hilt tucked into his belt behind him, and his heart went cold. 

"Come in," Blank offered, but Jesse didn't move at first. She slowly rolled her shoulders, stepping through the threshold with obvious trepidation. She stared at Blank as she passed him, walking toward the living room with distrustful eyes. Blank closed the door behind her, never taking his dark stare off of her. "Didn't bring the baseball bat, I see?"

"No," Jesse said coolly. Ethan felt a jolt of fear. Did she have a plan? 

Jesse's eyes darted across Blank's. She was looking for an opening, some chance to slip the flashdrive into his pocket, some way to get him to touch it without noticing. She couldn't use the taser until he had it- maybe she should have brought the baseball bat. 

Too late now- Jesse watched Blank slowly pull his hand out from behind his back, and she knew what was coming a second before it happened. Blank's wrist moved like a flash, and a knife shot at her with a swish. She bobbed- it sailed clean over her shoulder, smashing into the window with a sound like glass rain. 

But more was to come. Jesse leapt behind the couch as Blank drew another knife, frowning darkly as he stepped toward her. No more ploys, no more tricks- all that BlankGameplays wanted was Jesse dead. As soon as possible. 

Jesse kept weaving her way out of Blank's reach, waiting for an opening. She seized Ethan's lamp and used it to parry, swatting Blank's slices away as fast as they came. He lunged, and she would leap sideways. He would slice and she would deflect it, watching the blade glance off the lamp just inches from her fingers. Jesse's heart pounded as she watched Blank grow closer and closer. He took a stab, cutting into her arm just below the elbow. He sliced across her knuckles and nicked her cheek. Jesse was losing ground. She found herself thinking of the taser- it was only one shot, but soon she'd have to take it. 

Blank knocked her to the ground with a well-aimed kick at her ankle. The lamp clattered out of her hand uselessly and Blank smiled, holding the knife over her with a dangerous sneer. 

Jesse knew it was now or never- flashdrive or not. 

She rolled sideways, grabbing the taser from behind her. She aimed up at Blank, whose eyes widened, and pulled the trigger. 

Blank leapt sideways, crashing into the couch and narrowly missing the taser charge. The knife clattered out of his hand, landing on the ground a few feet away. Jesse froze for an instant, locking eyes with Blank, who looked astonished. 

She lunged for the knife at the same time as Blank. The two of them crashed together next to the coffee table as Jesse's arms flailed. She felt her fingers slide along the blade's edge, sending a jolt of pain up her arm. She grabbed it, feeling another hand seize the hilt just as she did. 

Jesse couldn't see- Blank's shoulder ground into her collarbone and her knee connected painfully with a chair leg. She snarled loudly, trying to wrench the blade from Blank's hand as they wrestled. But something slipped. Jesse felt the blade leave her fingertips and jolt back suddenly. Blank let out a pained gasp, tensing. He rolled off of Jesse, who sprung up, stepping back as fast as she could. 

The room was painfully silent. Blank was kneeling, staring as if dumbfounded at the knife impaled in his lower thigh. It stuck out like a branch, making Jesse's stomach turn. Blood swelled from the spot and turned Ethan's jeans a dark crimson in a matter of seconds. Blank didn't move.

"Oh, hell," Jesse breathed, terror spreading through her like the blood now pooling around Blank's leg, much too quickly. 

"Ah..." Blank muttered, swaying like a blade of grass as Jesse watched in horror. He tilted his face up mechanically. "That must've been.... an artery. I'm feeling... drowsy..."

Jesse shook her head in denial, unable to process what was happening. If Blank died, Ethan died. Jesse turned to Ethan's cell phone on the coffee table. She picked it up, fingers hovering over the keypad. She swallowed, gathered her strength, dialed 911. Even if it meant saving the creature that wanted to kill her, she had to do something-

But suddenly, Blank dropped to the floor, eyes drifting shut.