BatIM AU: Henry's Path (OLD - rewrite in progress/consideration)

Act 2, Scene 16: Death March

Sammy Lawrence

Sammy felt major regret, for his confession had caused the three to be imprisoned for a longer time. Tom's angry attitude towards Sammy only grew greater, and Alison had begun to lose faith in the songwriter. She still showed kindness towards Henry and Linda, though tried her best to ignore Sammy, mostly acting like he was invisible. It was obvious that she, like Linda, couldn't remember what happened before the incident. She couldn't even remember that she was married to Tom, who constantly hinted at it, but Alison took it as a joke. It was a shame that the only thing she could remember the most was Sammy's betrayal.

Sammy sat where he always did, at the far end of the cell, cascaded in the darkness of its shadow. Here, he felt safe, out of reach of who used to be his friends' stern and accusing gazes. Because Henry and Linda were distracted by either talking with each other or Alison, Sammy was, gratefully, left alone. He took this time to relax and recall memories of recent events. Though they were sad and heartbreaking, he searched them for some kind of alternate ending. He especially dwelled on Norman's death. He began to wish he had jumped in to help, no matter if it killed him or not. If it kept Norman alive, that was what mattered. Wally's death was another thing. The janitor would have died either way; the Ink had taken over him to the worst extent, and there was no going back.

As the hours ticked by, it had become more obvious to Sammy that Henry was seeing the spirits of the deceased. He was always staring in one specific direction and mumbling quiet things to himself. Sammy wondered if he was speaking with Wally, or even Norman. He figured it was time to confront Henry about it now; everyone was asleep, including Tom, who was supposed to be keeping watch. He'd dozed off and was snoring softly.

Sammy was careful when stepping over Linda and getting to Henry, who was next to her and holding her hand. Sammy nudged him as soft as possible, hoping that the animator wouldn't be angry. Henry moaned in annoyance and turned over on his side, muttering, "Go back to sleep."

"Get up," Sammy hissed quietly. "I need to talk to you."

"Can't it wait till morning? Some of us haven't slept this good in weeks."

"I need to talk to you alone."

Henry sighed and sat up, glaring nastily at Sammy. "What?" he snapped, beginning to carefully move Linda aside so he could stand up.

"You're seeing things, aren't you? Things that no one else can," Sammy said carefully, testing the limits on how far he should go to get to the question.

Henry hesitated before answering. "Yeah. I thought you guys already knew."

"I've known for a long time. But I've noticed that you're starting to talk to yourself."

"I'm not crazy!"

"I'm not saying you are! I just want to know if you can see him." Sammy didn't specify whether it was Wally or Norman, but he gave Henry a chance to tell himself.

"Sometimes," Henry admitted. "But Wally doesn't stick around for long. In fact, he's not the only one I see."

Sammy's heart skipped a beat. Was Henry seeing Norman after all? "Who?"

"Her." Henry uttered the word with absolute disgust and remorse. "She taunts me, telling me that I'm next. She may look like an angel, but she's as much a demon as Joey is."

Susie, Sammy thought, grimacing at the name. That woman had caused so many problems, and Sammy was more than happy to know she was dead.

"Don't listen to her. As long as you're with us, she, or anyone else, will never lay a finger on any of you," Sammy vowed. He only realized that he'd made a false promise just before Henry drew his lip back in a hiss.