Darkness | ~Danny Gonzalez~

Chapter Eleven

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

Whoops sorry for another super late chapter! Long story short, we lost power and I didn't get to finish editing until just now.

Two things:

1. DANNY AND DREW ARE GOING ON TOUR!!! AHHHH I would die if I got to go. Fingers crossed. Any of my readers planning on going?

2. Thanks so much for following along with this story! It's been so fun to write. We're wrapping up now! I'm pretty sure there will be two more chapters, but depending on how it flows, I might just make it an extra-long finale. We'll see ;). 

As always, enjoy!

<3 

-Skye

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Danny's skin turned pale as the realization set in.

His friend was dead.

He couldn't cry. Couldn't scream. Couldn't even speak. He was just... numb.

No cars passed by to see that sight. The sight of three YouTube creators, pulled over on the side of the road, in the midst of an immense tragedy. One, standing hypnotized, overtaken by an evil force. Another, lying dead at his hands after a heroic but futile sacrifice. And a third, set free of the hypnosis, but still burdened with a deep trauma that he was unable to express.

In that moment, it was like Danny's mind shut down. It refused to process anything. Time was simultaneously frozen and sped up. The rest of that day dragged on, but each passing moment felt like a simulation, and was nothing but a blur in his mind. 

 He helped Drew lift Thomas' body and place him inside the car trunk. They drove deep into a wooded area where they ditched the car, leaving Thomas behind forever.

From there, they traveled to the airport by foot. They successfully got one-way tickets back to the US, despite their fraudulent passports. Their entire flight to Utah was spent in silence. Neither of them spoke a single word about what happened to Thomas.

When they finally landed, Drew managed to convince a young couple in the parking garage to let him "borrow" their car. He told them that he and Danny were brothers who flew out to see their dying mom one last time, and they didn't have time to wait for a taxi. And while Drew wove his lies, Danny just stood there, like an empty shell, nodding occasionally.

  They took the dishonestly-earned car back to Walmart, and immediately went their separate ways to sleep off the jet-lag. Danny didn't have the energy to even reflect on his situation. As soon as his air mattress was inflated, he crashed onto it and dozed off.

But that didn't stop the dreadful moment from replaying in Danny's mind as he slept. That didn't stop the guilt from flooding in, telling him he could've saved Thomas if only he'd done something. That didn't stop the ache of knowing that he'd never see Thomas again. The ache of knowing that such a good person with such a good heart died such a horrible death.

And maybe it wasn't really anyone's fault. Maybe it was all because of a cave, or a crystal ball, or a magic wand, or whatever. But crystal balls aren't liable in court. Crystal balls don't leave their fingerprints at the site of the crime, they can't be sentenced to prison. And crystal balls don't have consciences that can forever be haunted by the things that they were forced to do, or traumatized by the things they were forced to endure.

Honestly, even if they managed to make it out in one piece, what would come next? Even if they came clean, and the court ruled in their favor, and they walked free...  He and Drew would be reminded of these events anytime they hung out.