Drowning (A BATIM fanfic)

The Prophet

Henry yawned, blinking open his eyes groggily. Ugg... What had happened? His head hurt terribly, and he couldn't move his arms . Confused, Henry glanced around, only to find himself hanging on a wall, in chains. The room was very dark, with ink pouring down the walls and all over the floor.

Henry could feel something heavy pressed against his legs. He looked down, then yelped. The ink demon. It was curled up by his feet, which hung just above the ground. Henry swallowed nervously, not daring to move. He remembered the thing pulling him into the ink, and felt like he wanted to cry. Why hadn't it just killed him?

That's what he had expected, to end up in that inky tunnel and then ending up back at the start. But no. For some reason, it had brought him here. Henry frowned. "Wish I knew were "here" was." He mumbled.

The demon at his feet stirred. Henry froze. Crap. The ink demon raised its head, yawning, revealing its sharp teeth. Henry swallowed nervously. It looked up at Henry, cocking it's head. It stood, until it was towering over Henry. Henry whimpered, looking away from the demon. Silence.

Then it lightly touched Henry's cheek with its claw. Henry inhaled. It's touch was surprisingly warm. Then it receded, and Henry shivered. He opened his eyes partly, peeking at the demon. He was just able to catch a glimpse of it walking into a wall. Then there was silence.

Henry sighed with relief. It was gone. Henry twisted, trying to pull down his chains. Nothing. He kicked and fought , pulling with all of his strength, but it didn't matter. He was stuck. Henry let himself hang limply, sighing defeatedly. What the hell was going on? This had never happened before, had he found an alternate path in the loop? Or was he just prolonging his death?

Henry bit his lip. And for once, Henry was genuinely terrified. He didn't know how this one would end. He had no clue what would happen next.

Henry lost track of how long he hung, alone in his cell(?). Eventually, he heard whistling. Henry frowned, confused. Was he hearing things? It was a familiar tune, the one that would play over some of Bendy's old cartoons. Henry squinted, trying to figure out where the tune was coming from.

Then he froze. He recognized that Bendy mask. It was Sammy Lawrence. Henry struggled, pulling against his chains. Was the old music director here to try and sacrifice him again? Sammy paused, looking at Henry through his familiar mask. He didn't speak, he just... watched. Studied him.

Then he spoke, in that strange sing-song voice he sometimes used. "Hello, little sheep." He mused, stepping closer to Henry. Henry glared at him, trying to ignore his racing heart. Sammy turned his head sideways, as if listening. Then, "Do you have a name, sheep?"

Henry stared at him. Sammy had never asked his name before. Henry scowled. "I'm not a sheep." He growled. Sammy made a ticking noise with his tongue. "Shh, now, we must do the Lords bidding." He mused. "So tell me, do you have a name?" Henry squinted at him. Was he serious?

"Henry." He said, feeling confused. Sammy sat up. "Henry Stein?" Henry stared at him. Sammy had never given any indication that he knew Henry's name, so how does he know it now? "Um... yeah?" Henry mumbled. Sammy moved closer to Henry. "Who are you?" He demanded. "Why doesn't the Lord know who you are?! He knows everyone else, why not you?!"

Henry was shocked into silence. What? Sammy wasn't making any sense. Henry scowled. "I don't fucking know!" He snapped, his temper getting the best of him. "Why don't you shut the fuck up and just die again, Bi-"

Sammy slapped Henry across the face, hard. Henry spit up blood, coughing. "We do not swear in the Lords house." Sammy said in that same weird voice. Henry glared at him. Suddenly Sammy paused, turning his head sideways again. Henry frowned. Why did he keep doing that? Sammy suddenly became very still. "Die again?" He questioned quietly.

Henry froze. Shit. He'd hadn't thought before he spoke, but of course, Sammy hasn't died yet. And Henry didn't know if he even would, now that everything seems to have changed. Sammy stared at Henry for a long moment, then took off his Bendy mask. Henry gasped, startled. His face was completely covered in ink, but now Henry could see his eyes. They were dark blue. Blue.

Henry blinked. He hadn't seen any color for so long.. Sammy's eyes studied Henry's. Then, "I thought I was the only one." He whispered softly. Henry blinked. He sounded... almost sane. The only one of what? Henry must have looked pretty confused, because Sammy started to laugh.

"I knew something must have been wrong." He started, speaking normally now. "When you didn't show up in my department." Henry gaped at him. Sammy remembered him? He remembered each loop, just like Henry did? Sammy started to laugh. "I didn't realize you remembered each loop as well!" He grinned, gazing at Henry.

Henry cocked his head. Sammy froze, staring at Henry. Henry frowned at him. Sammy laughed slightly. "This is awkward." Sammy muttered. Henry let out a snort. "Gee, you think?" He shot back, laughing. Sammy smiled, then began to laugh as well. Maybe it was just nerves.

Henry shook his head. "So, if you knew what would happen, why did you-" Henry's voice trailed off. Sammy gazed at Henry. "Try to sacrifice you?" He finished. "Try to kill you?" Henry tensed, then nodded. Sammy paused.

Then, "Why did you turn on the machine, knowing what would happen? Why did you ever leave the Safehouse, knowing what that Alice would do to you guys?" Henry was quiet. "There was no other choice." He muttered. Sammy nodded. Then he hesitated.

"How'd you change it?" Henry stared at him. "Change what?" Sammy blinked at him. "The loop. Right now, I'm supposed to be tying you to the ritual circle. Instead, we're here, having this lovely conversation." Henry paused.

Then, "I didn't run. Usually, he jumps out at me and tries to grab me. I run for the exit and fall through the floor. This time, I just stood there." Henry's voice trailed off, flinching when he thought of the ink. He'd nearly drowned.

Sammy hesitated, then placed his hand on Henry's shoulder. Henry looked at him, startled. Sammy's voice was soft. "The Lord is merciful." He muttered gently. "If he was going to kill you, he would have done so. This is a new beginning, for the both of us."

Henry stared at him. Just when he thought Sammy might start to make sense, he'll start talking about the "Lord" again. Sammy stood, nodding at Henry. "Don't be scared, Henry Stein." He muttered. He inclined his head to Henry, then put his mask back on.

"Follow the Lords bidding, and everything will turn out fine. I promise."