Markiplier x Reader | The Promised Land

Chapter 6: Stop It. Just Stop

Mark grumbled to himself, but held his tongue when he heard the injured person mumble about him getting blasted to bits. They weren't worth his time. Besides, Chica would keep them in their place while he focused on more pressing matters.

Things were getting worse with the Skull Breakers outside. They had decided to finally move in. They were beginning to scout out the houses and other buildings around. Pretty soon this one would be next.

Hours seemed to pass as he watched, and he looked back briefly at the ungrateful creature before him. He then whispered, "Can you walk [N/n]?"

The person he now deemed as [N/n], hissed back at him, "I am not [N/n]."

"You are now," he grumbled quietly, turning to watch the group again. He flinched when they started heading their way, "We need to move now!"

He turned and scooped [N/n]'s things up, slung their jacket over his shoulder, and began looking around for a back door. He stood them up and they grunted in pain, he clasped a hand over their mouth again to shut them up, and nearly yelped when he felt their teeth sink into his index finger.

He pulled away as he heard shouting outside and increased speed in footsteps. Thinking quickly, Mark grabbed [N/n]'s uninjured arm and raced towards the back of the building, relieved to see a back door. Without even trying to see if it was unlocked, he kicked it down and yanked his new acquaintance through.

"Holy shit!" was all that they said as they stumbled through the door with Mark.

"There they are!" came a voice from behind, "Ohhhh looks like we've got ourselves a double package! THE STAKES HAVE DOUBLED! I call dibs on the taller one!"

Mark pulled [N/n] onward, running as fast as he could. He could already hear them starting to breathe heavily, and becoming more laborious in their steps. The only thing going through Mark's head at the moment was to get to safety, and in these parts there was only one place he trusted... Pasadena.

*    *    *

They both ran for about twenty minutes, [N/n] still being dragged along and wheezing from the effort. As they ran, Mark suddenly tripped and crashed into the concrete, scraping his arms up and hitting his shoulder, hearing a rather loud pop. He watched in slow motion as his gun flew off and hit the ground a ways ahead of him. [N/n] collapsed next to him beside a car, both of them breathing heavily from running for so long. They both laid still for a moment, and Mark lifted his head up and realized they had made it to Glendale, a little over a mile away from Atwater.

He put his head back down on the pavement and then looked to the injured, exhausted soul next to him, "I... never got your name..."

"Spice." they replied immediately, completely breathless. If looks could kill...

Mark forced himself into a sitting position, attempting to roll the shoulder he hit on the ground. He flinched as stabbing pain shot through it into his back. Gritting his teeth, he refrained from moving it too terribly much. He listened for any sign of their chasers, but heard nothing.

"I know your... name can't be Spice, [N/n]." he responded, taking a few deep breaths to calm his racing heart. He checked again to make sure there were no signs of their chasers.

He was sunken down and hunched over when he looked down at his arms. They were bleeding pretty badly and there were chunks of concrete wedged into his skin, but they didn't hurt much more than a bit of stinging. His shoulder was what worried him most, it was really hurting. "I'll fix them later," he mumbled to himself, standing up on shaky legs. They felt like noodles. He hadn't ran like that in a while.

He took "Spice's" pack off of his back and set it down. He pulled out his knife and squatted in front of them. He looked confused when they flinched away aggressively.

"You'll have to do- better than that to take me out!" they hissed.

"Relax banana-head," he said grumpily, "I'm cutting you loose so you will shut up. Okay? Besides I don't want to be bothered with dragging you everywhere."

They looked surprised, but quickly covered that up with a look of disgust. Mark cut the rope in one swift cut, and put the knife back in his own boot. They had reached out for their backpack instinctively but he kicked it away, "Oh no you don't, I don't trust you yet."

"Fine!" they yelled, standing up on wobbly feet, grabbing their shoulder and wincing.

Mark watched them intently, anger welling up inside him, "Would you shut up!?" he snapped. His tone changed slightly when he looked at how shaky [N/n]'s legs were, "Can you walk alright? We need to keep moving." He stood up, glancing around realizing Chica and the other pet were missing. "Chica!" he called.

In a few moments, Chica came peeling around the corner, panting like a mad man. Shortly after, the other pet arrived, close behind.

Mark packed up the things, checked his gun, and tried to slung it back over his shoulder but gasped at how much it hurt. He switched shoulders, and they both started walking.

After a few moments Mark spoke up, "So, what's your real name?"

"I told you stupid! It's-"

"Oh never mind," Mark said, sighing, "I'm just going to keep calling you [N/n] until you tell me."

"Fine!" they said.

"Fine!" Mark mimicked.

They walked in uncomfortable silence for several minutes until they set foot in Glendale. Mark would rather not have gone there, but what choice did he have? Going through Glendale instead of following the highway was safer in the long run. No doubt the Skull Breakers figured they would go along the highway, so Mark and [N/n] were less likely to be spotted.

Then, a nagging feeling popped into his head. What if... [N/n] was a Skull Breaker? No... they looked too out of place. Just then he tossed them their [f/c] jacket, covering their face with it, feeling satisfied when they cursed under their breath.

"Why were those guys after you?" he asked suddenly.

"Just a bunch of assholes I thought," [N/n] said, "Why do you care?"

Mark sighed, "Just when I thought you'd give me a genuine answer."

"What? I'm serious," they replied, "I was just trying to get to Central LA-"

Mark stopped and turned on them, "You what!?"

[N/n] coward a little under his glare, "Uh, yeah? I heard a rumor about-"

"You 'heard a rumor!'" Mark said exasperatedly. Then he turned around and began walking again, "A rumor! A RUMOR that tried to lead you to your death more likely!"

"Oh for fuck's sake Mark! Shut up!" they replied, "I didn't exactly have any other choice now did I?"

"Oh! Well," Mark said, rolling his eyes and mimicking their tone, "You could've gone anywhere else but nooooo, you just had to go to Central LA of all damned places to go."