ParaNormaline

Chapter 13: One Last Stand (END)

--General POV--

Both of them wished they had a better way of getting downstairs. It'd be hard to sneak down there, especially with Agatha in a rage and the Other Mother probably waiting for them at the door. "There has to be some way for us to get there without being noticed..." Coraline thought aloud, pacing back and forth. Norman was sitting on the bed, watching her as she paced back and forth and as he tried to think himself. "I could try and distract them, if you want... It's not the best idea, but it's something..." he suggested. "No way, Norm. We're doing this together, remember?" she answered immediately, looking over at him. "Well, I don't know what we could do! They're probably waiting for us down there anyways, for all we know they're outside of the door right now!" he exclaimed. Coraline stopped, looking over at him in slight shock. He blinked a few times, shaking his head a little and shrinking down. "S-sorry, sorry... I'm just... Freaking out right now..." he mumbled. She came over and sat next to him, smiling sadly. "Hey, it's fine. I'm freaked out too." She told him. He smiled back for a moment, both of them blinking in shock when they heard a familiar voice behind them. "Aren't we all?" the Cat asked as he jumped up onto the bed. The pair turned to look back at him, blinking a little. "... Y-you saved us back there... Thanks..." Norman smiled gratefully, Coraline nodding in agreement. The Cat just smirked. "I just happened to be there at the right time..." he replied as if it were nothing. "You seem to have a habit of doing that." Coraline giggled. "Do I now?" he questioned, walking over and leaping off the side of the bed. Coraline and Norman glanced over at each other before peeking over, both blinking in shock when he wasn't there. They both jumped a little when they heard him over by the window and they looked over, giggling when they saw him. He seemed to chuckle as well, padding back over to them. "Now, then... As for getting you two out of here..." he trailed off, noting their expressions as they turned to worry. He offered them a small smile as he sat down in front of them. "It'll seem harder then it really is, you know... They'll throw you off track." He informed them. "... But if they do that... Then how will we get out...? What if they catch us...?" Coraline wondered. The Cat seemed to chuckle. "You have each other, remember." He stated. "You'll escape. You may not know how or when it happens... But it'll happen." He smirked.

Norman and Coraline looked at each other with a raised eyebrow before looking back, gasping a little when they saw that he was gone again. Coraline bit her lip for a moment before closing her eyes, taking a nervous breath. There was a few beats of silence before she opened her eyes again and got up, heading for the door. Norman blinked in what seemed to be shock and rushed over to her. "Coraline, are you sure about this...?" he asked nervously. She didn't respond right away. She took a few moments and let out a small, shaky sigh. "... No... But what else can we do...?" she turned to him, worry in her features. "We can't just wait here... We have to go down there." She turned back to the door. Norman took a few small breaths, still unsure but not exactly wanting to argue with her. "... Alright... I'll trust you on this." he decided. She offered him a small, hopeful smile before opening the door. "You ready for this?" she asked, glancing over to him. "... Nope..." he answered truthfully with a small sigh that sounded way too close to a groan. Determination on her face, Coraline turned her attention to the stairs and started to walk forward. "Me either."

Norman followed Coraline down the stairs, both being as quiet as they could possibly be. Coraline lead them to the small door, both of them growing nervous when there was a clear path to it. "There's no way they'd make it this easy..." Coraline mumbled under her breath, the pair staying put. They didn't want to walk straight into a trap, after all. But, of course, Coraline had forgotten about how the bug-like furniture moved.

A large chair came up from behind them and scooped up Norman, causing him to yelp in shock as he was brought into the living room. Before he could call out to warn her, Coraline was yanked up, a needle hand covering her mouth so she couldn't scream. Norman went to get up, but was hit back down by a familiar electric blast. He grunted, blinking a few times to try and get focus on what had hit him. "It's about time you two came back..." Agatha hissed with a smirk. Norman groaned, the world finally returning to his focus. He could hear Coraline's muffled screams not far behind him, and both his worry and his panic grew at least ten fold. It sounded like she was trying to yell at her to let go, which was a reasonable guess really.