Chapter 20: The Nightmare
Boris had assisted Linda carrying Henry to the safe house. Henry tried to get out of it by telling them he could walk, but he couldn't take three steps without nearly collapsing. Concerned, Linda insisted he let her and Boris help him, ending the conversation without argument. Fortunately, it didn't take them too long to reach sanctuary.
In the safety of the safe house, Linda had Henry rest in the cot he would sleep in from previous time loops while she started to cook some bacon soup for all three of them.
Boris sat in his usual spot at the table as he eagerly waited for the soup to be ready.
"Boris, Honey, why don't you go wash your hands while you wait?" Linda asked as she looked at the toon wolf.
Boris looked at his gloved hands at first in confusion before showing them to her. Linda couldn't help but chuckle as she shook her head.
"Don't give me that look, young man. You should always wash your hands before you eat. I'll even have Henry wash his."
Seeming to accept her response, Boris stood up and made his way to the ink flooded bathroom where they actually had accessible water.
Linda gave the soup one final stir before heading to the room Henry was in. He had passed out when they placed him on the cot and was still sleeping as Linda approached. She hated to wake him up from much needed rest, but he still needed something on his stomach.
"Henry, wake up dear." She said softly as she reached out to gently shake him.
However, she quickly pulled her hand away as the ink on her arm reached out towards Henry.
"There will be none of that." Linda said sternly, looking down at her ink covered arm as the ink settled into place.
"You say something?..." Henry groaned as he began to stir.
He looked slightly better than before, but he still seemed out of it.
"Dinner's ready." Linda replied with a gentle smile. "Can you stand on your own now?"
She watched her husband attempt to stand before stumbling over in pain. Linda was quick to catch him and hold him up; it was then she realized how thin and light he felt.
"Something's wrong." Henry winced. "I don't know if its past injuries catching up to me or if it was from the fall from the first floor."
"Just take it easy." Linda replied as she helped him walk to the bathroom. "After dinner, I want you going straight back to bed."
Henry didn't argue as she stayed by his side while he washed his hands. Once he was finished, she helped him over to the table.
Boris was back in his spot, staring at Linda as he waited for soup to be served. She sat Henry down before approaching the stove and began to serve three bowls of bacon soup. Linda served Henry and Boris before pouring herself a bowl and joining them at the table.
After Henry went to bed, Linda had went into the bathroom to clean their bowls and spoons. It didn't take long to clean all of them of course, leaving Linda with nothing to keep her mind busy.
She was worried about Henry's condition, even if he had been through worse. She hated to imagine how bad those times were.
Linda sighed and gently kicked up ink from the flooded floor before walking out into the main room of the safe house. She looked to her right to see Boris sitting in a chair, staring intently at something that was out of view. Approaching the toon wolf, Linda saw what he was staring at.
Scraps of torn images were made into a bizarre collage of a figure made up of various parts of Bendy, Alice, and Boris form what she could tell upon careful inspection. Linda gently gently touched Boris' shoulder, gaining his attention.
"What is this?" She asked him. "Did you make this?"
Her only response from the toon wolf was a nod. Not that she was expecting him to actually talk to her. He only did that once, and that was when they were in the tunnel of ink.
Smiling a bit at him, Linda decided it was time for her to turn in.
"Don't stay up too late. You'll need your strength for whatever tomorrow brings."
Boris smiled back and nodded.
'Where am I?'
Checking her surroundings, Linda found herself no longer in the safe house, but in a large metal maze. There were sections in the wall where there were windows with 'lost ones' on display as ink poured down on to their bodies from above.
She perked up as she saw Henry run by, but found it strange as he didn't appear to notice her.
"Henry? What's going on?" She called out to him, but she still went unnoticed.
Linda then noticed he had a film reel tucked under his arm as he skidded around the corner and kept running. She was going to follow him, until she felt the metal floor beneath her vibrate and heard loud banging sounds approaching her. Turning to see what it was, Linda let out a shriek as she quickly moved to the side to avoid being run over by a large inky beast.
It was bulky and had sharp, jagged yellow teeth, and it moved by using its long arms instead of its legs; which dangled in the air as it moved. The creature had horns like the Bendy, but they were longer and sharper, and it had no face except for it's large gaping maw.
The beast roared past her and turned the same corner Henry went as if it were hunting him down.
Linda recognized that sound. It sounded like the beast that brought her back to the surface of the ink river in the cavern.
It also sounded like the Ink Demon.
"Intense, isn't it?"
Linda whipped her head around to see a younger Joey Drew standing next to her. He looked exactly like he did when Joey Drew Studios was developed and when he and Henry first became partners.
"The Demon and The Hero finally face one another for the final battle." He continued on, sounding like he did from his recordings. "Though, admittedly, it's more like a dangerous game of Cat and Mouse than a battle."
"Demon? Hero? Joey, what on earth is going on?" Linda asked, but he seemed to ignore her as well as he walked down to the other end of the hall.
She hesitantly followed him.
"You see Linda, Henry is here for a reason." Joey said. "He's here to bring peace to the chaotic world. He's here to save the studio and put an end to Bendy's reign of terror! But if Henry hadn't left in the first place...None of this would've happened."
Not liking the blame being placed on Henry, Linda was going to respond, but then she saw Henry run by and trip as his legs gave in underneath him. He landed with a loud thud and the reel in his arms tumbled and rolled out in front of her.
The End
Linda went to help her husband, but Joey grabbed her by the shoulder.
"There's nothing you can do to help."
The beast soon appeared through a portal of ink on the wall before them, approaching as it snarled and inky saliva dripped from its jaws. It picked Henry up and lifted him up in the air as he struggled and kicked. As soon as Henry made contact with the beast's inky head with a kick, a roar ripped from its throat before it chomped down on his leg.
Linda let out a shriek.
"HENRY!"
"Linda! Linda! You're having a nightmare!"
Linda's eyes snapped opened as she felt Henry shake her. As soon as she saw Henry alive before her, she hugged him tightly as she wept.
"Shh, it's alright." Henry soothed like he had before when she last had a nightmare around him. "Everything is fine."
Linda couldn't find her voice so she just nuzzled into her husband's chest, listening to his heartbeat.
Boris had gotten down from his hammock and approached Linda to join in the embrace. She was already starting to feel better, but couldn't get the horrific imagery of the ink beast killing Henry before her eyes out of her head nor could she stop hearing his agonizing screams.
A/N: I wanted to have Joey Drew antagonize Linda in some way, so yeah, this chapter happened. Some times when I write drama, it doesn't seem dramatic or suspenseful enough for me. So, I apologize if it's a bit lackluster in this chapter.
