Chapter 27: Prisoners


At any time Linda could've created an ink portal for her, Henry, and their small group of toons to escape their cell, but she instantly rejected the idea after she lost her mind to the ink and feared how it would effect the others. Fortunately, Boris didn't seem to be effected, but who was to say they would be lucky the next time around? Linda didn't want to risk putting anyone in danger.

Boris and the Butcher Gang were sitting with her on the cot while Henry was standing at the boarded doorway, trying to convince Alice to release them. He didn't have much luck, which had left him a bit frustrated as he walked away from the doorway with a heavy sigh.

"It will be okay, Henry." Linda reminded him of what he had told her many times before.

"I know..." Henry replied before sitting down on the floor. "It's just this part is always stressful."

Boris stood up and went to join Henry on the floor as he began to draw, causing him to look up at the toon wolf with a small smile.

"Sorry you're stuck in here, buddy." Henry apologized. "But at least you're alive this time."

Boris smiled and gave him a hug.

Linda smiled at the sight but wished they were in a better situation than this. It would be even better if they were no longer trapped in the studio and its damning loops.

She felt 'Edgar' nuzzle against her arm as he laid down beside her, looking up at her with his mismatched eyes. Linda gently patted the side of the spider's head to avoid his set of teeth at the top. 'Charley' and 'Barley' got comfortable against her as well, making noises similar to yawns.

"Looks like you're not getting up soon." Henry teased.

"I guess not." Linda chuckled slightly. "Though it's not like we're going anywhere any time soon."

Her smile soon vanished as she heard Tom tapping his axe against his mechanical hand; he was watching them and it made her nervous. Linda touched her shoulder where she had been struck by the axe in the previous loop, tracing her finger along the scar.

The lights flickered a bit as the ceiling above them rumbled for a few seconds.

"What was that?" She asked.

"Don't know." Alice responded, having stopped what she was writing on the wall to take a moment to listen carefully. "It could just be the pipes."

"Let's hope so." Henry muttered.


After being denied a meal by Tom, Linda found herself not liking the toon wolf so much. She was giving him the benefit of the doubt before as he had believed her to be a threat when he had attacked her, but now he was being cruel. She hated seeing the look of hurt on Boris' face when Tom had swiped their bowls of soup on to the floor. The Butcher Gang had garbled in anger at the other wolf and went to curl up on the floor in foul moods next to a sad, hungry Boris.

Henry was even frustrated with Tom, but he didn't seem to be surprised.

Linda guessed Tom had this before to Henry, which upset her even more.

As soon as everyone was asleep, Linda stayed up and pulled out the Bendy drawing tucked away in her purse. She needed someone to be awake with her, and wanted the others to get their rest. Admittedly, she was nervous unfolding the drawing as she had remembered Bendy changing to look more like the Ink Demon when the Ink Demon invaded Boris' safe house.

She smiled and was filled with relief to see Bendy was his normal toon self.

Bendy looked up at her and smiled at first, but it disappeared as he began to write with his index finger.

"I'm sorry for earlier."

"What happened back at Boris' safe house was not your fault." Linda assured softly, making sure she wouldn't wake up the others. She put the tip of her index finger between Bendy's horns and gently rubbed like she was petting him.

Bendy enjoyed her touch, but he went back to frowning the moment she stopped.

"What exactly happened to you back there?" Linda asked.

She watched the little toon devil look down as he appeared to be trying to think back to the incident; a little thought bubble even appeared above his head and began to replay the events in cartoon form. Linda couldn't help but marvel at the strange sight as she didn't expect the drawing to be able to do such a thing. She looked back at Bendy to see him shrug and shake his head in a sad manner.

"I can't remember." He wrote, the letters soon disappearing.

"It's alright." Linda said. "Hopefully it was a one time deal."

Though that was just wishful thinking. Nothing went the way you wanted it to here.

"Linda?...Who are you talking to?"

Linda turned to see Henry was now awake. Before she could give him an answer, Henry sat up and looked at the drawing of Bendy.

Bendy started to rub his arm and looked away as if he was feeling guilty.

Well, he was feeling guilty.

"May I?" Henry asked as he reached for the paper. Linda gave a silent nod and handed it to him.

Bendy looked as though he were backed to a wall, looking side to side for a way to escape.

"Hello again, Bendy." Henry greeted softly, giving the little devil a small smile. "You feel bad about what happened before, don't you?"

"He feels horrible about it." Linda corrected.

"Well, don't hurt yourself about it." Her husband continued. "You and the Ink Demon are not the monster of this story."

Bendy appeared to be taken aback by Henry's choice of words, concerning Linda as ink began to drip down his face. She then looked at Henry to see tears brimming his eyes.

"We're all prisoners in this sick twisted game."


A/N: Henry's tired and deserves a nap in a more comfortable bed.

Hope you enjoyed the chapter.