Gwen was forced to look at the blinding sunrise as she drove her two passengers to Sleepy Peak, who were sleeping peacefully. She wondered how someone could fall asleep that easily in a time like this, considering she never got an inch of sleep the past couple of days. Oh, how she would love to get some sleep…
A low growl snapped her out of her reverie. She glanced at her rear view mirror and saw Max groggily rubbing his eyes and yawning.
"Morning." She lazily called, turning her attention back onto the road. Max only grumbled and huffed as he once again shut his eyes closed. Rolling her eyes and smirking, she endured the rest of the car ride in awkward silence.
-*TIME SKIP*-
She took a sharp right turn onto a small but lively street and parked on her driveway next to her ugly tiny house – if you could even call it that. It had a white exterior wall, with a beige roof and dark green shutters on the windows. The concrete path to the front door lazily faded into the grass from how old it was. However, she preferred to use the back door, which was located right next to where she parked. (Side note, this was basically my old house when I used to live in America.)
She opened the door to the back seat of the car to find Max and David sleeping soundly once again. She shook them slightly until they both awoke from their deep sleep.
"We're here. This is my house." She held the door open for the two to pile out. While Max's face lacked expression, David marveled at the small suburban area.
"Wow… it's so sweet… and so quiet! Oh how I would kill to live in a place like this…" he awed, his smile growing even wider.
Gwen just rolled her eyes, silently laughing. "Yeah, it's alright," She grinned. "Now come on, let's get you two inside." The back door creaked open, allowing the three to enter as Gwen closed it and fixed some tea and coffee. David and Max slouched down on her couch, completely succumbed to their train of thought. As Gwen came and set their cups down on the coffee table, she analysed their blank faces.
"You guys alright?" She popped the question. David looked up at her and unexpectedly jumped up and hugged her as tight as he could. She wheezed at this sudden action, but recollected herself and hugged back.
"Thank you so much, Gwen," He breathed, digging his face into her shoulders. "I don't know what would've happened if you hadn't shown up when you did."
"Don't worry about it," Gwen replied. "Us CBFL's gotta stick together… even if it's against a crazy ass cultist… Jesus Christ…" she trailed off, certainly discomforted by the idea. They released, and Gwen finally noticed how fatigued David looked.
"You look like a mess. Get some shut-eye," she commented. "Go to the room at the end of the hall to your left and sleep there. I'll take care of Max." She motioned for the small gap in the walls that was the hallway. The redhead chuckled and nodded, walking away. She turned her attention back to the small boy sitting beside her.
"Right, Max… I know some people who would really like to see you, so I'm gonna take a quick trip across the neighbourhood to get them. I won't be long, but if you need to, help yourself to anything in the kitchen." She informed heading for the front door. Max only hummed in response, already bolting to the kitchen.
-*TIME SKIP*-
Footsteps slammed along the concrete path as the voices echoed near the door. Max crept closer to it to hear the voices more clearly.
"So is he here!?"
"What happened? How'd you find them?"
Caught off guard, the door suddenly swung open, making Max tumble and fall down.
"MAX!"
Before he could comprehend the situation before him, multiple strong hands wrapped around him, and sniffles and cries of joy could be heard around the entire house. His eyes widened and a smile grew ever so slightly as he identified who was hugging him.
"Nikki! Neil! Holy shit!" Max shouted, immediately hugging them back. He started shaking as he joined them in their sobbing. As much as he tried to hold back, he couldn't stop the crying from the events of the week, the relief, and the glee of seeing his friends again after almost a year. The three finally pulled back, wiping their tears with idiotic grins.
"We saw what was happening on the news. Are you guys alright?" Neil spoke up, Nikki nodding in agreement.
"It was fucking crazy, but we're alright," Max smirked. Neil was about to reply when Nikki gasped and grabbed everyone's attention, a lightbulb in her head suddenly switching on.
"Gwen! Can Max come out and play with us? Pleeeaaase?" She begged. Gwen's face creased with uncertainty. Her gaze shifted to Max, who simply shrugged.
"I don't know… we're supposed to be keeping a low profile-"
"It'll be fine! They won't know we're here, and we haven't seen him in a year! PleasePleasePleasePleas-"
"Alright! Alright…" Gwen caved. "He can go with you guys, just make sure he's back in two hours."
"YAAAAAAY!" She squealed, grabbing Max and Neil's arms and dashing out the door. As much as Gwen wanted Max to stay here, she couldn't deny that he needed to relax and have some fun after all he's gone through.
Although – you guys should know by now – all positive things don't last for long.
-*CHANGE OF P.O.V*-
They walked to the vast range of nature and greenery, the trees towering above them and the colourful flowers adding a vibrant pop to its aura. There hid a small set of swings, slides and obstacle courses, though it seemed like it hasn't been touched in a decade.
"Ta-da!" Nikki prided, flailing her arms in the air.
"Holy shit. How'd you find this place?" Max asked, impressed.
"I go here all the time to climb trees and learn stuff from monkeys!" She grinned.
"Nikki," Neil chimed in. "We don't have any monkeys here, those are-"
"Neil comes along with me all the time too!" She interrupted, not listening to a word he said.
Neil gave an audible sigh. "Only when the internet's down." He mumbled, earning an eye roll from Max.
"Come on! Let's go find a good climbing tree!" She took hold of the boys' hands and dragged them along with her.
After some trekking, they finally settled on some trees on the opposite sides of the dirt pathway. As Neil clung onto Nikki for dear life as she helped him up a tree, Max sat and leaned against the hard wood of another. It was surprisingly peaceful. The peace that Max didn't know he wanted until he got it. And he got to spend this peace with his two friends. However, the peace didn't last long, as the crackling of the leaves and the subtle footsteps were ever so slowly approaching the three…
*CRACK*
*SNAP*
He turned to the noise. The footsteps stopped. He concentrated on the silence, expecting the same noise to resume.
"Did you guys hear something?" Neil asked. Max looked at Neil up on the tree with a slightly concerned look. He didn't think anyone else heard it. They locked eyes and he nodded. Neil and Nikki shared a look, and they hopped off of the tree at lightning speed.
"We should go," Neil suggested. Max was quick to join them as they speed walked down the path once more. They didn't get far as the footsteps began again, but this time at a much, much faster pace. He turned around in time to see a bundle of white before he was grabbed and scooped up against his will. His first instinct was to scream, but before any loud noise was made, his mouth was swiftly covered with a hand. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted another man in white. Equipped with syringes, the man jabbed one into his neck as he yelped in pain. Everything began to feel fuzzy as he continued to scream and kick. The last thing he saw before fading to unconsciousness was Nikki and Neil running for help.
-*CHANGE OF P.O.V*-
Gwen was rudely awoken from her slumber by David who looked like he had a full blown panic attack.
"Jesus, David are you alright?" She asked after recognising his state.
"Where's Max?" David questioned, his voice reaching a higher octave. Gwen mentally facepalmed once it dawned on her that she forgot to tell him.
"Shit.. I completely forgot to tell you," she sleepily replied, laughing. "Max is hanging out with Nikki and Neil. He should be back soon."
His tense shoulders relaxed and he fell back onto the couch, sighing with relief. "Oh, okay. Would've been better if you had actually told me," He chuckled. "Will he be alright out there though?"
"He should. This town's pretty safe." She said bluntly, and then it all faded into silence. That is until humungous *BANGS* from the door startled them. Jumping up, they raced to the door, to see Nikki and Neil on the other side, panting for air.
But there was no Max…
"D-aniel…" They wheezed, tears threatening to fall from their face. "He… took Max…"
"WHAT!?" The two adults screamed.
"They came out.. of nowhere!" Nikki added. "They charged at us… but we got away."
"Where were you guys?" David yelled, shaking as if an earthquake had gone off in his body.
"At the nature preserve!" Neil responded. "We were walking back whe-"
Don't worry… be happy.
Ain't got no cash, ain't got no style,
Ain't got no gal to make you smile…
Don't worry, be happy.
David flicked his phone out of his pockets and stared at the incoming call. His eyes widened in horror as he turned his phone to show everyone. The contact name Max was the caller.
"It's Max…" David yelped. "He's calling me…"
"What? How?-"
"ANSWER IT!" Nikki screamed, and David pressed the green button and put the phone to his ear.
"..Max?" He choked out. He silently prayed that he would hear his little boy on the other end, but this time it was not the case.
"Hello, David."
-*END OF CHAPTER*-
Tfw you have to have angst in every single chapter
Also im a shitty person so hA
Also also this is the longest chapter I have made so far like why
okbye