"WHAT DID YOU DO TO HIM!?" David screamed into the phone.
"No need to fear, David," Daniel mocked. "Max is perfectly safe with me." David was at a loss for words. He walked a fine line between finding Daniel and brutally murdering him, or crying. Before he got the opportunity to speak, Daniel continued.
"However, I would make your way back to your apartment, unless you want something bad to happen to him."
"What... do you mean-"
"Tick Tock, David. I'm giving you four hours to be back there, otherwise, he's gone. For good." Next came a loud beep, and the call ended, leaving David in the silence. His eyes widened and his trembling hands covered his face to muffle his scream as he collapsed onto the floor and cried. Attracting the attention of Gwen, Nikki, and Neil, they ran into the room to see his troubled state.
"Holy shit, are you okay?"
"What the fuck did he say to you?"
He looked up to see the three crouching down at him, shock etched on their faces, expecting an answer.
He gulped. "I have to meet him back at my house in four hours otherwise he'll kill him..." He sniffled. The three exchanged horrified looks as Gwen helped David stand.
"What are we gonna do?" Nikki asked.
"Well, I don't think we have much of a choice other than we need to take David back, I'll help you pack some stuff," Gwen answered. She led David into her room, leaving the two kids in silence. It stayed that way until Nikki groaned as she buried her face into her hands.
"This is my fault... I should've just let him stay home," she mumbled.
"Hey," Neil comforted. "It wasn't your fault. Frankly, I don't think it was anyone's. If he knew they were here, he would've found a way inside the house regardless." Nikki said nothing. Footsteps filled the silence and David and Gwen emerged from the hallway. David remained quiet. All of the joy and hope had evaporated from him, and they were left with this empty, desolate person. The two had garnished themselves of knives and Gwen held a 9mm handgun.
"Woah, how'd you get the guns?" Nikki asked, marveled.
"I'm licensed." Gwen replied bluntly, which Neil raised an eyebrow to.
"Why the hell do you need a license?" Neil questioned.
"Protection."
"And you do realise that if you bring that you're nine times out of ten going to lose that license?" he continued.
She shrugged. "It's a risk I'm willing to take. You guys are gonna have to go back home now, I can't bring you guys along-"
"Wait!" Neil interrupted as an idea sparked in his brain. "What if we can help you?"
David shot Gwen an alarmed look with his dull eyes, but no words came from his mouth.
"What..?" Gwen stammered. "No, I'm not putting you two in danger-"
"Come on Gwen!" Nikki pleaded, her confidence regaining by the second. "I can fight and pounce on people like a wolf! David would know that! And wolves are practically indestructible!" She beamed.
"No, they aren't-"
"And Neil has some really poisonous thingies!" Nikki went on. This caught Gwen's interest. Hesitantly, she glanced at Neil, encouraging him to elaborate.
"They're at my place, I can show you if you let us come with you." He replied, earning a groan from Gwen at the lack of explanation.
"Gwen, what are you..." David trailed off quietly.
"Their house is just a couple houses down and across, chill," Gwen responded. With that, they all piled out the door and ran to Nikki and Neil's house. (candy and carl got married a year ago during camp) They dashed through the house and into Neil's disastrous room.
"Jesus this is messy as hell..." Gwen commented.
"Better not go in Nikki's room then," Neil replied. As he was digging through his closet, he explained what he was looking for. "My cousin works at a company that manufactures different kinds of guns. Often they make dart guns that can knock someone unconscious, and I may or may not've stolen one from him." He stopped searching. "Aha! Here it is." He came out, holding a small dart gun in his hands. He handed it to Gwen before taking out an average sized container filled with darts.
"Oh my god..." She trailed off. She was - to say the least - shocked and impressed. "Thanks so much Neil, we definitely need this-" Neil suddenly swiped the darts and the gun from her.
"You're only getting these if we can come with you," Neil said. (neil you little shit)
"Neil!" David whined.
"You motherfucker..." Gwen breathed. "Fine, you can come with us."
He held out the contents for Gwen to take again and innocently said "Thanks." They all turned to tiny footsteps stomping against the hard floor and Nikki appeared at the door holding two bottles of milk, grinning. Upon realising her plan, they all smiled too.
The four raced to her car and she zoomed away, the speed limit being the least of her concerns.
-*CHANGE OF P.O.V & TIME SKIP*-
Every time Max tugged, the ropes that bound his wrists and ankles together seemed to get tighter. It was dark. The only sources of light were the boarded up windows and the small lightbulb dangling from above him. It was lonely. He needed David or his friends by his side to comfort him and reassure him that everything was going to be okay. It was scary. He has no idea what that sick fuck Daniel has in store for him, and the thought of it sent spine-tingling shivers. His train of thought was abruptly stopped as the door creaked open, making Max wince at the awful sound. A tall blonde man walked in and shut the door.
"So... how's my little Max doing?" Daniel teased as he walked closer to him until he practically loomed above him.
"Fuck off," Max growled. Daniel rolled his eyes.
"Don't test my patience today, Max. I'm still very upset that you and David tried to run away from me," he audibly sighed. "Nevermind then. Your precious David should be on his way here now anyway." He paused to see Max's reaction, which was trying to contain his fear.
"Oh how exciting this is gonna be..." he kept monologuing. "I've been waiting for this very moment since our last encounter. I don't think you two are very deserving of ascension, or even just plain death. Oh no... I plan to keep you here and torture you until there's nothing you want more than death!" He started cackling as Max fought to keep his 'tough guy' persona. There was no way in hell he was going to give Daniel the satisfaction of fear.
He gulped. "I find it really hard to take you seriously considering that I could just throw a fucking bottle of milk at you and it would most likely kill you." He faked a small chuckle. He hoped he wasn't as great at reading him as David was.
Thankfully he wasn't. "Oh, that won't be a problem. I take pills to help with my lactose intolerance." He smirked. Damn.
"Okay, so are we just gonna fuckin' play chase again, and have you trip on another pebble? I'll pass." He hoped this façade was working as he laughed. "Fuckin' dumbass." He prepared himself for the filthiest lie he could spit out. "I'm not... fucking... scared of you-"
Seething with rage, Daniel whipped out his crooked knife and grabbed the front of Max's hoodie, bringing him closer to his face. He enjoyed Max suddenly shift from being a smartass to being scared shitless.
"You should really watch your mouth, kid," Daniel sneered, his knife threateningly pressing his neck. "It's only going to make things worse." He kept pushing the knife down as Max yelped.
"n-NO! STOP!"
-*CHANGE OF P.O.V & MEMORY*-
(because I don't wanna write my poor boy getting tortured, he still has some dignity left)
"Alright, so here's the plan." Gwen recited. Everyone was silent, listening intently. She still kept her eyes on the road, but she still explained everything easily. "Our main goal is to get Max out of harm's way, so David, you do whatever you have to do to get him out of there. If things go south, Nikki and Neil will run in and throw the milk at Daniel. If that doesn't work - which I highly doubt won't happen - I'll run in and shoot him as a last resort. You guys understand?" Everyone nodded.
"Good luck out there David. You got this, you must stay strong. You have to win this, for his sake."
-*TIME SKIP*-
"Okay, David..." He paced back in forth in front of the entrance to his apartment lobby. "Just find Max and somehow avoid Daniel out while the others take care of anyone else... Oh god." He took a deep breath and pushed the doors open. It was so hauntingly quiet, you could hear a mouse move.
He managed to choke out "H-ello?"
"Ah – perfect, you showed up!" A voice echoed. The owner of the voice revealed himself as an all too familiar man. Daniel.
"Where is he.." David snarled.
"If you come with me, I'll show you." He smiled calmly. There's no way this couldn't be a trap! He looked up the stairs, searching for his room, the place that he and Max called home.
He caught his gaze. "He isn't in your room. Do you want to see him or not?" He asked sternly.
He gulped and huffed. "Fine." He led him down a series of hallways. Every turn they took, he could feel multiple eyes watching him... waiting. His breath hitched as he struggled to stay calm. He had to stay strong for his little boy. Trap or not, nothing is going to stop him from finding him. They stopped at a beaten down wooden door labeled 'Storage'.
"He's just in there," Daniel said. He yanked on the knob and open the door to show David. What he saw almost made his heart stop. There laid Max on the ground, with a line of blood spread across his neck.(im sorry im really sorry) Only when Max turned to look at David did he see the genuine fear on his face.
"MAX!" He attempted to run to him, only to have Daniel pin his hands behind him and hold his dagger up to his neck. David screamed bloody murder as he struggled to get out of his hold.
"Not so fast David..."
-*END OF CHAPTER*-
im sorry i just need angst
so the next and last two chapters are gonna be the good ending and the bad endings
obviously im gonna do the bad endings first because im just a piece of shit that wants to see the world burn lol
cya then!
[EDIT] i wasnt really happy with how this chapter turned out. I felt like there was too much unnecessary dialogue so i tried to get rid of that
and yes the next chapter is coming out soon, i was waiting until school ended for the year for me (because im in australia)