AUTHOR'S NOTE
This won't be pretty
Then again. At what point was this ever pretty?
Joyful Tree Friends
And so Lumpy was alone now. The Joy slowed the bleeding as he walked through the camp. He wasn't sure when he reached it, but now he walked. Alone. Not a soul was there. Fires had been hastily extinguished. Barriers were left open. Generators left running.
He walked. In complete silence. His mind buzzed. His muscles twitched. He walked past Giggles's banners. Her prisons. Her barriers. Then he was there. They were waiting for him. Giggles' personal army. Thirty or so men, all armed to the teeth. They had armor, long spears and knives. Bows were drawn. A handful of rifles were scattered amongst them.
"Get the fuck out of here, nutjob!" One of them called from the crowd
Another cried, "We knew you were coming! She told us! She hates you!"
"Get out of here!"
"Leave!"
"Off yourself, old man!"
He clenched his fist. Furrowed his brow. Grit his teeth. He wouldn't let them stand between him and Buddy. If he had to fight them all with nothing but two bloody nubs. Lumpy wasn't leaving. Buddy was coming home with him.
"Lumpy!"
His eyes snapped open. Lumpy looked over his shoulder. Toothy was there.
"Lumpy." He said again, "I don't know if I can fight anymore Lumpy. I wanted to tell you something."
Toothy was trembling. His entire body was shaking with something that was both terrified and resolute.
"When we first met, I wanted to die. I was all alone. I would've done anything for a friend. That dog that was attacking me, I trained it to do that. I prayed someone would come and save me. And when it was you? When this adventure started? I felt… I felt like a hero. But now? This? I can't do this Lumpy. Please. We need to stop. If I, if I do anything heroic in my life it'll be stopping you. She needs to be free."
Lumpy's expression dimmed. He didn't respond. Toothy grabbed his wrist, but Lumpy pulled away. He was stronger than Toothy. They both knew that.
"Lumpy."
Lumpy shook his head, "Then I'll kill you too."
Toothy, still shaking, raises his fists. Lumpy swung at him with a hook to the temple. It felt like should've torn Toothy's head clean off. He didn't fall down. He didn't stand down. He was still shaking, but Toothy still stood.
Lumpy struck him again. And again. Tears were running down his face. Toothy buckled under the weight of one of the punches and fell to the ground. He tried to get back up, but Lumpy stomped down on his chest. He kneeled down, pressing his knee into Toothy's sternum and kept hitting. He punched Toothy until his face was caked in blood. He kept punching. The army, the men, the looked on in silence. All that echoed through the camp was the sound of a man beating a man to death.
Toothy was dead.
Lumpy didn't say a word. He looked at the men.
"You… sick fuck!" One of them said. Another fired an arrow at him. It hit him in the shoulder, but he didn't feel it.
"I can't believe we were gonna let you live!" A man shouted. His friends chimed in
"You're gonna die old man!"
Lumpy shook his head.
"No. I've been dead. For the last 30 years I've been dead. Today is when I live."
He walked toward them
"What… what is he doing?"
He walked into them.
"Oh my god, someone stop him!"
There were bodies around him.
"What the hell is he made of? He won't die!"
He walked through them.
"Just… just let him take the girl! Let him take the girl!"
They were silent. There were none left.
Lumpy pushed open the door to Giggles' room.
"Buddy?"
…
"Buddy, was it?" Giggles asked.
Buddy nodded.
"Listen," Giggles continued, "I guess, first thing I need to do is apologize. This whole thing, this world we're living in. It's disgusting. I'm sorry you have to live in it. And I'm sorry for what you need to do. But you do understand that this is something that has to happen, don't you?
"I do." Buddy said.
She took a drag on her cigarette, "You don't have to put on a brave face for me. Buddy. What I'm asking you to do is something that should never be asked of any woman, let alone a girl your age. But do you know why I'm asking you to do it?"
"Because I'm special?"
Giggles let out a small laugh, "I wish it was just that. Buddy, have you ever known someone who has spent their entire life trying to make up for a mistake they know could never be forgiven?"
Buddy didn't answer.
Giggles reached behind her head. She unlaced the face she wore, set it down on the table beside her. Underneath the leather mask of skin, she was warmingly beautiful.
"When this all happened," Giggles said, "There was two of us. Myself and Petunia. We were hidden away from everything. We knew we'd be the saviors of this whole godforsaken rock. And you know what happened? I got jealous. I didn't want t share the world with her. She was a bitch anyway. So killed her. Can you believe it? Only a handful of women left in the world and I killed her because I'm a petty little cunt. But it gets worse."
Buddy looked worried.
Giggles puffed her cigarette again. "Buddy, do you know what 'infertility' is? It's when a woman can't have children. I thought I was special, but I wasn't. I didn't know for years. I thought I had doomed the world. But then you showed up. You were my second chance. I didn't think I deserved it. I still don't think I deserve it. But the world does. Do you think the world deserves a second chance?"
Buddy let a tear slip down her face, "Yes."
There was a commotion outside. Shouting.
"Buddy. I need you to hide. Underneath the bed. Don't come out until you hear me tell you to. Do you understand?"
Buddy nodded. She slipped under the bed and covered her eyes. She heard the door open. She heard Lumpy's voice.
"Buddy?" He asked.
Giggles said, "What… what did you do to them? You killed all of them, didn't you? Get out! Get out of here!"
"Where is she?"
"You honestly think I'll give that girl to someone like you? You're a monster!"
Something was hit. Something was thrown on the bed. Something else climbed on the bed after it. Buddy didn't peek. She laid there quivering.
"No. No get off of me! Get off-"
Something was choking. Struggling. Loudly. It quieted down. It stopped completely. Something climbed off of the bed.
"B-buddy?" Lumpy called. "Buddy?"
Lumpy turned and started to walk out of the room. Buddy couldn't take it anymore. She crawled out from under the bed. He was standing in the doorway. His body was broken. He was covered in his own blood. Weapons snapped off in his body. Arrows covered his back. He looked down at her. He was crying.
"Buddy."
Buddy shook her head, "Why? Why did you do this? You ruined everything."
"I just-"
Buddy wouldn't hear him, "What? What did you want? To keep me locked up forever? To let me wither in your basement? I could've helped everyone Lumpy. I hate you! You killed everyone! You killed me! ...you killed yourself."
Lumpy fell to his knees.
"Buddy. Could I ask you for something?"
"Buddy didn't answer.
"Could you hold me? I forgot what it feels like."
Buddy felt the anger in her body melt. She took a deep breath. She wrapped her little arms around his bloodied body. He died there. In her arms. Kneeling. She almost swore she heard him whisper her name. But she knew he didn't.
