Guess I’m feeling the ‘drugged against will’ prompts today…
~~~
No no NO!
They promised! They swore!
They should have known not to trust Whumper’s word again.
Something had seemed off. They knew it had…
But the pain was too much. They were willing to risk it.
But now they were sat in the corner of their room, curled up with their knees to their chest and their hands over their head, shaking and sobbing. Still in pain and trying desperately to remember the dark shadows that surrounded them were nothing but hallucinations.
It was hard to keep their head on straight when everything hurt. Their body was sore from the extra work they’d been given on account of their disobedience. The bruises from the punishment the day before. The lashes they’d received just that morning for spilling Whumper’s drink on the carpet were the worst they’d taken in a while but it also covered the still tender marks that had barely healed from the week prior.
The meager first aid kit they’d been given to patch themself up had never been fully stocked. And it especially never had numbing creams or pain relief.
The only relief was the olive branch that Whumper occasionally decided to offer them in the form of pills. Only, these pills were often fool’s gold. Half of the time it would be pain relief— finally giving them some sort of relief from the near constant pain Whumper kept them in.
Other times, however, the pills would be laced with… something else. A hallucinogen. Something that doubled the pain and then forced hallucinations upon them. Horrid, terrifying hallucinations. One that Whumpee swore they could feel.
They could feel the way the inky black figures that often haunted those hallucinations dragged their long, sharp fingers down their already marred back. Digging into wound after wound and pouring venom into them that felt like it burned worse than any flame could.
The first time Whumper had swapped their pain pill for whatever drug they’d given them, Whumpee hadn’t realized what had happened until the full effects left them nearly a week later. For nearly six days they were tormented by the figures.
They vaguely remember screaming for close to a day straight before their voice gave out on them. They had begged Whumper, of all people, to help them. To save them.
Whumper had seemed so unbothered by the figures that were clearly tormenting them. In fact, they only laughed every time Whumpee came to them in tears and was begging for their help.
They hadn’t been real, they realized those days later after the visions had finally dissipated.
And they tried to remember that now.
This time, however, some of the specters carried weapons in their long, exaggerated, grotesque hands. Tools of their punishments they would recognize easily in the hands of Whumper.
There were more than usual this time. New versions of the same figures crowded around them.
A new drug, perhaps. A stronger hallucinogen.
The majority of the monsters were towering above them, cloaked in darkness. Eyes piercing and red and an inhuman cheshire smile that gleamed with white pointed teeth and dripped red like they had recently feasted on flesh were the only distinction between the black void that was their cloak and their face. Their claws protrude from their robes. They floated inches above the ground. Silent and menacing. A promise of pain each time they reached out, finding the exact spots that bled the most or burned hottest and digging in with their claws to intensify the worst of the pain.
New figures carrying the same bloody smile and red eyes were no longer wearing a cloak. Instead, their disproportionately long arms and legs jutted out harshly from their body. Many of the limbs looked to be jagged and broken, sticking out at odd angles but not seeming to bear any effect on the monstrosities as they creeped closer and closer on those very limbs. Closer from the floor, the walls, the ceiling, from every surface they clung to like grotesque spiders, emerging from every darkened facet of the room. They did not float, but they crawled on all fours. Slowly. Still smiling as they did.
One of the crawling ones reached them first. They watched with horror as the hand they reached out towards them followed the curve where the wall met the floor, like a shadow distorted by the 3D objects it was cast over. It looked like it flowed over the wrinkles of their clothes and lingered like a trick off the light when it reached their bare skin, burning marks into it like a brand.
Whumpee gasped in pain and jerked away, only for a cloaked figure to take hold of them. The moment their fingers dig into their flesh, Whumpee screams.
The pain was blinding. Impossibly real.
No matter how many times they’ve been through this, no matter how many times they’ve ’woken up’ from the nightmares of hallucinations, they can’t help but wonder every time if maybe this time was real. That somehow Whumper had created these monsters straight from their nightmares and sent them to torment them.
Because the way it hurt when the figures simply reached out to touch them was real.
“S-STOP!” Whumpee begged while their muscles contracted with the pain, keeping them locked into the grip that felt like it was flaying their meat from their bones where it touched.
They didn’t even notice the next spectre—one carrying Whumper’s favorite knife— coming closer. Or they hadn’t, at least, until the knife buried itself deep into their thigh. The monster stared at them with that infinite grin, as Whumpee watched in silent horror as the knife stuck halfway out of them. Bloodlessly, like it wasn’t really there.
But they could feel it. They could feel the way it severed muscles and nerves and veins. The sharp, excruciating burning that blurred their vision and had their mind going white. They could feel the way it dug in slowly as the figure pushed it further in with little resistance. Like their skin, their muscles, their bones were nothing but tissue paper.
Their scream, only now reaching their own ears as the world came into sharp clarity, when they felt the way the knife scraped into their bone. The way it kept going, impossibly easy, until the hilt was the only thing left, sliding into place like it was meant to be there.
Time stopped for a split second. The room was quiet. The figures all stopped their slow advancements.
Then the shadowy figure they’d gotten away from lunged forward, breaking the impossible stillness. It moved within a split second. Its arm reached out and then reached through them. It reached into their guts, spreading that venom they swore it had lacing its fingers and burning away at them from the inside.
The knife wielding figure pulled the knife from their leg then.
But no sooner does one pain stop then it is replaced by another as more of the figures crowd around them.
“Come ooonn, Caretaker!” Whumper drawled with an amused smile on their face. “Why don’t you do this for me? Just this once? For good ol’ time’s sake, huh?”
Whumper reached out and touched a finger to Caretaker’s forehead, watching as they did so. They slowly, gently scraped their nail down the side of Caretaker’s face, a creepy smile growing as it scratched over their temple, their jaw, down their throat. Caretaker shuddered when it rested on their jugular.
“I’ll never do anything you say. Ever again,” Caretaker hissed out. Whumper gazed up into their eyes again, seemingly uncaring of the way Caretaker dismissed them. They looked back to their throat.
“Hmm.. A shame, really. You were one of my best scientists.”
Whumper splayed their hand out on their throat, seeming to revel in the way Caretaker’s breath quickened beneath it.
“You- you’re a fucking monster.”
Whumper chuckled before pushing hard into their throat. Caretaker choked and sputtered against the bruising pressure that was cutting off nearly all their air.
Caretaker struggled against Whumper and the chains that held their arms above their head, keeping them standing against the wall. Whumper watched in amusement. The same way they had watched Whumpee struggling in this very same spot when they’d first brought Caretaker into this very room to ‘see the progress of their work’. The first time Caretaker learned what they had truly been doing with their research.
“All this name calling all because of that one little lab rat? The one you grew attached to? Is it because it was alive? Was it because it survived the other trials? That’s what we’d been doing all this for! All your work was for this!”
Whumper finally let them breathe. Caretaker slumped against the chains, desperate to get air into their lungs.
Whumper just watched, standing in front of them. Looking down at them.
“N-no…” Caretaker said between gasps, “I-I did-didn’t know! I-I didn’t know they… they were people! I—” Caretaker carefully stood up, still breathing heavily. They refused to look weak in front of Whumper.
“Oh, but you had to have known in some capacity, right, Caretaker? You can’t have thought we weren’t trialing your research, right?”
“I-I thought,” they breathed deep, “it was all theoretical! I didn’t realize you were… you were using my research for something so horrible! You—”
“Where did you think we got all the data, Caretaker? Hm?”
“I… I thought they were simulations! That’s what they told me! Or animal trials or something. I-I didn’t think— I never would have given you my work if I knew this was what you were using it for!”
Whumper tsk-ed, looking disappointed. “So smart, yet so oblivious.”
Whumper took a step back and pulled their hand back. Caretaker only had a moment to brace for the impact to the side of their face.
“You let them get AWAY!” Whumper screamed at them in a moment of unusual rage. Then they took a breath and smoothed down their lab coat. “You let them get away,” they repeated more calmly this time. “You helped the best specimen we’ve had to escape.” Whumper was clearly trying their best to keep even-tempered. They began to pace. “And now, you’ll help us create another. Only this time, it won’t just be your research. The other scientists aren’t like you, Caretaker. They’ve messed up too many times, you see. So that’s where I need you to come in.” Whumpee stopped and searched Caretaker’s face for a moment. “You will use that research to make something even more incredible. You know how, don’t you, Caretaker? You made a breakthrough right before you helped them escape.”
Caretaker’s eyes widened. They’d destroyed it all before they left! How… how could Whumper have known?!
“No! No, I-”
“You did,” Whumper cut them off, putting their finger up to Caretaker’s lips to shush them. They pulled away from Whumper, whipping their head to the side to shake them off. Whumper simply grabbed their chin and forced Caretaker to look them in the eyes. “I know you did. I saw the research you had tried to destroy. Unfortunately for you, one of my other scientists was able to pull some of the data from the portion of your computer that you hadn’t managed to burn. It was very difficult to piece back together, you know. They told me how they did it, but honestly that was all technical jargon I couldn’t have been less interested in. Not when your work was sitting in front of me.
“Incredible work, honestly. I wish I'd known you were this close to something so impressive before showing you the first version. Whumpee, you called it, correct? Honestly, I don’t know why you cared so much for it. After your research, you had to have known it was going to be inferior soon enough. We don’t deal with inferiority. You know that.”
Whumper let them go as there was a knock on the door.
“Well would you look at that! Perfect timing!” Whumper exclaimed happily.
Caretaker watched the door with their heart in their chest.
No! Please no! Don’t let it be Whumpee, please! They got away! They escaped!
They couldn’t tell if they were relieved or horrified when it wasn’t, in fact, Whumpee that two of the security guards brought another, feeble, unconscious person into the room. They dragged them in by the arms. Their head lolled uselessly and their legs dragged across the floor.
The same security guards that Caretaker had often had lunch with. The ones they’d almost considered friends at one point. Caretaker hadn’t known they were a part of this. Complacent on the mistreatment— the torture— that was being done here with their research.
They’d known the whole time.
They’d known…
How could they have been so blind?!
“You’re lab rat is here, Caretaker!” Whumper grinned happily as they both watched the guards carelessly haul the person onto the lab table. The same one they’d seen Whumpee on many times. The same one they knew let to pain and torture in the name of research. Their research.
“Whumper, this is insane! Let them go! This isn’t-”
“You’ll perform your work on them, Caretaker.”
“I won’t! You’ll have to kill me! I refuse to put them through this!”
“Oh, but you will.”
“I will never-”
Caretaker was suddenly cut off by a scream.
A familiar scream.
Their eyes widened and they whipped their head around, trying to find the source.
“NO! NO! How?!” Caretaker pleaded, scanning the lab but knowing they weren't here. It sounded like it came from another room.
Not far, but far enough.
“If it was up to me, I wouldn’t let something so inferior continue on this earth. A failure, honestly. You know I hate failure. And to think I’d thought they were incredible at one point…” Whumper mused with sparkling eyes.
“WHUMPEE!!” They called, trying to hear where the scream had come from. Only to hear another piercing shriek in answer. Clearly hurt. Clearly in pain. “NO! No! They’d escaped!!” Caretaker cried desperately. They tugged at their chains.
“Oh, I thought you’d be excited!” Whumper grinned, “I figured this was a good incentive. Like I said, I would have killed them. But I suppose for you, I won’t. I’ll keep them alive, as long as you do as I say.”
“N-No! NO! Let them GO! LET THEM GO!”
“Well, why on earth would I do that? I only just found them, you know. I will gladly bring you to see them… after you do as I say. It shouldn’t take long, right? A few hours at most? Plenty of time for you to put your last breakthrough to the test.”
“I-I won’t! I won’t! Let them go! Let them go first and I’ll… I’ll…” They didn’t want to say it. They didn’t want to give Whumper anything. But they have Whumpee.
“No, no,” Whumper stepped in front of them. They looked straight into their eyes. “You’ll do what I ask. And the longer you make me wait the more you will hear the screams of your friend.” Whumper pulled out a small device from their pocket. “This goes straight to a collar sat around Whumpee’s neck. Do you know what happens when I push this?”
“N-no! Don’t-“ They cringed as Whumper hit one of the buttons on the device and Whumpee’s desperate screams and cries echoed through the room. Whumper didn’t let go. “S-stop! Stop! STOP!”
They couldn’t bear to hear the pain evident in every choked scream and sob that hit their ears. The way it reverberated around the room. It was so far away and yet it was so loud. Tears forced their way from their eyes.
“Stop! Please stop!”
“Do as I ask, Caretaker, and I won’t need to use this.”
Still the yelling didn’t stop. Not until a horrid choking noise replaced it. They could barely feel the way the chains dug into their skin as they pulled tighter against their restraints but even the blood beginning to drop from their wrists could distract them from the sounds of Whumpee’s torture.
“STOP! Okay! OKAY! I’ll… I’ll do it! Stop! Please!” Whumper released the button. The sound of Whumpee’s gasps
“Wonderful! We’ll get your station set up for you, Caretaker!” Whumper said happily, as if they hadn’t just facilitated the torture of or someone in another room. As if Whumpee’s sobs couldn’t be heard through the walls. As if the sounds of Whumpee’s screams weren’t still echoing through Caretaker’s head.
“I’m sorry… I’m sorry…” Caretaker repeated over and over under their breath in between their sobs. They apologized as if the gods would relieve them of the guilt of what they were about to do—what they have done, even unknowingly. They apologized to Whumpee. They apologized to the stranger laying on the table. They apologized to all those they had since learned had been before Whumpee.
Prompt(s): Explosion-|-Fainting-|-Fighting through the pain-|-“What did you say?”
Words: ~1230
Cw: team whump/kind of military whump (?), explosions, guns, knives, blood, fainting (but more like implied fainting at the end?), broken bones mentioned
~~~
“Come on! Keep going!”
They wished they could. They really wished they could.
Every joint screamed at them as they were pushed further than they’d ever been.
The feeling of the overstretched and overworked muscles burned even where they had never hurt before in any of the intense workouts they’d ever put themself through in training.
Every few steps, their leg would give out on them, not just from the strain but from the agonizing pain that their broken toe and sprained ankle as well. Their body couldn’t handle that along with all the other sensations it attempted to parse through.
Every inch of their skin felt like it had been flayed from their body Or, more likely, burned from their body. They could still feel the flames of the building that had nearly collapsed on them hours ago as if they were still on fire. If they couldn’t see a majority of their red, blood-dyed skin still pulling taught over angry muscles on their arms, they’d have assumed they resembled a living anatomy sculpture they’d seen in hospitals.
Where they could no longer feel anything but a numbness, it still felt warm and overheated.
They swore they could melt from the liquid dripping from every wound they’d sustained. It burned hotter against their skin than any fire they’d ever felt.
They knew they wouldn’t survive this.
But they wouldn’t leave their team.
They wouldn’t.
No matter how much pain they were in or their body was beginning to fail them. Their friends came first.
They could do it.
They had to.
So they gripped their weapon tighter despite the protesting finger they hadn’t had time to see if it was sprained or broken. It wouldn’t matter soon anyway.
They easily swapped out the magazine from the gun with easy precision. They weren’t sure how many they had gone through by now. The fighting has seemed endless. But they knew their supply was getting low.
They’d been sent on an infiltration mission. But it had been a trap. One if those in command were a double agent, easily sending them to their deaths. They had figured it out much too late. The warning calls through their comms hadn’t come with nearly enough time to react before a massive ball of fire nearly engulfed them all.
By the time they recovered their senses, the building had already been falling to pieces around them. It was solely some kind of divine intervention that not a single one of them had been killed by the explosion let alone falling debris. They’d made it out with seconds to spare.
An early detonation. A bit too happy of a trigger finger. That was the only reason they hadn’t been closer to the blast. That was the only reason they hadn’t all been blown to pieces.
They’d only survived this long due to a series of impossible coincidences.
They hadn’t had time to check on their team after the explosion. Their medics’ instincts to see to the worst of their injuries were immediately foiled. After the dust settled they were being surrounded by armed men sent in to take out the last of those who had managed to escape. The only thing they drew comfort in was that they heard each and every voice if their teammates calling through sounds of gunfire raining down on them.
Once again, they only made it through because the men hadn’t been expecting any of them to have survived such an explosion. They survived by taking them all by surprise. A stroke of luck.
And now they were all on the run. Returning fire when they were caught by the amatures that had been stationed around the perimeter, none of which had seen battle before. Once more, a miracle that they survived this long.
They were the medic for the team, so every moment they managed to escape fire, their instincts took over. They watched each member as they ran. They saw what legs they were favoring. They watched for any signs of concussions. They looked for the ones with the most blood seeping into their uniforms.
Thankfully none seemed as bad off as they were.
They would all survive as long as there were no internal injuries.
Their leader barked out orders as they ran. Their comm had clearly been damaged in the blast, as they couldn’t hear anything but a low constant beep. They ripped it from their ear, only to realize it hadn’t been the comm making the noise. There was a ringing in their ear that didn’t stop. Everything else sounded muffled.
They took only a split second to touch their ear, their hand coming back with blood. A small amount. Not nearly enough to be concerned about. Not when they were sure the gash on their side was enough to have them bleeding out if they didn’t get to pack it soon.
They’d fallen to the back of the group, but that wasn’t unusual. They often had more gear, suited up with medical equipment as well as the normal kit that the others wore. They’d always been able to handle it.
Now the only thing they could think of was the way their body was dragging itself down. Every step was painful. Every twitch of every muscle screamed at them. Every blink made them want to sink into the darkness that was already surrounding their vision.
But still they fought.
They were far enough behind that they saw the person running up behind their teammate, ready to ambush them.
They kept forward, crashing into the enemy’s side. They hadn’t wanted to risk their aim and hurting their teammate, but the moment they were tossed off and to the ground, they knew they were in trouble.
The air was ripped from their lungs as their back hit the ground. Even the worst of the burns there that had since become numb screamed in agony once more.
They barely had time to fight through the fog in their mind brought in by the pain to pull their knife before the man was back on top of them. They screamed as the man dug their own knife into their shoulder. Their medical experience recognized the man hadn’t hit anything vital, but it sure as shit didn’t help the searing sensation of nerves and muscles being cut and severed deep in their body.
They forced the man back with a kick only to have their vision black out momentarily from the agony of the knife being pulled from their shoulder once more.
They didn’t waste another second, though, surging up blindly and hearing the satisfying sound of the man crying out and the feeling of their own knife cutting into flesh. Their vision was coming back blurry, but they could see the vague outline of their teammate rushing over and taking the man out with a pistol to their temple. The sound of the gun firing barely registered before they felt themself being pulled forward.
“Come on! We have to go!”
It was getting harder to keep going.
It was getting harder to ignore the pain.
It was getting harder to aim and pull the trigger as enemies popped up around them.
It was getting harder to keep the blackness from taking over again.
Prompt(s): Dehydration-|-Tied up-|-Torture-|-“I wish you were dead”
Words: ~1110
Cw: tied up, kidnapping
I’m still alive I swear! I’ve been super busy and the inspiration hasn’t struck until yesterday when I got multiple days caught up. So theres at least three posts going out for today. (Yay for yesterday-me!) I’m still behind on day 8, day 14, and, of course, today’s as well, but I’ve made progress yesterday on all of them so hopefully I will keep the inspiration from yesterday and post them soon! Enjoy day 12’s prompt!
~~~
They awoke slowly, but they wished they didn’t wake at all. They almost didn’t want to fight past the thick fog encapsulating them in the dreamland that had kept them from feeling the real world.
Everything hurt.
And the more they became aware of themself, the more they felt their body screaming at them.
They were laying on their side. Gravity fighting against them. They didn’t have the energy to fight back.
Their mouth was dry and tasted cotton-y.
The light was bright even behind their closed eyes. They didn’t even attempt to pry open their eyes, not willing just yet to lose the last vestiges of sleep that they knew was somehow still keeping the worst of the pain away.
They took a deep breath, trying to give themself a last few moments of peace. Their lungs had expanded, pulling their chest tight, stretching pleasantly, until it was forced to stop mid breath. They nearly choked on the oxygen that filled their lungs at their sudden realization that pushed through the intense grogginess that still weighed them down.
Their mouth was not just dry. It had cloth stuffed into it was stuffed with cloth that they felt wrapped around their head.
Their lungs couldn’t take any more air in, their breathing being restricted from going any further.
Caught.
Caught by… something… covering their chest.
No, not covering.
Surrounding. Wrapped around them. Not tight enough to hinder normal breathing, but the moment they tried to take another deep breath, they couldn’t.
Their eyes flew open, momentarily blinded by the bright lights above them.
Then the pain they had known the sleep had been keeping at bay surged forward.
They tensed. Their muscles screaming to be released.
Tied.
They were tied up.
Their hands were tied behind their back, their arms were wrapped tightly and they couldn’t move more than a twitch of their strained muscles with the way the rope wound around their shoulders and chest.
Their legs were bound tightly together as well, hooked up behind them and tied to their own wrists.
They were essentially hogtied.
Thoroughly trapped.
Everything came rushing back to them in an instant.
The way they’d thought they’d finally made it to freedom the moment they hit the city limits. The way they had slowed their running in order to catch their breath. The way they tried to blend into the crowd on the streets just in case.
It hadn’t been enough. They let their guard down too quickly. The moment they turned onto a quiet street, away from the crowds, they were already in danger.
Whumper’s voice had whispered in their ear as they had felt a hand wrap around their mouth and a sharp pinch pierce their neck.
Moments later, their thoughts had become fuzzy and all they knew were the feelings of hands hoisting them up and secreting them away. Kidnapping them once more.
They were pulled from their memories by the distinct sound of shoes tapping across the concrete floor behind them. Their body tensed but then screamed at them as they did so. The ropes pulled their limbs into awkward positions and strained the joints wrapped up tight within them.
The slow, steady pace of the person felt almost predatory. They were clearly in a large warehouse from the vantage point they had. The sounds of the steps echoed around them in the nearly empty space.
They suspected who it was but they couldn’t turn to see. They had to wait for the person to reveal themself. They tried not to think about how familiar the steps sounded.
Instead, they were scared silent. Waiting. Each footstep getting closer as their breathing turned panicked, lungs straining against the unforgiving rope.
The steps stopped just behind them.
Close. So close.
They tried to turn their head to see, but they could barely move without the intense pain that had them gasping out loud as it flashed through their already taut shoulders.
“W-who a-are-” they started, but their voice was nearly nonexistent and what little sounds they got out sounded nothing like the words they meant to say.
Who are you?
Only, they already knew. They knew that gait, those steps, the sounds of the same shoes that haunted their nightmares.
It was the same walk they dreaded hearing walking down the hall back when Whumper had them locked up tight.
They had learned Whumper’s walk. It was different then the heavier, more rushed sounds of the occasional guard bringing them food or water.
Whumper’s were quicker. Lighter. More even.
It struck fear into them the moment they heard it coming down the halls for them.
This time was no different.
The steps started up again. This time circling around their head. Making its way into view.
Whumpee knew who to expect, but the sight of Whumper’s calm anger frightened them. Whumper being calm meant only the worst was to come.
Despite knowing it was useless, panic welled up inside them and they wiggled and twisted, trying desperately to free themself.
Whumper stopped mere feet from them, drawing their attention from their struggling to the way Whumper crouched down in front of them. They smile down at Whumpee with amusement. Sick enjoyment played within their eyes. They’d always loved to see Whumpee struggling.
Struggling to finish an impossible task. Struggling to breathe. Struggling not to cry. Struggling through the pain.
It didn’t matter what kind of struggling as long as Whumpee was miserable and afraid.
And now, Whumpee had run away. They’d be lucky of Whumper didn’t kill them.
That thought passed through their mind as they processed how helpless against Whumper they would be while tied up like this.
Their fingers— the only things they could move freely— pulled at the rope hoping to find a loose end.
“You really thought you’d get away from me, Whumpee?”
“P-p’ease!” Whumpee attempted to beg behind the gag.
“I’ll be honest, Whumpee. I didn’t think you had the guts to do it.” Whumper stood, beginning to pace in slow circles around their body. Slow. Assessing. Predatory. “But now that I know you do, I’m going to have to keep a tighter leash on you. Perhaps even a real leash this time. You do look quite nice tied up like this though. I’m sure it’s uncomfortable. I don’t think you deserve comfort just yet. You have to prove to me you can earn that privilege back.”
Whumper stopped in Whumpee’s line of sight and scoffed at the tears beginning to pool into the concrete beneath their face.
“Believe it or not, Whumpee, but what you had before will look like luxury compared to what I’m going to do with you. I don’t take well to traitors.”
~~~
If you liked this, check out my other version of this scenario (that I didn’t realize was as similar as it was until after I was editing this lol whoops! Guess I just liked whumpees kidnapped and tied up) here! Thanks for reading 😊
Cw: mention of torture, mention of something being surgically implanted, mentions of self sacrifice
I’m late again… whoops… Two 16 hour work days is not conducive to completing writing challenges I guess :( ! I’m sorry! However, I am proud of myself for getting all of the dialogue done yesterday so today all I had to do was edit and add more descriptive writing around the dialogue!
~~~
“Why did you come back?”
“I had to.”
Whumpee was looking down at their feet. They hadn’t met Leader’s eyes.
Leader knew that Whumpee hadn’t wanted to leave them behind when there was the momentary chance for them to escape and the situation only allowed for Whumpee to run. They hadn’t expected Whumpee to come back! They even told them not to! To run instead!
“You didn’t! You had the choice not to. You could have saved yourself the trouble and the pain.” Leader couldn’t help but be frustrated with their youngest team member, looking at the bruises and black eye they’d obtained likely while they were being captured again.
They were free! Why would they come back?!
“N-no.. You… You don’t understand! I had to…” Whumpee was trembling. Stuttering over their words.
“Whumpee, please. Explain it to me so I do understand. You- You came BACK! You got caught again on purpose! WHY?! Why would you do that! I sacrificed so much so you could be free!”
“I couldn’t… they… they’d find me… I couldn’t go to the base… they’d find me…”
“If you ran like I’d told you, they wouldn’t have!”
“They’re tracking me!”
“Of course! They’re going to track anyone who escapes. You could have lost them! I gave you plenty of time to-”
“No! They’re tracking me!” Whumpee yelled. Whumpee rarely yelled. Especially at Leader. They immediately shrunk in on themself when they realized what they've done. “T-the doctor… he… he put something in me… A device. I… I think it was a tracker…”
“The doctor?” Leader deadpanned. “But he isn’t with Whumper, Whumpee. And that surgery was months ago, before Whumper ever got their hands on any of us. He wouldn’t have even known who you were. Why would he have done that?”
“When…” Whumpee shivered as if they could still feel the ghost of the memory sliding its icy hand across their mind. “When I was unconscious…in… in the surgery.. I think he did something to me. I know he did.”
“How do you know?”
“I… I think I woke up during it…”
“What?!”
“I thought it was a nightmare. I-I don’t know. I didn’t… I didn’t remember until recently, but I woke up and saw them… putting something in me. Whumper was there. In the room with the doctor. I swear they were! I couldn’t feel anything. I couldn’t move. I think it was the anesthetics. I couldn’t really see that well since I couldn’t... I couldn’t move my head, like, at all. But I know I saw them… you know… put something in my stomach… and… and I swear I can… feel it sometimes… you know? Like… like… in me.”
Whumpee poked at their gut and shuddered, as if feeling it now.
“Why do you think it was a tracker, Whumpee. You were badly injured. There could have been plenty of medical explanations for it, right?”
“I heard one of Whumper’s men talking about it…”
“About a tracker? In you??”
“Yeah… he.. He was telling his partner. Told him it was ’deep inside the little fucker’s guts’.” Whumpee’s voice lowered, imitating the man’s voice. They took a deep breath after, like they were trying to calm themself while in the verge of tears. “And he said that we’d… we’d never get it out. He said he couldn’t wait for me to lead them to the base. It… it must have been how they found us this time.”
“Are… are you sure?! Like, are you absolutely positive?”
“I heard him. I heard both of them talking about me when I was hiding in a bush. They walked right past so I don’t think it’s super accurate, but they kept coming back. Circling, ya know? They definitely knew I was around.”
“Oh… oh shit… okay.” Leader breathed, looking a bit pale.
If…. If this is true then….
“I’m sorry… I… I didn’t know what to do…” Whumpee was about to cry. It was clear in their features. “I… I didn’t mean to waste your efforts. I just didn’t want to… to lead them to the base….”
“No no! Its okay, Whumpee! We’ll figure this out. It's not your fault.”
Whumpee was silent for a while. Leader didn’t say anything either. They were focused on how.
How could they get Whumpee out of here again?
How could they get a tracker embedded in them out?
How do they keep the others safe at the base if Whumpee escaped again?
How?!
What had already been a near impossible task suddenly became more complex. A challenge they had no means to overcome. Not while they were both caged here like animals. Not after their first attempt to help Whumpee escape. They will never be allowed the same leniency that they had been able to abuse that let Whumpee escape.
“This is it for me, isn’t it?” Whumpee’s small, somber voice broke the deafening silence.
“What?”
“You… you need to save yourself. I… I can’t be the one to get out of here. I can’t leave.”
Leader felt a surge of protectiveness over the younger at the sound of their hopelessness. “We’ll get out of here! We just have to find a way again. We can do it!”
“They’ll just find me again…”
“We’ll figure it out, Whumpee-”
“No…” Whumpee interrupted, sounding dejected. “There's nothing to figure out. I can’t leave. But you?” Whumpee looked Leader in the eyes, “You can, though. You can escape. You can warn the others. You can help them. You can be free…”
“I’m not leaving you behind.”
“You won’t be.”
“But…”
“I can’t leave. But I can’t stay here either.”
“What are you talking about?! Where will you go?”
“I won’t. This is it for me,” they reiterated. Sounding more sure. More confident. More sad.
It occurred to Leader what they were implying.
“No! Don’t you dare talk like that, Whumpee! We’re getting you out of here! We both will this time…”
“I’ve already put you in too much danger as it is! When you helped me escape, I was planning to come back. To help you too. But then.. then I remembered… what they did in the hospital. And I saw the way they tracked me. I… I can’t lead them to the base. I can’t lead them to the others!” Whumpee sighed, sounding like they were holding the world on their shoulders. “And I can’t wait to see if I’ll crack under the torture either. We can’t afford it. The others can’t afford that. I’m… I’m not strong like you guys. I… I think it's best if you kill me before they can get-”
“Stop it! Stop it right now! Don’t talk like that! We haven’t been tortured yet. A little roughed up, sure, but they haven’t touched us. We have time to figure this out.”
“They put something inside me. They put it INSIDE me, Leader!” Whumpee yelled. Their hand was covering the spot on their stomach Leader knew had once been sliced open. A perfect opportunity for someone to slip something inside them under the guise of surgery. A scar going straight across from side to side. It was the reason they had been in the hospital in the first place after a mission gone horribly wrong. Whumpee and Teammate had both been near fatally injured that day.
And here they were, months later, caught after another failure of a mission. Leader hadn’t been able to figure out how they’d been caught. A tracker…. would make sense.
“I’m a pawn in Whumper’s game,” Whumpee continued angrily, “I can’t run from this! I can’t… I can’t put you all in danger. You saw what they did to Teammate! You saw what they put them through trying to get info on us! They can survive more than I ever could. They haven’t tortured us yet because they knew. They let me escape. Why do you think it was so easy for me and nearly impossible for you? They kept you locked tight because they can’t afford to lose you. They let me escape so they could track me to the base. It's just that I stayed behind to try to rescue you and happened to hear their plan otherwise it would have worked. But since it didn’t, they will torture us now. If they think we suspect them, their simple plan falls through and then they’ll do anything to us to get us to talk. They did it to Teammate!”
“We can make it through this! And we’ll do it together. We have to!”
“I’m going to crack, Leader! I’m a liability! And even if I get out and I don’t break under pressure, I can’t go back. I can’t go home. I have to stay as far from you as possible. And they could come for me any time. I’ll never be safe. I’ll never be able to keep you all safe. I’ll never be free! We’d have to kill Whumper and everyone else here or somehow get it out of me. I can’t risk leading them to Medic so they could help me. And you and I both know we can’t risk going to a hospital again! They were all suspicious of us! And now if at least one of the doctors are working with Whumper?? I’m trapped, Leader! And there's nothing we can do about it.”
Whumpee took a deep, watery breath. They looked directly into Leader’s eyes. Determined. “Please, Leader. I let me keep you all safe. Maybe if I help you escape and sacrifice myself so you can, you can still tell the oth-”
“No! Whumpee, no! We’re not losing you!”
“You have too. Let me do this to keep you safe:”
“No! I refuse to leave you!”
But Whumpee knew the odds were impossible. They cannot both escape. Not without a serious fight and serious injuries. So if Whumpee could make sure it was Leader who survived…
“I can't run for the rest of my life, Leader. If you get out you can warn the others and put a stop to this. You can do that. I can’t. They can lose me. They can’t lose you.”
“Enough, Whumpee. It’s not happening. Just give me a bit of time. I’ll figure this out.”
But the longer Leader was silent, the longer they had that look of deep worry, the more their eyes flicked from Whumpee’s face to their stomach where they knew the tracker was sealed inside of them, and the more they bit their lip until it bled told Whumpee all they needed to know.
Leader couldn’t find a way out of this. Not for both of them. Not this time.
Prompt(s): Touch starved-|-Gunshots-|-Presumed Dead-|-"It's your fault"
Words: ~1140
Cw: talks of character being presumed dead, nervous stims leading to self-harm/self-destructive behavior (hitting themself/scratching themself), panic attack
~~~
“Its your fault?”
“I-I’m sorry, Whumpee. I… I didn’t know..”
“Its all because of you?”
“Whumpee, please. I swear I didn’t-“
“Don’t… Don’t touch me.”
Whumpee slapped away Caretaker’s hands, not allowing Caretaker to calm them like they always do.
Ever since Whumpee’s been rescued they were the one to reassure and steady them. Caretaker recognized somewhere deep in their mind that it would be hard to calm Whumpee when they were the reason Whumpee was upset.
But Caretaker focused instead on just trying to explain themself. If they could just get Whumpee to see their reasoning, they wouldn’t be so upset with them. They were sure of it!
“But I saved you! I was the only one that kept looking. I knew you weren’t dead. The others didn’t believe me since your file said deceased but I kept looking. I never would have stopped until I found y-”
“It’s YOUR fault they thought I was dead!!”
“No, Whumpee. Please! Let me explain-”
“NO! No! No! I don’t want to hear anymore lies. That’s all Whumper ever did! Was lie! I-I can’t… I don’t want anymore lies… I-I trusted you!”
“I never lied! You could -can- trust me! I-… It was an accident. I didn’t mean for-”
“Get away from me! Get AWAY!”
“Whumpee, please- oh shit!- Whumpee!!” Caretaker watched in shock as Whumpee folded over themself, crouching down into a small ball.
Then, they started to hit themself.
Hard against the sides of their head with their fists
“Nononono- no! No, please... Please this can’t be happening. Please- Please I- I can’t do this again. Please- this can’t be happening.” Their eyes were glazed over with fresh tears and old memories.
“Whumpee! Please calm down!”
“Don’t- don’t let him. Don’t- don’t let him. Please. Please. Caretaker. Please. Don’t-”
“Whumpee, you’re not there. He can’t get you anymore! Stop!”
They didn’t. Instead, they latched onto their hair. Pulling at it. Caretaker watched helplessly as strands started to fall. They’d just started to grow the empty spots back in from where they had nearly pulled it all out while they were with Whumper.
Another nervous stim to release their anxiety, much like the hitting.
“C-caretaker… No no no! It was you. Caretaker, please- No! It was them. They left me with Whumper. Them…” They were mumbling frantically to themself.
“Come on, Whumpee! Please! Stop!”
“You!” They suddenly cried out much louder. “You… you lied! You lied! It’s your fault! It’s you…Why-why would they do that? Why would they do that?!”
“I never lied, Whumpee! Please! It's not my fault! It was a mistake! I’m sorry!”
“No. No no no!” The hair pulling turned to scratching. Peeling away layers of skin bit by bit. Digging in.
Caretaker reached out to pry their hands away from their scalp.
“DON’T!” Whumpee flinched away the moment they grazed them, “Don’t hurt me! Please-” They dug their nails in further to the marks they’ve made on their head.
Caretaker pulled their hands away but Whumpee jerked from their grip, immediately jumping up and pushing themself against the wall, far away from them. Their eyes clearer only from the memories. The tears never stopped.
“Ev-everyone thought… thought I was dead! Because of YOU!”
“Yes! But I can explain! If you’d just listen-”
A choked sob stopped them from saying anything more. Whumpee started crying again, tears spilling over their lash line. They slid down the wall, coming to rest their head against their knees. They had stopped hurting themself but their sobs sounded almost as painful.
Caretaker waited. Not getting any closer. Allowing them their space. And feeling guilty all the while.
Caretaker wished they could help calm them. Like they used to. But they knew Whumpee would have a hard time trusting them. Especially if they didn’t allow Caretaker to explain why they had done what they did.
But maybe if they could explain…
“Please, Whumpee…” they pleaded gently when the worst of the crying had slowed. “Let me explain.”
“I-I don’t wa-want to hear your lies, C-Caretaker.”
Whumpee sounded so tired. So resigned. Like they had no energy to fight anymore.
“No lies, Whumpee. Only the truth. I swear.”
Whumpee just huffed out a disbelieving laugh, but didn’t say anything more.
Caretaker took that as permission to speak.
“It was better that they didn’t know right away, Whumpee. It would have gotten in the way.”
Whumpee’s watery glare turned on them, scorching Caretaker no less than if their eyes were clear and their face was free of the red and puffiness. It was brutal in a way Caretaker had never seen from them.
“In the-the way?! Wh-what was in the way?! Rescuing me?! Or-or did you not want them to rescue me?! Was I the one in the way?! Did you- did you leave me for Whumper because I was in your way?!” Caretaker cringed when Whumpee misunderstood them like that. It sounded worse when they put it that way.
“No! That.. that's not what I meant, Whumpee! It's just that… the plan worked better if you…” Caretaker trailed off, realizing it would all sound worse. They hadn’t thought about how they would explain their reasoning to Whumpee.
“Were dead?” Whumpee questioned, harsh realization passing through their features.
“No! Not like that! It was for the greater good! It… it would have never worked if we had to stop and go on a rescue mission so when there was enough evidence to believe you were dead…”
“What did you do, Caretaker?” Whumpee scrutinized them, knowingly. But they wanted to hear it.
They didn’t want lies.
Not anymore.
“I marked your file as deceased. Look— I’m sorry! I- I told the team you weren’t dead! But the association liked the simplicity of it! They didn’t want to spend the money on a rescue mission and I wanted-” Caretaker cut themself off, not wanting to say the words they were thinking aloud. They couldn’t keep the guilt from being written across their face.
It didn’t matter.
Whumpee knew what they had done.
“You wanted your first mission as a leader to be a success,” Whumpee finished for them.
“No! I swear it wasn’t like that! I told the team that we had to keep looking but if your file said you were gone then…”
“You wanted me dead. Because it was easier. Because it made you look better in the end. It made your mission simpler.”
“No! I wouldn’t have done it if I knew for sure that you weren’t-”
“-Yes.” Whumpee looked and sounded so defeated. “You would have. Because you said it yourself. You knew I wasn’t. You told the team to keep looking. But you stopped the association from sending out a rescue.” Whumpee stretched out their arms, resting them on their knees where they sat crouched against the wall. Caretaker couldn’t help but notice the scars littering them. The ones they’d suffered from Whumper’s hands. Whumpee was staring at them as well.
“You were willing to let me suffer, knowing I might still be alive, because it was easier.”
Caretaker couldn’t think of a way to deny it without it sounding just as bad.
Prompt(s): Amnesia-|-Explosion-|-Failed Escape-|- "I don't feel a pulse"
Words: ~2700
Cw: amnesia, torture (not super in depth), broken bones
I’m still working on Day 8’s ‘cursed’ prompt. I’m super behind from day 7 that I missed and these last few prompts inspired really long stories so it’s been hard catching up!! Anyway, enjoy Day 9 (that’s still a few hours late lol whoops 😅)
~~~
“I don’t think that’s true…”
“It is! I swear to you it is, Whumpee!”
Whumpee was staring at the person the hospital Had released them into the care of. They weren’t sure why they’d been released to this person. Or why there had been others they didn’t recognize coming to visit them nearly every day since they had been forced into this hospital.
This person didn’t look like anyone they’d ever seen before. But they were insisting they were friends. Teammates, in fact. But they don’t remember having a teammate. Or any of these strangers calling themselves teammates. They don’t remember having a team at all.
They remember Whumper. They remember living with them for nearly a year. Learning how to do their job well and how to be useful again after their accident.
After all, the accident made them forget how to do almost everything. Especially their job. They even had to recover from a broken arm and leg from it! They still had a limp on some of the longer, harder days or when they were working on their knees to scrub the floors.
“But Whumper was nice enough to teach me after my accident… They taught me everything I needed to know…”
“No! There was no accident, Whumpee!”
“I’m sorry, but I think you have the wrong person. I’m not your teammate. I know there was an accident. I remember waking up in the hospital. A different one, though. Not the same as this one. But I had been there! And Whumper came and helped me. They were very nice about it all.”
“No, Whumpee! That’s not what happened! You lost your memories because of Whumper!”
“I know.. but it really wasn’t their fault! They felt terrible that it happened while I was working for them. It was just a freak accident. They were very kind and helped me even though I didn’t remember anything.”
“No, you— ugh!” Teammate cut themself off with a grunt, throwing their hands up in the air. “I just… you can’t…,” they sighed, unable to find their words. “We need to go to Leader. Maybe they’ll have an idea on how to help you.”
“I appreciate you trying to help me, I really do, but I think you might want to find your real friend. I’ll go back with Whumper and they’ll—”
“Whumper is in jail, Whumpee,” the person cut them off, looking more and more exasperated. “Along with the rest of their lackeys. They’re never getting out, either. We’ve made sure of that at least. Would have been better off dead if I had any say in it,” they grumbled the last part under their breath, but Whumpee heard it.
“Wh-what?! Why?!”
“They kidnapped you! They tried— did!— torture you for information about us. Our team. But they knocked your head too hard and you forgot everything.”
“That’s not what happened!”
“How can you be so sure of that, Whumpee? You have no memories!”
“Why should I believe you?“ Whumpee burst out, then had to calm themself with a breath. Whumper had hated when they yelled. They needed to stay calm. “You seem nice and all, but so was Whumper. They weren’t this horrible, evil person like you seem so convinced that they were. They helped me!” Their voice raised again unintentionally.
Teammate huffed out a laugh that didn’t sound amused at all.
“They took advantage of you! They got some sick enjoyment out of having one of their enemies doing their bidding or something.”
“They let me keep my job even though I didn’t remember anything!”
Teammate looked at them incredulously. “Fine. What was this ‘job’ they had given you then? What did you have to do for them?”
“Well, I was their housekeeper. They had offered me a place to stay in payment for the work I did.”
”Right… and what did they have you doing?”
“Well… housekeeping stuff, I suppose . You know… like cleaning and cooking. Laundry. Organizing. I don’t know. A bunch of things. Different that they had needed too. And I got to eat a free meal! Every day.”
“Just one?”
“Well, if I did my work really well, they would allow me to have a treat. I got treats often. Usually about twice a week, since I was so good.”
“You’re skin and bones, Whumpee. They barely fed you. They used you as a servant. They took advantage of you!”
“No, it was a job. I was compensated with the food and a place to stay since I didn’t have anywhere else to go—”
“Is that what they told you?” Teammate interrupted. “That you didn’t have anywhere to go?”
“Well… yeah. I didn’t have a home to go to. I had been living with Whumper for a while before the accident anyway so they took pity on me and let me stay and retained me.”
“That’s a lie!” Whumpee could hear the anger in their voice. They wished they knew why they were so adamant about Whumpee being their friend. “You had a place to stay! You have a place to stay! With us! At the base! That’s your home. Whumper was lying to you! They had taken you for weeks before you lost your memory but you weren’t meant to be with Whumper! Ever!”
“But what about the job? Why would they let—”
“They didn’t even pay you, Whumpee. That’s not a job!”
“I was paid with a place to stay—“
“NO! No! Just no! It was all a lie!”
Whumpee sighed. It’s been a long couple of days. Between all the tests and questions and poking and prodding of the doctors to examine their amnesia from the accident, they weren’t in the mood to argue with this person who clearly mistook them for someone else.
“Look… I’m really sorry that I’m not the person you think I am. Really I am. But you’ve got this all wrong. I was working for Whumper, who allowed me to stay and eat as payment. They helped me after my accident. They didn’t kidnap me. They certainly didn’t torture me. I appreciate you helping me get released from the hospital, but I don’t think I should stay with you. I should really get back to Whumper—“
“Let’s go,” the person demanded, cutting them off. Then they grabbed their hand.
“Whoa~!” They cried as they were suddenly tugged along.
“Maybe seeing the base will jog your memory. I just can’t believe Whumper went through all this just to make you a servant of all things! This is insane. I’m sure Leader and Intelligent will know what to do.” Whumpee couldn’t help but think it sounded like they were talking more to themself than to Whumpee.
“Where are you taking me?”
“The base! Your home! You’ll remember then. Surely.” The grip in their hand tightened, pulling them along faster. Teammate seemed to want to will their supposed memories into existence. “Surely you will.”
“I don’t think—”
“You will. You have to.”
“And if I am not this person you think I am?”
“You are.” Something sounded off in their tone of voice as they spoke. Whumpee couldn’t pinpoint what it was. They didn’t turn to them as they spoke, either, so they couldn’t read their facial expressions for clues on what they were thinking.
Teammate didn’t stop pulling them along. They were easily crossing streets and city blocks, clearly familiar with this path through the tangled streets.
Whumpee was not.
“How do you know?”
“Because… because I do.”
“That’s not—oof,” Whumpee was forced to cut themself off when they walked straight into the back of Teammate, who had stopped abruptly. They didn’t even seem to acknowledge Whumpee’s clumsiness.
“Teammate..?” Whumpee waited for a moment as they just stood there. Whumpee felt their grip tightening. It wasn’t painful, but it was firm.
“I’m sorry we didn’t rescue you sooner,” Teammate’s voice was small and watery.
They were crying.
“Wait… Teammate…” Whumpee floundered, looking for something to say as they watched Teammate wipe their eyes with the back of the free hand that wasn’t still holding Whumpee’s.
Whumpee reached out and patted their shoulder— feeling awkward.
“We should have gotten to you sooner. We didn’t… we couldn’t find where they’d taken you. We never could have guessed they’d bring you to their home. To be their servant. They… they had hurt you… so badly. You… you looked… It was awful. We… we saw you go limp. We thought… we thought they’d killed you…” They’re voice cracked as they’re crying worsened.
“Teammate, please! I’m sorry but I don’t think—” Whumpee paused as Teammate suddenly turned to them. Still, they did not let go of their hand.
Tears streaked down their cheeks and they sniffled. Whumpee felt horrible. But they weren’t their friend. They couldn’t be! This was all a misunderstanding. They knew it had to be…
They both stared into each other's eyes for a few long moments.
“We have a video.” It wasn’t what Whumpee was expecting them to say.
“What?”
“They… they taped it. Whumper did. When they… when they tortured you.” Teammate closed their eyes when another sob broke out. “They wanted.. they wanted to tease us. They wanted to show us how they hurt you. We hadn’t come close to finding you yet and then… then we got this tape. A.. a VHS tape of all things!”
Teammate laughed humorously badge continuing. “Whumper sent a VHS tape! How ironically ‘ransom video’ is that?! You know?! And… and then… And we watched it… we watched them torture you. For information on us. It was so horrible. You… you looked so… And then… And then they hit your head so hard and you… you went limp…” They squeezed their hand as if to prove to themself Whumpee was still alive. “We thought they’d killed you…”
“Teammate… I’m so sorry.” And they were. They really were, watching this stranger break down over what happened to their friend. It sounded awful, what they had witnessed.
Teammate studied them through their tears. Looking— hoping to see recognition in Whumpee’s eyes.
“Come on. We… We have to show you.”
And so they were pulled along again. Apparently the building they had stopped in front of was the ‘base’ Teammate had been mentioning. They pulled them inside, quickly passing by a confused looking person they recognized as one of the strangers that often visited them in the hospital. Another teammate. This one’s name was Intelligent, if they remembered correctly when they introduced themself in the hospital.
“Teammate? Whumpee? What’s… What’s going on?” The person quickly followed behind them. Teammate didn’t slow as they pulled them down hallways and up a flight of stairs.
“Where’s the tape, Intelligent?”
“W-wait-! We can’t… We should get Leader! We can’t just…”
“They need to know! They need to see it! Maybe it will jog their memory.”
“It's in Leader’s office… but I really don’t think—”
“Is Leader in there?”
“No but—”
“They’re watching the video, Intell. They think Whumper helped them! They think they’re good! They don’t remember what they did to them!”
Teammate didn’t let go of their hand until they pulled them into a room. An office, in fact. Whumpee assumed this was Leader’s office. The moment they were let go, they stood still, feeling awkward and confused. Intelligent entered the office behind them, looking timid and nervous. Teammate was shuffling through some cabinets.
“I don’t think this is a good idea—”
“Found it!” Teammate cut Intelligent off, holding up a VHS like a prize. “Come on!”
Once again, Teammate took Whumpee’s hand and pulled them past Intelligent and out of the office again.
They were sat down in a comfortable, well worn couch in a room that looked a bit like a common area of a dorm. Couches, chairs, coffee tables. It must be the ‘living room’-like section of the team’s base.
Teammate disappeared for a moment after giving them direct orders not to move from that spot. Intelligent stayed with them, glancing nervously back and forth at them and then at where Teammate had disappeared to. Neither of them spoke.
A few minutes later, Teammate rolled out an old TV with a VHS player built in. They were grumbling to themself things like ‘old piece of crap’ and ‘why’s it gotta be so heavy’. They settled it into place and popped the tape in. When they turned it on, it made a loud crackling sound that startled everyone in the room before they pressed play.
It started out unfocused. But then got clearer. It seemed to be on silent, because even as the picture grew clearer, there was no sound. Not until a distinct figure started taking shape.
A familiar figure. That sounded very familiar.
It really was Whumper…
“What’s going on here?!”
“What are you doing?!”
Whumpee vaguely heard the sound of two other voices entering the room, but they couldn’t tear their eyes away from the screen.
They couldn’t tear their eyes away as they watched, in horror, as Whumper— their Whumper— maliciously, horrendously, terrifyingly beat and hurt and… and tortured the poor person tied up. It had looked like it had been going in long before the tape started.
That poor person gasped and grunted and screamed with every blow. They were already covered in blood. Their leg bent at an unnatural angle.
The person made eye contact with the camera after a particularly hard punch from Whumper’s fist.
Through the grime and the gore and the pain, the person was still smiling. They looked directly at the camera.
And that’s when Whumpee realized. They were familiar eyes. Ones that stared back in the mirrors they used to clean for Whumper.
It was them. The person really was Whumpee.
The Whumpee on screen looked up at Whumper, the same mocking grin on their face.
“You’ll have to kill me before I give you anything on them,” Whumpee’s own voice ground out through the speakers, sounding in pain but still defiant.
“You little—” Whumper’s response had been drowned out by a sickening snap and a horrid scream. Their scream.
A broken arm. A broken leg.
Much like the ones Whumpee had to recover from after their accident.
… No…
It wasn’t an accident. It had been Whumper all along.
They wished they could remember. They wished they had known.
They watched in rapt silence as the torture and questioning went on for a while longer. Each question was met with silence or a snippy remark.
Every moment Whumper got angrier.
And finally, the video cut out right as Whumpee onscreen had slumped down, seeming particularly dead looking, after Whumper hit them in the head.
They couldn’t remember, but they knew for sure.
That was the moment they had lost their memories.
That was the moment Whumper had taken their team from them. The one they still didn’t remember but had clearly been willing to go through so much for.
Whumpee turned from the static on screen to four, wide eyed faces.
Teammate looked hopeful. Leader looked wary. Intelligent looked nervous. And a fourth person, the last stranger that had introduced themself at the hospital— their last teammate—, was glaring past them at the TV, as if they were angry at the tape they’d just watched.
“Whumpee?” Teammate asked slowly. Cautiously. “Are you okay?”
Whumpee wiped their eyes of the tears they hadn’t realized they’d had dropping down their face.
“I… I’m sorry. But I… I still don’t remember you all.”
Every face in the room dropped.
“You don’t remember any of that?” Leader asked.
“I’ve… I’ve had nightmares about being hurt and they were similar… but it wasn’t quite like that… and I don’t remember this… I just thought it was from my accident…” Whumpee started crying again.
“Shh!” Teammate rushed over, trying to calm them. “It’s okay! We’ll help you! We’ll help you remember your life before. We’ll be here with you every step of the way!”
Whumpee cried at the tender and hopeful words, wishing they remembered more of the person speaking them.
Prompt(s): Panic Attack-|-Poisoned-|-Exhaustion-|-“No, no hospitals"
Words: ~2900
Cw: injury, blood, broken bones, few curses
I had a minor emergency yesterday (all good now though0, so I hadn’t been able to write or post yesterday. I’m nearly finished with Day 8’s as well… but we’ll have to see if I can get it posted before it’s technically tomorrow haha It’s another long one as well… so it’s unlikely… but I’m trying!
This is a hero/villain snippet that turned out a lot longer than I expected. It’s inspired off a story I’ve been working on for a while. I kind of miss writing for it though, so maybe this was the push I needed to write some more of it!
~~~
How they ended up here, the hero wasn’t sure.
They knew how they had physically gotten here, of course— though most of it they wished they could forget. The pain with every step— every measly, painful step— was seared into their mind and their body. Much like the injuries burned and cut and battered into their flesh and bones. Despite their best effort, at least part of their journey had been made while crawling. Including this last part, where their knees painfully digging into the hard concrete steps of the home they never thought they’d find themself in front of except, perhaps, with magically enhanced handcuffs accompanying them.
They would deny it wholeheartedly, but Hero didn’t know where else to go.
Their view of the world had been completely flipped on its head in the last couple of hours.
And, despite their differences, they knew Villain would be the only one who wouldn’t find them down right crazy.
And so that's how Hero found themself pulling themself up Villain’s front steps, hoping they would be understanding and not turn them away.
Perhaps if Villain had any empathy at all, the mere sight of the beaten and battered hero would compel them to help. Though if Hero was in any mood to laugh and it wouldn’t have caused the deep, excruciating pain from their broken rib, then the thought of Villain graciously helping their enemy in need would have them rolling on the floor.
But they could only hope Villain held some sort of soul. That the risk they were taking based on the inkling they’d gotten from years of battling the other superhuman that they weren’t all evil wasn’t about to blow up in their face.
Especially since they knew they had no where else to go. Even more so because they knew they couldn’t make it anywhere else without the darkness that was threatening their vision to take over.
Why the hell did Villain have to have so many stairs going to their place?! The furious thought petered out as a bout of nausea almost overcame them.
They huffed against the stair they had been trying desperately to climb against the growing darkness.
“What a way to show up to a villain’s home. Pathetic.” The relief they felt when hero heard the other voice coming up behind them was something they would have previously thought impossible. They would usually only have felt dread upon hearing that same voice.
They took a chance to look back, fighting down the dizziness it brought with it, seeing the villain they had been looking for walking up the stairs behind them.
They were carrying what looked like a brown paper bag. Of groceries. The domesticity of the picture alongside Villain’s face was almost laughable.
Villain didn’t even stop to look at them as they walked straight past them, flipping their keys out of their pocket and easily thumbing through them to find the one they were looking for.
Hero watched as Villain opened the door, walked in, and shut the door with their foot behind them.
They huffed out the breath they hadn’t realized they had been holding.
Of course they weren’t going to help them. Why would they? They are enemies.
They cursed under their breath as the black around their vision nearly took over.
Go. We need to go, they willed themself to keep moving, having known this was a terrible idea.
But they couldn’t.
They were in pain. They were bleeding heavily. They were exhausted.
And…
This was their only plan.
They couldn’t go to a hospital. They couldn’t go to the other heroes… and they certainly couldn’t go home.
They were alone. And, without help, it wouldn’t be long before some other villain found them half dead and decided it was easiest to take them out now, if Villain themself didn’t come out and do it.
Perhaps they’d bleed out at Villain’s front door, they thought, imagining how annoyed Villain would get having to scrap their dead body off the step. One last— perhaps very petty— thought that would annoy the villain that had been a throne in their side since the beginning. The one who walked right past them and—
“No seriously,” they heard above them.
The hero looked up to see Villain looking down at them with their arms crossed. Looking slightly amused and slightly confused.
“This is pretty pathetic. You know that, right?” Villain’s mocking tone grated something in the hero‘s mind, but they couldn’t do a damn thing about it. Not in this state. And not when they needed their help.
So, they swallowed their pride.
…And the nausea.
“C-can you help me? Please…”
“I mean, I’d hate to have you die in my front yard. Especially ‘cause I’m not the one to have done it. Can’t let some other villain get all the glory, ya know?”
“Villain… please..” Just the minimal amount of effort it took to speak was bringing the darkness in closer.
They were going to pass out.
Villain’s eyes grew wide watching Hero struggling to keep themself from face planting into the concrete.
Honestly, they were surprised to see the hero in a state like this at all. There had yet to be a villain that could even come close to defeating Hero. They’ve tried plenty of times to bring the corrupt string of superpowered, self-proclaimed, useless ‘heroes’ down. But they’ve never succeeded. They’ve only ever come close to beating Hero, themself, once. And it was only because they were worried more for the group of civilians in the crumbling building than they were protecting themself. The crumbling building that a superhero demolished in their own fight with a supervillain.
Hero: always cleaning up their superiors’ messes. The one that always saved the civilians that the superheroes didn’t mind putting in danger during their fights if it meant taking down their enemies.
And somehow, Hero wasn’t the one who was nicknamed one of the ’Heroes of the City’. Superheroes were all a scam anyway. More worried about getting credit for saving the city than actually doing it.
But here they were, bleeding and broken on their front step. In front of their door.
Why were they here?
Why wouldn’t they go to the hospital? Why wouldn’t they have called one of the other heroes for help? This had to be some kind of trap, right?
But… Hero never stooped to less-than-honorable tactics before.
And they were clearly in pain.
”What the hell happened to you?” Villain asked, more to themself than the Hero trembling at their feet. Unfortunately, that trembling was not in the way they’d have liked.
”Help—” Hero barely breathed out before they collapsed.
Villain found themself moving before they could think about it, catching Hero’s head before they smashed it into the hard edge of the step.
With Hero’s forehead propped up in their hands and their limp body sprawled out and bleeding on their front steps, Villain sighed, questioning why they had decided not to just leave the Hero like they had planned to do when they first spotted them there.
Curiosity killed the cat.
“Well… fuck.” They groaned.
Picking up the unconscious hero, they brought them inside.
“Should just give them to the hospital and be done with this,” they grumbled to themself. Something kept them from doing just that. Perhaps it was the pure oddity of the situation.
Villain easily set them down on the table. It was surely uncomfortable, but they were passed out and it wasn’t like they could complain about it. And besides, the dining room had the best light to look at their injuries.
They grabbed the first aid kit they had taken out after they had put their groceries away before despite their better judgement and got to work.
“You’ve got to be kidding me. What the hell did this idiot get themself into?!” Hero heard someone murmuring to themself as they began to escape the blackness they’d been swimming through. For hours? Minutes? Days? They weren’t sure.
They stiffened as a particularly sharp pinch where they knew they’d had a fairly large, open wound on their arm. They knew immediately that the person was stitching them up when they felt another sharp sting and the slight pulling of their skin.
”Welcome back to the land of the living,” the person said, louder than their previous grumbling.
“You have a— ah!—pretty light touch— jeez fuck— for a villain,” Hero groaned, feeling the way their lungs pulled at their ribs and the continued poking and prodding of their nemesis as they continued to work. They weren’t in excruciating pain, so they assumed Villain had given them something, but it definitely didn’t work 100%. Their broken ribs still hurt with every breath and each stitch had them flinching.
“Well there’s the Hero I remember. Wasn’t sure who you were for a bit there. Pretty sure I’ve never heard a hero say please. Or ask for help, for that matter,” Villain said dryly. Hero finally opened their eyes as best they could, adjusting to the light, and glaring up at the other.
Hero ignored it otherwise, not willing to justify the comment with a retort. They squeezed their eyes closed again when Villain pushed a little too hard for the mystery anesthetic to keep the pain at bay.
“I’ve stitched up plenty of my own injuries but I cannot say I’ve ever fixed broken bones myself. Never let myself get hit hard enough.”
“Bull…shit.”
“Well yeah,” Villain admitted. “But I’ve still never fixed it myself. Always had a doctor buddy do it for me. You probably don’t want me poking around your lungs with a broken rib like that.”
“Just… do your best.”
”Nah. I’m dropping you on the steps of the hospital. You know— where you should have gone in the first place?”
”N-no! No! No hospital…” Hero panicked. They couldn’t… couldn’t go to a hospital.
They’d know. They’d find out. They’d find them.
”Why?” Villain asked, dumbfounded.
Their eyes met. Villain’s confused and surprised. Hero’s panicked and fidgety.
“Can’t… can’t go.”
”Why wouldn’t you want to go to the hospital?”
“I just… can’t.”
“You’re a pain in the ass, you know that?”
”S-sorry…”
“No you’re not.”
It was silent for a while as Villain continued to work. The only noises in the room was the clinking of medical tools against the counter and Hero’s quick inhales of breath at the pain.
When the villain had finally got the bleeding under control, they looked at the Hero sternly.
”Last chance to let me take you to a doctor. I can’t promise all your bones will be straight after I’m done.”
”No hospitals.”
”Right,” Villain let out an exasperated breath. “Okay. Don’t cry about it when you’ve got a crooked leg or something.”
”Don’t make it crooked then.”
Villain laughed. ”At least you’re feeling better, I guess. Or the anesthetic really kicked in.”
”Whatever you gave me works well enough.”
”It’s a drug a friend gave me that numbs quite a bit of shit. Hard to give yourself stitches if you feel it.”
”Right…. Sorry about that...”
”Eh. Not always your fault.” Villain shrugged. “You’ve definitely got me less than some of the others.”
“Well if you’d follow the law…” Hero trailed off, second guessing themself. They weren’t quite sure the law was the long and the short of it anymore.
“Let me guess,” Villain started, holding Hero’s gaze. “You did something your hero buddies didn’t approve of?”
“What?” Hero asked, shocked. There was no way they could have guessed that.
“You are beat to hell. You refuse the hospital. You didn’t call a hero for help and you came crawling to me instead. So… clearly you don’t want the other heroes to know what you did. So what was it? Something illegal? You finally coming to the dark side?”
”Not quite.”
“Not quite…? You really are no fun.”
Hero regretted the laugh they huffed out, wincing as they did.
“I… I shouldn’t really say.”
”Aw, come on,” the villain pouted, “Who would I tell anyway? The heroes? Hell no. You can trust me.”
Hero rolled their eyes. “Yeah, right.”
“You’re here for a reason. I can’t say I helped you solely out of the good of my heart, either, though. I’m curious why you were here and not…well… anywhere else.”
“I thought…” Hero sighed, suddenly not sure if they should say what they were thinking.
“You ‘thought’? That’s a new one,” Villain teased when they didn’t continue their sentence right away. Hero turned their glare to them again.
“I thought,” they started again, “that you’d be the only one to believe me.”
Villain watched them for a while. Studying them. Trying to figure them out and what this could be about without the hero saying.
”And what makes you believe that I, of all people, am going to believe you?”
“Because I think you’ve figured it out already too.”
“Hmm,” Villain tapped their chin with a smile. “This is intriguing. I’m curious to know what you think I know.”
”The superheroes are plotting to kill off a bunch of the villains all at once. And they’re going to use civilians as bait.”
Villain froze. “What?”
”You knew about this already. Didn’t you?”
Villain just stared at them with wide eyes. Perhaps they had miscalculated. Maybe Villain hadn’t known about this, after all. Hero stared back.
“Did Superhero do this to you?” At the sound of their name, Hero shuddered. Their reaction was all Villain needed to know the answer. They grumbled under their breath. “That coward.”
Villain was correct, of course. The one person Hero thought they could go to when they had overheard another group of superheroes talking about a heinous plan to lure and poison hundreds of crime lords and villains all together and kill them off using some well-off civilians as bait was the same person who asked them to join them to pull off that heinous plan.
When Hero had pointed out that the innocent civilians that were unwittingly acting as bait for these supervillains would also perish, Superhero had been so uncaring. In fact, they almost seemed giddy about the plan.
‘It’s perfect! We get rid of some of these wealthy brats that think we’re their personal servants and we get rid of the worst of the worst all at once. If we get those ‘untouchable’ Villains off the streets, the smaller criminals will be terrified. It’s a win-win situation.” Superhero had shrugged. ‘We can swoop in, maybe save one or two of the brats and take down the villains while they are weak and dealing with the poison.”
Of course, Superhero hadn’t been thrilled that Hero disagreed.
‘If you’re not with us, you’re against us.’
The attack caught them by surprise. They never would they have thought Superhero would attack them.
Hero barely escaped being killed on the first blow, dodging just in time. Then Superhero had subdued them and their powers with power-limiting cuffs.
Weeks had passed where Superhero had kept them locked away with very little food or water. Each one seeming less likely that they would ever be let out. They had been running out of hope. Superhero had this idea that Hero would ‘see reason eventually’. But the more Hero argued against this ‘plan’ or even refused to even accept it, they would get angrier. Each beating would last longer. Each injury would hurt worse. Cuts would be deeper. Until finally Superhero had been called away by another superhero in the midst of one of their tempers and had left their cell unlocked.
Their mentor— their friend— had betrayed them… All because they wanted to uphold their integrity. The superheroes integrity. All because they didn’t want to see innocent people perish all because they were ‘annoying’. The superhero they had previously trusted with their life in battle had turned against them at the drop of a hat.
Villain watched as something passed through Hero’s eyes. They might have been looking at them, but it was like they were seeing something else entirely. They were looking right through them. At what Villain was assumed was a memory.
”Hero?” They called gently, not wanting to startle them. They must have anyway, however, because Hero jumped and threw their hands up in defense before slowly realizing where they were and who they were with, lowering their arms again as their eyes cleared from the haze of memories.
”I’ll take that as a yes, then…” Villain chuckled, answering their own question, though they felt no actual joy. Superhero had done this to Hero. Their own mentor. Their superior.
They’d always had an inkling that all the superheroes had no actual morals and that they were just out chasing glory. But now they had clear evidence. Proof. Sitting right in front of them, broken and beaten. And it was worse than they hoped.
”Sorry,” Hero said in a small voice, looking more like a beaten puppy than the usually strong, confident, quick witted hero they were used to seeing.
”Some of your injuries looked older. Some bruising was already healing too.”
”Yeah.”
”It wasn’t the first time they beat you.” It wasn’t a question, but Hero nodded anyway.
”Yeah. they had me locked away for a bit.”
”Locked away? They really are a coward.” Hero laughed and then grimaced.
“I’ll help you.”
Hero looked up at Villian, shocked by their sudden outburst.
“With my ribs?”
”With stopping the superheroes. I’ll help you. We’ll stop them once and for all.”
“How—”
”We’ll figure something out.”
Hero looked down at their knees, thinking for a bit. Then they nodded in agreement. Villain nodded definitively back as well, sealing their unlikely partnership.
”Let’s get your bones back to being straight. Or… almost straight..”
