Trapped (A Ticci Toby Story)

Chapter 3- Reality Call

The rusty door slammed closed with a gut wrenching bang.
The sudden explosion of sound bounced off the stony walls over and over again.
It was taunting me.
It told me that I was back where I started.
It told me I was here again.
It told me that I failed.
I didn't move--I didn't breathe until the echo subsided and I could hear the hatch swung shut outside.  
Silence...
Tom was gone.
Slowly, I curled on my side on the cell floor and stared at my swollen and limp hand.
It looked all wrong...
My skin was swollen and pink, forming shiny red blisters and white welts just under the skin.
My fingers curled slightly, paralyzed and unmoving and my wrist rested awkwardly against my arm.
This was wrong.
The sound of my bone splitting between Tom's hands made my stomach turn.
I buried my chin into my chest and curled into a tight ball, careful not to move my arm.
I could hear them all.
My family.
Their voices taunted me with every insult I heard from the people I love.
The people I will never see again...
Dumbass, idiot, insubordinate, stupid, dummy, mistake.
I should have never tried to leave them. I should've ran back to their calls and hung onto them until the danger was gone. I should have apologized to them and told them how much I missed them.
They would have escaped by now.
I'm such a screw up.
I miss them so much...
The bed squeaked behind me and I could feel her hand on my shoulder.
Soft and gentle, nothing like my family of killer men who touched me before.
I closed my eyes.
"Toby, are you okay? Where are you hurt? G-get up!" her voice was still shaking. "Can you talk? please look at me-"
She was still awake after all this time...
She waited for me...
I didn't look at her though. I couldn't bare to see the tears she cried for me. I couldn't bare the knowing look she would give me. I couldn't bare to hear the 'I told you so' sally always said to me after I've done something stupid.
Jane hunch over me, her body casting a dark shadow over my closed eyes.
I was grateful for this. The artificial white light was driving itself into my head and killing my desire to be sane.
"I-I thought they were going to kill you... I don't understand how....You're okay..." she trailed off when she saw my arm and leaned back.
I swallowed tightly and moved my arm closer to me.
I messed up.
She gently placed a hand over the swollen bruise growing on the side of my face.
I could feel her shake.
"You're okay... It's going to be okay... " she whispered.
I closed my eyes.
No... No I wasn't... I wasn't going to be okay.
I will never be okay.

---
Sally cried earlier that day. We had found a dead rabbit on the side of the road. She told me she's seen the rabbit run by a few times and she named it twiddles on account for its twisted foot.
She insisted that we needed to bury it, but I didn't understand why.
"You bury someone you love after they die." she had told me. "That's the only way they can be at peace."
"why?" I asked
She looked at me then, with wide green eyes and delicate pink lips in the shape of an 'O'.
"Do you know what happens to a body when it's left alone?"
"No." I said.
She smiled. "Dummy."
She never told me the answer.
That was a few hours ago now.
I sat hunched over on my bed picking away the earth that was now packed under my finger nails.
Masky and hoodie found us after we buried the animal.
Of course Masky was furious.
Like he'd be anything else.
We fought about it like we have so many times before and it left me here. In my room, waiting for one of them to come and collect me for our mission.
I knew it was dangerous to take sally with me, but she threatened to tell masky and hoodie if I left without her.
I realize now that it was a waste of time. They had no problem catching on, But I wasn't willing to risk taking her in the black of night.
Protect her.
I gave up on trying to pick the dirt out and leaned back into my bed.
My familiar ceiling was a blank canvas for my thoughts.
Only way to be at peace...
This was eating at my mind all day.
I felt sick remembering the handfull of dirt splash onto the rabbits brown fur.
Grainy, dark mud covering the soft fur over and over until it was completely hidden from the light of day.
Only way it could be at peace...
"Toby?" hoodie tapped on my door before opening it.
He wore the jacket and gear that he normally wore on missions. His mask was bunched up in his gloved hand that held my silver doorknob.
Almost time to go.
"yeah." I answered his question before he even had a chance to ask.
Are you ready?
Hoodie smiled and leaned against my door frame.
"Are you still upset about earlier?"
Yes.
I didn't answer.
Hoodie ran a hand over his face suddenly flustered.
"Toby..." he let out a breath "We just don't want you getting hurt, okay? You don't understand how the world works. It's dangerous for someone like you."
I lowered my eyes and set up.
Someone like me..
Still different, dosen't fit, doesn't belong, shouldn't exist, shouldn't be here.
My shoulders sank with the heavy stone in my heart.
I wasn't mad at that... Of course i wasn't.
I know they were only looking out for me. The reason I was angry was because I hated how closely they watched me. I hated how they always seemed to know when I was trying to get a glimpse of freedom.
I was angry because I was trapped here.
I had no freedom.
I shook my head.
We argued about this too many times before and i knew it was pointless at this point.
"Why do we have to leave so early? It's the middle of the day. "
Hoodie picked up on the bitterness in my voice and let himself in my room.
"You know why. " he sat down on the edge of my bed and eyed me from the corner of his eye. "We have a long way to go and little time to get there."
I pulled my knees to my chest to give him more room.
"It's just so far away... What if something happens--how will you-- "I was overwhelmed with anxiety.
I've never been so far away for so long.
It terrified me.
New sights, new sounds, new faces, new things
New world.
If something happens will I ever come home again? Will this be the last time I see my room again, will masky and hoodie be okay? Would they lay me to rest like the rabbit we buried?
Was that something they even do? They left E. G's body alone that night.
The thought of being buried off somewhere-- the thought of them not burying me and leaving me, the thought of my body doing what ever sally was talking about, filled me with anxiety.
"You and masky left that guy's body on the ground. The one with the gun." I bit at the nail on my middle finger. "Why didn't you bury him?"
Hoodie suddenly looked uncomfortable. He looked down at his hands and began fiddling with his glove.
"Burying someone is pretty personal, Toby. It takes a lot of time, energy, emotional strain..." he paused, thinking of how to explain this concept to me. " Once we do what we were sent to do, Slender deals with the mess. He does what ever he does with the body and we don't question him about it... I don't know if the bodies are buried or not, but a burial is traditionally for the victims family to put their loved ones to rest."
That made sense. Masky and Hoodie never had a reason to bury anyone. They didn't care about the body they were leaving behind.
But...
"Would you and masky bury me? Or would slender take me away too?"
"What?" The question startled him. He finally looked at me, his eyebrows furrowed with concern and confusion. "What kind of question is that?"
Masky appeared in the doorway then, most likely to tell us that we needed to leave, but stopped when he saw hoodies expression.
"I-I just had a dream about it and just wanted to know" I admitted quickly. I hadn't had a night where I didn't see that creepy woman's face.
Knowing we were heading back in that direction only made the dreams worse.
"You... Had a dream that you...died?" hoodie questioned slowly. "Have you had any other dreams like this before?"
I shrugged.
The amount of concern on his face was enough to make me rethink my entire life.
Hoodie shared a concerned look with masky from across my room and something clicked between them.
Understanding.
"Are you feeling okay?" Masky quickly crossed my room and laid a hand across my forehead. "You look pale."
I pulled away, taken back by his sudden actions. "I'm fine--"
"You have a fever."
"No i don't-"
It was hoodie's turn to touch my face
"-definitely a fever"
I pushed his hand away "Stop. You're wearing gloves! It doesn't work like that-!"
"looks like you need to stay home, little brother. " masky stood up.
"And we were looking forward for you to come along with us too. That's a shame." hoodie played along.
"What are you talking about? Slendy said you have to take me with you!" I grabbed hoodie's arm and tied to stop him from leaving, he only just pulled me off the bed.
Unstoppable.
"I'm sorry you're sick, toby." masky was saying "we'll be thinking about you while you're safe at home."
"I'm telling you--!" I stopped, dumbfounded. "Wait." I followed them down the hall "That was a joke! You just made a joke!"
Hoodie smiled genuinely and shook his head.
"Tha' poor thing is delusional."
I rushed down the stairs with them, practically two steps behind them with every two steps I took.
I always hated how fast they walk.
Ben was at the bottom of the stairs holding a plate of wings. He stumbled back clutching his plate as we stampeded by.
"hey, what's going on here?" he smiled lazily.
They didn't even bother to stop and talk to him.
"Toby's sick" hoodie said.
I opened my mouth to argue with them when ben said;
"Oh, sucks man." and winked at me.
I stumbled over myself, somehow losing the ability to walk and talk at the same time.
That's all the time it took for the front door to close, cutting me off from masky and hoodie and leaving me inside with the others.
That was the last time I saw them...
I pulled myself to my feet and rushed to the door.
I didn't open it.
I knew better than to chase after them and waste their time, but it was still an on going battle in my head.
I'm not sick. I know im not. How could they just leave me like that? Why do they want me away from them so badly? What did I do wrong?
The confusion subsided into a lost and dark feeling of grief as I waited for them to come back.
I waited... and waited.
The door remained shut.
I slowly grabbed my chest trying to ease the grief iside. 
"hey." jeff looked over to me from behind his arm that rested on the back of the couch. "Are you going to stand there and sulk all day or what?"
Yes
I ignored him and leaned against the window next to the door.
I kept thinking of how long they were going to be gone this time. I kept thinking about how I've never been away from them for so long. I was wondering what i was going to do without them.
"Toby, bro." ben eventually settled next to me "This is hella boring. They are going to be gone for-like what? A week? How long are you going to sit here?"
"A week." I said dully.
Jeff stood up from the couch. His spine popped as he lifted his arms in a stretch.
"look bud." he scratched the stubble on his face and took his time walking to me. "It's almost been a year since you showed up here. I get that you're 'recovering' from your creepy satan inflicted amnesia-" I snorted and rolled my eyes when he referred to slender as satan "And I get that you really like those assholes, but they've been keeping you from a lot of the good stuff about this shitty world." his thin lips curled into a daring smile.
I looked him over.
Was he serious?
"Like... What?" I asked slowly.
I trusted Masky and Hoodie with every bit of information I had. They wouldn't lie to me about it. That's why slender gave them to me...
"They won't let us show you any of the good stuff. Those two are so uptight over you that they won't even think about letting you live a little."
Jeff rapped an arm around me and gave me a tight squeeze. "but they aren't here to stop you now, huh?"
I gave him a look
"what are you talking about?"
"oh you'll see, little buddy. You'll see. Tonight, we're gonna have some fun."
---
*Thump*
I opened my eye.
My right eye was tightly swollen shut. A black-red fog covered a half of my view as I gazed into the blinding white light.
That was the first thing I realized as I came too.
The next thing was that Jane was sitting just above me head... Asleep.
Her frail body was curled into tight ball and her cheek was pressed hard against the wall.
A few heart beats and I remembered who she was.
Angel.
I lowered my brows in confusion.
Why was she sleeping here?
It was strange to see someone who willingly chooses to sleep in discomfort when they were only given a single luxury of a bed.
"I don't want you to be alone."
She had told me at some point during the night.
There was a sound of hallowed metal against wood down the hall.
It was a light sound that I would have easily ignored before.
Now the sound was enough to wake the instincts in my body.
Tom was in the cellar.
Danger.
I lifted myself from the ground, feeling the scratchy blanket fall off my shoulders.
My movement was enough to pull Jane from her slumber.
Her timid eyes were already wide with alarm and her lips parted with a small gasp.
It was almost as if she forgot I was in this cell with her.
"W-what are you doing?" she whispered.
"What is he doing down here?" I didn't bother whispering. I didn't care if Tom heard me or not.
"Who?" she quickly scanned me with her eyes as if i was supposed have what ever was scaring her on my back.
"Tom. I heard him. He's down here." almost as if it was on Que, Tom banged on the cell door next to ours.
Three loud bangs carried down the hall.
She didn't seemed surprised by him doing this.
"How did you..?"
Two louder, heavier, bangs on our door.
Jane quickly rose to her feet and I pulled myself away from the door, practically tripping over the bell that lagged behind my sudden movement.
Two clicks of the lock and the door opens.
Tom towers on the other side. His plaid shirt was replaced by a plane white one which he had tucked into his jeans.
His lips were pressed in a thin line and his eyes blazed at the sight of me.
He reminded me of a stereotypical drill Sargent that I've seen on TV... Only there was a large blistering bruise that stood out on the side of his face.
It was art against an ugly sight that I have created.
I smiled at this.
An eye for an eye.
I expected him to try to hurt me or drag me out of this cell, but he only stared at me for a moment longer than necessary and turned to open a cell directly across from ours.
I looked over to Jane in disbelief.
She gently placed a hand on my shoulder, her eyes pleading.
Don't.
They said.
A little boy cautiously steps from the cell the moment Tom turns to open the next cell. His eyes are weary like Jane's, but wide with curious amazement as he looks for the new person he heard the night before.
His eyes fall on me and I hold his gaze.
Oh god...
This child was younger than Sally...
His cheeks were hallow and sharp, not at all the way a child's cheeks should be. He was pale and sickly shinny. His messy black hair hung over his eyes in tangled waves.
It killed me how easily I saw sally in him.
Jane stepped out of the cell and I followed subconsciously.
Two other doors are opened and two others stepped out into the short walk way, their eyes quickly landing on me.
Someone brand new,
Someone loud!
Someone big,
Someone like jane!
I stood over them. Taller and stronger than all.
I am motionless as the realization of it all sinks in.
I am in a child farm.