The Damage Has Been Done (Markiplier)

Chapter 32: How Did You Find Me? (Introduction)

Chloe's POV.

"Trace..?" I asked quietly. He perked his head up and looked over to me.

"What's up, Chloe? Are you okay?" he asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine." No, I'm not anything close to okay. "Just can't sleep."

"Are you sure? You don't seem so fine, girl. Come on, elaborate," he insisted, patting the spot next to him. What could be so bad about telling him?

I got up from my blankets, grabbing Ickbar from my 'bed' and padding over to Trace. I sat down next to him and watched as he grabbed out Leroy from where he lay tangled in the blankets. Trace and I had a thing where we both knew our bears would make sure whatever we said would stay between us. Every time we spoke, Leroy and Ick would sit with us and protect our secrets, making sure that anything we said stayed between Trace and I. It worked considerably well, if you asked me. Ickbar made me feel better on his own most of the time, it felt like when I talked to my bear, I was talking to Mark. The bear came from Mark, didn't it? There's no harm in talking to your toys. They're really good at keeping secrets. Which is comforting.

"You okay, kiddo?" Trace asked again. "Don't hold out on me now."

"I don't know... Just since the whole incident with Red, I've been thinking too much..."

"What about?"

"Not that difficult to guess, Trace."

"Look, the past two days have been really hard on everyone. The last thing you should be doing now is over-thinking everything. Mark is going to be found. If no one else believes so, they don't count. Your hope is the only thing that matters. It's the only hope that'll ever matter. You're ten years old, you need to keep up your spirits despite your doubts. Because if you lose it, then everything is game over. Mark is still out there."

"How do you know..?"

"Because, I saw this earlier."

Trace pulled his backpack over and started digging through it, looking for something. He pulled out a piece of paper a few moments later, handing it to me. I looked around to make sure no one was awake before I opened it. When I did unfold it, I was taken back. I couldn't believe it, this was impossible.

"Get Ellie Madrid Slayer. I need her. Please find us. It's Joel, I need you... He found me," I whispered, reading the note. "This isn't- it can't be- no."

"It's obvious, Chloe," Trace started. "This is Mark..."

"Where did you find this?" I snapped. "Why didn't you tell anyone but me? How long have you had this? Why'd you hide it until now?"

"Look. Chloe, the note says he needs you. I don't know what it means, but this is Mark. Why would I show Tom or anyone if it calls for you? You needed to know first. I've only had it for and hour or two, I had to show you alone. You've been busy until now, and I decided now was better than later."

"What the heck does he mean by "he found me"? Who is "he"?"

"I don't know... Do you know anyone who's got a problem with him? Anyone ever drop a hint that there's someone?"

"No... I don't know anything... Mark doesn't seem like anyone that could possibly have enemies."

"Well, evidently, he does..."

"Evidently?"

Trace handed me two photos and by first glance, it looked so creepy... A man with shiny, bright teal eyes that looked like they were glowing, a crooked and jagged smile... There was something definately wrong with this guy. He was taller than Mark, better built. Not by much, but he was close. Looking into the second picture, I saw a body laying on the ground, blood around them with bruises and cuts littering their bare arms, chest, and stomach, wincing in pain and looked to be screaming. Their eyes screwed shut and their jaw clenched so tight that the veins in their neck stuck out. Then it hit me. It was Mark. On the ground. I couldn't bear to see him like that, he was hurt, really bad. If I wasn't mistaken, surely I wasn't, he was in excruciating pain. It was Mark, no doubt in my mind. Someone was hurting him... The man looked like a freaky character you'd see in a science fiction horror movie, but it wasn't. He was... ruthless. He was hurting Mark... The man must've known Mark was bitten... He was torturing him to the limits, and I wanted nothing more than to find Mark right that second and hug him, tell him everything was going to be okay, that he was safe now. I didn't know what to do...

Setting the note and pictures down, I pulled the sleeves of Mark's sweater over my hands and buried my face in them, not being able to keep it together knowing Mark was being hurt and I couldn't do a single thing to stop it. I couldn't, and I wanted to so badly. Trace scooted over to me, apologizing, pulling me into his chest and wrapping his arms around me in a bear hug that I was desperate for. He swayed side to side slightly, trying to calm me, but it wasn't working. His hugs weren't Mark's... I wanted a bear hug from Mark, I needed a bear hug from Mark. But that was something I was likely to never get at this rate. Mark was probably going to disappear like everyone else that ever mattered to me, everyone else I took as family. I just wanted him back...