Nightmare Within - Vance Hopper

chapter seven: Naughty Girl

A/N: This chapter will include mentions of SA, so if you're triggered by anything of the sorts, please read cautiously.

AMANDA talked to Robin for what felt like hours. She asked about the others and Robin said Finney was in the room next to his, alive. When she asked about Vance, however, Robin didn't have an answer.

"You haven't heard him?" she asked, biting her lip in worry. "At all?"

"No," he answered. "I heard a bit of yelling yesterday so I guess that could've been him,"

Amanda perked up at this. She knew that he had to have been alive. If Finney and Robin had both lasted this long, why wouldn't Vance last less than a day?

"Where did you hear him?" she asked quickly.

"I don't know, Mandy," Robin answered. "Is there a room next to yours?"

Amanda scrambled to her feet and stumbled across the room towards the other brick wall. She fell forwards and her hands hit the wall with a slap.

"Vance?" she called, tracing her hands along the bricks. "Vance, are you there?"

Silence.

"Vance, if you're there, you need to answer me," she pleaded. "Please,"

Amanda waited a second longer before closing her eyes in defeat and sliding down the wall. If Vance wasn't there, then where was he? She refused to even think that maybe he was dead. There was no way that Vance Hopper would let himself die before he wanted to.

"Why?"

Amanda scrambled to her feet and looked at the wall in astonishment. He was alive. He was in the room next to hers.

"Vance, Vance, it's Amanda," she stammered, trying to find a gap in the wall.

"Mandy?" he asked, his voice breaking.

Amanda tried to smile, tried to keep her voice strong.

"Yeah, yeah it's me,"

On the other side of the wall, Vance almost had a smile on his face. It quickly disappeared, however, when he realized under what circumstances he was talking to Amanda.

"He- he got you too?"

He couldn't see the girl's face, but even he could tell that her smile had faded.

"Yeah, yeah he got me,"

Amanda's head snapped up at the sound of the door being fiddled with. She immediately stumbled to the mattress and collapsed, pretending to sleep. The door opened with a creak, revealing the man from earlier. Only now, he was wearing a terrifying mask that covered his entire face.

"I know you're not sleeping,"

Amanda opened her eyes reluctantly. She scooted back on the mattress so that she was as far away from the man as possible. Her breathing became quick and shallow, her fear obvious.

The man walked across the room, each step echoing around the room like they were taunting the girl sitting on the mattress. When he reached her, he crouched down in front of her and reached out. Amanda turned her head to the side, trying anything to stay far away from the man.

"Don't," she whispered, watching as his hand moved closer.

The mans hand continued forward. It landed on the girl's face and caressed her jaw gently, causing her to squeeze her eyes shut.

"I know you're scared," he whispered, his voice slightly muffled due to the mask.

Amanda opened her eyes slightly and glared at the man. She tried to blink away the tears that were threatening to fall, but one escaped. It fell down her cheek quickly and the man reached up and swiped it away.