calling up rebellion [brance]

chapter fourteen: grape soda

The street was empty still, apart from the lights of the car behind him. It seemed to be going incredibly slowly, he could hear the grumble of it behind him. It didn't worry him in the slightest, probably some paranoid adult making sure Vance got home safely. Quickly glancing back he got a glimpse of the vehicle, turns out it wasn't a car. It was a van, quite large at that.

He could see the glimmer of words on the side but he couldn't figure out what it had said, rolling his eyes at it. What the fuck is a black van following him for? If it was some fuckfaced kids they didn't know what they were in for.

Turning back to the street where he was walking, a paper brushed passed his ankle, stopping by his feet. He annoyingly sighed, looking down at whatever it was. A kids face, he was smiling brightly. The paper was discoloured, brown and crumpled. Was this a missing kids poster?

Kicking down the folding over corner, staring right at him was Billy Showalter. The towns paperboy, yeah, he'd expected that. A wager was placed on the bottom, but people had given up on searching for him now. His family hadn't, he'd sometimes see them out and about searching frantically for their dear boy. Vance knew Billy, he was a kind boy. Used to speak with griffin, or whatever his name was, not many people knew of griffin before his abduction. However they knew of Billy, towns paperboy, a lot of people befriended him for extra papers. They had coupons.

Griffin wasn't known, vance sometimes saw him pass by the grab'n'go. Atleast that's who he thought it was, only finding out his name once seeing his missing poster stuck up on the window of the shop. He remembers offering the boy a go at his pinball game, griffin just shaking his head and leaving the shop without saying anything. He didn't bother offering after that.

Vance could hear the black van nearing closer to him, he leaned down to pick up the poster. He didn't feel it was right to leave it on the ground, planning on sticking back up on a pole or something. Pausing as he realised the engine rumbling had stopped, the black van was following him? No way, it was probably just a coincidence.

He slowly picked up the paper and shoved it into his pocket, the paper was slightly greasy and it stung against the cuts on his hand. Weird, kneeling back up from the floor he began walking again. His feet ached, the shoes were seemingly too small, the sky was now fully covered in stars. All ranging different sizes, vance never admitted it but he quite found comfort in looking at the night sky.

An arm wrapped around his throat suddenly, Vance's eyes widening in surprise at the sudden action. The hairs of the persons arm tickled his neck and sent shivers down his back. What the hell was happening?

Struggling to breath. That's the next thing he remembers, an arm was strung around his neck and it was pulling against him. He wrapped his hands frantically around the hairy arm, trying to pry it away from him. He could feel himself trying to scream, to let out any sound from his throat but all that happened was a mouthful of a disgusting metallic flavour. His eyes felt like they were being cooked in their own sockets, it burning through. It was a searing icy-heat spreading down his throat.

He could feel himself being dragged backwards, he couldn't protest or stop the movements no matter how hard he tried to thrash, his eyes were open but all he could see where orange, yellow and brown fading into eachother. The world was dripping past him fast and he couldn't stop, the person had his other hand fisted in his hair. Pulling his head backwards as if to give him a better hold, Vance could feel everything slip through his fingers like sand. He could feel the icy cold darkness wrapping around him like a painful shock.

Before he could push back, his back smacked into the bottom of - what his mind could come up with - was the van that had been following him. His head the last thing to come in contact with the metal floor, the wind being knocked from his chest as he finally slipped down the chute of darkness.

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1351 words

uh, so, about that happy ending.. I lied! (Again, yes I did). The next chapter will be the last, don't hate me 🙏 it's not a brance fanfic without it's heart wrenching ending. The title of the chapter is also referencing the The Black Phone book! It references how finney was drinking it before he got grabbed.

As this story comes to an end a new briffin story sparks!! Stay in tune for that, not fully decided on the title yet but the idea is credited to the one and only account on twt @/briffinthinker !!! (Ate)

I'm thinking about starting a brance oneshots book, cuz I know some of y'all will beg for a happy brance story.

Thank you for sticking around with this story, I do hope you've enjoyed reading it and growing with it! <3 is such a short time I've amounted a great following of people who enjoy my story and I couldn't be happier. Thank you all who has supported me through this book, ily all!!!