UnWanted Reunion (UnWilling Roommates book 2)

Chapter 14: Bill Does the Hero Thing (part 1)

He wasn't listening.  I could barely hear myself over his shrieks and sobs of terror.  Suddenly he burst into a coughing fit, spitting blood down his chin.  I placed my hand firmly on his head, trying to force him to hold still.  He fixed me with a look of such hopeless despair, waiting for whatever pain was forthcoming, it almost brought tears to my own eyes.

As soon as the coughing subsided, I set to work healing the damage.  I fixed his ribs and the numerous other internal injuries, then moved to the brands on his chest.  All the while I was whispering reassurances that it wasn't me who hurt him, that he was safe now, as well as apologizing over and over for breaking my promise to protect him.  He only whimpered in response.

Suddenly I detected a presence behind me.  I turned in time to snatch a thrown knife out of the air, an inch away from my face.  A clone of Y/N stood in the doorway, holding another knife and smiling evilly.

And just when I thought it wasn't possible to hate you more, Strange, I cursed to myself.  I crossed the room in a flash.  She tried to attack, but I batted her arm away and stabbed her in the heart without fanfare.  She collapsed to the ground, dead in an instant.

It wasn't her.  It wasn't really her, I repeated to myself, moving so the spreading pool of blood didn't get on my shoes.  Still, I knew the look of shock on her face as she died would haunt me for the rest of my immortal life.

I couldn't tear my eye away from the corpse.  It's not her.  It's not her.  I might have stayed there for hours, staring at Y/N's body, but a groan from behind me reminded me why I was here.

I turned back to Will, disintegrating the cuffs with a touch and healing the bloody wounds where they had been.  Immediately he curled up on himself in a protective ball, shuddering violently.

I put my hand on his shoulder, but he didn't react.  "Come on, Will, let's get out of here," I said urgently.  He shook his head but didn't say anything.

Realizing that the shaking might not be entirely from fear, I snapped my fingers to materialize his sweater around him.  The warmth seemed to relax him a little, but he still didn't get up.  Without many other options, I picked him up and threw him over my shoulder, ignoring his shriek of surprise and fright.

I had to step over Y/N's corpse to get to the door.  Welp, that's going to traumatize me later.  No time for that now, though.

The November chill was comparatively balmy when I stepped back out of the bubble, Will still over my shoulder like a sack of potatoes.  He hadn't struggled or reacted in any way.  I was starting to worry he never would again.

The bubble shattered behind us as I set him down on the grass, wondering if there was a safe place I could take him.  Nothing sprang to mind.  I couldn't take him back to the tent, obviously.  Mabel had betrayed him to Strange, and besides, I could never do that to him.  Taking him back to his place of nightmares would hardly be conducive to any sort of recovery.

Will huddled with his arms around his knees, staring ahead at nothing.  I realized that there was no safe place to go, not with Strange in charge of the town.  I glanced up at the Fearamid in the distance.  I guess that's next on the to-do list.

Y/N's dead face was burned into my eyelid.  It wasn't her.  It wasn't her.  I knew that I wouldn't be able to convince myself of that until I had the real Y/N back where she belonged, safe and sound.  But every second she spent in Strange's clutches reduced the likelihood of that happening.

I sat down next to Will, conjuring another eye patch and tying it around his head for him.  "Will," I tried.  "We need to go rescue Y/N."

He shook his head, the first sign of life I'd seen.  I took that as a good sign.  "Will, you know it wasn't her, right?  And it wasn't me?  It was all Strange."

His voice was tiny.  "I kn-know, b-but..."

I wrapped my arm around his shoulders.  "Will, I know your life has been basically horrible.  And I know I'm a big part of why it's been that way.  I also know that it's not in your nature to fight back, at least not anymore.  But Strange isn't Mabel.  He isn't the boss of you.  Do you know what that makes this?"

He turned his head to look at me, curious in spite of himself.  "W-what?"

I squeezed his shoulders reassuringly.  "This is a golden opportunity to get very, very angry."

He stared at me, not understanding, so I continued.  "Your life has been awful and it's not your fault.  Isn't it about time you stopped being a doormat and got yourself some good old-fashioned revenge?  I know from experience, revenge feels GREAT!  Come on, you can't tell me you don't want to get up there and smack Strange around the place until you feel better."

He looked at me like I was crazy.  "Um... I guess?"

"Great!  It's a plan.  Are you ready?" I said enthusiastically.

"Um... no." he yawned, his head drooping, and leaned against me.  "Just... give me a minute."

I wanted to tell him that we didn't have time to rest, but he was already asleep and I didn't have the heart to wake him.  Maybe a few minutes wouldn't hurt.

Just a few minutes, then we'll go kill Strange and rescue Y/N, I thought to myself.  I shifted into a more comfortable position.  I ended up reclining against a tree, Will asleep across my lap.  Even in sleep, he looked worn-out and thoroughly pathetic.

Maybe I can let him rest a while longer.  The poor guy's earned it.