Dark Days (BillxDipper)

XLI

AN: Full credit to the artist, let's just pretend that's Dipper^^^~~

     I have no idea how long I've been here, the torture has been endless, he's taken me, I think, 7 times now, maybe more... My legs are broken, my arms are both broken now, he's burned me with hot spikes, dumped boiling water on my thighs, branded me, stabbed me, ripped off the last of my fingernails and toenails, whipped me, sliced my skin with a knife, pulled two teeth, and even cut my pinky toe off. My eyes are so swollen and black I can barely see, I think my ribs are broken too. He doesn't even have to stab me with that damn finger anymore, I couldn't move even if I wanted to, but he stabs anyway. My chest has a black puncture hole in it from how many times I've been jabbed. Little black veins have started spreading under my skin from the puncture wound. 

     David, Sam and Marv don't look near as bad as me. The demon's been targeting me because I still haven't screamed. He's been doing horrible, awful things to me in attempt to make me scream. I almost don't even feel the pain anymore. I've started going numb to it, though it's a miracle I haven't died yet. I would gladly welcome it at this point. I've heard a whisper in my head every now and then, it says the same thing over and over again. "Where are you?" I've not been able to answer the voice. I almost don't know if it's real or not. I wouldn't be surprised if I had started imagining things. Loosing my sanity maybe, like poor Marv. But unfortunately I still feel like my mind is all here. What I wouldn't give to let my mind break and be able to escape, if not physically, then mentally. But no. I'm still here, in every way. 

     The door creaks open and I raise my head weakly. Chubby little goblin looking creatures with unnaturally stick thin arms and legs wobble in. Their bodies are shaped like blobs with faces. They are just as beaten and covered in blood, though theirs is an ugly greenish-grey color and reeks horribly. They can't be more than 3 and a half feet tall. Their arms and legs are longer than their bodies. The buckets they carry should knock them off balance but somehow they manage. They whimper every few steps, groaning quietly and breathing heavily. It's obvious that the demon hurts them just as he does us and whoever else may be held hostage in this place. 

     I have gotten used to these little goblin creatures by now. Four of them stumble into the room, one for each of us. The goblins set their buckets down in front of us and start to scrub at our bodies. My goblin tries to be gentle, but isn't doing a very good job as it's in a hurry. It scrubs my arms and legs and chest, washing my face last. I wince and suck in air each time it runs over a wound, which is quite often. 

     After a minute or two of being scrubbed and washed they grab their buckets and leave as four more goblins come in, just as beaten and battered as the last. These four carry trays of what is supposed to be food but it's mostly rotten. It's awful but if we don't eat we either die of starvation, or watch the demon tear the goblin to shreds. 

     I refused to eat once and the goblin that carried my tray of food was ripped apart by the demon right in front of me, his cries were shrill and afraid, full of pain. I watched in horror as the demon left the poor goblin's corpse in front of me for three days and I wasn't fed until the corpse was finally removed. Sam and David had done the same thing once, they said. Marv only cried and shouted about the poor goblin. The goblins apparently are just as much enslaved as we are. 

     I choked down as much of the rancid food as I could before the goblins skittered out of the room, the door scraping across the floor as they shut it behind them. "Dipper, have you considered just giving in?" David asks me. He asks this every now and then. "I'm becoming numb to it now" I say shaking my head. I haven't screamed yet, and I don't plan on doing so any time soon. He'll kill me before I give him what he wants. 

     The demon constantly talks about someone being mad, provoking him, trying to get him to come by and play. I still have no idea what he's talking about and I've come to a point where I just don't fucking care. He just rattles on about random shit, kind of like Marv. 

     "I was supposed to pick Tina up from school today. Amanda is going to be mad that I forgot" Marv says, as if on cue with my thoughts. "Whose Amanda?" I ask him. Every now and then I'll question the random names that Marv spits out, on occasion I'll get an answer, but most of the time he doesn't even comprehend my questions. "My wife" He says with a smile. "Tell me about her?" I ask. He smiles wider. "She's beautiful. Her smiles is radiant like the sun, she's kind and gentle. And so funny. She can always make me laugh. Do you want to meet her?" Marv asks. He looks at something in the corner that isn't there and I can only imagine that he's looking at his beautiful wife. "I would love to Marv" I say, I wish it were possible but I know it will never happen. "There's a Barbecue next Saturday that we planned" Marv suggests. The only names that are consistent with Marv is Jennifer, his daughter, and Amanda. They're like his life line. "Sounds like a plan" I say, staring at the same corner as Marv, desperately wishing I could see the smiling face of his darling wife. 

     "Can we come too Marv?" David asks, playing along. Marv beams at the corner. "Of course! Amanda's been wanting to meet you too!" He says happily. David gives a sad smile and Sam hums a song to himself that i don't know but the sound is wonderful. Everytime that Marv or Sam hums it feels like salvation from this hell. For just a few moments it takes us away from all the doom and gloom of our little cell. The fear and pain is nonexistent when one of us sings. 

     David told me one day while it was Marv's turn with the demon, that Marv's wife and daughter are actually dead. They died in a car crash just two days before Marv was taken by the demon. Sometimes the names he says are people that he used to know, people he's mistaken for us. Sometimes they are just random names though. Marv told David and Sam lots of stuff about his life before his mind broke, barely three days later. David thinks it was Marv's way of bringing his old life back to light, Marv practically told them his whole life in those three short days before Marv completely lost it. Marv felt that he somehow deserved all this. When I asked why, David said because Marv was the one driving when his family died. I also learned that Sam is David's younger brother. They were both taken within a few days of each other. Sam was taken first. 

     David said he noticed some strange things about Sam a few days before he was taken. The clone of Sam apparently is not an exact copy. I couldn't decide if I hoped that my clone acted strangely or not. Mabel would notice instantly, but would that be a good or a bad thing? if she thought that something was strange about it, she might suspect that the clone isn't actually me. She might be trying to find me, but that means that she knows I'm gone. I don't know. Maybe my clone is a good copy and she doesn't know I'm really gone. 

     Would that be worse? My own sister unable to identify that her brother has been replaced, not needing to feel any ache or worry about me? Or to know that the clone is faux but have no idea where I am or if I'm okay or how to find me, doing nothing but worry and ache. Which is better? I don't know. It made my head and heart hurt to think about it so I try not to think at all. But then the door scrapes open and the demon comes for me this time and I know that I wont be able to think about anything for a while even if I wanted to.