A/N: My bad! Wattpad didn't update the status from draft to published, I should have checked that it successfully posted earlier
The pain was unbearable. To endure the uncertain inevitability of death was one thing, but to be stupid enough to get caught in a mouse trap was another. Mark's pathetic excuse was that he was so hungry to the point that he tried to steal cheese off the triggerpad, because he hadn't had the foresight to distribute the precious scraps he had remaining from the week before the houseowner left.
The human had been gone for two whole weeks; the first didn't seem all that bad, but then the second was when Mark realized that no human meant no groceries. Neither of them cooked, and a borrower going out of the house was certain death, nevermind lollygagging amongst dozens of humans in the grocery store to get more food. So by the second Thursday, Mark was scavenging cheerio crumbs from the hidden corners of dark rooms, and by Saturday his stomach was so empty that it felt like it was eating itself. That was when he turned to the temptation of the forbidden cheese: It smelled so good, so tantalizingly inviting, it didn't even matter if it was a little stale. Unfortunately, he had forgotten to take into account just how weak he'd gotten. When the trap suddenly went off, he could only watch as the metal went flying into his leg; he remembered hot searing pain, falling over, and then iron hot agony as his scream overtook the sickening crunch of a dislocation.
With his leg caught in the trap, the borrower had quickly lost track of time. Everything was blurred together by the pain into a meaningless passage of time. His condition had only grown worse, and now it was Monday morning. The warm sun greeted the silent, empty house with a warm smile, peeking through the windows with dapples of light. In the modern living room, the young yellow rays stretched over the activated trap. The borrower lay beside it, his leg still stuck under the metal bar at an unnatural angle. Crimson stained his torn pantleg, as well as the dark wooden floor beneath him. His breathing was shallow and slow, but he stirred a little when the golden light danced beyond his eyelids.
He slowly opened his eyes. He blinked once, twice, and tried to focus his blurry vision. He felt so weak, even laying down he was just so tired. His throat was as dry as sandpaper, and his entire being ached with mere existence. He tilted his head and spied his borrowing bag where he'd dropped it: Just out of reach, like the last times he'd looked. He felt so heavy... It was an effort just to keep his eyes open...
But even though he knew he needed to stay awake, Mark couldn't help but ask himself why. Why bother staying alive if he couldn't escape? If he didn't die now, then the human would just find him anyway, and then his story would be as tragic as all those borrowers were told as children to understand the importance of avoiding humans... At all costs.
Well, what a bang up job I did. Mark closed his eyes with a weak sigh. I deserve it, for being such an idiot. Whatever happens, I just hope no other borrowers get affected. Hopefully the houseowner will just kill me like regular vermin and move on in his life.
As the sun brightened with age and cast light through every room, Mark was on the edge of unconsciousness again when he heard keys suddenly jingle. A jolt of adrenaline made his slow heart flutter with dread. I'm dead. Oh I'm so dead. Oh please just let it be quick I'm so tired I'm so sick of hurting please...! The door in the foyer hallway swung open. In came the thudding footsteps. It was like a slow motion horror film. He could hear the large figure stomp on cluelessly into the house. The door slammed shut, and in came the human. Mark recalled his frightening demeanor: he was a pale brunette with a scruffy goatee, and incredibly blue eyes, and he looked so angry all the time, not to mention how deafening the man was. Just imagining all of the human's overwhelming energy focused on him sent a chill through the borrower's spine as he felt the houseowner approach.
The giant man was humming a tune as he set his bags down on the coffee table. He tossed his keys onto the couch cushions and started shouldering his jacket off. Mark couldn't bear to watch any longer and closed his eyes, sinking into nauseating darkness to embrace his demise. As the human whistled a section, his footsteps vibrated through the floorboards, sending chills through Mark's broken body. He saw the world grow darker past his closed eyes. And then the ditty came to a complete halt.
"... What the... Hell...?" Mark heard the human mutter to himself. His heart raced faster, but he couldn't do anything. He knew the houseowner had seen him. And he knew he couldn't run, or hide. He was trapped, stuck with his own stupidity and a debt to pay for his mistakes. His chest tightened anxiously as he dared to peek up: the immense blurry figure was crouching above him, looking down with his piercing eyes wide with shock. He was dimly aware of his ragged breathing growing quicker, but all he could focus on were those eyes.
The human's lips moved, but he didn't speak. It seemed he couldn't, too astounded by his discovery to even think straight. But after what felt like forever to Mark, he saw the human lift his looming hands to reach down at him. He immediately turned his head and closed his eyes, squinching up to brace himself with a whimpery breath. He heard the man take a sharp breath at his sudden movement, and then a shaky swallow.
"O-oh my god, oh my god, okay, okay um... Oh god...!" Warm leather brushed his leg, sending a wave of fresh pain rolling through the borrower. Mark yelped, and he was surprised by the human's next words. "Oh shit, shit, I'm sorry! Damn, I- I'm so sorry, I-I gotta move this though, it-it's gonna hurt." He's apologizing? Mark realized numbly. But before he could dwell on it, the leathery texture enveloped his leg again. The borrower grit his teeth as his leg was squeezed, but nothing prepared him for the next act.
"AAHHH!!!" A scream escaped Mark's lips before he could stop himself. The bar had been lifted up off his knee, and his entire body dragged as his leg was moved out of the way of the trap. He felt a flinch and dizzily looked, feeling even more faint when he realized the houseowner had his fingers gripped around his own tiny leg. He moaned in pain, sick with duress, and he barely had the energy to hear the human profusely apologize-- again.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry I had to, I had t'-- oh my god, yer leg is all sorts of messed up. Jeysus, you are not in good shape, are ya? Are you okay? Well, no, course ya aren't, but...!" Mark forced his eyes to open all the way, almost seeing double now. It was impossible to miss the looming figure hunched over him though. He saw the large man take a sharp breath, shock having given away to alarm and concern. "Oh yer in really bad shape," he fretted, "D'ohh, I never shoulda bought those stupid traps, shouldn't have been so cheap!" His leg was set down, and the human got up, now towering over the borrower like a skyscraper. Mark flinched as the houseowner hurried off to somewhere, but as soon as the giant was out of sight he immediately turned over and tried to get up.
It was a complete flop. His muscles were sluggish and stiff, exhausted from the lack of sustenance. The borrower grit his teeth as he tried to push up, but he barely even got up on his good leg when the footsteps returned. Out of instinct, Mark drew back, but he cried out and staggered, his bum leg immediately giving out on him.
"Oh shit!" The human set a white case down and came back to a crouch. "A-Are you okay little duder!?" Mark's breath quickened when he saw that he was now surrounded by the human's hands; they were cupped to the ground in a supporting ring, loosely circling his small battered body. Mark turned over and tried to look for escape, but then the back of his shirt was pinched, and he was pulled up off the floor. He gasped and fidgeted, but he was completely out of control as the floor shrank beneath him, and he heard the human muttering a string of apologies as he was moved through the air and set on something warm and scratchy.
"Just-just hang on, okay, I-I, I've got a first aid kit right here, yer gonna be okay...!" Loud rummaging made Mark wince. The houseowner was so big. He took up the borrower's entire vision, with the white ceiling only just visible behind the moving arms and huge torso as he went through the kit box. I'm on his thigh, Mark realized with a cold tingle of fear. Holy hell, I shouldn't be here I'm so dead he's gonna kill me what is he doing, is he about to experiment on me? I thought he was gamer not a scientist, all of those games he plays on those black boxes— is that what he thinks I am? Just another one of those non-living people for him to mess around with? I've seen him before, it's always so violent, and loud, and—
"Hey, come on little duder, keep yer eyes open." The borrower saw the human's hand waving dangerously close to hisself, successfully grabbing his attention. The human smiled and moved his hand away. "There ya go, just-just hold on a little longer, o-okay? Don't you fall asleep on me yet, you might not wake up." He's right, a small part of Mark agreed. He just wants you alive long enough to ask questions, the other part scoffed. Mark shuddered. He didn't know why the human was doing whatever he was doing. Humans were always unpredictable like that-- but what was he doing?
Those huge hands came close again. Mark quickly closed his eyes, praying for a swift blow and not a dragged out death. He felt his leg be grabbed, and he bit his chapped lips in a refusal to cry out again. The human was doing... Something. What was he doing? There a sizzle of pain as a few drops of something that smelled strong dribbled on his knee— admittedly Mark hissed out in response— and then some blobbing of a wipe to mop up the liquid and blood. Then something else. There was a ripping sound, and then something covering his leg, a tough fabric going around his shin and all the way up to his thigh. Mark kept his eyes closed, too frightened to look at whatever the human was doing to him; but at some point he must have nodded off, because it felt like seconds before he was being gently prodded in the side.
"Hey... Little duder.... Hey, wake up..." He stirred against his will and slowly opened his eyes. Things were different now: He was laying down in a soft nest composed of a bundled blanket, which was seated in the middle of the human's bed. He blinked drowsily and slowly took in his surroundings: He was in the human's bedroom. His most frequented, private space... Aside from the kitchen. Mark's eyes widened, and he was starting to sit up when the houseowner's huge pale hand intercepted, gently pinning him back down and leaving him shuddering with realization.
"It's okay." The human was on his knees, hovering at the side of the bed. One arm propped him on the mattress, while the other extended to hold the borrower down; he was biting his lip, seeming nervous for some reason. "Yer okay, yer gonna be alright... I'm-I'm not a doctor, but yer gonna have to keep off that leg for a while, okay?" His thick brow knit closer together. "I-I mean, I assume ye don't wanna go to the hospital. You seem scared enough of me, let alone a bunch of white coats." Mark could barely focus on the human's words. Though a hazy fog of exhaustion clogged the senses of his deprived body, his eyes were completely trained on the huge fingers draped over him like a smothering cage. He was barely even the same size as his middle finger...!
But he couldn't deny that the heat seeping into his cold body felt good. Mark let out a tired sigh and slumped in defeat, letting his eyes start to close again. He felt the powerful muscles on top of him tense, and he was surprised to feel the houseowner's hand retract.
"Shit, was I smothering you?" He leaned closer, taking up most of Mark's sight again; he felt faint and closed his eyes, biting back on a soft whine. But even though the world beyond his eyelids darkened under the giant man's shadow, nothing bad happened. Instead, he only felt a warm breeze ruffle his hair as the human sighed and put his head down mere feet away. "You probably don't even understand me, do ya?" He mumbled. Mark peeked a little with one eye still closed. He was surprised once more when he saw remorse on the houseowner's countenance, clear as day.
"Well," the houseowner suddenly sighed, sitting back up. "Get some rest little guy. You should be stable now, I think, so..." He then faltered before offering a shaky smile. "If ya need anything, just make some noise or somethin', I guess. I'll check up on ya later, 'kay?" And with that, the human got up and walked away, leaving Mark to stare in wary disbelief as the houseowner simply left the room, closing the door behind him with a soft click.
... Was that it? No phone call to report an unknown creature? No pest control? No shoe? Mark shuddered and let his head rest back down, only for a yawn to escape him. He wished he could take this opportunity, this new chance of time to escape, but he couldn't even make himself get up. Too tired, and comfy...
Mark's eyelids were drooping again before he already knew it, and though he tried to fight to stay awake and plan some sort of escape, the exhaust of his body won over and left him drifting back to sleep before he could even stop himself.