Art by the spectacular _sleepy.moth_ on Instagram!
Also little plug, there's some art haven't been able to share here yet. You can find all that on Instagram, juicebox_n_oreos, then go to the highlights.
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"He's not dead! He faked his death once already. You would have seen them get out if you all had just waited a little while!" Pitch spat over the phone.
"We didn't want to be seen near the scene", J insisted on the other line. "That could be bad for both of us. It wasn't a clean swerve though. It looked like they really might have lost control at the high speeds"
Pitches hand tightened on his steering wheel. The car wasn't even on, he was just in there to take the call. He was trying to keep his expressions of anger subtle and under the radar to everyone outside of the car.
At this point, the cabin was surrounded with yellow caution tape, investigators, and squads.
"You realize they're probably on the run again, and getting further and further away, don't you?" Pitch snapped.
"If they made it"
"You haven't met Illinois. He's crafty, with survival skills you wouldn't believe. He disappeared the first time after convincing everyone he died in some mountains overseas. And Daniel Jones is a literal weapon. They made it, thanks to your mistake"
"Look, we're doing our best over here. I don't think anyone has the experience needed for this whole thing. I'm sorry we messed up, but we can't undo that. F just called in to make an anonymous tip about seeing a car drive over the bridge. Maybe you guys can find some evidence in there. For now, we're gonna keep looking for him"
"Fine" Pitch muttered through grit teeth, before hanging up. It made his blood boil. They had been so close. All they would have needed to do was wait a few minutes.
Instead, the two were probably on the move again, further and further. Harder to pinpoint. Dr. Pitch took a breath in an attempt to calm himself. This was a setback, but it wasn't the end.
Shortly after the phone call, a worker from a gas station walking distance away from the river reported a missing car.
A notice would be sent out to the police to alert higher-ups if they saw the license plate. It was better than nothing, Doctor Pitch thought bitterly.
He would still find them, and he would make sure they regretted it all before he ended this whole thing once and for all.
—
A little into the drive, Yancy had fallen asleep. Illinois was pretty tired himself, but wanted to get as far as possible before they pulled over. They had been driving for a few hours, but they weren't even close to the halfway point.
Illinois yawned and struggled to keep his eyes on the road ahead. Just a few more hours, he told himself. He could do that, right? He had been awake for longer, before. Granted, typically it was after not doing too much, but still.
It was dark out, but it was hard to see the stars over the highway. The road was too busy, and the cities were too close. He'd miss his little home where the stars were usually so bright.
When he was hiding in the mountains, even the milky way was visible. He missed that. It was almost like a vacation, despite the fact that it was all just to fake his death.
He was yanked out of his thoughts by red and blue flashing lights right behind them, followed by a police siren.
Illinois' heart dropped to his stomach, as he looked in the rearview mirror. The cop car was tailing them. Of course, the car was probably reported as stolen.
He had tried to prepare for every situation, which made this oversight feel like even more of a failure. This should have been thought of, the second he considered stealing a car.
Yancy stirred from his spot in the back, waking up from the sound of sirens" 'Noise, what's goin on?" He mumbled, unease in his voice.
"I guess the car was reported as stolen... I have to pull over"
"W-what? Can't youse try to lose them like you did those other guys''
"They'd probably call for backup... then we'd have to deal with a bunch of cops instead of just two. I think this is our only option." Illinois said, pulling off an exit. "I've kept you safe this long, Yancy. I'm not gonna stop that now"
Illinois would squirm them out of there like he always had. Granted, he had no plan or even the general idea of one, but failing and letting Yancy get taken was not an option.
He heard Yancy give a weak hum of acknowledgment as he parked.
"Stay down, and I'll take care of this," Illinois said, before getting out of the car. Despite the intensity and fear in the situation, he still struggled to keep his eyes open. How he'd love to just lay in the grass and-
He heard the cop get out of his car, and the sound of a gun being cocked. Illinois quickly put up his hands, "Hey there, there's no need for that. I'm unarmed, officer"
Or at least he had thought it was an officer, but now that he was face to face with him, he could see that it wasn't a cop uniform. It was a uniform like the officials at the lab wore. The guard's partner wore the same uniform.
Another cop car pulled up, and two more armed officials came out, also in the same uniform as the lab's security.
Regular cops would have been like fighting flies, compared to this. These men were trained to take down experiments like Yancy.
A whole branch of the government dedicated to capturing and snuffing out anything the public shouldn't know about. Beyond the FBI, CIA, or any other secret branch civilians knew about. These men worked by the facilities' rules. Quiet and it was all legal, as long as the people didn't know.
Now, these men had found them. Illinois hadn't prepared for this. He had overlooked things. They hadn't switched cars fast enough. They hadn't gone far enough. He wasn't enough.
"Illinois Arch, get down on the ground" The official with the gun demanded. He stared at the gun, before shakily lowering himself down.
He glanced over the car in horror as the two from the other car opened the car door "H-Hey don't get in there!" he called over to them, but of course, they didn't listen.
He was utterly powerless to stop the men who were now yanking Yancy out of the vehicle.
—
Yancy had turned himself in, back when he killed his parents. The police hadn't even found the bodies by the time he stumbled into the police station, confessing to his crimes. Despite the blood, he was still young, and he had turned himself in and didn't put up any fight. There was some sort of mercy and a sense of civility the cops showed him during it all.
This was different. There was no pity. There was no hint of humanity. He was ripped out of the car as if he were just a leach or a parasite that needed to be torn off of a host. They shoved him harshly to the ground.
Yancy let out a hiss of agony, as the cut on his side seared with pain. He sat up with a wince, before feeling a gun pressed against the base of his neck. A slight whimper escaped him as he stopped moving.
"Don't move" one of them ordered with a sharp, aggressive tone.
The official gazes felt like needles under his skin. He felt like a rat, squirming in a rat trap as others counted his last breaths.
Less than a rat...
He could hear them talking amongst themselves and over the walkie, calling for backup and what to do next.
Illinois was a little in front of him, on the ground as well. Surely Illinois had a plan, right? Illinois always had a plan. He'd get them out of this mess.
However, as Illinois glanced over and their eyes met, Yancy realized that wasn't the case.Illinois looked terrified, but even worse, he looked defeated. A look in his eyes showed he had no plan and was incapable of coming up with one. The look of a man who was about to die.
If Illinois had no plan then all hope was lost.
Unless... Yancy got them out, himself. He had escaped the lab, after all. He was a Frankenstein's monster pieced together to be a literal weapon.
The thought of fighting made his stomach churn. The last thing he needed was more blood on his hands. Yet, if he didn't do anything... it wasn't just his life on the line this time. Illinois was here with him. In a way, not fighting even though he's capable would be killing Illinois too, right?
One of the officials was telling the others that enforcement would be here shortly, and Yancy saw his window of opportunity start to slip through his fingers.
It had been a long time since he had participated in hand-to-hand combat, but he had to try. If not for himself, then for Illinois.
He pushed his pointer finger up against his thumb, trying to open the taser with no one noticing. With a quick, discrete look down he was able to confirm the thumb taser was open.
Yancy closed his eyes and focused on where the gun was, on his back. He only had one shot at this. If he was too slow or missed, he'd be shot. Or maybe he'd be shot anyways, but hopefully that would cause enough commotion to let Illinois get away.
Now or never.
Autors note: I'm really sorry for the lack of updates! Unfortunatly my health is not cooperating with me, but I'm still working on this whenever I can!
Thank you so much for sticking around, it means so much to me. Don't forget to vote if you enjoyed!