ʀᴇᴀʟʟʏ ʙᴇʟɪᴇᴠɪɴɢ ᴡʜᴀᴛ ʏᴏᴜ ᴡᴇʀᴇ ᴛᴏʟᴅ? ʜᴏᴡ ᴄᴏᴜʟᴅ ʏᴏᴜ ʙᴇ ꜱᴏ ꜱᴜʀᴇ ᴛʜᴀᴛ ɪᴛ ᴡᴀꜱɴ'ᴛ ᴊᴜꜱᴛ ᴀ ʟɪᴇ? ɪᴛ ᴡᴀꜱ ʙᴇᴄᴀᴜꜱᴇ ʏᴏᴜ ʜᴀᴅ ᴛʀᴜꜱᴛ ɪɴ ᴛʜᴀᴛ ᴘᴇʀꜱᴏɴ, ᴡᴀꜱɴ'ᴛ ɪᴛ? ʏᴏᴜ'ᴅ ʙᴇʟɪᴇᴠᴇ ᴀɴʏᴛʜɪɴɢ ᴛʜᴀᴛ ᴄᴀᴍᴇ ᴏᴜᴛ ᴏꜰ ᴛʜᴇɪʀ ᴍᴏᴜᴛʜ, ᴇᴠᴇɴ ᴛʜᴀᴛ ꜱʜɪᴛᴛʏ ʟɪᴇ ᴛʜᴇʏ ꜱᴀɪᴅ ᴛᴏ ᴀɴᴏᴛʜᴇʀ ᴘᴇʀꜱᴏɴ. ʏᴏᴜ'ᴠᴇ ᴄᴏᴜɴᴛᴇᴅ ᴛʜᴇ ᴅᴀʏꜱ. ɪᴛ'ꜱ ʙᴇᴇɴ ꜱᴏ, ꜱᴏ ᴍᴀɴʏ ᴀɴᴅ ʏᴇᴛ ʏᴏᴜ ʏᴇᴀʀɴ ᴛᴏ ꜱᴇᴇ ᴛʜᴇɪʀ ꜰᴀᴄᴇ ᴏɴᴄᴇ ᴀɢᴀɪɴ. ᴛʜᴏꜱᴇ ᴅᴀʏꜱ ᴛᴜʀɴ ᴛᴏ ᴡᴇᴇᴋꜱ ᴀɴᴅ ᴛʜᴏꜱᴇ ᴡᴇᴇᴋꜱ ᴛᴜʀɴ ᴛᴏ ᴍᴏɴᴛʜꜱ ʙᴜᴛ ʏᴏᴜ ꜱᴛɪʟʟ ᴋᴇᴇᴘ ᴛʀᴀᴄᴋ ᴀɴᴅ ᴛʜᴀᴛ ʜᴏᴘᴇ ꜱᴛɪʟʟ ꜱᴛᴀʏꜱ. ʏᴏᴜ ꜱʜᴏᴜʟᴅ ᴋɴᴏᴡ ᴛʜᴀᴛ ɪᴛ'ꜱ ʜᴀʀᴅ ᴛᴏ ᴡᴀɪᴛ ᴀʀᴏᴜɴᴅ ꜰᴏʀ ꜱᴏᴍᴇᴛʜɪɴɢ ʏᴏᴜ ᴋɴᴏᴡ ᴍɪɢʜᴛ ɴᴇᴠᴇʀ ᴇᴠᴇɴ ʜᴀᴘᴘᴇɴ, ʙᴜᴛ ᴡʜᴀᴛ ʏᴏᴜ ꜰɪɴᴅ ʜᴀʀᴅᴇʀ ɪꜱ ᴛᴏ ɢɪᴠᴇ ᴜᴘ ᴛʜɪꜱ ʜᴏᴘᴇ ᴡʜᴇɴ ɪᴛ'ꜱ ᴛʜᴇ ᴏɴᴇ ᴛʜɪɴɢ ʏᴏᴜ ᴅʀᴇᴀᴍ ᴏꜰ. ᴛʜɪꜱ ʜᴏᴘᴇ ꜰᴏʀ ꜱᴏᴍᴇᴛʜɪɴɢ ꜱᴛɪᴄᴋꜱ ʙᴇᴄᴀᴜꜱᴇ ʏᴏᴜ ᴅʀᴇᴀᴍ ᴏꜰ ʜᴀᴠɪɴɢ ᴛʜɪꜱ ꜱᴏᴍᴇᴛʜɪɴɢ ʙᴀᴄᴋ...ᴏʀ ɪɴ ᴛʜɪꜱ ᴄᴀꜱᴇ ʜᴀᴠɪɴɢ ᴛʜɪꜱ ꜱᴏᴍᴇᴏɴᴇ ʙᴀᴄᴋ.
Time flies sometimes but it also doesn't at others, so how can it be possible for it to feel like both at the same time? How long has it been anyways? Four months? Yes, that's it. It has been four months and there hasn't been a singular sign of that damned backpack, not one. There is the possibility that he's just busy but..he knows better. He hasn't seen the change of his presumed dead status, so it's clear that's not the case.
That shitty makeshift bed has been sat on the floor for the past four months because he still believes that there's still the possibility of him showing up and needing to stay. He has had that hope after the first week of no signs, taking it as hitchhiking but his concerns only grew after the first month, and over time that hope started slowly leaving him. Of course not entirely. For some odd reason, he couldn't find it in him to completely give up on him. I mean, there's always that sliver of luck that he appears at his door again but what exactly are the odds?
He doesn't know. He wants to know, he genuinely does. If he doesn't come to his place after everything that has happened, you'd think he'd at least somehow try to get in contact with him. I mean, he has done it before, probably even unaware that it was him that he was led to, but still. He'd at least let him know that he's safe. He never did. So how is he supposed to know that? He told him he'd be safe, that he'd get home. But without anything showing that he's safe and home, how is he to believe that bullshit? There's not a single fucking sign that shows it. None.
It has been four months and he wants answers. He wants fucking answers. That laptop probably has them. It was in the alley so it must have some sort of answer. It has to. He never has once opened the thing besides when he got home with it, only to find out that it was miraculously dead and he didn't own a charger for it. He doesn't know why he didn't get one until recently, so he had basically forgot about the thing until now. He sat at his kitchen table with the laptop open, fully charged and waiting for it to turn on.
It doesn't have a password. It is instantly brought onto the home screen. A small tab opened up, a text one. It seemed like someone was in the middle of typing something before the laptop died. The single sentence on this new tab was [Liam, what did yo] and then ends. Liam... They were talking to him before they died it seemed. It looked like they were going to ask if he had done something. That sentence was soon erased from the tab and replaced with a new word..or a new name.
[Bryce?]
The changing typing was no surprise to the soda bottle, he knows what's going on. It's Texty. How he'd forgotten about them still confused him and he probably shouldn't have. Even if they are a living text box stuck in a laptop, they're still a person. How did he forget about them like that? That's stupid...
"Texty..? What..happend to Liam?" Bryce asked, albeit a bit quiet.
"Liam? I'm not sure. Last I saw or heard from him was back in Airy's place. He had pulled up the code to send people to the Plane.. He said he was just looking but I didn't buy it. He also had the one for sending people back and I guess he used it on me. I feel like he's..doing something he shouldn't be if the code for sending people to the Plane was brought up before sending me back." They had turned their TTS on so Bryce didn't have to read all that, but it was probably still a lot to take in.
"To send people.... He wouldn't have, right? After EVERYTHING..he..he wouldn't.. He has to have gotten home." Bryce was..concerned to say the least. Not only for Liam, but from what he's heard, for other people too.
"Home? Well, unless he used that code on himself then he doesn't have a way back." Texty replied.
"What do you mean 'He doesn't have a way back'?" Bryce questioned the text box.
"I wasn't listening to whatever you guys were saying all that much, thought you both were just being gay again, but he doesn't have the notes. They got destroyed because they fell into water since he wasn't fully closed." Texty informs him.
"He-... So he lied to me!? Why would he do that? He said he'd be back, why would he...? Why did he not tell me? Not to worry me? Did he think I wouldn't find out? Not care? I just don't..." The soda bottle panics at the thoughts while also ignoring the little comment Texty had made.
Why would Liam lie to him about something like that? After everything they've been through together, he lies to him. So that means he's still in Airy's world and.... No... No he wouldn't.. He wouldn't have done that... Liam wouldn't have.. He.. He had the most determination to STOP ONE.. He wouldn't have..continued it for Airy..right? He wouldn't have trapped more innocent people and forced them to compete in this..this excuse for a show just to torture them.. Unless he knew this would happen..but he couldn't have! He wouldn't turn to be like Airy just because he's..alone...right? Right!?
Maybe this is just a misunderstanding! It has to be! It definitely has to be.. Bryce wants to believe that it is because there is no way in hell that Liam would continue ONE for his own enjoyment. He isn't some psychopath like Airy, he wouldn't torture people. Bryce knows that. Liam wouldn't 180 like that. No way..
But that still leaves a problem... How is he going to get home? Liam is in Airy's world without any notes to get home and he probably destroyed his only way back to prevent ONE from happening again. So how will he get-...
"Texty, do you have a copy of the notes?" Bryce asks rather quickly.
"I do." They answer.
"Pull them up and use the kill command on me." Bryce instructs them.
They do as he said. They get their notes app open and all the notes are available. He only needs the AIRY one. For now, anyways. Bryce should probably get some money for the journey back up here-... He forgot to tell them to wait.. Texty used the command. Guess they'll have to hitchhike.
The soda bottle walks towards the radio, laptop in hand and turns the dial on the little box. Checking over it, Bryce lifts the antenna and is greeted by obnoxious static he hasn't heard in months, only to now appear in a forest. A forest? Did..did the note lead to this forest or did he fuck it up? Bryce doesn't know.
Looking down, there was a clear path made in the grass below the soda bottle, you could see it clear as day...even if it was night.. Following a sketchy forest path in the middle of the night..that'd get him killed but the things he'd do for that dumbass..
Bryce sighed to himself and began to walk down the path, using the laptops screen to light the way. It doesn't take that long before coming to an clearing in the forest. A big one. Looking around, it seems as if it had recently gotten bigger due to the many damaged stumps around the area. Ignoring that, the soda bottle looks around and takes note of things. A cabin, a waterfall, a cave and a fire pit... There's someone there but he can't make out who. The silhouette is hand to understand as they looked slouched over in their seat and the lighting from the fire and the angle that Bryce is and doesn't help. As stupid as it may be, he approaches this person. Or at least he thinks it's a person.
The laptop got closed, for its own safety. With each step Bryce took, he could begin to see this slouched figure more clearly. They obviously had something in their hands but they weren't moving. Not even the the sounds of footsteps towards them made them move. Bryce would have to try and stay calm as he drew closer to them until he eventually stopped behind them.
"Hey." Bryce tried to say.
He could even begin to get that single word out. The figure immediately snapped around to face him as soon as his voice was heard, dropping a piece of wood from their hands whilst holding a makeshift knife in the other. The looked like they were ready to attack whoever approached them but they stopped when they saw the soda bottle. Their panicked expression changed to a calm one as they sighed from relief. They placed the knife down by the wood they dropped, Bryce assuming they were carving something beforehand, and tried to sit back up on the log as they had previously fallen off it and onto their back when they turned around. They looked in pain as they tried to move back. Once the managed to get back to their seat, Bryce made eye contact with them, still standing by them. There were a lot of things on his mind but he had only one thing he wanted answered.
"Why did you lie to me, Liam?"