Finney really regretted his promise to Paperboy in the morning, Gwen, Robin and Griffin were still sleeping.
Heck, they didn’t even have made out a time to meet up. And yet he lay awake in his bed, Robin sleeping next to him. Same goes for Gwen and Griffin. He just couldn't convince the three of them to leave him alone after his nightmare. Gwen had even tried to find out what it was about, but Finney had blocked any attempts
He knew it was mean, or at least it must seem that way to Gwen, but he didn't want to involve her.
At least he'd persuaded them all to just sleep and not talk about it.
He looked at the three.
The boys' sleep was very different from Gwen's. While she appeared to be sound asleep, almost like a rock, Robin in particular seemed to be on high alert.
And Griffin didn't sleep very well either, he was restless all the time.
The Grabber had watched them sleep, though Finney didn't think Robin had even gotten as far as to sleep.
He looked at the boy, he looked almost peaceful for an unknowing eye. And still his face alone made Finney feel some kind of hope.
They wouldn't be alone. They would never have to face that monster alone.
He smiled, the fabric of his bed covers felt so much warmer and safer than ever.
Suddenly something moved in the corner of his eye. It wasn't a shadow, and yet he winced, stiff as a board.
"Finney?"
He closed his eyes, but then opened them and nodded.
"Be quiet.. the two are still asleep." he whispered and didn't look in the direction of his sister, who just sighed.
"Then we'll get up.. Billy mentioned anyway that he'll pick you up in the morning. So to deliver the newspaper. We can get up." she said, still keeping her voice low.
Finney didn't answer in the form of words, but by trying to get out of bed as silently as possible without waking either of them.
"Finn, ¿por qué diablos estás despierto? Son como las tres de la mañana.." Robin hadn't even opened his eyes while he was mumbling, Finney barely understanding his Spanish so sleepy he was.
"Sorry.. go back to sleep." he whispered to him, but he wasn't sure if Robin had even heard him.
But it was a good thing they didn't startle, even if Griffin mumbled something confused, still completely sleepy himself.
He smiled softly, then silently got out of bed, next to which he saw his sister already standing.
"How did you get out of it without waking them both up?" Gwen rolled her eyes, crossing her arms. She noticed that Finney wanted to change the subject.
"I wasn't literally buried under those two."
Finney nodded.
“It really was just a bad dream Gwen.” he didn’t want to explain anything to her, because each and every element of that dream hasn't happened yet. He wasn't kidnapped, and neither was anyone else.
Though the question of what those shadows were clung to his brain like a flea to a mouse.
“You screamed for your friends, me and even dad.” she didn’t want to let go. Finney shifted uncomfortable on his floor, the wood feeling way to cold on his feet.
“Let’s not talk about this while they are sleeping, okay?” he sighed in defeat. He lied straight in her face for the second or third time now. He hated this. He didn’t want to lie to her, but he couldn't tell her.
Gwen snorted, grabbed her brother's hand and pulled him out of the room and into the hallway.
"Finney, what if you have dreams too?" she was still whispering, but this time there was a much sharper and more urgent note in her voice.
She didn't let go of her hand, as if she feared losing it if she didn't.
Finney looked down before taking a deep breath. He wouldn't let his sister pressure him into putting her in danger.
"Gwen, I barely remember that dream." he lied. He lied straight to your face, again.
Gwen's eyes started to water.
"Finney, I'm worried. Something's wrong and you just won't tell me what's going on! First you've been absolutely weird for a few days, for no apparent reason. Sometimes you seem like you're not even here, your mind completely where different. Then all of a sudden you have a group of boys following you everywhere from people you have never had anything to do with before. And then you have a nightmare that made you so upset and scared that you yelled for someone." she counted, her voice getting stronger and more confused at the same time.
Finney just stared at his sister.
Sure, the whole thing had happened incredibly quickly. But still, he had thought it wouldn't be that noticeable. Correction, he had hoped it wouldn't be too noticeable.
His throat felt dry, and then it came back. The burning look on his neck.
He was tense, all over, and yet he took his hand out of his sister's, instead placing both hands on Gwen's shoulders and sighing.
"You really don't have to worry, Gwen. I'm fine." he tried to calm her down, but he knew it was difficult with a stubborn one like his sister.
"But what if you have dreams like mine?"
"Gwen.. I promise I don't have any such dreams. I'm fine." Lie number how much again in less than ten minutes? Although, could it really be called a lie? He had no dreams.
But he wasn't okay.
He flashed a smile, one that hopefully his sister could fool.
And Gwen was silent, looking down before she met her brother's brown eyes with a serious look.
"Promise to tell me right away if you have any dreams." She said.
Finney smiled wider, wanting to make her feel safe.
"Of course. But don't you dare tell me that I'd be a copycat then."
Gwen smiled, couldn't quite hold the serious look anymore.
"You're an idiot.. but I make no promises.
Finney felt a little relief.
Gwen would probably try to probe Robin or Griffin if they knew anything or why they had mutated into such a group now of all times, but he just hoped they wouldn't say anything.
After all, the two would then have bigger problems than planning the murder.
Okay, that was definitely an overstatement, but Finney definitely wanted to protect Gwen and keep her out of it.
"PB didn't happen to mention a time when he left?" he took the subject in a completely different direction, making Gwen shake her head.
"You promised to help him without making out a time to start? Are you stupid?"
“You really are charming.” he knew it was stupid, but hey, she didn’t need to address it like this.
Gwen just shook her head.
“He said something around 4.30 to 5, and we have around 4. We wont walk to school together then I guess?” she looked at a clock, and Finney nodded.
“Sorry about not walking you to school, but I think Robin and Griffin got this covered for me. I’ll go with PB then.”
Gwen looked offended.
“I can walk alone, you know.”
Something about letting his sister walk alone, made him feel uneasy. He knew, she wasn’t on the Grabbers radar, and that that monster couldn't even know who she was, but still. He didn’t want her to be alone.
“I know, but it’s safer this way.” he didn’t want it to come out this way.
“I mean- look. I just want you to be safe, alright?” he sighed.
She looked at him. He knew she wanted to ask, if he lied to her, if he had a dream about something happening to her or to him. But she stayed quiet.
“I’m going to make you breakfast. What do you think about scrambled eggs?” she suggested after a few moments, and Finney shook his head.
Nope.
He wasn’t keen on eating them believing it was just a dream, but now knowing that it was more than that, he would never even look at them.
“Just some cereals, please. And I don’t think that Robin or Griffin would like something like that either.” he smiled at her, but only earned a grunt.
“I’m not going to make them breakfast, so no worries. I think they are old enough to do it themselves.”
Finney smiled at her, and nodded.
Gwen wasn’t someone to just bow down to anybody. She was headstrong and clever, but she was still nine years old. She didn’t know anything about the world yet.
Well, this wasn’t entirely true. Gwen knew how to sneak around bottles without causing them to make a sound, she knew how to calm down her father when he was screaming again.
She knew how to aid to wounds of a belt. She knew so much more than Finney wanted her t.
He wanted to protect his little sister from stuff like this but he couldn't.
He himself was only a kid. They had no power over adults causing them pain, they had no way of fighting against them without making them even more angry.
Finney knew, attacking the Grabber would be dangerous. He could die.
He could be hurt badly. He and all the other boys would be known as murderers. But the man they killed was murderer, so they at least had a reason.
Finney had already killed a man. And still, in the face of danger, like his school bullies or his father, he still was nothing but a little kid.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
“Still can’t believe I said yes to this.” Finney murmured, as he sat down on the back of the bike.
Paperboy, who was starting to pack the papers rolled his eyes and remarked with a almost teasing tone: “It was your idea to accompany me.”
Finney groaned.
He felt fucking tired. Well of course, he didn’t sleep even remotely well.
“It’s soo early. How do you do this daily?” he may have exaggerated it a bit, but it only made the Paperboy smile mockingly at him.
"If my memory doesn't fail me again, it was your idea to go with me." he grinned as he began to put the rest of the morning's newspapers into his bike's basket.
"But I enjoy it, as crazy as it may sound to you or everyone else. Even if it feels kinda...kinda weird now." he shrugged, the newspaper paper rustling as he placed it neatly in the basket.
Finney understood how he must be feeling, although to be honest he had no idea what it must be like to rise from the dead and know that one should be dead.
Maybe if he had died he would know.
But if he were dead, no one could have avenged the boys.
The street the Showalters lived on looked perfect, many front yards with toys on the lawn or driveways indicating that many children lived here.
The gardens neatly trimmed, and while the neighborhood didn't look as expensive and upscale as Bruce's, he couldn't imagine how upset the neighborhood had been that Paperboy - then Billy - had disappeared and never been seen again.
But now the children knew what was about to happen.
They would protect each other.
"That should be all for today. We'd better go straight to school afterwards." the same age had loaded the newspapers and then looked at Finney.
He really seemed to enjoy delivering the papers, seemed really happy to be able to do it. Finney didn't understand how anyone could be so glad to be out and about in the ungodly hours of the morning, but hey. It was Paperboy who decided that, not Finney.
Finney had just had the misfortune to be the first to voice the idea out loud, accompanying him so he wouldn't be in danger of being kidnapped.
Paperboy sat down, a striking red-orange jacket adorning his body, on the wheel and then turned briefly to Finney.
"Thanks for coming. I can imagine you're freaking out inside because we have to pass his house." Finney briefly held on to the grille of the luggage carrier, a task that was a lot harder than it sounded, at least when you were sitting on it.
The bike rocked slightly while Paperboy sat up, but Finney shook his head.
"Is it that easy to tell that I slept badly? But no problem, after all we have the rule of not leaving anyone alone." he wanted to smile at him a little confidently, but it felt more like his lips were nothing more than a shaky line that failed to convince anyone.
Paperboy pivoted back to the handlebars and began pedaling, an endeavor made much more difficult by Finney's extra weight, but Paperboy still managed to keep the bike straight.
"But if we roam the streets we can just avoid him. That's not possible here. If I skip his house, he'll complain. And then the route will be taken away from me and I'm not allowed to drive anymore." Finney saw his grip on the handlebars tighten, but then Paperboy leaned forward and threw the first newspaper towards a house.
"I know this might sound absolutely silly to you, but I think delivering the papers kind of saved me." he laughed a little, but if it didn't sound cheerful or happy, it was dry and bitter. Paperboy sounded so much older than he was supposed to be.
"How do you mean that?"
He tossed another newspaper, this time to the other side. The neighborhood changed the longer they drove.
The gardens grew larger, the houses looked more deserted and were now fenced off.
He shrugged his shoulders.
"I don't remember anything, Finney. Not my death or how it killed me, not how long I was down there. The only thing I can remember are any headlines about you guys. And those nicknames. None of you had his real name, you know? And every time I think about it, it feels like these are newspapers that I'm going to scan through before I deliver them. Maybe I'm just not quite right in my head." it sounded normal like he put it.
Finney nodded and grunted.
"To be honest, I think we're all not quiet right in the head."
He remembered the call. Was it really a phone call, or was it just Finney's brain that wanted to put his greatest fear into something familiar?
After all, Vance was alive, maybe asleep, but how was he supposed to call him while he was sleeping? That was stupid to think…
And yet he couldn't shake the feeling that it was something important. It was like an annoying burr that got caught in the fur of a rabbit or a mouse and couldn't get free.
He pressed his lips together, just watching Paperboy as he continued to deliver newspapers.
It was like a routine for him, something he could do automatically.
Finney wondered what that would be for him.
Something he could still do even if he rose from the dead.
But his words were true. No one was right in the head after being kidnapped, abused, beaten and then murdered. And even if Finney had skipped the last step, the experience was still real.
He had been imprisoned in the basement where so many boys his age had died, including two he had known. And he would have died if he hadn't had the help of the victims before him.
Paperboy's newspaper throwers got messier the farther they went.
The bike now swayed slightly.
Finney held on tighter.
"Who wouldn't be? By the way, we're getting closer to his house." the boy's voice was thick with tension, concentration and yet a hint of fear.
He didn't have to say it.
Finney recognized the area, even if he remembered it more in the dark.
"I ran down the street here the first time I tried to escape." it was just plain dry the way he told PB.
"You were incredibly lucky that he let you live anyway..." he murmured, tossing a newspaper to one side but missing the door and instead the newspaper landed in a flower bed next to it.
If Finney didn't know better, he'd think Paperboy sounded bitter. But did he know the boys were glad he'd been able to kill him. At least he hoped so.
"You're not mad about it, are you?" he was almost whispering, not because he found it awkward, but because he didn't want to be heard.
Paperboy sighed.
"I don't remember, but I don't think so. Maybe because you were brought back, but not because you tried." But they didn't really have more time for their conversation, because the house came into their field of vision.
The mere presence of this building caused the two boys to start holding their breath.
Any doubts that still rumbled around in Finney were trampled to death. Yes, that was the cruel reality.
The van was parked in the concrete driveway.
That damn van that drove so many teenagers to their straight deaths. He gritted his teeth.
The front door was open, revealing the silhouette of a middle-aged man.
There were sacks in front of the door, but Finney was too far away to read if anything was written on them.
Paperboy stopped, threw - okay that was a lot of force, hopefully it didn't hit anything - the shattering of glass almost made Finney fall off Paperboy's bike.
"Crap!"
"Are you stupid or something?! Why the fuck are you throwing at his window!?" Paperboy looked pale and if Finney hadn't panicked in a second he would be running.
"I didn't want that! It just happened!" Paperboy hissed back, his voice almost squeaking in panic.
"Hey what was that?!" the panic Finney had felt before was nothing compared to the panic he felt now. Everything felt so much bigger and more intense.
Paperboy let out a low whimper before swallowing.
They wanted to stay under the radar, and now they'd smashed his goddamn window with a newspaper.
Was that even possible? Or had Paperboy put something in it that doesn't normally belong in it? It didnt matter.
"So-sorry Mister Shaw!" Paperboy was the first to find his voice, but you could clearly hear how tense he was.
The shadow in the door moved outside, and Finney could tell just from the pose how angry the man must be.
But then he heard Paperboy's voice and stopped for a moment.
"Billy? How the hell did that happen?" he sounded calmer, the slowly rising sun enveloping him in something like a golden light. Finney wanted to throw up.
Paperboy visibly cringed next to him at the mention of his old name.
The man started to move closer to them.
Paperboy gulped, seemed to get a hiccup.
"I'm really sorry! I wasn't paying attention to where I threw a-and then this happened." he tried to take a step back, almost knocking over the bike in the process, making Finney yelp.
"I'm still on here too, don't forget that!" he hissed without thinking about it, but regretted it in the next few moments.
Paperboy looked at him in horror. Fuck he had revealed himself with it.
Confused, the man leaned a little to the side, his movements even without a mask were somehow exaggerated.
But Finney could tell from his demeanor that he was interested.
It made him sick.
"Have you got a little friend in the basket?" he chuckled, having had a complete 180 degree turn on emotion, almost seeming amused now.
Finney felt his breath catch.
He felt Albert Shaw's eyes on him, his best friend's bloody killer. (Somehow it sounded strange to call Robin "just" that, but Finney didn't care. After all, he had bigger problems than what he called Robin now.)
Paperboy cleared his throat.
"Mmmm, y-yeah. W-we really wanted to get this over with quick, I can have some of my allowance brought to you to cover the window." he forced a shy smile, but it just came across as awkward.
But Finney wasn't any better, after all he just stood there, staring at the window. It was to a room upstairs, but he also caught a glimpse of the basement window. It was almost like it was there to mock whoever was down there.
What did he need all these sacks for?
What was inside?
It was definitely building material, Finney could tell that much.
And he didn't like that.
It gave him a bad gut feeling.
Something was wrong.
But when the man came closer, he couldn't be unwound.
He turned to the window over dramatically for a moment, but then made a derogatory hand gesture.
"It's not that bad, don't worry about it Billy. Better keep your pocket money to buy you sweets at the store." he smiled, Finney heard it clearly. And a smile on that monster's lips couldn't mean anything good.
He must have expected Paperboy to relax, but that didn't happen.
Then he looked at Finney.
"So you're Billy's helper today?"
Finney’s throat was sore. Still he tried to speak.
“Y-yeah. I’m so sorry about your window S-Sir.” he smiled awkwardly, but hopefully the man wouldn't notice.
“What’s your name then? I bet something nice.” he smiled. It almost made him want to run away and never turn back. But he couldn't leave Paperboy behind. He would never forgive himself for that.
Before Finney could even respond, Paperboy chimed in. He looked only for a second at Finney, then he looked at the man. He wouldn't tell him his real name, would he?
“His name is..Taylor. Taylor Mullen.”
Finney just nodded robot-like, but he wanted to just smack Paperboy.
Where the fuck did he get that name from?!
But there was no time for that question.
“Hehe.. yeah. T-that’s me. Sorry for your window again.” he felt soo uncomfortable.
He laughed, It sounded fake and overly nice. It made him and Billy shiver.
“You don’t need to worry about that, I’d anyways have to change it. But you sound quiet hoarse my little friend, Taylor, do you need something to drink? I could fetch you a glass of water.”
“N-no! Ehrm.. I mean we need to get going Mister Shaw.” Paperboy interrupted, and Finney just wanted to hug him. Okay maybe he wouldn't smack him for this name later.
The Grabber would never even find out his real one, so what would it matter?
It was better it was just some fake-name than his real one.
He felt so weak compared to the man.
His mere presence seemed to bring with it a dense fog, one that one couldn't see but felt. But it was suffocating and sticky, creeping up the body, leaving a sickening goosebump in its wake.
It was almost as if it also carried a distant and shallow ringing.
Yep, he would never help that guy again even if he broke something and couldn't walk. Then he might break his neck again. He deserved it.
"Oh why?" he sounded almost disappointed.
"Unfortunately we have to go to school, we don't want to be late." Finney brought himself back up, trying to hide his fear. Something was wrong. Definitive. The guy was too nice.
But Albert nodded quickly and made an affirmative noise.
"Well then, boys, let's go! I'm sure we'll meet again." he was grinning now. And the boys didn't need to be told twice, as soon as they each murmured another apology, Paperboy charged off and pedaled with all his might, Finney nearly fell off.
He definitely should have put on a helmet.
But while they were cycling away, Finney got the call again. (if you could call it that, but good)
Could Albert really change his order? After all, this is where they reached into the past. Why shouldn't he be able to?
------------------------------------------------------
"You idiots did what?! Tell me, do you have a fucking death wish?!" Vance yelled at them both during the break, almost lunged at Paperboy, about to grab him by the collar, but Bruce stopped him.
"Calm down." he hissed, uncharacteristically serious and sinister. It actually made Vance break his hostile attitude towards Finney and Paperboy.
But still, Finney felt like crying.
Robin had stood next to him and was now leaning against him.
"Has your sister always been this annoying?" he just sighed in annoyance, as if he hadn't heard about the encounter. In fact, when he and Paperboy finally arrived, he had complained to Finney about Gwen pestering him and Griffin with questions.
Griffin rolled his eyes.
"I'll tell you, if he kills me because of you, I'll come after you all. Every single one of you. I don't care if I can't do anything then." apparently Griffin had decided to deal with his anxiety and nervousness by joking, even if it made everyone else uncomfortable.
Though he also wasn’t quiet comfortable with it, right now he looked almost sickly pale and leaned against Paperboy while Bruce tried to reassure him with a gentle smile.
"Don't worry, he won't kill you. He'll have to deal with us before he even gets close to you."
Bruce's comment made Griffin smile slightly, and yet he slumped back into his thoughts.
"We'll kill him before he can. According to his parents, Bruce has some leftover baseball bats in the basement. So we have part of the gun. Robin, are you checking the knives today?" Vance stretched, his temper changing in a matter of seconds, but only because he was distracting himself.
"Yeah yeah, Tío Toby certainly won't miss a couple of good knives. In fact, he hardly notices when I steal something from the kitchen." he grumbled, still seeming sleepy.
None of them slept well. They all had dark circles, although Paperboy probably had the worst.
And yet Finney couldn't let go of his last thought. What if the call was just some kind of message from his subconscious simply to express his fear of it?
Griffin yawned.
"Did you at least find out something? Or was the guy just creepy?"
Now Robin became a little more tense, his stature straighter.
Paperboy scratched his wrist.
"He screamed at us at first, but when he noticed me he calmed down. He offered Her-ehm Finney to bring him water. From then on we were completely out of it and left as quickly as possible."
The others became even more serious than before.
Robin took Finney's hand again, not sure if it was to calm him or Finney. Or maybe both, because it did just that.
"And.. he had bags outside like he was renovating something.. and he said he would replace the window anyway, although I'm not sure if that was a lie." added Finney. He didn't like how small and weak his voice sounded when he talked about him, but none of those present made him look bad for it.
The others looked at each other.
"You think this is for the basement?"
Finney shrugged.
"The basement is soundproof." at the end he pressed his lips together and Robin his hand.
The thought just wouldn't let him go.
Griffin looked at him.
"Finney? You look sick."
"Thank you I know." Vance huffed amused at Finney’s response. Bruce rolled his eyes but put a hand on the older boy's shoulder.
"Griffin mentioned something about a nightmare.. do you want to talk about it?"
Bruce was awkward with it, you could tell he didn't usually talk about it like that.
Vance seemed completely overwhelmed by this, but remained silent.
Robin gave Griffin a sharp look, but then continued to lean sleepily into Finney.
"It just slipped out on me." the boy looked apologetically at Finney, who just leaned against Robin and sighed.
Somehow his closeness made him feel warmer.
"It was just a nightmare.. from the basement but nothing that really happened." he explained and hoped that the others would understand.
Maybe he brushed all these things aside far too easily, but no one had talked to him and boys in general about it before. It was strange and unfamiliar.
And then he had an idea. He internally refused to tell them about the call, but.. maybe he could ask it in a different way.
"Do you know what happened in your dream?" asked Paperboy, who apparently hadn't heard about this nightmare.
Finney bit his lip.
He knew he was lying. Right?
Maybe the "call" was part of the dream too.
"He had changed the order.. II just panicked about it. Do you think he could really do that?" Finney got bogged down in more than one word, but he hoped that all that only made it more believable. He hated lying and yet he kept getting caught up in them.
Robin looked at him, but Paperboy quickly seemed to realize what he meant.
"Why should he be able to do that?"
"I-if we can change the past, why wouldn't he be able to change the order?"
The boys didn’t notice the shadowy figure watching them from afar, but not too afar to not hear what they said. ‘
They didn’t even feel its glance upon them.
Notes:
Translation:
Finn, ¿por qué diablos estás despierto? Son como las tres de la mañana..-Finn, why the hell are you up? It's like three in the morning...
Also sorry for any weird format, its like weird right now ^^"
Hope you enjoyed it!