A week passed by with nothing for Bendy to really work with. Sasha was getting annoyed with him always hanging around her club. He wouldn't lie, it was fun teasing her. He traded off between job hunting and scouting for any information on the car accident. To the first he wasn't really surprised he was struggling. Even though he was now a legal adult he was still a demon with no schooling. Everything he knew was self-taught or picked up by observation. He'd had to teach himself and Boris how to read and do basic math. He loved studying and learning, but if you didn't have the stinking piece of paper that said you sat in a classroom at some point, most won't look at ya twice. That's not to mention the other reason people avoided hiring him, but there really wasn't anything he could do about that injustice.
Unlike his lack of employment, what Bendy was surprised about was that he didn't hear a thing about the car. In the small town that Sillyvision was, this little drama should have been everywhere. Bendy didn't hear a thing. None of the cops, even the ones with the loosest lips, mentioned it. He didn't even know who owned the car. It made him even more suspicious and nervous. He was starting to think Pete may have paid them off, but no one saying anything? Not one rumor?
Boris hadn't been able to find out anything at the shop either. Petey was still acting smug, like a fat cat with a canary. Boris had even snuck into the office to look for the file (to Bendy's strong disapproval), but came up with nothing.
Then there were the bills that would be coming. If Bendy couldn't find something soon he feared they would find themselves back at square one, the back alley. He couldn't stand the thought of seeing Boris sleeping on a square of cardboard again. No, he wouldn't allow it. They couldn't back slide to that.
To add insult to injury, today, while Bendy was heading to the Dancing Lady, he had also spotted that crazy owl, sneaking away to places unknown. Just sighting the guy put a bad taste in Bendy's mouth.
Bendy was staring into his fizzy Wizz, lost in thought, when Sasha came up and sat with him at the bar. Her movement snapped him outta thought. "Ya' know, seeing you pouting is really killing my vibe, Bends," She said lightly.
Bendy's head dropped to his hunched shoulders. "I don't pout," he muttered.
"Liar. You're doing it right now." She smirked.
"I just have a lot on my mind," he said.
"For the last week you've come here, made a nuisance of yourself, left, and then come back to pout at a drink again and again. What's with ya Bendy-boo?" Sasha asked, leaning forward a little to look at him more fully.
"Nothin's with me and I've told ya not to call me that Sash," Bendy replied taking a swig of the sugary drink.
Sasha pouted. "Now I'm getting' the cold shoulder? What happened to my little darling devil?"
Bendy felt himself bristle and his fur stand up. "Don't call me little."
Sasha got an evil look in her eye. "It can't be a small problem if you're acting like this. Have a little confidence in me. Maybe I could be the tiniest of help to you. Even if it's the tinniest thing, talking to me is better than coming up short and feeling foolish."
Bendy groaned and planted his head on the counter top. "You're insufferable," he groaned.
She giggled, "I know." She brushed one of her curls behind her ear before leaning her elbows on the counter. "So why don't cha talk before I pull out the pee-wee guns."
Bendy sat up to give her the most deadpanned, unamused look he could ever manage. She only laughed. He sighed in defeat. "Alright, so last week Pete fired me." Sasha's smile instantly dropped into a scowled.
"That low down cod," she huffed. Bendy smirked. Sasha was not a fan of his former boss. She found him cussing disgusted and other choice words not appropriate for social interaction.
"It was a car accident. Something about my faulty work on it. I didn't get the name of the owner or what exactly had gone wrong. I've been trying to find any leads, but I got nothin'. It's like it never happened. There isn't one rumor in all of Sillyvision."
Sasha blinked in surprise. A car accident? She hadn't heard anything about no car accident. She had just figured Bendy was suspended due to fighting with the grease ball Pete. Bendy was right though, that should have been mentioned at least once in her place. It was the most popular hang out in town. This didn't make any sense. She looked at the crestfallen demon and her heart string tugged.
"How's Boris handlin' this? He still workin' for that bozo?" Sasha asked. Bendy nodded his eyes going back to his half-finished drink. She pursued her lips in thought. It was obvious now that Bendy had been job huntin' with no luck. No wonder he was poutin' at her bar.
"He's alright. My bro is a trooper. He's startin' to push for more work time, so we can meet the bills. I'm worried he's going to push himself too far, and Pete is always stingy with the paychecks," he muttered. Sasha gritted her teeth. Oh, she couldn't stand that man, especially the way he treated her boys. Bendy and Boris were nothing but sweetie pies. She'd known that ever since the first night they showed up, dirty and way too young and thin, asking for a meal and proudly paying for it, like it was Christmas. She learned later that they'd used their first paychecks to pay for that meal, and that they had still been sleeping in an alley at that time. They had always wanted to eat here, but couldn't ever afford it. They had chosen her place to celebrate their first time with well-earned money from a stable job. Her heart had broken when Boris had told her that. She'd known these boys for a couple of years now and loved 'em like family. A thought came to her.
"Well you know," she suddenly said slowly, "I've been thinkin' about getting' my place a little security. There have been some shady folk around as of late and I can't always be sure there'd be a cop on hand or for Ronald to take care of it since he's supposed to man the bar and cash register when I'm on stage. You wouldn't happen to know anyone that could be lookin' for a job like that could ya?"
Bendy was staring at her like she grew a third head. His lighter eyes were huge and his jaw gabbed at her. "S-Sash are you offerin' me a job?" She smirked at his surprise. Teasing Bendy was such a treat.
"Well," she drew out the word. "I don't know, am I?"
Amusement lit up his face and his traditional smirk crossed his face. "Does this mean I get have you every night?"
Sasha burst into surprised laughter. "Down boy. I still have to sing once in a while. You sure you want to flirt with your boss?"
Bendy grinned, "Oh, I know she loves me, but let's not talk about my boss. Let's just talk you and me suga'." Sasha sputtered with laughter in a rather unladylike manner. This boy! After she got control of herself, she smiled. They talked a bit about mundane things and worked out the details of Bendy working for her. It was much better to see that light of hope and excitement in his eyes than what she witnessed for the past week.
"Well, I better get going. I need to make dinner and tell Boris the good news." Bendy smiled. Sasha couldn't help returning the gentle smile.
"You cook?" she asked.
He shrugged. "With no job, all the house chores fell on me. It's no biggie." Sasha smirked, trying to imagine him in an apron. Maybe she should push him into the kitchen and see what he could do.
"Alright, be safe and remember, five o'clock sharp for your first shift tomorrow," she said.
Bendy stood and gave her a lazy salute. "You got it boss," and headed to the door. Just as he opened the door, there was a horrible screeching sound and screams. He and practically everyone in the building rushed out to see what the ruckus was. A crowd was gathering around a stopped vehicle. It seemed the driver had gotten out, and was screaming for help. Bendy thought about getting outta there since there wasn't anything he could do, but the flow of people from the Dancing Lady pushed him forward. "Hey! Don't step on the tail!" he barked. He wasn't sure how (it might've been how small he was), but he found himself propelled to the front of the crowd. The town folk were making a large circle around the accident. When Bendy registered what was in front of him he swore his heart stopped. The driver was in tears, still screaming for help. Feathers littered the ground. He was kneeling next to the individual he had hit.
Wilson.
It seemed time turned with his stomach. He walked forward on numb legs. Bendy was next to Wilson before he realized he had moved. He dropped to his knees next to the bird. Wilson was twisted in a painful angle, his legs bent awkwardly and spine obviously broken. Feathers were scattered around. A pool of gore was growing beneath him.
"I-I tried to stop! He came outta nowhere!" the driver was blubbering.
"Wilson?" Bendy asked. None of this felt real. He felt like he was watching this from far away. Wilson's eyes barely peeked open to turn to Bendy. The owl choked. "Wilson? Can ya hear me? You're gonna be okay, help is coming."
"Bend—," the owl choked and sputtered. Blood dripped from his beak.
"Shh, it's okay. Don't force yourself," Bendy said. He couldn't believe this was happening. What was he supposed to do in a situation like this? Wilson suddenly snatched Bendy's wrist. Bendy flinched as he felt warm blood stick to his fur and glove.
"Get—ink ma-machine," he gasped and coughed. The pain in his bleary eyes was unbearable. His body was shaking. Bendy couldn't believe he was pushing this hard. This stubborn bird wasn't going to stop. Bendy was pulled forward to better hear him.
"You want me to find it?" Bendy asked more to comfort him then believing his words. Wilson gave the smallest nod. Fear and determination lit his eyes like the spark of a fire. Bendy felt Wilson force something into his hand.
"Keep...safe. The-ey—watching," he choked again. Bendy shuddered, horrified at what was happening. "Watching. Liar," he gasped. Fear and pain glazed over his eyes. "Run," he whispered. "Ru-," his huge eyes rolled to the back of his head. Wilson's grip went limp.
"Wilson? Wilson! Hey!" Bendy's voice shook. Wilson convulsed a couple of times before going still. "Hey!" Bendy looked up to the crowd. "Where the hell is that help!" he demanded. Bendy could barely hear Sasha and others shouting for people to move. Bendy's mind went into overdrive. He suddenly picked up little snippets of people muttering to each other.
"What happened?"
"That bird ran in front of the car!"
"The owl was hit."
"I saw it, he was thrown!"
"Anyone know who he is?"
"What!"
"I think he jumped."
"Does that kid know him?"
"That's what happens when ya don't pay attention driving."
"I think he was being chased."
"Who's the little guy?"
"He ran like a bat outta hell."
"What a terrible accident!"
Bendy's eyes scanned the crowd of people. He suddenly felt eyes on him. Run. The paramedics finally got through the crowd. Bendy was pushed back with the driver. He caught a last glimpse of Wilson's broken form on the street.
His words cascaded in Bendy's mind. Everything seemed to drift away from him. Sadly, I seem to be running for my life. He numbly became aware of one of the paramedics trying to talk to him. "Do you know him sonny?" Wilson had been running. I know various things that certain individuals would rather I remain quiet about. People had said he was running. "Sonny? Can he tell me his name?" I fear the worst. "Can you hear me?" Everything felt far away. There must be a way to stop this 'else why try to get rid of me? "Can you tell me your name?" After seeing the illness's effects first hand I know I must do something. "Do you have any family?" I have been concerned about leading my pursuers to him. "Can you tell me about them?" Get—ink machine. "Sir, can you answer me?" I believe if someone like you could get to this machine you may be able to concoct some kind of cure. "Can you hear me sir?" You can be stubborn but at least listen to this above all else. Please. "Bendy, are you okay!" The-ey watching. "Ma'am do you know him?" Watching. Liar. "Yes, I'm a friend of his. Sasha." I have put the two of you in danger by just being here. "Do you think you can get him to respond?" But I felt like I should warn you. "Yes!" Run. "You need to get him to understand that his friend has passed away. We couldn't save him." Run.
A sharp pain suddenly laced through Bendy's chest making him gasp. It snapped he back into reality. His hand flew to his chest to clutch at his shirt.
"Bendy! Are you okay?" Sasha asked at his side. It felt like his chest was on fire. He was about to speak when the pain resided just as suddenly. He looked around himself. The paramedics had covered Wilson with a sheet. Cops were showing up to manage the crowd and ask questions. There were too many people here. Bendy's fear spiked. Run. "Bendy answer me!" Sasha demanded putting a hand on his shoulder. Bendy clenched his fist and felt something in his hand. He looked down to see a crumpled piece of paper.
"Sorry," Bendy muttered. Bendy straightened out the page. There was writing on it. It wasn't in a language that Bendy recognized. It looked like it was torn from a book. This was too much. He looked back up at the crowd. There couldn't be people out there that did this, could there? It was just an accident. Or was it murder? He didn't know.
"What's that?" Sasha asked. Bendy shrugged, folding it up and sticking it in his pocket."Thank the stars that Boris wasn't here," Sasha said. "I don't know how he would handle something like this." Sasha sighed before she swallowed. "Did you know him?"
Bendy's eyes snapped to Sasha. They widened. A panic entered his being that Bendy had rarely felt before. Boris.
Bendy was on his feet sprinting.
"Bendy!" Sasha called after him. He dodged around people and shoved his way out of the crowd.
"Hey now, where do ya think yer headin' off to?" a pig cop asked. He blocked the demon's way.
"Outta my way!" Bendy slipped past him and bolted down the street.
"Stop!" the pig called after him. Bendy ignored him. His mind was only on getting to Boris and making sure he was okay. He blocked out the blood on the legs of his pants. He ignored the sticky feeling of it drying on his arm and glove. He forgot about the scene he fled. He only cared about his brother. He just wanted Boris to be safe.
He arrived at the shop panting, sweating, and on shaking legs. "B-BORIS!" He choked out between his desperate gasps for air.
"Bendy? What are you doin—." Boris came around a suspended car. He gasped and dropped the cloth he was wiping his hands on when he spotted Bendy. "What happened!" he demanded and rushed over to Bendy, seeing him spattered in dark blood. Relieved to see Boris safe, Bendy collapsed to his hands and knees, still gulping air greedily. "Are you hurt? Did something happen? Do I need to call an ambulance?" Boris panicked and dropped to his knees in front of Bendy. His hands half raised to grab him and frozen in fear of hurting him.
"No, I-I'm fine. Blood's not mine." Bendy was able to choke out. His throat was tight with relief and emotion. Gentle hands lifted his face to look at Boris.
"What happened? Why are you crying?" Boris asked, he used his thumbs to whip the tears away. Boris's ears were flat, his eyes huge and glassy with worry. He was crying? Bendy hadn't even noticed.
"I-It," the memories flashed through Bendy's mind and he just pulled Boris into a tight hug and shuddered. It was okay. Boris was okay. He was fine. They could get through this. Run. His little brother's arms wrapped around him.
"It's okay Bendy. I'm here. We're together. We can get through anything together," Boris said. Bendy bit back a whimper of fear, instead he nodded.
"Yeah, yeah yer right bro," Bendy whispered. In time, his shaking and tears stopped. With his heart calming down Bendy found himself overwhelmed with the thought of telling Boris what happened. He didn't even know where to start.
"What's all this? I ain't paying you to sit around!" Pete suddenly appeared. He spotted Bendy and his eyes grew wide. "What in sam-hill happened to you?"
"Sorry sir, can I have a little break please," Boris asked. He used his best puppy eyes. Bendy just looked exhausted. Pete looked between the two on the floor and sneered.
"Fine. But don't think you can go making a habit outta this," Pete said putting both his fists on his hips.
"Thank you so much sir!" Boris gleamed a bright smile at Pete. He helped Bendy back up as Pete retreated to his office. "Let's get you cleaned up brother." Bendy didn't say anything, but nodded. Boris led him to the back sink and helped Bendy wash off as much as they could. The pants were probably ruined and Bendy could still feel the ghost of blood on his arm, but he could at least think straight now. "There we go. That's better, uh Bendy. Did you run all over town like that? I bet you gave some folks a heart attack. If it was a fight you sure gave it to 'em."
"Boris," Bendy felt the weight of the world on his shoulders. "It was Wilson, Boris. He was in an accident. He's," Bendy tried to swallow the lump in his throat, "He's dead, bro. They got 'im."
Boris's eyes became saucers. He just stared at Bendy for a long moment. Bendy watched the tirade of emotions play across Boris's face. Denial, shock, sorrow, pain, fear, panic. "What. Happened?"
Bendy explained in a flat voice. He was too worn out to feel anything during the recount except dread. Boris didn't interrupt, he leaned back against the counter and only listened. Tears silently ran down his face. Bendy finished with Wilson's last words and his flight to Boris when the wolf wrapped him in another hug.
"I'm so sorry you had to go through that! And poor Mr. Wilson! D-d-do you really think it was an accident or something else? Could we have done something differently? Could we've—,"
Bendy gentle pushed Boris back to look him in the face. "Hey, you can't think like that Boris. What happened, happened. No amount of blame is going to change that. No what if's, okay? I want to believe it was an accident but to be completely honest." Bendy hesitated. "I don't know." He finally said. Boris stared at him. Bendy's eyes were downcast, he looked defeated.
"That's not true," Boris said, "you think it wasn't an accident." Bendy tensed and pulled back a little more.
"I don't know what I think. I just know that something fishy has been going on in this town as of late." Bendy said. Boris whipped at his tears.
"S, what'd we do?" Boris asked with a sniffle. Bendy furrowed his brow in concentration.
He put a hand to his chin in thought. "I-I'm not really sure." He finally admitted. "Keep going I guess." Bendy used the old motivator the two shared when things were really difficult.
"Wilson wanted us to go find some kinda ink machine." Boris said still looking completely heartbroken.
"We don't even know where to start! Not to mention that if he was being honest then there are people willing to kill to keep over it and if he wasn't then it's a wild goose chase. We can't just drop everything and chase after a thing that may or may not exist for a guy we only met once." Bendy reasoned.
"Bendy," Boris sounded as tired as Bendy felt, "Don't get mad, okay? I don't know what it all means but for some reason, he trusted us with this information. He thought we can do something."
"Boris," Bendy sighed in frustration but did his best to reign it in, "we can't go on some sorta crazy quest. Look, I know it's sad and I know it's shady, but I think we should just wait and make sure we are thinking straight before trying anything. Ya know, so we don't do anything rash."
Boris grew thoughtful before finally agreeing. Neither brother had noticed how much time had really passed. Pete wasn't too pleased at Boris for practically skipping out on the rest of his shift, but with the blood still staining Bendy's pants, the grump didn't voice his complaints...much.
The pair walked home slowly, the setting sun bringing a chill to the silent brothers, both too wrapped up in their own thoughts. With the death of Wilson, Boris' mind had gone back to the illness he had been warned about. The brothers hadn't talked about it. The wolf's large eyes glanced at the short figure next to him then back to the street ahead. Bendy hadn't shown any signs of being sick. Not even a sniffle, though he was notorious at putting off treatment and insisting that he was fine when he had the flu. He remembered one or two occasions when he had had to lock Bendy in his room and wait for him to tire out before Bendy would allow Boris to put him to bed. He could be so stubborn!
Still, Wilson had said it was deadly, yet Bendy seemed fine. It made Boris wonder if Bendy might be right, and that Wilson hadn't been completely honest with them. But then why would his dying words be a request for them to find an ink machine? It didn't make any sense to Boris. Could he really have been a little delusional like Bendy had said? Wilson hadn't seemed so. Boris didn't think so. He thought that secretly Bendy did believe Wilson, he just didn't want to because it was so scary. Boris didn't blame Bendy. He was scared too. Either it was all true or all false, Boris didn't know what he wanted to believe anymore.
Bendy, on the other hand, was trying to put the puzzle pieces together. No matter how many angles he went at it, things didn't add up. Wilson didn't seem the type to jump in front of the car. He wouldn't have known Bendy was nearby, so why would he do something like that to give him a that message? It could have been a freak accident, but that timing was a little too easy. Bendy didn't see anyone that was suspicious, but there were a lot of people there and he admitted that he hadn't been thinking straight at that time. So, had it really been murder? Was he willing to think that way?
If Wilson had been completely honest with him, and Bendy had no idea why he would be, Bendy was a practical stranger to him after all! But if he had been, then that meant all this crazy conspiracy stuff was real and he and Boris could be in the thick of it. It could also mean that Bendy really did have ink illness.
He narrowed his eyes. That pain he had felt back at the accident. What had that been? It had shaken him out of his shock, but he had never felt something like that before. Could that have been what Wilson had been talking about? Bendy shook his head a little. Nah, he was just being paranoid. He was fine, same old Bendy, no problems here...Everything was fine.
Except it really wasn't.
~~~
Notes:
Yep, what do you think?
Poor Mr. Wilson, huh? Wonder what he was up to before this. ^^
Anyone else notice how angry and violent old cartoons are? They can be scary! That might be why I love them. Hehehe.
So, I like to try and update on the weekends, Friday or Saturday, but I'm also a busy college student so I can't promise I will have a chapter for all of you lovelies every week. I will do my best though! I haven't been so excited to write something like this before. The chapters and ideas won't stop!
And thanks for all the kudos and comments! They make me happy.
Okay, TAP out, see ya next week!