Part 52 - Buried

Pugsley.

I know that there's certainly worse things that I could be forced into doing right now,

But I can't say that being dragged by a collar through the forest in the middle of the night was exactly at the top of my list.

For most of the trip here, I couldn't tell where we were. Tyler had wandered off in a different direction at some point, leaving Isaac to pull me along with him as he maneuvered himself around the trees and bushes that dotted the landscape we were trenching through.

And it was only towards the end of our journey, that I recognized my surroundings, and I felt a wave of relief knowing that we weren't far from Nevermore after all. I had been stuck in that cabin all day, until suddenly I was untied from that chair, and told that we had somewhere to be.

I mean what was I supposed to say? 

'No thanks I'd rather stay here and rot for eternity while only thinking about how much I miss my best friend.'

I really hope she's okay...

I had dropped my phone when Isaac kidnapped me, and even if I had managed to take it with me, they probably would have hidden it from me so I had no way of contacting anyone. God forbid I tell the cops about they're little plan that is probably going to kill me.

But I just wanted to talk to her.

I mean, if this night really was going to end with me dead, then, I at least wanted to say goodbye.

But nope, no phone, no idea what's happening, and as much as I would normally be okay with it, I'm getting a little tired of being chained up.

Soon enough though, we reached the open ground next to the skull tree, and came to a stop in the cold night air, and Isaac began to look around, as if he was waiting for somebody to show up.

You know, as much as I thought he was cool when I first dug him up, I'm not really sure that I hold the same sentiment anymore. He was kind of a dick now.

And as crazy as I thought he looked right now, waiting for somebody who wasn't here, I was soon surprised by the figure that walked out from the shadows behind a nearby tree, and I felt that same sense of relief sink into my bones when I saw that there was still hope for me to make it out of here alive.

I tried to move towards my sister, only momentarily forgetting about the restraint around my neck, but Isaac was kind enough to remind me of that fact as he yanked on it roughly, causing my footing to be pulled back away from Wednesday.

"Tyler warned me you were formidable. And now, I've witnessed the havoc you can wreak."

I wasn't really sure what he was referring to, but Wednesday responded with her own dig at him in an attempt to save me from this guy.

"Give me my brother, crawl back into your hole and stay dead this time."

Yes please, I second that.

"I know what you did to my father."

Wait, what?

What about dad? I feel extremely out of the loop right now, and I would ask for context, but I'm kind of unable to do so at the moment with this gag in my mouth.

Isaac moved towards my sister and pulled me with him in a flash of anger.

"And yet I'm the one who died. Thanks to him, and your dear mother."

Yeah and I'm kind of wishing I had kept it that way.

I had this nagging feeling in the back of my mind, one that I knew from countless times before, when Wednesday sneaks up behind me and locks me in a choke hold. Only this time it wasn't coming from her, but I could sense something, or someone hiding in that tree that she had emerged from.

As subtly as I could, I turned my head slightly to look over where I could feel another presence lurking, and it took me a second to spot who it was, but my god was I glad to see the familiar hand hidden behind the branches.

Thing was sat in the tree, and was currently holding onto the base of a weapon that right now, was pointed right over here, arrow pulled back and ready to fire at any second.

And if I was doing the math correctly in my head, if I didn't move, that arrow would be going right through my skull. I really hope that wasn't the plan that he had, but I figured with how much Isaac was moving me around, it would be kind of hard to get a clear shot.

So, with a very small movement, I took a step back from where I stood, with the goal of giving Thing better access to Isaac. It was a big enough change in position that he should be able to get a clean shot, but not so big that Isaac felt the need to yank me back again.

And I stayed still to the best of my abilities as he continued on.

"Why don't you..let your brother, pay for their mistakes, and we'll call it even."

Hey I have an idea, how about we don't do that, and let me live.

Wednesday didn't once look at me, as much as I was looking at her for help, and she kept her gaze locked on Isaac.

"You don't have the machine. Both Willow hill and Iago tower have been destroyed, it would take months to rebuild. By the time you did it would be too late to save your sis-"

Her words were cut off by the sudden sharp whistle that shot from the trees, and the arrow that I was waiting for whipped right past my face, and was headed directly for the head of the guy standing next to me.

Unfortunately for us though, his reflexes were just that tiny bit too quick, and I watched as his hand sprang up to protect his face from it's impending doom, making the arrow nestle itself into that instead.

But he didn't flinch. Not even a slight groan of pain that you would have expected.

He just laughed, with that evil grin he had been using all day.

"I applaud the effort. Keep me talking while you're faithful right hand takes his shot."

There was a little bite to the last word, and normally I would have found humor in his pun, whether it was intended or not, but right now I felt more fear in the fact that Isaac wasn't dead yet.

I saw his head gesture over to the tree where Thing still sat, and he smirked while calling out.

"Be sure to grab the girl too!"

Wait, what girl?

It was just Wednesday and Thing, who-

Oh god.

Oh god please no.

Don't let it be who I think it is.

Anyone but her. Please let it be anyone but her.

"Let go of me!"

Fuck.

I heard the small snap of something being shut, and only moments later, I saw Tyler walk out from behind the tree, holding a clear plastic box with Thing trapped inside in one of his hands,

And he held Y/n by the back her neck in the other.

She was struggling against his grip, and her hands tried to pry his away from her skin, but it was no use. Not when Tyler had double the strength that she did, it's just a waste of energy to try and escape from him now.

But this is when I realize that the only thing I wanted right now was to be able to use my power, to move without the bounds of these shackles. Because as soon as I get free of these chains, Tyler is a dead man for putting his hands on her.

What was she doing here in the first place though? I mean don't get me wrong, I'm the happiest I've ever been in my life seeing her face right now, but I didn't want her to be put in this sort of danger.

When her head lifted up to look over here as she was being pushed around, it didn't even take a second before her eyes met mine. And while I could see a hint of relief hidden in the back of her gaze, the main emotion I could tell she was feeling, even from a mile away, was fear. A shit ton of it, and rightfully so.

But she still managed to smile when she saw me, and if my facial muscles weren't sort of limited right now, I would have mirrored it right back at her. But for now all I could give her was a huff, while the rest of my happiness was shown through my eyes.

Tyler shoved her towards where we stood, holding her just out of my reach like some sick bastard dangling food in front of a starving man. And it was pissing me off. 

Oh if only I could speak right now.

But I wasn't the one to do so. Instead, the small bout of silence was broken by Isaac yet again, who was looking down at Thing in the box, caged like an animal.

"Except he's never been yours..."

He took an overly dramatic pause, like he had been doing with most of his sentences.

"He's mine."

"Turns out your parents didn't kill all of me that night..."

His free hand came up to grab onto the black glove that still had the cross bow arrow sticking out from either side of his right hand, and he slowly started to lift it from his wrist.

Dirt fell out from where his hand was supposed to be, and instead of there being an appendage like I had expected, there was just...

Nothing.

From the wrist up, where normally a hand would go, it was just a stump of flesh. 

But if he didn't have a right hand, and Thing is...

Oh you have got to be kidding me.

Unfortunately, something IS adding up.

I saw Y/n's face scrunch up in disgust at the sight of Isaac's open wound of an arm, and she muttered a very quiet 'eugh'. Which would have made me laugh if I hadn't just put together the dots that Thing, who has been in our family for as long as I can remember, is actually a part of the very same guy who is threatening to kill me.

Wednesday let out an equally small sound, that I'm pretty sure was the word 'cute', as Isaac turned and crouched down in front of the box to get a closer look at Thing.

"Imagine my surprise, when I saw my right hand wandering the halls of Willow hill without me. And a Davinci...is nothing without his right hand."

At that statement, a small snort came from Y/n, and she turned her head away while covering her mouth with her hand so she didn't burst out laughing, but I could still see the amusement even just by looking at her eyes.

It took me a moment to think about why she was giggling like an idiot right now, but as soon as the joke clicked in my brain, I couldn't hold in the tiny laugh that escaped my own throat, though it only lasted a second or two before Isaac sent us both a very pointed glare, and we both shut up pretty quickly.

But I let my eyes glance sideways at her again, only to see that she was already looking at me too, and she smiled in me in that sweet way before she tipped her head slightly, over to where Isaac was and she rolled her eyes sarcastically.

I was happy to see that she was still able to be her usual funny self, even in a situation like this one. Because it gave me that small sense of hope again, and it made me think that maybe things were going to be okay, as long as she was smiling.

Isaac looked back over his shoulder at my sister, who still stood in wait for him to finish his speech.

"Your mother...cut it off!"

He said the word 'mother' like it was poison in his mouth.

"Causing my machine to go out of control, and explode. The power surge must've somehow...animated my hand."

"Well in your case the part is definitely greater than the whole."

Wednesday spoke for the first time, taking a dig at Isaac which made him glare at her in the same way he had done with us, before the lid of the box was opened by Tyler, and Isaac stood up straight again to grab Thing before he had time to escape.

My sister took the opportunity of him being distracted my Thing to charge at him, but Tyler's hand that was once holding Y/n in place, so that she didn't go anywhere, fell away from her and instead landed itself around Wednesday's neck, causing her hands to come up and claw at it as she was stopped in her tracks.

And instead of Y/n taking the chance to run away, now that nobody was holding onto her, or maybe knocking Tyler out cold like I kind of thought she would,

She came closer to me.

She could have gotten out of here, called for help, ran away from the danger like I so desperately wanted her to, but no.

Her body moved to stand behind mine, and I could feel the subtle grip of her hand on the fabric of my sweater as she hid her face into my shoulder, and for the first time in what felt like years, her warmth made me forget about the freezing air of the night.

She was shivering. I couldn't tell if it was out of fear or if she was cold, but the fact that she was only wearing a t-shirt right now, that by the way might have been the funniest thing she's ever worn, told me that her temperature was most likely the cause of her shakiness.

But I let her hide behind me, and I even stepped a little further in front of her so she didn't have to see the sight that was Isaac attaching Thing back onto his wrist, via a needle and thread that he was controlling with his telekinesis.

Because I knew that it was the sort of thing she would gag at.

I thought that maybe she would just stand there until it was over, but I felt a pair of hands start to fiddle with the tied ball of cloth around the back of my head, like she was trying to get it undone, but didn't quite get it all the way out of it's knotted state, but just enough that I could start to wiggle it loose with my teeth.

I didn't want to make a noise about it in case she got caught, but I heard a small whisper in my ear.

"Trust me.."

Oh sweet baby jesus.

Okay, I gotta focus, I can't let her distract me right now.

The needle poked through his skin multiple times with every stitch it was making, and eventually it got around the entirety of his wrist, and the next thing I know, Thing wasn't Thing anymore, he was just...a part of someone else.

Isaac let out a triumphant sigh as he admired his new hand.

"Now I am complete..."

And at that very same moment, Wednesday pushed herself away from Tyler to try and go for Isaac again, only now he wasn't holding back from using his power, and my sisters body tensed up as she was lifted into the air, right above the giant hole in ground at the base of the skull tree.

The same spot that I had risen his zombie form from in the first place.

I did not have a good feeling about this.

I tried to call out for her, and I felt myself be pulled away from Y/n's warmth, leaving her behind while I got dragged along closer to the grave like ditch, but every one of my pleading yells were left muffled and useless by the restraint still stuck in my mouth.

"The Addams family...ends tonight."

Wednesday's body was contorted like she was some sort of puppet, and her spine bent back further than it really should have as she was starting to be lowered towards the ground, and I didn't know what else to do except shout for my sister.

Please not my sister.

I don't want her to die.

She looked at me one more time, and her eyes for once held a fear in them that I didn't see very often, before her body was dropped down with a thud.

Watching Wednesday be killed like this was a different kind of pain than anything she had ever inflicted upon me before. I would take her torture over having to see her die any day. But what was I supposed to do... My hands were tied up, and even if I could use my power right now, I don't trust myself to not accidentally hit Y/n in the process.

And the last thing I wanted was for her to get hurt too.

All I could do was stare.

I stood here like the pathetic wimp Wednesday has always told me I am, and I just stared as the ground started to swallow her, the roots of the tree moving to cage her body in against the earth, while the dirt surrounding the area began to fall into the hole, covering her from head to toe until it was filled in completely,

And she was gone.

I never wanted it to end this way.

I never wanted any of this to happen.

I should have just left that dumb fucking tree alone.

The air went silent, so silent that I could hear Tyler's breaths from next to me as they created faint puffs of steam in the cold of the night.

And when I looked over to him, expecting to see Y/n not that far away, I felt my stomach drop when she wasn't there. Where the fuck did she go.

I turned my head over my shoulder to glance around at the area behind me, and I felt relaxed only for a second when I saw her, because she had now taken her chance to run away. I could tell she was trying to be quiet as she slowly walked along the ground in the direction of the tree that led out of here, but it wasn't enough.

She fell to the ground suddenly, and her figure started to drag back across the leaves and the dirt, making her struggle under the influence of Isaac's power that was quick enough to catch her before she was able to get away.

And that twisted son of a bitch was laughing at her as he bent her spine back up to stand in front of him, almost breaking it in the process.

"Sorry sweetheart, I can't have you blabbing to anyone about this."

He placed one hand on her shoulder, while the other made a swift movement towards her abdomen, hitting her with enough force to make her lose all of the air in her body, which caused her to double over as she gasped for oxygen.

I'll kill him.

I swear to the gods that I will kill both of these bastards for touching her.

Y/n's arms came up to grab at her stomach, and her breathing got erratic while clawing at the dirt beneath her, trying so desperately to regain the air in her lungs that she had so suddenly lost, but it wasn't enough.

Her eyelids started to flutter shut in a dizzy haze, and her muscles fell along with her body, almost fully collapsing, only to be caught by Isaac's power again, lifting her up and placing her over Tyler's shoulder where she laid unconscious and limp as he got a hold on her that made my skin crawl just by looking at it.

The anger that I felt at that cadet back at camp was nothing compared to right now. And that was even when I showed him mercy for shooting Y/n.

I have no such moral obligation when it comes to these two.

But I wasn't focused on them.

I moved myself to stand where the top half of Y/n's body was hanging down over Tyler's shoulder, and I lifted my hands up to her face, and for the first time, she didn't look peaceful while being asleep, she still looked afraid.

And even though my hands weren't exactly as free as they usually are, that didn't mean that I couldn't still try to comfort her in her unconscious state of distress.

I wanted to tell her that I'm sorry. For everything that's happened. For dumping my feelings on her, leaving her behind, and now this...I just felt so guilty for all the things I've done to her. The last thing that I desired was for her to get dragged into this mess, but here we are, and it's my fault.

Unfortunately for me, my need to be close to the only girl I had left right now, got in the way with Isaac's plan, and I soon felt his hand, or really I guess it was Thing, grab around my neck as he pulled me away from her.

"We have an appointment at Iago tower and your pathetic little life will finally have a purpose."

I protesting against him with muffled grunts as he dragged me from the asshole who was holding onto my girl.

Please don't take her away from me.

She's all I've got.

««« ♪ ♪ »»»

At this point I was kind of glad that Y/n wasn't awake to see the place that we had just walked into.

She hated graveyards. I still to this day don't know if it was the one near Nevermore specifically that creeps her out, or if it's just graveyards in general, but if she wasn't unconscious at the moment, then she probably wouldn't be having a very enjoyable time.

Not that being passed out and carried by a guy that could turn into a homicidal maniac of a Hyde at any second was exactly the greatest place to be in for her, but at least she doesn't have to witness our surroundings.

I hadn't taken my eyes off of her the whole way here, because I was scared that something would happen to her if I did. Maybe she would fall and I'd need to catch her because Tyler wouldn't give a shit if she gets hurt, or maybe she'll choke on her own spit while being upside down like this.

Anything could happen, and I was watching her like a hawk just in case.

I also wanted to know when she woke up, because hopefully by the time she does, I'll have ridded myself of this stupid gag, and I can tell her that it's going to be okay, and I can worry about everything and everyone else later.

I continued to be pulled along by Tyler, keeping my distance from him and Y/n just far enough away that I didn't accidentally step on the back of his heels and make him mad, and we made our way through the small plot of graves next to what I assume was Iago tower.

And we weren't the only ones here either.

As we got closer to the entrance at the base of the tower, a figure popped out from behind one of the larger stone statues up ahead.

It was the same woman from earlier today who had been held up in the cabin with me, and I had learned this after noon that her name was in fact Françoise, so I could stop referring to her as lady now, and on a more disturbing note,

She wasn't Isaac's girlfriend, or wife, or close friend, or anything like that.

She was his sister.

And she also just so happens to be Tyler's mother. Quite the family affair they've got going on.

Which only made this situation that much weirder.

I mean I understand affection between siblings in other families to a certain level, but what these two do is just down right creepy for a brother and sister.

That was also another reason why I was glad that Y/n wasn't awake, because if she knew about that little piece of information, I guarantee that she would have already said a few things by now that would get her into even more danger than she was already in.

I will admit that one of her judgey snarls would be perfect right about now though.

Françoise stood out in the open after emerging from the shadows, and she waited as Isaac walked over to her, holding his hands behind his back as she stared at him expectingly, to which he revealed the fact that he now had two hands instead of one, and she screamed happily at the sight before her.

And then of course she just had to go and run up to him, jumping into his arms all romantic like, and I think I may have almost thrown up in my mouth as I looked at it.

I don't know if it's just because I'm used to being shown a different kind of love from....well, at least I was shown a different kind of love from my sister, but something about these two just didn't sit right with me.

Françoise held Isaac's hand in her own, smiling down at it as if it were a baby, and she spoke to it like it was one too, muttering a small 'hello'. 

If Thing still had control over himself, he would have flipped her off by now.

The two of them turned towards the opening off to the side that led into the tower, and Françoise smiled at me as she gestured her hand for us to follow her, whispering,

"Come on."

Before she went through the doorway herself.

She may have been a gentle person, but her son did not seem to carry that same nature, and he yanked the chain without a care in the world if it hurt me or not. But that wasn't the problem I had with him.

In his uncaring state, he also was not paying attention to what happened with Y/n, causing her head to hit the side of the entryway when he walked through.

And so naturally I kicked the back of his leg, making his head snap around to glare at me, to which I responded with my own unimpressed gaze.

"Be careful with her."

My words were still very much muffled, but I knew he got them loud and clear, and he rolled his eyes at me before following after Françoise and Isaac into the tower, pulling me along with him.

There was a long hallway ahead of us, darkened by the lack of any windows built into the concrete walls, and it was lit only by the very occasional light that barely had any spark left in it, making it almost impossible to see where I was stepping.

But as we got to the end of said hall, I could see the moonlight filtering through from the room above us, and down onto the stone floor where we stood, and the only things on this level of the tower, were the first flight of stairs that led up to the top, and an old looking elevator that went to the same place.

Obviously everyone decided on not physically exhausting themselves, and I was pulled into the elevator as it began to rattle, making a slow and not so steady movements towards the top floor. I could feel the tremor of the metal box in my bones, and apparently I wasn't the only one, because I saw a slight movement from the girl that I hadn't kept my eyes off of even now.

As soon as we reached the top, I watch as Y/n's expression shifted as she started to wake back up, and her head lifted up from where it was hanging, seeming to be a little disoriented while she tried to figure out what was going on, and her vocal chords graced me with my favorite sound.

"Pugsley...?"