Part 55 - Rescue

Pugsley

I didn't mean to...

The last thing that I wanted to was to cause her pain, but as soon as her scream pierced through my ears, I knew that I had done something that I can't take back, no matter how much I want to.

The moment that my mother had cut me free from the bounds of that chair, my body had moved faster than I thought possible, practically throwing myself to the floor in order to catch the bloodied and trembling hand that was holding on for dear life on the ledge, and when that hand had let go, my own blood had turned cold at the spilt second that it took for me to reach after her.

It was close. Way too close for comfort.

But when my hand had made contact with her skin in a tight grip to keep her from falling off the ledge, I realized what that machine had done to me, and Y/n was the one paying for it. I knew the flicker of light in my vision all too well, and it killed me that I had caused her the exact same pain that I had inflicted upon myself all those years ago, leaving my skin with a scar that I can never get rid of, and now neither can she.

The electricity that I hadn't noticed was still flowing through my hand, travelled along the point where my hand held onto hers, and it lit up her veins all the way from the palm, to the middle of her arm where the voltage caused her skin to burn from the inside out, and if the pain of her scream was any sign as to how much I had just hurt her, then I don't think she will ever forgive me for this.

Her arm began to steam in the cold night air, and her perfect skin was marked with a familiar pattern that I recognized from years of staring at my own scars in the mirror, and I cannot even begin to describe just how far my heart dropped when I saw what I did to her.

And I could hear in the shallow trembling breaths that she was now taking to try and push through the pain that I had just caused her, just how much I was never going to be able to make up for this. A permanent scar that she'll have to live with for the rest of her life, and it's all my fault.

I just didn't want her to die...I never meant for this to happen.

Even if she's able to forgive me for this, I don't think I'll ever be able to truly do the same for myself.

Y/n's hand was starting to slip out of my own, and with the amount of blood dripping from her fingertips, she wasn't going to stop any time soon, so I had to pull her up before I lost her entirely.

As I used the remainder of the strength left in my arms, I reached out my other hand to hold onto her as I pulled her body from where she hung, over a drop that I knew she wouldn't be able to survive, and her head lifted up to look at me.

There were tears rolling down either side of her face, and her lips trembled as she spoke.

"Pugsley..."

I lifted her fully up onto the scaffolding beneath me, and her form fell into me as I was finally able to take a deep exhale, pulling her into my arms and holding her for the first time in what felt like an eternity.

Her own arms were quick to wrap around my neck, and I buried my face into her hair while feeling an overwhelming sense of relief that she was okay.

"I've got you...you're okay."

Completely out of instinct, my hand raised up to the back of her head and my fingers ran through her hair in attempt to comfort her since her body was still trembling in fear. And for once I was the one being crushed in a hug that could break bones, not the other way around.

Fucking hell I'm glad that she's okay.

Well, okay might be a bit of an overstatement. She almost died, she's bleeding and in pain like never before, and it doesn't seem like she is going to let go of me anytime soon, but none of that matters as long as she's alive.

She's mine now, and I will never let her get hurt like this ever again.

Her hold on me did end up loosening after several more seconds, and she pulled back from me a little bit to look at me,

And she was smiling. Laughing, even. Only softly, but her shoulders were shaking slightly, and not from the freezing air around us.

I did not understand at all how she could bring herself to smile after everything that I've just put her through? She has got to be crazy if there's something on her mind apart from the unmatched amount of pain she's in.

Purely out of curiosity, I reach my hand up to the side of her face as she continued to grin like there's no tomorrow, and I let myself mirror her expression a tiny bit before I questioned her.

"What's got you so happy?"

Y/n lifted her own hand to wrap around mine, the same one that had been through hell and back, and I winced internally when I saw how much damage it had really taken with how the metal had cut through her skin, and then when I had shocked her soon afterwards.

Her skin was cold, even with the burned root like pattern engraved in her veins, still freshly red under the moonlight shining in through the windows around us, her temperature made it feel like she was dying right here in my arms.

I feel terrible about everything that I've done to her, and yet she still smiles.

"You said you love me."

Her tone was hushed, a whisper so soft only for me to hear, and her eyes shimmered with unshed tears simply at the thought of my love.

Well I mean, that'll definitely do it.

Normally I would hate to see her on the verge of crying like this, but knowing that they were happy tears made me feel more proud if anything. My love for her made her feel this way, and it only made those feeling grow stronger as her grin got bigger.

I admit that seeing her get this giddy over the fact that I told her that I love her, made me feel just as happy as she did. Because I do, I really really do, so much... And being able to see with my own eyes how much it affected her when she hears something that's so easy for me to say, made that feeling of butterflies come back into my stomach all over again.

The kind of feeling that people say is supposed to go away after a while of knowing someone, but I don't think any amount of time with get rid of just how amazing her smile makes me feel inside.

Plus she had said that she loved me too, so I was practically on top of the world right now in terms of how much pride was fluttering in my chest.

Although that feeling also might be because her hand was resting right over my heart, and I don't think she even realized how hard it was beating right now to have her this close to me.

My other hand came up on the other side of her face, and I hold her head in place as I leaned my forehead against hers, and if I had a mirror right now I would definitely see an idiotic grin staring back at me, but for now all I could see was her, and that is fine by me.

I was trying not to draw attention to her arm, since I figured that the adrenaline that she was probably feeling was helping her from feeling the pain of it right now, and as soon as she stares at it, she'll realize that it hurts like an absolute bitch, and I don't want her to stop smiling just yet.

"I did say that. Because it's true."

Her smile softened, and she let her head rest onto my shoulder, to which I held her a little tighter, and I cradled her still slightly shivering form in my arms in hopes of bringing her comfort.

My girl...I just want to hold her forever, and never have to let go.

But I may have to after all, because the warm moment was cut short by the angered roars of the two Hydes fighting on the level below us, and the sound made both me and Y/n flinch, before my eyes dropped down to the huge monstrous figures that I could make out through the grate under my feet.

Yeah okay, can't relax too soon, we should probably make a move to get out of here.

Turns out I wasn't the only one who thought so, because I heard the very hurried tone of my mother calling for the both of us behind where we sat, and I turned to see her hands gesture for us to get up.

"Come you two, we have to go!"

Isaac was now nowhere to be seen after he got thrown to what was most likely a very quick and painless death by Tyler, so there was no need to worry about him anymore. And even if he was a threat right now, I wouldn't let him lay a finger on Y/n again, he's already caused her enough harm for one lifetime.

And I was very pleasantly surprised, and a little bit shocked, when my sister was the one to save me from the machine. I really thought that she was gone for good... But it looks like she'll be back to keep torturing me after all.

Wednesday was following close after mom, and I was quick to wrap my hand around Y/n's non injured one, and I lifted her up with me as I rose from the floor underneath us. Her muscles were still weak from being held up with Isaac's power for way longer than the human body can handle, so I let her lean on me as we started to move along the metal railing.

There were sparks flying across almost every inch of the tower from the dozens of panels and devices scattered across the room, when either of the Hydes took a hit hard enough to throw them into the cases flowing with the very same electricity that had been stolen from my body, and I pull Y/n closer so none of it hit her on our race out of this death room.

And if the destructive nature of the two monsters wasn't dangerous enough as is, I could hear the once faint buzz of the machine above us, get louder and brighter with each second that ticked by. 

I knew just by looking at the rapid breaking of practically every piece of equipment in this place, that it wouldn't be long until the system overloaded with power, and we all would be toast.

And I can't let that happen. At least not while she's still in here.

Even if she gets out of here and I don't, then I can die knowing that saved the only girl that I have ever truly loved, and that is plenty enough for me to go out happy.

I mean it's either that or we die Romeo and Juliet style. Not exactly the same because that was a double suicide, but if I can't save her from this, then I'll at least follow her soul into the afterlife, so that I may be with her for as long as I want.

But that is purely the worst case scenario. Preferably I would like both of us to escape alive and mostly unharmed, but with the way that machine is starting to smoke with just how much energy it's taking on, then I can't say for certainty that survival with end up being the case.

I can't die yet though, I mean I still have to take her on that date...

It didn't take long for the four of us to stagger down the spiral staircase onto the level below, only moments before the sound of shattering glass echoed in our ears, and both Y/n and I turned to see the view of both Hydes finally taking their little spat outside, disappearing out into the night, far enough that I couldn't even make out their figures through the remaining jagged glass.

Well, at least that was one threat out of the way for now. I didn't know whether they would come tumbling back in here, but I hope that we're long gone by the time that does happen.

And by the looks of it, there was one more person whose attention was grabbed by the broken window, and I pulled Y/n behind me when I saw the familiar figure standing by the now open side of the tower that was letting the air chill even more than it already was.

Turns out he's not dead after all, I got my hopes up too soon.

Isaac's back was turned towards us, and it wasn't the smartest choice he's ever made, because it gave a certain sister of mine the perfect opportunity to put the axe in her hands to good use. 

And I was not going to stop her from doing so, even though I kind of wanted to kill the bastard myself for hurting Y/n. 

Hell I'd kill him just for looking at her the wrong way, which he has definitely done multiple times throughout tonight, and I'm sure I could muster up enough power from what the machine left behind to do it.

But right now I was more focused on keeping her safe from any more harm, and that meant I had to stay with her until we got a decent distance away from the tower.

With how long I had been staring at the psycho by the window, I didn't see Wednesday's hand grab onto the sleeve of my sweater before she yanked me along with her, moving away from Y/n and leaving her with my mother only for a moment before they too started to follow after us in a hurry, and I looked back to see mom supporting Y/n's weak body as they rushed behind us.

Part of me felt wrong for being pulled away from her, but I knew she was in safe hands, even if they weren't mine.

As we stalked around the corner of all of the panels, that still spat sparks out at us while the machine got more overpowered, Isaac had moved over to one of them, desperately trying to save his plan. Though it was pointless, the damage that the Hydes and my sister had dealt to the equipment surrounding us was beyond repair, so he was wasting his time.

But he tried nonetheless, pressing any and every button he could find, getting hit by sparks and shocking himself by laying his hands on the device over and over again, and it was honestly a little funny to see him have no idea what to do.

When Y/n and my mom finally came to a stop next to me, Wednesday took her chance to finally kill that asshole, and didn't even flinch at the flickers of electricity that rained down upon her as she left the three of us to move around further to where Isaac was. Her movements were quiet and precise, but filled with a determination that showed me just how serious she was in this moment. 

And the axe that was slowly rising in her hands with each step she took away from us was definitely adding to the whole 'I'm about to kill you' look she had going on.

Now that Y/n was within my reach again, I held onto her hand that wasn't in pain, and she moved herself closer to me as we watched my sister begin to execute her plan to get rid of Isaac, and we were unable to pull our focus away, drawn in by the pure anticipation of what she would do.

I could still hear the very faint growls of Tyler and his mom in the distance as they fought one another atop of another building, but they soon faded into the background of my mind when my eyes momentarily dropped down the floor next to us, and I saw a familiar figure and face climb up from the exit that led down to the stairs through the metal grates under our feet.

Wednesday had now disappeared from our sight around the corner, but her voice could still be heard clearly over the buzzing and loud static sounds of the machine on the brink of breaking.

"Isaac! You have something that belongs to me."

I knew she was referring to Thing, and her goal was to retrieve him from the man whom he had been stolen by. And as much as I wanted to see that happen, dad was gesturing at us with his hands, calling out from where he stood on the ladder just under the floor.

"Come on! Come on!"

We weren't going to make it.

The machine was at its final breaking point, and it would only take seconds longer until there was too much power for it to handle. As badly as I wanted at least one of us to get down before it went off, there just wasn't enough time.

The sparks got bigger, and the lights around us were flashing bright enough to blind me before I was able to process what was happening.

And in one last attempt to keep her safe, I tugged Y/n by her hand until she was held tight in my arms, and I pulled her head to tuck it underneath mine so there was at least a small chance that she would come out the other side of this alive, even at the cost of my own life.

In those last few moments before the world around me went dark, I could have sworn that I felt her grip onto the fabric of my clothes in her hand, balling her fist up just the same as she done back at camp all those days ago. And it was that moment back then when my feelings for her truly started, to see her and think nothing but how beautiful she was...

And now she was holding onto me just as much as I was her, finding a safe feeling in my arms, and I knew that was the case,

Because she was smiling.

If this was really the end for me...

I'm just glad that I got to hold her one more time.