Chapter 43

Damien quickly sat up in bed, his breaths coming in desperate gasps. Stripes of neon pink, green, purple, yellow, and blue swirled around his pupils momentarily before dissolving to their natural hue. His hair was disheveled and messy. As his breathing slowed back down he began to sigh while looking at the ceiling above him.

'How long ago was that?'

'Will she ever remember what we had before?'

Damien decided he'd had enough time in isolation and around y/n and decided to head out of his room in search of the others. No one answered their doors when he knocked, and he couldn't find anyone in the common area. His last resort was the small cafe hidden and tucked away. As he approached the café he noticed Pomni first with knives stuck in various places along her body.

"What the f*^% happened here?"

Pomni sighed, "Caine has been ...a little on edge. You and y/n were in your rooms sleeping. At least I assume that's why you guys missed the — well we didn't even get an adventure really. We tried standing up to him, but he just wouldn't listen to us. Now he's taking turns torturing us. I'm surprised he hasn't—"

A loud swirling noise effect took over Damien's senses as he was teleported away to a dark room. His head quickly swung back and forth in search of answers he wouldn't get.

"Damien."

Caine's voice held such malice, that it was like venom on the tip of a blade. Pronouncing every syllable as if it were filth he'd found on the bottom of his shoe.

Shivers ran down Damien's spine.

"I— I didn't mess with her. I didn't do anything. She's all yours."

"I know."

Damien breathes a sigh of relief.

"It's not her I'm worried about."

Any semblance of relief he had before disappeared. Foot steps echoed out from behind Damien. Slowly he pieced together his surroundings. A singular light bulb above him lit his body. While shadows danced all around him. A wooden chair creaked below Damien's form as he shifted uncomfortably. His hands bound together with awfully rough and tight rope.

Damien whimpered, "Please don't hurt her."

Caine simply growled in response, "Oh little maggot it's not her I'm going to hurt. Not at all. It's you."

⏳

Meanwhile back in the café

🍵

Pomni had placed a bucket over Kinger's head. Instructing the others to wait just a little while. Once he'd come to they devised a plan to escape. Kinger was creating a connection to the real world, so their digital forms could return back to their bodies. Each line of code he wrote while the others bought time being tortured felt like it took hours if not days. Time kept dragging on and on. Circus members just kept getting tortured over and over.

That was until he'd finally made a breakthrough.

Suddenly they all disappeared one by one.

Even you.

The light of day was piercing to your still closed eyes. Alarms rang out in the distance as your body stirred in the liquid of a test tube. Doctors and nurses rushed past glass chambers. Screams and shouts echoed in your head. The noises overlapping and doubling over themselves as if there was another feedback of the same audio. A loud piercing screech sounded off in your head as your ears rang out. Suddenly the liquid around you was disappearing and fast.

'Huh? When did I— get here? Where— am I?'

"Get her on an IV stat! She's losing oxygen and blood pressure now. She's not connected. Get her under immediately she can't be awake for this she'll die!!"

Suddenly everything went black once more.

When you woke once more you felt—Heavy.

Like a new weight you hadn't felt bog you down in decades had just returned in a matter of seconds. Your h/c locks tossed against the rough material of your hospital bed. The physics of real life were catching up to you after you'd spent so long in the digital realm. Gravity wasn't something you'd experienced in quite some time.

C&A took care of each one of you as you recovered. They waived all hospital fees and paid for your medical bills and provided all of you with enough money to get by comfortably for the rest of your lives. You sat in the plastic waiting room chair staring at the paper check in your hands as if it would grow a pair of eyes and start talking to you at any second.

Truthfully you felt like it would. None of this felt real. Though it was the realest thing you'd come close to in— well you weren't sure. Days? Weeks? Months? Years? 

Come to find out you'd been gone for six months.

It took you a year or so to learn how to walk properly again. Eventually you and the others had regained somewhat of a normal life. Days turned into weeks. Months turned into years. And before you knew it, it had been 5 years since you'd left the circus.

Though despite all that time the thought of Caine lingered. Stagnant and still. His over the top nature. His puns. His adventures. The sound of his borderline manic laughter.

All that remained of that place was what you'd typed up in a Google docs. You'd created an email just for your— well you weren't sure what to call it other than a diary. The last few days in the circus was a blur. So you'd wrote down all you could muster from your ever fading memories. The Google docs you'd created were numbered. Not by date. Just plain old numerical order.

A therapist C&A had hired for you all recommended it. Though you weren't entirely sure it was to help you so much as it was to keep an eye on you. The company had made it painfully clear that if this information was leaked that all your privileges would be revoked.

You scoffed at it.

The money.

The free therapy.

The job C&A had given you after.

The insurance.

Was it really worth it without him?

You felt pathetic writing out detailed accounts of your wholesome and not so wholesome activities in the circus. Still you wrote it all down anyways. Besides who would ever see this, right? I mean sure C&A could read it if they wanted. You didn't really care all that much. Your heart and mind were so far gone at this point. So tired and restless.

You stared at the blue light of your screen. Hallucinations filling your senses.

'Mine'

The words rung out in your head.

The soft feel of his suit.

The warmth of his skin.

The way his body melted into yours.

You missed it dearly.

And the real world could never compare.

✨🎩✨1138 words