Long Nights - part 4
Neil x Reader
Chapter 4: World gone mad
(see chapter 3, 2, 1)
summary: inverted heist calls for inverted training
warnings: 18+, explicit language, gun mention, crackheadery, and possible whiplash
author’s note: Hi, yes, I know, took me ages, but hey, I hope it's worth the wait! 5.2k words, how even--
Anyway.
The song for this part is Bastille - World Gone Mad
Enjoy! All feedback is greatly appreciated, let me know what you think?
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Tag list: @cxnnienikas @neutron-stars-collision @ergunbilge @invertedneil @wanderedaway @mellifluous-cosmos @wonderwoman292 @buckysgoldenheart @townmoondaltwistle @theriverbeneaththeriver (please let me know if you want to be added/removed from the list)
-----
The fact that you knew how to handle guns wasn’t equal to you being very good at it. Or enjoying it, for that matter. Sure, you could more or less hit the target, especially with some useful tips you got from Neil regarding a trigger finger discipline, but still - you’d rather avoid reaching for a pistol altogether.
You put back the weapon you’d been training with and Neil handed you another one. You couldn’t really tell the difference, at least until you checked the magazine. The lack of ammo meant you finally got to the fun bit that Neil teased in The Protagonist’s office and you smiled, looking back at your companion. He grinned at you, the gaze sparkling behind yellow-tinted safety glasses as he pointed at the wall next to the targets you used for practice.
“Just aim and pull the trigger. ” Seeing your nod, he added, “Okay now, be careful, it might feel--”
The bullet whizzed back into the chamber of your pistol and your eyes widened.
“Oh fuck me sideways,” you hissed under your breath.
“-- a bit weird, yeah.” Neil chuckled at the shock painted on your face. “All right?”
“Yeah, just processing.” Trying to blink the consternation away, you asked, “How do you make these? You put it into that...turnstile and voilà?”
Neil shook his head. “No, it’s not that simple. We receive a stash every now and then, we don’t know how to manufacture those,” - he smirked - “at least not yet. I do have a few theories I’m working on in my spare time, but...” hesitating for a moment, he raked a hand through his hair and sent you a nervous smile. “Wouldn’t want to bore you to death, though.”
“Dude, come on, with that smooth and soothing voice of yours? You could read the yellow pages to me and I’d still listen like that--” you mocked a dreamy heart-eyes expression, watching with satisfaction as that remark pushed Neil further into a flustered state.
Apparently, when explicit teasing got a little-to-no reaction now, you could still make him blush with a more wholesome compliment. As you started laughing, he rolled his eyes and scrunched the nose slightly, joining you with a stifled giggle. Grinning, you continued a little softer, “I’m not gonna lie - I probably wouldn’t understand a majority of the physics jargon, but I’d still want to hear all about that.”
A thankful look you got in return made your chest clench painfully, and your mind wandered off to those breaks near the river, and Neil’s animated rants. You knew one thing. Anyone who had ever ridiculed him for his passion for even the nerdiest things could rot in hell, and you’d gladly see to it personally.
A disgruntled huff coming from behind made you both snap out of the moment.
“Oi, lovebirds, I’d appreciate it if you could leave all that to after I prep you for the mission.”
Bottling down your annoyance, you batted your lashes at the commander, who’d just come back with keys to one of the conference rooms near the range.
“Oh, I’m terribly sorry, you have my full attention now.”
Ives nodded, waving at you to follow him. Meanwhile, Neil’s small smirk let you know that he noticed that faint undertone in your voice, but he said nothing, patiently waiting for the events to unfold.
Another person was waiting for you at the door. You recognized the woman who’d driven you to that abandoned factory on your very first day - you’d never gotten properly introduced, but you remember asking Neil about her once and he called her Wheeler. To be honest, with these guys you never knew if they used their real names, nicknames, codenames, or whatever. Not that you cared, quite used to it in your own line of business. You exchanged a court nod with her and went into the room.
As you sat down at the big table and Ives booted a projector, your eyes bore into the man. Definitely one of those types who enjoyed his beret and the paramilitary structure of the field branch of the organization. Probably a bit too much. You bit back a smug grin.
Those were particularly fun to mess with.
Ives caught your piercing stare and stopped the brief of the location.
“What?”
“Nothing,” you said, propping the chin on your palm, a polite smile on your lips. “It’s fascinating.”
He furrowed his brows, perplexed.
“What is?”
“How your commanding presence literally adds you inches,” you said, using all your willpower to keep a serious face. “I wonder if it works only for your height or--”
Neil’d futile attempts at masking an amused snort with a cough didn’t go unnoticed. Ives shot him daggers and then glared at you. “For fuck’s sake, would you focus?”
Your eyes flared up at the threat in his voice and you pouted, taunting him further.
“Or what, you’re gonna spank me?”
“No, I’m gonna shoot you,” he deadpanned.
You raised a brow.
“Kinky.”
Ives groaned, turning to Neil.
“How you survived this long without choking her is beyond me.”
Neil puffed his cheeks and gestured vaguely, but as he opened the mouth to answer, you chimed in, with a shit-eating grin plastered on your face.
“Oh, he very much did so, all right.”
The awkward silence that followed was pretty satisfying.
“Can we keep her?” asked Wheeler casually, leaned back in her chair, fiddling with a bullpen.
Ives gaped at you all, then slumped his shoulders in defeat, sliding a hand through his features. He was so done you could almost hear The Sound of Silence playing in the distance, but apparently, his sense of duty was stronger than the urge to leave you without finishing the briefing, so he just drew a deep breath and continued.
“...anyway…”
You caught Neil’s glance and you couldn’t help but poke the tip of your tongue out at him. The mischievous sparks in his eyes reflected your own as he shook his head, tugging the bottom lip between the teeth. Wheeler’s curious gaze flitted between you two, and as you didn’t feel like drawing too much unnecessary attention to yourself anymore, you focused on the plan that Ives was persistently going through.
Time frames. Blueprints. Entry points. Exit routes (you spotted at least one additional way he left out, but you weren’t sure if you could drag Neil through there, judging by that alley performance, so you didn’t bother to mention it out loud). Everything seemed clear enough. You still had no idea how being inverted would affect the lockpicking, but when you voiced that, Ives promised you some time to figure it out before the mission.
The mission. Huh. It wasn’t that much different from your usual assignments - at least if you forgot about that tiny insignificant detail like moving backwards in time - but something in this paramilitary and/or espionage vibe made your heart beat faster with excitement.
It had been quite a long time since you had company at the job. Working alone had its perks, but you wouldn’t mind a trusted partner in crime having your six for a change.
Another thing that you certainly wouldn’t mind - seeing Neil in tactical gear. Not that either of you would need one, but the image got planted in your head and suddenly you wished you’d had a bottle of water.
You realized that everyone was looking at you expectantly. Shit, was there a question or…?
“I’m good,” you said, shooting in the dark, hoping that would be enough to cover your distracted ass.
Ives squinted, but fortunately, that was an acceptable answer.
“Well, as you two can proceed straight from here - Wheeler, they’re all yours.’
“Okay,” - she smiled and stood up - “we don’t have any turnstiles on-site, but there’s one in the base outside the city, I’ll talk you through the basics on the way.”
So that little daydream cost you a chance to come back home to prepare? Grand. The problem was - you needed your heavy-duty tools, but you’d rather eat rocks than back away in front of Ives. Luckily, he called on Neil to wait for a moment, so that was your chance.
“Umm, Wheeler?” you asked quietly, following her outside.
She glanced at you curiously.
“What’s up?”
“I know I said I’m good, but could we stop by my apartment for a second, please?” An awkward grimace ran through your face. “I gotta pick up my tools. You know, just in case.”
She wasn’t surprised by your request. Moreover, she sent you a knowing smile.
“Sure thing,” she said and winked, and then it was your turn to present a slightly flushed face. “I’ve got you.”
----
You didn’t know what to expect from the whole inversion process.
The first time your brain stuttered was when Wheeler pointed at something she called the proving window, just in time for you to see the three of you coming out on the other side. You caught inverted-you glancing back at your present self; the schooled expression, but with the gaze shining with anticipation.
The second time was when it was you on the other side, looking at your wide-eyed past self. Feeling the incoming headache, you took a deep breath and followed Wheeler and Neil to the stand with oxygen masks.
“How are you feeling?” asked Neil, handing you the equipment.
“Weirdly normal.” You shrugged. “Or maybe not more backwards than usual, if that makes any sense.”
He smiled lightly.
“It’s the airlock. When you see the outside, you’ll get a whole new perspective.”
Wheeler nodded. “What he said. And to recap: you’re inverted, the world is not - all forces will be pushing back on you. Besides gravity.” She double-checked the oxygen bottle secured to your belt. “Just mind things that might be rising instead of falling.”
You furrowed the brows.
“Wait, didn’t Ives mention the rain?”
Neil smirked from behind the mask.
“Afraid of getting wet?”
“Never.” You grinned, meeting the sparkling blue eyes. “Should know that by now.”
Wheeler snorted and shook her head, walking to the panel near the exit.
“You’ll have plenty of time to finish the job before you move far enough to catch up on that. Although, if you ever find yourself in the inverted rain, here’s a tip: pop your collar.”
“Why would you--” Oh. The sole thought of the water going up from the ground to the sky made you nauseous. You swallowed with effort, leveling your breath in the mask. “...right.”
Wheeler opened the door and you almost gasped at the view. The golden rays of sunset (...or was it technically a sunrise now?) flickered on the training grounds’ equipment as the sky painted the scarce pools of muddy water with greyish violets and reddening oranges. Leaves shuffled in the wind, their dance almost satirical with that inverted spin.
Wheeler’s voice stopped your mind from wandering further into the landscape.
“Okay, ready? Ives asked me to remind you not to try any cowboy shit, you need to be in one piece at the end of the training.”
“Yes ma’am,” you mocked a salute and stepped outside, stretching your limbs, readjusting to the reality being slightly off. Neil stood right beside you watching you warming up, ready to take you to the obstacles section.
But as soon as the airlock’s doors closed behind you, you spun around, tapping his shoulder - “Tag, you’re it!” - and without waiting for his reaction, you leaped towards the assault course.
Surely that turned out overly optimistic. You counted on the element of surprise and a head start, but Neil had an experience with running while being inverted, while you… well. You tried.
“B+ for effort,” laughed Neil, catching up on you even before you reached the first obstacle and tapping you back. “But you can do better than that.”
“Just you wait!” you retorted and vaulted over a low hurdle, the mild confusion caused by the dumbfounded senses slowly eased up as you tuned out the brain and let the muscle memory guide your movements. Because hey, in the end? Yes, the natural forces were acting up against you. Yes, Neil had years of inverted training behind him. But you’d been challenging different obstacles your whole life, and courses like this one were your favourite playgrounds.
You caught on him by the next wall, playing dirty and tugging at his leg, pulling him down before he could jump to the other side. The exasperated huff he gave you in protest got lost in the squelch of mud under your feet, the sound more like a suction instead of the much-expected splash. Shuddering with disgust at such abomination, you rushed to the set of monkey bars, hearing Neil following up closely. You gritted your teeth, swinging your body to help yourself get through the part, and that’s when you felt a light tap on your foot.
You glared to your left, where Neil was gaining an advantage over you.
“Damn you and your infinite legs, man! It doesn’t count!”
“Losing looks good on you,” he said, landing and then instantly ducking under your reached out hand.
“Too bad it’s not gonna stick,” you scoffed as you ran after him to jump on one of the parallel logs. Balancing was easy enough, even with inversion; it gave you the perfect opportunity to plan ahead, while Neil had to maintain full focus. “Must say - all that sass definitely makes you like... ten percent hotter.”
But you’d taught him well, apparently, and instead of losing his pace, he only shot you a quick glance accompanied by an arched brow.
“Only ten?”
“Dunno, come over here and let me take a closer look,” you teased, getting a short chuckle in response. “No?” - you sighed - “Alrighty then.” And you leaped to the side straight into Neil, pushing him off the log. He yelped and grabbed you by the shirt, the momentum sending you both straight into the mud. You landed on top of Neil, collapsing into his arms for a moment to catch a breath and to stop laughing.
You leaned back to look him in the eyes.
“Okay, maaaybe fifteen,” you panted, booping his mask as you would do to his nose.
Neil snickered and nodded.
“I’ll take it.”
When your gazes met, his features softened, and he tucked a strand of hair behind your ear gently. You smiled behind the mask and sat up, straddling his waist. Neil was studying you closely, his hands grazed your sides and rested on your hips. Nibbling at your bottom lip, you leaned over him again and slowly reached out, and--
“Simba…” you choked out with reverence, brushing a muddy thumb across his forehead.
Tears from the held-back laughter threatened to spill any second as you observed Neil blanking out in utter confusion. The five stages of grief ran through his expression and then he closed his eyes and sighed theatrically.
“The fate of the world is in the hands of a complete madwoman.”
...the what now?
You tilted your head, grinning.
“Aren’t you a little dramatic?”
Then, without a warning, Neil shifted under you, rolling you off him and pinning you down.
“Birds of a feather and all that,” he said, clearly enjoying the way you squealed and squirmed as the mud got under your shirt. “You think you got a hang of the inverted movement already?”
“I don’t know,” you shrugged. Neil realized your intentions a second too late. A handful of mud splashed on his face and you chuckled with satisfaction. “Yeah, now I think I’m ready to go.”
You turned up at the airlock soon after, looking like something that cat dragged in, but beaming widely. Dreaming of a hot shower and a clean set of clothes, you put down the mask and the oxygen container and headed to the turnstile.
Wheeler was waiting for you near the machine, and seeing the state you were in, she just gaped at you both, trying to come up with an adequate question.
As you noticed her quizzical look, you gave her a thumbs up and smiled.
“If you ain't dirty, you ain't here to party! Wooo!” you whooped, throwing your hands up and trotting past her straight into the turnstile.
Right before reverting yourself back to your original state, you heard Wheeler’s hushed question.
“You two all right?”
And then Neil’s answer.
“Don’t worry, we’re good.”
--------
The truck’s engine hummed steadily, which could only mean you were on some sort of highway. At least the container stopped wobbling, so you could practice in peace.
No wobbles meant no excuses, though. You sighed, readjusting your grip on the tools.
Neil had fallen asleep some time ago, after making sure you figured out the locks and hearing your solemn promise that you would follow him soon.
One day after that eventful night, then inverting and going straight back without proper sleep. You knew he was right and you needed at least a nap. But you couldn’t. Not before you were absolutely sure you got it. The usual locks weren’t that bad. The inverted ones were a whole other story.
It’d taken you long enough to crack them in the safety of your own apartment, without the weird physics, ever-present even within the air-locked container. Without the pressure.
The fate of the world.
What the fuck was that supposed to mean?
You didn’t even know what was that thing you were supposed to retrieve soon. It was okay, you didn’t need to. It was a quite common situation in your work history. That kind of knowledge could be dangerous, after all.
The pin clicked and you sighed again, squeezing your eyes shut to stop the burning sensation even for a moment.
Besides, you were doing it for Neil. The memory of that panicked look on his face when he’d seen the documents was enough to keep you going.
But did he have to say that?
You had to do it. Not only because you felt responsible for him, in a way. What you’d told the boss was true and you weren’t the only one at fault for Neil not being fully ready for that assignment. He was your friend, wasn’t he? And there was no way you’d leave a friend in need.
You pressed your lips together, forcing yourself to breathe.
Probably a stupid joke, nothing more.
But what if he was being serious? What if that thing out there was really that important? And you were about to fuck everything up because you couldn’t get your shit together fast enough to figure out the bloody inverted mechanism again. And with every minute wasted and not spent on resting there was a higher chance of messing up at the actual location.
Hell of a locksmith you were, huh?
The feedback from the tools came with a final warning like a sobering slap. If you were to continue, they would snap any second now.
You let out a shaky breath and retraced from the lock, hiding your face in the palms.
A gentle touch on your shoulder almost made you flinch. Of course, he had to wake up in the middle of your breakdown.
“Go back to sleep, we still have a few hours left,” you muttered into your hands, trying to collect yourself.
“Not before you talk to me,” said Neil as his fingers slid down your arm. He was crouching right beside you, the blue eyes boring into you with concern. “What is it?”
You sighed and shifted in your seat to face him.
“Wanna make sure I got it, that’s all.”
Neil’s brows knitted together.
“But I saw you open that lock once, why--”
“Once! And that’s exactly the problem!” you fumed and glared at the table. “I can’t crack it again, I--” your voice wavered and you gritted the teeth in frustration. “What if it was a stroke of dumb luck? Should I start praying for another one to happen there?”
Another delicate touch, this time on your knees, was enough to make you look back at Neil. A shade of smile tainted his lips as he searched your gaze.
“Someone used to tell me all the time that if you did it once, you can do it again.”
You hung your head and huffed, “Maybe that someone was full of shit.’
“I know for a fact that she wasn’t,” he chuckled, taking the tools out of your clenched fists and putting them back at the table. “She was utterly brilliant,” he continued, reaching for your cramping, trembling hands and taking them in his, ”and always reminded me to take a break instead of agonizing over a stubborn lock.”
That you did, all right. Your laugh sounded awfully close to a sob. God, if you weren’t exhausted.
Mustering enough strength to look him in the eyes, you squeezed his hands, trying to convey all the gratitude in the gesture. And hide that bit of embarrassment, too.
“I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay,” he said and his thumbs brushed over your knuckles. “Scoot over.”
You moved back on the provisional bench, making enough space for him to sit next to you. And so he did, not letting go of your hands even for a second. He started rubbing small circles into them and you grunted softly. Neil gave you a knowing smile and soon enough, his fingers glided between your forearms and fingertips, applying pressure to the tensest places, careful strokes and precise moves bringing a much-needed release. You couldn’t help small groans escaping your mouth, every one of them adding to the self-satisfied grin hiding in the corner of Neil’s mouth. But then, instead of teasing you, his features softened and you caught his glance, warm and sheepish.
“I don’t think I properly thanked you for offering to help me with this mission.”
“I couldn’t let you have all the fun,” you laughed and winced as Neil’s thumbs worked on your wrists. “Don’t thank me yet, we still need to pull it off first.”
“Well, maybe we already have, from the typical point of view,” - he pondered, lighting up - “seeing that we are moving back--”
“Neil, please, I’m all for discussing it later, but right now it’s about to give me a pounding headache.”
When you met his eyes, you noted with relief that he didn’t mind you cutting him off like that. He knew that you were tired, nothing more.
“Right, sorry.” Then he looked at you with determination, suddenly serious. “Whatever happens… thank you. It means a lot.”
“Of course,” you said quietly as your heart ached with unexpected fondness.
Neil smiled, shaking off the sentimental moment. His hands cupped yours and gave them a light squeeze.
“Now would you please get some rest?”
“Will you tuck me in?” you grinned and batted your lashes at him, earning an amused snort in return.
“I can even sing you a lullaby if that means you’ll fall asleep faster,” he said, standing up and tugging at your hand.
“Ah, I’m afraid I’m gonna crash too fast to properly appreciate it,” you giggled as he kited you all the way to the resting area at the front of the container. “But I’m definitely taking a rain check on that.”
“Sure.” One final brush of his thumb over your fingers and he let go of your hand, smirking. “Now sleep, I’ll wake you up when we get there.”
-------
Neil proved to be an excellent companion.
You disabled the alarms simultaneously, paying attention to all the possible silent traps. Forcing the main locks went smoothly, almost surprisingly so. For having something of such importance hidden there, the owners of the place seemed strangely old-fashioned; it shone through the antique decor of the lofty apartment as well as the security choices. Too easy. Tuning out an intrusive thought rattling in the back of your head, you scouted the dark rooms, careful not to leave any traces of your presence.
There.
The office you saw in the photos.
...but they’d redecorated.
“That’s one fancy safe they got there,” you said nonchalantly, eyeing the ornament piece of metal lit by your flashlight, “Too bad it somehow got left out at the briefing.”
Neil’s face dropped when he followed you inside the room.
“Christ, and what now?”
Good question. You’d worked with safes before, hell, you’d cracked a fair share of them using simply manipulation. But never going bloody backwards in time. How would that even work? Was it normal or inverted?
Well, there was only one way to find out.
“I’ve got this.” And that’s how you felt, despite the initial panic. There was a method to it, and you had most of the things you needed with you. Perks of overpreparing. The only issue was-- ... “It might take a while, though.”
Neil nodded.
“Let me know if you need anything.”
“Keep an eye on the time for me, I gotta focus,” you said, reaching into your backpack and accidentally pulling on the thin tube. Right. “...and maybe on the oxygen levels as well?”
“Will do.”
Your brain switched into the challenge mode, and your fingers tingled to give it a try. Armed with a sound amplifier and a little notepad, you sat down next to the safe and got to work.
Figuring out your way in was meant to be a hit and miss, doubly so with the goddamn inversion. But minute after minute, click by click, you determined the first contact points, and the years of experience took you from there. You scribbled numbers and variations in the notepad, fully focused on the task. Almost there.
Another combination. Inhale. Exhale. Pull.
Gotcha.
“Neil?” you called out in the hushed voice as the beam from the flashlight landed on a small metal box of a peculiar shape.
He was next to you in no time.
“That’s it,” he said, kneeling down. He reached inside and took out the box, then carefully placed it inside his backpack. The blue eyes glimmered in the dim light. “Good job!”
“Thanks,” you smiled and closed the safe. “Now let’s get out of here.”
You gathered and packed all your stuff, double-checking for any leftover signs of your entry.
Then you heard it. A faint, slightly off patter against the huge windows. You froze in place as your mind tried to grasp the view of trickles of rain coming up the glass.
Neil glanced outside, not mindful of the absolutely bonkers scene that wiped any coherent thought from your head. Although judging from how quickly his face lost all the colours, the view he got was even more disturbing.
“Christ…” he uttered, shooting you a panicked look. “We’ve got company.”
You dashed to the window to see for yourself. A group of people was crossing the empty street, moving pretty much normally, and that only meant...
Fuck.
“The owners?”
Neil shook his head. “Impossible. The third party, probably.” With his hand already on the holster, he hesitated, considering the options.
But there were only two: fight or flight. The problem was - the numbers didn’t look good for you to try pushing through the crew downstairs. And as for the second one, your initial exit routes seemed to be cut off already.
Although, there was still one path left. You almost smiled to yourself. He was not going to like it.
“Let’s go through the roofs.”
Neil’s eyes widened. “Are you sure?” he asked, scanning your face for any sign of doubt.
There was none.
“Yes, but we have to leave right now.”
He swallowed with effort and nodded.
As soon as you bolted out of the apartment and rushed up the stairs, the footsteps coming from the lower levels quickened. Time was running out.
You were about to barge outside when Neil grabbed your hand as if he sensed what was going to happen next. The doors opened and you lost the momentum, startled by the view. Heavy showers replaced the drizzle you saw through the window, intensifying the nauseating effect.
The last strands of sanity threatened to leave you, but Neil’s touch was like an anchor, grounding you and keeping you from spiraling further.
“Which way?” he shouted through the hammering, almost deafening rain.
You blinked rapidly and looked around to match the data from the brief to the actual location.
“Over there!”
Wishing you’d had a goddamn collar to pop, you leaped to the side, guiding Neil through your only escape route. You let go of his hand to vault over the vents, and just as your feet touched the surface again, you heard distant yells behind you. Shit.
The high density of the area was working in your favor, but only for so long. There was meant to be a gap between the buildings sooner or later, and one of them was coming right up. The jump was doable, even for Neil - all you needed was speed and a decent launch.
But when your companion noticed the edge of the roof, he slowed down and stopped by a low parapet wall, cursing.
“No fucking way!”
“Yes fucking way, Neil, come on! We don’t have time!” you urged him as the voices behind you grew louder.
He swallowed with effort, too transfixed on the gap. You bit back an impatient groan and grabbed him by the shoulders, forcing him to look at you.
“Neil, listen to me. You can do this. All you need is a run-up.”
He didn’t seem convinced. You gritted your teeth, trying to keep your own rising panic in check.
“Do you trust me? Yes or no?”
He met your eyes and his features hardened. There.
“I do.”
And when you opened the mouth again, the first bullet whizzed past you. You flinched, but maintained the eye contact, afraid to lose Neil’s newfound confidence. “Then go first, I’m right behind you.”
Neil nodded and backed away quickly. Watching him jump, your heart skipped a beat, but he landed on the other side without too much trouble. Good. Your turn.
You dashed towards the rim and another bullet missed your legs by a hair’s breadth, hitting the parapet wall right ahead of you. A little close to the top, as you noted, jumping on it to leap across the gap.
But the realization came a moment too late. The wall crumbled under your feet.
Enough for you to not make it to the other side.
Someone screamed.
Was it you?
It didn’t matter.
The world dissolved in a flash of agonizing pain.
And darkness.
----
Static beeping. The smell of disinfectants. And your every particle throbbing in dull pain.
Somebody was having a quiet conversation nearby. The Protagonist… and Neil?
A wave of relief flooded over you. He’d made it.
Grunting, you opened your eyes and squinted, waiting for your sight to readjust to the poor light. Weird. Why would they keep you in such a pitch-black room?
“Gents?” you called out, carefully shifting upwards, wincing. “Would you mind getting the lights?”
The conversation stopped and you heard a gasp.
“Lights? But it’s the middle of the day?” said The Protagonist, but Neil cut him off.
“You’re awake!” Footsteps and a sudden touch on your hand. Neil’s voice trembled slightly, as well as his fingers. “Are you okay?”
You bored into darkness, hoping to see the familiar face.
To see anything.
To see.
(next chapter ->)
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