The Return

Chapter 11

Hey guys! So I've been working on my thrid story lately, but I've noticed that I droned on in some parts, and some didn't make sense, but I have 125 pages on Google Docs of the story, so I don't feel like deleating it. But we have...4-5 chapter left! Almost done with this book! *Flosses like crazy* so enjoy this chapter! WARNING: Language and gore.

Laff hid inside the closet, and heard Socks run past it, looking for him. Laff's heart pounded. Socks lost control, and Laff was a cyborg again. He had no idea what happened to Jooice, but he hoped that Meme and TBH had found Nadwe and gotten the heck out of here. He heard Socks come back, finally knowing that Laff was here. "I know you here Laff. Might as well come out." he said, Chaos speaking through him. Laff heard him get closer and closer to the closet. "I mean, think about it. Long time ago, you and I made a perfect team. You wanted the same thing I did. Let's be partners again." Laff thought about that for a second. He knew that he stood no chance against Chaos, but he had his friends, and Chaos could turn on him anytime, but his friends? "Well, fair enough. You choose your side, I choose mine." The closet door flung open, and Laff leapt onto Socks, and pinned him to the ground. "Sorry to do this again mate." Laff said, and punched him in the head. Socks went limp, and Chaos disappeared. Laff felt the metal disappearing, and stood up, picking Socks up. Laff looked around for anyone, but he was alone. He sighed, and began to look for his friends, letting Socks lean on him, but sorta dragging him. Laff was trying to think about what happened. What did Chaos want with Socks? Jooice was not in the best shape for it, but Laff was fine. Was he? He thought this in his head, when he heard someone walking close by. He started walking in that direction, and when he turned the corner, he saw Muffin. "Muffin!" Laff said. Muffin turned, at first worried and scared, but when he saw that Chaos was gone, he relaxed. "Are you okay?" Muffin asked, running over to him. "Yeah, I'm fine. Had to knock Socks out." Laff said. Muffin went and hugged Laff, and Laff hugged him back. Muffin was worried about his friends, and wanted to help, but how? He was only 14! "Anyway, where is everyone?" Laff asked. Muffin shrugged. "They don't know what happened yet. They all vanished. Or maybe I just don't know where they are." Muffin said. Laff groaned. It was going to be a long night. "Come on, we need to get Socks somewhere." Laff said. "What about me?" Socks mumbled. He had woken up, but everything was still slow for him. "Hey, take it easy mate. I kinda had to knock you out, so your head is going to be in bad shape for a while." Laff said. Socks seemed dazed. He was just so tired and sore. "Come on, let's go to his room. I'm pretty sure that I can find a first-aid kit somewhere." Laff said that last part to himself. So he, Muffin, and Socks went to Socks' room. Socks didn't say anything, but the pain in his head was starting to get worse. When they got there, they lay Socks on his bed, and Laff sure enough found a first-aid kit. He gave Socks some painkillers, and put some ice on his head, but there was nothing else that could help. "What does he want with me?" Socks mumbled. Muffin was sitting on the edge of Socks bed. He felt sadness fill him as he watched his friends struggle with everything. "I don't think it's a matter of what he wants with you. I mean, Jooice can't be his messenger, but I don't know why he chose you over me. I've dealt with him before, but I don't know why he won't do it again." Laff said. He was trying to make Socks feel better, but he knew it may do no good. Socks sighed. "Everytime he takes over, he shows me hurting you guys, but when I come back around, it's not where I was when he showed me it. But everytime, everytime." Socks stopped talking, getting lost in his head. Laff was worried he may have head trauma. "Where's Meme when you need him?" Laff whispered.

...

"Meme, we need to stop, I can hardly breathe!" Nadwe rasped. Meme turned, and saw Nadwe holding his heart, breathing heavily. "Okay, we'll take a break." Meme said. They sat down next to a tree, and Meme checked the wound. It thankfully hadn't opened up, but it wasn't ready for another run for a while. "Let's stay here for now." Meme said. Nadwe nodded. Meme sighed, his head lightly hitting the trunk of the tree. He wondered what was happening back up at the island. He hoped everyone was fine. "How you feeling?" Meme asked Nadwe. "Lightheaded and dizzy, but otherwise fine." Nadwe said. His breathing was still heavy, and he seemed to be holding where the wound was. Meme looked and saw something in the distance. It looked like a building. "Nadwe, come on. I think I found us some better shelter." Meme said. Nadwe nodded, and stood up. But when he did, his heart burned in pain, and had to lean against the tree. "Yeah, I can't walk Meme. It's hard to even stand." Nadwe whispered. "Okay, it's fine. Here." Meme picked Nadwe up, Nadwe gasping from the sudden pain, but it faded quickly. "Listen, just hold on to me." Meme said. Nadwe nodded, and Meme carried him toward the building. As it turned out, it was the old building where everyone hung out, until Chaos destroyed it. It was still repaired, but was showing signs of getting weaker. "Let's stay here for now." Meme said. They went inside, and found it empty. Everything was quiet. Meme carried Nadwe up to one of the rooms, and carefully laid him on the bed. "When do you think we can go back?" Nadwe asked. "I don't know. But let's just stay here for now. It's almost dawn. You're in bad shape, try to get some rest." Meme said. "Okay. Are you going to keep your eye out for the group?" Nadwe asked. "Yeah, I'll check on you though. I don't think Chaos knows that we're here." Meme said assuringly. Nadwe nodded, and his eyes fluttered shut. His breath had slowed down, and he was looking better than before. Meme sighed, and went out of the room, and sat by a window. He was so tired, but he needed to make sure he didn't miss the group if they passed by. He looked at his reflection in the window. His hair was a mess, his face covered in small scratches, dirt, and mud. His lab coat was ripped pretty well, so he took it off, revealing a fuzzy blue hoodie and black sweatpants. His blue sneakers were ruined, so he needed to get a new pair. He pulled the picture of Wictoria and him out of his lab coat pocket, amazed that it was still in it. He looked at it, and it brought him comfort. No matter what, he always felt her nearby. He loved her with all his heart. But then, the awful moment came. Tears fell from his eyes as the scene played out in his head. Everytime he heard the shot, every time he saw the blood, every single time he felt her life leave. It brought him down to his knees, wanting to scream at the world, wanting to reverse time, wanting her back. He opened his eyes, tears streaming down. His heart was heavy, and his spirit nearly crushed. He looked back at the window, looking at the sunny day outside. He sighed, wanting to just rest. He noticed something in the forest. He looked closer, and saw a flash of purple. The purple of Dino's sweater. He gasped, and ran down the stairs and out the door. He ran after Dino, his heart pounding. "Meme, Nadwe!" he heard Dino call out. "Over here!" He yelled. Dino turned and saw Meme running toward him. "Meme!" he cried. He ran toward him and tackled his friend in a hug. "Oh my God, thank God you're okay." Dino said. "I was scared to death, to be honest." Meme said. "Where's Nadwe?" Dino asked, worried about the vampire teen. "He's fine, he's resting in the old building. But, what happened up there?" Meme asked. "Socks lost control, Laff became cyborg, Jooice warned you guys so you took off. Laff managed to knock Socks out, but thinks he may have head trauma. Then Jooice told us that you guys ran to be safe. So I decided to look for you guys." Dino explained. "Man, please tell me you've brought medical supplies." Meme asked. "Yeah, I did. It's in my backpack." He said, taking the backpack off and handing it to him. "Thanks. Come on, I'm sure Nadwe would like to see you." They walked to the building, and went into Nadwe's room. Nadwe was sleeping peacefully, his pale face actually, for the first time in ages, looked full of color. "Hey, Nadwe." Meme whispered, lightly shaking him. Nadwe stirred awake. "Hmm?" he mumbled. "Dino's here." Meme said. "Wait, what?" Nadwe said, the shock of hearing it waking him up more. He sat up, wincing as pain went through his body, and saw Dino. "Hey Nadwe." Dino said, a smile on his face. "Dino." Nadwe said, joy and relief filling his face. Dino went over to him, and sat on the bed, Meme on the other side of Nadwe. "You okay?" Dino asked. "Yeah, I've been better though." Nadwe said, his chest filled with pain. "Yeah, but I brought some medical stuff with me." Dino pointed to the bag Meme was holding. Meme opened it up, and an array of medical supplies filled it. "Oh wow Dino, that's a lot of stuff that I really need." Meme whispered. Dino chuckled. "I sorta had to break into your medbay to get them, so one of the windows is smashed. Sorry about that, I'll fix it." "It's fine, doesn't matter." Meme said. Nadwe looked at the stuff, amazed at all the stuff Dino brought. "Hey, want me to grab some food? Pretty stupid of me to not bring any, but I can hunt for food and getting something cooking." Dino said. "Sure, that would be nice." Meme said. "I'll get something for you too Nadwe." Dino said. "Thanks." Nadwe said. Dino got up and left, leaving Meme and Nadwe alone. "We should change your bandages." Meme said, grabbing a roll. Nadwe agreed, and when they took the bandages off, a gruesome sight met their eyes. Where the stake stabbed into his heart left a hole about one inch wide. The veins showed black as his vampire side tried to recover from it. The wound was a deep red, and was still bleeding. "Oh no no no no." Meme whispered. He forgot to stitch the wound close. "I'll have to stitch it Nadwe." Meme said, grabbing the supplies he needed. Nadwe nodded, feeling very sick. "This is going to hurt like hell." Meme warned. Nadwe nodded, bracing for the pain. Meme got to work, and Nadwe wanted to scream, but managed not to. When Meme was done, Nadwe was paler than ever. "You good?" Meme asked, worried he had put Nadwe through too much. "No, I'm good. I just need some blood, and maybe painkillers." Nadwe said, his voice shaking. Meme grabbed the painkillers and gave them to Nadwe. "I'm going to clean up and bandage the wound up." Meme said. The hard part was over, and the rest was easy. Meme wrapped the bandage up, tucking the end in the rest of the bandage. "There we go." Meme said. "Thanks. That would've been bad if we didn't close the wound on time." Nadwe sighed. He put his hand to where the wound was, the pain muted somewhat from the painkillers. "Meme, will I ever be a normal 14-year-old again?" Nadwe asked. Meme froze. He wasn't exactly sure how to answer. "What do you mean 'normal'?" Meme asked, confused. "Like, will I be a vampire forever?" Nadwe asked. "I...don't know. I'm not exactly sure if there is a cure for vampirism, but that's not the point. I mean, I think you're perfectly fine. I don't care that you're a vampire, you're my friend, and I care a lot about you. Like, a lot." Nadwe chuckled, as he knew how overprotective Meme could be. "Listen, I'll try to figure out if there is a cure, but don't get your hopes up." Nadwe nodded. "Okay, now let's see where Dino is." Meme said. Meme went out the door, and saw Dino enter. "I'm back!" Dino said. "Finally." Meme said, his stomach growling. "Hey, did you get some blood?" Nadwe said, flying around Dino's head as a bat. "There's a cow out there I think you can get. Unless your phasing isn't working." Dino said, worried he made a mistake. "No, I got my phasing back, see?" He went into a sunbeam, and didn't burn. "Sweet, but yeah, there's a cow out there." Dino said, but Nadwe zoomed off. Meme laughed. "He's been dying to go outside." Meme said. Dino made a furnace, a smile on his face. "Yeah. I was thinking that after we eat, we should head back." Dino said, tossing in the coal, then some beef. "Yeah, good idea. Nadwe's better, but that wound...how is he even alive? It went right through him!" Meme said. Dino turned to face Meme. "Wait, you're telling me that Nadwe, who was stabbed by a stake, which is deadly to him, which went all the way through him, survived it?" Dino asked. Meme nodded. Dino was stunned. "I'm just glad he's alive though." Meme said. He pulled out the picture of him and Wictoria, and looked at it. Dino saw it, and knew Meme was thinking about her. "I'm so tired Dino. I'm tired of all this. I'm tired of Chaos. I'm tired of trying to survive another day. I'm tired of...everything." Meme said, and sat in a chair, tears falling down his face. "Hey, Meme. It's going to be fine." Dino said. "Is it though? Everytime I hear that, I believe it, but then my world gets flipped upside down! Will our lives ever be the same, where we just trolled each other and laughed with each other, without fighting for our damn lives?" Meme said, his voice rising. Dino knew he touched dangerous waters. "Hey, I'm sorry. I...I just want to believe it too, but even if I say it, I don't believe myself." Meme looked down, feeling bad about getting mad at Dino. "Sorry, I'm just...so stressed right now." Meme said. "Hey, everybody is stressed. We all are battling Chaos in different ways." Dino said. The beef finished cooking, and Dino gave some to Meme. "Thanks." Meme said, and started to eat. Dino also began to eat his, and Nadwe came back in, carrying another piece of beef. "The cow sorta died, so I got some beef." He said. "You could cook it up if you want." Dino said, finishing his beef. "Yeah, I should." He said, then winced as pain went through him. "You good?" Meme asked. "Yeah, just an occasional sliver of pain, that's all." Nadwe said, and tossed the beef in the furnace. "We should leave after it's done. We need to get back ASAP." Dino said. Meme and Nadwe agreed. Meme went to get the backpack, and Nadwe and Dino waited for the beef to cook. "Hey Nadwe?" Dino said. "Yeah? What's up?" Nadwe said, flying around. "How did you not die?" Dino asked. Nadwe stopped flying, standing on a table. Dino expected him not to know, but he was surprised with Nadwe's answer. "I didn't die, because I did something stupid." "What did you do stupid?" Dino asked, who was very confused. Nadwe sighed. "I was walking around the castle, then I came to this door, and I opened it up. It led to a small library, so I was curious to look around. I found this really old book, and when I looked inside, I found something." "What did you find?" Dino asked. Nadwe got quiet. "I found a special bracelet." He transformed into a human, and pulled something off his wrist. He gave it to Dino, who took it and looked at it. It was a jade bracelet, but something about it made it stand out more. "What's so special about it?" Dino asked. "It prevents people from dying." Nadwe said. Dino stared at him. "What?" Dino said. "I was scared, okay? I am a vampire, I burn in the sun, I wanted to make sure I had a backup plan if that was the case." Nadwe said. Dino put the bracelet on, and a weird feeling filled him. But not in a good way. "I don't like this." Dino said. "Me neither. I hate relieing on a stupid bracelet. But...I'd rather be safe than sorry." Nadwe said. Dino took the bracelet off, and the weird feeling faded. He gave it back to Nadwe, and he put it back on. "So how does it exactly prevent you from dying?" Dino asked. "It just makes me heal a lot faster. So what a normal cut, like a paper cut, would take a few days, only takes a few hours now. When I got stabbed, I should've died in seconds, but the bracelet managed to work in time. But..." Nadwe stopped talking. "But what?" Dino asked, edging Nadwe a bit. Nadwe swallowed. "I think it's the reason I lost my memory," he whispered. Dino felt his blood freeze. "Give me that goddamn bracelet." Dino whispered. "What? Why?" Nadwe said. "I don't want you to lose your memory again." Dino said. Nadwe hesitated. "Nadwe, I know that you are scared, but just give it to me. It's dangerous." Nadwe fidgeted with it. "Can I keep it for now? Just while I heal?" Nadwe asked. Dino heard the desperation in his voice, and knew if he took it away now, it would be bad. "Fine, but promise me you will give it to me when you're better, okay?" Nadwe nodded. "Thanks." Dino said. Nadwe smiled a little. "What's taking Meme so long?" Dino realized. Nadwe turned into a bat, and flew into the room. The room was empty, and everything was still laying out. "MEME!" Nadwe yelled, panic beginning to fill him. Dino ran up the stairs and into the room. "Where is he?" Dino asked, picking up the packback. "He just disappeared, with no sign." Nadwe said, tears starting to fall. "Hey, it's going to be fine." Dino said. He quickly packed up the stuff, and walked out of the room, Nadwe following. "Let's head back to the island, and we will go from there." Dino said. Nadwe nodded, then landed on Dino's shoulder. "I need to take a break." Nadwe said. "That's fine." Dino said, and he ran into the woods. He ran for quite a while, when something ran into his side, knocking him down. "Dino, what the hell are you doing out here?!" he heard Meme say. "Meme, what happened?!" Nadwe said, flying in the air. "It's another clone." Meme said, his breath heavy. Dino felt his blood freeze. Nadwe felt the world turn upside down. "We have to get to the island, and fast. This clone is very slow, and doesn't seem to register stuff fast." Dino nodded, and Nadwe landed on Meme's shoulder. "Let's go." Dino said. They ran through the woods, praying that the clone wasn't following them. They ran till they reached the entrance of the bridge. "Come on, it's not that far!" Dino panted. They continued up the bridge, and ran to the entrance of the castle. They opened the door, ran inside, and shut it. Meme slide to the floor, panting. "That was definitely terrifying." Nadwe said, changing back to human. "Guys?" They looked up and saw Jooice. "Are you guys okay?" Jooice said, running over to them. "Yeah, we're fine. But Meme just had an encounter with a clone." Dino said. Jooice bit his lip. "What's going on with the group?" Nadwe asked. Jooice sighed. "It's been hard. Laff is worried sick about Socks. Socks been talking nuts. Natalie has been locked in her room. We don't know what to do." Meme felt fear spike in him when Jooice mentioned Socks. "Where's Socks?" Meme asked. "In his room with Laff. And...Laff is still a cyborg. He's been agitated about it." Meme got up, and started to go to Socks room. "Hey, let him go. Everyone is worried sick about you guys." Jooice said, stopping Dino and Nadwe from following. Dino agreed, but Nadwe was a bit hesitant. "But...will he be okay, what happened to Socks?" Nadwe asked. "It's just...I don't know, Laff won't say anything." Jooice sighed. Jooice felt rage starting to boil inside him. He counted to ten to calm himself down. Nadwe could see the rage in Jooice's face for a split second, and decided to go with him instead. Meme walked down the hall, and stood in front of the door to Socks room. He prayed for the best, and entered. Laff was staring out the window, and Socks was sitting on the side of his bed, head in his hands, and seemed to be mumbling something. "Laff." Meme said. Laff turned and he saw Meme. "Meme." Laff said. "Laff, what's wrong with him?" Meme asked, pointing to Socks. Laff turned to look at Socks, who was oblivious to the world around. "I don't know, he's been so quiet, just mumbling something." Meme walked toward the bed. Socks didn't hear anything. He sat down gently next to him. "Socks?" Meme said, gently nudging him. Socks looked up, and saw Meme. "Meme?" "Yeah, I'm back." Meme said. Laff felt a small thing of joy go through him. "Meme, what happened?" Socks asked. "I don't know, but everything is fine. We're all okay." Meme said. Socks got quiet. "Socks, are you okay? If not, tell us." Meme said. He was worried now. Had something really bad happened? "I don't know. I can feel Chaos in me. He wants to be in permanent control. He's messing with my mind." Meme stared at him. "Socks, how long has this been happening?" Meme asked. "Ever since the attack on the island." Socks said. "Socks, you idiot! Why didn't you tell us then instead of now?!" Meme said. "I didn't know if it was just me being paranoid or not!" Socks said. "There we go, now we are getting somewhere." Meme thought. Socks was well enough to talk back. That was good. "Okay, but how bad is it?" Meme asked. "I don't know! All I know is that Chaos is trying to find a way to listen and hear everything without controlling me!" Then Socks stopped talking. He had let out too much. "Can Chaos even do that?" Laff asked. "I don't know. I don't know." Socks whispered, and put his head in his hands. Meme sighed. "Laff, let's give him some space." Laff nodded, and they both left the room. "He doesn't have head trauma. That's the good news." Meme said. Laff sighed with relief. "But, I think Chaos is showing him stuff that is making him, like, stuck in this cage. He can't seem to get away from it." Meme said. "Will he be okay though?" Laff asked worriedly. "I don't know. It seems more mentally than physically." Meme said. Laff sighed. "Have you figured this out yet?" Meme said, gesturing to the metal. "Um...nope." Laff said, looking at his hands. "Listen, maybe just rest. I think we all need it." Meme said. Laff was a bit hesitant, but he finally agreed. Laff went off to his room after Meme promised to check Socks one more time. He went back into the room, and Socks looked up at him. "Meme, have I gone crazy or something?" he asked. "No, I think you're the same old Socks." Meme said. Socks looked away. Meme repressed a sigh. "Listen, I...I don't know what you are going through. But, I'm here if you need to talk, kay?" Socks nodded. "Meme, do you ever wish that..." then he stopped talking. "Wish for what?" Meme asked. "Nevermind, it's nothing." Socks said, and zoned out. Meme just wanted his old friend back. Chaos was doing nothing but destroying their friendships. As he left the room, he cursed Chaos with every living part of him for ruining his life.

Yeah, so Meme is pissed at Chaos, Nadwe had the wound closed, and revealed how he didn't die to Dino. Laff is worried that Socks has head trauma, and he is stressed out a lot, so he's stuck as a cyborg. Welp, enjoy!

(4196 words) DAMN THAT GOOD