Who Killed Markiplier?

Chapter 18

When you gained consciousness, you were on the floor. Again. It was sad that you were getting used to this. This time, however, your head was in somebody's lap.

You could feel dried blood on your face as well as fresh blood dripping out of your nose, although the flow had slowed down significantly. Hushed and worried voices surrounded you. Most recognizable was  Damien's. You assumed he was the one you had your head on. You slowly reached up to touch your face, praying that nothing was broken. You could feel a bump on your forehead and your nose was swollen and hot, but nothing felt too bad. The worst thing was the headache, but even that was manageable. It was nothing compared to the one you got after going through your memories with Celine the first time.

Celine...

Your eyes shot open and you sat upright, which really didn't help any of the pain. Almost immediately, hands were pulling you back down and brushing hair out of your face gently. You felt a warm wet cloth wipe your face.

"No..." you moaned. "Celine, we need to-"

Damien shushed you. "It's okay, it's okay, you're okay, everything's okay." His voice sounded shaky, and that worried you even more. Once more, you tried to sit up. This time, he didn't try to stop you.

You saw the chef and the butler leaning against the wall next to you. George was sitting on the small bench not too far down the hall. The detective was pacing nervously. The Colonel and Damien were sitting with you on the floor. The two men both looked like they were on the verge of tears. Not good.

"What happened?" you asked in a demanding tone. You were sure you weren't the prettiest sight, but your confusion and fear overwhelmed your self-consciousness.

Will and Damien exchanged a look, but didn't say anything. George kept his head down.

"We don't really know," the butler finally said. "There was all this light, and-"

"Where is Celine?" you interrupted. None of this felt real. She had to be okay.

"She's gone, and so is everyone else," George replied sadly, standing and walking away down the hall.

"Wait a minute, where the hell do you think you're going?!" Abe followed after him angrily.

"Away from here! This place is cursed!" the groundskeeper shouted back. "If you had half a brain, you'd all do the same."

"Hey, don't walk away!" You were starting to panic. Shakily, you stood up. "Where is Celine?!"

"I've spent 25 years cooking for these uppity fucks," you heard the chef mumble. Everyone was becoming angry and scared. That was the last thing this situation needed. "I'm not about to die for them. I quit!"

"No no no, wait-"

"Bitch!" he spat in your face, then followed George off down the hall.

"Hey!" Damien tried to go after them, but you grabbed his arm and shook your head.

The butler put a hand on your shoulder. "I know things seem far beyond your control right now, but such that it is for all of us here. I shall take my leave, and I implore you to do the same." His words were aimed at everyone and he spoke softly and kindly, but you felt nothing but anger and fear. How could these people just walk out, like they didn't play a part in this whole shitstorm?

You were almost relieved when the Colonel stepped forward to push his hand off of you.

"I won't let my friend die in this godforsaken house." His tone was low and quiet, but also deadly. You had never seen him so angry, and it was a little frightening. "If you all are too much of a coward to do the same, you had best leave before I kill you myself!" He stormed past Benjamin, knocking him into the wall as he did so. You knew he wasn't leaving like the others. He was a much better man than them.

"Now you hold on a second, I've got more questions-" Abe tried to follow him, too, but was shoved back when he put a hand on the Colonel's shoulder.

"Get your hands off me!" Will finally shouted. He kept walking.

"What the hell is going on here?" Abe gave you an angry and confused look before chasing after the Colonel. You let him go, knowing that both of the men were too stubborn to listen to reason right now.

"I know he's in pain-" You jumped at the soft voice. You had almost forgotten Benjamin was still there. "And I know you might be, too... but we need to leave this place," he continued. "There's only death here now."

You opened your mouth to try to stop him as he walked away, but you were suddenly overwhelmed with dizziness. You stumbled and Damien caught you.

"Are you alright?" he asked, concerned.

"Yeah, I-" you stopped when you heard a hushed "hey" come from Celine's room.

"Celine?" You stumbled away from Damien, despite his protests. Using the wall to support yourself, you made your way to the door. It seemed like the room was spinning.

"Help." It was the voice again. It sounded like Celine.

"Damien, do you-" You turned to ask if he could hear it, too. You gasped and almost fell as the world froze around you. Damien had disappeared. Everything had become darker, more sinister.

"Madness!" It sounded like the Colonel, but it was far away. Echoey. Distorted.

Something in you told you that this wasn't your world.

Another voice that sounded like it was blended together with William's, but even more distorted and off, said, "You want to talk about madness? Madness is stealing your best friend's wife."

This was similar to the first time you went through your memories with Celine, but much more hellish and disturbing.

You closed your eyes. A voice, maybe Damien's, whispered, "Be careful." The sound seemed to bounce around you. You couldn't quite place where it was coming from.

When you opened your eyes again, you were at the top of the stairs. Something urged you to start walking down them.

"Now this evening, it's not all about the poker; it's not all about me." Throughout the sentence, the voice grew more and more warped until you could barely understand the last word. Everything became darker and darker, the walls twisting around you. You felt a pull in your gut like you were falling, then suddenly you were in the living room.

"Can't we resolve this amicably?" you heard as you drifted by one of the couches.

"Life needs a bit of madness, eh, chap?" You recognized the voice of the Colonel. This one sounded much more clear, like it was whispered directly into your ear. You shuddered, the hair on the back of your neck standing up.

The next line you could barely understand, but you remembered that it had come from Damien that morning. "Good to let the beast out every once in a while, eh, old friend?"

Phrases you had heard through the day danced around the room in varying levels of clarity. Some sounded familiar, while others you didn't quite recognize.

You stopped outside a room you had never seen before. Everything around you seemed slow and dizzying.

"A domain of evil this is... but in we must go. You first..."

And suddenly, just like that, everything snapped back to normal. 

[Wow, 3 chapters in 3 days? I think that's a new record for me! I'm sad to say this story is almost over. Just a few more chapters. Thank you all so much for sticking around. I hope you all enjoy!]