Let Darkness Come

[Katrielle Layton]

After several minutes, the barrage of monsters finally began to thin. Seeing that no one was around, he returned to normal and glanced around. Nothing but trees could be seen beyond the fog, and since Bendy wasn't entirely sure where his friends were, all he could do was wander around until he found them.

And so he did. He eventually located a tree with limbs- a landmark the bird-monster had used to guide them to Darkshire- and continued towards what he believed to be the direction he had taken earlier. Voices were starting to grow apparent.

"He never explained." That had to be Boris. "Joey wanted me for something, but he never told me and Bendy didn't know. By the time we realized, it was too late to do anything."

"So, whaaaat did he waaaant with you?"

"It... well... Joey was into some really creepy stuff. I'm unclear about the details, but I think it was the same kind of thing that brought Bendy to life the second time."

"Occult stuff. Not good-- especially when you don't fully understand it."

The demon brought his group of friends into view. Boris, Shackles and Torinin were there, and the blue-skinned beast had slung the lady the imp had stolen on his back, properly bound and gagged. With a wider smile than usual, he strode in and proudly presented the head he had claimed.

His wolf friend cringed, but the others seemed impressed. The bird monster took the head in her feathered hands and examined it closely, fiddling and pulling on the spinal cord that had come with it. "Not baaaad, rookie," she approved, a tone of amusement still in her voice. "You're the reaaaal deaaaal aaaalright. You went through aaaa lot of ruckus to get this, didn't you?"

Bendy blinked, slightly confused and embarrassed by the question. "You could hear that?"

Torinin broke into laughter, although it sounded more like a vulture trying to get a bone out of its throat than a cheery confirmation. "You kidding? It waaaas so loud, we decided to baaaack up faaaarther-- we were worried you'd leaaaad them to us!"

"But I didn't," the devil countered.

"You're right about thaaaat. But did aaaanyone see you?"

All the pride drained out of his body as she asked about that; didn't she say to keep a low profile? Not like he cared about being seen, but it did minimize his victory a bit. "Yes," he answered, trying to hide his disappointment.

"Well then," she said, annoyance lacing her words. "I don't think you'll be getting into Daaaarkshire aaaanytime soon without aaaa fight." With a sigh, she handed back the severed head. "But you did whaaaat we aaaasked. We will taaaake you aaaand Boris to Draaaaculaaaa."

"What are we waiting for, then?" Bendy asked, his countenance brightening. "Let's get going!

Word count: 6,613/8,000