Dyatlov Pass Sequel - All Our Passing Nights [Chapter 5/?]
Title: Dyatlov Pass - All Our Passing Nights.
Author: x_carnivale_x
Pairing: Ville/Bam, et all.
Rating: R/NC17. for mentions of sex, violence, gore, and horror.
Summary: That is not dead which can eternal lie. And with strange aeons, even death may die.
Author's Notes: So yeah, this chapter is a bit longer than the others, mostly because. Well, shit goes down in this chapter. We get to see Ryan's nephew, whom I have named Hunter, have more interaction with Mige, we get to see Johnny, and Bam is still waiting on his brother to contact him. So, yeah, woo! Enjoy.
Previous Chapters: Chapter One // Chapter Two // Chapter Three // Chapter Four //
For those that want to read the original story, here is a link to the full story. [Starts at the last chapter, all previous chapters are linked.]
Dyatlov Pass - The Original
Mige drove back to Bam's place, stating quietly that he didn't want Bam to drive. Instead they left his car at Ville's and drove back in silence. Mige twiddled his thumbs on the steering wheel in front of him, Bam not daring to look up from his lap. He felt heavy in his seat, his body sinking down into the car seat and his feet pressing down firmly into the floor. When they finally got to his place, he had to all but force and pry himself out of the car to face his own home. They entered the house slowly, Mige leaning down to pet Uriel when he trotted up to them. Bam noted that Gabriel was not curling around his feet as he used to do, and Bam sighed. He heard Mige clear his throat.
"I'll get your mom to take care of them again. She won't mind."
"Thanks." Bam mumbled. "I'm... I'm just gunna grab some clothes."
"Yeah, okay... I need to call Linde too."
And Bam nodded and moved up the stairs towards his bedroom, scratching with irritation at the back of his neck. He slipped his phone out of his pocket and stared at the screen, double checking for missed alerts - anything from his brother or his parents - there was nothing. He forced himself to swallow, pressing 3 for Jess's speed-dial. But he didn't press send. He twiddled his thumb over the green button, but never pressed down. Instead, and without any real resolve, he swished his thumb over and pressed end, closing his phone quickly whilst shoving it in his pocket. He glanced around his room. He still had the bag with a couple of Ville's shirts and a pair of his sweatpants, and Bam tossed in a pair of jeans and an extra shirt with them. He double checked for his phone charger and moved steadily back towards the stairs. But midway through the descent he heard Mige's voice fluttering across the empty rooms of the house. He paused, his hand still on the rail, and leaned forward a bit to listen. He sounded like he was still in the entrance hallway, and Bam figured he wouldn't be able to see him. For a moment, he felt kind of uneasy about the thought of just eavesdropping on him, but he shoved the thought aside and listened anyway.
"Yeah, I can pick you and Gas up once I get Bam dropped off with Dunn."
--
"Oh, good, you got in touch with him? So he'll be with you? Good..."
--
"I suppose. God, Mikko... It's like. It's like he's not even here. Like I'm looking at him and he doesn't even see me. Like he's looking right through me."
--
"Yeah I guess you're right." He sighed. "Well, I guess we'll see what happens. I gotta call Ape - I'll pick you up in a little while."
--
"Of course. Alright. Bye, man."
Bam didn't move or say anything, slightly stunned at Mige's words, and he slipped quietly to sit down on the steps. He waited for him to call April, still listening closely, but wondering what he had meant about him not being there.
If you can bring him out of this, you'll do it by being there, because you know he needs you. You've gotta be there, Bam...
Bam shook his head at the memory and rested his head lightly against the stair railings.
"I'm trying..." He whispered to no one in particular, his voice nearing silence.
He waited longer, heard him talking to April about tending to Uriel and Gabriel, and about how he was thankful, and that Bam was thankful too, and missed her. Bam cleared his throat before Mige could say anything else, hoping to gain his attention, and stood quickly, moving back down the stairs as if he'd just begun to descend them. Bam heard him mumble a quick goodbye into the phone before snapping it shut.
"You get in touch with Ape?" He mumbled, while picking at a fray string on his bag.
"Yeah, she and Phil will take care of the pup and kitty. They don't mind."
"Okay."
"Ready?"
"Yeah, let's go."
::
The drive to Ryan's home was only about 30 minutes and once again, Bam and Mige rode in silence. Bam stared out the window lazily, hearing as Mige fiddled idly with the radio. He didn't know people even listened to radio anymore. His ears perked to attention when he heard a voice say his name.
"After months of search and investigation, and though it is rumored that Bam may currently be in the States, there's still no official word on the status or whereabouts of Bam Margera and Ville Va-"
Mige flipped it off quickly. They listened to his Rooney CD instead. Bam decided not to mention the radio report and instead continued his silence, staring out the window again and letting his eyes unfocus as hordes of evergreens whipped by them. He listened as "Sleep Song" played over the stereo and he didn't want to remind himself that the song was about suicide. But god it was beautiful, the melody soft yet determined. He tried not to zone out, not to lose his grip, but he couldn't help it. For a split second, his brain detached, and he forgot where exactly he was, watching the pine trees swarm past him. He felt his head fuzz up, and his ears felt like they were full of water, and he could hear his heart beat. He breathed a little more heavily and tried to refocus. But all he could hear was the quiet beating of his heart and a subtle little scratching noise. He shivered and felt goosebumps raising the hairs on his arms. He tried to move his head, but it felt too heavy, and he could hear a faint, raspy voice. He couldn't understand what it was saying. He was shaking, and he felt his heart increase in speed, and he couldn't focus back in. Couldn't fucking shake out of it.
It whispered again.
And again.
Louder.
And a bit louder.
Until finally, he felt whatever it was was right next to him, scathingly whispering loudly into his ear.
"Poistaa."
Bam startled violently, and he felt his phone vibrate once in his back pocket. Mige stared at him with sudden concern.
"Dude, are you okay?"
"Huh? Oh, uh. Yeah. Yeah." He fumbled and fidgeted until he'd managed to work his phone out of his back pocket. He flipped it open, expecting maybe a phone call or a text from Jess, and yet when he could read the screen, he merely stared at it dumbstruck.
[One New Text Message: Willa Walo]
With a trembling finger he pressed okay for his phone to open the message, but when it opened, there was no message. Merely empty space, saying it was from Ville. His brows furrow and he tried not to pant. Mige spoke again.
"Bam!" He half-yelled, trying to gain his attention. "Are you okay? Who is it?"
Bam glanced up at him, subconsciously hiding the screen from him, twisting it just slightly out of view.
"Oh, uh, no one. I must have pressed a button."
"...You seem freaked, what happened? You jumped about a foot out of your skin."
"Just zoned out, it startled me. Sorry."
"...If you're sure."
"Yeah."
He stared straight ahead now, not daring to look back out the window at the trees. They drove without another word between them and Bam noted with peaked, cautious curiousity that "Sleep Song" was playing.... He could have sworn this song had already played. He sighed and tried to stay steady.
::
They pulled into Ryan's driveway, Mige getting out only to walk Bam to the door, muttering something about how he was going to go pick up Linde and Gas. He would be back soon. Bam nodded and knocked on the door, Ryan opening it almost instananeously and pulling Bam into a hug.
"Hey, man. Are you okay? How are you feeling?"
"Okay, I suppose."
"Good... good. Um, so Hunter's here. He's been excited, been wanting to see you. Heh."
Bam felt the corners of his lips turn upwards for a moment and Ryan called out to Hunter, saying Bam was there. The young boy toddled into the room, staring up at Bam and smiling. Bam smiled back and ruffled the boy's hair. But the smile on Hunter's face faded as he continued to stare at Bam. Bam tried not to let it bother him, until Hunter spoke - his voice inquisitive and quiet.
"Are they okay, Uncle Ryan?"
The smile on Bam's face disappeared immediately, and Ryan paused, glancing up at Bam and smiling a nervous smile before turning his attention back to his nephew.
"Yeah, Hunter. He's doing okay. He's happy to see you."
And Hunter said nothing but smiled a small smile towards Bam. Bam couldn't help but notice the way the young boy stared fixedly up at him. He swallowed thickly and plastered on a grin, saying that yes, of course, he was happy to see Hunter. Ryan sighed and spoke.
"I'm going to grab a beer, probably call Mige, see how long he'll be. You want something to drink too?"
Bam just shook his head.
"No, actually, I think I'll just stay here, keep Hunter company for a bit. Would you like that?" Hunter nodded vigorously and Ryan smirked and muttered an okay, pulling out his cell phone to dial Mige's number. Bam heard him start to speak as he walked away, until the conversation was out of earshot. He glanced down at Hunter and smiled again, and Hunter smiled back from the floor, grabbing onto Bam's hand and taking him to his room. He sat down on the floor and looked up at Bam, generously offering up his Legos to Bam so that he would hopefully join him in construction. Bam chuckled quietly and sat down on the floor by Hunter and tried to remember the last time he'd actually played with Legos - Bam was childish, but not normally that childish.
They built in silence, and for some reason, Bam felt an overwhelming sense of relaxation in the quiet between himself and Hunter. And for a few minutes, amidst his building blocks and his ugly blue, red, and green space ship, he felt calm and at ease. His face was placid as he built, determined for some reason, and he dared to glance over at Hunter, who'd been working on building a somewhat egg-shaped structure. Hunter just looked up at him and Bam smiled briefly, and let it fade, letting his eyes drop back to his own creation. Hunter's voice interrupted his train of thought.
"Why are you sad?" He heard Hunter ask quietly. Bam's head snapped to attention, his eyes immediately darting over to the boy, who he found was staring right back at him, his blond hair falling just over his eyes. The child wiped the stray strands away haphazardly. Bam cleared his throat and spoke nervously.
"What makes you think I'm sad?"
"You just look sad... Why?"
"Well...." He paused, trying to imagine how he might say this. "Let's just say... that a lot of really bad things have happened to me recently, and they've made me sad."
"Oh..." muttered Hunter, feigning understanding, and Bam saw him start to focus again on his building blocks. Without even glancing up from his circular structure, the child spoke again.
"What about your friend?"
"...What friend?"
"The one you came in with."
"You mean Mige?"
"No."
"Your uncle?"
"No, not Uncle Ryan." Hunter paused and for a moment, Bam was willing to discredit whatever the child was about to say, but his small voice continued with. "No, I mean the pretty green-eyed man." And upon his words, Bam startled suddenly, and fumblingly dropped the spaceship he'd been so [sort of] carefully building. A few pieces broke off as it landed on the floor. Bam stared down at the boy as he simply kept on building, oblivious to Bam's sudden astonishment, until he proudly held up his design for Bam to see, saying "Look, it's a helicopter!" Bam stared and furrowed his brow. He tried to keep his breathing steady, but he couldn't. He cleared his throat and looked away from Hunter.
"Uh, hey, Hunter, listen. I need to go talk to your uncle for a bit. So you just... keep building. That's a good helicopter..."
Hunter said nothing, but nodded quietly while turning back to his Lego masterpiece. Bam swallowed thickly and stood, his balance wavering slightly. He couldn't help but stare down at the boy on the floor. Hunter just looked up and smiled at him; Bam tried to smile back, but he could hardly turn his lips up. Instead he left the room quickly, walking down the hall towards the kitchen where Ryan was sitting at the table sipping quietly on a beer. Ryan's phone sat next to him and Bam walked gingerly towards him. He pulled out the chair across from Ryan and sat down, Ryan nodding at him.
"So uh... how far away is Mige?"
"Not far. He said they'll all be here in a bit. Probably 10 minutes or so."
"Ah."
There was a stagnant pause between them and Bam felt the air thicken as he leaned slightly to look past Ryan again down into the playroom where Hunter still built meticulously. He cleared his throat and looked back at Ryan.
"Hey, Dunn... did Hunter ever meet Ville?"
"Huh? Oh uh, no, I don't think so. Why?"
"Oh, just curious..." He paused again, looking away from Ryan and sighing. "You know what, I think I will take that beer." Ryan just nodded and moved quickly to the fridge, grabbing a Corona and setting in front of Bam. Bam muttered a thank you and popped it open taking a quick swig. He hardly tasted it.
Mige arrived in a matter of minutes, Linde and Gas and to Bam's surprise, Knoxville, trailing in behind him. They hugged Bam gently, Johnny glancing down at him and muttering a quiet, awkward hello whilst leaning down to give him a hug. He mumbled into Bam's ear, asking how he was, but before Bam could answer, he could hear Hunter running into the room excitedly - the conversation was abandoned. Ryan laughed as Mige fawned over Hunter. And when Bam looked down at his hands, he saw he'd finished his beer, and he wondered when he'd done that. He just looked back up and saw Ryan holding Hunter as Hunter stared intently at Bam. Ryan was telling him it was time for bed. He sat Hunter back down and Bam saw the boy walking over to him with his arms stretched out for Bam to hug him. Bam couldn't help but lean down to embrace the child and hold him for a second. Hunter was talking to him.
"Don't be sad. It'll be okay." He said innocently, and Bam furrowed his brows, but felt calm. Bam lifted him slowly, mumbling thank you quietly for only Hunter to hear, as he passed the child back to Ryan. Bam sat back down, putting his fingers against his forehead, moving to take another swig of his beer - forgetting it was empty. He sighed quietly, his eyes closed, and felt that he was waiting. But waiting for what? The others were talking, drinking their different beverages - believe it or not, Ryan had a coke instead of another beer - but Bam just sat there holding his empty beer bottle, eyes closed and dead-still as if something were going to happen. He waited. And waited. Until finally Gas was shaking his arm, telling him to come back.
"Stay with us, man." He said with a chuckle. Or at least... Bam thought it was a chuckle. It was really hard to tell these days. He paused and looked around at them and plastered on an embarrassed smile, moving to set the bottle down on the table and attempt to relax. But as he did, he felt his pocket start to vibrate again, and Bam startled violently, bumping up against the table, and the beer bottle toppled over haphazardly. Bam noted that it was lucky it didn't break. The others stared at Bam as fumbled in his back pocket, all confused as to what exactly he was doing or what had caused him to startle so grandly. He tried to smile at them as he retrieved his phone, but the minute he opened the cover, he found smiling impossible - his mouth fell open and he couldn't even think to make a sound.
[One New Message: Willa Walo]
He heard his friends questioning him, questioning the sudden look on his face, but he didn't care. Without another thought he pressed select to open the message. It wasn't blank this time.
"My ears hurt. I can hardly hear."
But the others couldn't ignore the way Bam suddenly clutched the phone in a death grip - his hands trembling as he did. It was Mige who first leaned forward to attempt to pry the device from Bam's fingers. But Bam shook his head, pulling the phone out of his grip.
"The fuck... Oh god..." He muttered breathily.
"Bam, what? Who is it?"
"I oh god..."
He read the message once more before he felt his fingers giving way, dropping away, and the phone was falling to the ground. It made a loud thud but surprisingly it didn't break apart. Bam didn't care, he sat back leaning fully against the chair, his eyes unfocused, body shaking. He stared over at Johnny, who had bent down to pick up the device and held it now in the palm of his hand. He stared at the screen, then back at Bam, then back at the screen, until even Bam was questioning the look he was giving him.
"Bam there's nothing here."
"I had a message."
"There's nothing. You must have just thought it buzzed."
"NO, no it did, it did! It was Ville."
"...Ville....?" Mumbled Ryan. "Bam... that isn't possible."
"Bam, there's nothing here, no messages, nothing from Ville... There's nothing."
"No, there was! There fucking was!" He stood up violently, knocking his chair back and to the floor. They just stared at him and he breathed short, desperate breathes. "But... I saw. There... there was." He glanced at all of their faces, Johnny looking between him and the phone, Mige just stared up at him, his eyes quivering. Bam clenched his eyes shut and pressed his palms into them, gritting his teeth, trying to just breathe. He felt Ryan touch his shoulder as he started to try to talk to Bam.
"Bam, it's gunna-"
Bam couldn't help himself. He wrenched out of Ryan's grip quickly, stumbling slightly to the side and staring over at him. He couldn't tell if Ryan looked hurt or frightened. Maybe both. Bam tried to steady his breathing, tried to speak calmly.
"I just. I uh. I need some air." And he turned quickly to run towards the patio doors. He slid the glass door back closed haphazardly, not bothering to even care if it shut all the way, and he fell heavily against it, still breathing hard. He slid down to the ground, his back pressed against the glass, his arms hanging over his bent knees. He stared across the lawn to the line of trees and clenched his eyes shut, shivering and shaking and just trying to fucking breathe again. He leaned his head back against the glass, keeping his eyes shut, faintly listening to the voices of his friends. He tried not to understand what they were saying, but he couldn't shut them out.
"He's delusional, Dunn! He isn't... he isn't snapping out of this."
"He still can, Mikko. And if we just give up now, it's going to get worse." Ryan said calmly.
"S-so what do we do?" Johnny asked quietly.
"I don't know... I just. I don't know." Ryan muttered slowly with an exasperated sigh.
[Chapter Five Cut]
So there's Chapter five. I hope you all enjoyed it - it was a harder chapter to write, I don't know, I felt like just making it natural and such was difficult, but I cranked through it and hopefully it came out alright. What do you all think? Still digging it? Reviews, please.
[Pandora]
Author: x_carnivale_x
Pairing: Ville/Bam, et all.
Rating: R/NC17. for mentions of sex, violence, gore, and horror.
Summary: That is not dead which can eternal lie. And with strange aeons, even death may die.
Author's Notes: So yeah, this chapter is a bit longer than the others, mostly because. Well, shit goes down in this chapter. We get to see Ryan's nephew, whom I have named Hunter, have more interaction with Mige, we get to see Johnny, and Bam is still waiting on his brother to contact him. So, yeah, woo! Enjoy.
Previous Chapters: Chapter One // Chapter Two // Chapter Three // Chapter Four //
For those that want to read the original story, here is a link to the full story. [Starts at the last chapter, all previous chapters are linked.]
Dyatlov Pass - The Original
Mige drove back to Bam's place, stating quietly that he didn't want Bam to drive. Instead they left his car at Ville's and drove back in silence. Mige twiddled his thumbs on the steering wheel in front of him, Bam not daring to look up from his lap. He felt heavy in his seat, his body sinking down into the car seat and his feet pressing down firmly into the floor. When they finally got to his place, he had to all but force and pry himself out of the car to face his own home. They entered the house slowly, Mige leaning down to pet Uriel when he trotted up to them. Bam noted that Gabriel was not curling around his feet as he used to do, and Bam sighed. He heard Mige clear his throat.
"I'll get your mom to take care of them again. She won't mind."
"Thanks." Bam mumbled. "I'm... I'm just gunna grab some clothes."
"Yeah, okay... I need to call Linde too."
And Bam nodded and moved up the stairs towards his bedroom, scratching with irritation at the back of his neck. He slipped his phone out of his pocket and stared at the screen, double checking for missed alerts - anything from his brother or his parents - there was nothing. He forced himself to swallow, pressing 3 for Jess's speed-dial. But he didn't press send. He twiddled his thumb over the green button, but never pressed down. Instead, and without any real resolve, he swished his thumb over and pressed end, closing his phone quickly whilst shoving it in his pocket. He glanced around his room. He still had the bag with a couple of Ville's shirts and a pair of his sweatpants, and Bam tossed in a pair of jeans and an extra shirt with them. He double checked for his phone charger and moved steadily back towards the stairs. But midway through the descent he heard Mige's voice fluttering across the empty rooms of the house. He paused, his hand still on the rail, and leaned forward a bit to listen. He sounded like he was still in the entrance hallway, and Bam figured he wouldn't be able to see him. For a moment, he felt kind of uneasy about the thought of just eavesdropping on him, but he shoved the thought aside and listened anyway.
"Yeah, I can pick you and Gas up once I get Bam dropped off with Dunn."
--
"Oh, good, you got in touch with him? So he'll be with you? Good..."
--
"I suppose. God, Mikko... It's like. It's like he's not even here. Like I'm looking at him and he doesn't even see me. Like he's looking right through me."
--
"Yeah I guess you're right." He sighed. "Well, I guess we'll see what happens. I gotta call Ape - I'll pick you up in a little while."
--
"Of course. Alright. Bye, man."
Bam didn't move or say anything, slightly stunned at Mige's words, and he slipped quietly to sit down on the steps. He waited for him to call April, still listening closely, but wondering what he had meant about him not being there.
If you can bring him out of this, you'll do it by being there, because you know he needs you. You've gotta be there, Bam...
Bam shook his head at the memory and rested his head lightly against the stair railings.
"I'm trying..." He whispered to no one in particular, his voice nearing silence.
He waited longer, heard him talking to April about tending to Uriel and Gabriel, and about how he was thankful, and that Bam was thankful too, and missed her. Bam cleared his throat before Mige could say anything else, hoping to gain his attention, and stood quickly, moving back down the stairs as if he'd just begun to descend them. Bam heard him mumble a quick goodbye into the phone before snapping it shut.
"You get in touch with Ape?" He mumbled, while picking at a fray string on his bag.
"Yeah, she and Phil will take care of the pup and kitty. They don't mind."
"Okay."
"Ready?"
"Yeah, let's go."
::
The drive to Ryan's home was only about 30 minutes and once again, Bam and Mige rode in silence. Bam stared out the window lazily, hearing as Mige fiddled idly with the radio. He didn't know people even listened to radio anymore. His ears perked to attention when he heard a voice say his name.
"After months of search and investigation, and though it is rumored that Bam may currently be in the States, there's still no official word on the status or whereabouts of Bam Margera and Ville Va-"
Mige flipped it off quickly. They listened to his Rooney CD instead. Bam decided not to mention the radio report and instead continued his silence, staring out the window again and letting his eyes unfocus as hordes of evergreens whipped by them. He listened as "Sleep Song" played over the stereo and he didn't want to remind himself that the song was about suicide. But god it was beautiful, the melody soft yet determined. He tried not to zone out, not to lose his grip, but he couldn't help it. For a split second, his brain detached, and he forgot where exactly he was, watching the pine trees swarm past him. He felt his head fuzz up, and his ears felt like they were full of water, and he could hear his heart beat. He breathed a little more heavily and tried to refocus. But all he could hear was the quiet beating of his heart and a subtle little scratching noise. He shivered and felt goosebumps raising the hairs on his arms. He tried to move his head, but it felt too heavy, and he could hear a faint, raspy voice. He couldn't understand what it was saying. He was shaking, and he felt his heart increase in speed, and he couldn't focus back in. Couldn't fucking shake out of it.
It whispered again.
And again.
Louder.
And a bit louder.
Until finally, he felt whatever it was was right next to him, scathingly whispering loudly into his ear.
"Poistaa."
Bam startled violently, and he felt his phone vibrate once in his back pocket. Mige stared at him with sudden concern.
"Dude, are you okay?"
"Huh? Oh, uh. Yeah. Yeah." He fumbled and fidgeted until he'd managed to work his phone out of his back pocket. He flipped it open, expecting maybe a phone call or a text from Jess, and yet when he could read the screen, he merely stared at it dumbstruck.
[One New Text Message: Willa Walo]
With a trembling finger he pressed okay for his phone to open the message, but when it opened, there was no message. Merely empty space, saying it was from Ville. His brows furrow and he tried not to pant. Mige spoke again.
"Bam!" He half-yelled, trying to gain his attention. "Are you okay? Who is it?"
Bam glanced up at him, subconsciously hiding the screen from him, twisting it just slightly out of view.
"Oh, uh, no one. I must have pressed a button."
"...You seem freaked, what happened? You jumped about a foot out of your skin."
"Just zoned out, it startled me. Sorry."
"...If you're sure."
"Yeah."
He stared straight ahead now, not daring to look back out the window at the trees. They drove without another word between them and Bam noted with peaked, cautious curiousity that "Sleep Song" was playing.... He could have sworn this song had already played. He sighed and tried to stay steady.
::
They pulled into Ryan's driveway, Mige getting out only to walk Bam to the door, muttering something about how he was going to go pick up Linde and Gas. He would be back soon. Bam nodded and knocked on the door, Ryan opening it almost instananeously and pulling Bam into a hug.
"Hey, man. Are you okay? How are you feeling?"
"Okay, I suppose."
"Good... good. Um, so Hunter's here. He's been excited, been wanting to see you. Heh."
Bam felt the corners of his lips turn upwards for a moment and Ryan called out to Hunter, saying Bam was there. The young boy toddled into the room, staring up at Bam and smiling. Bam smiled back and ruffled the boy's hair. But the smile on Hunter's face faded as he continued to stare at Bam. Bam tried not to let it bother him, until Hunter spoke - his voice inquisitive and quiet.
"Are they okay, Uncle Ryan?"
The smile on Bam's face disappeared immediately, and Ryan paused, glancing up at Bam and smiling a nervous smile before turning his attention back to his nephew.
"Yeah, Hunter. He's doing okay. He's happy to see you."
And Hunter said nothing but smiled a small smile towards Bam. Bam couldn't help but notice the way the young boy stared fixedly up at him. He swallowed thickly and plastered on a grin, saying that yes, of course, he was happy to see Hunter. Ryan sighed and spoke.
"I'm going to grab a beer, probably call Mige, see how long he'll be. You want something to drink too?"
Bam just shook his head.
"No, actually, I think I'll just stay here, keep Hunter company for a bit. Would you like that?" Hunter nodded vigorously and Ryan smirked and muttered an okay, pulling out his cell phone to dial Mige's number. Bam heard him start to speak as he walked away, until the conversation was out of earshot. He glanced down at Hunter and smiled again, and Hunter smiled back from the floor, grabbing onto Bam's hand and taking him to his room. He sat down on the floor and looked up at Bam, generously offering up his Legos to Bam so that he would hopefully join him in construction. Bam chuckled quietly and sat down on the floor by Hunter and tried to remember the last time he'd actually played with Legos - Bam was childish, but not normally that childish.
They built in silence, and for some reason, Bam felt an overwhelming sense of relaxation in the quiet between himself and Hunter. And for a few minutes, amidst his building blocks and his ugly blue, red, and green space ship, he felt calm and at ease. His face was placid as he built, determined for some reason, and he dared to glance over at Hunter, who'd been working on building a somewhat egg-shaped structure. Hunter just looked up at him and Bam smiled briefly, and let it fade, letting his eyes drop back to his own creation. Hunter's voice interrupted his train of thought.
"Why are you sad?" He heard Hunter ask quietly. Bam's head snapped to attention, his eyes immediately darting over to the boy, who he found was staring right back at him, his blond hair falling just over his eyes. The child wiped the stray strands away haphazardly. Bam cleared his throat and spoke nervously.
"What makes you think I'm sad?"
"You just look sad... Why?"
"Well...." He paused, trying to imagine how he might say this. "Let's just say... that a lot of really bad things have happened to me recently, and they've made me sad."
"Oh..." muttered Hunter, feigning understanding, and Bam saw him start to focus again on his building blocks. Without even glancing up from his circular structure, the child spoke again.
"What about your friend?"
"...What friend?"
"The one you came in with."
"You mean Mige?"
"No."
"Your uncle?"
"No, not Uncle Ryan." Hunter paused and for a moment, Bam was willing to discredit whatever the child was about to say, but his small voice continued with. "No, I mean the pretty green-eyed man." And upon his words, Bam startled suddenly, and fumblingly dropped the spaceship he'd been so [sort of] carefully building. A few pieces broke off as it landed on the floor. Bam stared down at the boy as he simply kept on building, oblivious to Bam's sudden astonishment, until he proudly held up his design for Bam to see, saying "Look, it's a helicopter!" Bam stared and furrowed his brow. He tried to keep his breathing steady, but he couldn't. He cleared his throat and looked away from Hunter.
"Uh, hey, Hunter, listen. I need to go talk to your uncle for a bit. So you just... keep building. That's a good helicopter..."
Hunter said nothing, but nodded quietly while turning back to his Lego masterpiece. Bam swallowed thickly and stood, his balance wavering slightly. He couldn't help but stare down at the boy on the floor. Hunter just looked up and smiled at him; Bam tried to smile back, but he could hardly turn his lips up. Instead he left the room quickly, walking down the hall towards the kitchen where Ryan was sitting at the table sipping quietly on a beer. Ryan's phone sat next to him and Bam walked gingerly towards him. He pulled out the chair across from Ryan and sat down, Ryan nodding at him.
"So uh... how far away is Mige?"
"Not far. He said they'll all be here in a bit. Probably 10 minutes or so."
"Ah."
There was a stagnant pause between them and Bam felt the air thicken as he leaned slightly to look past Ryan again down into the playroom where Hunter still built meticulously. He cleared his throat and looked back at Ryan.
"Hey, Dunn... did Hunter ever meet Ville?"
"Huh? Oh uh, no, I don't think so. Why?"
"Oh, just curious..." He paused again, looking away from Ryan and sighing. "You know what, I think I will take that beer." Ryan just nodded and moved quickly to the fridge, grabbing a Corona and setting in front of Bam. Bam muttered a thank you and popped it open taking a quick swig. He hardly tasted it.
Mige arrived in a matter of minutes, Linde and Gas and to Bam's surprise, Knoxville, trailing in behind him. They hugged Bam gently, Johnny glancing down at him and muttering a quiet, awkward hello whilst leaning down to give him a hug. He mumbled into Bam's ear, asking how he was, but before Bam could answer, he could hear Hunter running into the room excitedly - the conversation was abandoned. Ryan laughed as Mige fawned over Hunter. And when Bam looked down at his hands, he saw he'd finished his beer, and he wondered when he'd done that. He just looked back up and saw Ryan holding Hunter as Hunter stared intently at Bam. Ryan was telling him it was time for bed. He sat Hunter back down and Bam saw the boy walking over to him with his arms stretched out for Bam to hug him. Bam couldn't help but lean down to embrace the child and hold him for a second. Hunter was talking to him.
"Don't be sad. It'll be okay." He said innocently, and Bam furrowed his brows, but felt calm. Bam lifted him slowly, mumbling thank you quietly for only Hunter to hear, as he passed the child back to Ryan. Bam sat back down, putting his fingers against his forehead, moving to take another swig of his beer - forgetting it was empty. He sighed quietly, his eyes closed, and felt that he was waiting. But waiting for what? The others were talking, drinking their different beverages - believe it or not, Ryan had a coke instead of another beer - but Bam just sat there holding his empty beer bottle, eyes closed and dead-still as if something were going to happen. He waited. And waited. Until finally Gas was shaking his arm, telling him to come back.
"Stay with us, man." He said with a chuckle. Or at least... Bam thought it was a chuckle. It was really hard to tell these days. He paused and looked around at them and plastered on an embarrassed smile, moving to set the bottle down on the table and attempt to relax. But as he did, he felt his pocket start to vibrate again, and Bam startled violently, bumping up against the table, and the beer bottle toppled over haphazardly. Bam noted that it was lucky it didn't break. The others stared at Bam as fumbled in his back pocket, all confused as to what exactly he was doing or what had caused him to startle so grandly. He tried to smile at them as he retrieved his phone, but the minute he opened the cover, he found smiling impossible - his mouth fell open and he couldn't even think to make a sound.
[One New Message: Willa Walo]
He heard his friends questioning him, questioning the sudden look on his face, but he didn't care. Without another thought he pressed select to open the message. It wasn't blank this time.
"My ears hurt. I can hardly hear."
But the others couldn't ignore the way Bam suddenly clutched the phone in a death grip - his hands trembling as he did. It was Mige who first leaned forward to attempt to pry the device from Bam's fingers. But Bam shook his head, pulling the phone out of his grip.
"The fuck... Oh god..." He muttered breathily.
"Bam, what? Who is it?"
"I oh god..."
He read the message once more before he felt his fingers giving way, dropping away, and the phone was falling to the ground. It made a loud thud but surprisingly it didn't break apart. Bam didn't care, he sat back leaning fully against the chair, his eyes unfocused, body shaking. He stared over at Johnny, who had bent down to pick up the device and held it now in the palm of his hand. He stared at the screen, then back at Bam, then back at the screen, until even Bam was questioning the look he was giving him.
"Bam there's nothing here."
"I had a message."
"There's nothing. You must have just thought it buzzed."
"NO, no it did, it did! It was Ville."
"...Ville....?" Mumbled Ryan. "Bam... that isn't possible."
"Bam, there's nothing here, no messages, nothing from Ville... There's nothing."
"No, there was! There fucking was!" He stood up violently, knocking his chair back and to the floor. They just stared at him and he breathed short, desperate breathes. "But... I saw. There... there was." He glanced at all of their faces, Johnny looking between him and the phone, Mige just stared up at him, his eyes quivering. Bam clenched his eyes shut and pressed his palms into them, gritting his teeth, trying to just breathe. He felt Ryan touch his shoulder as he started to try to talk to Bam.
"Bam, it's gunna-"
Bam couldn't help himself. He wrenched out of Ryan's grip quickly, stumbling slightly to the side and staring over at him. He couldn't tell if Ryan looked hurt or frightened. Maybe both. Bam tried to steady his breathing, tried to speak calmly.
"I just. I uh. I need some air." And he turned quickly to run towards the patio doors. He slid the glass door back closed haphazardly, not bothering to even care if it shut all the way, and he fell heavily against it, still breathing hard. He slid down to the ground, his back pressed against the glass, his arms hanging over his bent knees. He stared across the lawn to the line of trees and clenched his eyes shut, shivering and shaking and just trying to fucking breathe again. He leaned his head back against the glass, keeping his eyes shut, faintly listening to the voices of his friends. He tried not to understand what they were saying, but he couldn't shut them out.
"He's delusional, Dunn! He isn't... he isn't snapping out of this."
"He still can, Mikko. And if we just give up now, it's going to get worse." Ryan said calmly.
"S-so what do we do?" Johnny asked quietly.
"I don't know... I just. I don't know." Ryan muttered slowly with an exasperated sigh.
[Chapter Five Cut]
So there's Chapter five. I hope you all enjoyed it - it was a harder chapter to write, I don't know, I felt like just making it natural and such was difficult, but I cranked through it and hopefully it came out alright. What do you all think? Still digging it? Reviews, please.
[Pandora]