FIC - not just a piece in their games
Oh hey everyone! :)
So I got this idea the other day, while lying in bed trying to fall asleep, and for once I didn't forget the idea after I woke up the next day! MIRACLE OF MIRACLES. And it has been ages since I've really written anything, so I wanted to get this out and into the world.
Set immediately after "Reality Takes A Holiday," Dash discovers the true meaning behind Ned's final words to him, & Chisel is a sociopath, but isn't he always?
Leaving the torn pieces of the script to flutter away in the breeze, Dash turned away, not wanting to watch the Tellers' Volvo disappear down the street. He was going in one direction, the Tellers & Simon in another. Always divergent paths.
He should've known it never would've worked. Dash X, kid with the gray hair, boy without a real name, becoming the star of some TV show in an alternate reality, essentially taking over Marshall's life?
Tch. I'd be a lousy protagonist, he thought. Who wants that much attention, anyway? Who wants to be the center of constant adoration?
He did. Of course. It was just easier to lie to himself.
Gritting his teeth, he picked up his pace - where he was walking, he had no idea. Anywhere was better than on this happy street with these happy people and their happy, perfect lives.
Why am I here? Why the hell am I here?
And just like that, the answer was clear to him. His heart began to beat faster as something like hope surged in his veins. He didn't have to be here. He could go anywhere he wanted. Do anything. Be anything. Just as long as he got the hell out of Eerie.
“What you seek is right here in Eerie.”
Unbidden, Ned's words echoed in his mind. He stopped for a moment, and unconsciously he looked down at the marks on his hands.
What I seek? That old man didn't know the first thing about me, he thought, clenching his hands into fists. And he left me here. Offered Teller, of all people, the chance to get away from this place but told me I had to stay here.
Screw this. I'm gone.
His mind made up, Dash took off at a jog, single-mindedly pursuing the outskirts of Eerie. He'd been up and down this street before, but not once had it occurred to him that he could keep going down the road, keep going right out of Eerie and never look back. The knowledge was freeing. His spirits lifted as the back of the “Eerie Indiana, pop. 16,661” sign came into view - he was close, almost past the city limits, just a few more steps-
Wham!
He stumbled backwards, dazed. There was nothing there, nothing in front of him, but it felt like he'd run into a wall - that's impossible...isn't it? With a trembling hand, he reached out, and exactly where Eerie's imaginary border lay, he met resistance.
He was blocked in.
“No,” he said aloud, though he was the only one there, then louder, “NO!”
Panic flaring in his chest, he began to feel along the 'wall', moving paralell to the left and to the right; there was no give no matter where he went. Furiously he started punching the wall, desperation taking over - I can't be trapped, I can't, I can't...! But it was no use. No matter what he did, there was no give, and he sank to the ground, shaking. Hot tears stung the corners of his eyes.
“Trying to leave, Mr. X?”
Dash started and whipped his head around. Mayor Chisel and a policeman - oh look, he brought a lackey, Dash thought bitterly - strolled up to him. Dash decided to adopt his usual snarky tactics.
“Maybe I was, your excellency. What's it to you?”
Chisel tutted disapprovingly, shaking his head. The policeman mimed his actions to a T.
“Oh no no, we can't have you escaping on us,” Chisel chided him - his use of the word 'escape' made all the hairs on the back of Dash's neck stand straight up. “You see, we have a specific purpose for you here. A role that only you can fill.”
After the events of the previous day, Dash never wanted to hear anything about 'roles' ever again. Snarling, he stood up and turned to face Chisel. “Look here, Mayor, I'm not here for your entertainment.”
Chisel smiled - a tight-lipped, thin smile that had no trace of amusement in it. “I don't think you're in a position to argue. I have to admit, we were quite worried-” here, the officer gave a slight nod, as if to confirm- “when it seemed you and Mr. Teller were becoming... what's the term you kids use now? 'Chummy'?”
Dash could feel rage churning in his gut - it took everything in him to resist leaping up and socking Chisel in the jaw. The only thing that stopped him was the policeman - though a night in jail wouldn't be terrible compared to his everyday life, he really didn't want to give Chisel the satisfaction of throwing him into a cell.
“Well, gee, seeing as I nearly just got him shot, I think I can safely say we are anything but chummy,” he said with a scowl. This time, Chisel's smile was geniune.
“That's music to my ears. Young Teller simply can't run around unapposed challenging the system we have worked so hard to maintain,” he told Dash. “That's where you come in. You're the perfect foil for him. The perfect rival.”
“And what if I refuse to play along?” Dash questioned, though he knew it was already too late. By using that script to nearly off Marshall, he'd let himself become a pawn in Chisel's sick game. Whatever that game was. Maintaining Eerie's status quo at any cost? Chisel strode up to him, leaned down so they were face-to-face, and said softly, “What makes you think you ever had a choice?”
The blood in Dash's veins went cold. Chisel was a grade-A sociopath, no doubt about it, but Dash hadn't realized it until that moment. There was nothing he could say in response, and Chisel knew it. Satisfied, the mayor straightened up, pressed down his suit jacket like being in Dash's proximity had sullied it somehow, and then turned to walk back towards the city, his city. His game board.
“We'll be in touch, Dash X.” He waved a hand over his shoulder, and then he was gone. The policeman, however, walked in the other direction, straight through the invisible wall, got into a patrol car that Dash hadn't noticed was there, and drove off, away from Eerie. Exactly where Dash himself couldn't follow.
For a long time, Dash stood there, staring at nothing, feeling nothing. Since waking up in Eerie months before, he'd been drifting, not sure who he'd been or who he was supposed to be - now to find out that he was just a puppet, the insturment of a deranged madman?
No.
He refused to believe it.
Looking towards Eerie, the town where he was apparently trapped, Dash X made a decision. No one was going to use him. He was going to be the master of his own fate, and Eerie could go to hell. But there was a step he had to take to make that happen, and he didn't relish taking it-
-he had to make amends with Teller. Neither one was going to take down Chisel and the forces of weirdness alone.
“Hey, Teller, sorry I tried to have you killed & take your place, here's a Hallmark card, let's be buddies!” It wouldn't be easy, for sure, and it was going to take time, but it was the only way. Squaring his shoulders, Dash started walking back towards town and mentally geared himself up for the battle to come.
So I got this idea the other day, while lying in bed trying to fall asleep, and for once I didn't forget the idea after I woke up the next day! MIRACLE OF MIRACLES. And it has been ages since I've really written anything, so I wanted to get this out and into the world.
Set immediately after "Reality Takes A Holiday," Dash discovers the true meaning behind Ned's final words to him, & Chisel is a sociopath, but isn't he always?
Leaving the torn pieces of the script to flutter away in the breeze, Dash turned away, not wanting to watch the Tellers' Volvo disappear down the street. He was going in one direction, the Tellers & Simon in another. Always divergent paths.
He should've known it never would've worked. Dash X, kid with the gray hair, boy without a real name, becoming the star of some TV show in an alternate reality, essentially taking over Marshall's life?
Tch. I'd be a lousy protagonist, he thought. Who wants that much attention, anyway? Who wants to be the center of constant adoration?
He did. Of course. It was just easier to lie to himself.
Gritting his teeth, he picked up his pace - where he was walking, he had no idea. Anywhere was better than on this happy street with these happy people and their happy, perfect lives.
Why am I here? Why the hell am I here?
And just like that, the answer was clear to him. His heart began to beat faster as something like hope surged in his veins. He didn't have to be here. He could go anywhere he wanted. Do anything. Be anything. Just as long as he got the hell out of Eerie.
“What you seek is right here in Eerie.”
Unbidden, Ned's words echoed in his mind. He stopped for a moment, and unconsciously he looked down at the marks on his hands.
What I seek? That old man didn't know the first thing about me, he thought, clenching his hands into fists. And he left me here. Offered Teller, of all people, the chance to get away from this place but told me I had to stay here.
Screw this. I'm gone.
His mind made up, Dash took off at a jog, single-mindedly pursuing the outskirts of Eerie. He'd been up and down this street before, but not once had it occurred to him that he could keep going down the road, keep going right out of Eerie and never look back. The knowledge was freeing. His spirits lifted as the back of the “Eerie Indiana, pop. 16,661” sign came into view - he was close, almost past the city limits, just a few more steps-
Wham!
He stumbled backwards, dazed. There was nothing there, nothing in front of him, but it felt like he'd run into a wall - that's impossible...isn't it? With a trembling hand, he reached out, and exactly where Eerie's imaginary border lay, he met resistance.
He was blocked in.
“No,” he said aloud, though he was the only one there, then louder, “NO!”
Panic flaring in his chest, he began to feel along the 'wall', moving paralell to the left and to the right; there was no give no matter where he went. Furiously he started punching the wall, desperation taking over - I can't be trapped, I can't, I can't...! But it was no use. No matter what he did, there was no give, and he sank to the ground, shaking. Hot tears stung the corners of his eyes.
“Trying to leave, Mr. X?”
Dash started and whipped his head around. Mayor Chisel and a policeman - oh look, he brought a lackey, Dash thought bitterly - strolled up to him. Dash decided to adopt his usual snarky tactics.
“Maybe I was, your excellency. What's it to you?”
Chisel tutted disapprovingly, shaking his head. The policeman mimed his actions to a T.
“Oh no no, we can't have you escaping on us,” Chisel chided him - his use of the word 'escape' made all the hairs on the back of Dash's neck stand straight up. “You see, we have a specific purpose for you here. A role that only you can fill.”
After the events of the previous day, Dash never wanted to hear anything about 'roles' ever again. Snarling, he stood up and turned to face Chisel. “Look here, Mayor, I'm not here for your entertainment.”
Chisel smiled - a tight-lipped, thin smile that had no trace of amusement in it. “I don't think you're in a position to argue. I have to admit, we were quite worried-” here, the officer gave a slight nod, as if to confirm- “when it seemed you and Mr. Teller were becoming... what's the term you kids use now? 'Chummy'?”
Dash could feel rage churning in his gut - it took everything in him to resist leaping up and socking Chisel in the jaw. The only thing that stopped him was the policeman - though a night in jail wouldn't be terrible compared to his everyday life, he really didn't want to give Chisel the satisfaction of throwing him into a cell.
“Well, gee, seeing as I nearly just got him shot, I think I can safely say we are anything but chummy,” he said with a scowl. This time, Chisel's smile was geniune.
“That's music to my ears. Young Teller simply can't run around unapposed challenging the system we have worked so hard to maintain,” he told Dash. “That's where you come in. You're the perfect foil for him. The perfect rival.”
“And what if I refuse to play along?” Dash questioned, though he knew it was already too late. By using that script to nearly off Marshall, he'd let himself become a pawn in Chisel's sick game. Whatever that game was. Maintaining Eerie's status quo at any cost? Chisel strode up to him, leaned down so they were face-to-face, and said softly, “What makes you think you ever had a choice?”
The blood in Dash's veins went cold. Chisel was a grade-A sociopath, no doubt about it, but Dash hadn't realized it until that moment. There was nothing he could say in response, and Chisel knew it. Satisfied, the mayor straightened up, pressed down his suit jacket like being in Dash's proximity had sullied it somehow, and then turned to walk back towards the city, his city. His game board.
“We'll be in touch, Dash X.” He waved a hand over his shoulder, and then he was gone. The policeman, however, walked in the other direction, straight through the invisible wall, got into a patrol car that Dash hadn't noticed was there, and drove off, away from Eerie. Exactly where Dash himself couldn't follow.
For a long time, Dash stood there, staring at nothing, feeling nothing. Since waking up in Eerie months before, he'd been drifting, not sure who he'd been or who he was supposed to be - now to find out that he was just a puppet, the insturment of a deranged madman?
No.
He refused to believe it.
Looking towards Eerie, the town where he was apparently trapped, Dash X made a decision. No one was going to use him. He was going to be the master of his own fate, and Eerie could go to hell. But there was a step he had to take to make that happen, and he didn't relish taking it-
-he had to make amends with Teller. Neither one was going to take down Chisel and the forces of weirdness alone.
“Hey, Teller, sorry I tried to have you killed & take your place, here's a Hallmark card, let's be buddies!” It wouldn't be easy, for sure, and it was going to take time, but it was the only way. Squaring his shoulders, Dash started walking back towards town and mentally geared himself up for the battle to come.