Chapter Text
“Let us begin. The ritual must be completed.” Sammy said before turning to walk away.
“Okay. I didn’t think I would make it out alive anyway. Stupid, huh?” Dani frowned, not watching him.
“Isn’t it human nature to want to escape possible death? Why have you just given up, little lamb? You weren’t so… sad… moments ago.” Sammy asked, turning back to her.
“Because I know there’s no point in fighting the inevitable.” She said.
“I suppose that is true. But you could still try. Not just give up.” Sammy said, coming back over to her.
“Meh.” She shrugged.
Sammy stopped so he was right in front of her again and frowned from behind the mask. He wasn’t expecting his sheep to just give in like this. This was a surprise to him.
Over the years, there have been plenty of sheep roaming the halls by breaking into the studio. Each one he sacrificed to his Lord. And each one put up a fight until their final breath. Male, female, it didn’t matter. They all tried to survive. But his Lord got them in the end.
Yet this one… was ready to give up. To die a painful and horrific death. With a chance of being turned into a monster too. He wasn’t sure what his Lord did with all those bodies so he assumed they became monsters like him and the others.
Yet… he was never set free. None of them were good enough for him. And since he killed that one sheep, his Lord seemed forever angry and even attacked him several times. But he kept coming out of the puddles as loyal as he was before he got dragged back in.
“Don’t you have a family waiting for you?” Sammy decided to ask.
“Sure. But they will probably think I was a dumbass for coming in here with my friends whether alive or dead.” Dani replied, still not looking at him.
“Where are your friends at?” Sammy asked.
“Gone. They ditched me after I fell down a hole.” She said, still surprised she didn’t break both of her ankles during that fall.
“Ah. So you’re alone… like I am…” Sammy said.
“I mean, you have all these other guys keeping you company.” She said, in a somewhat joking manor.
“Those guys attack anything in their line of sight.” Sammy replied. “I’m surprised you survived them.”
“Well, Jack was pretty chill though.” She said, wondering where he was.
“Yes… my old friend likes to hang out down in the sewers like he used to.”
“He’s pretty nice. And has a cool hat too.” Dani said.
“I’m glad he still remembers it. Helps me to recognize him even though we can talk through the ink.” Sammy replied, surprising her.
“That’s… kind of cool.” She said, intrigued at how they can talk to each other through the ink.
“Yes… but annoying with all the voices.”
“Oh.” She muttered.
“What… is today’s world like?” Sammy questioned.
“Alright. Technology came a long way since whatever time you remember last so there’s that.” Dani replied.
“So we’re pretty far into the future, huh?” Sammy asked.
“I guess. It’s 2017 now so…”
Sammy leaned down close to her face.
“Are you serious, little sheep? It’s been THAT long!?” Sammy asked, not expecting that year.
“Yep.” She said, a little uncomfortable with him so close.
“I can’t believe this… I have so many questions and no time.” Sammy said, glancing at the room nearby.
There were many thoughts running through his head. But he knew he wouldn’t have time to ask them. His Lord was still somewhere nearby. They had heard him a short while ago. He needed to do something. Something-
“…Does it hurt?” Dani cut off his train of thought.
“Hm?” Sammy hummed, looking back at her.
“What that ink demon is going to do to me. Will it hurt?”
“There’s no easy way of telling you this so… yes. It’s going to hurt.” Sammy replied, frowning.
“Okay…” She frowned too. Dani figured this was to be expected. “What about for you? Did it hurt when… you know happened?” She probably knew the answer but wanted to see what he would say.
This took Sammy by surprise. None of the other sheep had asked what happened to him and if it hurt before.
“Yes… I don’t remember much but I do remember the feeling of cold ink being forced into me with a syringe. Then… pain. I was in severe pain as that machine did this to my body. I was spat out and eventually ended up like this.” Sammy explained.
“Are you in pain now? Or still cold?” She decided to ask.
“I’m still cold but I’m not in any pain right now. I have been when my lord attacked me though.” Sammy replied.
“Why… is he your Lord?” Dani asked, wondering what it was like to be made out of ink and probably feel hypothermic. But chose not to ask that.
Sammy thought about this. When did he start seeing him as his Lord? And why is he his Lord? That was a good question he never thought of before.
“I… don’t know. I think I found a book and at some point afterward decided he was my Lord and that he would set me free.” Sammy said. “I’m sorry I can’t give a better answer.”
“It’s alright. Not like I have anyone to tell. It’ll just go to my cold and dark grave with me any minute now.” Dani said, realizing how this conversation took a interesting turn.
Sammy looked down at the sheep as he stood up straight. This was the first one to talk to him. To treat him as if he was still human. Surely there was something he could do for her.
His lord… may never stop being angry at him. And chances are, this sheep won’t work for him either. So…
“What do you want, sheep? Other than escaping alive that is. There has to be something else you want.” Sammy asked, throwing her off.
She wasn’t expecting this.
“I… uhh… I’m pretty tired.” Dani said, staring at him.
“Then I’ll take you to where a bed is. You can get some sleep there.” Sammy said, going around her to start untying the rope.
“…What happened to killing me?” She asked, quietly but loud enough that he could hear her.
“My Lord… he has had a lot of sacrifices but hasn’t set me free yet. I don’t believe he would do it for you so… I’m letting you go. But if you’re tired, you should rest. Don’t worry, I’ll keep you safe.”
“I see.” She said, really not expecting this.
The rope dropped down to the floor and Sammy walked back so he was in front of her again. She rubbed her wrists as he spoke.
“Shall we?” He held a hand out but she just stared at it, unsure of how to react to all of this. “Ah… I’m sorry…”
“What.” She asked, snapping out of it as he lowered his hand.
“You probably don’t want to touch a monster like me, yes?” Sammy asked.
“Um…” Well, she didn’t want to but… “…It’s not that. I just… wasn’t expecting this. I figured you were just going to leave me to die.”
“I told you, my Lord hasn’t set me free yet. So I’m not going to waste my time sacrificing you.” Sammy replied, moving his head away from her.
She couldn’t see it, but Dani thought he might be frowning behind the mask since she didn’t accept his hand right away.
Well… he doesn’t seem to want to hurt her now so…
Slowly she reached out and took his right hand into her left. He twitched when this happened as she shivered from his coldness. To her surprise, his hand was almost solid just wet and cold from the ink.
“…Are you okay?” She asked after a moment of silence.
“I should be asking you that.” He replied. “I don’t remember much about my past life but I know while I was strict at times, I was still a gentleman.”
“That’s great to know. But seriously, are you okay?” She asked again. “I’ll let go if you want-”
“No!” Sammy said, quickly. “I mean… I like this, little lamb. It’s been so long since a human has spoken to me and not ran out of fear pr anything. It’s also been a long time since I held hands with someone too.”
“That’s…um…” She tried to find the words. “I’m glad you like this. Your sadness was giving me anxiety. Thank you for not killing me too.”
“You’re welcome.” Sammy said then tilted his head. “Why was I giving you that of all things?”
“Well… I didn’t like I was making you sad by not accepting your hand right away. And you being sad was making me sad.”
“Ah… I’m sorry for making you sad.” Sammy replied, understanding.
“Thanks. But no offense, if you were human and went from wanting to kill me to letting me go, I probably wouldn’t of felt bad or willing held hands with you. It’s just hard not to feel bad about something that no one here deserved.” She replied.
“I understand.” Sammy said. “I would probably be the same way if I were you and still human. Come on.”
Sammy started walking away and took her with him. They went through the other door nearby and headed back up and through the Music Department through the exit door.
Then they ended up in the infirmary right as Jack was climbing up the stairs and stopped when he saw them.
“Hello Jack.” Sammy said as Dani waved silently. He then led her to the bed in the room and had her sit down.
“Here. You can get some sleep here.” Sammy said.
“Thanks.” She said, still unsure if she could trust any of this.
But Jack was here so maybe he’ll help her rather than Sammy if things go south and he does attack her.
“You’re welcome.” He said, going over to the stairs they came down and sat on them. Jack followed him, wondering what was going on. “I’ll stay here and protect you. Looks like Jack will help.”
“Okay.” She nodded and laid down.
Dani took a deep breath, not caring about the ink or dust anymore. Then things became quiet.
“Are you alright, Sammy?” She asked, noticing he had gone silent. He didn‘t reply so she continued. “Is there something on your mind?”
“There are plenty of things on my mind, little lamb. Along with a… lot of voices.” Sammy finally replied. “But I noticed you never said your name.”
“Oh! Right… I should probably do that.” She gave a nervous chuckle. “So my name is Danielle Jones. But you can call me Dani.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Dani.” Sammy said and Jack made a gurgled sound.
“It’s… nice to meet you too, Sammy and Jack.” She replied, looking over to them as she was looking at the ceiling before.
“Now… rest your head. It’s time for bed. In the morning you will wake and in the morning… you’ll live.” Sammy sung and soon, she was asleep. Once she was sleeping, he started thinking of things.
This… Dani… doesn’t seem to have any intentions of harming him and is the first human to treat him as if he was still a human too. She is friendly, kind, asks if HE is alright, and seems genuinely worried about him.
Perhaps… she is his true Lord after all. And she finally came to set him free. If this is the case… maybe he shouldn’t help her escape after all. But make sure she survives all the horrors of the studio until the time is right to set him free.
However… this is a selfish thing to do. If she wants to leave, who is he to hold her captive? When she wakes up, he and Jack will guide her back upstairs and to the exit. It’s the least he could do.
Version 2:
Sammy looked down at the sheep. This was the first one to talk to him. To treat him as if he was still human. Surely there was something he could do for her. While pleasing his Lord at the same time.
Then he walked around and untied the rope before having her lay down on the floor. Looking over to the room nearby, he got an idea.
“Stay. I’ll be back, little lamb.” Sammy said as he walked over to the room.
Dani watched him walk away, wondering where he was going. Deciding not to make him angry, she huffed and closed her eyes.
A short time later, Sammy came back, surprised to see she was still laying down. When he got closer, he noticed she had fallen asleep. Her chest was still moving so that told him that she was still alive.
Seems the exhaustion overwhelmed her.
Sammy looked down at the object he was fiddling with in his hands. He was thankful she had fallen asleep. She probably wouldn’t of enjoyed this. But… she did want to die so…
“I hope you don’t turn into a monster too, little lamb.” Sammy said, kneeling down.
Then he placed the sharp object at her neck.
“I’m only doing this before my Lord would kill you in a much worse way. And you don’t deserve that. Plus… you said you wanted to die so…”
Sammy took a deep breath before swiping the object. Watching the blood quickly run out of her neck as her chest slowly stopped moving.
‘This was for the best.’ Sammy thought to himself, returning to that room to call for his Lord. ‘He would’ve made it so much worse.’