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The squeak of a shoe on linoleum sent a spike of fear through Four. Adrenaline flooded him, making his fingers tremble and breath shake. He clamped his hands over his mouth, desperately trying to muffle his unsteady breathing. His heart pounded in his chest, his pulse drummed in his ears, his vision ebbed with the beat and eyes throbbed. Cold sweat dried to his face and neck, leaving a chalky film of salt and dust on the smith’s skin. His headband was soaked through and his hair clung to his cheeks.
Squeak .
Squeak .
Squeak .
“Hello?” Twilight said.
Four pressed his hands down over his mouth harder, quieting a shuddering sob of fear as Twilight limped into the chemistry lab.
The lab was dark, the blinds drawn shut. Behind them, afternoon sunlight glowed. It left a pale haze in the room. The lab stations were clear, beakers put up and whiteboard erased. One sink dripped slowly in a mild leak.
Pap. Squeak.
Pap.
Squeak. Pap.
Four dared to glance through the crack between the cupboard doors. The musty smell of the particle board filled his nose, and he was wedged beneath the pipes of a sink, pressed into a stash of paper towels. His back was to one side of the cupboard, his feet planted against the other. It was pure luck there’d been enough space for him to quickly duck inside. He hoped his luck held.
Twilight crept through the lab, limping as he did. His hands hung at his sides, his eyes wandering the white cinderblock walls and lab stations. For a moment, he paused, clumsily grasping at a graduated cylinder. It slipped from his hand, bounced off the counter, and shattered on the scuffed linoleum. Twilight paused, staring at the broken glass.
“Sorry,” he said to no one.
Four shivered, squeezing his eyes shut. Twilight’s voice was empty, devoid of anything. His movements were sluggish, though they slowly became more and more coordinated. He continued his search through the lab.
“I know you’re in here,” Twilight said, his voice drawing closer.
Four ducked his head, hiding a whimper in his hands.
“I can smell you ,” Twilight hissed.
Four glanced through the cupboard doors again. Twilight stood just outside of them. Four could only make out the man’s legs. His jeans smeared with blood, one hand damp with it over a gash in his palm. Blood dripped from Twilight’s fingers, splashing onto the floor and flecking the toes of his canvas sneakers.
Four barely swallowed a yelp as Twilight suddenly fell to all fours. Twilight pressed his eye to the crack between the cupboard doors, searching the dark cabinet. Four stiffened, eyes wide in terror. His whole body froze in fear.
Twilight drew back. “Hide and seek,” he sang cruelly.
Four barely relaxed as Twilight stood again, dragging himself to the next cabinet. The smith heard the clunking of the locked cupboards as Twilight tried to shake them open. Four appealed to anything he could–Hylia, Koroks, the three goddesses.
Please let me survive this! he cried silently.
A sudden bang! caused Four to jump. The boy hit his head on the top of the cabinet, eyes pricking with tears at the sudden pain. He stayed quiet though, letting the yelp roll in his stomach and make him feel ill.
Twilight held a metal lab stool in his hands. Vacantly, he gazed at the cracked laminate on the cabinet he’d attacked. Frowning, Twilight let the stool fall. It clattered on the ground noisily.
“Why are you hiding ?” Twilight demanded. “It’s just a game ! Aren’t we friends ?!”
Four sucked down a shuddery breath. The room fell quiet again.
Squeak. Pap.
Pap.
Pap.
Squeak.
Four stole another peek through the cupboard doors. Twilight’s dragging limp grew quieter as the man meandered to the door. Four relaxed as Twilight left the lab. The smith let his hands fall from his face, tucking his chin to his chest as he quietly wept. He swallowed down much needed air, sniffling and pawing at his face–
Squeak .
Four froze, darting a gaze through the doors. Twilight was back in the doorway.
“I can smell you,” he repeated. “I can smell you!”
Four quickly stifled his crying, smothering the sound behind his sweaty palms again. Without that thick Ordonian accent, without Twilight’s usual soft demeanor, it was a shoddy impersonation of the man. His voice was icy, cool and sluggish. Gone was the warmth Twilight usually held in his words, nowhere could Four hear his friend’s usual quiet mischief. Whatever puppeted Twilight defiled the man, using his voice so freely and carelessly.
“You’re in here,” Twilight chanted, “you’re in here, you’re in here, you’re in here!”
Twilight fell to all fours again, crawling along the ground. He searched beneath the tables, something vicious lurking in his gaze. His flat expression began to gather into something frustrated and violent. As his search proved fruitless, the man grew more and more agitated.
“Fuck you,” Twilight spat.
Four winced.
“I thought we were friends!” Twilight howled. “It’s just a game ! Why won’t you come out?!”
Four squeaked as Twilight pushed a table over in his rage. The chairs went down with it, the whole assembly crashing to the linoleum with a resounding thud. Twilight spit out swears, cursing Four as he crept across the floor.
Four lifted his eyes to the top of the cupboard, begging for salvation.
“Twilight,” a stern voice said.
Four gasped, swallowing the noise. Sky’s clear voice rang through the lab, silencing Twilight’s wrath.
Twilight still sat on hands and knees. The ground was smeared in a trail of blood which wept from his palm. It stained the knees of his jeans, the front of his shirt, his face and hair where he’d touched.
“I didn’t find you,” Twilight said. “You should be hiding–”
“I’m not playing your game,” Sky said firmly. He lifted a palm, settling a scowl on his best friend. “Leave.”
Twilight snarled, rising up on his feet and palms. He rolled upright, drawing his shoulders back with a long exhale.
“Leave.” Sky repeated.
“Make me,” Twilight sneered.
Sky let out a breath through his nose. A flash of brilliant daylight filled the room, warming it in a cozy embrace. For a moment, Four was in his grandfather’s sunroom. He took in the fertile smell of the potted plants, the humid air, the lazy summer afternoon as he rocked back and forth on a hammock with an open book on his chest.
And then, the bath of warmth was gone. Four was back in the chemistry lab, smothered with the smell of cheap cabinetry and old linoleum and faint chemicals.
“I’ve got you,” Sky said, rushing to catch Twilight as he swooned.
Twilight choked out a soft sound, but fell faint in Sky’s arms.
“You can come out,” Sky coaxed gently.
Sudden relief crashed over Four like a tidal wave. Sobbing in fear, the smith spilled from the cabinet. He landed on the blood stained floor on his hands and knees, choking over loud sobs as tears poured down his face.
He left his head, emotion sweeping across him. Sky sat on the floor with Twilight in his arms, but he lifted his arm to invite Four in. With a sputtering sob, Four spilled towards the priest.
Sky smiled apologetically, accepting the smith as Four grabbed him for safety. Sky took Four under his arm, rubbing the younger man’s back and shushing him gently.
“Sky!” Wild yelled, stumbling into the lab. “Sky, it’s Twi–”
Wild stopped, his panic melting when he saw the other three.
“We need to get these two to safety,” Sky said simply. “Four, can you stand?”
The smith nodded, but as he did, his weak knees gave out. It only drew another loud wail from him. Wild frowned, gently helping Four to his feet. Four clung to Wild desperately, burying his wet face in the other boy’s chest. Wild stroked Four’s hair, drawing the smith into him and guiding him out of the lab.