Us Against the World. A Ticci Toby Love Story

Chapter 2

        “So, how are you planning on getting us out now?” A good half hour has passed, and we had searched the entire room, looking for some kind of weapon we could use, or something to break us out. There was nothing.

        Toby turns away, pressing his fingernails into the cracked brick wall, attempting to pull a brick out. “Well, I was k-kinda planning on this t-to work, but there’s nothing we c-can use,” He continues scratching at the wall, and I walk over to join him. He doesn’t seem to notice his fingertips growing redder and redder, and I gasp, yanking his hands away. I cradle them in my own, studying the damage done.

        “You dumbass, your fingers are scraped and bloody, didn’t you feel that?” I rip off a small piece of my sweater, pressing the purple fabric onto his hands. I cringe at the torn fingernail. I carefully wrap the middle finger, careful not to disturb the exposed tissue, and wipe my bloody hands on my leggings. He watches in curiosity, staring at his hands.

        “Hey, you’d make a pretty g-good doctor,” He remarks, and I shrug.

        “It’s nothing, I grew up around hospitals and nurses, considering my mom was one. I picked up on a lot of stuff around her,” I explain. He seems to think for a minute, then his head shoots up.

        “I know how we’re g-getting out of here!” He exclaims, and I cross my arms.

        “How?” He grabs me, motioning at the ground.

        “G-Get on the ground, and lay d-down with your eyes closed. I’ll c-call for a guard, and say you p-passed out at the sight of my b-blood. Then I’ll ask them to ch-check on you, and when they get d-down on the ground with you, attack. I don’t c-care how, just do it,” He explains, and I nod, laying on the ground. He rips off the bandaging, tucking it behind me. Then he starts banging on the door. “Hey! Hey! I need a g-guard in here!” I hear the door open, and close.

        “What’s going on Toby? And why are you out of your straight jacket?” The guard questions.

        “Never mind that, that g-girl over there passed out at the sight of my b-blood. Can you check on her?” I hear a sigh, and footsteps coming in my direction. I open my eyes, which startles the guard, and I smirk, grabbing him around his neck, and ripping a large chunk out of it. His scream is cut off as I dig my fingers into the large gash, ripping out tissue after tissue. He gurgles, choking on his own blood. I stand up, stepping over him, stomping my foot down on his neck, hearing a loud crack as his neck snaps. I laugh in satisfaction, turning to Toby. His eyes are wide.

        “That was the b-best thing I’ve seen in 8 months. Holy sh-shit,” He leans down, grabbing a key ring from out of the guards pocket. There’s only two keys.

        “Why are there only two keys?” I ask, and he grabs a silver one.

        “This one unlocks every room, except one,” He grabs walks to the door, unlocking it. He pushes the door open, peering down the hallway. He motions me over, and we slip out, closing and locking the door behind us. “The other one unlocks a d-door of greater importance,” He grabs a black key, holding it up.

        “Who’s in the room with the black key?” I ask.

        “You’ll see,” He reaches out, unlocking a door with the key. He opens it, and enters. A little girl is cowering in the corner. She looks up when we enter, and a look of pure delight crosses over her face.

        “Toby!” She screeches, running at him. He swoops her up in his arms.

        “Hey Sally, sweetie. You gotta k-keep quiet, we’re b-breaking out of here,”  Toby says, putting her down. The little girl is quite cute, she has long, curly brown hair, and she’s wearing a pink dress, splattered with blood and dirt. Her eyes are a bright, glowing green, and her face is stained with blood, that trails down her face from a wound on the side of her head. She giggles, and grabs onto Toby’s hand. She looks up at me.

        “Who are you?” She asks, and Toby answers for me.

        “That’s Ashley, she’s g-going to help us get out,” He says, and I grin down at the little girl. She lets go of Toby, and r, ns to me, giving me a hug.

        “Thank you Ashley!” She says. Then she goes back to Toby. Toby holds out the keyring, opening another door. We walk in, and I see a young boy, maybe in his early teens, sitting against the opposite wall. The room is flooded with water, and the boy is shivering. He’s soaking wet, and his blonde hair is matted against his head. He looks up as we enter, smiling gratefully at Toby. Toby shakes his head.

        “Oh B-BEN, what have they done to you?” Toby crosses the room, gathering the boy up in his arms. “They really shouldn’t have d-done that,” Toby says, and BEN chuckles.

        “That’s my line!” BEN says, as Toby puts him down. He walks alongside us. Sally jumps on BEN.

        “BEN, BEN! Guess what? Ashley is going to be my new mommy!” She exclaims.

        “I am?”

        Sally nods. “Uh huh, and Toby will be my dad!” Toby and I share a look, as I try not to laugh. BEN leans down face to face with Sally.

        “Hey Sally, I’ll be your dad if you want,” He says, and looks at me with a wink. I laugh.

        “Dude, you’re like, what, 13?” I say, and BEN crosses his arms.

        “12.”


        “Exactly.”


        Toby chuckles. “It’s good to have you back B-BEN,” He ruffles BEN’s hair, and BEN smacks his hand away.

        “Stop that.”

        Toby unlocks another door. “Hmm, I wonder how long it’ll t-take for the guards to c-catch us,” Toby says.

        “Don’t jinx it!” I say. “We’ve had such great luck so far, we don’t want that to change!”

        The door swings open, and a boy rushes at the door. He stops short when he sees us, and grins. His eyes are wide and unblinking, ringed in black. I realize he’s burned off his eyelids. His skin is white and wrinkly, and his smile is wide, cut into his skin. “Toby! BEN! Sally! Are we busting out?” He asks, and I snort.

        “No, we’re hosting a tea party, and you’re invited!” I sarcastically say, and the boy raises an eyebrow.

        “Who’s this Toby? Don’t tell me you’ve hooked up with this chick already,” He eyes me, up and down. “Although, I would be quite impressed, she’s hot,” My face turns red, I’m blushing furiously. Toby grabs my arm, pulling me towards him.

        “And what if we have? Why would that concern you, Jeff?” He says, and Jeff chuckles.

        I pull away from him, flustered. “St-Stop! Oh my god! Can, can we just get out of here and talk about this later?” My face shows my emotions, and I’m sure it’s showing that I’m beyond embarrassed. I run my hands through my blonde hair nervously. “Now, how many more people do we have to get?” I question, anxious to get out of here.

        “Well, we still need to find Masky and Hoodie, I doubt they would have separated them, and we need to find Jack, and Slendy,” Toby says. Jeff seems to think for a moment. BEN cuts in.

        “Well, I’m sure if I hack their computer system, I can corrupt their system. I can open Slendy’s door, and he can get everyone else out,” He suggests, and Toby nods.

        “That sounds good. We need to get you near a computer. I think there’s one in the main entrance area,” Toby suggests.

        “But how are we going to get there without someone spotting us?” I ask, and Toby pats me on the shoulder.

        “We need someone to be a distraction,” Toby says, looking at me.

        “Who?”

        Toby chuckles. “That’s where you come in.”

        “Um, what?” I ask. “Why do I have to do it?”        

        “Calm down Ashley, just listen. Here’s what I’m thinking…”
        
        Sally and I walk down the hallway, the boys not far behind us. “Remember the plan Sally?” I ask, and Sally nods cutely.

        “Yes I do. Should I start crying?” She asks, and I shake my head. I grab her hand.

        “No, just be cute, ask for help from the front desk lady, she’s not a guard, she won’t recognize you,” Sally nods. Her face is wiped up, so there’s no blood. No one will suspect a thing. I hide around the corner as Sally walks up to the lady. The lady peers over at her.

        “Hello sweetheart. Are you lost?” She asks.

        “My mommy and daddy went to visit my brother, but now I can’t find them. Can you help me?” The lady smiles, but I don’t notice her pressing a small red button on the other side of the desk as she steps out to help her. As she did, I run at her, grabbing a pen off of the desk, and stabbing it into her neck. She collapses with a scream, and I press a hand over her mouth, watching the life drain slowly from her eyes. She goes limp, and I stand up, wiping the blood off my hands. BEN comes around the corner, immediately merging with the computer, and seconds later I hear alarms, and loud screams.

        I cover my ears with my hands, and run after Toby, who is following the rest out the door. I look down at the ground, seeing several long white tentacles slither around your ankles. I scream as I’m lifted off the ground, and hung upside down. I hear yelling below.

        “Slendy! It’s fine! She’s with me,” Toby yells, and I’m abruptly dropped on my head.

        I apologize child.  A voice booms in my ear. Toby grabs my arm, and we run. We soon find ourselves blocked by several men and woman. I spin around, spotting more people behind us.

        We’re surrounded.