For the Night is Dark and Full of Terrors

Max looks around, feeling rather dizzy and disoriented, and tries to focus on something, anything, that might help her piece together what’s going on. The other woman has her back to her now, and is saying something that she can’t quite make out. She’s speaking to someone. Max’s eyes dart around the clearing until she sees them. Her vision is hazy, but she can still make out the mass that is Donny- and the realization that he’s been dragged into this snaps her out of her haze.-

Donny?! Donny, are you okay? Where’s Calvin? He…

This isn’t Max.

But then she turns away, walks back across the clearing to the bound and unconscious Max. Donny winces as she slaps her.*

Wh-stop it! 

*He starts to struggle, pulling against the other one holding him back. But Max is blinking awake, looking around at him, and something like relief floods through him.*

Max! I-I’m fine, I don’t know where he is, we got-

*His clone’s word’s sink in, then. They’re going to torture her. He redoubles his efforts, struggling harder, straining against the rope around his wrists.*

No! No don’t hurt her! Do whatever you want to me but let her go!

-Maybe not at once, but she does intend to blind Max completely. Fair’s fair after all…When the woman tied to the tree begins screaming, Max grabs her face harshly and leans in close to her.-

What? You weren’t really stupid enough to think that you were the only one lucky enough to get a twin, did you? -After a moment, she takes a deep breath and smiles, glancing back towards the men on the other side of the clearing.- You should see Calvin. He was supposed to be here too, but you know how he is. Unpredictable. Sloppy. Your other little boyfriend is probably dead already. Or worse.

-She grins pulls out the butterfly knife from her pocket. Pushing Max’s face up so that her neck is exposed, the clone runs the blade lightly across her skin, with just enough pressure to make things uncomfortable for her. It’s then that she hears the crunch of bone from across the clearing. 

Shit.

*The clone grits his teeth, fighting to contain his captive, who's rapidly becoming harder and harder to control. Damnit, after how easy he'd been to take down, and how little fight he'd shown on the walk over, he'd thought this would be just as easy. If things don't start moving along more quickly he might have to do something drastic; break a leg, maybe, though he'd really hate to advance that far so soon. He gives Donny another hard jerk, trying to twist his arms up painfully behind his back.*

Quit fighting it you fucking pussy and watch your girlfri-Aaugh! Shit!

 *Stumbling back in shock, the clone's hands fly up to cup his face. His nose is gushing blood, and though pain has long been a dull sensation for him this pain is definitely one he can feel. Sharp, real, and absolutly awful. The feeling of cartilage sliding against bone is actually enough to make him queasy.

The asshole headbutted him! He'd actually caught him off guard! The clone bares his teeth, the expression made all the more horrible for the blood in his mouth, and positively roars in anger.*

You cheap bastard!

And that’s when she hears him.-

Donny?

- She whirls around to face the two, and for a moment, her face lights up. God, she’d almost forgotten how attractive he was. He wasn’t this… charred thing that the clone was. She missed him. She walks over to them, and Max gingerly cups a hand to Donny’s cheek, offering him a small smile, before shooting an annoyed look at the clone.-

You took your sweet time getting here. I was starting to get bored. Calvin’s not back yet, and I’m not waiting any longer. Let’s get this over with.

-She turns and strides back to the tree where she’s got Max tied up. The clone grabs a handful of the other’s hair and, after pulling her head up, brings her free hand across Max’s unconscious face. When she begins to stir, the clone grins, and pats Max’s cheek.-

That sounds like my kinda plan. 

-At least if the other two take off for now, it’ll give Max a chance to tend to her wounds a little more thoroughly, maybe even verbally abuse her counterpart a little more. Nodding lightly, she points in the general direction of where she’s got the other Max tied up.-

What happens if yer half blind?

-Smirking, Calvin rocks on his heels a little.-

It's nothing. She barely grazed me.

*That unnerving smile comes back.*

I shot him, though, the other Randy. Couldn't stay and make sure, but he's probably dead. And I blew up their truck, they were trying to escape.

*No time for reminiscing right now, though. he turns to Max and holds out his hand.*

His voice has no cheer, his features are twisted into something sinister. This couldn’t be Donny. Donny wouldn’t do this. 

She gasps when he aims the gun. “NO!!” 

Her heart nearly stops at the sound, the pained look on Randy’s face, the deep red blooming from underneath his clothing.

“RANDY NO!!” 

Rosie screams and immediately goes to grab him, trying to shield him with her small frame. He’s been shot, oh god he’s been shot, this..this wasn’t happening. Randy could die, if respawn was destroyed, he’d die. No, no he can’t die, not her sweet Randy. She has to protect him, she has to save him! Angry tears sting at her eyes as she stands to face this abomination posing as Donny. The pistol she kept by her bedside table was now concealed in the pocket of her nightgown; now was a good time to practice that shoddy aim, Rosie. 

And he keeps laughing, till he hears the whiz of bullets and feels the sting as a couple graze his arm. Damnit! He stumbles back a step, reaching his hand up to his shoulder, pulling it away to reveal red. That bitch! Donny bares his teeth at her, looking almost feral.

He contemplates shooting back at her, but... no. He can't get tied down here, and he's only got so many bullets left. Some of them have very specific names on them, and none of them are for this lady he's never met. Even if she is a fucking bitch who shot him.*

You're gonna die too! You're all gonna die!

I’ve got her tied up in another part of the woods. No one should be able to find her, but we should get going before she comes to. She’s got a set of lungs on her; if she screams, someone’ll hear.

-She’s about to turn to go when Don’y questions stops her. Max lets out an annoyed huff and turns back to him.-

Basically, they’ll be out lookin’ fer her, we know that now. Hell, they’re probably already out in da woods lookin’ fer her, given they haven’t found reason not to.

If we split up, we can probably nab ‘em both. Meet up in da middle, take all three of ‘em out. Easy as pie, triple da fun.

They-what? Why would they-

*He growls and shakes his head. Damnit, it's not important right now. Whatever they'd been doing, soon they won't be doing it anymore.*

...alright, fine. We can split up, find them, bring them to wherever it is you've got the slut. If they care about each other so much, they can watch each other die.

*Huffing, he leans back and crosses his arms. He's feeling antsy again; the adrenaline from the attack is losing it's edge. And with that comes a sharper acknowledgement of the place those bullets had grazed his skin. He rubs at his shoulder irritably. Fucking bitch.*

When Donny comes rushing past them, she almost doesn’t register that it’s him. His entire presence is different; and she hates to say it, but right now, she prefers the other Donny.

The look she gives him in response to his question is one of absolute disbelief mixed with irritation and she has to resist the urge to throw a balled up fist right into his stupid, smiling face.-

After another minute he stands again, angling himself between the other two. Max doesn’t look happy, and rightfully so. Maybe Donny can help them with that.-

*He steps back as Calvin inserts himself between him and Max, frowning darkly at her over his shoulder. At what he has to say, though, his face lights up again, and he quickly steps around the former Scout, getting uncomfortably close to Max, staring at her intently.*

You have her? Where!?

*He looks over at Calvin again, looking intensely thoughtful. Part of him aches to find out where she is and kill her now, maybe burn her like a witch at the stake. But if she could be used as bait... maybe he won't have to hunt for the most important person on his list.*

She turns, startled at the sudden sound of someone’s voice. Oh thank god it’s Donny, but- 

No.

The bottle shatters, spraying its contents on the roof of the truck, igniting it immediately. Rosie’s eyes widen with terror, the faint smell of gasoline fills her nose. 

Only when he finally thinks he’s making progress does he hear Rosie-

I’VE ALMOST GOT IT JUST HOLD ON!

-Under the dashboard he can’t see the spray of fire. But as it spreads he can feel it, it’s too hot this far from the base. His first instinct is to jump upward rather than outward, smacking the top of his head with the bottom of the dashboard. The fire’s already inside when he finally yanks out and he doesn’t pull free without the back of his head and neck being grazed. But once he’s out Randall just bursts out and away, pulling Rosie with him. There’s no saving it and he’s not going to stand there when it explodes. 

And in doing so he see’s the Pyro and pauses- 

That's right! I'm the real one! Who's the chick, Randy?

*The gun is pointed at Randy's chest.*

Not that it really matters much.

*He laughs then, grating and horrible in his burned throat.*

Hey, remember that time you taught me to shoot? Thanks for that. Sorry though, you gotta die. We can't have two, you know.

…Fine. I ain’t gonna force myself on ya, but don’t come cryin’ t’ me when dat shit gets infected.

-Sighing, he offers her some dry bandages. And, while he’s at it, he offers his bag of supplies. She won’t need it all now, but… in case something happens, she’ll need it later. Her wound is fresher than his.-

Da antiseptic will help, ‘least fer a while. Da bandages will keep da dirt out n’ keep it from bleedin’ too much. In case we get separated just… keep it clean ‘til ya find someone who’ll look at it.

Now let’s go.

The sullen demeanor of the previous several months seems to be completely gone. In it's place is a sort of twitchy intensity, a fierce, terrifying joy. He'd been waiting for this. He's been waiting for it and it's just as great as he was imagining.*

Did you see it?! All lit up! Them running like rabbits?! It's amazing!

*He looks back and forth between the two of them, eyes finally settling on Max.*

There’s just some things you pick up on the SFPD that aren’t exactly advertised. Randall doesn’t slow down despite the smaller woman whose hand he’s grasping, nor does he stop yelping at every explosion  (like the incredibly masculine individual he is). But it gets them to one of the parked base trucks.

“Keep your eyes out for Donny, Sophie, or Alex—Fuck, I should have—No, no they’re fine they have to be fine—”

Randy says as he bashes the trucks window in with a rock, unlocks it hastily (and cutting his sleeve on a shard of glass), and opens the door to stick himself under the steering wheel.

“—fuck fuck fuck fuck FUCK GOSH DARN! Keep your eyes out for them! We’ll have to go back for them!”

That's when he spots them. It's Randy-the other Randy, it's weird, seeing him as he used to be, without that fucking hole in his face-and a woman he doesn't recognize. They're trying to get a truck started. Can't have that, now can we? Running for help just isn't part of the plan.

A grin slowly spreads over the clone's face as he straightens up, reaching into his pack for another gasoline filled bottle. Well, there was really no use hiding anymore, was there? And this looks like way too much fun. Fishing for his lighter, he finds and lights the wick.

"Hey! Catch!"

-There’s no point to prolong things any further… Randy doesn’t see everyone accounted for. But that’s okay, he didn’t expect that much to begin with. And what happens to the rest is beyond his ability to help, nor does he think they really want it. Now or never, he thinks as he glances at the others. Deep breaths- 

This has ‘een ‘ore than enough time squandered, don’t you think?

Erika, ‘ax, you’re u’ first. You should go now so you’re synchronized.

Finally.

…I will. It… don’t worry. When it’s over, we… we can go home, maybe. Or somewhere.

-The last thing he needs Donny to do is concern himself over him when he’s got everything else. But it’s… nice that he’s thinking about him now. It makes him feel good just to hear about home. 

Mrs. Xiao would never forgive him for allowing this- 

Just kee’ yourself safe okay? ‘e s’art… 

-For a moment he motions his arm up, as if considering giving Donny a hug… but he settles for squeezing his shoulder again before stepping back- 

Suddenly the urge to call this all off hits him strong and quickly. And he flatters it for a moment, he really does. But he knows not even Donny himself would go along with it. After a moment of consideration he releases his hand and hands him the gun from inside his jacket, along with a small handful of bullets- 

In case you—just… save one. And ‘e careful.

-He laughs nervously, grateful the disguise hides his watering eyes-  

...I will. It... don't worry. When it's over, we... we can go home, maybe. Or somewhere.