Chapter Text
“Hey.”
Clancy turned his head away from the sound.
“Hey.” He felt something touch his cheek.
“Clancy!” the noise was louder now.
“Wake up, dammit.” Something poked him, harder this time.
He put his hand up to protect himself from whatever it was that was trying to disturb his sleep. Whatever it was, was persistent though, instead of poking him this time something was shaking him. He rolled away maybe the thing would get the hint and leave him alone now.
No such luck.
Just as he was about to get back into a deep sleep he felt something ungodly cold work its way up the back of his shirt! He jerked, letting out a shrill whine and arching as far away as he could from whatever was in his shirt. That seemed to have done the trick, one hand reached around to try and remove, the ice cube(!?) from his shirt the other he used to push himself up in an effort to escape the horrible monster that was attacking him. He heard laughter from behind him and turned over quickly half expecting to see some horrible mutation with a gapping maw waiting for him.
Instead he found Lucas, just as bad in his opinion. He glared heatedly at the man that had so rudely interrupted his sleep. Lucas was grinning widely at him from the side of the bed.
As Clancy stared at him he saw the man’s mouth move but he was not yet awake enough to understand what was being said to him. He squinted his eyes in confusion, looking as if Lucas had spoken to him in another language. “What?” he asked cocking his head to the side.
“I said,” Lucas spoke in a slow exaggerated tone, “I brought you food!” using big gestures he emphasized “I” and “food” pointing at the objects in question. Clancy followed his motions looking down at the tray that was sat next to the bed. On the tray was a bowl of soup, a cup of ice water that explained his rude awakening, a packet of crackers that were only a bit crumbled, and a clear pack containing two chocolate-chip cookies. All in all it looked like the best meal he had been offered during his stay at the Baker house. At the sight of food his stomach growled, his desire to eat helping wake him the rest of the way up. He looked at Lucas,
“I hope it taste better than that shit your mom tried to make me eat.” He deadpanned, sending Lucas into a fit of laughter.
“You better not let her hear you say that.” He managed to get out once he had calmed back down. He was still smiling as Clancy picked up the tray, careful not to spill any of the precious calories.
Lucas decided to stick around while he ate, chatting to him about different death traps he wanted to design in the near future. Despite the gruesome topic his airy tone of voice and general good mood was sort of a nice change. While he still felt more contempt that he thought possible towards the man, Clancy found that he didn’t entirely hate Lucas’s company in that moment.
He took his time with the soup, it really wasn’t bad. He found himself wondering if Lucas had made it and if he had made it did that mean he could cook? Did he make the birthday cake too? The idea of seeing Lucas in a kitchen with access to large chefs knifes and a hot stove top disturbed him, but for some reason he couldn’t stop trying to picture it in his head. “Did you make this?” he asked, interrupting Lucas’s description of the future saw trap filled casino that he wanted to make, apparently he had had a lot of fun with the blackjack game that Clancy had been forced to try his hand at.
Lucas looked at him quizzically, “Yea, why do you ask?” He raised an eyebrow at him.
Clancy hesitated, not quite sure what to say, he couldn’t exactly tell him that he had been mentally struggling with the idea of Lucas in an apron for the past handful of minutes. “It’s pretty good. I just wouldn’t expect you to be the type to spend time slaving in the kitchen.” He explained. Lucas let out a huff of laughter,
“My momma taught me when I was younger.” He explained, “I asked her how to make these cookies once so she taught me how to bake.” Lucas looked somber for a moment. The expression looked odd on his face, Clancy was used to mocking glares and barely vailed sadism. “Before all this stuff with Eveline, I really liked cooking with my ma every now and again.” He continued. Clancy’s curiosity was peaked, after all this time he still had almost no idea what was happening in this place, it hadn’t really occurred to him that the Bakers might have been normal people at one point.
“Wait, who’s Eveline?” he asked. Lucas suddenly looked worried.
“Never mind her. Finish your food.” Lucas ordered suddenly becoming very stern. Clancy could tell he wasn’t going to get any more info out of him willingly. “When you’re done, I got something I want to show you.” Lucas chimed from the floor. Clancy made sure to eat as slowly as possible. Things that excited Lucas typically involved someone else’s mutilation, at least from what he had seen so far. This had him thinking again, did Lucas have other hobbies? Non-deadly hobbies? The man was a complete mystery to him, in fact he didn’t understand much about any of what was going on. Unlike Andre he hadn’t spent much time researching the lore of the Dulvey house beforehand. He sat in thought trying to piece together what he knew, trying to remember what he had heard Andre saying when he first hired him for the job. Lucas seemed oblivious to his captive audience’s straying attention, he had stolen the napkin that he had brought with Clancy’s food and was drawing out little models with a pen he produced from his pocket.
Andre had mentioned that Lucas was always somewhat of a bad seed in the family and based on the diary entries he had found earlier he clearly had some mental issues that had gone unaddressed. While he had been exploring, Clancy had also noted that Lucas seemed to be quite the inventor, evident by the trophies lining the walls of his room. Too bad he wasn’t using his talents for something productive for society instead of creating sick games meant to maim and kill the players. He continued contemplating the man in front of him for some time but he still had no idea what happened to this family. He knew now that Lucas had always had predisposition for violence but what about the rest of the family? He would have to be sneaky in his pursuit for knowledge, Lucas was very cautious but so far it seemed that he would let little things slip when he was in a good mood.
“Clancy.” Came Lucas’s sing song tone startling him out of his thoughts. He jerked his head towards Lucas trying to figure out what was needed from him. “Man what’s up with you today? You seem out of it.” Lucas leaned back to appraise him. “Well anyway, you ready to go?” Clancy looked down realizing that he had eaten all of his food, he suddenly felt apprehensive.
“Can I go to the bathroom first?” Clancy asked, trying to stall for time but also address his body’s needs.
“Yea, I suppose you probably haven’t had the opportunity in a while huh?” Lucas hummed. Before Clancy could respond he continued, “We have to be quick getting out of the house, you can go once we get to the barn.” Lucas stood, Clancy eyed him warily as he gathered up all of the contents of the tray stacking everything in a neat pile. “I’ll have to take these to the kitchen later.” He said setting the tray down next to the bed before turning to walk to the door. “Come on Clancy, we don’t have all night!” he called as he looked over his shoulder. ‘This is going to be horrible.’ Clancy thought to himself as he got up to follow Lucas through the door.
As Clancy stood in the hall waiting for Lucas to lock the door he realized this was the first time since the day he first entered the guest house that he could look around. He considered running away since this was the first chance he had been given but he brain kept poking holes it that plan. Lucas, like the rest of his family was clearly a lot stronger than should be possible and if he was anything like his father who could chase after him carrying giant chainsaw scissors he wouldn’t get very far. Even if he was able to evade Lucas he still had no idea where he was in the house. In his mind, he had created a map of sorts of all of the places he had so far found himself in but the picture he was getting was that this place was huge! All in all his chances of escaping Lucas, navigating the building, solving all of the puzzle traps he encountered, and not getting recaptured were looking slim.
Lucas turned walking off to the right turning a corner and out of sight, he seemed confident that Clancy would follow him. Unfortunately, he was right, Clancy trailed along behind his captor stopping once to look at the end table in the hall way, he let his fingers run over the top of the red football helmet siting on it. He looked at the picture of a drawn football next to the helmet he snorted at how cliché it was. Considering that there was nothing football related in Lucas room he figured that it was Jack who enjoyed the game. He wondered if Lucas had been forced to watch the games on TV with his dad growing up like he had, he could remember thinking his dad was an idiot evetime he jumped up and punched the air, or shouted at a ref that could not hear him when a call was not to his liking.
Ahead of him Lucas had opened a plain white door and was currently peeking through the gap he had created. After a few seconds, he turned back to Clancy motioning him forward before slowly letting the door fall the rest of the way open. Clancy wondered why Lucas was so cautious in his own house. He felt like two teenagers sneaking in after a night of unapproved activity, trying desperately not to wake up the nagging parents, the thought made him snigger to himself as he followed Lucas through the door. Really, he should be more terrified of the idea of running into another “family” member. After all he had yet to encounter the sister unless she was the mad women that had taken off Pete’s head! He hoped that at least someone on in the family wouldn’t be a psychotic freak but there was no reason for him to have high hopes on that matter.
He followed behind Lucas still marveling at his on ability to be amused in such a horrible situation, ‘Maybe the Stockholm syndrome is kicking in already!’ Clancy speculated half-jokingly but the disturbing thought did help to sober him up.
As he surveyed what was apparently the main hall of the house he was momentarily stunned. “This place is a mansion!” he exclaimed, Lucas was quick to shush him raising a finger to his own lips and giving him a disapproving look. While the hall was currently in a state of disarray he could almost see what it once looked like. It must have been lovely with its high arching ceiling and beautiful curving staircases all lit by sunlight streaming through the huge windows. He couldn’t imagine growing up in a place like this, but he would bet that playing tag in this room would be epic, his thoughts had strayed yet again. As they descended the staircase he considered the man in front of him again, a lot of things suddenly made since. While he was a bit unconventional Lucas definitely struck him as a “rich kid.” He was spoiled, demanding, and lacking in empathy. When he thought about him in those terms he almost remined him of Pete minus the psychotic tendencies. He was almost ashamed to admit that he had profiled the Baker family. The dirty tattered clothing and the overwhelming southern accent had given him he impression of simple farm folk. But it seemed that they had at one point been doing quite well for themselves.
As the made they their way cautiously towards the large door with the removable dog heads, Clancy took note of the décor. Some of the frames held pieces of early American era paintings, but he found the photos depicting the Baker family to be the most striking. They depicted a healthy vibrant family, a harsh contrast to the monsters currently masquerading as this houses previous occupants. From the pictures, he got the impression that Jack Baker, the man who kicked him in the head during their first meeting, was somewhat of a funny guy. Stern expressions seemed unnatural on his face. Marguerite’s transformation was the most dramatic. He looked at a photo of her in the family kitchen holding up a ladle, a sweet smile brightened her face, she reminded Clancy of one of his aunts, a woman who would rather die that let one of her guest go without. Now thought Mrs. Baker’s glowing skin had turned sallow, her shinny hair was reduced to a greasy mess, and her bright smile was replaced with a grin made up of equal parts malice and decay. A young woman with short black hair and a mousy sort of face was also present in most of the photos. He supposed that she was the mysterious sister, if so she and the woman that had stabbed him in the leg where definitely not one in the same.
Upon examining the last member of the family, he found that Lucas seemed to be the least altered. He was clearly much thinner now, his face gaunt and pale, Clancy speculated that it must have something to do with his mother’s cooking. His hair seemed be much thinner as well, likely as a result of prolonged stress. Overall, it was his eyes that were the most changed. They had been a vibrant olive green color, full of life and colored by a mischievous glint, now though those eyes were skunked and bloodshot, the green of his irises seemed washed out and vindictive mirth had replaced the playful glimmer.
He was pulled from his contemplating by Lucas’s hand grabbing his wrist, he flinched from the contact not exactly of fond of having Lucas anywhere near him let alone touching him.
“Come on!” Lucas whispered, urgency laced his voice. He didn’t let go of Clancy’s wrist pulling him along toward the door, sticking as close to the wall as he could. Clancy was left with many more questions and no answers in sight.
When they were out of the house Lucas finally dropped his wrist. Clancy paused looking up toward the night sky and sucking in a deep breath, ‘it’s already pretty dark, I must have slept longer than I thought’, he mused. Lucas was walking off in the direction of the trailer that sat in the middle of the yard. Clancy, for some unknown reason was compelled to follow him. When they reached the large door on the far side of the yard Lucas stopped to rummage through his pockets. Finally, he pulled out two plastic squares that looked like computer chips and slid them into two color coded slots on the panel next to the door. Clancy couldn’t help but snort.
“What you got a problem?” he asked rounding on Clancy. Holding his hands up in surrender he assure Lucas that his use of home-made key cards was neither dorky or reminiscent of a supervillain. Lucas huffed at him pushing the barred door open motioning for Clancy to go in first. He stepped forward hesitantly, almost waiting for Lucas to swing the door shut and lock him in here. To his surprise, Lucas stepped in behind him pointing him to the top of the stairs before turning to secure the door. He didn’t wait for Lucas, instead choosing to explore the area. With all the black light, strobe effects and glow in the dark paint the place looked like a bad rave set up not a barn. He wouldn’t be suppressed if he found a mass of brightly dressed people with glow sticks and water bottles full of vodka where waiting for him at the top of the stairs.
When he reached the top step, he found no ravers but the words “Let’s Play” scrawled on the wall and ceiling in glowing paint. Considering Lucas’s idea of “fun” it was an unnerving site to say the least. He opted not to go through the door in front of him waiting for Lucas to climb the stairs.
“Nice decorating choices.” He smirked at Lucas.
“Oh if you like this,” he said smiling back, “you’re gonna love the rest!” his voice was cheery and light. He practically skipped by Clancy to get to the door, swinging it open and disappearing within. Clancy stopped in the open door-way surveying the room. Lucas was messing with a TV that was set up in the middle of the room. Everything else looked almost plain, there was a chair pushed against the wall, some unused lights were strewn about, and several unopened boxes sat stacked in the corners. Lucas was clearly in the middle of redecorating.
Once Lucas had moved the TV around a few times he seemed to be pleased that it was now positioned in the exact center on the room. He gave Clancy a thumbs up before disappearing into the next room shouting “come on” as he went. From there Clancy entered a labyrinth. All of the halls looked the same and there were so many turns that he was sure he would never find his way back out but Lucas seemed sure as to where he was going. He never even hesitated continuing to chatter all the while about his plan for this place; he was going to block off some of the halls in order to make a path for “participants” to follow, like cows being lead to slaughter, he thought. Clancy sarcastically suggested that with movable barriers the path could even be changeable giving him the option of many unique rat mazes to force people through, he immediately regretted speaking as Lucas seem really thrilled at the suggestion.
Thankfully among the endless corridors he was able to find a bathroom, of course Lucas continued to brag about the new bombs he was working on through the door. Apparently, Lucas spent most of his free time creating traps. In the halls that he wanted to keep more secure he had rigged the floor so that some tiles, with seemingly no deferable difference from the rest were rigged to explode. As they ventured through the building Lucas was kind enough to point out most of the traps to Clancy. He occasionally even activated a few of his well-placed traps just to show off. Clancy soon found however, that Lucas’s courteous warnings only extended to the traps that were certain to end his life as he didn’t bother point out the hidden plates that deliver electric shocks to the victim. After finding one of those with his nearly bare foot he was sure to follow very close behind his guide, once he was able to get back up off the floor that is.
Lucas lead him around for quite a while, showing him his control room, his little workshop of horrors, various “game” rooms, and even making him revisit the birthday room much to his dismay. Finally, though he stopped in front of a painted metal door that was only a few rooms away from the control room, before opening it though he gave Clancy an excited smile telling him to close his eyes. He obeyed reluctantly, suddenly very sure that this must be the room Lucas had planned to murder him in. He began imagining all of the horrible ways he might meet his end based on what he has seen on his tour. With his eyes closed it was easy for a plethora of horrible images jump into his mind’s eye. Maybe he would be strapped to a table and asked Jeopardy type questions, everyone he got wrong a spinning saw blade would get closer and closer to disemboweling him! Or maybe a timed puzzle that if not completed before the timer ran out his mother’s bugs would be set free to eat him alive.
He heard the lock on the door click open. He tensed, taking a step back when he heard the handle turn. He could feel his heart beat in his ears and he was struggling not to hyperventilate. Lucas grabbed his wrist again pulling him forward to stand directly in front of the door and holding him in place. “Are you ready?” he asked with barely contained excitement. Clancy couldn’t seem to find his voice, his reply was a high-pitched whine which Lucas clearly took as a yes. Clancy felt the rush of air as the door swung open, without waiting to be prompted his eyes popped open.
He looked in to the room dumbfounded. He was looking, not at a torture chamber but at a what seemed to be a normal bedroom. The room was spacious and well lit, there was a single bed shoved in the far corner, a couch was pressed against the right-side wall, there was even a desk with books! He also noted the plain brown door that was positioned on the left wall near the end of the bed.
“Uhh…” came his attempt to figure out why he was looking at someone’s bedroom and why Lucas seemed so dam excited.
“What, don’t you like it?” Lucas asked his voice sounded almost hurt. Clancy, not wanting to offend his captor was quick to try and placate him,
“No, it’s an awesome room! I really like the color of the, uuh, sheets…” he finished lamely.
“Really!” Lucas perked up, “I thought they seemed like you color.” It was slowly starting to dawn on him why he was standing in front a seemingly normal bedroom. He felt his eye twitch. He jerkily turned his head to look at the man standing next to him,
“Is this, for me?” his voice trembled. Lucas was beaming at him,
“Well of course, silly. You can’t live in the main house, dad would have a fit if he found you.” he explained casually.
“Oh, right.” He replied unable to really process what was happening. Lucas placed a hand on his back pushing him into the room,
“Well go on now, take a look around!” Came Lucas enthusiastic voice. He stumbled into the room taking in more of the details now. As he stepped closer to the bed he noticed bedside table seemed to already have a few things resting on it. He reached out touching the spy glass from the “Happy Birthday” challenge, the metal felt cool against his fingertips, he was surprised to see that it was relatively undamaged, only a small crack ran across the lens. He jerked his hand back, memories of his near-death experience played in his mind. He found his hat too. It was charred and soot covered, he wanted to throw it away.
Out of the corner of his eye he saw Lucas flop down onto the bed, he tuned to look at him. He was sprawled out over the dark blue sheets staring up a Clancy, “I gotta say this is a nice mattress,” he smirked, “Come try it out. Ill make room.” He wagged his eyebrows at him moving over just slightly. Rather than respond to his offer, Clancy held up is hat,
“How did you get this?” he inquired. Lucas just shrugged like it was no big deal that he had decided to hunt around a blazing room for hat. Clancy sat the hat back down, turning to look at the maniac on the bed. “What is all of this?” is asked.
“Uhh, a bedroom… duh!” came the snarky reply.
“I mean why am I alive? What did you make me a bedroom? Why haven’t you thrown me into another one of your psychotic death traps?!” He was practically yelling. Lucas sat up on the bed, appraising the hysterical man in front of him. Clancy rocked from side to side, shifting uncomfortably under the scrutinizing gaze. Finally, a smile lifted the corners of Lucas’s lips.
“You know Clancy, we’ve just been having such a good time! We’ve played a few games together,” He announced, “I’m starting to think of you as a friend.” He paused to push himself up to standing. He was too close, they were standing mere inches apart. Clancy stepped back several paces. Lucas followed his frantic steps at a leisurely pace. “Good friends take care of each other, Clancy,” he spoke softly. The backs of Clancy’s knees hit the couch, Lucas crowed in closer. With nowhere else to go he sat back on to the couch sinking it to it. Lucas leaned over him one hand rested on the back of the couch the other was on his thigh. He shivered at the contact. The smile on Lucas’s face only grew wider and more devious as he leaned in bringing he mouth near to Clancy’s ear, “Where friends right, Clancy?” he whispered, Clancy felt his breath brush against his face, cooling the sweat that was forming near his temples. He could feel his heart thudding in his chest again and his cheeks were burning.
Wanting to escape the close proximity he nodded his head hopping that if he gave an answer Lucas would back off. It seemed to work, Lucas giggle before straightening up stopping to pat Clancy on the head like a dog.
“I’ll leave you to explore your new room. I got some fun stuff to work on!” he said taking another step away from the man that sat shaking on the couch. “Maybe later we can play another game!” he winked at Clancy before waving a final goodbye and heading to the door.
Clancy didn’t breathe again until he heard the lock click into place. He stayed on the surprisingly comfortable couch for a long time. When he was sure his legs would support him, he stood up looking at the door.
“This is fucking bullshit!” he informed his new room.