"Don't go upstairs."

"Why not?" Both Faye and Finney turned around to face the door that lead to the staircase that they were about to go up moments ago, sending each other confused glances while doing so. Faye was most likely going to go upstairs despite what the voice on the phone had been saying due to the fact it'd be their only chance at escaping, though, she thought she should at least listen to what they had to say.

"It's a trap."

"Are you-- are you Bruce?" Finney asked the voice on the other side of the phone, not recognizing it whatsoever. It didn't sound anything like what Bruce had, and it confused not only him but Faye as well.

"Who's Bruce?"

"We were just talking to Bruce." Faye responded softly, turning her head back to the door and considering just going through it now. She didn't have much to lose, after all, and if she got caught Finn would still be able to leave if he ever got the chance. 

In all honesty, despite how much she didn't want to admit it, Finney would be perfectly fine without her and would survive on his own. Faye was just there.

"I don't know any Bruce."

"He's the baseball player." Finney responded to the unknown voice that came through the phone, glancing over at Faye who turned slowly and began walking toward the door that led upstairs. She didn't have time to listen to whoever was talking to them-- if anyone even was. Who knows, they might have just been going crazy.

She needed to go, now.

"We don't play baseball here."

"Who are you?" Finney wondered after glancing over at Faye, wondering what she was trying to do. 

"Don't let her go up there." The voice basically demanded through the phone, it somehow seeing that Faye was about to open the door and make her way upstairs, leaving Finney to tend to the phone.

"Faye, hang on." Finney spoke softly from where he stood, assuring that the man upstairs wouldn't be able to hear him now that the door was open slightly. The short-haired girl turned around softly, shaking her head back and forth and refusing to give up now. If this was going to be her chance to make it out of there, she was going to take it.

"Don't. Let. Her. Go. Up. There." The voice got progressively louder as Faye turned around to begin making her way up the stairs once again, ignoring Finney's requests for her to stay. So, Finney placed the phone on top of the receiver and quickly rushed to where Faye was beginning to go.

He grabbed onto her hand last second, his fingers wrapped tightly around her pinkie to prevent her from leaving. His eyes pleaded for her to just hang on a second and talk to him down in the basement so they could figure everything out, the girl sighing softly with a look of annoyance and reluctantly following him back down the stairs. 

Finney finally released Faye's pinkie from his tight grip when she finally closed the door slowly behind them, walking back to the phone to talk to whoever it was this time. Faye hesitantly followed, curious as to why she couldn't go upstairs if it was her only chance at escaping.

The boy picked up the phone from the top of the receiver, hoping that whoever was talking to them before was still on the line and didn't hang up or anything due to his moment of absence. "Who are you?" Finney questioned once again, Faye glancing up at him and awaiting an answer from the phone.

"I don't remember."

"Did you play soccer, football?" Finney just started stuttering out random sports that he could think of, Faye shrugging and wondering alongside him. For whatever reason, she felt as if there were eyes on her, and she just couldn't shake the feeling. It felt as if there was somebody hovering over her shoulders but when she turned around to assure there wasn't, nobody was there.

"I delivered newspapers."

"Billy. You're Billy Showalter." Faye pointed out after turning around and facing the phone once again, shrugging off the feeling. She had read all about him in the papers before, and she finally came to the realization when he said something about newspapers.

"Maybe."

"No-- no. You're Billy." Faye continued, Finney nodding along with her. 

"Do. Not. Go. Upstairs."

"What's he doing?" Finney questioned, saying what they both had been thinking. Faye was most likely going to go upstairs regardless of what Billy had been saying, though, she thought that she should at least see what he had to say.

"He's waiting. On the other side with that fucking belt!"

"He didn't say you could leave. So if you try, he'll punish you. He'll beat you with that belt until you pass out. It hurts, kid. It hurts real bad. You'll cry. You'll beg him to stop, we all did. But he just keeps beating you." 

The crackling feedback that was always there whenever they were on the phone with somebody came to a halt, signifying that Billy had managed to hang up on them and leave them to their own devices. 

Finney slowly turned around and brought the phone back to the receiver, hanging it up once again. Faye took this as her chance to go upstairs despite what Billy had been saying, Finney's face contorting with confusion as she turned around and made her way back to the stairs.

"Faye, what are you doing? You're not going up there." Finney basically demanded, it not exactly sounding commanding due to the shakiness that was hidden beneath the layers in his voice. Faye just rolled her eyes and turned around to face him, wondering what he had to say.

"I can take him, Finn." Faye argued simply, digging into her pocket in an attempt to retrieve the other half of her broken drumstick that could help her if he did happen to be up there. "He's probably not even up there and just forgot to lock it or something." Faye continued, trying her best to get Finney to let her go.

"No you can't! You're weak, you haven't ate anything for a day-- if not more." Finney argued, back, walking up to the door and assuring it was shut so he couldn't hear their yells from upstairs. 

"If something were to happen to me, you would do just fine on your own." Faye continued to pry at Finney, waiting for him to move out of her way so she could go upstairs and get the hell out of there. "Move, Finney."

"No. I can't let you go up there, it's a death wish." Finney continued to argue with the girl in front of him, keeping his stance against the door. Faye wasn't taking it, though, knowing that this would most likely be their only way out and Finney was taking that chance from them.

"Move." Faye demanded, her voice becoming deeper than it had been previously due to the annoyance that was starting to build up within her body.

"Please just stay here, I can't do this alone." Finney pleaded with the girl, fully aware that she could knock him on his ass if she really wanted him to move. His eyes started to boil with tears, really hoping that she would just stay there and listen to him.

"Liar." Faye simply responded, walking closer to him and shoving him out of the way softly. Finney's shoulders slumped as he saw her grabbing onto the door handle and hesitating, glancing down at the floor. 

Finally making up her mind fully, she grabbed the door latch and pulled it open with a creak, not sparing Finney a second glance. She couldn't bare to look at him with the soft tears that were starting to boil, gripping her hand tighter around the broken half of the drumstick.

Faye began walking toward the staircase with a sigh, her knuckles turning white from how hard she was gripping onto the drumstick in her hand. She was completely confident in herself that she'd be able to take the man if he was even up there in the first place, so she didn't bother sparing Finney another glance as her feet led her up the stairs cautiously. 

As she finally neared where the steps would turn into whatever room had been there, Faye gripped her hands tighter around the piece of wood in her hand. She began hesitating slightly, though, she continued thinking about how he might not have even been up there and if he was, she could defend herself with the shattered piece of wood that she held tightly within her hand. 

When she finally turned the corner, she realized that the boy on the phone hadn't been lying. Not only that, but she also realized that she had been seen by the man that held a belt tightly within his grasp and sat on an old and creaky chair in the middle of the kitchen. 

Her heart felt as if it had stopped breathing when she heard him hum in disapproval alongside an angered grunt. Faye could swear she also heard him tut a few times before he stood up from the wooden chair and she gripped the wooden drumstick in her hand tighter than ever.

There was no backing down from here.

The floor creaked as the masked man neared the girl, her eyes widening softly but soon going back to their normal state as she realized that she couldn't give him the pleasure of seeing that she was actually afraid of him. 

As soon as he finally neared her, Faye lifted the drumstick and immediately dragged it down in an attempt to scratch him to the best of her ability. Though, to her surprise, he grabbed her wrist and forced the drumstick to the ground, her alongside it.

"Naughty boy.." He mumbled with a chuckle, forcing her against the ground and suddenly colliding the belt against her back with a loud yelp coming from her. Faye's body stung from the whipping of the belt, screams of pain coming from her throat. She could feel the blood beginning to ooze from her dirtied clothing, her skin basically tearing from the impact.

"Stop! Please!" Faye begged, trying her best to cover her head with her arms. Though, he took that as a challenge and even chuckled at her pleads, whipping the belt against her hands and arms and causing her to yell and scream even more. 

But when she peaked her eyes open and saw Finney glancing around the corner, she gained a slight amount of hope, kicking him in the knee with all her might and dragging herself to the stairs. Finney grabbed hold of her arms, pulling her down with him, despite how much it hurt to go down the stairs.

When the both of them finally reached the cellar, they leaned against the door with all their might, even if it wasn't much. Faye was bleeding basically everywhere, and Finney didn't know what to do about it. It wasn't their main concern for the time being, though, it was keeping the door shut against the body weight of the man that was previously attacking Faye. 

Loud grunts and shoves came from the other side of the door, Faye and Finney still pushing against it with all they had left in their bodies, which in all honesty, wasn't much. Their eyes met at one point, and Faye's eyes were filled to the brim with tears, while Finney's were filled with concern and even a glint of fear. 

But when the shoving and grunts suddenly came to a halt, the both of them were caught off guard. They didn't expect him to give up that fast, but Faye did kick him pretty hard. The latch that signified the door was now locked clicked and echoed throughout the room, the both of them releasing a deep breath. Faye fell to the floor due to the exhaustion that overcame her body, her back stinging from the large gashes that decorated it.

"I'm sorry-- I'm so sorry." Faye began sobbing, sounding as if she had been pleading for acceptance of her apology. Finney immediately rushed to her side, pulling the tray of food and the soda toward them. He didn't know what to do, in all honesty, he was just a kid. They both were. 

Finney suddenly remembered the torn part of his shirt that still lay next to the mattress, leaving the tray next to Faye and allowing her to pick at the eggs that sat on it. He grabbed the small piece of cloth, bringing it over to her.

"Turn around." Finney mumbled, seeing as she aggressively wiped the tears from her eyes and glanced up at him from where she sat. "--please." The boy added nervously, Faye sighing softly and finally turning so that her side was against the wall and her back was available for Finney to see.

She lifted up the back of her shirt so that it was easier to access, it being decorated with multiple gashes and smears of blood from when she slid down the wall. 

"Is it bad?" Faye questioned softly, her voice hoarse from the screaming and pleads that she delivered to the man previously. Finney just gave her a sigh as a response, nodding despite the fact she couldn't even see it from where she sat. Faye just nodded softly, understanding what Finney had meant. Finney crouching down next to her, he lifted the piece of cloth hesitantly and held it above her skin, not wanting to hurt her any further than she already had been. 

"It's okay." The girl muttered, turning her head so she could see Finney over her shoulder. Her face withheld a reassuring smile to the boy, trying to show him that she wasn't in any pain, when in reality, she thought she was going to pass out from how badly it stung.

Finney hesitantly placed the cloth against the gashes, cleaning them as gently as he could. Faye leaned her head back, restricting a hiss of pain coming from her mouth so Finney would continue helping her. She knew that if Finney saw she was in a lot of pain, he would immediately stop and leave her with possibly infected wounds.

"I'm sorry, Finney." Faye whispered softly, not exactly sure if she wanted to fully apologize. She was never one for apologizing, after all, and it felt odd to apologize numerous times within the span of a day. 

For whatever reason, Faye could feel the same thing she did earlier-- as if somebody was watching her, hovering over her shoulder. But it didn't feel as if it was Finney, it felt like it was somebody that wasn't in the room-- how would that even work? Faye just thought she was going crazy, in all honesty, she was exhausted and hungry and probably losing her mind in the small cellar that she had been stuck in for-- however long she was in there, she didn't even know.

"I know."