Chapter Text
"Keep running kid! You'll never make it out!"
Loud, thunderous ticking filled your ears as you desperately tried to find your way out of this horror maze. As the seconds ominously passed by the panic in your heart grew worse. Why, why did you make that stupid deal?
"So you'll help me?"
You looked up at Bill with hopeful eyes. There was finally a way to get yourself out of this mess. You could finally go back to living a normal life. The life you had before everything went south.
"Hold your horses, kid. It's a bit more complicated than that."
You frowned and crossed your arms. "What do you mean? I summoned you so you have to do what I say. Isn't that how this stuff works?"
"Geez kid, for someone who looks so desperate you sure are demanding."
"I do not look desperate!" In all actuality you knew you probably did. Hell, you *were* desperate. "Look, can you help me or not? I'm kind of pressed for time on this."
"As a matter of fact I can. The thing is we need to strike up some kind of a deal before I can."
You suspiciously eyed the triangular being. "What kind of deal?"
"I'll get rid of your little problem, but in return I want something precious to you."
"Precious to me?" Your face twisted into a ball of confusion. "The most precious thing I had was already taken from me. I'm afraid I don't have anything to give you."
"Let's not be too hasty. Everyone has something to give you know."
The sound of tires screeching against the empty road startled you. You heard two doors slam shut and the sound of footsteps approaching.
"Fuck! I don't have time for this! It's a deal, Bill!"
"Excellent," Bill said while extending his glowing hand towards you. Without hesitation, you took hold of it and shook.
"Shit!"
Your breath caught in your throat when you heard the hourly chime of a grandfather clock. Ding, your time was running out. Ding, only two hours left. Ding, you had to get out of here.
The floorboards beneath you suddenly gave way, exposing a black void filled with eyes. They gazed into your very soul, reminding you that new horrors were everywhere.
You broke into a sprint, hoping that the falling floorboards wouldn't catch up to you. You came across a corner and bolted down the new hallway.
Now, the eyes were lined up along the walls, but that wasn't the most disturbing part of this new hall. No, the most disturbing thing was that you could now hear teasing, demonic laughter coming from all directions.
"What the hell are you things?!" You covered your ears to try to block out their evil whispers and jeers, but it was no use. They seemed to scream out in your very mind.
Just as you thought your ears would bleed from the deafening voices you found yourself trapped in a dead end. Your heart nearly burst as you frantically ran your palms over the wall in front of you.
"No, no no! Fuck!" Curling your dominant hand into a fist, you punched the center of the wall as hard as you could. "What do I do now?! Damn it, Bill! This isn't fair! You forced me into this corner with that fucking disappearing floor act!"
Tears of anger and fear began to pour down your face. Gasping for breath, you urged yourself to calm down. Mustering up all your courage, you turned around and dashed back down the hall.
"Don't stop, don't stop, don't stop." Those two words had basically become your mantra. As long as you were moving you had a chance of finding the exit.
You made it back to the first hall and its floor was now entirely gone. Gold and red eyes stared at you, unblinking. Your nerves were beginning to get the better of you. You were trapped.
Suddenly, a narrow staircase appeared in front of you. It extended far above the eye infested abyss below you and lead to what appeared to be another section of the demonic maze.
"Better get climbing, kid! Unless, of course, you'd prefer to stay where you are!"
Bill's voice filled the open space around you with gleeful mania. As the echos of it died down, you heard faint footsteps from down the hall. In the next few seconds they grew louder as the creature causing them get closer and closer to your location.
Knowing you'd be caught if you didn't get moving, you carefully made your way up the stairs. No matter how gingerly you stepped the stairs creaked and groaned under your weight. About halfway up the old wood began to break.
Shakily, you got down on all fours and kept on climbing. There were no rails, so you had to hold onto the splintering wood for balance. Soon, your hands felt raw. As the wood tore at your hands you began to leave more and more blood on each step.
Ding, ding, ding!
"What are you gunna do now kid? Time isn't exactly on your side!"
The world around you shook, nearly knocking you off the staircase. Caution flew out the window as you clawed your way to the very top of the staircase. You only had an hour left.
Not even taking a second to assess the damage to your hands, you ran through this new territory. From what you could tell, you were in some kind of home. There were several rooms lined up against the walls. Far too many for you to look through in the next hour.
You ran your injured hands through your hair. "What am I supposed to do now? I'll never find the exit."
"You tricked me!"
You screamed at Bill until your throat was completely tired out. When he said he would take something precious from you you weren't expecting it to be your *life*.
"I didn't do anything. You're the one who agreed to the terms and conditions." Bill looked at you, amusement evident in his eye.
"You rat bastard! Those guys were going to kill me! If I knew you were going to do the same I would have taken my chances with them!"
"Easy there, kid. I told you I'd get rid of your problem and look!" He swept his cane over the bodies of the men. "They're as dead as can be! Completely gone and out of your hair."
"Are you fucking stupid?! What good does that do me if I'm dead too?!"
"Well to be fair I did give you a painless death. Would you have preferred to die from the round of bullets they were so eagerly going to shoot into you?"
"I don't care about that! Give me my life back! This is some bullshit!"
"Am I hearing this correctly? You wanna make another deal?" Bill held a hand up to where you guessed his ear would be.
"Fuck your deals! Bring me back to life!"
"Didn't I tell you before that that isn't how this works?" He rolled his eye. "Gee, you humans sure are slow. I'll tell you what: you get your life back if you can escape me. You have three hours." A blue aura consumed the hand he extended towards you. "Deal?"
You skeptically glanced at his hand. "What happens if I can't do it?"
"Then you stay dead and have to serve me."
Not trusting him to play fair, you were fully prepared to refuse the offer. It was clear to you that you'd most likely fail. You figured it'd be better to spend all of eternity as a free spirit than as some kind of slave.
That is, until you realized you could extend the offer.
"If I win, can I bring someone back with me?"
"You mean your precious person? Yeah, sure, whatever kid. So do we have a deal or not?"
"Three hours to escape you?" You placed your hand in Bill's. "Deal."
Your eyes widened as you remembered the wording of the deal. Technically, you didn't need to find a way out of this place, you just had to avoid getting caught by Bill. You had to find a place to hide.
Picking a random door, you hastily went in and locked it. The room you were in resembled a bedroom of sorts, although everything in it was much larger than it would be in an ordinary room.
There was another door located in the very corner of the room. Opening it, you discovered it lead to a bathroom. Deciding to take your chances, you went in and hid in the cupboard under the sink.
"It's okay, just breathe," you whispered. There were hundreds of rooms in this place. There was no way Bill would find you in time. Or, at least, that's what you kept telling yourself.
Trying to find a distraction, you began to pick the splinters out of your hands. Upon further inspection, you found that your hands had deep gashes in some places. The gashes were practically oozing blood.
"Shit," you hissed. Ripping off two pieces of your shirt, you used them to bandage the wounds. The gashes stung and it hurt to move your hands, but at least the blood was contained.
Suddenly, you realized that you had probably left a blood trail leading to your hiding place. At this rate, Bill would get to you for sure.
"God damn it. I need a new place to hide."
You got out of the cupboard as quietly as you could. You crawled out of the bathroom and slowly moved towards the bedroom door.
You tried listen for any footsteps in the hall, but all you could hear was the fearful beating of your own heart. Deciding to go on a bit of faith, you slipped out the door.
Much to your relief, the hall appeared to be empty. You tiptoed your way into another room a few doors down. This one resembled a living room.
You wanted to curse your luck. There were no good places to hide in this space, unless you counted the back of the couch.
"He'll find me in a second in here." You turned to leave, but then something caught your eye. A vent just big enough for you to crawl through was located between the coffee table and television. It was perfect.
Taking the cover off the vent took a bit of work, but you eventually managed it. You climbed in, carefully placing the cover back on. Once it was securely in place, you crawled a few feet deeper into the vent for good measure. Now all you had to do was wait.
Your breathing was shallow and your whole body was shaking from dread and exhaustion. This was it. Either you made it out alive or fell victim to Bill Cipher.
After what felt like an eternity, the silence you were once in was consumed by the loud, ominous ticking you had heard before. You heart rate accelerated as you desperately tried to figure out what it meant.
"Does this mean the hour's almost up?! Did I win?!"
Suddenly, you felt a pair of hands wrap around your ankles. A strong tug followed that cleanly pulled you out of the vent. Bill Cipher, now clad in human form, faced you with a manic grin.
Ding, ding, ding!
"I win, kid."