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Their plan is solid, much better than what they usually come up with.
Everyone knows what they have to do, how to do it, when to do it.
Again, it’s a pretty solid plan.
They wait for the abomination to show up. And it does, right when they predicted it would.
This one’s pretty gnarly. Sharp claws, sharp teeth, sharp everything really.
It walks in slowly, eyeing the room with its beady eyes.
Aubrey motions to Ned who motions to Duck and they spring their trap.
Everything falls into place just as planned. The creature is led to the right place by Duck. Ned gets the makeshift cage to fall on top of it. Aubrey sprays it with the stuff they’d gotten from Heathcliff.
A few tense seconds pass as they wait for it to take effect.
Duck’s not sure what to expect. Is it going to melt like it’s been sprayed with acid? Is it just going to die instantly? Or, more likely, will its armour and claws just be weakened enough for weapons to injure it?
One, two, three seconds pass.
Nothing happens.
Five, six, ten seconds pass.
Nothing happens.
The abomination looks at the cage, then at Duck. Duck can tell from the light in its eyes that the abomination isn’t dumb. It’s considering all it’s options in this situation.
It’s planning
Ten, fifteen, twenty seconds pass.
Nothing happens.
Duck takes a step back, getting away from the abomination.
They made a mistake.
The creature takes a step towards Duck, still in the cage.
They don’t know what its weakness is.
The abomination shows its sharp, needle-like teeth, in what could be a smile.
They need to get out of here. Now.
Duck looks at Ned and then Aubrey. They’re thinking the same thing. He can tell by the looks on their faces.
He’s still looking at Aubrey, giving a her a slight nod, when he hears an awful sound of something scraping on metal.
And then he feels something on him.
Distantly, he hears Aubrey and Ned screaming.
The last thing Duck sees is the abomination’s snarling teeth as it claws its way into his guts.
Everything goes black.
And then there’s light, and Duck doesn’t know where he is, but he knows something is wrong.
He can see a human figure about twenty feet away from him.
They’re bald with intricate blue markings covering their head and wearing some kind of blue armour.
And Duck is so sure he knows them.
He takes a few steps forward - walking feels off, wrong even - before saying, “Um, hello.” The figure turns around and looks at him with a shocked look on their face, “Do you know where this is?”
The figure stays silent, and Duck inspects their face, trying to place it. He can’t.
“Duck Newton.” The voice he recognises immediately. Minerva. “Whatever happened to you?”
“We made a mistake.” Duck frowns, and looks down at himself. Blue, semi-transparent, like Minerva’s always appeared to him. “Minerva, what’s going on?”
Minerva walks up to him and reaches for his cheek. Duck doesn’t feel it. “It will be okay, Duck Newton. The universe has plans for you.”
The world starts to fade, growing less and less solid and getting blurrier and blurrier.
He’s fading away.
“Minerva, what’s going on?” A thought crosses his mind that makes Duck freeze up, “Minerva, am I-”
Dead.
There’s no darkness this time, only soft blueish light.
The first thing Duck sees when he opens his eyes is Aubrey kneeling over him, tears streaming down her face.
Duck takes a deep breath.
Aubrey notices immediately, “Duck? Oh my God, Duck!” She turns around and looks at Ned, who’s right behind her, “Ned, Duck’s breathing again!”
Duck breathes again, and this time it hurts. As he becomes more aware, Duck realises that everything hurts. A lot.
“Duck,” Aubrey continues, “you, you were dead. I tried to heal you, but it didn’t-” her voice cracks as more tears form and threaten to fall.
“It’s okay, Aubrey.” Duck takes another deep breath and reaches up to hold Aubrey’s hand, “I’m here for a reason, and I’m not leaving anytime soon.”