Chapter Text
“Well, maybe painting is for you!” Billy said.
Since the camera wasn’t on him, Mark took the opportunity to shake his head. None of Billy’s “fun” ideas were ever good for him, and he knew that this would be no different.
Ignoring him, Billy picked up the camera and gestured for Mark to follow him. Reluctantly, he followed him to a table with art supplies on it and sat down at the seat his “friend” offered him. Once he’d sat down and paints were set up, Billy quickly set the camera up on its swivel and said into it, “You could paint a picture of your friends! Maybe Cupcake Monster.”
And there was that vocal shift. Mark had heard Billy’s tone change like that so many times before, and he knew that it meant something bad was about to happen. Avoiding Billy’s gaze, he grabbed the tube of orange paint only to put it back down.
“Uh… Okay,” He said sadly.
“What’s wrong, Mark?” Billy asked, tilting his head.
“Um…” Mark trailed off, “It’s just that… I don’t remember what he looks like.”
“Don’t worry, Mark!” Billy said. “I can help you with that.”
Without another word, Billy turned and walked out the door. His shadow, however, stayed in place.
It took Mark a second to realize that it wasn’t just a shadow; it had large, staring eyes and an open mouth full of open teeth. Upon finally seeing its face, Mark jumped. It barely looked at him before following Billy out the door.
Mark was breathing hard when Billy walked back in with a box.
“Here’s a nice reference for you,” Billy said, holding up the box so Mark could look at it. He noticed the bloody fingerprints immediately and backed away in horror. “You can take one last look before I send him home. We don’t want a repeat of Donovan now, do we?”
“What did you do?” Mark asked quietly, tearing up. “Where’s Cupcake Monster?”
“Do you want to see him, or not?” Billy asked, putting the box down on the table in front of him.
Mark stared at the box for a moment longer and then shot to his feet. He ran towards the door as quickly as he could, but, as per usual, he wasn’t fast enough. Billy grabbed his foot and pulled him down just as he reached the doorframe, making Mark drop to the ground. He pulled the little monster up and dangled him by the foot in front of his face.
“I’m taping it shut in an hour. You’re going back to your cage. You can visit behind bars if you change your mind.”
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It hadn't even been a day, and the shadow monster was back. Billy had just told Mark that he’d be back with dessert, and it had taken a seat right across from Mark the moment it was empty. Every time Mark made a move, it mirrored him, and Mark had decided to stay where he was to avoid making it get up.
When Billy came back, it waved and faded away. “What are you looking at, Mark?”
“Nothing!” Mark replied quickly.
Billy gave him a shrug and made his way over to the table. He set a plate with a cupcake on it in front of Mark, then sat down to enjoy his own dessert.
A cupcake? Mark eyed the food for a moment. Billy had never done anything kind for him like this. What was this about?
“Well, aren’t you going to eat it?” Billy asked. He hadn’t touched his dessert yet, either.
“Yeah. Sorry,” Mark replied. He picked up the fork Billy had left on the table for him and took his first bite.
It wasn’t like any cupcake Mark had eaten before. It was wetter than it should’ve been, and it had a metallic tang to it. Mark looked down at his plate and tried to hide his horror at the red liquid dripping from the confection.
“Where did you get the ingredients from?” He asked, choosing his words carefully.
“Just some scraps I had lying around,” Billy responded, casually twirling his fork in the air as he spoke.
Scraps? What- no.
Mark looked at the cupcake again and realized how familiar it was. He looked to the wall to his left and read the newspaper clipping Billy had taped there. The confirmation hit him like a metal bar to the gut, and he pushed the plate away. Sick to his stomach, he gazed up at Billy in sheer horror.
“Eat up,” Billy said with a cruel, bloody smile.
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“Alright, Mark,” Billy said, collapsing the tripod. “Back to your cage.”
“No!” Mark shouted at him.
“Mark,” Billy warned.
“No! You killed Cupcake Monster!” Mark replied, crossing his arms.
“So what?” Billy snapped. “What are you going to do about it, Mark?”
“I’ll…” Mark hesitated. “I’ll kill you, too!”
Billy let out a cold laugh. “Really? You think you’re even capable of that, little monster?”
Mark clenched his fists at his sides, glaring at Billy as tears streamed down his face.
“Let’s try again,” Billy said, towering over Mark. “I’m going to count to three. If you’re not in your cage by the time I say ‘three,’ you’ll regret it.”
Mark stayed put. What was he going to do? Cupcake Monster was dead, and Billy had killed him. He couldn’t just go back and sit in the cage. Not after that.
“One,”
Mark stayed put, trying to make a plan of attack.
“Two,” Billy raised his voice slightly.
Before the man could get to three, Mark leapt at him. Billy caught him easily, gripping the monster tightly as he struggled.
“Wrong move, Mark,” he said angrily. He carried the struggling monster out of the room and to his cage, then threw him in like a ragdoll. Mark’s leg made impact first, cracking as it hit at an odd angle. The poor creature fell to the floor, cradling his broken limb and gasping for the breath that had been knocked out of him.
He didn’t even notice Billy lock the door and leave.
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When Mark came to, the shadow entity was back. It crouched across the room, tilting its head and staring right at him. Mark flinched, causing pain to shoot up his leg again. He bit his hand to keep from crying out.
The shadow crept closer to him, unblinking. Mark squeezed his eyes shut, hoping that it would go away if he stopped looking at it.
Suddenly, the door creaked open. Mark kept his eyes closed until Billy demanded that he wake up.
“Still think you can kill me, Mark?” Billy sneered, crouching down beside the cage.
Mark shook his head.
“That's what I thought.”
Billy opened the cage door and reached in. Carefully, he pulled Mark out and set him on the floor.
“Put your hands over your mouth and try to keep quiet,” he ordered, grabbing Mark's injured leg. Obediently, Mark, put one hand in his mouth and one over it. Without warning, Billy wrenched the bone back into place, eliciting a muffled scream. Once it was in place, he wrapped it with a ruler to keep it straight.
“Hopefully, that will heal sooner than later,” Billy said. “Until then, pretend it’s fine when you’re on camera.”
Mark nodded, his vision blurred from the pain.
“I hope you learn from your mistake, Mark,” Billy said as he straightened up. “If not, I’ll make you watch me kill Donovan.”
“I thought Donovan escaped,” Mark managed to whisper.
“He did,” Billy replied. “But not for long. He’s back with me.”
He carefully placed Mark back in the cage and locked him in. Without another word, Billy disappeared, closing the door behind him.
As soon as the door clicked closed, the shadow creature appeared again. It looked down at Mark, then at the door. Mark watched it idly, too scared to accidentally move his leg to try looking away. With an air of indignation, the entity walked over to the door and disappeared. With it gone, Mark was left to think about Donovan and his apparent re-capture until eventually passing out again.