mindcracklove | Fic: Bribery (Epilogue)

theropod posting in

At long, long last, the final piece. Enjoy, the series is over!

1 - The Bribe
2 - Alone in the Dark
3 - Nightmares
4 - Gift
5 - Retribution Pt 1
6 - Retribution Pt 2

-0-

Millbee ran.

Ran from the village, from the attackers, from the burning and the screaming and the soot – the soot covering his wool, his face, in his mouth, his nose – he could barely draw a breath without coughing on the scent of charred wood and flesh stuck in the back of his throat.

He ran from the ruins of the place he'd been beginning to call home, from those he'd called friend who now lay dead, and from those who'd called him friend yet now wanted him dead.

He ran until he could run no more, sinking against a tree and holding on to the rough bark as he coughed and barely avoided throwing up. Exhausted, he could do little more than sit there and shake. Out here, away from the blazing heat of the burning village, it was cold and dark. The sweat he'd worked up from his flight was cooling him and he shivered even under the thick wool. Around him he could hear...nothing? The expected sounds of mobs in the night were non-existent, the silence worrying him more than any sound would. At this point, he'd even take an enderman's burbling noises over this silence. It put him on edge. He strained to hear anything, even a hint of pursuit.

“Millbee.”

He screamed in shock and struggled to rise, the urge to flee all that registered in his mind. Something caught his leg before he'd even gone a metre into the darkness and he hit the ground with a groan. He stayed down this time, too exhausted to do more than roll onto his back and look up at his pursuer.

“Pause. Pause?” Millee swallowed. “Pause! Fancy seeing you here, what a surprise. Wow, I really missed you, was just thinking about you-”

“Millbee.”

“-what a co-incidence you turned up, d'you know, I was just out for a walk -”

“Millbee stop.”

“-and then I got lost, and I guess I ended up near the B-Team or somethin'? So-”

“I know what you did Millbee. Don't try to lie your way out of it.”

The sheep fell silent, looking up at the Native pleadingly. There was little to no chance he was getting out of this alive but that didn't mean he wasn't going to try and save his skin somehow. “Pause c'mon, it was just a bit of fun, you know? I-”

“Just a bit of fun.” Pause echoed, voice oddly cold. “Just a bit of fun when they blew Kurt's silo up with him still inside it. Just a bit of fun when they robbed Etho. Just a bit of fun when they stuck a severed horse head in Jims' bed, kudos to them for even finding a horse since the rest of us are still looking. It all sounds like a riot, Millbee. I bet its been a great laugh, abandoning Kurt to die, murdering villagers when they aren't slaving away fast enough for you.”

“They weren't slaves, they wanted to work-”

“Don't give me that bullshit Millbee!” Pause snapped, arm snapping forwards. Millbee inhaled sharply when he felt the diamond blade dig into his neck. “...Just a bit of fun when you run out on us.”

“Pause please, I didn't run out on you!”

“You ran out on me and you ran out on Beef. We trusted you Millbee!” The sword shook a little in Pause's grip as his voice went just a little higher, a little louder in distress. “I trusted you! And you spat on that, you tore out my heart and spat on that too!”

The sheep stared up as Pause force himself under control, the blade slowly ceasing the trembling as the native took deep breaths. As Pause grew calmer, Millbee only grew more afraid. A calm Pause was a dangerous one.

“I should kill you for everything you've done.” Pause spoke up at last, voice calm and soft. “The others are dead. Why should you go free?”

Milbee swallowed around the growing lump in his throat, fingers digging into the dirt under him. What could he say? He could see no escape from this, none.

Pause sighed at his silence, looking down. “I should kill you.” he repeated softly. “But I'm not gonna.”

Millbee felt hope surge through him, sitting up a little. “Pause?”

“You have one chance Millbee.” Pause unclipped a small sack from his belt, dropping it in Millbee's lap. Confusion flickered across the bipedal sheep's face as he stared at the sack. “You take that, and you run. You run away with your tail between your legs. Just like you always do.”

The hope was fading fast. Millbee had hoped, foolishly, that he might be allowed home with Pause, all sins forgiven. It seemed that it was not to be.

“And Millbee.” Pause stepped back, sinking into the shadows until only the faintest outline of his face remained visible. “If I ever see you again, if I see your face, your wool or your tail around me and mine...I won't give you a second chance.”

Millbee looked up, staring into the darkness where Pause had vanished. Alone again, on the run...he gripped the sack and stood up shakily. He spared a moment to untie it and glance inside. Knife, apple, bread, small glass bottle of water...He swallowed and took the knife in its little sheathe, tying it around his waist. At least now he had a weapon, if little else. He inhaled shakily, trying to ignore the growing feeling of loneliness in his chest, trying to block it out.

An arrow digging into the dirt at his feet made him jump. “Run!” came the barked command. Sack in hand, Millbee took off, hooves digging into the grass as he fled for his life.

From the trees, Pause watched him with bow in hand. A dark little voice in the back of his mind whispered to him, urging him to draw back the bow and shoot the fleeing traitor, but the arrows remained in his quiver, the bow string stayed slack. He watched Millbee run and this time he did not follow.

-0-

There was something tickling his nose. He groaned and reached up to scratch at it, moving to roll over. The bed was oddly hard beneath his back and it seemed the pillows and covers had gone walk about. He sighed and patted around him, eyes still firmly shut against the bright sun on his eyes. “B, B gimme some covers man, the hell are you doin' with em all?” he muttered. No answer. Well that was weird. He cracked open green eyes and rolled onto his side, looking for his partner.

Instead he found himself staring at the legs of a cow. Said cow was looking down at him with a mildly curious look, a little grass poking out the corner of its mouth. Well that explained the tickling against his nose.

“What in the world...?” He shuffled away from the cow over him and sat up, looking around. He hadn't woken up at home, he'd woken up in a field of cows. There was no bed covers because there was no bed, just some flattened grass he'd been sleeping on. Utterly at a loss as to how he got there, he reached up and rubbed the back of his slightly aching head. Something crusty came off at his touch and he winced, drawing the hand back. Dried blood dusted the tips of his fingers. “...Pause.”

Now he remembered. Pause on his back, saying...something. Then blackness.

“That son of a bitch man, I'm gonna -”

“Guude?” At the familiar voice, he stopped cursing out the native and looked around. A little distance away and moving closer was one very familiar butcher who looked very surprised to see him. “What are you doing with my cows man? How'd you even – oh man you're bleeding – come on, we'll get you inside and you can tell me eveything in there.”

Guude accepted the help standing up and let himself be led inside, still confused but inexplicably happy to see a familiar face. Especially one that wasn't trying to kill him.

He was still going to have to get Pause back for the blow to the head though.