Chapter Text
Cooper tosses and turns. He can’t sleep, his mind is racing with thoughts. What is this place? Who else is going to be MUTILATED into wires? What does HERR.IC want from us?
It’s too much. Cooper sneaks out of his cabin, passing by Evelyn, asleep in front of the table littered with papers and folders and stepping over Ricky, asleep on the floor with a kid resting by him. He reaches the door, and slowly opens it. He walks around the cabin, before turning a corner and finding Raphael.
Oh, Raphael.
16. He was just 16. And on his birthday, too, he had to be sucked into this mess. Mutilated. Destroyed. And for what? To make HERR.IC happy? What about watching a child suffer makes HERR.IC ecstatic? It’s all so fucked up. He cant stand it.
”Hey Raphael,” Cooper said gently, “Want me to keep you company?”
”Hurt... Hurt...”
Raphael’s voice sounded like a piece of dialogue from a destroyed 8-bit game. Crunchy, almost incomprehensible.
Cooper sits by Raphaels side, “How have you been doing? I hope the pain isn’t too unbearable.”
“C-Can't... Stand... It..."
Cooper bites the inside of his cheek. He can’t stand watching Raphael like this. He doesn’t deserve this, any of this. Why couldn’t he just take all of his pain and give it to himself? There’s nothing he can do. Just watch. He places a hand on one of the wires, flinching a bit before caressing it.
“You know, HERR.IC dropped bunch of kids here. Not a good thing but, maybe one of them could be your friend? Maybe one of them is the same age as you! Wouldn’t that be nice?”
No response.
“Raphael? You there?”
”Friends.”
Coopers eyes widened a bit, “Friends?”
"I Had... Friends”
Friends? Friends! Oh, how lovely. Raphael wasn't completely alone! Cooper smiled ever so slightly. He's exhausted, and his mind is clouded, but knowing that Raphael had friends, people who he cared for and people who cared for him made him quite... joyful.
"That's amazing, Raphael! What were they like? Oh, I bet they're worried sick about you- Ah... I'm sorry. I'm going on and on."
"Spiteful."
Spiteful. That one word. That one word, it explains it all.
***
"Happy birthday, Raphael."
His past friends snickered to each other and laughed like hyenas. Raphael was crying like a whiny bitch on the ground, covered in cuts and bruises. Not like he didn't have those to begin with. They were the only people he had. The only people who could handle him. The only people who he thought understood him, and now they're gone. If only he wasn't so anxious. If only he wasn't so weak, maybe they would've stayed with him.
"H-happy... birth...day..?" Raphael choked.
Raphael walked slowly back home. He was in no rush to hear the yelling, no rush to be hit, no rush to turn 16. Voices rang in his ears, voices of his past friends. They all ditched him and beat him, and on his birthday of all days. What a "lovely" gift! He stood at his front porch and opened the door, immediately being pushed to the ground.
"Come on, pussy. Fight back! FIGHT FUCKING BACK!", his dad screamed.
Every blow was worse than the last. He was used to this, but the pain never went away. His mom ran into the living room, screaming and hyperventilating.
"ADRIAN! ADRIAN LEAVE HIM BE! GOD PLEASE STOP HURTING HIM! I'LL PAY YOU BACK FOR EVERYTHING, JUST PLEASE LEAVE HIM BE!"
The blows didn't stop. Raphael was silent, the occasional whimper coming from the pain. His edges were being ripped, blood dripped down from his mouth. He knew if he said anything, the beatings would get worse. But if he kept silent, his mom would be next. The fighting stopped, but the yelling didn't. His father grabbed his mom and dragged her into a separate room.
"The cake is on the dining table, Raphael. Happy birthday."
***
"They've..Left."
Cooper sucked air through his teeth. He didn't want to yell, he didn't want to cry. He wanted to be there for Raphael and hear him out. But he knows he can't speak, he knows that he'll never truly learn anything or understand anything about Raphael.
"Oh, Raphael. I'm sorry. I hope you can find better friends-"
No he can't. He's trapped here forever, suffering, unable to speak, unable to move, unable to do shit. Find better friends? Nobody could find or do anything for that matter. They're all trapped. They only have each other, not for long though.