The Bishop slid swiftly to the side, Tyler's bullet whizzing right past his head.

Tyler shot again. And again. And again.

Not a single bullet hit their target. Some didn't even come close.

"I'm fucking missing!" Tyler cursed under his breath. "Josh why the fuck—I never—I don't—I don't miss, why the fuck—?!"

Tyler whipped his head up to look at Josh with a wild, crazy look in his eye before looking down and fumbling with his gun again.

"Tyler—Ty, listen—!" Josh grabbed Tyler's arm, stopping him from cocking his gun again. Though Tyler fought back violently, Josh managed to hold him still.

"What?!" Tyler spat through clenched teeth, glaring daggers at Josh mere inches away from his face.

"You're gonna run out of bullets, idiot," Josh snapped. He forced his voice to be quiet, to not give away a weakness to the enemy, but he evidently wasn't quiet enough.

Nico's sick, twisted laugh rang out in the empty chamber.

"He's right, you know!" The Bishop jeered. "You shot at me—a valiant effort, I must say—exactly five times. That little insignificant revolver in your hands only holds six bullets."

Tyler snapped. He couldn't take that disgusting  sandpaper voice anymore, or those soulless grey eyes, or the bright blood red of his robe.

"I didn't fucking ask you!" He shouted. He yanked out of Josh's grasp and aimed his gun at Nico yet again.

It all happened so fast, Tyler and Josh could barely comprehend what the hell happened.

In one swift motion Nico had grabbed Clancy's neck with one hand and stuck him out over the edge, leaving Clancy dangling freely above the swimming pool.

"Tyler!" Clancy cried out.

Tyler's eyes widened, and his mind screamed at him to do something. Anything.

His whole body shook as he stood there, gun aimed at the Bishop in front of him.

"I told you to let him go, Nico!" Tyler shouted. "Let him go or I'll shoot! I'll kill you dead."

Nico smiled maniacally under that thin grey veil.

"Bold of you to assume you could kill me," the words croaked painfully off his faded lips.

"Bold of you to assume I give a fuck," Tyler snapped, his voice just as low and throaty as the Bishop's.

Clancy reached for Nico's cold grey hand wrapped around his throat as if he could pry it off.

He gasped for air and violently kicked his feet in an attempt at escape.

When he looked down, he felt like he was going to throw up. He was suspended in mid air, the only thing holding him up was Nico grasping his throat. He dangled above the swimming pool an entire three stories below.

"Shoot me, I'll let go," Nico's deep, gravelly voice said. "I'll drop him. He'll die."

Tyler scoffed. "He'll land in the water," he said. Anything to keep that boy alive.

Clancy desperately shook his head.

Nico's disguising, evil laugh echoed throughout the room. It made Tyler's blood run cold.

"That's not water!" Nico boomed. "That's 85,000 gallons of pure liquid chlorine!"

Tyler swallowed back whatever was threatening to come up his throat as he looked over the edge, down at the swimming pool.

"Those chemical burns will rip off your skin if you stay in longer than a minute," Nico spat. "That is, if breathing in the fumes doesn't kill you first."

"Excuse my language, but shut the fuck up," Tyler snapped. "What's it gonna take for you to put the kid down on the floor?"

Nico smiled wickedly under the white veil of his cloak.

"Surrender," he replied. "Complete and total surrender. Both of you. The kid can go, but not you. Give yourselves to Dema."

"D-Don't—" Clancy managed to sputter out. "Tyler...don't—"

Was Tyler hearing him correctly? Clancy was willing to sacrifice himself just so Tyler and Josh wouldn't have to suffer in Dema.

Damn, did he love that kid.

Clancy suddenly squeezed his eyes shut and cried out in pain. Nico had squeezed his throat tighter and shook him back and forth.

"Stop it!" Tyler yelled, tightening his grip on his gun.

"Shoot him," Josh murmured at Tyler's side. He wasn't looking at Tyler; his furious gaze was locked on the bishop. "Tyler, shoot the fuck out of him."

"I can't," Tyler said through gritted teeth. "I can't hurt Clancy."

Josh's eyes darted over to Tyler, his jaw clenched.

"Do what he says," Josh instructed. "He'll put him down, then we can..."

His eyes slowly looked over at Tyler's gun aimed at Nico in his outstretched arm, then back at Tyler's face. Tyler gave him the smallest of nods.

"Alright!" Tyler shouted. "We'll do it. I'll..."

Tyler looked at Clancy's wide, absolutely petrified eyes and painful expression scrunching up his face.

"I'll go with you," Tyler finished quietly. "I'll stay in Dema."

"Both of us," Josh spoke up, stepping forward. "We surrender to Dema. Now let the kid go."

Nico's evil smile grew wider. Just as he said, he pulled Clancy back and threw him on the floor.

As soon as Clancy hit the ground, he slid across the tile floor. He pushed himself up on his hands and knees, gasping for air.

Tyler let out an audible sigh of relief. His body was still shaking with anxiety, but the sight of Clancy out of Nico's hands and not dangling above a pool of toxic chlorine made him relax.

Tyler lowered his gun, and he and Josh slowly walked toward the red-clad bishop.

"Let me do it," Josh mumbled so only Tyler could hear. His lips barely moved. "I'll shoot. You grab Clancy."

Again, Tyler nodded the tiniest bit.

"I could not begin to express how happy it makes me to have you joining us," Nico said, his voice low and smooth.

Tyler and Josh stopped dead in their tracks. Tyler couldn't help but look down at the kid mere feet away from him.

Soon, he would be with Tyler again. He would be safe.

"Yeah, we're real fucking happy too," Tyler scoffed with a tiny smirk. "Can't wait to join your clique. Show us to our rooms."

With that, Josh pulled out his gun. He cocked the weapon with a satisfying click and pulled the trigger without a second thought.

He was so fast he didn't even think about aiming. The bullet pierced Nico's leg, zooming right through his red cloak.

But as soon as Josh made a move, so did Nico.

He stumbled back, one arm clutching his wounded leg. With the other arm, he put his hand on Clancy's chest and shoved him backwards.

"NO!"

Tyler wished he could stop time.

Clancy tumbled over the ledge. Tyler watched, frozen, as the kid fell off the edge and disappeared.

And then he took off.

He practically leapt off the ground, his feet bouncing lightly off the tiles as he sprinted toward the ledge.

Tyler didn't hesitate.

He jumped.

Someone tried snatching the back of Tyler's coat, but the fabric slipped out of their hand.

(It wasn't Josh. Tyler would recognize his touch in a heartbeat, even the tiniest brush).

Tyler kicked off the ledge when he jumped, propelling him into the air. He soared, wind blowing through his hair. He felt a strange moment of freedom, floating in the air, suspended in nothingness for a split second.

Then he fell.

He couldn't scream. The wind was completely knocked out off his lungs as he plummeted toward the chlorine pool.

As he was in his free fall, he caught a glimpse of Clancy below him. The kid's eyes were squeezed closed, but he was still reaching up as if Tyler could still grab his hand.

Clancy disappeared into the glowing green mist floating over the pool. His body was completely hidden in the wispy fog the chlorine was letting off.

Moments later, Tyler heard a splash. Clancy was underwater.

The pool was approaching faster and faster. A million thoughts raced trough Tyler's mind: Close your eyes. Hold your breath. Can't spend more than a minute in the water.

SMACK!

Hitting the water was like hitting a brick wall.

As soon as Tyler hit the surface pain spread across his skin like a million tiny needles pricking every spot of his skin all at once. Each of his nerves were electrified with pain.

The chlorine swallowed Tyler whole.

It was so freezing cold that for a moment Tyler's body was paralyzed. He couldn't feel anything except for complete, utter numbness.

Then the burning started.

It lit Tyler on fire. His skin was being melted off, until only skeleton bones remained.

He didn't know how deep the pool was, but there was no way he would be able to stand up. He'd have to swim.

When he broken the surface of the chlorine, he was immediately met with a familiar voice crying out his name.

"Tyler! Tyler! Tyler, help! Please!"

Tyler opened his eyes, despite the burning chlorine dripping off his hair and into his face.

He started treading water to keep himself upright. He whipped his head back and forth, desperately looking for Clancy. All he could see was the glowing green mist floating just above the chlorine.

"Hold your breath! Don't breathe it in!" Tyler shouted, his voice throaty and raw. "Stay where you are! I'm coming to get you!"

Clancy was coughing and splashing around in the water, which gave Tyler a place to start.

He didn't know which he was going, but he could hear his way around.

Ignoring his own pain, he swam. He followed Clancy's voice and the sound of splashing. And finally, finally, Tyler saw a shadow moving around in the green fog.

Clancy!

Tyler pushed himself to swim faster until he broke through the fog. He saw the boy treading water, struggling to keep his head above the chlorine. His eyes were squeezed shut with tears pouring down his face.

Tyler didn't smile. Not yet.

He grabbed Clancy and pulled the frail boy into him.  Clancy clung to him for dear life, burying his head into the crook of his neck and digging his fingernails into his back. Under the chlorine, he wrapped his legs around Tyler's waist.

"Oh my God, Tyler."

"I'm here, I'm right here," Tyler murmured. He held Clancy as tight as he could without breaking him. "I gotcha. You're safe, Clancy. Safe safe safe."

Now Tyler smiled.

"C'mon, we're getting out of here," he said through gritted teeth. He swung Clancy around so that he was on his neck. With Clancy holding onto Tyler's shoulders, Tyler was free to use his arms to swim through the chlorine waves.

He still couldn't see through the thick mist shrouding the pool, but he kept swimming and swimming anyways.

He was about to touch the concrete edge of the pool when—

Tyler was suddenly yanked out of the chlorine, Clancy being pulled along with him. Someone had grabbed his arm and literally snatched him out of the pool.

Clancy and Tyler rolled onto the concrete floor next to the chlorine pool, coughing up the liquid out of their lungs.

Clancy was laying on his back, his arm covering his eyes, gasping for breath. But Tyler was sitting up. After blinking the drops of chlorine out of his eyes, he looked up.

Josh was standing there, chest heaving, with a wild look in his eyes. His green hoodie and yellow tape were splattered with red.

"I'll explain later," he said gruffly. He grabbed Tyler's forearm and helped him up into a standing position.

Tyler groaned as he stood up, more chlorine dripping from his hair onto his face. His clothes were completely drenched, from his army coat to the inside of his boots.

"No, you'll explain now," Tyler snapped. He reached down for Clancy's wrist, pulling him off the floor.

The kid stumbled once he was on his own two feet, so Tyler had to put an arm around his shoulders to keep him steady. They both shivered from the freezing chlorine soaking their bodies.

"You alright kid?" Tyler choked out. When Clancy silently nodded, he turned his attention back to Josh.

He noticed there wasn't just blood on Josh's clothes. It was on his face, too.

"He's dead, Tyler," was all Josh said.

✗✗✗✗✗

Tyler trudged through the hallway, wearing nothing but cargo pants and a black tank top sticking to his chest, wet with chlorine.

They had agreed to split up, Josh and Clancy going to find dry clothes and weapons, Tyler finding his way back upstairs to the see if any more Bishops came to their boss's rescue.

Tyler's gun had one bullet left.

So when he heard the sound of soft footsteps behind him, he was hesitant to pull out his gun.

Tyler stopped and waited.

The footsteps continued, so soft he could barely hear them.

Tyler raised his head and looked over his shoulder, eyes wide and lips parted.

Standing behind him was Jason the pet cheetah.

A ripped piece of red fabric was between its teeth.

✗✗✗✗✗
✗✗✗✗✗

I TOLD YOU CLANCY WOULD BE OKAY!!!

TYLER ADOPTED CLANCY, YOU ALL CAN'T DENY IT

LOVE YOU KIDDOS

-LIZ.