Chapter Text
Robin hated three things in life.
Bullies.
Animal cruelty.
And Masked men.
That last one was new.
He angrily paced the room, trying to ignore the urge to either cry or punch someone.
Because the only someone was Finney, quietly sitting on the mattress with my arms wrapped around his knees.
He wasn’t going to hit Finney.
It had been hours since the man had left, and the room was darker now, illuminating an eerie golden glow from the window that frustratingly high and covered with bars.
He hated everything about this situation and everything about how he handled that.
He never should have let Finney pull him back. He doesn’t usually listen to anyone like that, and let alone in that situation.
It had been so stupid and ridiculous and utterly-
briinnnngg. Brinnngggg.
Robin stopped his frantic pacing and turned to the sound, eyes wide.
Finney was also staring at the source of the sound, mouth wide open and his brows furrowed incredulously.
The Black Phone was ringing.
But how? The cord was cut, and there was no possible way that it could actually be ringing right now. Maybe Robin was hallucinating from thirst.
“Robin.”
Finney’s voice came out shaky, and Robin quickly realized there was no hope that Finney could have just been staring at a bug on a wall.
He definitely heard it.
Which meant the phone was ringing.
Which meant someone was calling, right? That’s how phones usually worked.
Wait - Someone was calling.
“Robin.”
Finney said again, a little less shaky now, more firm and anxious.
“What do we do?”
And Robin had no idea. This could be three things for sure; joint Hallucinations from the amount of crazy they’d been forced to endure, a trick, or someone was actually calling from the broken phone.
“Robin!”
Finney’s voice was louder now, more firm and clear.
“Finney!” Robin snapped back, then instantly regretted it. They were both having a hard time, and they were both trying to figure out what to do with the ringing phone.
“What. Do. We. Do.”
“Let it ring.”
There was no logical reason for a broken phone to ring, unless the man was making it ring for a Trick. Another test like the one he had done with the fucking food.
Finney didn’t look exactly satisfied with this answer, but he didn’t say anything else. He just got up and went to stand next to Robin, and they both stood there listening to it ring.
It seemed to go on forever, but it finally stopped, and the basement was again filled with the eerie silence that had been driving Robin crazy for the past hours.
“So now wh-“
Finney didn’t get a chance to finish, because the phone began ringing again.
They both jumped back a little, and Robin thrust an arm out to push Finney back.
“Fuck!”
“Now what?”
“I don’t know!”
It was getting annoying, now. It was obviously a trick. It had to be. But Robin was too pissed off at this point.
“Pick up.”
“WHAT?”
“If he wants to play games, we’ll play.”
By the look on Finney’s face, Robin could tell he thought he was both crazy and flat out stupid.
“Robin, what if it’s-“
“A trick? Then…”
Robin broke off, and watched as Finney reached towards the phone with a shaking hand.
He unhooked it, and carefully held it up to his ear. His voice was surprisingly steady as he said:
“Hello?”
Robin didn’t know what Finney heard exactly, but he figured it wasn’t exactly good.
Especially because his face looked as though he heard a ghost on the other side.
“Finney? What is it?”
“It-its…”
Robin furrowed his brows at the pure shock and confusion on Finney’s face, and Robin felt unease begin to roil in his gut.
“I-it has to be a trick.”
Then his face turned whiter, as though someone had just spoken in the other end and replied to what he just said.
“Finney, WHO, IS IT?”
Finnney held the receiver out to Robin with a shaking hand, and Robin took it, clenching it in his palm as he held it to his ear.
“Hello?!”
“With the stunt you pulled, you almost killed both Finney and you quicker. Stop wasting time.”
Robins arm went weak.
The receiver fell to his side, and he must have definitely been dreaming now. Because the voice on the other side of the receiver was Bruce Yamada.
_________________________________________________
Nope. No. No fucking way, impossible.
Bruce had been reported missing weeks ago - and everyone had assumed he was dead. So why the fuck did Robin hear his voice through the other end of a cut telephone cord?
Robin didn’t know how to reply, or if he should even reply, so he was even more surprised when Bruce’s voice came through the phone again.
“Don’t just stand there gawking, listen up.”
Robin closed his mouth, and forced words up his throat.
“Bruce?”
He had barely known Bruce, but he knew how impressed Finney was by him. It had always made him a little annoyed, honestly.
He knew his voice because he would always be forced to hear it whenever he went to one of Finn’s baseball games or in the halls.
“Bruce YAMADA?”
“Listen up. I can’t talk for long. But you have to be careful. He’s not going to let you go.”
“What’s he saying?”
Finney’s voice came out firmer than usual, and Robin looked at him. “He’s saying the fuck wads lying to us, and he won’t let us go.”
“Oh come on…”
“Give the phone to Finney.”
Robin was slightly surprised at this request, but he didn’t hesitate to hand the receiver over to Finney.
“Bruce? Where are you? Is he keeping you in his house too?”
Finney looked as though he was concentrating, focusing on every word Bruce said as though it was critical information. It probably was.
Finney’s face went through about 3 different emotions as he listened for a few minutes, none of them good.
And then the receiver clicked, meaning the call was over.
“What did he say? Where is he?”
Robin watched Finney’s face turn from confusion to setting his jaw grimly and staring straight at Robin.
Robin didn’t think any amount of horror movies could have prepared him for what Finney said.
“Robin, he said he was dead.”