I sat on the couch, reading the most boring book I've ever read, when I heard the familiar sound of tires crunching over gravel. My eyes lit up as I jumped and flung the book aside, dashing towards the door to see a familiar green pickup truck pulling into the driveway. "Buddy!" I called as I raced towards it, waving enthusiastically as it turned off and the door opened. However, my joy turned to horror as Buddy nearly fell out, red staining his shirt. I froze in my tracks, my eyes wide. "B... Buddy...? Buddy!" I ran to his side, helping him to his feet. "Buddy, what happened? Buddy!"
My eyes popped open as I gave a little jolt, my heart pounding. Where am I...? Glancing around groggily, I registered that I was in my bed, wrapped in my warm covers. Huh... When did I change into my pajamas and fall asleep? I started to sit up, only to feel my legs catch on something. What the...? Puzzled, I tried to shake my legs, but again I felt the tugging sensation, but this time there was a metallic rattle. Slowly I shifted in bed, lifting the covers to peek at my feet, only to freeze.
Clasped around my ankles were metal shackles, chaining me to the bed. As I stared at them in shock, suddenly everything came racing back to me.
Buddy had tried to kill me.
He was keeping a person in the basement.
And that person tried to kill me.
Panicked, my eyes suddenly flew towards the mirror above my dresser, staring at my reflection. I looked frazzled, my hair untidy with specks of blood on my face. Remembering the strange creature from the basement strangling me, I pulled at the collar of my shirt to expose my neck. A dark bruise covered it, my skin blackish-blue. Trembling, I slowly reached a shaky hand to my throat. A light pain radiated from where my fingertip touched it, making me quickly gasp and swing my hand away.
Footsteps sounded outside my door and I snapped my head towards it, staring at it with wide eyes. As the handle slowly turned, I quickly snapped my head back towards the ceiling and squeezed my eyes shut, trying to calm myself and relax so it would look like I was still asleep. I heard the door open and soft footsteps slowly approached the bed, each one sounding more like small booms in my current fear, before stopping a few feet away. Relax, [Name], don't look like you're awake. Don't be so tense. Don't—
"I know you're awake."
The demonic-sounding whisper made my eyes shoot open to see that navy blue mask staring down at me. Outside of the basement's dim lighting, I was able to see it much more clearly. It was relatively featureless, no mouth or nose, just two black holes for eyes fitted with some fabric that prevented me from seeing what was underneath it. Streaks of black paint dripped from the eyes, making it seem as if he was crying. As soon as I saw it I started to scream, only for a gloved hand to shoot forward and cover my mouth.
"There's no need to scream," he told me, his tone neutral but his voice tinged with a demonic quality that made me shudder. "There's no one who can hear you anyway." My eyes widened as I stared at him, trembling. He was right: our house was in the mountains, miles away from civilization. We were all alone here, just him and me—a monster and his victim.
Seeing the fear in my face, he seemed satisfied by my reaction and leaned forward just a bit. "I'm going to remove my hand. If you scream, I'll crush your windpipes. Understood?" Tears in my eyes, I nodded, and he pulled back and removed his hand.
"Wh... who are you...?" I whispered, my voice shaky and hoarse.
"Jack. More specifically, people call me 'Eyeless Jack', though just 'Jack' is fine. I take it you're [Name]?" My eyes widened.
"H-how...?" He gestured to the door where the nameplate hung. Ah, of course. Buddy had bought it for me when I'd first arrived as a welcome present, and even though it didn't entirely fit my tastes anymore, I still kept it hanging there. "O-oh." With that question answered I became silent, too afraid to speak. The boy—"Jack"—didn't speak, just staring at me silently and giving me time to think. Swallowing, finally I croaked, "Are... are you going to... k-kill me?" Immediately I regretted asking and I squeezed my eyes shut, holding my breath as I waited for his reaction.
"If I were, I would have killed you by now, wouldn't I?" he pointed out, and I opened one eye to see him lifting the covers off of me. I winced and bit back the instinctive urge to cry out as he reached for the bottom of my shirt and began unbuttoning it. Undoing only the bottom three buttons, he then stopped and lifted half of my shirt so I could look under it. Bandages were wrapped tightly around my abdomen, covering all of the exposed skin and continuing under the rest of my clothes. I shuddered as I noticed a large red stain along my side, recalling how Buddy had slashed me there.
"The injuries weren't too deep and you didn't lose too much blood, so treating it was simple enough. Though the bruises on your neck will probably stick around for a while." The mention made me wince, conjuring the memory of his clawed, ash gray hand wrapped around my throat. Silence fell as I just stared at the bandages, trying to process all of this. Jack said nothing and just stood there, patiently waiting for me to finish absorbing everything.
"...Why?" I finally asked, my voice barely audible. I gave a startled yelp as he suddenly placed a finger under my chin and tilted my head upwards, his face now mere inches from mine. Slowly he reached towards his mask with his other hand. As he tilted it to the side to reveal the lower half of his face my eyes grew wide. His skin was just as gray as his hand, a shade that couldn't possibly be human, and his mouth... It twisted into an evil-looking smile that revealed rows of sharp, pointed teeth. Strands of something white and stringy hung from the tips. Was that... flesh?
My stomach churned as I stared at it, further confirming my fears that he wasn't human. His smile seemed to only grow wider as he observed my reaction, satisfied and excited. Slowly he leaned forward, his breath warm as he whispered into my ear.
"Because I have a few questions that I think only you can answer."