{Reader's POV}
Running, running, panting... Can't stop now, he has to keep running. Blood trickles down from the cut on his forehead, his head throbbing, he wants to hold it but he can't, his arms are tied behind his back. He's being chased, crazed woman with a knife. One rejection—one turned-down date—how was he supposed to know that girl was batshit insane? How was he supposed to know she was a crazy stalker who would kidnap him? He needed to get away, fast, couldn't let himself get caught. He turns the corner, nearly out of breath now, and sees a glass door. Outside... get outside. He can't use his hands, so he rams it with his body, as hard as he can. Shattering, glass shards fly through the air and pierce his body, but he can get outside now. He has to get help—
Suddenly the lights flickered and darkness fell, making me jump in bed with a yelp. Heart pounding furiously, I glanced around in shock for a moment before realizing what had happened: a blackout. The power must have gone out. At least I wasn't blind like I'd thought. Groaning softly, I groped blindly for my bookmark to mark my place before setting down the book, a bit annoyed to be interrupted at such a climatic moment.
Sighing, I flopped on my back and stared at the ceiling, waiting for my eyes to adjust to the darkness. Even then, I wouldn't be able to read, though. Of all the times for the power to go out, it just HAD to be at the climax, didn't it? Typical. So typical. Kidnapped, almost killed, chained to a bed by a cannibalistic monster, getting sick... Luck was just against me lately, wasn't it? I groaned softly at the thought, scowling at the darkness.
"Stupid storm," I grumbled. Like this, my options were to go back to sleep or think. I was too energized by the story's climax, not to mention I felt really hot, and right now I was tired of thinking.
Maybe there was a third option, though. I could always ask Jack for a candle or something. While he probably wouldn't trust me with fire, maybe he'd trust me with a flashlight at least. Sure, we weren't on the best terms lately, but right now I really wanted to finish the story. From the looks of his bookshelf, I felt like he was a bit of a bibliophile, so he'd probably understand why I was so desperate for an alternate light source.
With this in mind, I got up and carefully made my way to the door. The rest of the cabin was just as dark as my room, and I slowly stepped into the hall. "Jack...?" I called tentatively. No response. Swallowing, I raised my voice a little. "Jack?" When he still didn't respond, I carefully made my way to the main portion of the cabin, reaching the end of the hall before the chain caught. I could make out Jack's dark form on the arm chair, slumped slightly. Was he asleep or something?
Suddenly he twitched and I sucked in a breath, stepping back and making the chain rattle slightly. However, Jack didn't seem to react to me, instead just grunting and shifting slightly. Was he having a dream...? As I watched him he twitched again and gave another small grunt. The noise he made reminded me of videos of pets and other animals having nightmares. For a second I sarcastically thought, 'What could he possibly dream about that's so bad?' Then I remembered the photos and video on Buddy's account and froze. Oh, right. There were plenty of things to plague his dreams.
Watching him silently, I frowned as he twitched and emitted a small whimper. Part of me wanted to wake him up, but another part of me knew he'd probably attack me. Not out of anger, but out of pure reflex, especially if he was dreaming about Buddy like I thought. Mentally grappling with myself, eventually I decided it would be best to just let it play out... Besides, not like I could go over there with the chain. Sighing, I reluctantly returned to my room and laid on the bed.
All I could do now was hope I'd made the right decision...
{Jack's POV}
Straining against his restraints, Jack leaned back until his head was pushing against the wall as his captor leaned forward, holding a piece of duct tape above his mouth. "Stay still, Jacky," the man ordered as Jack quickly jerked his head before the tape could be placed on him. Impatient, his captor shot out a hand to grasp Jack's hair and gave it a hard yank, making Jack gasp in pain and grit his teeth as his head was forced upright. As soon as his mouth closed the tape was slapped over it, muting his voice.
"Looks like you can't bite me anymore, can you?" Jack glared at the man, a dull red light appearing in his sockets. He struggled to open his mouth and growl, but the tape held his mouth shut, rendering him only able to grunt. So this was his punishment for biting him? To have his mouth taped up? No matter, Jack didn't have anything to say to him anyway. Internally sighing, he let his body relax and lowered his gaze, waiting for the man to leave. However, his captor remained, and began rooting through the bag once more.
"Well, now that that's taken care of, let's get on to the rest, shall we?" At this Jack tensed once more, his head snapping upwards. His captor held up a blue plastic jar, unscrewing the lid to reveal some sort of cream. Dabbing a bit on his fingers, he crouched in front of Jack with that twisted grin. "Hold still." Jack lurched and tried to avoid him, but his chains held him in place and the man easily rubbed the cream just below Jack's nose.
Immediately a chemical smell taunted his nose, making him wince, and after a few moments he smelled... nothing. As he pondered this the man suddenly stuck a strip on his nose, making him wince more. "Can you smell anything?" the man asked, and Jack just glared at him. "Come now, don't be like that... I need to know. Just nod or shake your head, okay?" Reluctantly he shook his head, indicating he couldn't smell anything, and the man grinned. "Good boy." He ruffled Jack's hair, making him emit a muffled cry as he flinched and tried to pull away.
Chuckling at his discomfort, the man returned to the bag and began fishing around some more. "Now, which should I do next...? Hmm..." He removed a black strip of cloth and a set of headphones, glancing between them thoughtfully while Jack stared. Realization finally set in, his hollow eyes slowly widening. First his smell, now a blindfold and headphones... He wasn't just making him mute...
He was cutting off all of Jack's senses.
Panicked, he began thrashing violently, the metal ball-like casings on his hands banging against the wall and ringing like bells. For the most part, his captor ignored Jack's struggles, still glancing between his two torture devices. "Hmm, I think I'll go with this," he said, holding up the blindfold. Jack's hollow eyes widened even more and his thrashing intensified as the man approached, holding the black strip of cloth. "Hold still, Jacky..." Black "tears" began dripping down Jack's face as the man forced the cloth around his hollow eyes, cutting off his vision and sending him into darkness. All he had now was sound, but he knew it wouldn't last long.
His body heaved as a single sob pulsated through him, frantically tugging at the chains and listening to the links rattle and clink against each other. A series of muffled grunts escaped his throat, and his metal mitts rang as they banged against the wall again. Above it all he could hear a deep, ominous chuckle, a low sound full of twisted amusement. Fingers suddenly pressed against Jack's chin and he sucked in a sharp breath, a shudder running down his spine as he felt his head tilted back.
"You brought this on yourself, Jack. If you'd just behaved, none of this would be happening... You want me to leave you alone, and I will. I'll give you all the time you need, I'll let you live in your own little world as long as you like." Tears streamed down Jack's face at this point as he began shaking, feeling too weak to struggle anymore. This wasn't happening... This couldn't be... A pressure descended upon his ears, muffling the sounds to a vague buzz. Shuddering, he heard his captor's voice one last time:
"Goodbye, Jack. I'll see you soon."
And then a low hum rang through his ears, and he became isolated from the world, trapped in a void all alone.
CRASH!
Gasping, Jack lurched in his seat and bolted upright, his heart pounding. There was a bright flash of light, illuminating the interior of the cabin, followed by the loud splitting roar of thunder. His heart pounded as he sat there, trembling in silence. Rain pounded against the cabin loudly, each drop like a small explosion against the roof, and he used the violent rhythm to calm himself and let his heartbeat steady.
Another nightmare.
Biting his lip, he grabbed at his head and gripped the ends of his hair tightly, takings several deep, shuddery breaths. It was a dream, it was over, he wasn't in that place anymore, he was safe, Buddy was dead, he... He was alone. He felt alone, he felt like he was back in the void all alone with no light or sound or smell. Awful, horrible, lonely, he couldn't take it anymore, he needed to get out. He didn't want to be alone, he wanted—
[Name].
[Name][name][name][name][name][name][name][name].
Jack rose from the chair, his movements feeling automatic as he slowly made his way to the back hallway. Her door was open, and his superior night vision allowed him a perfect view of her. Peering inside he saw her tossing and turning, the covers strewn haphazardly from her constant shifting. Silently watching her for a few moments, he turned and went to his room, fishing around one of his drawers. When he returned he knocked on the door frame and she gave a start, snapping her head to look at him with wide [e/c] eyes.
Wordlessly he tossed her a small penlight, landing on the bed beside her. Surprised, she looked at it for a moment before slowly picking it up, turning it over in her hand and pressing a button. A bright light came from the end, making her give another little start, but then she smiled slightly at Jack. "Thanks," she said. Jack didn't reply, he just stood there staring at her. After a moment he stepped inside the room and slid against the wall, removing another penlight from his pocket along with a book. [Name] seemed surprised, but didn't say anything and just began to quietly read her own book.
As he read the pages, Jack kept sneaking glances at her, unnoticed as she focused on her own book. He wasn't alone. He never was, as long as he had her.
In that moment, he finally understood why he couldn't kill her, and why he could never let her go.