Jack sat across from you with his hands clasped together. The rest of the world had faded away, your whole focus being on Jack. This whole time you'd never taken your sight off of him. Your heart was still pounding in your ears as you stared into each other's eyes, or at least the area, and the room had grown colder with each tense moment. You were afraid to speak. You were afraid to do anything. Just sitting with him and seeing him so clearly had you shaking. From his mask, to his gloves, to just the air around him you saw how different things were. You both were unrecognizable in different ways, you'd become different people.
And yet you still felt as scared as you had back then. Back when you'd had to rub the blood off of his face so that he could see, or help him sit up to eat. You'd been so close to him, yet still helpless. You'd believed so strongly in the cult's teachings you hadn't let yourself think. Even when you'd wanted to help, you hadn't let yourself, and that was something you'd never forgive yourself for.
"I assume you know the cult members' names?" Jack's voice cut through the silence. "I need you to tell me them."
Your mouth went dry. "...Everyone's?" Even your voice shook as you spoke.
He stared at you silently for a moment. "No. I need the ones who were in charge." His posture seemed to stiffen as he waited for an answer. You could never tell what he was thinking, but you could feel the anger radiating off of him. You were just glad it didn't currently seem to be aimed at you.
You gulped nervously as several different questions gnawed at your mind. "How did you find me then...?"
Jack leaned back and crossed his arms. "The information was public. You admitted what you did to the police, however, the leaders that survived did not."
You looked down at the table. They hadn't? Why? How? That meant no one had mentioned them during the interviews. Or if they had, no one had thought to follow up on it. Maybe that was the real reason the news only ever talked about Father Gray and Jenny. Because the others had just gotten away with it. Because they'd moved on and pretended like nothing ever happened like they were innocent. Your stomach churned with disgust. You didn't even know what kind of punishment they could have gotten if they'd have even gotten one at all, but at least the police would have been aware. At least-
"It looks like you see what I'm getting at." He interrupted your thoughts, tilting his head. "So do you remember their names?"
Reforming eye contact, you nodded slowly. You did. You remembered everyone from the committee. Their faces were still clear in your mind's eye, you even still remembered seeing some of them around your college campus. It would be easy for you to help him, yet if you did you'd be sending them to the slaughter.
You knew all too well why Jack wanted them dead. When you first started seeing Alicia, she'd tried to redirect your anger at the committee rather than yourself. They had been the ones to manipulate everyone, the ones that had led you all into their madness. Alicia's plan had worked, at least partially. A part of you did hate them, but another part of you didn't know what it felt. And that part was scared of what he'd do to them if you coughed up their names.
Your head was spinning. You owed Jack, you knew you did. None of you could just go back to the way things were, to before the sacrifice. The survivors could pretend all they wanted that things were fine, but for Jack that wasn't an option. He'd survived, but the cult had stolen his life. He was dead to the world, and with his less-than-human features, he couldn't exactly just step outside and walk around. Even if Jack wanted to he couldn't move on, and you could guess that was why he was doing this.
"I'd like to remind you that I could kill you at any moment. If you don't tell me I'll move on to someone who will." Jack warned coldly, and looking down at his hands revealed he had picked back up his scalpel. He had a point. Other survivors could tell him what he needed. You in particular weren't a necessity, and right now your knowledge was all that was keeping you alive.
You looked up and took in a deep breath. "...You're going to kill them, right?" You already knew the answer, and Jack only gave a nod of confirmation. Your nails dug into your palm as the wheels in your head turned and turned, trying to figure out what to do. It was either you or them. You had to choose, but even then did that really guarantee your life?
Jack continued to stare at you, twirling the scalpel between his fingers. He sat rigid, his body language telling you the gravity of the situation. He didn't care if you lived or died, and you didn't want to rely on goodwill alone that he would spare you after telling him everything. You didn't want to die.
"What if I told you their names as you go?" You spoke before you had time to fully think it over, and the way Jack sat up almost made you regret it.
"And why would I agree to that?" You watched as he began to tap the scalpel against the table. This felt like a bad idea, but you kept going.
"Because you need me," you sputtered out. "If I told you them all now there'd be nothing to stop you from killing me."
An almost amused-sounding huff left him. "There's nothing stopping me now. There are more of you, remember?"
Your lips pressed into a line. "Yes... but wouldn't that be a waste of time?" Your words quivered the more you bargained. "You'd have to do this all over again. It'd be another week or two."
Jack was quiet as he thought over your words. Tap tap tap the scalpel continued to hit the table with a constant rhythm. You didn't dare move, your eyes filled with hope as you watched him. You couldn't believe you were trying to make a deal with a serial killer, but it was your only chance at getting out of here alive.
He sighed and refocused on you. "Fine." You let out a breath of relief. "But that means you're coming with me." What?
"Wait what?! I can't just leave everything!" You gaped at Jack in disbelief. What did going with him even mean? How would you get from place to place? Where would you stay? How long would you be gone? What would you have to do?
Jack was visibly unimpressed by your outburst. "You can, and you will. Or would you rather this whole deal be off?"
You shuddered and shrunk back against your chair as Jack stood up. Now that he was less of a shadow and more of a man, somehow his height was even more intimidating. "I'm sorry..." The words left you in a whisper, your heartbeat quickening.
"Go pack a bag. We're leaving tonight," he said without acknowledging your apology, "and we're taking your car."
Great. You frowned but didn't argue with him. Cautiously, you pushed the chair back and stood. Even when standing Jack still loomed over you so obviously. He was well over six feet, and his build only made him more imposing. You avoided meeting his gaze as you stepped towards your bedroom, him right on your tail. You felt like you were walking on eggshells, like any little thing you did could set him off.
Jack trailed behind you a few steps back, his hands buried in his pockets. You didn't doubt he was still holding his scalpel. There was no trust between the two of you. You were still afraid that any moment he was going to kill you, and you could assume that Jack thought you were going to try and run off. The atmosphere was still as tense as ever.
You glanced back at Jack as you opened the closet door. He had crossed his arms, and when you looked at the eyes of his mask he motioned for you to continue. Quickly looking away, you began to rummage through the closet. It was less of a wardrobe and more of a storage room for stuff you didn't want out in the open. Your dresser held most of your clothes, all that was in here was formal clothes and jackets. Pushing everything to the side and parting some cardboard boxes holding contents you didn't remember, you finally yanked out a duffel bag. You grabbed two jackets and stuffed them inside before leaving the closet and moving to the dresser.
You didn't know if you'd ever see your apartment again. After you left with Jack you had no idea where you'd be going or how long you'd stay alive. Even with the temporary partnership between you and Jack, your safety wasn't a guarantee. While he 'needed' you for now, after he took revenge on the committee you had no idea what would become of you. Inhaling deeply, you figured taking everything important to you was the best choice. Depending on how long this took, even if you did live to come back here your stuff might be sitting in a junkyard due to unpaid rent. The landlord wasn't one for patience.
You nestled a picture frame along with a few other keepsakes between some balled-up shirts. The bag wasn't the biggest, but you'd managed to fit in a decent amount of clothes along with whatever else you didn't want to leave behind. After zipping up the bag and slinging it over your shoulder, you turned to Jack.
He let his arms fall to his sides as he moved closer. "Done?" You gave a short nod. "Alright, now look up one of their names."
You blinked. "What?"
"Look up their names and find out who's still alive," Jack scoffed.
You fished your phone out of your pocket and clicked on the Safari app before going into a private tab. Private tabs didn't hide everything, but it made you feel better.
You already knew Jenny and Father Grey were dead, but as for the others you hadn't ever thought to find out what happened to them. You typed into the search bar 'Elle Samson West Point Collage' and were met with several articles detailing the massacre, and the fact they were dead. Images of that day appeared in your mind even as you tried to think about anything else. With a newly formed grimace, you typed in another name 'Isaac Carver West Point Collage.' Nothing about the cult popped up, instead you saw the collage website along with various social media pages, including his Facebook that revealed he hadn't moved from the area.
"I think I found one... Isaac." You muttered as you briefly scrolled through his page.
"What's the address?" He asked and leaned over to peer down at your screen.
"Haven't found it yet, one second..." You gulped and opened a new tab. 'Isaac Carver Pennsylvania address' pulled up several public record sites. After scrolling through for a few minutes you found one that seemed to fit. Isaac Carver, Pennsylvania, age twenty. It was eerie knowing how easy it was to track someone down, but it was awfully convenient for this purpose.
"(Insert Address). He didn't really move away from the collage." You told Jack and went to put the phone away, but Jack snatched your wrist.
"Give me your phone. You'll only need it to look up names, I'm holding it until then." Pain flared from your wrist as he squeezed until you let up your grip. Your frown deepened as you made eye contact with his mask. The dripping, black eyes stared back at you. Jack didn't react to your glare, and you soon begrudgingly let him take the phone from you.
Jack pocketed it before speaking, "when we leave if you try anything the deal is off. You will not get a second chance, understand?" You nodded, nervously shifting the bag on your shoulder. "Good. Let's go."
Not wasting another breath, Jack strode to the front door with you following at a small distance. When Jack opened the door he didn't even seem to notice how cold it had gotten. You regretted not thinking to put on a jacket, but you didn't feel like speaking up to go get one. Wrapping your arms around yourself, you shuddered with every step on the way to your car.
Jack walked right up to the Nissan and waited expectantly for you to unlock it, only he stood on the passenger's side.
You raised a brow as you unlocked the car. "Don't you wanna drive...?" Considering the situation, you were surprised he was willing to hand over so much control. You heard Jack sigh as he simply climbed into the car.
"I don't have eyes." He replied matter-of-factly. Your jaw dropped in shock at your own stupidity. How the fuck had you forgotten that?
You hesitantly got into the driver's seat, shame written on your face. "I'm so sorry." Jack didn't reply as he was busy fiddling with the seat. As it had been originally set, he'd been squished up against the glove box. The car wasn't exactly the biggest, so even when he was done adjusting the seat his head was still dangerously close to the ceiling.
You started the car and waited for it to heat up a bit. As you waited, your thoughts started to drift. After everything you couldn't believe you were going back to Pennsylvania. You'd moved to get away from everything, from all the judgement, and now you were going back. The only plus was you doubted anyone remembered you.
Reaching for the gear stick, you suddenly paused. Now how did you get to Pennsylvania? You knew the way around the mountain town pretty well by now since you drove the same route most of the time, but outside of that, you'd be totally lost. You had no clue how to get to Pennsylvania from here. You slowly turned your head to face Jack.
"What's wrong?" He asked, noticing your gaze.
"I um... I need a GPS."
Gotta love public records and the fact you can google someone's home address 😃
Anyway for reference the starting place of this story is a made up mountainy town somewhere in Virginia
7 pages · 2,441 words