{Reader's POV}
Adrenaline fueled my steps as I raced through the forest, weaving through the trees while panting heavily. Pain vaguely bothered me at the base of my neck but I ignored it, trying to put as much distance between me and Jack as possible. The entire time, though, a single thought ran through my mind on repeat:
What have I done?
When I'd come to my senses Jack had been sprawled on the ground unconscious, blood matting the back of his hair and his mask crooked, dislodged by the blow. Logic finally returned to me but not entirely, and I quickly dragged him back to the clearing and tied him to a tree with some the ropes used to suspend the dummies. They wouldn't hold him long once he woke up—they were worn and pretty beaten by the elements—but I didn't know what else to do. Once he woke up I knew he'd be furious, and tying him up wouldn't help, but I just didn't want to get hurt even more.
However, as I said, logic didn't return entirely. At the time I was in a bit of shock. The oxygen may have been cut off from my brain for a few seconds. Pain was clouding my judgment. I could recite so many reasons for why I didn't just run right then, but I knew they were all excuses. I knew the ropes wouldn't hold him long once he woke up, they were old and worn and had been exposed to the elements for a long time. Yet I didn't run.
I removed his mask.
I don't know what I expected to find. I already knew his skin was gray, and I'd seen his mouth plenty of times. That cruel sadistic smirk was etched into my memory forever. However, I had yet to see his face in full. Curiosity got the best of me. Sliding the mask over his face, I carefully lifted it off of his head. Aside from his ashy gray skin, he looked perfectly normal. His nose was a bit angular, his blood speckled lips not too thick nor too thin. Naturally his eyelids were closed when I lifted the mask, but I didn't dare try to lift them to peek at his eyes lest he stir. I already had a feeling I knew what I'd find under them anyway.
As I stared, the mask slipped from my fingers and fell, and before it hit the ground I was already running, not looking back. I ran as fast as I could, ignoring all of the pain in my back and neck as I raced away from the unconscious being.
Awful. Horrible. Cruel. Evil. Inhuman.
A monster.
In the end, that's all Jack was. I couldn't believe I let myself forget that, even for such a brief time. How could I have possibly let myself be so worried about him? I was the victim here, not him. I was the one who was being held prisoner, chained to a bed every night and never knowing when that shiny silver scalpel might pierce my flesh. It was ridiculous what it took for me to finally remember.
Panting, I came to a stop and leaned against a tree, shuddering as I hugged myself. At long last my common sense was returning, revealing just how futile my situation was. I'd run away for now, but where would I go? I had no idea where we were, or what direction to go to find civilization. I was more likely to get lost long before I'd find help, and if Jack found me then... I raised a shaky hand to my neck, wincing at even the lightest touch to the bruised skin. Red stained my finger as I pulled it away, staring at it silently.
At that moment, staring at my blood, I realized something. I had no where to go, no where to run. No matter how far I ran, it was pointless. Even if by some miracle I found help, where would I go? Buddy, the only family I had, the only friend and person I knew, was dead. And he'd tried to kill me. Never again could I look back at my life without being filled with doubts and suspicions, remember his smile without seeing the glazed look in his eyes as he lay in a pool of his own blood.
As I realized this, something inside me snapped. The corners of my lips pulled up as I began chuckling softly, slowly growing into full-fledged laughter as tears streamed down my cheeks. I slid down against the tree, burying my face in my arms as I both laughed and cried like a maniac. At long last, I finally understood that my life as I knew it was forever gone. At this point, I had only one thing left.
Shaking my head, I staggered to my feet and turned around, slowly returning to the clearing while wiping my eyes. I always used to find it hard to understand why women had so much trouble leaving abusive partners, but now I thought I might finally understand. Terrifying monster or not, he was literally all I had now. He'd taken everything from me, leaving himself my only option. I smiled bitterly at the thought.
So this is what desperation feels like.
{Jack's POV}
"Ungh..."
Grogginess filled Jack's mind as he woke from his dreamless sleep. A dull pain throbbed in the back of his head as he shifted slightly, making him wince and scowl. What happened...? He didn't feel like moving, and it took a while for enough sleep to leave so his eyelids could finally open. He glanced around slowly, trying not to make any sudden movement with his head so as to not aggravate the pain. Green leafy trees surrounded him, the air tinted gold by the light of the setting sun. Grunting softly, he tried to get up only to find himself unable to move. Alarm surged through him as he looked down to find a rope binding his chest, tying him to a tree.
No! No no no no!!
Terror gripped him as he struggled frantically, ignoring the growing pain in his head from his sudden jostling as he tried desperately to break free. "LET ME GO!" he screamed. "DON'T DO THIS! I'M NOT SOME WILD ANIMAL! LET! ME! GO!" Birds flew away as he screamed, the thundering of their wings only adding to his panic. "CAN'T YOU HEAR THAT THUNDER!? IT'S ABOUT TO RAIN! ARE YOU GOING TO LEAVE ME LIKE THIS IN THE RAIN?! DON'T LEAVE ME HERE! PLEASE!"
Black ooze trickled from his empty eye sockets in the place of tears as he thrashed violently against the ropes, overcome by complete and total panic. Why was this happening? He'd been behaving, hadn't he? Jack hadn't tried to bite him lately, and he hadn't shouted curses or spat in his face for a while. He ate his meals silently and always said "thank you", even if it was grudgingly. Why was he being punished? He'd been a good boy. He'd been doing his best to behave. He had.
He really had.
"...Please..." Jack's cries and pleas for help died down to a soft whimper as he bowed his head, his shoulders heaving as he quietly sobbed. Yelling wouldn't change anything. That person was a madman. He only saw Jack as a toy, something interesting to occupy his time. There was no sense in that man's head, only cruel, sadistic curiosity. This was just another way to test the inhuman killer, to see if he could break him further, and it was working.
Leaves and twigs snapped as footsteps slowly approached but Jack kept his head down, unwilling to look up. He didn't want to see that sadistic glee in that man's eyes, to hear that cruel, taunting laughter. Sobs convulsed through his body, softly whimpering and not bothering to try to conceal his complete and utter despair. There was no point; the man had already removed his mask, and Jack was so used to it hiding his face that he didn't know how to conceal his emotions without it.
Hopeless. Everything was hopeless.
Despair overcame him, black tears flowing from his sockets. Then, softly... "Jack...?" The voice caught him off-guard. It was soft, feminine and a little sweet, nothing like that man's rough and deep voice. Tensing, he raised his head slowly to see a girl with [h/c] hair and ragged clothes standing before him, her eyes wide pools of [e/c] as she stared down at him. For a moment he didn't react, completely confused. This wasn't his captor, this was someone else. Who was she?
And then suddenly, everything came back to him.
That man "Buddy" was dead, he'd been dead for almost two weeks now. This girl was [Name], his savior. The angel who had saved him from the darkness, who had shown him light after spending so long trapped in an endless vortex of despair. Jack was free now, never to worry about that monster again. But then... why was he tied to the tree? Why was he being held prisoner again?
"...Why?" he whispered, his expression filled with confusion and emptiness as he stared at her. "Why are you doing this...? What did I do...? Why...?"
At that point his voice cracked and his head fell forward limply, black tears trickling from the voids where his eyes should be.