{Reader's POV}
"What's that one?"
"A dyeing poison dart frog."
"And that one?"
"Red-eyed tree frog."
"Ooh! Ooh! What about that one?"
"[Name], you can read!" Buddy laughed, pointing to the sign. "Just look it up yourself!" Giggling, I skipped to the edge of the path and peered at the sign in front of the glass wall, eyeing the colorful pictures of frogs with awe. Visiting the zoo was always fun, especially for a seven-year-old. However, the rain forest exhibit had always been my favorite part. Humidity hung heavy in the air of the greenhouse-like building, birdsong echoing around us. All the colorful exotic birds and frogs, the constant symphony of nature... It was exhilarating, the best part.
Looking at the sign, I squinted as I read the letters. "B...lue...poi...son...dart...fr...og... Blue poison dart frog!" I turned to Buddy, beaming proudly, and he chuckled as he ruffled my hair.
"That's right," he said as I giggled, swatting at his hands. Bending down, he spun me around and wrapped his arms around my waist and hoisted me up, holding me up to the glass. "Do you see a blue poison dart frog?"
"There!" I said proudly, pointing at a frog with shiny blue skin and a black speckled pattern on its back hanging on a branch, safely behind the glass wall.
"Very good! See, you don't need old Buddy to tell you what the frogs are!" He spun me around as I laughed, quickly setting me down. Grinning, I quickly wrapped my tiny arms around his waist, squeezing him tightly.
"I love you, Buddy," I said, nuzzling him.
"I love you too, Jacky." Wait... Jacky? I frowned, looking up at him to see him smiling down at me. A shudder ran down my spine as I stared into his chocolaty brown eyes, seeing a strange coldness I'd never seen before. His smile was still sweet, yet at the same time sinister and making my blood run cold.
Swallowing, I tentatively said, "B...Buddy...?" Still smiling, he swiped his hand over my face, and when it passed my eyes I was suddenly in the basement, my arms hanging above my head. Panic flooded me as I flailed my frail teenage arms, trying to get up and run only for a force to pull on my wrists. Cold... My hands were so cold, and I couldn't open them. Tears streamed down my face as I tried to run, only to freeze as I heard a sob. Slowly turning my head, I saw Jack sitting next to me, head bowed and shoulders heaving. Black ooze dripped from his hollow eye sockets, pooling on the ground in front of him.
"J-Jack," I whispered, eyes widening. "Jack, calm down! You're okay! Just... don't panic!" I tried to reassure him even though I wasn't so sure myself, and his sobbing didn't ebb, instead growing stronger. The blackness sliding down his cheeks gained a red tint and soon blood was dripping from his face, a single drop landing in the black pool and making its surface ripple and turn crimson.
"Jacky, Jacky, Jacky." The familiar voice made me freeze, and I slowly turned to see Buddy standing before us. Shadows covered the upper half of his face, a sadistic grin of inhuman proportions visible as he peered down at us. Crouching in front of Jack, he ruffled his hair and Jack screamed, tugging at the chains in a desperate attempt to escape. Buddy slapped a giant red X over his mouth as he roughly tilted his chin up, Jack's eyes filled with tears.
Suddenly it felt like I was hovering behind Buddy now, no... that I was him. I could see the look of despair and terror on Jack's face as blood trailed down his cheeks from his empty eye sockets, feel his body tremble under my hand. A sadistic smirk made its way across my face as I stared at him, smiling ever so sweetly.
"Don't be so sad, Jacky," I said in a husky voice, my chocolaty brown eyes twinkling. "You're fine..." Tears rolled down Jack's cheeks as I leaned into his face, and suddenly I was separate again, watching Buddy smile tauntingly at a tearful Jack. One by one, tears rolled down my own cheeks, feeling helpless.
"Stop," I whispered, unable to look away. "Stop it... Shut up...! Don't say that! That isn't you! THAT ISN'T YOU!" I screeched into Buddy's ear but he didn't even look at me. Jack did, though, his hollow eyes boring through my soul. The red X vanished from his mouth, his colorless lips parting slightly.
"Help...me..." he whispered, and at that point something snapped. I screamed, falling to my knees as Buddy stepped in front of him, blocking my view.
Gasping, my eyes popped open and I found myself staring at a wooden wall, swaddled in a cocoon of blankets. Slowly I started to sit up only to hear a chain rattle, making me scream in horror and hug myself, making the rattling worse. After a few moments, my heart rate started to return to normal and I took a few deep breaths before sitting up, lifting the layers of blankets to peer at my leg. A metal shackle was clasped around my ankle over a thick sock, and it took me a few moments to recognize it and my surroundings.
Letting the blankets fall, I flopped onto my back and stared at the ceiling, groaning softly as I covered my forehead with my arm. Hot and sweaty. Whether that was the blankets or the fever, I didn't know. Ever since finding my temperature two nights ago, Jack had been adamant that I stay in bed or on the couch. He still didn't remove the chain, saying he didn't want me to try to get up. I don't know why he was so worried about that. After all, I didn't really have much energy right now.
My nightmare ran through repeat in my head as I traced the patterns in the wooden ceiling. Tears welled in the corner of my vision with each repeat, but I still replayed and paid attention to every detail, trying to inscribe it to my memory. I didn't want to forget, even if it was a nightmare. I felt like I needed to remember it, to remind myself that I wasn't the only victim. Jack had suffered just as much as me—no, he suffered more. He terrified me, but he still treated me better than Buddy treated him.
Closing my eyes, I allowed my mind to wander. Where was Jack, anyway? Given my little screech-fest, I expected him to burst in the door asking what was wrong. Remembering I had a clock now, I glanced at it and saw it was pretty late. He was probably out hunting. Sighing, I laid my head back down and closed my eyes once more.
I hope this fever goes away soon...
{Jack's POV}
Clack, click, click, clack...
Jack sat on the couch, typing away at the laptop. Enough strength had returned for him to finally feel confident in returning to his original scout-and-strike pattern, and while stalking one potential target he'd seen the family drive away, clearly packed for vacation. As such, he'd decided to take advantage of the empty house to borrow their WiFi network. Finding the password wasn't that hard—it was in a drawer with some remotes—and soon enough he'd managed to get online with [Name]'s laptop.
Reclining on the couch with the laptop on his stomach, he typed in a list of symptoms she'd been exhibiting over the past few days. Perhaps the internet wasn't the most reliable source, but he couldn't really take her to a doctor (actually, he was the closest thing to a doctor his friends could get), and his textbooks could only tell so much. Besides, he already had suspicions and wanted to see if they would correspond to searches online.
Sure enough, a plethora of websites of varying degrees of legitimacy popped up, each one citing his suspicions in the title. He clicked through each link to read them, finding that a majority of her symptoms appeared on multiple websites. A mixture of pride and dread rose in him as he browsed them, further strengthening his suspicions. He needed a distraction. What should he do, though...
Going on his preexisting knowledge of computers, he decided he'd mess around a bit. Though he'd had [Name]'s laptop for a while now, he hadn't messed around with it too much outside of browsing some of the stuff saved to it. It had been a while since he'd been able to play around with one in-depth, and since he had an internet connection at the moment... Might as well refresh his memory, right? It was currently midnight, and he knew no one saw him break in, so he felt pretty safe to mess with it here.
Opening the files, he began browsing randomly, and as he did so memories began returning. Soon he was doing things automatically, clicking through files before realizing what he was doing. It was as if his body remembered what to do before his mind. Funny, it was easier to remember how to use a computer than how to cook. Was there some sort of conspiracy in his brain in that regard?
As he became more familiar with interface, a memory suddenly surfaced that made him pause. Slowly he moved the cursor to the corner, opening the logout option. Usually he didn't bother logging out, since the computer automatically logged out every time he closed it or it went into sleep. Clicking the button, he instantly felt stupid as the computer began the logoff process. Why'd he even do that? There wasn't really any point, he wasn't planning to leave. His muscle memory just made him do that.
But when the user screen showed up his thoughts stopped.
Next to an icon of a photo of [Name] with her name was another one, no image selected for the profile, and a single name in all caps:
BUDDY.