"Damn it Tim, you lost Jay again," Tim muttered to himself. "He's gonna get killed and it'll be your fault." This was the second time just this week it had happened, Jay and Tim would be out on a late-night expedition in Rosswood when Tim would look away for two seconds and then Jay would be gone. He'd managed to find him every time so far, usually lying on the ground, confused as to where he was. This time though, Tim had been looking for Jay for almost two hours now, and still had no clues, no nothing, hinting at where he was. He had looked everywhere, the tunnel, the rock chimneys, the hospital, and every bit of forest in between. The one place he could think of that he hadn't been was the barn he and Jay had woken up in once, back in entry 62.
The camera on his chest was still recording when Tim reached the barn. He swept his flashlight around the building, searching for any signs of Jay. The floor was still covered in wood pieces and debris, which Tim nearly tripped over upon entering the building. "Jay?" he called. "Jay, you here?"
"Tim."
Tim swung around, his flashlight landing on the face of the tall, lanky figure leaning against the doorframe. It was Jay, alright. Camera in hand, his satchel on the ground by his feet. Something was different, though, he looked...off. Wrong. Large dark circles underlined his eyes. Like he hadn't slept in a long, long time, or was sick, or— He pieced everything together right as Jay dropped the camera and lunged, straight for Tim.
Tim crashed to the ground with a loud thump.
That's not Jay.
Jay pinned him down so he couldn't move. He was a hell of a lot stronger than he looked.
He's like me, when I'm not me.
Jay wrapped his hands around Tim's throat and squeezed.
When I'm the masked man.
Jay's eyes themselves were different too. They didn't have the usual look of endearment that they held; now they looked cold, and dead of emotions.
He's going to kill me.
That thought sent shivers up and down Tim's spine. Tim knew he was going to die eventually, part of him always thought it would be by his own hand. He never expected Jay, or whatever was controlling Jay now. Tim's pupils were pinpricks now, from the lack of oxygen, but he did his best to focus them. "You take care... of yourself... Jay," he managed to say through ragged breaths, with a touch of concern in his voice.
"See you in hell, Tim," Jay responded. Tim let out a weak breath, and then was still.
Jay unwrapped his fingers from Tim's throat and stared at the other man. He jammed two fingers under his chin, feeling for a pulse. Nothing.
He reached back and grabbed his bag, fishing through it until he pulled out a thin, black-and-white object. Tim's mask. Jay lifted Tim's head and strapped the elastic band around it, fitting the mask on Tim's face. His brown eyes were visible through the eyeholes, fixed on the barn ceiling, lifeless.
Jay stood and strode out of the barn, picking up his camera on the way out. The sky was a lighter blue than it was before, signaling the dawn of a new day.