Chapter 3

Easy Pickings

I was greeted with a familiar chuckle...I felt slightly relieved, safe, I opened my eyes and looked up at the friendly forest green eyes of Jackal…" hey Jackal! My power ran out...Can You do something about that?" I inquired… No answer... Jackal had never seemed so...Cold...She had a more somber and dark tone about her...I got shivers down my spine…"J-Jackal? Y-You're starting to creep me out…" I stuttered trapped in the glow of her plastic green eyes…

"It's empty, you know...That owl…"Jackal said in a cold tone...Shivers went down my spine again...I was confused, That sounded like something the others would say, Jackal is different right?! I mean instead of lashing out of my throat she started a friendly conversation...I assumed she was different...She said she was different! In this moment she seemed so different from the friendly and Kind hearted Jackal I knew from our brief chats...Me and Jackal sit in the dark for almost a minute...I felt a seemingly undying fear grip me, I wanted to run but I couldn't, Paralyzed in her stare… I felt cornered,Trapped,Like an animal in a slaughterhouse… Her smile once seemed pleasant but now it seemed threatening...Like the deadly maw of an unknown predator that was stalking its prey in the dark...And I was the unwitting prey...Every part of me was screaming run but I couldn't bring myself to move even an inch...I felt like I was being constricted by metal cords around my neck and shoulders...Suffocating...only able to make shallow breaths...A cold sweat began to drip down my brow… I wanted to scream but there was no sound…

Jackal's music box began to play….Habenera/ love is a rebellious bird from Carmen...It made me feel a bit confused… I don't understand a single bit of this...I don't know if I'm safe or still in danger… one thing was for sure though... And that was that Jackal was the source of my confusion…"S-So are y-you going to kill me or?..." I managed to shakily inquiry Jackal… Jackal gave out a hearty laugh… " OF COURSE I AM!" Jackal shouted gleefully… I was shocked...I soon found myself questioning my career choices, why I thought she was any different, and my life choices in general...

"NOT!"Jackal laughed….She was teasing me...She was messing around with me like an orca plays around with a seal...Jackal seemed dangerous one moment and silly the next….Jackal at some point looked behind her almost in a nervous way... It was that moment I realized she was most likely feeling pressured and indecisive…I felt some sympathy for Jackal...She was forced into a role she never wanted and Tries her best to be a good leader…

"Ok, I've got good news and bad news! Good news is you won't have to worry about us killing you anymore! Bad news is you'll be dead…."Jackal said… I laughed thinking it was a joke, but man was I wrong...Jackal grabbed me by the throat and dragged me off into the dark,narrow halls...I found myself afraid again...