Chapter 9 Awake In A Nightmare


It had been three days.

Three whole days that the human had been heavily sedated and kept with exceptional care inside EJ's own lab. Her heart was beating with heavy, resonating pounds, indicating that it functioned well enough to keep her alive for the moment, even if its beat was unsteady and somewhat peculiar. Her breathing was even and repeating, and her vital signs where that of complete health and durability. There was literally nothing wrong with her in a physical way, other than her strange human heart. EJ had made sure to inject her with just the right amount of anesthetic to knock her out for just a few hours. It proved to be a very thoughtful decision, considering the fact of the strong fight such a fragile human girl put up, in order not to be captured. It had caught EJ by surprise, but then again, the years of experience in the murder field made her desperate tries to escape futile.

As soon as she was knocked out, the eyeless killer made sure that no possible humans that lived on the rooms nearby heard anything, before taking a close look to the rest of her small bedroom, being lead by her strangely clean scent to rummage through her personal belongings and strangely enough, he found a considerable amount of Biaxin, his sharp mind immediately connecting it with the pills he saw her taking a few moments before he attacked her. It was more than just strange for a human female at that young age to be taking such strong heart failure pills. It could possibly explain her arrhythmia, but surely, not her young age. Stuffing many of the pills inside his pockets, he once again returned to search for any possible clues that could lead anyone to discover his presence and surely enough, his thorough search lead him to discover a box full of clues and information, as well as her cell phone, which he pocketed to search later on. He knew not how many information this girl had gathered and frankly, he knew not why she was so obsessed on tracking him down or how the hell did she manage to follow him around; him! a killing machine that preyed on the darkest shadows of the night. So how on earth did she manage to locate him and further on, why she did that, was beyond his comprehension. Still, he was quite optimistic that whatever she was searching for, he would be able to discover it. He was absolutely obsessed with finding out what this human female wanted. And there was one thing to do in order to find the answers in his leisure.

Picking her unconscious body up and throwing her over his shoulder like her weight was nothing to him, he made his way out in the torrential rain, shortly enough walking among the trees as the storm raged all around.

He knew not why he hadn't killed her on the spot.

From the moment he met her and chased after her inside the forest, the dream-haunting voice of hers reverberated through his ears, sounding as if she was singing right beside him, right beside his ear, her alluring voice and breath falling on his skin making the eyeless killer shiver and lose his composure, acting in a really strange way, allowing paranoia to creep inside his mind. Usually, he was able to control such feelings and keep his composure for quite some time. But after meeting the said girl, all his control over himself seemed to be sliding among his dead fingers. So when he first crept his way behind her in her dorm room, the only thing he wanted to do was to see her warm, red blood painting the ceiling and walls in breathtaking patterns for everyone to see. He wanted her dead and her heart displayed majestically in one of his organ jars. But when she turned towards him, eyes filled with sheer terror and desperately trying to defend herself with any means necessary, the killer found himself hesitant.

Why? Why was he unable to slit her throat open? It had never happened to him in the past, not even when he came across other girls. Male or female, everyone that encountered the organ eating killer did not survive to tell the tale. But why did that happen now?

As he was standing above the unconscious girl, pondering over whether to kill her and leave her there for her friends to find or…..or? Her angel-like voice made its way on the empty chambers inside his mind, resonating in the darkness that madness graced the killer with, echoing again and again and throwing the killer in some kind of delirium. If he had to describe the feeling somehow, he would say that he felt like he was heavily drunk. When her voice resonated inside his mind, all thoughts seemed to abandon him and leave behind only a pleasurable, empty void. It was like when you are standing near the top of a newly snowed mountain and take a deep, fresh breath of pure oxygen.

Refreshing.

Addictive.

So he did not know what to do with her.

From the moment she had managed to escape him in the forest, he watched her closely as she ran towards her friends and passed out in their arms. From that point onwards, he lost her tracks, since the bright day did not allow him any discreet cover and adding to that, he had to immediately return to the house and leave his overnight catch before it went bad. So grunting under his mask, he turned around and proceeded to return back. Still, he spent the next days trying to locate her.

It was no tough task, since the campus of the college that happened to be around the Mansion was not so big as to lose people inside or fail to locate a particular one. Add to the equation the sharp senses and patience of the eyeless killer and it took him only two days to find the said girl, parking her car briefly and running towards the library, passing through the torrential rain. She appeared to be in a haste; her bright (e/c) eyes were shadowed by a dark and urgent look and she was constantly looking around her, as if she knew that something was about to happen; as if she knew that he was around and ready to kill her. And he was, he really was determined to kill her that night, leaving her cold body to rot on some locker inside the library. EJ slipped unnoticed inside the empty library and took the life of the librarian before she even knew what hit her, before he proceeded to mess with the girl, who once again, proved to be too feisty for his liking. The fact that her heart was weak was only supplemented by her fearless character as she once again defended herself with everything she had, using any possible thing that could help her, like the fire-extinguisher. When he stabbed her in the gut, he was sure that it would be enough to stop her, but the fire he saw burning inside her eyes as she grabbed the extinguisher and hit him in the head, was filled with determination. She wasn't going to die there. Not then, not there.

What the absolute hell was wrong with this girl? Why wasn't she scared of him, why was she facing him head on? Of course, she was completely clueless of the fact that EJ was nothing like a human and the only way for her to discover that was to become his victim and feed him, but even if she didn't know that, she should be a little bit afraid or even cautious. Normal humans do that right? Instead, when he crept inside her bedroom that night after the humans had a party, the only thing she did was to caress his black tears and smile, before she continued sleeping like nothing happened. What the f*ck was wrong with this girl? It was at that very night that EJ found himself hesitant of killing her for the very first time in his whole Creepypasta life. It wasn't just the heavenly voice that seemed to capture his interest; it was the fact that her very character, her reactions, were interesting. She didn't act like a normal human, she didn't do what he expected her to do, she was.unpredictable. The curiosity that was always lying inside the cold-hearted man's very own nature was suddenly awakened. His instincts failed to comprehend the nature that fed the reactions on this girl, so naturally, they were interested. What a wonderful rare sample to experiment on!

Those were the thoughts that passed inside the murderer's mind as he carried your unconscious body through the woods, further and further inside the darkness and away from all safety, away from all the chances of someone rescuing you. With each step of the way, you were more and more in his complete mercy and all he could think of was what other interesting stuff you would do. Yes, he wasn't going to keep you around for long, just enough to figure out the abnormality inside your brain that makes you different and after he knew that, maybe you could provide him with a nice meal. Maybe he could open up your skull and take a closer look to your brain. Maybe he could make you sing once again and figure out what effect did your voice possessed. Whatever happened, one thing was for sure: you were doomed right from the moment he picked you up inside your room and took you with him. Now, on your way to the Mansion of the most dreadful creature in existence, the only fate that awaited you was death. If death didn't find you along the way of course, but EJ would make sure that he would have his fair share of time with you, before disposing of you. He had taken humans there before for further research, but they were never alive to begin with.

Luckily, his room was on the northern side of the Mansion and consequently provided him with enough privacy to climb his way up to his room, completely unnoticed by the other residents, who wouldn't take it so well if a human was brought in there alive. So no front door for him tonight. He immediately placed you in his private lab and made sure that you were in the best condition before he allowed you to awaken and his experiments to start. That was three days ago.

Now, it was around ten on the third night that he heard you start to stir uneasily, a clear sign that you were about to wake up soon. Finally! He would be able to question you, something that would be quite interesting if your character continued to surprise him. He had checked both your phone and your box and found out that you were indeed looking for someone, yet completely different from him. It appeared that you had first encountered him long before he saw you, which only raised more questions inside the killer's mind. It was good to take those things along after all; now no one would suspect a single thing. You were now, completely at his non-existent mercy.


Cold….you were so cold….

The darkness that was spreading all around you inside the dream was chilling as well as relaxing. Why? Because you had absolutely no clue on how you got there in the first place, gently floating inside the liquid darkness that was more evilly breathtaking than terrifying, providing your distressed mind with the calmness needed to take a few relaxing turns and clear from every possible thought. No dreams, no thoughts and more importantly, no worries. It was somewhat relieving to be able to break free from all the problems everyday life could create and such a gift only existed to be treasured. This rare moment of solitude…It was just you and the coldness around you that greeted your mind, which nonetheless started to wonder and awaken, asking questions that there was absolutely no way for them to be answered by you at this very moment. First of all, what were you doing here? It was practically impossible to remember what had happened before that lead you here, but it still rang as peculiar inside the empty void of your mind, that something might be going terribly wrong…

Why? Because there was no way for you to be so cold, if you were lying on your soft and warm bed, perfectly protected under the fluffy covers. There was no way and even if your very last memory was that of the safety of your room, it provided you with nothing else but more questions.

But wait!

That's right! You were inside your own room, your fragile body covered by your usual pajamas and your feet carefully tucked inside your fluffy flip-flops, getting ready for a good night's sleep. Yeah, you can remember getting out of the shower, having practically figured out what the hell was wrong with Jack's case and left a video message with the clues and your thoughts for Greg to find if anything happened….wait…did something happen? You don't remember falling asleep at all, you just remember the lights going out and….HIM! He was outside your window right across from your room….no, nonononono, this was wrong somehow. Of course! He was inside your room; he attacked you as soon as you turned around and then…then what?

Then he knocked you out with a needle.

Terror strikes you like a solid, concrete wall that hits you so hard, you are left to struggle inside the floating darkness that is no longer so friendly around you but suffocating, threatening to reap your soul away at any given moment and allow the demons to take over your body. Because they are looming all around you, it is common knowledge, waiting restlessly for the time that death will bring his calamity upon you and your soul will be left completely unprotected to their devouring eyes, as they will be quick to snatch and tear her apart piece by piece. Because this is what the darkness holds inside of it right at this very moment. It is cold, humid and utterly horrifying, making your broken heart race immediately inside your chest, attempting to alert the rest of your senses in a desperate try to move, to run, to DO SOMETHING! A desperate cry for help shots up inside the complete darkness of your mind that is struggling to pull you into conscience, towards the light that will be your only savior and companion. Because light can and will save you. Only light can protect you from the horrors of darkness.

And right at that point is when you hear it. The faint rattling of chains. This is it!

You twist and turn, screaming with all your might, trying to pull yourself from the deep slumber, listening to the noise of rattling chains and a rugged breathing that reached your ears, followed by the faint beating of a broken heart and you instantly know that you are about to wake up and face your fears head on. It is the only thing you can do and you will sure as hell do it. So in one final turn of your head, your eyes pop open.

Darkness is all you see.

As if the complete darkness had a chain reaction with your body, your breathing immediately hitched and your heartbeat became a monotonous beat, as the said organ seemed ready to jump out of your chest and run towards salvation. Yet, you knew that you were finally awake, since your eyelids were blinking fast and your pupils tried desperately to find any source of light. Leaning your head down, you try to take in calm breaths, since your heart is beginning to hurt you a little bit, a potential heart-attack that you cannot afford right now threatening you, as you try to figure out where on earth you are. For starters, you were extremely cold, something that applies for everything around you as well, since you are sitting against a cold surface, most probably a wall and the floor, wearing nothing else but your pajamas, already shivering from the cold. Secondly, even if you can't see a single thing, you can smell the air around you. The heavy aroma of medicine, humidity and….blood, immediately reaches your nose, making your stomach turn and beg you to lean on some corner and empty it. What a foul smell! Like something…or maybe someone, had died in here ages ago and his body rotted away. Yes, the scent of medicine was still strong, battling with the first aroma, but failed completely to overshadow it. Thirdly, you are unable to hear anything. As if all noise on earth has completely seized, the only thing you can actually hear, is your own breathing and the sound of chains.

In this thought, you start to move your hands a little bit, only to realize that they are both suspended on both sides of your head, bound down with something metallic and possibly chained to the wall. So he had taken you along with him huh? Why? Why didn't he kill you right on the spot? What does he want from you now? But more importantly, where is he?

Inside the complete darkness, you were unable to either see him or even detect his presence. No, for now, you were alone. It was the question of how long you would be alone that pestered your mind like the plague. You had to come up with a plan and fast. Keep your head down and think! Think! Think _! Think!

Click.

The bright white lights flashed above you, submerging the whole room under their strong light and momentarily blinding you, as you grunted loudly to the sudden source of light that was as unexpected as it was unwelcomed, averting your gaze and closing your eyes shut, trying desperately to overcome the new obstacle that was thrown in your way. This wasn't good. It was definitely not good that there was light. For the first time in so long, you found yourself wishing that you were still in the darkness.

Thud.

Someone stepped forward. F*ck.

Once again, your heart refused to relax and threatened you more and more with an impending heart attack, as the terror seized her completely, sending her in a delirium of pure horror. The fear immediately shot up inside of you, starting from your heart and spreading inside your veins like wildfire, throwing your mind over the edge and surrendering you to the horrors of what was about to happen to the poor, little you. It was him; you were never so sure in your whole life about something, not even for Jack's love, but damn all the Gods in Heavens, this was him. He came to kill you. You were going to die! No! You will face him head on! You will not bow down and look away, you are going to look into his eyes and demand to know where Jack is, even if it is the very last thing you will do. Either way, you have nothing else to lose. You are dead already. So pulling all your courage together, you look up abruptly, looking across from you, where indeed, the blue masked man was standing.

Even if you were completely determined upon your act, you couldn't help but flinch a little bit when you locked gazes with the man, taking in almost immediately his threatening aura and posture, though this time, it seemed like he was not so upright and deadly. His whole attire was pitch black as always, stained with even darker spots, which you guessed where blood, but part of his hair was protruding under his navy blue mask, the auburn color coming in complete contrast once again with the rest of the attire. He was towering threatenly above you, standing only a few meters away and right in front of a door, having stuffed his hands inside his hoodie pocket, something that failed to make him any less dangerous in your eyes. Your eyes narrowed and you pulled your legs protectively closer to you, almost curling up in a ball on the cold white floor. He was definitely watching you; you were sure about it, but he said absolutely nothing.

Making sure for a few moments that he was not going to attack you or try anything else for that matter, you allow yourself to take a quick look around the bright white room. Surprisingly enough, you found yourself inside what appeared to be a surgical room. Every surface around you was pure white or a bit of darker grey and it was perfectly clean and supplied with all the necessities a real surgeon would need to perform an operation. From the white drawers and cupboards that where filled with medicine and surgical tools, to the surgical bed that rested in the center of the room, appearing threatening to your eyes, for no other reason but your bad feeling; because the blood stench was still pretty strong, even to the spot you were sitting on, safely away from all this stuff and chained to some water pipes with two handcuffs.

'Who are you?' you blurt out before you could stop yourself, averting your attention to the man once again.

The sound of your voice reverberated inside the silent room like a true gunshot, making you flinch once again and notice that for a split second, he pauses his movements, before he continues to walk up towards you, his moves slow and calculated as if he was approaching some kind of rare animal, or even worse, his potential victim. You nailed your bright eyes on his lean figure, watching and waiting for any kind of acknowledgement that you spoke, but nothing comes out of his mouth. He walks up to you, towering a few inches away from your face, making you think for a split second, that a kick straight to your face right now could be the end of you. He leans his head down, gazing upon you wordlessly, a stare that is able to see pass through your very own skin and reach down to your very soul, reaping it away from you violently. Your time is coming; that is the only thing you are sure about right now.

Then, out of nowhere, he kneels down and brings his face inches away from yours, his black eye sockets nailing on your eyes, watching you carefully. You return the gaze, looking towards the sockets with determination mixed with terror, trying desperately to take a small glimpse of his eyes, but the black cloth that covers them makes it impossible. He continues to say nothing, only leaning his head to one side, like he was studying you.

'W-who..are you?!' you demand to know once again, looking at his strange mask courageously.

At first there is nothing. But then…

'What is your name?'

You almost fainted from your sheer terror on the sound of his voice. Tears bubbled on your eyes but you stubbornly blinked them away. His voice had sounded soft but determined, burning your mind with the message that it was hardly a typical question. It had sounded a bit muffled under the mask, but it was crystal clear and filled with danger.

You pressed your lips together nonetheless, denying him any answer at all and watching as he leaned his head to the other side.

'I asked you, what your name is.' he repeated his request monotonously, yet with a tint of impatience inside.

'L-like hell I'll tell you! You can go screw yourself!' you bite out.

If he was angered or even surprised by your response, you knew not, since the mask pretty much covered his characteristics, rendering it impossible to guess what was going on inside his mind. The only thing you heard was a small sigh coming out from behind his mask and the next thing you knew, his left hand was on your stomach, punching the point where the stab wound was.

A piercing scream left your mouth, as the pain that shot up from your wounded point brought tears to your eyes and made you scream so hard, that your lungs reached the end of their capacity, trying to scream harder than your pain. Behind your tears you saw him straightening his head again and ask you patiently.

'I already know your name (y/l/n); I am just acquiring you to tell me yourself.' He simply said, emotionlessly.

You coughed up a little bit, but eventually looked back at him, eyes filled with anger 'I'm _. And who are you f*cker? What do you want from me?'

'Why were you following me? What were you trying to find?' he downright ignores your question.

'It's none of your damn business what was I looking for. The matter is that it lead me to you by accident. I have nothing to do with you.' you bit out. If you played along, maybe, just maybe, you could find some info.

'Really? And what makes you think that I find this to be the truth?' he bits out threatenly.

'Because it's the truth and the truth alone. Now, who the f*ck are you?'

'That is not your concern. What were you doing in that cave and back in the forest?'

'Whatever the f*ck I wanted. Now screw you, LEAVE ME ALONE!' you scream at his face.

As you scream at him, he leans his head back a little bit, studying you once again and taking in your reactions. It was starting to get on your nerves, the fact that you couldn't see through him and study his expressions, solely because you couldn't guess what was about to happen afterwards. So when he raised his hand and started to remove his glove, all other thoughts left your mind as you were horrified to see that his skin was coal black! What the hell was that? This was definitely not human and as the sharp beast-like nails came into view up next, you barely had time to scream, before his hand flashed and grabbed you hard by the delicate neck, squeezing it so hard, that you begun to choke and gasp for air. Your lungs burned you for air and your hands tried to fly to your neck in order to protect it, but the handcuffs prevented them from doing that. And as if that wasn't enough, he leaned his head towards you, leaning dangerously close.

'You are currently in no position to make demands, so it would be wise of you to answer the questions you are asked. If you provide me with no answers, then I have no use of you. Now, what were you doing on that cave?' he growled, his voice sounding so demon like, that your heart almost stopped.

Opening your mouth, you tried your best to answer, but no sound came out. Noticing your struggle, he loosens his grip just a little bit, allowing you to inhale the needed amount of air in order to answer.

'I…..I was….investigating a murder case.' You cough hard.

'Good. Are there more like you back in the campus?'

'N-no, just me.'

'You are doing good.' he says and finally releases you 'Now, what exactly are these?'

Shoving his hand on his pocket, he brings out a small bottle filled with your pills. In their sight, your eyes grow bigger and given the fact that your heart was long ago paining you, you involuntarily shove yourself to get them, desperately trying to take one, but he leans them away from you and your handcuffs stop you as well.

'So they are important to you, aren't they?' his voice was filled with triumph.

'These are my heart pills, please give them back!' you demand, throwing your pride aside in order to stay alive.

'What heart condition do you have?'

'This concerns only me you f*cker! Now, GIVE THEM BACK!'

'I will not do that.' he says, picking himself up from the ground, still holding the bottle right before your eyes 'You see, if you can't tell me your condition, it is natural to assume that you do not need them. So for now, our meeting has concluded.' He says, turning his back on you and walking towards the door.

'Wait! Give them back!' you plead, but then anger consumes your mind 'You really believe that I left like that? That I didn't know you were coming?! I have left clues back you f*cker! So that they know that it was you who took me and police will come for you! You'll see! So you better tell me what you did to Jack and I'll say nothing to anyone!'

In your words, he pauses his steps and looks back at you from above his shoulder. His dark gaze once again burns your skin away, making you cringe 'You mean the little video you left on your phone?' you can hear the mocking tone so clearly inside his voice tone as he shoves his hand inside his pocket and takes out your very own phone.

Your eyes open wide with surprise and your mouth half opens in its view, so you barely hear his words.

'There is no escaping me _. From now own, enjoy your new room, because you'll be my new little experiment. And there is no one coming for you.' he says and as he tightens his grip around the phone, you can see it break into thousand pieces, taking along with it, your last rays of hope.

'You are already dead.' He chuckles, turning off the lights and sinking you once again inside the complete darkness.