Chapter 20 Disintegrating World

'Can you please grab something for me to eat? I'm starving over here.' _'s voice was betraying her grumpiness clearly and the rolling of her (e/c) eyes only served to highlight her boredom as she threw her book aside and rose on her own feet clumsily, walking over to the bookshelf that was closer to her. The female had been reading all day long, books with a rich variety of themes, coming from EJ's very own bookshelves. From what EJ had observed about her in all the days they had spend together –which now reached almost a month-, she really wasn't the one to nag about things and was satisfied easily with some books, coming in complete contrast with what the male had read about the human female gender in books and from all of his encounters with other female Creepypasta; he never failed to notice though, that the few times she did complain, it was usually time for him to feed her.

'Would you be content with some bread and cheese?' he asked, vision never straying from his medical book, even if he barely even registered what he read on the fifteenth line; he was studying his medical books for a few days now, trying to find out clues that would eventually lead him to discover her condition and treat it accordingly, yet all of his attempts seemed to be futile.

Even if he didn't see it, his hunter senses felt her eyes focusing on him 'If you promise not to put any lettuce in like yesterday. God, it was awful.' She commented.

'You should ingest vitamins that are contained in vegetables as well, if you want to avoid serious illnesses.' He simply commented, setting his book to the side and looking over at her, only to see her rolling her eyes once again.

'I already have an illness EJ; at least feed me properly.'

'That is what I am trying to accomplish, but you do not follow it.' He smirked under his mask, knowing that she was unable to see it; in fact, he seemed to do that a lot lately, usually after clever remarks that he knew bothered her but at the same time she couldn't do anything about it, since it was as clear as his murderous nature, that he was right about them. He kind of enjoyed messing with her mind just a little a bit, never straying from his part of the deal in not hurting her of course; through the course of the years, he had seen many of the Creepypasta doing that –mostly Jeff the Killer and Ticci Toby- in a more ruthless way, yet until he came across _, he never understood why they found the need to do so; something that was pretty clear every time he gazed upon your pouting and clearly annoyed face.

But, there is no time to waste on that right now, since you will only become more nagging with the passing minutes.

'I will be back shortly, make sure to behave yourself.' He warned her, not that she had given him any reason to do so lately.

'Yes master.' you gibed him.

If he continued to have eyes, he would have probably rolled them in the sound of her little 'nickname'. But just like he reacted in various other remarks of hers, he downright ignored them, throwing his feet to the side and raising himself up, making sure that his mask was properly on and his scalpel was resting lazily inside his hoodie pocket, before walking to the door and grabbing the key carefully with his gloved hand. Turning his head to the side, he made sure that both _ was once again absorbed in her book as well as that no sound of footsteps or breathing came from the corridor that spread beyond his door; no sound whatsoever.

Perfect.

Unlocking, he was quick to pass through and close the door behind him, locking it and stuffing the key inside his pocket, gazing up and down the dark corridor, just in case that someone was watching him. Even if years had passed from the very first time he set his foot inside this particular mansion and even if he had clearly stated that no one was to trespass his territory –correction: room and lab- without his permission, some of the residents still failed to respect it from time to time, making his otherwise calm demeanor change to a violent one in the blink of an eye. Privacy was something rare and loose inside this house, but since he was given his own room, only the Master was allowed to come in without permission.

Stuffing his hands inside his pockets, he started walking towards the staircase on the left, his footsteps stealthy and steady, just like a trained predator's. The more the cannibalistic man distanced himself from his room, the more his senses heightened and reached their ends, taking in his surroundings all at once and giving him the feeling that even the walls had eyes that stared down on him, watching and calculating his every move; that was a feeling that always lurked around inside this house, whose murderous residents were always a significant threat even when they were relaxing. EJ wondered when was the last time he felt uneasy around the house, but his sharp brain seemed to be unable to think of the time, clearly connecting these feelings with the arrival of the girl; it was as clear as the moonlit sky that when he was with her, his guard and insanity seemed to lower and back away, making him relax and calm down a bit, especially now that _ seemed to sing every single day. The effects that her voice had on him were still strong and right now, he could safely say that he was the master of his insane part and not the other way around.

That was what made the girl even more valuable.

Turning on the right, he went down the stairs, passed the front door and followed the small hallway on the left that led to the kitchen. Thankfully for now, the house seemed to be completely empty, except from a familiar elfish boy that sat right in front of the huge TV which decorated the living room, controller at hand; Ben hadn't even noticed EJ passing by, completely engulfed in his game, much to the eyeless man's relief. He couldn't leave _ alone for too long anymore; not because he thought she would escape, but because he wasn't sure about the rest of the residents. Once he walked inside the kitchen, the first thing he noticed was the clear moonlight that was coming through the vast windows, bouncing off the surface of the freshly fallen snow and creating the illusion of an illuminated night; after almost a week, the intense blizzard subsided and nature seemed to calm down once again. Alas, he didn't have too much time in his disposal.

Grabbing a few slices of bread, he proceeded to stuff them inside his pockets, making sure that they were enough for the girl, before opening the fridge and taking some cheese for her as well; his hand paused over a fresh looking lettuce, debating whether to force-feed it to her or to hide it inside the bread and trick her into eating it. Not today, she seemed to be in a good mood, so why spoil it?

He was about to drop his hand and close the fridge, when his acute senses picked up a presence lurking behind him, a second before a gruff voice spoke from the corner of the room.

'And here I was, thinking you only ate f*cking guts and sh!t.'

EJ dropped his hand and closed the fridge, pressing his lips together in dismay, the same time that his eyebrows furrowed in annoyance under his mask 'What do you want Jeff?' his voice was ice-cold and betrayed nothing that could be loosely considered an emotion whatsoever.

The burned, deranged killer was standing on the threshold of the kitchen, gazing upon the eyeless man with a small smirk plastered on his horridly scarred face, making his smile seem bigger if that was ever possible, while his lidless eyes flashed with nothing but malice and his hands were carefully folded on his chest.

'Simply to find out what the f*ck you want from the supplies. It's not every day that a cannibal tries the normal sh!t.' his voice was dripping with irony, but EJ didn't have the time to argue with the man he considered close to something along the lines of a friend.

Instead of dignifying his words with a response, EJ stuffed the rest of the cheese inside his pockets, eyeless stare nailed on the other man whose already non-existing patience was running thin by the lack of a response with every passing second. EJ knew the man all too well to know perfectly well that since his attention was averted to the eyeless man's movements, he had noticed them long ago and would not drop the matter without discovering the truth or at least a satisfying reason for his actions; you didn't need to know the man too well to analyze him and figure out that his obsessive nature once gaining focus, never averted from his target; it was that single fact that made him a dangerous opponent. Not for EJ though. But for now, since he couldn't risk a full-out quarrel with Jeff that could pose a threat to _'s secret residence inside the mansion, the eyeless man eventually sighed.

'I am conducting an experiment with the food to see if my organism can in fact absorb it.'

Jeff's eyes only narrowed more 'Is that f*cking so? You decided to change your damn ways now that it's already late?'

'It is an experiment.'

'Bullsh!t.'

'I do not have a reason to justify my actions to you Jeff. You are not Master; you are merely just a killer, like the rest of us.' EJ's words were cold and ruthless towards the lidless man's pride, who liked to believe he was better than the rest, even if that was never proven.

The words immediately triggered an angry reaction to the man, who straightened his back and took a threatening step towards the other male, his black eyes lightening up with a hellish red tint 'If I f*ck you up and beat you senseless, would that prove the f*cking fact that you ain't no match for me you d!psh!t?'

This was when EJ's own pride decided to kick in 'I would like to see your pathetic attempts to do so Jeffery.' He almost snarled, standing his own ground.

'Both of you cut the racket immediately.' A third voice was heard and both killers averted their gaze to the small second door of the kitchen that lead to the living room, only to see none other than the Head Proxy enter 'There is no time for your pathetic fights right now, we have a problem.' Masky folded his hands over his chest, his white mask turning to gaze at both killers, his penetrating gaze hidden under the shadows.

At the sight of him, Jeff immediately loosened his posture and obtained a sour expression, like he had just been interrupted from something great; if it was ever possible, he would be frowning. From his own point of view, EJ let out a small sigh, feeling his insanity backing away inside the shadows of his mind once again; both killers knew very well, that it would be foolish of them to fight in front of the Head Proxy, much less when he informed them that they were having a problem. Behind Masky, Hoody made his silent appear, following close behind his comrade and never uttering a word.

'What the f*ck is it now?' Jeff growled, raising his hands on the sides and rolling his eyes.

Masky downright ignored the obnoxious man and turned his attention solely to EJ 'Eyeless, Master has ordered for you to follow us. There's been an accident were a Proxy was injured and we need your help.'

'I will collect my things and follow you. Which Proxy was it?' EJ replied evenly; stuff like that were everyday occurrences with the Proxies and killers as well and since he was the only one close to what would consider being a doctor, he was always required to assist.

'Kate The Chaser.' Masky simply replied.

EJ nodded, turning his back and starting walking towards the exit, but as the man passed by Jeff, his senses never failed to hear what the man whispered almost under his breath.

'My advice is for you to hear music in a lower volume, f*cker.' The grin was obvious in his voice 'But I won't f*cking lie, the chick that sings, is too damn good. I'm curious why I haven't found out who she is yet, no matter how much I searched on Youtube.'

If it was anyone else, on the sound of that particular remark and the thought that the said girl was currently living inside his own room, he would have paused and betrayed his secret to the eyes of the watchful killer; but EJ was not that kind of a man to be toyed around by simple remarks that he knew perfectly well that they were a bluff, so no matter the words, he downright ignored them as he walked by, never seizing or even halting his movements even for a split second, acting like nothing was going on; it was true and with no questions that the beast that took residence inside his mind growled like a true demon towards the unblinking killer, but he was not going to let it show. Thus, he walked out of the kitchen and back towards his own room, his thoughts revolving around the fact that he would have to leave you alone yet again, something that he found himself unwilling to do; still he had no choice. The saddest part of them all, was that he would have to make you stop singing from now on, in case someone did hear you and Jeff wasn't bluffing, like EJ's mind accepted as a true fact.

Unlocking the door once again and passing inside his room, he found you sitting on your own mattress and reading from a very heavy book. The moment the man walked inside, your curious eyes nailed themselves on his form, as you watched him lock the door and proceed to leave the goodies he brought you on his bed. Your stomach growled impatiently and with a large smile, you picked yourself up and went to grab them, only to see EJ walking inside his lab, throwing a bag on the medical bed and proceeding to stuff various medical instruments inside, as you took a bite from the freshly baked bread, smiling like a goof to yourself.

'Where are you going?' you asked, mouth still full from the food.

At first he remained silent and you waited patiently for him, only to be rewarded a few moments later 'I need to attend some urgent matters, so I will be off immediately.'

Oh, serious much? 'And when are you going to be back?'

'Probably around morning. In the mean time, try to make as little noise as possible while I am gone.' He replied evenly, zipping up the bag and throwing it over his shoulder.

If his whole attitude wasn't weird, then you didn't know what was; your eyebrow raised itself in question as you looked at him storming out of the lab and making sure for probably the millionth time today, that his mask was properly placed. He seemed to have that unconscious need to keep it there and he didn't take it off even when he was sleeping. Still, from his whole body posture, you could clearly see that the man was on edge, for reasons that you were oblivious too and no matter how much he tried to hide it, all the days you passed together had trained your eye to pick his moods up immediately.

'I'll be quiet, no worries. Good luck with…um….the matters.' You offered him a small smile.

'Stay inside the room, whatever happens.' He said and before you really had the chance to answer him, he had already stormed out of the room.

Well, let's just say that if you were part of an anime series, a huge question mark would have appeared over your head, to betray your sheer confusion. It was usual for the eyeless man to leave some things unexplained to you, probably because he decided that they were too revealing for you to know either about his kind or himself, but in the whole month that you had been in here, he never left without explaining clearly what the situation was about, even when he went out to do his… 'hobby'. So, it was only natural for you to be alerted about his strange behavior; don't get yourself wrong, EJ was a man of many quirks and strange habits that were all mixed up in his personality, making him a difficult to read man –and not because he didn't have eyes or his face was hidden- but after all this time, it was easier for you to read him and understand him more. The revelation of his eating habits helped tremendously as well.

Still, you knew that there was no point in pondering on what preoccupied the man's mind alone and you made a mental note for yourself to ask him once he was back. One thing that bothered you though, was his warning… Why did he specifically warn you to be as quiet as possible? Eh, you will ask him in the morning once he is back and all the books that are stored in the bookshelves will surely keep you as quiet as they will keep you occupied.

It was not a strange thing for the eyeless man with the exceptional love toward medicine and everything that had to do with the human anatomy –or anatomy in general- to have many books in his library, but boy oh boy were you surprised when you saw the variety of the said books. Yes, he did have quite a few that could easily belong to any major encyclopedias, but among these ones were others that you deemed to be true gems; like books from Stephen King, Bukowski, Dostoevsky, Kafka and many many other great writers. The fact that made the presence of these kinds of books strange was the fact that they belonged to a deranged, psychotic, extremely dangerous killer. From what you were raised to believe, killer were unable even to communicate with others, much less read the golden books of poetry and literature, yet here was EJ once again to prove you wrong. Fascinating, absolutely fascinating discovery and even when you did ask him about it, he just waved it off with a casual shrug. Maybe there are more to this man, to killers in general, that meet the eye. Any other day, you would have accused yourself for finally going mad, losing your mind completely, but right now, it was a blissful discovery of rare importance. Maybe you did go mad in the end…

'There is a loneliness in this world so great, that you can see it in the slow movement of the hands of a clock. People so tired, mutilated, either by love or no love. People just are not good to each other one on one. The rich are not good to the rich; the poor are not good to the poor. We are afraid. Our educational system tells us that we can all be big-ass winners. It hasn't told us about the gutters or the suicides. Or the terror of one person aching in one place alone, untouched, unspoken to, watering a plant.'

Bukowski's book came to an end, leaving you with a sweet yet sorrowful feeling emanating from the depths of your heart, the pain almost advancing into a physical level as you gently closed the book, too careful with your movements as if it was about to turn into dust on the slightest breeze, and you held it closely against your chest, cherishing all the things that it had taught you with a faint smile on your face. It was a feeling you had every time you finished a book- like the best part of your life was over you were once again pulled back into reality, carrying it along with you inside your very own broken heart. Looking around you, you realize just then that the night had advanced all the time you were reading, hunched over the book and dreaming of faraway lands and people that lived by its rules; you had long ago ate all the food EJ brought you and by a brief gaze on the clock, you realized that there were just a few hours dividing you from EJ's return. Still, you felt nothing along the lines of tiredness, so throwing your feet to the side, you decide to grab another book.

As you walk towards them, your gaze falls briefly to the window, your eyes gazing at the stunning scenery that spread until the eye could see; the almost black trees were covered by thick layers of snow, giving them a fairytale aura that was only enhanced by the bright moon that was shining high up on the firmament, sharing its light with the otherwise dark night that appeared cold and dangerous. EJ must be walking around inside those dreadful trees and who knows what may lurk inside; thankfully, you were protected inside the house and EJ was perfectly able to keep himself safe. Sighing, you avert your gaze back at the books, deciding which one you would read first.

All of them seemed promising, but were too big for a light read until the morning, so at first you were kind of hesitant to pick up the ones with the interesting titles; all that, until your eyes fell on a particular orange cover. The color and texture of the book seemed oddly familiar, so reaching out for it, you took it in your hands, flipping it over to read the title, which was written in gold letters. The moment your brain analyzes the words, you smile to yourself recognizing the book immediately; it was This Side Of Paradise by Scott Fitzgerald. Opening it, you start to shuffle mindlessly through the pages, a large smile appearing on your lips; well look at that! This book was one of Jack's favorites, how odd to find it on EJ's library! You had actually bought Jack one for his birthday once, which was exactly like this one and your best friend was ecstatic to see it. Hmmm, which was his favorite quote again? Oh yeah….

…They slipped briskly into an intimacy from which they never recovered…

The memories of a happier time, when Jack was still by your side and the toughest decision you had to make was whether to choose chocolate flavored cookies or vanilla ones flooded your mind, filling the empty spaces of your mind with the sound of Jack's laughter, his bright eyes and kind smile that always seemed to brighten your day up. The promises, the stories, the dreams the both of you had, until reality came and took them all away, just like it always seemed to do with your hopes and dreams, leaving you an empty shell to await for the death EJ would be so kind to bestow upon you after a while. You wonder though, did EJ really have no one to spend the rest of his existence with?

So engulfed you were inside your own thoughts, that you almost missed a single piece of paper protruding from one of the pages; your brain halted and you returned to where you found it, curiosity taking the best of you as your fingers gently located the piece of paper and took it on them. It appeared to be the back of a photo. Strange…did EJ place it here? You wondered as you flipped it over to see who it had captured. And as you did, you froze.

The distant sound of something falling hard on the floor reached your ears, but you were unable to register what it was.

To be honest, the only thing you could hear right now, was your own heartbeat that picked up its pace unwillingly.

Then, there were the alarms that went off inside your mind.

And your hand flew to cover your mouth, to prevent your from uttering a single word.

The hand that was holding the photo trembled a bit….

Then realization hit you like a brick wall, the moment you realized what you were looking at.

In this single piece of paper, two people were sitting and posing for the camera, a bright smile and a kind one gracing the photo; a male and a female sitting inside a very familiar cave, the natural light coming from the forest on their left illuminating their faces as they both leaned on one another, with the girl resting her hand on the boy's shoulder and the boy trying not to mind this kind of gesture. In your eyes, the girl was unfamiliar at first, for the split second that your brain refused to link it with the extremely thin and aged girl that you had met inside the mental clinic; this was Jenny –a healthier, saner looking Jenny- as she must have been before her whole ordeal started four years ago, before the murders and the disappearance happened. And right beside her, looking uncomfortable as always, sat Jack. Right beside her, on the same cave that the murders happened, on the same photograph that you found inside EJ's own library, was your very own best friend Jack.

In the sight of his bright blue eyes, his messy auburn hair and his lean figure, tears start to bubble on the edges of your eyes, proceeding to cascade your cheeks immediately and a violent sob reverberates from the depths of your chest, triggering the shots of pain that your broken heart graced you with every time you lost control of your emotions. But how on earth were you expected to keep them inside, the moment you were looking at your best friend in a picture that was taken maybe a few days before he was last seen in the face of the Earth? How were you expected not to react when you saw him even after so many years? Your poor, poor Jack! Your fragile little Jack-boy, who was tricked and led towards his own death, sitting beside the girl that might have led him to it? How could you not break down and cry like the little girl you used to be when you found his picture in one of the murderer's books? HOW COULD YOU NOT BE ANGRY WHEN THE PICTURE OF YOUR FRIEND WAS FOUND IN EJ'S THE MURDERER'S POSSESIONS? HOW COULD YOU NOT CONNECT ALL THE CLUES INSIDE YOUR MIND, THAT WAS CURRENTLY THROWN INTO A WHIRLWIND OF PAIN AND PURE, MENACING AND POISONING ANGER?!

Your whole world crumbled.

Your whole world disintegrated.

There was nothing but anger.

The fragile trust that you had build over the passage of time for the eyeless killer was shortly brushed away from the sheer anger you felt for his lies. For his inability to speak straight; for his inability to take the responsibility of your friends death. FOR THE COWARDNESS HE SHOWED, FOR THE LIES HE TOLD, FOR MISLEADING AND PLAYING WITH YOUR MIND IN ORDER TO SATISFY HIS OWN NEEDS! HOW WERE YOU SUPPOSED TO SYMPATHIZE WITH A MAN LIKE THAT? HOW WERE YOU SUPPOSED TO KEEP HIM COMPANY, HOW WERE YOU SUPPOSED TO BELIEVE HIM WHEN HE SPOKE? HE WAS A LIAR! A L.I.A.R! HE ABUSED YOU AND MISLEAD YOU, TRYING TO USE YOU TO HIS OWN BENEFIT! AND HE WILL PAY! YOU ARE NOW CERTAIN THAT HE WAS THE ONE TO KILL JACK AND HE IS GOING TO PAY! WITH HIS OWN LIFE! YOU WILL KILL HIM, EVEN IF THIS IS THE LAST THING YOU WILL EVER DO IN YOUR LIFE! THE. F*CKER. WILL. PAY.!

You open your mouth to scream your lungs out from the sheer anger, but a hard knock on the door interrupts you.

Someone banged on it hard.

'EJ, you f*cker, are you in?' a gruff voice that you failed to recognize came from the door.

No matter how angry and frustrated you were right now, your sanity ready to take that last step and enter the veil of insanity and malice, you found yourself still vaguely aware of the dangers that might cost you your life before you had the chance to kill EJ; and the one knocking on the door was a part of them. Your whole body froze and your heart pounded hard inside your chest, seemingly ready to fall of your chest, at the same time that your senses reached their limits, trying to keep you as quiet as possible; your eyes were nailed on the simple piece of wood that divided you from the unknown man, like it was about to dissolve into dust and reveal your presence to him. You stood completely still, like if you moved, he would detect you, but the only thing you heard was a loud, annoyed sigh and the sound of keys hitting with one another.

At first your overworking brain failed to realize it, but then it dawned to you.

He was coming inside!

You had to hide!

NOW!

Looking around you desperately, panic clouds each and every one of your thoughts like a silver mist, turning your brain completely numb as you realize from the sound of the key inserting itself inside the lock, that you barely had the time to run to the lab and lock the door. Sh!t, there is no time to do that! What else you can do? Think! THINK! What else can you do?! Panic won't help you now, but holy mother of God what the hell can you…. UNDER THE F*CKING BED!

Without giving it much thought, you immediately drop to your knees and lay down on the floor, crawling your way under the bed, moving to the side various unidentified stuff that you didn't even want to identify in the first place and managing to hide yourself just as the door opened wide and a pair of black combat boots walked inside. Your immense love for horror movies had always made you wonder what you would have done in these kinds of situations, but never had you ever thought that you would actually find yourself in one of those; your heart pounded loudly inside your chest and your breathing came out rugged, until you threw both hands over your nose and lips, trying to be as quiet as possible; this little thing would be what would keep you alive or kill you eventually and you were not going down just yet. To your complete surprise, you were still holding on to the photograph of Jack and Jenny with your right hand, unconsciously taking it along with you, as the man wandered around the room, so slowly, that this was the real torture.

His boots calculated each single step he took, just like a trained predator did when he stalked his potential prey, wondering around the room to trace any clues that would betray someone's existence -other than EJ's of course. It was obvious that he was looking for you –or at least for someone- since he kicked your mattress lightly and opened the lab door, checking to see if anyone was hidden in the other rooms as well; even if you couldn't see him, you were sure that his eyes were scanning the whole place up, waiting to spot or hear anything that would betray that someone was still in here. Minutes passed so slowly, that you thought eons went by until the man walked out of the lab, leaving the door exactly as he had found it. He threw another gaze around the room –or at least you thought he did, since he stayed on the same spot for more than two minutes- and eventually walked back on the door and out of the room.

You didn't come out from under the bed, not even when you heard the lock turn.