Chapter 21 Clash Of Victims
When the sound of the door unlocking was heard once again, your muscles and heart reacted all at the very same time, triggering all the horror and danger mechanisms that were lurking inside your mind: your heart started racing with a thousand miles per hour, worsening your condition and offering you plenty of pain to resonate from the depths of it, making you tighten your jaw in order not to scream out and fold in two, something that was only accompanied by your muscles that tightened unwillingly, making your brain turn off its safety alarms and make the little voice inside your head scream bloody murder. Your hand flew to cover your mouth and you once again remained perfectly still, wishing with all your soul not to be discovered by anyone.
It had surely been a few hours from the moment the first man entered, yet it seemed like a true eternity had passed by, with you patiently hiding yourself in fear of being discovered; you were too lucky not to be found out under the bed actually, a location that was rather ironic to find yourself in and you would most probably laugh at yourself if the situation wasn't so desperate; all in all, this was the most common hiding place for the protagonists in horror movies that did in fact manage to remain hidden, yet this was in no way a horror movie, but the most dangerous real life state that you found yourself in. And that was something that was also backed by your brain as well, who chose this moment to present to you all the possible ways that you might have been discovered and killed on spot. All the scenarios were flashing right in front of your eyes, since you couldn't believe that the man didn't notice where you might have been hiding; no one was that kind of stupid, really. So clutching the photograph of Jack and Jenny for dear life inside your hand, you decided to stay under there, with your heart racing and your breath coming out as rugged and quiet as possible and wait for the inevitable end that was unlocking the door at the moment and passing inside the small room.
Black boots once again appeared standing at the threshold, yet they weren't the same as the last time; they seemed a bit smaller than and not as heavy as the first. Whoever it was, he stepped inside the room, leaving the door wide open and remained at the very same spot, never making a single move; he was scanning the whole place up to find you, you were absolutely sure about it. You were a goner, you were sure about it.
'_?' an all too familiar voice sounded, barely above a whisper, with a tint of curiosity and terror hanging from the edges of its full sound.
You almost sigh in relief; it was only EJ.
'…Close the door...' You whisper as silently as you can, sure that the male's acute hearing abilities would pick the sound up.
'Where are you?'
This was not the time to be curious for f*cks shake '…Close the goddamn f*cking door…'
Without questioning you any further, the tall male obliges and finally closes the door, the very same time that you use your elbows to finally crawl your way out of your hiding spot, but not until you were a hundred per cent sure that the door was safely locked. Fate had taught you that you couldn't be too cautious inside this household, no matter what. The moment your head pokes from under the bed and you turn to meet with EJ's eyeless gaze, it was deemed completely unnecessary for you to have to look upon the man in order to see his shoulders loosen and the surprise that penetrates him like a sharp arrow, filling his otherwise ominous aura. Thankfully, he rushes to help you up as fast as he can, grabbing you hard by the shoulders and helping you on your feet, before taking a step back and folding his hands over his sturdy chest, waiting patiently for your explanations and never seizing to look at you as you dusted yourself off with a low, un-amused grumble.
'Don't you dare look at me like that.' you almost growl at him, trying to remove the extra dust from your hair.
'It would be greatly appreciated if you explained to me the purpose of hiding under the bed. Have you finally embraced your lowly existence?' his tone was even, but the traces of a poisonous humor were hidden beyond them.
In response, you roll your eyes 'Well, f*ck you dumb#ss!' you lash out at him, finally loosing what was left of your thin patience 'One of your buddies decided to walk in like he f*cking owned the place so I had to hide as fast as I could. So spare me the pain of your wanna-be-funny-but-am-a-failure humor!' you shove him off, pure hatred and anger for his not so clever remark burning like hot lava inside your veins and echoing within the halls of your mind and you turn to walk over to your bed, only to feel a steely grip tighten around your arm and he yanks you back to face him.
You attempt to yell at him, but once you open your mouth to do so, you clearly feel him turning into a true statue as you fail to maintain your balance and fall on his chest for a split second, before you replace your personal space among the both of you. When he speaks though, his voice is laced with ice and severity, like the very first time you met him.
'Someone came inside the room?!' he growled, his voice sounding dual to your ears for a split second.
'Yes.' You look him straight in the eye, determination numbing your brain against any fear, but in response, he only lets go of you and sighs wearily.
'You are lucky that you weren't discovered, but I am going to lock you inside the lab from now on; it is the only place that you can be really safe.' He comments and turning his sturdy back at you, walks away towards the said lab without saying anything else, completely ignoring your existence.
And that was the moment that you remembered something.
The picture on your hand.
Right then is the moment you remember who the man that was standing right before you was; the man that took everything away from you; the man that imprisoned you, tortured you, messed with your head in the most severe and unspeakable way but all that paled in comparison with the worst of any possible things he could do to you; he killed – and probably ate as well- your best friend Jack. He ripped away his life and along with it, your happiness, or rather your only chance in living a happy life. He was the cause of all the suffering that pestered your life. And the picture on your hand wasn't only the proof of his unspeakable actions, but also your only hope that maybe, just maybe, he would confess the truth to you for just once.
Watching his figure walking up and down his lab, his back turned mindlessly towards you, he seemed completely oblivious to the war that was waging on inside your mind. Oh, how foolishly relaxed he was in your presence, something that wouldn't stand if instead of holding the picture in your hand, you were clutching any kind of weapon. Oh, how happy you would be to see his last breath leaving his body and his cold, black blood pooling on the floor under his body. You would make sure that this was going to be the case, yet after you were done questioning him; for just once, your whole existence longed for the truth and afterwards, you would eliminate him even if you had to sell your soul for it.
'EJ I want to ask you a question and I want you to tell me the truth.' you said, voice barely above a whisper, since you tried to control the waves of pure anger that resonated from within you.
'If it is going to be a stupid one, I am going to inject you with a sedative so I won't have to hear you for the rest of the night.' he casually said, pacing around the lab and placing many medical tools back to their original places.
In the sound of his words you bite your lip hard, trying your best to focus and not lunge at him right then and there.
'Believe me, you have to hear this.' you almost growl, but control it on the very last minute.
'Then go ahead, because I have better matters to attend to.' he didn't show any kind of interest at all, something that infuriated you to no ends.
Out of its own volition, your hand jerks up holding the picture on the same height as your head, so it could be easily visible from the eyeless mans perspective 'Care to explain to me what the f*ck is this?''
This was the only time that the man turned towards you as he spoke 'That appears to be what you humans call a photograph.'
'And do you recognize who appears to be in this photograph?' your foot was now tapping on the floor, signaling the beginning of the end for your patience.
'No, and I do not have any interest in finding out whatsoever.' He responds indifferently.
'So you are telling me you don't recognize either of them?''
'Has your IQ officially failed you _?' He mocks you, worsening things even more.
'Respond to the simple question EJ.'
'I already did.' he simply shrugs.
'Are you sure you're telling me the truth?''
'Why do you care?'
'TELL ME THE TRUTH FOR ONE SINGLE F*CKING TIME IN YOUR PATHETIC, LONELY LIFE! THIS MAN RIGHT THERE IS MY BEST FRIEND JACK AND I FOUND HIS PICTURE IN ONE OF YOUR BOOKS. WHY THE HELL IS HIS PICTURE INSIDE ONE OF YOUR BOOKS EJ?''
Total silence fell among the two of you. Now, you were totally sure that his attention was completely focused on you, as you could see his sturdy shoulders and lean body having turned completely rigid and motionless, as if he was a true statue that you were fiercely gazing upon. His navy blue mask had turned towards you and despite the lack of any eyes, you could still feel his gaze focused solely on you, as he was still holding some medical tools in his hands, further pointing out his lack of movement. From your side, your heart was pounding so loudly inside your chest, that your breath had quickened and the pain that resonated from within, revealed to you that a possible heart attack was on its way. You chose to ignore it completely nonetheless, ignoring the risks of what that may bring. You only wanted the truth and right now, it was the only thing that you would get.
Finally you grew tired of waiting for a response from his side, so you covered the distance that divided the both of you and grabbing him from his shirt with your determined fist, you pull him down and almost glue the photograph on his mask, making sure he was looking at it.
'Do you see the two people in the photograph? The man's name is Jack and he is my best friend; the one that I have been looking for all this time and the man that was probably killed ruthlessly. Next to him, the little b!tch's name is Jenny and she is the one that probably led him to his death. Do you recognize any of them EJ? Because since I found this particular picture inside your books, it is only natural for me to realize that you know them. Both of them.' You accuse him.
The man's hand wraps around your fist but never removes it, as he averts his gaze towards the photograph, saying nothing, but continuing to observe that little piece of paper that withheld more significance than the whole world around you.
'I just want to learn the truth EJ. I know you killed him! I know you f*cking did, so there is no way in lying to me right now! But please, tell me the truth, tell me what you did to him! I have the right to know!' you scream, pounding on his chest with your fists hard, hurting yourself more than him, yet fighting away the waterfall of hot tears that threatened to cascade 'Did you eat him? Did you torture him like you did to me? Did he beg you for his life?! HOW DID YOU MURDER HIM YOU MONSTER?! DID JENNY HELP YOU? DID YOU ENJOY EATING HIS ORGANS?! TELL ME!'
For a split second, he remains completely silent, like he was so taken aback that he couldn't speak. Yet as you are about to shake him harshly from his hoodie and get some kind of response out of him, you hear a sharp inhale of oxygen and once he speaks, his voice sounds like it is coming from beyond the grave.
'…This is Jack….Jack was murdered….'
You swallow hard, a lump blocking your air pipes as you urge him to continue 'Go o-on.'
'And this is….Jenny.' he mumbles, more to himself than to you 'Jenny is….'
Suddenly he falls silent; no sound comes from either him nor anywhere near the both of you, as if the whole nature seized its noise to allow you to clearly hear what was going to be said next. Like the weight of the words spoken must be heard or else the world would fall apart. EJ takes the picture in his sturdy hand and looks at it, before raising his head and piercing you with his unseen own one as he utters…
'Hello Jenny.'
At first, his words were too strange for you to comprehend; your brows furrowed in confusion and you glanced at him like he was some kind of alien, yet what followed next, brushed away anything else. You saw a sharp move made by his hand and a hard slap hit your cheek so hard, that everything around you blurred and you lost your balance, falling back on the floor, with your hands flying to cover the affected spot on your face which seemed to be throbbing due to the pain. A loud exclamation of surprise mixed with a good dose of pain shot up from your lungs and exited your lips, the very same moment that hot tears cascaded from the edges of your eyes and your whole body reflexively curled up into a ball. Unable to understand what got into the man, your brain struggles to understand as you barely register the fact that the man is coming closer to you, his every step calculated and threatening, like a panther that was ready to shred you into little pieces.
'So we meet yet again Jenny.' He says, his voice sounding purely demonical 'You have no idea how long I have been looking for your pathetic excuse of existence.'
By the time he finishes his sentence, he is already standing right in front of you, his tall figure towering well above your unprotected and squirming in pain self. You open your mouth to speak, to dare and utter a single word, but right then, his leg finds its way on your stomach.
Everything happened in slow motion. His leg finds its way on your stomach, hitting you so hard, that a true fountain of blood is coughed up from your lungs, yet this seemed to be the least of your problems. Because as he hits you, your body detaches from its place on the lab floor and you feel a strong wave pushing you back and your body literally flies back, only to hit on the end of the wooden bed before collapsing on the floor. You choke on your own blood that comes out in currents from your injured insides and you try with all the might your soul and heart are giving you this fatal moment to move your body away from the killer's reach, opening your mouth not to scream, but to reason with him, if that was ever possible.
'I….I'm…not Jenny!' your words almost drown on the sea of blood that you cough up, trying to raise yourself from the ground that very moment and failing to do so as your hands are unable to sustain your weight.
EJ continues to walk up to you, completely ignoring your words and to your complete horror, taking out his sharp scalpel that seems to shine in the faint light.
'You really believed that you would fool me Jenny?... That you would be able to finish the job you started last time?... You thought I would be as naïve as to be fooled by you twice?... No wonder you looked so familiar, though it took me awfully long to realize it was your pathetic, poisonous and worthless self…'
'I'm not…Jen-ARGH!' your sentence is cut in half when he grabs a fistful of your hair and pulls you up by them, bringing your face inches away from his own masked one, so close, that you were able to gaze through the haze of your tears and pain, right into the bottomless dark abyssal holes of where his eyes should have been. For a single moment, only one thought passes from your mind: how could you feel relaxed around a monster like this one? How could you feel okay with him? and also…. you were going to die. That was it.
When he finally speaks, the only reaction that your brain graced you with was a bloodcurdling scream or pure terror.
'Fool me once; shame on you. Fool me twice; shame on me.'
Your head came in hard contact with the wall on the side of the door; it was such a powerful collision, that two things happened. One, the wall managed to bend under the enormous pressure with which your head collided on it; it was surely no power that a human being could possess and secondly, your whole body relaxed and remained still, with your conscience loosely holding on to its existence; your hands fell on your sides and your legs turned into utter jello, the very same time that you could swear that your head made a terrifying cracking sound. This was the time that you finally gave up; this was the time that your brain begun to shut down. It didn't matter that EJ had already proceeded with throwing you on the floor like a huge bag of bones and meat, nor did it matter that he started kicking and punching you and torturing you in any way possible, any way that he could muster up, your soul was too far away already.
You were too far away. The huge forest of your conscience had started to crumble right in front of you like a true card tower and you were left unable to do the slightest thing in order to stop them, only watching as EJ continued on and the light of your soul had begun to wither away. This was the end of the line for you and this time, no miracles were going to save you; there was no way through the torture and towards salvation. Yet this raised the more important questions: did you really want to hold on? I mean, you were all alone, inside a world that was as alien as it was hostile towards you. No one was left here anymore that could provide you with happiness and the feeling of companionship; Jack was gone, your father was gone and you were slowly dying right from the very start. So why not hurry things up a bit and be done with it once and for all? What was the thing that was holding you here?
The answer was provided to you in a split second, a single moment inside the eternity of time that was enough to reveal to you why you didn't let go.
Because as EJ took a step back in order to lunge the final kick that would kill you, he left his lower half completely unprotected, something that your dying brain decided it was the best opportunity to fight back, even if it did nothing. Your severely sprained leg shot up, the pain nonexistent for a breath-lasting second, and landed straight into the most sensitive spot of the killer, your jaw clenching as the foot hit with all the power you could muster up. The killer was caught by surprise and a loud half-angry, half-pained scream left his lips, as his hands flew to cover the affected area. It was at this time that you realized why you hadn't died yet: you wanted to survive. The urge for survival was so strong inside of you, maybe because you weren't ready to go yet or maybe because you were too ready for death that your whole body reacted against it.
Like now.
Like right now that your brain screamed bloody murder and urged you to get up, to get the f*ck up and find a shelter. If you had to describe the feeling, you would probably say that it was as if you were set ablaze and hit by a racing truck all at the same time; like you were a mere bag of broken bones that still managed to pick its weight up and race towards the lab door, kicking the kneeling killer straight in the face when he tried to stop you, earning you angry, animalistic growls. All that you had to do was lock yourself up inside the lab; after that, you would be free to decide what you would do, but right now, you had to get away from the deranged killer.
'GET BACK HERE!' EJ screamed and lunged against you, but you were already grabbing the door by its hinges and pushing it to close, as you screamed on top of your lungs from the sheer pressure that you applied to your limits. The choice was to either close it or die in EJ's hands. And frankly, you chose the latter.
'F*CK YOU!' you screamed once the door shut and you turned the key on the lock, finally offering yourself a temporary shelter.
'I WILL GET YOU JENNY! YOU CANNOT HIDE FOR LONG. DEATH WILL BE QUICK IN COMING FOR YOU!'