[TRIGGER WARNING: SLIGHT BLOOD, SLIGHT GORE(?). ACTUALLY WAIT DOES THAT CLASSIFY AS GORE? PIERCINGS. UNEXPECTED PIERCINGS. THAT'S WHAT I'M TRYING TO WARN YOU ABOUT.]

"Fine. You win."

Tim wasn't coming. Nobody was coming. Jay was physically and mentally exhausted. It was time to give up.

As he stared down at the mask in his lap he could have sworn he saw it smile. Just a little, just the corner of its painted mouth turning up ever so slightly. He turned it over in his hands, feeling his heart drop into his stomach. There was no going back after this, he knew that. But it had been nearly a year, hadn't it? It certainly felt like it. He could only endure it for so long.

The pain was worse than he had originally anticipated. Though the inside of the mask was perfectly smooth and too thin, he thought, to hide hooks of any sort, as soon as he brought it to his face he felt several stabbing pains. The first were two hooks that drove through his eyebrows, like a piercing he hadn't agreed to. The third was through the bridge of his nose, then through each nostril, and finally one sealing his lips in the center. Jay let out a soft whimper. Blood dribbled down his chin and dripped onto his shirt.

There you go...About time. It'll only hurt for a few days, then you won't feel a thing. You'll be stronger and faster and much less...squishy. Anyway, you have a job to do. Usually we'd let you heal but...well, you've delayed us quite a bit. I believe you're familiar with the target, actually...

"Damn it!"
"What?" Tim jumped, catching Alex as he stumbled backwards into him. "What is it?"
"It was a trap. It was a trap the whole time. I should have known!" He cursed under his breath and ducked behind the nearest building. Tim leaned out to see what the problem was. The door of Alex's office building was open.
"And you think Jay is in there?"
"Well, probably. That's where they bring new additions."
"Let's go then."
"Are you insane?" Alex caught Tim's wrist and he immediately yanked himself free of his grip.
"Yes, obviously. If Jay is in there, I'm going to go get him. You want to stay out here, that's fine. I'm going in."
"You're an idiot."
"Yeah, I know. You've said that."

The inside of the building was much like the outside - black and glossy and empty. The air was heavy and had an almost electrical charge to it. Alex was lingering outside the door, looking more and more agitated by the second.

"This was your office?" Tim looked back at him doubtfully. He sighed, took a moment to steel his nerves, and stepped inside.

The room immediately lit up and filled with furniture. It looked a bit like a dungeon, Tim thought. Stone walls, a shaky wooden table, an old mattress with a moth-eaten blanket sitting on a rusty cot frame. A single candle cast an eerie glow through the space.

"Something's wrong. This isn't..."
"This isn't what?" Don't you dare say this isn't your office or so help me God.
"This isn't my office. We need to go. Now."
"What the hell do you mean this isn't your office?" Tim hissed, trying to catch Alex's shoulder before he could run off. They needed to stick together at the very least.
"I think that's a pretty self-explanatory statement, Tim!"

The door was gone. Both men stared blankly at the smooth wall where their only escape should have been. In its place was a small, rusty looking vault door.

Wake up.

"Mmm?" Jay groaned. He was still half-asleep. Yesterday's beating must have been pretty brutal...his face hurt worse than ever. He tried to open his mouth and found that he couldn't. It hurt to even try. He reached up to feel his lips and met instead the cold metal of the mask. That's when the panic set in. That's when his hands flew to the familiar handle and that's when he spilled out onto the familiar cold floor and found himself staring up at two familiar faces.

Oh, good. If you'd waited just one more day it would have been too late for us.

Jay's heart sank. Tim and Alex had been coming. And had he just waited a little longer, had he just endured one more beating he would have been fine and he could have gone home and been ok.

Nonsense. You are home. You are ok. Now -

"Mm!" He scrambled to his feet and threw his arms around Tim's neck.

"It's too late. Run, run now." Alex said, tugging at Tim's arm. Tim didn't move. He was holding Jay and steaming profusely.
"Run where exactly? And it's not 'too late', Alex. Can't we just remove it or something?"
"Yeah sure, if you don't mind removing his face along with it!"
"We'll figure something out, okay? I'm not leaving him here!"
"He's done, Tim! He's gone, he put the damn thing on and he's not Jay any more. Let's go, before the rest of them show up!"
"Shut up! He's fine, he's going to be fine!"

Alex sighed impatiently. Jay - or rather, the newest member of management - had stepped back and was tugging at the edges of the mask. He made a strangled noise of pain and Tim pulled his hands away, telling him to be patient. Though...he did have to admit that this wasn't typical behavior for management. There was no way to tell how long Jay had been here. Time didn't work the same in these offices. Maybe the mask hadn't merged all the way? If so, they had about 48 hours before the damage was irreversible. Alternatively, this could all be-

Creak.

"Tim."
"What?" He was still trying to keep Jay from ripping the mask off.
"It caught up."
"You've got to be fucking kidding me."