The wane light of the moon was the only light source within the dark confines of Jaden's bedroom, which would have been annoying if it wasn't for the fact that she was already awake. It was currently three o' clock in the morning, and she had been struggling to sleep for the last few hours, tossing and turning in her bed and had finally had enough of trying, the notion finally clear that sleep wasn't on the cards for tonight.
So, practically rolling out of bed, Jaden got herself dressed and headed out the door. There wasn't much else for her to do inside the house, so might as well take a nice late-night stroll to help clear her mind of any racing thoughts of the family she left behind.
Squinting her eyes through the black of night, Jaden reached into her jeans pocket and grabbed her phone, using it as a torch as she walked through the darkness of the meadow, the sound of the long grass swishing behind her loud within the silence of the green pasture. It was at quiet times like this that Jaden could really take in and appreciate the natural beauty of the outside without so many people around. The air felt clearer, the sounds of nearby birdsong was evident, and the time alone made it easier for you to focus on your thoughts. This, Jaden decided, was nothing short of the ideal location where she could unwind herself before going back home and crawl into her very inviting bed.
Which would have been what would have happened if she hadn't heard a noise at the far end of the meadow. She stopped herself in her tracks, turning in the direction of the sound and decided to investigate, curious as to who could be up late at this hour in the morning, as everybody else should be in bed at this time.
Jaden found herself reaching the well in the middle of the plaza, where she spotted the ghastly silhouette of a person standing just beside the hole. It didn't take a genius to recognise the silhouette as Goofy, his tall posture, floppy ears and long snout a clear giveaway.
Jaden was just about to approach him and greet a friendly hello when her vision strayed down to a large, brown sack by Goofy's foot. Not liking the implications of what this might be, Jaden quickly trotted towards a bush to hide behind as she watched what Goofy's next actions would be.
Her heart froze and fell into her stomach as she took in exactly what she was witnessing right before her very eyes. She observed Goofy reaching into the sack and pulling out a couple of things at a time, before hastily throwing them into the cursed pit, going on to repeat the action and start again. At first Jaden couldn't make out what he was chucking away, and as much as she didn't want to take a step closer, she did so anyway, shining the phone light towards Goofy's figure just enough to make out the distant shape of a severed human elbow. Her mind almost didn't want her to register what was happening, trying to rationalise that it must be something else, had to be something else, but there was no mistaking it.
Goofy was throwing body parts into the well.
Now the bloody splotches on the back of his hand from just this morning was all starting to make sense.
As much as Jaden wanted to vomit right there and then, the universe had other plans for her at that particular moment.
Seeing the light coming from Jaden's phone, Goofy's head turned in her direction, now instantly alert that somebody had seen him. Within seconds Goofy had moved from the well and was approaching Jaden, bloody knife in hand, at such a quick pace that Jaden wasn't able to get away in time.
Having only just ran a few paces, Goofy had managed to catch up to her in one stride. Jaden grunted in alarm as Goofy tried wrapping his startlingly strong arms around her waist, attempting to pin her against his body so he could press his free hand against her mouth.
Knowing she needed to get the upper hand against him if it meant for her survival, Jaden momentarily slackened her struggles, pretending to lose her strength in order to fool him. She would bide her time, wait for just the right moment for Goofy to loosen his grip on her ever-so-slightly once he realised that she had stopped fighting. That was Jaden's cue to make her move. The mage elbowed Goofy as hard as she could in his stomach, causing Goofy to let go of Jaden, losing wind momentarily as he held his stomach in pain.
The notion didn't last long however, as Goofy regained his composure he was able to knock Jaden's phone from her hand. For good measure, he even kicked it away from the mage before she could even think about calling from it for help. In a detonated fit of rage, Goofy then tried to crush Jaden's phone with his foot, but wasn't finding any luck when the phone didn't even show the hint of a small crack on its otherwise fragile casing. This only made Goofy angrier, causing him to stamp his foot harder like a child on a temper tantrum. When he lifted his foot to still find the phone in perfect condition, he finally gave Jaden a pointed look.
It took Jaden a little while to realise from her panicked state that Goofy had made no rapid move to grab her again, only this time he was looking at her with mixed annoyance and anger. Daring to meet his heated gaze for more than a few seconds, Jaden took a deep breath and using the last few bits of strength she had left, summoned the pickaxe. Eyeing the phone on the ground and then nodding back to him, she tossed him the pickaxe. She knew it wouldn't do a damn thing to the phone, but she wasn't about to tell him that. If anything, it would help him vent his last few frustrations on being able to smash something into the ground.
Watching him try with all his might to destroy her phone would have been entertaining if it wasn't for the belief that once he was finished she would be the next victim to that bloody knife he still held in his hand. Even with this knowledge at the forefront of her mind, Jaden still couldn't find it in herself to run in the other direction. What would running achieve for her? She knew his deepest, darkest secrets now, no amount of running would change the fact that eventually, he would catch and then kill her. Why delay the inevitable?
When it looked as if the abuse on her phone wasn't going to let up anytime soon, Jaden pulled out a cigarette and a lighter, igniting the end of the cigarette with shaking hands. If she was going to be murdered by a seemingly harmless Disney character, then she wanted to die with at least some dignity.
In the unnerved state that she was in, Jaden subconsciously started smoking the cigarette a lot faster than she intended, the unexpected burn at the tip of her fingers causing her to jump in slight pain as she realised the only thing left was the burnt end.
Stomping out the last traces of smoke onto the ground, Jaden looked up over to Goofy, who was still trying to smash her phone. Not wanting to snap him out of his trance, she glanced over at the well and frowned slightly, walking closer to the cursed pit. As she got closer, the smell of rotten flesh assaulted her nostrils that it made her gag violently, her eyes watering in the process. She quickly turned her head around to make sure Goofy was still busy with her phone and that her sudden coughing hadn't distracted him, sighing with relief when she saw he was still preoccupied. Averting her gaze back to the well, she noticed that it was mostly boarded up, but there was still a big enough gap for small body parts to squeeze down the well.
Her gaze travelled to the large brown sack that Goofy was pulling out of earlier, just barely out of sight, so, slowly walking around the well with Goofy still in her sights and making sure that her back wasn't turned on him, she maneuvered successfully around the well and reached the sack.
With Goofy still diverted with destroying her phone, Jaden took the time to search through the bag, trying her best not to gag and vomit at the sight of all these different body parts. She found a foot, a hand, a few fingers and what appeared to be a severed torso. Just when she fought she had seen the worst of it, she stopped short when she came across the amputated head of a man, his glassy, milky eyes staring back at her with that haunted, terrified expression that told Jaden that he had died a painful death.
She didn't want to look at what was left of the bloody corpse for any longer than she needed to, but remarked to herself of not being able to tear her gaze away. The victim's face was slashed to pieces beyond recognition that it was impossible for Jaden to make out an identity that she was somewhat thankful for. Evaluating from how much the skin had already decomposed and the smell emanating from it, she guessed that this victim must have been killed before she arrived to the valley, meaning she couldn't have possibly known him. Casting one final look at the unfortunate man, judging by the look in his dead stare, Jaden could tell that Goofy had drugged the poor man before killing him.
"Drugging your victims before killing them, huh? Impressive." The words were already out of Jaden's mouth before she could stop herself. Her voice had finally caught Goofy's attention, who dropped the pickaxe onto the ground. "Oh, and you might want to give up trying to break my phone, it's protected with magic." She told him, hoping against hope that she would be able to talk herself out of this situation.
Goofy walked up to Jaden slowly, casting her a possessed smile that should have been unnerving to anyone else if it wasn't Jaden. "How did you know?" He question her.
Jaden shrugged, a small part of her brain telling her that she had just chucked the man's head down into the small hole of the well. She was supposed to be saving herself, not helping the serial killer standing right before her. "I've seen this plenty of times before. How do you do it, lure the victims I mean?" She asked, generally curious as to how he does it.
Goofy appeared to be unphased by this question, blinking a few times as he considered his answer. "It's all so easy, you humans are so gullible. Get on their good side, promise 'em with a high, and lure 'em to my isolated shack. It's perfect how everything is put into place."
"So, he isn't your first victim then? There's been more?" Jaden interrogated, not at all stunned, judging from the way the man was killed, this wasn't some ammeter at work, this was a practised and mastered art.
"What gave you that idea now?" Goofy laughed, the manic look in his eyes making him look the crazy, scary killer that he was now exposed as. "Oh no, Jaden. This poor fella over here was just the latest in my little experiment. But no worries, nobody will miss him. He'll just be another unfortune lost soul who will end up on a missing person's poster only to be forgotten about in a few weeks. The commotion for these types of things never last long, believe me. Why do you think I've gotten away with it for so long? Nobody cares about a person who meant nothing to them, everyone in this village has got bigger problems to worry about," Goofy chuckled madly before adding; "like that mouse for example."
Jaden couldn't quite believe what she was hearing, she was in a dream alright, she had to constantly remind herself. The shock of Goofy's words hadn't really sunk in until he mentioned Mickey. And then it hit her. "Wait, you killed Minnie? Is that what you're saying? She didn't disappear did she?" She enquired, the questions tumbling out of her mouth all at once before she could stop herself.
Goofy chuckled darkly, his growing hysteria mounting by the second. "She's dead and buried alright, if that dumb mouse would just look closer to home then he'd find a nice little surprise underneath his patio." This said with such unnerving accomplishment that Goofy didn't miss Jaden swallowing down the fear she oh-so desperately struggled to conceal.
It took Jaden approximately ten seconds to get her voice back, unable to answer Goofy's comment about Minnie's gruesome demise. "Why are you doing this Goofy? There's got to be an underlying reason for all this. Has somebody pissed you off, is that it?" Jaden recognised to herself that she wanted to cling onto any of those possibilities for all this to make any sort of sense for her. If he had indeed killed Minnie, then how many others that were supposed missing had he killed and had disposed of? Jaden discovered that she didn't really want to know the answer to that, not if it meant she was about to be another body to add to that growing pile.
Goofy took his time in answering carefully, his gaze betraying conflicting emotions on whether or not he should tell Jaden the truth. Instead, his first response was a simple shrug of his shoulders. "Isn't that obvious? It's the rush of power it gives me. Seeing the light fade from your victims eyes as they take their last breath, that you are the reason they are taking their final breath, is the most pleasurable feeling you'll ever experience Jaden. There's nothing else in this world that even comes close to it." Goofy sighed with pure ecstasy, as if he was picturing Jaden in that very scenario right this moment.
Okay, he's completely lost it. Jaden thought with unease, still trying to wrap her head around how the hell she was going to make it out of this one alive. The only thing she could do was stall for time in the hopes of either working up the courage to fight, or to strike some sort of deal, the latter looking more likely as she weighed her options. It wouldn't be wise to bring only her fists to a knife fight.
"Just a quick question," she found herself speaking before she thought about the actual question herself, "you're dumping body parts into this well, right? So, what will happen once I, you know, lift the curse of this well?" She couldn't help but ask, generally intrigued on how he would have adapted to this if she had lifted the curse a lot sooner, and possibly for his plans going forward.
"What makes you think you'll be alive to do that?" Goofy replied immediately. "After tonight you've seen too much Jaden, and if you honestly think you're walking away from this with the knowledge you now have then your sorely mistaken. No, I'm sorry Jaden but this will be your last night."
He laughed when she took a few steps back, to which Goofy gradually closed the distance between them, knife raised in one hand. "You know too much Jaden, you'll have to end up like our little friend over there." He inclined his head towards the bag with the last remaining body parts inside, which was already being assaulted by flies.
Despite the threat ordered to her, Jaden didn't feel afraid of the talking dogman standing right before her with the knife in his hand. She had faced more challenging trials in her lifetime, that was for sure. After all, what was happening wasn't even real. He didn't scare her and that was that. "Goofy, come on, can't we just talk about this first?" Jaden offered him the somewhat peaceful chance, not wanting to resort to violence, but preparing herself if she had to.
Goofy curved his manic smile, his two buck teeth on full display, his pupils shining with the crave for a bloodbath. "What's the matter Jaden, scared now are we? Don't worry, I'll make it as painless as I can. Although," he paused for dramatic effect, enjoying the tension this was creating, "I don't think I can quite forgive you for that prank you pulled on me earlier today." He laughed when he saw the recognition of understanding in Jaden's widened stare. "What? I'm not that stupid to know exactly what you did Jaden. But, I've got to hand it to you, you got me good. Putting a potion in my food to make me seriously sick wasn't something I was quite expecting from you, but never again."
He took a threatening step forward as he stared Jaden deep in her emerald eyes. "You would have had a chance if you hadn't had pulled that stunt today. What makes you think I'm going to let you live now?" The question was loaded, and depending on Jaden's answer, would determine her fate on her life.
Jaden's heart froze once she realised exactly what the consequences of her actions had caused this time. Of course she had to go and prank the one person just before she found out he was a dangerous, unhinged serial killer. Of all the pranks she had pulled on people in the past, from putting itching powder in clothes, to scaring the pants off of people with her magic, she never thought that this one, (which was quite tame when compared to the others) would be her downfall. She had to choose her next words carefully, otherwise she knew that she would be speaking her last.
"Because, as much as I love the idea of being killed, you really don't have much of a choice in letting me live. You know, with the whole saving the valley kind of thing."
Goofy narrowed his eyes, his interest spiking as he considered where Jaden was about to take this. "Go on." He instructed her, indicating with his free hand for her to go on.
"Well, here's an idea: how about I help you? We could strike up a deal here. I'm an excellent cook, so if you need help with mixing in the drugs with the food, then I can do that, and my magic could be very useful to you. I'm sure I can craft some potions, or if you need a particular spell cast on your next victim that'll be easy enough for me to do."
Jaden waited in suspenseful silence for Goofy's reply, who had now turned around to ponder about the proposition at hand. Jaden knew full well that if she hadn't managed to convince him with these plans and promises that nothing would. For all she knew, this could very well be her final few moments in this fucked up world and that was something Jaden didn't really know how to feel about.
At least it would make for a crazy story to tell her kids she supposed.
Just when she thought that Goofy had made his decision, who had now turned back around to face her, pickaxe raised high in the air above Goofy's head, Jaden braced herself for the coming blow that she was fully expecting to crack her entire skull in half. Despite the high risks at hand, she didn't flinch nor blink, just waited with bated breath for the familiar sense of darkness to consume her for the very last time.
But, much to her unexpected surprise, that didn't happen. Her eyes widened in awe as Goofy slammed the pickaxe into the coarse ground by Jaden's boot, hand outstretched for her to take as he walked up to her with a serious glare. "You have a deal, Jaden. It will be a pleasure doing business with you."
Holy shit, that actually worked!? Jaden nearly exclaimed, but succeeded in keep her disbelief to herself, accepting his hand with a firm grasp as the pair made their first pact as business partners. As her hold on his hand loosened Jaden was able to stare at him with fresh eyes, the eyes that now held so much knowledge that one simple Chinese whisper could send this whole valley crashing down under the weight of such an outrageous claim if this secret ever got out.
There was no backing out now. Jaden was in this for the duration, she knew that as clearly as she knew her own name. How was she ever going to live this one down?
Goofy returned his hand back to his side, his gaze travelling over to the well with the leftover body parts still in the sack. He heaved a deep breath before turning to Jaden, "Now that we're partners, your first job can be to help me dump the rest of these body parts into the well," he put in as he inclined his head towards their target before staring back at Jaden with a serious expression, "you're in this deep now Jaden, it would do you well to remember that." He uttered deliberately, the threat now hanging in the air between them.
Jaden didn't say anything, just nodded her head in understanding as she walked past him to the bag, setting out to do her part of the deal. She couldn't help the small grimace emanating from her mouth and the shuddering of her body when her hands lightly grazed over what she thought to be a cold hand, all fingers still intact. She gave Goofy a warning glare when he caught on her obvious discomfort, almost as if she was silently communicating with him that she was still up to the task.
It took the two of them roughly about twenty minutes to dispose the rest of the evidence, neither one of them offering any sort of conversation to lighten the mood in an otherwise bleak and horrific act. Jaden had made an effort to position herself beside Goofy, so she was facing towards him in superstition that he'd try something whilst her back was turned. More than once she had stopped to hastily look over her shoulder to make sure that nobody was looking, but when she glanced over at Goofy, who was making a show of shoving the remains down the well told her all she needed to know exactly the type of attitude that Goofy was displaying; this was the show of a man who was entirely unbothered by any passers-by. This was a man who had gotten away with this type of behaviour for years, and if anybody was to bear witness to this travesty then they'd swiftly be dealt with.
And that was the part that worried Jaden the most, at how easy it was for him. She had almost experienced that first-hand tonight.
She didn't like it. She didn't like it one bit.
Once they heard the faint splashing sound of body part hitting water, Goofy slung the bag over his shoulder, turning to Jaden in a moment of interest. "So, what were you doing out and about this late?" He asked her blankly, wanting to know what had caused him to nearly twist his knife into her beating heart.
Jaden shrugged, momentarily forgetting for a split second why she had indeed left her house in the dead of night. "I was having trouble sleeping. I figured I'd take a walk to clear my head. Never thought I'd run into this…" She trailed off, shifting her focus towards the well before looking back at him. Now that everything had begun to sunk in, Jaden was feeling a huge sense of dread loom over her. She had to get out of here, she needed to take some time alone to think this all over and reel in the possible consequences of her actions. "Anyway, I'm going back home to try and get some sleep. Not that that'll happen." She laughed nervously, clinging onto the flimsy excuse like a lifeline, not that it seemed to bother Goofy, who looked as if he just wanted a justification to leave himself.
With their mission complete and with nothing else to do, the unlikely duo gave each other a final nod before turning away from each other and heading in the opposite direction towards their own houses. However, Jaden stopped in her tracks shortly as she heard her name being called by Goofy. She spun around, catching Goofy looking over his shoulder at her. "I'll contact you when I'll need your assistance again. Be ready." He spoke lowly, continuing his trek to the meadow where his house was.
Knowing it was futile to argue that she might be busy saving the valley from possible danger, Jaden started her short journey back to her own house, opening the door roughly with her shoulder and slamming it behind her when she got back inside. She immediately went to undress herself of her bloody clothes and crawled back into bed, exhaustion weighing her down, but not the physical kind that would assist her to a peaceful sleep, but the mental kind that would keep her awake for the remainder of the night.
No matter how hard she tried, Jaden just couldn't shake the feeling off that she had just agreed to partake in something so terrible, so forbidden that there was no redeeming herself. No matter what kind of deal she had agreed to, she still didn't trust the nutter completely. She realised she had to keep her guard up around him, both within presence of him and when out on her own. She didn't want any nasty surprises whilst she was asleep after all.
Was she really going to help him kill people? It wasn't like she had much of a choice in the matter, she understood he would have killed her if she didn't offer to help, so it wasn't like she was doing it because she wanted to. Right?
That was the one question that kept her awake all night, it didn't matter how many times she repeated it to herself that she was doing it for the right reasons.
At least it would make her life here a little less… boring.
