Rose Petals - Eyeless Jack x Reader

Chapter 11

[11— Stranger]

|| Your POV ||

The last two nights had been nothing but nightmares, so it was no surprise how long it had taken you to fall asleep.

Since Jack had left your life, the strange occurrences had ceased. A sense of peace had come over you when you were certain he had truly left you alone, but it was soon overtaken by the feeling of something missing. No matter how much you had tried to ignore it, the sensation that you had lost something important would not leave you. You knew it was for the best, but you wished you had done things differently.

Your friends had noticed it, though Melina was the first to catch on. It didn't surprise you, as you had difficulty hiding frustration. You could barely muster a word about it at first, clueless on how to lie to them about what was bothering you, but luckily they didn't push, reassuring you that you did not have to speak about it if you didn't want to. Nadia, worrying it had something to do with your trouble at home, reminded you that you could always stay with her and Klein if you ever needed to, and Nico said that if somebody was bothering you at work, then he would be glad to handle them himself. You thanked them both.

In your nightmare, the faceless creature was there. The proxy was once again chasing you in the graveyard, but Jack was nowhere to be seen, and so you were pinned to the ground. It ripped into you without hesitation; without anything to stop it. The tall being stood far off. You looked away, but there it was again. Closer. The pain of the proxy ripping out your insides was apparent, but it did not faze you. You vision blurred, and now the faceless thing stood directly over the both of you. You tried to speak, but you held no power there. A flash of dark blue. For a moment, you were certain Jack had come after all, but the dark brown tufts of hair sprouting from the proxy's head and suddenly familiar face devoured all hope you had. You opened your mouth again to speak his name, but—

Instinctual terror shot you wide awake as a pair of firm hands ripped you off the bed. Your heart skipped a beat as you immediately realised you were being attacked, and you writhed against both the attacker's grip and your bedsheets. You went to scream, but as soon as you had opened your mouth, one of their hands had clasped over it.

Through the darkness, you managed glimpses of dark hair and a blood-stained white hoodie that you immediately recognised as the ones you had seen on the news all those days ago. The man had been seen fleeing a house where someone had been brutally murdered, but he had never been caught by the authorities or identified. Now, he was here, in your room, and you were certain you were about to be the newest headline.

"Quit squirming!"

You did not, though the consequences were physical as you slipped off the bed and landed face-first onto the floor. You hissed out in pain as the man stayed over you, pinning you to the floor. Again you tried to scream out for help, but before you could, a sharp shot pain through your head and everything went black.

A groan escaped you as you stirred, and the first thing that you were able to process was the sound of crunching leaves. The throbbing in your head came next, and then the fact that your arms were dangling underneath you. You lifted one of them to rub your face, then understanding that you were no longer in your room, and you were outside with the cold air and the distant crickets. The night still felt young, and you were not alone. The footsteps belonged to the one carrying you, and through your haze, you realised it was the man who had knocked you out in your room.

Oh, no... You once again began to squirm, your heartrate once again picking up. You did not know how you were still alive, or why, but whatever a killer wanted from you or with you that was not your life, you could only imagine was a worse fate than death. You did not know where you were, but everywhere you looked was pitch blackness, and no sign of civilisation.