𝐃𝐄𝐉𝐀 𝐕𝐔

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝟐𝟔

The hatchet had lodged itself tightly into the base of the tree again - almost in the exact same place. However, a knife had hit the paper - directly in the forehead of the drawing.

We both spun around to be met with the sight of an oddly dressed woman; her hair was straight and black - the fringe was straight and cut high (roughly two fingers widths long) with bangs protuding from the sides - reaching just below her jaw, and the rest of her hair seemed to flow down to the middle of her back. The dress she wore was black, and looked to be woolen - the neck of the clothing reminiscent of a turtleneck as it rolled up the majority of her neck. The body was skin tight, reaching to her knees, whereas the sleeves opened up like a blossoming flower. Her boots were thigh high, and made of black leather - heeled, obviously. However, what stood out was the burnt texture to what little parts of her skin were visible as well as the white mask she wore.

The mask covered her entire face - even her eyes, and in many ways resembled Tim's. The eyes were pitch black, decorated with a look of sharp, cat-like eye make-up. Her lips were only partially coloured in - similar to a doll - a fat, black heart shape.

"I'm sorry, when did we invite Evanescence?" I snapped, glaring to the woman that sauntered towards us.

"Very amusing." She mumbled with a slight hum, her voice slightly muffled by her mask. However, her tone was clear - it was cold. It gave an icy touch to her slightly deepened voice. Her presence was unnerving - the static nature to her 'face' held as much emotion as her voice - like it was a void.

"What are you here for?" I asked, tilting my head to the side as I let a smirk of amusement cross my lips, "Find your funny bone?"

Nina gently grasped the sleeve of my hoodie as I crossed my arms across my chest. "Toby, shut up!" They hissed, a worried - almost fearful - tone to their voice.

The woman seemed to pick up her pace - gripping the chest of my hoodie with her scarred hands. She pulled me forward - so she was looking down at me and I was looking up at her. She was taller than she originally appeared to be - maybe without the boots, she would hit five foot nine. The voids for her eyes seemed to glare at me. "No, in fact I'm here to find Jeffrey Woods." She seethed - emotion finally present in her voice. Hatred. It coated and dripped from her every word. "And, by the way it seems, the two of you know him." The woman continued, cocking her head to the side as I felt my eyes narrow at her.

"Fuck off."

"Toby!" Nina exclaimed, the woman above me unmoving. "Ma'am, what he meant to say was that he doesn't appreciate being picked up-" They rambled.

"Toby." She repeated - almost as if amused. This time, her voice held a sense of sadistic curiosity. "The tall thing doesn't like you much, does it? I've had to do my research."

"I don't give a shit what that thing thinks of me, or what you do." I snapped in retaliation, harshly beginning to push her arms away from me - to which she happily let go. She seemed to fully retract, standing up straight yet still looming over me.

"Exactly why it doesn't like you." She retaliated through a mumble.

I pulled my arms down by my side, only holding my glare. "I'm sorry, but what does the Hex Girls rejecting your application have to do with us?" I snarled.

The woman pushed passed me - as if purposefully knocking my shoulder. "If you were to take things seriously, maybe I would allow you to know more about my business." She retaliated, walking over to the drawing of Jeff - gripping her knife and purposefully dragging the blade through the paper before turning back to look at us.

I gave her the middle finger as Nina took a step forward. "Well, are you a new proxy?" They asked, offering the stranger a small smile - moving their hands as they spoke.

The woman scoffed. "Oh, no, no, but I bet it wishes I were." She answered, "However, I think-"

"So you're a free kill." I stated, maintaining my glare as I reached behind me to take the orange handled hatchet from it's holster.

The woman raised a finger at me, as if telling me to pause, to which I surprisingly did. "If we go on technicalities, yes. However, I do believe that I may interest you in something." She proposed.

I raised an eyebrow. "Go on."

"By what you two were doing, it looks like you despise Jeff. Maybe not as much as I do, but you seem to have a sense of rationality." The woman hummed, crossing her arms over her chest, still holding the knife - though it was pointed away from us, now. "I want to kill Jeff. And I know the two of you can't, so, by allowing me to pass through these woods will allow your irritation to leave."

I scoffed, "And why should we trust you?" I muttered, slowly taking my hatchet and lowering it to my side.

"Because I've been hunting him for seven years. He destroyed my life when I was fourteen, and I've been after his fucked up head ever since." She growled, though the anger didn't seem to be aimed towards us.

Nina seemed to hesitantly take a step forward. They put their hands in their pockets, giving the woman a small shrug. "No offence, lady, but if you've been after him for so long, why haven't you caught him?" They asked, their tone soft - just like their expression.

This seemed to make the woman uncomfortable - she shifted in her position, her head turning to look to the side. "He is a hard person to track down when your master has so many people slaving under it." She muttered.

"We don't even know your name - how are we meant to trust you without that?" I pushed, tilting my head to the side. "You said you researched this shithole."

The woman only sighed, looking back to us. "Jane Richardson."