To Live without Fear [Jeff the KillerxReader]

24

You could hear the wail of police cars arriving at the scene. Guards were already roaming the grounds, searching for you and shouting unintelligible things over their radios.

You'd done what BEN had told you to do. You found a good hiding place under a hedge bordering the woods, and several guards had already passed right by you.

Gah, how were you and Jeff supposed to find eachother at this rate? If you stepped out of your hiding spot, you'd be caught for sure. There was nothing to it but to wait and hope that Jeff was the first one to find you.

The sound of boots crunching against the lawn was all you could hear for a long while. People were running around everywhere. It was only a matter of time before they found you, those were just the facts. The odds of Jeff finding you were slim. Too slim. So when you felt the bush rustle, you knew to ball your fists, and when you felt something touch your arm you already had the punch drawn back. So how were you supposed to stop it in time to not break Jeff's nose?

"Shit." You said, pulling your hand back quickly and them cupping it over your mouth to to silence yourself. Not that there was much point, because they had to have heard that.

"...Great to see you too." Jeff said, pinching his nose to stop the trickle of blood.

"What the hell did you expect?? Sneaking up on me like that." You replied in a hushed, slightly agitated voice. Okay, you did feel a little bad. You'd apologize properly later, among other things.

Before Jeff could make some snarky remark in return, a shout behind you indicated that you'd been spotted. "Move!" The killer exclaimed and grabbed your wrist. The two of you sprung into action and ran as fast as you could into the woods. Your bare feet kept snagging and scraping on the forest floor, but you hardly felt it through the adrenaline. Jeff must have been the same way, because his bleeding feet didn't slow him down at all.

When the two of you thought you had lost your pursuers, you ducked behind a large tree to catch your breath. Jeff wiped away the mix of dried and fresh blood from underneath his nose. Jesus, how far had you run? You took a peek around the tree, and you could barely see the Mental Hospital's lights anymore. The shouting of guards and police were present, but at a distance. Nevertheless, you would need to get moving again soon if you were going to lose them for good.

While you were pondering how to proceed from here, you heard the click of a gun being cocked, and felt Jeff's grip on your wrist tighten.

"Let the girl go." Officer Dewey warned. He had his gun aimed steadfastly at Jeff, and was looking more like a real Police Officer than you'd ever seen him be before. Jeff said nothing, instead glaring intently at the officer. You could see the wheels turning in his head as he tried to concoct a plan, but all three of you knew that if he moved, he was a dead man. All the same, he didn't let go of you.

"Never." The Killer finally spat. Never. He was never letting you go again. You knew he'd do anything to protect you. He'd already given you all that he had.

"Then you leave me no choice." Officer Dewey said lowly, and moved his finger to the trigger. You saw Jeff brace, and your body moved on its own. The next thing you knew, you were standing in front of Jeff, shielding him with your body. You had your back to Dewey, with your arms braced against Jeff's chest. Perhaps Officer Dewey had hesitated, or perceived your action just in time, because there was no shot fired. There was only silence and sharp tension, as the world stopped and waited to see what would happen next.

"Idiot.." Jeff mumbled under his breath, but his face betrayed that he was completely stunned.

"Whether you trust my judgement or not," You said, looking over your shoulder to meet Dewey's gaze, "I'm in love with this jackass, and if you want to shoot him, you're going to have to go through me. Got it?"

Officer Dewey looked hesitant. He lowered the gun a tad bit, indecisively.

"Got it?!" You reiterated, raising your voice a little. The cop must have finally been convinced of your will, because he dropped the gun and held up his hands in surrender.

"What am I supposed to tell your parents...?" He asked quietly. Anything fearsome in him was now gone, replaced by exhaustion and melancholy.

"Tell them..." You began, taking Jeff's hand and starting to walk towards Dewey, "...to go fuck themselves. I'm free."

You made sure to keep your body positioned firmly between Jeff and Dewey until the sullen cop was well out of sight. Only then did you allow yourself to relax. You felt...kinda sad now. Officer Dewey had been like a weird second father to you for the longest time. You didn't want to do that to him, but he was trying to hold you back, and you refused to be chained down anymore. Just like you'd told him, you were free.

You and Jeff ran a little ways further, until you felt like your legs were about to give in from exhaustion.

"They can't be that far behind." You said between gasps of air, "What are we going to do?"

"I've got a plan." Jeff replied. He lifted his shirt a little and produced a shard of glass he had hidden in the belt of his pants. You were about to ask what the hell kind of emergency weapon that was supposed to be, when he suddenly turned around and plunged it into a tree. He started to carve something into it; a rough circle with an X slashed through it.

"This isn't the time for grafitti, Jeff." You pointed out, irritated by his senseless actions.

"This isn't grafitti." Jeff explained, beginning to carve the same symbol into the tree right next to the first, "It's our escape."

"Escape..? What the hell do you-"

"No time to explain. Quick!" Jeff grabbed your hand again and ran between the two trees he'd marked, pulling you along with him.