It Takes Time / Reaper x fem!OC

4. Try Harder

Sienna remembered the light, but not the figure that came after it, and punched the floor so hard her she felt the bruising on her knuckles appearing almost immediately.
'For Mercy's sake! Fuck him! Why is this so difficult?'
It was her third day of isolation, and it was no easier than the last.
In fact, it's quite the opposite. But... At least I have a plan now. We wait for tonight.
The only reason she had failed yesterday was she had made herself overly tired by stressing out too much.

Today was another story. Today she'd catch him. Well rested with no need for showering distractions, her plan was infallible.

And so the hours passed, slowly but surely. With nothing better to do, Sienna took to scratching curling designs into the wooden floorboards, wearing down her nails that had begun to grow too long.
More time passed, and yet no sign of the curling black mist that accompanied Reaper's arrival. Soon, Sienna had to move to another space on the floor, having carved all the panel space within her arms reach with minute patterns, twisting and turning in all directions. It almost looked a bit like a black magic talisman, weaving channels through the wood that drew the eye in almost hypnotically.
By the time Sienna had worn down her all her nails on the wood, nearly a quarter of the wide room had been covered. And there was still no sign of the shadow cloaked monster who haunted her dreams, shifting in the shadows. Sighing, Sienna picked herself off the floor and headed to the toilet, praying he wouldn't come in the short time she left the main room.

Reappearing a few seconds later, Sienna's heart sank to her feet at the sight of an aluminum plate that sneered at her from the dresser top.
'He must be able to see me' Sienna realised, distraught and furious.
'There's no way he can have such luck with timings.'
Taking deep breaths, she lifted it and sat down, calming her mind's turmoil that threatened to spill and result in a loud and embarrassing tantrum.
It was a dry dish this time in the foil.
At least I won't have to leave to wash myself up again.
Making sure not to create a mess with the food, Sienna hastily fed herself with her hands, and then leant back against the wall to wait for her captor to appear. One hand rested on the plate, and the other pressed against the floor, ready to push off and leap up at a seconds notice. A minute ticked by and the last flickers of sunlight passed away over the horizon, dimming the room to a dusky grey light.
Sienna's fingers drummed impatiently on the floorboards, and the sound reverberated mutedly around the room, being absorbed by the concrete underlayer. The food had been sweeter than yesterday, but oddly enough had the same bitter aftertaste as yesterday's meal.
Soon. Soon he'll be here, and I'll have my chance. One chance.
But as soon as the thought had travelled through her brain, a familiar muggy feeling penetrated her mind, and the room rocked.
Immediately connecting the aftertaste of the food to her sudden nausea and undeniable tiredness, she pushed away the foil plate in disgust and heaved herself to her feet, swaying.
'Stay awake, Sienna! Come on!' In a last ditch attempt to carry out the plan, she staggered towards the door on heavy feet, feeling the world fall out from beneath her with every step. The feeling in her head grew with more pressure, and keeping her eyes open finally became a losing battle. Unable to go any further, Sienna's body collapsed like a ragdoll, nearly unconscious on the floor barely a meter from the entrance. The door opened, and the same golden light flooded in, blinding Sienna instantaneously. Her hand raised in reflext, and her slack jaw managed to utter out the weak words '...S-stop' just moments before everything went dark and a familiar voice like crushed velvet grew ever nearer: 'Try harder next time, Girl.' And then, so softly that Sienna wasn't sure if she had hallucinated it, something touched her cheek and a breathy whisper floated past her ear.
'I'm looking forward to it'.

Sienna was still crumpled on the floor when she woke the next day, one arm remained plastered across her face as it had been in defence the other day.
It was impossible. Reaper knew everything she did. She would never escape, not unless he let her. And Jack, oh Jack, he'd be killed if he ever got close: in the alleyway it had been fair game, but this was Reaper's home turf. The soldier would have no chance.

Giving herself a few moments to adjust to the situation, she allowed her optimistic side to talk herself through the events of the previous day, stopping her eyes welling with tears before they overflowed.

'I've found the reason why I can't catch Reaper.' That was good, wasn't it?

'Although he seems to be able to see me all the time, he also doesn't come in the room at the same time.' She paused her monologue for a moment.
'Does that mean he's scared of confrontation?'
No, scared was definitely the wrong word.
'Maybe he finds it easier to deal with me asleep or unconscious?' Now that was an interesting point. Was it sheer laziness or maybe something deeper? Or, as unexpected as Sienna would have thought it... Maybe a form of humanity or compassion?

Before her capture, Sienna had only been able to see him as a heartless killing machine, emotionless and fulfilling the role of the mythical Grim Reaper perfectly. But what had he done to her really? Sure, he'd threatened to kill her and had definitely, definitely scared the hell out of her on more than one occasion... But he had never hurt her - not even for information on Jack. He fed her. For Mercy's sake she even had his own bedroom!
As unpleasant as the situation was for her, Sienna couldn't help but see a side of Reaper that she never thought she would. And she hated herself for it.

'Reaper! I know you're there. I know you can see me. I'm sick of this, of you; come and speak to me face to face!'
Silence was her only response; disrupted dust motes in the air returning to their drifting state.

'Are you a coward? Too scared to face a defenseless little 'Girl'?' She used the nickname he had forced on her, hoping to provoke some kind of reaction, but once again nothing happened. It was infuriating.
'Jack said you were a wimp but I couldn't believe a heartless murderer like you could be so weak. I guess he was right.' Sienna called out one final time, and she could swear the shadows in the corners of the room became deeper, but once again she was met with disappointing silence.
For the first few hours after that, Sienna watched her back, keeping an eye on the menacing shadows, but the silence continued and Reaper seemed to have completely ignored her. Bastard.

'I think I'll die of boredom before Reaper can even hold me against Jack.' Having nothing to do made her restless and uncomfortable, and she eyed her nails to see if she could carve the floorboards some more without hurting herself. The answer was no.

A sigh escaped her reddened lips, and she took a glance out of the window. It was still morning, hours away from Reaper's next visit to deliver food, and Sienna had reached a point where she no longer cared about herself. The silence was killing her, from the inside out, and there was no foreseeable way to stop it.