Jeff the Killer X blind reader

Chapter 20

      My first kill was going to be a counselor in a local school. Apparently, he had begun investigating the recent cases of child disappearances and needed to be eliminated. It was supposedly an easy first mission, so I gladly took it.
      I will not lie to myself; I was a little worried about killing. I always worried about it when the darkness wasn't consuming my mind, sometimes I even felt guilty. Without the power, I sometimes felt humane. I had a residual feeling of respect for life.
      But I had killed so many... so many deserving lives while in that terrible white room. That voice, that hideously blank voice, telling me to 'eliminate the threat' or 'kill the creature.' The beings I killed – like that little alligator girl – deserved life so much more than the humans I had met while on my own. I had little problem killing then, so I don't think I will have a problem with this mission.
      "You ready?" A surprisingly calm voice asked from behind me. I turned around like I could see.
      "Yep." I responded, thrilled and nervous as the same time to finally leave the house and establish myself as someone who belonged here.
      "Let's go." Jeff muttered eagerly before heading off into the healing forest.
I kept pace with him, walking through the burnt trees for a long time. We eventually left the blackened zone and entered a more lush area. Then we finally exited the tree line for a lightly paved neighborhood. I could tell by the difference in smells and texture of the ground beneath my shoes, along with the significant increase in minds I could sense. The ground felt like concrete, cold and steady. The air was tainted with a strong smell of burned oil, cut wood, and people. It was thick in the air, reminding me of the few years I spent on my own after breaking from the facility. Oh how I missed those free years. But then I remembered who was traveling next to me. Maybe I didn't miss those years so much.
      Jeff and I kept to the darker parts of streets apparently, though I couldn't really tell. His mind was whirling with ideas of stealth, stalking, and attack. It was a hectic mess of planning and judgment. He slowed a bit during our walk among the houses to whisper to me.
      "Slender said the guy lives at the end of 'Iron Oak Drive.' Help me look for the street. You take the left ones." He mumbled, air moving as he likely gestured to the left, across the street. I gulped, feeling pressure.
      How was I supposed to read the street signs? It's not like I could see and I couldn't use vibrations or minds to read words... Dang it. I could just hope that the street name is on the right where Jeff was reading... but what if it's not?
      This was such a simple problem. It aggravated me to no end. How could something this small wreck my first mission? I couldn't freaking read.
      "Jeff-" I whispered while reaching out to tug him back into a (hopefully dark) corner.
      "What?" He asked, not happy with being distracted from the hunt. I hesitated, running through my options. I didn't really have any other choice though. Maybe I could tell him the truth, but not all of it?
      "I... um, I can't read." I stated. It was true, I literally couldn't read – not even braille. I was able to read as a kid, but that was before the inflicted blindness so it didn't count now.
      "What do you mean you can't read?" He asked in a harsh whisper, attention pulled fully on me.
      "Well, I just can't. I can't see the letters." I told him quietly and honestly, fearing his judgment of my illiteracy.
      "You mean... you can't see those letters over there? Like they're blurry or something? You can't see them?" He asked, air moving again as he lifted his arm to make a gesture I couldn't perceive.
      "Not enough to read them." I replied simply. "I'm sorry..." I mumbled, feeling his mind contemplate this information.
      "So, you can't read at all." He stated, mind surprisingly calm.
      "No." I whispered back, feeling that inadequacy come back. But I noticed something in Jeff's mind. A wave of understanding went through him, not pity or harsh judgment.
      "You've had a tough past, haven't you?" He said more than asked, not really expecting a response. "Could I teach you?" He asked quietly, gently almost.
      I shifted my weight, surprised by his offer. No one had offered help like this. He wanted to teach me to read? That was... I don't have the words. Instead of feeling vulnerable and stupid, he made me feel...
      "I don't think so." I replied quietly. "But thank you for offering." I added quickly.
      "No problem." Jeff muttered, thinking. He was considering saying more, but stopped himself. "I'll find the street and when we get there, then you can-" He paused.
      "Wait. No. You need to be able to complete missions on your own." He informed me with a smile entering the tone of his voice. "Can you find your target?" He asked.
      I smiled. The Jeff I knew was back, gentleness gone. Down to business, I considered this task. It was true; I'd have to find victims on my own. I expanded my sensitivity to presences, searching for my victim.
      I knew my target was an older male, a counselor, and suspicious of the recent deaths of children near the woods. I sifted through the many unconscious minds, wrapped in sleep. None of their presences struck me as unique, so I again expanded my perception. I hummed in thought, focusing on a particularly interesting presence. There was a fog of fear, confusion, and worry surrounding certain mind off to my left. It was currently under the blanketing dimness of sleep, but the nightmare the human was having revealed more than consciousness would have.
      They were distressed and worrying. There was also the faintest flicker of thoughts I could pick up on. Slenderman had explained how to 'look deeper' and see past the raw emotion to detect actual thought. I hadn't done very well with it though, but I could tell enough in this case.
      The subject I was focusing on was a... male. I could tell that much... and his mind was worried because of something to do with a little kid. No, he was worried about multiple children and... woods.
      "Found him." I mumbled before striding across the street. Jitters of excitement ran through my body, thrilled that I was independent. I wasn't relying on Jeff's eyes and it felt wonderful.
      I heard a quiet chuckle behind me, and then soft footfalls as Jeff kept pace behind me. I grinned and leaned forward, focused on my target. I would succeed at this. There was little problem now that I had found the victim.
      Once at his house, I took a moment to analyze the structure through vibrations and my rudimentary sense of mass. I quickly found the door, wiggling the handle to tell it was indeed locked. I looked back at Jeff, who had hung back when we got closer.
      "Stay out here, okay?" I asked. I knew only the one man was inside the building. There was little that could go wrong, but I didn't want to hurt Jeff if I lost control of the darkness in the moment. I wanted to make sure he was a safe distance from my shadows.
      "I'll be watching." He said simply, taking cover in a tree judging by the faint rustling I heard. I nodded once before turning my attention back to the house.
      I idly thought about how I should attack. I could probably kill the target without even entering the house, but where's the fun in that? Now that I was here, I wanted some action. I could literally feel the waves of heat roll around in my gut, like the power had a life of its own. I shivered in anticipation.
      My focus turned to the lower windows, thinking. I could blow them all out with my power, but that would be loud and wake a lot of people up. Instead, I focused on the locking mechanism on the inside, giving a burst of energy to the shadows inside the lock. The darkness swelled with power and cracked the lock, rendering the window able to be opened.
      After slipping inside, I made my way to the bedroom where my target's presence was strongest. I allowed the shadows around me to rise and wrap around my frame. They tightened and spun lazily in circles. It felt wonderful. I finally felt in control, in a position of power. I shivered again as the shadows rushed gently past my clothing. I silently opened the man's door and inspected his mind.
      It felt so insignificant. Like every human I had met, his mind was the equivalent of a gnat, a bug. Like little ants, they all ran around worrying over similar things. They were all so near-sighted, so dim-witted. They had no meaning, not really.
      A grin spread across my face as I felt heat rise in my body. I approached his figure. He must be a light sleeper because he suddenly shot up in fright. Who would blame him though? He has been thinking about the dropping numbers at his schools and where all those kids have gone.
      "W-What?" He stuttered out, taking in the dark sight before him. "The hell!" He exclaimed before jumping out of bed and reaching for a lamp. I let him turn on the light.
His gasp and subsequent fear was worth it. He froze, seeing a figure wrapped in endless shadow in his room. I must have looked like the grim reaper. He didn't even scream he was so scared.
      I focused on the light bulb, satisfied when I heard it short out and shatter into a million pieces as shadows constricted around its fragile exterior. The room was now in complete darkness – so complete. The man was scrambling in the dark, trying to get out. Like a fly trying to get out of a jar, he was so lost and disoriented.
      I used a large portion of my energy to create hundreds of dark spears around his frame, before plunging them into the target. If he was going to scream, it was cut short. There was no annoying sound, no pleading – no pity. His presence was suddenly wiped from my perception, blown out like a candle. I let the darkness dissipate, hearing the soft thud of his body on the floor. I pulled the shadows to me and breathed deeply, letting them go as I breathed out.
      They shrunk to their rightful places and settled down. Confident my job was done, I went back out the window I entered through and trotted away from the house. The soft thud of feet on the grass alerted me Jeff was near. A hand connected with my back and a muffled chuckle resounded from my left.
      "Absolutely ruthless." He muttered. I smiled in response but remained silent.

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Lil-magpie
Deviant Art