Night Monster (Eyeless Jack x Ticci Toby)

Family Reunion

Jack and I were in town doing laundry, he was listening to the radio in the room while I was reading a sports magazine, it was better than nothing, I felt Jack's hand gently rub against mine so I took it, I couldn't help but smile slightly, I heard someone scoff nearby and I quickly looked over, I was disappointed to see that lady again, she began grumbling something under her breath.
"Ignore her." Jack said quietly.
I did just that, looking back at the magazine, Jack stood by me for a couple more minutes before he let my hand go and went to retrieve our clothes, I just sat there and watched him, he pulled all of them out of the dryer and stuffed them into a large black garbage bag, he tied it shut and slung it over his shoulder, he then started making his way back over to me, I got up and quickly joined his side, I linked my arm with his, he had a tight grip on his cane but wasn't using it, I began leading him to the door, but before we could reach it the lady stepped in front of us, I pulled Jack to a stop and he quickly planted the cane on the ground.
"P-Please move." I said politely.
She scoffed at us, folding her arms.
"I want you to know what I think!" She basically hissed.
"Alright, fine." Jack said, lifting his cane again, "You can say what you think if I can say what I think."
She looked mad, I held his arm closer.
"Oh, are you going to keep your opinion to yourself?" Jack asked, "I don't mind other people's opinions, but if you're literally just going to stand here and yell at us for having a romantic relationship then you might as well keep it to yourself, at least let us leave your presence so you don't have to deal with us longer than you need to."
He then stood there silently, obviously listening for her footsteps, she looked even angrier, her face was turning red.
"What in the world is your problem lady?" Jack was actually getting mad, "We have things to do for fuck's sake."
She gasped like she was offended.
"You...!" She growled.
"I'm not putting up with you." Jack sneered, "Get out of our way."
He moved his cane and placed it on the woman's hip, he then pushed her out of the way.
"Entitled bitch." He growled.
He began to leave, the lady began screaming after us, I ignored her as I held tightly to Jack's arm, we reached the edge of the forest and Jack hid our clothes somewhere, he then looked at me.
"Now let's go get those groceries." He said, "Did you remember the list you wrote?"
I quickly reached into my pocket and pulled out the list.
"Yup." I replied happily, "I've g-got it."
"Then let's go." He began walking away.
I quickly got to his side and took his hand, we walked back into town, as we were heading to the store I stopped, he stopped as well.
"What's wrong?" He asked quietly.
"I... th-thought I s-saw s-someone..." I said quietly.
"Do you need to check it out?" He asked quietly.
"Maybe..." I mumbled.
"Alright, go ahead." He let me go, "You know where I am if you need me."
I quickly slipped passed people and spotted who I saw, and I was right! I ran up next to her and gently poked her shoulder, she quickly turned and looked at me, it really was her... my mom...
"...Toby?" She asked softly.
I wanted to cry, I quickly nodded.
"Oh, my baby!" She started crying.
She quickly pulled me into a hug, I somewhat hugged her back.
"Why're y-you here?" I asked quietly.
"Oh, I was taking a mental health trip." She replied quietly, "I'm so glad to see you."
She released me from her grip and gently held my face.
"You're so pale..." She said quietly, "Have you been eating?"
"Yes, I'm f-fine." I replied as I move her hands, "Jack's b-been t-taking good care o-of me."
She gave me a caring look, she seemed surprisingly calm.
"Um, l-let me g-get Jack." I said, "W-We'll t-talk somewhere."
She let me go and I began heading over to Jack, she watched from where she was, I went over to him and gently took his hand again.
"Are you okay?" He asked.
"It w-was my m-mom." I said.
He quickly turned his head toward me, I could tell he was shocked.
"What is she doing here?" He asked, "This place is too obscure for normal visitors and tourists."
"She s-said she was t-taking a m-mental health t-trip." I said, "I w-wanna t-talk with h-her."
He was quiet for a moment, he seemed uneasy about something.
"Alright." He finally agreed, "I guess we'll talk to her before we go shopping."
I lead him back over to Mom, she was looking him over quietly, examining him closely.
"Mom, this i-is J-Jack." I introduced him.
"It's nice to meet you." She was obviously skeptical.
"Hm." Jack responded.
I really hoped they'd get along at least a little, I bit my lip as the two of them stood there quietly, I could feel how tense Jack actually was.
"He's..." Mom suddenly spoke up, "Quiet."
"He s-spends m-most his t-time listening." I said quietly, "It h-helps him s-see."
She nodded, seeming to understand.
"Jack...?" I asked quietly.
He looked at me slightly.
"Where s-should we t-talk?" I asked quietly.
He looked away from me quietly, I knew he was thinking.
"Probably inside somewhere so we don't freeze." He finally said, "A cafe is a bad idea because the two of us won't eat, so I guess some sort of store or something."
"Okay." I replied.
We ended up taking a walk and going to the store Jack and I planned on shopping at to begin with, we stood where it was warm and talked, I told her mine and Jack's alias names and how well I've been hiding from the police since I was one of the most wanted people alive, it really helped that this town didn't have a police station, it didn't have a hospital or fire department either, just a couple of stores and houses for people to live in, Jack was being pretty antisocial, he was spending most of his time a few feet away from me listening to people coming in and out, I honestly think he was listening for anyone who might know us, if we get caught while talking to Mom then we'd get in a lot of trouble, I was honestly really happy to see her again, and I was happy that she still loved me even if I had killed someone right in front of her.
"Jack, come talk with me for a minute." Mom begged.
He didn't say anything, just somewhat turned his head away, I looked at Mom to see she looked a bit upset, angry almost, I sighed as I looked back at Jack, he turned to me suddenly and grabbed my arm, he pulled me over to a claw machine game and had me face it.
"Describe it." He mumbled.
I got right to it, describing the plushes in the machine, I glanced at Mom to see how confused she looked, then I saw a police officer walk into the shop, I quickly turned my attention back to the machine and continued describing some of the things.
"Excuse me, Ma'am." I heard the officer start, "May I ask you a few questions?"
"Certainly." Mom replied.
He began asking her questions about the surrounding area, if she knew anything about the recent disappearances.
"Oh, I'm very sorry sir but I'm not from around here." She said, "I don't know anything about this place."
The officer sighed, then I could feel his eyes on us, I didn't dare look.
"Excuse me, you two." He started, "Do you live here?"
"You want to know about the forest creatures?" Jack asked back.
It fell silent immediately.
"No one will talk about that forest, there are creatures of hell that live there." Jack continued, "If you are wise you'd leave this town quickly and never come back."
"Are you intoxicated, sir?" The officer asked, obviously not believing him.
"No, I quit alcohol months ago." Jack said, "Everyone knows what lies beyond that forest, everyone lives in fear of what's in there."
"Alright, tell me about these creatures of hell." He still didn't believe, I could tell.
"A tall demon, skin pale white, blank canvas face, and no eyes." He said, "He comes in the night and hunts and stalks, he steals those of blood and won't let them go."
It was silent, was he actually telling this guy all this?!
"Then there's a demon of red, his body covered in hungry mouths." Jack continued, "He kills all that stand in his way, you know when he's near because they announce He Comes."
I heard the officer scoff.
"No one else is going to talk about this." Jack said, "But if you don't want to believe me then whatever, guess I'm just a rambling lunatic, now leave me alone."
I listened as the officer began to leave, I turned to Jack and pinched his arm.
"Why d-did you s-say that?!" I tried to whisper.
"Because if he actually listens then they won't go into the forest." Jack said, "Less work for us."
I sighed.
"He d-didn't b-believe you..." I mumbled.
"So?" Jack asked, "Someone is bound to listen."
He let me go.
"We probably need to leave sometime soon, seeing as how there's police here now." He said, "Sorry to cut this sort."
"It's fine." She said, "I know how important it is for Jake to hide."
Jack looped his arm around mine.
"We'll shop some other time." He said, "Let's go."
"Bye." I waved to Mom.
She waved back as we left, we were both quiet as we walked through town, Jack instructed me that if another officer tried to talk to us to just stare blankly at him and act like a zombie, apparently that's what most of the people in town do, I only had to do that once, we reached the forest again secretly and Jack got our clothes, I just really hoped that none of those officers had followed us.