IT'S YOU - [ Ticci Toby X Reader ]

EIGHT

[CONTENT WARNING: DEATH/MURDER, SLIGHT HORROR AND GORE]

My weak body lied on the cold floor, quivering. I stared up at the dim ceiling that had been so familiar for so long. I had begun to lose track of time, the days going by unknowingly. I wondered how long I had been here for. A few weeks? A month? Over a month? I had lost track awhile ago. Day by day, hour by hour, I just lied there, starved and exhausted, wondering when my body would finally give up on itself, saving me from this torture. My once active mind had now been wiped clean of any form of coherent thoughts. I was living only because I was breathing.

A little voice in my head had begun to reply words over and over. "You need to get up. You cannot die now." It made sense, I did need to get out of here, but I wasn't sure how, or if I was even strong enough to do so. But yet, that voice kept speaking to me, over and over it repeated the same phrase.

"GET UP"

Slowly, I managed to lift myself up from the cold tile, shivering as my numbing limbs tingled. I looked around, nothing had changed. Still, all I could see was darkness, the only light coming from the crack of the locked door. My eyesight was fuzzy and I was seeing double. As I stood up onto my own two feet, my ears rang vehemently, my head spinning as I desperately shook the door knob, leaning up against the wooden door.

To my shock, it was unlocked. I stood there, confused, peaking out into the even darker room behind it. The air was cold, sending shivers down my spine. After giving the place a scan, I had come to notice the front door was wide open. Nothing felt real at this point, there was something off about this situation but I was too focused on my escape to even recognize that feeling. I seemed to be frozen, my body refusing to move as if I were paralyzed. So there I stood, staring out the wide open front door, nothing to see in the distance but darkness and trees for miles.

I gulped, scoping out my surroundings one last time before I had finally gotten the strength to take a single step forward, closer to the exit. The wind was howling, blowing freezing air into the abandoned building.

"Go." The voice spoke up once more. But I couldn't, I couldn't go. My feet wouldn't move, I was trapped in my own body, taunted by the sight of my exit to freedom.

"GO." It repeated louder, the voice echoing through my head, shocking me back into reality. With my body shaking, I sprinted towards the exit, feeling the chilly air against my entire body now, running into the distance as if my life depended on it. I had no idea where I was or where I was going, so I just ran, trying to get as far from that place as possible.

Hours have gone by, but there was nothing. Just trees upon trees. No matter which way I went or wherever I turned, it was just trees for miles. I came to a stop, frantically looking at my surroundings, desperate to find any sign of life between these endless amount of trees.

"HELP!" I screamed out into the air, my exasperated voice echoing throughout the night. "HELP ME!" I repeated desperately as I began to sob. Nothing felt real, almost as if I was in a dream, but I knew I wasn't.

My vision became fuzzy, my ears ringing as I struggled to stay aware. As the ringing grew louder, I spotted a dark figure deeper into the forest. I began to feel a sense of relief, calling out to the man in hopes he would hear me. He just stood there. Confused, I took a few steps closer, assuming he must not have heard me. "Hello?" I called out once more, no response. "Sir? Please you have to help—" I stopped in my tracks as I realized, this was not a person. The closer I got to this figure, the louder the ringing became. This person, or more like a creature, had no face, it's skin was completely white and it wore a black suit. I took a couple steps back, but the figure only grew closer. Although he was faceless, I could tell he was looking at me. I frantically began to run backwards, but my vision became staticky and I felt as if I was going to faint. The last thing I remembered was my feet being lifted from the ground as I was whisked away. Before my vision went black, I recognized the man who had carried me away. It was Toby.

TIME SKIP

I woke up in an unfamiliar bed. Panicked, I scanned the room around me, only to see Toby sitting on a chair in the corner of the room. Once he had noticed my consciousness, he quickly sat up and made his way to the end of the bed, his expression looking quite concerned. I shook my head, unable to process what had just happened, and why I was in a bed. I recalled a bit of what had happened the night before, but nothing added up. Was it all just a dream?

"Why would you do that? Are you crazy?" He spoke loudly and angrily, startling me as I tried to sit up.

"Wh-What—" I began, before being abruptly interrupted. "You could have died out there! What the fuck where you thinking? I told you, it's dangerous out there." His rage frightened me, before his expression quickly changed, now looking quite worried.

"Are you okay?" He spoke once again, his voice becoming a bit softer. Puzzled, I tried my best to recognize what was real and what wasn't. I thought surely that it was just a dream, but then why was he so concerned about me?

"What... What happened..?" I asked nervously, my voice cracking a bit as I spoke. "I had... a weird dream..."

"That wasn't a dream. You tried to escape, and you almost died. You do realize I am keeping you here for your safety, right? Everything I have done is to keep you safe, but you don't get that, do you?" He responded, growing a bit more hostile. I tried my best to get as far away from him as possible, without falling off of the bed, confused as to what he is talking about.

"My safety?" I began, raising my voice as I prepared to confront him. "None of this is to keep me safe, you are holding me hostage! I tried to escape and you won't allow me to, I am trapped here! I have a life, and you are keeping me from it. Hell, my boyfriend is probably looking for me as we speak!"

He looked at me for a moment, his expression was dull. He let out a small scoff, then chuckled. "Boyfriend? What boyfriend?" He responded, a slight smirk still present on his face. He inched towards the small closet without breaking eye contact with me, tilting his head towards the door. I sat there, angry and in shock, unable to speak as I was at a loss for words.

"You mean..." He spoke up once again, his arms folded against his chest. "The boyfriend that hits you, kicks you, pushes you around, and makes you bleed?" He scoffed. "You don't have to worry about him anymore, [Y/N]."

"What? What do you mean-" I questioned him, before he slowly began to open the closet door, revealing something that I will never forget. There he sat, the rotting corpse of my now dismembered boyfriend. I let out a scream, petrified at the sight. I began to sob, covering my mouth to mask my whimpers, looking away from the sight.

"Why are you crying? You should thank me. Now you don't have to suffer from him. That motherfucker would have killed you if I didn't do this." He looked genuinely confused in response to my reaction, very clearly proud of what he had done.

I sat there, too traumatized to even speak, mourning the loss of my boyfriend. Anger built up inside of me, but I couldn't do anything about it. "N-No..." I struggled to speak up. "This.. This is a dr-dream..." My voice trembling as I spoke.

He shook his head angrily, slamming the closet door shut, the loud noise causing me to flinch in fear. I could see the rage fill inside of him as I worried about what he would do next. He stormed out, slamming the other door in the process, leaving me alone to process what had just happened, mourning in silence.

Art © Lynnarty