Chapter Fifty Two

||MASKY||

†

Stealing across manicured lawns, Jeff and I made our way to the house that was keeping our recovering target safe, for the time being.

He held a hand up and I paused, watching as he continued ahead of me, sneaking around the rear of the house. He came back a few minutes later, shaking his head.

"Fuckers got this place on lock. I saw a window though, pretty high up."

"Then we just have to make do," I grinned, checking that the gun was securely tucked in the waistband of my jeans.

He chuckled, twirling his knife, "my thoughts exactly."

I hadn't seen any weapons on the guards but they may have just been concealed so I decided we had to take caution with how we made our entrance.

Jeff on the other hand, as mad as he was, started straight for the back again in his excitement and I followed behind. The window he was talking about was on the top level of the two story house, and there weren't many places I could spot that would support climbing.

"A ladder would come in real handy right now," Jeff spoke, looking up at the window with his head thrown back and both hands on his hips, his dark hair falling mid-back.

"I'll take the challenge," I dusted off my hands and got close to the wall, using my fingertips to search for any grooves in the wood and once I was able to find secure handholds, a grin spread across my face, "this isn't so bad."

Jeff watched me scale the wall and once I was at the window I pushed it open, poking my head inside to see a dark bedroom that appeared to have not been used for a long time. Maybe a guest room.

Once I was inside I watched Jeff make his way up and lent him a hand when he was close enough, pulling him inside.

I pulled the gun out, releasing the safety as we heard a feminine voice beyond the door, coming closer.

Someone was singing.

I placed a hand on the door handle, waiting with my ear pressed against the wood as the singing drew closer.

Timing myself just right, I waited until the sound went by the door before I pulled it open and the singing ceased, a startled cry escaping the lips of the maid when I grabbed her around the waist from behind and pressed the gun against her temple.

"Be quiet or I'll blast a hole through your pretty little head," I spoke gruffly against her ear. The way her body shook as she was pressed against me caused raw electricity to run a course down my spine.

I could never get sick of this feeling.

She nodded, palms up in surrender and I took a few steps backwards, dragging her along with me. A gasp left her lips when Jeff exited the room, however. His smile must've startled her.

"Where are the guards?" I hissed.

Jeff was getting that familiar look of bloodlust in his eyes, twirling his knife as his smile widened.

"D-downstairs," the girl stuttered out.

"And the brunette?" Jeff asked, stalking closer, his head tilted to the side.

"S-she's downstairs too. We moved her things because of h-her injuries."

When Jeff was close enough, standing just before her with that crazed look in his eyes and his carved-in smile, I felt her body begin to shake even more violently and she turned her head away when his blade was pressed against her chubby cheek.

"You're a good girl," he cooed, "maybe we'll let you live after this."

He was lying, of course.

She had her eyes squeezed shut, lower lip trembling and in an instant I caught a flash of movement behind Jeff. The gun that was previously pressed against the maid's temple was instantly pointed just over Jeff's shoulder and I fired once, the bullet lodging in the wall and leaving a sizeable hole.

The unsuspecting guard who had been coming up the staircase ducked down from view while Jeff made a move to attack despite only having his knife for a weapon.

His crazy was his most lethal weapon, in my opinion.

I flung the maid away from me, her back hitting the wall with a loud thud as I followed behind Jeff and when I got to the top of the staircase I saw he had launched himself at the large man, managing to dig his knife into the guard's shoulder. They wrestled on the bottom of the landing while I thumped down the staircase, hopping over the bannister and dropping to the ground the same moment the second guard made his appearance.

This one was smarter as he came with his gun drawn but he was too slow and when he fired at Jeff who was swinging wildly at the first guard, I put a bullet through his head.

A satisfied smile crossed my face when I watched blood seep out of the hole above his right eye, filling his sclera with red, and he dropped to his knees before sprawling face-first into the gray carpet, blood pooling under him.

I heard Jeff giggle to himself and when I turned my head he was gleefully carving a smile into the face of the now dead guard whose throat had been cut, blood gushing out as his body continued to spasm.

"That was a little too easy," I frowned, putting the safety back on the gun and stashing it down the waistband of my jeans again.

"I don't mind," wiping guard number one's blood off on his shirt, Jeff then stood, turning his head to me with a glint in his eyes, "gives me more time with my beloved."

"Yeah, well make it quick," I spoke, pulling my crowbar out of the backpack on my back, "the police are gonna be here soon."

"Hey, ya can't rush destiny," laughing to himself, he gave me a salute and went off in search of his target.

Thinking of the maid upstairs, a smile made its way onto my face.

Nothing wrong with a little bit of fun before I go.

I bounded up the stairs, crowbar in hand but when I got to the top of the landing the maid was nowhere to be found.

I frowned. Did I have to check all the rooms now? What a drag.

I was about to search the first room on my left when I realized the door to the room Jeff and I had entered from earlier was closed. I didn't remember it being closed last I saw it. A slow smile grew and I walked over to the door, fingers curling around the knob but when turned, it was found to be locked.

The smile dropped from my face and I pressed my ear against the door, listening intently. Nothing.

I rapped on the door with my crowbar twice, "are you hiding in here, beautiful?"

Frantic sounds came from the other side of the door.

"Open up please. I don't wanna have to use force."

I waited for a moment before banging the crowbar against the door with more urgency this time, "open up!"

Sounds of scurrying on the other side caused me to grin but when the door still didn't open, I took a step back.

"Fine. You had your chance."

When my foot made contact with the door the first time it didn't budge much, on the second impact I heard the cracking of wood and another kick sent it flying clear off its hinges, dust particles rising as the door collapsed on the floor.

Across the room I caught sight of the maid pushing her head through the window, screaming out for someone to help.

I crossed the room, grabbing the lower sash of the window and slamming it down onto her torso forcefully.

That's gonna leave a bruise.

Her lower half struggled as she screamed, legs kicking and I pushed the window open again, grabbing her by the scruff of her shirt and pulling the top half of her body back inside the room.

She continued to scream bloody murder but was reduced to blubbering, tears rolling down her cheeks when I rammed her up against the wall next to the window.

"What did I say about being quiet?" I asked, peering into her eyes from behind my mask.

"I'm s-s-"

"Sorry?" I finished.

She nodded, pressing her palms together in a pleading way as her knees buckled, "I'm sorry please- please don't kill me."

Gritting my teeth, I closed my eyes, sucking in a breath to calm myself down.

I always did enjoy the begging over everything else.

"Please I'll do whatever you want."

My eyes opened to look into her own tear-filled ones, "yeah, you would?"

"Yes, anything," she answered hastily, "just don't kill me."

A look of disgust settled on my face. What made her think I wanted anything from her? The only thing she was good for was satiating my bloodlust now that it was at its peak.

"What would you do?" I asked, keeping her pinned.

"Anythi- Everything!"

I let out a laugh. Of course. They all say that.

"You want to please me, hm?"

A nod.

"But you don't want to die, do you?" I asked.

Trembling, she shook her head.

"Then how will you please me?" I gritted out, dragging her over to the open window. There was some resistance from her but when I pressed her face up against the window pane and trapped her there, she stilled, her only movement being the involuntary trembling from how frightened she was.

"Look out there," I pointed at the dark stretch of road in the far distance where red and blue lights were without a doubt headed in our direction, "do you think you'll survive long enough for them to save you?"

"P-please-"

"Now look down," I commanded again, shoving her head through the open space between the window sill and pane.

She shook, pushing back against me, "please don't."

"Could you survive the fall? It's farther than it looks."

She broke down, sobbing uncontrollably when I kept her there, forcing her to envision her own end.

"Hey, it's okay," I sighed, patting her head lightly, "do you want me to let you go?"

"Y-yes, please- thank you so mu-" her words here cut short when I let her shirt go and bent to grab her legs, lifting her off her feet.

She grappled for anything her hands could reach, screaming in terror as almost a third of her body was now hanging out the window.

"Do you still want me to let you go?" I asked, a sadistic smile on my face.

"No! No no no ple‐"

I let go and watched her flail for half a second before gravity did its thing and she fell, landing with a satisfying thud that silenced her screams. The impact had shattered her neck, her head twisting at an odd angle.

I pressed my lips together, looking out at the police cars approaching in the distance, closer now.

Killjoys.

Heading back downstairs, I followed the sound of Jeff's hysterical laughter to a bedroom that had been ransacked to see him above the journalist on the bed.

Her top had been cut open to expose her bare torso where he'd carved his catchphrase in jagged letters. She was strapped to the bed, her breathing shallow as her chest rose and fell.

Well he sure was taking his sweet time.

Leaning against the doorframe I watched as he whispered softly to her, tears spilling down her cheeks while he unwrapped the bandage around her face.

Once he was done he frowned, unlike himself, passing a thumb over the myriads of sutures in her skin that kept her face together.

"Why'd you let 'em do this to ya huh?" he asked, hands shaking as they left a trail of blood on her cheeks, "after I spent all that time making you beautiful."

"I'm... sorry..." her voice was barely audible and when her eyes shifted over to look at me I saw any hope of being rescued that she'd been holding on to earlier, drain from her eyes.

Jeff tucked a finger under one of the sutures, ripping it out with an aggressive grunt and her scream caused multiple of the remaining stitches to tear open, blood pooling in the back of her throat.

She was gurgling and sputtering now, choking on her own blood as Jeff continued to rip out the remaining sutures.

My ears perked up at the sound of sirens just outside the house and I gave up my relaxed pose, pushing away from the doorframe.

"C'mon wrap it up," I snapped my fingers in his direction.

"Well, it was fun while it lasted," he grinned and as I headed up the stairs once more the screams of the journalist grew.

"Shh," I heard Jeff coo, "just go to sleep."

×××

Her lights were off.

Considering it was only around eight or nine now I found it strange. She was usually still up at this hour. Jeff had parked just down the street from her house and as I exited the truck, I cracked my knuckles.

It's been too long. I was looking forward so seeing her face, hearing her voice...

Inside, I was feeling a calm, like being in such close proximity to her was already putting my fragmented mind at peace.

Would she be happy to see me? We hadn't really left off on good terms last time.

Despite the aggression building up inside me, I only want to be able to touch her again. To dig into the softness of her skin and hear her make the sounds I've missed.

There was a part of me that craved her softness and wanted to reciprocate with my own, but I'd long since buried that part of me.

The weak part. The useless part.

There was a reason she claimed to love me and it definitely wasn't because I was a gentleman. Far from it.

She was fucked up too and it's about time she came to terms with it.

Peeking in through the living-room window I saw lights were on and a middle aged woman who I guessed was the foster mother, was pacing back and forth while yelling into the receiver of the phone she held to her ear.

"I don't know what to do anymore she's acting out and-"

I slipped around the side of the house, not interested in listening to the conversation, and climbed my way up to Kit's bedroom, slipping inside through the open window.

Inside her bedroom was dark but I could still tell that she wasn't inside as soon as I entered. Her bed seemed unused and I looked around for a second, fists tight.

Where the fuck is she?

The only other possibility I could imagine was that she had gone to her friend's house and I left the room through the window once more.

I slammed the door to the truck as I entered, chest heaving. Jeff seemed concerned but didn't question me when I gave him Amy's address.

I was growing more and more agitated with each second that passed and when the truck approached the large house a few minutes later I hardly waited for it to come to a stop before I alighted.

"Where is she?"

Amy was sitting cross legged on her bed, reading a book, when I entered through the window and threw the question at her.

She raised her head, brows furrowed, "what?"

"Kit. Where is she?"

She creased the book page, marking her place before putting the book away from her, "what are you doing just barging into my room like this?"

"Answer the fucking question."

She rolled her eyes, shrugging her shoulders as she spoke on a sigh, "I dunno."

Clearing the floor, I grabbed the collar of her shirt, pulling her forward so she was looking at me, "Where. Is. She?"

"I said I don't fucking know! Let go of me-" she used her hands to bat at mine and I shoved her away from me, running my fingers through my hair.

"You know, she hasn't talked to me in a week because of you."

Is that so?

I scoffed, making my way back to the open window.

"Why can't you just leave her alone? Haven't you done enough?"

Not nearly.

"You don't even love her, do you?"

I paused at her words, hand on the windowsill as I contemplated her question.

"She told me you never said it back," I heard shuffling and turned my head to see her getting to her feet, "she keeps putting herself in danger because of you. Even if you don't do it yourself, at this rate you're just going to wind up causing her death. How's that good for anyone?"

I was about to exit through the window when her next words stopped me in my tracks again.

"You know, she'd be better off with anyone but you."

I turned, fists clenched tightly and when I took a step toward her, black smoke swirled in the middle of the floor between us before it materialized into the form of Zalgo. He was sporting a comical frown on his face.

"Ah ah ah-" he held a hand up, "I won't allow you to cause any harm to come to my proxy, Timothy."

"Where the hell have you been?"

Zalgo turned to Amy when she threw the question at his back, "sorry dear, important business back at my ancestral home."

Turning to me, a wry smile grew on his face, "that's also where your cute little lady happens to be too. I sensed her presence right before I left."

"She's back at the mansion?" I asked.

"It would appear so."

"How do you know that? Weren't you banished?"

That earned another frown from him, "don't remind me, I'm just starting to get back on Slenderman's good side."

Even if the situation wasn't ideal I was relieved to at least know her whereabouts and I spun on my heels, ready to leave.

"I meant what I said," Amy spoke as I slipped through the window, "and if you cared about her at all you'd leave her alone."

Resting my foot against the wood to keep my balance I gripped onto the window-sill, looking back at her with a scowl, "yeah, not a chance in hell."

×××

Thanks for reading!

Did you enjoy Masky and Jeff's little bonding experience?

Do you think he and Kit should be together?

Why or why not?

Hoefinity