Jacob Seed x Reader

Nine

It had become dark, behind the mountains that surrounded the valley, the stars were already shimmering and the moon was slowly rising. Its silver light kissed the tree tops of the forest, making it seem like silver snow.

It was cold, despite the season.

Every now and then people walked past the cages, men and women who were heavily armed. They looked like soldiers, didn't speak a single word and didn't react when you tried to attract their attention.

Only very few dared to throw a glance at the many prisoners that were trapped within the cages. Most of the soldiers seemed to fear to make mistakes.

With time it became colder and colder. The dark blue sky turned black.

No one brought a blanket or something to eat.

No one seemed to care the slightest.

It was strange, they held so many people against their will as if they had any value to them, only to treat every single human in those cages like animals.

A growling sound filled your torso. It was loud enough to make dead people walk. Your stomach was already starting to hurt. It was as empty as a desert, the last meal was almost an entire day ago.

You hissed, cursing yourself for not taking the last chance to eat in a diner before you got caught.

A cold wind chased through the valley. Leaves and trees danced.

You shivered.

"Shit...", you mumbled and looked around, hoping to find something.

From the corner of your eyes you could make out something, an outline in the shadows. At first you thought it was an animal, something that had been hunted and stored in this cage. But as you stepped closer, a head, legs and arms formed in the darkness.

Suddenly there was a strange smell. As if something was rotting.

You knew the smell, very well even, but at that moment it seemed unimportant.

The man seemed to be asleep, he did not move and his eyes were tightly closed. Even when you stepped closer, he did not move.

"Sir?", you carefully touched his shoulder. "Sir, are you all right?"

For a moment you look at the man. Then you noticed that his face was strangely pale. His lips were blue, frozen like ice. He was not breathing.

"Ugh.", you pulled a face of disgust. "Jesus fucking christ, this is madness."

Now came the realisation.

The strange smell was that of decaying flesh. The corpse had already begun to decompose.

With bated breath you looked at the man. He wasn't the first corpse you've seen, but the worst.

He had bled out. Deep wounds ran through his neck, even his face was disfigured. Someone had mauled him badly even before he died. He had suffered cruel tortures.

The smell of iron and raw meat was in the air.

He wasn't dead for long, a few days perhaps.

When you looked at him like that, you noticed that he was wearing a jacket. A thick jacket, even enough for winter.

You bit your lips.

It was immoral to take things from the dead. You weren't superstitious, but even in death people deserved to be given respect. Undressing the man seemed to you like a crime that he could not defend himself against.

Besides, you didn't know how many people had already died in this jacket, stench and liquids stuck in the fabric.

There was a dark stain on the collar, probably dried blood.

Everything about this jacket was unpleasant. But the prospect of freezing to death was even less pleasant.

A heavy sigh left your lips. As you looked at your hands, you noticed they were shaking. The tips of the fingers were turning blue already.

Narrowing your eyes, you began to slide your hand inside.

It was warm, but not wet.

That was a good sign.

Slowly, you pulled up the man's shoulders, pulled down the sleeves, and with a tug, the jacket was free.

It stank bestially, like urine, blood and dirt.

A shiver crept down your spine. You shook yourself, had to force yourself not to gag.

"Ugh...", you took a deep breath before you dared to put on the jacket. "Everything for the survival."

It was warm, but it felt dirty. Small grains of dirt and stones fell out of the folds.

The feeling of sand spread over your skin. But despite the disgusting feeling of being dirty all over, the warmth that slowly crept into your body was pleasant.

With a sigh, you sat down in a corner of the cage and began to count the stars in the sky.

"Seventy-nine, eighty, eighty-one...", you threw your head back and sighed loudly. "God this sucks."

The sound of engines sounded in the distance, voices filled the night.

Suddenly a shadow crept past you. It was so fast and silent that you only felt a small breeze. As if a ghost was creeping past you, kissed your cheek like a messenger of death.

Startled, you flinched.

"Are you superstitious?", a voice suddenly asked.

You remembered the sound. This way of speaking.

"You.", you jumped to your feet.

"I.", a tall figure appeared in the night. "You still don't remember my name. What a shame."

His lips moved as if he was offended that you didn't know his name. The movement made his beard shake. As the silver light of the moon fell on his face, the red strands seemed like fire.

You tilted your head to look him in the eyes.

"Your name begins with a J. I remember that."

He nodded in agreement.

"A good start. What would you call me, pup?"

You frowned, but couldn't keep yourself from being amused. The nickname made you grin.

"Pup? A strange way to call a stranger. Do you remember my name?", you crossed your arms in front of your chest challengingly. "Bet you don't."

He hummed, nodding again.

"It's (Y/N).", he said without missing a beat.

Surprised, your eyebrows rose.

"You remember?", you asked and squeezed your face a bit through the metal bars to catch a better glimpse at him.

"I do. The name isn't that special, but your behaviour made it stay in my mind. It's unusual, I must admit. I do not remember a lot of names. Not from weaklings, that is."