Seconds (An Eyeless Jack X Oc Story)

Chapter 24

                  Tori's Point Of View

    I woke up in a jolt of shock and sadness. I was home but not the apartment. I was in my childhood home in Valdosta, Georgia. My room was a light sea green-blue mix and there were two closets with white doors. There were two dressers with all sorts of small boxes, jewels, pictures, and junk my little sister had.

    I was in my bunk bed, sleeping on the top. Then I noticed something, I was smaller than I was before. I was about five centimeters shorter than before.

    Was everything just a dream? Am I still a teen, fantasizing from the weird imagination I have? I looked at the Hawaiian themed room and saw two windows on the left side of the wall and a window behind me. The corner with the closet and the window met had two scarlet macaws that were hanging from the ceiling. I climbed down the ladder and saw my little sister sleeping soundly. I was definitely back to the time when I was a few years younger. I opened the curtains and saw it was night time.

    The clock was supposed to be on the dresser with the pants in the drawers but it was covered up. I uncovered it to see it was midnight, it was like any other night when I was sixteen.

    I looked under the bed and grabbed my metal bat. This was something I should have done a long time ago. I took it into my hands and put a black sweater I had in my closet and a black mask. I already had black leggings on so it would be easy to blend in. I was worried the cameras outside would catch me but I need to see if it was all true. I walked out and into the hallway. The restroom was across from my room and the boys room was at the end of the hallway. I walked across the tile hallway and went to the doorway with the pantry. This was where the pantry was and the laundry room was in a folded door. At the end, the door to the breezeway was there. 

    I gathered up all my courage and unlocked the door. I then opened the door quietly and saw the garage door about three feet away. Before leaving I took the shed keys from the wall. I looked behind me to see if anyone was there and no one was in sight so I exited the house. I closed the door behind me and ran out into the backyard. This was something I needed to do. After all this time, I was finally going to do it and face my fear.

    My friends told me to be careful when I suspected a stalker or something at my house, so I was afraid. But I was going to face it and chase them away. I was afraid of the safety of not just me, but my family.
I made it past the pool deck and into the backyard with hills. Trees grew next to the wooden fence and a planter was a few yards away with banana trees and a palm tree in the middle. At the end, the giant shed and the fire pit was there. The bull pine tree had the swing on it that we loved swinging on. I cautiously walked around and looked in every direction, my breath shaking. I walked to the shed and took out the keys. I unlocked the shed and stepped inside, examining the room carefully. I was about to turn and exit when I was suddenly lunged at from behind. I was pinned to the ground and trembling in fear. 

    The bat came out of my hand and I knew I was defenseless. I made a mistake coming out here and this is my consequence. The person holding me down had all black and the familiar blue mask and black liquid spewing from it. Of course, the one thing that I believed was never going to be real had to be the reason I died! My hands were held to the floor as I couldn’t kick or move around. I mean, I could have but I felt the sense that it wouldn’t change a thing that would happen to me. It may just make everything worse. I heard a growl from behind and Jack looked back, seeing my Blue Heeler, Dizzy in an attack stance, ready to pounce. She was a runt of her litter so she was smaller than normal and didn’t stand much of a chance. 

    She came running over and started biting and barking at Jack. He, however, just kicked her away and I started to struggle. I got out of his grasp and picked up Dizzy and ran to the house. Dizzy tried to squirm out and attack Jack so I lost my grip and balance, falling to the grassy ground. Jack grabbed my hand, squeezing it with his claws digging into my skin. Tears flowed down my face from the pain and feeling of betrayal even though everything from me graduating and getting a scholarship could have all just been a dream. Dizzy started to bark when she then went silent all of a sudden, like she remembered something or she couldn’t bark anymore from some sort of pain. She ran off and left me alone and I couldn’t help but sob more.

    Jack let his grip tighten and then suddenly loosen after a second. He got closer and hugged me, I could feel his heart beating rapidly and his breaths shaking. I couldn’t help but hug back. I loved him after all, right? I buried my face into his sweater as he dug something out from his pocket. It was his scalpel, gleaming in the moonlight. I stayed in the hug, knowing I was about to die from this very moment. Jack paused, not moving but he seemed to be contemplating his choice he was about to make.

    “I don’t want to die,” I told him, my tears falling from my face. My life seemed so short. “But nothing will change, will it? I’m sorry I could do nothing to change. I wish I could have been more.”

    “You will always be more. You will always be something, don’t you ever forget that.”

    “But it is my time to go, isn’t it? I will never be more now that I will vanish and now that I can’t be a hope or light for you. I wanted to be something for you like you are to me.”

    “You will always be something to me, and I was glad to be something for you to feel good from."

    “I will miss you.”

    “I wish it didn’t have to be this way, but if I don’t do this, everyone you know will have their lives at stake. And I know you wouldn’t want anything to happen to them.”

    “Thank you for everything. But before I go…” I got out of his embrace carefully and slowly. It was going to be my first and my last, but I wanted him to know how I felt. I removed his mask and he didn’t fight back. The moonlight helped me see and I saw his face for the first time in real life. His skin was an ashy color and his eye sockets were empty. The familiar black ooze dripped out and his teeth were sharp like a shark's set of teeth. He still had human characteristics like the shape and his hair. 

    I took his hands gently and leaned in for a kiss, and not getting disappointed. It was soft and almost too fast, it ended just as fast as it started. We separated and I gave him one last hug.

    “I love you, please, don’t forget that,” Jack said as he pulled me in tighter.

    “I will never forget it. I love you.” Jack then vanished all of a sudden and I got scared and confused. Everything then disappeared in a black haze of smoke and fog like nothing had happened. The only thing was the moonlight as it gleamed at me. I felt a sudden rush of feeling when I suddenly closed my eyes. 

    My eyelids were feeling heavy and I started to feel tired. I felt like I was in a comfortable bed. I then opened my eyes and saw everything was gone, I was in my apartment, and I was okay. Maybe it was all just a nightmare. I looked around and saw my bag and the clock saying it was four in the morning. I have school in a few hours. I have to go get ready for school later.

    I got up and walked to the living room, looking for some things like my bag and my money for purchasing food on campus. I found my bag next to the door with all my textbooks and materials for college. I was going to have to shower before I got ready. A familiar meow was heard and I looked behind me. I was met face to face, with the gray cat I called my friend.