The Redemption of Stingy Jack

Chapter Seven

Lyn was fast asleep, and Maud could hear from where she sat. Her snores as heavy as can be. And she didn’t even shut her door.

The stranger she brought in was now tied to a chair, with some ropes she pulled out from the kitchen. His head draped down, and his hands tied to the back.

Maud sat directly opposite her in her swivel chair, with the desk behind her, and the man in the center of the living room. Her nose twitched for a moment as the fruity smell from him lingered on her. He should be up by now. Why wasn't he getting up? She wondered. Maud looked to get up, and that was when the man moved.

The chair creaked, and his head jerked up, then he slowly lifted it, meeting the person before him. His greenish-blue eyes gradually went wide, and Maud was forced to sink back into her chair. Not that she was frightened. She’s just taking precautions. Besides, she'd seen scarier costumes before. Just that this one seemed too realistic.

She could hear the man's heavy breaths, as he glanced around, assessing where he was, his current situation and the lady before him. His mouth gradually opened in surprise, and Maud's eyes narrowed at the sight of it. His mouth was way too wide for a human, and Maud couldn't see anything through it. Sure enough, his real mouth was underneath, she thought.

"Who are you, and what were you doing in front of our apartment?" Maud had seen a couple of crime movies, and she felt sure that that was how the detectives did it. Stern gaze, tensed jaws, and a lot of confidence. She had it under control.

The masked man tied to the chair didn't say a word. It was like he was trying to catch his breath as he assessed Maud.

"You... you can see me?" He asked in between labored breaths.

Maud's eyebrows drew together. Was he trying to pull a prank on her? Newsflash, he was the one tied to the chair, and she was the one to ask the question. So he'd better cooperate, before things escalate too quickly.

"Of course, I can see you. I tied you to a fucking chair, didn't I?" She glanced to see if his hands were still restricted to his back. Thanks to the movies she'd seen, she'd succeeded in using the figure 8 follow through knot technique on him.

"It can not be..." The man said, gazing at Maud like he'd seen something strange. "No one. No one has ever been able to see me for centuries. How can you even hear me? How is this… possible?"

Was he on drugs? Maud gave him that look. What had she done? She questioned.

"My lamp.” He muttered under his breath.

"My Lamp. Where is it!?" He barked all of a sudden in accents of menace and wrath, and Maud's heart exploded. Her eye were wide as it seemed the man was tugging on the rope on his feet and hand. Terror had begun to fill the remote chambers of her brain with riot.

She looked behind her swivel chair and pulled out the glowing turnip. It was still glowing, and Maud didn't know why.

"Oh, you mean this?" She brought it close to her face, allowing the greenish-orange glow bathe her for the man to see.

The masked man growled, mouth spread widely. Maud looked in horror as his grin had now broken its limit, reaching his ear holes. A shudder escaped her, as the man growled, for her not to touch it. His eyes were now glowing, and the emptiness in his wide mouth seemed to swallow her. But one thing was strange. He hadn't broken out of the chair yet. Maybe he wasn't as strong as he looked. Why was he even growling? Was that part of an act to scare her into loosening the ropes.

"Fine, fine. I'll drop it." Maud said, as she lowered the glowing vegetable. It had a bottom sturdy enough that it stood when Maud dropped it.

That seemed to have worked. The man had reduced his grin, glowing eyes still on his supposed lamp. Maud still hadn't left the chair, and when her heart rate spiked up out of fear, she'd quickly calm it down. She was quite good at that.