Fatalities (Yandere Jeff the Killer x Reader)

Listen & Learn

*8:46 AM*

Sipping coffee from a Styrofoam cup, the investigator brushed stray hairs off her dress, heels clicking as she walked towards her office. A hand landed on her shoulder blade suddenly, causing her to make eye contact with Art to her left. "Great work in there, investigator. That's sure to make a difference."

(Y/n) sighed unknowingly, opening the door to her office and gesturing towards the chair across from her desk for Art to sit in. "Are you positive that was the right call? Listen, I'm all for risks, especially when stakes are so high and we haven't gotten anywhere, but I'm worried this will potentially have more repercussions than anticipated."

Art took a seat and genuinely seemed to process what the woman had asked. "I hear you, I do. But when you have dozens of murders on your hands, you realize as more time goes on that it really is all or nothing."

(Y/n) bit the inside of her cheek before drinking more coffee, not entirely disagreeing with his point. "You're pretty certain he'll call, huh?"

"You don't think so?"

The woman set her cup down with shaking hands. "Look, it's... it's hard to explain. There's something we're missing, something about his personality or lifestyle. I'm telling you, Art, he's not a normal human being. Both mentally and physically."

Art shook his head in frustration. "You're saying the most likely scenario is that our unsub is not human?"

"No... maybe? I don't know. Forget it."

(Y/n) stood from her desk and opened the blinds behind her, which were almost always closed. Art eyed the girl suspiciously as he saw her on-edge behavior. "Are you sure you didn't come back to work too soon? You're shaking." (Y/n) scoffed at his question, refusing to entertain his ridiculous idea. She was fine, or so she had thought. The truth was, it didn't matter to (Y/n) how she felt. It mattered that she caught the mass murderer, and everything else could wait and be shoved out of the way, including her own mental health.

Attempting to play off her behavior, the woman put on a fake smile and laughed a little. "I'm fine, Art. Thanks for your concern. Now if you don't mind, I have some paperwork to file." Art gave the woman one last look before lightly smiling and shutting the door behind him as he left. The woman collapsed in her chair in exhaustion, feeling more anxious by the minute. A flashback presented itself to (Y/n), of her old-fashioned parents discussing medication with (Y/n) back when her brother started changing, right before disappearing.

*Whispering*

Young (Y/n) was curious and nosey, thus leading to the position she found herself in currently --- hiding on the stairwell right outside their living room, listening to her parents discussing her brother's disintegrating appearance.

"I don't understand what we're supposed to do. He refuses to go get professional help because he's a scientist, yet started taking those stupid meds. Frankly, I'm not convinced they haven't made him worse," (Y/n) overheard her father saying.

"It's deeper than that, something is off. I think we should look into involuntary admittance. They could help better than we can-" BANG.

(Y/n) winced as she accidentally hit her elbow on the railing, cursing herself for not laying low enough to continue eavesdropping Lo and behold, (Y/n)'s father tried yet failed to hold back a smile as he waved (Y/n) into the room, inviting her into the conversation. As (Y/n)'s mom left the room, her father beckoned for the girl to sit beside him on the family couch. "I know things for big brother have been scary for you lately. They've been scary for us too, honey." (Y/n) nodded as she continued to listen. "I need you to promise me something, honey. Don't take medication for your brain, ever. This kind of stuff runs in our family. When you start to feel too sad to live, get admitted into a hospital. Promise me."

(Y/n) smiled lovingly at her father, feeling nothing but admiration for his braveness. "I promise, daddy."

With a sad smile, (Y/n) reminisced on one of the last moments she had spent with her father alone --- before her parents hung themselves after her brother had disappeared. I miss you, dad. What a hypocrite. Forensics has confirmed an overdose of prescribed antidepressants and anxiety meds for the cause of death of both parents. Though she had been a bit too young to grasp the scope of what her dad had meant, (Y/n) understood her father had meant nothing but love by what he said. Mental illness was never something she had struggled with previously... until now. As much as she wanted to deny it, she couldn't. She had noticed negative changes in her own mindset and behaviors.

Shaking off the deep thoughts, (Y/n) lightly slapped her cheeks to focus on the files in front of her. As she opened her laptop, she couldn't help but feel the urge to do research on the mysterious symbol that had appeared on the unsub and allegedly her own brother. What did it mean and where did it come from? The truth was, (Y/n) hadn't researched it before, as she had assumed it was a meaningless symbol her brother had unknowingly created on his own. Now knowing that it had the potential to lead to more clues on his whereabouts changed everything.

Never had she been so unfocused and anxious. Of course, her career was difficult and had led to repercussions in the past, but never for an extended period of time such as this one. Being anxious was normal, but the emotion that presented itself to her at this time was… fear. Complete and utter terror that she was truly not good enough to solve the difficult labyrinth presented to her. She felt that this killer, whoever he was, could swallow her whole at any point in time with no effort at all --- leading to her being stuck within the maze for the rest of her life. The thought of absolutely no control, no motivation, no will to live, entirely made her feel terrified.

 Deciding to bite the bullet and do research on the symbol that scared her so, she scoured through article after article, image after image, only to find absolutely nothing. With furrowed brows and an empty coffee cup, the investigator was fully immersed as she marveled at the unbelievable lack of results in this day and age. Absolutely nothing similar to that symbol comes up when I search it. What does it mean? Biting the inside of her cheek, the woman continued to ponder in complete despair as she sat back in her chair, contemplating the press conference she had done this morning. What if I’m right and the consequences are critical? What if more innocent people get hurt? With a bouncing leg and her heart rate spiked, the investigator clutched her chest before collapsing onto the ground, finding it more difficult to breathe.

 Gasping for air, (Y/n) found eyes tearing up while the rest of her body was seemingly paralyzed. Refusing to worry Art further, (Y/n) did not call for help. After about 5 minutes had passed, (Y/n) found herself calming slowly as she found it easier to breathe. Thank god it was just a panic attack. I haven’t had one since brother disappeared. Recollecting herself and scrambling back into her chair, the woman decided that bringing in a personal bias such as her brother wouldn’t be helpful to the investigation and would instead hinder it. Rubbing her migraine, (Y/n) began to rationalize with herself. Is it possible and probable that the two are related? Absolutely. At this point in time, however, I can’t afford any more mistakes or anything clouding my judgement further. As the investigator stood up and stared out of her office window, she focused on the calming sounds of traffic going by. I’m sorry, brother. I will get your justice, but first I must achieve the justice of others. Forgive me… Jack.

Author's Note: Jack is (Y/n)'s brother! It's very clear that (Y/n)'s mental health is deteriorating rapidly. Do you believe she can recover and take Jeff down once and for all?