Songbird in a Snowstorm [Yandere! Marble Hornets x Reader]

Latent Alliances

Jessica was not impressed with your answer. Rightfully so, in all honesty. There were enough holes in your plan to give swiss cheese a run for its money. "We don't even know what his deal is." She gently states, shooting a wayward glance over her shoulder.

You bite your lip, gathering your thoughts. A gut feeling wasn't going to convince anyone, let alone someone whose life is on the line. So naturally, you go with the second best argument. "Do you have any better ideas? I'm open to suggestions." Sure, teaming up with Tim is a risky bet. But with your predicament and winter looming over you like a storm on the horizon, there were few options left.

Jessica stood back, arms clasped around her chest. "I..." she starts, mouth opening and closing several times over. "No." Every second spent here was another moment closer to your death. You both knew it. Neither of you dared speak a word of it, but you didn't have to. The feeling was unmistakable. A lurking dread reaching up to cling to your ankles with cold fingers every time your feet hit the ground. Something akin to ice water trickling down your spine every time you fail to have your back up against a wall.

A few thoughts pass through your mind as the feeling grows and realization strikes you. They knew each other. "What happened in Tuscaloosa?" The moment that name leaves your lips, Jessica's listless gaze moves to you. The town wasn't familiar to you. Not in the slightest, but Jessica wouldn't be acting like this had the name meant nothing to her. Unfortunately for you, Jessica never really spoke of her past. Before you had simply assumed it was because there wasn't much to talk about.

"I don't remember." She slowly admits, a hand moving up to fidget with a lock of hair. "There was an accident in the woods." Jessica shifted her weight endlessly from foot to foot, fiddling with her thumbs. "All I remember is waking up in a hospital. Anything before that is just... gone."

You raise a brow. Unconscious in the forest is one of the last things you had expected to hear from Jessica of all people. She just didn't seem like the type of person to be a victim of fate or more likely one too many drinks. "Did the forest have a name?" Unless she and Tim have more history than either one cares to mention.

It didn't take her long to answer with an unshakable certainty, "Rosswood." Well fuck. You sigh to yourself and let your head fall back to the wall behind you with a heavy thunk. Pain blooms at the back of your skull, but it isn't nearly enough to drown out your swarming thoughts. Tim and Jessica know each other. Or rather, they knew each other. Which means this whole situation is much more than just your run of the mill kidnapping. Somehow, everything is connected in a web of inescapable bullshit. A web that you're yourself tangled in the center of.

Jessica's voice shatters your train of thought. "We have another four weeks at most before winter hits." Her statement made your throat tighten up almost instantly. "Once that happens we'll be stuck until spring- if we survive that long." She rambles on, her words coming faster than your ears can keep up.

She had every right to be scared. You knew that. But there was only one thing that sprang to mind to comfort her. "Worst comes to worst we'll just try to keep our heads down." You offer lightly, a veneer of false confidence lacing your every word. Of course your solution is complacency. Given the current situation, the idea didn't sound half bad. Especially considering the other options are all but guaranteed death. Besides, you're not strong like Jessica is. It would be a cold day in hell before you even worked up the courage to throw a punch, let alone knock someone out.

The room fell silent again. Not the comfortable sort of silence you might hope to return to after a long day, though. It was something tense and oppressive, a noose around your neck getting tighter by the second. You should have something to say here. Any normal person would. She's waiting for you. Waiting for a response with substance. But your lips won't even part to speak. Why can't you think of anything to say? What the fuck is wrong with you? "So..." you drawl, the word awkward and clunky on your tongue. "What now?"