You've Missed Mouthy

Glassy Eyed

(Eyeless Jack's POV)

     I watch Mouthy run down the hall, her gloves rubbing against the side of the ladder as she scales it in one jump. Impressed with the pain tolerance she has for her hand, I turn to Hoody, who is the only other person left upstairs besides myself. I don't say anything, just stare, trying to find evidence to define his emotions on the situation.     "Jeff, Ben, and Toby are trying to catch Mouthy to take her mask off." He mutters without hesitation, slowly following to see how things will unfold. He must have thought I wanted an explanation, I will admit my curiosity but I honestly wouldn't have cared whether he told me or not. However...     I give into my urge to observe, following the others down to the floor below. The room is silent minus a light rustling down the hall, I catch a glimpse of Ben's shadow before climbing down the next ladder. Before me is a wide walkway, with Hoody and Masky leaning on the rusted railing. The new guy, Vince, is at the other end, sitting on a flight of stairs. I walk past the two proxies while looking down off the railing to find a large sparring circle being heavily used for its intended purpose.      Four bodies wrestle and tackle one another, almost like they're switching dance partners. Jeff and Toby dive towards Mouthy in an attempt to rip her mask off, however Kate fights to beat anyone she can. Mouthy, of course, is spinning away from all three, taunting them in an almost humorous way. I find myself wandering over to the stairs, taking a seat next to Vince. He doesn't turn to look at me, continuing to drink in the battle.     "Jeff fights with a knife, right?" He suddenly whispers.    "Yea." I give him a single worded answer.    "He leads with his right hand, swinging it like he's holding an invisible blade." He gives his observations, beginning to think out loud. "Same with Toby, except he swings with both fists extended."    "Muscle memory, we all have a small habit of it." I return. "It could be why Slender forces his proxies to learn hand to hand combat or to use whatever is nearby as a weapon."     "But what about Toby? He has twin axes." Vince comments, turning away from the battle to face me for a moment. I truly don't know the answer to that, so I simply shrug, leaving him to figure it out himself. I can't see his eyes through the shades he hides them behind, so his current emotions are unclear. Vince shrugs too, turning back to the ring.     Toby dives towards Mouthy while Jeff is distracted with Kate. He misses her as she takes a step to the side. Toby is left undisturbed by the impact, swinging an arm out to grab her ankle. She attempts to pull free, only making him tighten his grasp. Mouthy's leg gives out when Toby yanks it roughly, pulling her to the concrete. The thud her body makes when she hits the ground pulls Vince to his feet, he leans on the railing to see the scene more clearly. From where I sit I can barely make out the twisted limbs of the grey proxy. Toby swings his body to pin Mouthy down, kneeling on her arms. I can hear his laugh, finding myself holding onto the railing next to Vince, both of us watching in anticipation.      Kate and Jeff are locked in a grappling standstill. The smiling killer looks over the blood-stained proxy's shoulder, seeing Toby pinning Mouthy. Jeff moves to put Kate between himself and the other two, throwing his whole weight into a single push. He throws Kate into Toby, knocking him off of the grey proxy. Mouthy tries to push herself up with her shaking arms, something clearly wrong with her leg. Kate doesn't try to regain any kind of composer, turning to wrestle Toby without a second thought, leaving Jeff with the perfect opportunity. As Mouthy searches for any surface to help her stand, Jeff kicks her arms out from under her. He looks down at her, kneeling by her shoulders to grip the cheeks of her mask. Jeff pulls it free in a quick motion, holding it up in victory.     "I win!" He shouts, causing Masky and Hoody to stir in the corner of my vision.      Mouthy lays motionless on the ground, her head resting between Jeff's knees, staring at the ceiling. He looks down to meet her frozen gaze, suddenly becoming entranced by her eyes. I watch as Jeff reaches his hand to brush her cheek, causing her mouth to open slightly. I take a step back as a fear-inducing scream leaves her lungs. I can almost hear the ripping of her larynx as Vince and I throw our hands over our ears in an attempt to muffle her battle cry. Hoody and Masky rush past us and down the stairs. The sound stops as Mouthy reals her fist back, not wasting a single breath before throwing it into Jeff's face. Suddenly gaining a pulse of adrenaline, Mouthy's body allows her to stand on one leg. She drops a knee into Jeff's ribs, leaning all her weight on that leg as she curls her gloved fingers though the gashes in his cheeks. Mouthy starts to pull down, attempting to rip his lower jaw off with a single burst of strength, but Masky and Hoody each grab one of her arms and pull her back. They hold tightly to her biceps, bending them behind her back. Mouthy growls an evil sound, struggling to break their grasp by rolling towards them. Her hood falls down as she fights, leaving her face and head uncovered. Now I can see her features fully, and though her body is contorted in desperation to be free; her face shows no emotion. Two faded grey eyes sit wide under her brow, looking at the other proxies holding her; her mouth is drawn into a thin line, and her cheeks are collapsed in slightly, making the shadows of her cheekbones very prominent.      "Mouthy!" Masky shouts with the sharp tone of authority, forcing her to stop struggling and just stare blankly at the ceiling. "Look at me." He commands, turning her around to face him. Mouthy meets his gaze through his mask, lowering her head in obedience and shame. He pulls her head into his chest to hide her face, nodding to Hoody. The yellow proxy walks over to Jeff, taking Mouthy's mask out of his hand.     "Next time, don't call me a liar." Masky growls, pointing at the pale man. Hoody passes the white mask to his partner, who in turn holds it out to the girl. I watch her take it in hand, letting her arm drop to her side.     "C-check your wounds and wash." Hoody mumbles to her. Mouthy nods in return, relaxing her shoulders a little.      Mouthy didn't look at Jeff, nor the other two proxies in the corner who had stopped wrestling. With her neck stuck looking forward, she limped up the stairs. Vince looked away from her, not wanting to befall the same fate as Jeff. However, I couldn't pull my gaze from her empty eyes. Mouthy shuffled past without incident, not making contact with either of us. But now I don't know if I can easily forget the brainwashed look in her eyes, a decayed grey glass that is the window into her empty mind.  - - -      I sit in the small infirmary, checking the labels on old pill bottles. Ben floats around me ranting on about how ancient this place is.    "..though the water system is pretty rusted. Did you know the generator that channels the electrical power here is practically running on gears and counterweights. I found some extra gas cans under the sink in the bathroom, it could be possible that it's used for the start-up but other than that it's pretty ethical."     "Why are you telling me this again?" I ask with a sharp tone.    "Because I felt like it, Doc." Ben says with a scowl, his hair falling from his face as he hangs upside down. "It's a good thing you're a surgeon and not a psychiatrist." He grumbles flipping rightside up, aiming to sit on the cot. He lands with a thump, shaking out his bangs so they sit in their normal position.    "Like anyone here needs a psychiatrist." I say in monotone, not looking at him. "I already know you're all crazy."    "True story. And speaking of stories, what exactly happened downstairs? I got distracted from Jeff's game, sounded like I got lucky too." Ben snickers.    "Mouthy didn't take Jeff's win very lightly."    "That was her! I totally thought it was Toby or that other chick, Kate." Ben slams his hands down on the side of the cot. I'm honestly annoyed with the elf, if he wanted to know what happened he should have been there. Though he did wander down after Mouthy disappeared, just in time to see Masky make Jeff spare with Vince. The proxy's attempt to punish the psycho and train the new-guy at the same time. Well it worked, now Kate and Toby are being forced to watch without being given anything else to do. I will give Masky the credit of being able to torture people mentally the way he does, hitting them at their weakest link.      "Jack?" Ben asks with a hint of annoyance, dragging out the "A". "Can you hear me, Doc?"     "I can now. Sorry, I was thinking." I look over to Ben, who is standing next to the cot, raising an eyebrow at me. "What'd you say?"    "I was just explaining how bored I am without my gaming consoles, and how you're not much of an upgrade. So, I'm going to go and see if I can make fun of Jeff while he's training with the new-guy." Ben turns on his heel, about to float off his toes. Instead he pauses. "If you're done re-reading the same bottle over and over again, you should come down with me so we can make bets on who'll snap first, the twitch or the knife-fanatic." Ben snickers, adjusting his green cap before kicking off the ground and floating around the corner. With a sigh, I put down the brown pill bottle and follow him. He's only doing this because he's bored, and apparently dragging me along makes things more interesting. I could use this time to examine the fighting styles of Vince or Kate, and possibly see if Masky need assistance with anything. I'll admit, as long as we're in this underground training facility, I don't want to be on his shit list.     Ben is first to head down the ladders, quickly scaling them without having to touch a single rung. I'm not a half ghost hybrid, so I'm slow to reach the floor below the dorm. As I reach to grab the next ladder, my ears pick up the tiniest sigh. It surprises me, and I focus my hearing to where I thought it came from. Running water? Ben did say the pipes work, but I can't remember seeing any working faucets around. Where is it coming from? I piece together the bits of information my senses can pick up, and walk down the hallway. I notice two archways to my left. The closest one is empty aside from a large sink and a couple toilet stalls without doors. I can still hear the running water, but its not coming from the bathroom. I walk slower towards the second archway, the sound grows louder as I approach. I walk into the light of the room, immediately seeing the source of the sound. I take a quick step back, blinking to be sure I wasn't mistaken.       Lining the wall of the room is three shower stalls without dividers, the center faucet being the source of the running water. On the floor near the arch's frame is a pile of grey and blue clothes, topped with Mouthy's white mask and a black headband. Understanding what I walked in on, I look back into the room with a soften composer. Mouthy sits naked under the constant stream of water, hugging her knees tightly to her chest. She faces away from me with her chin resting on her arms, strategically covering herself. I reach up to quietly remove my mask, not wanting to have my vision darkened by it's fabricated eyes ,and return to staring at Mouthy.     She remains motionless, almost like she's asleep, not registering my presence. She breathes normally, giving a sigh with each exhale. Her body looks like the perfect model from an anatomy book, her arms and legs both being incredibly well toned. However, her back is covered with random scars and bruises, each diverse shades of purple or yellow. Curious about the limp she had earlier, my gaze traces her hip to see a large bruise forming around the joint, slightly inflamed. It fits in with the other bruises covering her legs, surrounding a well stitched gash that trails down her calf. I continue to stare as Mouthy twitches, causing her arm to fall to her side making a splashing sound. I take another step back, silencing my breath while I watch her lift her hand to her hair. She runs her fingers through her short chestnut locks, clawing at the back of her head. Without the thin black headband she was wearing earlier, that cut makes her look like a boy fresh out of highschool. She pulls her other hand to her head, curling deeper in on herself, groaning.      "Look who found some fun, aye Jack?" Ben's wispy voice tickles my neck. I turn so that I can see the red in his eyes, then give a snarl and flash my teeth. Ben gives a perverted smirk, hovering around me. "So you are enjoying this?" He snickers. I glare and give a "ha." If I speak too loud or get angry, she'll definitely know we're here. Combining what she tried to do to Jeff, and the results from yesterday's fight; she'll more than likely go for my eyes sockets again. Rather than risking the little eye sight I have left, just to win an argument with Ben, I step back slowly until I reach the bathroom. Of course, Ben hovers behind, landing beside me the moment we're in hiding.     "So, what'cha gunna do now that you've been caught peeking?" Ben threatens me with blackmail, and I raise my brow.     "Did you see what she was doing?" I ask.    "Bathing naked, duh."    "She wasn't focused, she should have noticed us. She was motionless, Ben."    "Perfect time to strike, bro."    "Dammit Ben, I mean she's not there." I groan, pulling my mask back on as I remember the empty look she had earlier. "I can remember a few times when Toby's said that he can't remember anything before he was a proxy, same with Masky. Could it be that all the proxies are wiped clean like that? Including her. " Ben gives me a look of disbelief, mumbling.    "Why the hell does it matter to us what Slender does with his slaves? They should consider themselves lucky, I wish I could forget." Ben kicks off the ground again, floating peacefully in the room.    "I guess it really doesn't matter, my curiosity just got the best of me." I grumble, taking my leave from the room. If Ben was right, and we really don't have any need to know what goes on in the faceless-man's head, then why did the elf drag me down here to join this huge mess? Dammit! I wish I could quench my urge to understand. I mentally groan, looking behind me and down the hall. I can barely hear Mouthy's humming under the sound of running water; and the white mask that she hides behind sits leaning on the frame of the archway. - - -     Mouthy steps from the showers, dried and dressed. Her hair sticking to the inside of her hoodie as she moves her head. She stands in the hall, looking at the floor. With a sigh, Mouthy steps into the room with the generator, flicking the switch to drown the building in darkness. Around an hour ago, she heard the boys climb up the ladder into the dorm. Expecting that they'll be curled in their hammocks, she looks down the hall letting her eyes adjust to the darkness again. Mouthy takes a small step towards the ladder, putting her injured hand on the nearest rung. Listening for their breathing, she stops her own breath from escaping in order to catch the groans of their dreaming. Mouthy lets go of the ladder with a sinking feeling in her chest, something she's grown to recognize as a sign of pain. But she's never been able to understand where the pain originates form. Could it have been from the fight? Was the water too hot, and caused her to grow feverish?      Confused and a little dizzy, Mouthy tries to slink her way down to the bottom floor of the building. She stumbles towards one of the concrete benches, about to collapse from mental exhaustion. But her partner, Kate, has already taken the sleeping place she had in mind. Mouthy kneels down next to the stained proxy, quietly saying her name in a robotic voice.    "Kate?" Mouthy groans, her throat strangely dry. "Its back..." Kate stirs awake, looking at Mouthy in the darkness. They lock eyes with each other, exchanging mental messages.     "... head... hurts?" She questions, with a growl. Mouthy nods, humming the tuning of a radio.    "The girl who laughs..." She whines, pulling her gloved hands to her hood. Digging at her scalp, she mimics the joyfilled laugh of a young girl. Repeating it on a loop. Mouthy begins to hiccup, her voice shutting off. Kate stares as her partner curls in on herself, shaking her head back and forth. "Go away!... I'm sorry, I'm sorry..." Mouthy mutters under her mask, wrapping her arms around her own body. Kate rolls to her knees, throwing her strong arms around the other girl in a crushing embrace.     "...Forget..." She commands and Mouthy's murmuring stops, turning only into heavy breathes as she returns the tight gesture. "No more CR... no more laughing girl..."      Kate and Mouthy stayed that way until the grey proxy had calmed down enough to sleep. The two girls laid back to the other, breathing calmly and quietly as if nothing had happened.