Chains: Eyeless Jack X Reader

Chapter 24

  {Jack's POV}

            Cicadas chirped around him as he walked through the woods, the waning sunlight tinting the air with a strangely pink glow. Most of the pain in his head had subsided, but it still throbbed a little bit. Maybe it would have been better to wait another night, but their food supplies were running low. Only a small sliver of intestines remained from the camper's corpse after several days of careful rationing, and the "normal" food was starting to run out too. Hunting was necessary.

            Soon enough he reached the edge of the forest and crept along. Given his condition, he decided against breaking into a house or anything big just yet and instead decided to look for an easy kill. Scouring the park discreetly, he soon came across a woman in her thirties adorned in slightly ragged clothes, sitting on a bench with an open newspaper on her lap like a blanket. Perfect, he thought with a smile. Homeless people always made for easy kills, and best of all no one would miss them or report them missing.

            Sneaking up on her from behind, he drew his scalpel and quickly lunged, placing a hand over her mouth to silence her screams. The woman didn't even have time to register what was happening before he'd drawn the scalpel across her neck, quickly ending her life. Once that was done he dragged her body out of sight behind a cluster of trees to cut her stomach open and removing her organs.

            Satisfied at a job well done, he ate a kidney and a bit of her lungs, savoring the taste of fresh organs. Everything tasted so much sweeter since he'd escaped captivity... A low growl rumbled in his throat at the thought of his captivity, and of that man's manic smile. No. Don't think about it. He'd dead, you're free now. [Name] wasn't, though. Unexpectedly he felt a pang of remorse as he thought of her expression when he'd put the chain on her ankle again, how it was full of betrayal and hurt.

            Honestly, the chain wasn't really all that necessary... Jack knew [Name] wouldn't try to run away. If she were, she would've just left him in the clearing tied to a tree. Sure, he'd be mad, but once he came to his sense he probably wouldn't have gone after her. Guilt over harming her would have prevented him from pursuing her. Besides, she really DID have no where to go. He had all her papers, and if she went to the police she'd probably be the prime suspect, or placed in a mental facility for insisting an eyeless organ-eating monster had kidnapped her after being held prisoner by her guardian.

            He couldn't take the risk though. Right now, he needed her. Her presence was a comfort to the eyeless being. Sometimes, when he started feeling overcome by the memories, he couldn't stand being alone. It drowned him, made him want to scream and cry, feeling like he was consumed by a void of emptiness. Knowing [Name] was just a couple doors away, though, always brought him a sense of comfort and peace. With her around, he wasn't truly alone, and that was exactly what he needed.

            That's why he couldn't risk it. He couldn't be alone, not anymore. A rueful smirk crossed his face as he thought about it. Before, none of this would have mattered. Solitude would have been preferred, actually, but ever since Buddy... No, don't think about it. He's dead.

            Packing the remaining organs in jars, he carried them into the woods and hid them near a tall tree marked by some lovesick teenagers. The night was still young, he thought with grin as he walked away, twirling his scalpel in his hands. Might as well have some fun hunting.