Frozen Chains

Chapter 17

Jack curled in on himself slightly, closing his eyes, willing Pitch to go away. He couldn't handle going back to the lair again, or any more of the torturous methods that were so often inflicted on him.

"Oh, Jack." Pitch said quietly, stroking Jack's cheek with a long finger. "You never should have left, you know."

Jack shuddered at the oddly loving touch. "I-I'm sor-sorry." He whispered, shaking.

"Not nearly as sorry as you will be here in a moment." The Nightmare King chuckled.

Jay shrank back as much as he could when Pitch approached the bed he was laying on. Jack shivered. Was his brother going to be hurt again?

His twin probably wouldn't be able to take much more of this.

"You're all bandaged up. The Guardians actually tried to help you, didn't they? And here I thought that no one cared." Pitch laughed, "Well, look where caring got the Sandman! He's dead now, and it's all your fault, too."

Jack suddenly felt very guilty. Was Sandy's death really their fault? If the Guardians had never cared for the teenagers, would Sandman still be alive?

Jay whimpered.

Don't hurt Jay. You can hurt me instead.

"They have you strapped down. This will help nicely for what I'm about to do, and I assure you, it won't be much fun... For you, anyways." 

Looking panicked, Jay went very still. The both of them knew better than to try and fight back. Pitch crossed the room, searching through the Guardians cupboards. He muttered things under his breath, throwing useless object away until-

"I knew it." Pitch smirked. He picked up a tray that was full of metal instruments used for surgeries. "Are you ready, Jay?"

Jay pressed himself as hard as he could against the pillows, whimpering.

"Don't hurt h-him, Pitch." Jack pleaded, "Pl-please, l-leave him alone! Please, d-don't do this... "

"My dear Jack, you don't have a say." Pitch smiled.

He selected a medium sized scalpel and lowered it to the skin around Jay's eye. Jay stopped trembling, going completely frozen, shutting his eye. Pitch traced the lethal blade around his skin.

"Hold very still, and maybe you won't suffer as much." Pitch cooed, "Now, open your eye."

Jay nearly sobbed.

Pitch waited, but Jay didn't comply.

"Open your eye or I will cut out your brothers' tongue." Pitch hissed.

"No!" Jack cried, "Jay, d-d-don't- "

Jay's face crumpled, and slowly, opened both eyes, whose blue depths were filled with fear. Jack didn't want to watch, but he didn't want to look away.

Pitch pushed the blade down, which slid into the flesh of Jay's eye like a knife piercing a hard boiled egg. A long, tortured, drawn out scream filled the room, almost wolf-like and shattered through with agony.

Dragging the knife through, Pitch laughed, laughed at Jay's pain. Blood covered his face and dripped down his neck and onto the floor, forming a puddle.

More screaming. Evil laughter. The smell of blood.

What remained of Jay's eye was ragged and messy, a pink and purplish blob of shredded flesh only partially attached to the eye socket. Jack leaned over the side of his bed and vomited, everything in his stomach (which wasn't much) coming up and splattering onto the ground. Bile stung his throat and made his eyes water.

Jay shrieked and screamed openly as the last bit of his eye was removed and thrown onto the floor. Pitch undid his restraints and laughed as Jay immediately  shrank into a tiny ball, his hands forming claws and covering his right eye, sobbing.

"Stop crying!" Pitch snapped. "Think of the people you've killed, Jay. They deserve to be crying, not scum  like you!"

He struck the side of Jay's face forcefully. Jack heard the sound of a smack and another scream as Pitch's hand collided with the agonized empty eye socket of his brother.

Jay let out a shaky, ragged breath, struggling not to cry but finding he couldn't, tears rolling down his cheeks. Jack, desperate to get Pitch's attention off Jay, whispered, "Why?"

"Why, Jack?" Pitch said, not turning around. "I'm doing everyone a favor. Everyone else thinks that you two deserve this. If the Guardians didn't before, they will now, especially after seeing what you've done to Sandy."

He grabbed a fistful of Jay's hair, yanking upward. "Isn't that right, Jay?"

Jay screamed in pain again and coughed, blood spraying from his mouth.

"STOP!" Jack screamed, "I'M BEGGING YOU!"

Pitch whirled, smacking Jack across the face and locking his hands around Jack's throat, constricting and blocking necessary air flow. The Winter Spirit's small hands scrambled frantically at Pitch's tightly clenched fingers. His chest and throat hurt, his head pounding. Being strangled is very painful, and Jack knew from experience.

His vision went dark just as the door to the infirmary blew open. Pitch let go and Jack saw North take one look at him and and his brother before giving a roar of fury, charging forward with both swords drawn.

Tooth shrieked, running to Jay, trying to talk to him but crying instead, wiping tears off his cheeks. Bunny asked Jack, "Jack, can ya hear me? Can you breathe?"

Jack's windpipe had been partially crushed, blocking most of his air. He looked Bunny in the eye and violently shook his head.

"Sandy, get him a mask...! Sandman?" Bunny looked furiously around the room, then noticed a pile of golden sand in the corner of the room. 

Bunny swore, his facial features tightening, shutting his eyes. The fact that Sandman was dead was just hitting him.

He opened his eyes. "Worry about that later, mate." Bunny said to himself. He launched himself across the room, dodging attacks from Pitch and grabbing and oxygen mask and tank.

Jack struggled for air, gasping. He was only getting the tiniest bit of oxygen.

"You can't protect them forever, Guardians!" Pitch screeched, then disappeared into a cloud of dark dreamsand.

When the sand cleared, Pitch was gone.

Jack was only conscious long enough to hear Jay sobbing and see Bunny fit the mask over his nose and mouth before passing out.