femme!reader x Laughing Jack : arc 2 Paranoia (English)

Chapter 2

          Waking up with a start, I found myself on a headstand down the bed that I had rented, my London map laying on my head. Sighting heavily, I sat up, slapped myself a few times and resumed studying both the maps I had brought with me.
Granted, I didn't come on this island to bring put the mocker on the inhabitants nor for a cure, I just wanted answers... that's why I had to find the Grossman's house. From what I did observe in the past of Jack or rather, what I remembered of it, I did assume that it was not far from the Docks. Of course, it was only a hypothesis beefed up by researches, and it sounded like this :

Big boats' sirens had often made the attic shook and, I do recall that Isaac's drunkard of a father had worked by the docks and always got home late at night and wasted... so taking in that the docks had to be rather close to the house, which had to be in the town's cheapest district... It could have weather been the London's Docks right, next to the Tower of London, or the commercial docks facing Isle of Dogs. So, after studying a map of the town in the XVIII and XIX centuries, I reduced my field of research around, both the harbors and, mostly on the south-eastern side of the Thames that Isaac's thick Cockney accent seemed to point out.

-"Hmpf... big deal, if I'm to stay on those tracks, I'll be on my way to sell this shitty story to Spielberg for the next Indiana Jones..." I bitterly thought while pouring myself a cup of tea. Suddenly, I felt something heating up on my skin.

-"Oh honey, I'm sure the whip would suit ya perfectly..." he purred his voice low and menacing.

-"Well you better mind your teeth ; I just might make myself a necklace out of it..." I growled through clenched teeth. Sure I was afraid, but the lack of sleep and the stalking shit that had greatly gotten on my nerves... I wasn't going to take any of this lewd-shit.

-"Ow, that's sweet love, but careful 'cause I just might enjoy such treatment..." he giggled as his voice faded, letting the rain tapping on the window be the only sound shielding me from the silence.

At that moment, I felt a burning pain on my neck and, when I watched under my t-shirt, I saw a brun mark on my sternum. To see better, I pushed the crank that I was wearing as a pendant, but let go of it quickly. 'What in Hell's name...?' it was hot... 'It's just as if Jack's presence heated up... just like a chemical reaction'.
When thinking about it, this hypothesis could very well be the master-plot of the worst Harry Potter fanfic ever written, but after all ; I had been chased since those four last years by a psychopathic monochrome clown, killed three monsters in one night... As a master mind-fuck, it was pretty decent... but that, for sure, was only the beginning...


I had left my bedroom in the Folkstone's Southcliff Hotel to continue on my journey. According to my GPS, the trip would be about a quarter to one, and would lead me straight to London.
And even though I wasn't quite awake, I did manage to enter the capital. I soon had to stop at a red light and took the opportunity to close my eyes a bit and take a seep of water. Once done, I turned back to look at the lights but suddenly, I caught sight of something moving on my left ; a child making funny faces at me. It wasn't the first time.... but, after some time, her movements seemed to get faster, then outgrowths appeared, her eyes became pitch black, her skin grayish and the shaking of her head becoming more and more epileptic.

Miiiiip

Startled by the sound of a horn I eventually realized that the light had already turned green and that the car with the girl had departed. Shaking this off, I resumed on riding down the road and finally arrived at the meeting place half an hour before what we had agreed on.

And, even though I was pretty much here for my clown problems, I told myself that go sightseeing wouldn't be a crime. Plus, if I had to wait for the woman I was supposed to work for as an au pair.... might as well make it interesting... and it would make a nice photo for Liz to see.
Indeed, after seeing the prices of a single night in London's hotels... I quickly made the choice to find a family ready to keep me for a while. However, it had it's disadvantages ; I'll have far less time to go on my own and search for that house and it could bring a lot of dangerous things into the lives of those innocent people.... 'More reasons to finish this quick and clean...'


I soon arrived before the monument and was already under it's spell ; the towers of raw stones, the arced windows... it was splendide! As I sorted my phone to take a picture, my eyes got attracted by something red coming out of one of the windows ; hundred of thousands of robin flowers had been placed all around the monument. Watching this work of art in awe, it then seemed like the flowers were... moving? As if they were 'flowing' from the window ; as if, slowly, the flow poppy was turning into one of blood. When I realized it, I thought I saw the colors 'dripping' from the walls, trees and even the sky and clouds. And all were falling in straight lines, nourishing the whirlpool that was now forming... red the only color left for me to see.

Numb ; that's what I was at that moment. A trembling from gripping at the stone made guardrail for dear life. And, after what seemed like an eternity, steam started to come out of the raging liquid.

-"Careful love, even though I love the way ya bend over... it's still dangerous... who knows? ya might fall down..." he cooed before exploding in his signature laughter.

-"HEY YA! WHAT D'YA THINK YA DOIN' ?!!! BACK UP FROM THE BORD!!!" shouted a feminine voice.
I then opened my eyes and, pushed myself away, my mind still a bit overthrown by all this visions... I was in sweat ; that was a close one! "What were ya thinkin'?! Suicide is against all of our Lord's laws!" she reprimanded while catching both my shoulders.

-"I-I'm sorry m'am, I... it's just... I-I thought I saw something funny looking down below..., and I must have bend too much..." I said as I tried to regain my cool as well as my words and my faked accent.

-"Oh well, at least ya in on e piece... but don't ya dare risk yaself for such silliness! There already are so many sins to be forgiven for..." she added crossing herself. I would have never thought that, even to this days, somebody could be that much of a rosary rattler.... oh well, she means no harm! "Ya not from here aren't ya?" she asked. I then told her were I came from and also why I had come and, when talking of the au pair, her eyes went wide... she then asked my name ; I told her. Just half a second after, my poor fingers found themselves caught in a deadly trap between hers.
She introduced herself, and I recognized the name of my taskmaster ;

Avalon Salmton : a middle aged woman with a rosy chubby face, brown-green eyes, thin lips and hair of a vibrant orange. The remainder, was a stocky and stubby body hidden by some worn-out jeans, a washed out blue parka.

As we had agreed, she had come by foot from her work place. So we took my car and traveled to her house, while she told me some little things about her son : a brainless, unruly macho... what a dream boat!

After about twenty minutes of riding, we finally arrived before a little house made of red bricks in the northern suburb of London, in Dog's Isle, not very far from the the Dock's Land Medical Center. I parked the car and took my belongings with me.

The entry was narrow and two muddy pairs of shoes had been carelessly discarded right in the middle...
Then, out of the blue, we heard someone rushing down the stairs and, only had the time to step out of the way, only to see a silhouette exiting the house at lightning speed.
Avalon sighted heavily and, suddenly, we heard laughs coming from upstairs. She then ran up the stairs and, after some screams and the distinct sound of a ground-shaking slap, silence filed the house.

Rather disconcerted, I stood against the wall, my eyes wide with my bag held close against my chest.

-"Uhm y/n..." Avalon called. Regaining my composure as best as I could, I landed my eyes on her. "Sorry for scaryin' y-"

-"Tch! If she's the type to pee herself for that, she's free to go back in faggot-Land!" echoed a still breaking voice from upstairs.


'That's gonna be a long shot'