Dark Secret

Chapter 12

Thud.
Pain in his chest. Someone hitting him.
Thud.
Ribs aching.
Thud.
Must get them to stop, this is agony.
Thud.
Jack's eyes blinked open and he stared into the eyes of the perpetrator. The person who was doing press-ups on his chest, the person who was digging the ball of his right hands into his ribs repeatedly. His eyes weren't matching, his left eye was a light brown, the colour of hazelnuts and his right eye was a deep red, the colour of blood.
He knew those eyes.
But he couldn't remember where. It was as if he was staring into the eyes of two different people, one full of kindness and love, the other full of hatred and bitterness. They were familiar, so familiar. Suddenly the eyes were gone and he could see nothing as blackness filled his vision. He felt a pair of lips fix themselves to his and fingers pinch his nose before air was hurled into his lungs.
It made him cough. A mass of water was ejected out of him through his mouth as if somebody had just punctured a water tank. He spluttered as his vision returned and he gazed up at the eyes again. Now he could see a mouth as well. It's lips, talking to him, shouting at him, then they connected with his again and more air was spewed into his lungs. He flipped onto his side and the remainder of the water that had flooded his lungs was projected from his mouth out onto the hard cold floor he lay on.
He coughed and sat upright - hunched and wheezing, unable to speak. He looked up at the face of his lifesaver. He stared for what felt like a few moments, trying to work out the identity of the man standing above him. It looked like Mark's face, only it didn't look quite right, it looked distorted somehow. Then the face spoke, it's voice sounding husky and broken.

"Jesus Jack, I know they say someone as handsome as you can take your breath away, but I didn't realise it was meant to be taken so literally."

A grin spread across Jack's face, it was definitely Mark and no doubt about it. He watched as Mark lowered himself to the floor and lay on his back, completely out of breath, quietly laughing as he looked over at Jack who was smiling at him, and alive. He wasn't even entirely sure where they were, it looked like some kind of warehouse, but quite frankly he didn't care as long as Jack was safe. Then quickly his smile faded, realising if one of them didn't leave soon, it would stay that way for long. Jack saw the happiness drain from Mark's face and he suddenly remembered everything that had led up to now as he noticed Mark's swollen lip, black eye and broken nose and small scratches and cuts covering his face and arms. Images flashing through his mind of the events that had just occurred. He vaguely recalled lashing out at Mark and kicking him full force in the face with his foot, which would explain his broken nose and perhaps his eye and lip, however it didn't explain the cuts. He remembered being held below the surface of the pool and his vision fading and also remembered going beneath the floor boards to save Matt.
Matt.
Jack's jaw became slightly unhinged as his memory came flooding. Blood. So much blood. He was covered in it, he couldn't stop it, it was coming too fast and it wasn't slowing down.
Then as suddenly as it started, it stopped.
He looked at Mark who was now sitting against the thin metal wall, holding his knees close to his chest. His eyes were shining, as if they were made of glass and there was a lump stuck in his throat. Then he began to sob uncontrollably, his face hidden out of shame from Jack. He had killed his best friend by planting a knife in his back and had to stand there and watch him die. He drowned his boyfriend in their pool and was too weak to regain control until he had stopped breathing. He started to calm himself when he heard the squeaking of Jack's shoe on the cement floor as he attempted to quietly approach him. Jack was taken off guard and stumbled back slightly as Mark quickly pulled out a hand gun from under his jacket and pointed it towards him. He instinctively put his hands out in front of him in an attempt to shield himself from potentially being shot. But he wasn't. He slowly lowered his arms and looked at Mark who was clearly terrified, however he was also out of options. "Jack... don't come any closer." Jack stood for a second, trying to work out what to do. He knew Mark wouldn't shoot him, but if he came any closer he knew there was also the possibility he would turn the gun on himself instead. However he might do that anyway if he didn't.
He could see Mark struggling to keep his expression from wavering and it was obvious he was only just keeping it together. Jack knew Mark blamed himself because really there was nobody else to blame, Dark was still a part of him that fed off his weaknesses, his fears and his anger. And he wasn't strong enough to stop it.
Jack took a small step toward him, hands outstretched in front of him, one acting as a shield and the other holding out his hand offering to take the gun. This just aggravated Mark more. "I SAID STAY BACK! I MEAN IT JACK!" His hand were visibly shaking as he struggled to keep the gun aimed at him and there was tear tracks down his cheeks. He hated this. He just wanted to go home with Jack and everything be back to normal. He wanted to have Ryan and Matt over and have fun, but he scared and beaten one of them and killed the other. And although he knew Jack still cared for him, he knew things couldn't go back to the way they were just like that. The only way he could see getting out of this was to kill himself. He knew what it would do to Jack but it was better for both of them than the alternative. But first he wanted Jack to leave, he couldn't put Jack through having to see that. He took a deep breath and steadied his hands.
"Jack, please. Just leave."
Jack could hear the sadness in his voice, the sound of defeat. Jack had suspected what Mark was planning to do and this for him confirmed it. He looked either side of him to see if there was anyway he could momentarily distract Mark so he could make a move for the gun. Then there was no need as one of the doors burst open and a security guard ran in, his gun aimed at Mark. He had overheard the shouting coming from the warehouse they were in and had seen Mark pointing the gun at Jack through the small gap in between the double doors. They both froze as the man came running towards them. In a state of panic Mark turned to aim his gun at the guard which gave Jack the opportunity to grab it from him. He ran towards Mark but before he knew what was happening he was on his back and his ears ringing, Mark looking across at him with a look of shock, eyes wide. Jack tried to sit himself up but was instantly met with an unbearable pain in his gut, looking down his shirt which was now even bloodier than earlier. He just sat there staring at it, completely oblivious to his surroundings as he stared at the hole in his stomach. At first he didn't even notice Mark right in front of him, grabbing his face trying to gain his attention. He looked at Mark but he couldn't think of nothing to say so just sat with his mouth gaping, still in shock. Mark suddenly became extremely calm and lowered his hands from his face before craning his neck to look at the man, who had now lowered his gun and was trying to process the fact he just shot someone. Mark looked back at Jack only, it wasn't really Mark. Both his eyes were now a deep red and his hair seemed impossibly dark, his eye teeth resembled the fangs of a cat; sharp and pointed. The veins in the top of his head were prominent. He stood up and looked down at Jack, then back at the man who dropped his gun upon seeing Mark's demonic features. Mark turned his whole body to face him and stood, completely still.