Entry #12050104001305

Cryptic Pseudonyms

As Jay entered Tim's house, he was surprised to see Tim sitting on the couch, his foot propped up on a pillow that had been placed on the coffee table. For some reason, he had expected Tim to be in his room, and he wished he had been; at least that way, he could have brought Jessica and the hooded man into the house and explained everything to Tim before he caught sight of the two. Instead, Tim was left shocked as not only Jay and Jessica entered, but also a strange, masked and hooded man.

"Jay, what the hell is going on." It was phrased more like a demand than a question and Jay nearly shrunk away in embarrassment.

"I went to Rosswood," he admitted sheepishly, knowing he was about to get a lecture.

"I thought you said you were going to the store."

"He did," Jessica piped up, holding up the bag of oranges, immediately adding, "You're Tim, right?"

"Yeah," he cautiously added as if he was unsure about his answer.

"I thought you looked familiar. I think we met once," Jessica said. "I'm a friend of Jay's and Alex's. Well, I was a friend of Alex's."

"That doesn't explain why he's here," Tim said, warily jerking his head in the direction of the hooded man.

"Alex attacked," Jay said, beginning his explanation. "I know I told you I was going to the store - and I did - but I also went back to Rosswood-"

"How could you possibly think that was a good idea?" Tim accused.

"I don't know! But, I mean, it's a good thing I did. Because Alex kidnapped Jessica."

Tim looked surprised. "He kidnapped you?"

Jessica nodded.

"He held a gun to her head and questioned her about me but the masked saviour over there saved her. And I think he got hurt in the process."

Everyone turned to look at the hooded man, his face concealed by the indifferent expression of the mask. If Jay had guessed right, the red staining his hoodie had grown since they had left the forest, which would mean he was correct in guessing that the man had been injured. Neither Jessica nor Jay had heard the gun go off and he had taken it from Alex before severe damage could be done, but that meant he had been hurt some other way. It was likely that Alex had brought a knife along as well.

"Can I help you?" Jay asked, feeling all eyes on him. The man held perfectly still for several long moments before just barely nodding.

As Jay led him to the bathroom, he heard Jessica take a seat on the couch and begin asking about Tim's leg.

In the bathroom, the hooded and masked man stood awkwardly before Jay gestured for him to take a seat on the toilet lid. Once he had stiffly sat himself down, Jay pulled the first aid kit from the medicine cabinet, opening it up before looking back at the man.

"Could you... Uhm... Take your hoodie off? So I can see the wound?"

The man seemed to tense and Jay quickly added, "You can leave the mask on, I just need to see the wound."

With that reassurance, the man slowly grabbed the edge of his hoodie, slipping his arms out and pulling it over his head. The black shirt beneath pulled up enough for Jay to see part of the wound before falling back into place and obstructing his view. As Jay lowered to his knees with the kit in his hands, the man lifted his shirt so Jay could see the wound again. It looked as if he had been stabbed, but the cut was shallow and not very long. At best, it needed a few stitches but as the official unofficial medic of the household, Jay settled for cleaning the wound with alcohol and bandaging it up.