"What do I do now?"
Jacob looks at you strangely. "What an odd question. I'd have thought the answer to that would have been obvious. Stay alive, protect Nicole. She's the key."
You shrug. "I couldn't think of anything else."
Jacob sighs. "I'd tell you more, but I'm not capable. Like I said, I need the question in order to give the answer. It's how it works."
"Well, can I ask another --"
There is a pounding on the door. A muffled voice from outside commands you to open up.
"It's too late," Jacob says, sadly. "You take care of Nicole, now. I'm sorry I couldn't stay with you to help you. You'll have to leave me behind."
"I..."
Jacob rises from his seat. You also stand. "Wait," you say. "You're not going to let them --"
Jacob only smiles, sadly, as the pounding on the door suddenly ceases. A body is heard thumping to the ground. Blood starts to flow under the door and into the room.
No-Face steps through the door. Through it, like a ghost through a wall.
Jacob turns to face him. No-Face regards him for a moment, then lifts a hand, index finger with nail extended. He inserts the nail into Jacob's ear.
Jacob does not scream. His knees go, and his body thumps to the ground and vanishes.
No-Face turns toward you.
"The fuck do you want from me!?" you scream at him.
He only stares coldly at you in response.
You angrily take a step forward, raising your fist. "Who the fuck are you!?"
we are you
Your own voice, sent back at you through impossible, weird echoes. You sink to your knees before this man.
He moves forward, stepping with no sound. The walls are closing in on you. The entire room tilts out of reason and focus.
You can only see his hands. You look up at his face once more.
"What do you want from me," you say weakly. You're at the limit of your strength. Every cell in your body wants to sleep, to end this nightmare.
Your only answer is a growing hissing noise, like static.
Everything goes white.
*************************************
You wake up. The pain is significant, but not as bad as you might have feared.
Nicole is smiling at you. David stands behind her, looking slightly uncomfortable.
"Welcome back, Wolfy," she says, and hugs you.
"Nicole," you say, your voice dry and ragged. "What happened?"
"You're back," she says simply, pressing her face against your chest. You're laying on a bed. The room looks like a master bedroom. The bed you're on is huge.
David walks over to the side of the bed. "You've been out of it for a long time," he says, his eyes not quite meeting yours. "Frankly, I'm not sure how you survived."
You gently push Nicole away from you. "Jacob," you say.
Nicole's smile falters. Your eyes shift up to David. He merely shakes his head. "No."
You suddenly feel very tired. "Sleep now," you say. "Talk later."
"I'll be waiting," Nicole says.
David simply walks away. You shut your eyes.
***************************************
No dreams this time. Only darkness. And a watchful presence.
***************************************
Days pass. How many, you're not sure. Nicole takes care of you. Gradually your periods of wakefulness eclipse your periods of sleep. You do not dream. You eat and drink with Nicole's help. Your strength returns in small doses.
Eventually the time comes to remove the bandages. Over half your body is covered by them. They come away bloody, but dry.
You finally feel well enough to join them for breakfast.
Sunlight spills through a window onto an elegant dining room table. The house you're staying in is very nice. Expensive, useless things adorn the shelves, the floor, the small tables that are in themselves expensive and useless.
Breakfast is eggs and biscuits. You take a deep smell and realize that for the first time in a long time, you're actually hungry.
The obvious questions have already been asked and answered. David managed to kill the last of the "Cavines" as he has coined them (I thought it was sort of clever, he smirked) the other being killed by your shotgun blast. You were badly torn and bleeding out.
"Really, you were all but torn to shreds," David had said as Nicole spooned food into you.
Jacob had been.
David had wanted to leave you and run. He admitted as much. "I honestly thought you were a lost cause, but Nicole wouldn't leave you behind."
The car's tires had been slashed. "Those fucking dogs did it," David said, shaking his head. "Smart little fuckers."
As soon as this realization came, more Cavines had shown up. Growling, threatening from the distance. There was no time to load the supplies from one vehicle to the other.
Pushing down the rear seats of the minivan, they had laid you in the back as best they could and driven toward Limestone.
But the gas had been almost on E when they started. With no other choice, they drove into a gated community called "Spanish Gardens" off the side of the highway. It was one of those lovely scenic rich people neighborhoods.
"Not so scenic anymore," David said.
They had run into trouble. Faceless. More Cavines. Crawlers. Soon, what little ammo they had from the shotgun, rifle, and 9mm was exhausted.
This house you're in now, situated on the edge of the canyon. Unlike the others they had checked, it was pristine. Like the owners were on vacation, or something. No blood, no mess. No hellish creatures.
"We've been foraging for supplies in the neighborhood," David says. "But we've been here with you for over two weeks. What little we could find is running out. I've stayed mostly in this small court. Four houses here, all in good shape like this one. I'm not going out into the others without some kind of weapon."
So. All your supplies gone. No car. A small price to pay for your life, perhaps.
what about Jacob, mmm?
Nicole is grinning at you with that cute little girl smile. "I'm glad you're back," she says, and slurps her drink.
"You should be dead, man," David says. "Nobody I know could have survived that much... damage. Not without immediate medical attention."
You shrug. "I always was a quick heal," you say.
David shakes his head. "I'd say your chances of living were less than one in a million. You should be dead," he repeats.
You finish your breakfast. Other than a shitload of scars all over your upper body and face (Nicole had said those made you look handsomer) you're pretty much recovered from your close encounter with the Cavine.
You've shaved, showered, and Nicole has promised to cut your hair. Enough for one day. Tomorrow you can start thinking about your next move, again.
You head back up to the bedroom. It's on the second story. Your legs are still weak, but you'll regain your strength. You lay down and close your eyes.
The door creaks open. Your eyes snap back open.
Nicole comes into the room. She has changed out of her previous shorts and t-shirt and is now wearing a small black jacket, blue shirt, and jeans with embroidery down the sides. Her hair is parted to the side.
She walks over to you and crawls into bed next to you. You put your arm around her and stroke her cheek.
"Thanks for saving me, kid," you say. She smiles.
"Just returning the favor, Wolfy," she says.
she's not the one who brought you back, hahaha
You listen until her breathing slows, and then close your eyes yourself.
*************************************************
To be continued.
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