FIREFLIES - Eyeless Jack X Reader

Chapter 13 - A Conversation

"So...Questions, huh?" I ask aloud, clearly still unsure of how in the world this interaction was even supposed to go. Like, do I try to act normal and ask easy questions first, or do I cut straight into the meat and get the worst out of the way? What questions do I even have? I was so busy enjoying my time in the shower that I forgot to think of questions.

Ugh, I should've made a list before coming out here.

EJ sat quietly, a hand clutching that thick marker and waiting to scribble down whatever answers he could. He's holding that thing so tightly that I'm worried it's gonna snap in half.

"Uhhm...I guess I'll start with the biggest one; what -ah- what was that thing? That attacked me?" I didn't exactly have the words to describe...whatever the hell that gangly thing was. Not that I wanted to describe it anyway, just thinking about my encounter with it made a cold chill shoot down my spine.

I pulled the blanket tighter over my form to block out the shivers washing over me, despite the many layers I was now wearing. I turned my attention to EJ, who had nodded in acknowledgement and was now scrawling his response.

'It's called "The Rake". It just showed up one day, out of nowhere. I don't know where it came from, or how it even exists. Usually it lurks in the dense trees you might find in partially developed suburban areas. Nobody I've talked to understands exactly what it's after, or why it's here. At first, it killed anything that both moved and had a lot of meat, as if it were a starving animal trying to survive. But over time it stopped killing for food, and started killing for entertainment. It attacks with almost no warning, and it seems to appear and disappear whenever it wants, nobody can ever keep track of the damn thing. Honestly, I don't actually know that much about it. Since it's not very intelligent and can't talk, I can't exactly interview it. And unlike me, who has to hurt people in order to survive -and hates it-, The Rake likes to play, it likes to hunt. Whether it's prey gets eaten or not is an afterthought.' EJ turned the notebook around, but it felt like he was avoiding my gaze with all he's got. That blue mask of his seemed to be pointed anywhere other than me.

I feel my throat run dry. His response did nothing to make me feel better, in fact, it almost had me feeling worse. I pulled my knees to my chest and wrapped the blanket tighter, trying to block everything out.

If I had died, it may have just moved on to the next unlucky person? Was I nothing more than a fun new chew toy to that thing? It didn't even attack me because it was scared or hungry, it only wanted to see me in pain.

An awful, twisting knot formed in the depths of my stomach that brought a feeling of nausea along with it. The urge to vomit grew even stronger as I thought back to a previous interaction EJ and I had.

I rubbed my hands up and down my arms as I worked up the nerve to speak.

"Once, you told me you didn't have a choice about eating people; and that you hated not having a say. What-" I pause, considering if I even wanted to ask this question, if I even wanted to hear the answer.

I glanced up at EJ, who was sitting and waiting patiently for the rest of the question. Even though I couldn't see an expression of any kind, I got a feeling that he knew the question, and was expecting it to have come up ages ago. I swallowed hard, deciding I was going to commit right here, right now. I wanted everything laid out on the table and dammit, I was gonna get it.

"...What took away your right to choose?" I ask softly, my head tucking itself between my shoulders as I buried my face deep within the cotton sanctuary. I didn't wanna look at him, but I knew I had to if I wanted to see the answer. After a brief moment of internal debate, I decided to let one eye peek through the fabric to catch a glimpse of him.