Doll and Dummy || A Jax x Reader Story (TADC)

VII. A Glimpse of the Past

Help me.

My hands lashed at the water. Desperately, I was searching for something to grab onto, something to save me. I couldn't open my mouth. I couldn't scream. I couldn't breathe.

Please...

The growling from the creature sent echoes through the water. I fought to free my leg from its grasp using all my strength, but it didn't help. It got tighter and another limb wrapped around me, my torso as the target this time.

I haven't made it home yet...

I kicked and pushed off the black mass, only to be lassoed in once again. What was trying so hard to pull me under? I didn't do anything wrong.

At this point, I had given in. It was no use struggling against something I knew nothing about. I'd rather be stuck beneath the ground with it than never find out.

Water rushed past my ears and bubbled against my fingers as I let myself be hauled deeper and deeper downwards.

This feels so long.

I was met with the pressure of the water parting ways with my body rather suddenly. A gasp I didn't know I was holding in flew from my mouth, and I coughed at an attempt to regain the air. Only after fixing my composure did I realize how cold it was, wherever I had been dragged to.

Head heavy, I looked up to see a glitching black figure. My first guess was that it was an Abstracted member — but they weren't that normal giraffe-looking mass. They were... humanoid, oddly enough. The figure resembled Caine, almost, but a corrupted version of him.

A loud glitch reverberated in the cave-like area, similar to a microphone's screech when there's too much sound. I slapped my hands over my ears out of instinct and my eyes shut as well.

Silence.

The noise began again, but sounded as if it tried desperately to be softer. The figure was trying to talk to me.

"A r e . . ."

Suddenly, I was thankful teen-me had taken some morse code lessons before getting sucked into this circus. I could understand the glitches coming from the... person?

". . . A r e y o ? a ? r a i ? o ? ? e . . ."

Most of the glitches.

"No, no, I'm not.. I'm not afraid of you. Can you understand me?" I tried to speak, my voice hoarse from swallowing some of the lake's digital water. I still didn't understand why it would do that. I mean, it's digital – why do we actually get wet? Whatever. I'd ask Caine later.

The creature nodded.

". . . ? h a t i s y o ? r n a ? e . . ."

"My name?" The thing nodded again. "My name, is, uh.. Somer. As in, somersault. The tumbling move."

It nodded. Again.

". . . s i s t e r . . ."

My brows furrowed. "My sister?" I repeated. The creature began to move, frantically looking around for something. It lunged to grab whatever it found and turned back to me.

I flinched instinctively at the sight. It held a VR headset in its hands, stretched out towards me. It shook the gear, as if to urge me to take it.

". . . N o t . . b a d . ."

My chest felt heavy, my eyes still glued to the object. I didn't like the fact it was so close to me.

". . . S e e . . . S i s t e r . . ."