{Jack's POV}

            Cicadas chirped around him as he walked through the woods, the waning sunlight tinting the air with a strangely pink glow. Most of the pain in his head had subsided, but it still throbbed a little bit. Maybe it would have been better to wait another night, but their food supplies were running low. Only a small sliver of intestines remained from the camper's corpse after several days of careful rationing, and the "normal" food was starting to run out too. Hunting was necessary.

            Soon enough he reached the edge of the forest and crept along. Given his condition, he decided against breaking into a house or anything big just yet and instead decided to look for an easy kill. Scouring the park discreetly, he soon came across a woman in her thirties adorned in slightly ragged clothes, sitting on a bench with an open newspaper on her lap like a blanket. Perfect, he thought with a smile. Homeless people always made for easy kills, and best of all no one would miss them or report them missing.

            Sneaking up on her from behind, he drew his scalpel and quickly lunged, placing a hand over her mouth to silence her screams. The woman didn't even have time to register what was happening before he'd drawn the scalpel across her neck, quickly ending her life. Once that was done he dragged her body out of sight behind a cluster of trees to cut her stomach open and removing her organs.

            Satisfied at a job well done, he ate a kidney and a bit of her lungs, savoring the taste of fresh organs. Everything tasted so much sweeter since he'd escaped captivity... A low growl rumbled in his throat at the thought of his captivity, and of that man's manic smile. No. Don't think about it. He'd dead, you're free now. [Name] wasn't, though. Unexpectedly he felt a pang of remorse as he thought of her expression when he'd put the chain on her ankle again, how it was full of betrayal and hurt.

            Honestly, the chain wasn't really all that necessary... Jack knew [Name] wouldn't try to run away. If she were, she would've just left him in the clearing tied to a tree. Sure, he'd be mad, but once he came to his sense he probably wouldn't have gone after her. Guilt over harming her would have prevented him from pursuing her. Besides, she really DID have no where to go. He had all her papers, and if she went to the police she'd probably be the prime suspect, or placed in a mental facility for insisting an eyeless organ-eating monster had kidnapped her after being held prisoner by her guardian.

            He couldn't take the risk though. Right now, he needed her. Her presence was a comfort to the eyeless being. Sometimes, when he started feeling overcome by the memories, he couldn't stand being alone. It drowned him, made him want to scream and cry, feeling like he was consumed by a void of emptiness. Knowing [Name] was just a couple doors away, though, always brought him a sense of comfort and peace. With her around, he wasn't truly alone, and that was exactly what he needed.

            That's why he couldn't risk it. He couldn't be alone, not anymore. A rueful smirk crossed his face as he thought about it. Before, none of this would have mattered. Solitude would have been preferred, actually, but ever since Buddy... No, don't think about it. He's dead.

            Packing the remaining organs in jars, he carried them into the woods and hid them near a tall tree marked by some lovesick teenagers. The night was still young, he thought with grin as he walked away, twirling his scalpel in his hands. Might as well have some fun hunting.

{Reader's POV}

            "Stupid eyeless jerk... Leaving me chained to a freaking bed..."

            I grumbled and cursed under my breath as I fumbled with the bobby pin inside the lock, trying to unlock the shackle clasped around my ankle, groaning in frustration as it failed to work yet again. Action movies had taught me that locks could be undone with bobby pins, but they didn't explain how. Frustrated, I dropped the pin and flopped onto my back, staring at the ceiling.

            It didn't take long for my sulking to turn to anger and indignity over the chain. I hadn't given him any reasons to think I'd run away. If I were going to run, I would have done it way back when he was tied to a tree having a traumatic flashback. I'd been cooking my own meals, too. He had no reason to put the chain on me again, not anymore. After a couple hours of silent mulling, I was seething with a silent rage. Even if he still scared me, even if he had all the control, when he got back, I was determined to make him pay somehow.

            Staring at the ceiling, I contemplated what to do now. Jack had said he'd be gone for a while, and so far I doubted more than two hours had passed. It was hard to be sure without a clock in my room, but whatever. I'd already finished my novel, and the rest of the books in the room were boring or something I'd read before. As for my laptop, well, it was in the kitchen. Yet another reason to be annoyed at Jack: I had nothing to do.

            Swinging my legs over the side of the bed, I got up and walked into the hallway. The chain wouldn't let me go further than the end of the hallway, preventing me from getting my laptop. As I silently mulled over how bored I was, a thought struck me: his bedroom was in range. A smirk played across my lips as I went to his bedroom. Not for any revenge plans, but because he had an entire bookshelf! Funny how the solution to my boredom was in range this whole time. All that separated me from it was a door, and I wasn't going to let that stop me now.

            So far the only time I'd been in Jack's room was when I helped him into bed after that one "episode" in the clearing. As I walked inside, I glanced around. Still pretty plain and dark, but still nicer than my room. Crossing to the bookshelf, I perused it and selected a book, examining the back cover. Pleased with my find, I headed for the door only to pause as I passed his dresser. Casting it a glance, I stared at it for a moment before turning and sorting through the drawers.

            A small part of me wanted to throw away his clothes, I guess, but I got the feeling he wouldn't react well. No, right now I just got the feeling I might find something. Sorting through his drawers, I soon found my intuition to be right: a key. Excitement surged through me as I closed the drawer and tried the shackle, only to become dejected when it didn't fit. So this WASN'T the key. Of course he wouldn't leave it lying where I could reach it.

            But if it wasn't for the shackle, then what was it for?

~*~

           Shortly after finishing the book, I was hunched against the wall when I heard the front door open. Jack didn't come to my room right away, instead opening the fridge and cabinets. I heard bags crinkling and jars clinking in the background. No doubt he was depositing the food he'd acquired during his "hunt", making sure everything was in its proper place. He took his sweet time, and I heard him leave at one point and return a few minutes later. How much stuff had he gotten? I didn't know. All I knew was that the more time that passed, the darker my mood got.

            Eventually he finished up and came to my room, his footsteps echoing as he walked down the hall. Turning the doorknob, he stepped in and glanced around before seeing me. His head tilted slightly as he saw my glare. "Well now, [Name]. No need to look at me like that." I didn't respond, just glaring at him, and after a moment he chuckled and shook his head, crouching in front of me. He placed a hand on my shoulder, making me flinch, but I didn't break my glare. "I know, you're mad... Can't say I blame you... But like I said, I couldn't take any chances."

            "You didn't want to risk me running away?" My tone was cool and steely, clearly surprising him. "Even though I have no where to go? No one to go to?"

            "[Name]." His voice was equally cold as he said my name, but this time I wouldn't back down. After a few seconds of me glaring at him, he finally sighed. "Well, I'm back now, so I'll just take it off." He pulled the key out of his pocket and inserted it in the lock, sliding the shackle off my ankle. Rolling down my sock, he nodded as he saw no chafed skin and stood up. "I'm going to go now... I stocked the kitchen—"

             Before he could finish I pounced, tackling his legs and forcing him to the ground. I don't know what came over me, I just did it without thinking. He yelped as he fell, and I quickly scrambled to the hall before he could react, slamming the door shut as he rolled over. Sliding the key from my pocket, I quickly inserted it in the keyhole and turned it, hearing a small click. Jack began trying to open the door to no avail, the knob jiggling and shaking but the door never budging.

           "[NAME]! OPEN UP RIGHT NOW!" A shaky smile made its way across my face as Jack attempted to open the door, pounding on the door angrily. Funny thing about my bedroom: the lock's broken. There's a keyhole on the outside, but the inner lock is broken, replaced with a flat surface that you can't turn. I felt a laugh slowly rumble in my throat as I walked into the main part of the cabin, collapsing onto the couch as my legs turned to jelly. Adrenaline slowly drained from me as I began laughing nervously, flopping onto my back and staring at the ceiling. A single thought ran through my mind:

            Did I really just lock Jack in my own bedroom?

            Rolling my head to the side, my gaze fell on the laptop on the kitchen table. After a moment I got up and walked over, grabbing my laptop case by the wall to pull a pair of headphones from the side pocket. Settling down at the table so my back was to the wall, I plugged in the headphones and logged onto Buddy's account.