#and were pointing out the damage done to their car... the police had tripods and were putting stickers on the damage and taking pictures

[kirstielol]

so i woke up at 1am last night to screaming and smashing noises in the parking lot in front of our building... i look out and see the guy who lives in the apartment across from us, in just his boxers, holding a huge butcher knife, screaming and going around to every. single. fucking. car. and smashing/stabbing it. like just going nuts. it was the first time we've ever actually called the non-emergency line on someone :/ and they told us we were not the first people to report it

like this guy must've damaged at least 30 cars. then he came up to the front door of our building and started smashing the door with the hilt of the knife. i overheard the building super re-telling the story to the building manager this morning, and heard him say "look what he did to the door! that's gonna cost over 2 grand to replace". anyway, i'm thankful we park our car in a different lot behind the building.. but imagine waking up to see some guy stabbing your car at 1am???

[crystalninjaphoenix]

Red Room

JSE Fanfic

I haven’t written a one-shot in months, but the idea came to me and I had to expand on it. I rewatched Welcome to the Game, the video where Jackieboy last appeared, and decided to write something based on that game. So, uh, this is angst (or is it whump? I’m not sure) and there’s some small mentions of gore/torture. But on the bright side, two of the Septic boys meet each other for the first time!

When Jackie woke up, he had a killer headache. It felt like somebody was pounding on his temples with a hammer. He couldn’t even think clearly. He tried to open his eyes, but the bright lights only made everything worse, so he quickly closed them again.

Okay, sight was no good, he had to rely on his other senses. He couldn’t hear anything out of the ordinary. In fact, it was almost too quiet. There were no cars going past, no birds outside, nothing. The air smelled like hand sanitizer, but underneath that there was something lingering, something foul. His body felt cramped, like he’d been sitting in the same position for a while. And it seemed like he had. He tried to move his hand to his head so he could see if anything could be done about his headache, but he found it was stuck.

Jackie opened his eyes again, squinting against the light. He was tied to a chair, arms bound to the armrests, legs to the legs. Someone had taken his mask off and covered his mouth in duct tape. The room was brightly lit with tall white lights, including some of those weird umbrella lights you see in photography studios. The floor of the room was covered in paper, the walls were metal, and there were no windows but there was a single door in the wall facing Jackie. A couple tables leaned against the walls, and there was a wheeled metal cart sitting nearby with various stuff on it, including Jackie’s mask and several sharp objects that glinted in the light.

Well. It appeared that his search for the red room was over.

He’d spent the last couple of days holed up in his apartment, sitting at his computer, only leaving to go to the bathroom and get food, which he immediately brought back to his desktop. When he had to sleep he didn’t even go to his bedroom, just crashed on the couch. He’d heard rumors of a red room in the area from his friends in the police force. They assured him the cops were doing everything they could to find it, but knowing them, Jackie hadn’t trusted they’d be able to. Not that the local police force was corrupt as a whole, just that they weren’t the most...efficient. So Jackie decided to do it himself, like he always did. Four days of trawling through the dark web, looking for the clues that would supposedly give away the room’s location. Until that night (or was it last night?), when someone broke into his apartment by climbing up the fire escape and crawling through the window. Jackie had tried his best to fight him off, but the guy’s size advantage had proved too much, and next thing Jackie knew he was inhaling a sickly sweet scent and his vision was swimming...

The door opened, and Jackie’s head jerked upward. The person who walked into the room was holding a camera, a high-quality one. Their appearance was concealed under a gray hoodie with the hood pulled up. A few strands of hair, dyed a murky green color, were peaking out from underneath. Their face was hidden beneath a gray mask that had two blue streaks coming from the eyeholes, and a black curve that mimicked a frowning mouth.

“Good. I timed this perfectly,” they said, sounding pleased. Jackie narrowed his eyes. Their voice didn’t sound like the guy who attacked him, and they definitely didn’t match that guy in build. Maybe they were in charge and sent that goon after him?

“You been enjoying yourself?” they asked, then laughed quietly to themself. “Ah, listen to me. Demanding a response from someone who can’t give me one. In my defense, I forgot. I must be really excited.”

Jackie watched the person—he thought it was a woman but wasn’t totally sure—walk over to one of the tables, pick up what looked to be a tripod, then turn back around and stop a few feet from where he was sitting. He was right; it was, in fact, a tripod. The masked person set it up and carefully put the camera they’d carried into the room on top, making sure it wasn’t going to fall off. “Say cheese!” they said, and Jackie was temporarily blinded by the flash. He shook his head, which only made his headache worse.

“That’s the before picture,” the masked person said. “Like in magazines. Or those beauty ads! You’re gonna be so pretty!” 

Fuck. Jackie’s eyes widened. He strained against the ropes holding him in place, but no matter how hard he tried they wouldn’t loosen.

“Oh, relax.” The person pulled the wheeled cart over. Jackie avoided looking at it. “This isn’t live. I’m not even recording.” They picked up Jackie’s mask and twirled it around her fingers as they walked closer to him. He instinctively leaned back. “This is a special occasion. Do you know how hard it was to set up that scavenger hunt across the dark web? Only people who wanted to find my site were supposed to be able to solve that. People who have experience with this type of thing and know where to look. But yooouuu, Mr. Hacker-Man—” they lightly poked Jackie on the nose “—in just four days, managed to get uncomfortably close. You’re pretty good at this. I could use someone like you.”

Jackie blinked. “You gotta be kidding me,” he said. Or, tried to say. It just came out as mumbles through the duct tape.

“Hmm, I can see you’re not quite convinced. That’s fine! It’s more of a bonus, anyway. Let me know if you change your mind.” She pulled Jackie’s head toward her and roughly put his mask on his face. “But the point I’m trying to make is that nobody has ever gotten that close to finding my site before. No cops, no private eyes, not even those big bad government organizations. You’re special. I like that. I need to keep you.”

Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck. Jackie struggled more, pulling harder against the ropes. No use. The person, contrary to the expression on their mask, seemed pretty happy about that. They clapped their hands in delight, then walked back over to the cart and started looking through the various tools on top of it. “Of course, you can’t stay here if you’re gonna be so concerned with turning me in. I have to show you that’s a bad thing to do. And I get to practice for my latest piece on Saturday, so that’s a plus for me. And you get an upgrade, so that’s a plus for you! The first thing you’re gonna say to me when I take that off is gonna be ‘thank you so much SadFace, I feel a ton better and look beautiful!’ God, I’m so ready for that moment, but I have to be patient. It’s gonna take a while.”

The person—SadFace, apparently—turned back around. They were holding a pair of scissors with long, serrated blades in one hand, and what looked like a clamp in the other, one of the ones you can tighten at will. Jackie immediately stopped struggling, eyes fixed on the tools they were holding. His heart was beating so fast his pulse was more like a vibration.

“Now I just have one question for you,” SadFace said, opening and closing the scissors. “Are you ready? Yes or no.”

“No!” Jackie shouted, but again it was muffled.

“What’s that? Sorry, I couldn’t understand you.”

“No! I said no!” Jackie mumbled, shaking his head for emphasis. He twisted his arms, trying even harder to get free, to no avail.

“Sorry, you have something, uhhh, right across your mouth. I’d say that we should fix that, but you know, if you can’t say anything I want to hear, then don’t say anything at all.” SadFace strode across the room, ignoring Jackie’s smothered pleas and vain attempts to scoot away. They stopped when they were right next to him, leaning forward. They were so close that Jackie could see their brown eyes through the shadows of the mask’s eyeholes. “Now, let’s begin.”

It must’ve been hours before Jackie regained consciousness again. And when he did, he immediately wished he hadn’t. He wasn’t a doctor, so he couldn’t name the exact damage done, but he knew that it was extensive. His arms were the worst off, two long strings of pain pulling at his shoulders. His torso wasn’t much better. There was a sharp agony somewhere inside that flared up every time he took a breath. And his throat was raw. It didn’t matter if nobody could hear him, he’d still screamed.

He had to get out of here. He had to. Fortunately, something good had come out of...this. At one point, SadFace’s knife had gotten a little too close to the ropes holding his left arm in place. It hadn’t quite cut the rope, but it got close. It was just enough wiggle room...

After a few minutes of trying, Jackie managed to successfully yank his arm free. He cried out when the movement caused a sudden surge of pain. He took a few deep breaths to steady himself, then began picking at the knots holding his other arm and legs in place. When he successfully freed himself, he pulled off the duct tape and gasped.

How the hell did he get out of here? Well, there was only one door, that was probably a good place to start. He pushed himself out of the chair, at first falling flat to the floor before getting to his hands and knees. Okay, legs were going to take a while to work. No shame in crawling. Jackie inched forward, one hand at a time, before he finally got to the door. He reached up and grabbed the handle. To his surprise and relief, it wasn’t locked and swung outward easily, revealing a long hallway lit by bare lightbulbs dangling from the ceiling. Jackie used the door to pull himself upright, made sure his legs were steady, then slowly walked in a random direction, leaning against the walls for support.

It took maybe an hour to find his way out of SadFace’s lair. It would’ve taken a shorter time if he’d been able to run, or even walk at a normal pace. At one point he had to duck into an empty room to avoid a pair of men dressed in black, talking to each other in a foreign language. He could only assume they worked for the red room master themself, and wondered how SadFace managed to find them and convince them to work for them.

He climbed up a set of stairs, using the railing to help pull himself up, then came to a simple wooden door. He pushed it open, once again happy it wasn’t locked, and stumbled out onto the city streets. It was either late evening or early morning, judging by the lighting. This part of the city wasn’t quite run-down, but wasn’t taken care of either. Nobody was out, and Jackie wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

The sharp pain had increased, and every breath was agony. He needed to get to a hospital. He didn’t have his phone on him, so he couldn’t dial emergency and get an ambulance. Looks like he would have to walk. But he had no idea where he was, either in relation to a hospital or in the city at large. Not to mention he was losing blood at a slow but steady rate...Jackie shook his head. He didn’t have much of a choice except to try and find his way there.

As he staggered through the streets, it became evident that it was late evening, as the moon came out and traveled across the sky. The hospital didn’t close, did it? No, that wouldn’t make sense. He just wasn’t thinking clearly. The pain in his torso was just getting worse, like someone was twisting broken glass inside of him, and it was affecting his judgement.

He didn’t know how long it took, but eventually he found one. His vision was going blurry, but he recognized the shape of the building and the sign outside. Jackie was just about to go inside when he stopped dead in his tracks. It was only now occurring to him that, as a vigilante in a city where vigilantism was against the law, he’d actually be in danger if he just went in the hospital the normal way. He could go in anyway, but if they called the cops, which they probably would, then he couldn’t exactly resist arrest. He couldn’t go to jail, he wouldn’t be any help to anyone that way. At that very moment, a jolt of pain rushed through his chest and he nearly fell over from the shock of it. Nope. He had to have proper medical treatment, the do-it-yourself figure-it-out-as-you-go method he usually used wouldn’t cut it.

Jackie straightened up. Okay, a solution. He’d go around the back, try and find a doctor, and hope that they would be sympathetic and not turn him in. Even though his head was starting to feel like it was full of soup, he forced himself to go around the back of the hospital. There had to be another entrance...

He spotted a white door in the side of the building and stumbled toward it. He tried to pull it open, but it seemed as though the staff wasn’t quite as careless as SadFace had been, and the door was locked. Jackie felt a surge of sudden panic, and he fought to push it down. There was a simple glass pane inset in the door itself. He peered through it and saw a hall with white walls and doors extending away from him, ending in a T-intersection. A man in a white coat was just walking past the turning point to the hall. Jackie raised his fist and started banging furiously and desperately on the door. He didn’t care that every impact sent a fresh wave of slicing pain down his arms, he banged on the door so hard it shuddered in its hinges.

Luckily, the man heard him, stopping and turning to look towards the noise. When he saw Jackie on the other side of the door he practically ran down the hall. And by this point Jackie was sure the pain was getting to him, because he could’ve sworn he was looking in a mirror.

The man’s eyes widened. He looked down and fiddled with the knob on his side of the door. It swung outward, and Jackie fell over, landing hard on his back. He tilted his head upward to see the man staring down at him, totally shocked. Jackie swallowed nervously, and smiled. “Hey, doctor,” he said hoarsely. “I need assistance.” And then he passed out again.

Jackie woke up in a hospital bed, which was definitely an improvement over the last two times. He was still in his super-suit, but now there was a significant amount of bandages underneath it. His right arm was in a cast, and there was an IV of red liquid connected to his left arm. It hurt to move.

The doctor who’d opened the door was sitting in one of the chairs by the bed, writing something on a clipboard. Apparently Jackie hadn’t been hallucinating; the doctor did look a lot like himself. He looked up and noticed Jackie staring at him. “Ah!” he said, startled. He put the clipboard and pen aside. “You are awake, finally, I was worried. Are you okay? Are you in pain?”

“...not as much as I expected,” Jackie admitted.

“Yes, that is the painkiller, doing its job and killing the pain. You were quite a mess. Broken arm, broken rib, laceration and stabs and various slices, too many bruises to count. Not to forget all the blood you lost. You are lucky I was happening by, I am afraid what you would have been like if you waited much longer. But you are better now, that is correct?”

“Yeah, I think so...” Jackie suddenly bolted upright. “Mask! My mask! It’s not on!”

“Ack!” The doctor stood up and rushed over. “No, do not sit up! You will knock your rib out again!” He forcefully pushed him back down. “Your mask is fine. Is on that table there, see?”

Jackie twisted his head over and saw it was there, next to the doctor’s clipboard. “But—but—” Jackie stammered. “My face!”

“Your face is fine, it is remarkably undamaged.”

“No! I mean you! Seeing it!”

“Oh, that.” The doctor rolled his eyes. “You think that blocking your cheekbones will stop me from seeing your face? I am not idiot. And your face is the...fourth one I’ve seen like this, I believe. Five, including my own. I know enough to figure it out anyway.”

“...I see.” Jackie closed his eyes and exhaled. He let his head fall back into the pillows of the bed. He was...exhausted. But he couldn’t relax just yet. “You’re...not gonna tell anyone, are you?”

The doctor paused. “I do not think so. You are doing much good for this city. It would not be fair.”

Jackie nodded. “Thank you.”

“But I have to say this.” Jackie opened his eyes again and looked over to the doctor, who made a vague sort of gesture at him. “If this is what condition you are in after your work, then you must come to the hospital more. I can help you, if you wish.”

“This was a first,” Jackie said. “I was looking for the red room...and I found it. I got too close and attracted the wrong sort of attention.” He sighed. “I think...it’ll get worse, from here on out. But I can’t—you’ll be in danger—”

“So?” The doctor shrugged. “You are in danger all the time. And you do it to help people. I cannot do the same?”

“Jeez, when you say it like that I sound like a hypocritical dick,” Jackie muttered. “...but...you have a point. If you want to help...I mean, I won’t blame you if you ever wanna back out...”

“Is fine, I assure you.” The doctor picked up the clipboard and pen again, turning to a different page and writing something down, which he promptly tore off. “But I think we should keep this out of the eyes of the hospital. I know a few staff who would not hesitate to tell the police. This is my address, you should come there next time.”

Jackie accepted the torn-off piece of paper. The corner of his mouth quirked a bit. “That’s really your name, huh? Dr. Henrik von Schneeplestein?”

“Ah...yes.” The doctor—Schneeplestein—cleared his throat, uncomfortable. “Is not the best name, but it is mine.”

“Well, it’s nice to meet ya. I’m...my name is Jackie. Jackie Parker.”

“I see.” Schneeplestein nodded, like he knew how much trust Jackie had just placed in him. “It is nice to meet you, as well. I suggest you go to sleep. My shift is over, but I can do overtime and stay for a bit.”

“Thanks...I’d appreciate that.” Jackie closed his eyes again.

Well, this may have been some of the worst few days of his life, but at least he met someone new. Someone he could trust. There weren’t a lot of people like that out there. And Jackie fell asleep easily, knowing a friend was nearby.