Chapter 26: Chapter 24

Pain. Discomfort. Those were the two feelings that first made themselves known to Jason when he came to. Groaning, Jason’s eyes blinked open one at a time as he tried to lift his hands up to his pounding head. His hands only moved a few inches before they were forcibly stopped by a pair of metal handcuffs. Jason forced himself to focus and finally realized he was slumped awkwardly in a steel chair, a thick rope keeping him in place tied around his chest. The cuffs around his wrists were attached to the matching steel table in front of him. Broadening his vision to the  immediate room around him, Jason realized he was in a concrete room that lacked any meaningful decorations or identifying marks. Glancing down at himself, Jason saw he was still wearing Hayden’s now ruined school shirt and pants. His gloves, shoes, socks, phone, and wallet were all gone. His feet were already freezing against the concrete floor.

“Jason!” A squeal of delight sounded from directly behind him.

He twisted his head around as far as he could and spotted the only other piece of furniture in the small barren room. A king size bed occupied most of the free space behind the chair Jason was tied to. The plush pillows, billowing quilt, and eloquent wooden bedframe were so drastically different from the cold steel table, chair, and handcuffs that Jason thought he was imagining things. That was, until Courtney threw herself off of the bed and into Jason’s head.

It was the first time Jason saw his school seat neighbor in non-school attire. Jason had thought seeing her modified school outfits were suggestive, he wasn’t prepared for her now. She wore a silky red nightgown that matched the highlights in her dark hair. The thigh high cutoff and dipping neckline showed off a criminal amount of skin. That minimal coverage combined with jumping through the air towards him gave Jason just enough glimpses of the girl’s underwear to cause Jason’s already aching head to spin wildly away from comprehensible thoughts. Courtney’s warm body collided with Jason’s head. She giggled loudly and Jason felt her shudder as her arms wrapped themselves around his body.

“I missed you…” She whispered softly into Jason’s ear.

“Where am I?” Jason’s brain fought to focus on the real issue and not the distractions behind him.

Courtney laughed. Without pulling away from him, Courtney slid around his shoulders, over his arms, and settled into Jason’s lap. She let her legs dangle on either side of him and her arms lifted up to the back of his head where they drifted in lazy circles through his hair.

“You’re home!” Courtney said with utter joy.

Jason felt another shudder run through Courtney and she repeated the words over and over again.

“You’re home! You’re home! You’re home! You’re home! You’re home! You’re home! You’re home! You’re home! You’re home! You’re home! You’re home! You’re home!” She hugged herself tightly against Jason. “You’re with me! That’s all that matters.”

Jason’s hands were so limited in movement that he couldn’t even hug her back if he had wanted to. Physical limitations aside, Jason wasn’t even in a mental state to properly deal with the situation. Yesterday had gone from mourning the loss of his motherly figure to his home being invaded by the girl of his nightmares. He hadn’t been dealing well with things then. The only reason he hadn’t died was because of-

“Remi!” Jason blurted out loud.

He regretted it instantly. Courtney’s warm hug froze and she stopped her happy mumblings. She pulled herself back until her face was directly in front of Jason’s own. Her previously bright and happy amber eyes had lost all light. The empty gaze bore into Jason’s skull. He felt like bugs were crawling through his eyes and ears but Jason couldn’t avert his eyes.

“What did you say?” Courtney’s hollow voice asked quietly. “Remi? Who’s Remi?”

Jason’s mouth was terribly dry.

“I don’t know who Remi is.” Jason said quickly. “I said ‘yay me’ but it didn’t come out right.”

Courtney’s empty gaze brightened slightly, but that only gave way to a skeptical expression.

“You don’t have to think about anyone else ever again Jason.” Courtney brought her hands to either side of Jason’s head and squeezed. “It’s just going to be the two of us here. Just like we’ve always wanted.”

Jason couldn’t stop a pained laugh from leaving his mouth. “What we wanted?” 

Courtney pushed herself off of Jason. Her wounded expression sent a chill down Jason’s spine.

“I need you Jason. Like the air I breathe, the water I drink, or the food I eat, you sustain my very existence. I can’t…” Courtney looked at her trembling hands. “I can’t live without you Jason. The thought of ever being separated from you it just-”

Courtney lifted her hands and Jason winced as her fingers dug aggressively into her scalp. It may have been enough force to break the skin, but Jason couldn’t tell since any blood would naturally blend in with her red highlights.

“Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why?” Her voice rose in volume until she was full on shouting. “Why don’t you understand? You were supposed to… You have to!”

Without warning, Courtney’s hands shot forward and latched onto Jason’s neck. The pressure was enough to close off Jason’s wind pipe and he began thrashing in his chair as he fought for air.

“You feel the same. You have to feel the same. We’re destined to be together. This feeling is too strong to be fake. Stop lying Jason!” 

Tears fell freely from her amber eyes. Jason’s violent movements could do little to free himself from the animal like grip Courtney had him in. With the last breath in his lungs, Jason managed to utter a single word.

“...Please…”

Courtney blinked and her hands relaxed. Sweet air once again flowed into Jason’s starving lungs and he began to cough.

“What’s wrong Jason?” 

The worry in her voice wasn’t feigned. It was as if Courtney had been fully disconnected from her own actions only seconds earlier. She reached around and gently patted Jason’s back like he was a child choking on food.

“Oh no!” She gasped. “You’re bleeding.”

The need for oxygen had completely stopped Jason from feeling one of Courtney’s fingernails breaking the skin on his neck. A small trickle of blood ran slowly down towards his tattered and stained white shirt.

“Don’t worry. I’ll get it.” Courtney said with a bashful smile.

Gently, Courtney leaned down and ran her tongue over the small wound. Jason recoiled instinctively. He had experienced this exact feeling once before. It wasn’t something his mind nor his body was ready to relive. Courtney frowned at Jason’s response.

“Why-”

A sharp rap at the only door into the room startled both of them. Courtney recovered quickly. She pulled her nightgown tightly around her body and stomped over to the door.

“I gave express instructions that I was not to be disturbed.” Courtney only opened the door far enough for her to see out of. “This had better be good.”

“Your father is demanding to see you.” A gruff male voice Jason recognized as the driver sound from the hallway.

“Noted. Thank you.” Courtney said dismissively and stepped back to close the door.

A metallic thud echoed through the concrete room. The driver had apparently forced his hand against the door and stopped Courtney from closing it.

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“He needs to see you now.” The driver stated firmly.

“Understood.” Courtney fumed but she didn’t argue any further.

She glanced back at Jason still tied to the chair.

“Don’t worry Jason. I’ll be back soon.”

The door swung open further, giving Jason a brief glance into the dimly lit concrete hallway beyond. As Courtney stepped out, and before the door could close behind her, a figure stepped into the room. The door shut and Jason felt hope for the first time since waking up.

“Remi.” Jason sank a bit in his chair as relief flooded his system. “I’m so glad to see you.”

The demon girl remained next to the steel door. Her head remained low so Jason couldn’t see her red and black eyes.

“You’ve got to help me out of here.” Jason wiggled his wrists and let the hand cuffs jangle together. “Can you break these or-”

“No.” Remi interrupted.

Jason’s smile faded slowly. “No?”

Red hands clenched down at her sides and Remi’s body began to shake.

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“We’re wasting time Kirsten.” Jessica growled at the shorter girl as they exited the elevator. “There’s no telling what that filthy girl has done already with Jason. We should be busting in there and rescuing him.”

Kirsten barely glanced up from her phone as they walked down the apartment building hallway.

“I’m well aware of the situation meat for brains.” Kirsten paused in front of a door near the end of the hall. “But the two of us won't be able to take on a crime syndicate all on our own. We’re going to need help.”

Jessica huffed but knew the techy was right. As confident as Jessica was in a fight, she had never tried to break into a heavily armed hideout before. Kirsten lifted up one hand and knocked on the apartment door loudly. They waited for a minute but no sound came from the solid wooden door.

“Like I said, we’re wast-'' Jessica started.

“Detective.” Kirsten shouted through the door. “It’s Kirsten and Jessica. We’re friends of Jason.”

Jessica frowned at the term ‘friends’, but decided it was better to let it slide. For now.

The lock turned, the door swung open, and Jessica lifted her head up to see a hand gun leveled at her face. The red haired detective was in shambles. Her turtle neck sweater looked to be cut in places by a knife, her breath stank of alcohol, and the apartment behind her had been completely overturned.

Like a child throwing a tantrum because she didn’t get what she wanted. Jessica mused internally.

“I’m glad you’re here.” Kylee’s dry voice cracked and her thumb flipped the safety off of her weapon. “Maybe removing a parasite from his life will give me another chance.”

Before either woman could move, Kirsten slapped the weapon down and away from Jessica’s face.

“Th-that’s enough.” Kirsten pushed herself between them.

Kylee’s green eyes blinked and looked at the shorter girl for the first time.

 “Jason is in danger.” Kirsten lifted her phone and played footage of the shootout that she had captured from the hidden cameras in Jason’s home.

Though Jessica wanted to strangle the girl for even invading Jason’s personal space in the first place, they wouldn’t have known anything happened to Jason until far later. Kylee gasped and snatched the phone from Kirsten’s grip.

“When did this happen?” She demanded.

“About four hours ago.” Kirsten responded. “We know where he is, but we need your help to get him out.”

Kylee continued to gaze at the phone screen for a few moments before deflating against the door.

“I’ve… I’ve been suspended from my position. The higher ups finally found out that I had been breaking protocol and I’ve been placed under investigation.” Kylee weakly thumbed the safety back on her weapon, allowing Jessica to relax slightly. “I won’t have the power to organize a task force to rescue Jason. You should go to the station and report it there.”

Kirsten didn’t appear surprised at all from the news. “Too slow. Jason is in danger. We need to go now.”

Kylee’s eyes dropped down to the gun in her hands. “I could go to prison.”

Kirsten lifted one eyebrow and asked a simple question.

“Does that really matter right now?”

Jessica nodded. It made perfect sense to her. What did anything else matter if Jason was being held by some other girl. Kylee lifted a hand to her head and winced as if she was being attacked by a sudden migraine. After a moment, her pained expression cleared and she holstered her gun.

“You’re… You’re right.” Kylee nodded as well. “Where to?”