Chapter Text
A flood of emotions surged through him as he held the dying man in his arms. He felt numb, whitenoise droning through his head. The stench of blood was filling the room but all he could focus on was the guilt and inner panic as he watched his boyfriend bleed out before him; there was nothing he could do.
Alex’s body lay on the ground where he’d left the man to die while Alex’s other victim, the hooded figure, was sprawled on the floor. He’d hoped avenging Jay would help him feel something but it didn’t. It couldn’t bring his boyfriend back and that burned him worse than flames ever could.
“Everyone is dead because of you.” Timothy could still hear Alex’s accusing tone echoing in his head. He didn’t want the crazed man to be right—he hadn’t been the one killing people—but Jay…
It was his fault. The coughing fit had slowed him down and Jay had enthusiastically gone on ahead. If he’d recovered faster he could’ve… Timothy didn’t know. He could’ve taken the bullet? Pushed Jay out of the way? Pulled him back into the hall? It didn’t really matter what he could’ve done. Not now.
That rage seeped through his veins and he could feel his masked state—Masks as Jay had referred to it—taking over. He didn’t fight it. That creature had appeared and that irritating sound only made the shift that much faster.
“How much do you hate?” Totheark’s words mocked him as he recalled their video while putting on his mask. A lot. He’d never known he could despise anything so much as he did that faceless entity right now.
He charged it blindly. It was that thing’s fault his life was in shambles and everything in his mind screamed at him to hurt it. There wasn’t anything left It could take from him anyway.
Pure agony shot through him. He didn’t even have time to register that the entity had swatted him away like a pesky gnat. One moment he was barreling towards the tall figure and the next flying through the air. The man landed heavily on the ground, blinding pain scorching his face. He could feel thick liquid running down the left side of his face, freely pouring down around his head. It had broken through the plastic mask like it was tissue paper.
“It is not enough…” The words continued to scathe him as he struggled to stay conscious.
Somewhere in the back of his mind, beneath all the anguish and high-pitched ringing, he knew he was dying. The realization wasn’t as horrible as Timothy would expect. Of course he was dying. He was always going to die. What else would’ve happened when some eldritch creature was stalking his life? At least now perhaps he’d be at peace. Maybe… maybe he’d see Jay again. He’d never been the religious type but he hoped that whatever came next would at least be better.
His body fell limp on the cold floor, a faint rise and fall of his chest still signaling he was clinging to life. Timothy wouldn’t even feel the sickening twist of the world shifting around him as The Operator took him and the others back to its domain.
---
A blurred black tree branch cut across a gloomy sky with hazy dark gray clouds. His vision felt obscured as he tried to focus. “What? Where… where am I?”
Pain flared to life, dull at first as he slowly regained consciousness. He blinked, trying to bring the world into focus- it was somewhat helpful. Timothy brought a hand up to his face where most of the pain was located, though his whole body felt sore. “Ahgh! Everything hurts… What hap—”
His memories caught up with him and he jerked upright, shouting aloud as he began standing despite the agony. “Jay!”
He could feel dried blood on his jeans as he got up and scanned the tall dark trees that surrounded him. Vaguely he was aware of his shattered mask next to where he’d been lying on the barren ground but he ignored it, opting to run at a staggering gait towards a pair of legs peeking out between the trees nearby.
“...There! Jay…” He knew Jay was gone but what else could he do right now? He should be dead , he was sure of that. Everyone else was gone…
Timothy fell to his knees and pulled his boyfriend’s body into his arms. He wasn’t a big crier but tears were welling in his remaining eye as he hugged Jay close to him. A hand wove into the soft, light brown hair. There was a desperate search for comfort amidst the guilt for everything that happened.
“I’m so sorry.” He lowered his head, feeling Jay’s hair brushing against the lower half of his face. There was blood trailing from Jay’s mouth and the dark circles from sleepless nights looked more prominent against the freckles dotting his cheeks. “This is all my fault…”
Time didn’t feel like it was passing in the forest yet he knew he’d been sitting there for a while. The physical pain was blocked out by the unbearable tearing sensation in his chest; it felt like an animal was trying to claw out his heart.
He didn’t hear the whooshing sound of something rapidly approaching. The cold, still air chilled further as the noise grew louder. Startled, Timothy whipped his head around, looking back over his shoulder in hopes of finding the source within the fog. “What’s that?”
Nothing was there, or at least nothing living. There was a faint black and white line racing closer through the trees like a blast of ghostly energy. It was almost strange enough to make him believe he was hallucinating. The forest seemed unharmed and the mist barely wavered in its path. The disjointed static however, was enough to cue him into the reality of the strange situation.
He didn’t think twice before curling over Jay’s smaller form. The man was gone yet Timothy still felt the urge to protect him on instinct. He didn’t know what that wave rushing towards them would do but he didn’t want to let go of Jay yet. It was too soon to just let him go—he at least wanted to bury him, assuming the blast didn’t end his life… At least then he’d die with the love of his life in his arms.
The blast swept through him. The sensation was odd and there was this strange feeling of power within it as it phased through him just like it was the trees. The whitenoise that accompanied it drilled into his head and left him dazed as the wind grabbed at his hair with invisible hands.
It was over within moments despite feeling like it had lasted several minutes. A quick assessment once he got his thoughts unscrambled told him he was unharmed by… whatever that had been. Timothy sat up and slowed his breathing, still trying to comprehend what just happened—whatever it was wasn’t normal.
Coughing broke the once again eerily silent woods. The man tensed, fear going through him as he felt the body in his arms jerk and give a shudder. Small clouds of condensation floated momentarily in the air before dissipating.
“Jay?” His bewildered voice called out the name as fear sank into him. “No… It’s not possible. He was dead !”
He’d been certain of it. Unnerved he stared down at his boyfriend’s body as he tried to wrap his head around the insanity of the situation. But no, it was real. He could see the faint rise and fall of Jay’s chest and hear the wheezing breaths as the man weakly breathed.
“Jay, can you hear me?” He shook the limp man gently, afraid to hurt him by jostling the bullet hole in his side. “How is this possible?”
He risked shaking Jay’s shoulder a little rougher, pausing to listen to the man’s breathing, half afraid he’d hear nothing. “ Is he still breathing?”
“Did I imagine all that? ...Maybe I’m crazy.” Relief went through him as the quiet sound reached his ears. “No... he’s alive.”
“You need to wake up.” He stared down, his tone desperate as he begged the small figure to show him any other signs he’d be okay. “Jaybird, please…”
It was clear that, despite somehow miraculously being alive again, Jay wasn’t going to wake up. Timothy pulled himself together, aware that he could be wasting time he could be using to get help. He tore off a piece of his red flannel and went back for his dropped mask. Putting it on, he secured it by tying the fabric scrap around his head, making a makeshift eye patch for the time being until it could be properly treated. First, he wanted to make sure Jay got help before he went about worrying too much about his gouged face.
“Stay with me Jay.” He picked the light man up carefully, wrapping one of Jay’s arms around his shoulders while keeping the other over the wound. His boyfriend’s head fell back limply and Timothy stared at him, aware he was breathing but still fearing he’d be too late. “I’ll get us out of here—Get you to a hospital. Just hang in there”
The details on what happened and why could be worked out later. Right now, he was finally starting to think more about their surroundings. “Where are we?”
Fog hindered his already damaged vision but between the pitch black leafless trees and the strange occurrences so far, he was aware this wasn’t home. He was pretty sure this wasn’t even the same universe- realm, or whatever. None of this was making sense. Jay was dead and now he wasn’t. Timothy knew he should’ve died after what he’d done. “How is this possible?”
There was a gnawing thought in his mind wondering if he was dead or if this was some sickening trick by that entity. Not that it really mattered. He had to focus on what he did know: that he and Jay had survived against all odds and he needed to get out. Figuring out the specifics of why, how, and what could wait.
---
“Was that supposed to happen?” The gray-skinned demon rubbed the back of his neck as he watched the wave of energy disappear into the distance, far away from the small clearing of burned, ashen white stumps and regrowing obsidian trees where he stood.
“Eh, I’ll assume that’s nothing important. Probably just the Twig starting a new iteration.” Turning away, Alastor closed his glowing yellow eyes and shrugged. “Not my problem.”