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“Why do you have keys to everyone’s rooms?” Pomni asked as her and Jax strolled down the hallway.
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“Ribbit?” Jax tapped softly on their door. “Dinner’s ready if uh… you wanna come eat.”
As usual, there was no answer. Jax sighed, glancing down at his feet.
“Okay. Well. I’ll leave you some left overs in the fridge.”
Jax hesitated in front of the frog’s door for just a moment longer before dragging himself back to the dining room. He sat down, shaking his head at the others around him. They all shared concerned glances.
After dinner, Jax and Ragatha stayed behind to clean up. Silence fell over the two, the only sound being the soft clank of cutlery on ceramic. Ragatha glanced over at Jax, who stood at the sink. His jaw was clenched and his eyebrows furrowed. He scrubbed the plates a little harder than needed.
“I’m sure she’s gonna be okay,” Ragatha spoke quietly.
Jax stopped scrubbing the plate. He rested his hands on the edge of the sink, staring down into the murky water. He didn’t reply.
“I can try talking to them later,” the ragdoll suggested.
Jax sighed, his ears falling over his head.
“It’s no use.”
Ragatha took in a breath. She glanced away from the rabbit.
“It’s still worth a shot. Here, I’ll uh… I’ll take those leftovers to them,” she smiled, walking over to the plate of food that sat on the counter.
The redhead turned to look at Jax. His knuckles turned pale from his grip on the edge of the sink. She grabbed the towel that rested on his shoulder and dried her hands, returning it neatly folded. She gave his shoulder a reassuring squeeze.
Ragatha grabbed the plate, beginning to make her way out of the kitchen.
“Why don’t you go ahead and get some rest? I’ll finish those up when I get back.”
With that, she turned and headed towards the hallway.
She made her way to Ribbit’s door, shifting the plate to one hand as she knocked with the other.
”Hey Ribs. It’s Ragatha.”
She paused, waiting for an answer. There wasn’t one.
“I brought you some food.”
A beat. Ragatha sighed. She turned, resting her back against the door. She slowly slid down it. She placed the plate of food on the floor next to her.
“I know you’ve heard us all say it, but… I’m here for you. I’m here if you need to talk.”
The doll hugged her knees to her chest.
“Jax is worried about you. He barely eats. He barely sleeps.” she said. ”If anything just… please let him know you’re okay.”
She chewed on her bottom lip, looking down at her lap. She gently pushed herself up, walking back towards the kitchen.
Ragatha was right about one thing. Jax didn’t sleep.
He laid wide awake, staring at his wall. He didn’t know what time it was. He didn’t care. He just waited for the sun to come up.
When it finally did, he dragged himself out of bed. He followed his usual morning routine of checking on Ribbit immediately. He creaked his door open and started off down the hallway.
He tapped three times, like usual. He looked down at his feet, the plate of last night’s dinner still sat untouched on the floor.
“Ribbit, it’s me.”
Jax waited a moment. He sighed. He pressed his forehead to the door.
”Please come out. Come eat breakfast.” he begged. “Just.. say something.”
He swallowed hard, blinking back tears. Faintly, behind the door came a muffled groan. Jax’s ears perked up.
“Ribbit?”
The groaning continued, getting louder and more strained. Jax’s eyes darted over the door. He knocked again.
“Ribbit, it's Jax. Let me in.”
His voice was shaky, a mix of hope and concern.
The commotion was loud enough to stir Ragatha, who stepped out of her room, rubbing her eye.
“Jax? What’s going—“
The ragdoll was cut off by an ear piercing, cold blooded scream. Both her and Jax whipped their heads to Ribbit’s door.
“Ribbit?”
Jax slammed into the door, his hand flying to the doorknob. He rattled it urgently. It wouldn’t budge. He banged on the door as the frog grunted and cried out on the other side.
“Caine!?” Ragatha yelled out, joining Jax at Ribbit’s door.
They both slammed their fists against the wood, pleading for the amphibian to open the door.
The rest of the circus members gathered worriedly in the hallway, quietly watching the scene go down in front of them.
Suddenly, the door flew outward, snapping off the hinges, knocking both Jax and Ragatha against the opposite wall. They both landed with a grunt.
Jax looked up, his eyebrows furrowed. His expression fell as he looked at the figure before him.
“Froggie?” He muttered, almost a whimper.
Ribbit stood in the doorway, her chest heaving up and down. They snarled at the duo in front of them.
Half of their face was consumed by a glitching darkness. Her left arm was covered in multicolored glowing eyeballs. Both of her legs glitched and wobbled. They collapsed against the doorframe. She gripped onto it as that darkness continued to consume the rest of her body.
“Ja—ax…” she whimpered, her body twitching and convulsing.
Jax blinked softly. A tear slid down his cheek. He pushed himself to his feet, scrambling towards Ribbit.
“Jax!—“
Ragatha reached out, catching him by the arm.
“What are you doing? Let go of me! Somebody help them!”
Jax thrusted against Ragatha. She held her grip, feeling tears well up in her eyes as her nails dug into his fur.
“It’s too late, Jax.”
He turned his head to look back at Ragatha. His fight weakened.
“Caine! Please! Somebody!”
He turned back to Ribbit, feeling his knees buckle beneath him as he watched the abstraction take over. Strained gasps escaped his lips. He collapsed to the ground. Ragatha held onto him, lowering herself behind him. She pulled the rabbit into her chest.
“It’s okay. It’s okay. Caine’s gonna take care of them.”
She held him tight, feeling his resistance subside. His chest wracked with guttural sobs. The ragdoll shushed and rocked him slowly.
The abstraction in front of them growled and let out a loud roar before lunging toward them.
Ragatha brought her arms up over her head and squeezed her eyes shut, bracing for impact— but it never came. She peeked one eye open to see that Caine had Ribbit dangling in the air. He snapped his fingers, and she was gone. Ribbit was gone.
Their door slammed shut, a new, bright, red ‘X’ over their picture.
Jax lifted his head, glancing around at the other circus members. No one spoke. He pushed himself to his feet and sped to his room.
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“Eh— I’ve got keys everywhere and you’ve all been fine.” He replied, shrugging.