Chapter Text
It was a quiet day on Cottonwood Farm. Jackson and William had already finished chopping up the hitchhikers from the day before, and the animals were fed. Jackson dragged a box up from the basement, wiping sweat from his brow and he dropped the box next to the couch where his older brother—William Hillwalker—sat. "William, Look what I found in the basement!" He opened the box, beaming with pride, "Some old tapes that Mama used to play for us!"
William glanced into the box, "...And?"
The younger brother grabbed one of the VHS tapes, "I was thinkin' that we could watch 'em for the, uh.. Nostalgia!"
William pondered for a moment, they had nothing better to do, so why not? "Alright, go on then."
Jackson grinned, wiping the dust off the tape before inserting it into the VHS player. He sat down next to William, grabbed a pillow, holding it to his chest. The TV flickered to life and upbeat music with children singing in unison faded in. A sheep came onto the screen, preaching of 'him' loving you, and never being able to be 'clean'. Jackson's brow furrowed, he didn't remember this episode.. William glanced over at his aggravated brother, "What?"
He shook his head, eyes fixated on the screen as blood poured onto the sheep, "Nothin'. Just thinkin'.."
Jackson has seen blood many times, he murdered people for a living, it never bothered him before. This was different. This was supposed to be some silly show played at a Sunday school, so why did it make his skin crawl? The video cut to the credits, the words The Joyful Judgement show sat at the top of the screen. "...Let's watch somethin' else." Jackson quickly removed the tape, thoroughly inspecting the next tape before playing it.
🩸~🔪 – 🫀~ 🌱
Over the next few hours they had went through a good chunk of the tapes; Some ligthhearted, others—videos of Mama—with a bittersweet aftertaste. Jackson had fallen asleep, his head resting Williams lap. He looked at the clock, 8:57 PM. "Should probably get some sleep, there's plenty of work to be done tomorrow." William threaded an arm underneath Jackson's legs, the other suporting his upper back and head. He trudged up the stairs, pushing Jackson's bedroom door open with his foot, the hinges creaked. He laid him down on the bed, making sure to tuck him in before eaving. Jackson mumbled, eyes half lidded, "Mama?.."
William sighed, walking back to the bed, the floor boards creaking as he crouched down, "Go back to sleep, Jackson."
His eyes fluttered shut, letting out a soft sigh as William adjusted the blanket. He got back up, slowly closing the door on his way out to avoid waking his brother.
🩸~🔪– 🫀~ 🌱
Light poured in through the curtains shining onto the bed where Jackson lay He rubbed his eyes, looking around in a daze. The savory smell of bacon and eggs filled the house, causing him to leap out of bed and almost fall over. Jackson rushed downstairs, peaking into the kitchen, "Since when did you cook?"' William glanced at him, "I remember watchin' Mama cook. So, might aswell use the meat we have before it goes bad." Jackson sat down at the table starting to ramble on, "Yknow, I could've sworn I saw Mama in my room last night."
William glanced back at his brother, "..Sure you did."
They ate in silence for awhile, the food almost tasted just like how their mother used to make it. Almost. Jackson wiped his mouth. "You should make mama's apple pie! Golly that stuff was good.." "You can once you figure out how to not burn down the kitchen." Jackson groaned, leaning back in his chair, keeping quiet for a moment. "Well I'm goin' to feed the cows." He grabbed Hilda—his cleaver—off the counter as he walked out.
William got up, grabbing a couple of organs from the fridge before going out to find the cows.