Chapter Text
Jonah’s leg bounced in the car as they looked out the window, right hand holding their head upright.
Sighing, the enby turned their gaze from the passing trees and highway lights to the silent Adam, his hands gripping the wheel surprisingly tightly. Something must be bothering him, Jonah didn’t blame the blond.
Not to make assumptions, but Jonah figured it was how vague the call they’d gotten had sounded. Adam didn’t like ‘wasting time’ on jobs he didn’t think would make good footage, whatever that meant in the blond’s mind they didn’t know. Adam thought a locked door was interesting, so it was kinda hard to pinpoint what he’d think wasted the film on their shitty handheld camera.
Their leg continued to bounce, the movement becoming more jittery in the continued silence. Usually they’d break the tension by saying something random or starting a game of some kind, but the enby concluded Adam probably wasn’t in the mood for it. Still, it was really starting to get to them; they’d always hated silence with another person in the same room, or same car in this case…
A hand was placed on Jonah’s shoulder, and they whipped around in surprise only to be met with a blank faced Adam. How long had they been zoned out? Nonetheless, the blond motionned for them to leave the car, voice somewhat annoyed yet still lighthearted. “Come on man, we’re here. Let’s get this done with, yeah?”
Humming in agreement, Jonah exited the van with a slight yawn as they stretched, wincing when their back popped. They were too young to sound like that, but guess that’s what being on the run in a car for most of the time does to you.
“What’re we doing here again? Forgot, heh..” The silver haired enby questioned, moving around the front of the car to join Adam in approaching the entrance. Their friend sighed slightly and looked at Jonah with a raised eyebrow. In response, they stuck their tongue out at him, snorting when he playfully batted their shoulder in return.
“Well, the caller said they heard ‘something weird’,” Adam put the words in air quotes with an eyeroll, “and that they want us to check it out before they rent this place out again. In the basement, apparently. Cliche, but eh, as long as we get something out of it, right?”
“Right.” Jonah agreed, they just wanted to finish this up quickly, they were missing their sweet soft bed back at base. The back of the car was fine they supposed, but nothing beat an actual bed with sheets and blankets and pillows and stuffed animals and readily available and not days old water–
“Jonah, knock knock, you in there?” Blinking, a blush came to the enby’s face when they realized they zoned out again, muttering a sheepish apology. Adam waved it off, pulling at the twisted doorknob in his grasp and wincing at the loud creaking it emitted. The pure noise of it had Jonah’s head tilting in question. How long had it been since the door had been opened? Had to be a while for it to sound like that.
The two young adults took steps inside the house, Jonah mumbling incomprehensible noises under their breath to break the eerie silence in the place. It looked pretty old, but not that out of shape, just a few scratches or strune items laying about. Adam pulled out and clicked on his handheld camera, Jonah quickly following with their buggy old flashlight.
Keeping the light steady so the blond could get his footage, the enby yawned silently, nose twitching as dust fell from a crack in the ceiling. A tickle entered their nose and they groaned in annoyance, quickly bending over and shoving their face into their elbow as they sneezed. “AAAACHOOO!!!..... Sorry.. Snf…”
“It’s fine, bless you.” Adam remarked in return, and Jonah resteadied the light with a nod of thanks. Following their friend, the enby found themself continuing to look around, spotting a pretty empty looking kitchen with a tossed aside stool. Whoever owned this place didn’t seem to care about upkeep as much as someone probably should, that’s for sure.
The two checked all the doors they came across until they reached the basement stairs, old wood and the smell of mold and.. something, hitting them in the face. A cough came up Jonah’s throat as they turned their head away from it. It was like a mixture of rotting fruit and piss just assaulted their senses.
“Jesus christ…” Their blond friend muttered under his breath, and they agreed wholeheartedly. “Well, let’s get this done quickly, don’t wanna be here longer than I have to be…”
Adam took the first steps down the old stairs, Jonah following shortly after while breathing quietly through their mouth. Looking around when they’d finished the descent, the enby felt their shoulders hiking up to meet their ears.
The place was absolutely filthy, red and black gunk smeared over the floor and walls, mold creeping up around it and decaying that which it grew from. It looked like the door to the basement hadn’t been opened in literal decades. The place was so disgusting and unkempt Jonah felt the urge to hurl. Is this what a torture room looked like? Smelled like?
“Wh-what the fuck..?” They managed to choke out despite the overwhelming atmosphere and stench. Taking a step back, they turned to see Adam also glaring around the room in disgust and… oh no… intrigue. “Adam I swear to my weed stash if you-”
“Come on, Jonah! It’s just a shitty smelling basement! Think of the footage we’re getting from this!”
“I ain’t dying for footage! We’re on the run and we can’t get tetanus shots you dumbass! Let it go, please.”
Adam’s nose scrunched in annoyance, but Jonah could see a spark of consideration in his eyes that had their shoulders relaxing slightly. Giving their most pleading look had Adam folding, shaking his head with a soft sigh. “Alright… you’re right.. Let’s go back, there probably wasn’t anything alive in here anyway..”
“Thanks man… I think if I stay with this smell any longer I’ll keel over.” They joked in an attempt to lighten the mood, smiling when it got a snort out of their friend. Adam turned off the handheld, shoving it back in his hoodie pocket and pulling out another light, allowing Jonah to stop having to keep the beam where the blond was looking.
Creaking sounded in the stuffy basement as Adam began to climb the steps, Jonah taking one last sweep of the room with their flashlight. There was something off, other than the obvious, but they couldn’t put their finger on it…
Nothing, nada, just as it was before; disgusting gunk and mold everywhere. Shaking their head, the enby huffed out a breath with a slight mumble to themself. They really needed to get more sleep, maybe they should take up Sarah’s tea suggestion. Sighing, Jonah moved towards the stairs, Adam already being halfway up them.
They then froze at the sound of chains clanging together.
It was quiet and they’d almost not heard it, but it was there. There was something in the basement with them. Something that was steadily coming closer, going faster as it approached.
Jonah sprinted for the stairs.
The clanging of the chains sped up and became louder with a growl, the enby making it to the steps and beginning to ascend them, their friend turning around in confusion at their haste, when-
CRUNCH!
Jonah wailed in pure agony at the fire spreading from where sharpened fangs sunk into the flesh of their leg, blood beading and dripping from the surface of their skin. They could just barely make out Adam’s shout of alarm behind the horrible pain. “JONAH!?”
Their trembling weight failed to keep them upright, falling onto the steps with a shout as the thing still holding onto their leg started dragging them back. Nonononononono! Frantically, the enby kicked at the thing with their other leg, breath quickening as they squeezed their eyes shut at its muffled and pained screech.
Growling, whatever it was just tightened its hold, teeth sinking deeper into Jonah’s muscle and bone. A sob choked itself from the enby as they continued the kick desperately, voice cracking as they called for help. “A-adAM! H-HELP!!”
The yelling just seemed to spur the creature further into bloodlust, as it tightened its grip and yanked. Yelping in agony, Jonah reached out a hand to Adam, which he stumbled down the stairs to grasp, pulling them in the opposite direction. A pained cry escaped the enby as it felt like their leg was about to be ripped off.
Adam yelled something incomprehensible, and Jonah felt the teeth ripping into their flesh jerk, causing them to scream at the pain. The blond yelled more, and the thing jerked again, though this time its hold loosened slightly. Finally, with one last agonizing pull, the thing let go with a yelp.
The enby went limp while whining in between gasps for air, their friend letting go of their hand to go further down the stairs with heavy breaths. Black spots appeared in Jonah’s vision, hearing fading in and out. Was this what dying felt like? They didn’t want to die.
Clangs and animalistic hisses and growls made them belatedly flinch, trying to turn to see what was going on. However, they couldn’t even move onto their elbows, the torturous feeling in their leg spiking at any action they made. They resorted to panting on the disgusting floor, waiting for Adam to come back or for them to pass out. After a few minutes, footsteps ran closer.
“Jonah- Jonah are you awake? Please be awake-” Adam’s hand rested on their shoulder, and the enby groaned, blearily blinking their eyes open. “Oh thank fuck..”
“...hurts… fuck it hurts, Adam…” Jonah hiccuped, sobbing slightly as their leg throbbed in agony. The blond’s hand moved to their head, patting their silver hair as he tried to comfort them, gently shifting them to their side.
“I- yeah it probably hurts like a fucking bitch, but- but we have to move, okay? We can’t stay in this smelly ass basement.” Adam soothed slightly, pulling off his hoodie and pressing it to Jonah’s injury. The enby whined in pain, trying to squirm away on instinct. “Shh.. it’s gonna be okay man- I just need to- to stop it bleeding first..”
Tying his hoodie around the wound, the blond continued to whisper reassurances that made Jonah relax the slightest bit, sobs of agony continuing to escape their throat. When he deemed that the leg was bandaged the best he could do, Adam murmured a small apology before moving his hands under the enby’s back and knees, lifting them up in a bridal carry.
A long and high whine came from the silver haired enby, the pain causing them to clutch Adam’s shirt harshly. Fuck fuck fuck fuck, it felt like their leg had been set on fucking fire, stabbing agony spreading from the still sluggishly bleeding wound. Fabric rubbed into Jonah’s flesh, making them shudder in pain and pure discomfort.
Adam moved up the steps and quickly through the house, or at least it seemed quick, to Jonah it was just like they blinked. They were gently set in the passenger seat, the blond going to buckle them in but they swatted him off with a grumble. They could buckle their own seatbelt!
“Okay, okay…” Watching their friend close the door and move to the drivers side, Jonah sloppily buckled themself into their seat, sighing while trying to blink the black spots out of their eyes. Looking over at the other seat, they viewed Adam getting in and shutting the door, relaxing as the blond smiled slightly when he met their eyes. “Hey, it’ll be okay, man.. Let’s go home, get to Sarah, patch you up more, and then we can relax for a bit. Does that sound good?”
Jonah nodded, wincing when that made the black spots worse. Tiredness crashed onto them in pure waves and their eyes closed with a small mumble. A nap couldn’t hurt, right? Just a small one… a really tiny nap… “...mhm…. ‘M tired…”
“No! Nonononono Jonah! No sleeping, okay? No sleeping!” Adam shook their shoulder violently, only stopping when the enby pried their eyes open to glare at him. The blond looked so worried that it confused them, why was he looking at them like that? “I know you’re tired and exhausted but you can’t sleep, okay? Uh, I won’t let you have any popcorn if you fall asleep! Ever! No popcorn ever again if you fall asleep in this car!”
A whine escaped Jonah’s throat at that, blinking rapidly to try and wake themself up. They didn’t want to never have popcorn again. Their friend weakly chuckled, removing his hand to start the car. “Jonah, how about you count how many signs we pass. It’ll help you stay awake so you can eat that popcorn, okay?”
Okay. Yeah they.. Jonah can do that. Signs. Signs. Signs..
Moving to look out the window, they took in heavy breaths as Adam pulled out of the driveway and began going back to base, his phone carefully held between his shoulder and his ear while it rang. The noise faded out as Jonah focused heavily on the window and the potential signs the blond was passing. They needed to count the signs.
Everytime their eyes drooped, Jonah snapped them open with a small mixture of a grunt and a whimper. They needed to count the signs. Three signs.
Their leg ached and pulsed, every shifting movement causing a spike in the agony. Jonah bit their cheek to stay quiet, noise would distract them from the signs. Seven signs.
Everything was beginning to blur; they were barely able to part colors from other colors, trees from road, signs from not signs. Twelve signs.
Adam’s voice faded in, incomprehensible to their ears. He sounded panicked and stressed. Maybe he’ll relax if they can tell him the signs. The number of signs. Fifteen signs. Or was it sixteen? No, it was fifteen. Fifteen signs.
Jonah jolted when the car suddenly stopped, looking around to see they were in the base's driveway. How long had they zoned out..? They hoped they didn’t miss any signs, that would be bad. It was sixteen, they hoped. Sixteen signs.
Sluggishly, the enby turned to their blond friend, frowning when he looked scared through all the blur. Why was Adam scared? Did something happen? A dull pulsing jogged their memory. Oh right, their leg, that’d happened. How did they forget? What else did they need to remember? Signs, there’d been sixteen signs on the road. Or was it fifteen? Seventeen? Sixteen, they think. It was sixteen, right?
Wind blew into Jonah’s face as the car door was opened, Adam smiling weakly when he saw them still awake. The blond started to pick them up in another bridal carry as he began to speak in a rushed and slightly panicked tone. “We’re gonna go inside now, okay? Sarah has the medkit ready and you’re going to be fine okay? Everything’s gonna be fine-”
“...sixteen…” They had to tell him, he had to know there were sixteen. Jonah couldn’t remember why exactly, but they knew it was important to tell their friend.
Adam paused, arms under the silver haired enby’s knees and back, staring with a mixture of shock and pure confusion. “...What..?”
“...signs… th’re were sixteen…” The blond continued to stare before shaking his head with a mixture of a grimace and a smile, picking Jonah up the rest of the way. Hissing quietly at the fabric rubbing their leg, the enby snuggled their face closer to their friend’s chest. Adam’s voice was shaky and.. Sad? “Good job, Jo, very good job. Stay awake for a little longer and you’ll get your popcorn, dude. I promise.”
Whining at the prospect that they still had to wait, Jonah continued to blink rapidly, attempting to continue following their friend’s instructions. They could stay awake, they totally could. Totally. ..The swaying of Adam speedwalking made it hard, though. It felt nice and safe. Perfect time for a nap. They could probably get their friend to fold and let them have popcorn after..
A hand was waved in front of the enby’s face, and they blinked in response. Muttering an incomprehensible apology, they shifted slightly before noticing they were laid against someone’s chest, Adam, judging by the smell of dust and grass. Jonah leaned further into the touch, slowly blinking as they attempted to figure out who was above them, continuing to wave a hand in their face.
It took several seconds of silence before they got it, mostly from her hair being long and brown. “...sa…rah..?”
Speech faded in afterwards, but it was jumbled and choppy, Jonah not being able to process it correctly. They were so tired. Now Sarah was here, they could sleep, right? Sighing, they snuggled against Adam, closing their eyes with an ‘I’m tired’ whine.
Arms wrapped around them from behind, pulling them the slightest bit closer to Adam. His thumbs gingerly rubbed the back of their hands, and Jonah murmured something incomprehensible in response, starting to truly slip into the black of sleep and rest.
Something cold against the skin of their leg snapped them out of the state, though everything was still fuzzy. What was going on? Why was something cold moving up their leg? They tried to sit up while cracking their eyes open, but Adam’s arms around them stopped them from moving even an inch upwards.
What? Why wasn’t their friend letting them get up? Jonah mumbled something while squirming, trying to escape both Adam’s grasp and the cold cutting their pant leg. “..wha’s… goin’ on…? ..lemme… lemme up..”
“Shhh Jo,” Adam whispered to them while holding them the slightest bit tighter, “it’ll be okay, okay? You just.. Just need to stay still while Sarah works.. It’ll be done quick, okay? It’s all going to be fine..”
They tried to speak once more, still confused, but stopped when a spike of pain shot through their leg. Whimpering, they increased their squirming the best they could, wanting whatever was making it hurt to go away. Something was then pulled from the wound on them, fabric. “..lemm’ go..! don’... don’ w’nna..! ..i’ ‘rt’s..!”
Adam continued to whisper comforts, but Jonah just kept sluggishly struggling in a confused delirium. They didn’t understand what was happening, they wanted to be left alone and let go. “..’lease… lem’ go…!”
Tears began to fall, sliding down the enby’s cheeks as their struggles weakened from overexertion. The blond’s arms suddenly tightened around them before a searing pain came from their leg, causing Jonah to shout in pain and attempt to get free more than ever, sobs escaping them.
It hurt. It hurt so much. Why were they hurting them? Jonah thought they were friends, why were they doing this? It didn’t matter that Adam was mumbling soft words, trying to calm them down and telling them it was gonna be okay. It didn’t matter that Sarah was gently patting their hair while saying she’d be done soon. They were hurting them and they wanted it to stop. Please just make it stop.
Agonized whines flooded from their voice box as something was repeatedly stuck in and pulled out of their leg, a thread moving through the newly created holes afterwards. The world became fuzzy again, and their struggles weakened before dying out entirely, leaving them a whimpering and limp mess as their pain pulsed and spiked in intensity.
Distantly, Jonah felt something be wrapped around the wound and a hand playing with their hair, but they just closed their eyes with a hitched breath, tears still flowing. The throbbing wouldn’t go away, no matter how much they prayed for it to.
Whimpering again, they relaxed as the chest they were pressed against rumbled in tune with a hummed song. It was familiar, comforting. Adam had sung it before, in the car when he’d thought they were asleep.
Despite themselves, they sunk into the music, falling unconscious before they could even realize it.