The Man in the Blue Mask

Chapter Two: Cabin in the Woods

I sat on my bed as Jack sat on my windowsill. I still couldn't believe what he was telling me.
"So you're saying Jenny did this?"
He nodded.
Sighing, I leaned my back against the wall. This was all still new to me.

"Charlie, it's alright if you don't believe me." Jack hadn't looked away from me since he arrived. I kept staring at his mask. The way it looked kept nagging on my curiosity. Getting up, I walked over to him.
"Jack, have you ever taken off your mask?" I asked, slowly reaching for his mask.

He grabbed my arm. "Charlie..."
"Please, just let me see."
Loosening his grip on my hand, he let me remove his mask, revealing his face. Not much had changed. He was still the handsome boy I had met my first day back, only his skin had become a grayish color, and his eyes were no longer there. Instead it was the black tar substance that spilled down his face like tears. I felt my heart rate increase a bit.

"You're afraid of me... Aren't you."
Jack looked away from me. His tone full of hurt.
I was. I was very afraid of what he had become. But he was still my friend. He was still my Jack.
"I'm not-"

"Well you should be." His tone was angry now. "I'm a monster, Charlie. I've killed people!"
He growled, taking the mask back and putting it back on. Getting up, he moved away from me. I tried to grab onto his arm, but he just glanced at me. I could tell he was upset.

"Jack, it wasn't your fault what happened." Ignoring his growls, I hugged him tightly. I could sense him tense up against me, but he quickly calmed down. Looking up at him, I smiled. "You don't have to worry about me."

"Then come back with me."

His sudden offer surprised me. What? Tilting my head, I gaze at him. "What are you talking about? Go back where with you?"
He became more energetic now, excited even. Like a child showing you the new toy he got for Christmas.

"I have a cabin, out in the woods. You'll love it there!"

I stopped him. "Jack, I can't just leave my family!" I backed away. What was he thinking? I can't just up and vanish without a trace! Turning away, I sat back on my bed.
Jack sighed. "I'll give you some time to think about it." Just like before, he vanished out the window.

×××

The next few weeks had been stressful. Classes had started back up again, and Greg no longer spoke to me. I had become an outcast.
My grades had also begun to drop as I was losing focus on everything. Leaning against my bedroom wall, I stared at the most recent note Jack had left me. I still found it odd how he could write even though he had no eyes.
He had visited me almost every night, asking me to leave with him. And each time, I turned away. I just wasn't sure what to do anymore.

"Charlie? May I come in?"
My mother stood in my doorway, her expression gave away concern. I nodded and she sat down next to me.
"Are you feeling alright?" She asked me. I didn't know how to answer that. I couldn't tell her about Jack because everyone believed he was dead after he had vanished when the cult murders happened.

"I'm fine mom, just got a lot on my mind."

She nodded, seeming to understand, and left me alone to my thoughts.

×××

Walking thought the woods, I searched around. Last night I had made my decision and accepted Jack's offer. I couldn't live normally anymore anyway, so I decided this was better than having people constantly ask me if I was okay.
Finally, I found the cabin. It was a fair sized large cabin.
Walking to the door, I knocked. No answer.

"Maybe he's out..."

I knew he would go out to..."feed" every now and then. So I decided to wait on the porch for him to return. Slowly, I began to start drifting off to sleep when I felt something poke my face. I opened my eyes to see Jack smiling at me.
"Glad you made it. Come on, let's get you settled."

He led me to a spare room in the cabin. It was pretty well kept. Soft bed, nice dresser. Placing my stuff on the bed, I wandered to the window. "It's really nice out here."

"Yeah. It's also well hidden, so nobody will find us."

Jack had preferred to avoid society. And I could understand that. Going back to looking around, I explored the cabin a bit more. Walking into the kitchen, I opened one of the cabinets to find rows of jars filled with kidneys. As I stared in a state of shock, Jack appeared and closed the cabinet.

"I advise to stay out of there."

I just nodded. He then led me to the living room. It was nice, and had a big fireplace. So I knew it would be warm in the winter.
Sitting on the couch, I smiled. "So you stay out here all by yourself?" I asked.

"There's some.... friends of mine who visit every now and then." He looked off to the side, putting an emphasis on friends. My curiosity piqued.
"Oh? And who might those friends b-"

"HEY EJ, ARE YA HOME?!"

A voice boomed as someone had rudely barged in like they owned the place. Jack sighed. And walked over to the front door.
"Jeff, can you not be so loud? There's another person here."
Jeff just scoffed as another voice piped up.
"Well well, let me guess. Is it your girlfriend?" The teasing voice was followed by a sudden "Ow" as Jack growled.

"Charlie's just a friend, BEN."

I got up and peeked into the entrance hall. I saw a guy that was about the same height as Jack, with messy black hair and a most noticeably carved bloody grin. I assumed this was Jeff. The other, a bit shorter than the two, maybe around more my height, was what looked like a creepy version of Link from the Zelda games. That must be BEN...
Walking over, I glanced at Jack who just held onto me protectively as soon as he saw me. BEN laughed.
"Dude, she's totally your girlfriend."
I blushed at his comment. Of course I liked Jack, but as far as I was concerned he only saw me as a close friend.
Jack let go of me and herded me back to the living room.
"Uh- Jack what are you doing?"

"Not to sound dark but...there's still a high chance they'd still try to kill you."

I stood there stunned. They'd what now? Turning to look at him, I could tell by his expression he was being serious.
I gulped.

What had I gotten myself into...