Praying for a sinner || Ticci Toby x Reader

?? | Chapter 5 | ??

He slowly straightens his back, the words on his tongue remaining there. He keeps his eyes strong on mine as he pulls something out of his pocket and throws it on the ground, my gaze falls to the small key now to the right of me. As I lean down to grab it, he grips my hair and forces my head back to look at him, I let out a small gasp, the angle creating a slight ache in my neck. His tone quiet and dark as he speaks. "The next time you have an attitude with me.." He leans in closer, his nose almost brushing against mine, his breath fanning across my face. "..I'll rip out your fucking tongue." His voice almost a whisper, menacing and laced with something I can't quite place. He lets go of my hair and steps back (tic), I narrow my eyes and lean down, grabbing the key and slipping it into the lock on my ankle. It clicks and the chain unlatches, I slowly stand back up and throw the key, it clatters to the other side of the room. I take a step out of the chain, my gaze remaining hateful and solely on his. I move forward and bump his bicep with my shoulder, and I walk passed him and out the door, a low rumbling sound escapes his throat. Outside in the hallway a yellow hooded figure in there, the same hooded figure from the woods. I scowl and continue walking, I don't know where I'm going but I'll figure it out.

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After an embarrassingly long time with the hooded fellow following me, I finally find myself down the stairs and into.... a fucking dining hall? How big is this fucking place? There are people walking around with napkins, plates, and trays... They look.. awful. Their hair is matted, their clothes filthy and their eyes.. are glazed over. Like they aren't even there. There are several people seated at the absolutely massive dining table, laced with eight chairs on either side and then one large.. almost throne-like seat at the head of the table. I scan the figures at the table only one of them is somewhat familiar, the one I know as 'EJ'. Then there's the one is a yellow hood and his black mask with a red smiley face painted on it. The one whose face I bashed with a rock, who looks like a scruffy man in his mid-thirties. Then one with blonde hair and wearing what looks like elvish clothing, he looks like he's out of a freaking video game. One with a white hood and.... scars on either side of his mouth creating a permanent smile on his face. Another with brown hair and scars lacing the majority of the skin I can see, wearing a striped scarf. There's a girl with a clock where her eye should be. Another girl in all black, her eyes onyx black and her skin a pale white. A little girl? A child? In all pink, red streaks coming from her eyes and a teddy bear in her arms. I feel my heart pounding more and more. I think I'm going to have a panic attack. None of them are looking at me, thank God. My breathing comes short, and I need to run. I turn around and smack into the chest of Toby, my chest rising and falling quicker than normal. He grabs both my shoulders and spins me around pushing me further into the dining hall, my heart pounds in my ears as he pushes me into one of the chairs and takes the seat beside me. I'm between him and the one in the white hood, I try to keep my eyes away from the people chatting around me, looking at the table or my hands. I am so scared right now. As I glance up across the table to the left, I see the girl with a clock for an eye staring at me with an intense glare, I move my gaze quickly and meet the eyes of the man whose face I tried to bash in.

There is an ancient groan in the floorboards everyone looks toward the large doors that lead into the dining hall, when I look at the door my heart drops and I take in a sharp breath. In the doorway is a tall creature, it wears a suit with a red tie. It has long fingers. Its face is just a blank white nothing. It is so tall. I grip the arm of my chair, my knuckles turning white as it stalks into the dining hall. The feeling of a static noise lightly wracking at the corners of my mind. It seems to make Toby unsettled, his face a neutral cold expression but his tics give him away. I don't blame him though, I'm fucking unsettled. I keep my eyes strong on it until it takes the seat at the head of the table, my chest rising and falling quickly and deeply. Then, just as I think I couldn't be any more terrified, it speaks. "First I'd like to state how glad we all are that Tim and Brian have made it back safely" It's almost regal, staticy, deep, and terrifying voice echoes through my mind, making the hair on my arms stand. How is it talking? It doesn't even have a mouth. I feel like I'm going to throw up. A few smiles and claps are turned in the direction of the man in the yellow hood and the one in his mid-thirties, who I now know as 'Tim and Brian', though I don't know which is which. "Secondly." His echoing voice brings my attention back. "We have a new guest." He gestures to me, and I feel like I'm going to pass out as everyone turns to me, my heart thundering in my chest. I try to silence my panic as best I can and not meet the eyes of anyone looking at me. I can feel its non-existent eyes bore into my soul, I catch a glimpse of Toby, his usual attitude and body language towards me replaced with a neutral cold. It pulls everyones attention back and begins speaking again however, I don't hear it. I can't hear it over the panic and thundering of my heart in my ears.

I flinch as a plate is placed in front of me by one of the... servants? Is that the right term for whatever they are? I stare down at the food, my appetite non-existent despite the days I've gone without food. Fear does strange things to the body. "Eat it." Toby quietly demands from next to me, almost purposely not looking at me. I open my mouth to protest but he shoots me a look, I don't know why but something about the look he gave me makes me pick up my fork. I slowly stab at the food on my plate, my hands shake slightly every time I bring up a small bite of food. I want to throw up. I think I might throw up. I keep my eyes solely on my food, the people around the table chat and laugh. How is everyone acting so fucking normal? What fucking pit of hell is this? I notice that Toby doesn't engage in any conversations, just cuts into his food and eats it. His hands look strong, like he could crush my windpipe without even trying. I pull my gaze back to my food. A few pieces of bread get thrown around the table as they laugh, the white hooded figure next to me leans in. "What's your name darling?" His voice is low and menacing, the hair on the back of my neck stands up. I don't say anything. "Oh, come on. Don't be shy.. I don't bite." He pauses, a low smile coming over his face. "..Unless you want me to." He bites at the air, my eyes close and I shift slightly. "Leave her alone Jeff." EJ interjects from across the table, the one I now know has Jeff puts his hands up in a mock surrender and laughs. Everything fades in and out, my mind struggling to focus on anything for very long. I want this to be over. Let me leave. I want to go home. God, please let me go home.

I don't know how long it was before the dinner ended but it felt like an eternity, after everyone was dismissed and moving out of the dining room I stand on wobbly legs, my chest aching from how hard my heart has been pounding. Everything sounds muffled, like I can't hear anything. I feel a hand press on the small of my back, making me jump and a strangled noise leaves my throat. "Woah.. Calm down.." EJ lifts his hands back in a non-threatening gesture. "I just need to put more drops in your ear." He gestures to the stairs. "What? Oh. Yeah.. Okay.." I mutter, heading towards the stairs. He follows behind me for a moment before taking the lead, I still have no fucking clue what the layout of this place is. After a few minutes we end up in a hallway, he opens the door, and I step into the familiar room. Toby sits at his desk, he rolls his eyes as I step inside. I take my usual spot on the floor next to the bed and under the window, my pillow still there. EJ pulls a bottle from his pocket, and I instinctively tilt my head to the side. The same cringing feeling rolls down my canal, but it doesn't feel as painful as it normally does. I don't know if that's because it's healing or because my mind simply cannot process any other feelings that this numbing fear I have. As I catch his gaze, I think he tries to say something but stops himself, he shares a strange look with Toby before gesturing him out of the room. Toby groans and stands up, his presence eating up the atmosphere and sucking the air from the room. The door closes and I can slightly hear muffled talking but nothing audible enough for me to make out, I don't care anyway.

I lay down, tonight is colder than it has been, and I regret not demanding a blanket when I was feeling cockier. Before I had seen that.... thing.. I lay on my right side, making sure the liquid remains in my ear. The voices stop and the door opens, a frustrated Toby steps back into the room, he closes the door harshly. I hear the chain rattle before he roughly grabs my ankle and clicks the shackle back around it. I don't react. I don't say anything. I simply don't care enough. I'm going to die in the place. His hand lingers on my ankle for a moment before dropping it again, he remains silent, which is strange because he's an asshole. I close my eyes, hoping once again that I'll wake up and this will all have been a dream. I see their faces when I close my eyes. Jackson. Cameron. I can feel the blood on me. I try to shake it off. It's cold. I feel everything and nothing at the same time. My eyes remain closed as I hear the bed next to me creak and settle. A while passes and I'm just about to drift off when I'm all of a sudden covered with fabric. My head lifts and I look down on myself, a blanket? I turn my head. He's lying on his back, I can't quite tell if his eyes are open or not. Did he just give me the blanket? No. It must have just fallen off the bed. I ignore the situation and put my head back down against my pillow. After wrestling with my thoughts for a while I finally drift off to sleep.

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