Praying for a sinner || Ticci Toby x Reader

?? | Chapter 8 | ??

"Enough." its echoing voice boomed through my head, my hands instinctively covered my ears. Toby fell to his knees and gripped his ears so tightly I thought he might rip them off, his tics went in overdrive, his entire body looked like it hurt, and for some reason, my feet took an involuntary step towards him. As his voice boomed through everyone, Jane took her hands and placed them over mine, helping to cover my ears more. She seemed to be unaffected by it. Tim was hysterically coughing, but something told me it wasn't because of Tobys attempted strangulation. Brian looked like he wanted to die right there and then. In fact, it seemed like Toby, Brian, and Tim were the ones most effected by him. "I will not tolerate intemperance of this sort." His voice rippled throughout my body and that static burned a level of pain into my mind that I could never forget. His focus seemed to be solely on Toby, even though he had no face. I knew where he was looking. The static grew. Loud. So so loud. My insides screamed, it felt like my entire body was on fire and being liquified.

Right when I thought it couldn't get any worse.. I heard it. Neither Janes nor my hands could stop the sound from reaching my ears. A scream. Toby. His scream. Raw, cracked, deep and guttural. Something in my chest cracked at the sound and my body moved before my mind could stop it. I was out of Janes arms and before I could stop myself, I had picked up and thrown a nearby vase. My blood ran cold as the vase connected and shattered against an invisible wall. An invisible wall around him. Toby stopped screaming and gasped in a greedy amount of air as his hands fell from his ears and braced on the floor beneath him. His head whipped towards me and then towards the tall entity, his eyes went wide. It felt like all my organs were failing when it looked at me. My chest rose and fell quickly and everyone around me had their jaws almost touching the floor, Jane gasped so loudly behind me that I swore all the air in the room was sucked out. His head clicked to the side with a deafening 'crack'. I felt like my legs would give out from under me as it took its first step towards me. My head got light from the static and I felt something trickle from my nose, a metallic pang was in the back of my throat, and at that moment, I knew my nose was bleeding. I think my adrenaline was the only thing keeping me from fully freaking the fuck out.

I have two options here:

Run and die

or

Stand my ground and die.

Both have the same outcome. And one makes me seem slightly cooler.

As it approached me Ej stepped forward, his hands splayed out in front of him. "Sir, you'll have to excuse her. She isn't herself right now." His voice came out strained, part of me felt warm that he was attempting to save my life, but that warmth quickly turned into ice as the floor under me gave away. I was engulfed by thick air as I fell and hit the ground. I was surrounded. By nothing. Absolutely nothing. I spun around. Ran. Turned around again. It was pitch black. There was nothing here. I was in nothing. I was nothing.

I think I screamed.

TOBYS POV

The ringing in my ears still hadn't stopped. Even as Jane punched at the ground screaming, trying to get y/n back. Even as Ej pleaded to bring her back and that she didn't mean it. Everything had been moving in slow motion since she threw that vase. Tim remained on the floor ahead of me, eyes wide staring at the ground that had just swallowed her whole, if I hadn't wanted to kill him before. I did now. Everyone was in a fluster, no one knew what to do. Jeff had started to try and pry up the floorboards that Jane was hitting. Brian rushed to Ejs side, even though Brian was selectively mute, I could see him signing arguments to agree with Ej. Natalie had a strange look on her face, it almost seemed smug as she pushed off from the wall and left the room. Liu took Sally out of the room and Ben followed, his eyes wide and his mouth gaped.

I pushed up from the floor and stumbled forward slightly, Tim had gotten to his feet and attempted to catch me, but I shoved him away. "This, is your fault." I could hardly hear my own voice over the ringing, but I knew it was quiet and dark. He looked hurt. Good. I want him to hurt. I want him to suffer for this. Janes eyes flicked to me as I stepped forward staring at the spot y/n had been standing in moments ago. She was on her feet and approached me with sharp and quick steps, her face a mask of fury. Her hands connected with my chest as she shoved me backward. "Bring her back." She shoved me again and started yelling. "Get her back!" She shoved me again. Again. Again. Spitting nasty words at me. I took every shove. Every insult. My ears still ringing and my eyes glued to the floor that had just devoured y/n. I hadn't realized how much Jane had taken a liking to y/n. I stumbled back with a final shove and almost fell over the centrepiece table that I had nearly killed Tim on. When I finally looked at Jane her eyes were glassy and her chest rose and fell rapidly, I felt shame. My brows knitted together, and I opened my mouth to speak but no words came out. Was this my fault? I blamed Tim but.. maybe this was my fault. My hands were braced on the table behind me and it felt like I couldn't breathe, my lungs rejected air, and the back of my throat burned. What was this? What was this horrendous feeling? Jane shook her head, and her lip quivered before she turned and went back to help Jeff lift one of the floorboards.

My head slowly turned to look at him (tic). And for the first time in a long time, a wave of white-hot rage simmered under my skin. I looked up at him through my brows and stalked towards where he was standing, Ej and Brian still pleading. "Get her out." The ringing stopped abruptly as the cold words left my tongue, he turned slowly to look at me. I held my gaze strong, I won't back down. I wouldn't back down. Not now, not when Janes yelling was clear in my ears. Not when I knew what hell y/n was in right now. The static started to constrict around the corners of my mind, but I didn't care. "Get. Her. Out." I enunciated each word with malice. I knew where he had put her. I was the only other person who knew about that small pocket of abyss that he had. It's where he would send the mindless. Only when they went in.. they were normal people. But that place... It was insanity. Time didn't make sense there. The static grew louder and even when my tics started to lose control, I didn't. I held on despite the sharp agonizing pain that rippled through my body, he was the only thing that could ever make me feel pain. And I hated that. But he knew. In this moment he knew. I. Was not. Backing down. I felt blood trickle from my nose, I didn't budge. Even when my ears rang deaf, even when my body screamed, even when I thought I might die from the pain. I didn't move.

His head tilted slightly, assessing. He straightened up and I knew that he wouldn't bring her back until someone was made an example of. Until someone was punished for the several acts of defiance that transpired in this room. So without a word, or a second glance. I followed him up the stairs, I was always happy about my condition which made me numb to any pain. But.. in moments like these.. I wish I could feel it. Because at least if I had a tolerance for it.. Then punishment wouldn't hurt as much as it does. And I not only hate him for that.

I hate myself for it.

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