ᴡᴏʀꜱʜɪᴘ ᴍᴇ (ᴇᴊ x ʀᴇᴀᴅᴇʀ)

Epilogue

—among the bodies found was fifty-three-year-old Adam Krul who authorities believe to have been the leader of this cult. We do not yet know what exactly went on within this organization, but from what the police have released this seems to have been some sort of ritual gone horribly wro—

The television screen suddenly went black. Damn it. You glanced toward the window with a short huff, watching as more and more snow blew down from the sky. Throughout the day the snow had only grown heavier, and by now there had to be substantial buildup on the satellite.

It'd been about a week and a half since you and Jack had escaped the cult. In that time, the two of you had skipped town. And by skipped town, you meant you were now in Vermont. The drive had taken two days, and the search for a new place to hide out had taken another. You'd had to make sure that it was secluded, and that no one could just stumble upon the two of you.

After your brief run-in with the cops, they very well could have caught on that something was going on with you. They might have found your abandoned apartment and the people you'd left behind without so much as a goodbye. The fragments of your old life. And if they had, who knew what they thought? A kidnapping? A sudden desire to go off the grid? Either way, you didn't want whatever wellness check they could have in store for you. As for Jack, you didn't know what would happen if his identity was ever discovered, and you did not want to find out.

Your new home was another cabin in the woods, but this time even more isolated than before. It was about a forty-five minute drive to civilization, and your neighbors were a good half-mile away from the house. It was perfect. You didn't have to see other people unless you wanted to, and the only things you had to worry about now were grocery runs and the possibility of the owners returning to their cabin. A few pictures scattered around the house told you it belonged to an older couple, but based on the gathered dust it didn't seem like they visited very often.

If they did return while you and Jack were still here, you'd just have to cross that bridge when you got there.

With a sigh, you tossed the remote down and pushed yourself from the couch. Without the TV there wasn't much else to do than go bother Jack, not that you minded. You trudged across the house and into the bedroom, seeing from the doorway the large man lying on his back presumably listening to an audiobook. You'd sacrificed your phone for his hobby a couple of days ago, and ever since he'd spent a good portion of every day just relaxing and listening to a book. Unless he'd already finished it, as far as you knew he was still on a sci-fi thriller.

You climbed onto the bed, the mattress sinking under your weight and causing Jack to pause his book and look at you. Not bothering to give an explanation, you simply scooted closer and curled into his side.

"The news was talking about the cult again." You mumbled into the fabric of his shirt. Jack sighed and you felt him wrap an arm around you.

"Not surprised. What was it about?"

"Who died, the ritual, Krul." You said, peeking up at him. You stared into his black eyes, though your gaze quickly shifted to take in his entire face. After arriving at the cabin he'd finally taken off the mask and hadn't put it on since unless he had to go out in public. It was odd at first seeing his facial expressions and not relying on body language alone to read him. It was definitely a change, but it was a welcomed one.

Jack nodded along as he set aside the phone and rolled on his side to face you. "Did they say what the police thought happened?"

"Right now they think it was just a ritual gone wrong. That's all I heard before the TV cut out." You glanced out the window again. "It's snowing pretty heavily today."