We’re All Mad Here...

Jack Kelly Whump Board

You know, sometimes scenes just pop into my head and I worry myself.

Balance had never been something Jack was good at. He just never cared to get better at it, he supposed. He thought he’d been better in high school, when he’d had to skateboard around to get anywhere, and he certainly had core strength to keep him upright when he needed to. But being up on his toes was proving to be exceedingly difficult.

The young man arched his back, whimpering helplessly when the noose around his neck tightened. He let out another panicked cry as he tiptoed around in a circle, trying to find anything to help him out of the situation he’d been caught in. He couldn’t breathe right.

Jack vaguely remembered storming out of his apartment in search of a drink. He’d been in a fight with someone. Davey? No, that didn’t sound right. He felt like Davey had been there, but it wasn’t him it was… Racer. The fifteen year old that was in his care. His brother. The boy was a spitfire, so stubborn it hurt. Jack was just as stubborn. He’d slammed the door as he’d left, just needing something to take the edge off. He couldn’t remember if he’d actually made it to a bar or not. All he could remember was waking up here, in this room that must’ve been some creep’s basement. Jack could see the stairs. There were no windows. Jack could barely see the door at the top of the staircase, but when he had seen it the last time that door had been closed, he’d seen the glint of too many different locks.

His head was pounding. When Jack had woken up, he’d been so out of it, he couldn’t even lift his arms. Someone had been with him, forcing him to stand. Jack had still been barely able to hold himself up when he’d been forced onto his toes. He couldn’t remember the man’s face. All he could focus on was the pain.

His arms were wrenched behind him, turning an ugly shade of purple by now, thin ropes wrapped around his elbows and wrists. He’d been stripped down to his boxers. And a rope had been strung around his neck and pulled up to some kind of contraption on the ceiling that connected to a crank in the corner. Jack could see it. He just couldn’t reach it. He was getting dizzy and tired.

He’d tried to scream, but the rope dug into his neck enough to make it difficult. So he tried to get loose, himself. It was proving to be an impossible task. He tried not to focus on the table along the wall beside the crank. But he couldn’t help it as he dangled in the middle of the room, grunting and groaning as he tried to find better footing. He could see more rope, a whip, leather straps, a lighter and a few sex toys. Jack backed away from it as much as he could, as if he could get away at all.

When the door opened, Jack sucked in a breath, trying to twist out of the ropes and reach his hands around to his front, but someone began to speak immediately. “Turn around and face the wall.” It was an order, almost like someone speaking to a misbehaved dog. Jack didn’t move at first. He stared up at the man, only able to make out a shadow. But he pulled out a small device, clicking it on. Jack saw a spark of blue. It was a taser. He paled. “Now!” the man ordered.

“O-okay! Okay!” Jack insisted, painfully turning around, standing high on the balls of his feet so he could continue to breathe. His legs were beginning to shake.

The many locks on the door were secured. Jack heard too many. Then footsteps made their way closer and closer to him. He tensed, swallowing hard. He was beginning to wheeze, a tear trailing down his cheek. The young man squeezed his eyes shut when he felt the man come to a stop directly behind him. He could feel the man’s breath on his neck. “You’re not gonna move unless you’re told, do you understand?” Jack hesitated for only a moment, but flinched when a sharp voice cut through the small room. “When I ask you a question, you answer!”

“Y-yes!” Jack insisted, hands curling into fists.

The man stepped even closer, their bodies touching. Jack’s bound arms were against this man’s chest. “Good. Now, you’re going to do as I say or you’ll be punished. Anytime I give you an order, you will say ‘Yes, sir’. Anytime I ask you a question, you will address me the same way. Understood?” Jack scowled a little bit. He twisted his wrists around in the ropes. A chuckle escaped his captor. “I have to admit, I was hoping you fought a little,” he said.

Jack didn’t like the sound of that.

The man didn’t elaborate. Instead, the taser that he’d had in his hand sparked to life and he stepped away from Jack as the thing was pressed into his side.

Jack didn’t hear himself scream, but he felt his body go weak after a moment of white hot pain. Then, he couldn’t breathe. He’d lost his footing. He couldn’t push himself up again. He tried to scream. No sound came out of his mouth. In an instant, things were going black before an arm wrapped around his torso, forcing him up. Oxygen rushed to Jack’s lungs fast and he couldn’t help but lean back against the man behind him as he was finally able to relax for a moment and just breathe. “Let this be a lesson, Jack,” the man said. Jack moaned in fear. “You can be good, and I can let you breathe… or I can let the asphyxiation kick in,” the man threatened. “No matter what you do down here, you’ll be trapped. Even if you managed to get out of these ropes, there are three locks on the inside and seven on the outside of the door to your release. You won’t be able to get out.”

The young man gasped desperately for air, weakly pulling at his arms, hoping the ropes would magically fall away. “F-fuck, let me go!” he cried, trying to push the man away.

But his captor stood firm, taking Jack’s chin in his hand. “You belong to me now, James Francis Kelly,” he said. “Every move you make is going to be because I allowed it. Every breath you breathe is by my mercy and every thought about the outside world will fall away eventually,” he promised, holding his captive painfully still.

Fear crawled up in Jack’s chest. He squirmed again, this time getting his neck grabbed onto. Jack clenched his jaw. “Wh-why?” he hissed, trying to let the anger overpower his terror. It wasn’t working. “Wh-who are you?”

The man let out an amused huff. “I’m your new god,” he whispered in Jack’s ear. Then he pulled a tight leather strap over Jack’s eyes and let go of him, forcing Jack to find his balance again with a terrified whimper. Jack tried to rub the blindfold on his shoulder, desperately trying to get it off. It got his hair grabbed and his head yanked back, forcing him to stumble back on his toes. “Are you trying to refuse my gift?” the man scolded.

“You’re fucking sick!” Jack cried. “Let me go!”

“Don’t worry, sweetheart. You’ll learn soon enough,” the man assured.

Jack breathed hard, the noose feeling even tighter than before. “W-wait, please… I… I’m n-no one… c’mon, let me go, no one will even believe me i-if I say anything about this! J-just let me go— agh!” A gag was pulled into his mouth, a metal bar forced between his teeth. He whined and yanked at the ropes again. He had to go home. His brother was still at home. And this man had his full name and address.

The man walked around him, circling him like prey. “Don’t worry,” he hushed, running his hand over Jack’s hip, making his jerk away. “Like I said… you’ll learn…”

Jack whimpered again, turning his head away from the man. But fear settled deep in his stomach. The man was so certain. Jack believed him.

🥹 I so appreciate that! I love writing these fics and I love that people enjoy them so much. I’m gonna try to get back to writing a little, I’ve just been so crazy busy lately but I miss it!

Onward AU

For more mood boards and AUs, click here!

Racetrack Higgins as Ian

Jack Kelly as Barley

This one breaks my heart a little bit. So these boys are living in a magical world that has evolved into modern society, dragons and cyclops and centaurs all live peacefully alongside each other.

Jack and Race are elves. They are brothers who couldn’t be more different. Jack is impulsive and questions authority without thought. See, in this land, magic has been outlawed for a century. Wizards and warlocks and witches are forced to hide their power or be arrested and kept out of the public eye for “safety”. But Jack loves magic and even practices it sometimes. Race has been told for years by teachers and peers and cops and everyone that his big brother is a screwup and, despite looking up to Jack for years, grows up to wish he’d grown up with their mother who died just after Race was born.

The two of them are orphans, living with their adoptive father, Bryan, another elf.

On the morning of Race’s 16th birthday, he wakes up to Jack being escorted home by police after he tried staged a protest at one of the last historical magical properties in their town. Jack is insistent that they can’t tear down the old fountain, but it is scheduled to be torn down later that week. Jack has also been arrested for graffiti, public disruption and minor magic, which almost led to very serious consequences of being locked up for life.

Jack is twenty two now, still living at home as a delinquent, because he does not want to go to school and give up their mother’s legacy of magic as he is convinced she was a witch.

Race is over Jack and just wants to have a normal life. He is a lonely kid. He doesn’t get bullied at school, but he certainly doesn’t have any friends. Bryan encourages him that morning to invite people over for cake and some games and Race just brushes her off and keeps his head low, although he does try to invite two of the more popular kids over, Albert and JoJo, but he gets too nervous and runs away, embarrassed.

Later, when Jack goes to pick him up from school, he takes Race up to his favorite spot, a lookout that looks over the entire city, and he tells Race he has something for him. It’s something he found when he was being taken from their home after their mother died. Race opens it to find a witches wand and a rare phoenix gem. There is a note that describes a way to bring their mother back for one day. Jack explains that he’d tried the spell before, but it never worked. Race is upset at first, thinking Jack is playing a joke on him before he sees how frustrated his brother is. He then realizes that Jack devoted his life to magic because he was trying to find a way to see his mother one last time.

Race tries the spell, but before he can finish it, the cops find and try to arrest them, forcing Jack and Race to flea without completing the spell. All Race managed to do was begin the spell, bringing their mother’s spirit close to them, a shiny orb that place in a crystal ball and carry with them while they try to find a way to bring her back completely.

The brothers are on the run to find another phoenix gem. So they rush to find a manticore who can help them find one of the last gems on earth.

Medda insists she’s retired, hanging out in a bar and drinking her sorrows away, but Jack steals a map off of her and takes Race to go find the gem anyway, not knowing the dangers ahead.

Together the brothers go through many twists and turns, involving Jack finding out how powerful his brother is the hard way, getting his voice taken away on accident, being turned into a statue, reliving the worst moment of his life, and almost losing Race when the boy lost faith in himself.

If you’d like to hear more about this au, let me know!

If you do come back to writing do you know if You’ll continue the top secret fic on ao3 I read it a couple days ago it was really good. And your boy meets world fic is amazing. You’re one of the best racetrack writers I’ve ever come across.

Omg thank you! I got another gig. I’m off Broadway this spring 🫣

Also… would you believe me if I told you Top Secret was updated a few days ago and is about to update AGAIN?!

Jack Kelly — Christmas Present

Jack passed the party planning torch this year. Well. Sort of. His little brother wanted to host this year so Jack let him. And then he staged a fight with his boyfriend the night before and texted Race that he wasn’t going to his party only for Race to show up to find Jack fully dressed and ready for the party. Race is very confused.

David Jacobs — Buddy the Elf

Davey goes as Buddy this year (hehe, I had to do it) and he is starting to really enjoy celebrating Christmas. But this year, he shows up crying and asking Race to help him and Jack mend their relationship. Right after Race leaves to drag his brother to the party, Davey gets to work redecorating with the others.

Racetrack Higgins — Santa Claus

Race has always wanted to host but it seems to be turning into a nightmare at the beginning of the night when he starts by missing the beginning of his own party. His boyfriend shows up as John mcclane again and Race designs his own Santa suit, and making his apartment into a perfect workshop with cookies and decor and gifts for everyone. But he has to convince his dumbass brother to make up with his boyfriend again.

Spot Conlon — John McClane/Christmas Prince

Spot arrived as John McClane, as he does every year. But when Race leaves to get Jack, he changes into a Christmas Prince costume and redecorates a bit to make the space a little more romantic with candles leading to the tree (safely) and little gifts leading towards Spot who had a ring in his pocket. He has been planning it for around a year and he couldn’t believe Jack agreed to help him out this year. He is incredibly nervous but manages to surprise Race as he walks back in with his brother.

Crutchie Morris — Frosty the Snowman

Spot’s rock in the whole situation. He goes with him to get the ring and helps him plan the decor and the surprise.

Sarah Jacobs & Katherine Plumber — Todd & Margo

These two are in charge of pictures and video. They come as Todd and Margo from Christmas Vacation for easy mobility and manage to capture the whole thing for the two new fiancés.

Albert DaSilva — Tree Topper

Halloween 2023

Christmas 2023

Halloween 2024

Christmas 2024

Jack Kelly — Criminal Cowboy

Jack goes as a criminal cowboy this year, a wanted man on the run. He wears mostly black, some brown and a mask to conceal his face from anyone who might want to snitch on him. He is flying high, on the top of the world. Him and Davey have had a great year and are still going strong.

David Jacobs — Sheriff

Davey is a sheriff this year. Him and Jack decided to do the couples costumes this year. Him and Jack play a little game of cat and mouse during the party until David manages to “arrest” Jack, leaving Jack in cuffs for the majority of the party. Jack doesn’t mind. Him and Davey leave for Jack’s bedroom early. They are not seen for most of the night.

Racetrack Higgins — Siren

Race comes dressed up as a siren. He is drunk pretty much from the beginning of the night and hanging off of his boyfriend. He gets very drunk and he and Albert smoke a lot of weed and Race ends up trying to sing to Spot to get him to wait on him. It only works because Spot loves him so much.

Spot Conlon — Pirate

Spot is a pirate, of course, to go with Race’s costume. Him and Jack are on better terms than last year. He and Race try to tone down their relationship when he’s around because Jack is so protective. Spot has given up drinking all together because he doesn’t trust friends to hold their liquor.

Crutchie Morris — Quicksilver

Always a superhero, Charlie decided to be quicksilver as he has a new leg that allows him to run better. He once again documents the party because he knows that nobody will remember it.

Albert DaSilva — Sailor

Albert accidentally comes as a sailor, which causes some tension between him and Spot, as Albert used to have a crush on Race that they’d thought they’d resolved because Albert was now dating Finch. Albert insists that he is over Race, but it slips that he would’ve loved it if Race had chosen him over Spot. Race ends up feeling guilty and Spot takes him home early.

Katherine Plumber — Kim Possible

Katherine is KP this year, because she herself is KP. She is now married to Sarah and the two are expecting to become parents.

Sarah Jacobs — Shego

Well of course!

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Jack was dizzy. He groaned, trying to sit up. He couldn’t remember what had happened. He remembered seeing Race’s apartment and then… nothing. “… Jack… Jack!” He jumped at that cry. He sucked in a breath, coughing a bit, trying to reach up for his head before he found his wrists tied tightly behind him. He found himself to be sitting up, wrists bound through bars of a cage that surrounded him. His vision was blurry, but not blurry enough to distract him front the legs tangled up with his own.

The young man sucked in a breath, coming back to consciousness quickly at that. His gaze wildly dashed to every corner of the room. “Kat?!” he called.

“Jack!” the same voice hissed.

Jack’s eyes landed on someone to his left on the outside of the bars. His heart sank. “Spot…” he whispered before he looked at the person in the cage with him. He gasped. “Tyler!” he screamed. The boy wasn’t moving. “Tyler! Racer—“

“He’s drugged! They drugged him,” Spot insisted.

“They beat him!” Jack cried. “Baby… hey, Racer,” he whispered. The boy’s exposed skin was covered in blood and bruises. The boy’s clothes were gone. He was left in his underwear, leaning against the bars. “Tyler James…” Jack called again.

“I’ve tried,” Spot insisted. “I can’t tell if he’s asleep or just dazed.”

Jack yanked at the ropes that held him back. “Where are we?”

Spot shook his head, trying to get closer to Jack. “It doesn’t matter, they brought you here, that means they haven’t found Katherine. They’re gonna bait her with you—“

“Telling him our plans, Conlon?” one of the men chuckled as they walked into the room. Jack scowled. He struggled against the ropes as he unlocked the cage him and his brother were in. Jack kicked the man right in the knee, breaking it. The man screamed, going down. Jack managed to twist just enough to grab a knife off of the man’s belt, cutting himself free and slamming the door against the head of another man coming through the door. Then he slid towards his brother.

The boy barely flinched when Jack took his face in his hands. “Hey, hey…” Jack whispered as he pulled the blindfold off of Race's face. The boy’s eyes blinked sluggishly. “Ty, look at me—“

The old man stalked up to him, grabbing Jack by the arm and trying to yank him away. “Get up!”

Jack shoved the man back, punching him square in the face, his adrenaline through the roof. Then he turned back to his brother. “Racer!” he cried, pulling the gag out of the boy’s mouth. “Hey, can you hear me? Look at me, it’s Jackie, pal, come on!” He gasped as an arm wrapped around his throat, cutting off his oxygen supply. He started choking.

“Jackie…” Race whimpered.

“Hey! That’s enough!” Spot demanded.

The old man stood tall as the good with the bloody nose dragged Jack backwards. “Lay him flat. Give me his hand.”

Jack gasped for air as he was shoved onto his stomach on the cold ground. The good with the now broken knee turned to them, limping as he pulled out his phone, recording what was happening. Jack struggled hard. “Let me go!” he demanded.

The old man chuckled as Jack’s right wrist was held down, leaving his hand exposed. The second Jack’s palm was flat against the floor, he tilted his head, stomping down on the man’s hand with all the force of his body weight. The cracks were sickening, every bone in the man’s hand snapping into pieces. Jack’s scream was deafening. “I understand you are quite the artist, Mr. Kelly,” the old man hummed, leaning down to the young man. “That’s a shame. I certainly hope you’ve had your fun with your silly little paintings. Give me the other hand.”

“No! Stop!” Spot cried.

Jack was shaking as he was rolled onto his back. Tears were cascading from his eyes. All he could see was white, blinded by absolute pain. He gasped for air, trying to yank his left hand out of the iron grip it was in. “N-no, no! Please!” The second stomp was so much worse than the first. Jack’s blood curdling scream echoed off the walls. He didn’t breathe for a long moment. Not until shaken, trembling gasps coursed through his system. He was dragged back into the cage, left unbound. He couldn’t do anything. Not with two broken hands.

Then the three men just left. Just like that. No warning, no interrogation. Nothing. Jack stared up at the ceiling, unable to move.

Spot blinked the tears out of his own eyes. “Jack,” he called again quietly. “You need to breathe.”

Jack couldn’t. Not properly.

“Jackie,” Race whispered. “Can you just lay still with me?” he asked innocently. Jack took a shuddering breath at that. He swallowed hard. Race glanced over at Spot before looking back at his brother. “Let’s lay here till the sun rises, okay?”

Jack looked over at him, trying to calm down. “I c-can’t m-move ‘em—“

“Don’t try to move them,” Race insisted. “Don’t. Just breathe.” His voice was quiet and weak. The boy was starved. So was Spot. “Breathe deep breaths. You’re gonna be okay…”

Jack gasped for air, hyperventilating. Spot moved as close as he could to the cage. He winced when he saw Jack’s broken fingers. He looked up at Race who was staring back at him, looking heartbroken. The boy knew as well as Spot did that Jack would be lucky to wiggle his index finger again, let alone hold a paintbrush.

“Spot…” Race breathed. “Katherine would’ve been close behind him… what are they gonna do with us?”

Spot shook his head. “Shush, blondie,” he whispered. “I’m gonna get us out of here. I promise. Just hang on for me, okay?”

Race sniffled. “I can’t even m-move ta h-help him,” he whimpered. “He’s gonna pass out—“

“It’ll be good. Let him pass out, it’s okay,” Spot insisted. “If he’s asleep he’s not thinking about the pain. Just… rest and let me figure this out.”

Race went quiet, watching his brother in tears. Spot looked around the room, more desperate than ever to get them out of here. Once they were done with Katherine, there was no doubt in Spot’s mind of what would be done.

This one was interesting for me. I really enjoyed figuring out what the hell was going on as I wrote it

The world was floating. Nothing made sense. Whispers were hissing and winding all around the boy who didn’t know where he was or what he was doing. He must’ve been sleeping. But he couldn’t remember how he’d fallen asleep. Or where he was. He groaned, trying to sit up.

“Hey! Hey, kiddo, o-oh…” a voice whispered from beside him. “Someone call a nurse, please? Racer, stay down, it’s okay—“

“Wh-what—?” the boy tried to asked, but a hand pushed him back down onto a bed. “N-no, I w-wanna get up!”

“I’m sure you do, sweetheart, but your body ain’t ready for that yet,” the voice insisted.

The kid rubbed his eyes, blinking harshly and trying to clear his vision. Then he shoved at the hands on him, albeit weakly. He wanted to get up and run. Surely he was being kidnapped. Whoever was pushing him down had taken him from…

From where? He couldn’t remember.

When he finally managed to see in front of him, he saw a young man. He calmed at the sight of him, but he couldn’t quite figure out why. The man had short brown hair on head, a bit of stubble on his chin. He had kind eyes, looking at him like he was the only thing in the world, though his cheeks were stained with tears. The boy didn’t know why. He didn’t know this man.

His caretaker smiled sadly when their eyes met and he ran a hand over the boy’s hair. “Hey, punk,” he whispered. “You’re safe, it’s okay, stay calm…”

The boy didn’t speak, scared to upset this stranger. He swallowed hard, looking up at the door as a young woman walked through the door. “Good morning,” she smiled. “How are we feeling?”

The young man bit his lip, looking up at her nervously. “He hasn’t said a word yet,” he insisted. “Should I be worried—?”

“It’s alright, honey,” the nurse assured. Then she looked down at the boy. “Can you tell me what year it is?”

The boy opened his mouth to respond, but paused. He didn’t know what year it was.

“Can you tell me the last thing you remember?” the nurse asked. The man beside her looked down at Race, eyes trained on him, like he was studying him.

Tears came to the boy's eyes. He couldn’t remember anything. His breaths picked up and the beeping machine beside him started to become a real nuisance.

“It’s alright, baby,” the man in front of him whispered, letting out a small sigh. “Take a deep breath…”

“Can you tell me your name, sweetie?” the nurse asked.

A small whimper left the boy at that. No. He couldn’t. He couldn’t remember anything. The tears began to fall down the kid’s face. The young man’s mouth hung open, panic flooding his features. “U-uh…” he shook his head, looking up at the nurse.

The nurse nodded. “It’s okay, we’re gonna run a few tests and see what comes up, okay? I’m going to go get the doctor,” she assured.

The boy was left with this kind stranger, breathing harshly, panicking, uncertain of absolutely everything.

But the man gently took his hands. “Hey, look at me, it’s okay, baby, it’s alright,” he assured. “Do you remember me, honey? You recognize me?” The boy shook his head, looking terrified. That made the man look so horribly sad. “My name’s Jack, it’s alright,” he assured shakily. “I’m… well, I’m your brother… y-you normally call me ‘dad’. B-because I adopted you when you were pretty little. I adopted you when you were six.”

The boy didn’t respond, just staring at this man, Jack. Jack looked so worried about him. “D-dad…” Race repeated. “I d-don’t r-remember—“

“That’s okay,” Jack assured. “Hey, it’s okay, I’m here… your name is Tyler James Kelly. We changed it when I adopted you. You chose it, do you remember?”

The boy shook his head. “W-why did we… what was—“ he felt like he couldn’t breathe, like he was trapped in a body he didn’t know in a world that didn’t know him.

“Your name used to be Antonio Higgins. We changed it c-cause you wanted my last name. So we could be a real family. But I normally call you ‘Race’,” Jack explained. “It’s okay, you don’t need to remember right now, these people are gonna help us, okay?” The kid saw Jack holding back sobs. He knew Jack was panicking as much as he was right now. And somehow, that was comforting.

“Wh-why can’t I remember?” the boy asked. Race. He liked that nickname.

Jack sniffled, glancing out the window. “I fucked up,” he whispered. “I… it’s my fault… I was driving… truck backed out of a driveway, right into your side of the car,” he whispered. “Car flipped upside down.”

Race looked at the man carefully. His heart broke when he saw that the man’s arm was in a cast. Other than that, he looked relatively unharmed. “A-are you okay?”

Jack let out a bitter chuckle at that. “Y-yes, sweetheart, I’m okay,” he whispered. “I’m a lot more worried about you.” He reached for the boy’s head. Race tensed a bit, but relaxed at the touch almost immediately. “Anything coming back ta you?” The boy bit his lip and shook his head a bit. He hissed in pain as it shot up through his head. “Shit,” Jack whispered, reaching for the boy’s cheek. “It’s alright, Racer, just stay still, huh?”

“I d-don’t r-remember what happened, I d-dunno who I a-am, I… I dunno—“ Race whimpered.

“Mr. Kelly, this is Dr. Kloppman,” the nurse introduced. “We’re gonna take a look at Tyler, okay?” They pulled in a wheelchair and went to touch the boy.

Race whimpered, reaching to hold Jack’s arm. “W-wait, I wanna stay here, w-with dad…” he insisted, looking at Jack for help. “I d-don’t wanna be alone.”

Jack melted. “It’s okay, Racer, I’m gonna stay with you, it’s alright,” he promised, helping sit Race in the wheelchair. Then he grabbed his own crutch and wobbled down the hall with the boy.

So it has come to my attention that my Top Secret fic has been rediscovered. Yeah, I’ll probably update it. Not sure when but I’ll look at it. I can’t remember what my actual plans were for it and if I were to write it now, it may be a lot different, but I’m sure I can put something together ;)

So intriguing…

Jack Kelly Whump Board

Trembling

TW: Implied SA, Kidnapping, Torture

Jack couldn’t remember how he’d gotten here. Everything was bright. He didn’t feel himself fighting to blink his eyes open. All he knew was the brightness above him that refused to come into focus in his vision. He groaned, rolling onto his side. He did notice immediately that he was wearing clothes he couldn’t remember putting on before. He shivered at the thought of someone dressing him in his sleep.

When Jack realized he was in a small room alone, he hesitantly pushed himself up, looking around. There were no windows. The room was white. The first thing that caught Jack’s attention was the door. He squeezed his eyes shut for a moment, trying to soothe his pounding headache before he pushed himself up on his hands and knees and crawled towards the door. He knew it was a long shot, but he had to try it anyway.

Locked.

Jack couldn’t even fully stand. He felt nauseous. He closed his eyes again, slumping against the door. He took a few deep breaths, trying to regulate himself. Panicking would only make it worse. He knew that by now. When he finally forced his eyes back open, he saw the camera in the corner of the ceiling. He let out a defeated sigh. “You’re a sick fuck…” he mumbled. “You can’t make me dance for you from behind your camera.” No reply came for him. Jack tried to rest for a moment against the door. The second he relaxed again, a blaring alarm went off, making Jack gasp and jump, eyes wide. The alarm went off just like that. Jack grumbled a bit.

Time was a mystery here. Jack had lost count of the days, unable to see outside and drugged so often he couldn’t even begin to suspect how long it had been. He shakily stood up, using the doorknob for stability. He let out a long breath, glaring a bit at the camera. He used the wall to help him stay upright as he began to walk slowly around the room. He didn’t notice the mirror hung on the wall until he walked up upon it as he made his way around the small room.

Jack was wearing a suit, red and black detailing, even a little rose on his lapel. It was beautiful and elegant and stiff and Jack squinted as he saw his own reflection staring back at him. He reached up to touch his own face, hissing when he realized the bruise fading around his eye was covered by makeup. His hair was styled so perfectly. He felt sick. He could feel hands touching him. He swallowed hard. “Playin’ out some kind of sick fantasy, huh?” Jack hissed. “Can you hear me, fucker? I’m not playing your games!” he yelled, but the desperation and fear was clear in his voice.

The silence was deafening. Jack couldn’t breathe. He felt a bit of sweat bead on his forehead. He reached to wipe it off. Then he loosened the tie around his neck, throwing it to the side. He swallowed hard, walking back over to the doorknob, trying to get it to unlock. The alarm went off again. Jack scowled and looked back at the camera. He took off his jacket, throwing it at the lens. He couldn’t quite reach it.

Getting angry wasn’t helping. Jack felt lightheaded. He knew it must’ve been from the lack of food or the beatings, or everything else they were doing to him. Jack threw the jacket and the tie to the ground. He slid down to the ground, curling up tightly. They must’ve just been holding him until they wanted to play with him again, like some toy they manipulate. He clenched his jaw, feeling warm. He hid himself in a ball, wondering if anyone was looking for him, if anyone missed him.

He hadn’t noticed he’d started to nod off until that stupid alarm started blaring again. Jack jumped up. “What?! What do you want?!” he demanded towards the camera. Still, he got no response. “Fuck!”

It was only then that he realized he was covered in sweat. The air felt heavy. He tried to take a deep breath. He used his sleeve to wipe the sweat from his face. Makeup came off of his skin, smearing across his cheeks and staining the fabric he wore. He reached for the buttons of his shirt, pausing when he remembered he was being watched.

When he began walking towards the mirror, he saw himself looking weaker than he had before. His body was trembling from the heat and lack of nutrition and water. Water. “H-hey!” Jack called, looking back at the camera. “Hey, I n-need water!” The alarm went off again. Jack whimpered, reaching to cover his ears. He blinked back tears as he yanked the shirt off of him. It was stuck to his skin. He peeled it off and then crossed his arms over his chest. He was only left in a white tanktop. It didn’t hide the hand shaped bruises on his arms or the hickeys on his collarbone.

It didn’t seem to be getting any cooler. Jack looked around for a vent, finding it and rushing over to it, only to find hot air blowing at him. He backed away from the vent, looking up at the camera in fear. He breathed a bit shakily, his hands still trembling as he kneeled down to take off his shoes and socks.

Jack swallowed hard, trying to quench his thirst with his own saliva. He sucked in a deep breath, trying to keep himself up and awake. He was failing miserably. He couldn’t stop himself from collapsing down to the floor, his limbs feeling like mush. His whole body trembled and heaved as it became harder and harder to breathe. He reached to unbutton the trousers he was wearing, humiliated as he slipped them off, leaving himself only in boxers and a tanktop. Then he laid in the middle of the steaming floor. His tanktop was soaked through. He slowly and shakily peeled it off as well, knowing how exposed he was.

“Just tell me what you want… what do you want?” he whimpered.

Flashes of memories came rushing back. The beatings, the sleep deprivation, the ropes that held him down while an old man had his way with him. He just wanted it to be over. He curled up, trying to hide his exposed body. “If you want out, Jackie, all you have to do is tell me who you’re working with,” a voice came over an intercom.

Jack swallowed hard. He sniffled. “H-his name’s J-Joe…” he admitted quietly. “Joe Pulitzer…”

“Good boy.”