Witness Protection - An Eyeless Jack x Female Reader fanfiction

Chapter one

The putrid scent of gas filled his nostrils, making him scrunch his nose in disgust. He always hated the highway, the loud noises, the smell of oil and the lack of trees to keep the sun out of his eyes. But as much as he hated it, he needed to be here. His next exit was almost thirty minutes away. His hands gripped the wheel, to the point that if his hands were of normal color, his knuckles would’ve gone white. He merged over to a new lane, where he would stay for the next half an hour. His gaze never wavered from what was in front of him, as usual. It was best if he didn’t look around, his large hood did well to hide the strange abnormalities that adorned his face when looked at from the side, but even a slight turn of his head would reveal his unfortunate features. His mask sat in the passenger seat, abandoned until he found a place to stay so that he could rest. Just because he was nocturnal doesn’t mean he could stay up all night. Typically, he’d hunt what he needed for the week and then head home where he could bunker down and sleep. He couldn’t do that now. The truck he drove was old and uncomfortable, and the last time he tried to sleep in it, he woke up sore in the back and with a kinked neck. He shuddered at the thought of sleeping in the clunky old thing again.

He swore his heart leapt when the exit ramp came into view. He could finally get off this godforsaken road. He turned off and drove onto the exit ramp, sighing as his senses cleared slightly. His’ eyes’ and such were still burning from all of the exhaust fumes. It was relieving that it was a short five minutes to get to the hotel from here. Five minutes passed and the hotel building came into view, its many windows bouncing light off of them and possibly blinding people below. Swiftly, he pulled into the parking lot and parked in one of the spaces. The engine’s noise died as he yanked the key out of the ignition and he leaned back in the seat. He shut his ‘eyes’, eyelids falling over empty space. It didn’t really bother him, he’d been without eyes for over a decade now. A heavy sigh left his lips and he opened his eyelids again, reaching over to the glove box and pulling out a large bottle of pills. Popping the cover off, he dumped one on his hand and took it dry, closing the plastic container and tossing it haphazardly into his backpack. He slumped in his seat and took a few deep breaths.

30 minutes pass of him just leaning back in his seat, eyes closed and breathing deeply. When he opened his eyes, the sun was slowly sinking. He brought his hands to his face and rubbed the corners of his eye sockets. Reaching up, he lowered the visor and looked at his appearance in the small mirror embedded inside. The man that stared back at him was unfamiliar. It’d been so long since he’d actually seen what he used to look like. He turned his head in different directions to make sure that all traces of grey had disappeared. Satisfied with the effectiveness of the pill, he crammed his mask into his bag and slung it over his shoulder, hopping out of the truck. He slammed the door shut and strolled to the entrance, throwing on a peaceful expression. The automatic doors whirred as they moved out of the way for him to step through. His footsteps fell silent on the carpeted floor, the rubber soles of his sneakers making no noise at all.

“Excuse me?” the lady at the front jumped in surprise. He forced himself to chuckle lightly. ‘Just act normal’ was all he told himself when it came to these things.

“Ah, yes, sorry, can I help you?” she apologized, looking up at his tall figure.

“Yep, Jack Nyras, checking in,” she nodded and he leaned on the counter, eyeing her slightly. ‘Too thin’ he thought, grimacing internally.

“Sir?” he looked her in the eyes, forgetting to put on the look he had before, leaving him with a bored expression.

“Hm?” She awkwardly slid the room card over, blushing heavily.

“You were staring…,” she murmured. He shook his head a little.

“Sorry, I zoned off,” she nodded, still looking uncertain. She handed him a small room key card and he took it, tucking it safely into the pocket of his dark jeans. Another woman came to the front and waved to the other.

“Is my shift over already?” the first raised an eyebrow. The newly arrived woman nodded. The first lady ran off and out of sight, leaving him and the new girl.

“Do you need anything else?” she asked sweetly. He stared at her for a moment, scrutinizing her appearance. She looked smart, or at least like she’d be able to know that something was up. Too thin for him, but the last bit of humanity in him told him that she wasn’t entirely useless to him. The thought made him internally sigh at himself. Fingers snapping in his face snapped him out of the trance.

“Sir, are you going to sit and stare or are you going to head to your room?” he blinked a little.

“Oh, sorry,” he scratched the back of his neck. “I’ll head to my room now,” she nodded, waving him off. He pressed the button for the elevator and waited, thinking to himself. ‘I might have to go out of my way to hunt tonight’ was definitely a thought that went through his mind. ‘I could try and get into someone’s room.’ He nodded in approval of his thought as the elevator dinged.

“Excuse me?” a rude tone snapped him out of his thoughts. He glanced up to see a man in a suit. He scanned the man over, going through a quick mental check-list and checking of all that applied. Target set.

“Oh, sorry, I’ll move,” he stepped to the side. The man grunted and headed towards the front door, dropping something on the way. The lady at the front desk jogged over in a pair of heels, stooping down to pick it up.

“Sir, you dropped this!” she called. The man turned around begrudgingly and snatched it from her rather harshly, mumbling a ‘thanks’ and walking away. She nodded and walked back to her position, frowning ever so slightly. Jack turned his attention to the elevator that was in the process of closing the doors. He quickly hopped in, pressing the button that lead to his floor. He leaned against the wall, exhaling. He was only on the third floor, so it didn’t take that long for the elevator to open its doors. Stepping out of the small box, he pulled his keycard out of his pocket, the room number written on the hard plastic. He looked around, easily spotting his room. Gripping the strap of his bag, he walked over to it, sliding the keycard into the slot and opening the door. The room was cool, the temperature change welcome in the late August heat. He still forgot why he insisted on wearing a hoodie after taking the meds. With a heavy sigh, he yanked off the thick black sweatshirt, his shirt riding up a little. He chucked the hoodie on the white sheets of the single bed, yanking his shirt back down with his free hand. He turned his attention to the window, staring at the sun as it slowly disappeared, being replaced with darkness. A quick shake of his head drove away his small trance. He unzipped his bag, pulling out a pair of clothes, stained with evidence of his last hunt. He grimaced and went to the laundry room down in the basement of the hotel.

He laid his clothes out on an ironing board, holding the laundry detergent he brought with him. Filling the cap with the liquid, he poured it on the articles of clothing and rubbed it on the stains, a trick he learned years ago. Satisfied with his work, he grabbed his clothes and threw them into the machine, going through the steps and heading back upstairs while it ran. The sky slowly began to go entirely black. Jack spent the time in between dusk and dark doing his laundry, and once he had folded them and shoved them back into his bag, he got ready for his hunt. He threw his hoodie back on, stuffing all of his supplies into the large pockets. He reached into the large backpack, pulling the navy blue mask out, running his gloved fingers over it. He slipped it on, adjusting it until any skin that once showed was no longer visible and then tugged his hood over auburn hair. He pulled his sleeve up a little, checking his skin tone. It was slowly changing back to grey, the color returning in thick tendrils. He pulled the sleeve back down and headed out of his room, on a direct route to the elevator. It made it to the bottom floor just in time for him to catch the man from before reentering the building.

Jack stepped out and then pretended he was just getting in. The man from before got in and pressed the button to his floor. Floor nine, the top floor. Jack rocked on his heels and the man looked at him, confused. They reached the floor and both men stepped out. Pretending to go the opposite direction, he waited till the man wasn’t looking to sneak up behind him and wait for him to open his door. The door swung open and the man stepped inside. The doors closed by themselves, and it appeared the man was counting on that, since he didn’t bother to shut it behind him, allowing for his follower to sneak in. The man set a bag down and sat on the bed, white sheets shifting underneath him.

He slammed the door behind himself, making sure it was as loud as possible. The man spun around, eyes widened. A sinister grin found its way on Jack’s face, and he reached into his pocket.

“Who are you? How did you get in here?” the man questioned, clearly unnerved. A deep, almost animalistic chuckle rumbled through Jack’s chest.

“My identity is none of your concern, all you need to know is that screaming is strictly prohibited,” And he lunged.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

You hum softly to yourself, daydreaming about nothing in particular. The ringing phone snaps you out of it and with a sigh, you pick up.