TW: failed (?) escape attempt, drugging via syringe, parental & delusional whumper, defiant whumpee, fighting, stabbing, manhandling, whumpee getting chased, whumpee beating up whumper
Jace realized through a haze of panic that he had no idea where he was going. His knowledge was limited to one hallway and one room; that being the kitchen he had eaten in before passing out.
Knowing only that would have to be enough. It just had to. The problem was Jace couldn't recognize where in the house he was, meaning he had no idea how to get back into that one familiar hallway.
Distantly, he could hear Theodore calling out for him, but he didn't bother looking back. Every second was precious. His feet moved clumsily down the hall, his socks making him slip and slide as if he were running on ice.
He turned and twisted down hallways, passing through a blur of rooms, expression searching and desperate. His legs felt sore already, the muscle strung tight like a coil of wire from sudden use.
Somehow he managed to lose Theodore throughout the chase, likely due to his sporadic and confused movements not following logical reasoning; being driven by a purely animalistic desire to escape. He didn't stop even then, too paranoid to trust the quiet. You don't fear the forest when it's loud, but quiet. At least, that's what his father used to tell him when he took him out hunting for the first time. And last. He never bothered to again after Jace couldn't force himself to shoot down a deer.
Nearly tripping over his feet, Jace's heart surged with hope as he saw the familiar backs of the paintings hanging off the walls. He must have passed the kitchen in his panic. Without any further hesitation, Jace sprinted down the hallway, past the paintings, and to the front door. He searched nearby for his sneakers, but they were gone. His hands tightened around the handle and pulled.
The door handle rattled as Jace started to desperately tug it up and down without prevailing. Locked.
His back hit the door as he slid down to the floor, puffs of air irregularly escaping his mouth as he dug his hands into his hair. He felt like a mouse stuck in a trap. What to do now? Where to go from here?
Window….Window! In the kitchen, there were floor length windows!
Nearly tripping over his own feet as he shot up, Jace scampered back down the hall and into the kitchen.
Grabbing one of the dining chairs, Jace used the legs of it to ram it into the centre of the window, shattering the elongated panel of glass into jaded shards.
He had to move quickly. Theodore would be able to pinpoint exactly where Jace was now, if he already hadn't figured where Jace was going. It wouldn't take a rocket scientist to figure out Jace would try to find the exit, after all. And then it would be all too easy to find him in the kitchen. His heart felt tight, anxious with freedom so near. Jace reached down with one hand to brace himself on the frame of the window, getting ready to jump out, only to flinch away with a hiss as the remnants of glass sliced through his palm.
Fingers fumbling, he wrangled his hoodie off and threw it over the opening. Now, he was ready. Finally, he would be able to escape.
A hand grabbed him from behind, tugging him back.
A needle pushed into the side of his neck, quickly, gone before he could flinch.
"N—No!" Jace yowled, he was so, so, so close! Just a bit further, and this would all be over, and he would be safe!
Jace knew that his strength, while still with him, would start depleting exponentially any second now.
With that thought in mind, Jace swirled around, planting both of his palms into Theodore's chest and pushed. Theodore stumbled back, his hands reaching out to pull Jace down with him, and then both of them were on the ground, trying to get on top of one another. The air was knocked out of Jace's chest. From the heavy weight of Theodore sitting on him or the drugs quickly coursing through his system, Jace didn't know.
His head was starting to feel fuzzy and his fingers were tingling, turning numb. Still, Jace didn't let himself stop. The moment he stopped, he wouldn't be able to start again. Trying to buck Theodore off of him, Jace squirmed against the cool wooden floors, but Theodore was everywhere. Theodore's hands were gaining purchase on his wrists; his thighs pinning his legs. His lips were moving frantically too, but all Jace could hear was the sound of his own pounding heart.
And then, Jace was being crushed into a chest-to-chest, heart-to-heart, embrace. The rabbit-like cadence of Jace's heart matched Theodore's, and it was only then that Jace realized Theodore was shaking. Something wet hit the side of his throat. Not blood, but tears.
With his hands now free, Jace reached around blindly. The tingling sensation had spread from the tips of his fingers to his shoulders. In spite of that, he managed to curl his fingers around something and stab that object into the meat of Theodore's shoulder.
The shard sunk deep, and Jace felt a wet inhale beside his ear. The screaming started. Jace didn't know who it was coming from, he simply raised the shard once more, sinking it into Theodore's back.
The weight on his body shifted again. Hands moved to pin his, and Jace could swear he could hear Theodore pleading, saying things such as "No, please" and "I love you". He didn't care for it. He needed Theodore off of him. To stop touching him. He wanted to go home and sleep. He wanted to wake up next to August after a long night of stargazing.
The shard was cutting into his fingers as he slashed it against Theodore's forearms, trying to get some distance.
The mass on his body was lifted.
Deliriously, Jace grunted as he flipped onto his stomach and slowly began to crawl for the window. The tingling sensation had gone and in its place came an all consuming numbness.
His vision blurred. He dragged his body across the floor using his forearms, painstakingly slow.
He was almost there…Almost…
Jace tried to keep moving his arms forward, but his body could only twitch. He fell limp, only two more strides away from the window.
Then, his eyes fluttered shut, and an unwelcome sleep pulled him under.
A/N: gah okay guys, this is the LAST confining care post until I get that anniversary special out :((( i just like to go over wips when i have writer's block and i just so happened to have a lot for confining care. also this was supposed to include more scenes (like the aftermath with Theodore), but I'll just post that as a separate chapter I guess
Taglist [Open]: @galactic-worm @whatwasmyprevioususername @hueningplushie @whump-slump @miahilz
