Jona neatly slices each bullet down the middle with a blade pulled seemingly from nowhere and tuts, suddenly closing the limited space between them. It pushs Emily back against the wall, slamming the hand with the gun in it against the wall, hard, to get her to drop it. It looked - bored. As though Emily were a mosquito. Its grip was tight, almost painfully so. There was no space at all between them.
"You won't be taking me at all." it says, its lips cooing out each word in the detective's ear. Its breath didn't even disturb the dust floating around.
Emily's breath hitched in his throat. She hated the way she could feel her face heat up – too close, he was too close – but there was no time for embarrassment, not in the middle of the battlefield. Their whole body was tense. Her only weapon was gone, as she'd released her grip due to the pain. Defenseless. That's what she was. Open, vulnerable, and defenseless. Between shallow breaths, he asked, "…who… are… you…?"
"I am the one you've been working so hard to capture. I am Jona Ixamitl. The Midnight Crucifixion." Jona smirks, its presence vanishing with a few parting words.
"Find me, miss Emily. Because if you don't, your precious little world will be blood and bone."
Jona smirks as it hovers miles in the air.
"You are such fun, little girl. I will enjoy turning you into my toy. And you will too." it says to itself.
Emily growled again. She hated the way she couldn't keep her raging fury inside of her. He was SEETHING and it showed. He'd let.. "Jona Ixa-.." what was that last name again? Whatever, they'd let it get away again. She sighed, thoroughly disappointed with her performance today. She picked up her gun from the floor, hand trembling only slightly, and returned to work.
He was given the rest of the day off to process the day's events. Wanting to forget that man's words, the way he tried to make her feel guilty for bringing backup, they spent the day sleeping, only waking to use the bathroom and apathetically nibble on a few crackers.
At 3am, Emily sat up in bed, rubbing the sleep out of their eyes, wanting nothing more but to look up the man who had murdered her partner and threatened her. "Midnight Crucifixion," though. That was easy enough to remember, and spell. Hoping to find some results, she tried a few terms into Google: "Midnight crucifixion," "Jonah midnight crucifixion," and "Jonah Ixamittle."
Over the next few days, Jona's murders become more common, more gruesome. Almost like it was provoking Emily. Leaving behind dead end clues just as often as real clues. But the last murder. . . the last murder wasn't a clue, but a note to Emily.
It said, "I will come."
Emily sat hunched over her desk, re-examining all the evidence and clues that had been left over the last few days for probably the fiftieth time. It had been separated into two piles – "clues" and "dead ends" – and right now he was cross-examining every object from the "clues" pile.
Frustrated with the lack of conclusion, they rested their face in their hands, sighing loudly. "I've gotten nowhere.. and I'm supposed to be good at my job.."
What frustrated Emily the most was the note he'd left from the most recent murder. Well, that and the growing pressure from the media and the general public. They wanted him CAUGHT. And yet, it seemed, that was the last thing he could do. "I will come." He would come when? Where? She sighed again.
That night, Jona showed up in Emily's house well before she was home and laid up in her bed. For hours it waited, until it heard her car drive up. It smiled to itself and sat up.
Finally. it thinks.
(DAMNNNN OMG. IM SO EXCITED ABOUT THIS. I DONT GOT THE BRAINCELLS TO WRITE RN BUT I WILL WHEN I WAKE UP TOMORROW)
(I definitely feel that, but here I am, still writing, lol.)
Upon arriving home, Emily let out another frustrated sigh as she unlocked the door. Dropping her stuff on the small dining table*, he opted for a quick snack on crackers they found in the cupboard and sat down, glad to be home. It had been a long day, and when he was at home, he could pretend that none of her troubles existed and that her work life was as it should.
When she was done, she headed to her bedroom to relax and think about the day.
*As the image I found is for bedroom decor, here's what the far right should look like instead
Jona waits until Emily gets close to the bed to make his presence known.
"Hello, Emily. I came, as I said I was going to." it says, his form emerging from among the shadows.
His body tensed up, knowing this man was dangerous. But.. he'd dodged his bullets so easily.. such preciseness.. it was impossible for your average human to achieve such a feat. This man.. person.. he wasn't human, that was for certain. "What the hell are you doing?" Emily demanded with a glare.
"Currently? Having a pleasant talk with a friend. Before you got here? Waiting for you to get home." Jona replies, grinning.
(HEYY sorry omg i was passed out all day)
Emily scowled at him. This man made her SO irritated she didn't even know what to do. "….. friend?" they questioned, but didn't wait for an answer. "Let's just skip the small talk, shall we? What do you want from me?"
(You're fine, Iz. I figured that was the case.)
Jona's face goes cold. "Very well, Emily."
"But in a moment, you're going to wish you'd never said that. Because you are going to take a couple days off from work. And then you're coming with me." it says, an air of extreme violence in the air. The temperature in the room had also rapidly dropped to the point where they could see each other's breath in the air.
His eyes spun rapidly around the room while he tried to conceal his emotions, to no avail. This man.. monster.. he was not human. Whatever he was doing.. god damn.. he was strong. Emily tried to remember what their father would say.. he was better with the supernatural and other non-human creatures than she was. In fact, there was very little she knew about them, and honestly, that was something they regretted. It would have come in real handy right about now.
"…and then what?" she asked, trying to keep her frustration out of her voice. He could sense that the more hostility he showed, the worse everything was going to be. … and when did it get so cold in here? Did my heater break? ..I'll have to get that checked out later, ugh, Emily thought to herself, shifting their position in an effort to warm themselves subtly.
(oh!! this is kinda giving me like.. stockholm syndrome vibes. like if you wanna do the romance naturally all good with me but i also think stockholm syndrom would be kinda fun to play out.. but then again maybe not since it's not something i know enough about to write confidently ;o)
(just a thought though!!)
(I'd definitely love to try out Stockholm, but honestly, I don't know too much about it either. The best way to learn is by doing, though!)
Jona smiles coldly, its flawless teeth glinting.
"You know what happens next." it says, its tone sharper than a razor in a bucket full of ice shards.
(hm.. i may do some research later if i remember then.)
Instinctively, Emily's eyes widened in fear. She kept silent. Was this going to be her end? To be murdered by the very man she so desperately wanted to catch and put behind bars? This couldn't be. They looked around desperately, trying to find anything within reach that could potentially be used as a weapon or defense of some sort. But there was nothing. This house had not been decorated with the idea that someday she'd be cornered by a mass murderer in mind.
(Okay!)
Jona smirks at Emily's fear, and dissappers from that spot. Only the feel of its breath against the detective's skin gave tell of the fact that it was behind her.
One slim arm wraps around Emily's waist.
"Don't worry, detective. You'll live." he whispers, dissappearing with her.
They were now standing in a crumbling manor house. Long vacant, it echoed with the phantasmal screams of those long dead.
(hm.. i'm not really sure how to write this next part from emily's pov since i don't know where they went..)
(Oop- yeah that'd do it. Sorry, lol.)
(HAHA it's okey xD)
A shiver went down Emily's spine. As a detective, he liked to work off facts, not "vibes" or "feelings." And yet, he couldn't shake the feeling that this place was haunted. 'You'll live,' he'd told her. So then, what was he going to do instead? Torture her? Force her to please him in any way possible? Become an accomplice? .. he seemed too skilled to need an accomplice, though. ".. who.. no, what.. are you..?" they demanded through clenched teeth.
Jona smirks. "You'll find out. Eventually."
Keeping a tight grip on Emily, he blinks to the basement. Staining the ground are suspicious rust colored spots around various circular grates. Chains hang from the ceiling, at the end of which are manacles.
Despite her fear, Emily couldn't help herself. "Are these.. are you going to torture me?" he asked with genuine curiousity. Obviously, they wouldn't want to be tortured, but.. they honestly expected to be toyed around with, held as ransom, maybe just outright murdered. He didn't think he was quite ready for this. Maybe he could just stall time with curiousity, perhaps…
