The silence of the place was deafening. It hung heavy in the air, thick enough to cut with a knife. Jack stopped at a corner, holding his breath, straining his ears. Silence prevailed.

He sighed and rubbed his eyes. There was something clawing at him, an itch inside his skull. Something was off about the way Setter had spoken. An undercurrent of panic, maybe? What reason would Setter have to be afraid, safe and sound inside his little viewing room.

Maybe Merry was into pegging.

Jack snickered softly at the thought as he rounded the corner and continued down the hallway beyond.

Speaking of the backwater politician, he had been in something of a sour mood ever since she’d shown up. There had been a poorly concealed look of casual contempt on her face the instant she had laid eyes on him. She had kept in on while looking at Gavrii and Daisy. It only seemed to drop when Val had arrived, becoming… what had it been? Some twisted mix of arousal and appreciation.

A humorless smirk found its way onto his face. Maybe his bad mood was born of jealousy. The smirk quickly faded as he continued padding along, thoughts drifting to Merry’s presence in the castle.

Why had she suddenly wanted to see what went on inside the castle walls? He had always imagined that even a vague notion of Val’s appetites would turn the gray-haired bitch’s delicate stomach. There was a chance that he was wrong about her. Politicians tended to be into freaky stuff.

And yet, the itch persisted. Jack idly scratched his head, just behind his ear. It didn’t help.

Could there be another reason for her being there? Maybe she was under pressure from some sort of law enforcement and was ratting them out to save her own ass. Maybe that was how she managed to get so many ‘guests’ for Val.

But if that was true, where were the police? Val had started hunting a few hours ago and would have surely snagged at least one of them by now. No office worth his badge would stand idly by while some poor, innocent soul was eaten alive.

A whimper pierced the silence, pulling him from his musings like a cold bucket of water. He flattened himself against the wall, his revolver stirring anxiously under his coat. He held his breath, listening. Quiet, limping footsteps reached his ears, along with shallow, uneven breathing.

Whoever it was, they were wounded, or frightened. Jack took a slow, deep breath, sliding his hand inside his coat and wrapping his fingers slowly around the grip of his gun. The footsteps were getting closer, maybe a dozen yards away now. He tugged on the gun a little, loosening it from its housings.

The source of the footsteps came into view from around a corner. She was an Earth Pony, middle aged with a magenta coat and a pink and off white mane. She wore a sweater, a pair of pants, and an expression of fear and worry.

The files, the photos, he had hardly skimmed them. This mare… he couldn’t place her. Had he seen her before? She certainly didn’t look the part of Val’s usual fare.

She was looking around, she would spot him in a second or two. He could draw and put one through her head by the time she finished turning around. And yet, something compelled him to stop. She looked so… innocent? She looked like someone’s mother, or aunt. Nothing like a murderer or a drug dealer. And she clearly wasn’t having any fun.

She turned and saw him. She blinked. So did he.

He always was a sucker for a pretty face.

She opened her mouth. “Help!”

Help?

“Help me!” she shouted again, starting towards him.

Jack blinked again. His hand was still inside his coat. He pulled it out, fingers wrapped around his revolver.

She was still coming. Her hands were up. Her hands were empty.

She was saying something, whatever it was faded to a whimper when she caught sight of the gun. She staggered to a stop, staring at him. Her eyes flicked from his face to the gun and back. She whimpered again.

“Who are you?” he said, the sound of his own voice surprising him.

“Ch-Cheerilee,” she whispered, her voice carrying far in the quietness of the hall. “Who are you?” She looked at the gun again.

Jack took his eyes off of her to glance down at the gun. He lowered it to his side as he looked back at her, feeling almost embarrassed.

“Look, I-” he cleared his throat, trying to hold his gun arm tighter against his side. “My name is Jack.” He floundered for a moment, trying to find the words. “…What are you doing here?”

She gingerly touched the side of her head. “I came here with my students and my-” she stopped short, shuddering. She shook it off and met his gaze. “My students, they’re in danger. We have to call the police.”

Jack tilted his head. “Students?”

Cheerilee nodded vigorously, taking a step towards him. “I’m a high school teacher. My students and I came here and… I was attacked. By this big, snake… lady thing. She, she…” She winced, again touching the side of her head, taking a breath.

Jack shook his head. “You’re a high school teacher? You brought a class here?”

Cheerilee let out most of the breath, nodding. “Yes, I did. And a big snake lady ate my colt friend.” she said, taking another step forward. Her initial meekness was fading. “It sounds crazy, it is fucking crazy, but she ate my colt friend. And I… I think she ate one of my students. She might have gotten more. We have to call the police!”

Jack took a breath. “I can’t do that.”

The meekness vanished in an explosion of fury. “What the fuck do you mean you can’t?” she shouted, her voice echoing down the halls.

“Keep quiet!” he said, closing the distance between the two of them and grabbing her arm. “Listen, I don’t have a phone on me and the police wouldn’t be much help anyway.”

“Let go of me!” she yelled, twisting in his grip.

He released her and backed off a few steps, holding out his left hand. “Sorry. Now please be quiet.”

She glared at him with enough fire to melt steel, but obligingly hissed her next sentence. “Why wouldn’t the police be much help?”

“Because this is all a misunderstanding,” he said in a soft tone, edging his way back towards her. “Look, I can fix this. Come with me.”

She looked at him warily. “What do you mean, fix this?”

He shook his head. “I’ll explain on the way there, but you have to come with me. It’s not supposed to be like this, we were lied to.” It was a dumb move, but he tucked his revolver back into his holster, holding up both hands to show they were empty. “I can fix everything, but you have to come with me.” He repeated, extending one of his hands.

She tilted her head, eyeing him like a strange animal she had met in the forest. But, slowly, she reached out and took his hand. He let out a breath he hadn’t realized he had been holding and nodded, pulling her gently along with him as he turned and went back the way he had come.

They didn’t make it down the corridor before she spoke again.

“What do you mean you were lied to?”

Jack sighed. It was funny. Your life never seems fucked up until someone else points it out to you.

“It’s… complicated. Give me a moment.” He pulled the radio out of his pocket, fiddling with it for a moment before hitting the button. “Setter?”

The radio crackled back a moment later. “What now?”

“Where is Val?”

The reply was confused. “What?”

Jack snarled. “Look at the screens and tell me where the fuck Val is, now!”

The wait for the reply was either a few seconds or an hour. It was probably the former.

“I don’t know.”

“What do you mean you don’t know.”

“I mean I don’t know! I’m… look, I’m not in the camera room right now.”

Jack actually grinded to a halt, his companion accidentally running into him. Might as well have been a butterfly running into a brick wall.

Jack brought the radio close to his face. “Well then, where the fuck are you?”

Author's Note

Oh hey there Cheerilee. Haven't seen you in like, what, two years?

For anyone that cares (me), this scene was originally longer, with Jack going into some rather deep thoughts about previous going ons in the castle. I was so bored writing it I scrapped most of it in exchange for a few more Max Payne references. I fucking love Max Payne.

(Oh hey, no murder in this one either. What a fucking shock, amiright?)