I simply sat there gawping for a few minutes before I realised that JJ had left. I took this time to observe my surroundings or in other words: have a nosy around. The pain in my left leg yelled at me as I dragged myself to my feet and stood looking over the pile of blankets and the greying mattress that lay on the floor. My legs were pretty unstable as I made my way across the old rotten wooden floorboards to where a window should have been. Instead a ripped sheet of plastic was stapled across the frame, I hobbled towards the small stream of light that flickered through the ripped plastic. There was very little to see outside, just fields and fields and even more green fields. No road ran through my vision and it seemed as though not a single living thing was even close by. The air just seemed too quiet, almost eerie as my own breathing and heart beating against my ribs seemed the loudest and most persistent noise of all.

I turned back around and was immediately engulfed by the darkness of the room. The ceiling seemed to give way from the pressures above and caved in at the centre slightly and the creaking wooden door hung desperately to its rusting hinges. Cobwebs laced across the corners of the room and a cool air seemed to settle and wrap itself around any object within.

"Hm…" I muttered to myself, "7…7 tasks. What's so special about the number 7?" I mumbled as I drew the number with my right hand in the layer of dust that coated the floor.
I mean, why was JJ so strange? He just so happened to find me in the middle of nowhere in the middle of the night while I was too busy dying, he avoids questions about his past, he yells at me when I ask to leave and then he tells me about these bloody 7 tasks and then denies their existence. I mean, what are you doing mate?

I was just in the middle of trying to collapse back down onto the mattress without hurting my left leg or fractured left arm any more than they already were when I heard footsteps grow closer to the door. It opened slowly and my ears complained as the hinges produced a cringe-worthy squeak. JJ slowly stepped through the doorway carrying a mug and a bowl, his blue eyes were shielded completely by his greasy black hair and his beanie was pulled all the way over his ears as his hoodie seemed to drown him. He kicked the door shut behind him and placed the mug and bowl down on the floor and rushed over to me.

"Careful Mikes…" He smiled. He picked me up and I let my arms wrap around his neck until he placed me softly onto the mattress and wrapped the blankets around me as if it were a cocoon. He pulled himself to his feet again and brought the waiting mug and bowl over to me.
"Sorry Mikes…It's all I've got at the moment…." He smiled weakly as he handed me the warm cup of tea. The sweet smell rose up towards me and wrapped itself around my nose and I stared at the tea smiling.
"It's fine…I like tea JJ." He placed the bowl down in front of me: "oooh! I like noodles too!"
"Um…well I hope it's okay for you…I-I mean I'm sorry if it's not…"
"It's fine JJ! Thank you!"

There was a short few minutes silence while I sat and munched on the food and warmed my hands around the mug.

"Are you any better?" JJ asked, as I placed the bowl back onto the floor.
I nodded, "Hm…suppose so…."
"Good." He smiled back at me.
"JJ…." I paused after his name, I liked his name. It was a name that just seemed to bounce off of your tongue easily and then disappear into the air quickly. Easy to remember, easy to spell too.
"Mhm…" He replied, peeling his eyes away from the floor. His eyes were blue, like really really blue. Like a waterfall was constantly swirling as they became a darker and warmer shade of blue around the edges. It was as if light blue sky flecked through his mysterious eyes as he allowed them to make contact with mine for only a split second before he pulled them away again.
"Um…" I muttered, "Do you know who attacked me?"
To my surprise he nodded glumly.
"Who are they?" I questioned
"They are monsters of people Mikey. I cannot say names because you knowing too much could put you and your family in even more danger."
"My family in danger, why?" I spoke with a hint of alarm creeping through my voice as I pulled the blankets tightly around me.
"um.…" JJ shuffled uncomfortably, "um...well….they're not just after you Mikes, they're after your entire family. The six have the habit of um, of um, attacking entire fami-" his voice faded away as he let his head fall into his hands which shook gently. Sobs racked his body as I saw a tear drop to the floor.

"What's wrong?" I asked, "Why are you crying? Who are 'the six' and what do they do?"
"The six…a group of six, obviously, killers: that's who they are! They have a habit of attacking entire families! They pick off members until there is no-one left! Mothers are killed in front of daughters! Sons are murdered and tortured in front of their grandparents! Children are neglected! Older generations left to rot in the ground! They have no respect for anything! They kill regardless of age! They just murder…everyone! They are death and they destroy until….until…unt-"

He broke down again with tears streaming desperately down his face as his hands became angered fists, "and…" he continued with a shaken voice, "and they came after you Mikes….they came for you….You're only the second person known to have survived an attack from them…and that's why I can't let you go just yet: It's too dangerous…"
"So what are the seven tasks?" I asked as I shuffled closer towards him and wrapped a blanket around his shivering shoulders.
"They are a series of tasks that need to be completed…and there's seven of them…" He replied sarcastically with tears still racing each other down his pale cheeks.
"I know that…" I laughed trying to cheer up the dull atmosphere, "But like what are they? And can I? Could I complete the seven tasks?!"
"What do you think the 7 tasks are?" JJ asked, turning the tables around, "what do you think the tasks involve?"

"Um," I thought to myself as I let my mind run wild: "Like Hercules I'll be slaying Namean lions and fighting Hydras and going to the underworld to capture Cerberus or taming a human-flesh eating horse!"
Now it was JJ's turn to laugh, "I think you'll find that these 7 tasks aren't quite as exciting and are quite out of the ordinary: You're more likely to be selling scarves or stealing tylenol from a pharmacy."
"But completing these tasks means that I can go home and be safe and see my brother?"
JJ nodded, "Completing these 7 tasks will mean 2 things: one- you and your family will be safe from 'the six' forever and two- you will never have to see me again and I'll let you go and leave you alone, I'll leave you once the 7th task has been completed."
"So can I? C-can I start task one?"
JJ nodded, "if you wish…I cannot stop you now I suppose? But maybe wait until you can walk better…"
"Yeah! Of course!" I laughed back, "But wait….How do you know that me and my family will be safe and you'll leave me alone if they are completed?"
"Because Mikes…" JJ smiled and fiddled with his lip ring, "because I created the tasks."

Notes

Hello again! Another chapter full of speech! *sarcastic yay*
I hope this was okay....tasks will start soon I promise although nobody is fighting any lions or stealing human eating mares....I don't think.
Thank you so much for reading, I'm gunna go revise or watch anime (Parasyte the maxim) and drink tea.
Thanks for your support. :)
-Lou