It is easy for Austin to be surprised by the movement and get caught by the chokehold. He struggles to try to pry Jim's arms off his neck, but he just doesn't know the right tactics.

And while Jim has the upper hand, there is a disturbance at the other end of the hall, where the guards return to their posts.

Unfortunately for Jim, that lingering sensation of his skin starts to actually ache within his body. Austin was able to connect mentally before the watch was placed on his wrist, and that is starting to take effect. The curse is going to bring one of Jim's dark memories back to his mind, as fresh as when it happened.