A JSE Fanfic
Chapter Eleven: Eye to Eye
[This is part of an INCOMPLETE SERIES that I wrote in about 2018-2019. I don't know if I'll ever finish it, but I still think there's good stuff in it, and merit in reposting it here. After Sam showed up, Chase and Jackie realize they need to get Schneep and JJ to reconcile. They employ a simple, yet effective, tactic.]
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Knowing a living computer glitch was out to get you and your friends was one thing, but knowing that the floating green eyeball your coma-bound friend used as a logo for his YouTube channel wasn’t made up was a different thing entirely.

Sam was a bouncy little…creature. None of them could agree what gender they were, if they had one at all. But Sam didn’t seem to mind, responding equally well to Chase calling them “the lady eyeball” and Schneep giving them an affectionate nickname of “the septic boy.” They bounced around, swimming through the air like a fish through water, looking at everything in the apartment. They seemed to like Jackie a lot, bumping against his cheek and nestling in his hair. JJ also received several boops to the face, perhaps Sam recognizing a fellow mute.

“How is he existing?” Schneep said, watching with wide eyes as Sam settled down on his shoulder. “He is just an eye! He has no heart or brain or anything.”

“I dunno,” Chase shrugged. Sam launched themself toward him, landing on the brim of his hat. “I didn’t think she existed until a few minutes ago. Best guess? She’s just magic.”

“Magic is just things we cannot explain yet,” Schneep muttered.

“Well, I don’t think we’ll have an explanation anytime soon, so why bother?” Jackie stretched, leaning back. It was late, and the day had been long and stressful, but it wasn’t time to sleep yet. “Alright, we’ve gawked for long enough. Time to figure out what they’re doing here.”

Sam flew towards Jackie, hovering just in front of his face, swishing through the air. Somehow, everyone knew they were excited, and ready to talk. “So…you showed up at JJ’s house,” Jackie said slowly. “Any particular reason for that?”

Their optic nerve flicked. The excitement faded a bit. 'I think that question is too vague,' JJ signed. 'We need an easy way of understanding them, unless they can write?'

“I do not think they can,” Schneep said. Sam looked toward him as if in agreement. “Okay, this is the system we will use. Go up and down once for yes, go up and down twice for no. Is that good?” The others nodded, and Sam bobbed once.

“Okay, we’ll start with this.” Jackie leaned forward. “Was there a reason for showing up right now?”

A single bob, to show yes.

“Were you, like, looking for one of us or something?”

Hesitation, then another single bob.

“Does this have to do with Bobby and Trevor going missing?” Chase jumped in. Sam bobbed yes, and Chase’s eyes lit up. “Did you come to help us find them?” Another yes.

“Do you—” Schneep’s voice cracked, and he cleared his throat before trying again. “Do you know anything about him?”

A pause. Then Sam slowly bobbed yes. They seemed…hesitant. Sympathetic, even. Schneep slumped back into the sofa cushions, staring off into the distance. Jackie stared at him, then glanced at Chase, who looked equally concerned. “Um, Sam, are you…in any need of any sort of…medical assistance?” Jackie asked.

Sam’s pupil narrowed, then widened. They bobbed, perhaps a bit too eagerly. Jackie looked at Chase again, who, luckily, caught on quickly. “Well we should get that taken care of!” he said. “Schneep, you’re a doctor, you could probably figure this out.”

Schneep looked confused. “He is an EYEBALL.”

“But you’re very good,” Jackie said. “I have the first aid kit in my bedroom. You can go get it.”

Scheep glanced back and forth between Jackie and Chase, who were both staring at him. His eyes narrowed, but he sighed and relented, pushing to his feet. “Okay, okay, I go now.” He disappeared through the door to the bedroom, which was ajar. After a few moments during which nobody said anything, he called, “I can not find anything. Are you sure?”

“Oh damn, I’m sure I put it there,” Jackie said, feigning surprise. “We’d all better help you look. Come on, you two.” Chase and Jackie immediately stood up, and JJ followed, looking a bit confused. Sam darted out of the way as the three of them walked toward the bedroom door.

“Hey JJ, you go in first,” Chase suggested. JJ was halfway through signing why when Jackie said, “Good idea, he’s the neat one, we might not even need to help.” JJ sighed, dropping his hands and brushing past the other two and into the bedroom.

Instantly, Chase slammed the door closed behind him.

The doorknob turned and jiggled, but Chase held the door shut. A harsh knocking on the other side. “Oh no, looks like the door, uh, broke!” Jackie said in mock distress. “You know my shitty apartment, things break all the time.”

“Jackie?” Schneep’s call was muffled a bit. Footsteps, then a strong push on the door. Jackie joined Chase in keeping it shut. “This is not funny, you two! Open the door!” These words were accompanied by a loud banging.

“Nah, dude,” Chase said casually. “You two need to have a talk. Might as well, while you’re both here.”

“What?!” More pushing, but it was no match for the combined strength of Chase and Jackie, fueled by the desire to look out for their friends. “This is not the time! Open up!”

“No, YOU open up,” Jackie retorted. “We both want both of you to be alright, and it’s no use putting this off. You’re not leaving that room until you two sort out the various shit between you.”

At this point, Schneep gave up on reason and just kept trying to push open the door, eventually resorting to just banging. After a bit, the attempts stopped. Chase dragged the armchair over with considerable effort and propped it against the door. Jackie sighed. “This…makes sense, right?” he asked.

“Jackie, in case you haven’t noticed, there’s a sentient glowing eyeball on your coffee table,” Chase said, exasperated. “I think we can throw sense out the window.”

Sam was indeed lying on Jackie’s coffee table, their optic nerve curved around them like a tail.

“You know what I mean.” Jackie ran a hand through his hair. “This is…we’re not horrible friends for doing this?”

Chase considered. “No, I don’t think so. This has to happen, and it’s better if it happens sooner. I don’ wanna have to deal with the two of them, like, stepping on eggshells around each other while we look for the kids. That…wouldn’t be good.”

Jackie nodded. “Yeah…yeah I thought so. But sometimes I’m just not sure if I’m doing the right thing. I can go out into the city and stop a hostage situation easily enough, but when it comes to my friends…I don’t know. I’m trying my best, but I’m a bit more clueless, I guess.”

“You’re doing fine, bro,” Chase reassured him easily. “This is a bitch of a situation we’re in, so decisions are hard to make. But if it’s worth anything, I think you’re a real hero.”

Jackie chuckled. “Thanks, dude. I guess…now we just wait.”
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Schneep gave up pounding on the door. The two of them were never going to let him out. No, that wasn’t true. They were going to. They were. He took several deep breaths, trying to calm down. This wasn’t the same kind of situation. This was supposed to be good for him.

A flicker of a memory. 'Ţh͝i̢s ͞is ͡f̴oŗ your̸ ̡o͟wn g͟ood…' Schneep shuddered. It was different. It was different. It was.

Something clattered behind him. He spun around to see Jameson resetting one of the figurines on the dresser, looking rather sheepish. Apparently he knocked it over. Jameson looked over to the doctor and froze.

Schneep was getting the strangest feeling that Jameson was afraid of him. It was weird to think of it that way, but he couldn’t come up with another explanation for the way Jameson backed over to the other side of the room upon realizing the two of them were stuck there together. Or the wide-eyed look he was giving him now.

Was he supposed to say something? It wasn’t like Jameson was going to, but he didn’t know what to talk about. Actually, he knew what they were supposed to talk about, but how could you just bring up the demon in the room? Schneep took a seat on the edge of the bed, still staring at Jameson.

Jameson, in turn, looked away. He couldn’t seem to decide what to do with his hands, putting them behind his back, adjusting his bow tie, folding his arms. He took out a pocket watch and stared at it. Schneep could faintly hear the ticking across the small, silent room. Finally, he put the watch away and looked back toward Schneep. He hesitated, then made a single sign: a closed fist making a circle on his chest. 'I’m sorry.'

Schneep blinked. “You…are? For what?”

Jameson looked away again. 'Everything. Marvin told me it’s not my fault, but I still feel…guilty.'

“Chase told me the same thing,” Schneep mumbled. “That it was not your fault, I mean.” He stared at Jameson. “I am not sure I believe him.”

Jameson flinched. Schneep continued. “It makes sense, yet it does not make sense. You know things, many things, about how he works, so I know you must been with him at one point. The two of them said you were like Jack once, and I want to believe that. It would be better. But I do not understand how you could be so—so—so normal.” Schneep took a breath. “People should not be normal after something like him.”

'Sometimes…it’s better to pretend.' Jameson signs slowly, hesitantly. 'At times of emergency. Like you’ve been doing ever since you showed up and the situation with the kids was uncovered.'

“I am not—” Schneep cuts off his own denial. He couldn’t really use that anymore, not after his breakdown in the hospital. “Okay. Fine. You are right. But you have not been. I would know. I would.” He notices his hands are trembling, so he folds his arms to stop them. “You think you know what it is like? I doubt you do. You would not be so calm all the time if you lost nine months of your life.”

'Perhaps you are right,' Jameson conceded. 'I didn’t lose nine months of my life. I lost it all.' Schneep started, confused. JJ sighed. 'My good doctor, I was born in the year 1898. In the year 1925, I made a fool’s mistake. And one year later, karma came to collect. I lost everything. Everyone I knew is either dead or will be soon. And I didn’t even know it until seven months ago, when your friends freed me.'

Bits and pieces started falling into place. How Jameson dressed. How he’d take time to spell out old-fashioned words instead of using much shorter signs with more modern meanings. His wide-eyed expression at all the sophisticated medical equipment in the hospital. He was from a different age. That, at least, Schneep could buy. But… “How do I know you are not lying?” he demanded. “Hah? How do I know?”

Jameson smiled sadly. 'I suppose you don’t. But I swear to you, on my life, I’m telling the truth. I know how you feel. It may be hard to believe—'

“That is putting it mildly.” Schneep growled, pushing to his feel. “You think you know how I feel? You do not. You know nothing. How could you—how could—” The doctor pulled on the edge of the hoodie he was wearing, exposing the long scar around his neck. “This was done by my own hands. My own! It was the first but not the last. Sometimes he grew bored and decided to do it himself.” He almost shut down right then and there, but a rising surge of emotion pushed him onward. “I could have lived with that, maybe—I do not know, I do not know. I cannot. I tried to help Jack and he—he was there, and he was like an infection. Jack was on the operating table and I was doing things I didn’t need to and I was liking it. I hurt my friend.” Schneep choked on those last words. “I did it, and I wanted to. And then, h-he would find people, I do not know from where, and he’d show them to me, and I would do it again, and only after—only after would he show me what I’ve done and I would hate it and I would hate him and I hate him and I hate me—” Schneep broke off with a gasp as he realized he was crying.

And then he looked at Jameson and realized he was too.

'You were right,' he signed. 'I don’t know what that feels like. But perhaps I know something similar.' He took a few cautious steps toward Schneep, and when there was no reaction he approached until he was within arms length. And he held up his left hand. It was a mess. An ugly scar ran across his palm. It looked like the cut had been deep…or repeated. There were more scars on his fingers, and down his wrist and across the back of his hand. Schneep couldn’t believe he hadn’t noticed it before. But Jameson had been wearing gloves the day before, when everything happened.

Schneep hesitated, then reached out, glancing at Jameson for permission. He nodded, so the doctor took his hand and examined it. Knife wounds. He’d seen enough of them. He let go.

'I think you know what those are,' Jameson signed. 'Can you imagine, doctor, watching as your hand took a blade and cut yourself? Can you imagine being unable to stop as that same blade was turned away from you and towards others? Can you imagine screaming in your mind, banging on a mental wall as something laughs and tells you you’re powerless?' His hands slowed as he breathed deeply. 'It was not the same as you, but I can imagine what it could’ve been like.'

Schneep stared at Jameson’s trembling hands, at the tears in his eyes, and any mistrust faded away completely. “I—I am sorry,” Schneep gasped. “I—I am, truly. I thought—I did not—” With the fading of his anger, the doctor lost all the strength he had and collapsed on the bed, lying on his back and staring vaguely at the ceiling. “I-I only…it feels…like hell. I do not want false sympathy. I have had enough of that. I do not want to wonder what is real anymore. I want…to be…”

Jameson sat on the bed next to him. As always, he didn’t say anything, but Schneep knew. He knew that here was someone who understood.
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Jackie was jolted awake by the sound of banging. Blearily, he sat up. Sam had curled up on his chest, and the movement dislodged them, though they didn’t seem bothered by that. They just rolled down so they were sitting in his lap. “Wha…? Did I…?”

“Fall asleep on the couch? Yeah, you kinda did, bro,” Chase yawned. “Don’t blame’ya. Long day. You were pretty tired.” He pulled himself out of the beanbag and walked over to the bedroom door, which still had the armchair in front of it. He knocked on it. “Yeah? You guys ready to come out?”

“No, he is hitting the door for fun,” came Schneep’s muffled voice. “Yes of course we are ready.”

“Talk things over in there?”

There was a pause. When Schneep answered, his voice sounded…different. Softer. “Yes, we did. We’ve reached an…just open the door.”

“Alright. I trust you guys.” With effort, Chase pulled the armchair out of the way. The door swung open and JJ stumbled through, followed by Schneep. Jackie could already tell things were better. The two of them weren’t avoiding looking at or being near each other anymore.

“Alright. So.” Schneep clapped his hands together. “What do we do about the septic boy?”

Sam perked up at the nickname, shooting up a bit before settling on top of Jackie’s head. “I dunno,” Jackie said. “I think they’re tired. I am. You guys prolly are. I think we should go to bed and figure stuff out later.”

JJ coughed. 'I hope you don’t mind, but…I don’t feel like going all the way back home right now. You wouldn’t mind if I stayed here, would you?'

“Nah, course I don’t mind,” Jackie shrugged. “Uh, Chase, Schneep, you…want to go home?”

Chase looked at Schneep, who’d suddenly gotten a lot paler. “It’s late, maybe we shouldn’t walk through the city at two forty-five in the morning,” Chase said. “Dangerous, y’know? We can all stay here.”

Jackie bit his lip. “I don’t really have any spare blankets or sleeping bags or anything. There’s just the sleeper sofa, and my bed. We could go two to each, so if you guys don’t mind doing that…”

“Is fine,” Schneep hurried to say. “Is better this way.”

Jackie smiled. “Guess we’re settled then. Everyone go get ready.”

Twenty minutes later, everyone was asleep. It had undoubtedly been one of the craziest days of all their lives. And it wasn’t over. There was still kids to find, and one of their members was missing entirely. But for now, it was peaceful.

Sam inched their way inside Jackie’s room. They’d been left with a cloth “bed” on the coffee table, and though they loved that the boys were thinking of them, they had more important work to do. They saw Jackie, asleep in his bed with the newest one curled up next to him. His arm was around him in a protective manner. Sam knew that Jackie was the one. He was the hero, the one who always wanted to do right, and if anyone embodied Jack’s positivity, it was him.

With an inaudible sigh, Sam flew over and settled onto Jackie’s chest. They stopped moving…and then their green glow intensified. The pulsing light synced up with Jackie’s heartbeat.

And slowly, slowly, the scales tipped in their favor.