A JSE Fanfic
Chapter Fourteen: The Hole in the Wall
[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. Everyone’s panicking, Jackie and the kids are in trouble in another reality, where the reality in question is not what it seems, and a glitch in the world appears.]
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Schneep wasn’t an idiot. When Marvin called—for the first time in a week—asked for Jackie, and then insisted everything was fine when he told him Jackie wasn’t there, he knew something bad had happened. Given that it was Jackie, there were any number of things that could be, but he just knew it was HIM. Why else would Marvin be so evasive? They knew he could hack electronics, he wouldn’t want to give too much away. So, immediately after Marvin hung up, Schneep turned on all the lights in the apartment, barricaded all the doors, and ended up huddled in the far corner of the main living room.

He didn’t actually think any of this would help. If anything, it would just make it difficult if Jackie actually came back. But it made him feel slightly better. His eyes kept darting back and forth between the lights, checking for flickering, the window, checking for shadows, and the kitchenette, checking to see that all the knives were in their proper places.

When a shadow actually did appear in the window, he immediately scrunched up tighter in the corner, not daring to breathe. He watched as the shadow struggled to open the window before falling back. It reappeared, and the lock of the window flashed green. The hands of the shadow lifted the window up, and then the shadow stepped inside…“N-nein!” he gasped, pushing back further.

“Wh—Schneep, no!” Marvin pulled his mask off. “It’s fine, it’s us!”

Schneep took a few deep breaths. It was alright. It was fine, it was just the others. If they were even really here, if this wasn’t a trick—

“Doc, are you okay?” Chase climbed through the window, followed by JJ. “Are you—are you having another one?”

“No, no, I am fine, I am fine!” Schneep closed his eyes and forced himself to relax. This was real. It was. He reopened his eyes and looked at the others. They all looked worried. Chase was half-crouched by him, Marvin was gripping his wand and glancing about uneasily, and JJ was standing slightly behind him. He looked Schneep in the eyes and made a sign like he was shaping a ball with his hands. Schneep felt a wave of relief wash over him. There hadn’t been any electronics around when the two of them had made that signal. That meant it wasn’t a trick at least. “Why did you not come in the door?”

“Well, we thought it would be best to be, uh, discrete. Also you might not have buzzed us in if you were…freaking out.” Chase pointed toward the barricaded door. “Looks like coming in the door wouldn’t have worked anyway. I think we made the right call.”

“Maybe so.” Schneep pushed himself to his feet. “What happened to Jackie?”

“Wh—how did you know?” Chase asked, surprised.

“I know because I am not a fucking moron. When Marvin called me, he sounded so strange, and like he knew Jackie would not be here. So something must have happened to him.”

“Well, fuck, guess I need to work on sounding casual under pressure,” Marvin muttered. Then he sighed, and looked at Schneep with sad eyes. “I’m sorry, but…he took Jackie.”

His heart stopped. He stumbled a bit, ending up leaning against the wall for support. Chase rushed forward and helped steady him. “…thank you, my friend,” Schneep mumbled.

“Are you doin’ okay? Do you need to sit down?” Chase asked. “I mean, you moved the couch but it still works.”

“I think that would be appreciated.”

Instantly, Marvin and JJ pulled the couch over from where it had been blocking the front door. Chase helped Schneep meet them in the middle, and Schneep collapsed on the cushions. JJ took the seat beside him while Marvin and Chase continued to stand.

“Are you sure?” Schneep asked softly. “Are you completely sure?” He repeated the question in a louder voice.

“At this point…unless he suddenly reappears in the morning or something…yeah…” Marvin said quietly. “I saw him, Schneep. I saw this—this demon or whatever he is. He was following us, and I don’t think he would have given up.”

“We are getting him back, right? We can’t let him—the same thing cannot happen twice! I won’t let it!”

“It’s different than what—than your situation,” Chase hurried to say. “We know what we’re up against this time. And Marvin thinks he knows where he is and could get there. Right?” Chase looked at Marvin pointedly.

“Y-yeah, of course.” Marvin started playing with his wand. “I mean…I haven’t done it yet, but with some practice I’m sure I can.”

“Then practice, Marvin!” Schneep shot to his feet and gripped the magician by the shoulders. “Do not give up until you’ve mastered it! We can’t leave Jackie to that place!”
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“I don’t like this,” Jackie muttered.

He and the kids had been walking for what felt like hours. There was no way to tell how fast or slow time was passing, if it was even passing at all. The sky overhead remained red, and other than them, nothing moved in this bizarro version of the city. There was no noise aside from the constant humming that never died.

“Yeah. It’s creepy,” Trevor agreed, holding Jackie’s hand tighter with one hand and Sam closer with the other.

“We can get used to it,” Bobby said from where she was walking a few steps in front of them. “I don’t recognize this part. I don’t think we’ve been here before.”

“That’s good!” Jackie said. “That means there’s a chance we can find the way out here.” They were starting to approach what would’ve been the edge of the city in the real world. They’d walked what would’ve been east, and by now the buildings were starting to get shorter and farther apart.

“What if we don’t find anything?” Trevor asked. He didn’t sound scared, just curious, but Bobby looked back at him, suddenly wide-eyed.

“Well…then we just need to keep looking,” Jackie said quickly. “If there’s a way in, there’s a way out. How else could the monster get back and forth from this place?”

Bobby exhaled loudly, then nodded, this explanation satisfying her little-kid logic. She faced forward again, walking a bit faster. But Trevor’s question had brought up a point that Jackie hadn’t let himself think about. What if there was no way out? What if this place was meant to be a one-way trip, a final destination? He pushed the thoughts out of his head; they’d do him no good right now, and he couldn’t let the kids catch on that he was worried. That would only scare them.

After a while passed in silence, Trevor piped up, “I think we’re close to the end.”

“Hmm? Why d’you say that, bud?” Jackie asked, looking down at him.

“’Cause there’s a wall up there.”

Jackie looked back up. They’d been walking down a wide street without twisting, so he should be able to see whatever wall Trevor was talking about. But he didn’t. It was just more red, endless amount of red…wait, something was off. The buildings suddenly…ended. The street ended. “C’mon guys,” Jackie muttered, speeding up a bit until he was half running and the kids were racing to keep up with their little legs.

It certainly LOOKED like the buildings and street had ran into a wall. The buildings were cut in half, and the road just stopped like someone had taken a giant ax to it and removed the rest. But there wasn’t a wall at all. It was just more of the red light. But maybe that couldn’t quite explain the effect. The “light” looked more like something caught between energy and smoke. It didn’t move, it simply…hung in the air, like a curtain of mist.

The three of them stopped at the edge of the street. “Bobby, Trevor, you guys mind taking a few steps back?” Jackie asked. They did so. Jackie took off the glove on his right hand, then slowly reached forward, toward the smoke-light. He expected his hand to just go right through, but it stopped. It felt like touching the surface of water, but there were no ripples or changes in the smoke-light at all. And when he tried to push through, his hand simply would not move. “What the fu—heck?” Jackie breathed. He quickly pulled his hand back. There was no lingering sensation of wetness like there would have been if he was touching water, or even jello. It felt wrong. He quickly put his glove back on.

Then, there was a gasp behind him. “Trevor! Uncle Jackie! It’s the hole!”

Jackie spun around. Bobby was holding Trevor’s arm and pointing at a spot on the smoke-light wall some ways away. Jackie followed her gaze to…well, it looked mostly like a hole.

“Let’s get a closer look, guys.” Jackie walked back towards them, then the three of them approached the hole. It was about a foot above the street, and while it started out about the size of a basketball it gradually grew larger until it was big enough for Bobby to walk through without ducking. The edges were…static. Squares of colored static made a rough border, letting out a faint buzzing sound. When they looked through the hole, they could see the night sky.

“What do you think? Does this look like the hole you came through to get here in the first place?” Jackie asked, looking down at the kids.

Bobby nodded, but Trevor scrunched his eyebrows. “But when we went through it, there was red on the other side,” he said.

“Well, that’s because you were coming in here,” Jackie explained. “This goes outside, so it shows the outside. Like a window, or a door.”

“Oh!” Trevor gasped. “Then yeah.”

Jackie bit his lip, thinking. This couldn’t be this easy. They couldn’t have simply FOUND the way out. Anti wouldn’t let them go just like that. Cautiously, Jackie stuck his hand in the hole. Nothing happened. In fact, he could feel a cool breeze through his glove. It seemed legit…but it couldn’t be trusted, could it?

Something tugged on his belt. Jackie looked down to see Trevor staring up at him with wide eyes. “Are we gonna go, Uncle Jackie?”

“Of course we are! It’s the way out!” Bobby said, glaring at Jackie as if to say 'how dare you make my brother scared.'

Jackie’s will crumpled. He couldn’t let these kids down. He couldn’t crush their hopes. “Yeah, we’re going through. Just—”

“See?!” Bobby marched forward and pulled herself through the hole, landing on the other side with what sounded like the crunch of gravel. She turned around to look at the boys. “Look! I’m out! Now you need to follow me!”

“Alright, alright, we’re coming!” Jackie assured her. He’d planned to go through first, if they went through at all, but now that Bobby was outside he couldn’t just leave Trevor alone. He turned to face the little boy. “You still have Sam?”

“Uh-huh.” Trevor showed Jackie the little eye. Their glow was still worryingly low, but it was brighter than it had been back when they first entered this place.

“Great. You take them through next.”

“Are you sure?”

“Uh-huh. Keep them safe in the crossing. I’ll be right behind you.”

Trevor looked down at Sam, then nodded, determined. He climbed through the hole, falling and landing on the other side. He popped back up, smiling, once again showing Sam to Jackie. Their glow had suddenly strengthened.

“Alright, I’m coming.” Jackie started forward, putting his hand on the edge of the hole so he could pull himself through. Then he gasped and drew it back. It felt sharp. Like he’d touched the blade of a knife. The kids hadn’t shown any reaction to touching the edges like that. He’d have to be careful. He looked at the kids on the other side, then reached forward once more—

The hole snapped shut.

Jackie screamed; the edges had closed around his wrist, and it felt like his hand was stuck in a jar of broken glass. He pulled it out and backed away. The last few pixels disappeared, and the hole was gone. Jackie stared at the spot it had been. He wasn’t surprised. But knowing the kids had gotten through before him, and were now once again alone, filled him with an empty panic. He checked his hand real quick. It looked exactly the same as before, but he could still feel the sting from the pixels on the edge of the hole.

The constant hum rose to a whine. He turned around, facing the city at large. The buildings in the distance were spazzing out, glitching, both there and not there. The ones nearby were growing closer and closer together. He felt something push him forward, and he stumbled a few steps before turning right back around. The smoke-light wall was closing in, shrinking the size of the world. He backed away, keeping pace with it.

A mad, broken laugh echoed, coming from far away and right beside him. It was everywhere and nowhere, in his ears and in his head. “S҉o͢ ̷nice o̶f̸ you͡ t̴o j̡̢o҉i̵͞n͠ m̨e̶͞. After͝ ̴all,̵ I̡ ha̴v̨e̷ a ̨sp͠ot ͝op̕e̢n no̡w̢.̴”

The voice made his blood run cold. He’d never heard it before, but there could be no mistaking who it belonged to. “Anti…” he whispered. No use in being subtle about saying the name if he’s already drawn his attention. “Where are you?!”

The whine was increasing in volume, until Jackie had to cover his ears with his hands just to keep them from bleeding. The glitching from the buildings in the distance spread; another glitch wave was coming. Or rather, glitch waves. This time they were approaching from multiple directions, all converging on the spot where he was standing at the edge of the world. And much faster than before. He couldn’t run, there was nowhere without a glitch. He tried to brace himself against the smoke-light wall, but it suddenly shoved him forward. The waves were coming. Before they hit, he heard the voice again:

“I̲̱͖̮'͇̦m̵͈̦̤͍͟ ͡͏̱̳̲͖̘̻͓̝ͅe͏͍̘̪̭͟v̷̵͔̣͝e͖̤r̴͓̕y͏̝͖̗̣͔̞̥w̸̥̼͉̭̜̞h͏̴͎̮̖̝͖̞e̹̞͍̞͈̰̕͝r̷̭̼̞̟e̛͖̳̲̹̤͕͡.”

Then it all came crashing down. There was no up or down anymore, just endless tossing and throwing as he was lost in the glitch wave once more. Electronic screeching filled the air, if there even was air. He’d lost his breath before it even began.

And with the flick of a switch, it was over, and he was falling. It seemed like he fell forever, but then he landed in water, and it didn’t feel any worse than jumping into a pool. Except it was too deep. Where was up? Where was the surface? His lungs were tightening, he needed air now. He couldn’t see where to go, so he chose the easiest direction and swam and swam and swam until finally he broke through to the surface. But as he coughed and spluttered, he realized it was shallow enough to stand up in…and deep enough to get lost forever in at the same time. How…what just happened? His brain hurt just thinking about it.

Jackie stood up. The water came up to about mid-shin length. He wasn’t in the strange cityscape anymore, now it looked like a square room with metal walls. The floor was maybe six feet by six feet, but the ceiling was far above. He could see holes in it, letting in more of the red light, somehow enough to see. They were also letting in thin streams of water, pooling on the floor of the room but never filling it up, despite the lack of drains.

Wait. Water wasn’t red. Water didn’t smell like copper. “Holy shit,” Jackie gasped. He looked at himself and realized he was drenched in it. “Oh god. Oh fuck.” He covered his mouth and felt like he was going to throw up.

“Hmm,̢ ̕didn’t ̧re̶a̷lize ̕yo͞u̶ ͢had su̵ch a̛ w͢eak ̷st̨om̷ac͏h҉,͢ ̨J̷a̧c͏ķie͞!” Anti’s voice reverberated off the metal walls. “C̢a̕n'̵t ̨st͏a̵n̛d̸ ̕ą ̴l͏it̨t̴le bit̴ o͟f ͟bl̛ood?̢ ̢I͡n ̕y͞ou͡r͡ li̸n͠e̛ ̴o̷f w̛o̡rk͢?̢”

“Jesus christ, you’re fucking sick,” Jackie said, looking around for the source of the voice. It was nowhere to be seen.

Anti laughed again. “T̨h̵̡̕at͏͞ ̵w͏̸̵as͡n̷'ţ͠͞ o̢̢͞bv̴̡͡i̕o͠us ͟t͠͏҉o ̛y̨̛oų̧ ̸a̶̢lre͞ad͢͠y̷͝?҉!”

Jackie decided to just not think about it. That would be better for everyone. Moving on. “Okay, you know what? Shut up. You already separated me from the kids, great, good for you. Why did you even take them in the first place?! Did you just want to make Chase panic?”

“A͠h̸ ͢a̷ḩ ah~” Anti said in a singsong voice. “Y̶o͠u͏ have̸n’t ̛e͡ar͠n҉ęd t̨h͟a̕t̷ y͞et͞.̸ ̷And clear͡ly ͝yo͞u ̕can̡'ţ fi̛g͠u͏r̕e͝ ̶i͟t out on͞ ҉y̸our ̛o͢w̸n.”

Jackie clenched his fists. “I swear to god if you try to go after them again—”

“Ev͝er ͡th̨e͝ h̷e̴ro.̸ ͝S̷o̸ c͡ari̸n͡g.” Jackie started, then backed away until he hit one of the walls. It sounded like his voice was right next to his ear. “Even ̶whe͏n̶ t̵he ones ̕you'r͏e c͟a͝r̨ing̴ ͞ab͡o̸u̢t ̧aren̴'̛t̸ e͢v҉ęn r͠eal.͞”

Jackie couldn’t respond to that. He tried, but his mind had suddenly gone blank, whited out with a fear he couldn’t put a name to. After a while, he managed to get out a simple “Wh…what?”

“N͠o̴t ̕yet!̢” The voice drifted away, floating up. “I̢f ̨y͢o̷u͏ can ̶find ̴your͟ ̴way̶ ǫut w̕itho̧ut ̸n͏ee͢d҉i͞n͝g hel̸p, I'͢ll re̢wa̡rd ͏y͠ou wit҉h ̧an ̕exp̸la͝n͢a͟tio̸n.͡”

“Out?!” Jackie looked around. There were no windows or doors, nor were there any marks in the walls at all. Maybe something was hidden on the floor, but Jackie didn’t want to go searching around in…that. It was gross, and besides, he’d nearly drowned. Somehow. The only entrances to the room were the holes in the ceiling, high above.

Maybe the streams were the key. They were coming from outside, through the holes. He didn’t want to touch them, but he guessed he had no choice. He sloshed through the liquid to the nearest one, then really quickly ran his hand under it. But it didn’t…work? The stream moved in one solid line when he batted at it, like it was…a rope hanging from the ceiling.

“Oh fuck you,” Jackie muttered. He reached out and grabbed it. It felt slimy, clinging to his glove in goop strands. But it had a solid core underneath that. He gagged, then grabbed a section of the stream high above and pulled. One hand over the other, like climbing a rope in high school gym class. He’d never really been any good at that, so he counted himself lucky that he’d built his upper body strength through the years. One hand over the other, pulling up, legs wrapped around the…he didn’t want to think about it…but legs wrapped around it for a stronger hold. One hand over the other, and what seemed like an eternity later he pulled himself out of the hole and onto the ceiling of the room. The stream had apparently been coming from a tiny puddle, just an endless supply being produced by a source barely as big as his hand. Uh…sure. He was starting to catch on that physics weren’t a thing here.

Now he was standing on a slab of rusted metal, looking out at other slabs of various sizes and thickness, seemingly floating in the red light, stretching forever. He noticed he was perfectly dry, then leaned over the side and shuddered. He’d cured himself of his fear of heights a long time ago, but there was just something about looking down into an endless red abyss and knowing that if he made one wrong move he’d be falling forever that brought that fear back.

A hiss. A glitch. And suddenly there were lines of humming static floating in the air. The slabs were rotating, floating past, their edges fading away into pixels. “G͡o̷o̷d̕ ͠j̴o̴b̸,” Anti said, sounding almost sincere. “Y̴ou̢ ̧w҉ant̸ y̶our̶ p͠r̵įze̵ n̡o͠w?”

Jackie tensed. He didn’t want to play his game. But at the same time, he wanted answers. He wrestled with this dilemma for a second, hands on hips, the blurted out, “What did you mean the kids weren’t real? Were they illusions? Did you trick me?”

“N̵o ̧il͡l̛u͡s̕i͟o̢n̵s o͝f ͏m̡i̵ne,” Anti hissed. “B̴ut th͞e ̧r̕e҉s͟ult̕ is̵ t̨he̵ s̕am̢e͝. ͞Tho͢se̴ ̢c͢hild͠re͟n͠ ar͟e le͝s͟s̵ re̢a̵l̸ than ̵you, ̸a͢nd͞ I'͡d̢ ͟say͡ ̡y̸ou̧’re ̕r͟idi̡ng̴ ̶the͡ edge ͏of uņr͟eal̨įt͠y͡ now m̸o҉re t̨han ̡eve͝r.”

Jackie had expected Anti to gloat. To lord over him the fact that he’d fallen for his scheme. But now he was just confused. “No riddles! Give me a straight answer!”

“How l̷on͝g ḩa̢s ̛i͞t be͡en since ̧the̢y'̶vȩ seen ̨yǫu̧? ̧Ţw͡o ̛ye̷ar̕s a͟t t͝hi͢s͏ p̴oin̕t̢, I̸ ͠b͏eli̡eve̕.”

“Wha—who are you talking about?”

“L͝e̵t m̛e͏ ̷s͏h͝o̢w you͟…”

A metallic screech rang through the static, and Jackie looked down to see the metal beneath his feet cracking, breaking apart. Fighting down a sudden surge of panic, he jumped to another slab that was floating by, just in time to watch the one he was standing on crumble away, pieces falling down…down…down…

Then pictures appeared in the air. They looked more like holograms than anything else, flat and rotating of their own will. Each one gave off sound, voices mixing. The slab he was standing on floated next to one. “What…is that Henrik?” He would recognize him anywhere. He had that turquoise hair, the color it had been before he disappeared. “Is he playing a game?” It looked like one of Jack’s videos, facecam in the corner, game on screen. Except Schneep seemed to be taking it much more seriously than a game. Jackie watched in confusion as the video progressed, game and facecam glitching. "I need your help! Save him! Save Jackse—͠A͡n̷t̷i."

“W͞atc͡h ̡y͠our ̡fe̵ȩt ţh̡er̶e.” Jackie looked down to see once again the slab falling apart, and once again he jumped to the nearest one. This one floated by another holographic picture…

“Chase?!” It looked just like one of Chase’s videos, but Jackie could tell very quickly something was wrong. "This one’s called, ‘Stacy I love you, please don’t go.’ Bang!" Jackie gasped, almost backing off into the abyss in his shock. “What is this?! Are you mocking me? Mocking us?!”

“I̸ dįd̡n͏’t ev͞e͡n ̶mak̴e͡ ̧th̸e̕se̷ vi̵ḑeo͟s͞,” Anti said casually. “̕L̢ook̴ ou͢t̴ b̕ȩlow.”

Once again the slab crumbled, and Jackie was forced to jump to a different one that brought him past yet another video. And so it went, for god only knows how long. Scratch that. For only Anti knows how long. The lines of the videos blended together in his mind, and at some point mixed with an eerie singing of a song he almost knew.

…instead, what I’m gonna do is color in this mask…

“Wh͞e҉n I̢ ̶ca͏n'̸t ev̴en ̧rea͡d my͞ ow̸n stor̢y̢”

…a-hem, 100% real doctor here…

“What ͢g͢o͠od̵ ͞are wo͝rḑs wh̢en̴ a̷ s͝m͝il͠e ͟says̡ it̢ ͟all?”

…I just want to go back to when I was happy…

“And̸ i͏f h͖i̶̗s̬̥͎ w͡o̸r̡l͞d ̨won̕'t͢ w̢rite̡ ͟me ͝my̨ en͞di̸ng̨”

…come on Gerald! It’s time to die!…

“W̡h̕a͡t ̡will ͞it̛ ͠take just͟ fo̴r m͟e̷ to h̷ave it͢ ͠al͡l͞?͠”

…probably not! But I want to get further into the deep web…

“I don’t understand…” Jackie said quietly. These…these videos were sparking memories. They were almost things that happened, but different. Dramatized, shown through the lens of games and fun videos online. His skin crawled. It felt wrong.

“I̧sn'̕t i̧t̶ ob͞v̷io̧u͏s, ̕J̢ack͏ie̢boy Ma̡n?̨” His chosen name sounded even more ridiculous in his voice. “Y̴o̧u͡'̸re̡ ͢n͝o̕t r͢e͏a҉̷͟l̵.”

“Impossible.”

“N̵͝o͢͡ne̶̵͞ ̷̢o̴f͢ ͏̶y̡̛oư̸ ͢a̶͞re̴.̕͢ Ju̕s̨t͞ fra̢gm̵e͡nts ͞o̸f im̨a̧gin̕a̧tion͝, cr̴eat͟ed̴ ̷by͡ o҉ne̸ ͡m͢an who̵ ̶co̡u̡ld̨n'̷t ̛give̛ a ̡sh͡i̕t about ̕you̢r̛ ͢su͠ffe̛r͟ing.͠”

“You’re lying! You’re trying to trick me, to—”

“I'm̡ ̕b͠e̢ing ̡mo͢re ͞ḩo͡n̨est t̕h͝an e͢v̡er͝. ̢Y̴o͞u͢'re ̕a b̸it mo̕r̕e re̴sist͠a̧nt ̸t̢han ͟th̢e d͟oc̛tor̛, ̴but ̧he saw͠ ̛the̕ ̷tr̛uth͢ in t̨h͞e en̛d͡.͏ You͢r̨ ̧r͏e̷a͏li͡t͏y ̨i͠s a͞ lie. ̨You̵’re ͝fak͏e̡,͞ fan͏t̢as̸y̛. Accept̵ thi͞s͢ ̷f̕a͏ct̸, a͏nd ͢I p͏ro͏mise life i̵n͢ t̛his ͞wor̴l̵d wil̕l̢ b̛e m͝u͢ch easi̸e̡r ̶f̕or yo͝u̶.̵”

Jackie closed his eyes and covered his ears. Childish, perhaps, but it worked. “I won’t let you get to me,” he muttered. “I won’t let you get to me. I won’t let you get to me.”

Silence. And then: “Not a g̨o̕od i̴dea͢ ͢to̕ clos͢e yo̷uŗ eye̢s.”

For a moment, he thought Anti was talking about some weird, metaphysical sense of closing your eyes. But then the ground beneath his feet began to shake. His eyes flew open, and he saw the metal he was standing on falling away like sand in an hourglass. It was too far gone. There was nothing to jump to in range. The last of it gave out—

“ I'l͢l let yo͞u̶ h̡ąve̵ fun͢ ͟with ̢that͞.”

—and he fell.