Epilogue

[Six months later...]
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It was a bright day in May. The sun shone, though there were still clouds in the sky, and a gentle breeze would occasionally sweep through the streets. Jackie and Marvin walked quickly down the road, with JJ trailing a bit behind them.

“He totally knows where we’re going,” Marvin said to Jackie, lowering his voice so JJ wouldn’t hear them.

“Yeah, probably, but maybe he’s not sure why we’re going there,” Jackie pointed out.

“I mean, he’s not an idiot.”

“He’s also not deaf, and I’m pretty sure our voices are carrying.”

Marvin glanced behind him. JJ smiled, wiggling his mustache. Marvin wasn’t sure if that meant he’d heard every word they’d said, so he asked, “You okay back there?”

JJ signed, 'A little confused, but quite excited as well.' The silent man had picked up sign language fairly quickly, though the others sometimes had difficulty interpreting his fast-moving hands.

“Good. I’m sure you recognize this part of town.” Marvin gestured around them at the tall, narrow buildings.

'Indeed so. It appears the area has gone through some renovations.'

“Yep. The city’s doin’ some kind of historic revival. Started back in March. And we—well, it was Jackie’s idea but Chase and I helped—”

“We’re here!” Jackie interrupted. They’d stopped in front of the gate, a familiar path leading up to a familiar house. But it had changed. Or rather, it had returned to its original state. JJ’s eyes widened as he took in the repaired roof, the neat garden, the cheerful blue paint on the walls. It looked just like it had back in the year 1926.

JJ looked at the others with an expression of utter amazement. Jackie was practically bouncing with excitement , a huge dorky smile on his face. Marvin was more subdued, but he was still grinning widely. “C’mon, let’s go inside,” the magician said. He pushed open the gate and it swung forward with barely a creak. The three headed up the path.

“Hold on a sec.” Jackie rummaged around in the pocket of the hoodie and pulled out a key, which he held out to Jameson. “We put new locks on the doors. And, uh, would you like to do the honors?”

Jameson stared at the key for a moment before taking it. Unlocking the door, the three stepped inside.

The inside was just as changed as the outside. The wooden floor and stairs were polished, the walls covered in a daffodil-colored wallpaper. The lighting fixtures had been restored and updated for the modern era, and gave off a warm yellow light.

“I tried to restore most of your protection wards, but I’m not really, uhm, well-versed in that kind of magic.” Marvin gestured to some sigils hanging on the walls, strange symbols drawn on them. “So I kinda combined it with my type. They should work fine, if not even better. And we all decided it would be best to keep that room sealed. You know, in case they’re some dark magic shit still in there.”

JJ would’ve been speechless even if he had a voice. He wandered over to one of the doors and opened it, peering inside to see the room as painstakingly restored as the entrance hall.

“Hope you don’t mind that there’s not any decorations or anything,” Jackie said. “We didn’t know if you would want anything.” He cleared his throat. “So, uh, do you like it?”

JJ turned back to the other two, his smile lighting up the room. He signed 'Thank you', over and over again, because just one wouldn’t be enough to convey how he felt.

“Oh my god, that’s great!” Jackie smiled, partly in relief. “I was kinda nervous for a second there. I wish Chase could’ve been here for the reveal, but he’s visiting the hospital again.”

Something made a chiming sound. “Oh, actually, maybe that’s him,” Marvin said, digging into the pocket of his jeans. He pulled out his phone, quickly reading the text on the screen. His expression changed immediately.

'Is something wrong?' JJ signed.

“Is something wrong?” Jackie asked, realizing Marvin wasn’t looking up to see the signs.

“We have to meet up with Chase. Right now.” Marvin stuffed the phone back in his pocket, then whirled around and swiftly headed back out.

“Why? Is something wrong? Something with Jack?” Jackie ran to catch up, JJ following behind.

“Nothing’s wrong. The opposite, actually.”

“Can you stop being cryptic for five seconds? Would you die if you actually gave us specifics?”

“Specifics, huh? Alright.” Marvin faced the other two, a crooked smile on his face. “The doctor is back.”

A JSE Fanfic
Chapter Four: Broken Minds
[The boys head back to the house where it all started, and finally have an encounter with the creature known as “Anti.”]
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It took them a while to get ready. Jackie had misplaced his backpack full of hero supplies in all the activity last night, and ran around the house looking for it. Once he’d found it, he insisted that everyone take turns using the bathroom to freshen up. That added about an hour to the waiting time, during which Marvin refused to do anything other than scroll through his phone, reviewing his most powerful spells. If they were going back to the house, he wanted to be as prepared as possible.

Finally, everyone was ready to go. Jackie and Chase had managed to find new clothes, and Chase had offered to lend some to the other two. They’d both declined, JJ explaining that he felt more comfortable in his own, and Marvin snapping that he didn’t want to waste any more time and that his costume was better for spellcasting anyway. They set out soon after that.

“Please tell me you remember how to get there,” Chase said.

“I kinda just…stumbled upon it by chance,” Marvin admitted. He glanced over at Jameson, about to ask if he could get them there, but JJ was looking around the neighborhood with wide eyes. No doubt the modern suburbs, now lit up in the daylight, were a bit of a shock to him. “But I’m sure I can get us there again, if we just wander over to the edge of the city.”

Indeed, it wasn’t too long before the foursome had made their way to the area of town made up of narrow, old-fashioned buildings. “Does anyone even live here anymore?” Jackie wondered out loud.

“If they do, they have to be a lot older than us,” Chase replied.

“I think this is the place,” Marvin said, pointing to a familiar gate. Now on edge, he pulled his wand out from his pocket.

Noticing the movement, Jackie said, “Now hold on a minute, Marvy boy. It looks fine so far.”

“Never hurts to be prepared,” Marvin shrugged.

During the banter, Jameson had wandered over and opened the gate. He stared at the house with a strange expression on his face, something caught in the middle of longing, fear, and nostalgia. The others caught up soon.

“You okay, bro?” Chase asked, concerned.

Jameson took out the paper and pencil from that morning and wrote, 'It’s a bit…strange, but it’s not an entirely unpleasant feeling. I’ll be all right.'

“We can always turn back,” Marvin suggested.

Jameson shook his head and started up the path. He didn’t know how to explain it to the others, but he felt like he had to come back. Was it just the need to make sure Anti was gone? Or was it because this was the last connection to his past? Maybe it was a mix of both, and something else he couldn’t describe.

The others looked at each other, then followed.

The inside of the house looked even worse in the daylight. Beams of light were coming from the holes in the ceiling, illuminating the missing plaster in the walls and the broken pieces of trash all over the floor. Electric wires dangled from broken lighting fixtures, and the floorboards were loose to the point of being a hazard.

“Jesus Christ, Marvin, how did you manage to get around here in the pitch black dark?” Jackie asked, shaking his head. “It’s still kinda dim. I’m worried I’m ‘bout to break an ankle.”

“I have magic night vision eyes,” Marvin explained matter-of-factly.

Jameson looked around the house. He’d known it was like this, but it was different seeing it when his mind was clear…it was confirmation of how much time had passed, that it hadn’t all been a trick. He headed toward the stairs. He had to see if it was the same upstairs.

“Uh, dude, you okay?” Chase called. But Jameson gave no indication that he’d heard and kept climbing upstairs. Chase glanced nervously at the other two. Jackie returned his look, but Marvin was frowning at the trash on the floor.

“Hang on…” he kicked a torn piece of paper, revealing strange symbols written on it. “This is a protection sigil. A pretty powerful one. But it’s all messed up.”

“Could’ve fallen down,” Jackie suggested.

Marvin shook his head. “See that black stone over there?” He pointed at a bit of rock that looked like it had been broken in half. “That’s another ward. You’re supposed to hang it up and it’ll keep evil spirits out. But…well, just look at it. You think anything natural could’ve broken solid rock like that?”

Chase bit his lip nervously. “So what you’re saying is that this house was super protected by magic, but now it’s not?”

“Not just magic, pretty damn powerful magic,” Marvin clarified. He looked around at the wrecked walls and ceiling around them. “What the fuck kind of being could’ve done this?” he whispered.

“Okay, maybe you were right and this wasn’t the best idea,” Jackie said nervously. “We should probably leave. I’m getting a bad feeling.”

“Well, we need to tell that to JJ,” Chase pointed up the stairs. Jameson was nowhere in sight.

“Oh, fuck,” Marvin gasped. The three of them ran up the stairs.

The room looked the same as ever. The phonograph sat on the table, now silent. The faded shadow of a broken circle was drawn on the floor. It had been meant for protection. It had failed.

Jameson made his way to the center of the room. He’d made the biggest mistake of his life here. And in doing so, he’d lost everything. Decades had passed, and he hadn’t even known. Not only that, but many others had lost their lives because of him.

It’s all your fault.

If he hadn’t decided to mess about with things he didn’t understand, maybe he never would’ve drawn Anti’s attention. Maybe all those people would still be alive. Maybe he wouldn’t see all their faces every time he closed his eyes, or feel their blood on his hands.

It’s all your fault.

If he’d just tried more. If he’d just fought harder against Anti, nothing would’ve happened. But he hadn’t. He couldn’t. He only watched.

It’s all your fault.

It’s all your fault.

It͠'s̷ ͞all͡ yoưr ̡fa͠ult̵.̸

The words kept repeating in his head. It was his fault. Everything. He’d let Anti do whatever he’d wanted, never speaking up, too terrified to do anything. He’d been a coward. A weak, voiceless vessel for a demon. Countless lives, gone. Years of his own life, gone. All because of him, because he’d just watched, unable or unwilling to even call for help, as everything happened, it was all his fault, it was all his fault…

“No!”

A blinding flash of white-green light lit up the room, and a strange, almost metallic, shriek rang out. Jameson was brought back to the present moment just in time to see a shadow—or was it more than one? or just an illusion?—in the shape of a man flee the scene. Marvin, Jackie, and Chase stood in the rooms doorway, Marvin in front with his wand outstretched, the tip emitting a faint green light. All three looked at Jameson with a mixture of horror and concern. JJ realized he’d fallen to his knees at some point, and warm blood was leaking from his eyes and nose.

“Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god,” Chase repeated over and over. “Is…is everything okay?”

“What the hell do you think, Chase?!” Jackie lashed out, turning his anxiety into anger.

“What the fuck was that thing?” Marvin cried. “Was that—was that him?”

Jameson looked at his hands, which were shaking. He wanted to answer that yes, that was Anti, but he’d dropped the paper and pencil somehow and he couldn’t just tell them because he couldn’t…he couldn’t…

For some reason, that thought broke through the hard shield surrounding his damaged emotions. Tears leaked from Jameson’s eyes as he started to sob silently. Before he knew it, the other three were kneeling on the floor with him, Jackie’s arm around his shoulder, Chase muttering small, comforting things, and Marvin using his magic to summon a blanket from nowhere.

“It’s gonna be okay…” Chase said quietly. “You’re okay…”

Jameson shook his head. He wasn’t sure he believed him.

“It’ll take some work, but we’re not going to leave you behind,” Jackie assured him. “We’re here to help, whenever you need us.”

“But you’re gonna have to work with us,” Marvin said. “If we don’t know what’s wrong, we don’t know what to do. Just…please. Talk to us. Or, well, not talk, I guess, but you get it. We’ll listen.”

JJ would’ve laughed if he could. He’d only met these three the night before, and yet, here they were, willing to help with something that they had no idea how to fix, if they even could. It was…touching.

They stayed like that for a while, all wrapped up in a tangle of everyone’s arms combined with the blanket Marvin had conjured. After countless minutes passed, JJ finally extracted himself from the knot, wiping the tears and blood from his face. He looked around for the paper and pencil he’d lost. Jackie figured out what he wanted and scrambled to pick them up from where they’d been dropped on the floor. He handed them to JJ, who paused for a moment, then wrote, 'I can’t promise that this’ll be easy for any of us. There are some things that even I do not want to think about. But I think you’re right. No good can come from bottling everything up. It will just attract Anti again. If you’re offering your services, I’d be a fool to not take you up on that.'

“Okay…okay,” Chase wiped his eyes free of tears. “You’re good. I’m good. We’re all good.”

“What we’re going to do right now,” Marvin said, “is get the fuck out of this house. Let’s all go back to Chase’s place, where we can open up emotionally. Or, you know, play video games if we don’t want to do that thing right now.”

“We can come back some other time if you want, JJ,” Jackie offered. “When you’re ready. More prepared. And when Marvin’s had a chance to magically scope out the place.”

JJ nodded, and smiled. Tears welled in his eyes again, but this time, of an entirely different sort.

Together, the four of them headed home.

A JSE Fanfic
Chapter Three: Broken Homes
[The boys deal with the aftermath of Halloween night, and make a plan for the next day.]
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'The blood splattered on the floor, soaking easily into the rug. The victim choked, arms flailing weakly, trying to somehow staunch the flow from the wound on his neck. He’d only live a few moments more, but that was plenty of time to be in unimaginable pain. The killer dragged his knife along the victim’s stomach, splitting it open. The victim couldn’t scream, and only made a few small noises.The killer laughed hoarsely. He raised the knife and drove it into the victim’s chest. Then again. And again. Seven times he stabbed, the victim unable to stop him. But the killer was just as helpless. In his mind, he screamed over and over, silently begging the thing controlling him to stop, to put down the knife. But the thing only laughed, mocking him for being so weak, so powerless. He could do something, but instead he’s just watching it happen. If you want to stop it so badly, then do something. Cry out, call for help, scream in despair, say something, say anything, but you can’t, you can only watch…'

Jameson jerked awake, breathing heavy. A nightmare. It was only a nightmare. But also a memory.

Sitting up, JJ tried to remember where he was. Sun was streaming through open windows. Everything was…clear. Much clearer than it had been for a long, long time. The events of the previous night suddenly came crashing down, bringing mixed emotions flooding with them. On the one hand, Jameson was free. Free from Anti’s influence, forever. On the other hand, decades had passed. Everyone he’d known and loved was probably dead. Friends, family, coworkers…

Jameson shook his head. He couldn’t bother these lovely people with all his troubles. What kind of repayment would that be, dumping all his trauma on the ones who’d rescued him? Actually…where were they?

JJ stood up. The screen from the night before—the TV—was turned off. A messy pile of blankets on the floor showed where Marvin had slept. The sound of friendly voices came from a nearby room. JJ wandered over and poked his head through the doorway.

It appeared to be the kitchen/dining room, though more advanced than the ones Jameson knew. The counter was covered in messy bowls and plates, jugs of milk and bottles of orange juice. A sliding glass door led outside to the backyard. Chase, Jackie, and Marvin—wearing the same outfits from the night before—were all present, Chase and Jackie arguing while Marvin sat at the dining table staring at a small black rectangle in his hand.

“I refuse to eat anything with blueberries in it,” Jackie said, folding his arms. “They’re fucking disgusting.”

“But you can’t take the chocolate chips!” Chase gasped. “The kids love them, and I’m almost out!”

“Alright, no chocolate, but keep those filthy little berries out of the batter. I’d rather eat the pancakes plain.”

“Or you could, you know, make two batches,” Marvin jumped in without looking up from the device in his hand.

“We didn’t make enough batter,” Chase explained. “And we don’t have ingredients for more.”

“Jesus Christ, Chase, what does it take to get you to go grocery shopping?” Jackie said, exasperated. “Any longer, and I’ll have to drag you to the shop by your toes.”

Jameson coughed, drawing the attention of everyone else. “Oh, you’re awake!” Jackie said, smiling cheerfully. “Great! Are you hungry? We made pancakes.”

JJ paused, taking in the mess on the kitchen counter. He raised an eyebrow.

“Well, we made the batter, at least,” Jackie amended. “Now we’re trying to decide if we want anything in it? D’you have any preferences?”

“Wait, wait, wait.” Chase rushed across the room, grabbed a notepad and pencil that was sitting on the table, and threw it to Jameson, who fumbled before catching it.

“Oh. Right. Sorry,” Jackie muttered, embarassed.

Jameson quickly wrote, 'No, it’s perfectly alright. We met each other just last night, after all.'

“Don’t worry, I’ll remember,” Jackie assured him. “Now, d’you want anything with your pancakes?”

'I’ll stick with the plain Jane variety, if you don’t mind.'

“Got it.” Jackie turned to Chase and said triumphantly, “That’s two votes for no blueberries! That means we win!”

“I vote for blueberries,” Marvin said, waving his hand.

Jackie turned to him. “Oh, come on! We just reached a decision! Why do you always have to do this?”

“I like to fuck things up,” Marvin shrugged.

“Okay, you know what, we’re making both, we’ll figure it out,” Chase stepped in.

As Jackie and Chase set about making the pancakes, Jameson crossed the room and sat at the dining table, across from Marvin. “Hey, you ever seen a cell phone?” Marvin asked, waving the rectangular device he was holding. JJ shook his head. “It’s cool. Phones can do almost anything nowadays. And you can touch the screen. Check it out.”

Marvin handed the phone over, and watched as Jameson’s expression changed from puzzlement to wonder. “You can tap on the little icons to open shit,” Marvin said. “Not literally, of course. I dunno if that’s what you thought.” JJ tapped the screen a couple times, a small smile crossing his face. It lit up his face, and Marvin couldn’t help but smile back. When he wasn’t scared and traumatized, JJ was a right little ray of sunshine.

But in a split second, everything changed. Jameson’s smile fell, his face went white, and he dropped the phone on the table. “Whoa, what happened?” Marvin picked up the phone. He frowned. “It’s just glitching out a bit. My phone is kinda shitty like that. Are…are you okay?”

Jameson nodded, though he was still pale. Marvin wasn’t fooled at all, but he dropped it, changing the subject. “So, d’you have any idea where you want to stay?” he asked. “I mean, I guess you could crash with Chase for a couple days, but his kids come to visit on the weekends and I dunno if you want to meet them, or whatever. And Jackie’s apartment is pretty small. Have any ideas?”

A confused expression crossed JJ’s face. 'You didn’t suggest your own home in that list. Is it unavailable?'

“No, ah, not exactly.” Marvin laughed nervously. “I guess if you wanna you could stay in my hotel room for a bit, but that’s not a, um, stable location. ‘Cause, you know, I don’t own it.”

'If it’s not too rude to ask, why are you staying in a hotel and not your own home?'

Before Marvin could answer—or think of a way to dodge the question—the other two provided a distraction. “Flip them now, Chase!” “I know how to make pancakes, discount Spider-Man!” “Not good pancakes! Flip ‘em!”

“Fucking hell, you two, why is cooking the thing that destroys your friendship?” Marvin said, exasperated.

“Who would’ve thought it came down to breakfast?” Chase sighed dramatically. Meanwhile, Jackie took advantage of his distraction to reach over and hurriedly flip the pancakes. “Hey! Don’t think I didn’t see that!” The two of them proceeded to wrestle over the spatula while standing next to a hot griddle.

“None of us are adults,” Marvin shook his head. “JJ, you better have some common sense, ‘cause this group really fucking needs it.”

'I suppose that depends on your definition of ‘common sense.’'

“Well, you can’t be any worse than the rest of us. Anyway, back to the question. Where d’you want to stay?”

Jameson hesitated, pencil frozen on paper. Then, slowly, 'This may sound absurd, but I would prefer to go home. My house, that is. I believe you know the place I am talking about.'

Marvin frowned. “That…doesn’t sound like a good idea. Actually, it sounds like a terrible idea. A no-good, fucking horrible shitwreck of an idea, for so many reasons I’m gonna have to take a moment to process that you actually said it.”

“Pancakes are ready!” Chase said cheerfully, setting plates on the dining table. The buttery smell filled the room.

“And we got drinks, too,” Jackie added, carefully balancing a stack of glasses while holding a jug of milk and a bottle of orange juice.

“Be careful, Jackie,” Chase said, keeping an eye on the stack. “I don’t want to have broken glass on the floor when the kids come over.”

“Oh yeah, because you’re gonna leave any glass just on the floor for anyone to step on, for two whole days,” Jackie retorted. “Or, you know, like I’m gonna just not clean up my own mess. Anyway, there’s no need to worry, see?” He’d successfully set all four glasses on the table without dropping any.

“Oh hey, Jackie, can you explain to our new friend why it’s a fucking awful idea to go back and live in the old house where the evil creature is probably still lurking?” Marvin asked, overly polite.

Jackie looked at Jameson, puzzled. “Is that really true?”

JJ thought about it, then wrote, 'I don’t know where else I would go.'

“Well, any of us would be happy to take you in,” Jackie assured him. “But if you really want to, I don’t think we can stop you.”

“Wha-what?” Marvin spluttered. “Okay, never mind the malicious, homicidal, supernatural entity. How about the fact that the place is a shithole that’s falling apart with holes in the floor? And there’s no food or place to sleep anywhere?”

“We can make it work,” Jackie said positively. “It can’t be too hard to fix up. And besides, it’s not like we can force Jameson to stay here, can we?”

Marvin looked like he very much wanted to do exactly that. Luckily, Chase saw the warning signs and jumped in with a solution, “Hey, how ‘bout we all go there together and check it out? Then we can see if there’s anything evil there, and how much of a fixer-upper it is.”

Recognizing the line Chase was throwing him, and not wanting to fight with Marvin, Jackie agreed, “That’s a great idea, Chase. And if anything goes wrong, we’ll have each others’ backs. You know, like a team. Eh, Marvin?”

The magician sighed. “Alright, I guess it can’t hurt. But let’s go after breakfast, okay?”

A JSE Fanfic
Chapter Two: Broken Time
[As Marvin, Chase, and Jackie try to accommodate the new arrival, they find out more about what they’re up against.]
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Jackie could hear the PlayStation from all the way in the kitchen. He didn’t know if that was because Chase had the volume turned up too much, or if it was just because the house was so quiet normally. Maybe both.

Sighing, the hero glanced at the clock on the wall. It was almost midnight. He’d tried suggesting to Chase that maybe it was time to go to sleep, only for his friend to deny feeling tired. Which was, of course, complete bullshit. Jackie could practically see the dark circles growing beneath his eyes. But, as much as he wanted to, he couldn’t force Chase to go to bed.

The hero took a glass from the cabinet, then filled it with tap water. He’d told Chase he was thirsty, and it would look weird to reappear without anything. But that had been a lie. He’d just needed a few moments to regroup, plan a new strategy for getting Chase to take care of himself for once in his life.

“Hey dude,” Jackie said, returning to the living room.

“Hey bro.” Chase didn’t turn away from the screen. Jackie glanced toward it. When he was in the kitchen, Chase had switched to playing Until Dawn.

“Really?” Jackie asked. “It’s not even that good.”

Chase shrugged. “Horror game on Halloween seemed appropriate. And I felt like having a blast from the past, you know?”

“You’re gonna kill all the characters, aren’t you?”

“As early as possible, bro.”

Jackie plopped down on the couch next to Chase, placing the full glass of water on the nearby end table. “You might have trouble sleeping tonight.”

“What, you expect me to have nightmares about some stupid spider zombie? Nah, dude.”

Jackie opened his mouth to retort, but before he could say anything the doorbell rang. Twisting in his seat, Jackie looked toward the front door. “There can’t be any trick-or-treaters still out, can there?” he wondered.

The doorbell rang again. Then, a familiar voice. “I know you’re in there! Both of you! Open the door, assholes!”

“Oh nevermind, it’s just Marvin,” Jackie sighed. “I’ll get it.”

“You do that,” Chase said, still not looking away.

Jackie pushed away from the couch, standing up. “Don’t get your panties in a twist, Marv!” he shouted. “I’m coming!” He crossed the living room to the door, and opened it. “Finally decided to show up, didn’t…you…” he trailed off. Marvin was standing on the doorstep, covered in bruises and cuts, supporting a strange man who looked dead on his feet. “Who’s that?”

“Are you just gonna stand there, or can we come it?” Marvin scowled.

Jackie nodded, moving out of the way. The magician stumbled into the house, half-dragging the stranger behind him.

Chase glanced up from the screen, disinterested. His expression quickly changed. “Whoa, dude, what happened?!” he asked, standing up.

Marvin and the stranger promptly collapsed on the couch. “I may or may not have decided to explore a house that was supposed to be super fucking haunted on Halloween.”

Jackie blinked. “Okay. And why exactly d’you do that? Decided the best way to get into the holiday spirit was to get your literal spirit damned for all eternity?”

“I just fucking wanted to see a ghost,” Marvin grumbled, removing his mask. “Didn’t think it would be too dangerous. But, well—” he glanced over at the other man, who’d curled up against the couch’s armrest and was now staring, enraptured, at the TV screen. “As you can see, it got…a little more complicated.”

“I’m, uh, gonna pause the game real quick,” Chase said, picking up the controller. He pressed the pause button, and the screen changed from a view of the game to the menu. A sharp intake came from the edge of the couch, drawing the three’s attention to the stranger. His eyes had widened, and he’d leaned forward a bit. “What’s up?” Chase asked. “Never seen a TV before?”

The stranger glanced at Chase for a second before immediately looking away. He shrank into himself a bit, not responding. “Yeah, uh, he can’t talk,” Marvin explained. “I think.”

Jackie felt a pang in his chest. “Can we help?” he asked the man, keeping his voice soft. “D’you need anything?”

The stranger stared at the hero, considering. He mimed writing something with his hands. “Pen and paper, of course,” Jackie said, nodding. “I think there’s something in a drawer somewhere.”

“Pad of paper in the hallway,” Chase explained. “I got it.”

“Great. While you’re doing that…” Jackie sat down in a nearby armchair, and said to Marvin, “Can you explain what the fuck happened tonight?”

Marvin glanced nervously at the stranger, then launched into the story. Chase returned with a pad of paper and a ballpoint pen not long after, handing them to the strange man. The man took the writing instruments and frowned at the pen. Then he scribbled on the paper, like he wasn’t sure how to use the pen at all.

“And after I fell down the stairs—” Marvin suddenly stopped. He glanced at the stranger, who merely stared back, then gestured as if to say go ahead, it’s okay. “Well, the thing came after me. So I decided that desperate times call for desperate measures, and, uh, burned its essence.”

Jackie choked in surprise. “You can do that?”

“Well, yeah,” Marvin shrugged. “Not without consequences. Burns up a lot of physical energy and…worse. But I was probably gonna die, so I did what I had to. And when I finished with the spell…” he looked over at the stranger. “Well, he was left.”

Chase, who’d been standing quietly nearby through most of the story, suddenly backed away. “Whoa, dude. D’you really think it was a good idea to come here?”

Jackie glared at him. “If you’re gonna stand there and accuse someone of something they probably didn’t do, you can go stand in the other room and accuse from there.”

“That’s-that’s not what I meant,” Chase stuttered. “I just—you gotta be careful, y’know?” When Jackie didn’t let up from his defensive glare, Chase slumped. “I’m sorry,” he mumbled. “That, uh, didn’t come out how I meant it to.”

“It’s alright,” Jackie said. “I can see where you’re coming from, but we’re not going to turn away someone in need.” Turning back to the stranger, he asked, “Can you tell us your name?”

The stranger nodded, and picked up the pen again. A few moments passed, silent except for the sound of pen on paper. Then the stranger finished, turning the pad of paper around so that the other three could see what he wrote in precise cursive: 'My name is Jameson Jackson.'

“Nice name,” Marvin said. “The dude in the hat is Chase, and the person in the hoodie is Jackie. Can we call you JJ?”

“I don’t think this is the right time to ask that, Marv,” Jackie said. But the stranger —Jameson—gave a small smile, and nodded.

“Alright, JJ,” Marvin continued, a smile tracing his face. “Can you tell us what exactly happened back there? ‘Cause I’m not sure myself.”

At that, Jameson’s expression fell. “We mean, if you’re feeling up to it,” Chase jumped in suddenly. “No need to get more upset if you don’t have to.”

Jameson shook his head, a new determined light entering his eyes. Still, he hesitated with the pen on the paper, as if figuring out what to write. After a brief moment, he wrote, then revealed: 'The being that attacked you was me. But I wasn’t the one doing it.'

Jackie frowned. “I don’t understand.”

“Oh, like The Exorcist?” Chase asked.

This prompted a blank stare from Jameson, then the written words: 'I don’t quite understand what you mean by that.'

“Y’know, the movie?” Chase asked. “Famous horror flick?”

Jameson frowned. 'What’s a “move-y?”'

Marvin, Jackie, and Chase all looked identically shocked. “Like, moving pictures?” Jackie prompted. “Motion pictures? Film?”

'Oh,' Jameson wrote. 'I know what a film is. I’ve been in a few. I just didn’t know the newfangled slang term.'

Marvin coughed. “The word ‘movie’ is pretty fucking old, from what I know. Which, admittedly, isn’t much, but movie definitely isn’t some new slang word.”

Jackie, distressed at seeing Jameson’s confusion, changed the subject. “Anyway, The Exorcist is a horror movie—meant to scare people—about a little girl who gets possessed by a demon. She does all sorts of creepy stuff, but she’s not in control of her body. Is-is that kind of what you meant?”

Jameson nodded. He looked down at the paper, but wrote nothing.

Marvin, who’d been slouching against the couch’s armrest the whole time, straightened. “Damn,” he muttered, eyes sad. “I’m-I’m sorry. That must’ve been…terrifying. Absolute hell.”

Hand shaking, Jameson simply wrote 'Thank you' in small letters. Nothing else.

Silence filled the room as the three others contemplated the horror he must’ve gone through. It was broken by Chase, who said, “Ah, if you—either of you—need any medical help, Doc gave me a pretty extensive first aid kit the last time he was here. I could…go get it…maybe.”

“Yeah, that’d be helpful,” Marvin said. “Thanks, Chase.”

As Chase left the room, Jameson wrote, 'You have a friend who’s a doctor?'

“Yeah,” Jackie said. “His name was—is Henrik von Schneeplestein, but we all usually called him Schneep. He’s…been missing for a few months now. Disappeared after an unsuccessful operation on another friend of ours. Jack. He’s in a coma now.” Jackie sighed, then made a visible attempt to cheer up. “But we’re all looking for him. And it won’t be long before we find him. Marvin’s got magic, I’ve got hacking and parkour, and Chase has above-average aim and connections to lots of people.”

Jameson’s eyes widened. Hurriedly, he wrote, 'Does your friend Jack happen to have green hair?'

Jackie frowned. “Yeah, actually. It’s kinda fading now, and won’t be long before it’s gone, but…yeah. Why?”

Chase returned, carrying a large red bag with a white cross stamped on the side. “Okay, here it is.” He set the first aid kit down on the coffee table and unzipped it. “There’s a shitload of stuff here, so d’you have anything that needs more than bandages?”

“Nah,” Marvin said. “How ‘bout you, JJ?” He turned to Jameson, but the man was instead fascinated with the first aid kit. Setting aside the pen and paper, he reached forward and began pulling out various plastic boxes full of medical supplies. “Dude, you okay?” Marvin asked.

Startled, Jameson dropped the box he was holding. He picked up the pen again and wrote, 'When did they start making these?'

Chase blinked. “Um, Doc said all the supplies were up to date.”

'Must be pretty new, then. I don’t recognize a lot of this.' Jameson paused, then wrote, 'Would’ve been handy ten years ago, huh?'

“What happened ten years ago?” Jackie asked, confused.

Jameson looked startled. 'The war.'

“Uh, correct me if I’m wrong, ‘cause I usually am, but I don’t think there was a war ten years ago,” Marvin said.

'The Great War. It wasn’t so long ago to the point of people forgetting, is it?'

“Wait.” Jackie’s mind whirled. “The Great War, as in World War I, as in the war that ended nearly a century ago?”

Jameson was shocked. 'You’re pulling my leg, good sir.'

“Jameson,” Jackie said softly. “What year do you think it is?”

After a slight hesitation, Jameson wrote, '1926.'

The other three stared at him, in utter astonishment. “No,” Jackie muttered. “No, Jameson. It’s 2017.” Chase and Marvin nodded in agreement.

The man out of time stared at them, expression disbelieving. He looked around at the TV screen, at the first aid kit, at all the furniture and lighting in the room. Then, slowly, he put his head in his hands. He was silent, but there could be no mistaking how he felt.

“I’m so sorry,” Jackie said. “I wish it could be otherwise, but…it’s not something you can change.”

“Fucking decades,” Marvin muttered, shaking his head sadly. He reached out and put a hand on JJ’s shoulder, a reassuring presence.

Chase said nothing, but instead covered his mouth with his hand as tears sprang to his eyes. He was familiar with loss, too, but he couldn’t imagine what it must be like to find out everyone you know is ninety years older than you thought, if they weren’t dead.

Jameson took a deep breath, then straightened up. His eyes were rimmed with red, but he reached for the pen and paper again. He wrote furiously, then turned the paper to reveal: 'This is terrible news, but not what you need to know right now. I’ve seen your friend Jack.'

Shocked silence. Then, three voices spoke at once: “How is that possible? He’s in a coma!” “When? How? Why? What can we do?” “D’you know how to wake him up?”

In answer to this, Jameson wrote, 'It was him. The one who attacked you.'

“Wait, a demon put Jack in a coma?” Marvin asked, frowning.

'No, he…wanted a new host. He tried to take him over. Your doctor friend put Jack in a coma to stop him. He got angry, and something happened. I don’t remember the rest. He said the doctor wouldn’t save him again.'

“Oh my fucking god,” Chase said, eyes wide. “Wait, remember Halloween last year? Jack…his throat…we thought he did it himself…”

“Looks like this demon’s had his eye on Jack for nearly a year,” Jackie said thoughtfully. He looked at Jameson. “You…you know about this thing?” JJ hesitated, then nodded once. “Do you…think you could help us? Could you tell us what this demon is, exactly?”

JJ’s looked down at his hands. Then, slowly, he wrote, 'Yes. But you can’t say his name out loud. It draws his attention. He’s always watching, Antisepticeye. '

Chase frowned. “That’s not really an intimidating name.”

'Maybe not. But he is. Anti is not a demon, he is…a thing. He feeds on fear and pain and despair. You most attract him when your mind is not in the best place. '

Jackie yawned. Then he chuckled and said, “Like, when we’re sleep deprived.” He stood up. “I think we should all go to bed. All of us.” He glared pointedly at Chase. “You don’t mind if we all sleep over, d’you?”

“I mean, you’d probably do it anyway,” Chase muttered. “I only have one guest bedroom, though.”

“That’s fine, I can sleep on the couch,” Marvin said. “But I think I’ll stay up a bit and, I don’t know, put Band-Aids on my wounds.”

Chase winced. “Right. Sorry for bringing in the first aid kit, then immediately forgetting.” He turned to JJ. “Will you be fine sleeping in the front room?”

JJ nodded, giving a slight smile.

“Good night, then,” Chase said.

“Sweet dreams,” Jackie added with a smile of his own. With that, the two of them left.

Marvin reached to the first aid kit. “You need anything?”

Jameson shook his head, distant.

“There’s a pile of blankets and pillows in the closet in the corner. D’you mind getting them?” As JJ stood up and walked away, Marvin kept talking, “Hey, so, I know you’re all confused and sad, and you have every right to be, and you’re also probably in a lot of pain…god, I’m fucking bad at this. But, ah, you’ll be okay now. I don’t think that An—I mean, he knows about us. And even if he does, we’re not gonna leave you high and dry, you know? That would be fucked up. So, um, don’t worry. You’re okay.”

Jameson didn’t say anything, obviously, but Marvin didn’t think he would’ve if he could. Instead, he merely dumped a pile of blankets and two pillows on the floor by the couch, then looked at Marvin.

The magician smiled. “It’s okay, you can take the couch. I’ve slept in worse places than the floor of a suburban home.” He stood up, moving position to the armchair and taking the first aid kit with him.

JJ smiled, as if to say thank you. Then he took one of the pillows and a few of the blankets, and curled up on the couch. He fell asleep almost as soon as his eyes closed.

Marvin sighed. He’d known that something was off about the doctor’s disappearance and Jack’s coma, but he never would’ve expected this. Some creature, out to possess Jack as his new host, and a silent man stranded from his own time period by that very same creature? It was insane. But, he supposed, not impossible to believe. He’d read about things just as unbelievable in his study of magic. At least now they knew just what had happened to Schneep and Jack, and could work on getting them back.

After bandaging his wounds, Marvin used the remaining pillow and blankets to make a bed on the floor. Turning off all the lights, he buried himself under the covers and tried his best to fall asleep. It was difficult, as he had the strangest feeling that someone was watching him…but soon enough, sleep came.