Part Six of the PW Timeline
A JSE Fanfic
[This is part of a complete series I wrote from July 2019 to July of 2022. Dr. Newson decides to drop in on Laurens's session with Schneep, and things don't exactly go well from there.]
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Dr. Laurens sighed, rubbing her eyes. Okay, she was good to go for today. She had the case file, her notebook, and a pen, and she’d made sure to eat beforehand. She was…weirdly tired, but ready. Now, she stood from her spot on the break room couch and went to leave. She opened the door, and gasped. “O-oh, Dr. Newson, you surprised me,” she laughed. “I didn’t expect anyone to be right there.”

Dr. Newson smiled. “Sorry about that, Rya. But hey, this is perfect. I was just looking for you.”

“You were?” Laurens couldn’t help a jolt of anxiety. Was she doing something wrong? “What about?”

“Well, do you mind if I sit in on your session today?”

“Uh…can I ask why?”

“Oh, you know.” Dr. Newson shrugged. “As the head of the hospital, I can sit in on any of your sessions. You remember that? Think of it as a quality check.”

She DID remember that was a policy. But… “I-I thought—I mean, you’ve never done that before.”

“I have, actually, just not for you.” Dr. Newson gave a tight smile, pushing a length of blonde hair out of her face. “Now, shall we?”

“Um…okay.” Laurens started down the hall, Dr. Newson on her heels. As they walked in silence, Laurens couldn’t help but feel…well, she couldn’t quite place it. She just didn’t think this was a good idea. Maybe if this session had been with any other patient she would’ve felt alright about it, but she only had one patient right now, and he’d already met Dr. Newson. And he didn’t like her.

Laurens arrived at Room 1010, seeing Oliver waiting outside the door. She nodded at him. “Hi.”

“Hey, doc.” Oliver then noticed Dr. Newson, and hurriedly straightened. “Oh, Dr. Newson! Um, hello. Wha-what are—how are you doing? What are you doing here?”

“I’m doing great, thank you,” Dr. Newson said cheerfully. “Just sitting in on Rya’s session today.”

“Uh. Cool.” Oliver folded his arms, then unfolded them, then folded them again, clearly nervous. He looked at Laurens. “So, uh, should we start?”

“Just real quick, one thing,” Laurens said. “You delivered his medicine this morning, right? Did you see him take it?”

“Yeah, yeah I did.” Oliver nodded. “Learned my lesson from two weeks ago, stayed to make sure.”

“Okay, great.” Laurens exhaled quietly. Things were starting to get a little better again, since she’d switched up Schneep’s prescription. Still a little rough, but it might even out after the transition period. At least he wasn’t banging his head against the walls.

“Um, what happened two weeks ago?” Dr. Newson asked, looking down at Laurens.

“Nothing too important, we sorted it,” Laurens hurried to say. It…wasn’t really Dr. Newson’s place to know, was it? Sure, she was her boss, but it wasn’t a policy to share details about medication with other doctors. “We should get started now. Let’s go.”

The three of them entered Room 1010. Schneep was lying on the bed, staring up at the ceiling. He looked over when the door opened, lifting his head when he saw Laurens. But then he noticed Dr. Newson, and his expression darkened to a scowl. He sat up. “What is she doing here?”

Laurens swallowed. Yep, not going to go well. She forced a smile. “Hi, Schneep. You know Dr. Newson, I know. She’s just supervising today.”

“Why?”

“I-it’s just a routine check. This happens sometimes,” Laurens explained.

Dr. Newson hadn’t taken her eyes off Schneep since walking in the room. “Hello, Henrik.”

“Do not call me that,” Schneep growled. “In fact, do not talk to me.”

“She’ll just be watching.” Laurens jumped in before Dr. Newson could say anything in reply. “It’ll be fine. Dr. Newson, if you would just stand over there.”

“Oh, of course.” Dr. Newson flashed another smile, then went to stand by Oliver, who’d taken his normal position in the corner.

Laurens tried not to look visibly relieved as she took her normal seat in the room’s chair, placing her notebook on the table in front of her. “So. How are we doing today, Schneep?” She asked.

Schneep kept glaring in Dr. Newson’s direction for a few seconds more, then turned to look at Laurens. “Fine, I suppose. I am feeling a bit…tired.”

He’d been saying that for the past week. “That could be a side effect of your new prescription,” she said. “If it stays like that for another week, then we should probably change it. Nothing else?”

“Not that I can think of,” Schneep said slowly. “I am a little bored, if I am being honest.”

“I can bring you another book?” Laurens suggested.

“That would be wonderful.”

She made a note of that to herself. “Alright. Got it. So when we last left off—”

“Excuse me.”

Laurens started, looking back over to the corner. “Yes, Dr. Newson? I—you know I can’t conduct the session if I interrupt?” She hoped that was a polite way to put it.

“Yes, yes, I know, it’s just—one thing.” Dr. Newson started twirling a length of hair around her finger. “I’ve been looking at your reports, and I’ve noticed you haven’t really talked about any of the…incidents, you know? I’m just surprised. It’s been three months, after all.”

“Well…that hasn’t really been my top priority?” It came out sounding like a question.

“It’s just a little incredible, you know?” Dr Newson drawled. “It seems like understanding those would be important to understanding everything else.” She perked up. “Hey, I have an idea. Why don’t you spend this session on one of those incidents? What about the Christmas one?”

Laurens was speechless for a moment. “Well, we had plans for today. Th-that seems a bit…counterproductive? And besides—”

“Dr. Laurens?” Schneep said quietly. “I-I do not mind.”

She looked back at him. “Are you sure? We don’t have to.”

Schneep pulled his legs up onto the bed, sitting cross-legged. He wasn’t looking at her. Or anyone in the room, really, his head turned to the side. “Is fine. It had to happen eventually, yes?” He sounded…resigned. “And I suppose if it will get her to stop her talking, we can talk about the Christmas one.”

“Ah…okay, um…” Laurens picked up the case file and flipped through it. She hadn’t prepared for this. She had no idea what to talk about, and…and she didn’t want to think about the Christmas incident. Because thinking about that reminded her about what she discovered last week. That Schneep’s friend Jackie had disappeared the same day. She still wasn’t sure if that correlation meant that…that Schneep had something to do with…it could just be a random turn of fate. But she definitely didn’t want anyone else putting those pieces together, in case they jumped to conclusions.

She finally found the report in the file, quickly scanning over it, refreshing her memory. “Alright. Let’s start with something simple.” She looked up at Schneep. “How much of this do you remember?”

“I…” Schneep was now facing her, but his eyes glanced to the side again. “I remember…walking around town. Late at night. There was a list of places to go, five of them. And there were times to be there. And…” He broke off.

That matched up with the police report. Five people had been taken during the previous few days, and on the 24th, the police had been sent a cryptic video message. It instructed them to puzzle out the locations where the five were being held, and if they didn’t reach the locations by a certain time, then they’d die. Of course, the police had immediately started the search, figuring out the hints in the video messages sent throughout the night. The entire department had stayed up overnight, keeping watch, but they still weren’t in time to save three. “I see…” Laurens said. “What about the messages? Can you tell me anything about them?”

“Those were made before,” Schneep muttered. “I just said what I was told to.”

“I see.” Laurens had never actually seen any of the video footage, but she knew what it contained. Among various imagery meant to freak viewers out, there were snippets of Schneep on the camera, sometimes giving clues for the next location, sometimes giving speeches that…well, quite frankly, didn’t sound like him at all. “Someone told you to say those things? Are you comfortable telling me who?”

Schneep flinched. “You know…” The two words were almost too quiet to hear.

Laurens nodded. “Alright, you don’t have to say anything else.” She turned to a page in her notebook, writing. She could figure who Schneep was referring to. This shadowy figure, who he felt controlled him. “Do you know why he would tell you to say that?”

Schneep shook his head silently. She recognized that she wasn’t going to get much more about the shadowy ‘him’ today. Honestly, she was lucky she got as much as she had so far, given how terrified Schneep was, saying that speaking about the shadow would give it power. Maybe she could ask again another time.

There was a dry cough. Laurens looked over to the corner of the room again. “Yes?”

“I’m so sorry to keep interrupting,” Dr. Newson said, not sounding apologetic at all. “But, well, you’re kind of tiptoeing around the subject, aren’t you?”

Laurens blinked. “I-I’m sorry, I don’t understand.”

“You’re talking about everything leading up to the incident, but not really the incident itself,” Dr. Newson explained. “You know?”

“I don’t know, actually.”

“The three people,” Dr. Newson explained. “The ones who were…” She stopped, uncharacteristically silent for a moment. “You know, those ones.”

Schneep had flinched again the moment Dr. Newson had mentioned ‘the three people,’ shrinking in on himself. He started shaking his head the moment she was finished. Laurens looked over at him. “We don’t have to talk about them. We can continue—”

“I mean,” Dr. Newson interrupted. “It seems pretty important. Did we ever really get a motive from him? Maybe knowing that would help you do your job.”

“Do not talk about me like I am not here,” Schneep suddenly said. His eyes locked on Laurens. “I-I can tell you anything else about that night, but not—not the—not…that part.”

“That’s fine, we can get to that another time,” Laurens reassured him. “Now—”

“So if you believe something else is in charge of you, do you think it’s the one who did it that night?” Dr. Newson butted in. She took a step forward. “Or was it something else?”

“Um, excuse me,” Laurens said, straightening in her seat. She glanced over at Oliver, who was looking at her, confused and unsure about what to do. Laurens could only shake her head in return. She’d never seen Dr. Newson act like this. So…aggressively. “Dr. Newson, this is not your session. I-it’s not really very helpful, since we have a lot to cover in an hour.”

“Well, if you’re not covering the right things, then I don’t see why I shouldn’t step in to help,” Dr Newson said. “I mean, isn’t that something we want to know about? I checked the court records, you know, there’s nothing very clear about why he killed so many people by—”

Schneep suddenly stood up, eyes alight. “I do not know your problem with me, but please tell me! Or else shut your mouth before I shut it for you! Come back another time when there is not more important things to do!”

“Are you threatening me?” Dr Newson asked in a low voice. “I’m sure you remember how well that went last time! Believe it or not, we do have more secure housing than this that we could transfer you to.”

Schneep laughed. “You think I am scared of what else you can do to me? I assure you, it is not the worst I can think of! Why don’t you? And I will scratch your throat out when you try!”

“If you keep going down this path, then I’ll have to! I mean, why not? If the court hadn’t decided to send you here, they would’ve sent you somewhere even worse. This is a lot better than you deserve, you should be—”

“Dr. Newson!” Laurens yelled. “You will leave this room right now!”

Everyone fell silent. Newson stared at Laurens, as if processing her words. “…I’m sorry?”

Laurens took a deep breath. “You will leave this room right now. You are disrupting what’s supposed to be a healing experience. We can’t continue if you’re going to keep on like this.”

The silence continued stretching. Newson didn’t look away from Laurens, who held her gaze. After what felt like ages, Newson took a step back. “Very well.” She turned on her heel, heading towards the door. But not before throwing out one last comment: “On second thought, I’m not sure I want to be in the same room as someone who killed his best friend.”

Schneep stiffened, backing up. He’d gone very pale. “Wh-what?”

Newson turned around. “Well, I don’t know if he was your BEST friend, but he was one of them, wasn’t he?”

“Who are you…?” Schneep croaked out.

Laurens wondered the same for a moment, but then her veins ran cold. No…Newson couldn’t have possibly figured out…but then again, she did have access to the case file as well…

“The investigator one. Jackie Donovan? I checked his missing person report; he disappeared on Christmas Eve, didn’t he?” Newson shook her head. “The very same day you were out wandering the streets, leaving behind videos for the police and killing innocent people.”

“You are lying,” Schneep said breathlessly. His hands were shaking. Laurens opened her mouth to say something, but no words came out. “You—you are doing this on purpose! Trying to upset me!”

“You can throw any types of words at me, just don’t call me a liar. I can bring the report for you to see, if you really have to.” She sighed. “Guess you ran into each other that night. Maybe he saw what you were doing, and it wouldn’t surprise me if you decided it would be easiest to—”

Someone screamed, and Laurens suddenly found herself losing her balance and toppling to the floor as something shoved her. She caught herself with one hand, pushing herself to a kneeling position. Looking up, she realized Schneep had rushed past her, knocking her over to get to Newson. And Newson was now pressed against the wall, trying to cover her face in a futile attempt to defend herself. Schneep was on the attack, fists flying. And he kept screaming.

“Henrik, no!” Laurens shot to her feet, running over. “Oliver, help!”

Oliver was already on the move, trying to pull Schneep away. But Schneep was determined. He grabbed the collar of Newson’s coat, shaking her until her head slammed against the wall. Laurens grabbed his wrist in an attempt to break his hold, prying at his fingers. She didn’t succeed, but she distracted Schneep long enough for Oliver to grab his other arm, quickly inserting a needle and pressing down.

Schneep shrieked wordlessly, finally backing away, arms pinwheeling. It was too late, of course, the sedative was already in his system. He shook his head back and forth, covering his ears. “I did not kill him!” He screamed. “I did not kill him! No! No, I would never! It does not matter what happens to me, I would never!”

“Of course not, Henrik,” Laurens said in a soft voice. “I believe you.”

“No, you do not believe!” He laughed. “You never have, have you? You just say it so I stay under control. Like him. This is no different, is it? Nothing has changed. Nothing, nothing, nichts, nichts!” He staggered backwards, slumping against the bed. “I did not kill my friend. You could not make me, I would die before.” A shudder wracked his body. “No, I-I would know. If…if it was an accident, I-I would still know, and I would not. I would never. Please. Please…say I would never.” His voice cracked.

Laurens could see tears dripping from his eyes. She took a step forward. “You…you wouldn’t do that. Never.”

Schneep didn’t seem to hear her. He looked up at the ceiling, continuing to mutter and plead under his breath.

Behind her, Laurens heard a groan. She turned around to see Newson standing up straight, rubbing at a spot on her shoulder. “Jesus christ…” she muttered. “I…wasn’t expecting that.”

“Maybe you should’ve been,” Laurens mumbled.

“I heard that,” Newson snapped. She hissed as she moved her arm. “Wow. Hits hard for a…um. Anyway. Oliver, could you…?” She gestured vaguely at Schneep.

Oliver stared at her blankly for a moment before nodding, and crossing the room to stand next to Schneep. He leaned down, scooping him up. Schneep tried to resist, but the sedative was starting to kick in, so any struggles were reduced to small wiggles and loose gestures. His eyelids fluttered.

“Thanks,” Newson said. “I think he needs some time in the quiet room. You mind taking him there?”

“…sure,” Oliver said after a long hesitation. He glanced over at Laurens, and when she remained silent, he walked to the room’s door and left, carrying Schneep with him.

“And you. Dr. Laurens.” Newson turned her gaze on her. “You should go home.”

Oh shit. “Okay,” Laurens said quietly.

“Come in early tomorrow. I want to talk to you.”

“Okay.”

And without another word, Newson turned and left.

Laurens remained, standing in the center of the room, for a while longer. Her stomach sank as it really hit her what just happened. Well, she’d been right when she thought earlier that this wouldn’t end well. She’d never seen Newson so…god, she didn’t even know the words to describe it. Pushy. ANGRY. She’d seen Newson interact with other patients before, and she was totally different there. Actually helpful. Why did she hate Schneep so much?

And then Laurens had yelled at her to leave. She’d YELLED at her boss. It was starting to hit her that she might be fired. Which, maybe she would’ve been fine with under other circumstances, but now? She would be leaving behind a patient who needed her. Schneep trusted her, but it had taken three months to get to this point. He’d be alone, starting from square one with some other doctor. Maybe even Newson, and that would not be a pretty picture.

Laurens took a deep breath. Well, she’d have to argue her case really well tomorrow, then. She gathered her notebook and the case file, and left the room.

She picked up her things from her locker in the employees’ area, then headed towards the entrance. She was almost there when a familiar figure blocked her way. “Hi, Oliver,” she sighed. “Um…how did it go?”

“Good, I guess.” Oliver hesitated. “I-I just wanted to say that…that it was good that you stepped in when Dr. Newson was getting angry with him. That’s…that’s a decent thing. And I’m sorry I didn’t help much back there.”

“It’s fine. I didn’t even know I would be doing that,” Laurens said. “Hey, if…if anything happens to me, are you going to keep being the orderly for this case?”

Oliver looked down. “I mean, yeah, hopefully.”

“That’s good. You’re…you do a good job.” Laurens paused. If she got fired tomorrow, she’d like it if someone…she pulled out the keycard to Schneep’s room, then opened the case file and tucked it inside. She placed it on top of her notebook and held the pile out to Oliver. “Can you hold onto this?”

“Uh, sure?” Oliver looked confused, but he reached out to take it anyway, grabbing it. “Won’t you need it tomorrow, though?”

Laurens didn’t let go. She looked him in the eyes. “Could you. Hold on. To this?” She emphasized.

Oliver’s eyes widened, seeming to understand as he looked back and forth between the file and her face. He nodded vigorously. “Yeah. Yeah, of course.”

Laurens breathed a sigh of relief. “Thanks.” She let go of the file, letting Oliver take it. “I’ll…see you tomorrow, maybe.”

“See ya.”

And with that, she walked out, heading to her car.
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Ding.

The small sound was enough to wake Chase up. He sat up, wincing at a sudden shoot of pain in his neck. He must’ve fallen asleep on the couch…at around midday. Well, that was an unexpected nap, but it wasn’t a problem. It wasn’t like he’d had anything else planned. Rubbing his eyes, he picked up his phone from where it was sitting on the coffee table, checking the lock screen for a notification that would make that sound.

The first thing he saw was a text—from JJ. "Chase? I’m on break for an hour, do you want to meet up for lunch or anything like that?"

Chase smiled. It was nice of him to offer, but…his grin faded as he replied, "Nah, I dont really feel up 4 anything"

"If you’re sure." The first text was immediately followed by another. "Did you happen to leave your house at all this last week?"

"I went to go see Schneep on Friday."

"And now it’s Wednesday. "

"Dont judge me." Chase immediately winced after sending that one. "Sorry that came off rude I didnt mean it like that."

The little text bubble appeared and disappeared again for a while, as if JJ was trying to figure out what to say. "So, have you had anything proper to eat or just takeout and macaroni?"

Chase didn’t bother to answer that one. He squirmed where he was sitting. He knew this was all well-meaning, but…he couldn’t help but feel like he was doing something wrong. Like he was about to get a bad grade in ‘being a person.’ "Its just been a rough couple of weeks", he finally replied. "A low slump. It happens"

"Seems like a pretty low slump," JJ remarked. "Did you see the kids last weekend?"

"Yeah." It had been…exhausting. Four-year-olds had a lot of energy that he just couldn’t seem to keep up with recently.

"And that’s good, isn’t it? That’s a positive."

"Yeah, guess so." He paused. "Yknow I really appreciate you checking in on me, but you have other things to do, right? You dont have to keep doing this"

A long pause from JJ, as well. "I suppose you’re right, on some level. I do hope you know this isn’t an obligation, or anything. I check on you because I want to. But I suppose I can’t be there all the time. Which is why I’ve been wondering something…have you considered therapy?"

Chase bit his lip, thinking how to reply. Yeah, of course he had. But…he wasn’t that bad, right? He didn’t really need it. And besides…"Isnt that kinda expensive? I dont have $400 to spare when I need groceries and stuff. Not that he was buying those either, recently."

"Lol when will you catch on that all health care here costs a lot less? "

"Idk give me another year, well go for five. Anyway I dont even know where youd get a therapist"

"That’s what Google is for. Or I can give you mine’s number!"

Chase stared down at the text for a few moments before fully taking it in. "I didnt know you went to therapy"

"I do! Why do you think I’m never available Mondays at three?"

"I just kinda assumed you had work then, I dunno. "

"Well now you know."

That…surprised him. He wasn’t sure why, he just…wasn’t expecting that to come from JJ. He didn’t want to pry, though, so he changed the topic a bit. "Im still not sure, bro. It just doesnt seem like I…idk what Im saying"

"Well, at least consider it," JJ sent. "And even if you decide against it, there are a lot of tips that can help you, I’m sure. Even something as simple as walking around the house can help lift a funk."

"Really?" Chase looked at the clock on his phone. God, last time he’d checked the time it was nine, now it was closer to two. He’d really just sat down and spaced out for five hours before falling asleep. That probably wasn’t good. "Maybe Ill try that"

He stood up, stretching, rolling his neck to work out the kink. Just walk around for a few minutes, huh? Maybe he could open the curtains a bit more, wasn’t there supposed to be some benefit to sunlight? He crossed the room to the window, pulling said curtains out more. As he did so, he looked outside.

Wait…what was that?

Chase squinted. There was someone standing out on the street, right across from his window. From this distance, it looked like a man. But he couldn’t see the face, because this person was wearing a black hoodie with the hood pulled up. The man had his hand raised to the side of his face, and…was it just him, or was the man looking right at his window?

But Chase had barely registered this question when the man lowered his hand, showing he’d been holding a phone to his ear. The man turned and continued down the street. So…maybe he’d just stopped to take a phone call? That made sense, didn’t it? Still, Chase felt uneasy.

Another ding of a text notification from his phone. Chase looked down at the screen. "That’s the spirit! Tell me how it goes. :p"

Chase laughed a bit under his breath. "I will, bro," he replied. He turned away from the window. Maybe he’d go into the kitchen, make something to eat that wasn’t just a bag of chips.

But he hesitated, turning back to look out the window once more. Something felt…wrong.
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Laurens pulled up the driveway of her house, parking her car and getting out. What a day. And tomorrow…well, she had to make sure she said all the right things. She’d start planning right away.

“Hello?”

She shrieked, falling back against the car and reaching inside her purse.

“Whoa, hey, didn’t mean to startle you! Uh, sorry for dropping by without notice, my phone died.”

Her breathing slowed, and she relaxed as she recognized the voice and face. “Hi, Chase,” she said. “You scared me.”

“Yeah, uh. Sorry.” Chase shrugged, shifting on his feet.

“It’s fine,” she waved away. “Um, how’d you get here?”

“I drove a bit, but I didn’t want to park in front of anyone’s house in case that was weird, so I walked from the gas station,” he explained. “And I uh, found your address in the phone book. Cause you gave me your number.”

“I see.” Laurens nodded. “So…what’s up? I mean, why did you show up at my house in person?”

“I know, it’s weird, and I probably should’ve met you at Silver Hills, but they said you already left by the time I got there,” Chase said. “Anyway, like I said, my phone died, I lost my charger, and I wanted to talk to you about Henrik.”

“Okay.” Laurens sighed internally. This day just kept getting worse. “Well, we can talk about it inside.” She was tired. If more stress-inducing things were going to happen, at least she could be sitting down while they did.

Chase flashed a sharp grin. “Sounds perfect.”

She turned around. For a moment, she thought that Chase’s right eye had looked…a little bit weird, in a way she couldn’t exactly place.

And then a set of hands reached around and grabbed her, covering her mouth.

She cried out, kicking at “Chase’s” legs, but to no avail. The hands slammed the back of her head against the side of her car, and everything went dark as she immediately blacked out.

Part Six of The Stitched AU
A JSE Fanfic
[This is part of a completed fanfic series of mine with 24 total chapters. I started this October of 2018 and finished it May of 2021. Schneep sees Chase and follows him, trying to get him back. Unfortunately, he walks right into a trap.]
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“Hey doc. Just checking in. Everything good? Uh, your shift ends at midnight, right? Me and JJ will come pick you up. And Schneep, since I know you’re thinking something along the lines of ‘that’s stupid I can do what I want,’ this is not negotiable. You’re not walking home alone through the dark city at night. Emphasis on alone. I-I don’t…want a repeat of last time, or…Chase. So we’re getting you. Safety in numbers. Cool, see you then. Bye.” With a beep, the voicemail ended.

Schneep didn’t trust it. Not one bit. Anti had already proven himself able to influence technology, who’s to say this wasn’t a trick of his? Still, the question was, if this wasn’t a trick and Jack really had sent that voicemail, could he afford to ignore it? JJ and Chase had been alone when they were attacked. He’d been alone, that night in December. It wasn’t safe. But if the voicemail was fake, then it wasn’t safe either. Schneep continued to struggle with this dilemma all the way through his shift, even as he set bones and preformed heart surgery.

The clock ticked to twelve o’clock, and he checked out, still having not made a decision. He changed out of his scrubs and headed toward the exit. Quite honestly, he didn’t like walking down the hospital halls anymore, especially when they were fairly empty. He went out of his way to check that there were indeed other people in the building, to check that it actually was real.

By the time he got to the hospital entrance, he still wasn’t sure what to do. He stopped next to the reception desk. Shelly, the receptionist, glanced at him. “You ‘kay there, doc?” she asked cheerfully. “You look kinda confuzzled.”

Schneep shook his head. “My friend said he was going to come walk me home.”

“Oh, and you don’t see him, huh? Isn’t he the one that’s your clone or somethin’? ‘Cause someone like that came in and asked about you earlier.”

“Really?” Schneep asked.

“Uh-huh. I told him you were in the O.R., and he said he’d wait outside. Even after I told him it would be fine to wait here, it is the waiting room after all.” Shelly laughed. “But he was very insistent. It is a warm night, so I let him.”

“And…there was only one of him?” Jack said in the voicemail that JJ was going to come too. Had something happened?

“Yeah.”

“Can you…give a bit more of a description?”

“Oh, sure.” Shelly pursed her lips, remembering. “He didn’t look too good, really. Kinda sick. He was wearing a grey shirt and a grey scarf and he kept his hands tucked deep in his pockets. And he had a cap pulled down over his eyes.”

Schneep paled. That wasn’t Jack or JJ, that was…but it had been nearly three months since what happened back in May, why’d he show up now? True, sometimes the three of them would receive taunts from Anti about him, but Schneep got the feeling this was something more serious than mere mockery. “You—you said he was waiting outside?”

Shelly nodded. “Are you sure you’re okay, doc? You look…”

“I am fine,” Schneep insisted. “I-I am leaving now. Good night, Shelly.” He didn’t wait to hear her return his good night, just walked straight toward to hospital entrance and pushed outside.

The outside wasn’t exactly dark, per say. The hospital had lamps set up. But currently one was out and a few were dimming, and the hospital was short-staffed enough that replacing the bulbs was not high on the list of custodial priorities. There were patches of shadow all over the roundabout and the nearby parking lot. At first glance, nobody was outside. But then Schneep turned his head to the left and saw him. A familiar silhouette leaning against the wall, right in one of the dark patches. He turned his head toward the doctor with a sudden jerky movement.

Schneep inhaled sharply. “Chase?” he whispered.

There was no answer. For a moment, Chase just stood there. Then without warning, he pushed away from the wall and ran in the other direction.

“Wait!” Schneep knew that Chase wouldn’t respond, but he couldn’t stop himself from calling out. He started to follow him before stopping abruptly. This couldn’t be a good idea. But…it was Chase, for god’s sake. If there was a chance, he had to try. Though, just in case, he had to tell the others where he was going. He knew the phone wasn’t safe, but he texted Jack a quick summary anyway: "I saw Chase outside the hospital. He ran away and I know it is not best thing to do but I need to do this." After a moment’s hesitation, he added, "Jack, you know you are one of my best friends? I just want you to know. Tell JJ too. Thank you." Then he pocketed the phone and ran after Chase.

It soon became clear that Chase wasn’t trying to run away, he was trying to lead him somewhere. Whenever Schneep got too far behind, Chase would stop and wait for him to close the distance before taking off again. Schneep tried to look around and memorize his surroundings, where they were in the city. But it wasn’t too long before he didn’t recognize anything. Where could they be going?

They reached an office building that looked like it had been abandoned for years. The windows were boarded up, and the stone facade was cracked in places. Schneep watched as Chase walked up to the door, pulled it open, and went inside. After a short pause, Schneep went inside as well.

The door swung shut behind him. Schneep immediately spun back around and pushed on it, but it wasn’t locked. It opened fine. That was odd. He could leave if he wanted…

He stood there for a moment before letting the door swing shut again. Then, slowly, he turned around again.

The medium-sized room was devoid of furniture. There were bare lightbulbs dangling from the ceiling. The walls were ripped open, exposing pipes and a lot of electrical wires and equipment. On the far side of the room was a pair of elevator doors, and an empty door frame revealing a stairwell going up. Chase was standing in between the elevator and the stairs, hands in pockets, a scarf around his neck. Schneep couldn’t stop himself from noticing how pale and thin he was. His cap was tilted up, and the static film was visible even across the room.

“Chase?” Schneep asked hesitantly. No answer. “Chase, can you—can you hear me?”

“Ye̸s̨.”

Schneep shuddered, hearing the white noise breaking his voice. “Why are we here? Did you…did you want to see me?”

“The͠y̸ w̵ant͏ed t͠o̵ s̡ee y͝ou̵.͡”

“But what about you, Chase?” Schneep said softly. “What do you want?”

“I want͡ to ̸he̛l̡p the͝m.“ Chase pulled at the scarf around his neck and let it drop to the floor. “S͠ee̷?”

The sight of the green stitches made Schneep’s heart wrench. “That is not—Chase, that is not proof of good intentions. We just want you to come home, why can you not do that?”

“B̛eca̧uşȩ ̡I̛’m aļready ͢t̴hȩre͡.” The elevator doors opened. Without looking away from Schneep, Chase backed up and stepped inside.

“No—!” Schneep sprinted forward, but the elevator doors closed before he was even halfway across the room. Still, he would not be deterred. He ran through the empty doorway and into the stairwell. Looking up, the stairs extended in a rickety spiral. He didn’t know where Chase was going. He didn’t even have a guess. So he’d be forced to check each floor systematically. Fine. He’d do it.

First floor from the bottom. Nothing. More bare lightbulbs and exposed wiring. A few cables dangling from the ceiling. There was only one room, as the door into the next had been boarded up. Second floor from the bottom, same result. But on the third floor, things changed. The lightbulbs were red now. A few TVs were stacked in the corners of the room, showing static. There was no boarded-up door, because there wasn’t a door at all.

Schneep was just about to leave when there was a break in the hiss of the static from the TV screens. A laugh. “Do you en͏̸͏j̴o̶̴y͟ going in ç͟͠i̸͟rc̕le̶̕s͏̢̡?̴̨” There was no doubt about who was asking that question.

“Shut the fuck up,” Schneep growled. He went back out into the stairwell and slammed the door behind him.

The fourth floor was just like the third, but with the addition of more TVs. “Why so h̢͞o̧s͡t̛i̸͞lȩ, doctor?”

“You know exactly why!” When he returned to the stairwell again, the lights had gone red.

Fifth floor. There were wires on the floor and the TVs were mounted on the walls. “You’re blaming m̨̨e̷͟ for what happened t̵o̡̢ ̛͝y̨o̶̡̕u̕r̷͢ ̨f̵̧riend̛̛s̕? Those two ş̸e̴̢͠a̷͢l̷ed ̡̧͢t͟͝h̕ei̡ŗ̴ ͢o̴̧͞w̵͠n̶͞ ̸̛fa͠t̛͞e͟s̴.͞ I had nothing to do with it.”

“It’s not just about Jackie and Marvin and you know it!” Schneep realized he was just encouraging him. He resolved to not answer him any more, and concentrate on finding Chase.

As the stairwell rose higher and higher, it began to break down. Even more exposed wiring, holes in the drywall, even a few missing steps. Every floor got increasingly worse, the rooms getting smaller, but packed with more screens and wires. And something even more concerning: green string looped around the cables, strangely shimmering. Every time Schneep opened a door, Anti had a message for him.

Sixth floor. “You’re upset about th̸e̡ ͠o̶͡th̵͡er̛͠ş͡, then? I assure you, I never meant Jack any harm. Not p͏̡̛e̷͝r̴m̵̶͡an͞e̕nt̴̡l̵̨̛y͞.”

Seventh floor. “Or are you thinking of t̢he͟͞ ͠f͏͏a͟͞k̷̛e͏ m̷̢a̵g̢͡i͏cia̷n͏̕'͠s̴ silence? If he wasn’t casting spells, he didn’t r̶̸̕e̢͟͢al̵̢ly̴̕ ̨ne̸̴e̢͞d̷̢ to speak, did he?”

Eighth floor. “But I’m a fool for forgetting our fa̸͞v̵͡or̡i͡t̶̶͡e̢͝ ̵̕bo͞y̛̛. He made his c̕͞h̨͢o̡͟įc̨e͞͡. He did it t̛o̢͢ ̶͡h͏̶͝im̵s͢el̕͟f͏͠͞. I simply gave him the right i̢͞͝n̛͞cen͟͏̸t͝͠iv̴͠ȩ.”

Ninth floor. “Oh, doctor. It’s no f̡̢͞u̶̸n if you don’t respond. Have you given up so e͟͞ą̧si̢̨l̴̶̨y͠? No, you just won’t give me the sa̢t͠is͡f̧a̡c͠t̵͝i̷̵͢on̵. But how do you know this isn’t exactly w̶hąt̸ ̧I ̶̛w̨ant̷ed̵? You, with nothing to do but have all the times you fai̴ļ͡e̷͞d̷͡ yo̡u̵̢̧r̷͏͡ ̸f̴̷r̴ie̸͟n̶ḑs͠͝ rattle about your brain.”

The stairs ended at the tenth floor. The highest he could go. If Chase wasn’t on this floor, Schneep didn’t know what he would do. He didn’t feel like going back down, searching, while those words hissed in his ear. Taking a deep breath, Schneep opened the door to this floor.

It opened into a room, just like all the other floors below. But unlike the others, this room had a door, and it was ajar. Giving a quick glance to all the screens in this room, Schneep half-ran over to the door and pushed through it. There was a long hallway beyond, in equally bad repair as the rooms and the stairwell. Green string was intertwined with sparking wires. The red lightbulbs overhead were few and far between, leaving long stretches of darkness between them. There was one door all the way at the end of the hall, one on the left side, and one on the right. There were more TV monitors, sitting on the floor and mocking him with their white noise. He was really starting to get sick of that static.

The door to the left was the closest, so he decided to start there. It led to a small room, completely empty except for more screens and a set of elevator doors, which Schneep immediately walked over to. As he passed the screens, they whispered to him…worthless…useless…you almost lost Jack on Halloween…you couldn’t remove Jameson’s stitches…you lost Chase to this demon…why can’t you do anything right?…why do you always fail them?…

The elevator was empty, and there was nowhere to hide in the room. Well, that was one option down. Now to check the room on the right.

This one had less monitors, but more green string draped across every square inch of the place. And there was a table in the middle. Square, wooden. Nothing out of the ordinary. Schneep considered backing away, but when he thought about it, there could be clues on the table. Clues as to what this glitch is, and how to get rid of him. So he crept toward it.

There were six objects on the table. Five of them were dolls. Cloth dolls, with yarn for hair and fabric for simple clothes. But Schneep could tell who they were modeled after. The dolls were them. But…broken. A doll in a black hoodie had the cloth of its throat cut, with stuffing spilling out. Another in a vest and with a mustache had green stitches across the small black line that represented its mouth. One with a snapback cap had strings sewn into its wrists and neck. And one wearing a white coat had its little button eyes missing.

Schneep picked that one up, examining it further. The eyes weren’t just missing, they were ripped off, with remnants of string where the buttons would’ve been sewn. He shivered, and put it back on the table. There was still one more doll. This one was…different. It looked like someone had taken apart two other dolls, then stitched them together in a twisted way. The limbs were loosely connected to the torso, which was bleeding stuffing. The little head had a tear right down the middle of its face. And the doll was wearing a cape, a hood, and two masks: blue and white.

“Mein Gott,” Schneep muttered. He was tempted to pick up the broken doll, but it looked like it could fall apart at any moment. And maybe that would have consequences for the two who the doll represented. Because there was no doubt about who that was. What was Anti doing to Jackie and Marvin? He almost didn’t want to think about it. Schneep forced himself to look away from the dolls and toward the last item on the table.

He recognized it. Chase’s gun. How it got here, he didn’t know. But it was loaded. Schneep hesitated, then picked it up. It was heavier than he expected. He had no idea how to use it, other than the general “point and shoot” method, and maybe it wouldn’t even work on Anti, but it made him feel safer.

The last room was at the end of the hall. Schneep had to be honest with himself; he was afraid to check it. But he had to. If Chase was there, if he could…Schneep steeled himself and started walking forward. Every step brought new static from the TV monitors, hiding words inside…You could have talked them out of this…you could have tried harder…you could have spent more time with them…none of this would have happened if you weren’t such a failure…if you weren’t so hopeless…you could have stopped this but you didn’t…

The room at the end of the hall was empty. There were no lights overhead, no strings anywhere. The room was so large and dark that Schneep couldn’t even see the walls. Piles of old TVs were scattered around, their endless static giving off a white glow. “Chase?” Schneep called. His voice echoed.

Of course there wouldn’t be an answer. Schneep clutched Chase’s gun tighter, and started his search. The TV piles weren’t ordered, just stacked at random. But he could remember where he’d been, couldn’t he? Or maybe he could find one of the walls, and walk around the edge of the room. He had to do something.

What was there to do?…did he really think he could do anything good?…he was a failure, an idiot…he couldn’t save his friends…he would do better to just give up…

“Stop!” Schneep shouted. He firmly planted his feet on the ground, not walking anymore. “I know it is you doing that! I know it! And you are doing no good, so stop!”

It was silent except for the static. Then, out of the corner of his eye, he saw the shadow of a figure run past in the white glow of the screen. He spun toward it, instinctively raising Chase’s gun, but he lost it. Laughter echoed through the room. “If you’re so ç͢͝onc̶͝e̶rne͟͟d͞ about my whispers, that means they’re doing their jo̸b͟͢͞, and they’re doing it w͟͟ę͡l̡͡l.”

“I—I am not concerned!” Schneep’s eyes darted about. “It is just very annoying, having to listen to them for this long.”

“Li̕͟a͞r,̸” Anti hissed. “You’re in d̴e̢ni̵al͟, Henrik. Denial of t̶h͏̢̧e͠ t̸r̢ut̶̛h̸̛.”

Another shadowy figure darted past, almost too fast for Schneep to catch. “You do not call me that!” Schneep yelled. “That is for my friends to call me, not—not monsters!”

“How do you know they’re not o̴n̴e̢̕̕ ͡an̢̨d̕ ̨͏th͞͠e s͢͟a̶͏m̧e?” Anti asked.

“Shut up! Shut up!” He spun around, watching the figure rush past him yet again. “I will not have such fucking slander to my friends!”

Anti laughed. “Are they your friends if you’ve tą̧k͝e͢n more from them than g̡iv̸e͢n̷ to them in turn? Are they your f̶̢ri̵̡e͟n͢d̛͡s if you’ve never helped them o̕͞n̡c̸͠͝e in the moment it matters? Are they y͡͠ơu͠r̶̨͠ ̴f͞͏r̡i͢͝en̡d̸s̶ if you di̸̵d͟n͏͢'̴t̨ ̵͞s̕a̶v̧e̶͢ ̷̨͡t̨͟ḩ̕e͢m?”

“You know nothing about this.” Schneep glared into the darkness. He’d find him, he would.

“Avoiding the qu͠e͠͡s̵̶tio͟͞n I see! Are you t̵o̶͞o̸ af̸̨ra͡i͟d̸̛̛ to answer? T͠o͟͠o͞͡ ̶̢a͏f͏̷̵r̸ai͏͢d̴̢, because you know the answer… i̡͞s̸ n̴̨̛ơ̵?”

“You know nothing!” Schneep repeated, screaming. The figure ran past him, and again, and again, while Anti laughed.

“W͏̕͏e̡͟aķ̵̴!̵” he shouted. “W͢o̷̵̸r͞ţ͢h͏l̵̢e̵̵s̨s!̷ Fa̷i̛͏l̶҉ure̛͞!̨͢ You͡'҉ve ne̸ve̵r̛ h̶elpe͝d an̢yǫnȩ aņd̕ y̧ou̧ ̵ n͏̜͎̹e̹̕v̵͖̼̳e̯r̰̥͡ ̡̰̼͓̟͔w̯̙̼ͅi̜̘̲̞̪͇̤l̗͇̟̯l̪̭̮!”

“Get away from me!” Schneep screamed.

Something moved in the corner of his eye. Quickly, Schneep spun around, raised Chase’s gun, and fired. The kickback made him stumble, and he instinctively closed his eyes as the loud bang from the gun drowned out everything else in the room, leaving a ringing in his ears.

Even the static seemed reduced. Schneep opened his eyes and looked at a body sprawled on the ground. Had he done it? Schneep edged forward, staring down at the body.

It started slowly, then built up. A mad laughter, crackling with white noise. “Y͏̶҉̭̟͉̳̪͖o̻͡u̷̢̯̜͔͖͓̦̕ ̩̦̝͕͖̻͞m̨̖͕͔̖̳̕į̝̘͝ͅs̘͖̙̗̰͞ṣ͍e̡҉̗̯͎̰d͓͖͔͢!̱͍̞͍̥͉ͅ”

The light from the TV screens intensified, allowing for better sight. Schneep gasped. “Chase!” he shouted. “No no no no no!”

He threw the gun to the side, then scrambled forward, kneeling by Chase’s side. The bullet had hit him in the chest, and he was losing a lot of blood. Schneep tried to remember what could have been hit…what he could have…

“Chase please answer me!” Schneep shook his friend’s shoulders. There was no reaction, but now Schneep’s training was kicking in. He pressed two fingers to Chase’s wrist, checking for a pulse beneath the stitching. He found nothing. He repeated the process with Chase’s neck, but still nothing. “Chase no you can’t be—!”

Chase’s eyes were still clouded with static, still dull and lifeless. Schneep could feel tears running down his face. “Please, I did not mean—I did not mean—I am sorry, I did not—! Chase, please!”

Schneep felt a hand on his shoulder, but he barely registered it through the panic and the shocked grief. “It doesn’t matter w̕h͠a̵t͠ ̴͠y̡͡ou͝ ̴͟m̸̨e̵͞an̸̨͡t̵̵,” a voice said. “What matters is w̴h̕a͠t ̡̨y̸o̡͡u ̴d̵̕id. And what did you do, He̷n̵̷͢ri̴̛k̸?”

Someone was pulling him away from Chase. He tried to stay with him, he had to, he had to let him know he was sorry, but he was being pulled away. He fought against it, clawing at the ground, legs flailing, but it was not use. He was being taken away, Chase was being taken away, he was sorry, it was his fault, he never does anything right, he was sorry Chase, Chase please wake up, please be fine, please—

A hand grabbed his head and pushed it back, pushed it until the back of his head hit something hard. A warm, prickling sensation started to fill his mind, pulling him down…down…down…and the last thing he saw before the static blocked his vision was Chase’s body…his fault…

Anti watched as the static from the TV crossed through the screen, latching onto the doctor’s head. Schneep slowly stopped struggling, and his eyes filled up with white noise. Not like Chase’s had, where it was a film that you could still see the eyes through. No, they were completely blocked out by static, which then spilled down his cheeks in trails of tears. In the white noise given off by the television, you could hear a voice, crying and shrieking. “ ̵ ̡ ͢͢ ̸̨ ͞ ̸͟ ̛͞ ̧͝ ̸̴ ̴̷̕ ̵ ̸͟ ͟ ̴ ̷̢ ̷͢͡ ̧ ̶̸̡ ̶ ̨ ͢ ̛̕ ̶͞ ̵ ͞ ͏ ̶̡ ͟͝ ̷ ͟ ͡ ͏͠ ̡̧ ͏̴̵ ̸.”

Anti smiled. Perfect. “You can ̵g͏̧et ̴̶͡ųp now,” he said.

The body stirred. Chase sat up, acting perfectly fine despite the bullet lodged in his chest. Anti eyed the bleeding wound. Maybe he should fix that soon. Wouldn’t want his dear friend to bleed to death. But he could handle it a bit longer. “Didn’t I t̢e̕͢l̸̛l y̛o͡u͏̷ the bullet wouldn’t h̢u̵͝r͏t you?” Anti asked, smirking. “And I was r̵̶͢i̴̡̧gh͢͠t̴̨. This is why you tr͏͡u͟s̡̨t̶̸̴ ̢m̨̧e͠͏.”

Chase nodded. “Y̡e͢s͢.͞ ̡I d͏ơn'̧t̡ kn̨ow why I̕ ̴doubted y̕o͢u. I'm͝ ̡so͢r͡r̕y.”

“You’ve realized your m̛iş͡tak̛̕e, so I’ll a̢c͞c̡̕͡e̷p̶t̵͡ ͢͠yo͟͞u̢r ̧a̢͝p̨o͝lo̢g̷̛y̛͞.͟” Anti stood up, then reached down and pulled Chase up as well. He held him tight by the wrist, enjoying the texture of stitches on skin. “Now…we have to drop it off, d̢on͟'̷t̛͡ w̡͡e̵͢͝?͝”

Chase looked down at the empty body. “Y̵e͠s͝.̵” Then a look of confusion managed to make its way onto his expression. “B͏ut...̵w̡hy̶ di̴dn̡'t ̢w̶e͏ ju͞s̡t.͏..͡”

“Why isn’t he l̸̴͞i̡ke̷͡ ̡yo͏̢͝u̸?” Anti leaned closer to Chase, keeping one hand around his wrist and wrapping the other around his neck. Chase showed no reaction. “It͏̶'ş͞ ̵s̷i̕͠mp̨ļ͞e̶,̶̡͟ Chase. He wouldn’t ļe̵̸t̶ ̸̴m̡e̵. You heard how a̸͞͡ng̢r̷̕͝y̵̨ he was. He would have rather b̵̨r̷̡o̵k̶̨e̢̕n than seen the light. So, we had to ge͞t͢͞ ̵r͡į̵d ̶̸o̶f͟ ̵͠hi͞m̡͞, understand?”

I͠ u͡nde͠rst̡a̢nd,” Chase repeated. “W͢hat̛ ḩappene̴d͞?”

Anti walked toward Schneep’s body, kneeling beside it once more. “Don’t worry, he’s still a̢l͠i̶ve. You can check for a heartbeat if you want. I’ve just separated his ş̶̴ou̶̷l͠ from his b̵͠͠o̸̧̨d̷̢y̶̢. For all intents and purposes, this is a coma.”

Anti paused, letting the static fill the air. And with it, the voice trapped inside: “ ̵ ̡ ͢͢ ̸̨ ͞ ̸͟ ̛͞ ̧͝ ̸̴? ̴̷̕ ̵ ̸͟ ͟ ̴ ̷̢ ̷͢͡ ̧ ̶̸̡ ̶ ̨ ͢ ̛̕ ̶͞ ̵ ͞ ͏ ̶̡! ͟͝ ̷ ͟ ͡ ͏͠ ̡̧ ͏̴̵ ̸!”

He smiled. “S͠w̶ee̷t̶̨͢ d̛̕re̛a̵͡m̢͢s͠͝͏, He̛͝n͝͡r͏i̴̸k̶̢͠,” he whispered, though he knew they would be anything but.
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“Look, it’s probably fine, he just…” Jack trailed off. “Okay, no, you’re right, it’s bad.”

JJ nodded firmly, adjusting his mask. It was a recent acquisition, one of those fashionable surgical masks you can order online. This one was blue with a black mustache on it. Jack had gotten it for him, so he could go out without having to show off the stitching.

Jack reread the text Schneep had sent him once again. “Maybe I would’ve done the same thing,” he muttered. “I don’t know. But I think he should’ve at least waited for my reply. When did he get so…impulsive?”

They’d looked everywhere for him. Or at least, everywhere around the hospital. He couldn’t have gotten far. Now, it was four a.m., and they hadn’t seen any sign of Schneep at all. JJ insisted they head back to Jack’s apartment, presumably to get some sleep and continue in the morning. It was hard to tell, as Jack and JJ were still only beginning to learn sign language so most of the time they had to resort to vague gestures.

When they finally got back to Jack’s apartment, it was eerily quiet. Jack noticed. “My neighbors in this apartment usually have their TV on all the time,” he explained to JJ. “No break. I once woke up at five and still heard it. Why stop now?”

JJ didn’t even try to say anything, just grabbed Jack’s forearm nervously.

“And here we are, home sweet home.” Jack stopped in front of his apartment door and fished out the keys. It unlocked with a click. The two of them entered the apartment, shut the door behind them, and then Jack reached over and flipped on the lights.

Schneep was sitting in one of the chairs.

Jack jumped. JJ ducked behind him. “Dude, it’s fine, Schneep is just…back.”

JJ shook his head vigorously. He clearly thought something was up.

“Okay, fine, look, we’ll…talk to him.” Jack cautiously approached. He was having flashbacks to May, and what happened with Chase. But he had to know. “Schneep? Doc?” Jack reached out and touched his shoulder. There was no response, so Jack walked around to get a look at his face…and gasped upon seeing the empty eyes of static and tears.

“What the fuck?” Jack said gently. “JJ? You want to look at this?” JJ, pressed firmly against the wall, shook his head. “I think it’s fine. It’s, like, a different thing. His eyes are…and I don’t see any stitches…” JJ took a couple tentative steps, and when nothing happened he walked right over, though he kept his distance.

“He’s breathing, but he’s not…there…” Jack waved his hand in front of Schneep’s eyes. He shook his shoulders. He punched him lightly in the chest. Nothing. Jack swallowed. “I don’t know if this is worse.”

JJ sat on the sofa, then reached over and grabbed a pen and pad of paper from a nearby end table. He scribbled down, 'Do you think we should wait? To see if something happens?'

“Yeah…yeah, good idea.” Jack sat down next to him.

An hour passed. More. The sun began to rise. Nothing. JJ seemed keen to watch for a while longer, or perhaps he was just too scared to take his eyes away. Jack was…tired. Not just physically from staying up all night, but…mentally. Was being okay just, not a thing that could happen anymore? Was there any way to stop this all? Anti wouldn’t stop by himself. Not until everyone was hurt, everyone was suffering.

And Jack made a decision. His friends wouldn’t be victims anymore. They wouldn’t be in pain anymore. He refused to let it happen. He refused to let Anti win.

He’d do anything for them.

Part Five of The Stitched AU
A JSE Fanfic
[This is part of a completed fanfic series of mine with 24 total chapters. I started this October of 2018 and finished it May of 2021. Chase disappears. While Jack, Schneep, and JJ try to find him, to no avail, he's alone with Anti.]
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Chase couldn’t remember how he got here. He couldn’t remember where “here” was. He’d been home alone late one night, when he’d gotten a text from Jack, explaining that he was outside and needed Chase to open the door for him. The text said it was an emergency. He was expecting something like this. After what happened to JJ two months ago, the boys were constantly on edge. None of them went anywhere without a way to contact the others, usually their phones. So when Chase got that text, he didn’t think anything was odd. He rushed to his front door, only to see nobody there. He remembered going back inside, feeling uneasy, then hearing a low whine coming from…somewhere. He’d gone off to find it, and as it increased in volume his vision began growing dimmer…and dimmer…until he passed out, and the last thing he saw was the glitching outline of a man with glowing eyes.

He’d woken up in a room of red light. His feet dangled a few inches above the floor, and strings were wrapped around his wrists, suspending his arms above him. He’d lost his hat. The room didn’t have windows, or even a door, and was completely void of decoration or furniture. There was no place the red light could’ve been coming from.

At first, he called for help, with no answer, or even indication that anyone heard him. Then he struggled, pulling against the strings, feet flailing, but nothing changed there either. Nothing changed ever. The red light never faded, never flared, never stopped its strange glow. It was low enough to make the empty room seem dark in the corners, but bright enough so that when Chase closed his eyes he could still see it through his eyelids. Nothing he did made any difference to the rest of the room, and that made him want to scream. So he did. And still, everything was the same.

Time must’ve passed. There was no way it couldn’t have. But there were no clocks and nothing he could use as an indication of time. Eventually, he got tired, as humans do, and started to fall asleep. When that happened, something finally changed. The same low whine he’d heard in his house started up again, growing loud for a while, then fading away again. And, after a period of silence, it reappeared and disappeared once more. Then this repeated again. And again. Every time he started to doze off the electric drone would start up, startling him awake, until his eyes were running with tears from deprivation.

It was a while before something finally happened. The strings were digging into his arms, rubbing his skin raw and bruised, and he’d stopped fighting against them long ago. His head hung low, and his neck hurt from not moving it in a long time, but he didn’t care anymore.

The whine returned. It grew more intense then ever before, crackling and breaking. Then it lowered in volume, but didn’t go away completely. Chase didn’t look up as the sound circled around him, slowly. It came closer, stopping in front of him. He still didn’t look up. “Don’t have anything to say, C͞ha̧s̸e͏?” A voice hissed, sounding more like white noise than anything human. “I thought you were the one who n̕e̴ver̴ sh̕ųt ͠u͏p͞.”

Chase twitched a bit, but refused to look at him. He knew who it was, of course. Who else would do something like this?

“ Co͡me ̡no̕w̶, I know this isn’t as e̴a̶͢s̷y͢ as you’re m̵ak̸i̢̡n͡͡g͢͝ ͝m̷e believe,” the static cajoled. “I can f̤̣̮e̛͎̞͉͇̪e̮̣̣̳̠l̞͎̱ it. You just want to m̨a͟k̵e͞ this̛ di͝fficul̶t for me, d͝on’t y̷o̢u?”

Chase didn’t say anything; even if he had the energy, he wouldn’t. A distorted sigh came from the static. Then a hand, not entirely there but not entirely not there, reached out and grabbed his head, forcing it upward. Chase winced and gasped as the sudden movement caused a jolt of pain down his neck. He was staring into the eyes of the demon.

Anti looked the same as ever. Blue eyes and brown hair, just like Chase’s own, mask of shadows covering the upper half of his face, flayed neck with a series of green stitches barely holding him together. “ Th̡at'̴s͡ be͠t̢ter̴,” he smiled. “How are you, C͡h̸ase͡? It’s been a while. Your p̶r͝ett̡y ͡l͝i̧tt͡le̸ neck hasn’t had any more kn̡i̸v͠es held to it?”

“Shut…up,” Chase muttered. It was the best he could manage.

“Ouch, C͢ha͏s͡ȩ. You wound me. And here I was, hoping to have a n̶ice,͡ p͝l͠e͏asant cha̵t̸.” Anti disappeared for a moment, breaking apart and fading away. Chase felt a hand in his hair, fingers gently grabbing strands and then pulling hard, yanking his head backwards. A small sound escaped his throat before he could stop it. “We have plenty of time to… c͓at̟̹c͉͍̜̰̜h̥̱͖̪͢ ͎up̖. Ask me anything, I̸'̴l̷l a̢n͞sw̷e͏r͏.” The hand let go, and Chase’s head flopped back into position.

Chase gritted his teeth. There had to be a trick here. Anti fed off pain and misery, he wouldn’t hand out answers without a price. But the question was, would the answers be worth the cost? Maybe one wouldn’t hurt… “Where’re Jackie and Marvin?” Chase rasped, voice hoarse from non-use.

“Oh, they’re close.” Anti sounded amused. “Even clo͢se̡r͢ t̷ha̷n̕ ̶yo̢u t͝h̨in̶k.”

He reappeared in front of Chase, a slight smile on his face. “Do you hate me, C͝h̨a̴sȩ?” he asked sweetly.

“Wh-what?” The question took him by surprise.

“I said…” Anti leaned forward and lightly grasped Chase’s face. “Do you. Ḩa͝t̵͟͝e̶. M͠e̛?”

“Yeah, course I do.” It only occurred to him that lying was an option after he’d let the truth fall out of his mouth.

“I see.” Anti backed away again. “And wh̴y͟ is that?”

“I…who wouldn’t?” Chase said. His words were a bit slurred. His mouth was moving faster than his tired mind and everything came pouring out before he could think it was a bad idea. “You…first you—first we thought you killed Jackie an’ Marvin, instead you’re doing worse…and you almost killed Jack…and then you tried to—hypnotize Doc, or somethin’…and then you…you fucking maimed JJ and he hasn’t talked to us since—no’ that he can, anymore, but…”

“Oh, C͞ha̸s̛e,” Anti shook his head. “Chase, Chase, you only think this because you can’t see the ͞bi͢g͠g͟er pictu͝re.” A knife appeared in his hand. Chase’s breathing hitched, but Anti merely began playing with it. “Let’s relate this to something you know. Your wife decides to l͢eavę ̶y̴ou͟ and take the kids. The day after the divorce, you burst into your friends’ apartment and begin crying. ‘I’ve l̵ost̸ he͡r,’ you say. ‘I’ve l̕oşt ͟t̵he̛m̢. I can’t do it anymore. I can’t do li͢͝͞fe̴̛ ̸ ͠w͏it͟hout them.’ And your friend does his best to comfort you.”

Chase blinked, confused. He…remembered that. It actually happened. After his first night officially alone, he’d broken down. The next morning he’d gone to the apartment Jackie and Marvin shared. Marvin had let him in, and Chase started crying. He remembered saying that exact phrase…

'“I can’t do it anymore,” he had said, voice choked by tears. “I can’t do it without them.”'

'“Do what, Chase?” Marvin had asked gently.'

'Chase had paused. “Life. I can’t do life without them.”'

'“Oh, Chase, no…” Marvin had pulled him into a hug at that point. “Don’t say shit like that. It…worries me, and I know the others would feel the same way. If you think you can’t do it, then we’ll help you out. That’s what we’re here for.”'

“But what if your friend was also married?” Anti asked. “In fact, what if all your friends were? What if, instead of seeing their marriages crash and burn around them, they continued on with them, h̛a̡p̵py ̨as ̶can ̵be̡? You lost eve̴r̕y̴th̡ing, and they lost n̕o̴̡t̕h̷i͠n̶̨g͡. Wouldn’t that just eat a͢wa̴y̴ at you? Wouldn’t you want them to f͏ee̷l͟ wh͡at y͠ou ͡fe̡lt?” The world cracked and broke. Anti smiled a too-wide smile. “Wouldn’t you want to find your h̷ap͏p͠i̴nes̵s͏ in ̷th͞e͢i͝r s̕͠u̢͞ff̸̴eri̛͡ng̡?”

Anti stopped playing with the knife. He held it tight in his hand, and with a single swipe he cut the strings holding Chase up. With the strings severed, Chase fell to the ground and immediately collapsed, his legs too weak to support him. He wheezed faintly and tried to stand up. But the strings, still wound around his arms, took on a life of their own, the loose ends burying themselves in the solid ground like snakes burrowing through sand. He was stuck.

“Not yet, Ch̛a̷s̛e͏͠.” Anti crouched on the ground next to him. “I’m not done t̛a͡l͏kin͢g ̛to ̵y̸o͝u. I know something you don’t, and I’m sure you’d l͢͝o͟v̷e̸͢ to hear this.”

Chase shook his head. “I’m not…’m not listening to you.”

“ Yo̢͡͡u̶ w̴͝i̷͞l̛̕l̶.” Anti reached out and grabbed the side of Chase’s head. His hand dissolved into pixels, into red and blue and green, and the pixels sank into Chase’s head. Chase blinked and gasped as the electric whining grew, but only within him. It was buzzing in his head, piercing his mind, clouding behind his eyes. At first he wanted to recoil from the sensation, but the longer it went on…

“ Do yo͡ų w̡ant ͝t̴o̵ ̡se͝e y̨o̡u̸r f͎ṛ̗̜͇͖̳͍͠i̙̯̯̗̖̩̙e̳̼̥ͅṋ͝d̤̲̹̦̫s̲̰̻̥̮͎, C̨h̨a̢se̷?” Anti asked, his voice sounding almost layered.

Chase mumbled an affirmative answer.

“Do you want to kn͠o̶w wha̶t h̸a̡pp̵e͟n͡ed to̡ ̛th̛e̷m?”

Chase nodded. The sound of the static, which before had kept him awake, was starting to sound peaceful and calming. His eyelids were so heavy…

“Don’t fall asleep just ̕y̧e̢t̕.” A loud, electric snapping sound brought Chase back out of his own head. He stared dully at Anti, who was grinning. “I want to sh̸ow ̕y̡o̡u ͟some͡t͠h̕in͡g.”

Anti disappeared, turning into fractured shapes for a mere moment. And then he reappeared, but…different. His shirt was more red than black in color, and the slit across his throat had closed a bit. The shadows that usually hid his face were gone, and the blue of his eyes seemed to be a different shade. He smiled, but it wasn’t HIS smile. “Hey there, Chase,” he said. There was no distortion in his voice anymore.

Chase gaped for a moment. Then, he started to cry. “J-Jackie?” he choked out.

Jackie—Anti— Ja͝ckie nodded. “Hi dude. You look terrible.”

“N-not funny.”Chase reached out, patting Jac͢k͡i͠e’s shoulder, then his chest, just to make sure he was there. He wasn’t paying attention to the strings pulling at his arms anymore, or to the static in his mind whispering 'It’s him…it’s your friend…he’s right there…he’s come back to you…you can trust him…'

“Chase, what happened to you? You’re acting a bit strange.”

Without another word, Chase threw himself at Jackie, wrapping his arms around his friend. “Jackie…” he sobbed. “I m-missed you…we thought you and Marv died, and-and then we found out you didn’t and it-it was worse, because-cause we didn’t know…we didn’t know what was hap-happening…Jackie, you’re alright…”

Ja̡c̡ki̕e hushed him. “It’s okay, Chase. I’m alright. Marvin is alright. You are alright. But, you know, it’s not gonna stay that way for long.”

“It-it’s not?” The thought terrified him. Why couldn’t he have his friends back? Why couldn’t everything go back to the way it was?

“No, it’s not. I’m sorry, Chase, but we’re in danger. The world is fucked and upside-down, and we have to fix it. Marvin and I have a plan, but it involves you. You need to help us. Is that okay?”

“Of course it is,” Chase said eagerly. “Anything you need.” He would do it. He would do anything for his friends. He always did.

“Chase, you’re going to have to listen to us no matter what. You’re going to have to do exactly what we say. We know what we’re doing, and if you don’t do as we say, terrible things will happen. Do you understand? Do you agree?”

“Yes̷͢s̨s̢.” The word that came out of his mouth was laced with static, echoing the empty drone inside his mind.

Jackie smiled. “ V̡er̕y g̢ooḑ.” A wave of shadows cloaked the upper part of his face, but that was fine, that was his mask that he always wore. His neck was fine too, it couldn’t have been too serious an injury if he was still walking and talking normally. And his voice was fine, it just sounded like that because he was hearing it through the buzzing inside him. Everything was good. His friend was back. Everything was good. His friend was back.

Anti pulled away from Chase’s embrace, and smiled as he tried to cling to him for as long as possible. The plan had worked. A few days of isolation and sleep deprivation to break down the mental walls, then pulling on Chase’s desperate desire to have the people he cared for return. It may have taken him months to practice his puppeteering and mental tricks, but it was worth it. “Now C̸h͟a͟s̸e͠, there are just a few̨ ̵mo̕re thi̷n͢g̢s to take care of,” he purred. “And then we can get started on the plan. Ǫk̵ay͞?”

Chase nodded, empty eyes never looking away from his “friend.” Anti reached out and grabbed hold of the strings still wrapped around Chase’s arms and wrists. He showed no reaction when Anti pulled on them. Perfect. A tingle of glitches wound around Anti’s fingers, turning into a sewing needle, blood staining its silvery metal. “That’s great. Now, if you would just h͞ol̡d ̨st͡ill…”
.............................................................................................

“Where the fuck is he?!”

“Schneep, calm down!”

Jack and Schneep were meeting in the doctor’s apartment. The living room had become a sort of conspiracy hub, sofas pushed to the side to make room for an enormous city map sprawled on the floor, pictures pinned up on the walls with random sticky notes everywhere in between. Schneep was currently anxiously walking around the perimeter of them map, while Jack was standing to the side, equally anxiously watching his friend pace.

“Calm down?! I think the fuck not!” Schneep ranted. “It has been a week. A week, Jack! None of the other times has Anti attacked one of us and we disappeared for a week! Something bad is happening, I just know it.”

“Well, that’s kind of a given,” Jack pointed out. “But if you’re panicking then your mind isn’t working right. You may overlook something. Not to mention, yesterday I walked in to see you crashed on the floor. I know it’s cliche to say, but you’re no use to Chase if you die of sleep deprivation.”

“Do not be ridiculous. It takes ten days or so to die without sleep. Although hallucinations start in after three or four…” Schneep paused, thinking for a moment before resuming his pacing. “Has JJ said anything about—I mean, has he found anything yet?”

Jack shook his head. “He hasn’t gone back to the shop since…you know. And he won’t let me go get his supplies. So he can’t do anything big. But he’s done some scrying, and hasn’t found anything. It’s…really affecting him.” Jack hesitated, then quietly continued. “He’s getting worse, Schneep. He barely comes out of the guest room in my house anymore. And you’re not sleeping, or eating…we’re falling apart, and Anti knows it.”

Before Schneep could reply, a cheerful ding! chimed from his pocket. Innocent enough, but the doctor stiffened. Carefully, he took out his phone and looks at the text on the screen. His face paled.

“What? What happened?” Jack asked, confused. Then his text alert went off. Jack dug around in his pocket and pulled out his phone as well. “It-it’s Chase,” he said shakily.

“I have gotten the same message I believe.” Schneep showed Jack his phone. The message in question was an address, followed by the words Come now :). “And I do not think it is Chase. I think—I think he is in our phones.”

Jack swallowed nervously. “Can he do that?”

“Apparently. That time in the hospital, when he made me dream…in the dream he talked to me through my phone. We all assumed that was part of it, and not real, but maybe it was. Or, the concept was real.”

“So, then…” Jack glanced back at the message. “We’re gonna go, then?”

“What other choice do we have?”

“…I guess we don’t have one at all. Let’s go.”

The address led them to an empty house. It was in the middle of a busy, normal neighborhood, but it looked abandoned. The windows were boarded up and the yard was overgrown. There was a For Sale sign out front that looked like it had been there for a while. Jack and Schneep took a moment to gather their bearings, then pushed open the warped door and went inside.

The front door led to a hallway that didn’t lead away from the front like it was supposed to, but instead turned immediately to the right. Several old TV sets and a few computer monitors were stacked in piles along the way. Every one was on and showing blank static. The hall lights were off, but the screens provided adequate, if eerie, light. The two of them exchanged wary glances, then started cautiously down the hall.

Eventually the hall opened up into a living room. The furniture was faded in color and the hardwood floor was dusty, save for a few footprints and a long, clean strip that looked like something had been dragged. A single, broken ceiling lamp gave off a flickering yellow light. That pale illumination let Jack and Schneep see Chase, sitting lifelessly on the couch.

Jack made a strangled kind of sound. “Chase?” he called. When there was no answer, he turned to Schneep. “Is he…?” He couldn’t bear to finish that sentence.

Schneep looked at Chase. He wasn’t moving at all, and he looked sick. Thin, off-color. His hat was pulled low over his eyes. “I do not know…” Schneep muttered. “Chase? Can you show us you can hear us?” No response.

Jack took a step forward. When that didn’t elicit a response, he took another, then slowly walked to Chase. Schneep followed after a moment. The floorboards creaked with every step.

Jack sat on the couch next to Chase. “Hello? Chase? Buddy?” he said softly. “We’re here to come get you. Are you ready to go?” No response. “Chase, please.” Jack grabbed Chase’s hand. His fingers brushed something…strange. Frowning, Jack pulled Chase’s hand further into the light—and he gasped, horrified. Green string was stitched around Chase’s wrist, bleeding a bit from the puncture wounds. He checked his other wrist, and saw the same thing.

“Schneep…” Jack whimpered. “Are you…is this…”

Schneep was keeping his distance. He could see the stitching well enough from where he was standing, and he hated it. “It is, Jack,” he said, voice choked. “Anti…seems to like stitching things together.”

Jack could feel the hot sting of tears in his eyes. “Chase, man, c’mon. it’s us.” He took hold of Chase’s shoulders and shook him gently. “It’s us.” The movement dislodged Chase’s cap, shedding a bit more light on his face and neck. The green stitching wrapped around Chase’s neck as well, and his eyes were covered in a film of static. For a moment, Jack just stared. Then the first of the tears came pouring out. He could only hold Chase tight and mutter “Please…please…” trying and failing to get a response. Schneep hovered close, hand covering his mouth in utter shock. His eyes were watering as well.

After a bit, Jack looked at the doctor. “We have to get him…I don’t even know, somewhere safe. Away.”

Schneep nodded. “Yes. Yes, of course. Here, I will help.” The two of them supported Chase between them, one arm flung over each of their shoulders. They staggered back down the hall. The static on the screens hissed.

Chase blinked. And shuddered a bit. Then with a single movement that was way too powerful for his slight build, he pushed Jack away and threw himself at Schneep. Jack crashed against the nearest pile of screens. For a moment the sound of the static whispered in his mind, dazing him. Then he forcefully shook himself out of it. He sat up and saw that Chase had knocked Schneep to the ground. His hands were wrapped around the doctor’s neck, strangling him. Schneep was doing his best to push Chase off of him, but he was unusually strong. A twisted sort of smile was pasted on his face.

“No!” Jack scrambled to his feet and pulled Chase away. He received an elbow to the face for his troubles. He stumbled back, warm blood trickling from his nose. But Chase didn’t stop there. He continued to attack Jack, punches landing much harder than they should have. Jack panicked, and ran back down the down the hall in an effort to get away. He made it back to the living room and skidded to a halt.

Anti was there, standing in the middle of the room with a grin on his face to match Chase’s. “Hello, J̧ack͝ab͟oy̴,” he said. “It’s been t͞oo ̧l͢on̵g͝.”

“Anti,” Jack breathed. “What did you do to Chase?”

“Nothing much.” Anti took a step closer. Jack looked over his shoulder, only to see this twisted version of Chase blocking his exit route. “I just gave him wh̢at he ̛w͞a͟n̢te͝d̶. I made him h̷a͠pp̡͡y̷ ̴ąg͡a̢͟in. Didn’t I, m̡y͢ ̕frie̸n̕d?”

Chase nodded. “ Y͢es..̢.̕I͟’m̴ ̸so͟ ̷h͞ap̨p̡y͠.̕..͠” Jack shuddered to hear the distortion in his voice.

“No,” Jack shook his head. “No, Chase, bro, this isn’t—he—you’re not alright. We’re your friends, dude. You need to snap out of it!”

His pleas had no effect. Chase merely tilted his head to the side. “ Y̡o͠u’r͞e̶ ͞no̕t ̴th̶e̡m..̶.my f͞r͡ien͝ḑs a͡re ̧her͟e̸.͟..̛”

“Isn’t it a̢m̡a̵zi͞n̛g̸ what a week of training can do?” Anti laughed. “Just three days of preparation was all it took, then four more days to get every͝t̢hi͠n̵ģ pe̕rf͢e̕ct once he s̶a͟w t̡he ͠t͢rut͞h. Now we’re reąd͏y̶ ͏f̧o̶r ̴th͢e ne͡x̢t p͏h͢as͞e.”

“Over my dead body.” Schneep had reappeared, standing in the hallway behind Chase. He looked ready to fight, and he stared at Anti with a furious fire in his eyes.

“Don’t be r͟i̴d͢icu̵l̡ous͏, doctor,” Anti said, unbothered. “I wouldn’t give you t͢h̸e ̨sat̷isfac͝tio͝n̕.”

Schneep growled. He grabbed Chase by the arm and tried to pull him away, but Chase shook him off without even looking in his direction.

“ Th͢is̛ ͏demonstr̕aţi̕o͝n͢ ͠is͟ ̸over.” For a moment, reality broke into shadows of red and green, lagging and glitching in a nausea-inducing way. When the world righted itself, Jack and Schneep were standing next to each other, facing Anti and Chase. Anti’s arms were wrapped around Chase, as were a few green glowing strings. Chase’s expression was blank and unconcerned.

“You cannot—!” Schneep lunged forward, but he was too late. Anti and Chase disappeared in a flurry of pixels tied together by red strings. Schneep stumbled forward a few more steps before stopping. “No…” It was amazing how much despair was contained in that single syllable.

“Schneep?” Jack said quietly. “Are you…going to be okay?”

The doctor rounded on him. “No, I am not going to be fucking okay! That is our friend! Anti has—has broken him! Become corrupt! Like he is a puppet master who sees us as—as his to take. How can you stand this?! How are you so fucking calm?!”

Jack didn’t say anything, just wiped his eyes. “I’m not, Schneep.” His voice broke. “I’m not. But you can’t let him win. You can’t let him get to you. If you just…give up now, we lose Chase forever. If you go crazy with revenge, he’s gonna use that against you. I know he will. Please, Schneep…we can’t…we can’t…” He trailed off, unable to find the words. “We’ll get him back. We will.”

Schneep was shaking, his teeth clenched, but he forced himself to close his eyes and take several deep breaths. “Yes, we will get him back,” he said. “And we will get the others back, and make sure Anti can’t hurt anyone ever again.”

“That’s the spirit.” Jack smiled weakly. “Now…we need to tell JJ about all this and start figuring out what to do. Let’s head to my place.”

The two of them left the abandoned house. The static in the screens continued to hiss and whine long after they were gone, crying out, calling the names of the ones who were lost.

A JSE Fanfic
Chapter Fifteen: Ignorance Is Bliss
[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. The boys are scrambling to figure out how to reach Jackie. Meanwhile, those two detectives are starting to realize things in the world aren’t what they thought.]
.............................................................................................

“Please pick up, please pick up, please pick up,” Lydia whispered, listening to the phone ring on the other side. She’d already tried calling Malcolm’s cell three times, and nobody answered. Now she was resorting to calling his roommate.

After some time, the line picked up. “Hello?”

Lydia let out a deep breath of relief. “Hi, Benji. Is Malcolm home? I’ve been trying to call him for an hour now and he hasn’t picked up.”

“Oh yes, he’s been home for a while. Shut up in his room, though. Do you want me to go get him?”

“Yes, thank you.” Lydia waited in silence, tapping her fingers nervously on the arm of her couch she was sitting on. It was quiet in her apartment, with Rachel having already gone to bed. Over the line she heard footsteps and then a knock on the door, followed by quiet conversation.

“Hey, Lyd, what’s up?” Malcolm’s voice had a shaky note to it. “It’s pretty late, what’re you calling for?”

“Just making sure you got home alright after the late shift,” Lydia said slowly. “Y’know, with how far away you live from the station.”

“I’m fine, I’m fine, I took a shortcut. Is that everything?”

Lydia bit her lip. “Why weren’t you picking up, then? I called your cell three times before I decided to call Benji.”

“My phone…broke,” Malcolm said slowly.

“Broke?!”

“Broke. While I was on the way home.” A pause. “Anything else?”

“What’s wrong, Malcolm?” Lydia asked.

“Noth-nothing’s wrong!”

“I know you well enough to tell when something’s up,” Lydia said in a low voice. “And I can tell that you’re kinda freaked out right now. So what’s wrong?”

For a moment, there was nothing but interference on the phone line. And then: “Do you…want to meet up tomorrow? I know we have the day off, and maybe…we could meet at the park? Around one or one-thirty? And I can tell you what happened then.”

“You can just…tell me over the phone—”

“No!” Lydia had to lean back from the phone after that word was screamed in her ear. “I—I mean, no, that’d probably be a bad idea. Actually, when we meet up, can you leave your phone at home?”

“Why on Earth—”

“Lydia. Trust me on this.”

Malcolm’s tone silenced her. “Alright, then. I’ll see you tomorrow, one o’clock?”

“Yeah. Bye, Lyd. See ya tomorrow.”
.............................................................................................

Since they weren’t working that day, Lydia didn’t wear the pantsuit she wore for work. But, she noted, her button-down shirt was still more professional than the purple hoodie Malcolm wore every chance he got. He was currently hiding in the hood, avoiding looking at her while the two of them sat on one of the benches next to a path. “So…?” Lydia prompted.

Malcolm sighed. “I…fuck, I don’t know where to start.”

“Well, it can’t be that hard.” When Malcolm didn’t answer, Lydia sighed and continued. “Look, you weren’t this on edge when you left the station last night. So something must’ve happened between you leaving there and getting home. Your phone…broke, or whatever, so does that have anything to do with this? I bet if you just share what’s on your mind, you’ll feel better. Or if you don’t, I can help you out with whatever it was.”

“I saw a demon,” Malcolm blurted out.

Lydia blinked. “Uh, that was a serious offering, Mal.”

“No no no, really,” Malcolm hurried to say. “So, I took a shortcut through the north part of town—”

“Are you insane?! Do you even know how many dispatches are sent there every week?!”

“Yeah, yeah, but nothing’s ever happened to me there. I know the spaces to avoid. But, uh, I ended up seeing that vigilante in red. He seemed to be in a hurry, and I just…followed him. And, well…”

Lydia listened in silence as Malcolm spilled out everything that happened the previous night. From the vigilante meeting with that magician, the suspect in the Brody case, to the vigilante turning out to be Jackie Parker, another part of the case, to the most insane details: the magician destroying Malcolm’s phone with what was apparently real magic, to him running home, and seeing something out of the corner of his eye…

“It was a demon, I know it was,” Malcolm finished, eyes wide. “It—it disappeared, but I could hear it, like—like static. And I think it was smiling at me.”

Lydia leaned back, staring at her partner. “Mal, are you off your meds?”

“No, no, I am not!” Malcolm slapped his leg with the flat palm of his hand. “This is a different issue! I’ve just had all of my life and beliefs thrown out of balance, because fucking demons don’t exist, except they do! Fuck!”

“Okay, okay, calm down, dude,” Lydia patted his back in a soothing manner. She didn’t quite understand what was happening. The two of them were skeptics, they’d always been, but now Malcolm was shaking like a leaf and claiming he’d seen magic.

“You don’t believe me,” Malcolm said, narrowing his eyes.

“Well…no,” Lydia admitted. “Honestly, I would be calling Benji and asking him if you’d really been taking your medication, if you hadn’t insisted I leave my phone at home.”

“I think it can use phones to watch people,” Malcolm said, folding his arms and shrinking a bit. “And I know that sounds like a paranoid delusion, but it’s the only conclusion I’ve drawn for everything that happened.”

Lydia sighed deeply. “Look, if you’re sure about this, then I’m not gonna talk you out of it. But I’m gonna ask you to double-check with Benji about the meds.”

“Alright, alright,” Malcolm relented. “But I’m pretty sure I’ve been taking them like I’m supposed to.” He stood up. “And now I’m gonna…I’m gonna go home, if that’s alright with you. I don’t…really feel like being out and about.”

Lydia nodded. “Fair enough. Get some rest, dude. I’ll see you later.” After Malcolm had walked out of sight, she too stood up, and started in the opposite direction. She really didn’t believe his story about magic and demons. But she did believe that he saw the vigilante meet with that magician. And that he figured out who the vigilante actually was beneath that costume. Technically, she wasn’t on duty today. But that didn’t mean she couldn’t, say, go visit a certain Mr. Parker in a certain apartment.

She didn’t want to arrest the vigilante like some of the more extreme members of the department did. She just wanted him to stop, and leave the crime-fighting to the ones whose job it was. This wasn’t a comic book; running around in a mask and hooded jumpsuit just made you look like an idiot, even if you’d managed to actually catch a fair number of criminals. It didn’t matter what the end result was, just what you did to get there. And vigilantism put yourself and others in danger.

Not to mention, if she went to talk to him…he could tell her what really happened last night with Malcolm. He could tell her that her best friend wasn’t losing it. Or maybe he could tell her he was, but support her in the efforts to help him.

But first, she needed to stop by her apartment. She’d need backup for this.
.............................................................................................

“So, let me get this straight,” Rachel said, not taking the eyes off the road while she drove. “Malcolm follows this vigilante last night. Finds out who he is, and that he’s meeting with someone wanted by the police. Then he gets caught eavesdropping, the guy steals his phone, blasts it with bloody green lightning, am I getting that right?”

“Yep,” Lydia nodded. “We’re getting close to the apartment complex, by the way.”

“I see. And, after he sees this happen, he seeing a…floating eyeball?”

“That’s what he said.”

“And gets threatened by the wanted man, runs, and sees a demon that can apparently use phones as its own personal spy cameras.”

“Yep.”

Rachel whistled. “And now you’re planning on confronting this vigilante man in the hopes that he can corroborate Malcolm’s story?”

“No, I’m confronting the vigilante man in the hopes that he can explain what happened, and I can talk him out of crime-fighting.”

“And you need me for this?”

“Figured I might,” Lydia shrugged. “You have your whole lawyer-talk thing going on. You can be pretty persuasive.”

“Aw, thank you, love. Is this the building?”

“Yeah, just pull up in that lot over there, we can walk.”

A few minutes later, the two of them were outside Jackie Parker’s apartment door, knocking. Or, more accurately, Lydia was banging on the door while Rachel was standing off to the side, watching with a resigned look. “Mr. Parker, I know you’re in there!” Lydia was shouting. “I really need to talk to you! Don’t worry, you’re not in trouble or anything.”

“I think that would make him think he was, wouldn’t it?” Rachel pointed out.

Lydia made a shush sound. After a few silent seconds, she continued banging, even harder this time. “Parker, open up! This is really important! So I’m demanding at this point that you open this door!”

The door swung open. Not all the way open, but enough for a person to stick their head out of the apartment inside “Will you ever learn how to manners, detective?!”

Lydia blinked in surprise. “You’re not Parker. You’re that doctor fellow. What are you doing here?”

He scowled, folding his arms. It was indeed the same doctor from last week, just wearing a turtleneck sweater instead of a hoodie, with the addition of a pair of glasses. “Well, I live here,” he said sharply.

“You do not. You have an apartment on Greenway.” Lydia narrowed her eyes. “Though I suppose it’s possible that a mysterious disappearance for NINE ENTIRE MONTHS with no explanation whatsoever could lead to them selling it.”

“Precisely.” The doctor adjusted his glasses. “Now, what is so important that the police have come to break down my friend’s door?”

Rachel poked her head in between the two, making Lydia realize that she’d been subconsciously leaning closer to the doctor, edging in. “Well, it’s not the police actually. Hi, my name is Rachel Kikelomo, are you that doctor with the strange last name that Lydia won’t shut up about for the past week?”

The doctor took a step back. “If she has been complaining about a Dr. Schneeplestein, then yes, I think I am. And…you are not a member of the police, are you?”

“Well, technically I’m a member of the judicial system, being a lawyer and all,” Rachel said coolly. “But I’m not here in that capacity. And Lydia is not here as a detective, since today she is off-duty.”

Lydia coughed awkwardly. “Rachel is my…partner. She drove me here and is…support.”

“Ah! I see!” The doctor raised an eyebrow with a smile. “Well, in that case, this is slightly better. We have had enough of police running around. But you are looking for Jackie, are you not?”

Lydia nodded.

“I—I’m afraid he’s not here.”

“Not here?!” Lydia repeated incredulously. “Where else could he be?”

“Well, he has a job, you understand.”

There was something more to it. Lydia noticed the way the doctor’s shoulders had tensed, the way he was very deliberately blocking her view of the rest of the apartment, the way his voice had cracked. “Well, can I have his cell number to call him then?” she said calmly.

“I do not think—I do not think he would appreciate me giving that out to you.” The doctor shifted on his feet.

“Well, I guess that’s understandable.” Lydia leaned forward. “But what isn’t, is the fact that you seem to be hiding something.”

The doctor bristled. “I do not appreciate such accusations.”

“It’s not an accusation if it’s the truth.”

Rachel opened her mouth to say something, then decided against it. She took a step back. She’d been with Lydia long enough to know when she was getting ready to do something rash.

“Even if it was, which it isn’t,” the doctor continued, “since you are not on duty, and would not have a warrant anyway, you must leave when I ask you to, and cannot come inside.”

“Oh, really?” Lydia backed up a few steps, looking for all the world like she was retreating. And then she rushed forward and threw her weight against the door. It flew open, and she landed flat on her face inside the apartment. She groaned. Honestly, she’d been expecting more resistance, apparently the doctor wasn’t as strong as she’d thought, which still wasn’t that strong.

She climbed to her feet and looked around the apartment living area. This was the second time she’d been in here, and it looked basically exactly the same. Not only because the furniture and everything was the same, but also because the same collection of people were inside. Brody was curled up asleep on the beanbag, arms wrapped around his head like he was protecting himself from something. Sitting on the couch was a man who she couldn’t quite remember the name of, but who was dressed in a fancy vest and bow tie. His hands were frozen in midair, apparently having been interrupted in the middle of making a gesture of some sort. Next to him was—it was that crazy magician fellow. He was holding a black wand with white tips in his right hand, and had a strange book open, propped against his left hand. Both of them were staring at her like they’d been caught with their hands in the cookie jar.

“I’m really terribly sorry about all this,” Rachel sighed, entering the apartment. “Are you alright doctor? She pushed you right over.”

“Yes, I am—I am fine,” the doctor said, sitting up from where Lydia had knocked him down in her rush to get into the apartment. He accepted Rachel’s offered hand and let her pull him to his feet.

The magician snapped his book shut. “What the fuck are you doing here?” he growled.

“Well, certainly not looking for you,” Lydia growled right back. “I just wanted to find Mr. Parker. Though, you know, now that I’m thinking about it, you could probably tell me the same things.”

“Nope, not doing this, goodbye.” The magician stood up, but was interrupted from leaving when the other man—Lydia was pretty sure his name started with a J—grabbed his arm. The magician looked down and watched as the man made some gestures, too quick for Lydia to catch but apparently he understood perfectly. “Fine. Fine, one chance.” He plopped back onto the couch and glared at Lydia.

She sighed deeply. “Look, Mr. Moore, if I’d seen you even just yesterday, I one hundred percent would be calling the police right now. But apparently Malcolm heard you talking with the vigilante last night—who turned out to be Mr. Parker—about finding the Brody kids and getting them back, so now I’m in doubts that your confession was actually real.”

“Well, I really confessed, didn’t I? It’s not like one of my friends was about to get detained and most likely ultimately arrested, probably eventually giving in to his CLINICAL DEPRESSION again, and thus probably giving the real culprit what he wanted, which pressured me into saying whatever I had to in order to make sure that didn’t happen.”

Lydia truly, honestly didn’t know how to respond to that dump of information and sarcasm. Luckily, Rachel jumped in. “So it sounds to me as if you were just protecting your friend there,” she said. “Possibly not only from the police, but from whoever really took the Brody children?”

The magician stared at her. “I didn’t say I knew who took the kids.”

Rachel chuckled. “I never said you were implying you did. But the fact that you assumed that says a lot.”

“Well…fuck.” He slumped a bit deeper into the couch cushions. The other man next to him was smiling. “Don’t give me that look, JJ. That’s called a ‘shit-eating grin’ and it’s not something you give to your friends.” The man—JJ, apparently—gestured more. “Oh, shut up.”

“You KNOW who took the kids?!” Lydia gaped. “Well, why didn’t you tell us?! We could’ve used that lead, and avoided almost arresting him.” She pointed at where Brody was sleeping. “He must look a lot like you guys, if we believe the security footage. Is that why you didn’t say anything? Because you thought ‘there are already five of us, they won’t believe one more exists’?”

The doctor coughed. “It is bit more…complicated than that, I’m afraid.”

“What? Are you all quintuplets or something?” Lydia threw her hands up in the air. “Can’t get any more absurd than this!”

“Ah, love,” Rachel piped up. “Do you still want to see the vigilante man? I thought you intended to confront him at some point.”

Lydia had almost forgotten about the fact that she now knew who the vigilante in red was. “Yes, yes I do,” she said. “Is he really at work? Or are you all just hiding here like—like cowards?”

Silence. The three awake men exchanged sad looks. “He’s…not at work,” the magician admitted. “But he’s…not…here, either.”

Lydia took in the sad glances, the awkward explanation. “…something happened, didn’t it?” she asked softly. “Something happened to him.”

“The less you know, the safer you are,” the magician said, tapping the wand against his leg. “But…yeah. We’re…working on fixing that. Have been since last night, actually. Chase gave in and crashed, as you see. But the rest of us…”

“I’m…sorry,” Lydia whispered. She’d just barged right in here, in the middle of their crisis situation, and unknowingly made everything worse. You’d think that she’d learn how to think things through in her years as a detective, but nope. She’d always trusted the thinking to Malcolm.

The silent man, JJ, made a few small gestures. “He wants to let you know it’s okay, you didn’t know,” the magician said. “It’s, uh, sign language.”

“I see,” Lydia said. She wanted to ask more, to know more, but she couldn’t tread on their hearts anymore. But… “Just…one more thing. Last night, Malcolm said he ran into Parker and you, and he…saw some strange things.”

The magician raised an eyebrow. “You mean, like this?” He snapped his fingers, and a small burst of green sparks and fire flew out from the site of impact.

“Holy shit!” Lydia gasped, stumbling back a few steps.

“Hmm, wha…?” There was a sudden surge of movement as Brody opened his eyes and stretched. “Wha’s happ’ning?”

“Good morning, Chase!” The doctor waved from his spot by the door. “Or should I say good afternoon, because you fell asleep earlier this morning. Sorry about the commotion, I think the detective was just leaving?”

“Detective?” Brody blinked the tired out of his eyes and stared at Lydia with no recognition whatsoever.

“Yes, the detective lady,” the doctor continued. “From the case about the kids. She wanted to talk to Jackie, though I’m still not sure why.”

“Th’ kids?” Brody looked confused for a moment more before suddenly bolting straight into a sitting position. “Fuck, right, the kids! Oh my god, I’m so—god, I must really be tired, damn, I can’t believe I forgot they—fuck, I’m horrible.”

“You are not horrible, you have a lot on your mind, and just woke up.” The doctor walked over and sat on the beanbag next to Chase. “Is fine.”

“Alright, if you say so.” Brody rubbed his eyes, then looked over at Lydia. “Did you…want to talk about something?”

“It wasn’t about the case,” Lydia hurried to say. “It’s just—my partner, last night he saw your friends talk, and then some…unusual stuff happened, and I just wanted to make sure he wasn’t…imagining things.” She glanced over at the magician. “But apparently, he was right. Magic is real, I…fuck.” She looked at Rachel. “Tell me I didn’t hallucinate that.”

“The sparks?” Rachel looked a bit pale. “You did not. That is…some new things to take into account…”

“Yeah, no shit.” Lydia was starting to feel a bit dizzy, which was to be expected when one’s world got totally turned upside-down. Magic was real…she looked at the magician. “If…you really can do that, then…Malcolm, my partner, he saw some more things. A floating eyeball—”

“Sam,” Brody said. “They…were with Jackie. We need to find them too.”

Ah. It had a name. And existed. Fantastic. Lydia could feel a stress headache blossoming. “He also thought he saw…he said it was a demon, following him?”

The atmosphere in the room immediately changed, becoming sharper, more tense. All of the men exchanged glances. JJ signed something. “He said don’t think about it,” the magician translated. “Or, well, it sounded a bit more polite the way he spelled it out. But that’s the gist.”

Lydia stared. “Are you telling me…that demons exist?”

JJ signed something else, very rapidly. “They do, but this isn’t…that,” the magician translated once more. “It’s very complicated.”

“I beg your pardon, but why can’t we learn more?” Rachel asked. “Wouldn’t that be better to prepare ourselves?”

“Not when knowing this thing can draw his attention to you,” the doctor said in a hushed voice. “Not when he gets stronger the more people know. And quite a few know already.”

“Ignorance is bliss,” Brody said. “Really. Just forget about it, and you’ll be fine. Tell your partner to forget too.”

“I…don’t quite get it, but I’ll believe you, I guess,” Lydia said slowly. Maybe she should just forget this whole thing ever happened. Go about her business like nothing had changed. It would probably be better for her mental health that way. “Rachel, I’m ready to go now. You?”

“Yes, yes, we should,” Rachel backed out the door, and Lydia followed her. “Thank you for accommodating us.”

“It was no trouble,” the doctor muttered, clearly implying it was.

“Alright, well,” Lydia said awkwardly. “Guess I might be seeing you?”

“Hope you don’t!” The magician called, earning himself a smack on the ear from JJ.

“Yeah, well, same, honestly. Bye.” Lydia shut the door.

The boys listened to her and Rachel’s footsteps recede down the hall. When they could no longer be heard, Marvin opened up the book again. “Okay, let’s give it a couple more go’s,” he said.

'Are you quite sure about that?' JJ asked. 'You’re starting to develop those black bags under your eyes. Practicing all night without sleep can’t be good for your soul and body.'

“I’ll be fine,” Marvin shrugged. “I think learning how to open dimensional portals is a bit more important than sleep.”

“Jamie is right,” Schneep said. “If you do not sleep, you are no good to anyone.”

“Says the guy who runs on coffee like a car runs on oil.” Chase rolled his eyes. “Hypocrite.”

“Cars don’t run on oil,” Marvin pointed out.

“Oh, shut your face, I’m tired.” Chase yawned, as if to accentuate this. “I was having a good time, and then that detective lady and that other one woke me up. Who was that, again? Did she ever introduce herself?”

“That lady was a lawyer, and she was the detective’s girlfriend,” Schneep explained. “At least, I assume so. She was introduced as a partner, in that sort of awkward way you do when you are not sure where the other party stands.”

“I see,” Marvin hummed. He gripped his wand tightly and swirled it in a circle. Green whisps appeared and whirled about for a few seconds before dissipating. Marvin frowned. “That was a fluke, it didn’t even get close but I can do it better next time.”

'I don’t believe you can,' JJ signed with a sigh. 'I think you’re severely draining your energy, and you should really sleep in order to recover it.'

“I’ll sleep when I’m dead, which could be soon if I don’t figure out how the fuck to get Jackie back and stick it in that—that glitch bitch’s face.”

Chase wheezed, and then leaned over as he devolved into laughter. “Okay, okay, I love it,” he said after a while. “That’s the best thing I’ve heard in ten months.”

“He would not like that.” Schneep sounded vaguely amused by the idea.

JJ shook his head. 'Clearly, you are all loopy from lack of sleep. We all need to go to bed, NOW.' He emphasized the “now” part by making the sign a bit sharper than it normally would be.

“Okay, fine, maybe you’re right,” Chase relented. “Marv, bedtime.”

“Don’t try to dad me, it’s not gonna work,” Marvin grumbled, rereading the instructions for the spell.

“Do not make me count to five,” Schneep added with a smile.

“Two dads! Ay!” Chase made finger guns. “Now you have to listen.”

Marvin closed his eyes and sighed deeply. “Alright, fine.” He closed the book. “But once I wake up, I’m going straight back to working on this. We’re gonna have to double up if we want to use the beds here. Dibs on the one in Jackie’s room.”

Yet, he still couldn’t sleep, even an hour after everyone else had crashed. It wasn’t for lack of trying, or for lack of exhaustion. But he couldn’t stop thinking. His thoughts kept whirling through his mind in a cyclone, unable to halt for one minute. It seemed like everyone had been pretty safe during the week he was away. Nothing had happened until he ran into Jackie and Sam, and now look at where Jackie was.

Maybe…maybe there was a reason for that. He was the only one of the group with power. And he was the only one who…maybe stood a chance against him. Maybe that was enough to earn his attention.

He slipped out of the bed. He grabbed a pen and piece of paper from on top of one of Jackie’s dressers, scribbling a note to the others before creeping out into the main living area of the apartment. He put the note on the coffee table, then opened the window to the fire escape and climbed through.

He’d find a solution on his own. And if he drew Anti’s attention to him in the process, what of it? At least then it would be away from the others. At least this way, they’d be a little bit safer. They wouldn’t know anything about where he was or what he was doing, and it would be fine that way. After all, not knowing was a blanket of protection.
.............................................................................................

In another world entirely, someone was watching him leave through a broken computer screen, the only one that was lit up on top of a pile of more shattered screens. Its plug was dangling limply, but the picture was crystal clear. He was screaming at Marvin, telling him to turn around, to go back so he could protect them, to remember that there was safety in numbers. When Marvin didn’t listen, he banged his fist against the screen in a fit of frustration, making the image cut off entirely. Tears were threatening the corners of his eyes.

The pile shifted beneath his feet. When he tried to stand up, cords wrapped around his wrists. When he tried to kick his feet free, wires wrapped around his ankles. There was laughter, more laughter, seemingly as ever-present as the red glow all around. The cables dragged him down and he disappeared.