Part Seventeen of the Inverted AU
A JSE Fanfic
[This is part of a fic series I wrote from December 2018 to August 2021. Jack arrives in Los Angeles with Anti, ready to move on and put everything of the last two years behind him. But the group of five aren't as willing to move on. Or at least...not all of them are.]
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The Los Angeles airport was always busy. People bustling about and dragging suitcases behind them, or sitting at those tiny airport stores and restaurants. It was pretty late at night, and tiny kids were falling asleep in the departure area.

A flight had just arrived, and people were pouring out of the nearest terminal and into the airport proper. A man with green hair and a black hoodie, dragging a single suitcase behind him, quickly untangled himself from the crowd of passengers at the baggage claim and leaned against the nearest wall. He pulled a phone out of his pocket. His eyebrows raised at the time difference. Lost eight hours, that couldn’t be good for his sleep schedule. He unlocked the phone and opened his web browser.

“What are you doing?”

Jack jumped, looking to his left and seeing there was someone there who wasn’t there just a second ago. This man looked just like him, but with brown hair, and wearing an eye-patch and green scarf. He was leaning over Jack’s shoulder, looking at his phone screen.

“Don’t DO that,” Jack sighed. “At least not without warning.”

“Okay. What are you doing?”

Jack turned his attention back to the phone. “I’m looking for the nearest place I can buy recording equipment,” he explained. “I missed the uploads for the last two days, everyone must be freaking out.”

Anti raised an eyebrow. “Jack.”

“What?”

“Don’t.”

“What? I can’t just NOT upload.” Jack started typing into the search bar. “There’s got to be a place nearby that sells the same sort of equipment, it’s Los Angeles.”

“Jack. I really don’t think you should.”

“Why not? It’s not like I can upload anything I have prerecorded, those are all back at that house.” He paused. “Come to think of it, I should probably make some sort of announcement that explains what happened.”

“Jack.”

“Look, if you’re worried about…about them, then I’m sure they won’t find me through a few videos. Provided I don’t vlog or anything. Besides, I don’t think anyone could beat your sweet hacking skills.”

“Good point, but that’s not—” Anti sighed. Jack wasn’t paying attention, just staring at the phone screen. He’d have to try something else. The browser on the tiny phone screen froze, then closed all on its own. The display glitched for a moment, and suddenly the front-facing camera was open.

“Anti, what are—” Jack stopped. He hadn’t seen himself in a while. At least, not without a mental film of “everything is fine” distorting his perception. He looked…he looked awful. His thin face was so pale, and the circles under his eyes were so dark, that he resembled a ghost. “Oh…” he said quietly.

“Yeah, you look like shit,” Anti commented. “And I’m sure you feel that way, too. You’ve been stressed out for almost two years straight, that wrecks your system. So just. Don’t.”

“I…” Jack didn’t want to disappoint the viewers. He didn’t want to let anyone down, make them angry. But…he was tired. It hadn’t really hit him until now that he was so very, very tired. He couldn’t keep this up anymore. “I don’t want to stop forever. I guess I can…explain that I need to take a break.”

“Alright. Do that.” Anti turned to face the airport at large. “So, where to next?”

“A friend offered to pick me up,” Jack explained, pushing away from the way and starting to head outside. Anti kept pace with him. “You’re in my phone, aren’t you? Didn’t you see him text me the moment we landed?”

“Wasn’t paying attention to that,” Anti shrugged. “How’s Sam?”

Jack reached inside his hoodie pocket. The little eye was a bit bigger than a tennis ball, which meant they were barely small enough to fit inside the overlarge pocket without raising suspicion. And they were growing every day, pretty soon they’d have to find other places to hide. But for now, they were able to hide inside a pocket and snuggle up to Jack’s hand when he checked on them. “They’re resting,” Jack said with a slight smile.

Outside, cars and shuttles were lined up, ready to pick up passengers and deliver them to their next location. Jack scanned the length. His friend had texted him with a description of the car to look for. Or, actually, the van. Jack had half-thought it was a joke at the time, but once he looked along the line, there was no mistaking it.

“Hey Jack! Jack Spedicey! I’m over here!”

Jack grinned and sped up, walking along the sidewalk with Anti trailing behind him. “Hey, you made it! Honestly, I’m not reassured by the white van, I’m not sure if you’re giving me a ride or kidnapping me.”

“Uhhh, yes.” Jack’s friend laughed. “Hey, c’mere.” Once Jack was close enough, he pulled him into a short hug. Jack stiffened, just barely noticeably. Anti watched the interaction closely. He was simultaneously going through the friend’s phone, looking for anything suspicious.

Jack glanced over at Anti. “Oh hey, lemme introduce you guys. Anti, this is Mark, he’s the friend I was telling you about. Mark, this is Anti, he’s my—my brother.”

“Oh hi, nice to meet you.” Mark held out his hand for a shake. Anti didn’t oblige, just staring at him.

“Uh…he doesn’t do contact,” Jack explained.

“Oh, okay, that’s cool.” Mark dropped his hand. “Anti, huh? Where’d that name come from?”

“I don’t know,” Anti said. “It just did.”

Mark laughed. “Well, alright. Hey, I mean, it’s better than the origin of mine. I was named after this actor my dad liked.”

“Well, that’s kinda cool,” Jack said.

“It would be if he hadn’t been an absolute dick.” The sentence dissolved into giggles at the end. Jack smiled too. “Anyway, we’re wasting time. Do you know which hotel you’re staying at?”

“I’ll plug it into your GPS,” Jack offered. He and Anti had debated about the safety of staying in a hotel versus staying with a friend, and eventually the hotel won out, and Anti reserved a reservation online.

“Okay. Have any more luggage?” Mark gave a glance to Jack’s single suitcase.

“No.”

“You said you were staying for a while, though?”

“Y-yeah…” Jack looked fairly uncomfortable. Anti’s ability to glitch objects had been very helpful in getting Jack’s clothes and personal items out of that house, but they’d been in a hurry and couldn’t get too many.

Something flickered across Mark’s face for a second, but he covered it up with a smile quickly enough. “Well let’s get going, then. Don’t want to get there too late.” He slid open the door of the van. “Welcome to America, dude.”
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Only an hour later, and Jack was checked into the hotel. The room was nice, fairly big with a sofa, a desk, a coffee table, and a pair of chairs. There was only one bed, but that was okay since Anti didn’t sleep. He was more interested in the TV that came with the room, immediately causing it to flicker between channels and run through with static.

Jack took Sam out of his pocket and set them on the desk, where they slowly wiggled their nerve-tail as they came out of their resting state. “Hey, buddy,” Jack said. He took off his hoodie, bunching it up in a pile on the desk. Sam immediately hopped onto it, burrowing into the folds. “How you doing?” Sam replied that they were doing okay. “You like the room?” Sam thought that it was a bit cold, but anything was better than the house. “You got me there.”

Anti hopped onto the sofa, sitting on the back of it instead of the cushions. He relaxed, and slowly his form dissolved a bit, glitching and twitching as he became translucent. “W̡el̸l?̧” he asked, the crackling layer of distortion returning to his voice. “Now what?”

Jack threw his suitcase onto the bed. “Guess now, I tell everyone that I’m gonna…go a while without making videos.” He took out his phone. “Guess a quick series of tweets is better than nothing.” He hesitated for a moment. “Though…I mean, I can make a video with this. Just a short thing that I can upload, that would be better for people. What do you think?”

“Do which one you like more,” Anti said offhandedly. “You don’t need to ask me.”

“But…what do you think I should do?”

“Jack, I don’t care. It’s your channel, your community, do what you think is best.” Anti’s eye narrowed. “Why are you even asking? This doesn’t even need me.”

Jack started. “I…don’t know.” Mostly habit. A habit he’d picked up in the last two years. He shivered. “I’m gonna make a phone vlog.”

“You do that. Then what?”

“Well…” Jack hesitated. “You heard the conversation I was having with Mark in the van?”

“The one where he suggests you come visit his house and you suggested tomorrow evening? Yeah.”

“You’re…okay with that?”

“Jack, for the love of gods, stop asking me for permission,” Anti said, exasperated. “I’m your friend, but you have your own life. And unless you do something stupid that endangers said life, do what you want with it.” He paused, and his voice grew softer. “You don’t need to constantly ask people if you’re allowed to do things.”

Jack’s eyes went out of focus as he stared at nothing. “Yeah…you’re right.” He straightened, and repeated the words a bit more firmly. “You’re right. I shouldn’t be doing this. I’m going to film a phone vlog, and then I’m gonna go to sleep, and then I’m going to wake up and eventually go over to visit Mark.”

“There you go!” Anti cracked a smile. “Meanwhile, I’m going to do some…reconnaissance. Make sure the area is safe. Talk to you later.” And he faded away into a shadow of static, leaving an outline sitting on the sofa.

Jack stared at it for a second. Guess he was checking out the local news. Hopefully he wasn’t doing too much online stalking, or he’d have to give him yet another lecture about invading privacy. Jack sighed, gave Sam another glance, and started the recording. “Hey guys. So, you probably noticed the sudden lack of videos. I saw everyone freaking out online, and I really appreciate your guys’ concern, but I’m alright. It’s just that…well, things came up. I don’t have time to explain everything, but basically…”
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Halfway across the world, hours later, four people were gathered around a computer screen. They watched intently as the playing video wrapped up. “…So, yeah, I hope you guys won’t mind the time without videos, but I think it’ll really be good for me. I don’t know how long it’ll be, but hopefully not too long. So thank you for your patience, and thank you for your support, and I promise I’ll see you all soon.”

“Play it again, play it again,” Marvin demanded, leaning closer.

Jackie, the one holding the mouse, glared at him. “Why?”

“Well, maybe he let something slip about where he is. Or at least narrow down the location.”

“And why do we care about where Jack is?”

“Uh, because every second he’s away is a second we’re in danger?” Marvin drawled. “Because there’s literally nothing stopping him from going to the fucking police and turning us in? And I wouldn’t be surprised if he and the bitch somehow managed to track down the ABIM to tell them about Jameson and me. So, play it again.”

He had a point. Enough of a point to make Jackie consider it. But in the end, what he did instead was close the web page and say, “Nah.”

“You absolute fuckwad!” Marvin’s eyes flared purple, and suddenly Jackie was flown to the side, knocking over the room’s swivel chair and hitting the wall with a heavy whack! “Gimme that mouse.” He grabbed said mouse, reopened YouTube, and searched up the video again.

Jackie shook himself out of the daze he’d been knocked into when his head hit the wall. “For fuck’s sake, you’re being unreasonable!”

“Me? Unreasonable?” Marvin placed a hand on his chest with an exaggerated fake gasp. “I thought you knew me better than that.” His expression dropped and he turned back around. “Now get the fuck out of here or I’ll throw you at the wall again. This time, I’ll toss you THROUGH it.”

{I’d prefer if you didn’t,} Jameson jumped in, running his fingers along the edge of his newly-repaired watch. {I can only call on the repair company for so many times before they start realizing we’re not paying them. It’ll take some effort to erase all those memories from all those people.}

“You can hire another company, you know. But alright. Not through the wall.” Marvin’s eyes became locked on the screen as the video began playing once again.

Jackie felt a wave of rage crash through him. “Are you guys serious about this?! You’re really going after one guy who’s too nice to do anything against us?!” Not to mention they’d thoroughly scared him to the point where Jackie doubted he’d actually do anything.

Schneep looked over to him. “Jackie, my friend, do you mind if I speak to you in the hallway?”

Jackie growled out a “fine” and followed him out of the room. Once in the freedom of the hallway, he launched into a rant. “I can’t believe you’re agreeing with those two. Henrik, really, what on earth could you possibly get from this?! You weren’t even too into the hypnosis idea in the first place, at least not as much as them!”

“Calm down and let me explain.” Schneep’s voice was untroubled. “Jack is our friend, is he not? Clearly he is not feeling like himself. So we must get him back to feeling like himself, where he is not upset and instead his face is smiles. It would be better for everyone.”

“It wouldn’t be better for JACK,” Jackie muttered darkly. “I think it’s better that this is all over with.”

“Nothing is over with, it is just beginning! Look.” Schneep grabbed Jackie’s hand. “I understand you are not feeling the best. I am not either. But if we only get everything back to normal, then I am sure this will all ease up.”

Jackie gave up. He wasn’t feeling too up to the task of explaining the reality of the situation to Schneep. Maybe another day. “I’m just…gonna go to my room,” he sighed. “I’ll talk to you later.” And so he pulled away and walked down hall, leaving Schneep staring after him as he opened his bedroom door and went inside, firmly shutting it behind him.

Once inside the privacy of his own room, Jackie hit the nearest wall with enough force to rattle the dresser. Why, why and how on earth did he get caught up in this? Why couldn’t he have done something when Chase first proposed his scheme? It was just—Chase had been so desperate, to the point where you could almost sense it coming off him in waves. And he was Jackie’s friend. But you know what? Jack had been his friend too.

Jackie straightened. Well, he was about to do something that those supposedly smart people in the other room hadn’t thought to do yet. And hopefully, they wouldn’t think to do it soon. He pulled out his phone, opened the contacts list, and called.
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Jack woke up to the sound of his phone ringing. He barely registered this fact when the ringing cut off abruptly. Not at all like how it usually stops, this time the ringing sounded almost glitched when it cut off. And that definitely woke him up. He rolled over and glared at the room’s digital clock on the nightstand. Almost seven o’clock.

The phone rang again, only to die in the middle of it again. Jack flung out an arm and grabbed it.

“D͡on'͠t͟ ans̶wer͏ t̢hat.”

Anti fizzled into being at the foot of the bed. Jack glared at his outline in the room darkened by heavy curtains. “Why?”

“I don’t think anything good can come from that call. I’m working on blocking it right now.”

“Anti, for the love of all things god, don’t fucking mess with my phone without me asking.” Jack glanced at the screen. “Who is—” He stopped cold once he read the notification. “Why…why is Jackie calling me?” he breathed.

“See?” Anti sighed. “Okay, we’ve established the problem. Let me block the number. Or do it yourself. Actually, why haven’t you blocked them all yet?”

Jack stared at the screen for a moment more. “Actually…can you let him call?”

“W̛ḩa̧t̷?! Why?!”

“Just. I need to do this. With one of them. And Jackie…well, he’s the nicest.”

“The people who burned to death in the fire he started would beg to differ,” Anti hissed. “Not to mention all the others. I don’t think a guy with a double-digit body count can be called ‘n̕ic̨e͞.’”

Jack flinched a bit at that last comment. He hadn’t known that…but his feelings didn’t change. “Look, he can’t track the call with you here. And I just…please?”

Anti didn’t say anything for a while. But then: “If he says anything threatening I am going to cut off that call.”

“Fair enough.” And the phone started ringing again. Jack accepted the call, pressing the phone to his ear but not saying anything.

“Jack? Jack, is that you?!” Jackie’s voice on the other end sounded almost frantic. “Please say it is.”

“It’s me,” Jack said plainly. “What do you want?”

“I—” Jackie seemed to be struggling for words now that he was actually talking. “I wanted to—to say…I mean, to tell you something. Jack, the others are coming for you.”

“I know. I left.”

“Y-yeah, we saw your video. They’re trying to find a way to locate you using that.”

“I was careful. And I don’t think you’re gonna be able to digitally track it.”

“Oh. You’re still with HIM.” A note of hatred suddenly entered Jackie’s voice. “Why? He’s a dick.”

The call was briefly interrupted by white noise. Jack glanced over at Anti to see his visible eye was flashing green. “He’s my friend,” Jack said. “Like you used to be. Remember that? Before I found out you brainwashed me? And you know how now you’re trying to hunt me down?”

“I’m not trying to do that at all!” Jackie hurried to say. “I never wanted to do this. And I…I-I know that makes me just as bad, for not stopping it when I knew it was the wrong thing to do. But…but I couldn’t—it’s not even that I couldn’t it’s that I didn’t want—look, the point is, they’re all coming after you. Henrik’s convinced you’ve lost your mind and need to get back to ‘normal,’ Marvin thinks you’re going to turn us in to the police, and Jameson…he can be a little…protective of…you know, the people who—”

“I get it. So you called to tell me something I already fucking know?”

“I just—I want you to be on guard. And…okay. So.” Jackie’s voice grew bitter. “Maybe leave that glitchy bastard out of this.”

“You know he can hear you, right?” Jack mentioned casually, grinning. “I don’t get why you even hate him so much.”

“Uh, because he defends criminals and does bad stuff himself? Like how I checked our shared bank account and found it was missing some? Or like what he did to Chase?”

Jack froze, his heart stopping. “…what happened to Chase?”

“Oh, your ‘friend’ didn’t tell you?” Jackie laughed on the other end. “Oh yeah, ask him about it. See if he’ll answer.”

“Fine.” The interference in the call was increasing, breaking up Jackie’s voice, but Jack still understood. He hung up the call, reached over to turn on the lamp, and stared down at Anti, who was glitching wildly all of a sudden, pixels drifting away in droves. “What’s he talking about?”

“It’s not serious,” Anti said.

Jack sat up straight. “You know, it’s never a good sign when you say something’s ‘not serious.’ What did you do to Chase?”

“I thought you stopped liking him.”

“That doesn’t mean I WANT him to get hurt! Anti, what did you do?!”

Anti looked away so Jack was on his blind side. “I just…put him to sleep.”

Jack frowned. Clearly, there was more to it than that. “And?”

“And…he hasn’t woken up yet.”

“You—did you put him in a coma?!”

“Yes, fine, I̡ ̕di̕d͠!͠” Anti’s head whipped back toward Jack. “Not a normal one, but technically, yes!”

“WHY?!” Jack flew to his feet. “Why would you ever think that would be an okay thing?! You can’t just DO that! You just ripped someone away from their life!”

“He’s going to wake up!”

“That doesn’t make it better!”

“Well, you know what?! H͞e’̧s the reason you spent two years in a mental fog! He’s̷ t̸h͞e ̢reas̕on ten people are dead! He’s the reason I was ͠a̧fr̸aid for̕ t̨he ̛fi̵rs͢t ̡t̸im̕e̴ ever͏!͞” Anti clapped a hand over his mouth, eye wide.

Jack stared at him. “You…told me you can’t feel fear. That you’re not afraid of anything.”

Anti slowly uncovered his mouth. “Not OF something, but…FOR something. There’s a difference.”

The silence that followed was louder than the shouting from before. Jack simply couldn’t find words. He’d known for a long time that Anti was, technically, scary. But he’d always known there was something else to him. Not that the scariness was a facade, but that it was just a part of him. But knowing that he could himself become afraid…it revealed something he hadn’t ever thought about before. “You…you still shouldn’t have put someone in a coma,” he said, much more soft than before.

“I know. I actually do.” Anti folded his arms and looked down. “Chase is…not the worst. And I think there’s a chance he could be better. He just…needed some time to think. And Stacy needed some time to get everything together without worrying about him. So, I gave both of them that.”

“It’s still not a good thing to do.”

“Yes. But after everything he’s done…it won’t last long, I promise you that. Just a month or two. He needs some time with himself.”

Jack sighed. “I’m not going to forgive you for that. But. I am going to concede that there are worse things that could happen. You could’ve killed him, I guess.”

“I’m not th͞e͢͞m̸͠, Jack.”

“That’s right. You’re not.” Jack looked at the phone he’d set back on the night stand. “You’re a better friend.”

Anti didn’t seem to know how to respond to that. So he just skipped it altogether. “Next time I see that so-called hero, I’m going to stab him.”

Jack looked over at him. “No, no stabbing.” He paused. “At least not before I punch him in the face.” A low laugh. “But seriously, don’t.”

“Fine. What about the others?”

“No.”

“Sometimes you’re too nice.”

“Maybe. Oh!” Jack let out a sudden exhale as Sam peeked around the corner, looking back and forth between him and Anti. They wanted to know if the two of them were mad at each other. “I mean, only a little.” Sam decided to take that answer and zoomed over to perch on top of Jack’s head.

Anti smiled a little at the sight. “So, are you waking up?”

“No, I’m gonna…I’m gonna go back to bed. For a little while. Sleep is for the weak, but I am indeed very weak.”

“No, you’re not.”

Jack blinked in surprise. “Thanks.” He reached over and turned off the lamp. “Now stop staring at me while I sleep. It’s weird.”

“Fine. I’ll stare AROUND you.”

“Not helping!”

Anti laughed, and dissolved into particles. Jack somehow knew he’d gone. Not entirely, but he wasn’t keeping most of his presence here anymore. Jack sighed, and climbed back into the bed. Sam leaped off his head and onto the pillow, curling up next to him. And he fell asleep almost immediately, feeling safe for the first time in too long.

Part Twenty-Seven of the PW Timeline
A JSE Fanfic
[This is part of a complete series I wrote from July 2019 to July of 2022. Following the rescue, the group has some things to clear up with the police. Meanwhile JJ and Schneep are recovering. Everyone wonders what Anti will do next.]
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There weren’t enough chairs at the desk for all of them to sit down at once. Marvin had volunteered to stand, and though Chase said he would be willing to stand as well, Laurens told him to take the second seat. That was about thirty minutes ago. Almost forty.

They’d called the police as soon as they returned to Chase’s house. Marvin called the emergency line so they could hurry to the apartment Anti was holed up in, while Chase called Detective Nix to explain everything. Well…not everything. It was a long story, but he told the detective that Jameson and Schneep were safe. That had immediately spurred him into action, and barely twenty minutes later some cops and paramedics arrived at the house. They hadn’t even done anything except sit down and process what just happened before there was the sound of cars outside.

And now, here they were. Waiting. In the police station.

Chase couldn’t help but think that the whole station was unusually quiet. And he could have sworn that half of the officers, detectives, and various other people doing their jobs were all staring at the four of them. It made the wait seem longer than it actually was, minutes dragging on.

Until, finally, Detective Nix appeared. The four of them immediately jumped to attention. Chase sat up straight, Mina fidgeted with her sleeves, Laurens curled her hands into nervous fists, and Marvin put away his Rubix cube. Nix didn’t say anything, merely sliding into his seat on the other side of the desk. After a moment, he sighed, looked at each of them one at a time, and said, “Okay. So what did you do?”

Silence. Nobody wanted to say anything.

“I know the four of you did something.” Nix leaned forward, putting his elbows on his desk and clasping his hands together. “You didn’t say much on the phone, but with two kidnapped persons suddenly with you, and us getting an anonymous call around the same time about where their kidnapper could be, it’s not hard to put the pieces together. So, what did you do?”

A few more moments of silence. Until Mina finally broke it. “Well, ah, you see…officer. We were…in a tight situation. And so we…did…what should be done.”

Nix nodded slowly. “So, you…figured out the location of a dangerous criminal. And proceeded to break in so you could rescue your friends. And didn’t call the police.”

“We got tired of waiting!” Marvin said defensively. “Something awful was clearly happening to them, and you guys weren’t exactly helping, so—”

“Marv, please.” Chase reached out and put a hand on Marvin’s arm, stopping him. It probably wasn’t a good idea to say this in front of a detective. They were in enough trouble without that.

“I understand, you were frustrated,” Nix said in an even tone. “And scared, and worried. Anyone would be. But charging into a situation like that could’ve gotten you or your captured friends killed. It would’ve been much smarter to call us.”

“We know,” Chase said quietly. “We, um…Originally, we just set out to figure out where they could be. Wh-where he could be keeping them, you know? That’s not…not illegal. But then, when we found the place, he—Anti—called my phone, a-and he said…he threatened to hurt JJ or Schneep if we called the police. And we…we couldn’t let that happen, but we couldn’t just leave them once we knew, and…and things happened…” His voice trailed off.

“Hmm.” Nix hummed. He glanced around, meeting each of their eyes once again. Chase shifted uncomfortably and also looked at the others. Laurens and Mina looked nervous, the former more than the latter, but Marvin stood strong. If anything, the eye contact made him more uncomfortable than the heavy environment.

“Have we…done anything wrong, detective?” Laurens asked tentatively.

Nix leaned back. “I’m not obligated to tell you, but I know you mean well, so I will. You DID break into that flat, which is still illegal.”

“But what about Good Samaritans?” Mina blurted out. “There are laws for that case, yes?”

“Not officially,” Nix said. “Ah, Ms. Pfeiffer, right? Schneeplestein’s ex-wife?”

“Not ex,” Mina corrected. “There has never been a divorce.”

“Right. Well, like I said, there are no official Good Samaritan laws. Not in this country, at least. But there is…some legal precedence. For certain circumstances.” Nix sounded oddly uncertain. “Look, my advice is to get a lawyer, just in case. I don’t believe any of you will be charged with anything serious, at most you’ll get a couple fines, but you can never be too careful. Be prepared for the worst.”

Everyone nodded in unison, like bobbleheads in a car that just hit a bump. “Well, u-um…” Laurens said slowly. “Do we…need to stay here? Or can we go?”

“You can go,” Nix assured them. “Chase, you have my phone number. I’ll contact you when something comes up. And it will, make no mistake. I’ll need to talk to you about what exactly happened pretty soon. In the meantime, I’m sure you’re eager to catch up with your friends.”

Chase stood up, followed shortly by Mina. “Right. Yes. Thank you, detective,” he said. “I’ll…be waiting for that call.”

Nix nodded, and waved off the group as they headed out.

As soon as they were out of the police station, Marvin leaned closer to the others and asked quietly, “Um, aren’t they supposed to interrogate us about the rescue? Or something?”

“Yeah,” Chase replied, equally quietly. “But I think Nix is giving us an opportunity.”

Marvin blinked. “For what?”

Chase shrugged. “To see Schneep and JJ…and, probably, to make sure our story isn’t too bad.” He wasn’t sure about that second part, but his gut said it was true.

“W-well, um…” Laurens took a deep breath. “Let’s go to the hospital, then?”

“Let’s,” Chase agreed. “I’ll drive.”
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After calling Nix and having multiple police and paramedics show up at Chase’s house, the four of them had been separated from Schneep and Jameson. The paramedics had given both of them a quick check, but insisted that they go to the hospital to make sure they were alright. Jameson nodded and went along with this, but Schneep had been more than a bit nervous. “I know this is silly,” he’d whispered to Chase. “But…but what if Anti is there?”

“It’s not silly,” Chase reassured him. “I get it, really. Hmmm… Hey, Marvin? Can we borrow your phone?” Marvin, within earshot, immediately handed over his phone without a word. “Great. Here, Schneep, take his phone, and if anything happens, you can call me, alright?”

Schneep had nodded slowly. “A-alright. Marvin, I will need your…well, your password. To unlock it.”

In the forty minutes of waiting in the police station, Chase hadn’t received one call or message from Schneep. He chose to take that as a good sign. It meant there weren’t any problems, right? Schneep would have called him, right?

The hospital Schneep and Jameson were in wasn’t the one Chase was used to—the one where Jackie and Jack were staying, Southpoint General. This one was the smaller St. Dympthna’s Hospital, closer to the edge of town. It actually wasn’t too far from Silver Hills. He wondered if it had been built there for that reason.

The four of them walked right in and explained the situation to the nearest nurse. She nodded, and directed the group to a room on the second floor, which was the general ward. The nurse offered to take them there, but the group politely declined and took the stairs. They found the right place immediately.

This wasn’t a single-person room, which threw Chase off a bit. For the past year, most of his time in hospitals had been visiting Jack—and recently Jackie—who each had a room all to themselves, one of those for patients who needed an extended stay. Clearly, neither JJ or Schneep were going to be staying here for long. This room was long, holding six different beds, each with their own privacy curtain. Though despite all this extra space, there were only two people in the room.

Jameson noticed the group the moment they stepped into the room. He’d previously been staring absentmindedly towards the nearby window, looking out at the street below, but at the sound of the footsteps he immediately turned to look. And upon seeing them, he gasped. Chase! Marvin! he signed, a grin breaking out on his face. 'Over here!'

Chase waved. “Hey! It’s us! Your favorite boys!”

Marvin, who had initially frozen once JJ noticed them, broke into a run and sprinted across the room to the far end, where Jameson was sitting in a bed by the wall. “I—I—hi! You!” Though he was stammering, Marvin smiled wide. “You! I—I was—you’re—uh, hand?”

Jameson laughed. He held out his hand, and Marvin grabbed it, squeezing tight. Chase went over to join them—quickly, but not running like Marvin. “Yeah. Hi,” he said, a bit awkwardly. “I…we didn’t really get the chance to—uh—I dunno, talk? I mean, maybe we should’ve, at the house, but everything had just happened and it was a bit overwhelming. Uh…how are you doing?”

'I’m perfectly fine,' Jameson said, as Marvin adjusted his hold to his wrist so he could sign easier. 'Not a scratch on me. I don’t really know what all the fuss was about.'

“You don’t know what the—Jameson.” Chase let out a little huff of breath, equal parts fondness, exasperation, and worry. “You got kidnapped. That’s…they have to make sure you’re okay.”

'I’m fine,' Jameson repeated, a little insistently. 'I mean…physically. I don’t think I need to say anything more, and quite frankly, I don’t want to talk about that right now. I’m just…I don’t remember if I said this before, but I’m so happy to see the both of you.' His eyes were watering a bit. 'It feels like forever.'

“It really does,” Chase muttered.

But, of course, Jameson wasn’t alone here. In the bed across from him, pushed against the opposite wall, was Schneep. He hadn’t said anything when the group came into the room, though he was watching them. In his hands was Marvin’s phone, which he kept turning over.

“Hey, bro,” Chase said, walking over to stand next to Schneep’s bed. “How are you feeling?”

“I am…” Schneep took a deep breath. “I am…handling things…rather well. I think.”

“That’s good to hear.” Chase gave him a soft smile. He reached out his hand, and after a small pause to make sure Schneep was okay with it, put it on his shoulder and squeezed. “I…I’m really glad to see you again, doc.”

Schneep let out a single, short laugh. “You do not need to call me that,” he said, a bit sadly.

“Well I want to. You’ll always be ‘Doc’ in my eyes,” Chase said lightheartedly.

Marvin looked over at Schneep, too. “I…I’m really happy that you’re…yes. Yes?” He made a vague gesture with his hand, waving it in the air.

“Yes,” Schneep said, nodding. “I…thank you. Very much. I—I missed the both of you…so, so much.” He blinked, squeezing his eyes closed for a moment before opening them wide again. And he looked at the other two in the room: Laurens and Mina. The two women had been lingering some ways away, not wanting to interrupt the moment between the friends. But Schneep couldn’t ignore them. Especially not Mina.

Chase followed his gaze. “Oh. Right.” He nodded. “Uh, you guys want to talk?”

Mina cleared her throat. “Ah…Henrik. If you…would like to, as he said, talk, I…have…something to tell you. That is important. To just the two of us.”

Schneep nodded slowly. “Yes, I…I have questions.”

Chase backed away. “Okay. We’ll leave you to it, then,” he said, giving Marvin, Laurens, and Jameson a significant look. “In fact, uh, why don’t you use these handy bed curtains? Give you some privacy.”

Schneep nodded again. Chase continued to back away, and Mina squared her shoulders and walked forward. She dragged a chair over from next to one of the empty beds, setting it next to Schneep’s, then drew the curtain along its rail all the way around the bed. Finally, she sat down.

The two of them said nothing for a while, just looking at each other. After a solid thirty seconds, Mina said, “Are you alright? Uninjured?” She asked the question in German.

“I have some cuts and bruises,” Schneep said, responding in the same language. “Though that was never the problem with…him. At least…not for me. Perhaps that would have changed, if Jameson and I had been trapped there longer.” He shook his head a little, clearing it of memories and returning to the present.

“Henrik, I…I am so sorry.” Mina’s voice was quiet. “I am so sorry I have not come to see you before this. I—I was worried. After what happened in August, a-and that awful mess in December, with those videos, I thought that—I understand, now, that it was that man who did it all, who made you—”

“Anti.”

“Y-yes, Anti. I know now that it is all his fault. But at the time, I…I was scared,” Mina admitted. “I thought that…you would…do something. I-I-I should not have thought that, I should have realized, I should have had faith a-and believed there was more to this story, but I did not, because I was scared, a-a-and I let that feeling control me, I let it convince me to leave the country altogether and not come back until—”

“You sound like Marvin,” Henrik muttered.

Mina stopped, and gave a small laugh. “Well, he is the one who said I should have stayed. But I am not saying this just because of him, I realized that I…I was wrong.” She paused. “I…have to admit something, Henrik. I had an idea in my head of how…people act. People like you, I mean, with your illness. I was so, so very wrong. Those ideas made it easier to be afraid, when I should not have been.”

“Mina,” Henrik said slowly. “I know this. I have known for a while, and I…I do not blame you. It is just how the world says things should be, and you are not the only one to believe.” He looked away, towards the window, which could be partially seen through a crack in the curtains. “I will not lie, it…has hurt. Still hurts. But you are trying. I can tell.” He paused. “I think, perhaps, we tried too fast to start things again. I think we should have both taken more time to ourselves. But I…would like you to…not leave. Even if we are not together.”

“Yes, well…” Mina shifted awkwardly in the chair. “About that…time when we wanted to be together again?” She reached into her pocket and took out her wallet. “This is the important thing I have to tell you.”

Henrik’s brows drew together in confusion. He leaned over a bit as Mina fumbled to get a hold of some photographs inside. When she pulled them out, each showing a baby getting progressively older, his eyes widened. The thought hadn’t fully formed yet, but the vaguest hints of an understanding were starting to take hold.

“This is Elise,” Mina said softly. “She is…our daughter.”

“…oh.” Henrik was at a loss for words. Every one of his mental functions had suddenly ground to a halt.

“You…remember? From last year, in July?” Mina’s voice was hesitant.

Henrik nodded. “I do. I do. But…but we were being careful. How…?”

“Well.” Mina laughed dryly. “Apparently nothing is a one-hundred-percent guarantee. I-I know we discussed not having any children for a long while, but once it happened, I changed my mind. I think in part because you were missing at the time. This was before those videos, of course. And even after those, when I still thought—well, you know. Even after that, I suppose I got attached to her.”

Henrik nodded slowly. He reached out, and Mina handed him the photographs. Slowly, he looked through them, scanning every detail.

Mina continued to talk, rambling as she grew increasingly nervous. “She is a wonderful child, you know. Very smart for her age. She will be twelve months old in February. Or, ah…one year. Same thing. Has not said words, but she makes baby sounds, a-and it is very cute, in her high voice. Her last name is mine, and she was born in Dussen—you know, where my parents live. Because I-I was living with them at the time. I am sorry about leaving you out, but—”

“No, no, it makes sense,” Henrik said quietly. “I am just…” He laughed. “I-I am having trouble with this. It’s so…I don’t know. But this happened. It happened. We…had a daughter. I had a daughter. That is so—so wonderful.” His smile faded. “And also…very terrible.”

“Terrible?!” Mina couldn’t keep the shock out of her voice. “I mean, it is fine, you do not have to help raise her if you don’t want to, but—”

“It’s not that I don’t want to,” Henrik said, leaning back. “It is just terrible timing. I…would like to be there for her. I had not considered being a parent before this, there were always more important things to do, but now that I am here…I would like to be there. But I cannot. Not with…” He gestured vaguely at the hospital surroundings, indicating the whole situation. “…everything going on out there, and also, with myself. Even if he—A-Anti—was to suddenly disappear right now, I…do not have the ability to look after a child.” Tears gather in his eyes, but he refuses to acknowledge them, blinking the wetness away.

Mina nodded. “I see.” She paused for a while. “But I could not just stay silent on this. Once I had returned, and once I realized what was happening, I…I had to at least tell you. I had to present the option. For Elise…a-and for you.”

“And I thank you very much.” Henrik handed the photographs back to her, then grasped her hand and gently squeezed it. “I think…I think I will love her very much. I think I might love her already. But…it cannot work right now.”

“Of course.” Mina squeezed his hand back. “But I think you will be a great father when you are ready.”

Schneep smiled softly. “Thank you.” He took a deep breath, and looked away from her.

“Do you want to talk with your friends now?” Mina asked.

“Yes, they are probably wondering what we are talking about right now.” He switched back to English. “Assholes.”

“Heyyyy!” Chase’s voice came from beyond the curtain. “You’re not talking about us, are you?”

Mina chuckled, and stood up, pulling the bed curtain open entirely. Back in the rest of the room, Chase and Marvin had found more chairs and were sitting next to JJ’s bedside. Laurens had left the room entirely, though no sooner had Schneep noticed her absence than she returned.

'Is everything alright with you two?' JJ asked.

“Everything is fine,” Schneep said. “It was just…a bit of a shock.”

“So she told you about the kid, right?” Marvin asked. “Elise?”

Schneep nodded, though he was a bit confused. “How did you know about that?”

“Oh, uhhh…” Marvin trailed off, stalling for a bit. “Okay, so, funny story. I was being a bit of a, uhhh dick to her. So she shut me up by explaining you guys had a kid and there was this whole situation going on between you, and uhhhh…”

'Wait, you have a child?!' JJ’s shocked expression was almost comical in its intensity. 'Since when?!!'

“Since about, ah, ten months ago,” Schneep said. “Though if you are measuring it by how long I’ve known, since about five minutes ago. Oh, right, Jameson. This is Mina. You do not know her, but I might have brought her up?”

Mina waved. “It’s nice to meet you,” she said politely.

JJ nodded. 'Right. Yes, Henrik talked about you a couple times. He said he hadn’t seen you in a while.'

“Well…yes,” Mina said slowly, looking a bit ashamed. “And that is my fault.”

“Um.” Laurens cleared her throat to get the others’ attention. “So, I talked to the doctor. Jameson, you’ll be free to go around five o’clock, but they want to keep Schneep overnight.”

“And then he’ll be free to go in the morning?” Chase asked.

“Not…exactly,” Laurens said slowly. She turned to look at Schneep. “You’ll have to come back to Silver Hills with me. Because, you know, you haven’t…been cleared yet.”

“I expected as much,” Schneep nodded, taking the news in stride. “If you said nothing, I would have asked about it.”

“Are you, uh, required to be there?” Marvin asked. “I’ve sort of been accepting it, but I don’t really get it. I mean, I know it was originally a legal thing because they thought you were the killer, but now that we know what really happened, do you have to finish the…term? Or whatever it’s called to be there.”

“No, it is not a ‘legal thing’ anymore,” Schneep said calmly. “Ah, Dr. Laurens, why don’t you explain?”

“Right.” Laurens coughed again. “You see, in order to be cleared to leave Silver Hills, you have to be approved by a psychiatrist. They have to say that you’re ready to function in the wider world again. Because that’s really what it is, you know, being able to…be alright out there.”

“Oh.” Marvin blinked, and glanced at Schneep. “And you’re…not…?”

Schneep shook his head slowly, his eyes distant. “I think things were getting better. But…” He took a deep breath. “I…did not enjoy…seeing him again. I think it—it has—has—” Then he stops abruptly. It didn’t really make a difference; his meaning was clear.

Jameson’s expression darkened. He looked out the window.

“Do you think…Anti’s still out there?” Chase asked quietly.

'He’s going to be ‘out there’ until he’s locked up,' Jameson said. 'Or dead, but I doubt there’s much out there that can kill him at this point. He’s had too much practice going into dangerous places and coming out alive.' For a moment, Schneep’s face went pale. Jameson noticed, and his face softened in turn. 'I’m sorry, Henrik. I don’t mean to frighten you. I’m just…I suppose I’m just worried that he’ll do something.'

“But Anti doesn’t have anything over any of you or us anymore,” Mina jumped in. “There are no people under his control.”

“We can leave it to the police now,” Chase said. “Now that everyone’s out of danger, we don’t have to be involved.”

“I mean, I still want to kill Anti,” Marvin added. “But I’m not going to go looking for him. Unless I have to.” Everyone gave him a sharp look, and he grinned. “Which I won’t. Because guess what? That asshole has just lost his most powerful bargaining chip. He hasn’t been able to do anything without having someone there he can threaten others with. I bet he’ll be stuck now.”

“And we can protect ourselves,” Laurens added. “Ask the police if we have to. Do whatever we can to make sure we’re safe.”

Chase nodded in agreement to all of this. “It’ll work out,” he said, looking at Jameson and Schneep in turn to reassure them.

Schneep nodded. He looked uncertain, but relieved. Jameson, meanwhile, was even less convinced. But maybe they were all right. They had some convincing points. So he dropped it for now. Maybe it would be okay.
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There weren’t many cars on the motorway at this time. This was ideal—the less people there were, the less likely it was that someone would remember the description of his car. Though there was the matter of the traffic worker at the toll booth out of town. He probably got a good look. So with that in mind, Anti decided he needed to ditch this car as soon as possible and get a new one.

The sun was setting, casting long shadows through the car’s back window. Anti gripped the steering wheel tight in white-knuckled hands: the only outward sign of the seething rage he felt.

Everything had been going great. Fantastic, even! He was sure he was making progress, and that Jamie would come around soon. Then he could start taking on jobs again, maybe do some work of his own on the side, and quietly fade away from the public eye as the case went cold. But it was all ruined now.

And all because of one Chase Brody. True, there had been others involved in stealing Jameson and Schneep from him, but Brody was the one who annoyed him the most. He’d barely given that man a second thought through this whole ordeal. After all, what could he do? Brody wasn’t talented, had no stand-out qualities, and wasn’t even that interesting. Anti had done research on him, but simply didn’t care enough to go farther. And that annoyed him more than anything else.

After Brody and the others escaped his reach, his first instinct had been to follow them. Find them, take back what was his, eliminate anyone else. He almost did it. But then he forced himself to take a step back and reconsider. The risk was too great. Even if he succeeded, there was nowhere left for him to hide in the city. No more safehouses—the police had found most of them, and they would certainly find his secret apartment now. He’d be caught. And that wasn’t worth the short-term satisfaction.

He had to leave town altogether. Even though he didn’t want to. He gritted his teeth, frustrated at losing everything he’d taken years to build. Now he had to worry about finding contacts in a new city, getting a suitable location to hole up, integrating into the local underworld so that others would know not to fuck with him—it was going to be a whole ordeal. And he wouldn’t have to do this if Brody and the others hadn’t destroyed everything.

…No. He couldn’t leave forever. He couldn’t leave things unfinished. The very thought felt wrong. He would be back one day. Back to deliver consequences for their actions. Back to find what was rightfully his and take it again. Back to regain control over this spiraling situation.

This would take some time to figure out. He had to be sure nothing would go wrong.

But right now, it was too dangerous. So, Anti continued driving, until the city disappeared and the sun fell beneath the horizon.

Chapter Two of Fantasy Masks
A JSE Fanfic
[This is the first part of an ongoing fic series I started in June 2021. Waking up in a strange place, Chase finds himself meeting new people, and understanding just a bit more of what's going on in the kingdom.]
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Chase woke up slowly, over the course of what had to be a few minutes. First, he was aware of weight, something pressing down on him. It was warm. And that felt really, really good. Because there was a coldness in his core that he couldn’t quite shake, sending chills across his skin. After the weight, sound came trickling in. There wasn’t much of it. Just some strange scratching sounds, and occasionally footsteps, which echoed. It was only after registering the echo that thoughts started to form. Where…where was he? How’d he get here? Last he remembered, he was…in the forest? It was dark. Was it nighttime? Chase found it hard to recall.

He finally opened his eyes. It was difficult; they felt weighed down. But he did it. And once his eyes were open, he saw…stone. Rough, natural stone, not stone bricks. The light was strong, but flickering. And completely unfamiliar.

Turning his head to the side was an effort, but he managed. He was on a bed, he recognized that much. With a few layers of blankets, including one made of fur on top. Again, completely unfamiliar. As was the rough stone room he found himself in. Some sort of cave…? But then why was there a bed in a cave? No, scratch that. There was a whole row of beds, he could see them extending to the side, along with a couple rickety wooden chairs. And, currently sitting down in one of those chairs, was a woman with a bird face.

“Wh…?” Chase tried to sit up, but the blankets were too heavy, and his body felt weak, so he gave up easily.

The bird-faced woman looked up, and—oh, no. It was a mask. Of course. With a long, curved beak that couldn’t be practical. The woman gasped, and put down the items she was holding—a stack of parchment and a long white feather—a quill—down on the nearest bed. “You’re awake. How do you feel?” She asked, standing up again and hurrying over. Her voice was…it sounded different. In a way he couldn’t quite put his finger on.

How did he feel? How did he…how…The simple question took Chase a full thirty seconds to answer. “…tired.”

“That’s to be expected,” the woman said, “when you catch the shivering like you did.”

The shivering? Chase groaned as he suddenly remembered the events of last night. Running through the forest, tripping and falling in the water, then continuing to walk until he couldn’t. How stupid. He knew about the shivering, how it could kill a man who stayed out in the cold for too long. Why had he kept going? Actually, why…why had he been out in the forest that late? It felt…important. But those memories still eluded him.

“Don’t worry, you’re going to be alright,” the woman reassured him. “We found you just in time. You, ha…wandered pretty close to camp.” She gave a small smile. Though the mask only covered the upper half of her face, the beak still hid most of the smile. “What’s your name?”

“…Ch’se.” Chase mumbled. His eyelids were really, really heavy. Maybe if he just closed them for a moment…

“Chess? Odd na—no wait, don’t fall asleep!”

Too late. The moment his eyes closed, he drifted off.
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He kept drifting for some time, bobbing on the sea of sleep, occasionally cresting a wave and catching a brief glimpse of that strange cave room again, before falling back asleep. He didn’t regain true awareness until he heard voices. And then, he opened his eyes and turned his head towards them.

This time, he’d rolled over to the other side of the bed. He could see the row of beds continuing, then ending at a large, dangling sheet of canvas. Like for a ship sail? Was he on a boat? No, silly him. A cave wouldn’t be on a boat. Maybe it was just blocking off the entrance. He also saw lanterns this time around, dangling from the distant rock ceiling on chains. There were a lot of them, actually, providing a bright light. Bright enough to see the two people talking to each other nearby. Chase concentrated, and soon the words started to make sense.

“It’s dangerous!” This voice was coming from a man with a fox face. No, wait. Again, it was a mask. The man was also wearing leather armor on his chest and arms. His hands were on his hips and he was staring down at the other figure he was talking to.

“Oh, really? He was already deep into the shivering by the time they found him,” the other voice said. Also a man, if Chase had to guess. He couldn’t quite tell, because this figure had its back to him. All he could see was a red cloak, down to the figure’s waist, with the hood pulled up.

“That could’ve been…a mistake,” the fox-masked man said slowly. “After all, he was wet. If he tripped and fell, and out in the middle of the Dragon’s Greatwoods, there wouldn’t have been time to retreat to shelter. So he continued on his mission.”

“Mission?” The cloaked figure laughed. “Yea, the King sent a man without any jacket or cloak, only armed with a shortbow and five arrows, to find his current greatest threat’s lair. That makes perfect sense.”

The man folded his arms. “He could be a scout. There could be a greater force coming.”

“Look, Lukas, I admire your vigilance,” the figure said. “But there’s just too many holes. If he’s a scout, why doesn’t he have an insignia anywhere? And I know you’re going to say he had to have nothing in case he was caught, or that he could’ve been sent to infiltrate, but in that case? He should have had better gear. A dagger or knife, at least.” The man started to talk again, but the figure kept going. “And also, even if he is part of the King’s forces, shouldn’t we keep him around to ask questions? Instead of just throwing him out into the cold with the shivering like you’re suggesting.”

“Not WITH the shivering—”

“That doesn’t make your idea much better.” The figure snaps, and surprisingly, despite being at least a head taller, the man in the fox mask shrinks back. “Like I said, I appreciate your vigilance,” the figure continued in a softer tone. “But right now? Does this man look dangerous?” The figure turned around and gestured to Chase, then stopped. “Wait a moment. I think he’s awake.”

The fox-masked man gasped, and backed up. Chase tried to say something, or nod, or do anything, but…the depths of dreamland were already calling him back. He closed his eyes once more.
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The third time Chase woke up, it was for good. He opened his eyes, and found he didn’t have the urge to close them again. When he turned his head, it was easier. And his mind was clear, able to take in the strange cave in more detail. Like the fact that it was large enough to put three cottages inside, and still have room to walk in between. Or that the end opposite the canvas was actually a pile of rocks, like there was a cave-in, but with a few stone bricks in the gaps, as if people came along and tried to reinforce the rocks into a solid wall.

He was really, really warm. Not hot, but just warm enough to be noticeable. So he tried to sit up. It was harder than expected, both because of the weakness that lingered in his limbs, and because the layered blankets were surprisingly heavy. But he managed to get upright.

“You’re awake again!”

Chase let out a startled cry, then turned to see the woman with the bird mask from before. She was standing near the rock-brick wall, a wooden chest open at her feet, which she quickly closed. Now, Chase took in more about her. The long, curved beak was still impractical, and Chase couldn’t recognize the type of bird the mask was modeled after. She wore a white apron over a tunic and a pair of trousers. Her black hair was pulled back in tight braids, and she had darker skin than anyone Chase had ever known. She hurried over. “Lay down, lay down. And keep the blankets on.”

“It’s a little hot, actually,” Chase mumbled an explanation.

The woman hummed, then leaned over and pressed her hand against Chase’s forehead. The touch was cool. “Well…I suppose your temperature is closer to normal,” she said, leaning back. “But don’t get up yet. How do you feel, Chess?”

“Um…well, my name is Chase, actually,” he corrected. “But anyway, I feel…still a little tired, but I’m not…not sleepy. Just kind of…weak, I guess.”

“Well. That’s good,” the woman said cheerfully. “One moment, do you mind holding this?” She reached into a pocket in her apron and took out a smooth, round stone the size of a fist.

“…sure?” Chase took the stone. For a moment, his hand dropped with the weight, but he kept it aloft.

The woman hummed again, watching his arm as his muscles trembled slightly. “I suppose that’s not enough to worry.” She took the stone back.

“Thank you, I guess,” Chase said. He glanced once more around the large cave—or, actually, a cavern. “Now, uh…if you don’t mind. Where am I? And who are you? And how did I get here?”

“You’re…well, that’s hard to say,” the woman said. It was then that Chase realized why her voice sounded different: she had an accent, one he couldn’t identify. “I’m not sure if I should tell you that yet, but you are safe. You are in a…place…full of good people, and you are currently in our infirmary.”

“In a cave?” Chase blurted out.

The woman laughed. “Oh believe me, they argued about where to put it for so long. They still do, actually. But we keep it clean. As for how you got here, you wandered right up to the edge of our…place. There was a whole group out nearby, talking to each other and spending time, and they saw you in the distance. So they picked you up and took you here. And for your question in the middle, you can call me Ibis.”

“Ibis,” Chase repeated. “Is that a type of bird?”

“Yes, it is!” Ibis beamed, and adjusted her white bird mask. “They live near rivers, in warm climates.”

“Oh. Interesting. I…hadn’t seen them before,” Chase said slowly.

“You are not the only one,” Ibis assured him. “It is cold in these mountains. But I have to ask you something. I hope you don’t mind. It is…What were you doing so far out in the woods, so late at night?”

“I, uh…I go out into the forest to hunt,” Chase said. “Every day, usually, except in the winter, unless it’s really necessary.”

“Really? Interesting,” Ibis said. She brushed some dirt off her apron. “Well, Chase, you are recovering from the shivering nicely. But I hope you don’t mind if I have someone else take a look at you. Not today, tomorrow at the earliest.”

“Oh. Um…alright,” Chase said, still a bit confused. “And…when are you going to tell me where I am? And who this group is? And why all of you are wearing masks?”

“Chase, I would really like to answer your questions, but I don’t know what we’ve decided,” Ibis said honestly.

“So keeping it a secret is important, huh?”

“I suppose you could say so. Now if you don’t mind.” Ibis walked around the bed. “I am going to get you some water. You must be very thirsty.”

He hadn’t actually noticed it, given the more pressing concerns of his situation, but the minute she mentioned it, Chase realized how dry his mouth was. “I am. Thank you.”

“I will be right back,” Ibis assured him, then headed towards the canvas. She pushed through a flap in the middle, not unlike that of a tent, and disappeared.

Chase stared after her for a few moments, then slumped back against the pillows and stared up at the ceiling, wondering. Who were these people? What did they want? And what was going to happen to him?
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True to her word, Ibis reappeared the next day with someone else in tow. Chase heard the sound of the canvas flap open from the bed where he was laying, and rolled over to see her and another man walking in. They took a slight detour to the side, where they both put on a white apron, then headed over. “Hello again, Chase,” Ibis said cheerfully. “This is Owl.”

The other man nodded. “Hello.” As the name would have indicated, his white mask was shaped like an owl, though…Chase noticed that his mask was more…decorated. Ibis’s mask had a symbol in the center of the forehead drawn in black, a vertical line with two others twisting around it. The man’s owl mask had that, too, but it also had colorful details along the feathers, and a pattern of pale blue diamonds along the cheeks. Underneath the apron, the man wore a blue scarf and a white tunic with buckles in the front. He also had a belt with several pouches hanging off it. Brown hair framed the owl mask, cut short, and blue eyes looked at Chase through the wide eyeholes.

“Hello,” Chase said politely. “How’re you doing?”

“Oh, ah, I am well.” Owl sounded a bit surprised by the question, which confused Chase. People always said that when greeting each other. “But more importantly, how are you?” He continued, sitting down in a chair next to the bed.

“I’m tired.” Yes, tired of saying that.

“The fatigue is expected. How are your thoughts? Is your head clear, or is it more foggy?” Wait a moment…Owl also had an accent. But it was different from Ibis’s. While hers was smooth, mellowing out the vowels, his was sharp, especially on the S’s and TH’s. And it…sounded strangely familiar…which really stood out in contrast to all the strange new things Chase had been going through.

“No, it’s pretty clear,” Chase said slowly, silently wracking his memories. Where had he heard that accent? “And before you ask, I’m not cold, but I’m also not that warm, either. At least, not on my own. The blankets, though, they are making me warm.”

“That is what they were made for, yes,” Owl nodded. “Ibis says your temperature is not too bad, so if you would like, we can take away some of them.”

“That would be good, thank you. And, um…slightly related question. Where are my clothes?” Chase gestured to the shirt he was wearing. It wasn’t his; this one was thick and woven. It hadn’t seemed important yesterday, but might as well ask now. “And all the rest of my things, too?”

“Ah, sorry about that. They were all wet, so we had to change you out of them. They would just make you colder. We have your things nearby, you can go get them later,” Owl explained. “Once we are sure you are not with the shivering anymore.”

That way of talking was just so familiar, it was distracting. Where would he have heard it before? Chase fell silent for a moment as he thought about it. Maybe in another similar environment? When he was sick? Well, he didn’t really get sick that often, but maybe when someone else was sick…like…

Owl paused, waiting for Chase to say something else. “…are you okay?”

The memory hit Chase in a flash, making him gasp out loud. “Henrik?!”

Owl looked shocked for a moment, but then he glanced at Ibis, who had an identical expression under her mask, and quickly turned the shock into confusion. “I am sorry?”

“That’s you, isn’t it? Henrik…I don’t remember your surname, but you had one. I thought that was strange. You’re a traveling doctor, you were in town last summer!”

“I-I don’t know what you mean,” Owl said slowly. “You might be mistaking me for someone else—”

“No no no, I couldn’t be mistaking you,” Chase insisted. “It’s embarrassing that I didn’t remember you until now, really. Maybe I am still foggy from the shivering. My son, Quentin, he caught a fever, we—we were really worried about him making it. But Michael told me there was a traveling doctor staying at his house—maybe you remember him, he’s a woodcutter? But I ran over and I explained everything to you, and you came back with me straight away to see to Quentin. You gave him some medicine, and…and you probably saved his life.” Chase went quiet. “I’d never forget that.”

Owl looked like he wanted to deny it at first, but the longer Chase talked, the more recognition sparked in his eyes. “Actually, you look…In a mountain village last summer? A little boy with a fever…Did he have dark curly hair? And a quiet sister?”

“Yes! That’s Quentin! And my daughter, Amabel, too.” Chase nodded fast enough to make his head dizzy. “That was you, right?”

A slight pause. “Well I suppose if you already guessed, there is no point in saying no.” The man reached up and took off his owl mask, revealing his full face for the first time. And now, there was no mistaking it.

“It is you!” Chase smiled wide. “Oh, elders. I never thanked you enough. We would have—Quentin’s only eight, you know, but he’s had trouble all his life—and that you agreed on such short notice—”

“You think I would say no to something so urgent?” Henrik scoffed, though it didn’t come across as harsh, more like a habit. His voice was actually quite soft as he continued, “And for a child, as well.”

“A lot of traveling doctors charge a lot—”

“They are selfish. Who would charge for a child?” Henrik shook his head. “But you recognized me. I am surprised. I have not done any traveling in nearly a year.”

“It was the accent,” Chase explained. “I think I remember you explaining why you have it? You’re from Al…Altir…Altherd…”

“Alterde,” Henrik finished. “It is across the sea, to the east of here.”

“Right.” Chase glanced over at Ibis, who was standing to the side while they talked, bouncing on her feet and waiting for them to finish. “Are…you two aren’t from the same place, are you?”

“Oh, no no, not at all,” Ibis said. “Though, if you don’t mind, I’d prefer not to get specific.”

“Oh. That has to do with the masks and the secrecy, doesn’t it? Well, that’s okay.”

Ibis smiled, then walked away a bit. “Henrik, if you do not mind, I am going to continue inventory.”

“No, no, go ahead,” Henrik said, nodding. Ibis nodded back, then walked towards the back of the cavern and bent over to open up a chest. She took out some parchment and a quill with ink, then proceeded to open another chest. “Ah, anyway.” Henrik turned back to Chase. “Where was your village? Is it nearby?”

“On the edge of the forest,” Chase confirmed. “They call it Hilltown.”

“Right, because of the slopes and steeps,” Henrik said. “And how is your son now? He has not had any more scares since I tended him?”

“No, nothing major. Though the other day, he fell into the trough for Rainer’s sheep.” Chase laughed. “He was fine, but we should keep an eye—” He suddenly stopped.

No. No, they couldn’t do that. Because the day after that incident, Chase had gone hunting and returned to find the village burning. His family—Stacia, Amabel, Quentin—they’d all disappeared. And now, as the memories came flooding back, he remembered why he’d gone into the forest so late at night, why he’d kept walking despite being so cold and tired. Because his family was missing. Because he’d run in to see his cottage alight, the orange flame searing his eyes, the scent of woodsmoke and ash all around, smoke filling his throat…then run into the forest, hoping maybe, MAYBE he would see them. Frantically searching, not caring about what happened, just as long as they were safe, please let them be safe. Please let them be safe, somehow, somewhere—

“Chase?” Henrik said slowly, eyes filled with concern. “Is everything okay?”

And with that simple question, he couldn’t hold it in anymore. Tears filled his eyes and overflowed. Chase bent over and started sobbing, burying his face in his hands as his body shook. Henrik’s concern grew into worry, and he leaned in closer, putting a hand on Chase’s back. “What is wrong?” he asked quietly. “Is there—could I help?”

“I don’t—know what happened—to them,” Chase said in between gasps for air. “Town was—I went out hunting a-and town was—it was on fire—when I came back. A-a-and the cottage was on fire, a-and they were—my wife, my kids, they—I-I couldn’t find them. I thought I’d look for them, i-in the forest, but—but I couldn’t find them, and I—I—kept shouting, but I—I—”

“Oh.” Henrik’s expression slowly shifted to horrified realization. “Oh, no. Chase, I am so sorry.”

“They—they can’t be…gone,” Chase continued, a desperate edge to his voice. “I-I-I couldn’t see their—they could’ve gotten out and headed downhill, or to another village. But I do-don’t know. That—that chance that they could be—it’s j-j-just—” He gave up on forming words and just cried.

Henrik didn’t say anything. He sat with him, a comforting presence, letting Chase sob his eyes out. Which was appreciated. Chase didn’t want any words, any promises of false hope. He wanted to let the tears consume him. How could he have forgotten that was what happened to his family? That they were the reason he was even here in the first place? How could something like that have slipped his mind?

It was some time before Chase’s crying died down. Slowly, the wracking sobs petered out into quiet whimpers. Henrik reached into one of his belt pouches and took out a square of cloth, which he handed to Chase. “Thank you,” Chase mumbled as he took it, and wiped his eyes.

“It is no problem,” Henrik said. “Chase, that is…I am sorry.” He paused. Chase just nodded. So he continued. “How…how was the village on fire? If I remember, most of it was stone, except for the houses on the sloping parts.”

“It was…the oddest thing,” Chase said, recalling the sight. “The stone buildings were on fire, too.”

Henrik’s eyes seemed to sharpen. “Really?”

“Yes. I-I don’t know how, but I know what I saw.”

“No, no, I believe you. Ah…” Henrik cleared his throat. “You do not have to answer if you are uncomfortable, but…was anyone there who…was not supposed to be?”

“Oh. OH. Yea, there were these strangers on horses,” Chase remembered. “Or at least, some of them were on horses. They were all dressed the same, or similarly. Dark tunics.”

“Did they have any sort of—of marking, or insignia?”

“I was too far away to see…no, wait.” Chase closed his eyes to remember. “Yes, some of them had the crest on the back of their tunics.”

“Crest?”

“The kingdom’s crest, Glasúil’s crest. The green field on the striped shield. Heh. That’s how my mom taught me to remember it in lessons.” Chase smiled for a moment, but it soon faded. “You know, I was…obviously more concerned at the time, but…why were strangers wearing the crest even there? They had to be working directly for the royal family. Maybe they were there to help?”

Henrik didn’t answer, though when Chase looked over at him, his face was dark and stony. “Chase. Ah, I think we could send someone to…look at the village…ruins. To see what happened. If you’d like, we could tell you…if we find…”

“That would be good,” Chase said softly. “Henrik, is…is something wrong?”

After a moment, Henrik put his owl mask back on. “Yes, something is wrong. And I will explain to you what it is, after you are completely better from the shivering. That should only take a few more days. Is that okay?”

“Yea, I guess that’s alright,” Chase agreed. Maybe it was just the fogginess from the shivering, but he felt really overwhelmed and more than a little confused. But he got the feeling he wouldn’t be getting any answers right away, so he had to wait. That was okay. He was patient, even if the distress for his family was eating a hole in his chest.

“Thank you.” Henrik stood up. “I can come see you later, if you wish, but I have to take care of something right now. Feel free to ask Ibis for anything.”

“Alright.” Ibis looked really busy with the chests at the back of the cavern, totally absorbed in her writing on her parchment. Chase doubted she’d heard any of their conversation. But okay. He’d ask her if he had to.

Henrik gave him a small smile. “I will be back.”

“Goodbye.” Chase waved as Henrik turned and left through the canvas flap at the front of the cavern, disappearing from sight. Then he sighed, and looked up at the rocky ceiling. He didn’t know what was happening, but he was sure he’d stumbled into something far bigger than he’d ever expected.
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It took three more days for Chase to fully get over the effects of the shivering. During that time, Henrik and Ibis were frequent visitors, talking and helping him regain his strength. Occasionally, he’d see some other person in a mask enter the infirmary cavern. Usually someone wearing a bird-themed mask, but he saw other animals as well—he recognized a hedgehog, a badger, a couple mice, and a snake. And he noticed that the ones in bird masks would always put on an apron before entering. Given how Henrik and Ibis had bird masks and would do the same, he assumed that the birds were the doctors for…whoever these masked people were.

None of the masked people talked to him, so he didn’t talk to them. But more than once, he caught someone staring at him. No doubt he was an unusual sight. And probably some sort of security risk. He could still remember that conversation he’d overheard between the man in the fox mask and the figure in the red cloak. Talking about how he shouldn’t be there, how he could be…some sort of enemy, he guessed. So he didn’t blame them, though it did make him a bit uncomfortable at times.

Eventually, the fatigue disappeared, and Chase could walk around and pick up and hold things without his muscles trembling. Henrik had brought him his set of clothes back, and Chase had quickly changed into the familiar garb, which wasn’t nearly as warm as the clothes they’d given him. Though he couldn’t help but notice his bow and arrows were missing. More security risk, probably.

On the third day, at a time when Ibis had left the cavern and Chase was on his own, idly sitting on his bed, Henrik walked through the canvas flap and right up to him. “Chase?” He said.

“Hello, Henrik,” Chase said. “How’re you doing?”

“I am well, thank you. And you?”

“Doing fine.” Chase stood up and stretched. “Except I’m completely bored.”

Henrik laughed a bit. “Well, it is not the most exciting thing to be stuck in here.”

Chase smiled. Honestly, he preferred being bored to being constantly worried about his family.

Henrik’s expression became serious. As if reading Chase’s thoughts, he said, “Well…do you remember what I said a few days ago? That we would go to check Hilltown and see if…there was anything left?”

Silently, Chase nodded.

“I have some good news, and some bad news, Chase. And the good news is that we could not find any signs of your family being dead.”

The wave of immense relief Chase felt was enough to make him physically stagger. “Really?” he whispered.

“Really,” Henrik confirmed.

“Oh, thank the elders.” Chase sighed. But then a wave of nervousness shot through his body. “What’s the bad news, then?”

Henrik sighed, reaching up and taking off his mask so he could rub his eyes. “Hilltown is…gone. There are the remains of buildings, but…no people in sight. Or at least, none alive.” He paused. “The bodies the group found, they…looked them over. And none of them are children, women, or elderly. All of them were adult men. Not killed by fire, but by…wounds that would be inflicted by people. Arrows, and blades.” And he paused again. “That is not all, though. The reason the group took so long to return was because they checked out the nearby mountain villages as well. And…things are exactly the same in the three they found. Burned, with bodies of men, but no one else.”

What color there was in Chase’s face completely drained, leaving him white as a sheet. “The…same thing happened in three other villages?” That was…it was too terrible for him to even put into words. He’d been to one nearby village a couple times before, called Pinetown, but the other two…though he might have known of them, their names escaped his mind. But they all had to be roughly the same size as Hilltown, with about three hundred to four hundred people living there. Altogether that was…as many as sixteen hundred people dead or missing.

“At least. They only checked nearby,” Henrik said tentatively. “We are going to go out farther, see if there are more…tragedies like this.”

“…oh.” Chase wasn’t sure what to say at first. But after a moment, he landed on a question. “Wh-who would do this? And why?”

“We are not so sure about the why. As for who…” Henrik hesitated. “This may be difficult to hear, but do you remember how you saw strangers wearing the Glasúil crest that night? They had to be working for the King.”

“I’ve figured that out by now, yes.” It was really the only logical explanation.

Henrik was clearly waiting for Chase to say more, but when he stayed quiet, he asked, “And…did you wonder what they were doing up in the mountains? Very far away from Suilthair, where they would most likely be?”

“I…yes, but…maybe they were some sort of group on patrol,” Chase suggested. “That happens sometimes. And they saw the fire, and came to help. Why are you shaking your head?”

“Chase,” Henrik sighed. “You do not want to hear this, I understand. But those soldiers had to be the ones to start the fire.”

“That’s absurd,” Chase said weakly. Really, it made sense. Because even though it was true that soldiers sometimes patrolled the kingdom, it was rare that they would go up into the mountains. The terrain was difficult if you weren’t familiar with it. In all his life, he’d only heard of nearby patrols only a few times, and it was too much of a coincidence that they’d be there when the fire happened. But…

“The bodies they found had injuries from blades and arrows,” Henrik reminded him. “The fire was not an accident, it was a cover for soldiers shooting down innocents. They probably took away all the townspeople they didn’t kill, so that they could not tell anyone what happened. And do you remember what you said, about how even the stone buildings were burning? That could only be caused by wizardry, and the King has many wizards working for him.”

“Whoa, wait, how do you know it was a wizard?” Chase asked. “There are other magic users. And how do you know that, even if a wizard did cause the fire, that they were working for the King?”

“You do not know that much about the branches of magic, do you?” Henrik asked, raising an eyebrow. “Only wizards and sorcerers would be able to conjure fire, and even then, only a very powerful sorcerer would be able to burn stone. And as for why the wizard was most likely allied with the King…well, that is a longer conversation, but suffice to say, they have good reason to be.”

“I can’t believe the Alterden knows more about politics in this kingdom than I do,” Chase muttered.

Henrik laughed. “Well, the Dragon’s Teeth Mountains are very far away, not many things affect you up here. Or at least…they didn’t used to.” His expression became serious once more. “Chase…the King is not a good man. I have lived here for fifteen years, I have seen things change. He was good once, but…he is different. He desires power, and control, and he will go to any lengths to have it. The villages burning it is the sort of thing he would do, even if we do not know why just yet.”

“I…I need a moment.” Chase sat down hard on the edge of the bed. His whole world had flipped upside down. There was no longer ground beneath his feet, and he was spinning through empty space. But, still, it made sense. The people praised the King and his actions when he took the crown after the previous royal couple, but over time, that praise had dried up. He’d assumed that people were just getting used to it, but hearing no news from the flatlands below regarding their leader? That was just…odd. Maybe deliberately odd. And of course, there was the evidence of his own eyes. Strangers working directly under the King, showing up the same day Hilltown burned…it just made sense.

“This is a lot, I understand.” Henrik sat down next to him, setting his owl mask in his lap. “But…our group, the ones you have stumbled into, we—”

“You’re some sort of rebels, aren’t you?” Chase interrupted. “The other day—before everything went down—my wife, Stacia, heard rumors that there were masked people in the forest, and that they might be plotting against the King. That’s the truth, isn’t it?”

Henrik paused. Then hit his forehead with an open palm. “Well I suppose I should have some words with people about being seen! Rumors up here already, damn it all. We are trying to be subtle and invisible. Like spirits.”

“So I’m right,” Chase summarized, a small grin on his face.

“Yes, you are right,” Henrik sighed. “We are trying to fix everything. Protect people. Stop things like the villages burning.”

“Noble cause,” Chase said.

“Thank you. And…it is a cause you could help with.”

Chase blinked, unsure if he’d heard him right. “Sorry?”

“We could always use the numbers,” Henrik continued. “And as a hunter, you already have some skills. Of course, you do not have to. But…we cannot risk anyone hearing we are up here. Even though there are APPARENTLY rumors.” He scoffed for a moment. “So, I am giving you two offers, Chase. You can help us, or I will give you a tonic that will make you forget what you saw up here, and we will drop you off somewhere where you could move on with life.”

“A tonic? There’s something that could do that?” Chase asked, leaning away a bit.

“Oh yes, you would be surprised.”

“And…those are my only choices?”

“Unfortunately,” Henrik said apologetically. “I trust you, but many of our people are more paranoid. And we cannot have anyone knowing who we are.” He paused, then stood up. “I can give you some time to decide—”

“No, I’ve already decided.” Chase stood up as well, grabbing Henrik’s arm. “You said that these soldiers who burned down town…they probably took everyone away that they didn’t kill, right? That…that would include my family.” His voice cracked on the last word. “I—I need to find them. A-and it sounds like you could help me with that.” He tried for a weak smile. “Besides, if you made me forget everything that happened up here, I’d go looking for Stacia and the kids on my own. We might even run into each other again. So, really, it wouldn’t do much.”

Henrik smiled, relieved. “I am glad to hear that, Chase.” He put a hand on Chase’s shoulder. “And I give you my word that we will find your family. We will help you get them back.”

Chase nodded, stiffening his resolve. If he’d been there that night, he might have been able to get Stacia, Amabel, and Quentin to safety. But he hadn’t. So, now he’ll have to make up for that. He will find them. Whatever it took.

“Oh elders, finally!”

Chase gasped, and turned to the source of the strange voice. The tent flap had flown open, and in walked…a man in a waist-length red cloak, with the hood pulled up. The same man that Chase had overheard talking with the other man in the fox mask.

Henrik jumped, and spun around as well. “Schwestern, do not scare me like that, Jackie!” The moment the name escaped his voice, he clapped a hand over his mouth, eyes wide.

“Sorry, Hen. And don’t worry about the name, if he’s going to join, he’d find out eventually,” The other man—Jackie—waved off the concern. He had a mask as well, though this one was in the shape of a wolf. There was a different black symbol in the center of its forehead, a circle with two dots inside. But…his mask was also more colorfully decorated, including some red triangular markings along the edge. So far, his mask and Henrik’s were the only ones with color like that. Besides the mask, Jackie wore a blue tunic pulled over a chainmail shirt. The end of a dark ponytail stuck out from under the hood, and bright blue eyes looked at Chase with excitement. “It’s so good to have you on board!”

“On…board? On board what?” Chase asked, confused.

“It’s just a figure of speech, I mean that you’re part of the group now! Welcome to the Phantoms!” Jackie hurried over and stuck out his hand, in a blue glove. Chase took it, and Jackie shook his hand vigorously. “It’s been so hard to recruit people up in the mountains, every other location of ours is bringing in more people than ever, because the King keeps being a prick, he’s increasing his prickishness. But up here there aren’t even that many people to begin with, and everyone’s tight together in the villages, and nobody knows what’s going on down below. So you’re the first! It’s nice to meet you!”

“I—uh—Phantoms?” Chase latched on to the easiest part of that rambling to take in.

“Yea, that’s us, the Masked Phantoms,” Jackie confirmed. “Because we strike invisibly, and before anyone knows we’re there. And the mask part is obvious. You’re gonna get one, too! Well, eventually. Right now we just have a few backups, we’re waiting to get more plaster to make more. But when we get that, you can choose the animal and everything.”

“Jackie, please, you are overwhelming him.” Henrik stepped in and pushed Jackie back a bit. “Give him space, a lot has happened.”

“Sorry, I just get excited sometimes.”

“I know you do, it is okay.”

“Yeah, it’s okay,” Chase added. “I was, uh…surprised. Were you listening to our whole conversation?”

“No, just the part near the end where Hen was explaining your options,” Jackie said, tucking a lock of hair behind one of the ears of his wolf mask. “Anyway, if you’re ready, we could finally show you around where you’ve been staying all this time. I mean, the infirmary’s nice and everything, but it’s still a cave. We need more open air in here.”

“No, we do not,” Henrik said firmly. “Open air can bring wind, which can bring insects and other small, unclean things. Not to mention it could blow everything around and mess things up. Nemet works so hard on keeping everything organized.”

Jackie rolled his eyes. “Fine, fine, you’re the doctor. Anyway, Chase, we can show you around now if you want.”

“Uh…you know what? Yea, I’d like that.” Chase nodded. “I’ve been here for, what, seven days?”

“Six,” Henrik corrected.

“A long time. I’m tired of it. So, yes, you can show me around now.”

Jackie beamed. “Alright! Come on, follow me. You’re going to love this place.” And he turned and headed towards the canvas at the front of the cave.

Henrik looked at Chase. “It will be a bit shocking,” he said.

“Okay,” Chase said, frowning uncertainly. What could be so shocking? Well, he was about to find out. He hurried after Jackie, with Henrik following him in turn, who was waiting for him, holding the flap partly open.

“Alright.” Jackie smiled at him, then disappeared through the flap, holding it open on the other side.

Chase walked through. At first, he blinked in the sunlight, partially hidden through a cloud but nonetheless bright after being stuck in the infirmary cave for so long. Then, when the afterglow faded, he looked around. The cave entrance was on the side of a steep slope of rock, almost vertical. Before them was a large, almost empty space, the ground cleared of any brush and packed down into dirt. There weren’t any trees nearby, but there was a line of large white…rocks? Curved rocks. They rose in size, and continued into the distance, the line curving gently. The gaps in the rocks were large enough for at least three people to walk through side-to-side, so that’s exactly what the three of them did.

Beyond the line of rocks was more space clear of brush. Though this area was filled with tents. And with people. Some of them wearing masks, many of them bare-faced but with a mask somewhere on their person. They bustled about, carrying weapons, equipment, or stacks of parchment. Or they stood and sat around, talking with each other. The air was cool, so they were all wearing cloaks or jackets, though Chase noticed that he was the only one wearing a hat. The line of rocks continued to curve around the tents, getting larger and larger to one side. Wait a second. What was that in the distance? Chase raised his hand to shade his eyes from the sun, eyes following the curve of the rocks.

No, they weren’t rocks.

They were bones.

GIGANTIC bones.

That thing he’d seen, a bit off to the side in the distance? That was a ribcage. He turned around, noticing the way the bones they’d walked between were similar, but got smaller and smaller. A tail? Yes, a tail. Probably of a reptile, judging by the shape. The skeleton curved around this massive area of space, big enough to fit half of Hilltown inside. And the area it circled was filled with tents and people.

“What the…?” Chase whispered.

“I told you,” Henrik said. “And you cannot even see the skull from here. Or the legs. Or the wings.”

“I’m sor—wings?!” Chase repeated. What animal was this big?! And had wings?! And was reptilian?! Oh…wait. He knew exactly one animal that fit all those qualifications. His eyes widened, and he looked back at the skeleton, mouth open as he gaped.

Jackie clapped his hands. “Welcome to Wyvernlair, Chase. Come on. There’s so much more to see.”

Part Twelve of the Switch AU
A JSE Fanfic
[This is part of an ongoing fic series I started in April 2019. Jackie tries to adjust with returning to everyday life, but he might be pushing himself too far in order to be "normal" again. Everything just seems to remind him of being back there...]
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Jackie woke up to sunlight coming through the window. The curtains were open, letting the sun brighten the room. He’d asked Rama to leave them open all the time, but they’d been a little concerned about people looking through the bedroom windows. The two of them agreed to keep them closed at night but open during the day. Jackie was a little worried about that at first, but it worked out.

Glancing at the clock, Jackie noted that it was about 11:30 a.m. Well, he couldn’t just lie in bed all day. Yawning, he sat up and stretched, throwing away the covers and standing up. Quickly, he rummaged through the clothes in his drawer, pulling out some new ones. He pulled the curtains mostly-closed, then backed up into the corner to quickly get dressed. That involved taking off his red hoodie, changing clothes, then putting his hoodie back on. He instinctively started to finger-comb his hair before remembering that JJ had cut it for him a week ago. Which he was really grateful for, of course, even if it had taken a while to get used to the feel of short hair.

Taking a deep breath, Jackie grabbed his glasses, putting them on before opening the curtains again and leaving the room. Upon walking out into the hallway, he immediately picked up on the sound of voices. And froze. One of them he recognized as Rama’s, but the other was strange. It sounded female. Jackie shook his head, and took another deep breath. He headed towards the living room, poking his head through the doorway.

Rama was there, chatting with a blonde woman he vaguely recognized. They immediately noticed him, and smiled, waving him over. “Hey, Jackieboy. How’re you?” They gestured to the woman. “You remember Ms. Davidson, right?”

“Um, kind of?” Jackie said quietly. He didn’t know her name, but he sort of remembered her face. “Weren’t you…the one who brought me to the hospital?”

“That was me. And please, just call me Stacy.” Despite being on almost the other side of the room, Stacy held out her hand for a handshake. When Jackie didn’t move, she slowly lowered it. “I always wanted to check up on you after that first day, but I’ve been so busy. When I finally got the time, you’d been checked out. But I got your address from that lovely Dr. Green, and thought I’d pop in today. Your…spouse—” She glanced over at Rama to see if that was the right word to use, and they nodded. “—told me you were still asleep, and, well, we got to chatting. How are you feeling?”

Jackie couldn’t shake the feeling that this was a trap. Distorter’s tricks and illusions had never been this elaborate, but he still couldn’t get rid of the lingering doubt. After a too-long moment of silence, he decided on being nice, but not too enthusiastic. “Still dealing with everything, but better,” he said, trying to put some cheer in his voice. “At least I don’t need to use the cane as much anymore.”

Rama chuckled. “Is Marvin upset to lose a kindred spirit?”

“Ha, maybe a little. Well, I’d still need to use it to stand for too long.” Jackie took a few steps backwards. “Well, I’m…going to get breakfast, now.”

“Oh. Alright, Jackie,” Rama said. “But after you’re done, can I talk to you? Nothing bad, I promise.”

“Uh—sure.” Jackie gave them a tight smile. He backed up until he hit the other wall, then turned and hurried into the kitchen.

Deciding what he wanted was a task all on its own. He didn’t want anything too difficult to make, but he also didn’t want anything too plain to eat. After a moment’s consideration, he ended up taking out the box of Michelle’s favorite cereal—sugar was a strong taste, right?—and pouring it into a bowl. He went to the fridge to get some milk, but as soon as he opened the door and reached inside the cold—

'Cold air, cold concrete, everything cold enough to cause constant shivers. He’d tried to curl up as best as he could, but there was nowhere to hide. The room was stark and bare and dark. How long had it been? Must’ve been a few hours, at least, but something told him it was more than that.'

'Eventually, the door opened. He heard it, though there was no shift in the light. He also heard the footsteps. A hand grabbed him by the hair, pulling his head upward. “/Oh no, are you cold?/ Well, just think, it could be worse! /Next time, you could get locked inside the refrigerator. /Those things are big, once you’ve removed all the shelves./” He shook his head, the motion tearing at his hair, muttering words that were muffled by the cloth in his mouth—'

Jackie managed to slam the fridge door closed. He stood with his hands pressed against the door for a while, feeling his heart suddenly pound rapidly in his chest. And he took a deep breath. On second thought, he didn’t need milk.

He sat in the dining room at the table and quickly ate through his cereal. Once done, he could still hear Rama in the living room chatting with the Stacy woman, so he pulled out his phone and got lost in a coloring app for a while.

Eventually, he heard the front door open and close, and then Rama knocked on the doorframe to announce their presence—something they hadn’t always done, but something he appreciated, since he was rather…jumpy lately. “Hey Jackieboy. You good? Did she…freak you out or something?”

Jackie smiled at them. “No, no. I just…wasn’t expecting someone to show up. She seems alright.”

“She’s nice, yeah.” Rama walked over and sat down at the table across from him. “I like her. She, um…might be coming over more. Just thought I’d tell you now.”

He blinked. “Oh?”

“Yeah, she was in the country for some personal business, but now she’s decided to take an extended vacation. I told her we should meet up, and we exchanged phone numbers, so…nothing’s guaranteed, but she might be coming over sometimes.” Rama paused. “Is that okay?”

“Why wouldn’t it be okay?” Jackie shrugged. “If you like her, I like her. Though I would…um, appreciate it if…if she does come over, if you’d tell me when she’ll arrive. Just so I can…prepare.” He thought about trying to laugh, but it was too much effort. “Has Michelle met her, yet?”

“No, but I’m sure they’ll get along. Stacy says she’s good with kids. Apparently doesn’t have any of her own, but she was an aunt.” Rama leaned back in their chair. “Speaking of Michelle, what are we going to do for her birthday?”

“I dunno, what does she want? Party? Presents, of course.”

Rama laughed. “Yeah, of course. We should talk about what to get her, her birthday’s only a month away.”

Jackie stared at them, then sat up straight. “Oh fuck, her birthday’s only a month away!” He hit his forehead. “God, I totally forgot! Well, no, a-actually, I didn’t…didn’t FORGET, I just—I haven’t been keeping track of time—well, no, I’ve been trying to, but it just—it just slips away—”

“Jackie, calm down, it’s fine,” Rama said.

He didn’t respond, too busy checking the calendar on his phone. “Shit, it’s the third, it is only a month—and it’s only a week until Anti’s birthday, I have to get him a gift too, but that’s not too hard, but Michelle has a whole party and—”

“Jackie, it’s fine.” Rama reached over and put their hand on top of his. “It’s not your fault. I can do most of the stuff this year, it’s not like I don’t have the free time.” They chuckled a bit.

“But you still have to write, because that’s your job and all, but I—”

“Take it easy, Jackieboy. You’re still…getting better, it’s not good to push yourself.” Rama squeezed his hand. “I’ll be right here if you need anything, and so will your friends.”

Jackie took a deep breath. “Thanks, Ramram. Is…is that what you wanted to talk to me about?”

Rama, who’d been giggling a bit at the nickname, suddenly turned serious. “Well, no. You see, this woman called the house phone this morning before Stacy showed up. She said she was some sort of detective.”

“…oh.” Jackie nodded. “What did she say her name was?”

“Um…Kikilolo…no, sorry, Kikelomo. She also said she’d been waiting for you to call her, but since you haven’t yet, she found the home number in the phone book and called to check on you. She, uh…” Rama hesitated. “…wanted to know if you would be up for…coming in. To talk about what happened.”

“Who still uses phone books?” Jackie muttered. “Well, detectives, I guess.” He didn’t acknowledge anything past that.

“Jackie…” Rama sighed. “I know you don’t want to talk about it, but…nevermind.”

“No, go ahead. Say what you were going to.”

“I just…think it would be a good idea if you told this detective about it,” Rama said slowly. “So she can help. What if…the same thing happens to someone else?”

Jackie looked down at the surface of the dining room table, tracing the whorls of the wood with his eyes. He took a deep breath. “That’s…a good point. Maybe I’ll…I’ll call her.”

“You sure?” Rama said.

“Yeah.” He nodded. “In fact, I’ll do that right now.”

He picked up his phone and stood up. Swaying for a moment, he turned and went into the living room, sitting down on the sofa. Rama followed him, watching as he dialed a number. He’d stared at the small card the detectives had given him in the hospital for so long, that he had the number memorized by now. Taking another deep breath, he listened to the ringing on the other end.

Three rings later, a voice on the other side picked up. “Hello?”

“H-hi, Detective Kikelomo?” Jackie said. “It—It’s Jackie Parker, remember me?”

“Ah, Dr. Parker, good to hear from you!” Kikelomo’s voice brightened. “I just spoke to your spouse this morning, I assume that’s why you’re calling?”

“Y…yeah, they said you wanted to talk to me? About…everything?” He glanced down, noticing his hand on his lap was shaking slightly.

“Well, if you’re up to it, we were thinking…”

Her voice trailed away. Or rather, Jackie stopped listening. He’d glanced down at his hand for a moment, curling his fingers into a fist to stop the shaking, and in the process his wrist had slipped out from under the sleeve of his hoodie. Twisted, raised scars covered them, running in a line—

'“T/his is entirely your fault./” Though he still couldn’t describe the voice to save his life, it was far too familiar. Also familiar were the hands pulling and twisting his arms behind his back. He wanted to cry out, to struggle, but his captor was pressing down heavily on his mind, gray fog weighing down every thought and impulse. Though that didn’t mean it didn’t hurt when his arms and joints were pushed into a position they shouldn’t be in.'

'“/I’m not taking this off./ For a while, if ever,/” the voice muttered. One hand held his arms in place, the other tightened the plastic zip-tie around his wrists. “/Though if you behave and be nice, I’ll put your arms back into a less…stressful position./” The hands let go, and the fog lifted from his mind. Instantly, his arms jerked, and he cried out, muffled sounds of pain as he tried to settle back into something more comfortable. But it was impossible. His muscles were already shaking from the effort of the unnatural position. The plastic tie was digging into his wrist—as it would continue to, for months, rubbing and eventually cutting into his skin—'

“—would you be up to that, Dr. Parker?” Kikelomo asked.

Jackie blinked furiously, shaking his hand so that the sleeve fell back down over his wrist. “Sorry, can you repeat that?”

“Tomorrow at eight a.m. At the station, if you’re comfortable with it, though I understand if you’re not.”

“No, I-I can be there. Eight in the morning, sharp.”

“Great. Me and Laurens will meet you there. See you tomorrow.” And she hung up.

Jackie dropped his phone—did not put it down, just opened his fingers and let it fall onto the couch cushions. He looked over at Rama, who waited. “So…guess I’ll be…going to the police station tomorrow.”

“At eight, I heard that part.” Rama nodded. “And you mean we’ll be going to the police station. The hospital still hasn’t cleared you for driving, remember?”

“Oh.” He’d almost forgotten about that. “Um, if you’re busy, I can call Jameson and ask him. Or take the train.”

“No, it’s fine, we have to drop Michelle off in the morning anyway, you can just come with me.” Rama smiled and nodded, as if it was settled. “Though if this is going to be, like, an appointment, you should probably get ready.”

“Um…yeah? Of course?” Jackie nodded. “What do you mean?”

“Oh, um…” Rama now looked a bit embarrassed. “I, um, noticed you’ve been wearing your hoodie a lot. And by that, I mean…all the time.”

Jackie folded his arms, feeling the fabric of the hoodie sleeves. “This is my favorite hoodie.”

“I know, but…well, you never wore it to sleep before,” Rama pointed out. “It…it needs to be washed. And while you’re doing that, you can, uh…wash yourself.”

Jackie suddenly laughed. “‘I’m washing me and my clothes,’ you mean?”

Rama couldn’t help but laugh too. “That’s a good one. Ah, rip Vine. But…well, seriously.” Their expression became serious again. “You, uh…haven’t really….I mean, maybe I haven’t seen it, but I haven’t noticed you, uh…” They stiffened, suddenly resolved. “Oh fuck it. Jackie, you haven’t taken a shower or a bath since you got home.”

Jackie had no response to that. For a moment he was frozen, staring at nothing, his shoulders hunched protectively. What was he supposed to say? To any of this? How was he supposed to tell them that he kept wearing the hoodie because he hadn’t had it…there, so if he wore it, he knew he was really back home? Let alone the whole situation with…He laughed nervously. “Are you saying I smell?”

“No. I mean, you do, but you actually smell like our cherry hand soap, nothing bad that I can pick up.” Rama shifted awkwardly. “But, uh…you might start smelling worse if this goes on any longer. By the way, I, uh, noticed we’ve been running out of hand soap real quickly.”

Well that was weird. It certainly wasn’t because he’d been using excessive amounts of their foamy hand soap to try and keep clean. Without water. No water, he didn’t ever want to see—Jackie took a deep breath. “Um…okay. I can…do that later tonight.”

“You sure?” Rama asked skeptically.

“Yeah. Definitely.” Jackie managed to pull off a smile.

“Okay…if you’re sure.” They headed towards the hall. “I’m going to go get some writing done.”

“Oh, I-I’ll come with you.” Jackie scrambled to his feet. “I’ll just—just get my laptop and headphones and—”

“And hang out in the room with me?” Rama raised an eyebrow, chuckling a bit. “The same thing you’ve been doing for the past two weeks?”

“Um…yeah, that, if it’s okay.” Jackie felt his face growing warm. “I won’t say anything or look at what you’re writing.”

“I know you won’t.” Rama gestured for him to follow them. “Well, c’mon.”

Jackie’s expression brightened a bit as he hurried after them.
.............................................................................................

Later that evening, well after Rama had picked Michelle up from school and after they’d all had dinner, Jackie found himself standing in the doorway to the bathroom, clutching the sides of the door frame. His eyes were fixed on the bathtub. He must’ve been standing there for five minutes straight, and he knew it was starting to get ridiculous. He took a deep breath, and promised himself he’d step inside. And he did. One step. And then he was frozen again.

Another deep breath. And he took another step.

Another deep breath. And he closed the door behind him.

A few more deep breaths. And he walked over to the side of the bathtub.

He stared down at it, rubbing his arms. He was still wearing his hoodie, but of course, he’d have to take it off, along with everything else, to take a shower or a bath. Right? Maybe if he just left it on—and maybe if he left the shower curtain open while—

No, no, that was ridiculous. He could do it the normal way. After a few more minutes of blank staring, trying to work himself up, he reached forward and turned the handle for the…should it be hot? Or cold? Well he’d turn both on, of course, but which first? Burning, searing hot water, or shocking, freezing cold water?

Another moment passed, another deep breath passed, before his hand quickly darted forward and turned on the cold water with a squeak of the handle. Water spurted out. He slowly reached out and put his hand in the stream—

'—cold—freezing—gasping, thrashing—pouring down from above—he was smiling at him, always smiling, make it stop—gasping, gasping—please stop—please—stop—'

Crying out, Jackie threw himself backwards, and next thing he knew, he was out of the bathroom altogether and running down the hall. He passed the doorway to the office and slowed down, burying his face in his hands. He tried to take deep breaths. Deep breaths, deep, calm, everything’s fine.

“Jackie?” Rama opened the office door. “Is everything alright?”

“Ah—!” Jackie spun around, eyes wide with alarm, but then he smiled shakily. “Yeah, I’m just—I forgot our washing machine was broken.”

“It’s not—”

“So I’m gonna just walk down to the laundromat and—and wash my hoodie there. I-I’ll be right back!” He hurriedly walked down the hallway, not turning around to look at Rama again. He was almost out the door before he remembered he needed money for a laundromat, so he turned back around, grabbed his wallet from the table it was sitting on in the living room, and then left, not noticing how he slammed the door behind him.
.............................................................................................

It was actually kind of…nice, to be in the laundromat. It wasn’t too far away from home, and it smelled clean, like detergent. Sure, the tiles of the floor were a little cold, but the music playing over the intercom was pleasant. And there were people there. An attendant at the front counter, and two other customers doing their washing. Jackie actually found himself relaxing a bit. While his hoodie was going through the cycle, he sat on top of the washing machine and checked his messages on his phone.

It looked like none of his friends had messaged him in the past few hours. They were probably busy. He knew Anti liked to start recording at around this time of day, and Schneep was probably at work. And Marvin wasn’t very good at texting at all, he preferred phone calls. Curious, Jackie sent a quick text to JJ. "Hey, what’s up?"

The reply was quick. "Hello Jackie!! Not much rn, but I found a new spell that I could start testing soon :D"

"Oh, cool! What is it?"

"Animal transformation!! Very advanced, but I think I could handle it after some study. Will need someone else to supervise, tho, in case things go wrong. Do you want to come over?"

It felt like Jackie’s heart froze. "To your house? Like, now?"

"Well not now, like in a few days. I just thought you would be interested and would like to get out. But of course you don’t have to if you don’t want to."

In truth, Jackie hadn’t seen his friends in person in a while. It must’ve been at least a week and a half, probably more. He’d told them all that he needed space, and they were happy to accommodate. But really, he missed seeing them. Maybe he should go visit? "Couldnt Marvin help you?" he texted.

"Well yes, he’s going to. But with this spell, it’s advised to have as many people watching as possible. Again, only if you want to, tho."

He considered the idea of leaving. Going out into the city didn’t seem so bad. Seeing friends. Going into another house—

'The door was locked, which was about what he expected. The windows were boarded up from the outside, some of them with shattered glass that he didn’t dare step towards, not after what had happened with the broken mirror. He noticed a fireplace, and briefly considered ducking inside, but he was in no shape to climb up a chimney. So he settled on the door. The knob wouldn’t turn when he tried, the wood wouldn’t shudder when he kicked and pounded on it. Tears were streaking down his face. He screamed, asking, pleading for someone passing by on the street to hear or somehow see him, but nobody was coming, and then there was someone behind him—'

Jackie shivered. No, JJ’s town house wasn’t the same thing as… there. But… "Maybe another time, bud."

Alright, JJ replied. "My door is always open, you know."

"I know." Jackie paused, then sent another message. "So anything else new? Maybe with Marvin?" He could keep the conversation going. That wouldn’t be too difficult. Really, he just…wanted to think about anything else.

Eventually he was done washing his hoodie. Once it came out of the dryer, he immediately pulled it on. The warm cloth felt good, and it smelled like the slightly flowery detergent he’d borrowed from one of the other customers. It was nice to wear again, especially on the short walk back home.

But once he WAS back home…he found himself pausing outside of the doorway. It was almost like…he didn’t want to go in. But that was ridiculous. This was his house. It was a safe place. So…why didn’t he feel safe?

Taking a deep breath, he forced himself to open the front door and go inside. This was alright. He could do this.
.............................................................................................

The next morning, a loud noise started blaring in his ear. He bolted upright with a shriek, rolling over and falling off the side of the bed. It was a dark room—no no no no, it had all been a lie! He never went home, he was still there—but his hands were free, he had to get out of here while he could! He scrambled to his feet and bolted for the door, slamming against it. He felt for the knob, turning it. The door opened easily, and he fell onto the ground outside, surprised. That wasn’t right…also the hallway was lit up…

“Jackie?”

Jackie looked up, seeing Rama down the hall. They were still in their pajamas, but they’d shoved their red beanie onto their head. And they were looking at him, clearly concerned.

Realizing that he wasn’t where he’d thought he was, Jackie hurried to stand up. He laughed nervously. “Sorry about that. Guess I forgot I set the alarm…wow, it’s dark outside.”

“Well…it’s a little after six am in the fall, so that makes sense.” Rama walked over to him. “You…you doing okay, Jackieboy?”

“Yeah, I’m fine, I just forgot.” He laughed again.

“Okay.” Rama didn’t look convinced, but they moved on. “I’m guessing you set the alarm so that you could get ready for the thing you have with the detective today?”

“Yeah. I figured two hours would be enough time.” Jackie backed up. “Wow, the alarm is…still going. I’m gonna go turn that off.” He turned around and went back into the bedroom, closing the door on Rama.

He turned on the light switch, illuminating the small bedroom. How could he have mistaken here for THERE? This was exactly why he’d wanted the curtains open ALL the time. So he wouldn’t wake up and think he was back in that…other bedroom. He’d gotten into the habit of sleeping well into the daytime, so when he usually woke up, the sunlight would be shining through the glass and lighting up the room, showing that it wasn’t the same place. But now that it was early and dark outside…that was different.

Quickly, Jackie turned off the alarm on his phone and opened the curtains on one of the windows. See? He could see outside. The familiar view of the small backyard was comforting. Sighing, he went back out into the hallway.

Rama had moved into the kitchen, and they were now messing with the stove, making bacon. When they saw Jackie come in, they smiled. “Alright, you look good.”

“I doubt that,” Jackie muttered.

“Well, you’re right, you look like tired shit.”

Jackie gasped, mock-offended. “Rama, I thought you loved me!”

Rama laughed. “I’m just saying it like it is. Unless that was somehow very offensive in English, in which case I plead ignorance.”

Jackie rolled his eyes. “So…you’re making breakfast?”

“Yes,” Rama turned their attention back to the pan. “Do you want to take a shower while I do this? It’ll be a while.”

“Um…” Jackie felt like his feet were rooted to the spot. “Sure, I’ll…I’ll do that.” He took a deep breath, and stepped out of the kitchen.

Okay. He could take a quick shower. Just like…a ten minute shower. That wouldn’t be too bad. Just five minutes. He’ll set a timer on his phone. Maybe for five minutes, actually.

Much sooner than he would’ve liked, he was back in the bathroom. Once again staring at the bathtub. Okay, starting with cold water hadn’t gone well yesterday. But he didn’t want to start with hot water, either. What if he turned both knobs at the same time? That might work. Jackie took another deep breath, and quickly grabbed both knobs with both hands and turned. Water gushed out of the spout.

Jackie laughed, a sound on the border between triumph and hysteria. Good, step one done. This time, he did not reach in to check the temperature. He’d turned both knobs at once, so that meant it would be fine! It would be fine…if he could just actually step into the tub.

Again, the thought occurred to him that he really, REALLY didn’t want to take off his hoodie. But he would have to. Maybe he could…step inside and THEN take it off? Could that work?

He took several deep breaths. Sitting on the edge of the bathtub, he swung his legs over the side. Splash. This was fine. The water was barely an inch deep. It was okay. Never mind the way his heartbeat had skyrocketed when he first felt the water.

Jackie managed to stand up, clutching the edge of the windowsill. He almost knocked over the bottles of shampoo, conditioner, and lotion sitting on the sill, but he managed to avoid that. Was the bathtub filling up? Well, of course it was, but would it keep filling up, or was the drain unplugged? He shook himself. It wouldn’t matter. He’d only be five minutes. Perfectly manageable.

Reaching over, he grabbed the shower curtains closed, making a familiar rattling sound. He froze.

'“/Looks like you need some help, then./”'

“No.” Jackie squeezed his eyes shut. “No, no, no, this is fine, this is different. This is good. I have to do this. It’s fine.”

He took one more deep breath, and opened his eyes, keeping up the stream of reassurances. There was just one more step to get started. And then he’d…have to worry about everything else. Keeping one hand on the windowsill, he bent over and turned one last knob.

Water came pouring out of the shower head above.

'—There was no getting away from this. The inside of the bathtub was slippery, and with his hands tied behind his back, he couldn’t get out. He tried to, of course. Kicking and thrashing sent water flying everywhere. Though it made no difference. He was already soaked through, his teeth chattering from the cold seeping into his bones. The spout was pouring more water into the tub, even though it was already overflowing. How long had he been in here before he’d woken up? It must’ve been a while.'

'He tried once more to climb out, but his legs slipped, and his head went under the water. Gasping, he pushed himself upright again, spluttering.'

'“/No, no, don’t get up./” He didn’t know when Distorter had gotten there, but he was here now. He grabbed his hair—it was always the hair, always, always—and twisting the strands between his fingers, shoved his head under again. There was no time at all to get another solid breath in. Under the water again, and his lungs immediately began screaming. He tried to pull away, but the grip was too tight. He had to get out, he had to breathe—'

“Dad?” Michelle opened the bathroom door. “Dad, are you okay?”

Jackie shrieked, and tried to spin around. But of course he slipped, falling against the shower curtain and instinctively grabbing it. The pole above was ripped free of its supports, and came tumbling down with Jackie. He collapsed on the edge of the bathtub, the shower rod knocking him on the head.

“Oh my god!” Michelle covered her mouth. “Dad, stay there, I’ll get Ren!” She turned and ran, leaving the door open.

Jackie blinked for a bit, head aching. He looked up. Water from the shower continued to rain down, landing on his face.

'It was hot this time, and he was screaming. Steam was filling the small room, thick enough to choke on. He was on fire, burning, burning, burning. He couldn’t just stay here, he had to get out! Wiggling and thrashing, he probably would’ve found some way to throw himself out of the tub if Distorter hadn’t been there holding him down. One hand on the back of his head, tangled in his hair, the other one on his back, pushing him down. And Distorter was laughing.'

'“/You were complaining so much about the other ones, I thought this would be an improvement! /See, isn’t it nice that I listened? /Friends listen to each other, and try to make each other happy./ Aren’t you happy?/”'

'He shook his head furiously. Tears were stinging his eyes, running down his face. The zip-tie was cutting into his wrists again, and the hot water was agony on the new cuts. He was saying something, but even he couldn’t figure out what it was, aside from some sort of jumble of words asking for it to stop, promising to do anything if this would just stop—'

“Jackie, Jackie, look at me! Jackie, you have to look at me! Can you stand up?! Can you talk to me?! Say something! C’mon, Jackieboy!”

He felt something hit his face. Blinking, Jackie looked up at Rama’s worried face.

“Okay, good, you’re looking at me.” Relief flooded their features. “Can you say something? Anything?”

Anything? He couldn’t think of anything. Except… “Make it stop,” he mumbled, dazed. “Please. Please, I’ll…I’ll be good, I promise…”

Rama’s eyes widened. They looked over their shoulder. “Why don’t you go eat breakfast, mijita? We’ll be right there.” Tiny footsteps pattered away, and they turned back. “Jackie, what’s wrong? What do you want me to stop?”

He blinked, and glanced up at the water.

'It was warm now, a bearable temperature. But there was something in the water, something grainy. Salt. He knew this meant something terrible, but he couldn’t figure out what, and even if he could, Distorter was pressing down hard on his mind again. He couldn’t move.'

'The mirror in the bathroom was broken. Shards littered the counter. He watched as Distorter picked up one of the larger pieces. His ever-present smile widened, and then he was back next to the bathtub. He grabbed his hair, pulling him close. “This is going to hurt. A lot. But it’s what you get for being like this.”'

'The shard of broken mirror dug into his cheek. He gasped. Then it sliced into the other. And Distorter let go. He dropped the mirror shard, and instead picked up a plastic bucket, like one a kid would bring to the beach. Smiling wider still, he used the bucket to scoop up some of the salty water. His hand still in Jackie’s hair, he tilted his head back, and poured.'

'Jackie screamed.'

There was a squeaking sound, and gradually, Jackie realized the water had stopped. Rama appeared before him again, placing a hand on either side of his face. “Okay, it’s off. Is this good? Do you feel better now?”

“Hmmh.” Jackie nodded slowly. His eyes darted around the bathroom. This…this wasn’t the same room. This was…his. Back at home. He wasn’t…

He started to cry.

“Oh…oh, Jackieboy, it’s okay.” Rama pulled him close, not minding how he was soaking wet. They wrapped their arms around him. “It’s okay, you’re safe here. Nothing’s going to hurt you. Jackieboy. Mi corazón. You’re safe here.”

For a long, long moment, Jackie just let himself be held. But after a while of these reassurances, he shook his head. “I…I don’t feel it.”

“You don’t feel what?” Rama asked gently. “Safe?”

“Y-yeah…that.” Jackie squeezed his eyes shut. “I should be, I know, but everything here just reminds me of…there. And him.” He buried his head in Rama’s shirt. “I didn’t want to feel like I was drowning again…”

“I see…” Rama muttered. “Oh. Oh Jackieboy, I’m so sorry. I should’ve known. If I’d known how you felt, I wouldn’t have forced you to—”

“You didn’t know because I didn’t tell you,” Jackie interrupted. “I—I should be normal again by now, because I’m almost better from all the physical stuff, so I should be…better in other ways, too. But I-I still don’t want to grow my hair out again, and I said I would do that when…”

“No, no, Jackieboy.” Rama rubbed circles on his back. “This is going to take a long time to recover from. It was…an…ordeal, what happened to you, and it will not just go away. Especially not if you try to push yourself to go back to some kind of ‘normal.’ Things are not normal right now, and they might not ever be the old normal again. But that is okay. Do you understand?”

Jackie let out a sob. “I’m just…so tired. Of not feeling alright when I’m here.”

“I know, Jackieboy, I know.” Rama paused. “Maybe…you should talk to someone about this? Not those detectives, I think it’s clear now that you’re not ready for that. But a therapist? You know the hospital suggested that, but you never…said if you wanted that.”

“That…that might be a good idea,” Jackie agreed.

“So we’ll try that?”

“Yeah…we can try that.”

Rama pulled away. They smiled at him. “That’s great. Now…can we get out of the bathroom? Or at least the tub?”

“Oh. Yeah, that would be a good idea.” Jackie let Rama pull him up and help him step out of the bathtub. He winced as he saw the broken shower rod and curtain leaning against the wall. “Sorry about that.”

“It’s fine, we can afford a new one,” Rama dismissed. They brushed a few strands of wet hair out of Jackie’s face. “I have to go take Michelle to school, you know. Will you be okay home alone?”

After a moment of serious consideration, Jackie nodded. “I’ll just…hang out in the front room. And look out the window.”

“Alright, but you know you can always go sit outside or something if it bothers you.” Rama leaned down and pressed a quick kiss to Jackie’s forehead. “Now let’s get out of here.”
.............................................................................................

The next hour or so went by fairly easily. They had breakfast, Jackie changed out of his wet pajamas (though he ran the hoodie through the dryer real quick and put it back on), and Rama took Michelle to school. Jackie did indeed hang out in the front room the whole time, looking out the window and not looking back into the house. Soon, he saw the car pulling back in. Later than he would’ve expected, though. And his eyes widened when he saw someone else step out of the car as well as Rama and follow them inside the house.

“Jackie, are you okay?!” Schneep flung open the front door, immediately crossing the room to sit on the sofa next to Jackie. His eyes looked him over.

“I’m fine, uh, but what are you doing here?” Jackie asked, baffled.

“I thought you might want to see friends,” Rama explained, shutting the front door. “I also dropped by Anti’s, but he didn’t answer. Would’ve gone by the other two, also, but they live in the opposite direction.”

“They said you hit your head in the shower, are you okay?” Schneep repeated.

“Um, I am now.” Jackie had been quick to check out the injury, and aside from a bruise forming, he didn’t think it was too much of a problem.

“Good, good.” Schneep nodded. “They also said, ah…you…were not having a good time. Recently. Would you…like to talk about it?”

Jackie felt tears welling in his eyes again. “I…don’t know.”

“Alright, then we will not talk about it,” Schneep said. “But if you need a professional to talk to, I know a good therapist. His specialty is not in…this area, but I am sure he knows others who are. Or who…do. Whatever is the correct phrase.”

“Is is like, ‘others who has a specialty’?” Rama asked.

“Maybe it is ‘others whose specialty is,’” Schneep said. He nodded. “Yes, that sounds right.”

“English. The most confusing language,” Rama muttered.

“Oh, very true,” Schneep agreed.

Jackie laughed. Once. It faded away quickly as he looked around the room. “I don’t know, Volt, I just…feel like I have to get out of here.”

“Well, you can,” Schneep said. “What is the problem you are having?”

“I…it just…” Jackie waved vaguely at their surroundings. “It’s…a house.”

Rama frowned. “Well, there’s not much we can do about that. Except move.”

“I’m not asking to move, Ram,” Jackie said, tired.

“What if you stayed somewhere else for a while?” Schneep asked.

“Like where?”

“Well…” Schneep shrugged. “If you are worried about the ‘house’ part, then I live in an apartment. And it is very open, nothing like a house with rooms.” He waited for an answer. When Jackie didn’t give one, he hurried to add, “Only if you want to, of course, I am not going to make you—”

“It’s a good idea,” Jackie interrupted. “I’m just…a little worried about Michelle. I’ve been gone for so long…would she be okay with…?”

“Jackieboy,” Rama said. “She’s a strong girl. And smart, in an emotional way. I’m sure we could explain to her, and she’d understand.”

Jackie looked down at his hands, sitting in his lap. For a moment, he caught another glimpse of the mangled scars around his wrists. He quickly pulled his sleeves down over them. And looked up at the two others. “I think…this would be good, then. Only temporarily, of course.”

Rama smiled, and nodded. “Of course. When would you want to go?”

“I don’t…know. Volt, when would you want me to move in?”

“Whenever you are ready,” Schneep said. “We could even do it today, I have nothing going on.”

“Not today.” Jackie shook his head. “What about…tomorrow? In the morning?”

“That sounds good,” Schneep said.

“I’ll make a note of it,” Rama said, walking over to the other two and sitting on Jackie’s other side. “Hey…Jackieboy?”

“Yeah?”

“I love you.”

Schneep nodded. “And your friends do, too.”

Jackie blinked. And smiled. It was small, but it was real. “Thanks, guys. I love you too.”

It was nice to know that, whatever changed, however he felt, that would still be there.